Today’s porridge was minced meat, with a few drops of sesame oil, a few drops of soy sauce, a bit of green onion sprinkled on top. Stirred together, it was particularly fragrant. Ruan Jiaojiao had meant to ask where Little Wolf had gone, but upon seeing the food, she immediately felt hungry and began eating with a small spoon.
"Xiu Xi, have you eaten?" With a bit of black meat paste still clinging to the corner of her mouth, she asked Xiu Xi.
Xiu Xi nodded, took a handkerchief out of his pocket, and carefully wiped the black stain from the corner of her mouth.
Upon hearing that Xiu Xi had eaten, Ruan Jiaojiao felt relieved and began to eat seriously. After finishing, she intended to return the bowl to the kitchen, but Xiu Xi had already taken it there before her. When he came back, he was holding a peach.
This was a peach that had just ripened this morning, growing at the very top of the tree. Xiu Xi had been worried that birds would peck at it. As soon as dawn broke, he had climbed up to pick it and had been keeping it clean in the kitchen ever since.
The Ruan Family boys had also seen it, but none had the heart to covet it. Even the youngest, Ruan Qun, knew that among all the things in the Ruan Family, the best always went to their sister first.
"It’s ripe!" Ruan Jiaojiao exclaimed with joy upon seeing the ripe peach. Nowadays, farm households didn’t have much to eat, and she had been coveting this fruit in secret for several days.
"Mm-hmm." Xiu Xi nodded and handed her the peach the size of a fist.
Ruan Jiaojiao, smelling the fruity aroma, almost drooled. She held the peach in her hands and took a hefty bite, but her little face immediately scrunched up.
Xiu Xi was startled and reached out, his hand supporting her chin: "Spit it out!"
Ruan Jiaojiao shook her head, her little face puckered as she swallowed the piece of peach. After swallowing, she bit into it again. This time, she found the taste not bad. It was sour yet sweet, and although not as sweet as the honey peaches she had eaten before, it had its own unique flavor.
She offered the peach to Xiu Xi, "Xiu Xi, you try it too, it’s good."
One of Xiu Xi’s favorite things now was to share the same food with her, which gave him a sense of intimacy and satisfaction much like in his previous life.
He bit into the peach where she had bitten. His eyebrows knit together.
He finally understood why she had scrunched up her face so tightly. The fruit was very sour!
After swallowing the peach flesh, he watched her enjoy the fruit, completely puzzled. Did she actually like it? She liked it even though it was so sour?
Xiu Xi didn’t understand, but he silently made a resolution in his heart to hunt more game to exchange for money and buy her many, many fruits in the future.
Later on, when Ruan Jiaojiao offered the peach to Xiu Xi again, he didn’t eat any more. He still preferred meat.
Seeing he wasn’t eating anymore, Ruan Jiaojiao unceremoniously continued eating the peach by herself until only the pit was left.
Looking at the pit in her hand, she thought of the fruit they gave her when she was captured by monkeys and couldn’t help but become curious. Were all those fruits from the mountain in front of them?
She wondered if she would ever have the chance to go in there again and transplant a few fruit trees into the yard. Then, there would be many, many fruits to eat in the future.
Ruan Jiaojiao was blissfully imagining such things when she turned to see the green glint in Xiu Xi’s eyes and suddenly remembered a matter she had completely forgotten that was as distant as the land of Java.
"Xiu Xi, where’s Little Wolf? I haven’t seen him since this morning," Ruan Jiaojiao asked, puzzled, as she started searching around the house.
Xiu Xi’s lips were pressed tightly, and he didn’t reply.
Ruan Jiaojiao made a round of the house and even called out "Tiantian" twice, then went to check the backyard but still couldn’t find Little Wolf. She was suddenly perplexed and walked over to where Xiu Xi still stood unmoving in the main hall.