Chapter 15: Taking a Step Forward, Then Retreating

Chapter 15: Chapter 15: Taking a Step Forward, Then Retreating

Fu Xiaoxiao looked at Lu Lin and Lu Chen beside her and said with a light smile, "Someone came all the way to pick us up. What should we say to them?"

Lu Lin and Lu Chen exchanged glances. They seldom expressed gratitude to others. They felt a bit embarrassed that Wang Lu brought them back, and they thanked Wang Lu.

"Thank you, Uncle Wang Lu."

Wang Lu looked at Fu Xiaoxiao in surprise. He had seen the two kids adopted by Camp Commander Lu several times and had mostly heard Aunt Li’s complaints about them. But looking at them now, they didn’t seem as mischievous as Aunt Li claimed, right? And with just a word from their sister-in-law, they showed no resistance and just spoke up?

But calling him uncle...

He’s only eighteen; are they already calling him uncle?

"Call him brother instead. He doesn’t look much older than you!" Fu Xiaoxiao noticed Wang Lu’s thoughts and gently reminded them with a smile.

"Hehe, just call me Brother Lu." Wang Lu awkwardly scratched his head and chuckled when Fu Xiaoxiao saw through his thoughts.

"Thank you, Brother Lu." Lu Lin and Lu Chen obediently called him.

"Sister-in-law, you all take care then. I need to go back and report." Wang Lu nodded happily. He still needed to rush back to report to the commander!

"Thank you for your trouble." After seeing Wang Lu off, Fu Xiaoxiao took Lu Lin and Lu Chen into the house.

"It’s a bit late today, so the meal might be late. How about we simply cook some noodles?" Fu Xiaoxiao said as she entered the kitchen with the ingredients, with the aroma of food already wafting in from the neighbor’s cooked meals.

"Okay." Lu Chen’s eyes lit up. He liked eating noodles.

"Do you need our help?" Lu Lin glanced at Fu Xiaoxiao and awkwardly asked.

"Can you help me pick some greens and scallions from the backyard?" Fu Xiaoxiao, already kneading the dough, was not conveniently available to pick vegetables.

Without another word, Lu Lin left the kitchen and headed to the backyard.

"Brother also likes eating noodles." After Lu Lin left, Lu Chen sidled up to Fu Xiaoxiao and whispered as if sharing a secret.

Having heard earlier that Fu Xiaoxiao also didn’t have a mother, Lu Chen felt a sympathy towards her, seeing her as one of them.

"Do you like eating eggs?" Fu Xiaoxiao crouched down and whispered to Lu Chen as well.

"Yes, do you want to give us eggs? Aunt Li took all the eggs we picked. We and brother had saved them for a long time." Mentioning eggs brought Li Aunt to Lu Chen’s mind, and his voice fell gloomy.

He and his brother collected various eggs from the back mountain every day. They hadn’t dared to eat them, wanting to save them for Grandpa Bai, but Aunt Li stole them all, leaving none.

He was upset for a long time.

"Aunt Li?" Fu Xiaoxiao raised her eyebrows, thinking of an opportunity to deal with Aunt Li.

"Other than visiting Mr. Bai, what do you do every day?" Fu Xiaoxiao stood up, continuing to knead the dough and asked in a casual tone.

"A lot of things! My brother and I go to the back mountain daily to find herbs, catch rabbits, and gather bird eggs..." Lu Chen counted on his fingers, item by item.

Listening to him, Fu Xiaoxiao realized that the two little guys were really busy, wandering all over the mountain and still making two-hour trips to the town to see Mr. Bai.

"What do you do with all those herbs?" Fu Xiaoxiao asked, curious.

They didn’t seem to have any injuries.

"We take the stuff to the black..." Lu Chen grinned, but his words were cut off by Lu Lin’s sharp voice.

"Xiao Chen!"

Fu Xiaoxiao and Lu Chen turned to see Lu Lin. Lu Chen was startled and quickly covered his mouth.

"Sorry, I didn’t know I shouldn’t ask. Don’t blame him." Seeing Lu Chen’s face turn pale from fright, Fu Xiaoxiao quickly intervened to smooth things over.

Lu Lin placed the washed vegetables on the counter, took Lu Chen out of the kitchen with a stern face.

Upon hearing the word "black," Fu Xiaoxiao roughly guessed it might refer to the "black market."

Given the strict crackdown on private transactions, anything caught trading privately was deemed "speculative trading crimes" until the reopening of the college entrance examination in 1977, which gradually allowed private businesses.

No wonder Lu Lin would sternly warn Lu Chen.

The little guys must be really frightened.

Fu Xiaoxiao sighed lightly. At least she was slowly getting closer and warming up to them, but now things turned cold again.

After kneading the dough, she covered it with a damp cloth to let it rest. Just as she was about to light a fire to fry some eggs, a small hand reached out to grab the matches and sat in front of the stove to start the fire.

Fu Xiaoxiao watched as Lu Lin silently began to work, then returned to her position and took three eggs out from the cupboard.

Hot pan, cool oil, the moment the eggs hit the oil, a sizzling sound was heard, with the aroma wafting from the pan.

Once one side was golden, Fu Xiaoxiao glanced at Lu Lin. "Xiao Lin, do you like your eggs fried on both sides or just one?"

"...Both sides." Lu Lin was taken aback but responded when Fu Xiaoxiao called him.

Having started the conversation, Fu Xiaoxiao smiled and nodded, skillfully flipping the eggs to achieve a golden hue on both sides.

"How about you, Xiao Chen?" Fu Xiaoxiao plated the fried eggs and asked again.

"...I like them one-sided." Lu Chen’s timid voice came from the kitchen door.

"Alright." Fu Xiaoxiao nodded in response, plating them once they were cooked thoroughly.

She herself preferred runny eggs, so she plated them after a brief fry.

Lu Lin looked at Fu Xiaoxiao, hesitant, not knowing how to start speaking.

Pouring cold water into the pot, Fu Xiaoxiao nonchalantly said, "You can just say whatever is on your mind."

Encouraged, Lu Lin awkwardly opened up. "I didn’t mean to scare you."

Fu Xiaoxiao looked up at Lu Lin. Was he apologizing for startling her earlier with his sudden voice?

"Alright, I forgive you." Fu Xiaoxiao smiled. It seemed promising that he was willing to lower his guard and apologize.

She was confident that someday, their closed hearts would open to her and accept her.

Fu Xiaoxiao looked at the rested dough, rolled it out to the desired thickness, stacked it, cut it into uniform noodles, and gently loosened them before carefully placing them into the pot.

"Xiao Chen, can you come over and help?" Fu Xiaoxiao beckoned to the little head peeking from outside the kitchen as she looked at the noodles in the pot.

Lu Chen’s eyes brightened and he immediately dashed over. "What do you need me to do?"

"Can you hold the chopsticks and gently stir the noodles in the pot? Just circle around!" Fu Xiaoxiao taught with a smile.

"Like this?" Listening to Fu Xiaoxiao, Lu Chen twirled the chopsticks in the pot, making the noodles swirl gently with the water flow.

"Yes, just like that, keep twirling!" Fu Xiaoxiao praised, nodding as she put the remaining cut noodles into the pot.

Lu Chen felt very happy to be able to help, intensely focusing on the noodles in the pot, a sense of achievement filling him up.

Having cut all the noodles, Fu Xiaoxiao took back the chopsticks from Lu Chen. "Thank you, Xiao Lin and Xiao Chen, for your help. The noodles will be ready soon. Go wash your hands."

Lu Lin and Lu Chen returned after washing their hands, curiously watching as Fu Xiaoxiao placed the seasonings in each bowl, poured in the broth, divided the noodles among three bowls, and then added some blanched greens for garnish. And just like that, three bowls of hand-pulled noodles were ready.

"Let’s go! We’ll eat in the yard." Fu Xiaoxiao smiled as she carried two bowls of noodles out to the yard, placed them on the table, and then returned to the kitchen to grab her own bowl.