Busy all morning, a table full of delicious dishes was served.
Tomato and scrambled eggs, sweet and sour carp, Mapo tofu, braised eggplant, plus cucumber salad and spinach vermicelli—all were An Hao’s handiwork.
The dishes were very homely, but they tasted exceptionally good.
Qin Feng didn’t wait for the elders to start with the chopsticks, but took a few bites from each dish herself first.
Li Junping saw her daughter’s bad habits and, irritated, picked up her chopsticks and whacked her on the back of the hand.
"Ow!" Qin Feng screamed, holding her reddened hand and shouting, "Mom, am I really your own child? Everyone says my brother doesn’t look like us and must’ve been picked up somewhere, but I think the picked-up child is me!"
Qin Ru Hai hadn’t finished his pipe yet. Hearing Qin Feng bring up the uncomfortable truth, he got angry and tapped her on the head with the pipe bowl, "You’re absolutely right. Your brother is the child your mom suffered for three days and nights to bring into this world, fighting for her life. You, on the other hand, were picked up from the roadside."
"That’s right! Picked up next to a pigsty hole by the road!" Li Junping scolded fiercely; this daughter really gave her heartaches.
Lazy, gluttonous, and brainless.
You’d call her brainless, but when it comes to skiving off, ideas just spout one after another, and she never does a lick of good work!
"I hate you guys!" Qin Feng pouted and glared at Li Junping, "You’re definitely a stepmother!"
"That’s right. I am the stepmother!" Li Junping said, while serving Qin Jian food, "Tomorrow I’ll go to Song Fei’s house and talk to his mother, and settle this marriage. Honestly, only Song Fei wouldn’t mind having her."
Qin Ru Hai and Qin Jian, father and son, unanimously expressed their agreement.
Qin Feng was truly infuriated, slammed her chopsticks down onto the bowl, and grabbed An Hao’s hand, "Sister-in-law, are you not going to manage your man? He’s bullying your future little sister-in-law , and you just sit by and watch, really?"
An Hao laughed and patted Qin Feng, "I think Song Fei is not bad, he’s understanding and accommodating, that’s pretty good!"
"You! You... I’m so angry!" Knowing that the whole family ganged up to prank her and she had no choice, Qin Feng just picked up her chopsticks and continued to eat voraciously, "I’m channeling my rage into appetite!"
An Hao had eaten two meals at Qin Jian’s house.
After dinner, as she was about to leave, Qin Jian had to return to his post.
The village at night was silent, moonlight casting a silvery-grey layer over the earth, making this poor but beautifully scenic village even more enchanting.
An Hao and Qin Jian walked on the stone-paved road without saying a word, just walking on and on.
The summer night breeze blew, carrying away the day’s heat, but not the restlessness in Qin Jian’s heart.
Thinking about the upcoming farewell, Qin Jian’s heart sank. Seeing An Hao’s house close at hand, he reached out and grabbed her wrist.
An Hao stopped and turned to look at him.
Seeing Qin Jian’s intense gaze, his usually sharp and handsome features softened in the moonlight, giving him an approachable air that was even more endearing than usual.
"An Hao, I might be very busy in the coming days..." So, he wanted to spend more time with her tonight.
An Hao smiled brilliantly at him, "Qin Jian, let’s have a date!"
A date in the 1980s, especially in the countryside, didn’t entail many destinations or entertainment options. There were no movies, no coffee to drink, not even to mention other things.
An Hao’s idea of a date was simply holding Qin Jian’s hand, walking from the village all the way to Xiaohe River.