Wild Camellia

Song Shixia was admiring herself for a while and wanted to stay in bed but she was no longer sleepy. She stretched comfortably in the quilt, yawned, and got out of bed to wash.

After washing up, she found an iron can that had been used to hold candy in the living room, cleaned it, and filled it with half a can of tea.

As soon as I went downstairs, Ji Weiqing came in with breakfast.

Song Shixia was surprised: "You came back so soon?"

Ji Weiqing handed her the lunch box and soy milk: "I just went for a morning run and stopped by the cafeteria."

She took the lunch box, the breakfast was still warm, "Have you eaten?"

"I've already eaten. You can eat it yourself."

Song Shixia gave him the jar of tea.

"This is the mountain tea I shared with you. If you like it, just make some tea with it." Just think of it as a reward for his hard work. Maybe I'll have to rely on him to bring me breakfast in the future.

Ji Weiqing didn't bother to be polite with her: "Thank you, I like this tea very much."

He usually drinks tea just to refresh himself and has never paid attention to tea leaves. But after tasting this wild tea once, he found it unforgettable.

Song Shixia opened the lunch box, which contained steaming buns and fried dough sticks.

Ji Weiqing changed his clothes and went downstairs.

"There's a phone in the living room. My office number is in the directory. If you have an emergency, call me. I can't guarantee that I'll answer."

Song Shixia sipped on soy milk and nodded: "By the way, where are the children? Do you want me to pick them up?"

Ji Weiqing paused and said, "No, they are at my eldest sister's house and will be sent back at the weekend."

Since he didn't have to worry about it for the time being, Song Shixia waved to him with a relieved heart.

"Be careful on the road and come back soon."

Ji Weiqing was carrying a briefcase, and the tea can made the briefcase look like a bump, which looked quite funny.

Song Shixia watched the man leave with some lingering interest, but in fact she was thinking about his figure in her mind. It's great to have a man who loves to exercise.

She suddenly remembered to ask him if he would come back for lunch.

Thinking that she had to run at least 50 meters to catch up with him, she struggled for half a minute but still didn't want to move. Forget it, at worst she could cook more rice at noon, and if she couldn't finish it, she could make fried rice in the afternoon.

After Song Shixia cleaned the table, she washed the lunch box. She didn't know whether the glass bottle containing soy milk was disposable, but she just had to wash it clean.

The trash can in the yard had been cleaned. Looking at the big yard, Song Shixia felt very excited and decided to plant something.

She paced back and forth in the yard, making plans. She should plant flowers on the left and have a vegetable garden on the right. However, growing vegetables requires turning the soil, which is a bit troublesome.

While Song Shixia was strolling in the yard to digest her food, her neighbor next door was quietly observing her from the second floor of her house.

Feng Lian leaned against the window and murmured to herself, "This professor's young wife is so pretty."

Song Shixia strolled for ten minutes, and when she felt that she had digested most of the information, she prepared to go back to bed and continue lying down. Ji Weiqing said that all the books in the box could be read, and she wanted to finish the book she read last night.

Before she reached the living room door, there was a loud knock on the courtyard gate.

Song Shixia had no choice but to turn around and open the door, wondering in her heart, could it be her elder sister who came to send the child off?

She wasn't worried that it was a bad guy. When she came in yesterday, she had to go through a checkpoint to verify her identity, and there was also a protective net set up at the teacher's family building opposite. She was just lazy, not stupid.

The door opened and an unfamiliar lady appeared.

Before she could speak, the other party said warmly: "You must be Professor Ji's wife, I am your next-door neighbor."

Song Shixia didn't really want to have an awkward conversation: "Hello, is there anything I can do for you, auntie?"

Feng Lian just wanted to find out more about her new neighbor and made up an excuse.

She enthusiastically took Song Shixia's hand and said, "I think it's your first day here and you definitely don't know where to buy vegetables. You don't even know the location of the supply and marketing cooperative."

That’s right. She was thinking of waiting for Ji Weiqing to have a holiday before taking her to find the way.

It was good for her to have someone to take her with her: "Auntie, are you looking for me to go buy groceries? Then I'll bring a basket."

Song Shixia found a vegetable basket in the kitchen. It was the same style that she saw her grandmother use when she was a child. In an instant, she felt like she was back in her childhood.

She took out a few more dollars and tickets from the drawer. Although the market was open at this time, she vaguely remembered that some tickets were not cancelled until the late 1980s. She didn't know which ones they were, but she took them just in case.

When Feng Lian saw her come out, she took her arm warmly. What Song Shixia was most worried about happened. She tried secretly to pull it out while they were chatting, but couldn't.

Forget it, she thought in self-destruction.

Along the way, Aunt Feng asked her about her family situation, and she also had a general understanding of Aunt Feng's family situation.

Aunt Feng and her husband are from the same village and have a daughter and two sons. The eldest daughter is in the third grade, the second is in the first grade, and the third is still in kindergarten.

Aunt Feng said that the reason they live here is that their men have made great contributions in academia or scientific research. This residential area is a welfare benefit for rewarding important talents. Each family is allocated a house of 140 square meters. The academicians and president of the school all live here.

Ordinary teachers live in the residential building opposite.

Song Shixia wondered why Ji Weiqing lived here, and Aunt Feng quickly explained it to her.

"You married a promising man. Although Professor Ji has two children, he is still young. He was already a professor before the age of 30, and he also has two PhDs after studying abroad. You don't know how fiercely the two universities competed for him at that time."

At this point, Aunt Feng felt a little sympathetic towards her. Professor Ji had been introduced to someone with such good conditions before, but this person was not approachable and had a cold personality. The principal's niece cried after meeting him once.

I heard from her husband, Mr. Xie, that the only things Professor Ji was passionate about were probably physics and mathematics, and women were not as attractive to him as mathematical formulas.

Aunt Feng couldn't help but worry that it would be a shame if such a pretty girl remained a widow.

Song Shixia didn't know what Aunt Feng was thinking. A barrage of questions just flashed through her mind: "Who am I, where am I, and what happened to me?" She knew that the person her original body had chosen was an academic professor, but a person who graduated with a double degree and a doctorate at the age of less than 30 and was also an international student, must be a super academic master, right?

No wonder the men in the dramas are always away from home. If someone with this status later becomes an academician or participates in a major project, it is normal for them to live in the laboratory for ten days or half a month.

She never went to college, but because her tea can calm people's minds and bring health benefits, a professor set up a project to study it. She knew the professors' levels very well. At that time, she did not hide anything and provided them with tea for free. However, in the end, they did not find anything, but only extracted a factor that can make cells active.

Both of them had smiles on their faces, but they were thinking about different things in their hearts.

The vegetable market is a bit far from the residential area, but not particularly far, and it only takes fifteen minutes to walk there.

Feng Lian explained to her: "This is a morning market. The stalls will be closed after 9:30."

It is called a morning market, but in fact it is just a vegetable stall set up by the families of teachers or school staff. The vegetables are very fresh, but there are few varieties, and there are no pickled vegetables.

Seeing her looking around, Feng Lian said with a smile: "Do you want to buy meat? You have to go somewhere else for that."

Song Shixia was quite embarrassed: "Yes, I want to buy some meat for my husband to supplement. There are not enough vegetables here. I plan to buy some seeds in a few days and plant some in the yard."

Feng Lian shook her head lovingly: "Silly girl, meat is not available here. If you don't go out with me, I can only ask someone to bring it to you when they go out. I work in the logistics department of the teacher's cafeteria. Family members can directly exchange it with meat tickets."

Song Shixia couldn't help but feel lucky to have come out with her aunt. She had just passed by the teachers' cafeteria, which was very close to the residential area and next door to the supply and marketing cooperative. It would be very convenient to buy meat and other things there in the future.

She gave Aunt Feng Lian a sincere smile.

"Thank you for showing me the way, if it weren't for you I would have to go out to buy meat."

Feng Lian couldn't help but smile when she saw her. This young lady was so attractive.

"Why thank you? We are all neighbors. I hope my daughter can grow up to be half as pretty as you."

Song Shixia didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Auntie has a good foundation. She must have been a great beauty when she was young. The lady will definitely follow you."

Although it was just a polite remark, she really thought that Auntie Feng Lian had a good foundation and would definitely look good after dressing up. Auntie had to take care of the housework, take care of the children, and have a formal job, so who would have the time to think about dressing up?

These words touched Feng Lian's heart. When she was young, she was indeed a little beauty in every village.

Feng Lian seemed to have opened up and took Song Shixia to pick fresh vegetables.

She really doesn't know how to buy vegetables. Although there is Lingquan Space, she used to grow vegetables in the space. Even when life was the hardest when her parents remarried and forgot to send her living expenses, she and her grandmother went to pick up the vegetable leaves that others didn't want, and never bought vegetables.

Song Shixia learned how to choose the freshest vegetables under Aunt Feng's guidance. The vegetables in this season are the most tender, so she bought lettuce, celery, and Chinese cabbage.

Aunt Feng took Song Shixia to the teachers' cafeteria. No wonder Ji Weiqing gave her the meal card yesterday. With such a close distance, it was much faster than for her to cook a bowl of noodles by herself.

But she is used to eating vegetables grown in the space and doesn't really like eating out.

Aunt Feng introduced her to her colleagues whenever she met them, and soon everyone knew that Song Shixia was Professor Ji's new wife.

There was a vegetable washer in the canteen's back kitchen, hiding behind a pillar and peeking curiously. Song Shixia noticed it the first time, but when she realized that she had no ill intentions, she didn't take it seriously.

The vegetable washer sat in the kitchen, picking her hands. She felt sorry for her good friend, but she also thought that all men liked pretty girls. Her friend praised Professor Ji to the skies, but in the end, he was still a man who only cared about appearance.

Aunt Feng introduced the visitor: "This is Professor Ji's relative, his married wife. When she comes to buy meat in the future, please save some for her."

It is convenient to have acquaintances to do things for you. Aunt Feng seemed to be the little leader of the kitchen. After a few words of instruction, she was taken to the warehouse to pick meat.

"Comrade Song, tell me what kind of meat you like and I'll get it for you."

Song Shixia chose one pound of pork belly and two pounds of spare ribs.

She held the basket and asked, "How do I pay?"

The logistics officer looked at Feng Lian. Aunt Feng was surprised for a moment, then smiled and said, "You can use the meat coupons to pay for it. If it's not convenient for you, you can just give me the money directly."

She remembered that Xiao Song was from the village. In the past, the family members took the meat and left, and she always recorded it in the account to avoid messing up the account. It was not easy to collect such a small amount of money.

Song Shixia didn't know the price of meat. The price Aunt Feng gave her was the wholesale price, which was half cheaper than what you get outside.

Aunt Feng also bought two kilograms of meat for herself. Her family was entertaining guests today, otherwise she would not have been willing to buy meat.

When they said goodbye at the door of the house, Song Shixia invited Aunt Feng to come over for lunch. She learned from Aunt Feng that the men would provide lunch and would not come back until the evening.

"Okay, I'll just try out your cooking skills." If Xiao Song doesn't know how to cook, teach her so that the meat won't be wasted.