The Reborn Sidekick Rejected The Male Lead
Chapter 119 - 117: Drunk Jiang Nanzhou

Chapter 119: Chapter 117: Drunk Jiang Nanzhou

Lu Jingqiu was escorted home to the military compound by Shen Mu and his two friends before returning.

By the time she reached the compound, it was already after five o’clock, and Aunt Zhang was already cooking dinner; Lu Jingqiu set her things down and went to help.

Over on West Street, Xia Lin had been waiting for a while. Seeing them leave, she finally breathed a sigh of relief and soon packed up her stall, not having sold much.

She was currently staying at a guesthouse, looking at the goods in her hands – there were still dozens of items left. She planned to sell for another two days before returning. She had been away for so long and had only sent a telegram to Gao Shu in the meantime; if she didn’t return soon, he would definitely get angry.

He didn’t really like her doing these public-facing activities, but if she didn’t take this opportunity to make some money and save up some capital, how would she start her own factory later on?

She wouldn’t settle for just waiting for a job assignment after graduation; her goal was to open her own clothing factory and make it a well-known domestic brand.

This time she went to Yangcheng City and purchased dozens of watches and over a hundred pieces of clothing.

She had originally planned to go to West City, but going there would certainly not escape Gao Shu’s notice. Thinking that Capital City, being the capital, would surely implement policies quickly, she came here and her expectations were indeed met. On good days, she could sell dozens of items, making around ten sales per day.

Once she sold all the clothing, she could earn as much as eight hundred yuan, not to mention the watches. Out of the thirty watches, she had already sold four or five, and the profit was considerable.

When she stocked up, she used all the savings from home, which was a pity because it was just a few thousand yuan. The cost price of the watches was high, and the situation in Yangcheng City had been chaotic with many thieves, making the purchasing area unsafe. She had been extra cautious, but even so, she was still robbed of over a hundred yuan. She reported it to the police, but they said it was a common occurrence there and hard to investigate; they advised her to be more careful.

She knew that Yangcheng would continue to be chaotic for the next few years and that she had to be cautious.

Fortunately, she had successfully acquired the goods and sold so much that she had already recouped the stolen money.

...

Today, Lu Jingqiu and Aunt Zhang made egg pancakes and cooked mung bean soup, using white flour to make the egg pancakes, which they spread with Aunt Zhang’s bean paste and ate with fresh lettuce.

What was originally a simple egg pancake was highly praised by Grandpa Jiang, who ate two in a row and drank a whole pot of mung bean soup.

Aunt Zhang also ate two and commented, "When I make pancakes, I never thought of doing it this way. Uncle Jiang likes it, so I will often make it like this in the future."

Grandpa Jiang nodded with a smile, as he was of advanced age and his teeth weren’t very good, so he usually ate soft and easily digestible food, often sticking to noodles.

Lu Jingqiu said, "Grandpa, we have a lot of delicious foods back home. Plus, when I was a sent-down youth, I learned quite a few local cooking methods. I’ll make them for you when I have the chance."

Grandpa Jiang agreed eagerly and then added with a chuckle, "Jiang Nanzhou is lucky, this young man kept saying he wasn’t in a hurry, but now, I think he can’t wait." After that, he laughed out loud.

This made Lu Jingqiu’s face instantly blush with embarrassment.

Seeing her blushing, Aunt Zhang quickly changed the subject with a laugh, "This afternoon Jiang Nanzhou put down the melons and then went out, saying he wouldn’t be back for dinner, probably out drinking with some buddies. Later, I’ll make some hangover soup for him to have when he returns. Jingqiu, Uncle Jiang and I are old now; we go to bed early. When Nanzhou returns, don’t forget to remind him to drink some hangover soup."

"Oh, okay."

After Lu Jingqiu went upstairs, she took a bath because she was returning the next day. She first packed up her belongings, and finding it was only a little after seven and she couldn’t sleep, she picked up a paintbrush. Sitting at the desk, she sketched out the inspiration that had been forming in her head over the past few days.

She didn’t know how much time had passed when she faintly heard someone coming upstairs. Shortly after, there was a knock at her door. Looking down at the time, it was already past eight o’clock.

Lu Jingqiu opened the door and saw a slightly tipsy Jiang Nanzhou, exuding a faint aroma of alcohol, "You’re back?"

"Yeah," Jiang Nanzhou replied with that sound, his eyes carrying a hint of haziness as he looked at her.

"How much did you drink?"

"Not much. Did you have fun with them today?"

"It was quite fun. You go back to your room first. Aunt Zhang made you hangover soup earlier; I’ll bring it up for you."

Lu Jingqiu pushed him to the door of his room, then turned and went downstairs.

The hangover soup was warming on the coal stove; she served a small bowl and brought it up for him to drink while it was still hot.

Jiang Nanzhou didn’t speak either, just looked at her and obediently finished the soup in one gulp.

Lu Jingqiu stared at him as if he had been drinking alcohol, "Who drinks like that, finishing it all at once? Doesn’t that bother your stomach?"

"It’s very tasty."

"Yeah, Aunt Zhang did a really good job."

"Anything you hand to me tastes good."

Lu Jingqiu burst into laughter, "Would you drink it if I handed you poison?"

"As long as you’re the one feeding me, even poison would taste sweet," Jiang Nanzhou lowered his head and took her hand, which felt as soft as boneless, always giving the impression that it could be crushed with just a little more force.

Lu Jingqiu, feeling the tenderness with a hint of dark mystery in his gaze, trembled and quickly pulled her hand away, saying, "It’s getting late, best head to bed early."

Just as she was about to leave, Jiang Nanzhou pulled her back and wrapped her in a tight embrace, startling Lu Jingqiu into pressing her hands against his chest, too scared to move.

Jiang Nanzhou didn’t do anything too over the line, just whispered in her ear, "I bought tickets for tomorrow afternoon. I’m sorry, the schedule was too tight, I didn’t have time to take you out for a walk."

Because they were so close, her cheeks flushed hotly, and she quickly pushed him away. Jiang Nanzhou let go of her willingly, "I’ve hung out in Capital City before, shopping isn’t as interesting as buying a house. I was already very happy with you accompanying me to buy a house. I’m going to sleep now, you should go to bed early too."

Jiang Nanzhou found her somewhat panicked escape quite adorable. In fact, he hadn’t drunk much; the slight drunkenness was all an act, just so he could take advantage of it to hold her.

Ever since he had gotten close to her, his affection had only grown. Unfortunately, this girl was not in a hurry at all. The brief embrace of soft and delicate warmth delighted Jiang Nanzhou greatly. He lay down in bed and swiftly fell into a deep sleep, even having a sweet dream.

Lu Jingqiu, on the other hand, suffered from insomnia. After leaving Jiang Nanzhou’s room, her heart pounding fiercely, she lay in bed and could even feel the strong, warm heartbeat of his embrace. The more she thought about it, the less she could calm down, and it took her a long time to fall asleep.

She had expected Jiang Nanzhou to wake up late because of his drinking the previous night, but to her surprise, he was up by six in the morning and was even personally helping out with breakfast. After waiting for Lu Jingqiu for quite a while without seeing her come down, he hesitated before knocking on her door.

"Jingqiu, time for breakfast."

"Yeah, I’m getting up."

Lu Jingqiu glanced at the time; it was already past seven. She smacked her forehead in annoyance and quickly got dressed.

Feeling a bit embarrassed at first, she didn’t relax until she went downstairs and found that Grandpa Jiang and Aunt Zhang were not there, leaving only Jiang Nanzhou waiting for her at the dining table, "Where are grandpa and Aunt Zhang?"

"Aunt Zhang took grandpa to the farmers’ market. Knowing we’re leaving today, she said she wanted to make dumplings for us at lunch."

"Oh."

Jiang Nanzhou served her a bowl of porridge and considerately picked vegetables for her.

"If you’re free in a while, I can take you out for a stroll."

"Will we have time?"

"We’ll have time."

"Eh, today’s flavor doesn’t quite seem like Aunt Zhang’s cooking."

Jiang Nanzhou gave her an approving look, "I made it, how does it taste?"

Lu Jingqiu’s eyes brightened, "The stir-fried greens are delicious, and the porridge is nice and thick. I didn’t expect you to be such a good cook. Does this mean I’m in for a treat from now on?"

Jiang Nanzhou’s heart leapt with joy, "Of course, when I’m at home, I’ll cook for you every day."

Lu Jingqiu smiled shyly, "Okay."