"I was so stupid, I believed everything people said. This wonderful Xi Xi is mine, and only mine. Anyone who tries to take her, I'll beat them up."
Lu Jing said delightedly.
Xia Xi looked up and gently stroked the stubble on his chin, "We're not married yet, who's yours?"
"I've already submitted the report. Once it's approved, we'll get our marriage certificate, have the banquet, and get married, okay?"
He was a little anxious.
Xia Xi shook her head, "My father said not to rush. I'll be going with you to accompany the troops later, and they want me to stay at my maternal family's home for a few more months since they won't see me."
Lu Jing looked at her with some reluctance, "Then can I see you every day?"
"School starts in September, and I have to go back to teach. How can I see you every day?" Xia Xi really liked this job.
Interacting with children wasn't tiring at all.
Although there were a few troublesome kids who were disobedient and caused worry.
Lu Jing said, "We'll go with the troops after the new year. This job can indeed be done for another half a year. It's fine, I'll drive you to school every day."
"Okay!"
As they spoke, the two rode their bicycles to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative.
The two rode past the street where Xia Xi had found the package last time.
Lu Jing suddenly thought of something and stopped his bicycle, "Xi Xi, you saw me here that day, right?"
Xia Xi shook her head with a blank expression, "No."
Lu Jing stared at Xia Xi.
Xia Xi knew his observational skills were extremely sharp, and her subtle expressions couldn't be hidden from him.
Seeing Lu Jing deep in thought, Xia Xi took two steps forward and leaned close to Lu Jing's face, "Brother Jing, don't move."
"What?"
"There's a mosquito here, I got it."
Xia Xi deliberately leaned very, very close.
Her pretty face was right in front of him, and the atmosphere around them seemed to turn ambiguous. Lu Jing subconsciously swallowed.
What was this girl up to?
Was she going to kiss him?
This was a public street.
Xia Xi was doing it on purpose, deliberately getting so close to him, deliberately changing the subject, so he wouldn't remember what happened that day.
She would never admit it, no matter what.
That bag of gold was hers!
Absolutely not giving it away!
Seeing that Lu Jing had fallen for it and was distracted, she then lightly patted his face, "So big, and so full."
Lu Jing's heart pounded, and he had completely forgotten what had just happened.
Xia Xi smugly got on her bicycle, "Brother Jing, let's go!"
Lu Jing somehow felt that Xia Xi was playing a trick on him.
But he had no proof.
He had no time to think about other things.
The two went to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative together.
It was hot now, so the meat they bought was eaten the same day. Thus, Xia Xi wanted to buy some meat today.
However, they arrived too late.
Fatty meats and the like were already sold out, especially the beautiful pork belly. All that was left were lean cuts, pork offal, pork hearts, pork lungs, and so on.
If these weren't handled properly, they had a strong smell.
Xia Xi bought a piece of pork belly to make a soup with, adding some scallions, it would be incredibly fragrant.
She also bought some pork offal.
As Xia Xi was shopping, she didn't notice where Lu Jing had gone.
After buying the pork, Xia Xi specifically lined the basket with newspaper to prevent the smell from transferring.
Xia Xi then bought two catties of hard fruit candy to coax Da Nuo and Xiao Yan.
She also bought a catty of peach crisp.
She also got a few feet of cloth.
She had quite a bit of money now, so she could still buy some things for her parents.
Her heart itched, she really wanted to stroll around the family courtyard.
Indeed, human desire was a bottomless pit; the more you have, the more you want. Her desire for money had been infinitely amplified.
After Xia Xi finished shopping, she saw Lu Jing walking towards her.
Xia Xi looked in the direction he was coming from and asked curiously, "What did you buy?"
"I'm not telling you."
Lu Jing had prepared a surprise for Xia Xi.
Xia Xi pouted, "Fine if you don't want to say."
Lu Jing hadn't bought much meat or noodles.
Xia Xi had bought a lot, but she secretly put the meat into her space, so she didn't have to worry about it spoiling.
Lu Jing naturally didn't know she had bought meat.
As for the other items like noodles, rice, and glutinous rice flour, she left them out; she had free labor anyway.
The basket was tied to Lu Jing's bicycle.
He didn't ask what she had bought either.
Xia Xi was just about to find an excuse to send him away so she could go wander around the family courtyard.
Suddenly, an auntie waved, "Xiao Xi, are you here to see your cousin aunt?"
Xia Xi had a good memory.
She recognized the auntie waving as the wife of the deputy director of the steel factory, who had bought a six-catty bighead carp with a large sum last time.
This auntie's family had good conditions; she was actually making Tai'an Fish.
Tai'an Fish involved chopping the fish into pieces, marinating them, coating them in starch, frying them in oil, and then stewing them with tofu, pickled vegetables, and other ingredients.
Fried fish could be stored for a long time and was especially fragrant.
Oil was rationed back then, so it was quite a generous family to use it for frying fish.
Xia Xi applied the bicycle brake and sweetly called out, "Cousin Aunt, I'm here in the county with my partner today."
Meaning, there were other people present.
Cousin Aunt understood immediately and took Xia Xi's hand, "Oh my, you already have a partner. Cousin Aunt was going to introduce you to a worker from the city. What does this young man do?"
As she spoke, she sized up Lu Jing from head to toe.
Lu Jing immediately leaned on the bicycle and stepped forward, saying, "Cousin Aunt, my surname is Lu, my name is Lu Jing. I'm a soldier at the military depot. After the new year, when I marry Xiao Xi, I'll take her with me to accompany the troops."
These words were full of strategy.
He only said he was a soldier, not an officer, but then mentioned that Xiao Xi would accompany the troops after the new year, implying he was an officer, and one whose rank allowed for accompanying family members.
It was as if he was saying, "Don't get any ideas about my wife, my conditions aren't bad."
Xia Xi couldn't help but smile.
Cousin Aunt looked him up and down with some fondness, "You've got good taste, picking our Xiao Xi. She's a darling."
Do you two have any plans today? If not, come to Cousin Aunt's house for lunch."
Xia Xi waved her hands, "No, no, Cousin Aunt, we have a few other things to do."
Cousin Aunt looked reluctant and kept blinking her eyes.
Seeing an opportunity, Xia Xi said, "Brother Jing, isn't your business still unfinished? How about I go have lunch at Cousin Aunt's and we meet up this afternoon?"
Lu Jing's gaze towards this cousin aunt turned a little cold.
He rarely had time to go out with his partner, and he had planned to take her to the movies. This cousin aunt, without any tact, wanted to take her away as soon as she arrived.
After some thought, Lu Jing said, "How can that be? Xiao Xi, we'll bother Cousin Aunt another day. I've already bought movie tickets, let's go watch a movie."
Xia Xi gasped.
Cousin Aunt looked at Xia Xi with reluctance, "Is that so... then another day."
There was no meat left; it was so hard to have a meat dish.
Xia Xi's heart felt cold too; money was gone, and earning money was so difficult.
Xia Xi and Cousin Aunt's gazes engaged in a reluctant farewell.
Lu Jing heartlessly pulled Xia Xi away.
Xia Xi was a little dejected.
Lu Jing asked, "Are you and Cousin Aunt that close?"
"Yes, we haven't seen each other in a long time. When I was in high school in the county, she took good care of me." Xia Xi thought this auntie had really taken care of her a lot.
Of course, it was taking care of her business.
She was a big foodie, and her old friends were also foodies.
Their meager salaries were all spent on food.
They ate different dishes every day.
Last time, the auntie said that although fish didn't have much fat, it was very nutritious and could be prepared in many ways.
Tai'an Fish was one of them, and there were also boiled fish slices, stir-fried fish slices, fish balls, and fish soup...
Cousin Aunt's descriptions made Xia Xi's mouth water.
Xia Xi just wished the little pig in her space would grow up quickly, and money would come from all directions!
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