As they prepared dinner, chatting away in the kitchen, night fell before they knew it. Soon, a rich aroma of braised meat wafted through the kitchen, tantalizingly delicious.
Xue Ling, unable to resist the temptation, reached into her olive-drab sling bag and pulled out two small round cakes.
“Brother Yuan, have one with me. Let’s have a little something to tide us over.”
Cheng Tianyuan turned, spotting the fresh green sand cakes and curiously asked, “Where did these come from? Did you buy them?”
Xue Ling replied with a cheerful smile, “No, they’re Mid-Autumn Festival cakes distributed by the newspaper. The chief said they wanted to order big mooncakes, but there wasn’t enough time. So, they bought these fresh small cakes from a local bakery instead, giving eight to each employee as a little token.”
“That’s nice!” Cheng Tianyuan couldn’t help feeling a bit envious. His workplace used to give out such small gifts during festivals, but those perks had disappeared since the new management took over. Now, aside from a day off, there was nothing special.
Xue Ling handed him a cake, urging him to eat. She had heard his stomach rumbling earlier, and they hadn’t had dinner yet as the honeycomb stove was slow to cook. A small snack would be perfect for now.
Cheng Tianyuan quickly wiped his hands on a nearby cloth and devoured the cake in one bite. Seeing his evident hunger, Xue Ling offered him another.
“No, that’s enough for me,” he said with a light chuckle, “We’ve bought so much food today. If we fill up on snacks, we might not finish dinner. And we need to leave early tomorrow to visit our parents. We don’t want to waste food.”
Hearing this, Xue Ling reluctantly put the cake back, suggesting, “Let’s take the remaining six home for our parents. They’ll enjoy trying something new.”
Cheng Tianyuan agreed, continuing to chop vegetables without pause. Despite her recent arrival, Xue Ling always showed deep respect for his parents, which he found admirable. How could he not be good to such a considerate wife?
“By the way, you weren’t feeling well this morning. Are you better now?” he asked.
She assured him with a smile, “It was just a little chill. After drinking the ginger water you made and forcing myself to drink a lot of water at work, I felt better by the afternoon.”
Cheng Tianyuan reminded her gently, “Still, you should wear an extra layer in the morning and evening to avoid the cold. I’ll make you another bowl of ginger water tonight. Drink more to keep warm.”
“Sure!” Xue Ling agreed sweetly.
As she set the table under the thick night, she began packing for their trip back home the next day.
“Brother Yuan, can you only take one day off?” she asked, “Will we make it back in time the day after tomorrow?”
She had already informed her boss she might be late returning from her in-law’s village due to the festival travel rush. Fortunately, both her chief and editor were understanding and allowed her some flexibility.
Cheng Tianyuan suggested, “We’ll just leave earlier and catch the first bus. We’ll get to work whenever we arrive.”
Xue Ling, while packing small fish and other dry goods, suddenly proposed, “Brother Yuan, let’s buy a bicycle!”
Expecting him to initially object due to his frugal nature, she was surprised when he readily agreed.
“I’ve been thinking about it too. The weather will turn cold soon, and the roads will be harder to navigate. We really need one.”
She inquired about the cost of a new bike, to which Cheng Tianyuan estimated, “A brand new one is around two hundred yuan. A second-hand one could be cheaper, around thirty to forty yuan.”
Xue Ling insisted on a new one for reliability and offered to pay for it with her recently received salary and bonus.
Cheng Tianyuan initially refused but eventually conceded, touched by her offer. They both agreed it would be a shared purchase.
After dinner, they cleaned up together, enjoying their low-key but cozy domestic life. Suddenly, a man’s voice called out from outside, “Yuan! Yuan!”
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