…“…” Xiao Baoshan still did not know why he was a fool.
Li Hongmei said, “If you want to buy a gift for little Ye, just buy hers. You don’t have to also buy one for Baozhu and I. As little Ye now knows this, she mustn’t feel happy. Look at how much chili she put in this. That’s how she feels now.”
Xiao Baoshan said frankly, “I originally just wanted to buy a gift for her only but I’m afraid that Baozhu and you will be unhappy so I bought yours as well.”
Ye Xiaoxian could not help rolling her eyes towards Xiao Baoshan. “So what’s going on now is that Baozhu and I are also unhappy because you didn’t mean to buy gifts for us.”
Xiao Baoshan sat there in a trance.
Li Hongmei sighed. “I mean, you don’t have to care whether Baozhu and I are happy or not for now. Just remember that next time if you want to bring her a gift, just buy hers and don’t worry about the rest of us. Okay?”
Xiao Baoshan picked up some fish with his chopsticks and ate with sweat streaming down his face.
“Ma, give me a bowl of water and I’ll rinse it before I eat,” said Xiao Baoshan feeling so wronged.
Li Hongmei then passed him a bowl of water and asked him. “Have you heard what I just said?”
“Yes, I did,” said Xiao Baoshan.
…The first couple of days when Xiao Baoshan just came back home, Ye Xiaoxian paid almost no attention to him. He was still living with Xiao Baofeng and when Xiao Baofeng went to school in the daytime, Xiao Baoshan would read a book in the backyard.
Inside the room while reading a book he could still smell the very strong fragrance of the dishes. Xiao Baoshan had a good appetite and would feel hungry just from smelling the food.
That day he went to the kitchen and wanted to get some chicken feet to eat. Ye Xiaoxian was cooking and when she saw him coming in she did not even say hello to him but just minded her own business.
Xiao Baoshan then thought, ‘Little Ye seems really mad!’
He wanted to explain to Ye Xiaoxian but did not know how.
As Ye Xiaoxian did not talk to him it was appropriate for him to get the chicken feet on his own since they were made by her.
He finally left with a starving stomach.
Ye knew that Xiao Baoshan had come in and then left silently and she could not help but sigh. It was true that she was unable to communicate with him. They seemed not to be made for each other.
Meanwhile, she was also wondering whether she going to be able to maintain this kind of spousal relationship, which existed in name only, for a whole lifetime? If she was, how tedious the rest of her life would be.
She had either to discuss it and divorce Xiao Baoshan peacefully or leave this family alone without taking any property and get married again. Still, no matter which way she finally had to choose, she would end up suffering a lot from the loss of both time and strength. She just had to make do with it for now.
…Ye Xiaoxian had cooked a dish but neither Little Five nor Li Hongmei came in to take it out. Little Five probably went to the toilet and Li Hongmei must have tended to other business. Dishes in the restaurant were cooked with more oil and once it went cold it would taste greasy, so it had to be served hot. Ye Xiaoxian then just took it out on her own.
These sweet and sour ribs were ordered by the customers at table six where three men were seated. Those three were very conspicuous. One was short, one was fat and the other was skinny.
“Sirs, here are the ribs you ordered!” said Ye Xiaoxian politely.
When she put down the dish and was going to leave Ye Xiaoxian was called by the short man. This guy was only 156cm in a modern metric units and looked ugly also, with protruding eyeballs and a nasty smile.
“Oh, are you a cook or a waitress?” The short guy asked Ye Xiaoxian. He was checking Ye Xiaoxian out from head to toe.
In order to work conveniently, what Ye Xiaoxian wore was a tight outfit without wide sleeves and with a belt strapped around her slim waist. Once her waist was tightened up her curves were revealed more. A girl of fifteen or sixteen was experiencing physical growth and change so Ye Xiaoxian looked particularly attractive with her feminine elegance.
Ye Xiaoxian sensed that the man was harboring evil thoughts but still answered politely, “I’m the cook.”
“Wait a second and let me have a try of your dish.” The short guy put a bit of the rib in his mouth. It was tasty but he said disgustedly on purpose, “This rib tastes rather too salty, doesn’t it?”
The other two also tasted them. Of course they did not think they were too salty but still they answered dishonestly, “It’s indeed a bit too salty.”
Ye Xiaoxian smiled. “Then shall I add more water in it and stir fry them one more time? It’ll taste less salty after that.”
“No need, just be careful next time. We’re all gentlemen and miss, you have a such a pretty face so how could we bear to let you run back and forth,” said the short guy, his face still smiling.
“Thank you so much for your understanding, sirs. I have more dishes to cook so please excuse me and enjoy,” said Ye Xiaoxian.
Li Hongmei was taking another table’s bill when she noticed that Ye Xiaoxian seemed to be in trouble, so she was on her way to help her.
However, Ye Xiaoxian had left quickly. When Li Hongmei arrived there Ye Xiaoxian was already on her way to the kitchen.
Li Hongmei then paid more attention to the appearance of those three guys. According to her experience she considered the short one to be the nastiest and was definitely a womanizer.
She swore silently. ‘Horrible, ugly losers. A toad wishes to eat swan meat (Chinese idiom: an ugly man hopes to marry a pretty girl).’
…After Ye had returned to the kitchen the short guy picked up another rib and did not bite into it but stuck out his tongue and licked it slowly, which looked extremely filthy.
The other two partners of his, Fatty and Skinny, saw this so they said grinning, “Young master Zhang, could it be that you’ve taken a fancy to that little missy?”
Young master Zhang licked his rib while his tiny eyes were rolling with wild imaginings. “So what? You know I’m always popular among girls with my rather good looks.”
Skinny said, “But just days ago you just dated butcher Liu’s wife. Have you already forgotten her?”
Fatty added, “Not just her. You’ve also got Miss Fang from Gaily Spring. Are you already fed up with her?”
Gaily Spring was a brothel in the town and Miss Fang was the top girl there.
Young master Zhang rebuked, “How could you even compare those two with the missy just now? You’ve seen her with your own eyes. She doesn’t put heavy makeup on or wear glamorous clothes. If Fang was this sweet and sour rib, the missy just now would be a sweet-scented osmanthus cake.”
Skinny did not really understand.
Fatty did not really understand either.
Young master Zhang finally put the rib in his mouth and ground the bone with his teeth, then said to Skinny and Fatty, “You two help me to look into who has opened this restaurant and who that missy is.”
…Xiao Baoshan could not get tasty food to eat so had no option but to wander the street.
Meanwhile, he had bought some shortbread and a dozen pastries but he found none of them delicious. Whatever Ye Xiaoxian cooked, even if burned, would taste far better than this stuff. Still, he was not fussy about food and he had eaten far more disgusting things, so he could eat up the shortbread and pastries all right.
He had been sauntering for a while and spotted another accessory stall, so he selected a jade-green bangle. This bangle must go well with her hairpin. He had learned his lesson this time and only bought one for Ye Xiaoxian but not for Li Hongmei and Xiao Baozhu.
When he went back home the dinner was also on.
