Chapter 004 White Cat
Yang Tao went to the fields right after he got back from the car today. He was different from Yuan Ming. His family had more than ten acres of land. All his energy was spent on the fields all year round. He would go to the fields whenever he had some time.
Farmers depend on the weather for their food. After the sun went down, there were fewer people in the fields. Yang Tao put away the hoe and put it on the field. He carried a backpack to cut grass for the cows. His cows were very important and could not be hungry for even a meal.
There were a lot of water plants by the river. After a while, he cut a full backpack. He went back to the field to pick up the hoe and was about to go back.
When he reached the corner of the river dam, he suddenly heard his name. There were a few women squatting on the ground digging pig grass. They just kept their heads down and didn't notice that Yang Tao was right behind them.
"I heard that Yuan Ming fainted on his wedding night. Doctor Xu couldn't figure out what happened, so he was taken to the town early the next morning."
"Is he okay?"
"How would anyone know? This morning I saw that it was Yang Tao who sent him there. Yuan Ming was lying on the cart with his eyes closed."
"Yang Tao again? Yuan Ming is arrogant and looks down on the villagers. Only the Yang family likes to flatter others. Is their brain squeezed by the door?"
Everyone laughed. After laughing, one of them said, "I think Yang Tao is smart, and Yuan Ming can study. Maybe he will pass the exam someday. When the time comes, we can give him some food from the gaps between our fingers. It will be enough for him."
"Tsk! After all these years, Yang Tao probably hasn't even had a drink of Yuan Ming's bowl of water. Will he still remember him when he really has money in the future? It's probably a waste of time."
Several people talked excitedly and gradually walked into the valley.
Yang Tao was stunned for a long time. He wanted to refute these people loudly, but found that they were not wrong at all.
Since he was a child, his parents advised him to be good friends with Yuan Ming, saying that when Yuan Ming passed the imperial examination, he would definitely remember the kindness at this time, but he asked himself that he had never thought about getting anything from Yuan Ming.
As for Yuan Ming... Thinking carefully, he realized that he had always been indifferent to him since he was a child, and they had few experiences of talking to each other properly.
Yang Tao took a deep breath, and walked home silently with the cow grass on his back.
...
"Mother, this is the pork head stewed by my husband, please try it!"
Cao Wei had just washed her hands when a piece of fragrant meat was fed to her mouth. She bit it subconsciously. The meat tasted salty and slightly spicy, and the chewy and elastic taste made her appetite. This meat is delicious!
In the kitchen, Yuan Ming cut the brine meat into slices, paired it with cucumber shreds and green leaves, and drizzled it with chili oil, soy sauce and vinegar. A fragrant cold dish was freshly cooked.
Since you are inviting people to dinner, one dish is definitely not enough.
Cao Wei came in with a basket of vegetables and said to Yuan Ming, "I picked eggplants and beans, and stir-fried three fresh vegetables, and also the tomato egg soup that Yue'er likes to drink." She rolled up her sleeves as she spoke.
Yuan Ming nodded: "Thank you for your hard work, mother. Do you need my help?"
Cao Wei waved her hand: "One dish and one soup can be cooked quickly, no need to help."
Yuan Ming didn't bother to be polite with her and walked out of the kitchen. There was no trace of Ji Qingyue in the yard. He returned to the bedroom and didn't find anyone. Just when he felt strange, he saw Ji Qingyue squatting in front of the chicken coop in the backyard through the window.
Cao Wei was diligent and clean, and she cleaned the chicken coop frequently, but the weather was hot and the smell was still hard to avoid. Ji Qingyue usually avoids that place when she goes to the toilet, so why did she go there today?
Pushing open the door to the backyard, Yuan Ming walked behind Ji Qingyue, and saw a pure white kitten squatting on Ji Qingyue's feet. Ji Qingyue gently stroked the kitten's head, and the kitten squinted its eyes and made a humming sound from its throat.
"Qingqing?" Yuan Ming called softly. Before Ji Qingyue could respond, the little white cat opened its eyes as if startled, and ran away in a flash.
Ji Qingyue turned around and glared at him angrily: "Husband! You scared the kitten away!"
Yuan Ming: "..."
After that, he stood up and chased the direction where the kitten ran away, calling softly.
Yuan Ming twitched his lips. He was going to lose favor just one day after getting married?
Cao Wei cooked very quickly, and soon asked Yuan Ming to go next door to call someone. This is how it works when you invite people to dinner in the village. If you don't go to their house and invite them, they won't come on their own initiative. After all, no one has extra food.
When Yuan Ming arrived at Yang's house, Yang Tao's mother, Aunt Li, was serving dishes from the kitchen, saying that Yang Tao was cleaning cow feces in the cowshed in the backyard.
Yuan Ming and Aunt Li pulled each other for several rounds, and finally got away and slipped into the backyard.
"Brother Yang, let's go to my house for dinner."
Yang Tao responded, and quickly came out of the cowshed, walked to the vegetable garden, kicked off the cow feces on the soles of his shoes, and smiled honestly: "Sorry for bothering you to come, I'll change my shoes and leave."
Yuan Ming smiled and said it was okay, and went out first to wait for him outside.
While standing at the gate of Yang's house and looking up at the sky, Yuan Ming heard a few soft cat calls, which seemed to come from the yard of Yang's house.
Before he could find the source of the sound, Yang Tao came out and asked, "Are you interested in kittens? My cat just gave birth to a litter of four kittens a while ago. They are all very lively, but sometimes they are a bit noisy. I'm afraid they will disturb your recitation. Otherwise, I will ask Aunt Cao to catch one."
Kittens? Thinking of Ji Qingyue's eager look, his heart moved.
When the two returned home, the food was already on the dining table in the yard. Cao Wei greeted him warmly: "Yang Tao is here, please sit down and have dinner. Thank you for sending Ming'er to the town today."
"Auntie Cao is too polite. Our two families are neighbors, and it is only natural for us to help each other."
Cao Wei smiled when she heard this, and said that the Yang family were all kind people. There were
few people in the family, and there was no bad habit that women and men could not sit at the table to eat, so the four of them sat down.
Cao Wei picked up some food for Yang Tao with a serving chopstick: "Try the pork head. This is made by A Ming. It was stewed for a whole afternoon. It's so delicious. I can't stop eating it."
"Thank you, Aunt Cao!"
Yang Tao likes strong flavors. The braised pork made by Yuan Ming really touched his heart. He ate half of the small pot of meat by himself with rice.
After two large bowls of rice, he ate up all the soup.
Yang Tao burped and his dark face turned slightly red. Eating too much in other people's homes would make people dislike him, so he laughed dryly, "This pork head is really delicious, much better than the one my mother cooks."
Yuan Ming noticed his embarrassment and said with a smile, "There are still a lot in the kitchen. If you like it, brother Yang, you can take some back later."
"No, no, no! How can you eat and take it away at the same time!" Yang Tao waved his hands repeatedly.
Cao Wei said, "A Ming is right. The pork head is not worth much. Why not take it? It's all thanks to you that he was able to go to the town to see a doctor in time. He should thank you very much." After saying that, she went straight to the kitchen regardless of Yang Tao's objection.
Yang Tao was a little at a loss.
Yuan Ming said, "Brother Yang, don't refuse. I just happen to want to ask you for something."
Yang Tao was stunned: "What is it?"
"My Qingqing likes kittens very much. I wonder if Brother Yang can ask him to pick one up and I promise to take good care of it."
"You want to raise a cat?" Yang Tao was a little unresponsive, but immediately nodded and said, "What's wrong with that? Yue'er, please come to my house and get one whichever one you like. My mother is worried that she has too many cats to raise."
Cao Wei came out with a bowl of pork head and was about to send it next door. Yang Tao hurried to follow.
Ji Qingyue held Yuan Ming's hand, her eyes sparkling: "My husband, what you said is true. Can I
keep a cat?" "Of course, but I am usually busy with my studies, and my mother also has to work, so I can only rely on you to take care of the kitten. Can Qingqing do it?" Yuan Ming asked.
Ji Qingyue nodded heavily, her eyebrows curved: "Thank you, my husband!" Then she threw herself into his arms and kissed him on the face.
Yuan Ming touched his face, smiled foolishly for a while, and then caught up with Ji Qingyue and walked to the Yang family next door.
Cao Wei and Li were chatting in the kitchen, and Yang Tao took them to the corner. Under a simple kennel made of old clothes and sticks, four kittens of different fur colors curled up together, a small ball that was very pitiful.
Ji Qingyue couldn't take her eyes off them. She wanted to reach out and touch them, but was afraid that the kittens were too small and might get hurt.
Yang Tao smiled and said, "The kittens in this litter are almost a month old and can be weaned. Brother Yue, feel free to take whichever one you like."
Among the four kittens, two were tabby cats, one was a tabby and one was pure white. The pure white one was very similar to the one Ji Qingyue had seen in front of the chicken coop before.
He looked at Yuan Ming and said, "Husband, I want the white one."
Yuan Ming nodded.
Yang Tao saw this and was about to reach out to pick up the kitten when a shrill meow suddenly sounded. He looked up and saw a white cat standing on the wall, its fur all standing up, its tail raised, ready to attack at any time.