On the way, He Jinxuan introduced Xinyan with a smile to everyone they met, making Xinyan’s face almost stiff from all the smiling.
As they were about to reach the small yard allocated to He Jinxuan, Xinyan glared at him: "Enough already."
He Jinxuan quickly laughed and appeased her: "Okay, okay, once I announce it like this, it’ll save a lot of trouble later, and besides, having such a beautiful partner is an honor for me."
Today, he just wanted everyone in the transportation company to know that He Jinxuan was taken, so they should stop having designs on him, otherwise, don’t blame him for being unkind.
Because in the few days since he returned, he’s been quite annoyed. Early in the morning, people would show up at his door, no matter what he said, they pretended not to understand him, insisting on introducing him to potential partners.
Living in the same family quarters, if you speak lightly they don’t listen, if you speak harshly you upset them. How to relieve the worries, only Yanyan.
Not to mention, just after he left, people in the family quarters began to gossip: "Ha, who would’ve thought Captain He wasn’t lying, he really has a partner."
"Not to mention, his partner is truly pretty, like a fairy."
"Didn’t you hear earlier, Captain He said his partner is a student of Jing University, not only beautiful but also educated."
"With such an impressive partner, why would he look at anyone else?"
"Looking at that girl, she’s not that old, who would’ve thought Captain He was so lucky to find someone so much younger."
"Don’t talk nonsense, I heard from my husband that Captain He said he’s only six years older than his partner, it just appears he’s older because his skin is darker."
"Captain He doesn’t look old, look at Captain Lu’s son, he’s the one who looks mature, he looks like a brother to Captain Lu."
"Keep your voice down, if someone from Captain Lu’s family hears you belittling his son, they might pick a fight with you."
"Tch, I’m not lying, shouldn’t people be allowed to speak?"
"However, a few days ago, I saw Captain Lu went to find Luo Er’s wife, I overheard that she might be matchmaking with Captain He?"
"Her three daughters are all married off, who is she matchmaking for?"
"A while ago, I saw her sister’s daughter came to visit, but I didn’t see her go out, maybe she’s already left."
"She’s got some nerve, whoever marries her sister’s daughter is unlucky, she’s lazy and greedy."
"If Luo Er’s wife really does arrange for her niece, isn’t she just insulting Captain He?"
"You can’t say that, her niece is quite pretty."
"Give it a rest, being pretty but not knowing how to live life is a problem, isn’t that harming someone?"
The woman gossiping is from East Province, ever since she found out He Jinxuan is also from East Province, she’s seen him as family, not allowing anyone to bully him.
The outside gossip, Xinyan and He Jinxuan were unaware, as they both returned to the yard.
Xinyan then carefully examined the yard. Although the main house is three rooms, they are small, much smaller than those in the Mechanical Factory’s family quarters in East Province.
However, the yards here all have walls, once the doors are closed, no one can see anything.
Xinyan had He Jinxuan measure the dimensions of the room and drew a floor plan on the paper she brought, marking it out.
She planned to create a layout when back, and then He Jinxuan could arrange it according to her ideas.
When He Jinxuan went to pick up Xinyan, he had steamed white rice and made a pot of lotus root and pork ribs stew. He had also bought some braised meat from the street corner earlier. Seeing the ribs almost done, he reminded: "Yanyan, let’s eat first."
Xinyan, noticing the main house’s three rooms were similarly sized, spoke: "I’m almost done too, you can serve it up."
As He Jinxuan set up the food, Xinyan finished her work and saw the lotus root and pork ribs stew on the table: "You made this?"
He Jinxuan nodded with a smile: "The lotus roots were brought back by Wang Baoliang’s team, he passed by yesterday and brought a few sections for me. I thought you liked them, so I bought pork ribs to stew with them."
Mostly because stewing didn’t require constant attention, he had the time to pick someone up. Anyway, adding more water to the big stove and simmering on low heat was sufficient.