After sending off Lu Haibo, Yu Xinyan deftly pulled the fish line off the crucian carp, ready to start heating oil and braising the fish, but then she remembered there was no tofu at home.
She looked at Ye Silai standing at the kitchen door, pretending not to be familiar with the Mechanical Factory: "Sili, do you know where they sell tofu?"
Ye Silai nodded: "Yes, the grocery store sells it."
Thinking of the tofu tickets in the drawer, she went inside to get them: "Sili, watch Siyan, I’ll go buy some tofu."
The grocery store wasn’t far from here, and each courtyard had people around, so Yu Xinyan wasn’t worried about the two kids. She grabbed a bowl and ran out.
She bought a pound of tofu, thinking there would be some left over to add when frying the marinade at night.
Upon returning, she braised the fish and mixed a multi-grain dough, but this time used more white flour and less cornmeal, since there were two patients needing better food.
When the fish was almost done cooking, she carefully spooned one into a lunch box and the other into a bowl, then directly added noodles into the fish soup, first serving the two kids. Worried they might choke on bones, she picked out the bones before putting the fish in their bowls: "Alright, eat now. Be careful with the bones; there might still be some left."
Now that Little Siyan was more spirited and could eat by himself, Yu Xinyan was saved a lot of trouble.
Initially, she should have delivered food to He Jinxuan first, but she felt more secure watching these two kids eat and ensuring they didn’t choke on fish bones.
She was just helping a family take care of a three-month-old child, and couldn’t afford any mistakes; it was best to be cautious in all things.
Efficiently, she cooked noodles for herself, placing the leftover fish tail from the portion given to the two little guys into her bowl, and a bowl of fish soup noodles went down satisfyingly.
Seeing the two kids nearly done eating, she began cooking noodles for He Jinxuan.
She ladled the fish soup noodles out, sprinkled green onions, added the fish she’d set aside earlier — perfect!
Yu Xinyan wrapped the lunch box with a towel and placed it in the basket: "Sili, take your brother back inside to digest the food, Sister will be back after delivering the meal."
Ye Silai remembered his uncle’s words and reached out, wanting to lift the basket: "Sister, I can deliver the meal."
Yu Xinyan quickly stopped him: "You and your brother should just play at home."
After all, she’s earning someone else’s wages and even took an advance for three months, she couldn’t let a child deliver meals; she wouldn’t do such a thing.
Carrying the basket, she headed out. She hadn’t found any places selling blankets at the morning market, and the ones at the supply store also required tickets. She couldn’t get the tickets for a while, so she needed another plan.
She had, however, not checked the auspicious timing when leaving, and almost near the clinic, she bumped into Lyu Juncheng and Yao Hui.
Lyu Juncheng’s face was sour, while Yao Hui kept talking to him, even trying to reach out and grab him, only to be shaken off by Lyu Juncheng.
Yu Xinyan initially wanted to speed up and enter the hospital, avoiding a confrontation with them. Frankly, she didn’t want to see these two rotten people.
But just a few steps away, Yao Hui raised her head and saw her.
Not sure what was going through her mind, she rushed forward: "Yu Xinyan, how dare you stay here leisurely after harming us like this?"
Yu Xinyan was not about to indulge her: "How dare you say such things, twisting the truth? Secretly entangled with your brother-in-law, and then have the audacity to come and act arrogant here — who actually harmed whom?
Explain yourself.
Did I make you commit adultery with Lyu Juncheng, or did I make your mom catch you red-handed in bed? Even after I stepped aside to help you two, and paid off the loan from my foster parents, you still won’t let me go. I’ll have to ask the Yao Family how they can bully someone like this?"