I became the Counterpart of the Winner in a Period Novel-Chapter 169 - 166: Such Deep Feelings

Xu Modun woke up, and Jiang Mingyue had already left.

"Mo Chen, don’t dwell on it. Even if Ming Yue stayed, you wouldn’t be able to accompany her. We’ve got lots to do. Oh, before Ming Yue left, she left you a basket of things. We brothers didn’t dare touch it. How about I check it for you?" Yin Zhen had been curious for a while, hoping maybe there’d be some jam for dipping mantou in there.

Xu Modun gave him a cool glance, and Yin Zhen immediately knew he wouldn’t have the chance to open this mystery box.

Lian Fengyi, who had been standing by watching, was more composed than Yin Zhen; he didn’t even think about opening the basket. He was fine as long as there was something to share and eat.

Xu Modun sat up, and Yin Zhen already moved the basket in front of him.

"Really heavy!"

As Xu Modun uncovered the cloth and took things out one by one, Yin Zhen stood on the side, calling out names like a cook listing ingredients.

"One jar of pickled tofu, two jars of jam, two braised chickens, what’s this? Pine needles?"

Lian Fengyi chimed in, "It’s pine needle roasted rabbit. Yueyue mentioned it."

"Huh, why didn’t she tell me."

"One ham, two jars of wine. There’s actually wine? With both meat and wine, the three of us brothers can have a good drink tonight."

In Yin Zhen’s view, surely this was meant to be shared with them, after all, Xu Modun was never a stingy person, always dividing good things into three parts.

However, Xu Modun placed everything back, covered it with the cloth, and formally announced, "This is all mine. If you dare sneak a bit, I’ll take your first month’s salary."

"Come on, Mo Chen, don’t be so stingy!"

Lian Fengyi walked over to discuss serious matters, "Mo Chen, Yan Jinzhi really helped us out this time. I heard the batch of food was donated by someone called Shi Wu."

"Was that when there was a disaster in Cang County?"

"Yes, Ou Hewen even sent him a banner. You see us..."

"You guys handle it, and when it’s done, take it to Secretary Bai to pass on."

"Do you think Secretary Bai knows who Shi Wu is?" 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

"I have no idea. However, Ou Hewen and Bai Fengnian were both schoolmates of Yan Bohan, and their families have had generations of friendship."

"Mo Chen, you know too much! Well, you must have understood everything deeply; otherwise, why would you decline Yun Dian’s job offer to come here and be a small-time director? You must want to look after Ming Yue and her family, right? I have to say... well, I don’t even know what to say, but wherever you go, we’ll follow."

Lian Fengyi posed a question, "Mo Chen, you’ve been thrust into this role as director, have you thought about how you’ll share power with Shen Chunxing?"

"No need to share. Shen Chunxing is all about getting promoted. If he wants to manage G Committee, let him; I’ll focus on day-to-day life. As long as he doesn’t give me trouble, we’re fine."

Even though he was feeling stingy, when they returned to Beishi Commune in the evening, the three did end up drinking together. They chose the bitter buckwheat wine; figuring they’ve already tasted the corn one, the flavor was just ordinary, but once the crispness of the buckwheat wine hit their palate, the corn wine wasn’t missed anymore.

Yin Zhen exclaimed, "Mo Chen, Yuebao is amazing, making such good wine! Tsk tsk! If she’s willing to join the winery, I’d immediately offer her a master brewer’s position."

Lian Fengyi said, "Your sister is interesting. This pine needle roasted rabbit and braised chicken, the flavor is phenomenal."

"And you guys just accept her stuff?" Xu Modun wasn’t pleased, recalling what that little girl was wearing—liberation shoes, long black pants, army green coat. She used to never even glance at those, always in dresses and little leather shoes. It’s no wonder times are tough for her.

Lian Fengyi coughed, "I slipped some money into her bag quietly, but somehow she found out and stuffed it back into the pocket of my jacket that I’d tossed aside. Don’t worry, Yueyue said they’re doing fine now. The village even distributed money from the brick factory today, 20 yuan per household. Her two brothers, one is the village secretary, one is deputy director of the brick factory; just Second Brother’s wage is enough for the whole family to live well.

Their second brother even set traps deep in the mountains; the braised chicken and roasted rabbit we had were wild game, which is why they’re so flavorful. Even that ham is wild boar leg, they truly didn’t spend money on it, so you can eat without worry. I believe Yueyue’s choice to return to the village was correct, no need to be so fixated on it.

As for that Zhenzhu, I think she’s just pretending to be weak and innocent, while actually being quite conniving beneath the surface. Yueyue is straightforward and soft-hearted, she’s no match for her. And Jiang Yihai and his wife, those two... sigh! I don’t even want to talk about it; living with them every day would be torture."

Yin Zhen added, "Fengyi is absolutely right. That eldest brother of Yuebao in the city, tsk, a fake gentleman. You’re blood-related cousins, you should know better than us!"

Xu Modun felt a bit ashamed: he truly didn’t know!

But he couldn’t be blamed, in the past, Auntie’s family spoiled Yueyue so much, he didn’t delve into details, not wanting to disrupt their harmony.

"Tsk, this pine needle roasted rabbit is incredible! We should go hunting in the mountains ourselves next time and make something like this, it’s delicious." Truly lingering in the mouth!

Qiao Mingtang had already taken someone back to Qingshan Village, then went back to Shangwu Yun Mountain to fetch a few boxes of good stuff.

Seeing Jiang Mingyue was like another Xiao Ran seeking praise, "Yueyue, see how good Brother Qiao is to you. Where should I put these?" Bringing them over and being a deliveryman, too.

Jiang Mingyue pointed to the first storage room door, giving the box labels a glance: twenty-four cans of meat, a box of chocolates, a box of malted milk four cans, a box of White Rabbit candies twelve packs.

Tsk tsk! These really are things others dream of buying but can’t.

"Thanks, Brother Qiao."

"Ah! So Yueyue, is there wine to be had tonight? Maybe that plum wine... never mind, any wine will do."

He looked around but didn’t find who he was looking for, "Yueyue, where’s my Brother Yan?"

"Oh! He’s gone out with my second brother and Uncle Jiao since coming back this afternoon, said he’d teach them to build a lime kiln. Our village at Wuya Mountain is full of limestone, perfect for using local materials."

Qiao Mingtang exclaimed, "My Brother Yan, can do anything! Mr. All-Powerful! Yueyue, how do you get there? I want to take a look."

Xiao Ran volunteered eagerly, "Brother Qiao, I’ll take you. Sister, is that okay?"

"Go ahead, go ahead."

Mrs. Jiang went out to chat with some folks, Third Sister went out to do the laundry, there was no one at home for a while, so Jiang Mingyue returned to her room and plunged into the hot spring pool. Today really wore her out. As soon as she got back, Third Sister dragged her to ask about how to make red-braised pork, apparently, the batch made in the morning was disliked by Xiao Ran.

Jiang Mingyue found it amusing, truly a sign of being well-fed and picky. In the past, when there wasn’t any meat, even if that bowl of red-braised pork had no salt, he’d happily finish it.

After soaking in the hot spring, Jiang Mingyue thought of the fruit trees Xiao Ran always wanted, and went over to see the orchard. The apples, grapes, plums, peaches, and strawberries that had fruited were already ripe, she could pick them anytime, while the others only had lush green leaves with no fruit to be seen yet.