Chapter 43 p1
After the three-thousand-wen deposit was paid, Song Yugui paid another one thousand four hundred and fifty wen for the stall rental, renting it for a full month, leaving only four hundred and sixty copper coins.
It wasn’t a small amount, but she still owed two thousand six hundred wen to the pig farm.
When would she be able to buy a whole pig at once? She was always in debt now.
Song Yugui was deeply helpless about her poverty. Shen Xizhi stood obediently beside her, her back straight, constantly looking at the passersby. Whenever one came forward to say they wanted to buy meat, her dark, beautiful eyes would instantly light up, filled with a smile.
Today was their third day of opening the pork stall. Perhaps because it was more stable, business was good, even better than the first day. The two hundred catties of pork were sold out by noon, leaving only a piece of seven-parts-lean, three-parts-fat meat she had specially saved for making wontons.
It wasn’t just the townspeople who bought it. The Shiyue Pavilion, where she used to work, a few of the familiar waiters came out to buy, and when they ran into her, they bought a few dozen catties of meat from her stall. She also gave them a cheap price, thirty-three wen a catty.
In the end, she sold a total of six thousand four hundred and seventy-three wen from the whole stall of pork. Holding the heavy pouch of copper coins, Song Yugui wanted to go and buy clothes for her again.
But Shen Xizhi had only just found out about their family’s situation yesterday. They were still in debt. How could she agree? Seeing that she wouldn’t listen, she flicked her sleeves and turned to leave, her small face pouting with anger.
Song Yugui couldn’t possibly ignore her. If she really let her go back alone, what if something happened on the way? She had no choice but to follow. “Alright, alright. You don’t want to buy clothes, so let’s have lunch in town. Having lunch is fine, right? It’ll also save you the trouble of going back and cooking. And I’m hungry. You’re not going to let me go back hungry, are you?”
She asked.
This time, Shen Xizhi finally stopped, her long lashes slightly lowered. After a moment’s hesitation, she compromised. She looked up again, her rosy lips pouting, and said with a bit of awkward dissatisfaction, “You’re the pillar of the family. How could I let you go hungry? Then what do you want to eat?”
If it was too expensive, she would still reject it!
“We can just find a shop and have a bowl of beef noodles.”
“Alright.” That was acceptable.
She was stingy with herself but quite generous with her wife. The moment they entered the shop, Shen Xizhi said to the waiter, “One bowl of beef noodles, and one bowl of plain noodles.”
Song Yugui: …
Don’t live a hard life with me!
She was speechless. She quickly called the waiter back. “No plain noodles, a bowl of chicken-shredded noodles.”
Shen Xizhi quickly pulled at her, her delicate brows furrowed with displeasure. “I don’t want chicken-shredded noodles. I’m fine with plain noodles.”
What was so good about chicken-shredded noodles? The ones she made at home were better and didn’t cost money. A bowl of plain noodles to fill her stomach was enough.
“Didn’t you say yesterday that I’m the head of the household? Are you not acknowledging it today?”
Since she had said she was the head of the household, of course her word was final.
Shen Xizhi was choked for a moment, her thin lips pressing together. She glared at her coquettishly. Knowing that she wouldn’t listen to her, she finally gave in, only silently complaining in her heart that she loved to waste money.
The waiter went to take their order. Song Yugui had wanted to order a side dish, but she had just contradicted Xizhi. Afraid that her wife would glare at her again, she didn’t order it. Now was not the time to be extravagant.
The two bowls of noodles were made faster than the other dishes and were soon served. One bowl was topped with a thin layer of beef slices, and the soup base was also made from beef bones, smelling fragrant. The other bowl was topped with finely shredded chicken, and the soup was a clear yellow, looking very tempting.
Song Yugui moved her own bowl in front of her, and with one chopstick, she picked up half of the beef on top and put it in Shen Xizhi’s bowl.
Shen Xizhi was stunned. “Mine has meat too. It’s enough. You eat. Don’t give it to me.”
She was about to give it back, but Song Yugui took her bowl and ate at the farthest position from her. “You eat. Look how thin you are. It’s uncomfortable to hold you at night.”
This was clearly just an excuse.
Who knew whose meat was whose? She had gained a lot of weight recently, but Song Yugui still said she was thin.
“How can I eat so much? You really are…”
Always so good to her. Who is so good to others more than to themselves? Idiot.
Shen Xizhi couldn’t win against her. If she tried to give her the meat, she would get angry. She could only lower her head and eat in small bites.
Only then was Song Yugui satisfied and also lowered her head to eat her own noodles.
A bowl of beef noodles was fifteen wen, and chicken-shredded noodles was fourteen wen. It wasn’t too expensive, and the taste was not bad.
She ate quite comfortably, but Shen Xizhi was clearly not so comfortable. From the moment they left the shop, her small face was wrinkled up. Only after they went out did she say in a small voice, “I heard from my brother before that a bowl of meat noodles only costs ten wen. It’s so expensive.”
“Your brother? You have a brother? I’ve never heard you mention him before. What’s he like?”
Shen Xizhi glared at her reproachfully. “Didn’t you ask anything before you married me?”
She didn’t even know how many people were in her family. It’s clear she wasn’t paying attention!
Ah, ah?
Song Yugui had forgotten about that. She just didn’t want Xizhi to worry too much about money and affect her mood. She hadn’t expected that a casual change of topic would bring up other dissatisfactions.
Seeing the other looking at her reproachfully, she couldn’t help but wipe the fine sweat from her forehead with her sleeve. “Ahem, well, I haven’t seen your family come to see you, so I don’t remember much.”
It was all an excuse.
Shen Xizhi pressed her small lips together and, after a long moment, said sullenly, “A married daughter is like spilled water. Of course they wouldn’t come to see me.”
At that time, her wife had a bad temper and liked to pester women. She was a famous hooligan in a ten-li radius. Oh, and she was also very poor. Her family would have hidden from her if they could. How could they come to see her?
Song Yugui’s brow furrowed. She had long known that Shen Xizhi’s family was not very good, but hearing it now, she still felt wronged for her and sorry for her plight.
If she hadn’t come, she would probably have suffered from beginning to end in this life.
So, wasn’t she here for Shen Xizhi?
Song Yugui was happy. Her hand went down and squeezed her wife’s slender, tender fingers, coaxing her, “Don’t be sad. You still have me.”
Your family is not good to you, but I’m good to you. Your family doesn’t come to see you, but I’m with you every day.
Shen Xizhi didn’t feel happy hearing her words. The wind was cold, and her heart was as cold as the wind. My wife, she… she’s just a block of wood! What’s the use of having a block of wood?
She was so angry she pulled her finger back, her small face puffed out, ignoring her.
Song Yugui scratched her head in confusion. Wait, how did I end up coaxing her like this? Why is she getting angrier the more I coax her? A wife’s heart is truly a needle at the bottom of the sea.
When they were halfway there, Shen Xizhi silently stopped in front of a grain shop.
“Are we out of rice at home?”
“Hmph, didn’t you want to eat small wontons? I’m buying some flour.”
“Oh, oh, okay.”
Her wife’s anger came and went quickly. Now that she was talking to her, she wasn’t as unhappy as before.
She honestly went in and bought a bag of flour, which cost thirty-five wen.
After she came out, Shen Xizhi said again, “Let’s go and buy some needles and thread.”
Song Yugui didn’t ask what she needed the needles and thread for. Since her wife had mentioned it, she took her to buy them. She bought a lot and, while she was at it, spotted a light blue jade hairpin in the shop next door, which was displayed at the entrance.
The color was not very translucent, a mixture of blue and green, with some impurities, but she still liked it very much.
Seeing the person beside her slow down, Shen Xizhi followed her gaze and, with just one look, decisively took Song Yugui’s hand.
“Let’s go, let’s go home. I’m sleepy. I want to take a nap!”
Song Yugui: …
“I know, I know. Don’t be in such a hurry. Be careful not to bump into anyone.”
So hurried. How can she look sleepy?
Shen Xizhi had also seen the jade hairpin at a glance, but… it was jade. In her eyes, a jade hairpin was a very precious thing and would cost a lot of money.
Their family hadn’t really made a profit yet. They couldn’t even pay for a whole pig. She just wanted to save the money for a rainy day.
They returned to the village, their bodies getting better and better with each trip to town. They weren’t tired at all and reached home in less than half an hour.
And then they ran into the woman in brocade clothes, who was bent over outside their courtyard, acting furtively.
The female lead was dressed very dashingly today, in a set of waist-cinching, narrow-sleeved clothes. She had been waving her hand at their gate, not knowing what she was doing.
Seeing her, Shen Xizhi was a little afraid and couldn’t help but squeeze into her wife’s embrace, muttering and complaining in a small voice, “Why is she here again? I’m so sleepy.”
She wanted to take a nap, but if Miss Chi was here, she would probably drag them out to work.
Song Yugui casually held her wife, who had burrowed into her embrace, and lowered her eyes to comfort her. “I’ll talk to her. What are you afraid of? You coward.”
She could vaguely see that Xizhi was a little afraid of Miss Chi.
But what was there to be afraid of? When you and Miss Chi were sworn enemies, I didn’t see you being afraid of her at all. You even dared to mock her.
How come now that your relationship has improved, you’re afraid instead?
Shen Xizhi also knew she was a coward. To this day, she only dared to be angry and dissatisfied with her wife, who was the best to her. She bit her lip guiltily and lowered her head, not speaking.
Forget it. If she’s a coward, she’s a coward. Anyway, I’m here to protect her.
Song Yugui lifted her hand and, after messing up the woman’s neatly tied hair, pulled her behind her and asked in a loud voice, “Miss Chi, what are you doing?”
Hearing the voice, Chi Xiangyue immediately straightened up and turned her head with a look of surprise. “You’re back! I saw this chicken stealing your vegetable leaves, so I wanted to help you stop it.”
The winter was cold, and the cabbage had originally been surrounded by something to keep it warm. Song Yugui went closer to look and saw that it had been pulled open.
“Thank you, Miss Chi.”
Chi Xiangyue waved her hand. “It’s nothing. I should be the one thanking you for letting me help you with your work. I wanted to help someone else in the village before, but he actually said I was clumsy and wouldn’t let me. It made me so angry! It’s the first time in my life I’ve been called clumsy!”
Song Yugui was stunned. She keenly sensed a difference between this life and the novel and frowned. “Who wouldn’t let you work?”
Chi Xiangyue was still a little angry when she mentioned that person. She said angrily, “I don’t remember what he’s called. I think his surname is Song!”
Song Yugui: …
That’s like saying nothing. If the people in Songjia Village aren’t named Song, what are they named? There aren’t many outsiders in the village.
She simply said directly, “Is his name Song Xingchuan?”
Chi Xiangyue had been racking her brains just now and couldn’t remember his name, but the moment Song Yugui said it, she remembered. She quickly said, “Yes, yes, yes! That’s his name. I even said at first that his name sounded a bit like mine. Who knew he was such a petty person?”
Not letting you work is petty. I’ve learned something new.
The fog in her heart was suddenly lifted. No wonder the female lead was not willing to play with the male lead and was pestering them all day. It turned out that the male lead had said she was not good and wouldn’t let her work. And since they weren’t chasing her away and she had work to do, of course she wouldn’t go and pester the male lead anymore.
She hadn’t expected Chi Xiangyue to be someone who loved to work so much. When she was reading the novel, she had thought she was always helping him with his work because she was afraid her crush was tired. Turns out it was pure passion!
