Chapter 26
The night was dark and so quiet that only the chirping of insects could be heard.
Two kerosene lamps were lit in the kitchen, the flickering light illuminating the small space.
Zhou Jingchen must have been a bit tipsy, a faint blush appearing on his cheeks. He was already handsome, and this blush, paired with his less-than-cool demeanor, was truly captivating. Ye Jia silently cursed a hundred times at the "face-chaser" (people who only care about their looks) before ruthlessly ordering him to work. It was hilarious! What good was good looks? She was pretty too, didn't she? She still had to work, didn't she?
Zhou Jingchen was instructed by Ye Jia to knead a large bucket of dough. He followed without saying a word, and was so well-behaved that it was endearing.
Ye Jia watched him, muttering to herself that he was a good drinker, not going crazy when drunk. Zhou Jingchen finished his work and sat down nearby. Ye Jia glanced at him and placed the bowl containing about twenty eggs in his arms.
Zhou Jingchen raised his eyebrows when he looked at her in confusion. Ye Jia smiled and said, "Husband, my arm hurts. I'll leave this to you."
Zhou Jingchen: "..." What can I do? Of course I have to work.
Beating eggs is actually very quick; just beat the yolks and you're good to go. Zhou Jingchen finished the eggs in a few strokes and handed them back. While everyone was waiting for the dough to rise, he sat aside, watching Ye Jia frantically frying eggs through the smoke.
I wasn’t actually hungry after eating, but the smell of the eggs was so fragrant that it made me salivate.
Rui Jie'er didn't go to sleep at night, and followed Ye Jia around eagerly. Ye Jia fried a small bowl of soft-boiled eggs and mixed it with a little salt for her to eat as a snack.
In the hazy light of fireworks, Zhou Jingchen blinked slowly, catching a glimpse of the glistening sweat on the girl's forehead and nose. Perhaps he was a little drunk, and his eyes couldn't help but glance at the girl's bright red lips.
Ye Jia was so busy she didn't even notice his vague glance. She was in a hurry, having to get up early the next morning, so she quickly finished her work and went back to bed. To keep the eggs from cooling down quickly, she filled a basin with well water and placed the bowl of eggs in it to chill them. Once the scrambled eggs had cooled, she turned around and handed over the chopped chives that had been placed on the water tank.
The moment he turned around, Zhou Jingchen blinked his eyes, stood up very consciously and brought over the dough that had already risen.
Ye Jia smiled with satisfaction and continued to work.
Once everything was ready, Yu came out from behind the stove to wash the pot. Knowing everyone in the family would need water soon, she quickly heated a large pot of water. She then filled the two hanging pots built into the stove. She dragged a stool over, and the three of them sat down together to begin the work. Yu could now wrap one or two dumplings, and with the three of them working together, they were done in less than an hour.
We made about 350, a little less than usual.
Ye Jia looked up at the sky and saw that it was already late at night.
"Okay, that's all for today." Ye Jia was exhausted after a busy day and almost fell asleep. "Hurry up and wash up and go back to bed. Mother, Rui Jie'er has fallen asleep. You go wash up first. My husband and I will clean up the place."
In fact, Yu was also very tired. She nodded, carried Rui Jie'er and went back to the west room.
Ye Jia placed the pots and pans in a large basin filled with water. As she returned, she bumped into a wall of flesh. She looked up and saw Zhou Jingchen standing at the door like a door god. She wanted to ask him to move aside, but she noticed something was wrong with his gaze. His eyes were fixed on her. Ye Jia looked down and saw nothing stuck on her. She touched her cheek, but it didn't seem like she felt anything either.
"What are you looking at?" Ye Jia became nervous as he was stared at.
Unexpectedly, this person acted as if he couldn't hear anything and just stared blankly.
Honestly, being stared at so persistently by such a good-looking person would make any woman blush. When Ye Jia's cheeks nearly burned, he finally looked away. Then, he walked straight past her and out of the house.
When he reached the door, he tripped.
Ye Jia realized belatedly that this guy was really drunk and still not sober after doing so much work.
"Tsk." Scratching her cheek, Ye Jia felt a little ashamed. She was almost seduced by a drunkard. Thinking about it, she quickly cleaned up and put the things back. Then, Ye Jia took a shower in the kitchen.
When I returned to the house, it was pitch black.
The light in the west room was still on, but in the east room, the only light was the little creature's two bright green eyes. Ye Jia placed the kerosene lamp on the table and calmly went to get a bowl of goat's milk for the now-sleeping Diandian.
When it was halfway through eating, it dived into the milk bowl.
Ye Jia grabbed the fur by the scruff of its neck, cleaned it, and put it back in its nest to sleep. Then she returned to the house. After taking off her shoes and sitting on the edge of the bed, Ye Jia slapped herself hard, finally realizing what was wrong. Shouldn't Zhou Jingchen be sleeping on the floor? Why was he lying on her bed? And sleeping so soundly?
Ye Jia's eyes widened as she raised her hand and nudged the person lying on the bed with his back to her. The person was sleeping like a dead pig, with no intention of waking up at all.
What does that mean? Are you letting her sleep on the floor at night?
She won't do it!
The floor is damp, and sleeping on it is not good for a woman's health, especially for her uterus and ovaries. If this thing breaks down early, she will age prematurely. Don't think you can sleep in her bed just because you're drunk. Don't even think about it!
Ye Jia sighed, took off his shoes, climbed onto the bed and moved to the other side. He grabbed the person's arm and pushed it to the side twice, but the person didn't budge, perhaps because he was too heavy. Ye Jia, who had a bad temper, started to argue with him, pulling and pushing: "Wake up, wake up! Husband, you're sleeping in the wrong place! You're sleeping in my bed, open your eyes and look!"
But the drunken man frowned, probably having a headache from the noise, and opened his eyes irritably. His gaze was fixed on Ye Jia's face, dark and gloomy, and it was unclear what he was thinking. Suddenly, he reached out and hooked his arm around Ye Jia's neck, and then, Ye Jia's thin body fell into his arms like a kite. His arm was still clamped on her lower back like an iron clamp, unable to move.
Ye Jia: “!!!!”
A cool breath surrounded him, and Ye Jia's heart almost stopped.
As soon as she realized what was happening, she started struggling with her hands and feet, trying to break free. There's a saying about not trying to grab things from a drunk; when he gets drunk, he's capable of anything. Not only did he nearly break Ye Jia's slender waist, but he even kicked her in anger. He opened his eyes, lowered his head, and with such speed that no one could react, he placed a gentle kiss on her lips.
Like a dragonfly skimming the water, it leaves immediately after touching it. But Ye Jia's heartbeat nearly exploded at that moment.
She was numb, lying numbly in this man's arms. The wind outside the window was also appropriate, blowing out the kerosene lamp on the table.
The moment the room fell into darkness, Ye Jia thought she would stay awake until dawn. However, she had underestimated her ability to fall asleep in a split second. Within a count of three, her breathing had evened out. In the darkness, a pair of bright eyes slowly opened.
Zhou Jingchen lowered his head and stared at the pretty sleeping face in his arms for a long time. He sighed softly and raised his hand to pinch his eyebrows irritably.
The wine made things worse, and he actually hugged Jia Niang into his arms. Without thinking, he reached out his hand.
Thinking of the touch of their lips just now, the soft and fragrant touch, Zhou Jingchen silently let go of the person in his arms. He got out of bed quietly and went to the cabinet to get the bedding.
He spread a couch on the ground in the dark and fell into a sound sleep.
The next day, Zhou Jingchen woke up feeling suffocated. He instantly opened his eyes and pushed the creature away from his face. A few soft, childish whimpers reached his ears. He sat up with a blank expression. Turning his head, he saw it was indeed Ye Jia's "son of a bitch." The creature had somehow crawled onto his face last night and nearly suffocated him.
She flicked the little guy angrily, and a hoarse female voice suddenly rang out: "Husband, what do you want to do to our son?"
Zhou Jingchen paused tapping his head with his fingers, and looked up to meet a pair of bright eyes.
"Our son?"
"Yeah." Ye Jia was not wrong about this title, "A son of a bitch is still a son."
Zhou Jingchen: “…”
After a pause, he really didn't know how to respond. He wisely changed the subject: "Didn't you say to keep Diandian in the yard?"
"No, Diandian is still so young, how can we keep her outside?" Ye Jia scratched his hair and yawned, sitting up. Because of the yawn, his eyes were misty with tears. The dim light from the window shone into the room. The girl on the bed was wearing thin clothes, and her black hair fell on her shoulders, making her look even more slender and beautiful. "What if she gets scared? What if she gets taken away by a wild cat?"
...It's a wolf.
Of course, Zhou Jingchen didn't say this. He probably wouldn't dare keep it if he told the other women. Zhou Jingchen pursed his lips and swallowed his words: "Well, can we put it in the main room? Its nest is right above my head..."
"What's wrong? Did it pee on your head?" Ye Jia couldn't help laughing out loud, unable to hide his gloating curiosity.
Zhou Jingchen: “…”
Their eyes met, Zhou Jingchen didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Jia Niang had such a bad temper.
Time was tight this morning, so Ye Jia deliberately lashed out at Zhou Jingchen to vent her frustrations about last night's drunken outburst, and the incident was over. She was used to having someone else in the house by now, so she changed and got dressed without caring about Zhou Jingchen. When she got dressed and left the courtyard, Old Man Sun was already waiting. Yu Shi must have been too tired to get up yesterday, so Ye Jia asked Old Man Sun to come in and sit for a while while she quickly washed up and went to move her things.
Zhou Jingchen quickly caught up, moved the pots, stove and other things onto the ox cart before quickly going to wash up.
By the time the two of them arrived in town, it was another good day for business. This morning was different; the Zhang family, who hadn't come the previous day, were here today. They arrived early and shamelessly occupied the roadside spot where Xishi's stall usually stood.
Although this roadside stall is different from the entrance to the tile market, where stalls are set up randomly, Ye Jiachang's stall location hasn't changed in the past few months. In other words, many regular customers know where Xishi's stall is. If they want to eat chive egg pancakes, they will habitually come here to buy them. However, today, when they squeezed in, they found that the stall had changed, and it happened to be selling chive egg pancakes.
While some regular customers turned away without buying anything, many simply bought from her stall to save time. It just so happened that the pancakes sold there were cheap. Besides, the taste of chive and egg pancakes was pretty much the same, so even if they were terrible, they couldn't be that bad.
Ye Jia sneered at the Zhang family members shouting loudly from afar. Zhou Jingchen, on the other hand, glanced over and ordered Old Man Sun to drive the ox cart to the other side of the Deer Village. It was a bit out of the way, but people were still coming and going there. He put his things down and quickly lit the stove.
"Don't get angry with them," Zhou Jingchen said calmly, his eyes lowered, his expression unclear, "Let's do business first."
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