Rebirth begins with an arranged marriage

Chapter 21 Eating Meat

One dish is eggplant stewed with pork, and the other is cabbage stewed with tofu. The pork has both fat and lean meat, and the tofu is slightly yellow with a layer of oil on top.

Tang Huaiyi and Li Xiujuan looked at Guan Xiaolin together when they saw the two dishes and four steamed buns.

Guan Xiaolin invited the two to sit down and said with a smile, "You said it was my treat, so don't be shy."

As he spoke, he sat down himself.

Looking at the fragrant dishes and steamed buns, Li Xiujuan hesitated, "I won't eat them. Tang Huaiyi helped you with all of this..."

Guan Xiaolin laughed and said, "We're all classmates, no need to be so formal. What's the big deal about me treating you to a meal? Besides, Tang Huaiyi eats with you, and he's definitely with you at night when he's turning off the doors, windows, and lights. Doesn't that mean he's helping me out too?"

"Don't be so polite, or the cleaning ladies in the cafeteria will complain that we're eating too slowly and give us a hard time."

As he spoke, he gestured for Tang Huaiyi and Li Xiujuan to look to the side.

Two tables away, an older woman wearing a blue apron was indeed staring at the three of them, clearly disapproving of their inappropriate mealtime—she also wanted to tidy up early and rest, rather than wait to start working.

Tang Huaiyi no longer hesitated, picked up his chopsticks and handed them to Li Xiujuan, then picked up a steamed bun for himself and used the chopsticks to pick up some food: "Squad Leader Guan, thank you for your hospitality. Don't be so polite in the future."

"It's just a meal, nothing much, but you've been a great help to me."

Guan Xiaolin said, "My family was quite worried about me."

"I don't think it was anything serious for you, since you had companions with you yesterday," Tang Huaiyi said.

"Wang Man and I are already familiar with each other, so it's alright, but it's still not very safe for two girls to be together," Guan Xiaolin said. "Zhao Weimin isn't suitable; we can't expect him to wait for us every day and walk with us..."

Tang Huaiyi was a little surprised.

"You're not familiar with him?"

"Well, it's somewhat related to family matters," Guan Xiaolin said. "It wouldn't be good to cause trouble for my dad through me."

She didn't finish her sentence, but added, "There are far fewer bad people now than two years ago, but we can't be carefree, especially at night when it's dark. It's really not good for us girls to walk alone at night."

Tang Huaiyi nodded and ate his steamed bun and vegetables.

The regulations have indeed been stricter in the past two years. Previously, there were simply too many unemployed workers, which caused a lot of public security incidents, so strict management was necessary.

As they were eating, Tang Huaiyi noticed that Li Xiujuan was only eating a little bit of cabbage, so he pushed the eggplant stew with meat toward her, saying, "You should eat some meat too, otherwise your body won't be able to handle it."

Especially when she gets her period, her already frail body needs even more attention.

"You should eat it," Li Xiujuan said softly, pushing the dish back to her.

Guan Xiaolin, watching from the side, couldn't help but say, "Why are you two being so polite? Even when you're eating together, you're still pushing each other around?"

He glanced to the side again and reminded her, "Hurry up and eat, the old lady is about to get angry..."

The old woman's cold gaze was indeed unsettling.

Tang Huaiyi and Li Xiujuan didn't say much and quickly ate their meal.

As they ate, Tang Huaiyi noticed that the meat and tofu had rolled over to his side, while Li Xiujuan was still only picking at cabbage and eggplant. He immediately switched the plates and gestured to Li Xiujuan with his eyes to eat faster.

Li Xiujuan lowered her head, her ears slightly red, and still managed to pick up a few pieces of tofu and meat with her chopsticks.

After finishing their meal, the three of them walked out of the small canteen. The middle-aged woman behind them walked over angrily and vigorously wiped the tables and chairs with a rag.

Guan Xiaolin glanced back, exhaled, and whispered, "This old lady is really hard to talk to..."

Tang Huaiyi nodded in deep agreement.

Li Xiujuan kept her head down and remained silent.

"I have plenty of time before afternoon classes start, so I'm planning to go home and rest for a bit. Are you two heading back to your dorms?"

"She went back to rest, and I have something to do outside," Tang Huaiyi said, then asked, "Since you went home for lunch, why are you still eating at school?"

"After all, I'm the class monitor, so I should help my classmates get meals," Guan Xiaolin said. "I really had no choice but to ask you for help tonight."

He then asked Tang Huaiyi, "Tang Huaiyi, what are you doing out there?"

"I'm going to sell the silver dollar I brought from home to get some living expenses," Tang Huaiyi said.

Guan Xiaolin became interested: "How much can it sell for?"

"About ten yuan? Teacher Chen asked for me yesterday," Tang Huaiyi said.

"That's too little! What can you do with ten yuan?"

Guan Xiaolin frowned slightly.

"There are quite a few things we can do; for example, temporarily improving our living conditions would be enough."

After Tang Huaiyi finished speaking, Guan Xiaolin remembered how difficult their conditions were, to the point that they ate cornbread every day, so she didn't say anything more. Even a slight improvement would be much better than the current situation.

Guan Xiaolin then waved goodbye to Tang Huaiyi and Li Xiujuan, tossing her ponytail.

After she left, Tang Huaiyi also said to Li Xiujuan, "I also have to go to the vegetable market in the east of the county town... You go back to the dormitory to rest."

"I want to go to the classroom to read some books," Li Xiujuan said.

"Given your physical condition, don't push yourself too hard right now. Wait a few more days until you feel better," Tang Huaiyi advised.

Li Xiujuan said in a low voice, "You went to great lengths to secure this opportunity for us to study, and I'm afraid it will be wasted."

She looked up again, her eyes already slightly red: "You don't need to feed me so well... I can eat anything, you're the one who should eat better."

Tang Huaiyi exclaimed in surprise, "What is this...?"

He had something to say, but seeing this delicate girl with red eyes and watery gaze looking at him, he decided against it.

"Didn't I eat your pickled vegetables too? They were quite delicious, so don't be so calculating with me."

How can pickled vegetables taste good?

Li Xiujuan lowered her head, thinking that Tang Huaiyi was so good to her. If the two of them really didn't get into university next year, she would marry him and have more children for him, at least two boys to carry on his family line.

Even if he hits you, you won't leave; just take good care of him and the children...

Seeing that she didn't speak, Tang Huaiyi thought he had convinced her, and told her not to push herself too hard to study at this time, but to go back to the dormitory to rest and recover first.

Li Xiujuan nodded, finally heeding his words, and headed towards the dormitory.

After leaving the school, Tang Huaiyi walked along the dilapidated alley to the main road of the county town and headed east. After walking for about a kilometer, a smell of rotten vegetable leaves hit him, and he arrived at the East City Vegetable Market.

I didn't go into the market; I just looked around the street corner and saw flowers and birds displayed in a small alley, so I turned in.

There was a dog tied up in front of the second house in the alley. Tang Huaiyi thought to himself, "This is the house. I'll give them eight yuan."

After walking past two more houses, Tang Huaiyi saw a sign for "antique calligraphy and paintings" leaning against the door, so he went inside.