Shocking! My Rugged Husband is the Hidden Tycoon in the 70s Novel-Chapter 53: Another Day Without Making a Connection

Chapter 53: Chapter 53: Another Day Without Making a Connection

Sure, here is the text translated into English:

This is the first meal in the new home, commonly known as "heating the pot bottom."

Qiao Xinyu is quite resourceful; she managed to trade for half a bag of salt, half a bottle of soy sauce, and two fish, each about five to six taels. In this era, there are no farm-fed fish; basically, all are wild fish.

A piece of tofu.

Two eggplants, three tomatoes, and a handful of chili peppers.

Without a cutting board or knife, Xu Qinghuan took a dagger to scale the crucian carp, gut it, remove the gills, clean it thoroughly, and then marinate it with salt for flavor.

She was the only one at home, so she took oil from the space. If anyone asked, she’d say it was the oil extracted from frying bacon, as the few people around were all oblivious to the practicalities of daily life.

Regarding Yu Xiaomin, Xu Qinghuan heard her mention that her family’s conditions weren’t very good, with half a pound of oil a month. Her mom would just drop a bit of oil in the pan each time; this way, how could one distinguish between lard and vegetable oil?

Xu Qinghuan hummed a tune while cooking, with Jiang Xingye’s family nearby, separated by an alley, so she wasn’t worried about the aroma sneaking into others’ homes.

Eggplant was fried with bacon; she sliced about half a pound of bacon into it, and the resulting eggplant was greasy, making it quite appetizing.

Tomatoes were washed, sliced, and marinated with sugar, which was simple but delicious.

The remaining half pound of bacon was used by Xu Qinghuan to stir-fry the peppers.

The peppers came in red and green; she removed the white membranes inside, sliced them, and stir-fried them in the pan. Once the bacon changed color, she added a bit of soy sauce and served it out.

The last thing to go into the pot was the fish. First, the pan was oiled, and then the fish was added, frying both sides until golden. She added water and brought it to a boil, then sliced tofu in to simmer over low heat until the broth turned milky white.

Even without ginger, scallions, or garlic, wild crucian carp naturally has little fishy smell. Plus, with the long simmer, only bursts of fragrance could be detected.

"Smells so good!" Chen Dewen exclaimed as he entered the courtyard, practically drooling.

Behind him were Dai Yifeng and Zheng Siqi, with Qiao Xinyu and Yu Xiaomin trailing last.

Except for Qiao Xinyu, the other four had their first day in the fields today. Though they only worked for half a day, the exhaustion was evident, even on Yu Xiaomin’s face.

The water in the tank was still hot from the sun.

"Quickly wash up and eat!" Xu Qinghuan brought the dishes to the table, both the food and fish soup served in lunchboxes.

Fortunately, she had bought three lunchboxes at the time, and Qiao Xinyu brought two extra ones, otherwise there wouldn’t be enough to serve the food.

Dai Yifeng and the others had washed up at the educated youth center and brought their own lunchboxes over. Even Zheng Siqi, who was very image-conscious, couldn’t resist drooling at the sight of the food.

Xu Qinghuan filled a lunchbox more than half with rice, picked out some dishes, placed ten pieces of bacon on top, and said to Qiao Xinyu and the others, "You all eat first. I will deliver some food and be right back."

Qiao Xinyu stopped her, "Who are you delivering to?"

Xu Qinghuan gestured with her chin to the neighbor, "If it weren’t for the firewood they prepared, we wouldn’t be able to cook this meal today. I’m going to repay the favor."

"I’ll go with you," Qiao Xinyu quickly stood up.

"No need, you all eat. It’s just next door; I’ll be quick."

Xu Qinghuan wasn’t worried at all, because in the book, her best friend depicted the colleague as having another trait—it was being virtuous and staying away from women.

However, this doesn’t mean the colleague was incapable; her best friend hadn’t missed giving him that little supplement—that he was naturally gifted.

After the noon work, Jiang Xingye also returned. He first rinsed off in the courtyard with water, changed clothes, and went to the kitchen to make a fire.

In the flour bag, there was a bit of cornmeal. He added some black flour, ready to mix in the water when he heard a clear voice calling from outside, "Anyone here? Comrade Jiang, are you there?"

Jiang Xingye thought he was hearing things.

He shook his head and didn’t respond.

But the footsteps approached.

He rushed to look up and saw the female educated youth walking over with a lunchbox, smiled broadly at him, "Comrade Jiang, I’m here to thank you!"

Xu Qinghuan quickly clarified her purpose, avoiding any misunderstanding, as she handed the lunchbox over.

"I’ve moved to a new place and invited the friends from the educated youth center for a meal. Originally, I wanted to invite you over too, but fearing you’d refuse, I brought some food over to invite you!"

She really intended this, but Jiang Xingye and the people from the educated youth center just wouldn’t have had common ground, inviting him over would be awkward, wouldn’t it?

Xu Qinghuan’s arm had grown tired from holding, and Jiang Xingye just stared straight at her, his gaze calm like the deep sea at night. Just as she thought he might coldly refuse her from a thousand miles away, surprisingly, Jiang Xingye took the lunchbox from her.

He grabbed chopsticks and opened the lunchbox. Xu Qinghuan thought he was going to eat it directly from her lunchbox and quickly stopped him, "Hey, hey, hey, can you pour it out?"

Jiang Xingye turned his head to look at her, his eyebrows slightly furrowed, his expression somewhat dangerous, forcing Xu Qinghuan to swallow hard as she explained, "I haven’t eaten yet; I mean pour it out for you to eat slowly. I’m going back to eat; there aren’t extra bowls at my place, just this one lunchbox."

It’s her lunchbox!

Jiang Xingye suddenly found the lunchbox a bit hot to handle, and his heart skipped a beat, but he didn’t say anything. He found his own lunchbox and moved all the food into it in one go.

He went to wash the lunchbox. Xu Qinghuan was about to follow but found it inappropriate, awkwardly standing in the room, couldn’t help but take a look around the house.

The mud wall and straw roof, with only two rooms. The one she was in had quite a complex function—serving as a kitchen, dining room, and living area, while another should be the bedroom.

Upon entering, Jiang Xingye saw Xu Qinghuan surveying the place, and he quietly handed the lunchbox back to her.

Xu Qinghuan took it and was ready to leave but couldn’t resist asking, "The rent was initially agreed as two yuan a month; I think two yuan is more appropriate..."

She didn’t dare to take advantage of the colleague easily, always fearing a haunting loss.

"No need!" After saying that, Jiang Xingye glanced outside, his intention to chase her away wasn’t obvious.

Alas, another day with no progress.

Xu Qinghuan left feeling deflated. Jiang Xingye watched her droopy demeanor, it even seemed a little pitiful. He couldn’t quite understand why she’d be unhappy about receiving half off the rent.

Sitting at the table for the meal, it was rice not had in a long time, with half of the dishes being meat—fish and bacon, eggplant soaked in oil, tomatoes sweet. One must say, this young educated youth had good cooking skills.

Probably she cooked it herself.

Among them, three female educated youth lived together. One worked in the field, another arrived later, leaving only her at home.

He never had such a hearty smoky meal.

Jiang Xingye ate up every last bit of broth.

After cleaning the lunchbox, he lay on the bed. Usually, after the heavy farm work in the morning, he’d sleep right away in the afternoon, but today, he surprisingly found it hard to doze off.

Xu Qinghuan returned to the educated youth center, where everyone was waiting for her, not touching the chopsticks.

"If you don’t return, I’d die from drooling!" Dai Yifeng teased.

Xu Qinghuan laughed, served herself some rice, quickly sat at the table, and as if issuing an order like a general, "Dig in!"

Instantly, the chopsticks on the table began to move in a blur.