The Reborn Sidekick Rejected The Male Lead
Chapter 231 - 223: Shen Mu’s Peach Blossoms

Chapter 231: Chapter 223: Shen Mu’s Peach Blossoms

Lu Jingqiu brought Shen Mu to the canteen and ordered two servings of rice. Today’s dishes were quite appealing, with potato and chicken, green vegetables, bamboo shoots, and soup.

After getting their food, the two of them sat down with Luo Xinyue, He Yu, and Chen Qingru.

Luo Xinyue knew Shen Mu, so Lu Jingqiu introduced him to He Yu and Chen Qingru.

As a result, both He Yu and Chen Qingru blushed throughout the entire process, making Shen Mu feel too shy to even raise his head to chat with Lu Jingqiu, hurriedly finishing his meal and asking her to take him to the exit of their college. Before he left, he even complained that her school was too terrifying.

Feeling somewhat helpless, Lu Jingqiu returned to her dormitory in the evening, and the two of them came over and asked, "Jingqiu, does your brother have a girlfriend? How old is he, and what year is he in?"

Lu Jingqiu knew they would ask this, and smilingly replied, "Sorry, he’s already taken."

"Taken? By who? Someone from his school?"

Lu Jingqiu shook her head, "Mm, a childhood sweetheart."

Upon hearing about a childhood sweetheart, the two slumped onto their beds in disappointment.

In fact, Shen Mu and Wang Xiuya had not made their relationship clear yet, but it was obvious that Wang Xiuya liked Shen Mu; it’s just that Shen Mu had yet to notice.

They were supposed to get married one year after graduating. To smooth things over for them, she had no choice but to play the role of matchmaker for Shen Mu.

To her surprise, the next day in class, Mi Qiaomai suddenly pulled her aside and asked, "Classmate Lu, who was that eating with you in the canteen yesterday?"

Lu Jingqiu glanced at her and replied, "My brother. Why?"

After hearing the answer, Mi Qiaomai’s face suddenly brightened with a smile, and she hurriedly inquired, "Does he have a partner?"

Lu Jingqiu then realized her intention and promptly said, "Yes, a childhood sweetheart. They’ve been together for many years."

After saying that, Lu Jingqiu walked away. Mi Qiaomai was somewhat opportunistic, and Lu Jingqiu didn’t want Shen Mu to get involved with such a woman.

In the afternoon, Lu Jingqiu rode her bicycle to Xue Jianian’s house.

She waited at the door for over twenty minutes before she saw Xue Jianian return, pushing an old but not new tricycle.

"Is this the tricycle you bought?"

Xue Jianian patted his tricycle and said, "It’s second-hand, fifty yuan. I spent another five yuan to fix it up, how about it?"

"Not bad at all. Nowadays, to get a second-hand tricycle is quite rare, some people would pay a hundred yuan for it, and you managed to find one for fifty."

"I have to thank Xinyue for this; her mother’s workplace had one, and she helped me inquire about it. I didn’t expect to actually get it. How long have you been here? Do you need something from me?"

Lu Jingqiu smiled, "I came to buy some meat and fish from you. How about we deduct it from the rent?"

Xue Jianian looked at her amusedly and quickly invited her into the house.

Lu Jingqiu asked, "Has Wei Jincheng returned to your place?"

"He came back last night for a bit, then left again. He said he needed to make a summary and report, and it will take several days before he can take a break."

"As long as he’s not injured, that’s good."

"No injuries, but, hey, most of the medicine I bought from you, he gave away to his comrades."

Lu Jingqiu understood. She had come back to check her father’s medicine bottle, which she claimed to have kept for himself, but in reality, there were only a few pills left inside, all secretly given to his soldiers.

Lu Jingqiu bought a chicken, a duck, five kilograms of meat, two fish, and ten kilograms of millet from Xue Jianian.

When she calculated it, even two months of rent wasn’t enough.

Before leaving, Xue Jianian also gave her a large bunch of fresh green vegetables.

"Jianian, have you been tired from delivering goods these past few days?"

"It’s alright. I get up around five in the morning to deliver goods for Brother Yang, and it doesn’t interfere with my school."

"That’s good."

"But recently, neighbors have been coming to me to buy rice, grains, and poultry. They all wait for me after school to make purchases. You know, if I do what you suggested and set up a storefront, more people would know I sell grains and oil, wouldn’t my business be better?"

"Of course, now many families still don’t have enough from their food ration books, especially those with educated youths returning home who haven’t found employment yet. They need to buy food regardless, but you’re currently studying and also collecting merchandise. Even if you hire an employee, can you manage that? You can’t let earning money interfere with your studies."

Xue Jianian smiled and waved her hand, "Don’t worry, I definitely won’t let it affect my studies."

She had calculated it; now, her space could produce several thousand pounds of grain each month, and she could also supply enough fruits and vegetables. The production of chickens, ducks, and fish was also increasing rapidly.

Wholesale business definitely wouldn’t work, just like before. When Lu Jingqiu’s cousin wanted so much merchandise at once, it took her a month to accumulate, and shipping out goods only once a month—some businesses couldn’t wait that long.

But retail would be possible. She shared her idea with Jincheng last night, and Jincheng said it’s worth considering. However, hiring people had to be done cautiously; he was worried that over time, others might discover her secret.

Xue Jianian didn’t have too many plans; she just thought about selling some items from her space to save up a bit of money.

When they had children in the future, she didn’t want to have Wei Jincheng bear such pressure, and she had four elders to take care of as well.

In the future, there would be plenty of expenses. Her grandfather had said that in this world, one cannot be without money.

With money, things would be easier to handle, so after she arrived at West City, she kept on earning money non-stop.

With money, she could help Jincheng stay away from those people at the Wei Family.

If she hadn’t moved her grandparents to the city, she didn’t know what the people from the Wei Family would have done to them in the village.

When they came to look for them during the New Year, what could they do? Her grandfather had ways to deal with them.

...

Lu Jingqiu carried her stuff home and prepared half a chicken. It was past seven when her father came back.

Lu Jingqiu quickly served him a bowl of chicken soup, "Dad, you’ve been out for more than two months; don’t you have any leave?"

"I do, and I can take a leave tomorrow, but I’m thinking of going to Capital City."

Lu Jingqiu paused slightly, looking at her father, not understanding why.

Lu Xianrun smiled and said, "I’m going to meet a few old leaders, and your grandpa from Nanzhou. His mother called me yesterday to ask about Nanzhou’s situation."

"Has Nanzhou come back? Is he alright?"

"He has returned. Tomorrow, you cook a chicken and go see him, try to give him some guidance."

Lu Jingqiu frowned, wishing she could go see him right now.

Although she hadn’t asked too much, she knew that during this military operation, their military region lost quite a few soldiers.

Aunt Liu said that when Uncle Liu came back, the grown man would cry secretly.

His battalion had very few people left.

Jiang Nanzhou, no matter how mentally strong, would still be unable to withstand the loss of his comrades.

At this time, she wasn’t sure whether the military provided psychological counseling; the political instructor must be the busiest right now.

"Dad, you should eat more, and you must not overwork yourself because of your wound."

Lu Xianrun nodded. After returning to the unit, apart from some follow-up tasks, he really didn’t need to train. They were just back to rest and recover.

"My health is fine. But it seems during the time I was away, someone bullied my daughter. I need to settle this properly with the Yang Family."

Lu Jingqiu knew she couldn’t hide the incident from her dad and hurriedly said, "Dad, I’ve already taught Yang Linghua a lesson. The police had her come and apologize. It wasn’t really you and Nanzhou who arranged for her brother to be transferred, was it?"

"Transferred? Nanzhou did have that thought, but it actually had nothing to do with him. The top brass had already decided. He made a mistake during the operation that saved Nanzhou, almost causing us to lose a crucial defensive position. If it weren’t for Nanzhou’s quick response, it wouldn’t just be about casualties."

"He rescued the wrong person?"

"Not exactly, but he disobeyed orders. Nevertheless, the place he was sent to is a tough one, yet it’s an important island. Plus, there he will be a battalion commander. A few years of growth and his future is certainly promising. What is his family making a fuss about? They aren’t satisfied with such a good opportunity for their son and took their anger out on you, as if the Lu Family has no one to stand up for it?"

"Dad, don’t be angry, these people aren’t worth it. It’s just Commander Yang’s sister, she’s gone too far, relying on her parents and brother, forgetting her place."

"But I heard that Gao Shu’s wife has something to do with this too. My girl, you don’t have to persuade me. If I don’t pursue this, those who want to bully us will only grow bolder."

Her father was right, which is why she had dealt with them both harshly at the first opportunity.