Chapter 24 Spicy Fish

At daybreak, Zheng Wenjie opened his eyes. The sound of air being squeezed during boxing practice coming from the yard woke him up from sleepiness and forced him to crawl out of the warm quilt.

Zheng Wenjie, who was wearing big shorts and a jacket, walked around to the desk and pushed open the window. What came into his sight was Gong Ruomei, who was wearing a black slim-fitting, double-breasted gown. She moved swiftly in the yard, and her Baguazhang movements were so smooth that they made the wind whistle.

With his hands on the window eaves, Zheng Wenjie watched in fascination. Seeing Gong Ruomei, who was as light as a swallow and had both strength and flexibility, punching with a cold face, there was no trace of shyness from yesterday. If she became his descendant, how strong she should be.

Gong Ruomei, who had finished her training, let out a breath, then slowly walked to the window, slightly raised her head and looked at Zheng Wenjie: "The steamed buns are almost ready, hurry up and wash up and change your clothes."

"Practicing martial arts is really hard. I have to get up before dawn to practice." Zheng Wenjie sighed and said, "I don't eat. You will understand after I teach you."

Gong Ruomei was stunned for a moment before asking, "Don't you want to eat, or can't eat?"

"I want to eat it, but I can't. So before I teach you, I'll take you to try all kinds of delicious food." Zheng Wenjie said with a smile
"And you just watched me eat like you did yesterday?"

"Isn't it wonderful to watch the person you love eating the food you like?" Zheng Wenjie lowered his head and looked into Gong Ruomei's clear black and white eyes.

Gong Ruomei had never heard such straightforward love words before, and she felt shy and touched: "Wait for me at home. I will send a telegram after class and send a letter to my father and then come back."

Zheng Wenjie nodded: "Sit down and rest for a while. I'll go see if the steamed buns are ready."

Watching Gong Ruomei taking small bites of the steamed bun, Zheng Wenjie would occasionally pick up some thinly sliced ​​bacon and feed it into Gong Ruomei's mouth. Gong Ruomei went from showing rejection at first to opening her mouth and biting the slice of meat very naturally.

Zheng Wenjie arrived at the door of the main house and looked up at the sky. Yesterday's warm sun seemed to be shivering in the winter and was covered by large patches of clouds. No shadow could be seen. He asked Gong Ruomei to put on a scarf and then watched her leave the courtyard.

Passing by Yang Guohua's house, Gong Ruomei looked up at the thick ginkgo tree. Thinking that there was a ghost in the tree, she couldn't help feeling a little creepy and quickened her pace.

Thinking that Yang Guohua and his wife still lived in that courtyard, Gong Ruomei went to the street corner and found the old man who had said that someone had died in that courtyard. The old man was kneading noodles in front of the stall.

Gong Ruomei stepped forward and bowed, then asked about the death in the courtyard that year. The old man was setting up the stall alone early in the morning, and was happy to have someone to chat with him. He kneaded the dough in his hands and talked about the incident that year.

This happened almost twenty-five years ago. A couple lived in the yard with the ginkgo tree. They were very loving and often inseparable. But not long after, the couple suddenly had a big fight, and the husband packed his luggage and left that day.

The wife was found dead in the house several days later. At that time, the house was decorated as a wedding room. The wife was lying on the bed in her phoenix coronet and bridal veil, but she was already dead.

Gong Ruomei thanked the old man and returned to Northwestern University with a wandering mind.

Northwestern University is quite far from the city, and Zheng Wenjie walked for a long time before he got on a rickshaw and came to the tailor shop where he had ordered the suit. He tried on two suit patterns in the shop and made an appointment to pick it up in two days.

Zheng Wenjie strolled along the street and bought a grass carp, pickled vegetables, and peppercorns as seasoning. He returned to Gong Ruomei's courtyard in high spirits, wanting her to taste his cooking skills.

He simply made a pot of Sichuan pepper fish. Thinking that Gong Ruomei might not have eaten spicy Sichuan pepper fish, Zheng Wenjie laughed in an unkind way.

Yang Guohua was a little depressed. When he returned home last night, he found that his wife was a little different from before. She looked melancholy and was absent-minded from time to time. He didn't know what she was thinking about. He thought that his wife might be lonely at home alone, so he wanted to go home after class today to spend some time with his wife.

As a result, as soon as he arrived at the school, he received an arrangement from the principal. He had to go to the rear with the relocated students to help the teachers of the Institute of Engineering manage and build the new campus. It would take at least one or two months to come back. Yang Guohua had no choice but to think of Zheng Wenjie's visit last night, and asked them for help. He took time to talk to his wife, hoping that she would not be too lonely.

But no matter how hard Yang Guohua racked his brains, he still couldn't remember the two people's names or what majors they studied. He had no choice but to wait and see at the gate.

As expected, Yang Guohua had been waiting at the school gate. Gong Ruomei saw Yang Guohua looking around from a distance. He seemed very surprised to see her and ran towards her.

"Professor Yang, are you waiting for me?" Gong Ruomei looked at Yang Guohua.

Yang Guohua hesitated for a moment when he thought of Gong Ruomei's sudden change in attitude last night, but when he thought of his wife's condition last night, he still said, "Well, classmate, I came to you to ask for your help."

"Professor Yang, please tell me first." Gong Ruomei couldn't think of what Yang Guohua needed her help with.

Yang Guohua said with some shame: "My wife and I just moved here not long ago. I'm fine, but my wife is usually alone at home. The school also arranged for me to leave with teachers and classmates from the School of Engineering in the afternoon. I have to go for at least a month."

Gong Ruomei understood: "Professor Yang wants me to get to know your wife better and make friends."

Yang Guohua nodded and said uncomfortably: "It's better to go today. I have to take the train in the afternoon."

Gong Ruomei thought about Zheng Wenjie's plan to take her to visit the Yang family yesterday, and she didn't expect to be rejected, so she nodded and agreed.

Yang Guohua breathed a sigh of relief and thanked them, "Thank you so much. I will go back and tell my wife."

Gong Ruomei shook her head: "Professor Yang, you're welcome. I don't have many friends here, and it's great to have the opportunity to be friends with your wife. I have classes in the afternoon, and I will visit your wife in the evening."

"Thank you. I will treat you well when I come back." Yang Guohua said gratefully.

As soon as Gong Ruomei entered the courtyard, she saw Zheng Wenjie setting out the dishes and chopsticks. When he saw her enter the room, he said with a smile on his face: "Gong Er, you're back. Come and sit down. I made you something delicious."

Gong Ruomei nodded, feeling a little warm in her heart. She put the book back in the bedroom and was about to go into the kitchen to help when she saw Zheng Wenjie carrying a pot of steaming spicy fish into the main room.

Looking at the bright red peppers and peppercorns floating on her surface, Gong Ruomei's smile was a little forced.

"Come and try it. This is my best dish." Zheng Wenjie placed the dishes and looked at Gong Ruomei.

Seeing Zheng Wenjie so happy, Gong Ruomei forced herself to pick up the chopsticks and picked up the fish fillet. Seeing that Zheng Wenjie was staring at her, she thought it was Zheng Wenjie's kindness, so she forced a smile and put the fish fillet into her mouth.

In an instant, a strong spicy taste burst out, and when she got used to the taste, the tender fish meat and rich soup, with a spicy and numbing taste, made her want to eat it bite by bite.

Zheng Wenjie placed the prepared tea in front of her with a smile, but it was a pity that he couldn't eat it, otherwise he really wanted to eat it. Now he only missed the taste.

(End of this chapter)