After leaving the city gate, as they walked, Lian Yingtong's stomach suddenly growled.
The sound wasn't loud, but the other three people heard it.
"Hungry?" Ge Xianshun asked in surprise.
"Yes. I didn't eat enough this morning." Lian Yingtong said somewhat embarrassedly.
“But we’re already out of the city, and there might not be any clean and delicious food stalls along the way,” Ge Xianshun said. “There was a wonton stall near the city gate that smelled pretty good.”
"Forget it, let's go back and eat. It's a waste of time to go back and forth." Lian Yingtong waved his hand.
Gu Jingheng said, "It's alright. I've been to the dock before. There's a food stall there. It looks very lively. Many people who work at the dock go there to eat. It must taste good."
But when they arrived at the entrance of Su Ji Food Shop, they didn't see any delicious food or a constant stream of customers.
All I saw was a locked door and a piece of paper.
"The landlord is having a happy occasion, so we're taking a break today."
***
The Chen family's new residence.
The furniture that Su Yun'er had customized was gradually moved from the Guangcai carpenter's house to the new house.
The Song brothers and He Liu's husband, Guan Tianhe, helped with moving things in and out; the Song sisters-in-law, He Liu, and Lin Moniang helped wipe tables and sweep floors in several rooms to remove the dust brought from the move, and then everyone moved the boxes to their respective rooms together; the children were responsible for carrying some small items.
Su Yun'er labeled each box with the name of the item and included an inventory list to make it easier to find things and identify the owner.
By the time everything was ready, it was already noon.
Grandma Chen and Su Yun'er prepared plenty of tea and snacks, inviting everyone who came to help to sit and rest under the shed in the courtyard.
Su Yun'er sat for a while before going to prepare lunch.
There were still so many people today, so Su Yun'er prepared hot pot as usual.
He Liu couldn't sit still, so she also came to the kitchen to help Su Yun'er prepare the vegetables.
"Auntie, you don't look well today," Su Yun'er said. "Are you feeling unwell?"
"I don't know what's wrong with me. Lately I've been feeling lazy and lacking energy. I guess it's because I haven't been sleeping well lately, so I'm sleepy." He Liu didn't take it too seriously.
The two chatted as they prepared the vegetables.
Today, I prepared chicken soup with an old hen. The chicken meat was stewed until it could easily fall off the bone, so I separated it and made a cold chicken salad. I just put the chicken bones back into the pot to continue stewing.
As soon as Su Yun'er lifted the pot lid, the steam carrying the rich aroma of meat broth wafted out, instantly filling the entire kitchen.
He Liu looked troubled, feeling a wave of nausea and vomiting rising up, making her wrinkle her face uncomfortably. She swallowed a few times with difficulty and barely managed to endure it.
Su Yun'er didn't notice this scene. With her back to He Liu, she was seasoning the old hen soup.
Su Yun'er planned to make two kinds of dishes with the chicken that had been removed from its shell: a lemon sweet and sour sauce and a sesame garlic sauce.
She added two pieces of meat, each dipped in a different sauce, and let He Liu taste them.
He Liu took a bite of the lemon hot and sour sauce and immediately gave it a thumbs up: "This is good, it's sour and spicy, it's quite appetizing!"
But when Su Yun'er brought the piece of chicken dipped in sesame sauce and garlic sauce to her mouth, He Liu immediately frowned, shrank back, and covered her mouth with her hand, her features scrunched up, looking very painful.
Su Yun'er was shocked: "Me... did I make it that bad? Just smelling it makes me want to vomit?"
He Liu waved her hands repeatedly, but the nausea was uncontrollable. She turned around and leaned over the rattan trash can that Su Yun'er had customized, and began to vomit violently.
Su Yun'er panicked immediately: "Why such a big reaction!?"
She quickly put down what she was holding and patted He Liu's back to help her catch her breath: "Was it because of the chicken earlier? I checked the food, nothing was spoiled, and I washed it all!"
Aside from spitting out the mouthful of chicken he had just swallowed, He Liu didn't vomit anything else; all that remained was dry heaving and coughing.
She gagged for a long time before raising her hand and waving it with difficulty: "I'm fine."
He Liu's voice was hoarse at this moment because the lemon spicy sauce that had been dipped in the chicken had irritated her throat after she vomited.
Finally, after the nausea subsided, He Liu, panting, was helped to sit down on a stool by Su Yun'er.
Seeing He Liu's pale face and weak breathing, Su Yun'er felt uneasy: "Auntie, let me pour you a glass of water to rinse your mouth."
He Liu patted her chest, trying to catch her breath: "Yun'er, did I scare you?"
"She was perfectly fine just now, how could she be like this after just one bite of meat? I'll have the child go and fetch a doctor for you." Ignoring He Liu's obstruction, Su Yun'er called Xiao Shu in.
They weren't making much noise in the kitchen, and with a dozen or so people chatting in the yard, no one noticed what was happening in the kitchen.
As soon as Xiaoshu came in, she noticed that He Liu's expression was not good.
Su Yun'er took out a string of twenty copper coins and said, "Xiao Shu, go to Shi'an Medical Clinic in the city and find Doctor Shang to treat your Grandma He. Hurry up! Run fast!"
Xiao Shu took the money string, didn't ask any questions he shouldn't have, agreed, and ran out.
Everyone in the courtyard saw Xiaoshu run outside without saying a word and quickly asked what was wrong.
But Xiaoshu only left behind the words "Grandma He is sick" and then disappeared.
The adults were a little stunned. Li Lan was the first to react. She quickly patted her husband, Song Muqiang, and said, "What are you standing there for? Hurry up and take Xiaoshu to the city in your car. She must be going to fetch a doctor."
Song Muqiang then realized that the oxcart he had brought with him today to help Su Yun'er move was parked behind the house. He quickly led it out and went to chase away the sapling.
When Guan Tianhe heard that "Grandma He is sick," he didn't quite understand at first, but he quickly realized what was going on and rushed to the kitchen to ask He Liu how she was feeling.
In an instant, He Liu's discomfort became a concern for everyone present.
He Liu described her symptoms, and seeing everyone looking at her, she felt a little embarrassed: "I'm fine now, it's just that Yun'er was too worried."
Su Yun'er said with some guilt, "I don't know if it was because I didn't cook the chicken well that Auntie felt uncomfortable."
But Aunt Song and Li Lan had different opinions: "It's not because we ate something bad. Aunt He, are you pregnant?"
"What?"
Everyone present was taken aback.
Aunt Song looked around at everyone and laughed: "What's wrong with you all? What's so surprising? When a woman is pregnant, she just can't eat and vomits!"
Lin Moniang laughed as well: "Yes, I think it sounds similar too."
Guan Tianhe was very excited upon hearing this. He squatted down next to He Liu, grabbed her hand, and asked, "Wife, is it true?"
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