Chapter 24 Brown Sugar
The next morning, Qin Huairu started to dress up before dawn. She braided her hair into two pigtails, applied the cold cream that Wang Deming had brought her back earlier, and changed into a pink double-breasted top with small flowers. She called her brother and happily came to Wang Deming's house.

When she arrived, Wang Deming was fetching water home, and her godmother Wang Shuqin was cooking porridge on the stove in the main room.

Qin Huairu immediately rushed into the room and came to Wang Shuqin's side, taking the spoon from her hand: "Aunt Yan, you take a rest, I'll do these."

"Okay, okay." Wang Shuqin made way for him with a smile, turned around and saw the eldest brother of the Qin family, and immediately greeted him warmly: "Baogui is here too? Come on, you're standing by the door, come in and sit down."

He turned around and told Qin Huairu with a smile on his face: "Xiaoru, Deming has to eat an egg every morning, so you can cook two more eggs later."

"You and your brother can each eat one."

"Ah?" Qin Huairu was frightened and shook her head repeatedly. She immediately refused: "It's fine if Deming eats it. I don't want to eat it." She turned around and glanced at her brother who was already a little dumbfounded at the door. She shouted in dissatisfaction: "Brother!"

"Ah!" Qin Baogui recovered and shook his hands repeatedly: "Aunt Yan, I don't want to eat it, uh, I don't like it!"

Qin Baogui was completely shocked. Landlords didn't eat like this before, right? One egg every morning? Ten eggs can be sold for 10 yuan now!
I spent almost 3 yuan on eggs this month.
Oh my god! Eggs cost more than 30 yuan this year, right? This is comparable to the cash some families in the village earn in a year.
Now Qin Baogui began to believe his sister. The man who bought a house in a woolen Zhongshan suit that day in Beijing was Wang Deming! If he didn't have money, would he eat like this?

Qin Huairu stirred the sweet potatoes, pumpkins, and corn porridge in the pot to prevent them from sticking to the bottom of the pot, her heart filled with emotions: Although Wang Deming had always brought her food before, it was only once or twice a month after all, and he always said that it was cheap and not worth much; it was not until the matchmaker accidentally revealed it that she realized that the food was so expensive?

During the past two days, I have lived with Aunt Yan. Although I didn't eat the scrambled eggs I had on the first day because I started working, she ate solid food for breakfast and dinner, unlike my family and other families in the village who ate liquid food for breakfast and dinner.
Deming and Aunt Yan were really good at hiding in the village, weren't they? They lived in a shabby house and wore patched clothes. Apart from the fact that they loved to be clean, nothing else could be seen.

The first time I saw Deming wearing a Zhongshan suit in Beijing, I couldn't believe my eyes.
If I marry De Ming in the future, won’t I be able to enjoy this kind of good life?

Thinking of this, Qin Huairu's mouth corners unconsciously rose, and suddenly she remembered what good news Deming wanted to tell her yesterday? She was interrupted halfway, just at this time Wang Deming greeted Qin Baogui and went into the house to pour water into the water tank.

Qin Huairu squatted down and added a handful of firewood to the stove. She leaned slightly and asked casually, "Deming, what good news did you want to tell me yesterday?"

"Uncle Yan suddenly called you up the mountain and asked me to wait. Are we going to have braised mutton for lunch today?" Qin Baogui at the door also pricked up his ears secretly.

Wang Deming put away the bucket and the shoulder pole, turned around and smiled at his godmother Wang Shuqin who was holding a few eggs in her hand, and deliberately kept it a secret: "I'll take out the things when we eat, and you'll know."

"Okay then." Qin Huairu squatted at the stove and continued to add fuel to the fire, but her heart felt like it was being scratched by a cat's claws.
Wang Deming thought breakfast was very simple. Each person had a steamed bun made of two ounces of flour, a bowl of sweet potato, pumpkin and corn porridge, and an extra egg for each person except his godmother. In the middle of the table was a small plate of pickled vegetables that he had learned to pickle: peppers, cucumbers, and radishes. There was also a small plate of freshly cut pickled cabbage shreds dripping with sesame oil - because he was worried that Qin Baogui would not be used to the pickled vegetables.

In Qin Baogui's opinion, it was too luxurious. In addition to steamed buns, breakfast also included colorful pickles in the middle that looked very beautiful. The most important thing was that he also had a boiled egg!
I can only eat it during my birthday and Chinese New Year.
He sighed in his heart again, isn't this life too good?

I took a bite of the kimchi and it was surprisingly delicious, with a hint of spiciness. The radish was crispy and sweet! My god, are sugar added to the pickles?
I took another bite of pickled vegetables. Oh my god, there was sesame oil in the pickled vegetables.
Wang Deming watched Qin Baogui and Qin Huairu eat in a somewhat restrained manner, daring to take only a little bit of pickles and kimchi each time. After thinking for a moment, he knocked his eggs on the table, peeled them, and put them in Qin Huairu's bowl.

As the Qin brothers and sisters repeatedly refused, they took the eggs on the table, peeled them and put them into Qin Baogui's bowl.

I kept the egg whites and gave the yolks to my godmother. Otherwise, my godmother would not eat the eggs.
Qin Huairu also wanted to give the egg in the bowl to Wang Shuqin, but Wang Shuqin pretended to be angry and persuaded her not to do so.

She gently turned the bowl of porridge to blow away the hot steam while eating it in small mouthfuls. Looking at the eggs in the bowl, she was reluctant to eat them at all. Just looking at and smelling them was a kind of enjoyment. Then she took a bite of the steamed bun and a mouthful of kimchi. It was so delicious that it made her heart sweet.

I even forgot about asking Wang Deming if he had any good news.

But she forgot, but Wang Deming didn’t!

After breakfast, Wang Deming smiled and said to Qin Huairu who was rushing to clean up the dishes and cleaning: "Xiaoru, help me make a pot of tea later. I will drink some tea with Brother Qin to help digestion. The bamboo tube in my bag is filled with tea leaves."

Pointing at the bag, he casually said, "By the way, didn't I tell you yesterday that I had good news? The things are also in the bag, in an envelope next to the bamboo tea tube. Open it and take a look yourself."

Qin Huairu was slightly startled, and she said obediently, "Oh, OK, Deming." She was a little nervous, wondering if there was a house deed in the envelope. Her hands moved faster unconsciously.

Qin Baogui was flattered again. Tea! How can country people drink tea? Even boiling water is too wasteful of firewood! Qin Baogui was shocked and swallowed his saliva. What kind of life is this? If my sister married me...
Qin Huairu wiped her hands with the rag, took the tea and the envelope out of her bag and put them on the table together, but she didn't look at the envelope first. Instead, she took the thermos to make tea for Wang Deming, and poured a cup for him and his brother respectively.
After picking up the envelope, he looked at Wang Deming again. After getting his nod again, he took a deep breath, opened the envelope little by little, and took out the paper inside.
Wang Deming and Wang Shuqin paid attention to Qin Huairu's actions and expressions, and they both gave her a higher evaluation in their hearts. She was able to suppress her curiosity and did not open the envelope immediately but made tea and poured water first, which proved that Qin Huairu could still distinguish the importance of things.

Qin Huairu unfolded the paper and saw the big words in the middle at first glance: Land and Property Ownership Certificate!

Then there were all of them: Wang Deming;

Qin Huairu was delighted. De Ming had indeed bought a house. This was the first thing he did after returning to Beijing last time!
Looking further down, her heart skipped a beat: No. 95, Nanluoguxiang, 2 rooms in the east wing of the front yard.

It turned out to be the front yard of the Jia family where I went for the blind date. If I go to the city from now on, I will definitely be discovered!
The old lady of the Jia family is not a good person to deal with! If she knew about this, she would definitely make a scene! If she made a scene, De Ming would...
Qin Huairu's mouth gradually froze, and she stole a glance at Wang Deming. How could she remind him to go to her house to propose marriage and give the engagement? Suddenly she found that Wang Deming was also looking at her. She was startled and hurriedly continued to look at the house deed.

Wang Deming glanced at Qin Huairu's expression, picked up the teacup and took a sip, then smiled and showed off the tea to Qin Baogui: "Brother Qin, this bag of tea is the best Fujian Tieguanyin I bought at Wang Yuanchang Tea House. It's just a small can, two taels, and it costs 2 yuan."

"Try it quickly."

"Oh, good!" Qin Baogui held the teacup with both hands and took a sip carefully. Although he couldn't taste what was good about it, the tea tasted good. Is this drinking tea? This is drinking money!

"Brother Qin, the last time I went back to the capital, my father-in-law learned that there were two houses for sale near his home."

"After we went to see it together, I thought the house was pretty good and I bought it on the spot. It's the east wing of the front yard of a quadrangle."

"Haha, last time I bought a house, I had some unpleasantness with the people in this courtyard. When I go back to collect the house during the National Day, I plan to spend a few dollars to buy some candies to share with the neighbors. A close neighbor is worse than a distant relative." When Wang Deming said this, he was a little meaningful.
When Qin Huairu heard that Wang Deming was going to collect the house and send candies after National Day, her heart was in turmoil. If she met that family, would they tell Deming that they had been to the city for a blind date?

If Qin Huairu had known this before De Ming and she got married, her heart would have been in her throat.

"Well, we have to get along well with our neighbors, haha!" Qin Baogui's brows relaxed when he heard that Wang Deming really bought a house in Beijing, and he also grinned happily, but he did not forget his mother's advice: "Deming, you buy this house, you borrow..."

Qin Baogui looked up and saw Qin Huairu's face was pale and sweat was on her forehead. He swallowed the rest of his words and stood up hurriedly: "Xiaoru, what's wrong with you?"

"Are you feeling unwell?"

Wang Deming turned his head and stood up quickly. He directly supported her and asked her to sit down slowly. Then he put his fingers on the Cun, Guan and Chi points of Qin Huairu's right hand, frowned and felt her pulse while asking: "Xiaoru, where do you feel uncomfortable?"

Wang Shuqin also stood up and asked with concern: "Xiao Ru, can you calculate the date? Is the baby coming soon?"

"Auntie will make you a cup of brown sugar water."

Qin Huairu was stunned when she heard Wang Shuqin's words, and nodded quickly: "Yes, aunt, it's almost time."

"Aunt, I can't help you with work these days. I have to go home and wrap my belt."

"Well," Wang Shuqin said with a serious face, and immediately ordered the eldest brother of the Qin family and Wang Deming: "Baogui, help Xiaoru home quickly."

"Deming, don't send me off!"

"By the way, wait for me for a moment. I'll pack some brown sugar for Xiaoru so that you don't have enough at home."

Qin Huairu, holding the few ounces of brown sugar wrapped in oil paper that Wang Shuqin had forced upon her, walked slowly back home with the support of her brother.

(End of this chapter)