Invite Your Husband Over to Eat Too

There were tomatoes, sugar, and rice.

And they were all top-quality.

What was there to hesitate over?

Sister Xiao Zhu rolled up her sleeves and started cooking.

She did it right there at Liang Xin's place.

It seemed Sister Xiao Zhu's parents hadn't PUA'd her. She really was quick and capable when she got to work!

She had the bearing of a great general!

Every movement flowed like clouds and water, a pleasure to watch!

The way she cooked, you could tell the food would smell wonderful without even tasting it!

What a fine woman!

Now this was a heroine who could hold her own against any man!

What a pity. How was she already married?

He couldn't build a life with her.

What a pity.

"Sister Xiao Zhu, what's that little bit going to be enough for? Put in more, more!"

"Put in all one jin of eggs! There isn't that much altogether!"

"Sis, use as much oil, salt, and sugar as you want! I've only got one standard: the food has to smell good!"

"Is half a jin of rice enough? Sorry, I don't really know how to cook, so I don't know how much cooked rice one jin makes."

Liang Xin wanted this meal so badly.

While Sister Xiao Zhu worked, he stood beside her watching.

Like a supervisor.

It would have been fine if he'd just watched quietly, but he kept pointing things out, telling her to add more of this and more of that.

It was only because Sister Xiao Zhu had a fairly good temper. Anyone else probably would have chased him away, even if they didn't hit him.

"All done! Smells like it should taste pretty good!"

"If you're not afraid of burning yourself, you can eat now!"

"I'll head back first!"

Huh?

So that was your plan!

I was wondering why you only used half a bag when I brought out three.

I thought you figured my pot was too small to cook that much at once.

So you weren't planning to stay for the meal!

"Sister Xiao Zhu! You can't leave!"

"Wouldn't that be a slap in my face?"

"You have to stay and eat today!"

Sister Xiao Zhu looked open and straightforward, but she actually knew where to draw the line.

She could let petty gains and losses go without fussing over them.

But a meal like this was fairly valuable under the current circumstances.

So she knew better than to overstep, and wanted to leave as soon as she finished cooking.

Her personality was just too likable!

What a pity she was married.

"Haha, I'd better not. It's the thought that counts. I still have to go back and cook for your brother-in-law."

"No, call him over to eat with us!"

"Sis, you didn't make enough food. Make a little more while I go get him!"

"Xiao Liang, hey, Xiao Liang."

Liang Xin ignored Sister Xiao Zhu's calls and went straight out to her home.

As soon as he entered, he saw a thin, not particularly tall man holding and soothing a little baby.

He was Sister Xiao Zhu's husband, whom Liang Xin was supposed to call Brother Chen.

With nutrition so scarce these days, it was hard to find anyone very tall.

"Brother Chen, I was craving muxu tomatoes, so I asked Sister Xiao Chen to make me some. Come on, let's eat at my place."

Brother Chen was clearly taken aback.

No wonder my wife disappeared the moment she went out and still hadn't come back after all this time.

So she went to cook.

But...

He was craving something, so he asked someone else to cook it for him?

Why did that sound so strange?

If it had been anyone else, even if they really were craving something and couldn't cook,

they could always just pay a little more and eat at a restaurant.

Asking someone else to make it really was unusual!

"Xiao Liang, I'd better not go."

"Oh, Brother Chen, come on, come on. We're close, so don't stand on ceremony with me!"

Damn, why is Xiao Liang so enthusiastic? And how exactly are we close?

We don't seem to have much of a relationship, do we?

Liang Xin pulled the thin Brother Chen toward the door.

Brother Chen was already on the thin and frail side and didn't have much strength, and he was also afraid the little baby in his arms might fall while they struggled, so he had no choice but to follow him.

When they reached Liang Xin's home, Sister Xiao Zhu saw her husband had come and even scolded him, asking why he had followed Liang Xin over.

Brother Chen gave the child a helpless look.

Liang Xin hurried to smooth things over.

"Sister Xiao Zhu, don't blame Brother Chen. I was the one who insisted on bringing him over."

"Sis, you made a little too little food. It's not enough for everyone. Make some more! Make some more!"

"Brother Chen, come on, let's sit down for a while."

"We can't just sit here doing nothing. Let's have some sunflower seeds!"

At the thought that he would soon get to eat the muxu tomatoes he'd been longing for,

Liang Xin was in an especially good mood.

Besides, he didn't think it was good to just sit there doing nothing.

So he wanted to buy some sunflower seeds from the system to snack on.

But his home really wasn't big enough. It was only a little over ten square meters in all, divided into an inner and outer room.

The inner room was where he slept, while the so-called little compartment was the kitchen.

And now the married couple were there, one in the inner room and the other in the outer room.

He had no choice but to go rummage through the battered cabinet left behind by the previous occupant.

The cabinet really was battered.

It looked as if it might fall apart if anyone moved it.

Still, it was lucky the thing was so battered.

Otherwise, given how scarce supplies were in this era, how could the previous occupant possibly have left such a big item behind when they moved?

It had only been left because it was so battered that it seemed impossible to move, as though it might fall apart at the slightest touch.

With his back to the two of them, Liang Xin pretended to rummage around, then bought a jin of large sunflower seeds from the system and took them out.

"Here, Brother Chen, don't be shy. Have some."

"Don't worry about there not being enough. I've got plenty of sunflower seeds. There'll be more when these are gone!"