Qin Jin stepped into the courtyard and turned to bolt the main gate.
Old Mrs. Qin came forward and thumped him, "You rascal, where have you been? Don't you know your family is worried sick?"
Qin Jin clasped Old Mrs. Qin's hands, grinning impishly, "I'm back now, aren't I?"
He entered the room and opened the bag. Li Qiao spotted flour and meat, along with small treats like honey cakes.
Where did he get them from?
These days, it had been nothing but thin porridge or coarse grains; she had almost forgotten what noodles and bread tasted like.
So tempting.
At the bottom of the bag, there was a paper package, which Qin Jin took out and threw onto the bed, "This is for you."
Li Qiao was pleasantly shocked. He usually glared or scolded her, making her think he really disliked her, so she never expected him to prepare a gift for her. Opening it, she found a red coat.
It felt soft to the touch, and the style was nice too, with a tag in traditional characters on it.
An export order?
"Grandma, this is yours," said Qin Jin as he took out a bigger bag.
A brand-new outfit of cotton-padded clothes, Old Mrs. Qin turned it over and over, thrilled, "It wasn't stolen, was it?"
"Do I look like that kind of person?"
Old Mrs. Qin gestured with the clothes, "You can never tell. After all, everyone calls you Loser Qin."
Li Qiao couldn't help but snort with laughter, saying what she had in mind.
Qin Jin glared at her and then said to the old lady, "Aren't you my grandma? Think better of me."
Qin Jin took out all the items from the bag and handed Old Mrs. Qin a stack of grain tickets and pork tickets.
Old Mrs. Qin couldn't contain her joy; with these, they could have a prosperous New Year.
Qin Jin unwrapped a honey cake and lifted it to Old Mrs. Qin's lips.
"Delicious," said Old Mrs. Qin after taking a bite.
Li Qiao, thick-skinned, stepped forward to take one too. The outer crust was flaky, the honey sweet and light, and it was soft without sticking to the teeth.
"You two sweethearts haven't seen each other for a while, surely you have lots to talk about. I won't disturb you." Old Mrs. Qin gathered the tickets and the clothes, took the flour and meat, and left the room, planning to chop stuffing and wrap wontons that evening.
The room was left with just the two of them.
Li Qiao got tired of the sweets after two pieces, stopped eating, and sat at the desk to read.
Qin Jin prepared to sleep; he had been busy collecting and selling old stuff in the streets and alleys and was dead tired.
He had just removed his shoes when Li Qiao turned to look at his feet; he put them back on, deciding to wash up before bed.
So as not to make her cry and scold him for being uncouth.
Cleaned and washed, he crawled into bed; the interior and exterior exuded a faint fragrance that was refreshing and uplifting.
Having a wife really was different; even the bed smelled lovely.
He closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep in the next second.
He was awakened by the sound of chopping on a cutting board; the sky outside was tinged with a layer of red glow. Li Qiao was still sitting at the desk by the window, reading. Did she do this every single day?
Studying hard and still not getting into university, what a pig's brain!
Repeating a year was futile!
He got up and dressed.
Li Qiao, hearing the noise, smiled back, "You're awake?"
Qin Jin, "Obviously. If you always study at home, how do you figure out the things you don't understand? Ask the educated youth?"
"I hardly come across something I don't understand. I exchange books with them mainly. You know Principal Han, right? He usually comes to me for advice."
Qin Jin laughed heartily, "You're teaching him with your skills? Without your help, he might just succeed next year. With your tutoring, it's completely hopeless."
Li Qiao, "..." She grew red-eyed with annoyance, "You big bully, looking down on people!"
Qin Jin, afraid she might burst into tears the next second, softened his heart and offered her food.
Li Qiao pushed it aside, "Grandma's chopping stuffing for the wontons, I need to save space in my stomach for them."
Qin Jin, "..." She's got quite the temper! He stepped out and made a beeline for Old Mrs. Qin, who ordered him to knead the dough.
He heard a faint squeaking and glanced towards the rabbit cage involuntarily, "The rabbits haven't been fed yet?"
Old Mrs. Qin, "Qiaoqiao is quite fond of them. The night before you left, the rabbit had three babies. That girl often picks up unwanted vegetable leaves to wash and feed them. These past two days, the baby rabbits have started to eat veggies too."
Qin Jin stepped forward and parted the straw on the rabbit cage; the rabbits were all plump and looked rather cute.
...
The sun's afterglow gradually faded, and the room darkened.
Li Qiao closed the book and stepped out of the room, moving to the kitchen to help wrap wontons.
"Oh, the wontons Qiaoqiao wraps look so neat, just like little ingots. How do you wrap them?" Old Mrs. Qin asked curiously.
Li Qiao demonstrated once.
Old Mrs. Qin memorized the steps immediately, and her wontons turned out even more uniform than Li Qiao's.
Li Qiao gave a thumbs-up, "You're so clever."
Old Mrs. Qin smiled, "Clever? This isn't something that taxes the mind."
Qin Jin teased, "She might have practiced for a long time to find your quick learning clever."
Li Qiao: "..." Did she look that stupid?
The wontons were cooked, and the family gathered around the table to eat.
Li Qiao picked one up to taste—its skin thin and tender, the pinkish-red meat filling faintly visible.
Biting into it, it was especially soft.
The soup left a fragrant aftertaste in her mouth.
Who would have thought that a simple bowl of wontons could have so many flavors?
Knock knock knock!
The front door was knocked on.
"Old Mrs. Qin, it's me. Chunhua."
Sitting closest to the door, Li Qiao responded, "Coming."
She went forward to remove the door latch.
Peng Chunhua saw that she still held chopsticks, "Are you in the middle of dinner?"
Li Qiao, feeling awkward, hid her hand behind her back, "Yes. Sister-in-law, what's up?"
Peng Chunhua explained her purpose, "Feng Guanggun from the east side of the village is getting married tomorrow. The person in charge asked me to call a few people to come over in the morning and help prepare the food. You're free tomorrow, right?"
"Unfortunately, I've already made plans to go into town with Principal Han and the others to buy review materials." Li Qiao actually wanted to help, since after the banquet she could get some wedding candies.
"Never mind then." Peng Chunhua sniffed, "There seems to be a meaty smell in your yard. Where did you get the tickets for buying meat?"
Li Qiao followed the scent—indeed there was a delicious smell of meat. "Today, Jin came back with a large piece of pork. Grandma just stewed lard." She pointed to the lard scraps on the chopping board in the kitchen: "You should try it, it's very flaky." It was just too greasy.
Peng Chunhua's eyes lit up, "Jin is back, eh? Haven't seen him for a while, where is he?"
"Inside the house. Do you want to see him?"
Peng Chunhua was embarrassed and spoke sternly, "How could you say that? Why would I want to see him? What if someone heard?" She walked away.
Li Qiao was innocent, wasn't it you who said it's been a while? She saw Peng Chunhua off.
Old Mrs. Qin chuckled softly in the house, "Qiaoqiao is quite humorous."
"Just answer whatever she asks, what if she asked what else you brought? Wouldn't you have blurted it all out? Idiot," Qin Jin scolded.
"She's called honest, you slicky!"
Qin Jin: "..."
"..."
The sky darkened.
Li Qiao tidied up and washed up. As she went outside to throw out the water, a head poking out of the adjacent alley frightened her out of her wits. She cried out in alarm, "Ah!"
"It's me, Third Sister."
Li Qiao clutched her chest, "You scared me to death! What are you doing here so late?"
Li Jinhua wiped away tears, "I have nowhere else to go."
"What happened?" Li Qiao asked, concerned.
"Can we talk inside? I'm freezing." Li Jinhua huffed on her hands, hunching her body.
"Oh, come on in!" Li Qiao closed the door and led Li Jinhua into the house.
Qin Jin had already laid down, unsure whether to get up or stay put, so he covered his head.
Li Jinhua secretly surveyed the room, the walls dark, the floor cracked and dry. There were only a few simple pieces of dowry furniture.
Yet, it was this penniless boy who would one day become a wealthy magnate, possessing countless riches.
"Jinhua," Li Qiao called her out of her daze.