Chapter 7
7.
Cheng Lingjun boiled a pot of water, plucked the rabbit's fur, and removed the rabbit's internal organs, setting them aside.
Li Guang stood to the side, unable to offer any help, and watched with curiosity as his father processed the rabbit. Looking at the disemboweled rabbit, he felt both scared and curious, and he admired his father's calm and composed demeanor immensely.
Cheng Lingjun poured out the dirty water, then took clean water from the water tank and poured it into the pot. Looking at the little water left in the water tank, she frowned imperceptibly.
While waiting for the water to heat up, he instructed Li Guang to fetch a bucket of rice and steam it.
Li Guang nodded, took a few steps, then came back and asked, "Dad, wasn't half a tube of rice enough before? Do you need a whole tube today?"
Cheng Lingjun nodded and said, "Steam more."
"Oh," Li Guang thought his father wanted to eat more, so he ran to the rice jar and filled it with rice.
The kitchen in the house that Cheng Lingjun rented had two stoves. He usually used one stove to steam rice and the other to stir-fry vegetables. He used to cook at his husband's house, but after marrying into the Li family, he didn't do much of the cooking. He had servants to take care of him, although there were only a few. He didn't have to do these chores, and he enjoyed a leisurely life for several years until he got divorced and picked up these chores again.
Actually, it wasn't that difficult. He thought that compared to doing rough and heavy work, he felt it was harder to stay in his ex-wife's house and be surrounded by that family. Compared to being well-fed and clothed in that house but feeling cold-hearted, it would be better to live in seclusion in a mountain village and be self-sufficient.
He cut the rabbit into pieces, put it in a pot of cold water to blanch it and remove the blood, then added some scallions and ginger to remove the foam.
Once the rabbit's blood had been completely boiled out, he took the rabbit meat out. Then he poured some oil into the pot, added sugar and stir-fried it until it caramelized. He then added the rabbit meat and stir-fried it. After that, he added star anise, scallions, ginger and other seasonings. Once the aroma was released, he finally poured in water, covered the pot and simmered it for 15 minutes.
Cheng Lingjun also picked some water spinach from his small vegetable garden and cooked it together with the vegetables before serving it in the pot, and their lunch was ready.
Cheng Lingjun was about to get a plate to serve the food when she turned around and saw that Li Guang was already prepared and looking at her with shining eyes.
Cheng Lingjun laughed and said, "What? You dare to eat again?"
Li Guang chuckled, "Dad's cooking smells so good, it must be delicious!"
Because Li Guang has short legs, Cheng Lingjun was afraid he would get burned, so she only let him carry the food. Li Guang took the food and put it on the small table where they usually ate. When he turned around, he saw that his father had filled another bowl with rice. He was about to take it when Cheng Lingjun shook his head and put the bowl on the stove next to him.
"Father?" Li Guang asked, puzzled.
Cheng Lingjun didn't say anything. He turned around and scooped out half of the rabbit meat, placing it back on the stove. Then he scooped out the rest of the rabbit meat and placed it on the dining table.
Li Guang sat at the dining table, somewhat impatiently saying, "Dad, come and eat!"
Cheng Lingjun was cleaning up the stains left from cooking when he said, "You eat first, Dad's not in a hurry."
Cheng Lingjun usually liked to clean the stove before eating, and Li Guang would wait for him. This time was no exception. He said, "Then I'll wait for Dad."
Cheng Lingjun simply wiped it down and finished quickly. However, instead of heading towards the dining table, he found an old lunchbox from somewhere and put the bowl of rice and half a rabbit meat inside.
He turned to Li Guang and said, "No need to wait for Dad. The food won't taste good if it gets cold. Dad will be back to eat in a bit. Xiao Guang, you eat first."
Li Guang asked anxiously, "Father, where are you going?"
“Go…” Cheng Lingjun wanted to say go to the house of the female hooligan across the street, but was afraid that Li Guang would hear it and lose his appetite, so she changed her mind and said, “Go thank the neighbor who gave us the rabbit, and apologize to her while you’re at it.”
“Oh,” Li Guang hesitated again, “Should I go with Father…”
"No need, Xiao Guang, eat your food properly. Dad will be back soon," Cheng Lingjun said a few words, and only left home after seeing Li Guang sit down obediently.
He walked straight to the opposite side. The house across the street was surrounded by a circle of dry firewood, and the yard, overgrown with weeds, was clearly visible. The gate was not properly closed, which the owner must have neglected in a fit of anger. Of course, it was also possible that closing the gate would have been pointless, so they simply ignored it.
Cheng Lingjun hesitated for a moment, but still went inside. When he got to the outside, the door was tightly closed and there was no sound from inside. He knocked on the door and heard someone inside say, "Who is it?" in a tone that was a little impatient and angry.
Cheng Lingjun pursed her lips and remained silent.
The person inside was clearly unhappy. They strode towards the door and slammed it open.
"It's—you?" Guan Yue's eyes widened suddenly.
Cheng Lingjun noticed the yellow fruit peel hanging from the corner of her mouth and imagined that she must have been eating some fruit when his visit interrupted her.
Guan Yue twitched her nostrils and looked down to see her good neighbor carrying a food box, from which wafted an enticing aroma.
Guan Yue's eyes lit up, and then she heard Cheng Lingjun say, "This rabbit was a gift from you. Now that it's cooked, I'll give you half."
Guan Yue's face lit up with joy. "Give me... no, didn't you say you didn't want the rabbit I was giving you?"
Her face instantly darkened, and she said coldly, "Didn't you say you were 'weak and easily bullied,' that I 'harassed respectable women,' and that you wanted to 'fight to the death' with me?"
Cheng Lingjun's lips twitched. She remembered it so clearly. He originally just wanted to return a favor and apologize before leaving, but hearing her words, it felt like she was holding a grudge. But hadn't he said those things before?
He said calmly, "What Miss Guan did before, wasn't it 'harassing respectable women'? I'm just stating the facts. Has Miss Guan forgotten what she did?"
Guan Yue was speechless again. She couldn't possibly say that it wasn't the real her, or that the current Guan Yue wasn't the Guan Yue of the past, but a Guan Yue possessed by a new soul, could she?
"Then why are you bringing meat again?" Guan Yue asked, puzzled. Didn't he say not to bother him?
Cheng Lingjun sighed, "I misunderstood. I thought you didn't hunt this rabbit on the mountain yourself. Now that I know, I've come to apologize. I was wrong."
Guan Yue was taken aback. "You knew? How did you find out? No, how did you misunderstand? I told you I picked it up on the mountain... I bet you didn't know it. Would I lie to you?"
Cheng Lingjun looked at Guan Yue with a hint of doubt. He looked at her seriously and asked sincerely, "Have you really forgotten what you did before?"
"I...I..." Guan Yue truly didn't know, and she said, sweating profusely, "I forgot..."
"I have amnesia. I don't even know who you are," Guan Yue said helplessly, resorting to the amnesia trick. She knew it was impossible for people not to notice the problem, and she didn't intend to continue the old Guan Yue's way of doing things. Since she had been found out, she simply stopped pretending and just pretended to have amnesia and give up. She didn't know anything about what that bastard Guan Yue had done in the past.
Now it was Cheng Lingjun's turn to be surprised. He murmured, "No wonder he seemed like a completely different person..."
Guan Yue was sweating profusely.
But Cheng Lingjun never imagined that Guan Yue's body was inhabited by a new soul. He hadn't known Guan Yue for long and wasn't her relative or friend, so he was the least concerned about her changes. He quickly accepted this explanation. Although he had some doubts, it was clear that Guan Yue's amnesia was actually a good thing for him.
However, Cheng Lingjun still reminded me: "I am a divorced man who moved to Dahuai Village last month. My surname is Cheng and my given name is Lingjun. Ling means 'ambition'. I have a son named Liguang. Since we are neighbors, we can help each other. But please do not overstep your bounds and do the same things you did before. Although I was divorced, I am still a man of integrity. I hope you will repent and start anew."
“D- ...
He couldn't be described as acting like a woman, but... how should I put it, he spoke like the kind of words that women in ancient times would say, but... isn't he a man? Why does he always seem afraid of being bullied by her in front of her?
And is this "abandonment" what she thought it meant?
Cheng Lingjun frowned. "You forgot? It seems you really have amnesia. Oh well, this matter is not worth mentioning anyway. I've said what I needed to say. Here, take this food and eat it while it's hot."
Guan Yue took the food box but didn't go inside to eat. She looked at the man, trying to figure out what was going on, and finally couldn't help but ask, "When you said 'divorce,' did you mean your wife... no, your wife divorced you? Or did you divorce... that..."
She never expected that her neighbor was divorced. Although she was surprised, it was her private matter and she shouldn't have asked. But she was just too curious and couldn't stand it. She felt that there was something the world was hiding from her, something very important. She was standing behind this huge, secretive window, wanting to touch it, yet afraid of touching something she shouldn't.
Cheng Lingjun raised his eyebrows high. "Madam? You mean my wife? That's a ridiculous question. Divorce, divorce, of course it's her who divorces me, or me who divorces her? If I divorced her, why would I move to this rural area where I have no relatives or friends? Why don't I go back to my husband's family?"
Guan Yue sensed the other person's displeasure, but she couldn't care less. All she could think about was, "Here, women can divorce men? Women have a higher status than men? Does that mean I've come to a good place?" No, wait, this isn't a good place either. No matter what, even if she had no other attachments, this backward ancient world couldn't compare to the convenience of modern times.
"I'm sorry!" Guan Yue apologized immediately. "I really have amnesia. Don't be angry. I didn't mean to. You must have had a hard time raising a child alone. Fortunately, men are strong and healthy after all..."
Cheng Lingjun couldn't even muster the anger anymore. He realized that the woman's amnesia was real; not only had she lost her memory, but her mind was also confused. "How can men be strong and powerful? It's women who have strength. Men can only bear children and manage household chores. How can they compare to you women, who can do whatever they want and say whatever nonsense you want..."
Guan Yue could no longer hear what he was saying.
Only a few words echoed in her mind: a man getting pregnant and giving birth...
A man...gets pregnant...gives a child...
The man... is pregnant...
man……
No, a man! Is pregnant?!
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