The Delicate Darling with Her Rough Man

Chapter 174: Chapter 173: Steamed Rice, Crying from Cravings

They certainly had plenty of white flour and millet at home.

But unfortunately, no white rice.

Gu Jiaojiao smacked her lips.

She was starting to get a craving.

”Honey, I wish we had some white rice.”

’Next time I go to the black market, I’ll have to see if they have any,’ she thought. ’I don’t care how expensive it is, I have to buy some to try.’

Seeing his wife’s craving, Leng Yuan couldn’t help but walk over and pinch Gu Jiaojiao’s cheek.

”Craving it?”

Gu Jiaojiao rolled her eyes at him.

’Isn’t it obvious?’

’It’s as plain as day. Does he need me to actually drool all over the place before he gets it?’

Leng Yuan looked at his wife’s proud and pouty expression. She was so adorably silly, just like a newborn cub from the mountains—proud yet foolish, and very easy to trick.

Gu Jiaojiao had no idea that’s what Leng Yuan was thinking about her.

If she did, this wouldn’t be the end of it.

’A great beauty like me, a cub? What cub? I’m a little fairy, and I’ll hear no arguments to the contrary.’

Luckily, Leng Yuan didn’t say any of this out loud. Instead, he just smiled and led her into the kitchen, stopping in front of a cloth sack that was tied shut.

”Open it and see.”

Gu Jiaojiao recognized it at a glance.

These were the two sacks Leng Yuan had brought back with him.

Her face was full of curiosity.

”What did you buy?”

Gu Jiaojiao untied the sack as she spoke, and when she saw what was inside, she was completely stunned.

”White rice?”

It really was white rice!

Gleaming white rice! Gu Jiaojiao was so moved she nearly cried.

She turned to look at Leng Yuan, leaped straight into his arms, and planted a kiss on his cheek.

Leng Yuan was startled, but thankfully he managed to catch her in time.

Feeling the touch on his cheek, the corners of his mouth couldn’t help but lift into a smile.

His little wife was certainly a handful.

This lively life filled Leng Yuan’s heart to the brim. Seeing the smile on Gu Jiaojiao’s face, the hardship of trekking to several different contacts just to find this rice instantly felt worthwhile.

Gu Jiaojiao wasn’t about to let this gleaming white rice go to waste.

That evening, she steamed the rice and prepared a feast: braised pork belly, spicy diced rabbit, and sweet and sour carp, along with a plate of pickled cucumbers and a simple stir-fried cabbage.

The aroma from the sumptuous feast was heavenly.

Li Hongmei had been out foraging for food, digging for so long that she lost track of time. Thankfully, it wasn’t too late yet; the sky only began to darken as she reached the halfway point down the mountain.

She started to feel a little scared. Remembering that Leng Yuan’s house was at the foot of the mountain, she changed direction, deciding to walk past it.

The faint light from the house would give her some courage.

Li Hongmei followed the light down the path and breathed a long sigh of relief.

As she passed by the entrance to Gu Jiaojiao’s home, she caught the maddeningly enticing aroma of meat. Her stomach rumbled shamelessly.

”What kind of meat is that? It smells incredible!”

She took a deep breath, wishing she could sneak into Gu Jiaojiao’s courtyard and see exactly what she was eating.

’Speaking of which,’ she thought, ’since marrying Leng Yuan, Gu Jiaojiao has been living quite the nice little life.’

’Eating meat every other day.’

’When was the last time I ate meat?’

’It must have been back when Gu Jiaojiao was still at the Educated Youth Point. She’d spend her own money on meat sometimes, and I’d get to share some.’

’Come to think of it, I haven’t had meat in two months.’

The fear Li Hongmei had been feeling was involuntarily replaced by a surge of boldness from the smell of the meat.

She decided she wasn’t in a hurry to get back after all and pulled two cornbread buns from her pocket.

She sat down on a rock by Gu Jiaojiao’s gate, took a deep sniff of the aroma, and then took a bite of a cornbread bun.

These were the rations she’d brought up the mountain with her, but they were too dry to swallow, so she hadn’t eaten them.

But now, with that overpowering aroma of meat in the air, she was suddenly ravenous.

And so she ate, savoring the smell with each bite.

The two cornbread buns were gone in no time.

Li Hongmei rubbed her stomach, glanced at the lamplit courtyard, and snorted resentfully.

”Marrying a country bumpkin has its perks, I guess. At least you get to eat a bite of meat now and then.”

”Just wait until I win over Yun Hao. I’ll be going back to the city, and then we’ll see who’s envious.”