Zhao Wu had wanted to turn around to say something to Qiao Mei, but Zhang Yong hurriedly pushed Zhao Wu and said, “Hurry up and eat, just eat!”
Zhao Wu did not get the chance to say anything, so he took his bowl and filled it up with rice before handing it to Qiao Mei and said, “I guess you must not have eaten for a few days. Quickly eat more. Don’t stand on ceremony!”
Zhang Yong and Zhuang Hua were dumbfounded. It turned out that Zhao Wu was not stupid at all. His method of wooing girls was much better than theirs. The pressure from the competition was on.
Qiao Mei smiled and took out a large tea jar from her backpack. However, the large tea jar did not look like one as it had long been flattened. Qiao Mei took it in her hands, fiddled with it for a while and returned it to its original shape. The few men were dumbstruck by what she did.
They did not think too much about it though and it did not cross their minds that Qiao Mei was exceptionally strong. They only felt that Qiao Mei was quite pitiful and that her family should be very poor. Big tea jars were usually very sturdy so for a little girl to be able to reshape it easily, it must be a really cheap item.
“Aren’t you going to eat?” Qiao Mei asked curiously when she saw that the three people behind her were still staring at her after she took her food.
“Ah! Yes, yes, yes! Let’s eat, let’s eat!” Zhuang Hua came back to his senses and quickly went to get his food.
Qiao Mei looked around for Xia Zhe. It was mealtime, so why was he not here to get food? Not long after, she found Xia Zhe in the crowd. He also looked over, but he was not looking at Qiao Mei. Instead, he looked at the three people who were getting their food behind Qiao Mei.
Xia Zhe had just taken his bowl and was walking over when Qiao Mei stopped him.
“Are you going to eat? Can I eat with you?” Qiao Mei blinked her big eyes and asked.
Xia Zhe did not even look at Qiao Mei. He dodged to one side and walked forward, saying, “It’s not convenient.”
Qiao Mei looked at Xia Zhe’s indifferent departing figure and was overjoyed, though Zhao Wu found it strange that she was still so happy after being rejected. Zhao Wu walked up to Qiao Mei and said, “Comrade Zhang Miao, don’t go after my big brother. My big brother is already married and he’s also about to become a father.”
“That’s right. Our big brother really has a wife. We’re not lying to you,” Zhang Yong echoed.
Qiao Mei smiled and said, “So what if he has a wife? It doesn’t matter even if he does!”
After saying that, she skipped over to Xia Zhe’s side and sat down. Zhang Yong and the other two men also followed her and sat around in a circle. Qiao Mei opened her backpack and took out the pickled radishes that she had made at home.
“Here, try this,” Qiao Mei held out the jar and appeared to offer it to everyone, but in fact, she had positioned the jar right in front of Xia Zhe.
Zhao Wu, Zhang Yong, and Zhuang Hua did not care about that. They each took one and started eating.
“Huh? This taste? Why does it taste so similar to the one that sister-in-law sent to big brother?” Zhuang Hua looked at Zhao Wu to see if he agreed.
“Eh? That’s true. The taste is really quite similar!” Zhao Wu said as he picked up the pickled radish with his chopsticks.
Qiao Mei looked at Xia Zhe and asked, “Aren’t you going to have one? It’s very delicious.”
Xia Zhe turned away and hurriedly finished the remaining rice in his bowl. He stood up and said, “I don’t like it. Anyway, I’m finished with my meal.”
Qiao Mei was grinning from ear to ear as she held the jar of pickled radishes. She wondered who was the one who had written in the letter that he loved pickled radishes the most. Qiao Mei closed the jar and put it back into her bag.
Zhang Yong and the rest were still hankling for more, but since she had already put the jar away, they were too embarrassed to ask her to take it out so that they could have more.
Qiao Mei looked at the departing Xia Zhe and thought to herself, “It’s really like what my grandfather said. He’s a gentleman and it seems that he can still resist the temptation when presented with an attractive woman. I must reward him well when we get back.”
Zhao Wu stood up and blocked Qiao Mei’s view as he said, “Don’t look at my big brother anymore. My big brother really has a wife and her cooking is much better than yours. Don’t think about my big brother anymore.”
Qiao Mei laughed and said, “Better than me? Hmph, I don’t believe it. I’m so young and good-looking, so why not me. Just wait and see.
The other three people there held their foreheads and sighed. There were three men of different characters in front of her, and their looks were not considered ugly, so they could not understand why she did not take a fancy to any of them but only had her eye on their big brother instead.
