Uncle Li looked meaningfully towards the gate.
"Why did they leave? They didn't even sit down to have a meal or something."
He clicked his tongue twice regretfully, picked up a piece of braised pork with his chopsticks and stuffed it into his mouth. He squinted his eyes in enjoyment. "This meat is so delicious. How did you make it? I'll go and learn."
Uncle Wang couldn't bear to look at his greedy look.
He lowered his head and took a couple of sips of wine. As the alcohol took effect, he let out a satisfied sigh.
Then he picked up a pig's trotter.
It was so satisfying!
After dinner, when they were all full and the wine was done, Li Chuchu took out that big watermelon.
The watermelon weighed about ten pounds.
The watermelon just taken out of the well was so fresh. The vine was still green. It wasn't a watermelon that had been stored for a long time.
When it was cut open,
the pulp inside was delightfully red.
Since it had been soaked in water, taking a bite, it was ice - cold, and half of the summer heat in the body was gone.
Aunt Wang had been looking forward to this for a long time. After that, she ate it with great pleasure.
"Are watermelons already on the market this season? The price must not be cheap," Sister Ge exclaimed, holding her child in her arms.
Aunt Wang replied while eating, "That's for sure. I went to the fruit store a few days ago, and they still cost thirty cents a pound!"
"Ouch. That's so expensive!"
Hearing the price,
everyone suddenly felt that the watermelon in their hands was even sweeter.
Uncle Li walked around to the table with his hands behind his back, smacking his lips. "Watermelons at thirty cents a pound? I have to taste them."
Aunt Li, sitting on the chair, gave him a sideways glance. "Come on! When has there ever been something you didn't get to eat?"
Sister Ge joked on the side, "Hahaha, Sister Li may not have good eyesight, but she can see her husband accurately."
The yard was filled with laughter.
After dinner, if there were any leftovers, Li Chuchu would ask the neighbors to take them away in packages.
The neighbors were originally embarrassed. Eating and taking things away, in these days, no family was well - off. It was okay to feast on big fish and meat at someone else's house, but how could they be so embarrassed to take the leftovers home?
But they couldn't resist Li Chuchu's insistence. "I can't finish all these by myself at home, and I don't have a refrigerator. It would be a waste to leave them here."
Sister Ge half - heartedly refused but finally accepted. She smiled shyly. "Just in time. When my husband comes back, I don't have to cook. Let him also taste this delicious braised pork."
Uncle Li's son would only come back at night. Li Chuchu asked them to take some braised pork and marinated pig's trotters.
The remaining watermelon and pig's head meat were all taken by Aunt Wang's family.
Before leaving, the neighbors even helped Li Chuchu clean up the yard on their own initiative.
Some took the bowls from the table, some swept the floor and took out the garbage. Aunt Wang and Yang Xiufen helped wash the dishes before going back.
Uncle Li led Dahuang to the door and fed the leftover chicken bones and the big bone with some remaining meat on it to Dahuang.
Dahuang's tail wagged as fast as a propeller.
There were a few more barks in the yard today.
...
In the middle of the night,
a tall and slender figure appeared in the yard. The washed - out shirt was casually tucked into the trousers. Even the low - quality clothes couldn't hide his perfect waist - to - shoulder ratio.
It was too dark to see his face clearly. Only the well - defined facial contour became a bit softer under the dim yellow light.
His calm steps revealed a hint of imperceptible urgency.
It seemed to carry a careful expectation that he didn't dare to let others notice.
Shen Yanshan came home in a hurry, looking travel - worn.
As soon as he entered the door, he immediately suspected that he had gone to the wrong place.
He frowned slightly, looking at the strange surroundings, and subconsciously searched for the familiar figure.
Where was Li Chuchu?
Wasn't she at home?
Shen Yanshan's brows frowned involuntarily.
He threw the thing he had carefully protected all the way on the table and subconsciously wanted to go out to look for her.
Maybe Li Chuchu... had gone to find that man.
He stopped in his tracks.
His steps suddenly became heavy, and he couldn't take the next step.
A gloomy and listless aura suddenly welled up. It was as if something was dragging him down, and he was sinking bit by bit.
When Li Chuchu came back after taking a shower, this was the scene she saw.
She saw such a big man standing in the room, almost blocking all the light in the room. She was startled for a moment. She took a step forward and tentatively called out, "Shen Yanshan?"
Shen Yanshan suddenly looked up at her.
His dark eyes were full of astonishment.
Li Chuchu let out a sigh of relief.
What was he doing, standing there like a pillar in the middle of the night? It was really scary.
She bypassed Shen Yanshan, walked to the table and sat down, wiping her hair with a soft towel. "Why did it take you so long to come back? Was everything okay on this trip?"
Shen Yanshan's gaze seemed to be firmly glued to her. He couldn't move his eyes away.
His Adam's apple rolled slightly, and his voice was a bit hoarse.
"Something delayed me."
The full moon was like a hook. The silver - white moonlight like snow covered every tile in the yard. All the wandering thoughts and surging emotions were hidden under this long silence.
After a long while, Shen Yanshan suddenly said, "You're not going out?"
Li Chuchu pushed aside her half - dry hair and slightly turned her body to look at Shen Yanshan. She said in a puzzled way, "What would I go out for in the middle of the night?"
Her black hair spread out like a waterfall. Under the dim yellow light, every strand of hair emitted a gentle halo. From Shen Yanshan's angle, Li Chuchu was extremely beautiful at this moment, exuding a delicate fragrance all over her body.
Shen Yanshan's eyes were deep, as if there were one or two stars in them.
He came back to life again, like a little dog holding a bone.
[Ding! The licking dog value increases by 2]
What?
What did she do?
Why did the big shot's favorability suddenly increase?
Besides being surprised, Li Chuchu secretly sighed that the thoughts of the big shot were really beyond the understanding of ordinary people.
"Are you hungry at night? How about I prepare something for you to eat?"
Shen Yanshan's eyes visibly brightened a bit. But his tone was still as cold as ice. "No, I'm not hungry."
If it weren't for the system beeping like crazy, Li Chuchu would really have thought that he didn't want anything.
"Okay, then you should rest early."
Li Chuchu was probably teasing him.
Shen Yanshan didn't say anything. He lowered his eyes and slightly pursed his lips.
The tail that was wagging wildly behind him seemed to droop.
Li Chuchu secretly laughed in her heart that this man's expressions were too obvious. She cleared her throat and decided not to tease him anymore. "You came back so late. Even if you're not hungry, it's good to eat something to warm your body. I'll make you a bowl of plain noodles."
"Okay."
This time, he answered quickly, as if he was afraid that Li Chuchu would go back on her word.
[Ding! The licking dog value increases by 2]
When Li Chuchu turned around, she rolled her eyes.
Making plain noodles was very simple.
Boil the dried noodles in boiling water until they were cooked, and then poach a fried egg in the same boiling water. Then take them out and put them into the seasoned soup.
The most important thing in the soup base was a spoonful of lard.
The snow - white lard melted into large oil flowers in the boiling noodle soup. The flavors of pepper, sugar, soy sauce and salt were perfectly blended in this bowl of soup.
Li Chuchu dotted the noodles with two freshly blanched and crispy Chinese cabbages.
She brought the soup bowl in front of Shen Yanshan.
"Eat. Be careful, it's hot."
Shen Yanshan sat upright, looking down at the plain noodles for a long time. He picked up the chopsticks seriously and took a bite.
[Ding ding ding! The licking dog value increases by 10(´I`)(´I`)(´I`)]