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Xia Xiaolan was not in a good mood.
Liu Yong knew a police officer at the local station and had managed to learn something useful. The three men who had attacked her would almost certainly face heavy sentences.
However, their families had gone to the police station that morning to cause trouble. Someone had apparently given them the malicious idea of dragging Xia Xiaolan into the case as well. Feeding the police a malicious story that Xia Xiaolan had somehow seduced the three men and then falsely accused them.
Even female hooliganism could be sentenced, and the claim was that she had led them on but then turned the tables
According to the statements taken at the police station, the three had also been incited by rumors. Someone had been spreading gossip behind the scenes.
Xia Xiaolan, the loose woman from Dahe Village, had been driven out of her home, had no one to stand up for her, and couldn’t live without men. Supposedly she would accept any man who came along.
These three hooligans were already wandering from town to town, and hearing her reputation wasn’t enough. They heard she was reselling eggs in the county town and seen her in person. How could they resist?
They hadn’t just wanted pleasure—they wanted both money and pleasure.
Liu Yong was puzzled.
“You didn’t dig up the Xia family’s ancestral graves. Why do they hate you so much?”
Xia Xiaolan frowned.
“Could the Xia family really be behind this?”
Sometimes she even felt she might not be the Xia family’s biological daughter. Perhaps, the child of their enemy raised in their home, which was why they constantly made her life difficult and couldn’t stand to see her living well.
Thinking about how she had nearly been violated yesterday, and about the eggs that had been smashed, Xia Xiaolan felt her anger rising again.
Since they were still at the guesthouse, uncle and niece decided to talk more about it at home later.
First, they still needed to thank Zhou Cheng and Kang Wei for saving her.
Liu Yong chose a state-run restaurant.
The waitstaff’s attitude was lazy, as if someone owed her money.
Xia Xiaolan, accustomed to the customer-first service culture of later years, couldn’t understand the arrogant attitude of employees in state-run establishments. What was worse, they were the first customers of the day, yet the waitress seemed reluctant to serve them.
“Do you have grain coupons?” she asked.
Liu Yong shook his head. “No coupons. Just give me two hearty dishes.”
Most people came to state-run restaurants only for a bowl of noodles. With grain coupons, the food was much cheaper.
The waitress immediately sized him up—he was clearly a country bumpkin. She snorted through her nose.
“No coupons? Then it’ll be expensive. What kind of hearty dishes do you want?”
Xia Xiaolan was already annoyed by the attitude. If not for the fact that Anqing County had no other respectable restaurant, she would have walked out.
“Ah, come on! What dishes? Just serve them. We’re not going to run off without paying!”
Kang Wei’s Beijing accent startled the waitress, whose eyes nearly popped out.
In those days, people from Beijing were seen as superior in many regions—the capital carried weight. Looking closer, out of the four of them, only Liu Yong was short, thin, and dark. The other three were all strikingly attractive and dignified.
The waitress couldn’t stay arrogant. “I’ll go ask the kitchen.”
After a short while, she came running back.
“Chef Zhu said a Black Carp just arrived from Baixi Reservoir, weighing 18 jin (about 9 kg). Can you manage it?”
Liu Yong, a simple countryman, didn’t understand the fuss over a fish. In the countryside, everyone was used to catching fish, and no one made such a big deal out of it.
If you’re treating guests, it made more sense to serve a pork knuckles or other hearty dish. But he didn’t dare anger the state-run restaurant.
He nodded silently.
“Fine, we’ll take it. Bring some other dishes too.”
“Uncle, 18 jin is plenty.” Zhou Cheng told Xia Xiaolan.
“Black Carp that’s too small isn’t fatty enough. Over 20 jin, the meat gets tough. 18 jin is perfect.”
He wasn’t speaking only to Xia Xiaolan, he was also teaching Liu Yong a thing or two.
But Zhou Cheng was so agreeable that Liu Yong couldn’t help liking him. He inwardly thought, Good thing I didn’t look clueless in front of these two young men from Beijing.
By the time the 18-jin fish was served, Xia Xiaolan understood why state-run restaurants were considered high-class.
They turned one fish into three dishes and a soup.
Half the fish was sliced thin for poached fish in broth.
Half was ground into fish paste for fish ball soup.
The fish head was steamed with chopped chili, and the fillets were deep-fried with sesame salt.
Each dish was piled high, and even Liu Yong silently enjoyed the tender poached fish without complaint. It wasn’t that the fish was bad.
Rural people simply lacked the technique and were stingy with oil.
This was the most luxurious meal Xia Xiaolan had eaten since arriving in 1983.
But the mood was strange. Kang Wei’s demeanor was odd, and Zhou Cheng subtly warned him, after which Kang Wei forced a smile and toasted politely.
Xia Xiaolan realized that Kang Wei had likely been to the police station with Zhou Cheng and knew about her bad reputation.
She didn’t care. They were strangers. If they looked down on her because of rumors, so be it.
Life-saving favors couldn’t be repaid with a couple of meals. She would repay properly once she had the chance. Until then, the meals were just meals, and after that, they would part ways.
A pair of chopsticks carefully placed the tenderest belly piece of fish into Xia Xiaolan’s bowl.
She looked up. Zhou Cheng smiled at her.
And he had a really good smile.
Liu Yong watched and felt like a weasel trying to steal his chicks, quickly cutting off the subtle tension.
“Come on, drink! I’ll toast both of you to thank you again for saving Xiaolan.”
Zhou Cheng lifted his cup.
Kang Wei dared not refuse.
“I and Xiaolan felt an immediate connection when we met.” Zhou Cheng said sincerely.
“Please, don’t be too formal with me. Uncle can call me Zhou Cheng, or Chengzi. Xiao Wei and I will toast you.”
Liu Yong couldn’t play dumb, he held the cup but didn’t dare drink.
“Zhou Cheng, watch your words. What do you mean ‘hit it off at first sight’? Aren't you speaking carelessly?”
Xia Xiaolan was beautiful. It was normal for young men to notice her immediately. But saying such things in front of an elder after only one day seemed frivolous, as though he didn’t treat Xia Xiaolan seriously.
Liu Yong grew irritated, thinking he shouldn’t have brought Kang Wei to the police station.
Zhou Cheng set his cup down and stood.
“Please don’t worry. I’m already twenty years old. I know what I’m saying.”
“Kang Wei told me about the rumors surrounding Xiaolan. An elder in my family once told me not to judge people or situations based on what others say, but to feel and decide for myself. I have my own judgment about what kind of person Xiaolan is. Even if I were fooled by appearances, that would be my own choice. I wouldn’t blame anyone. I don’t mean anything else by this, and I’m not trying to repay a favor by forcing Xiaolan into a relationship. I just want you to know that I sincerely want to be friends with her.”
Even if Xia Xiaolan had once been involved with someone else, Zhou Cheng wouldn’t care.
No matter whom she had liked before, in the future she would only like him.
T/N:
Happy Chinese New Year!