“No need to be so polite. It’s what I should do.”
Xiao Mingsheng helped Jiang Shan onto the back seat of his bicycle and pushed it forward.
Pushing the bike looked more appropriate than riding with a woman seated behind—it avoided gossip.
Jiang Shan looked at his expensive clothing and asked sweetly,
“Big brother, you look familiar. You resemble someone my friend knows. What’s your name?”
“Xiao Mingsheng.”
Her future brother-in-law’s family had an older brother also named Xiao something-sheng. Jiang Shan remembered it wasn’t Xiao Mingsheng—what was it again?
The bicycle wheels rolled along, leaving a curved track on the ground. Only when they neared the hospital did Jiang Shan recall—it was Xiao Wensheng.
Xiao Wensheng, Xiao Shuisheng… Xiao Mingsheng.
They sounded like brothers.
Feigning surprise, Jiang Shan said, “I know someone named Xiao Shuisheng. Do you know him?”
The bicycle paused slightly. Xiao Mingsheng smiled.
“That’s quite a coincidence—he’s my cousin. You wouldn’t happen to be the girl he treasures so much, the one he can’t wait to marry, would you?”
He didn’t see Shuisheng often. They only met during holidays at their grandparents’ house. Every time, their grandmother urged Shuisheng to marry. He used to be impatient about it, but since last year, he said he was dating someone and would bring her home as soon as she was willing to meet.
However, his second aunt wasn’t satisfied with the match and had brought up breaking them up several times. Shuisheng firmly refused and even threatened to split from the family if forced, which finally stopped the matter.
Someone who could make Shuisheng go that far—he was quite curious about what kind of woman she was.
Jiang Shan gritted her teeth. If only that were true.
“You guessed wrong. Xiao Shuisheng is my future brother-in-law. My cousin is his girlfriend.”
Xiao Mingsheng was a surgeon. There weren’t many emergency patients that morning, so he brought Jiang Shan into the consultation room and disinfected and bandaged her elbow, palm, and foot wounds.
His hands were long and warm. When applying medicine, he occasionally brushed against Jiang Shan’s skin, making her tremble.
No man had ever treated her so gently before.
A cleaning auntie came in to replace the trash bag.
“Doctor Xiao, have you thought about what I mentioned last time?”
Xiao Mingsheng used tweezers to hold a cotton ball soaked in disinfectant, cleaning the scrape on Jiang Shan’s ankle.
“I’m not planning to remarry.”
The auntie sighed.
“How can that be? Your eldest is only five, the younger one is three. Raising children alone is exhausting. Kids can’t grow up without a mother. You’re remarried, and my niece is also divorced—around your age. Why not meet and see how it goes?”
Doctor Xiao had good conditions. Otherwise, how could her niece raise three sons on her own? If she married him, at least she wouldn’t starve.
Jiang Shan suddenly pulled her foot back, her voice rising sharply:
“You’re divorced?”
The auntie could tell at a glance that the young woman sitting there wasn’t sick—she had come for Doctor Xiao.
“Not divorced. Doctor Xiao’s wife passed away during childbirth. He now has two children.”
Though the auntie smiled, she was clearly trying to crush Jiang Shan’s hopes.
After finishing the treatment, Xiao Mingsheng said, “All done.”
Jiang Shan’s heart raced uncontrollably. She had already begun planning how to seduce Xiao Mingsheng and marry into the Xiao family as Jiang Zao’s sister-in-law.
And now she was told—his wife was dead, and he had two children.
Still unwilling to give up, she asked,
“Do you have any unmarried brothers or cousins?”
Xiao Mingsheng chuckled and shook his head.
“There are only three of us brothers. Is there a problem?”
Only three.
If she wanted to become Jiang Zao’s sister-in-law, she would have to marry Xiao Mingsheng—and become a stepmother to two children who had no blood relation to her.
She didn’t want that.
But she also wasn’t willing to settle for an ordinary marriage, watching Jiang Zao live harmoniously with Xiao Shuisheng, dressed in fine clothes and jewelry.
She didn’t want to remain in Jiang Zao’s shadow.
Xiao Mingsheng was also a grandson of the Xiao family. Judging by his attire, his family background must be good. As a surgeon in the county hospital, his salary wouldn’t be low. Even with two children, he could dress well—he must have some savings.
Her heart wavered again.
If Xiao Mingsheng had never married and had no children, she might not have caught his eye.
“I didn’t expect Brother Xiao to be so outstanding, raising two children alone. I’ve never had such good fortune to meet a man like you. I was just moved, that’s why I reacted so strongly.”
“Thank you for your concern,” Xiao Mingsheng replied.
Perhaps it was because he had been married before, or because he was a doctor—Jiang Shan found herself drawn to his temperament.
“Thank you for treating my wounds, Brother Xiao. I’ll go back to change my clothes.”
Xiao Mingsheng set aside his medical book and stood up to see her off.
In the following days, Jiang Shan visited him every day, going to work with a glowing face.
Chang Sanxi asked Jiang Zao suspiciously,
“Is there some happy event in Jiang Shan’s family recently?”
Jiang Zao had already mastered kneading dough and moved on to the next stage—filling.
Today she was making pan-fried buns.
Flour mixed with sugar and salt was kneaded into dough. After fermenting with yeast, the filling was made from minced pork belly mixed with shredded carrots. She placed the filling in her left palm, wrapping the dough around it.
“Not that I’ve heard. Why?”
“I’ve noticed she’s been smiling all the time lately, working extra hard, and even grinning at walls and thin air.” Thinking about it, Chang Sanxi rubbed her shoulders, feeling a chill.
“She can’t keep things to herself. We’ll know in a few days,” Jiang Zao replied.
She held the dough steady with her thumb while her fingers worked quickly, forming pleats—second, third, upward, smooth and effortless.
She easily pinched over twenty pleats, each one uniform and beautifully shaped.
She placed the bun aside.
Chang Sanxi couldn’t help but sigh.
“You’re truly a culinary genius.”
Jiang Zao didn’t overplay modesty.
“I’m alright.”
She practiced until seven-thirty before leaving work.
After she left, Wang Meili looked at the buns in her hand. Though she had managed over a dozen pleats, they were uneven and crooked. In frustration, she crushed the bun flat, the filling squeezing out.
“I don’t believe I can’t surpass Jiang Zao!”
She usually practiced until eight-thirty, but that day, she stayed until nine-thirty.
By then, Jiang Zao had already returned home.
In the Jiang family courtyard, tables and benches borrowed from neighbors were set up. Red “double happiness” decorations were pasted on the windows and doors.
Liu Chunhua sat on the kitchen threshold, snapping green beans—cutting off both ends, pulling away the tough fibers, and tossing them into a basin.
Hearing footsteps, she didn’t even look up.
“Third child, you’re back. Get up early tomorrow. Your sister’s getting married—you’ll help steam buns and make dumplings. Let the neighbors see your skills.”