Chapter 21: You're just asking around, but you're really stepping on a landmine...
He Chengze frowned: "Sister?"
"That's right," Tian Hui said matter-of-factly. "You're so young, you must not be married yet."
He Chengze frowned even more tightly: "How do you know I have a sister?"
A normal person would have thought she was an older sister or a younger sister, or maybe a cousin. How come this guy immediately concluded that Jiang Xueyi was his sister?
Tian Hui's heart skipped a beat. After all, she had lived a lifetime longer than the others. She quickly realized, "I was just guessing based on your ages."
"Then you guessed wrong, that's my lover." He Chengze said coldly.
Tian Hui was shocked and blurted out: "When did you get married?"
He Chengze asked back: "Does this have anything to do with you?"
Tian Hui smiled awkwardly: "It doesn't matter much..."
Damn it, how could she forget that this was the first time they met.
I'm not familiar with it at all.
He Chengze sternly scolded, "Don't ask about things you shouldn't ask about. Focus on your own business. If you ask about it again, I will complain to your head nurse."
Tian Hui was scolded until her face turned red.
Jiang Xueyi leaned against the door frame and watched for a while.
What can I say? Is the encounter between the hero and heroine inevitable? I never thought that they would run into this.
She smiled and said, "Old He, don't be so serious. I'm just a little girl."
He Chengze saw Jiang Xueyi coming out and hurried over to help her: "Just because she is a little girl, she should be taught the rules early. Flowers in a greenhouse cannot withstand the wind and rain."
Jiang Xueyi glanced at Tian Hui and found it funny to see her face turning pale and blue.
She said gently, "Nurse, please don't mind me. My old He is a soldier, and confidentiality is the most important thing in the army."
You're asking around and you're just stepping on a landmine.
Tian Hui looked at Jiang Xueyi in surprise and doubt. Where did this woman come from?
When did He Chengze get married?
How come this is completely different from my previous life!
Her eyes flickered: "I didn't take it to heart, thank you for speaking for me..."
"You're welcome." Jiang Xueyi smiled and touched her belly. "I'm going to give birth in two months. I'll have to trouble the doctors and nurses in your hospital. I should say thank you."
The smile on Tian Hui's face became even stiffer. She didn't know what she had said. Finally, she sent the two people out of the hospital in a daze.
He Chengze didn't care about Tian Hui at all. In his eyes, she was just a nurse who was asking questions without following the rules. He had no idea that someone was actually thinking about him.
Jiang Xueyi walked out of the hospital and basked in the sunshine. She turned around and glanced at Tian Hui. She was in the shadows and her expression could not be seen clearly.
She understands that Tian Hui wanted to live a better life after being reborn.
But she had finally escaped from the cannibalistic apocalypse, had a husband and children, and a complete family. She didn't want to be cannon fodder.
If the life Tian Hui wants is based on sacrificing her and her child's happiness, then she cannot obey.
The bus back home wouldn't arrive for another two hours, so the two of them simply found a place to rest.
There are two benches at the entrance of the supply and marketing cooperative, which is just right here.
He Chengze went to buy two bottles of soda, one white peach flavor and one lychee flavor. He gave the un-iced one to Jiang Xueyi.
Jiang Xueyi held the straw and drank the soda in small sips.
He Chengze drank the soda in one gulp and put the glass bottle aside.
He touched his smooth chin without a single stubble and asked Jiang Xueyi: "Do I look old?"
Jiang Xueyi looked carefully at his angular profile: "Who said that, young and handsome, this word is used to describe you."
She added, "Why do you ask this suddenly?"
He Chengze tutted his words, "It's that nurse from before. She said you were my sister and I was here to accompany you for your prenatal checkup." He then added, "How do I look any older than you?"
Jiang Xueyi: "Ahem, strictly speaking, you are indeed three years older than me."
He Chengze: "I was born at the end of December, so I'm two years older than you."
Jiang Xueyi was happy: "Okay, okay, two years old is two years old."
He Chengze snorted and said, "That young nurse has no taste. We look like a couple at first glance."
Jiang Xueyi's eyes curved: "Yes, she has no taste."
"No." He Chengze stood up, pulled Jiang Xueyi and left.
Jiang Xueyi said, "Hey, where are you taking me?"
He Chengze said as he walked: "Anyway, the shuttle bus hasn't arrived yet. I saw a photo studio nearby. Let's go take a picture there."
"Take a photo?" Jiang Xueyi asked, "Didn't we take a photo before? When we got our marriage certificate."
After getting the marriage certificate, as usual, we took a photo at the photo studio next door.
The two of them were relatively unfamiliar with each other at the time, and they were quite perfunctory when taking the photo. There was enough space between them in the photo for one more person to stand.
He Chengze paused and said, "I'm not satisfied with that photo. Take another one."
Okay, just take the photo.
The two of them arrived at the photo studio, and there was only one family there. Taking photos was not cheap these days, and only a few people could afford to have them taken. Most people only brought their whole family to the photo studio to take family photos during the holidays, or for newlyweds to take wedding photos, which were all major events in life.
He Chengze: "Master, we want to take a picture."
The photographer glanced at them and said, "One dollar per photo. How many photos do you want?"
He Chengze was about to speak when Jiang Xueyi stopped him. She smiled and said, "Master, we just need to take a picture."
He Chengze raised his eyebrows and said... one is fine.
"Okay." The master responded, "Wait a moment, I'll take the photo of this family first."
The first people to take a photo were a family of five: a middle-aged couple, two children and an old lady.
The middle-aged couple were well-dressed and their temperament was different from that of ordinary people. They must be cadres.
The family of four quickly stood up according to the master's instructions, but the old lady refused to go up no matter what.
She waved her hands repeatedly and muttered, "I won't take any photos."
The man in the cadre couple said, "Why, Mom, why don't we take a family photo together?"
The old lady glared at him and said, "You idiot, what do you know?"
She pointed at the camera mysteriously and said, "I've seen it with my own eyes. This thing can steal souls and even suck blood from people!"
The man looked helpless: "How many times have I told you that taking pictures is just to record people, it won't bewitch people, and it won't suck their blood."
Fortunately, the crackdown has not been so strict in the past two years, otherwise if someone heard what he said, it would be a disaster.
The couple tried to persuade the old lady in every possible way, but she refused to go up and take the photo.
The master was at a loss, and looked at He Chengze and Jiang Xueyi and said, "Why don't you come up and take the photo first?"
The woman quickly said, "No, Master, we were here first."
The two children also responded: "Let's take pictures, let's take pictures!"
Jiang Xueyi looked at He Chengze and whispered, "Why don't we shoot again next time."
He Chengze's eyebrows were almost knotted: "I don't know when I will come to the city next time."
"Okay." Jiang Xueyi said, "Then you watch me."
She stepped forward, walked over to the old lady, and asked her, "Auntie, what you just said, that taking pictures can hook people's souls and suck their blood, is that true?"
The old lady glanced at her and said, "Comrade, you are still young. It's not surprising that you young people don't know some things."
Her cloudy eyes shifted uneasily. "This is all the wisdom passed down by the older generation. This foreign thing can take away half of a person's soul with a flash of a click! Haven't you seen the people in the photos? They look lively, but in fact they are just empty shells without souls..."
The master was speechless after hearing this. What the hell was going on?
He looked at Jiang Xueyi. The girl looked well-educated and would definitely not believe her.
Unexpectedly, Jiang Xueyi took a deep breath and said in agreement, "Ah, can it really suck away a person's soul?"
Seeing that someone believed her, the old lady became even more excited and raised three fingers: "Really? If I lied to you, I would be struck by lightning and die miserably."
Jiang Xueyi: "Then there's no need to swear so harshly." Then she said, "By the way, Auntie, have you seen other people who have taken photos?"
Old lady: “Yes.”
Jiang Xueyi: "Then were their souls also sucked away?"
The old lady sighed and said, "That's right."
Jiang Xueyi raised the corner of her mouth: "Auntie, what does a person whose soul is sucked away look like? Is he stupid and dumb, and drools?"
The old lady was stunned for a moment and said hesitantly: "That's not the case..."
Jiang Xueyi frowned and said, "Then the bewitching effect of this photo isn't that obvious."
The cadre couple originally thought that Jiang Xueyi was a superstitious person like the old lady, and they wondered how a young woman like her could believe such things.
After listening to this, I found that Jiang Xueyi was speaking for them.
The man quickly said, "Yes, Mom, don't you always say that taking pictures can steal a person's soul?" He added, "Look at Teacher Zhang who lives next door to us, and that bachelor in our village. They've both had their pictures taken, but how come their souls haven't been stolen? Teacher Zhang is a teacher, and I've never heard of anyone being able to teach someone to read and write even after their soul has been stolen."
The old lady's eyes were dull and her left and right brain began to fight against each other.
Jiang Xueyi continued, "By the way, you also said that taking pictures will suck blood. What's going on?"
The old lady perked up and slapped her thigh, saying, "Yes, yes, taking pictures will suck human blood. Think about it, if it doesn't suck human blood, where does it take those pictures?"
The master opened his mouth and wanted to explain the principles of photography to the old lady, but she might not understand, so he thought better of it.
Jiang Xueyi: "So that's how it is."
She patted her chest, as if relieved: "It's okay then."
The old lady was stunned, gesticulating excitedly, "How can it be alright? It's vampires! It's human blood!"
Jiang Xueyi blinked her eyes and said innocently, "I know." She added, "Isn't it just blood sucking? Mosquitoes also bite and suck blood. There are mosquitoes everywhere."
The old lady became even more dazed: ...
The man almost couldn't hold back his laughter, but Jiang Xueyi gave him a look, and he quickly stopped laughing. He coughed and said, "That's right, Mom, the cowshed in our hometown is not full of mosquitoes. You always tell me that you get bitten a lot every time you go in there."
The woman replied, "Perhaps the blood you suck from taking a photo is much less than the blood you get from mosquitoes in the cowshed."
The old lady looked dazed: "Is that so?"
He Chengze followed up: "Besides, there are five of you taking pictures. Even if you really sucked blood, the average amount per person would only be a little bit."
He said, "There are only two of us taking the photo. Logically, we should be more scared than you."
Jiang Xueyi glared at him. What kind of nonsense is this?
He Chengze winked at her: I learned all this from you.
The old lady thought about it and realized, "Oh, that's it."
The two of them are not afraid, so why should the five of them be afraid?
There is no harm without comparison.
The old lady waved her hand and said, "Okay, let's go take some pictures."
Everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.
As long as the old lady didn't hesitate, the family of five would finish taking the photo quickly.
Finally it was their turn to take pictures.
The master called out to them: "Go sit on that bench and get ready. I'll start filming."
He Chengze and Jiang Xueyi sat on the left and right respectively, following the principle of men on the left and women on the right.
He Chengze: "Come closer to me, a little closer."
Jiang Xueyi: ...
The master fiddled with the camera while saying, "Yes, head to head." He then added, "Smile a little, don't be so serious, smile brighter."
The two followed his instructions and did it one by one.
The men are handsome and the women are beautiful.
It is a truly pleasing picture.
"Click——"
As soon as the snow-white flash came on, the photo was taken.
He Chengze couldn't wait to get up, walked to the master's side, and said, "Can you show me the photo?"
The technician said, "It's still a negative. You need to use developer and fixer to develop the film before it can become a photo." He added, "Come back in a week to get it."
After saying that, he gave He Chengze a thumbs up and said, "Your wife was really good just now. She was able to persuade this stubborn old lady."
When someone praised Jiang Xueyi, He Chengze raised his head higher than anyone else, his eyes full of pride: "That is indeed worthy of recognition."
He paused, his eyes lit up, and he said, "Hey, can you tell that we are husband and wife?"
The master in this photo studio has much better vision than the young nurse in the military hospital!
Now it was the master's turn to be stunned. He asked hesitantly, "Aren't you two?"
He looked at He Chengze with a little more suspicion. The woman was pregnant. If they were not a couple, bringing someone else's pregnant woman to the photo studio to take a photo together...it was suspicious no matter how you looked at it.
I saw that the master's eyes were becoming more and more strange, as if he was going to call the police in the next second.
Jiang Xueyi quickly said, "We are husband and wife. If you don't believe me, I can show you our marriage certificate."
The master looked at Jiang Xueyi twice, and this woman looked sincere. He nodded and said, "I believe it."
"Come and get the photos in a week, right?" Jiang Xueyi dragged He Chengze, who was still about to ask the master if he looked much older than Jiang Xueyi, out. "Thank you for your hard work today."
After taking two steps, I realized something was wrong, as if I had forgotten something.
Suddenly I remembered that I haven’t paid yet!
Jiang Xueyi was at a loss for words. What was going on?
He hurried back and took out money from his pocket: "Master, one dollar, right? I forgot to give it to you just now."
The master waved his hand: "No need, I passed it."
Jiang Xueyi was stunned and signaled to He Chengze with her eyes: Did you give it to you?
He Chengze shook his head.
The master explained, "The couple just gave it to you and said they wanted to thank you."
Jiang Xueyi felt warm in her heart. There are still many kind people in the world who return favors.
But you can't take other people's money for free. One dollar is not too much, but not too little. It can buy seven or eight kilograms of rice. Next time I have the chance, I must return it to the owner.
After leaving the photo studio, I took the bus home.
When he got home, He Chengze asked Jiang Xueyi, "What do you want to eat for dinner?"
I was out and about all day today and didn't buy any groceries. All that's left at home are some groceries I bought two days ago.
Jiang Xueyi thought for a moment and said, "Why don't we just have hot pot?"
No matter what vegetables are left, cook them all in one pot.
In addition, it has rained for the past two days and the weather is a bit cold, so it is perfect to have a hot pot to warm up the body.
"Okay, I'll go prepare the food." He Chengze rolled up his sleeves and walked into the kitchen.
Jiang Xueyi said, "I remember there's a fish left at home, kept in a tank. How about we use pickled cabbage as the base for a hot pot, blanch the fish slices, and dip the other dishes in the base of the hot pot to stimulate our appetite."
"This is good." He Chengze licked his lower lip. He hadn't eaten pickled fish for a while.
But there was no sauerkraut at home, so Jiang Xueyi said, "I'll go next door and get some."
When I arrived at the Zhao family's door, I found it wide open and there was a lot of noise coming from inside.
Jiang Xueyi stood at the door: "Busy?"
"Xueyi, you're here." Liu Lu walked out of the house, pinching her eyebrows, looking annoyed.
Jiang Xueyi: "I came to ask for some pickled cabbage. We're going to have pickled cabbage fish hotpot tonight."
"Okay, I'll get it for you." Liu Lu said.
There was a sound of footsteps. Jiang Xueyi lowered her head and saw Zhao Xiaorui holding something and hiding behind her.
Zhao Xiaorui pouted and said, "Aunt Jiang, you have to make the decision for me."
Jiang Xueyi was happy: "Tell me what I want to do for you."
Before Zhao Xiaorui could say anything, Liu Lu interrupted her: "Ignore her." She then explained to Jiang Xueyi, "I took her back to my parents' house yesterday. She saw that my brother's bitch had given birth to several puppies and thought they were so cute. She begged my brother for one. My brother loved her, so he secretly brought one back for her without telling me and hid it in a box. I only discovered it when I got back and was about to return it to my brother, but this girl wouldn't let me."
Jiang Xueyi took a closer look and saw that what Zhao Xiaorui was holding in her arms was nothing but a little puppy.
With white fur, pointed ears and a pink nose, this looks like a Tusong, also known as the Chinese pastoral dog.
They are usually raised in the countryside to guard the house.
Xiao Tusong's eyes are particularly bright, with amber pupils embedded in light brown eye sockets. When he stares at people, they are wet like a pool of spring water.
It didn't know that its mistress didn't want it, and its tail was still spinning happily, swinging like a propeller.
Zhao Xiaorui said pitifully, "Mom, look how pitiful the puppy is. Let's keep it."
"No." Liu Lu said firmly, "It's pitiful, and I'm even more pitiful. I don't have time to help you clean up the dog hair and clean the house."
Zhao Xiaorui touched the little pine tree's ear and said, "I can clean it up myself." She added, "I can also be responsible for feeding it."
Zhao Xiaorui said coquettishly: "Mom, please——"
Liu Lu: "Even if you beg me, it's no use. I said I can't raise a dog. It's hard enough raising you, and you want to tire me out by raising a dog?" She added, "Besides, your dad goes to the army during the day, I go to the Women's Federation, and you have to go to the Red Raising Class. Who will take care of the puppy?"
Zhao Xiaorui's eyes lit up and she held up the little pine tree: "I can take it to school."
If she could bring the puppy to school, her classmates would be so envious of her.
Zhao Xiaorui tugged at the corner of Jiang Xueyi's clothes: "Aunt Jiang, please help me speak."
"Forget it." Liu Lu turned to Jiang Xueyi and said, "Don't worry about her. I'll go get you some pickled vegetables."
She entered the kitchen and soon brought Jiang Xueyi a bowl full of pickled vegetables: "Is it enough? If not, I have more."
"That's too much." Jiang Xueyi said, "I won't be polite with you. I'll make you a bowl of pickled fish."
"Okay." Liu Lu said, "You go back first, I'm still busy."
She dragged Zhao Xiaorui back to the house. Seeing the child's listless look, she thought she would probably get scolded.
Jiang Xueyi took the bowl home, and He Chengze took it and asked her, "What's the Zhao family arguing about?"
Jiang Xueyi said succinctly: "Xiao Rui wants to keep a dog, but Liu Lu won't let her."
He Chengze nodded: "It's right not to let him. Old Zhao is allergic to dog hair. If he has a dog at home, he will sneeze dozens of times a day."
He had already removed the fish meat, leaving the white fish bones, put it into the pan and fried it until golden brown, poured in water, and simmered it on high heat for three minutes. Finally, poured in the sauerkraut, added a handful of green onions and white tofu, and red chili peppers, and simmered it for another ten minutes. Before serving, sprinkled some salt and pepper to season it, and the aroma was immediately stimulated.
The sauerkraut fish soup was placed on the stove along with the pot. Jiang Xueyi picked up a piece of fish with chopsticks and put it in. After a while, the pink and tender fish meat turned milky white.
She blanched some more fish fillets, filled a bowl with it, and asked He Chengze to take it to the Zhao family.
When he came back, he said, "There's still a quarrel next door."
After blanching, the fish fillets are so delicious that you can swallow them with your tongue even without any seasoning.
The tofu and vegetables absorbed the soup so much that the juice overflowed in every bite.
After drinking a bowl of rich sour soup, the spicy taste goes straight down the throat into the stomach.
Jiang Xueyi was sweating while eating, and even the breath she exhaled had a sour and spicy taste. As her chopsticks flew, the table was full of fish bones that had been eaten clean, leaving only the sour soup boiling in the pot, still emitting an alluring aroma.
While eating, we couldn't help but talk about the old lady we met while taking photos today.
The reason was simple: the old lady was so impressive.
He Chengze laughed and said, "What do you think she was thinking? Taking a photo can be so alluring and blood-sucking. What if she saw a radio or a TV? Wouldn't she think there were some villains hiding inside to play a trick on her?"
Jiang Xueyi blinked twice: "People have suffered too much in this life, they have to believe in something to survive."
Judging from the old lady’s age, she is from the generation that experienced the founding of the People’s Republic of China.
Life back then was much harder and more severe than it is now.
There are actually quite a few people who believe this. She heard that one year there was a major earthquake and many survivors stayed in the ruins at night despite the danger of aftershocks just to see their deceased family members.
He Chengze was stunned: "What you said makes sense."
Jiang Xueyi picked up a piece of fish for him with her chopsticks and said with a smile, "It would be nice if taking photos could really be so captivating."
She pointed to the shadows of the two people cast on the wall by the light.
"Hook one of your souls, hook one of mine, and our two souls will be together even in a photo."
He Chengze followed her gaze and saw their shadows overlapping, as if they were holding hands.
He raised his head and looked at her smiling face.
The moment she smiled, the arc of her lips raised like a crescent moon breaking through the night sky, and her eyes flashed with tiny silver lights, like the twinkling stars in the charming night sky, so deep that it could almost suck him in.
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