“I just remembered—today there’s a convoy coming back. It seems they’re transporting these cabbages, radishes, and potatoes, so…” It looked like the state-run restaurant had been allocated cabbage.
Heaven knew the two of them disliked cabbage the most, but now that they were in the 1970s, even food they didn’t like had to be eaten—otherwise they would go hungry.
He Qiu Tang sighed. “Let’s go. Since we’re already here, we might as well see what the state-run restaurant is serving today. Just please don’t let it be an all-cabbage feast.”
But thinking positively, those three thousand jin of cabbage could be treated as supplies and quietly traded out. Moving a little each time wouldn’t draw attention. Besides, Zhao Huai’an’s job as a driver was a perfect cover.
The two walked into the state-run restaurant, completely unaware that someone across the street had been watching them the entire time.
Fortunately, it wasn’t all cabbage dishes. The most popular dish of the day was cabbage, pork, and vermicelli stew.
Meat was more available in Beijing’s capital compared to other cities, and for the two who loved meat, ordering meat was a must.
“The last time my mom brought back that twice-cooked pork, it was so good with rice.” The rich aroma made He Qiu Tang almost drool. Since his wife wanted it, Zhao Huai’an immediately ordered a portion of twice-cooked pork, plus braised tofu and egg soup, with rice as the staple.
For young people, it was a bit too much food, but with this kind of spread, others might even think they were on a blind date.
“Find a seat and go sit down quickly. I’ll bring the food.” Zhao Huai’an told He Qiu Tang to find a seat first. He stood at the window. Relying on the servers to bring food to the table voluntarily was simply impossible.
Not long after He Qiu Tang sat down, someone blocked the light and said, “Classmate He, is that your blind date from yesterday?”
He Qiu Tang looked up and saw it was Xu Zikai. Then she looked at Zhao Huai’an, who was waiting by the window, and immediately realized Xu Zikai had misunderstood. But she thought—it might as well stay a misunderstanding.
“You saw it. What do you think?”
Seeing her calm expression, Xu Zikai felt he had truly miscalculated. He had treated others like fish in his dating pool, but it seemed He Qiu Tang had also been treating him as a backup option. In his mind, if she found a good match, she would drop him; if not, she would go to the countryside with him so he could take care of her.
“So you’re hedging your bets,” Xu Zikai said as he sat across from her, lowering his voice. He would have liked to say it loudly, but he himself was in a similar position and was cautious.
“Think whatever you want,” He Qiu Tang replied, clearly seeing that Xu Zikai was overthinking.
At that moment, Zhao Huai’an returned with a tray of dishes and immediately saw a pale-faced young man sitting across from his wife. He quickly walked over, set the food down, and said, “Qiu Tang, who is this?”
“A high school classmate surnamed Xu.” Then she turned to Xu Zikai and said, “This is the blind date you were talking about.”
Zhao Huai’an: ???
That sounded oddly uncomfortable.
But whatever the wife says goes.
He coughed lightly and extended a hand. “Hello, Classmate Xu. My surname is Zhao. I work as a driver in the transport team. May I ask where Classmate Xu is currently employed?”
Upon hearing that he was just a driver, Xu Zikai immediately understood where he had lost—he had lost to a formal job. But if he had a stable urban job, why would he even be interested in He Qiu Tang?
“Oh, I was just passing by to say hello,” Xu Zikai said as he stood up, glancing at the food on the table. As expected, drivers really did have better待遇. “I’ll leave now. I won’t disturb your meal.”
Watching him leave, Zhao Huai’an muttered, “Who was that? Why does he look like he’s fleeing?”
“Sit down. I’ll explain what happened—some emotional debts left by the original body.”
At the words “emotional debts,” Zhao Huai’an immediately became alert and quickly sat down to listen.
Meanwhile, Xu Zikai, who had left, felt unwilling. He could treat others as fish in his dating pool, but he was unwilling to be treated as just another dish. After thinking for a while, he went to find Yu Sui Sui.
Yu Sui Sui looked at the man she liked, who seemed somewhat depressed, and felt sympathy for him. “I never thought Qiu Tang was someone who straddled two boats. She’s dangling you on one side while going on a blind date on the other. If you hadn’t overheard yesterday and seen it today, you’d still be trapped in this mess.”
“Sigh, what can I do? If I had a city job or some work, I wouldn’t be mocked like this,” Xu Zikai said with a bitter smile. But deep in his heart, a thought that had been suppressed began to reignite.
If women don’t want to go to the countryside, they can marry. Then if he doesn’t want to go, could he also marry a working woman? This idea had once been buried because of male pride—and because working women might not even look at him.
But now time was running out. As more “fish” slipped away from his pool, his anxiety grew.
Yu Sui Sui didn’t know what he was thinking, but she could feel the man she liked was breaking emotionally, as if betrayed. She snorted coldly. “Nothing good will come of betraying someone’s sincerity.”
Yu Sui Sui felt that after knowing each other for so many years, yet seeing He Qiu Tang behave like this, she should let the neighbors see her true face.
To avoid going to the countryside and to betray someone who liked her just to marry someone with better conditions—how contemptible. She wondered if the neighborhood committee leaders would still be willing to be lenient because of the He family’s special circumstances if they found out about this.