Chapter 284: The Love of a Bowl of White Congee
Chapter 284: Chapter 284: The Love of a Bowl of White Congee
Jiang Moli hadn’t deliberately asked about Wei Qing’s situation, but Jiang Dahai felt guilty toward his stepdaughter. That, coupled with his relationship with Li Hongying, meant he looked out for her more than usual.
"She was sent to a farm for labor reform. If she behaves well, she might get out in eight or ten years."
Jiang Peng said, "It’s a good thing Brother Jiaming divorced her. Otherwise, he would’ve been dragged down with her."
Given the crimes Wei Qing committed, Zhang Jiaming would likely have been pressured by the military into an early discharge and a career change.
Then again, if Zhang Jiaming had taken that early discharge, he wouldn’t have been on this mission, and he wouldn’t be missing now.
This was a perfect example of the old saying: within fortune lies disaster.
...
The moment Jiang Moli stepped into the guesthouse, Jiang Xiaoguang came forward to greet her. He had clearly been waiting for her on the ground floor.
"Sister-in-law, Brother Xiao Peng."
Jiang Peng hadn’t seen Jiang Xiaoguang in a while, and he chatted with him for a moment with a wide grin.
After the small talk, Jiang Xiaoguang handed Jiang Moli the room key. "Sister-in-law, the room number is 209. I’ve already taken your luggage up."
Jiang Moli took the key. "Great, thank you for your trouble."
"It’s no trouble at all, Sister-in-law. You stay and take good care of Third Brother. I’ll be heading back now."
Jiang Moli was surprised. "You’re leaving now? I doubt you can get a ticket at this hour."
Jiang Peng chimed in, "Brother Guang, this is your first time here. Why not stay a couple more days? You can come visit the military base with me."
Jiang Xiaoguang answered Jiang Moli first. "I’m taking a military vehicle to Kun City, then I’ll catch a train back to Rongcheng first thing tomorrow morning."
Then he turned to Jiang Peng. "Brother Xiao Peng, there’ll be plenty of chances later. The commander has another assignment for me."
Hearing this, Jiang Peng didn’t press him to stay any longer.
Jiang Moli took a mesh bag from Jiang Peng’s shoulder. It was filled with fruit, crackers, jerky, and malted milk powder, all brought by Qiao Wenjing.
Lu Cheng had been worried Jiang Moli would get hungry at night, so he had her take everything back to the guesthouse to eat.
Jiang Moli took out the malted milk powder and some fruit, then gave the rest, along with the mesh bag, to Jiang Xiaoguang.
After Jiang Xiaoguang left, Jiang Peng walked Jiang Moli to her room door before returning to the hospital.
The guesthouse room wasn’t bad at all—it was large and bright, and the two thermoses on the long table were filled with hot water.
’I have to say, Jiang Xiaoguang is pretty reliable.’
After quickly washing up, Jiang Moli bolted the door and went to bed.
She slept soundly until dawn.
After two days of travel, Jiang Moli had been thoroughly exhausted. A good night’s sleep did wonders to restore her body and spirit.
After washing up, she went out to buy some toiletries, then stopped by a small restaurant for pork liver congee and six plain boiled eggs before heading to the hospital.
When she arrived at the hospital room, a doctor was examining Lu Cheng’s wounds.
Jiang Moli walked closer and saw the man’s injuries. Only then did she understand why her sleeping in Lu Cheng’s hospital bed had caused such a big reaction.
Compared to three months ago, he had lost a great deal of weight. His impressive muscles were gone, leaving only a thin layer of skin stretched over bone. He looked utterly gaunt.
The gunshot wound was stitched up with black sutures, forming a vicious-looking scar.
The doctor was debriding Lu Cheng’s scar with an iodine solution, lecturing as he worked. "The areas where the stitches tore are infected and festering. You absolutely must stay in bed and rest for the next two days. No more moving around."
As he said "stay in bed and rest," he shot a meaningful look at Jiang Moli.
He had clearly heard the gossip about how Jiang Moli had kicked Lu Cheng out of his hospital bed and hogged it for a good long sleep.
...
No sooner had the doctor left than Jiang Peng entered the room.
"Sis, if you get sleepy, just go sleep in my room. Don’t sleep in brother-in-law’s bed anymore."
Jiang Moli’s gaze turned frosty. "Are you telling me what to do?"
Jiang Peng tensed up and immediately fell silent.
At that moment, Lu Cheng had no idea that his giving up the bed had subjected Jiang Moli to such criticism. He was, however, just as displeased with his brother-in-law.
"Even though you’re brother and sister, you’re both adults now. Sleeping in the same bed will get people talking."
Jiang Peng felt aggrieved. "Brother-in-law, you have no idea. The whole hospital is saying bad things about my sister."
Realizing his good intentions had caused trouble, Lu Cheng was deeply chagrined.
He looked at Jiang Moli, his eyes full of apology. "I’m sorry. You shouldn’t have had to put up with that."
Jiang Moli said nonchalantly, "What’s the big deal? If they want to talk, let them. It’s not like I’ll lose a pound of flesh over it."
Lu Cheng was deeply impressed by his wife’s ability to remain unfazed by praise or criticism.
Little did he know, Jiang Moli was actually hoping people would gossip about her even more. ’It would be perfect if the whole city heard about it,’ she mused. ’Then my mission progress would almost be maxed out!’
Jiang Moli took out the towel and toothbrush she had bought, got some water, and helped Lu Cheng wash up. Only then did she open the food container.
West City was in a tropical region; even in winter, the temperature stayed between ten and twenty degrees Celsius, so the pork liver congee in the container hadn’t cooled down.
She had bought two servings, worried that one wouldn’t be enough for two grown men, but unexpectedly, Jiang Peng was being quite considerate today.
"Sis, you and Brother-in-law eat. I’ve already eaten."
Jiang Moli didn’t say anything, assuming a nurse had fed him.
The portion of pork liver congee was large. Lu Cheng probably couldn’t eat two servings by himself, especially with the eggs, so she packed up one of the containers and had Jiang Peng take it to Dr. Gu’s room.
Jiang Peng said, "No need, Mr. Gu has eaten already. Xiao Yue made a pot of rice porridge, and he and I each ate half. I gotta say, Xiao Yue’s a great cook. The porridge was especially fragrant."
As he said this, he patted his round belly with a hand as big as a bear’s paw, a look of pure satisfaction on his face.
A hint of a smile played on Jiang Moli’s lips. "She fed it to you?"
Jiang Peng nodded. "Yeah."
Lu Cheng couldn’t help but praise her. "That girl, Tang Yuan, is really kind-hearted. We’ll have to thank her properly some other day."
Lu Cheng was genuinely grateful to Tang Xiaoyue; her help meant he could monopolize his wife’s care.
Jiang Moli scooped up a mouthful of pork liver congee to feed Lu Cheng, but he turned his head away. "You eat first."
Only after hearing Jiang Moli say she didn’t like pork liver did he open his mouth and eat.
As Jiang Moli fed Lu Cheng, she turned her attention to Jiang Peng.
"You shouldn’t just accept things from a young woman, whether it’s food, clothes, or anything else. If you accept, you have to take responsibility for her."
Lu Cheng nodded. "Your sister is right."
Jiang Peng was aghast. "Heavens, I just ate one bowl of porridge, and I have to repay the debt with my life? Am I only worth a single bowl of porridge?"
Jiang Moli teased, "What? Didn’t Xiao Yue’s porridge give you that ’feeling of home’?"
Jiang Peng replied, "Sis, you’re kidding me. If one bowl of porridge can give you a feeling of home, then I’d have more homes than I can count!"
After Lu Cheng had eaten his fill, Jiang Moli peeled two eggs for herself and mixed a glass of malted milk to go with them.
The malted milk was quite nutritious, but unfortunately, Lu Cheng disliked the strong milky taste. Jiang Peng was also too full from breakfast to have any. That just meant more for her.
Just as she was eating, Wei Huihui came in to deliver medicine.
Wei Huihui was incensed when she saw Jiang Moli taking alternating bites of egg and sips of malted milk, clearly savoring her meal, while the two patients, Lu Cheng and Jiang Peng, could only watch her eat.
"You’re Camp Commander Lu’s wife! Camp Commander Lu is at a critical stage where he needs nourishment. These eggs and malted milk are exactly what he needs, but instead of giving them to him, you’re hogging them for yourself! You’ve gone too far!"
’My wife looks so cute when she eats,’ Lu Cheng thought. ’Taking such small, delicate bites... she’s as graceful as a young girl.’
He was watching her with utter contentment when this killjoy suddenly popped up. His expression immediately soured.