Cong Yixing opened the door and let Jiang Ding in. He was a bit surprised to see that she didn’t immediately lunge for the sofa. “Baby, aren’t you tired?”
Jiang Ding looked back, puzzled. “Tired from what?”
“It seems consistent exercise really pays off. Look at you—you finished a whole supermarket run and your back doesn’t ache, your legs don’t hurt, and you didn’t even pant coming up the stairs.”
Jiang Ding only realized it after he pointed it out.
It was true. Lately, she hadn’t experienced that state where she felt utterly exhausted despite doing nothing, or even feeling worn out right after waking up.
Cong Yixing laughed. “It seems those workout routines you do are quite effective. In that case, let’s skip buying the treadmill. We can use the space we save to store supplies.”
Even though Jiang Ding didn’t want to run, she couldn’t help but expose him: “I bet you’re just thinking about how the money saved can be used to buy more supplies!”
Cong Yixing didn’t look ashamed at all; instead, he seemed proud. He said with a smile, “We have to be a bit frugal now. You saw it today—meat and vegetables have all gone up. Even rice and flour have increased by several cents per pound.”
It was true. Grain, fresh produce, and even some daily necessities had seen a slight price hike.
While it wasn’t expensive yet and remained within the public’s range of acceptance, who knew if prices would rise further as the heat persisted?
Cong Yixing had paid for everything today. Jiang Ding knew he hadn’t saved a lot over the years, and this trip alone had cost several thousand.
She took out her phone and said to him, “I’ll transfer some money to you. We’ll need to buy a lot more things later.”
Cong Yixing refused. “I still have money in my card. Don’t transfer any.” He then asked, “Now that we’ve bought so much food, what else do we need?”
Jiang Ding’s mind was sometimes sharp and sometimes empty. Right now, she couldn’t recall what else was missing for the life of her. She waved her hand dismissively. “I don’t know! You’re the head of the household, you figure it out!”
Cong Yixing pressed down her phone before she could finish entering her payment password. “Then we’ll wait until we think of something. If I run out of money, I’ll tell you, my little rich lady.”
The living room floor was nearly covered. The two sat on the sofa to rest for a moment before beginning the collaborative task of organizing the mountain of supplies.
The collaboration consisted of Jiang Ding directing and Cong Yixing executing.
First were five 10kg bags of vacuum-packed rice and one 20kg bag of flour.
They rarely ate flour-based meals, except for the occasional batch of dumplings Cong Yixing would make.
As for coarse grains like red beans, mung beans, millet, and oats, they still had some left and didn’t eat them often, so they didn’t buy more.
Then there was the oil—all bought in 5L bulk containers. One bottle of corn oil, one of soybean oil, two of peanut oil, and four of rapeseed oil. These were their staples, each corresponding to different cooking methods.
Other oils like olive, sesame, sunflower, and walnut oil were already in the kitchen, but since they were used infrequently, they kept small bottles.
Additionally, they had some lard Cong Yixing had rendered previously. Since they were almost out, they had bought ten pounds of pork fat at the supermarket. Cong Yixing planned to render it first thing tomorrow morning.
Jiang Ding directed: “Put all the rice, flour, and oil into the storage cabinets under the kitchen counter first.”
Cong Yixing praised her as he moved the items: “So smart, knowing the kitchen is on the south side where the summer sun can’t reach.”
Jiang Ding: “…”
Cong Yixing gave her way too much credit; the truth was, she hadn’t thought about that at all.
After moving the staples, Jiang Ding followed Cong Yixing into the kitchen. She peered into the storage cabinets and, seeing a bit of space left, asked, “Is there enough room left for the instant foods?”
Cong Yixing replied, “That depends on how much you bought.”
Jiang Ding hadn’t bought much because the instant noodles she had previously ordered online were nearly expired and still hadn’t been finished.
Even though Cong Yixing would be eating all three meals at home now, who would prefer instant food over fresh meals? So, she didn’t dare buy too much.
She had ten boxes of self-heating rice in various flavors, ten bags of different brands of snail noodles, five boxes of instant hot and sour noodles, five boxes of various tossed noodles, and five bags of meat sauce noodles. There were also two large five-packs of instant noodles and several bags of instant black sesame paste, soy milk powder, and oatmeal.
Additionally, there were the essential ham sausages for instant noodles—five packs of ten. She also bought various side dishes that could go with porridge or noodles, like pickled mustard tubers, dried radish, olive vegetables, and shredded kelp.
These items didn’t take up much space and were all tucked away by Cong Yixing.
Next was the meat. Since the freezer section of their fridge was nearly full, they only bought items that could be kept in the refrigerator—the meats to be braised tomorrow and the pork fat for rendering.
To make room, Cong Yixing had to clear out the already-full refrigerator section and reorganize the space. After a bit of effort, he finally managed to stuff everything inside.
Jiang Ding sipped on a yogurt that had just been cleared out, saying to the container that belonged to Cong Yixing: “Oh, my poor little yogurt, abandoned so heartlessly by your male master. There’s no place for you in the fridge; that cold man won’t even look back at you.”
Cong Yixing was exasperated by her antics. He was busy as a bee, and here she was putting on a drama.
Finally, only Jiang Ding’s two bags of snacks remained. Cong Yixing intentionally put on a cold face and said, “Clean up your own things. I’m going to shower.”
Jiang Ding acted as if she were startled. She pulled the straw out of the yogurt carton and walked up to Cong Yixing with the straw in her mouth. She tilted her head up, aimed at his mouth, and with a “pfft,” blew the remaining yogurt through the straw. It landed precisely between his lips.
Well, mostly precisely. A few drops splashed onto his nostrils.
She mumbled through the straw, “Ew~ you’ve got a runny nose, how gross.”
Cong Yixing couldn’t take it anymore. Ignoring the sweat covering both of them, he bent down, slung Jiang Ding over his shoulder, and marched into the bedroom.
Some people were just asking for a firm spanking.
Cong Yixing began rendering lard early the next morning.
He first cut the pork fat into uniform small cubes, then placed them in a pot of cold water with a spoonful of cooking wine to blanch them.
After blanching, he scooped them out and washed them clean in prepared warm water.
Once cleaned, he put them back into a pot with boiling water and rendered them over high heat.
When the lard in the pot turned from white to transparent, he turned the heat to low and added large pieces of green onion, ginger, and star anise to continue simmering.
He took the lard jar he had specifically bought, placed a few soybeans inside, added a pinch of salt, and slowly poured in the clear, filtered lard.
The remaining pork cracklings were also saved; once chopped, they could be used to stir-fry vegetables or as filling for buns.
By 8:00 AM, the heat was already unbearable. Fortunately, the living room air conditioner was on. With the temperature set low and the kitchen door left open, the heat from cooking was somewhat manageable.
Just as he was about to start cleaning the pork intestines, duck parts, and chicken feet, his phone rang in his pocket.
Grabbing a tissue to wipe his hands, Cong Yixing pulled out his phone. Since it was so early, he expected a colleague from work, but the caller ID showed: Zhong Rui.
He answered the phone and asked, “What’s up?”
The young man on the other end was screaming: “A-Xing, save me! I’m about to die!”
Cong Yixing asked, “What happened? You didn’t go to work? Where are you?”
Zhong Rui rattled off a long list: “I’m not at work! I quit! I don’t know when the air conditioner in my rental broke, but I woke up in the middle of the night drenched in sweat. Then this morning I realized the water was cut off too, so I can’t even wash my face.”
“I figured this must be God’s way of telling me not to go to work. If I insist on defying the heavens, something bad might happen. So, I decided to resign! Anyway, last month’s salary was paid, and I don’t even want this month’s. I didn’t even bother asking for leave; I just quit!”
Cong Yixing was speechless. “…So what are you planning to do? Go home?”
“Impossible! I get annoyed just looking at my dad and his mistress. I finally made it through college to stay away from those two idiots and the little brat they spawned. I’d be crazy to go back!”
Thinking of his messy family relationships, Cong Yixing said helplessly, “Then what do you plan to do? With your ‘spend as much as you earn’ personality, you definitely haven’t saved any money these past few years. Quitting a stable job just like that… it’ll be even harder to find work in this weather.”
“Let’s not talk about finding a job yet.” The voice on the other end became several degrees more sleazy and flattering. “My dear treasure, I can only rely on you now. Can I stay at your place for a few days? I’ll have the landlord fix the AC, and as soon as it’s fixed, I’ll clear out immediately. Please, big brother~”
Cong Yixing frowned, disgusted by his tone, but this was a friend he had grown up with. He ultimately softened and said to Zhong Rui, “I have to ask my wife about this. You should be mentally prepared; the probability of her agreeing is only ten percent.”
“Yes, yes, go ask quickly! I’ll wait for your answer. Just let me know before I die of heatstroke.”
Cong Yixing said, “Find a hotel nearby to stay in for now. Don’t wait until the temperature rises at noon. If you stay in that house without AC, you really will die of heat.”
The voice replied, “Why wait until noon? Ask your wife first. If she agrees, I can save the money for a hotel room!”
“Not now. My wife is sleeping; she doesn’t get up until noon.”
“Holy crap, Cong Yixing, are you even human? Your brother who shared everything with you is dying, and you’re worried about disturbing your wife’s sleep?!”
Cong Yixing replied, “That’s not it. Even if she agrees, how would you get here in this sun? Wouldn’t you still have to wait until tonight?”
The agitated Zhong Rui was easily pacified. He said, “True. Fine, I’ll go to the hotel across the street and get a room while it’s not at its hottest yet. I’ll wait for your good news, my treasure~”
Cong Yixing frowned again. “My wife definitely won’t like you talking like that.”
“I’ll change! I’ll change immediately!” Zhong Rui was always careless and didn’t care why Cong Yixing’s wife needed to like him; as long as they took him in, they would be his great benefactors!
Cong Yixing had been his “great benefactor” hundreds of times since they were kids and was used to it. He asked Zhong Rui, “Do you have money for a hotel?”
Zhong Rui laughed on the other end. “Don’t underestimate your brother. I don’t have a fortune, but do I really need to ask you for this small amount? Don’t worry!”
After hanging up, the furrow in Cong Yixing’s brow didn’t loosen.
Zhong Rui was lighthearted and lived for the moment, adhering to the philosophy of taking one day at a time and not caring about the future.
But Cong Yixing couldn’t do that. Since they were children, he had done all the worrying that Zhong Rui didn’t bother with, acting more dutifully than Zhong Rui’s own father.
After a decade of habit, he couldn’t help but feel anxious about Zhong Rui’s future once again.