The two of them went to the market, during this season, there were mainly potatoes, cabbages, and radishes, and bean sprouts for sale during festivals.
The two walked around and bought potatoes and cabbage. They also bought two frozen fish. Fresh fish is not available in the Northwest at this time. They bought a chicken, cut about three kilograms of pork belly, and weighed about two kilograms of glass noodles. When Xiaobei was buying cabbage, he sweet-talked the seller by calling her 'auntie', she gave them a bunch of scallions. Xiaobei laughed so hard that his eyes almost disappeared.
Lu Zhanguo, watching the greedy Xiaobei, felt a little bit better in his mood.
All these food cost just over ten dollars. Xiaobei remarked that in the 21st century, this would barely cover the cost of a breakfast.
Lu Zhanguo carried all the groceries, while Xiaobei trailed behind him with both hands free, showing the benefits of having a strong man around.
When they reached the bus stop, they noticed that Chi Xiaoyue was also there. Lu Zhanguo simply nodded, loaded the groceries onto the bus. Chi Xiaoyue laughed and commented, "You bought so many vegetables. I haven't eaten Zhanguo's homemade noodles for a long time. You should cook for us when you have time."
Xiaobei shot glares at Lu Zhanguo, but Lu Zhanguo didn't even glance in his direction, let alone respond to Chi Xiaoyue's comment.
Xiaobei finally felt some balance. Actually, Lu Zhanguo was very aware of Xiaobei's piercing stare and found him adorable like that.
Once someone catches your eye, every little movement they make, every little affectation seems endearing.
Getting no response from Zhanguo, Chi Xiaoyue fell silent the rest of the journey. It could have been due to having a full stomach, but she didn't feel sick on the way back.
Once they arrived home, Lu Zhanguo started preparing the food while Xiaobei washed up and went to bed. Whether it was because of the pregnancy or not, she felt tired. She thought about her past, how she had traveled all over Tibet on foot.
Lu Zhanguo sat at the edge of the bed, looking at Xiaobei with concern, "are you not feeling well?"
"Nothing's wrong, I just feel a bit tired. What are we eating tonight? I'll start cooking after a short rest." Xiaobei was very thrilled with Lu Zhanguo's concern.
"Let's stew all the meat. We can do a few simple dishes, after all, there are no outsiders." The Zhang family had two young boys, the older one was ten years old, the younger was seven. They were small in size but ate a lot. As the saying goes, 'a half-grown boy can eat his father out of house and home.' The seven or eight members of the family relied on Zhang Zhijun's salary, and it was a rare occasion for them to be able to eat dumplings. Xiaobei didn't seem to like the dumplings with leftover grease from last night, but he was glad that she didn't bluntly voice it out.
"Alright, but can you help me cut the chicken later? I'm not strong enough." For Xiaobei, the consideration was more on the fact everyone was living under difficult circumstances, and to treat the guests well, the more meat and vegetables they had, the more generous the spread would be.
"Sure, what do you want for lunch?"
"I want the sour noodles you make." Hearing this, Lu Zhanguo's face stiffened, she was waiting for this.
Seeing Lu Zhanguo's reaction, Xiaobei suddenly lost interest in teasing him. She said casually, "I'm not very hungry, just something small to satisfy my cravings for now. Start preparing the dinner early. After we eat, you need to take me for a bath."
"Alright" Lu Zhanguo nodded, preparing to leave, Xiaobei suddenly sat up, hugged his neck and buried her face in his neck. In a soft whisper, "Lu Zhanguo, if one day I get lost, you must wait for me in the same spot."
Xiaobei suddenly felt insecure, she was scared. After all, she was just an isolated spirit drifted from another world, merely piggybacking on another existence by the same name. She had no idea when this might change and she would drift away again. And she felt this whole situation was as if she stole it. She couldn't expect that in just two days, Lu Zhanguo would develop deep feelings for her.
Lu Zhanguo didn't understand why Xiaobei suddenly seemed so sorrowful and helpless. He couldn't help but hold Xiaobei's petite body, gently comforting her, saying "Alright."
The two of them remained in silence, holding each other. It made them feel peaceful. Xiaobei knew she was being a bit dramatic, but she couldn't help liking making confessions to Lu Zhanguo like this.
"I bought a few twists on the way here, would you like to have some?" Lu Zhanguo whispered.
"You bought twists? How did I not see you buy them?" Xiaobei looked at Lu Zhanguo, questioned. They had been together the whole time. How could she not have noticed when he bought twists?
Lu Zhanguo stabilized Xiaobei, then went to fetch the twists. The twists were wrapped in wax paper. At that time, Xiaobei was chatting away with the cabbage seller. He saw a vendor passing by selling twists that looked golden and shiny in color. He thought Xiaobei would like them. Hence, he bought four of them. They cost ten cents each, and weren't exactly cheap.
Xiaobei saw the golden twists and her mouth watered, she immediately started eating. She leaned against Lu Zhanguo, who was seated on the bed, and looked utterly carefree. In fact, a lot of things end up being complicated because people overthink. The moment you stop over-analyzing, it's as simple as that.
With her mouth full of food, she asked Lu Zhanguo "why aren't you eating?"
"I'm not hungry; I bought these for you. Next time, I can ask them to bring some for you" Lu Zhanguo, watching Xiaobei enjoying her food, also felt in high spirits.
Without a warning, Xiaobei turned around, her mouth glossy, and planted a kiss on Lu Zhanguo's lips. After some haphazard biting, she broke into fits of laughter. "How does the twist taste?"
Lu Zhanguo looked at Xiaobei, his eyes full of depth. Suddenly he held Xiaobei's nape, bent down, and covered her mouth with his. Xiaobei was caught off guard, thinking, "Oh, so I'm the victim." But she quite liked the faint taste of tobacco in Lu Zhanguo's mouth and hence, closed her eyes. Lu Zhanguo kissed Xiaobei's oily mouth softly, finding not only the sweet taste of the twist but also a floral aroma, soft and tender like a petal. He couldn't resist deepening the kiss.
When the kiss ended, Xiaobei's face was all flushed. But her eyes were brighter than before. Lu Zhanguo was embarrassed by his own lack of self-control. He said in a low voice "I'll go to get you a glass of water. You go on eating, I'll handle the chicken and fish."
Xiaobei nodded eagerly. She took a bite of the twist and found it even tastier than before. She cheered up instantly.