"You want to drink?" A hint of surprise flashed in Lu Ze's eyes. "Aren't you... allergic to alcohol?"
"Allergic to alcohol? When did I become allergic to alcohol?" Yu Yao asked in confusion.
Lu Ze raised his eyes and reminded her, "Last time at the Wang family's house."
Hearing him say that, Yu Yao finally remembered.
The last time at the Wang family's house, when Wang Xiahe was about to pour her some wine, she said this.
"So you were talking about that time? I was just lying to Wang Xiahe. I just don't have a high alcohol tolerance, and I tend to black out when I drink too much. A little bit is fine. Actually, I quite like drinking, but I prefer fruit wine. Baijiu is too strong."
Yu Yao remarked with admiration, "Last time you heard it even though you were so far away in the main room and it was so noisy all around. Sure enough, the King of Soldiers has very sharp ears."
Lu Ze glanced at her but didn't tell her.
No matter how noisy the surroundings were, in his eyes, she was the only one who was special.
Seeing him lost in thought, Yu Yao waved her hand in front of him. "What are you thinking about? You're so engrossed. You still haven't answered me which fruit wine you like?"
"I wasn't thinking about anything." Lu Ze glanced at the different kinds of fruit wines. They were all pretty much the same to him; he didn't particularly like any of them, but he didn't dislike any either. "Which one do you like?"
Me?
Yu Yao thought for a moment, "When I first bought them, I actually secretly tasted some. The fruit wines brewed by the supply and marketing cooperative taste quite different. Compared to the sweet sugarcane wine and lychee wine, I prefer the light and slightly sweet longan wine. It has a slightly sour taste, which is very special."
When she spoke, her eyes were full of smiles, and it was clear that she really liked it.
"Lu Ze, if you don't have a favorite wine, would you like to try longan wine?" Yu Yao invited Lu Ze.
Lu Ze's lips curled into a slight smile. "Okay."
"Wait for me, I'll go to the kitchen and get an enamel mug. It'll be easier to drink from there." Without giving Lu Ze a chance to speak, she grabbed the fruit wine and dashed off to the kitchen.
After pouring the longan wine, Yu Yao took a quick look around the main room and, taking advantage of Lu Ze's inattention, poured a small bottle capful of medicinal wine from the cupboard into the room.
After pouring Lu Ze's drink, Yu Yao didn't forget to pour herself some women's beverage.
Her period hadn't come yet, and Sun Yu's sister-in-law said that this wine was nourishing and blood-tonifying, using a traditional Yao medicine recipe, which was more effective than the medicine prescribed by the hospital.
This attempt to probe Lu Ze's secret must not be too deliberate; it would be awkward if Lu Ze found out that he knew his secret.
My best friend once said that this is a matter of a man's dignity, and it's as delicate as a tiger's whiskers—it shouldn't be touched lightly.
After pouring the medicinal wine, Yu Yao shook it well and smelled the two enamel cups.
The flavors have subtle differences, which are masked by the aroma of the wine and are almost undetectable.
"The one on the left is mine, and the one on the right is Lu Ze's." Yu Yao noted down the positions to avoid serving the wrong things later.
As Yu Yao was about to hand Lu Ze his enamel mug after leaving the kitchen, she suddenly heard someone calling her from outside.
"Yu Yao, are you home?"
"It's Aunt Meihua, I'll go out and take a look." Yu Yao put down her enamel cup, and when she did so, she made sure to give Lu Ze's cup first. "This cup is for you."
After Yu Yao left, Lu Ze took out a small notebook, flipped to a certain page, crossed out "She is allergic to alcohol" and changed it to "She likes to drink, but can't drink too much, or she will black out." Then he added a sentence below: "She likes fruit wine, but not white wine."
After finishing writing, Lu Ze stuffed the notebook into his uniform pocket and sat down to peel shrimp for Yu Yao.
With slender fingers, she deftly peeled the shrimp meat from its shell, revealing its red and white flesh in no time.
Lu Ze placed the peeled shrimp into Yu Yao's bowl, and inadvertently noticed the enamel mug in front of her.
"So much wine?" Remembering what she had said about not drinking too much, Lu Ze switched their enamel cups.
He drank a lot, and gave the rest to Yu Yao.
The person who came into the courtyard was Su Meihua.
"Yu Yao, you haven't finished dinner yet, have you?"
Su Meihua handed a plate of scallion pancakes to Yu Yao, saying, "When Lao Lei came back earlier, he said he wanted to eat the chive dumplings I made, so I made a lot and thought I'd bring some for you and Commander Lu to try."
"These dumplings smell delicious, thank you, Sister Meihua."
"No need to thank me, I haven't thanked you for the mackerel yet. My son and I both love your pan-fried mackerel, we even ate the bones. Here are the dumplings, I still have some vegetables cooking in the pot, I'll go back now."
Yu Yao, carrying a bowl of dumplings, said, "Take care, sister-in-law."
Upon entering the main room, Yu Yao placed the dumplings in the center of the table.
"Sister Meihua's family is having chive and egg dumplings tonight, and they gave us a bowl. I was worried that I had forgotten to make a staple food, but now we're all set."
The dumplings were filled with chives and eggs, and had dried shrimp added; they were quite large.
Yu Yao ate two and felt that was enough, so she gave the rest to Lu Ze.
"Lu Ze, don't just drink alcohol, try this oyster. It's my first time making it, see if it's good?" Yu Yao's voice carried a hint of enticement.
Although Lu Ze felt she was being too enthusiastic tonight, he didn't think much of it, ate a few, and thought they tasted good.
"Don't just look at me, you eat too." Lu Ze handed her an oyster.
Yu Yao took it and tasted it.
Sister-in-law Yu Feng's chopped chili sauce paired with garlic-flavored oysters creates a wonderful combination of garlicky and spicy aromas.
Especially these oysters, no wonder they were just plucked from the beach this afternoon. They tasted so much fresher than the seafood stalls she had in her previous life.
Unbeknownst to her, Yu Yao had eaten several more.
When I remembered, there were only three or four left.
She left everything to Lu Ze, picked up the enamel cup next to her, and took a sip of wine.
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