Reborn in the 1980s: I became a stepmother in the 1980s

Part 56 Why did you hold Zhou Yueshen's hand?

Zhou Yueshen didn't retract his hand immediately. Instead, he lifted his eyes to meet Yu Dong's stunned gaze and asked in a cold tone, "Do you have something else?"

Yu Dong finally closed his gaping mouth and swallowed the meat in his mouth. Sensing the atmosphere, he quickly shook his head and made his exit. He had a feeling that his eldest brother's new wife would be different from the previous ones...

Zhou Yueshen resumed his seated posture. The silence didn't last long before a knock on the door interrupted it.

Sinan jolted awake, sitting upright suddenly. She glanced sideways, locking eyes with the man next to her. She felt a bit disoriented. Had they been sitting this close when they first sat down?

Realizing she was holding something, Sinan hesitated for a moment. She subconsciously lowered her head and found she was holding onto the man's fingertips! She immediately let go, pulling her hand back behind her. Looking at Zhou Yueshen, her face turned a shade of pink, "Sorry, I fell asleep."

Her voice sounded nasal.

She must have caught a cold.

Zhou Yueshen put down the pen in his hand and reached for the lunchbox, the hand Sinan had just held. He stood up, tidying the desk, "You should go home and rest. I'll bring the lunchbox back tonight after washing it."

Watching his tall figure leave the office and converse with someone outside, Sinan felt her head grow heavy. Perhaps she had caught a cold indeed.

What puzzled her was why she woke up holding Zhou Yueshen's hand.

Sinan pondered for a few seconds but couldn't recall what had just happened.

If it was Zhou Yueshen holding her hand, she could understand.

But why was she the one holding his hand?

Sinan didn't realize she had such a strange habit. Was that why Zhou Yueshen sat so close, waiting for her to wake up before letting go? The thought made her face turn even redder.

On the way back, Sinan noticed that some villagers were growing radishes and vegetables in their fields. The radishes were lush and green, with half of their fresh bodies exposed. When she was young, her family also grew these kinds of radishes, which were especially sweet and juicy.

There happened to be someone working in the field, so she quickly asked, "Auntie, are these radishes for sale?"

The aunt turned around, surprised to see Sinan pointing at her radishes, "Aren't you Zhou Yueshen's wife? You want radishes?"

These things were commonly grown in the village, mainly because they were easy to grow. Her family didn't even like to eat them; they were grown as pig feed. They didn't really have much value.

Sinan nodded, "Yes, I see your radishes are big and good. I'd like to buy some to sun-dry and eat as dried radish slices."

Hearing Sinan praise her radishes, the aunt smiled happily and said immediately, "Why pay? Take as many as you want, don't be polite with Auntie."

Since the Zhou family ran a livestock farm, the pork they sold was much cheaper. People didn't struggle as much to afford pork as they did a few years ago, and everyone remembered that. So, giving away a few radishes was no big deal.

Moreover, it was beneficial to maintain a good relationship with the Zhou family.

Sinan understood that the Zhou family was hard to approach not because Zhou Yueshen was unfriendly, but because he was always busy at the livestock farm. The children were also very young and quiet, which made it difficult for people to get close to them.

However, since Zhou Yueshen's wife had arrived, she seemed friendly and easy to get along with. Rumors were spreading around the village, but so far, no one had anything bad to say about her.

"How can that be? You must take it! Otherwise, when you buy meat from our place, I won't be able to take your money," Auntie insisted.

Sinan smiled, knowing she couldn't really accept such favors. "Auntie, I'll take ten pounds. I'll give you one yuan, how about that?" She said, handing the money to Auntie.

Auntie hesitated for a moment, pretending to be reluctant, but her face was all smiles. She hadn't expected to make money from these radishes. She stopped working and enthusiastically joined Sinan in pulling radishes.

The radishes were large and juicy, almost like fruits. While too much of a good thing could make it less valuable, Sinan still thought they were excellent.

Ten pounds of radishes seemed too little. Sinan told Auntie she would come back for more. Auntie warmly saw her off, looking forward to her next visit.

Back home, Sinan took an unused basin and placed it under the tap to clean it. Then she went inside and found a transparent container that Zhou Yueshen had used to store lard. She cleaned it thoroughly and left it out in the sun to dry and disinfect.

Yao Yao, wearing her little sandals, toddled out, saying she wanted to help. She then squatted down and began playing with the water.

Seeing Yao Yao playing happily by the side, Sinan continued with her cooking. After washing the radishes, she took out a cutting board and knife to slice them into strips. She decided to use five pounds to make pickled spicy radish strips and the other five pounds to dry into radish chips.

After cutting, she added salt to the radish strips and let them marinate for about half an hour. Sinan loved spicy food, so she had bought plenty of small chili peppers. She sliced a few for later use. Next, she prepared the pickling solution by mixing water and white vinegar, adding a bag of pickled peppers, some salt, and then boiling the mixture. After boiling, she let it cool.

By this time, the radish strips were ready to be pickled. She drained the excess water, added the sliced chili peppers, and then poured in the pickling solution. After mixing it all together, a simple, appetizing, and spicy radish dish was ready.

Of course, for the best flavor, it would be ideal to marinate it for four to five hours. Sinan poured the pickled radish into a transparent container she had prepared earlier. The red and white radish strips looked so appetizing that her mouth started watering just looking at them.

The tangy and spicy aroma filled the air, making Sinan even hungrier. She couldn't wait to taste her homemade pickled radish strips.

Seeing Li Mingjun approaching, Sinan's expression turned slightly cold. She didn't have a good impression of him. He had once tried to pursue her, but she had always kept a distance from him.

"Sinan, long time no see. I bought some good pork for your family." Li Mingjun tried to sound casual, but there was a hint of arrogance in his tone.

Sinan glanced at the pork he was holding and said, "Thank you, but we have enough pork at home."

Li Mingjun, not expecting such a response, felt a bit embarrassed but quickly covered it up with a laugh. "I just wanted to visit and see how you and Yao Yao are doing."

"We're doing fine. You can leave the pork at the door if you want," Sinan replied, not showing much interest.

At this moment, Yao Yao, who was playing in the yard, seemed to sense something was off. She looked up and saw Li Mingjun. Being a child, she felt a bit uncomfortable and quickly hid behind Sinan.

Seeing this, Sinan's protective instincts kicked in. She held Yao Yao closer and said, "Yao Yao, let's go inside."

Without waiting for Li Mingjun's response, Sinan turned and walked towards the house, leaving Li Mingjun standing there with the pork in his hands, feeling a bit foolish.

Once inside, Sinan closed the door behind her, letting out a sigh of relief. She didn't want to have anything to do with Li Mingjun and hoped he would get the message and leave her alone.