CHAPTER 124: CHAPTER 118 EATING

The next day, they went to the county. In order to catch the bus to the county, they didn’t have time to deliver the letter to the Qin family.

Qin Ming had the household registration book himself because he was already married and had his own household registration.

His and Jiang Yue’s household registrations were on the same book, separate from their parents’ registration book.

After all, he had his own homestead, and the village couldn’t just put him back with his parents.

Qin Ming was considered the head of the household.

Even though Jiang Yue felt uncomfortable due to her pregnancy, she endured it all the way to the county town.

Actually, it wasn’t quite discomfort with her stomach; it was just that the bus was crowded. On top of that, with all sorts of things people brought to the county, whether chickens, ducks, grains, fruits, vegetables, or pickles, one could imagine the smell in the bus.

Jiang Yue, being pregnant, naturally felt uncomfortable with the smell.

Plus, the road was indeed a bit bumpy.

As soon as Jiang Yue arrived in the county, she vomited.

Jiang Xiaoxiao felt terribly sorry and directly dragged her sister to a nearby small diner, intending to ask for a bowl of hot soup.

Pulling back the cotton curtain, despite the small curtain, the inside of the diner was steaming hot.

The owner of the diner was an old gentleman, leaving Jiang Xiaoxiao momentarily stunned.

Nowadays, there were rarely privately-owned diners, most belonged to the collective or the government.

But seeing the diner run solely by a single elderly man, for a collective one would expect at least three or four people.

"Customers! Have a seat, all three of you. On such a cold day, what would you like to eat? We have baozi, noodles, dumplings, and wontons."

The old man greeted them warmly.

Jiang Xiaoxiao helped her elder sister sit down.

Qin Ming felt his pockets; since his sister-in-law had brought them here, he had to pay no matter what.

His sister-in-law had helped them so much, it would be inhuman to save on this.

"Sir, please bring two bowls of wontons."

"One bowl of wontons is two taels, costing two ration coupons and an additional three dimes. There’s no charge for wonton soup, and you can have refills."

The old man looked at the three of them but said nothing about ordering two bowls. He didn’t even ask why three people ordered two bowls of wontons.

"No need, no need, just one bowl. I’m not hungry, besides, my stomach feels uncomfortable, I can’t take in food. Let Xiao Xiao eat." Jiang Yue was unwilling to spend.

This immediately used up four ration coupons and sixty cents.

In the village, that would take several days of work points to earn.

They earned eight work points a day.

At most, Qin Ming could earn 12 work points, and a point was only worth a penny.

This immediately expended a week’s worth of work points for the couple.

Jiang Yue was a bit reluctant.

She was actually saving money for their child, considering the child’s birth was near, and they had to visit her parents in the city and buy decent things for them. It’s not proper for a son-in-law to come empty-handed to the in-laws.

Empty-handed, what sense would that make?

The bit of money at home, her father-in-law and mother-in-law would definitely not give it to them.

If the two of them didn’t save a bit more, what would they do in the future? They had no place to borrow the money that the father-in-law and mother-in-law requested.

Last night, Jiang Xiaoxiao pestered them about it all night.

Persuading and coaxing managed to pacify Xiao Xiao.

If her younger sister knew about this, she would surely fly into a rage.

"No, you must eat a bit, how can you not eat? You only had half a cornbread in the morning. You haven’t eaten anything else, and after being jolted all the way and throwing up as soon as you got off the bus, how can your body take it? Don’t worry, this money can’t be saved."

Qin Ming was anxious. Even after being married for almost a year, he understood what his wife was thinking.

His wife was kind-hearted, always considering him.

She was certainly worried about spending money.

Thinking of this, he felt a bit bitter inside.

Other people’s wives, when pregnant, would at least be well-treated by their in-laws. But in his case, his wife was about to give birth, and his parents never brought her anything.

Just talks, pretty words, with no actions at all.

Even he felt bad about it.

"I’m really not hungry, why waste that money?"

Jiang Yue refused.

Jiang Xiaoxiao glanced at the couple,

"Enough. Both of you eat the wontons. Sir, three wontons, all at two taels, plus two poached eggs."

Jiang Xiaoxiao realized that if she didn’t speak up, soon only she would be eating this meal.

The couple, with their back-and-forth, were such that they wouldn’t even want to sip the soup.

Seeing Jiang Xiaoxiao speaking up, Jiang Yue and Qin Ming had no way of refusing.

They couldn’t outright contradict their sister’s goodwill, especially since this was for their benefit. If they were still trying to save at this point, it would be too excessive.

The old man agreed happily and, in no time, brought out three large bowls from the back, these big porcelain bowls were indeed substantial.

Two taels of fine meat wontons. The soup was fresh and the meat tasty, with green scallions floating on top of the soup, and each bowl had two white, plump poached eggs.

Jiang Xiaoxiao handed everyone a spoon and chopsticks.

"Hurry and eat. Do you think I don’t know? Each of you only had half a cornbread this morning while giving me two white steamed buns. That little bit, we’ve been on the road for three hours, it was long digested by now.

Don’t tell me if you’re hungry or not. The food is already here; even if you don’t eat, the money has to be paid anyway. Don’t waste it."

Jiang Xiaoxiao started eating; the soup was indeed savory. Despite the small curtain, the food was genuinely excellent.

And each wonton was filled with pure meat.

A bite of it was all meat flavor, and the meat filling was exceptionally well-seasoned.

Jiang Yue and Qin Ming exchanged a look of helplessness. At this point, refusing would indeed be wasteful.

Qin Ming watched Jiang Xiaoxiao eat with pleasure and quickly pushed his bowl toward her.

"Sister-in-law, eat quickly. Once you’re done, you and your sister can share this bowl. Your brother-in-law is truly not hungry, why would I pretend if I were hungry, right?"

Grumble!

A sound from his stomach, causing Qin Ming’s face to flush with embarrassment.

His stomach was truly defiant, betraying him at crucial times.

"Well, maybe it’s a chill."

His old face turned red.

Jiang Xiaoxiao burst out laughing.

"Brother-in-law, stop lying to me. Look at my small frame; one bowl of wontons is enough for me. The portions here are generous; you want me to eat a second big bowl? You’re just trying to stuff me.

Now eat up quickly. If you keep dawdling, we won’t make it to report to the unit in time. They may be off work by the time we finish."

Hearing this, the couple could only bow their heads and eat quickly; otherwise, they would miss something important, which would be a real loss.

After Jiang Xiaoxiao finished eating, she took the bowl and went.

"Sir, may I have half a bowl of wonton soup again? The soup is indeed fresh."

Qin Ming and Jiang Yue nodded, and indeed, the craft of this small diner was quite good. Both of them thought the food was delicious beyond words, their taste buds nearly swallowing themselves.

"I’ll have half a bowl of soup too!"

Qin Ming said.

"Alright, brother-in-law, I’ll bring it to you in a moment."

Jiang Xiaoxiao responded, holding the bowl.

Without showing her hand, she placed six ration coupons and 1.20 yuan in front of the old man.

Each wonton cost 30 cents, and two poached eggs cost ten cents, so the three of them together had to be 1.20 yuan.

The old man smiled and gave a thumbs up.

This girl was truly sensible.