Xu Changxia stood a few steps away from him, thought for a moment, then mustered her courage to walk over and gently tugged at the corner of his clothes. "What would you like to eat? I'm familiar with this area," she asked.
"I've already eaten. It's up to you," Jiang Yao replied indifferently.
Xu Changxia didn't stand on ceremony either, boldly pulling him across the street to the other side.
When they reached a breakfast shop she frequented, the owner greeted her: "Oh! The new bride bringing her husband back to visit?"
Xu Changxia smiled without responding.
The owner looked at Jiang Yao beside her – tall and handsome, with Xu Changxia standing next to him like a delicate bird leaning on a strong tree. They looked like a perfect match of talent and beauty.
What mattered more was that Jiang Yao, in his military uniform, exuded an air of righteousness, making him far more pleasing to the eye than that other fellow who had seemed rather shady.
"What would you like to eat today?" the owner asked again with a cheerful smile, withdrawing his gaze.
Xu Changxia patted her pocket.
Although the Xu family hadn't spent much on the engagement banquet, Xu Changxia and Xu Fangfei had always lived frugally. Even the small amount they had spent had nearly emptied their savings. Now she only had about ten yuan left with her.
Gritting her teeth, she said: "Three baskets of Crab Meat Xiaolongbao, one bowl of Tofu Brain, and two bowls of Longjing Lotus Root Powder."
Although Jiang Yao had already eaten, it had been early, and a grown man's energy depletes quickly.
In these times, any food containing meat was expensive. A single basket of Crab Meat Xiaolongbao cost thirty cents – something Xu Changxia would only allow herself to eat once every ten days or half a month normally. After placing the order, she felt her heart ache at the expense.
"That'll be one yuan and twenty cents, but I'll just charge you one yuan today," the owner replied cheerfully.
"Is that little enough?" Jiang Yao suddenly spoke up beside her.
Xu Changxia turned to look at him in surprise. If it weren't for him, a single bowl of Tofu Brain would have been enough for her.
Of course, tofu was easily digestible and wouldn't fill an empty stomach. Ordinary people usually didn't get much oil in their daily meals. Since Xu Changxia often did physical labor, she would typically get hungry again within two hours after such a light meal.
After some thought, she wondered if it might not be enough for him, and added: "How about some Duck Blood Vermicelli Soup? Or Red Oil Wontons? These are their signature dishes and very delicious too."
The Red Oil Wontons were more expensive because they contained more meat – fifty cents per serving. But someone like Jiang Yao, coming from a prestigious family, probably wouldn't be accustomed to food that was too plain.
"Let's have one serving of Red Oil Wontons too," she said after some consideration.
"Alright, that'll be one yuan fifty cents," the owner nodded.
Xu Changxia took out a small stack of money from her pocket, quickly counted out one yuan fifty cents, and handed it over.
"What are you doing?" Jiang Yao had just taken out a fifty-yuan bill from his wallet and frowned at the sight.
Xu Changxia glanced back at him: "You're visiting my home, of course I should treat you."
Jiang Yao's frown deepened.
In his heart, last night's engagement banquet was already equivalent to a wedding banquet. Xu Changxia was already his wife, yet she was still drawing lines between what's yours and mine.
She must still like Jiang Chi after all.
"Brother Jiang Yao, we haven't registered our marriage or held the wedding banquet yet. Besides, there's such a big gap between our family backgrounds. If I use your money now, people would point fingers at me and call me greedy," Xu Changxia explained after noticing his displeased expression.
Jiang Yao felt slightly better.
"Let's go to that table by the window – it's away from the cooking fumes," Xu Changxia said with a slight smile, taking his hand and leading him to sit at the small table by the window.
Jiang Yao held her soft, small hand in his, feeling inexplicably comforted again.
However, with a gentle pinch, he realized there was a thin layer of calluses on her palm.
Xu Changxia was still a young girl, which showed she had endured no small amount of hardship since childhood.
He sat down, spread open Xu Changxia’s palm for a closer look, and indeed, he hadn’t been mistaken—they were calluses.
Xu Cheng had previously claimed to treat Xu Changxia as his own daughter, but it was clearly a lie.
“What’s wrong?” Xu Changxia, unaware of what he was looking at, withdrew her hand and asked curiously.
As she spoke, she handed him a pair of chopsticks and a spoon: “This place isn’t as clean as home, so please make do with what’s here.”
When Jiang Yao went off to war, there was no hardship he hadn’t experienced; such details didn’t bother him in the slightest.
He stared intently at Xu Changxia’s face for a while without saying a word.
Xu Changxia grew a bit embarrassed under his gaze and lowered her head to fetch a small bowl for herself.
Outside, the adjutant and the driver were watching them through the window from a few steps away, snickering. They had never seen Jiang Yao act so gently toward anyone before.
Xu Changxia blushed even more deeply under their amused gazes, her face flushing all the way to the tips of her ears.
Jiang Yao shot them a glance and said, “If you have nothing to do, go ahead and reserve a table at the restaurant.”
His tone carried a hint of threat.
“Yes, sir!”
Jiang Yao waited until they had walked away before turning his attention back.
The shop owner brought their orders. Xu Changxia placed the Tofu Brain in front of herself, pushed the Red Oil Wontons toward Jiang Yao, took a portion of Xiaolongbao for herself, and set two servings in front of Jiang Yao.
She was truly hungry—having gone without sleep or food all night and being roused by Jiang Yihe at six in the morning, she was now starving and didn’t bother with formalities, picking up her bowl to eat immediately.
Though she ate quickly, she took small, quiet bites, making no sound at all, much like a little kitten.
Jiang Yao watched her, worried she might choke, and transferred more than half of the Red Oil Wontons from his own bowl to hers, softly advising, “Eat slowly.”
Xu Changxia thought her messy eating had annoyed him.
“I don’t want wontons; you won’t have enough for yourself,” she hurriedly returned them to him.
“At the engagement banquet last night, I saw you eating wontons,” Jiang Yao replied calmly.
Xu Changxia was taken aback.
In her impression, Jiang Yao was the cold, detached type who paid no attention to anyone, yet he had noticed what she ate.
Caught in her hastily fabricated lie, she felt embarrassed and reluctantly picked two wontons back for herself.
Jiang Yao wasn’t very hungry. He leisurely finished a basket of Crab Meat Xiaolongbao and cleaned up the few wontons left in his bowl. Noticing that Xu Changxia hadn’t finished yet, he pushed the untouched basket of buns toward her and said, “Wait for me about ten minutes; I have something to take care of.”
Xu Changxia nodded.
She watched Jiang Yao leave, finished her own food, stared at the Xiaolongbao for a moment longer, and then, while they were still warm, asked the owner to wrap them in oiled paper before hurrying back.
Xu Fangfei usually couldn’t bring herself to eat such treats. In her past life, Xu Changxia hadn’t been sensible enough, and when Xu Fangfei held back, she took it at face value.
From today onward, she would give Xu Fangfei the best of everything within her means.
Just as she reached the Xu family’s doorstep, Xu Fangfei pushed the door open from inside.
Seeing Xu Changxia return, she immediately gestured for her to be quiet.
Xu Changxia complied without a word and handed the Xiaolongbao to Xu Fangfei.
"Isn't this a waste of money?" Xu Fangfei glanced at it and said softly, "You know Mom doesn't usually like eating this…"
"Jiang Yao asked me to buy it for you, so just eat it." Xu Changxia didn't let her finish.
The mother and daughter took a long bench placed by the neighbor's door and sat at the entrance of the Xu residence. Xu Fangfei unwrapped the oiled paper package but still seemed reluctant, offering the soup dumplings to Xu Changxia: "Have some too."
"Smell me." Xu Changxia giggled, leaning her face close to Xu Fangfei.
"Smell what?" Xu Fangfei was puzzled.
"The scent of crab roe!" Xu Changxia replied seriously. "I ate two whole baskets by myself!"
Xu Fangfei pretended to push her away in disgust, muttering softly, "You silly child!"
"From now on, I won't be a child anymore." Xu Changxia smiled.
In her previous life, Xu Fangfei had died of stomach cancer before turning fifty—the only person who truly loved her had passed away when Xu Changxia was in her twenties.
Seeing Xu Fangfei again now, Xu Changxia felt an indescribable emotion, her eyes growing slightly warm.
She watched as Xu Fangfei finished the soup dumplings, then hearing the commotion from inside the courtyard, she asked quietly, "What's going on in there?"
"I was just about to tell you!" Xu Fangfei's eyes lit up at the question, immediately swallowing what was in her mouth. "Your aunt has gotten into huge trouble! Xiaolin's Mom is arguing fiercely and threatening to call the police!"