There were only two stools in the house, so Yan Fengshou carried two more over. Zhou Maishu also brought over the dishes she’d already prepared.
The square table immediately had four more dishes on it, while in the center sat the yipinguo that Qian Xing had simmered for a long time.
The moment the lid was lifted, the rich aroma of meat immediately filled the entire room.
Zhou Maishu took a deep breath and gave Qian Xing a thumbs-up.
“I finally understand why Zhu Xiuyun came over to curse at you. This smells way too good!”
Qian Xing smiled.
“There wasn’t much food at home, so I just threw the cured meat and dried bamboo shoots we brought into a pot and stewed them together. Who would’ve thought she’d end up being our neighbor?”
She told the three of them about her encounter with Zhu Xiuyun on the train. As he listened, Huo Yuan glanced toward the box in the corner.
He had carried that box before. It wasn’t heavy at all. How could it possibly hold that much stuff?
Qian Xing noticed where he was looking and secretly smiled. She didn’t bother explaining and continued chatting casually with Zhou Maishu.
But Zhou Maishu was far too busy eating to talk much at the moment.
How could such an ordinary pot of cured meat stewed with dried bamboo shoots taste so good?!
It was such a homestyle dish. She made it often herself, but hers always turned out greasy and heavy. Even Yan Fengshou, who loved meat, would lose his appetite after eating just two pieces of cured meat.
“Qian Xing, your cooking is really delicious.”
“If you like it, eat more.”
Since she hadn’t cured the meat herself and hadn’t dried the bamboo shoots herself either, Qian Xing had been worried that the final dish might taste terrible. That’s why she’d decided to add a little spiritual liquid to salvage it.
Who would’ve thought the effect would be so incredible?
She looked toward Huo Yuan and saw that his attention had already returned to the food. Although he wasn’t eating rudely, he certainly wasn’t eating slowly either. He was shoveling food into his bowl as if competing with Yan Fengshou.
“Exactly.” Yan Fengshou raised his head from his bowl. “No wonder Zhu Xiuyun got so worked up. She must have been drooling over the food!”
Meanwhile, Zhu Xiuyun was hearing essentially the same words at home.
“Why are you so greedy?! Are you starving for meat or something? Someone was just cooking properly, and you had to go over there and curse at her. You’ve even spoiled our son!”
Qian Xuefeng sat coldly on the stool, looking at Zhu Xiuyun with unmistakable disapproval.
He had only just been promoted to battalion commander. At a time like this, the most important thing was to be cautious with his words and actions. He wished he could keep an even lower profile, yet he happened to have such a troublemaker in his family. She hadn’t even arrived before causing trouble.
“What was I being greedy about? Her cooking smelled so good that it drifted over here, and Baogen smelled it and started clamoring for meat too. And somehow that’s my fault?”
“If he wants meat, then buy a piece and cook it for him. Don’t be so stingy. Mom has been saying for ages that you keep such a tight grip on the household money. Forget meat—you barely even let us cook extra eggs.”
The moment Zhu Xiuyun heard that, she exploded.
“I’m stingy?! Qian Xuefeng, get your facts straight! You used to be just a company commander, earning seventy yuan a month. You’d send forty yuan home, twenty of which had to go to your mother, leaving only twenty yuan for our entire family’s food expenses.”
“Sure, your mother isn’t stingy. She’s so generous! She saves every cent of that twenty yuan you give her and doesn’t spend a single bit of it. Whenever she wants to spend money, she asks me for that other twenty yuan. Today she buys a piece of meat, tomorrow she buys some candy, and she has you wrapped around her finger. I get stuck with all the blame, is that it? Your whole family—”
“You!”
Qian Xuefeng impatiently cut her off.
“Why are you dragging my mother into this again? We’re talking about you right now. Forget the old accounts. You’re following me to the military district now, and from now on I’ll give you my entire salary to manage. Just don’t shortchange Baogen. He’s your own son, after all!”
“And you heard them at the door, didn’t you? They’re inviting everyone over for dinner tomorrow. Be on your best behavior tomorrow and ask Huo Yuan’s wife to teach you how to cook. Wouldn’t that resolve the conflict?”
Learn from that woman?
She might as well smash her head against a wall and die!
Zhu Xiuyun’s face darkened, hatred filling her eyes.
In the corner, five-year-old Qian Baogen silently curled up without saying a word, his face carrying the numbness of someone who had grown accustomed to this.
At the same time, the Hu family was also discussing tomorrow’s dinner at Huo Yuan’s place.
He Manhong originally hadn’t wanted to tell her younger sister, He Manqing, about it. But Huo Yuan wasn’t coming to dinner after all, so there had to be an explanation.
She told her sister everything that had happened that evening, emphasizing that Huo Yuan was already married and that his wife was definitely not someone to mess with.
However, He Manqing’s attention was completely captured by the first few things her sister had said.
“Sis, you’re saying that Song Qianxing is really ugly? Then how did she manage to marry Huo Yuan?!”
“…”
Was that really the important part?!
He Manhong couldn’t help rubbing her forehead.
“Qing’er, were you even listening to me? I’m saying that Song Qianxing isn’t someone you can mess with. Give up on Huo Yuan already. Tomorrow, I’ll have your brother-in-law introduce you to someone even better.”
“No!”
He Manqing rolled her eyes at her sister.
“Who in the military district besides Huo Yuan is worthy of me? If there were someone else, your husband would’ve found him for me already.”
“She’s hosting dinner tomorrow, isn’t she? I want to see exactly what kind of person she is that she managed to make Huo Yuan marry her. Besides, the marriage approval hasn’t even come through yet. And even if they get married, they can still get divorced!”
…
Back at the apartment building, the meal finally ended.
The Zhou couple had already said their goodbyes, leaving behind a table covered with the remnants of dinner.
Huo Yuan sat on the stool, staring at the bowls on the table with undisguised disgust.
Zhou Maishu had mentioned that Huo Yuan had a cleanliness obsession, hadn’t she?
The thought flashed through Qian Xing’s mind, and she stood up to clear the dishes.
Back in the Great Xia Dynasty, she had always been the one who cooked and washed the dishes, so she didn’t mind doing it.
However, in the next instant, the bowls on the table were picked up by another pair of well-defined hands.
“I’ll do it.”
Qian Xing smiled and poked his arm.
“Huo Yuan, do you have a cleanliness obsession? I’ll wash them.”
Huo Yuan silently carried the bowls to the balcony, poured water into a wooden bucket, and began washing them.
“I just have a bit of a cleanliness obsession when it comes to things that have already been cleaned. It’s not that I can’t wash dishes. We wash our own dishes at the military camp.”
Qian Xing’s eyes widened curiously.
“What do you mean?”
Huo Yuan pursed his lips.
“Tell me. We’re going to be living together from now on. What if I accidentally offend you…”
At the thought of living together, Qian Xing’s face also turned slightly red. Ever since she was little, she’d only ever slept beside her master.
Huo Yuan broke off a piece of soap and rubbed it over the inside and outside of the bowl as he explained,
“Nothing particularly strange. Once I’ve washed something clean, no one can touch it again unnecessarily. The bed also has to be kept clean.”
That actually sounded pretty normal.
Qian Xing blinked, not finding anything particularly strange about it. Instead, she turned the conversation toward tomorrow’s meal.
“When should we go buy groceries? There doesn’t seem to be much food at home. Do you never cook?”
“Mm. We can eat at the mess hall from now on. It’ll save us the trouble of cooking.”
“Is the food at the mess hall good?”
“It’s average. Not as good as what you stewed today.”
Hmm…
So basically, it was terrible.
Qian Xing didn’t have many demands in life, but when it came to food, she had inherited her master’s high standards. Her palate had long since been spoiled, and she simply couldn’t swallow food that didn’t taste good.
“I’ll cook whenever I have time from now on.”
Huo Yuan frowned.
“Cooking is tiring.”
Qian Xing smiled.
“I actually like cooking. Besides, look how thin I am. I need to nourish myself properly. And you train so hard every day too. You need to eat good food. Your health is the most important thing.”
Huo Yuan hadn’t expected her to think about him too.
He was stunned for a moment before saying,
“Okay. We’ll cook together from now on.”
Qian Xing’s large cat-like eyes immediately curved into a smile.
“Okay! Then let’s solve the grocery problem first.”
Huo Yuan rinsed the last bowl clean, returned the bowls belonging to Yan Fengshou’s family, then turned to Qian Xing.
“Come with me.”
“Where?”
By now, the sky had already darkened, and everything outside the apartment building was pitch-black.
“Buy groceries.”