Chapter 45 Chapter 45

Jia Guoye’s cakes are made with solid ingredients and are reasonably priced. They have a good reputation, so they always sell well.

It was still morning, but the sun was already scorching.

Jia Guoye put down the wooden box and sat under the shade of the tree at the gate of the county middle school.

This place is conspicuous and has a large flow of people. Teachers, parents and students are more willing to spend a few cents to buy food.

There are many stalls along the road, some selling glutinous rice balls and mahua, some selling steamed buns, some selling dried bean spicy chicken feet, some selling dumplings and wontons... In short, there are all kinds of things.

These vendors are all familiar with each other. When there is no business, they occasionally sit down and chat to relieve boredom. When they are hungry, they exchange food with each other. After all, the price is about the same, and no one will suffer a loss.

"Jia Guoye, I am a little hungry. Give me a vegetarian pancake. I will fill a bowl of tofu pudding for you and add more sugar."

The person who spoke was Qian Lixiang, and he was quite familiar with him.

Jia Guoye thought about it and felt that it was so hot. He put the tofu pudding in the well water to cool it for a while, and then took it out. It was cool and sweet. It must be delicious and refreshing. It was just right for Xiaorui to eat.

He took out a pancake from the wooden box, wrapped it in paper and handed it to Qian Lixiang, saying lightly: "Meat."

"Oh my god, so generous?" Qian Lixiang said in surprise.

He immediately took the pancake and put it on his thigh.

Qian Lixiang squatted, opened the lid of the bucket, held a small white iron shovel in his right hand and a clean bowl in his left hand. When he was about to serve him tofu pudding, he was stopped by Jia Guoye.

"Wait, give it to me when you close the stall." He said, "Please lend me your bowl to take home, and I will wash it and return it to you tomorrow."

Qian Lixiang said, "Oh, okay, you have to take it home."

He put the lid back on, put the small iron shovel on the lid, and started to eat the pancake.

With a dry and sticky mouth, Jia Guoye restrained himself and took a sip of the water he brought with him. He couldn't drink too much because there was still a lot of time left.

Qian Lixiang ate most of the fragrant meat pie and said, "Why don't you eat now? It's so hot, eat a few mouthfuls of tofu pudding to cool down."

Jia Guoye shook his head, raised his eyebrows to wake himself up, and said, "No need."

Qian Lixiang asked, "Are you going to take it home for others to eat?"

Jia Guoye: "Yes."

"Who?" Qian Lixiang asked curiously.

Jia Guoye: "My wife."

Qian Lixiang immediately looked at him in shock and asked in disbelief: "You have a wife?"

He showed a miserable look and said resentfully: "You have a wife, but I don't have one yet."

As soon as he finished speaking, Qian Lixiang immediately realized that what he said was inappropriate. He apologized and said repeatedly: "Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to mock you."

"It's okay." Jia Guoye said.

He had heard many more unpleasant sarcasms. He would not mind such words, but he would take it to heart more or less.

The reason why he took it to heart was not because he hated Qian Lixiang, but because of his inferiority complex.

Jia Guoye thought that the fact that he had a wife surprised outsiders so much. If people saw such a lovely and beautiful Xiao Rui, they would probably be so surprised that their jaws would really drop.

Thinking of this, a faint smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

Qian Lixiang was surprised to see him smile, because he had almost never seen Jia Guoye smile in his memory.

"Do you think of your wife?" he asked.

Jia Guoye didn't say anything, but didn't deny it.

Qian Lixiang smiled knowingly: "Are you two on good terms?"

"Yeah." This time Jia Guoye answered him with three simple words: "Not bad."

Qian Lixiang also guessed that Jia Guoye looked like this and didn't have much money, so the woman who could marry him must have some unspeakable secrets. The two of them must have supported each other in their lives, and they must be very loving.

…

More and more people came to buy cakes. After Jia Guoye sold the last cake, he did not pack up and go home. Instead, he lit a cigarette and waited for Qian Lixiang to sell his tofu pudding.

Qian Lixiang ate one of his meat cakes today, and because he said something wrong, he felt guilty, so he left two big bowls of tofu pudding for him and added several spoons of sugar, saying that it was for him and his younger siblings.

They talked about birthdays when they were chatting before. They are the same age. Jia Guoye was born in October, two months younger than Qian Lixiang.

Jia Guoye did not refuse, he thanked him, took two bowls of tofu pudding and carefully put them into the wooden box, then carefully carried the box on his back, wearing a straw hat, and walked steadily and quickly to get on the tractor.

Qian Lixiang had no one to take care of him at home, so he was not in a hurry to leave after closing the stall. It was very comfortable to sit under the shade of the tree. The sun was shining outside, and he leisurely lit a cigarette, smoking it slowly, enjoying this pleasant moment.

"Qian Lixiang, did I hear it right? Jia Guoye said he has a wife?" A young man approached him with a sly look on his face, and said with a teasing look: "What does his wife look like? How could she like him?"

The person who spoke was Li Nanji, who was two years older than Qian Lixiang and had already married and had children.

Qian Lixiang glanced at him and spit on his face, making him cough repeatedly.

"It's none of your business." Qian Lixiang looked at him with disdain: "You talk so much, like a eunuch."

Li Nanji blushed and turned pale: "How can you talk like that? I just asked you a question, why are you so crazy?"

"Tsk." Qian Lixiang sneered, obviously unwilling to say another word to him.

Shen Dali pulled the angry Li Nanji away and whispered in his ear to comfort him: "Don't bother with the country goods, you will lose your identity."

These vendors are also divided into two factions, one is the "county town faction", whose families live in the county town or not far from the county town; the other is the "country town faction", whose families live in the village and have to take a bus to the county town.

Jia Guoye and Qian Lixiang both belong to the latter, while Shen Dali and Li Nanji belong to the former.

Although the two groups cannot be said to be clearly divided, there is more or less some distance between them. The vendors of the "county town faction" have always looked down on them, the people from the country, openly or secretly, and claim to be more polite and courteous.

…

The tractor was shaking abnormally. Jia Guoye held the wooden box in his arms and tried his best to reduce the vibration. The tractor took him to the town. He paid the money and got off.

Next, he had to walk home. It was not far, about two kilometers.

The double robbery was over, and the burden on the farmers was lightened a lot. They could finally let go of their worries and have some time to rest and have fun.

Jia Guoye went home with his box on his back. Smoke from cooking in every household rose, and he quickened his pace.

He knocked on the door, and it opened after a while.

Jia Yourui's eyebrows were curved, and she smiled like a delicate and pure lily.

She said, "You're back." This dispelled the fatigue in his heart.