EHCR 16

 Chapter 16: Once You Break Off Your Engagement, I'll Come to Propose

"Yes."

Shen Che answered crisply.

She pressed her lips together. "But I am already betrothed."

Shen Che looked over once more, his pitch-black pupils resembling deep pools of water that made Song Zhaodi's heart skip a beat.

"Didn't you see Lin Yong rolling around in the grass with another woman, yet you're still willing to marry him?"

Song Zhaodi was left speechless as her memories were dragged back to the day she fell into the water.

It seemed Shen Che had been there at the time as well.

She intended to break off her engagement with the Lin family anyway, but Shen Che's tone carried the implication that the moment she called off the match, he would come to marry her.

Whether she married or not, and whom she married, was her own private business; she had no desire to discuss it with an unrelated person.

Therefore, she merely made her stance clear. "I am going to break off the engagement with the Lin family."

Shen Che nodded and rumbled in his thick voice, "Then once you break off the engagement, I'll come to propose."

Song Zhaodi was shocked all over again, instantly thinking of flatly refusing until she remembered all the dark rumors circulating about him.

Then she recalled the massive size difference between them and his fist the size of a rice bowl.

Her courage failed her.

Out here in the remote, desolate wilderness, if he suddenly snapped and decided to have his way with her first and deal with the consequences later—

Wouldn't she be completely doomed?

Because of his life-saving grace and the casual, easygoing demeanor he had shown previously, she had hopped onto his cart without thinking things through.

Now, however, she deeply regretted it.

Clutching the warm meat bun, she kept her head lowered and didn't dare utter another word.

To Shen Che, her silence looked like the shyness of a young maiden. He smiled faintly and didn't press the matter further, simply reminding her to eat the meat bun while it was still hot.

The meat bun smelled delicious, but Song Zhaodi didn't dare eat it, nor did she dare return it, so she simply cradled it all the way back.

The moment she caught sight of her family's three mud-brick rooms, she hollered at the top of her lungs, "Stop the cart!"

Before Shen Che could react, he instinctively pulled the cart to a halt. In a flash, Song Zhaodi quickly hoisted her back-basket, scooped up the bag of rice, tossed the meat bun right back at him, dropped the parting line, "I don't like eating meat buns, and I don't like you either!", and scurried off as fast as her legs could carry her.

Had he just been rejected?

Shen Che watched her slender, frail figure hurrying away with heavy, frantic steps, as though a flesh-eating demon were chasing right behind her.

He couldn't help finding it rather amusing.

He picked up the bun and tossed it straight toward her receding back-basket.

A direct hit.

Song Zhaodi only felt a heavy object suddenly slam into her back-basket, and assuming Shen Che was pelting her with stones, she bolted even faster.

As she neared the front gate, she ran right into Jiang Meifeng.

Jiang Meifeng was dressed up in her usual flashy attire, and seeing Song Zhaodi drenched in sweat and looking an absolute mess, her sense of superiority swelled even further.

"Oh my, if it isn't Zhaodi."

Her high-pitched, affected voice oozed with an arrogant, condescending pride.

As Song Zhaodi drew closer, Jiang Meifeng deliberately flirted the hem of her skirt outward and even spun around in a circle.

Song Zhaodi was wearing coarse, patched rags; let alone looking pretty, she didn't even meet the baseline of decency.

Comparing the two, Jiang Meifeng felt immensely pleased with herself.

So what if she had parents who loved her? She was still living like a lowly pauper.

"Zhaodi, look, I bought a brand new dress. Take a guess how much it cost?"

Gazing at the outfit on Jiang Meifeng, Song Zhaodi instantly recalled those ten taels of bride-price silver.

If those funds were ever demanded back, they would probably all be spent on the girl standing right before her.

Still, things that didn't belong to her were things she had no greed to keep.

Besides, this was also the only shortcut she had to make a clean, swift break with the Lin family.

Therefore, forcing a smile, she flattered her, "This dress is truly gorgeous, but there's nothing to envy. Once I marry into the Lin family, I'll be able to afford ten dresses just like it."

Hearing that, the smug triumph instantly vanished from Jiang Meifeng's face, replaced entirely by searing jealousy and hatred.

"Didn't you say last time that you didn't want to marry into the Lin family?!" Her urgent question completely exposed her true intentions.

Song Zhaodi deliberately let out a sigh and said, "Ah, what can I do? Who can blame them for being wealthy? My grandparents even said they're going over to discuss the wedding date with the Lin family tomorrow."

With that, she hoisted her heavy back-basket and headed inside.

Unable to sit still a moment longer, Jiang Meifeng spun on her heel and hurried off toward the Lin household.

Back at home, only Song Yaodong and Pandi were around; everyone else had gone out to toil in the fields, except for Song Yaozu, who was out inviting his guests.

"Zhaodi, your grandmother slaughtered a chicken this morning, and I've already cleaned it. How do you plan to cook it?"

"No rush."

Song Zhaodi set down her back-basket and began pulling the items out one by one. When her hand brushed against the greasepaper package, she paused for a second.

Then it hit her—the heavy thud against her back-basket earlier was actually the bun being tossed back inside.

"Big Sister, what is that? It smells so good!" Pandi tiptoed on her little feet, her big eyes gazing eagerly at the paper parcel in Zhaodi's hands.

The buns were lukewarm now; if they didn't eat them soon, they wouldn't taste as good anymore.

Besides, she certainly wasn't about to run all the way back to Shen Che's place to return it.

"They're meat buns." Zhaodi handed one to Pandi and passed another to her father, "Hurry up and eat them while they're warm."

She kept one for herself and wrapped up the final one. "Save this one for Mom. Pandi, go hide it safely inside the room."

As if things had been pre-arranged, there were precisely four large meat buns—not one too many, not one too few.

Pandi took a huge bite out of her bun, her eyes squinting in pure, satisfied bliss. "So good."

Song Yaodong held his bun without eating it. Seeing his youngest daughter tuck the final bun away into the room, his expression turned complex.

"Zhaodi, did you buy these?"

To be frank, their family could barely afford coarse grain anymore; how could they possibly spare silver to buy meat buns? If they had spare cash, it would be far wiser to buy a couple more catties of grain.

Zhaodi had always been exceptionally frugal, so he couldn't help wondering how she could be so financially reckless.

Since there was nothing to hide from her immediate family, Song Zhaodi told him the truth, though she conveniently skipped the part where Shen Che mentioned coming to propose marriage.

"He said he received a lot of things from our family last time and felt bad about it, so he bought a few buns."

Finishing her explanation without lingering on the topic, Song Zhaodi quickly shoved the rest of her bun into her mouth and got to work washing the vegetables.

Song Yaodong handled the stove fire while Pandi gathered firewood.

As the cooking smoke began to rise, rich, savory aromas gradually drifted through the air.

Boiled pork slices, twice-cooked pork, Maoxuewang (spicy duck blood stew), pig's stomach chicken soup, sour and spicy Chinese cabbage, stir-fried water celery, cold-dressed black wood ear, and shepherd's purse lean-meat porridge.

"Pandi, come taste this chicken soup."

Zhaodi ladled out a bowl of chicken soup, let Pandi sit on the threshold of the kitchen to drink it, and handed another bowl to her father.

Song Yaodong stared at the milky-white broth, hesitating as he said, "Doing this doesn't feel quite right... What if there isn't enough left for the guests later...?"

"Dad, don't you worry, later I'll just add a couple more ladles of water to the pot, and it'll be fine."

Uhm... well, that didn't sound entirely unfeasible.

Still, it was a thoughtful gesture from his daughter, so Song Yaodong stopped raining on her parade. Taking the bowl, he took a sip and gasped in delight.

"Mhm, so fresh. Why does this soup taste different from usual? Is there... pig's stomach in here?"

Song Zhaodi was busy slicing chicken meat when she replied, "This is called pig's stomach chicken soup. The chicken and pig's stomach are stewed together, which makes the flavor much richer."

Just as she finished speaking, Song Yaozu's voice echoed from outside.

"Everyone make yourselves at home, come into the main room and rest for a bit, dinner will be ready right away!"

Song Zhaodi hurriedly stepped into the doorway to block Pandi from view, signaling with her hands behind her back for the two of them to finish their soup quickly.

Smiling brightly, she greeted Song Yaozu.

"Oh, Little Uncle is back. Dinner will be served in just a moment."

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