Chapter 35: Do Me a Favor

Chapter 35: Chapter 35: Do Me a Favor

Zhang Yun’s attempts to serve his dad the two soft-shelled turtles he had caught were unsuccessful. Now, taking advantage of his father’s absence, he planned to prepare dinner early and bring out the fruits and vegetables from his portable space.

For just the two of them, plucking a small cluster of rice ears was enough. The husks had to be peeled off with a knife. After setting the rice to steam, he picked a tomato and an eggplant.

These things were as big as a small washbasin or a pumpkin. If anyone saw them, it would attract the whole village to come and gawk.

Zhang Yun first found a large cup, broke the skin of the tomato, and squeezed out a full cup of juice. He took a sip. It had a very rich tomato flavor with a hint of tart sweetness. Then he peeled it, chopped it up, and prepared it like a sugary tomato salad. Even so, it filled a huge bowl.

The eggplant was also the size of a winter melon, far too much for one meal. But since it couldn’t be exposed to others, he had no choice but to peel it and cut it into strips, leaving them to soak in water. He threw the tomato and eggplant peels to the chickens, letting them peck at them slowly.

After finishing all this, Zhang Yun felt a bit troubled. Disguising the tomato as a sugary salad was completely effortless, but he loved braised eggplant, which required some culinary skill—something he had never been good at.

"Uncle Fu!"

Hearing someone calling out from outside, Zhang Yun’s first instinct was to hide everything. But taking a glance, he realized both items were already chopped up, with no trace of their original gargantuan size remaining. Relieved, Zhang Yun went to see who was looking for his dad, but just as he reached the doorway, a figure appeared right in front of him!

"Ah!"

Zhang Yun was startled, and the other person let out a low yelp. Since both were in a rush, they couldn’t stop in time and crashed into each other.

He hadn’t heard clearly earlier, but with the yelp right in front of him, Zhang Yun now recognized Xiuxun’s voice. At the same time, he felt a familiar, soft fragrance against him.

"Xiuxun," Zhang Yun called out hastily to stop her from screaming. The soundproofing here was terrible. If someone passed by the courtyard outside, they might get the wrong idea.

Sister-in-law Xiuqin was clearly frightened, her body trembling. Hearing Zhang Yun’s voice, she whispered, "Zhang... Zhang Yun..."

For a moment, she didn’t know what to do, remaining frozen in the position where she had bumped into his arms. At the kitchen door, their rapid breaths echoed. Both seemed to hear each other’s pounding heartbeat, though it could just as easily have been their own.

The brief pause of a few seconds felt like an eternity to them both. Just as Zhang Yun’s hands unconsciously lifted to embrace the soft, fragrant body in front of him, Xiuxun seemed to wake from a dream and hurriedly pushed him away. As soon as she raised her hand, she remembered she was holding something. Because of this slight delay, Zhang Yun’s hands had already settled on her lower back, pulling them even closer together.

"Don’t..."

Hearing her soft murmur, Zhang Yun quickly let go, stepping back several paces and taking a long, deep breath.

At noon in the cornfield, Auntie Pang had been there to keep watch. Now they were right at the door of his own kitchen. The courtyard gate was wide open. If someone happened to walk in—even if it was just his dad—it would be a disaster.

Xiuxun didn’t run away. She stood at the kitchen door with her head bowed. Suppressing the surging fire within him, Zhang Yun called out softly, "Xiuxun..."

"I... I brought this for you guys..." Xiuxun hurriedly held up the vegetables in her hand. "I picked a bit too much earlier, and we can’t finish it all..."

"Come in," Zhang Yun said softly.

"N-now...?" Xiuxun looked up at Zhang Yun, her eyes filled with panic. "This isn’t the right time... or the right place... is it?"

Seeing her flustered state, Zhang Yun felt a surge of temptation and the strong urge to go over and hold her, but at the same time, he found her stuttering rather amusing.

"What do you mean, not the right time or place? I meant you should bring the vegetables inside."

Xiuxun was stunned for a moment before frowning slightly. "You take them."

In this rural area, they still burned firewood, so the kitchens were smoky and built separately in the courtyard. Villagers generally wouldn’t enter someone else’s inner rooms, but since kitchens and courtyards held nothing of great value, it was common for people to come and go to drop off or borrow things.

Seeing the courtyard gate open, Xiuxun had called out for Uncle Fu. Hearing no response, she brought the vegetables to the kitchen to keep the chickens from pecking at them. Now that Zhang Yun was home, she didn’t want to go inside. What if he shut the door...?

"Come in and do me a favor," Zhang Yun beckoned.

Xiuxun’s breath hitched, and she felt her body tremble slightly. She nervously shot a quick glance at the courtyard gate and asked in a small voice, "Do... what favor?"

Recalling what had happened at noon and just now, it was obvious that Zhang Yun was trying desperately to restrain himself. Could it be that he didn’t dare to do that, so he wanted her to help him with that?

"I... I don’t know how to do that..."

"You don’t know how to make braised eggplant?" Zhang Yun sounded a bit disappointed. "I was hoping you could help me cook it."

Xiuxun’s eyes widened. "When you said to do you a favor, you meant cooking eggplant?"

Zhang Yun looked at her strangely. "We’re in the kitchen. If I’m not asking for help with cooking, what else would it be? Asking you to sew on a button for me?"

For some reason, he recalled a joke: A woman was sporting a black eye given by her husband. When asked what she did to deserve it, she replied, "I sewed a button for another man." The listener asked, "Getting beaten just for sewing a button? That’s too far!" She clarified, "It was a button on his pants, and he was wearing them while I sewed it. Just as I was biting off the thread after tying the knot, my husband came home..."

Wait, Xiuxun had just said she didn’t know how, and now she was suddenly blushing. Had her mind gone somewhere dirty? Zhang Yun tilted his head, studying her closely.

Xiuxun hurriedly shook her head to cover it up. "Haha, I just didn’t expect you to be cooking, haha!" That made sense; if Zhang Yun really had any ulterior motives, he wouldn’t have let her go earlier. He wouldn’t need to find another excuse now.

"Do you know how?" Zhang Yun scooped some water into a basin for her to wash her hands.

Xiuxun came in, set down the vegetables, and rolled up her sleeves to wash up. "I do know how to make braised eggplant, though I can’t guarantee how it’ll taste."

As she bent over to wash her hands, Zhang Yun was treated to another revealing view. Good lord! This was the third time today—morning, noon, and night. He couldn’t handle it. Zhang Yun instinctively wiped his nose, terrified he was going to get a nosebleed.

"Sister-in-law Xiuqin... what did you mean earlier when you said you didn’t know how?" As he asked this, Zhang Yun’s heart fluttered a little.

It was very likely exactly what he had guessed, but there was no way she would admit it. Was he asking a question he already knew the answer to? Did this count as flirting?

Xiuxun had almost finished washing her hands, but upon hearing this question, her face flushed burning hot all the way to her ears. Not daring to look up, she kept her head down and continued scrubbing her hands.

"Nothing! I thought... you wanted me to make dumplings, and I don’t know how to do that..."

"How is that possible? Your steamed buns are delicious; you definitely know how to make dumplings too." Zhang Yun had just eaten her buns that morning, and now he was staring at them again. Unable to help himself, he blurted out, "Nothing tastes better than dumplings..."

Xiuxun finished washing her hands and straightened up. Looking up, she caught Zhang Yun’s fixed stare. Immediately realizing what he was looking at, her face burned even hotter, and she flicked the water from her hands right into his face.

"What are you looking at! Little brat..."

Zhang Yun coughed dryly a few times and muttered in his own defense, "I’m not little. You guys already saw that this morning..."