Laicai was amazed as the two of them brought out another armful of things.
In Bozi Village, it seemed that Brother Xiao was living the best life these days!
When the new house was finished a while ago, so many fruits were scattered, and some villagers collected a whole bowl.
Especially Zhuzi and the others, each of them took home a large pork leg, which made the villagers so envious, regretting not going to help Xiao Shan with work.
Brother Xiao truly had great skills and was generous. When Liu Demao's family was doing well before, the villagers didn't get any benefits.
Now, who in the village didn't admire him? Even Da Shuanzi, who used to speak ill of him, now respected him immensely due to the life-saving grace, and wouldn't tolerate anyone saying a bad word about him.
What impressed them the most was how good he was to the young wife he bought.
He had transformed the once frail person, who could be blown over by a gust of wind, into someone as radiant as a noble lady. Compared to his own dark and rough demeanor, they were like snow and coal.
He wasn't afraid that she might eventually look down on him.
Perhaps only a straightforward man like Brother Xiao would be so open-minded!
"Brother Laicai, don't forget to come for the wedding banquet."
Laicai was flattered by Xiao Shan's invitation, "Of course, of course."
Ah, indeed, what woman would let go of such a man! Madam Xiao was truly fortunate to have met Brother Xiao.
"Xiao Shan, I want to eat that noodle."
Xue Niang pointed to a noodle stall by the roadside. They were making You Po Mian, a specialty from the northwestern region. The stall owner was from the northwest, and Xue Niang had never eaten this kind of noodle before. Wide noodles, topped with a layer of clear oil, sprinkled with chili powder, and when the hot oil was poured over, it sizzled with a puff of steam. A quick stir with chopsticks, and it was ready.
It looked very appetizing.
"You can eat it, but no chili," Xiao Shan stopped and said to Laicai, "Brother Laicai, you wait for us at the intersection. The rest of the things are small items, you can carry them yourself."
"Alright! I'll head over then!"
Laicai drove the cart away, and Xue Niang was already standing at the stall, as if asking the owner, or perhaps talking to herself, "Will it still be good without chili?"
"This..." The owner was a man in his thirties. He had heard Xiao Shan's words. Since the man didn't want her to eat spicy food, he couldn't say it wouldn't be delicious!
"It's delicious. Most of the young ladies and wives who come here don't add chili. Eating spicy food can cause acne, and women love to be beautiful, haha."
"But I still want to eat it spicy."
She hadn't eaten spicy food in a long time, and her clear, watery eyes looked at Xiao Shan with anticipation.
"Sigh, then let's add just a little!" Xiao Shan sighed. "Just a tiny bit is fine."
The owner grinned and nimbly added half a spoonful, "Brother, would you like a bowl too?"
"One bowl for me, with plenty of chili."
After Xiao Shan finished speaking, Xue Niang snorted and found an empty table to sit down.
Xiao Shan finished his noodles quickly, while Xue Niang had eaten less than half.
"Xue Niang, eat slowly. I'll go take a look over there and be back soon."
Xue Niang gave him a puzzled look and nodded, "Then you go!"
"Make sure you don't wander off, wait for me here," Xiao Shan cautioned.
Xue Niang watched him turn the corner and disappear.
As soon as Xiao Shan was out of Xue Niang's sight, he moved nimbly, turning left and right down the street, and quickly entered Shenshui Alley.
Qu Linglong's face was complex, "Brother Xiao, you, is this okay?"
She never expected that the invincible God of War on the battlefield, who had been guarding a woman for months without success, would now need such medicine?
"What's not okay about it? She has a knot in her heart. If I don't untie it, I'll never get her."
Uh...
"Will Xue Niang be angry with you?"
"No, as long as I'm alive, she'll only dote on me more."
Ugh—
How could he say such a thing with a straight face?
"Alright, this dosage won't harm you, it will only make you dazed, uh, have hallucinations, and increase the intimacy."
She didn't understand the details of their relationship, but in any case, Brother Xiao wasn't the type to take advantage of someone.
"Understood."
Xiao Shan didn't waste any more words, grabbed the spice, and ran back the way he came.
Xue Niang finished her noodles and waited for a while, but Xiao Shan hadn't returned. People eating noodles came and went, and whenever they saw her face, they would be startled.
She touched her face, thought of something, and got up to say to the noodle stall owner, "Boss, if you see my husband come back, tell him to wait for me here for a moment."
"This... didn't your husband tell you not to wander off?" The noodle stall owner seemed hesitant.
The key was that her husband looked like a man not to be trifled with. If he saw she wasn't there later, would he take his anger out on him?
"It's fine, I'll be right back. Just tell him to wait if he returns."
Since he left without saying where he was going, she would make him wait too.
Ignoring the owner's expression, Xue Niang went to the medical clinic where she had gotten medicine last time.
As fate would have it, she ran into Xiaocui again at the clinic.
She was even thinner, her eye sockets sunken, her whole body skin and bones, only her belly was conspicuously bulging. She was accompanied by a burly man with an unkind face.
"Xue, Xue Niang?"
Xiaocui's withered eyes gained some light, "We meet again. Are you in the city by yourself?"
She looked even more beautiful than last time, her face round and smooth like a peeled egg. The clothes she wore were clearly made of good material, and she exuded an air of nobility.
"Mm, no, my husband is waiting for me outside."
This time, Xue Niang didn't talk much with Xiaocui. She went directly to the counter and reported the names of the medicinal herbs to the shopkeeper.
Xiaocui's husband didn't look like a good person. His shifty eyes looked at her with a wicked glint.
The shopkeeper listened to what Xue Niang wanted and asked doubtfully, "Is this a prescription from a doctor? What condition is it treating? It's quite strange."
"No, it's something someone asked me to bring. Please feel free to dispense the medicine, shopkeeper, it's not harmful."
"Oh, I didn't mean that. I'll get the medicine for you, madam."
The shopkeeper quickly prepared the medicine. Xue Niang nodded to Xiaocui and left the clinic.
The shifty eyes behind her never left her until she turned the corner.
Xue Niang returned to the noodle stall with a cold expression. Xiao Shan was already waiting. He had seen her the moment she appeared at the street corner and had been watching her until she reached him.
"Where did you go? Why are you unhappy?"
"Nothing, where did you go?" Xue Niang retorted.
"I bought you some jewelry," Xiao Shan took out a cloth bag from his embrace, containing a colorful hairpin, a pair of silver bracelets, and a string of red bean bracelets.
Xue Niang believed him. When he first suggested buying things upon arriving in the city, she had stopped him. So, this time, he had acted first and reported later behind her back.
Xue Niang's lips curved upwards, "I told you not to buy anything."
"Who doesn't add jewelry when getting married? Do you want people to laugh at me as a stingy person?"
"They won't laugh at you for being stingy. They'll laugh at me for being a spendthrift now."
"They're just jealous. It's not their money being spent, so why should they care!"
"Yes, I'll wear them in rotation every day and make them green with envy!"
"Exactly, that's the way to do it!"