Xu Changxia stood a few steps away from him, thought for a moment, then mustered her courage and walked over to his side. She gently tugged at the corner of his clothes and asked, “What would you like to eat? I’m familiar with this area.”
“I’ve already eaten. It’s up to you,” Jiang Yao replied flatly.
Xu Changxia didn’t stand on ceremony either. Boldly and openly, she pulled him across the street.
When they reached a breakfast shop she frequented, the owner asked her, “Oh! Is the new bride bringing her son-in-law back home?”
Xu Changxia smiled without saying a word.
The owner looked at Jiang Yao beside her—tall and handsome. Xu Changxia stood next to him, delicate and petite, looking every bit the perfect match, a talented man and a beautiful woman.
What mattered most was that Jiang Yao, dressed in his military uniform, exuded an air of righteousness. No matter how you looked at it, he was far more pleasing to the eye than that other fellow from before, who had seemed rather shady.
“What would you like to eat today?” The owner shifted his gaze back and asked again with a cheerful smile.
Xu Changxia patted her pocket.
Although the Xu family hadn’t spent much on the engagement banquet, Xu Changxia and Xu Fangfei had always lived frugally. Even the small amount they had spent had emptied their savings. At that moment, she had only a little over ten yuan on her.
Gritting her teeth, she said, “Three baskets of crab roe xiaolongbao, a bowl of tofu pudding, and two bowls of Longjing lotus root starch.”
Even though Jiang Yao had already eaten, it had been early, and a grown man’s energy burned quickly.
In those days, anything with a bit of meat in it was expensive. A basket of crab roe xiaolongbao cost thirty cents. Normally, Xu Changxia would only indulge in such a treat once every ten days or half a month. After placing the order, she felt a sharp pang of regret.
“That’ll be one yuan and twenty cents. I’ll just charge you one yuan today,” the owner replied cheerfully.
“Is that all?” Jiang Yao suddenly spoke up beside her.
Xu Changxia turned back in surprise to look at him. If it weren’t for him, a bowl of tofu pudding would have been enough for her.
Of course, tofu, being easily digestible, wouldn’t fill her stomach. Ordinary people rarely had much oil in their daily meals, and Xu Changxia often did physical labor. Usually, what she ate wouldn’t last two hours before she felt hungry again.
She thought for a moment. Perhaps he hadn’t had enough to eat, so she added, “How about some duck blood vermicelli soup? Or spicy wontons? Those are their specialties and very tasty too.”
Spicy wontons were even more expensive because they contained generous amounts of meat—fifty cents per serving. But someone like Jiang Yao, a scion of a prominent family, probably wouldn’t be satisfied with something too plain.
“Let’s add an order of spicy wontons,” she said after a moment’s thought.
“Alright, that’ll be one yuan fifty cents,” the owner nodded.
Xu Changxia pulled out a small stack of money from her pocket, quickly counted out one yuan fifty cents, and handed it over.
“What are you doing?” Jiang Yao had just taken out a fifty-yuan note from his wallet. Seeing this, he frowned.
Xu Changxia glanced back at him. “You’re visiting my home, so of course I’m treating you.”
Jiang Yao’s frown deepened.
In his heart, last night’s engagement banquet was already equivalent to a wedding banquet. Xu Changxia was already his wife, yet she insisted on drawing a line between them.
She must still like Jiang Chi.
“Brother Yao, we haven’t registered for marriage or held the wedding banquet yet. Besides, our families are worlds apart. If I use your money now, people will point fingers and accuse me of being greedy,” Xu Changxia explained, noticing his displeased expression.
Jiang Yao felt a little better inside.
“Let’s go, to that table by the window. There’s no greasy smoke smell there,” Xu Changxia said, pursing her lips into a smile again. She took his hand and led him to the small table by the window, where they sat down.
Jiang Yao held her soft little hand, and for some reason, he felt a bit more at ease.
However, upon giving it a gentle pinch, he realized there was a thin layer of calluses on her palm.
Xu Changxia was still just a young girl, yet it was clear she had endured no small amount of hardship since childhood.
He sat down, spread open Xu Changxia’s palm for a closer look, and indeed, he hadn’t been mistaken—they were calluses.
Xu Cheng had previously claimed to treat Xu Changxia as his own daughter, but that was clearly a lie.
“What’s wrong?” Xu Changxia, unaware of what he was looking at, withdrew her hand and asked curiously.
As she spoke, she handed him a pair of chopsticks and a spoon: “This place isn’t as clean as home, so please make do with what’s here.”
When Jiang Yao went out to fight in the war, there was no hardship he hadn’t endured. Such details meant nothing to him.
He stared intently at Xu Changxia’s face for a moment without saying a word.
Xu Changxia grew a bit embarrassed under his gaze and lowered her head to fetch a small bowl for herself.
Outside the door, the adjutant and driver watched them through the window from a few steps away, snickering. They had never seen Jiang Yao treat anyone so gently before.
Xu Changxia grew even more embarrassed by their laughter, her face flushing all the way to the tips of her ears.
Jiang Yao glanced at them and said, “If you have nothing to do, go ahead and reserve a table at the restaurant.”
His tone carried a hint of threat.
“Yes, sir!”
Jiang Yao watched them walk away before turning his attention back.
The shop owner brought over their order. Xu Changxia placed the tofu pudding in front of herself, pushed the spicy wontons toward Jiang Yao, took a serving of steamed buns for herself, and placed two servings in front of Jiang Yao.
She was truly hungry—having neither slept nor eaten all night, and being woken up by Jiang Yihe at six in the morning—she was now starving, her stomach practically touching her back. She didn’t bother with manners and simply picked up her bowl to eat.
Though she ate quickly, she took small, quiet bites, making no sound at all, like a little kitten.
Jiang Yao watched her, worried she might choke. He transferred more than half of the spicy wontons from his bowl to hers and softly reminded her, “Eat slowly.”
Xu Changxia thought her messy eating had annoyed him.
“I don’t want the wontons. You won’t have enough for yourself,” she hurriedly returned them to him.
“At the engagement banquet last night, I saw you eating wontons,” Jiang Yao replied calmly.
Xu Changxia was taken aback.
In her impression, Jiang Yao was the cold, ruthless type who paid no attention to anyone. Who would have thought he’d noticed what she was eating?
Caught in her hastily made-up lie, she felt a bit embarrassed and reluctantly picked up two more wontons.
Jiang Yao wasn’t particularly hungry. He leisurely finished a basket of crab roe steamed buns and ate the few wontons left in his bowl. Seeing that Xu Changxia hadn’t finished yet, he pushed the untouched basket of buns toward her and said, “Wait for me for about ten minutes. I have something to take care of.”
Xu Changxia nodded.
She watched Jiang Yao leave, finished her own food, stared at the steamed buns for a moment, and then, while they were still warm, asked the owner to wrap them in oiled paper. She then hurried back home at a brisk pace.
Xu Fangfei usually couldn’t bear to eat such things. In her previous life, she hadn’t been sensible enough, and when Xu Fangfei said she couldn’t afford it, she had taken it at face value.
From today onward, she would give Xu Fangfei the best she could within her means.
Just as she reached the entrance of the Xu family home, Xu Fangfei pushed the door open and stepped out.
Seeing Xu Changxia return, she immediately put a finger to her lips, signaling for quiet.
Xu Changxia complied without a word and handed the steamed buns to Xu Fangfei.
“Isn’t this a waste of money?” Xu Fangfei glanced at it and said softly, “You know Mom usually doesn’t like eating this…”
“Jiang Yao told me to buy it for you, so hurry up and eat.” Xu Changxia didn’t let her finish.
The mother and daughter took a long bench placed by the neighbor’s door and sat down at the entrance of the Xu household. Xu Fangfei unwrapped the oil paper package, still somewhat reluctant, and handed the steamed buns to Xu Changxia: “Have some too.”
“Smell me.” Xu Changxia giggled, leaning her face close to Xu Fangfei.
“Smell what?” Xu Fangfei asked, puzzled.
“The scent of crab roe!” Xu Changxia replied seriously. “I ate two whole baskets by myself!”
Xu Fangfei playfully pushed her away, muttering softly, “You silly child!”
“From now on, I won’t be a child anymore,” Xu Changxia said with a smile.
In her past life, Xu Fangfei had passed away from stomach cancer before she turned fifty. The only person in the world who truly loved her had left when she was in her twenties.
Seeing Xu Fangfei again, Xu Changxia felt an indescribable mix of emotions, her eyes growing slightly warm.
She watched as Xu Fangfei finished the steamed buns, then, hearing the commotion inside the courtyard, whispered, “What’s going on in there?”
“I was just about to tell you!” Xu Fangfei’s eyes lit up at the question, and she quickly swallowed what was in her mouth. “Your aunt has gotten into big trouble! Xiaolin’s Mother is making a scene and threatening to call the police!”