After Qin Yuanzheng finished cooking, he brought all the dishes out. Qiao Lanshu's favorite was his stir-fried sweet and sour cabbage.
It tasted perfectly tart and had a crisp texture—it was incredibly delicious.
Thank goodness there was still Chinese cabbage to eat during the northern winters!
They ate at a small table in the living room. Qiao Lanshu was sitting on the sofa waiting for Qin Yuanzheng.
When Qin Yuanzheng came over, he insisted on holding Qiao Lanshu while they ate.
He assertively pulled Qiao Lanshu onto his lap and told her, Be good, I'll feed you dinner tonight.
Qiao Lanshu was speechless.
Qiao Lanshu's back pressed against his chest. The height difference between them was significant, so even though she was sitting on his lap, she wasn't too high up, and they could still look at each other at eye level.
Qiao Lanshu tried to get off his lap. Blushing, she said, There's no need, I can eat by myself.
Who knew what was going through Qin Yuanzheng's mind, but his large, rough hands immediately held down his little wife who was trying to escape.
He was strong; with just a light press, Qiao Lanshu couldn't run away.
Qin Yuanzheng held her and said gently, Weren't you in a bad mood today? Then let me serve you, isn't that nice?
Qiao Lanshu was speechless again.
She had indeed felt a bit upset after seeing her father's letter, which reminded her of things from her past life.
But she was actually fine now.
She just felt that being held and fed by Qin Yuanzheng was a bit weird.
Qin Yuanzheng held her, his rough hand gripping her waist, and picked up some sweet and sour cabbage for her.
Qiao Lanshu had no choice but to let him feed her.
The food Qin Yuanzheng cooked was delicious, and without realizing it, she ate quite a bit.
Seeing that she had stopped eating, Qin Yuanzheng asked, Why did you stop? Are you really eating this little?
It was like feeding a cat. No wonder she was so thin. With such a small appetite, she would burn it all off just by taking a few steps around the house, let alone doing exercises.
But Qiao Lanshu refused to eat any more; she really couldn't fit another bite.
Qin Yuanzheng reached out and rubbed her stomach, then suddenly chuckled and said, It's not even bulging.
He added, Didn't it bulge up last night?
Qiao Lanshu was speechless.
Qiao Lanshu really had to hand it to Qin Yuanzheng. This older man really had no filter. How could he say such things without changing his expression?
He dared to say it, but she didn't dare to listen.
It was one thing for him to talk endlessly during their usual exercises, but now he was starting up while they were just eating.
This man was so proper, serious, and unsmiling in front of others;
Yet at home, the words that came out of his mouth were naughtier than the meat dishes on the table.
Qiao Lanshu ran into the bedroom.
Qin Yuanzheng couldn't help but laugh. Since his wife was full, he started to eat. He polished off the steamed buns, the remaining half loaf of bread, a large bowl of porridge, and the two leftover plates of food on the table.
He didn't even leave the vegetable juices behind, using a steamed bun to wipe the plates completely clean.
That night, true to his word, he told Qiao Lanshu again that since she was in a bad mood, he had to serve her and make her happy.
At first, Qiao Lanshu wondered how exactly he was going to serve her and make her happy.
As it turned out, perhaps because he hadn't eaten enough at the dinner table, he had another meal.
Qiao Lanshu wanted to cry but had no tears left.
Since they got married, the two of them had been quite harmonious...
Qiao Lanshu asked hesitantly, Brother Zheng, we're okay doing it like this, right?
Seeing her caressing her stomach, Qin Yuanzheng replied, I have infertility, what could possibly happen? Don't worry, we don't need to use any protection.
This was the only benefit of his infertility: he could do whatever he wanted and indulge himself.
He could do it however he pleased. Since they wouldn't have children anyway, there was nothing to worry about.
If he were a normal man without infertility, he would probably have to use protection, or at least he wouldn't dare to be so indulgent.
After all, his little wife had just turned eighteen two days before their wedding. He was enjoying their current two-person world very much and didn't want children.
...
Ever since getting married, Qiao Lanshu was incredibly tired every morning.
She yawned constantly on her way to work every day.
Qin Yuanzheng was actually puzzled. He had clearly restrained himself a lot, and he felt that he still had abundant energy.
How come Comrade Xiao Qiao was so exhausted?
After arriving at work today, Qiao Lanshu finished chopping the last few dozen pounds of radishes.
With that done, their cutting and washing shift had nothing left to do.
They rested for the entire morning, and in the afternoon, they were given time off to go home and rest instead of working.
After all, they had been busy for quite a while, so this half-day was given to them as an extra break.
But tomorrow, they would probably have to go help out in other shifts at the pickle workshop.
However, since they were being transferred over to help, they would mostly be assigned lighter tasks.
Qiao Lanshu and Wang Xue came out of the workshop. Wang Xue was telling her, Did you eat the fried dough twists we bought yesterday? They taste really good, not much worse than the ones produced in our factory. I'm going to buy another two pounds today, do you want to come?
Hearing Wang Xue mention it, Qiao Lanshu suddenly remembered that she hadn't eaten the fried dough twists she bought yesterday.
How could she have had the time to eat them...
Thinking of her experience last night, she immediately lowered her head, blushing. She nodded and said, Are they really that delicious? As good as the ones made in our factory?
Wang Xue immediately replied, Absolutely! They taste exactly like the ones from our factory.
As Wang Xue spoke, she realized something sounded off and quickly added, Of course, they definitely weren't fried in our factory.
The food from the food factory had fixed sales channels. If it actually flowed into the mobile market, it would be a serious problem.
A very serious problem.
If things went wrong, the factory director could even be dismissed.
Saying this, Wang Xue exchanged a glance with Qiao Lanshu. Both of them silently kept their mouths shut, not daring to continue discussing this topic inside the factory.
Wang Xue remained silent for a moment before lowering her voice to ask, Are we still going to buy them?
Qiao Lanshu nodded and replied, We'll buy them!
The two of them changed out of their protective workwear, bundled up in their padded jackets and scarves, and walked out of the food factory arm in arm.
As soon as they walked out the door, they saw her cousin-in-law's brother, Deng Weijun, walking outside with two other men, a cigarette dangling from his mouth.
Qiao Lanshu immediately recognized that one of the men was another boiler worker from their factory, Zheng Daliu.
Last time, Deng Weijun had gone out with them, which led to someone reporting them for peeping at female comrades taking a bath, and they were subsequently arrested and taken to the police station.
That time, it was Qin Yuanzheng who had gone to bail Deng Weijun out.
Didn't Deng Weijun say he wasn't going to hang around with Zheng Daliu anymore?
How many days had it even been?
Why was he acting all chummy with him again?
Qiao Lanshu quickly called out to him, Weijun, Deng Weijun.
Hearing her voice, Deng Weijun immediately turned his head.
After all, Qiao Lanshu's southern accent was too distinct; it was practically one of a kind.
He walked over from Zheng Daliu's side, threw away his cigarette, and said with a smile, Sister-in-law, did you call me? What can I do for you?
Qiao Lanshu didn't know what to say.
Qiao Lanshu glanced at Zheng Daliu. Zheng Daliu was standing not far away, smoking a cigarette and frowning as he looked at her.
Qiao Lanshu thought it over for a moment before saying, "Weijun, it's like this. I get off work early today and need to go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy a few things. I'm worried I won't be able to carry it all, so I wanted to ask if you could help me carry my bags. Would that be too much trouble for you?"
Deng Weijun scratched his head and said, "It's not really a trouble..."
It was just that he had already promised Zheng Daliu to go meet up with some friends to play cards.
