CHAPTER 387: CHAPTER 94: YOU CAN’T HELP BUT BELIEVE IN FATE

After returning home, Zhou Ziang handed the fresh sweet potato leaves to Xi Lijuan.

Upon seeing the bunch of green and soil-scented sweet potato leaves, Xi Lijuan was quite pleased, and she quickly took them into the kitchen.

"Ziang, where did you get such good sweet potato leaves in this season? Didn’t you say you were going to the countryside to check on some ineffective pesticides?" Xi Lijuan inspected the sweet potato leaves, picked a few, and noticed that the leaves were indeed of excellent quality, fat and tender; the stems oozed water when pinched, indicating that they had just been cut from the field.

"It’s from the farmers in Yanqing. Speaking of which, the couple who grow sweet potatoes is only a few years older than me, both proper university graduates," Zhou Ziang explained in the car. Although Huang Tengchong was quite displeased in his heart, he held back because of Zhou Ziang’s status and simply talked a bit about Zhuo Feng and his wife’s background in Beijing.

"Nowadays, it’s not rare for university graduates to go farming in the countryside. There are even newspaper stories about university graduates selling pork," Xi Lijuan was quite informed and not surprised by these kinds of stories. Yanqing might be a bit remote, but with its wide-open spaces and sparse population, it’s much better than the over-crowded city areas. She thought that when Zhou Qiang retired, they would move to the countryside, buy some land, raise a few chickens, and wait for their son to bring his wife and grandchildren over for meals – that would be lively.

"Dad?" Zhou Ziang entered the kitchen, helping to sort through the vegetables as it was time for Zhou Qiang to get off work. Looking at the pot, Xi Lijuan had only cooked enough rice for two.

"Where else could he be – gone to a social engagement," Zhou Ziang had seen Xi Lijuan argue with Zhou Qiang several times over social engagements when he was in the country. This time was unusual; Xi Lijuan didn’t seem displeased, but rather quite at ease, which was somewhat odd.

Seeing her son looking at her doubtfully, Xi Lijuan scolded, "Look at that expression of yours. It’s as if I’m so hard to talk to normally. A while back, I prepared some hangover medicine for your dad, and since he started using it, he hasn’t gotten drunk once. As long as he doesn’t get drunk and harm his health, I let him be; it’s natural for men to have social obligations."

As she spoke, Xi Lijuan took out a box of medicine, with the words "Coated Little Bomb" conspicuously visible.

Zhou Ziang took out the medicine and glanced at the ingredients, saw "Pueraria Root, Mint leaves" among them, and opened the box.

The familiar pills also had the faint scent of mint, and they seemed different from the ones he had formulated previously.

Zhou Ziang tilted his head back, swallowed some saliva, and took the pill.

"Ziang, why are you taking medicine all of a sudden?" Xi Lijuan was startled by her son’s action. Medicines are poisons if taken unnecessarily; it is never good to consume them without cause.

"To test the effect of the medicine," the pill quickly dissolved in his mouth, the coating containing honey was sweet, and the fragrance of mint mixed with the medicinal scent of Pueraria Root spread through the mouth. Even without drinking alcohol, one could feel invigorated by the effect of the pill.

Looking at the packaging instructions again, one should take four pills each time, two before drinking and two after.

"Mom, what is this medicine?" Zhou Ziang knew that the intellectual property protection system in his country was not robust, so he couldn’t be sure whether the hangover medicine he held was the same one he had previously arranged to produce with someone on the forum.

"This medicine was actually thought up by the daughter of Aunt Zeng, who is in the same yoga class as me – she’s the female student you met when you sent things to KFC last time." Ever since Xi Lijuan met Zeng Xuerou’s mother, the two got along very well, occasionally meeting up for tea and casual chats.

Through conversations, they discovered they shared common ground; both boasted of their children’s achievements.

Zhou Ziang had gone abroad to study and joined Mengshan Biological Pharmaceutical as its youngest researcher, and now he’s back home in charge of a government-sponsored project.

Zeng Xuerou, while still quite young, held several positions and had even started a pharmaceutical company with friends. As their mothers discussed these things, they couldn’t stop talking – not to mention, both of their children were of similar age, one envied the other for having a harmonious family life and leisurely days, while the other admired the other for maintaining good health and being a strong and responsible woman.

"It’s a funny coincidence that your Aunt Zeng’s daughter also attended Sacred Heart Middle School and was the student council president there. In a few days when you go to Sacred Heart Middle School to run your project, you’re bound to interact with her; she’s a sensible kid. When I have time, I’ll introduce the two of you," Xi Lijuan remarked sentimentally.