Bai Fumei in the 70’s

Jiang Li is working hard and enjoying the spicy frog hot pot, not paying attention to Zhao Lanxiang's slightly changed face.

As she ate, she said, "When will you make this next time, save me some, I am willing to buy it from you."

After a while, Jiang Li did not get an affirmative reply from Zhao Lanxiang.

She grunted and said with dissatisfaction, "Why don't you speak, have you become silly after reading my brother's letter?"

Zhao Lanxiang stopped yelling for He Songbai to come over to eat, and there is a chill on her back. She raised her head and looked around and found that He Songbai is not nearby, and her face was sullen.

Jiang Li was too open-mouthed, if He Songbai heard it, it was likely to cause misunderstanding. It is estimated that she would become the bad woman in his heart.

He Songbai is a tortoise hidden in a shell, sensitive and inferior. He finally reached out boldly to accept her, to like her, and is willing to work hard for her. If Jiang Jianjun smashed his efforts prematurely, Zhao Lanxiang couldn't explain it with ten mouths.

Everything at the moment is gradually getting better in the right direction. Zhao Lanxiang doesn't want Jiang Jianjun to blend in and destroy things.

Any possible danger, she wants to strangle it in the cradle.

She thought for a long time, and said seriously, "There is nothing between me and your brother."

"If you talk like this again, you don't have to come to eat with me again."

Zhao Lanxiang rarely said heavy words, even when she was most impatient, her face was soothing or even smiling, but this time with her cold tone, Jiang Li suddenly stunned.1

She was choked by Zhao Lanxiang and said, "You...when I care about your business?"

Zhao Lanxiang said word by word, "You better behave like this."

She quickly issued an order to evict guests, "Hurry back after eating. The He family is not used to eating at the same table with strangers."

She paused and continued, "If there is something delicious in the future, I will leave some for you. You don't have to come to ask for food."

"It will embarrass me and it will not look good, you know?"

Zhao Lanxiang frowned and said, "Teaching in a good way."

She couldn't guarantee that Jiang Li's sloppy and rough temper could remember her words. The best way is to reduce her chances of contacting He Songbai.

After Zhao Lanxiang finished speaking, she wiped her sweat. She clearly didn't do anything wrong to the man, but at this moment she feels a guilty conscience.

After hearing the first half-sentence, Jiang Li couldn't hold back her face, but when she heard the second half-sentence "Leave some for you", she was very happy. She narrowed her eyes as if she had picked up a bargain. Zhao Lanxiang rarely has such a consideration.

She was cheeky and took advantage of someone's meal, and occasionally come empty-handed, this kind of feeling is also uncomfortable.

Jiang Limei said, "Okay, then I won't come. I'll wait for you."

Jiang Li finished a little frog in her bowl, gave Zhao Lanxiang fifty cents, and went back with satisfaction.

Zhao Lanxiang quickly collected the letter on the table and shouted to the brothers and sisters of the He family to come over for dinner. She brought a bowl of stewed mushrooms and frogs to Grandma's room.

When Sanya was writing big characters, she had already smelled the aroma from the kitchen. The rough paper for writing was stained with her saliva. Grandma Li hated the iron for not becoming steel and pull her hair.2

"Not promising, can't even resist this temptation."

"After writing two large characters, then you will be allowed to eat."

She strictly restrained her granddaughter, who was lively and wild.

On the other side, He Songbai was feeding the cattle in the cowshed. Hearing the girlfriend's call, he quickly finished work and went to dinner.

He set up his chopsticks and eats happily, eating the clear soup that Zhao Lanxiang gave him. The drunkenness on his face seemed to be slow, and it was only after the first drink at noon that it gradually slowed down. His deep face is all red, with a dull and cute expression.

He said, "Xiangxiang, you are so pretty."1

Zhao Lanxiang felt that he is holding her hand, and sipped him, "Are you drunk and crazy? Sanya will be here soon."

He Songbai carelessly said, "It doesn't matter, she is writing big letters!"

"She can't come that fast."

He Songbai smirked, but his hands were no longer wondering.

He ate the food honestly and cherished every grain of rice in the bowl. He looked satisfied and content, "The food you made is really delicious."

"Smart and cultured."

"Gentle and courageous."

"How come my Xiangxiang is so good!"8

Zhao Lanxiang was stunned. She didn't know that the drunken He Songbai is like this.

Her old man had a bad stomach and suffered from severe stomach problems. His personal doctor was extremely nervous and told him not to drink a drop of alcohol. When discussing business, several assistants around him kept him out of alcohol without a leak. In addition, he has strong self-control. Zhao Lanxiang had never seen his drunk appearance in so many years. 

She could not help but listen and grinned.

When a man speaks sweet words, there is also irresistible magic. Zhao Lanxiang was not in a good mood before, but it was wiped out by his stupid words.

The scrupulousness in front of her made her abandon her future foresight.

"Are there any more?" She whispered closer to He Songbai's ear and asked with a smile.

At the same time, her eyes are paying close attention to the movement outside the kitchen. The evening meal was the time when the He family gathered together.

There may not be enough people to eat at noon, but no matter how busy the night is, the siblings of the He family can get together.

But today is a little different. Sister He is at the Li family's house for her wedding night. Grandma is inconvenient to come out from the room, even Sanya... her big characters are not finished.

At this moment, Zhao Lanxiang has a kind of unspoken secret unrestrainedness. Hearing the man's enthusiastic words, she even fluttered a little.

It's rare that when this boring man has his mouth so coquettish, Zhao Lanxiang would have thought he had said it deliberately if he didn't smell so strong of alcohol.

He Songbai thinks and thinks, staring at Zhao Lanxiang with some distress. He is stunned, and suddenly his head fell on the table with a thud. He closed his eyes and fell asleep.8

Zhao Lanxiang's expectation fell short, and she grabbed his ears angrily, hoping to wake him up.

"Really? Can't drink so much wine but still do it."

Zhao Lanxiang removed the rice bowl by his elbow and heated hot milk with the remaining fire in the kitchen. The milk is used to sober up. Drinking some milk can relieve stomach irritation even if people are so drunk.

After a while, Sanya, who had finished writing the big characters, happily got into the kitchen, sit at the table, and gulped the dinner.

She covered her mouth and laughed that her elder brother was drunk and passed out. She was happy to take the frog in the pot as her own, and just eat and eat.

This is the first time for Sanya to put meat into the pot and cooked it. The red oil in the pot is bubbling, the fragrance is overflowing. The yellowing frog is hidden under the crisp green vegetables. After a bite, it is smooth and tempting. The white frog is very springy and full of flavor. This makes Sanya very pleasantly surprised.

The delicious and spicy taste made her feel the taste all the way to her marrow. If Zhao Lanxiang stopped her, Sanya would have eaten until her stomach broke.

Zhao Lanxiang rubbed her head, "Go to the shower and sleep."

She helped Sanya to take a bath, took her to chat with her grandmother, and finally returned to the kitchen to give milk to He Songbai and sober him up.

Her cold palms pressed against his hot face, and the drunken man narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Get up, drink some milk and sleep again."

"You are so heavy, I can't move you back to your room to sleep."

He Songbai listened to the gentle and energetic voice in his ear, and the voice seemed to fall into his heart, nestled warmly. On the very quiet night, the kitchen was only lighted by a kerosene lamp, and the surrounding was blurred. But the woman under the lamp has the beauty of looking at flowers in a mist, and she smiled shallowly.

For a moment of staring, his confused thoughts seemed to imagine that the woman in front of him was his wife.

"You feed me, okay?"

He Songbai mumbled vaguely, opened his eyelids, and carefully looked at Zhao Lanxiang with expectant eyes.

Zhao Lanxiang had no resistance to this kind of whispering pleading. She reluctantly picked up a spoon, lifted his head, and fed milk into his mouth little by little.

The warm milk flowed into He Songbai's mouth, into his burning stomach, and greatly soothed his uncomfortable stomach. He felt a gentle comfort and giggled nonstop.

In this way, he drank a big bowl and said, "No more, I want to sleep."

He Songbai fell asleep after speaking.

...

Zhao Lanxiang used the power of nine cows and two tigers, and finally brought a man who is as solid as a mountain back to his room. It was not early. For He Songbai, who usually gets up early, he usually goes to bed at eight o'clock.

She stared at the watch in He Songbai's arms, worried that he could not get up to work at two in the morning, so she wiped his face silently.

"Forget it, it doesn't matter if you don't get up tomorrow."

"You are exhausted these days, old buffalo."

He Songbai fell asleep deeply, did not respond to her, and quickly snored.

Zhao Lanxiang returned to her room and unfolded the letters hidden in her arms one by one.

"Lan Xiang, good words are like face-to-face meetings. I haven't seen you for a long time, and I missed you very much. When the work on my side comes to an end, I will go to you. Hopeful, Jiang Jianjun."

Seeing this, Zhao Lanxiang pulled out a pen and quickly wrote a letter in reply.

"Comrade Jiang, good words are like face-to-face meetings. Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching, I will take a few days off home to visit my parents, and we can discuss it in detail at that time. I hope you don't deliberately go to the countryside, so as not to miss the encounter."1

She is thinking that she could never contact him again with a letter like this so that she would not be entangled endlessly. She was worried that he would put Brother Bai in danger.

She capped the pen, threw it into a bamboo pen holder, and walked straight to the bullpen.