The Reborn Sidekick Rejected The Male Lead-Chapter 357 - 347: Dad’s Peach Blossom

Jiang Nanzhou paused for a long while before saying, "The people on my maternal great-grandfather’s side have all gone abroad, and it’s been a very long time since then. I never saw them when I was a child."

"So... there’s no contact anymore?"

Jiang Nanzhou shook his head, "None. We’ve been living just fine without them."

Lu Jingqiu laughed, "That’s true." One can live well without anyone, let alone relatives one has never met.

During the few days Lu Jingqiu had been there, she hadn’t seen Gao Qing. The last time she went to the house, Jiang Nanzhou had pointed out Gao Qing’s home, but sadly the door was locked, and no one was home.

She didn’t know if Gao Qing had returned to Capital City or had gone back to her parents’ home.

On the twenty-eighth day of the lunar year, the family of three got up early in the morning to put up couplets.

Jiang Nanzhou was in charge of placing them, Grandpa applied the paste, and Lu Jingqiu helped them out while occasionally praising Grandpa’s writing, making him so happy he couldn’t stop smiling.

He was particularly pleased with his own calligraphy.

Grandpa Jiang was busy, "You know, your dad is all by himself and always busy, so he definitely won’t have time to shop for the New Year goods. I’ll write a few couplets for him. You two should hurry over later to see if he needs anything and buy him what he’s missing. You can’t be attending to your in-laws’ matters all the time, your daughter; you have to take care of both sides adequately."

Lu Jingqiu was quick to respond, "Grandpa is right, Nanzhou and I will go in a bit."

The task of affixing the couplets was left to them, and she went outside to write some couplets.

Around nine o’clock, Jiang Nanzhou rode his bike with Lu Jingqiu to her father’s place.

As expected, while other houses were already adorned with red decorations, her father’s place was still quiet.

Fortunately, the gate was open, "Dad, I’m here, look what we brought for you," Lu Jingqiu said as she entered, calling out to Lu Xianrun.

But as soon as she entered, she saw Aunt Zhou from the past, her head bowed as she wiped away tears.

Dad was sitting at the dining table, expressionless.

Upon hearing her voice, both of them were startled.

"Aunt Zhou, you’re here too."

Aunt Zhou quickly wiped her tears and, looking up at Lu Jingqiu, put on a smile and said, "Jingqiu is here, then I’ll take my leave, and you two have a good time together," and then she headed for the door.

She had barely taken two steps before Lu Xianrun, who had already stood up, called out from behind, "Comrade Zhou, take your things with you. They are not needed here."

Aunt Zhou’s steps faltered, and she turned to say, "Comrade Lu, the leadership in the team used to say that you, living alone and being a man, might be negligent in daily life, and asked me to take care of that for you. These arrangements were also made by the organization. If you don’t accept them, I’ll have trouble explaining to my superiors." Having said that, she hurriedly turned to Lu Jingqiu, "Comrade Jingqiu, those are a pair of shoes I made for your dad, along with a sweater, and a few bowls of braised pork I just cooked. With the New Year approaching, there’s nothing prepared at home, so I made a few bowls for him—it can last fine during winter and be kept in the kitchen for a few days without any issue. Comrade Jingqiu, please persuade your dad, I’ll be heading out now."

"Actually, I had already arranged with my dad that I would prepare the New Year’s stuff. We’ve already brought it with us. Thank you for your concern, Aunt Zhou, take care."

Lu Jingqiu’s words made Aunt Zhou’s expression turn somewhat awkward, and she didn’t say anything more, just walked past Lu Jingqiu and Jiang Nanzhou with her head down.

As soon as she left through the door, Lu Xianrun felt a bit uncomfortable and didn’t know how to explain the situation with Zhou Suxi to his daughter and son-in-law.

"Dad, we brought some couplets Grandpa prepared for you today. Did you get yours ready?"

Seeing that his daughter didn’t inquire about Zhou Suxi, Lu Xianrun hurriedly said, "I got so busy I forgot, and was just about to go out and buy them."

Jiang Nanzhou said, "Good thing you didn’t go yet. Grandpa thought it through and had us bring the paste over as well."

Lu Xianrun smiled and said, "That’s perfect, let’s put them up together."

Lu Jingqiu, smiling, replied, "I’ll put the stuff in the kitchen first." She had brought a lot of things with her this time, buns, steamed bread, small crispy meat, fried chicken pieces, braised pork, roast meat chunks, and fish.

Everything one should prepare for the New Year was brought back.

After arranging the kitchen, Jingqiu looked around and thought how spacious and empty her father’s kitchen was.

If only there was a refrigerator, life would be easier for her dad, who lived alone and usually ate at the cafeteria with his team.

But there were always times he wanted to cook at home. Buying too much food meant leftovers went to waste; buying too little meant frequent trips to the store. A refrigerator would change that, keeping things fresh for a long time.

Exiting the kitchen, Jingqiu noticed the items Aunt Zhou had prepared for her father on the dining table. Although she’d met Aunt Zhou only twice, she could sense something, some indescribable feeling at the moment.

However, on this joyous occasion, neither Jingqiu nor Lu Xianrun inquired further about it.

So, the father-daughter pair chose to ignore this matter.

As noon was quickly approaching, Jingqiu hurried to the kitchen to cook some rice and stir-fry a few dishes.

Lu Xianrun said, "We don’t have any vegetables at home, and I was planning to buy some since I’m off work today."

Jingqiu replied, "Dad, let Jiang Nanzhou and me accompany you."

Lu Xianrun chuckled, "Sure. Let’s make it a family outing. We’ll visit the department store and the farmers’ market. Despite living here for so long, I’ve only been to the department store once."

"Great, Dad, how about we buy a refrigerator for the house? With one, you can store things like milk, bread, and noodles. If you come back late from training, you can still cook for yourself."

"A refrigerator?" Lu Xianrun shook his head, "Those things are too expensive." fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓

Jiang Nanzhou added, "Dad, there’s a reason why they’re pricey. I think we should also have a washing machine at home. It’s really convenient for doing laundry. Dad, you should get one."

After finishing their meal, the family first headed to the department store, which was packed with people due to the holiday season—it was a real crush.

Especially around the sewing machines and bicycles, people had saved up all year and wanted to add something substantial to their homes for the new year.

Even though Lu Xianrun claimed he wouldn’t buy anything, he was quite curious about all these items.

Jingqiu and Jiang Nanzhou showed him a refrigerator, costing over three thousand yuan,

and a washing machine for just over five hundred. Lu Xianrun truly didn’t have that much money.

When his daughter had married, he’d given her all the household savings for her dowry.

He hadn’t spent much of his salary over the past few months, but it wasn’t enough for both items; a washing machine maybe, but a refrigerator was simply too expensive.

Yet, his daughter and son-in-law insisted on buying it for him.

After giving it some thought, Lu Xianrun said, "Alright, alright. I’ll accept it."

Visiting the department store and buying two such big-ticket items drew a crowd of onlookers.

But there were more purchases to make. They set aside their goods and planned to pick them up later. Jingqiu and Jiang Nanzhou bought three pounds of sugar, including fruit candy and White Rabbit milk candies, four portions of pastries, and two pounds of rice cakes.

Lu Xianrun lined up to buy two bottles of alcohol.

Having finished buying pastries, Jingqiu went to the fabric section to buy a set of bed sheets for her father to change into, something he didn’t pay much attention to himself.

One set of sheets could last, after all; it’s indeed nice to have a woman at home.

Beyond these, Jingqiu also purchased some underwear and over twenty pairs of socks for her dad.

She bought two sets of long johns for him to change into as well.

For toiletries, she bought five bars of soap, two bottles of shampoo, several toothbrushes, and four tubes of toothpaste, all for her father to have on hand.

As they were leaving, Lu Xianrun, looking at his son-in-law carrying large and small bags, exclaimed, "You’re going to clear out the whole store!"

Jingqiu laughed and replied, "Dad, I’m not around you much, and since I’m here now, I should make sure you’re set up with everyday necessities. Look at the house; it’s so empty, it hardly feels lived in."