Boiled Shrimp

Ji Yanran and her classmates had an appointment to meet at Xinhua Bookstore for a reunion. When she first arrived, she saw the two most talkative boys in the class, who didn't recognize her at first sight.

She took the initiative to greet her classmates.

"How long have you been here?"

The male student spoke uncertainly: "You are... Ji Yanran?"

Ji Yanran nodded generously.

"It's me, don't you recognize me?"

The two male classmates looked at each other in a daze. Ji Yanran looked completely different from before. They didn't recognize her at all when she stood in front of them.

The skinny guy with acne on his face complimented her: "You have become so beautiful. If you hadn't had long hair before, we wouldn't have thought you looked like a girl."

The other boy who spoke first poked him with his elbow.

"That's not what Chen Weidong meant. He's not good at talking. Don't mind it."

Chen Weidong defended himself aggrievedly.

"I'm telling you the truth. Doesn't Ji Yanran look pretty now? It's true that she was a tomboy in high school. Didn't we even discuss whether anyone would want her in the future?"

Liu Jianguo hurriedly explained: "It's not what he said. We just said that no one is pursuing you, not that you can't get married."

Ji Yanran stood there with an awkward but polite smile. If you can't speak, you don't have to speak. It's better not to explain.

Fortunately, a few classmates came soon and saved the embarrassing situation.

Everyone was amazed to see Ji Yanran. Who would have thought that she would suddenly go home to review a few months before the college entrance examination and then there would be no news since then. They only met and said hello during the two joint examinations. After the college entrance examination, they went back to school to get their scores and heard that Ji Yanran was admitted to Renmin University. That’s when everyone wanted to organize a class reunion to maintain their relationship.

Half of the twelve people were from the next class, and all of them were locals who had been admitted to undergraduate studies.

Ji Yanran did the best in the exam. The boy who competed with her for the top spot in the class was admitted to a foreign language school. The rest of the students did not do badly in the exams.

The bespectacled guy from the next class pushed up his glasses and said, "I have a house with no one living in it. We can just buy groceries and cook for ourselves."

Ji Yanran recognized him. His father was a high-ranking leader, and his parents would meet her and her mother at the school gate and say hello.

Siyan's suggestion was approved by everyone. Buying food and cooking by yourself is much more economical than eating out. Local students in the capital are not necessarily rich or noble. Siyan's family background is relatively good among these boys.

There were four girls in total, including Ji Yanran. The boys went back to make a fire while the girls bought vegetables.

After the boys and girls separated, everyone expressed their specialties that they could cook. When it was Ji Yanran's turn, she felt a little embarrassed.

“I can’t cook.”

Zhang Jinfeng covered her mouth and said in disbelief,

"You can't even cook! How did you grow up like this!"

Ji Yanran replied speechlessly: "I can't cook, but I can eat."

"You have to find time to learn. It's so embarrassing for a girl to tell others that she can't cook. When you get married, your in-laws will say you're not virtuous."

Ji Yanran suddenly remembered her sister-in-law telling her to open her eyes before falling in love. If she was happy at home, she shouldn't marry a man and work like a slave. At the very least, she should find someone of equal status. Before, she didn't understand why marriage meant working like a slave, but now she felt that what her sister-in-law said was absolutely correct.

She never cooked for herself, but after getting married she had to do laundry, cook and take care of her husband's mother-in-law. Just thinking about how hard life must have been.

She couldn't help but feel pity: "You are so pitiful. You worked so hard to get into college, but you only want to get married and take care of your mother-in-law. You must have become stupid from studying so much."

Zhang Jinfeng was speechless for a moment, she just wanted to show how virtuous she was and perform well in front of the boys to win their favor. Ji Yanran's tongue was so blunt that she was never disliked.

Ji Yanran followed him to the vegetable market and happened to meet Brother Qiu Sheng.

She tiptoed forward, jumped up from behind and patted his shoulder.

"Brother Qiu Sheng, why are you buying vegetables?"

Song Qiusheng turned around and smiled in surprise.

"What a coincidence! Come back with me later. Your sister-in-law is here too. She will cook for you herself."

Ji Yanran asked in confusion: "My sister-in-law was still at home before I left. Didn't she say she was going to the wine shop?"

"Don't mind your own business, kid. I'll drive you there after I finish buying groceries."

Ji Yanran quickly refused: "No, I'm buying food with my classmates, and they are going to cook for themselves."

Song Qiusheng smiled: "You cook too?"

Ji Yanran shook her head obediently.

"Well, you're unlucky today. We have distinguished guests at home today, and your sister-in-law prepared a feast. Didn't you see me buy so much fish, shrimp, beef, and mutton? The vegetables alone cost more than ten yuan."

Ji Yanran didn't want to be special, but she couldn't resist Zhang Jinfeng's good eyesight.

"Ji Yanran, who are you?"

"My sister-in-law's brother, who is also my brother, is buying groceries."

Zhang Jinfeng subconsciously glanced at the basket of vegetables in Song Qiu Sheng's hand, which was full of beef.

She smiled flatteringly: "We don't have enough money to buy meat, let your brother share some."

Ji Yanran was stunned. How could someone say such a thing?!

"I brought money, so you don't have to beg."

Song Qiu Sheng happily picked up a piece of beef, which weighed about a pound.

"Take it. Don't spend any money. Save the pocket money for buying candy."

Without waiting for Ji Yanran to refuse, Zhang Jinfeng quickly grabbed the beef and put it into the vegetable basket.

Ji Yanran was very unhappy. If Zhang Jinfeng was being greedy, she could just buy the meat for them with her own money. A pound of beef wasn't much more expensive. She didn't like being taken advantage of in this way. Why was Brother Qiu Sheng so stupid?

Several other girls followed her, and Ji Yanran had all the words stuck in her throat. She was already angry before she even had her meal.

Zhang Jinfeng was able to read people's expressions and naturally saw that Ji Yanran was angry, but Ji Yanran's brother didn't say anything. Ji Yanran was just too petty.

Song Qiu Sheng could see that the little girls were not in harmony with each other, and Ji Yanran was obviously not a good friend of them. He was used to doing business, which made Ji Yanran unhappy.

"Where are you going? I'll drive you there."

A few little girls chattered, and Ji Yanran sat in the passenger seat in a gloomy mood. She knew in her heart that Qiu Sheng was helping her to build good relationships, but she just didn't want Zhang Jinfeng to succeed.

The car was going more and more smoothly, Song Qiusheng couldn't help but tease while steering,

"We're still on the same route, so I don't have to go back all the way."

Zhang Jinfeng pinched his throat when he saw this.

"We are going to cook in a while, come and have dinner, big brother."

Song Qiusheng refused with a cheerful smile.

"I've bought some food. We have guests to entertain at home. I'll trouble you to take care of Yanran. She's very coquettish at home and has never been in the kitchen. Please bear with her."

Zhang Jinfeng followed suit and answered.

"Yanran is so lucky. We all had to help our families with chores since we were young. I remember that when I was in second grade, I had to carry my younger brother on my back to cook for the family. The coal stove produced so much smoke that our faces were covered in smudges after cooking."

Song Qiusheng thought of his younger sister. When they went to the fields to earn centimeters, did his younger sister also take Dongdong with her at home, carrying the baby on her small body to collect firewood? The difference was that his younger sister learned to make firewood at the age of eight, and there was no stove at home.

When they arrived, Siyan's house was just across the street from Yao Xue's house.

A few little girls noticed the small house not far away and gathered together to discuss it excitedly.

Song Qiu Sheng gave them three crucian carps and asked them to make soup.

Thanks to Song Qiu Sheng's favor, Ji Yanran no longer had to go into the kitchen. The kitchen became a battlefield for the remaining girls, and boys were not even allowed to help with lighting the fire.

Ji Yanran sat under a bare persimmon tree in the yard. There were two stone blocks under the tree. Siyan came over with a magazine in his hand and sat opposite her.

The two chatted casually, and Ji Yanran always felt that there was something else behind his words.

When she was about to lose her patience, Siyan suddenly stood up.

"Student Ji Yanran, I have actually liked you for a long time. I am definitely happy that you have become more beautiful, because the girls I like are beautiful both inside and out. I once liked your tenacious attitude towards studying, and now you have the soul and beautiful appearance that I like. You are my dream lover. Please believe me, my sincerity towards you is evident to all."

Ji Yanran was stunned. The most contact she had with her classmate Siyan was that they were always assigned to the same examination room. They had never spoken to each other otherwise. Siyan's sudden confession left her at a loss.

She stammered, "I...I'll think about it. My mother might not allow me to have a relationship."

Song Shixia was preparing the sauce in the kitchen.

"I thought Yanran and her classmates were going to a restaurant for a reunion, but I didn't expect them to cook. If I had known, I would have asked her to bring some pork floss and bread. She might have been excluded because she doesn't know how to cook."

Song Shixia saw the relationships among these small groups very clearly.

"It's okay. They didn't have money to buy meat, so I gave them a piece of beef and three small crucian carps. It's easy to be grateful for what you have received. No one said anything to Yanran even when she was sitting with her legs crossed watching TV."

Song Shixia shook her head. Her brother probably didn't know the ability of a small group to exclude others.

"I'll make some more boiled shrimps later. You can send a plate over there and pretend that it was made by Yanran."

Song Qiusheng joked: "There's such a big pot of meat, so just scoop some out of it."

Song Shixia explained with a smile,

"Shrimp is cheap, Yanran will understand, you who know nothing should just keep the fire burning. Think about the gift Uncle Yao gave me, or you should go to his house to give it to him. Your sister can't afford such an expensive gift."

Song Qiusheng was helpless.

"Just accept the gift. Is your brother so incompetent? Yao Xue didn't even ask me to come over because she was afraid of hurting my self-esteem. But you are always making trouble. Don't let mom hear you and scold you."

Song Shixia stuck out her tongue.

"I'm not kidding you. How dare I tell my mother how expensive the gift I received is? She'll probably be shocked."

All the dishes were served, and Ji Yanran sat down dazedly.

Ever since Siyan confessed his love to her, she felt inexplicably guilty, as if everyone was looking at her, and their eyes were making fun of her and Siyan’s relationship.

She knew that she might be too sensitive, but the sight of those girls whispering together and smiling at her from time to time made her feel inexplicably embarrassed.

There was a knock on the door, and Ji Yanran quickly got up and fled the scene.

Outside the door is Brother Qiu Sheng.

"Your sister-in-law made boiled shrimp. Let me serve it to you as if it were your dish."