TFRLTOP Chapter 31 Part 2

“And here I thought you, a city boy, would be craving meat by now…” She muttered under her breath, disgruntled at finding he wasn’t her partner-in-crime after all.

Junsheng’s heart stirred.

Softly, he asked, “Did you get this especially for me…”

“Of course not!” Ming Ming cut him off without hesitation. “I bought it for myself! You just happen to live under the same roof. What am I supposed to hide it from you? This is called a bribe—get it? A bribe…”

Before she could finish, he covered her mouth. “You’ll say anything, won’t you? Do you even know what bribery means?” Then, gentler: “Don’t talk nonsense, okay?”

Ming Ming pouted in protest.

Junsheng remembered how greedy she’d looked the other day watching the sheep give birth—most likely this was just her craving meat.

But then he thought about the way she had leaned close and whispered when they came inside, the light in her eyes—no, she really had been thinking of him…

For him?

A sudden warmth rose in his chest.

He looked down at her, his voice softening. “Bring it here. We’ll slice half for stir-fry, and save the rest for stew next time.”

Ming Ming’s eyes lit up, and she nodded eagerly.

They busied themselves in the kitchen. For the first time since their marriage, it almost felt like true teamwork. He chopped and cooked while she flitted around helping.

…At least, he thought she was helping.

Until he realized that every step he was taking was for himself, while she just moved bowls and chopsticks from one side to another, puffing and panting before the food was even halfway done.

Junsheng: “…”

He kicked her out.

Ming Ming clung to the doorframe, hissing through the crack, “Don’t you dare sneak bites in there!”

Junsheng: Ha.

So that’s why she was hanging around—not to help, but to guard the food.

To celebrate having meat, he even cooked white rice—a rare luxury. Refined rice and flour were just as scarce as pork, usually saved for special occasions. Daily meals were more likely to be cornbread or sweet potatoes with a thin layer of rice.

A whole pot of white rice and a wok full of stir-fried pork—that was extravagance in the countryside.

If the neighbors knew, they’d be green with envy.

Luckily, their new house was set apart enough that the aroma wouldn’t drift through anyone else’s windows.

When the food hit the table, Ming Ming ate with great satisfaction. Junsheng kept picking pieces of meat into her bowl, urging her to eat more.

Still, he worried about how she had gotten the pork. Carefully, without sounding like he was criticizing, he said, “It’s fine if you don’t want to tell me. But in times like these, yes, there are ways to cut corners and scheme, but the risks are real too. If there’s ever something you’re not sure about, let me help you think it through.”

Ming Ming thought: Ha! My system’s way better than you’ll ever be.

“Don’t worry. It won’t affect you.”

His brow furrowed. He didn’t want her to misunderstand, and quickly explained, “That’s not what I meant…”

She stuffed two more pieces of meat into his bowl. “Eat.”

Junsheng pressed his lips together.

After a pause, he said, “When I’m working in the fields, everyone else’s wife brings lunch. Even if you don’t earn work points, you should at least show your face.”

Ming Ming munched on her rice. “Who’s been bad-mouthing me?”

He sighed. She was sharp as ever.

“Today at the schoolhouse, everyone studied the theory of women holding up half the sky again.”

Ming Ming gave him a strange look. “Are you hinting at me?”

“You’re out earning money, and I’m out earning money. Why should it be you bringing food to me?”

He froze.

“Think about it. The other women all work in the fields too, and on top of that, they’re cooking, washing, raising kids. Way more than half the sky. And before this slogan ever existed, they were already doing all that—yet nobody thought they were holding up half the sky.”

True.

Junsheng lowered his head. “I’m sorry. I was too shallow. I never considered that.”

Ming Ming brushed it off, signaling him to keep eating.

But Junsheng, a man who had studied abroad and read theory, felt ashamed. Her thinking was sharper, even more progressive than that of many educated people he knew. If she could get the right guidance, systematic study, she could become an intellectual herself one day.

They ate in silence for a while.

Then suddenly he asked, “You don’t know how to cook, do you?”

Ming Ming froze, then buried her head in her bowl, shoveling rice without a word.

Junsheng chuckled despite himself.