Rong Zhaonan looked at Ning Yuan's slender back thoughtfully.
The way she looked at him just now carried an almost sorrowful anger. Why did she react so strongly?
Before he could think further, Grandma Xia excitedly pulled him along, saying, "Young man, give me all the fish you grilled. I saw you eating grilled fish the other day."
Rong Zhaonan adjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose: "...Grandma, don't push your luck."
Grandma Xia licked her lips and snorted coldly, "I knew you were just pretending, you're so stingy."
With that, she turned and stormed off, and Rong Zhaonan followed her without any expression.
Grandma Xia and her husband lived not far from the cowshed, in a half-collapsed mud-brick house at the foot of the mountain.
A gaunt old man lay deep inside the mud-brick house, sleeping on a straw-covered floor, with two broken bowls and a dark aluminum pot beside him.
Ning Yuan was stunned. She had thought that Rong Zhaonan's cowshed was bad enough, but she never expected that there were houses that were even worse and more dilapidated than cowsheds.
Before she arrived at Grandma Xia's house, she had guessed that Grandma Xia and her husband might be having a hard time.
But she never imagined their lives would be so...difficult.
Seeing someone enter, the coughing old man struggled to sit up—
"Ahem... Is this Xiao Rong? My wife has bothered you again, hasn't she? I'm so sorry."
The old man had a pair of glasses on his nose that were missing a leg and only had half a lens left, and he spoke with a strong Beijing accent.
Ning Yuan could tell from his speech that he was an intellectual and was probably someone who had been sent down for reform through labor.
Grandma Xia darted from behind Ning Yuan to the old man's side and helped him up: "Hey, old man, there's food! Eel porridge, it smells so good!"
Ning Yuan was amazed by Grandma Xia's agility; the old lady was incredibly nimble.
"What eel porridge... You went to ask Xiao Rong for food again, you can't have it!" The old man got up shakily.
The aroma of the remaining half-pot of eel porridge wafted through the room. He couldn't help but swallow, but still shook his head at Grandma Xia: "Next time, don't do this again..."
Seeing this, Ning Yuan sighed inwardly, picked up the pot and walked over, placing it beside the old man's bed: "The porridge is here, you can eat it."
There weren't even any stools in the house, so the food had to be placed on the floor.
"This is your dinner, right? Take it back. The young people need to work in the fields, so they can't go hungry. We have sweet potatoes. The older folks don't eat much, so they won't be hungry."
The old man shakily adjusted his glasses and shook his head.
"Old man, you're so sick, how can you not eat? Your illness is caused by hunger!" Grandma Xia said angrily, shoving the pot into his arms.
Ning Yuan glanced at the two small sweet potatoes in the dark, broken pot on the side, and felt a mix of emotions.
The elderly man, who clearly needed food, politely refused the food his wife had taken, which saddened Ning Yuan.
Ning Yuan squatted down, picked up the broken bowl beside the bed, filled it with porridge, and handed it to him: "Uncle Tang, you also have to work. This is something I gave to Grandma Xia on my own initiative."
She remembered the manure cart not far away and finally recognized who the elderly couple were.
They were an elderly couple who were responsible for hauling manure and composting it in the team.
This job is dirty, smelly, and tiring, so everyone avoids it and we rarely see each other, let alone speak to each other.
She had only vaguely heard that the old man who shoveled manure was surnamed Tang, but she never expected him to be such a refined and gentle old man.
Grandpa Tang looked at Ning Yuan and smiled kindly: "Ahem...you're Xiao Rong's boyfriend, right...ahem...you're both good people."
Ning Yuan smiled and said, "We still have three fish for dinner, and this porridge was brought to you by Dr. Rong... Zhao Nan asked me to deliver it to you."
Seeing that her old man was willing to eat, Grandma Xia was overjoyed and quickly took a spoon to feed Grandpa Tang: "Yes, I didn't lie to you, old man, eat quickly."
Only then did Grandpa Tang allow Grandma Xia to feed him eel porridge.
Rong Zhaonan entered without saying a word, and looked at Ning Yuan's slender back as she squatted there, his lips curving slightly.
The fragrant aroma of the fish porridge made Grandma Xia lick her lips, but she didn't say anything.
Grandpa Tang pushed the pot towards Grandma Xia: "You eat too. I'm sick and can't help you, but you still have to go to work tomorrow."
Grandma Xia suddenly turned around, grabbed another broken bowl, and stuffed two pieces of sweet potato into her mouth: "I don't like eel porridge, it's too fishy."
Grandpa Tang was taken aback and coughed, "Cough cough cough... Old woman, you really are... If you don't eat, how can I eat?"
Watching the elderly couple, who had supported each other through thick and thin, refuse each other's food and try to find excuses to get each other to eat, Ning Yuan couldn't help but feel a little teary-eyed.
She suddenly stood up: "Since Grandma Xia doesn't like eel porridge, Zhao Nan and I have some grilled fish. Anyway, we can't eat that much fish, so I'll get you two."
As she spoke, she walked towards the door.
Grandpa Tang was taken aback, then quickly said, "Wait a minute, there's no need..."
Grandma Xia quickly pressed down on Grandpa Tang's hand and chuckled, "Working people should help each other. If the little girl is willing to get me grilled fish, I'll eat it."
"You..." Grandpa Tang wanted to say something.
"Stop with the porridge, hurry up and finish it so I can wash the pot and take it back to them. Don't let it interfere with the newlyweds' enjoyment tonight."
Grandma Xia unceremoniously stuffed a spoonful of porridge into Grandpa Tang's mouth.
Grandma Xia's rude and blunt words made Ning Yuan blush instantly, and she almost tripped over herself, so she quickly reached out to hold onto the wall.
How can this old lady speak so boldly in this day and age? Isn't she afraid of being called a hooligan?
Instead of holding onto the wall, she grabbed Rong Zhaonan's strong arm by the door.
Rong Zhaonan reached out to support her and said calmly, "Be careful, it's dark in the room."
Ning Yuan felt the scent of soap and grass on the other person brush past her ear, and her ears immediately burned: "I'm fine!"
After saying that, she hurriedly steadied herself and quickly walked outside.
Watching Ning Yuan dart out of his arms like a frightened little rabbit, a strange light flashed in Rong Zhaonan's long, deep eyes.
When Ning Yuan brought back the two grilled fish, Grandma Xia wolfed them down.
Of course, she didn't forget to specifically choose boneless fish and force it into Grandpa Tang's mouth.
Finally, Ning Yuan and Rong Zhaonan carried the empty aluminum pot back to their cowshed hut.
In the southern countryside on a late autumn night, insects chirped and the air was still filled with the fragrance of grass and trees.
Ning Yuan sat by the simple earthen stove in the backyard, looking at the remaining small roasted sea bass, her expression shifting in a complex way.
How awful! A day spent being moved by someone else's love, and then... I starved to death.
I should have kept the biggest fish when I got the fish earlier!
It's so small, barely enough for her to eat, not to mention there's a big man next to her waiting to be fed!
"What, aren't you going to eat?" Rong Zhaonan looked at the rich expressions on Ning Yuan's face and inexplicably wanted to laugh.
Is this little spy now realizing that one fish isn't enough for them to share? Is he regretting it now?
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