Brother Wang came in carrying a pot of asparagus fern: "Little Xu, this is an asparagus fern I grew. I'm giving you one to put on the table. It's nice to look at it when you have time."
Xu Ningyan saw that the asparagus fern was indeed well-cared for and learned that it was because Brother Wang liked growing flowers. She quickly thanked him and happily placed the asparagus fern on the table.
Seeing that Xu Ningyan genuinely appreciated and liked it, Brother Wang became more talkative: "If you like it, I'll give you two more pots when the roses bloom. You young people will definitely like this!"
Xu Ningyan didn't stand on ceremony and readily agreed with a smile.
Xu Ningyan spent the entire afternoon tidying up her desk.
Sister Zhang smiled as she knitted, occasionally offering pointers on how to arrange things. The other two sisters, though not talkative, didn't cause trouble either, quietly sitting at their desks reading.
Xu Ningyan felt that time flew by, and before she knew it, it was time to leave work.
After saying goodbye to her colleagues, Xu Ningyan went home after get off work.
She arrived home quite early, and had just set the dinner table when Jiang Zhiyuan, who had been worried about her work that day, arrived home.
Upon entering the room, I first checked Xu Ningyan's complexion, and it was quite good, which immediately put my mind at ease.
She went to wash her hands and changed into some casual clothes, then came to the kitchen to help Xu Ningyan and asked her how work was going.
Xu Ningyan told him with a smug look on her face that the job was easy, the colleagues were nice, and there wasn't much to do—it was practically the perfect job! Most importantly, she only had three days off and only needed to work four days a week.
Although Jiang Zhiyuan knew the job was easy, he didn't expect it to be this easy.
Compared to Xu Ningyan's work, isn't his job a bit too busy?
However, as long as Xu Ningyan is happy, that's all that matters.
I asked again what I did today and how my colleagues were.
Xu Ningyan told him with a smug look that she had met all her colleagues today. There were three female colleagues in the office, each with her own desk, which was quite far apart from each other. The colleagues all seemed to be easy to get along with.
Moreover, her colleague gave her a potted asparagus fern, which she took very good care of!
She had already planned it out: once they were more familiar with each other, she would bring her lackey to work.
Then she could walk her dog to work every day on pay and drink tea, living a life like a fairy tale.
Jiang Zhiyuan was subtly envious of what he said.
However, he was completely relieved. Such a leisurely job, with no lucrative opportunities and no one being ambitious, was quite safe.
Since Xu Ningyan started working, the two of them have adjusted their schedules to be almost identical.
Jiang Zhiyuan gets up early to go for a run and brings breakfast back with him.
Xu Ningyan will come back to cook lunch at noon. Jiang Zhiyuan usually doesn't come back for lunch, but he will definitely come back for dinner if he's not particularly busy in the evening.
As for buying vegetables, there aren't many fresh vegetables in Beijing during winter. Everyone stocked up on cabbages, radishes, and potatoes at home early in the morning. These were the only fresh vegetables they had for the whole winter, and they ate them over and over again.
Rarely have meat or frozen seafood available, Xu Ningyan has entrusted it to Aunt Wang next door, hoping she'll bring some back for herself if she happens to come across any.
She bought various mountain products from the market in Jingshan County and mailed them through the post office, and received them one after another.
With these mountain produce, she and Jiang Zhiyuan had a more varied menu every day compared to other families.
She gave some dried mushrooms and bamboo shoots to Aunt Wang next door, which made Aunt Wang very happy. Helping Xu Ningyan buy some meat or something is nothing. She is happy to help buy groceries every day. It's just a small favor.
Jiang Yuan and Jiang Zhixing also came over for a treat on the day Xu Ningyan had her three-day break.
Eating dried mushrooms, dried bamboo shoots, soaked black fungus, and various dried wild vegetables made me very happy.
In particular, after Jiang Yuan finished eating, she asked Xu Ningyan if there were many mountain products. If so, she suggested that some be set aside and sent to a few close relatives and friends, which would be both practical and inconspicuous.
You should know that in Beijing's winters, the meals for ordinary people are truly pitiful.
No one can stand eating only cabbage and radishes for months on end.
Even for families like theirs, money can't buy many things, so such high-quality and delicious mountain produce is truly rare.
Xu Ningyan suddenly realized that this was not the time when greenhouse-grown off-season vegetables were prevalent and transportation was well-developed.
These things may seem unremarkable in the countryside, but they are quite popular in the city.
Not to mention that she bought quite a lot at the market, enough to give to a few relatives and friends, but it wasn't enough. She could just call Li Jianguo, or ask Lin Hong or the brigade leader to buy some and send it over. It would be a simple matter of just a word.
He immediately took out all the mountain products he had bought and repackaged them in the same way as Jiang Yuan.
There are several kinds of dried mushrooms, including small flower mushrooms, dried wood ear mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, and morel mushrooms.
There are several types of dried bamboo shoots, including water bamboo shoots, thunder bamboo shoots, and dried cinnamon bamboo shoots.
The dried vegetables include dried cowpeas, dried lettuce, eggplant strips, shredded gourd, purslane, and dandelion.
Add chestnuts and walnuts.
Jiang Yuan divided the items into about ten portions based on the closeness or distance of the relationship.
While packing the food, she explained to Xu Ningyan who these ten or so portions were going to, what their relationship was with Jiang Yuan and the others, and how they usually got along.
Xu Ningyan listened attentively, knowing that Jiang Yuan was telling him in advance about the relationships and interactions within the Jiang family, and was also teaching him about interpersonal relationships.
This person truly treats her like family, without holding anything back.
Jiang Zhixing nudged Jiang Zhiyuan with his elbow and winked, "I think in Mom's eyes right now, my sister-in-law is the closest person to her, and we all have to come after her!"
Jiang Zhiyuan glanced at him calmly: "Envious and jealous? Find yourself a wife—"
Jiang Zhixing immediately shut up.
Jiang Yuan was still teaching Xu Ningyan. Among the people sent out, Old Master Yu was definitely ranked first. His family was particularly close, and the gifts he gave were twice as heavy.
There were also several relatives, and finally, Jiang Zhiyuan's boss, Director Liu.
On Jiang Zhixing's side, his superior, who had always taken good care of him, also received a share.
Jiang Zhixing was unaware that he was entitled to a share and felt a little embarrassed: "These were all bought and carried back by my sister-in-law after a lot of hard work down there. How could I possibly give them away as gifts?"
Xu Ningyan waved her hand: "We're all family, you're being distant with me."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Zhixing immediately smiled and took his share, saying, "Sister-in-law, then I won't be polite!"
Aside from this one, Jiang Yuan said that they would deliver the others together on the day Jiang Zhiyuan rested, which was also a way to let everyone meet and get to know each other in advance.
Xu Ningyan glanced at Jiang Zhiyuan, and seeing him nod in agreement, she tacitly agreed.
After Jiang Yuan and the others left, Xu Ningyan was reminded and packed a few more copies for Jiang Zhiyuan to take to Sun Zhou and the others when he went to work the next day.
Jiang Zhiyuan snorted coldly, "Why bother sending it to them? Just let them come and pick it up after get off work!"
Xu Ningyan thought for a moment and then said, "Then have them come over for dinner tomorrow. I said I owed Brother Sun and the others a meal! I'm feeling better now, and I'd feel bad if I didn't invite them!"
Jiang Zhiyuan pondered for a moment: "Then there's no need for tomorrow. Let's wait until next week. I can help you out on my day off. Otherwise, those animals can eat three big pots of food all by themselves. You'll be exhausted by yourself."
Xu Ningyan considered their fighting strength and chickened out, agreeing to Jiang Zhiyuan's suggestion.
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