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Chapter 167: Chapter 167: Won’t Live to Retire
Li Nuanchun picked up the teapot, added hot water to Dai Liwen’s enamel cup, and casually added to the conversation, "She is smart and free of malice, unlike Yanmei who loves to take advantage of others, or Meiyu who, as a teacher, acts all high and mighty, disregarding anyone who speaks bad about her behind her back. They’re all just jealous of her living a good life with her good looks."
Li Nuanchun was increasingly impressed with Tong Yao after spending more time with her.
"Let them gossip all they want. Try to involve yourself less in that." Dai Liwen pointed to the drawer, "Put the tea leaves that we took from my father’s house there."
Li Nuanchun opened the drawer, took out the tea leaves, and added a pinch to the enamel cup, "I am not getting involved in their affairs; I am not even hanging out with Chen Yanmei anymore."
Dai Liwen listened for a moment, when he heard no movement from the next room, he suggested, "Let us get to bed early as well! If the deputy director is not bothering to mediate, then we should not put our necks out."
Li Meiyu has a bad temper, and she would say whatever she likes when she gets mad, utterly disregarding professional ethics. Everyone lived in the same building, so nobody wanted to meddle in others’ affairs.
"I never wanted to get involved anyway."
The couple agreed on this, grabbed their clothes, and went downstairs. Regardless of the argument heightening at the other end of the corridor, they pretended not to hear, saving themselves unnecessary trouble...
The commotion from next door didn’t cease until late. Meanwhile, Li Meiyu tried to leave several times, but was coaxed and dragged back into the room by Liu Haisheng. Tong Yao went to bed early around eight o’clock. Concerned about Si Chen’s trip to Kyoto the following day, she was unable to sleep deeply and woke up at around four in the morning.
Seeing that she could not fall back asleep, she decided to go to the kitchen and cook breakfast. Once in the kitchen, she noticed that the radish she bought yesterday had been gnawed down by more than half and left on the stove. The irregular teeth marks made it look as if a rat had nibbled on it. She frowned, picked up the radish and tossed it into the trash bin.
It was still dark outside; the kitchen was not too hot. Under the dim light, Tong Yao started to prepare steamed buns with pumpkin. She steamed the pumpkin first, then mixed it with some flour to let it ferment. She steamed a batch of pumpkin buns, and then put some millet to cook into porridge with red dates and lotus seeds. As the pot steamed, a delicious aroma began to fill the kitchen. Smelling the sweet aroma, Tong Yao’s stomach grumbled.
The millet porridge needed to cook a bit longer to ensure the grains were mushy and palatable. She ate a pumpkin bun to curb her hunger while waiting for the porridge to cook. Once it was ready, she took the lid off and let it cool down. Then she went back to her room to pack Si Chen’s clothes. By the time she finished all these, it was already dawn outside.
Liu Haisheng, having been tormented by Li Meiyu all night, headed to the kitchen with a pair of panda eyes to wash up. As soon as he walked into the kitchen, a delicious aroma hit him. He noticed the attractive millet porridge that was still bubbling in the pot and felt his stomach grumble.
The sight of many golden buns, the size and color of eggs, made him salivate.
"Doctor Liu, you’re up early," said Tong Yao as she approached the kitchen doorway, startling Liu Haisheng. "Oh, I just came to get some water to wash my face."
After saying this, he quickly picked up the basin and went over to the faucet. As he looked down, he saw the half-eaten radish in the trash bin that Tong Yao had thrown away.
He laughed nervously and explained, "I couldn’t sleep because I had indigestion. I saw the radish in the kitchen, so I grabbed it and started eating. I didn’t bother to ask for permission since I thought you were sleeping. I’ll buy a new one to replace it later."
The night before, Li Meiyu had created chaos all night, and he ended up not having dinner. Halfway through the night, he was so hungry that he couldn’t fall asleep. He checked the kitchen for leftovers from Tong Yao’s dumplings, but instead, he found two green radishes of which he ate a large portion.
Tong Yao tucked her lips in and chuckled. She didn’t bother to bust him, "It’s okay if you don’t replace it. It’s just a radish."
She didn’t outright say he shouldn’t replace it, nor did she insist that he should. The message was clear, whether he replaced it or not, is up to him.
"You two are eating so much for breakfast?" Liu Haisheng asked as he looked at the food, his eyes lingering on the buns. He had seen Si Chen cook before but never expected that Tong Yao’s cooking skills were just as good.
The pumpkin steamed buns looked like pieces of art, and he wondered what she had filled them with. They looked so golden. And the millet porridge, cooked so well that you could make out the red dates and millet pieces, seemed to reflect her charm.
Tong Yao laughed, "Ahchen is going to Kyoto today. I prepared some for him to share with Professor Qu on the road."
Hearing this, Liu Haisheng felt disappointed. The food was for Si Chen and Professor Qu. There probably wouldn’t be any left for him.
Fearing that Li Meiyu would make a scene if she saw him chatting with Tong Yao, Liu Haisheng decided to cut the conversation short and quickly left for his room with the basin of water. As expected, as soon as he entered the room, Li Meiyu glared at him and bombarded him with questions, "You were gone for so long just to fetch water, what were you chatting with that little demon about?"
"Keep your voice down. Be careful not to be overheard," Liu Haisheng, exasperated from being tormented by Li Meiyu, only wished to get her to go to work, so he could have a few peaceful days.
If Li Meiyu continued to torment him like this, he wasn’t sure he would hold up.
...
The previous day, Tong Yao had bought several disposable cups with lids for the porridge. She poured the porridge into the cups and fastened the lids securely, then put them into a bag along with some thick straws. She also packed the pumpkin buns and the pickles into the bag.
As she was wrapping up, Si Chen came back from his night shift and found her in the kitchen. He softly said, "Don’t bother with all these. We are short on time. I’ll take a shower and change my clothes before leaving. You should go back to bed."
Tong Yao looked up at him, "Go take your shower! I have packed everything for you; the clothes are on the bed."
With time at a premium, Si Chen didn’t have much to say. He went back to his room, picked up his clean clothes, and went to shower. Meanwhile, Tong Yao took the breakfast to their room and put it with Si Chen’s daily use items. She then took out 100 yuan from her purse. When Si Chen returned from his shower, she handed him the money.
"Here is 100 yuan for you to use. Everything costs more in a big city. There are changes of clothes, a towel, and two pairs of socks in the bag. In the tote bag, you’ll find breakfast. If you don’t have time to have it before the journey, you can eat it on the train."
Tong Yao had already packed everything neatly and even made breakfast. Si Chen gently touched the 100 yuan bill and took out two ten yuan notes and put them in his pocket, "I don’t need that much money; we will be at the hospital and won’t need to spend that much. Twenty yuan is enough."
"Money doesn’t add to the load. You carry more, it will make me feel relieved," Tong Yao insisted, stuffing the money back into his pocket. Remembering the incident involving her student, she asked curiously, "The kids who got sick yesterday are middle school students, right? How are they doing now?"
Si Chen replied, "They ate something off. Currently, three of them are still hospitalized due to the severity of their symptoms."
Knowing that he was short on time, Tong Yao didn’t ask further. When she thought of him leaving for ten days, she felt a pang of desolation. Despite Si Chen’s advice, she insisted on seeing him off to the entrance of the housing complex.
