“Huairu, I need to use the restroom,” Hannie whispered.
“I’ll take you there.” Qin Huairu breathed a sigh of relief.
“I need to go too.” Qin Jianshe and the others also shouted.
They had not felt it while they were making a scene, but once they relaxed, they suddenly felt as if they could no longer hold it in.
“Hm?
Where are you going?” Leon asked Qin Huairu curiously.
“To the restroom,” Qin Huairu said shyly.
“The toilet is over there.” Leon casually pointed to the small room near the moon gate.
He had divided his three rooms into four areas.
Aside from the bedroom in the corner, the largest room had been converted into a living room and study.
The remaining small room had been split into two: one side was the toilet, and the other was the kitchen.
“You… you have a toilet at home?” Qin Huairu was dumbfounded.
Leon laughed.
“I don’t want to go out and line up every day…” Qin Huairu gave him a reproachful look and led the group to the restroom.
“Hiss, this is a toilet?” Qin Jianshe’s wife Zhang Li said in disbelief, “Isn’t this even bigger than our house?” The toilet also had a forty-watt incandescent bulb.
The walls were painted white, and the floor was tiled.
Three cement sinks of different heights had been built inside: one for washing up, one for washing mops, and the last for washing clothes.
“I’ll go first,” Hannie said, unable to hold back any longer.
The others waited outside.
“Huairu, why hasn’t Dr.
Cole found a partner yet?” Qin Huairu’s sister-in-law, Zhang Li, asked in a low voice.
“He just graduated from university,” Qin Huairu said with a smile.
“Things are different in the city than in the countryside.
He was already over twenty when he graduated.” “Hey, Huairu, what kind of woman does Dr.
Cole like?” Second Sister-in-law Sun Xia also chimed in.
“I don’t know either.” Qin Huairu shook her head.
“He would never marry a country girl, so stop asking,” Qin Jianguo said, waving his hand.
“That’s hard to say,” Qin Shan chuckled.
“Dr.
Cole solved Huairu’s job problem with just one sentence.
For a man like him, what difference does it make whether he marries a country girl or a city girl?” “That’s true.” Everyone suddenly understood.
Qin Huairu’s gaze drifted toward Leon, who was lying on the rocking chair in the courtyard.
A trace of melancholy appeared in her eyes, like a person sighing that she had been born too early while he had been born too late.
After everyone finished lining up to use the restroom, Leon had already lit the charcoal, set up the barbecue grill, and arranged the seasonings neatly.
“Come on, let’s do it ourselves.
We’ll have plenty to eat and wear,” Leon said with a smile.
“Dr.
Cole, thank you for going to such expense.” Qin Shan was quite embarrassed.
“We’re all friends.” Leon waved his hand dismissively.
Seeing Sun Xia looking curiously at the fruit on the table, he could not help laughing.
“Eat as much as you want.
This stuff isn’t worth much.” “Ah… I was just looking.” Sun Xia blushed deeply.
“Sister Qin, take care of your family yourself.” After Leon finished speaking, he walked into the house.
“Little Sister, are these grapes?” Qin Jianshe swallowed hard.
“If you want to eat, then eat,” Qin Huairu said, shaking her head.
“This… isn’t that a bad idea?” Hannie whispered.
“This thing is rare.
It must be very expensive.” “Do you think Dr.
Cole was just being polite?
His monthly salary is enough for our whole family to dig in the fields for a year.
He really doesn’t think it’s expensive,” Qin Huairu said with a wry smile.
Everyone stared at the fruit but hesitated to take a bite.
Leon came out carrying a basin filled with watermelon, grapes, cantaloupe, and other fruits, startling Qin Huairu and the others.
“I have plenty of this stuff.
Help yourselves.” Leon placed the basin on the table, then shook the two bottles of Moutai in his hand.
“Want a drink, gentlemen?” Gulp!
Qin Shan was the first to swallow.
He was not very interested in fruit, but he truly liked liquor.
And this was Moutai.
“Leon, they don’t drink,” Qin Huairu hurriedly stopped him.
A bottle of Moutai sold for twelve yuan at the supply and marketing cooperative.
Two bottles of this liquor were almost equivalent to Jia Dongxu’s monthly salary.
This was not liquor her father and brothers could afford to drink.
“We’re all people of the martial world, so why put on airs?” Leon smiled and opened a bottle.
The aroma of liquor immediately filled the entire courtyard.
As if by magic, he produced four cups and filled them all.
Men from the countryside loved drinking, because working in the fields was too tiring, and a small drink could relieve fatigue.
As if they could not control themselves, Qin Shan and his two sons picked up their cups, ignoring Qin Huairu’s gaze.
“Gentlemen, shall we have a drink?” Leon said with a smile.
“Let’s have one.” Qin Shan nodded.
The four of them clinked cups.
“Wow, this is good liquor,” Qin Jianshe exclaimed.
“Do you need to say that?
This is Moutai.” Qin Shan glared at him.
“Brothers, drink as much as you want.
I still have two more cases in my room,” Leon said with a smile.
He had not touched the liquor his father had left behind.
He had kept it all as it was.
Even though they were not related by blood, he would keep it as a memento.
For extra cases of Moutai they are drinking, he caught it while fishing.
“Two… two cases.” Qin Shan and the others were terrified.
Leon ignored them and placed the meat on the grill.
In an instant, the fragrance filled the entire courtyard.
“Are you trying to make people unable to live?” Sha Zhu and Xu Damao, who were both in the backyard, were the first to be affected.
While Sha Zhu was still cursing, Xu Damao had already run out and followed the scent to Leon’s yard.
“Hey, buddy, having a drink?” “Brother Xu, have you eaten yet?
Want some?” Leon asked with a smile.
Although Xu Damao was a bad person, he was indeed an interesting one.
“That’s great!
I still have two bottles of liquor at home…” Xu Damao never ate for free.
Just as he was about to offer drinks, he saw the Moutai on the table and could not help gasping.
“Wow, buddy, what’s the occasion?” “I didn’t know Brother Xu was coming,” Leon said with a smile.
“Then I’ll save the liquor at home for next time.
I’ll drink yours first,” Xu Damao said with a laugh.
Leon then produced another cup as if by magic and filled it to the brim.
When the barbecue was almost ready, Leon waved to Qin Huairu, signaling her to take the meat away.
“You all eat first.
We’ll help ourselves.” Qin Huairu had also come to a conclusion: rather than find another man like Jia Dongxu, she might as well settle down and follow Leon.
Even if she was only doing small tasks for him, it would still be better than many other lives.
So she stopped being coy and decided to repay the favors she owed in her own way.
“Then I won’t worry about you anymore.” Leon directly distributed the barbecue to Xu Damao, Qin Shan, and Qin Shan’s sons.
Each person took a bite, and their mouths were immediately filled with fragrance.
“So this is city life,” Qin Jianshe exclaimed.
“Brother, city life isn’t always like this.” Xu Damao chewed his meat and grinned.
“Your brother-in-law… no, your ex-brother-in-law only earns 27.5 yuan a month, while Brother Leon earns 77.85 yuan.
Do you think their lives can be the same?” “That’s true.” Qin Jianshe nodded.
Even among city dwellers, life was different.
Their family had been related to the Jia family through marriage for many years, but Qin Huairu had never brought anything back with her.
On the contrary, she often had to return to her parents’ home to borrow money.
“Come on, brothers, let’s drink.” Leon raised his cup.
“Cheers!” Xu Damao shouted, and the atmosphere gradually became lively.
Leon looked somewhat dazed, as if he had returned to his previous life, when he would eat late-night snacks with a few friends.