"When did you get back? Where's Axe?" Qin Junyao asked, seeing Zhao Liangcai alone and without Axe.
Zhao Liangcai raised the paper packets and wine jar in his hand. "Just got back. Axe is sleeping at home. I was just heading to your place for dinner. Where are you going?"
Qin Junyao pointed ahead. "To find Denzui, to ask about the salt lake."
"Who knows more about the salt lake than I do? You don't need to ask him, ask me. I've been worn out riding horses with Axe these past few days. Hurry up and take me home to eat, I want vegetable sashimi."
Zhao Liangcai stretched out his hand, covering Qin Junyao's head, and spun her around. Then, he grabbed her topknot and pushed her forward.
"Let go, I have other things to discuss with Denzui," Qin Junyao fumbled behind her head, unable to grasp Zhao Liangcai.
Zhao Liangcai dodged Qin Junyao's hands, pushing her head forward. "Anything he can do, I can do. Anything he can't, I can also do. Let's not look for him, look for me."
"Hey, who is 'us'? Don't mess up my hair."
"No, no, it's fine. Tell me what it is?"
By the time Zhao Liangcai understood what Qin Junyao wanted to ask and do, they were almost back at the Qin residence.
"This afternoon, I'll have someone bring that Zhang Bailiang to the salt lake. You can open as many food stalls as you want. If there are any special circumstances, I'll notify you."
Qin Junyao tucked loose strands of hair back into her bun, tilting her head to get a better look at Zhao Liangcai.
"I thought something was off earlier. Why are your eyes so red?"
Zhao Liangcai transferred the items from his left hand to his right. "Axe was anxious to get back and didn't take the carriage. We got caught in the rain on the way. He's been coughing and has a runny nose, and he didn't sleep well tonight."
Qin Junyao stopped. "He's still sick?"
"We saw Doctor Sheng in Yanxian county. Two doses of medicine will fix him. He took his medicine and fell asleep. Granny Ma is watching him."
"That's good. I'll go see him when he wakes up."
Zhao Liangcai quickly strode ahead of Qin Junyao and blocked her path, pointing to his eyes. "Qin Junyao, why aren't you asking about me? I also got rained on, and my eyes are red from staying up."
Qin Junyao walked around him, continuing towards her home. "You're big and burly, what could happen to you? As long as Axe is fine, you're not important."
"I'm not important?" Zhao Liangcai moved in front of Qin Junyao again. Seeing no one around, he reached out and pinched her nose hard, then turned and ran towards the Qin residence.
Qin Junyao felt a sharp pain in her nose, followed by a stinging sensation, and tears involuntarily welled up.
"Zhao Chui Zi, are you crazy?"
"Why are you running? Stop!"
Every time Zhao Liangcai saw Qin Junyao, he couldn't help but provoke her. At such times, Qin Junyao's attention was solely on him. Su Dan Novel Network.
In the Qin family kitchen, Qin's mother put the vegetables Zhao Liangcai brought into bowls, and couldn't help but mention Qin Junyao.
"Junyao, Liangcai is a grown man and a general. You shouldn't be chasing and hitting him."
Qin Junyao's chopping of the cucumber shreds became even more forceful. "Mom, I'm not chasing and hitting him."
"You child, I saw it all. Hiss!" Qin's mother's mouth widened in excitement, and the blister on her lip hurt.
"Mom, he grabbed my hair first."
Qin's mother finished filling one bowl and started on another. "Even if he was teasing you, you shouldn't hit him?"
"You need to be more gentle. You said you can't cook, that your shirts have one arm longer than the other, and they're not as good as San Niu's..."
Here we go again.
Whenever Qin's mother thought of it, she would nag Qin Junyao. The only time she was quiet was for the ten days it took to settle Qin Daniu's marriage.
Now that Qin Daniu's matter was temporarily resolved, Qin's mother had her sights set on Qin Junyao.
Qin Junyao's ears felt calloused from listening. Her silent protest was to chop the vegetables on the cutting board with all her might.
Zhao Liangcai, who was chatting with Qin's father in the house, heard the clanging from the kitchen. The corners of his mouth, hidden behind his thick beard, never stopped curving upwards.
At the dinner table, a large bowl of cold salad placed in front of Zhao Liangcai was particularly striking.
Cucumber, radish, tomato, lettuce, and six or seven other vegetables were mixed together, forming a small tower on the plate.
"Daniu, swap this dish with the braised pork," Qin's father asked Qin Daniu to move the cold salad from in front of Zhao Liangcai.
He secretly thought his daughter was being tactless, placing this dish directly in front of Zhao Liangcai.
Zhao Liangcai reached out to stop Qin Daniu. "No need to swap. The weather is hot, and I like eating this. It's fine here."
He could already smell the subtle fragrance of cucumber from the salad, which eased his headache.
Zhao Liangcai and Axe had not only been caught in the rain on their way back, but they had also encountered an assassination attempt.
If he hadn't been carrying the bitter melon powder that Qin Junyao had given him, he might have fainted from a headache midway.
Seeing Zhao Liangcai's insistence, Qin's father didn't press the issue. When Qin Junyao brought in the rice, he shot her a glare.
Qin Junyao was puzzled. Why was her father glaring at her?
During dinner, Qin Erniu and Qin Xiaoyu kept stealing glances at Zhao Liangcai.
Was the cold salad that delicious?
More delicious than braised pork, soy-glazed duck, spicy stir-fried rabbit jerky, fried peanuts, or scrambled eggs with scallions?
They had tasted it; it wasn't as good as meat. Why was Zhao Liangcai eating it so enthusiastically?
Half a bowl of cold salad and three bowls of rice went into Zhao Liangcai's stomach.
Both the rice and the vegetables made him feel incredibly comfortable.
.
"Junyao, you don't need to clear the table. Go to the vegetable patch and pick some vegetables for Liangcai to take back," Qin's mother took the plate Qin Junyao handed her and told her to pick vegetables.
"Yes, Yaoyao, take the basket and pick them. I saw Liangcai really liked the tomatoes in there. Pick the big ones. They taste better," Qin Ershen also urged Qin Junyao to pick vegetables.
Qin Junyao spread her hands. "Mom, Er Shen, since when have you become so close to him? Before, you called him General Zhao, but now you just call him Liangcai?"
Qin Ershen pushed Qin Junyao out. "Hurry up and go. We're practically family, how can we not be close?"
Standing at the doorway, Qin Junyao looked back at Qin's mother and Er Shen, who were chatting and laughing. Without guessing, she knew who they were talking about.
Sigh. She had to get married sooner or later. Marrying someone rich, powerful, and good-looking. How wonderful, the whole family liked him.
Heh.
She wasn't going to pick vegetables in the vegetable patch under the sun.
Qin Junyao carried the basket and walked around the vegetable patch. The basket was soon filled with vegetables she had moved from her spatial dimension.
She laboriously carried the basket to the eaves and sat on a small stool, seeking shade.
Qin Junyao had eaten quite a bit at lunch and felt a bit dizzy and drowsy, leaning against the wall.
"Ah."
The "ah" sound near her ear startled Qin Junyao, and she instantly woke up.
She opened her eyes and saw Qin Xiaoyu covering her mouth, peeking from behind Zhao Liangcai and giggling.
"Zhao Liangcai, can you..."
"Junyao," Qin's mother's stern voice interrupted Qin Junyao, stopping her from speaking.
Qin's mother could tell from her daughter's tone that something was wrong.
This child, she had just reminded her to be gentle before the meal, why had she forgotten again?
Qin Junyao: Heh.