To explain how Zheng Wan found their home, we have to start from the beginning.
After staying quiet for only a few days, Zheng Wan began skipping work again to look for You Che at the electrical factory.
The reason she risked being scolded by Meng Jun to find You Che this time was mainly because she had heard that the director of the electrical factory had run away, leaving behind more than a million yuan in foreign debt.
With the factory in trouble, You Che, who worked there, was surely feeling distressed. Zheng Wan felt this was a perfect opportunity to get closer to him.
Thus, while Meng Jun was busy chatting with customers in the front hall, she slipped out through the back door of the kitchen.
She ran and walked all the way to the electrical factory, but as luck would have it, before she could call out to You Che, he had already pedaled away on his bike.
However, since she had already snuck out, she didn’t want to return empty-handed. Gritting her teeth, she ran to keep up with You Che’s bicycle.
Soon, You Che arrived at the food factory to pick up Meng Ruo. With Meng Ruo present, it was even harder for Zheng Wan to ask You Che to stop, so she could only follow them—they rode while she ran. After running like this the whole way, she eventually followed them to You Che’s home.
Seeing You Che lock the bicycle as the two prepared to go upstairs, Zheng Wan realized that if she didn’t stop him now, she wouldn’t get another chance. She called out, but this time she was clever enough to call Meng Ruo’s name instead.
Meng Ruo stopped and asked with a look of surprise, “How did you find this place?”
“I,” Zheng Wan stammered, “I originally went to the food factory to find you, but just as I arrived, I saw you leave on the bicycle.”
“What’s wrong? Do you need something from me?” Meng Ruo asked.
Seeing Zheng Wan, Meng Ruo remembered You Che mentioning a few days ago that Zheng Wan had looked for him at the electrical factory, saying she had business with her.
Although it was a bit convoluted—and she didn’t understand why Zheng Wan would look for You Che at the electrical factory instead of finding her at the food factory—business was business.
At that moment, Zheng Wan remembered the lie she had told You Che earlier.
She hadn’t prepared a reason in advance, so she had to make one up on the spot: “I… I was kicked out by my second aunt, and now I have nowhere to stay.”
“Ah? How could that happen?” Meng Ruo was very surprised.
Wasn’t Li Mei her biological mother? In the original book, Li Mei was very protective of Zheng Wan.
Thinking this, Meng Ruo looked at Zheng Wan suspiciously, doubting that she was telling the truth.
“It’s like this: my uncle won’t let me stay at the house, and my second aunt won’t let me stay either.” After saying this, Zheng Wan lowered her head with a pitiful expression.
“Sister Meng, can you temporarily take me in?” Zheng Wan asked again.
Meng Ruo immediately put on a troubled look and said, “It’s not that I don’t want to take you in, but my home only has one room. If you come, there will be no place for you to stay.”
Zheng Wan: “…”
Seeing Zheng Wan in a daze, Meng Ruo quickly added, “Look, it’s getting late. I won’t keep you for dinner. You should hurry home; otherwise, it won’t be safe on the road after dark.”
With that, Meng Ruo pulled You Che upstairs.
Zheng Wan: “…”
After returning home, You Che asked her bluntly, “Why do I feel like you’re intentionally avoiding her?”
“Am I?” Meng Ruo smiled casually.
Zheng Wan’s sudden appearance today felt strange to her. For one thing, Li Mei was her biological mother; how could she possibly kick her out? Secondly, as the troublesome supporting character from the original book, Meng Ruo was still worried about the plot’s influence on her, so she preferred to avoid deep contact with the original heroine as much as possible.
“Her second aunt—my stepmother—would definitely not kick her out of the Meng family. You can rest assured about that,” Meng Ruo added as an explanation to You Che.
He didn’t seem to care much about it and lowered his head to start washing vegetables.
Meng Ruo remembered something and asked, “How did the factory leadership handle the situation at your plant?”
You Che replied, “The deputy director said we should stop work for now and wait for the new director to take office.”
Meng Ruo nodded. “I see.”
She put the sliced meat into a bowl and was about to pour some soy sauce to marinate it when she realized the soy sauce bottle was nearly empty.
Meng Ruo poured the remaining soy sauce onto the meat, mixed it by hand, and then handed the empty bottle to You Che.
“We’re out of soy sauce. Go to the grain and oil shop to get a refill.”
You Che took the bottle and headed out.
After You Che left, Meng Ruo minced the remaining lean meat to use later for the minced meat eggplant.
She poured oil into the pot. After sautéing the minced onion, ginger, and garlic until fragrant, she added the marinated meat slices. After a quick stir-fry over high heat, she added the chili segments. As soon as the chilies hit the pot, their spicy aroma was released.
The locals here could handle spicy food, and the chilies sold were the quite pungent kind.
Then she took out some fermented black beans and sprinkled a spoonful into the pot.
Fermented black beans were the soul of Pork Small Stir-fry. Once the beans entered the high-temperature pot, their fragrance instantly burst forth.
Suddenly, the scent of meat and black beans, mixed with a bold, domineering spiciness, wafted out of the window.
Old Wang, who was sitting on the sofa listening to the radio, couldn’t help but stand up because of the smell. He walked to the kitchen and asked his wife, who was cooking: “Wife, what are you cooking today? Why does it smell so good?”
Wang Dezhu looked and saw that his wife was cooking green vegetables and loofah, without a single bit of minced meat. How could it have such a strong meaty smell?
“Wife, how did you manage to make green vegetables and loofah smell like meat?” Wang Dezhu asked.
“What are you talking about?” Zhou Qiaomei rolled her eyes at him. “The people upstairs are cooking meat. The smell is drifting down from upstairs.”
Hearing this, Wang Dezhu looked a bit disappointed and asked casually, “How do you know it’s upstairs? There are so many families in this building cooking right now.”
Zhou Qiaomei rolled her eyes at her husband again and said, “I’ve lived here so long; how could I not know what everyone’s cooking smells like?”
“This delicious aroma only started appearing after that young couple moved in upstairs. There’s no mistake.” As she spoke, Zhou Qiaomei became curious. “That young wife looks so delicate and weak; I thought she was some kind of young lady who didn’t know how to do any chores. I didn’t expect her cooking to be so fragrant.”
Sensing the aroma of meat from outside, Wang Dezhu picked up a piece of the green vegetables his wife had boiled and suddenly felt that these plain stir-fried vegetables he was used to eating tasted as bad as pig slop.
Zhou Qiaomei was completely unaware of her husband’s inner thoughts. While shoveling rice into her mouth, she said with interest, “Her husband is very powerful. On their wedding night, he even collapsed the bed. We were all startled by the noise back then; I even specifically ran up to ask about it, remember?”
“I know, I know. I’ve heard you tell that story so many times,” Wang Dezhu said impatiently, picking at his flavorless meal.
By the time Meng Ruo was halfway through stir-frying the dish, You Che had returned with the refilled soy sauce.
She took the soy sauce, turned the heat to low, and drizzled some in.
Instantly, a rich, savory aroma filled the air.
This naturally brewed soy sauce was truly fragrant, unlike the soy sauce in her original world which was full of “technology and hard work”—where the umami came from additives and carried an artificial scent.
Most people in this era were honest, and businesses were run with integrity. Real soybeans were used to brew soy sauce, unlike in later generations where the raw material for soy sauce was the dregs left after oil extraction.
The minced meat went into the pot for a stir-fry. Once cooked, the soaked eggplants were added. After each piece of eggplant was evenly coated with meat juice, she poured in a pre-prepared thickening sauce and minced garlic.
Minced meat eggplant must have plenty of garlic; otherwise, it wouldn’t be fragrant.
She turned the heat to low to simmer for ten minutes, then turned it back to high to thicken the sauce.
Lifting the lid revealed a pungent aroma of meat and garlic. The eggplant was simmered until soft and tender, fully absorbing the meat juices. Its soft, savory taste was actually better than the meat itself.
It was so delicious that Meng Ruo finished two bowls of rice herself. As for You Che, he didn’t waste a single drop of sauce, using his white rice to scrape the plate clean.
It had really been too long since they had eaten meat. Meng Ruo patted her round belly and let out a satisfied burp. Once she made more money, she wanted to eat meat every day.
After Meng Ruo pulled You Che upstairs, Zheng Wan stood frozen in place with a look of confusion.
She hadn’t expected Meng Ruo to reject her so decisively, leaving almost no room for negotiation.
Meng Ruo’s rejection directly caused her original plan to fall through. She hadn’t even managed to say a single word to You Che, let alone get closer to him.
Originally, she thought that if Meng Ruo politely invited her into their home, she could take the opportunity while Meng Ruo was cooking to talk more with You Che and comfort him regarding the electrical factory’s troubles.
Zheng Wan clenched her fists in anger, and thinking of how Meng Ruo had pulled You Che upstairs just now made her even more furious.
She was now frantic with anxiety but didn’t know what to do.
What Zheng Wan didn’t expect was that at this very moment, Meng Jun was throwing a fit in the back kitchen, eyes glaring as he slammed the table waiting for her return.
By the time she walked back to the restaurant, she found the back kitchen door slightly ajar.
She pushed the door open gently and looked up to see Meng Jun standing there.
Zheng Wan thought to herself that things had gone south. When did Meng Jun come back?
This time, without waiting for Meng Jun to speak, she lowered her head and took the initiative to admit her mistake.
“Second Uncle, I went out because I had an urgent matter.”
“Then why didn’t you ask for leave?” Meng Jun asked, glaring at her.
She had wanted to, but the problem was that the kitchen chef wouldn’t allow it. Once, she had asked the chef for leave, saying she needed to go out for a moment and would be right back, but the chef immediately got anxious, saying how busy it was and asking who would do the work if she left.
That Master Sun not only refused her leave but also kept a close eye on her. Whenever she moved toward the back door, he threatened that if she left, he would tell Meng Jun.
“Uncle, I was wrong. I won’t dare do it again next time,” Zheng Wan took the initiative to apologize.
Meng Jun was so angry he laughed. “Next time? You still think there’s a next time?”
“Stone, bring her bag over.”
Stone was Master Sun’s apprentice.
Hearing them mention her bag, Zheng Wan panicked. That bag contained meat and vegetables she had secretly taken.
“I was wondering why meat has been going missing in the kitchen lately. Turns out we have a thief in the house,” Master Sun said, taking the bag from Stone and opening it for Meng Jun to see.
Zheng Wan thought to herself: How can this person strike first? They were the ones who stole things first.
“You guys were the ones who stole first! Why blame me?” Zheng Wan was so angry she almost jumped, speaking with righteous indignation.
Master Sun sneered inwardly. They wouldn’t be stupid enough to steal such expensive meat; at most, they took some cheap vegetables, and they certainly wouldn’t be stupid enough to stuff them in a bag to be caught red-handed.
If he didn’t report her to the boss quickly, the blame would fall on him when the boss discovered it himself.
“I didn’t expect it. For a girl who looks so honest, you’re not just a thief, but a dog that bites back. Now that you’re caught, you want to drag others down with you,” Master Sun’s words were very harsh.
“How am I biting back? I saw you taking things first, then I took some!” Zheng Wan argued, her neck stiff with anger.
“Enough, stop shouting!” Meng Jun yelled at the top of his lungs, and the entire kitchen instantly fell silent.
He had known for a long time that these people in the kitchen occasionally snitched some vegetables. As long as it wasn’t too excessive, he had always turned a blind eye. But yesterday, Master Sun had reported to him that several strips of meat had gone missing.
Meat cost two yuan a catty. If several strips were missing, that would be at least ten yuan.
In the long run, this was not a small amount of money. More importantly, if this behavior was encouraged, there wouldn’t be just one or two thieves. If everyone stole, how could he keep his restaurant open?
“The last time you skipped work, I didn’t give you enough of a lesson. That’s why you’re not only skipping work now but being a thief too,” Meng Jun’s chest heaved with anger.
“The last time you skipped work, I told your second aunt. Instead of repenting, you’ve become even worse.” With that, Meng Jun waved his hand and said, “I can’t keep someone like you here. Pack your things and leave immediately.”
Meng Jun was kicking her out? Zheng Wan’s eyes widened in shock.
And Li Mei knew about her being caught skipping work last time.
Her mother was now dying for her to leave the provincial city and scramble back to her rural hometown. How could she plead for her? It would be good if she didn’t add fuel to the fire.
But would she let them have their way?
She would make Li Mei find her a new, easy job; otherwise, she would reveal the fact that she was her biological daughter to Meng Jun.
She had long since wanted to stop working here anyway; she was exhausted every day and got scolded severely just for going out for a bit.
Zheng Wan angrily threw the meat and vegetables from her bag onto the floor: “Fine, I’ll go! You think I want to work here?”
Then she stormed out without looking back.
Meng Jun hadn’t expected Zheng Wan to leave so readily. Originally, he had only intended to scare her so she would learn her lesson. If her attitude had been sincere, he might have forgiven her one more time.
As it turned out…
How was he going to explain this to Li Mei when he got back? Meng Jun scratched his hair in frustration.
When he went back that night, Meng Jun told Li Mei about it.
Unexpectedly, Li Mei’s reaction was very calm.
“This is for the best,” Li Mei said. “Tomorrow I’ll go to the tenement building and tell her to head back to our hometown early.”
On the surface, Li Mei seemed calm, but she was delighted inside. The job was gone; this time, when she told her to go home, the girl would have nothing to say, right?
The next day, Li Mei hurried to the tenement building. To successfully persuade Zheng Wan to return home, she even brought some dry food—a few flatbreads and some white mantou.
Zheng Wan was also waiting for Li Mei in the tenement building.