"Stop busy, have something to eat first."
None of them had eaten lunch. Chen Ji placed beef and roast chicken in Xu Ruantang's bowl, gesturing for her to eat quickly.
Stared at like that, she subconsciously picked up a piece of beef and stuffed it into her mouth.
Xu Hanli picked up a small piece of vegetable and carefully put it in his mouth.
The aroma of chili oil and the freshness of wild vegetables filled my mouth, without any of the bitterness I had imagined!
It's chewy, leaves a lingering fragrance in your mouth, and makes you want to have a second bite after the first.
"Delicious!" Xu Hanli nodded enthusiastically. "This is the first time I've ever eaten such delicious wild vegetables! Comrade Xu, you're amazing!"
Xu Hanli gave a thumbs-up after eating.
Xu Ruantang found it strange, "We eat like this where I'm from, don't you eat like this here?"
Logically, if Grandma knew how to make it, it must be because a long time ago, when people couldn't afford good food, everyone ate like this.
Xu Hanli shook his head, "We boiled it all, it tasted awful."
After finishing the roast chicken and beef that Chen Ji had put down in her bowl, Xu Ruantang put down her chopsticks and went to the kitchen.
She first found the baby bottle she had bought for her baby, washed it clean, and scalded it twice with boiling water before pouring in the warmed and cooled milk.
Back inside, she took the baby in her arms and breastfed her.
Chen Ji was stunned when he saw the baby bottle in her hand.
Xu Ruantang knew what he wanted to ask, and said directly, "I bought it when I passed by a department store."
The baby is drinking milk much faster now.
She's very smart; in the short time it takes to drink milk from a bottle, she's already learned to hold it herself.
"Keep an eye on her." Xu Ruantang stood up with the empty baby bottle in her hand and instructed Chen Ji.
Chen Ji nodded. "Mm."
As Xu Ruantang's footsteps faded into the distance, Xu Hanli snapped out of his daze and, slightly drunk, looked at Xiao Bao beside Chen Ji, "Doesn't she care at all that she knows about Xiao Bao's background?"
Chen Ji glanced at Xu Hanli. "She doesn't know."
Xu Hanli sat up straight in surprise. "Huh? What do you mean?"
Was he drunk, or was Chen Ji drunk? I couldn't understand a word he was saying.
"Xiaobao is my biological daughter." Chen Ji seemed to be brainwashing himself, or explaining to Xu Hanli.
Xu Hanli could no longer sit still. "You... did you really have to go this far?"
Xu Hanli finally understood why Chen Ji suspected Xu Ruantang's identity.
Although military marriages are subject to strict political vetting, there are still some who slip through the net.
Chen Ji now presents himself as a retired soldier and claims that Xiao Bao is his child. Normal families would not marry their daughters into his family.
Even if she were to marry into the family, she could never treat Xiao Bao with the same meticulous care and attention as Xu Ruantang.
It's not that they're speculating about people's hearts with the worst intentions, but rather that people's hearts are inherently vulnerable to speculation.
“She is my daughter. Whether there is someone else or not, I will take care of her for the rest of my life.”
Chen Ji spoke calmly.
Just as Xu Ruantang reached the kitchen door with the baby bottle, Aunt Wang pushed open the courtyard gate and came in, carrying three plates of food, swaying precariously.
She hurried forward and took the plate. "Auntie, did you make so much today?"
"Xiao Chen has guests to entertain, it's only right." As the two walked towards the kitchen, Aunt Wang continued, "I won't go in, Wang Jian is still waiting for me at home."
The red marks on Wang Jian's body have healed a lot, but for some reason today, he's been sticking to Aunt Wang the whole time.
"Okay." Xu Ruantang put down the plate, picked up a bowl of vegetable dumplings she had prepared in advance, and handed it to Aunt Wang. "Auntie, I made these vegetable dumplings with wild vegetables. Try them when you get home. They're very delicious."
As soon as Aunt Wang entered the door, she smelled the aroma and smiled as she took the food, saying, "Well done, Xiao Xu, you're so skillful. You'll have to teach your aunt more in the future."
Xu Ruantang smiled shyly, "Auntie, you're too kind. This is just a small matter."
If you actually ask her to cook, she doesn't know how to cook many dishes. She just used to crave some food and would learn to make some of her favorite dishes.
As they were talking, Aunt Wang took out a wad of cash of varying denominations from her pocket and handed it to him. “Xiao Xu, I’ve sold those honey bread rolls for you. Here’s the money. Please keep it safe.”
Xu Ruantang was somewhat surprised, and before she could say anything, the money had already been stuffed into her arms.
"Sold them all?"
"Yes, everyone in the village likes something new. My aunt didn't know when you would be back, so she took it upon herself to sell them at a low price. Everyone loves them. They're made with milk and honey, and the kids kept pestering the adults for them. In the end, we couldn't sell them all!"
Aunt Wang was still a little uneasy, afraid that Xu Ruantang would be unhappy because her bread was much cheaper than the hard bread sold by the people at the market.
Xu Ruantang took out two one-yuan notes and stuffed them into Aunt Wang's hand, saying with a smile, "Thank you so much, Auntie! I was worried that something would delay me, and I thought that the bread would either have to be eaten by myself or go bad and be thrown away. This is really great."
Fifty loaves of bread wouldn't have made much money, but Aunt Wang gave her small denominations, like five mao, two mao, or one mao.
"I can't accept this, Xiao Xu, you should take it back. Your aunt didn't do anything, it's not appropriate."
Aunt Wang made a move to stuff money into Xu Ruantang's hand, but Xu Ruantang stopped her, saying, "Auntie, don't rush, I have something to say."
“Since everyone likes it so much, I want to keep making and selling it.” Xu Ruantang said with a smile, “Auntie, how about I make it and you sell it from now on? After deducting the cost, we can split the rest.”
The ingredients for making the honey bread rolls all came from Chen Ji, so she has to return that money to Chen Ji.
Aunt Wang has been in the village for so many years. If she can sell once, she can sell a second time. It's better than someone like her.
Aunt Wang was somewhat surprised, but mostly happy. She never expected that someone her age could still run a business and make money.
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