Chapter 76: Pastry
One sip, one peck, karma cycles.
Observing all night, Su Ning, who could smoothly be discharged, kept sighing inwardly: In less than a month, the number of hospital visits almost caught up with the total from all previous years combined!
Fortunately, there was the Peach Blossom Spring Space, and the spring water that newly appeared because of saving people saved their lives. Otherwise, with a body weakened by blood loss, there wouldn’t have been any strength left to fight back.
Looking at the two who hadn’t slept all night, stayed by her side the whole time, ignored their own injuries, and were still bustling around for her, a warmth welled up in her eyes.
Should she use the magical spring water to make some food for them, to help their injuries recover faster and better?
“Su Ning, you’re spacing out—what are you thinking about?”
“Hm?”
“You can go now, everything’s settled!”
The three of them walked out of the hospital in a strangely mismatched style, drawing frequent stares from passersby.
Fu Jiaming puffed out his chest, straightened his legs, and hobbled along, with several aluminum lunchboxes hanging from net bags around his neck.
To make it easier to cover the gauze on the back of her head tightly, Su Ning combed all her hair into a high ponytail and then twisted it into a round bun.
This round bun hairstyle paired with the large gauze below made Fu Jiaming, that fool, crack up every time he saw it—no one knew which funny bone it tickled.
As for Yan Bei… because he was too anxious when he got the news last night, he rushed straight to the hospital without changing out of his pajamas.
Cough, his shirt with a button popped off exposed the bandages on his chest, just like wearing an ancient undergarment wrap…
Turning her head away from staring at that spot, Su Ning silently praised their talents while struggling to hold back laughter: One is so carefree, the other lives up to expectations!
How exactly did Fu Jiaming’s magical brain circuits wrap the bandages like that?
Noticing where her gaze landed, Yan Bei, rarely embarrassed, casually adjusted the clothes over his chest again.
“Su Ning, really not considering coming back with me?”
“Better not.”
The Yan Family people were all very easy to get along with, no doubt, but they were just too enthusiastic—enthusiastic to the point of being overwhelming.
Besides, she was still a young woman comrade after all; even staying over as a friend wouldn’t be entirely appropriate.
“Then don’t run around these next couple days. For this mission, just sit back and wait for my news!”
Unable to resist chiming in, Fu Jiaming pressed down on the lunchboxes clanging against his chest. “At the latest, by tomorrow night, I’ll have it done for you.”
“Alright, then I’ll take it easy.”
……
Back in the hotel room, seeing the two gradually walk away and disappear down the corridor, she then turned to close the room door.
As expected in the Peach Blossom Spring Space, there was another bountiful harvest.
Not busy with harvesting for now, Su Ning took Little Round Circle, who joyfully pounced on her upon seeing her, to the spring water in the backyard.
“Eh?”
The previous puddle of spring water had looked casually dug out from the soil and grass, but now a circle of white jade stones had appeared out of nowhere piled around the spring water.
Through the clear spring water, she could clearly see the bottom paved full of various colored jade round blocks.
This was… an upgrade?
Bending down to scoop up a pink one from the bottom, she played with it for a bit before putting it back.
She didn’t lack jadeite, but she hadn’t thought of using it so luxuriously to pave the ground.
Shaking her head with a smile, she carefully tore off the gauze on the back of her head and scooped up a big handful of spring water to pour over the wound.
She stopped only when she felt the wound had scabbed and mostly healed, then reapplied the gauze.
“Woof woof~”
“Let’s go, Little Round Circle, we’ll get to work first!”
……
In the fields, besides the usual rice, wheat, grains, and miscellany, she had specially sown a lot of bean seeds last time.
Peanuts, sesame, and such were each added to an acre or half acre.
She set aside some of what she’d need later and put it in the kitchen; the rest went entirely into the underground storage room as usual.
Methodically finishing the fields, vegetable patch, orchard, then the livestock ready for slaughter at the aquaculture farm, and the fish and shrimp in the river.
After a busy session, drinking a bowl of sweet, cool spring water immediately restored the fatigue in body and mind, instantly perking her up.
Having already decided what to make, she went to the kitchen, lit the stove, and got to work.
In over three hours, mung bean cakes, red bean cakes, chicken cakes, plus some grain biscuits came out of the pot one after another.
The entire small courtyard was filled with a thick sweet fragrance.
On her hand was a new large silver-white plate with diamonds inlaid, paired with a brown-red leather belt mechanical watch. Su Ning glanced at it, then packed the last plate of biscuits into an oiled paper bag and started preparing the slightly late lunch.
First steaming two portions of rice, she took out half a piece of pork belly and one rib rack, washed and blanched them, then washed and chopped side vegetables like green peppers, cucumbers, and oilseed greens for later use.
The perceptive Little Round Circle skillfully went to the small vegetable patch next to the yard, fetched a small bunch of green onions and garlic in its mouth, and happily ran back.
“Little Round Circle is getting more capable!”
“Woof~”
Stroking its fluffy little head, Su Ning smiled and praised it, then picked up the onions and garlic from the ground and washed them clean.
……
Rice paired with green pepper stir-fried meat sauce ribs, grease-cutting oilseed greens, and refreshing spicy smashed cucumbers—a meal that predictably left her stuffed again!
She picked out the remaining meal that it could eat and packed it into Little Round Circle’s large bowl food basin.
“Little Round Circle, this is your dinner—don’t be greedy, eat again if you’re hungry, got it?”
“Woof~”
She divided the pastries and biscuits on the table into two portions, packed them up to take along, instructed Little Round Circle a couple times, then Su Ning left the Peach Blossom Spring and returned to the hotel room.
After a quick tidy-up and changing clothes, she grabbed her things and prepared to head to the J District courtyard.
……
Shanghai City J District courtyard, Yan Family.
Fu Jiaming, who followed Yan Bei home, successfully scored a full meal and smugly congratulated himself on his cleverness.
With his family’s kitchen that was perpetually in chaos, and his own mom’s cooking that could shock heaven and earth, his survival to this age was absolutely a miracle.
“You two are useless—grew so big for nothing, and together you can’t even invite back a little girl!”
Old Master Yan, who had just finished eating and was sipping tea from a cup, glared at the two irritably.
He’d thought he’d get to see the soft and cute future granddaughter-in-law, so he and the old woman had rushed over excitedly from the eldest son’s house, but… that’s it?
“Grandpa Yan, look at you saying that, hahahaha~ Su Ning wasn’t willing—could we knock her out and drag her back?”
So what did that have to do with their size?
Utterly without decorum, sprawled on the sofa with his belly bulging from the full meal, Fu Jiaming nearly burst out laughing at Old Master’s words.
“Laugh laugh laugh—no wonder a grown man in his twenties hasn’t even found a partner’s shadow, and you’re still laughing!”
Like his neck was suddenly gripped, Fu Jiaming’s laughter choked off: No, he was just into his early twenties—how was he “good several”?
Besides, could finding a partner just happen because he was anxious?
Thinking this, a face that shifted from joy to anger unpredictably, vividly interesting and incredibly lively, inadvertently appeared in his mind…
Heh!
Why think of that little wildcat Luo Shuangshuang!
“Grandpa.”
“What’s up, can’t I say a couple things?”
Back in the day, he and the old woman had just one glance across the river, and in less than ten days, he’d successfully brought the beauty home.
Why didn’t a single one of his sons or grandsons inherit his quick, accurate, ruthless style?
Old Master Yan sighed, “Xiao Qi, you absolutely mustn’t learn from your dad…”
“Ring ring ring~”
“Hello? Where? Okay, I’ll come out right away.”
Hanging up the telephone, Yan Bei stood and hurried toward the door.
Old Master Yan, whose words were forcibly interrupted, raised an eyebrow, turning his lecture into a question: “Who? Where you off to now? Xiao Qi, have you forgotten you’re still injured?”
“Su Ning is at the guard room…”
“Then what are you waiting for? Hurry go—your injuries are nothing serious, run!”
Rubbing his forehead, though used to Old Master’s double standards, experiencing it himself still felt a bit complicated and hard to describe.
Yan Bei chuckled lightly, but his feet honestly quickened.
Only when nearing the guard room door did he slow down, walking in without a flushed face or panting.
“Su Ning.”
Quickly grabbing paper and pen to sign and guarantee, Yan Bei nodded to the guard and led her out.
“What happened? Did something come up?”
“No, I specially brought these things for you and Fu Jiaming.”
“What?”
……
Ten minutes later, Yan Bei returned home carrying two bags.
The eagerly waiting old couple had practically worn out the front gate staring but saw no sign of her—really just the little grandson came back alone!
“Where’s the person?”
“Yeah, didn’t you go pick her up? Where’s Su Ning?”
