The Reborn Sidekick Rejected The Male Lead
Chapter 243 - 235: Booking the Banquet

Chapter 243: Chapter 235: Booking the Banquet

The first meal as newlyweds, Jiang Nanzhou said they would eat at their new home, having glutinous rice balls.

The two then went to a nearby cooperative to buy a pound of glutinous rice flour and a pound of white sugar, as the pots, bowls, ladles, and basins were already prepared at home.

Back at home, they both got to work and made over twenty rice balls together.

The first meal in their new home was meant to symbolize togetherness and fullness.

After lunch, Lu Jingqiu started to feel a bit nervous, "We... should go home."

Jiang Nanzhou wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and said, "This is our home already."

Lu Jingqiu’s face instantly flushed with embarrassment, quickly turning her head away.

Jiang Nanzhou gently kissed her ear, his warm breath brushed against my ear, and his voice was very, very soft, "Have you tired yourself out running around all morning?"

"No..." Lu Jingqiu hadn’t finished speaking when Jiang Nanzhou scooped her up in a princess carry and took her upstairs.

He carefully placed her on the bed, covered her with a silk quilt, laid down beside her, and then didn’t move anymore.

Lu Jingqiu, with her eyes closed, felt tense for a long time, not sensing any movement, so she quietly opened her eyes only to find Jiang Nanzhou propping his head with his hand, watching her with a smile in his eyes.

Suddenly feeling embarrassed, she quickly turned to the other side, that’s when Jiang Nanzhou moved closer and wrapped his arms around her, "Jingqiu."

Lu Jingqiu buried her head in the quilt, saying, "Hmm, let’s sleep."

After her words fell, there was silence for a long while, and Lu Jingqiu thought he had agreed.

But the next second, she heard the sound of him getting out of bed, and curiously turned her head to look.

She noticed that the curtains were drawn but no one was in sight.

"He wouldn’t have gone to sleep in another room, would he?" Lu Jingqiu mumbled to herself, chuckling a little.

She felt a certain inexplicable shyness and embarrassment; she really had embarrassed herself just now.

Lying in bed, touching her burning cheeks, she felt her whole face warming up.

Just as she was wondering whether to get up, as she really couldn’t sleep, the next second, Jiang Nanzhou, who had left the room, walked back in.

He had been in formal attire before, but now he was wearing just a vest and some boxer shorts, with water droplets still clinging to the tip of his hair.

"You... took a bath?"

Jiang Nanzhou didn’t answer but wiped his head with a towel, tossed it aside, and then climbed straight into bed.

Startled, Lu Jingqiu quickly pulled back but was immediately pulled into Jiang Nanzhou’s embrace, "It’s still daytime."

"It’s very dark in the room," his voice was husky with emotion as he spoke.

An arm snaked around her waist, pulling her in closer to his embrace.

Lu Jingqiu, pressed against his chest, could distinctly hear the rhythm of his heart racing.

At that moment, her fingertips were burning, the heat traveling up her veins to her cheeks, and she felt as though her entire being was about to ignite, her heart pounding almost to the point of being unmanageable.

In the end, when she woke up again, it was already dark outside.

He was no longer beside her, and as she sat up and then lay down again, her eyes heavy with sleep, she had no desire to move.

She felt extremely weak all over.

When Jiang Nanzhou came back in, he was full of energy, opening the curtains for her and saying, "I’ve finished cooking and also prepared bathing water for you, do you want to take a bath?"

Lu Jingqiu nodded in bed, "Go downstairs first, I’ll get up in a bit."

Jiang Nanzhou smiled, knowing she was shy and didn’t push, kissing her forehead before saying, "I’ll be waiting for you downstairs."

After Jiang Nanzhou left, Lu Jingqiu casually put on some clothes and went to the bathroom.

Only when she got to the bathroom did she realize there was a steaming wooden tub.

They hadn’t prepared a wooden tub before, perplexed, Lu Jingqiu stepped into the bath, and sighed in relief – indeed, a bath was more comfortable.

Twenty minutes later, Lu Jingqiu, having dressed herself, came downstairs and asked, "Where did our family get the bathtub from?"

"I bought it from the Carpenter Uncle while you were asleep," he said. "I saw it in his shop before and thought it might be more comfortable for you."

Lu Jingqiu pursed her lips and nodded with a smile, her face flushing a bit more at his words.

Jiang Nanzhou served her a bowl of porridge and picked a piece of egg for her, "Eat more to nourish yourself; you’re too thin."

He was so attentive that Lu Jingqiu hardly dared to look up and speak.

The meal Jiang Nanzhou prepared was lavish, consisting of rice porridge, fried eggs, a portion of braised pork, and a plate of fresh vegetables from the garden.

Lu Jingqiu didn’t eat much, and the leftovers all ended up in Jiang Nanzhou’s stomach.

She was spared from washing the pots. Taking advantage of a free moment, Lu Jingqiu went upstairs to change the bed sheets and washed them.

The sheets were hung to dry on the balcony on the second floor.

When Jiang Nanzhou went upstairs and saw this, he took her hand and asked, "Aren’t you keeping it as a souvenir?"

"You... have no shame."

Jiang Nanzhou stopped teasing her at the sight of her rosy cheeks, and since it was getting late, he took her back to the compound.

They rode very slowly on the way; Jiang Nanzhou didn’t want to part with Lu Jingqiu. Today, his wife had been sweet-talked into staying at their new house, but tomorrow, she wouldn’t have this luxury.

He wished they could just have their wedding the next day.

But he knew it wasn’t possible, so after taking her home with great reluctance, he left.

Upon returning home, Lu Jingqiu lay in bed, completely drained, surrounded by her two kittens, and soon fell asleep.

It wasn’t until the next day when daylight filled the sky that she felt energized.

Having nothing to do, she cleaned the house. In the afternoon, Jiang Nanzhou arrived.

Together, they went to the state-owned restaurant.

There, they discussed the menu with the head chef.

The state-owned restaurant could provide braised pork, bamboo shoots with cured meat, two green vegetable dishes, spicy and sour shredded potatoes, and a fresh mushroom soup.

Lu Jingqiu asked, "Is there any fish? Or chicken or duck?"

The chef explained with difficulty, "Fish supplies are limited each day, and the sizes vary. We can reserve some for you if you like, but it will depend on how many guests you have."

Jiang Nanzhou said, "We need fifteen tables."

"Fifteen fish, all alike, would be hard to reserve. Chickens are scarce too; we get them from local farmers."

"What if we provide the fish and chicken ourselves, could you cook them for us?" Lu Jingqiu suggested.

"That could be arranged," the chef agreed.

"A dish of braised fish, one of stir-fried chicken with chili, a duck soup, braised pork, four vegetable dishes, sugar, pastries, and glutinous rice strips—one plate of each, making twelve dishes in total," Lu Jingqiu listed the menu.

The head chef and the restaurant manager, having heard their menu, felt that this was one of the most respectable menus in West City recently.

Since three of the dishes were made with ingredients they were providing themselves, and they were buying the desserts, the cost for each table of dishes was around three yuan and twenty cents. After leaving the restaurant,

Jiang Nanzhou took her to a department store and bought lots of candy and glutinous rice strips.

They also ran into the snack vendor they had met before on the streets.

They ordered twenty portions of red bean and mung bean cakes from him, to be delivered to their new house the following Thursday.

They made up a platter of peanuts and melon seeds.

The couple stored all these items at their new house.

Lu Jingqiu then asked Jiang Nanzhou to take her to Xue Jianian’s shop.