Chapter 74: Didn't Consider Myself an Outsider
"I'm not going back." Lu Jingheng shook his head like a rattle, with a flattering smile on his face, "I want to celebrate the New Year with you. This is the first New Year we celebrate together, set sail! I won't leave, I want to be with you."
Bai Yangfan held his forehead and said nothing: "..." This damned bastard, why is he sticking to me like a dog-skin plaster and won't go away.
Do I have to fight with him myself during the New Year?
Even if I really do it, what if he still sticks to me?
Just as she was thinking this, Lu Jingheng seemed to have guessed it right: "Yangfan! Even if you hit me today, I won't leave. I want to spend the New Year with you. I'm far away from home and I don't have any relatives around me. Please have pity on me and let me spend the New Year with you and Qihang!"
If the hard approach doesn't work, he will try the soft approach. In short, no matter what, he must have the New Year's Eve dinner at Bai Yangfan's house.
Even if she was really angry and wanted to hit him a few times, then let her hit him. Who made him angry? Anyway, he would not go back even if he was beaten to death. He just wanted to stay at his wife's house shamelessly.
"No, go back to the educated youth camp. Don't make me unhappy during the New Year." Bai Yangfan really didn't want to have anything to do with this bastard, so he stopped him sternly, "Lu Jingheng! Can you have some backbone? I've already said that it's impossible for the two of us, why can't you just be tough and let go?"
"No." Lu Jingheng lowered his head, his tone firm and resolute, "I've also said that you are my wife, for life. Yang Fan! We are a family, why do we have to separate for the New Year?
It's okay if we're separated during normal times, but I'll definitely be back for the New Year. Let's go! Let's go in and get some before we eat. My brother-in-law will take you to set off firecrackers later. He went to the county town and bought a lot of them yesterday."
Children at this time especially like to set off firecrackers, especially little boys like Bai Qihang, who are both curious and afraid of firecrackers.
I want to set off fireworks but I don’t dare to because I’m afraid of getting blown up. If someone leads me to set off fireworks together, it will definitely be safe.
The four-year-old Qihang was fooled by Lu Jingheng. He looked at Bai Yangfan eagerly and said, "Sister! Just let Lu Zhiqing celebrate the New Year with us! After dinner, let him go to the Zhiqing camp. I want him to teach me how to set off firecrackers."
Bai Yangfan really wanted to say, I also know how to set off firecrackers, I will teach you later.
Unexpectedly, Lu Jingheng interrupted and said, "Yangfan! Qihang is still young, don't arrange everything for him. A little boy should be happy with his peers. This is his life, not yours."
Bai Yangfan thought about this and it seemed to make some sense. She couldn't just refuse her brother's request. After all, he didn't ask for anything excessive. He just wanted to go set off firecrackers with the man after dinner.
Look at how skillfully he serves dishes and rice, as if he doesn't consider himself a stranger at all.
If she really wanted to argue with him, she would have to kick him out, for fear of hurting her brother's feelings. The child was only four years old, and would be five after the New Year. He was at that age when he was curious about everything.
Okay, she endured it.
She can only endure it for one or two years in Liujia Village. Once she leaves Liujia Village, she will see what excuse this bastard can use to harass her.
Lu Jingheng really didn't treat himself as an outsider. He prepared food for Qihang, carried him to the table and sat him down, then he sat opposite Bai Yangfan.
He poured a glass of wine in front of him, raised it, and clinked it with Bai Yangfan's bowl: "Yangfan! Thank you for letting me stay with you today. From now on, at this time every year, no matter how busy I am, no matter where I am, I will come back to be with you.
The new year is here, let's forget the past and look forward to the future. At the same time, let's forget all the nonsense I said to you in the past. I hope we can have a beautiful new future.
Bai Yangfan ignored the nagging of the dog man and picked up a piece of fat and lean braised pork for Qihang. This braised pork was cooked according to the way she had eaten it in her previous life, with a delicious taste and color.
Nowadays, people don’t know that they need to blanch the meat when making braised pork. They usually just cut the meat and put it into the pot without adding any spices, or at most some ginger.
But the braised pork that Bai Yangfan made was blanched in water and added star anise, peppercorns, ginger, garlic, and other ingredients, making it particularly fragrant. Qihang had already tasted a piece while it was still cooking and said several times, "It's delicious."
Lu Jingheng also picked up a piece and put it in his mouth. It was indeed different from what he usually ate.
It was even better than what he had eaten at the most famous hotel in Kyoto.
"Yangfan! I didn't expect you to be such a good cook. This plate of braised pork is perfect for my taste." Lu Jingheng, who didn't treat himself as an outsider, finished one piece and reached for the second. Fearing that Bai Yangfan would be unhappy, he immediately expressed his opinion, "After the New Year, I'll go to the county town to buy more meat and make this. It's very fragrant and delicious. I'll never get tired of eating it for the rest of my life."
Bai Yangfan glared at the dog man: "..." Who wants to make braised pork for you for the rest of your life? It's a nice thought.
For the Chinese New Year, she prepared six dishes, all according to the instructions of the older generation. In the original owner's memory, this was how her grandmother prepared them.
A plate of fried tofu means prosperity every year.
A fish symbolizes abundance every year.
A plate of garlic sprouts and vegetable meatballs means that there will be income every day from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.
A plate of celery fried meatballs symbolizes hard work and no laziness every year.
Then there is a plate of cabbage, which symbolizes being a clean and honest person.
There is also a plate of braised pork, which symbolizes a prosperous and good life.
There are six dishes. In previous years, garlic and celery would just be garlic and celery, without any vegetable meatballs or four-happiness meatballs.
This year was different. It was Bai Yangfan's first Chinese New Year in 1975, and her family had fried meatballs, so she fried some in.
Anyway, it’s just between her and her brother, so it won’t be a bargain for others.
Who knew that no matter how much she planned, she didn't expect that Lu Jingheng, that bastard, would come to eat for free, nor did she expect that he would actually eat with his belly full.
He ate two pieces from the big plate of braised pork, and the rest, including the soup and meat, went into his stomach.
Although he gave Bai Yangfan two pieces of lean meat in the middle of the meal, she refused and he ate them all without hesitation.
After finishing the meat, he started to eat other things. He ate up all the vegetable meatballs, four-happiness meatballs, garlic, celery, tofu, and cabbage.
There were six dishes, and except for the fish, which I didn't eat much, the rest were all devoured in no time.
The moment he put down his chopsticks, Lu Jingheng was extremely satisfied, licking his face and smiling happily: "Yangfan! I didn't expect your cooking skills are so good. Even ordinary tofu can be fried so deliciously. I will have a good meal from now on. After eating the food you cook, I feel that what I ate before was pig food.
I don't care. From now on, I want to eat with you. Tomorrow, I will bring all the rice and grain, and give you the money and tickets. We will eat from the same pot. Today is the most satisfying meal I have had since I came to Liujia Village."
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