An Unexpected Encounter

Jiang Ru followed the path in her memory to the market. Li Xiao's biological mother sold food there. She intentionally lingered in front of a meat stall, carefully selecting exactly one jin of lean meat for four yuan. Then, she went to the neighboring vegetable stall and bought chili peppers, potatoes, soybeans, green onions, garlic, and Sichuan peppercorns for one yuan and seven mao.

Her small basket felt heavy.

After finishing her shopping, she ducked out through the back exit of the market. There was a stall selling snacks at the door; the storefront looked a bit grimy and blackened, but Jiang Ru didn't mind. She ordered two yuan worth of pumpkin cakes and Huangshan baked cakes.

Eating as she walked, the return trip from the market required circling through more than half the town. Halfway there, she began to feel a bit greasy. Passing by a snack stand, she felt a craving and bought a red bean popsicle.

The snack stand was at a crossroads, directly opposite a large river with a stone bridge spanning across the town. Railings lined both banks, and willow trees were planted at regular intervals. The economy here was slightly more developed, with some multi-story buildings already constructed nearby.

In the distance, under the shade of a willow tree, several men were smoking. They were talking loudly, laughing boisterously, and wearing gaudy clothes. Some stood while others squatted, looking quite unrefined.

Jiang Ru took one glance and felt these people were up to no good. Clutching her basket, she looked straight ahead and continued walking. She even intentionally took a detour down a side path.

As she passed, the men who were talking loudly suddenly stopped. Jiang Ru’s heart tightened, and she silently prayed, "Please don't come over here; I can't fight back right now."

Once she was far away, Zhou Jian nudged the man next to him with his elbow and asked uncertainly in a low voice, "Was that Sister-in-law?"

Why didn't Sister-in-law greet them when she saw them?

The man behind him leaned against a tree trunk, his left foot on the ground and his right leg bent with his foot against the tree in a casual posture. His dark, shiny eyes watched the receding figure. He exhaled a cloud of white smoke, squinted, and said nothing.

Zhou Jian couldn't help but speculate, "Is she angry?"

After all, he had been locked up for several days and hadn't returned home.

The man turned his head and gave him a cold look. Zhou Jian rubbed his nose sheepishly. "Just kidding."

Others might not know, but did he not understand the situation between them? Jiang Ru didn't even dare to speak loudly in front of Big Brother, let alone get angry.

The man didn't seem to care. He took one last drag, tossed the cigarette butt to the ground, and crushed it casually with his foot. His gaze instantly turned ruthless. "Let's go. Time to settle the score."

Without hesitation, he turned and walked in the opposite direction.

Zhou Jian immediately grew excited and, without thinking further, called out to the others, "Let's go!"

"Damn it, we have to teach that Zhang kid a lesson."

"Brother Li, today we get our revenge!"

...

——

At noon, Jiang Ru ate out. Passing by an eatery, she ordered a portion of dumplings.

It had to be said, the working people of this era were very honest and diligent. When they said dumplings, they meant real dumplings—large with plenty of filling, half meat and half vegetable. A large bowl contained twenty of them.

The taste wasn't bad either. After eating, she was so full she could hardly stand.

It was still early when she returned home, around one in the afternoon. Jiang Ru scooped a basin of cold water to wipe her face and neck. Once her stomach had digested a bit, she went back to her room for a nap.

Her nap wasn't long today because, before falling asleep, she suddenly remembered something important. Back when her sister-in-law was pregnant, the whole family had been very anxious. Her mother and sister-in-law had started preparing baby supplies from the moment the pregnancy was confirmed—researching formula brands, stocking up on diapers, bibs, underwear, tiny socks...

At that time, she was still in university and even asked her friends studying abroad to help buy formula and canned milk, so she was very familiar with these things.

Yet the original host had been pregnant for so long and seemingly hadn't thought of any of this. There were no baby clothes in the house, not even a single diaper.