On the way, He Jinxuan introduced Xinyan with a smile to everyone they met, making Xinyanâs face almost stiff from all the smiling.
As they were about to reach the small yard allocated to He Jinxuan, Xinyan glared at him: "Enough already."
He Jinxuan quickly laughed and appeased her: "Okay, okay, once I announce it like this, itâll save a lot of trouble later, and besides, having such a beautiful partner is an honor for me."
Today, he just wanted everyone in the transportation company to know that He Jinxuan was taken, so they should stop having designs on him, otherwise, donât blame him for being unkind.
Because in the few days since he returned, heâs been quite annoyed. Early in the morning, people would show up at his door, no matter what he said, they pretended not to understand him, insisting on introducing him to potential partners.
Living in the same family quarters, if you speak lightly they donât listen, if you speak harshly you upset them. How to relieve the worries, only Yanyan.
Not to mention, just after he left, people in the family quarters began to gossip: "Ha, who wouldâve thought Captain He wasnât lying, he really has a partner."
"Not to mention, his partner is truly pretty, like a fairy."
"Didnât you hear earlier, Captain He said his partner is a student of Jing University, not only beautiful but also educated."
"With such an impressive partner, why would he look at anyone else?"
"Looking at that girl, sheâs not that old, who wouldâve thought Captain He was so lucky to find someone so much younger."
"Donât talk nonsense, I heard from my husband that Captain He said heâs only six years older than his partner, it just appears heâs older because his skin is darker."
"Captain He doesnât look old, look at Captain Luâs son, heâs the one who looks mature, he looks like a brother to Captain Lu."
"Keep your voice down, if someone from Captain Luâs family hears you belittling his son, they might pick a fight with you."
"Tch, Iâm not lying, shouldnât people be allowed to speak?"
"However, a few days ago, I saw Captain Lu went to find Luo Erâs wife, I overheard that she might be matchmaking with Captain He?"
"Her three daughters are all married off, who is she matchmaking for?"
"A while ago, I saw her sisterâs daughter came to visit, but I didnât see her go out, maybe sheâs already left."
"Sheâs got some nerve, whoever marries her sisterâs daughter is unlucky, sheâs lazy and greedy."
"If Luo Erâs wife really does arrange for her niece, isnât she just insulting Captain He?"
"You canât say that, her niece is quite pretty."
"Give it a rest, being pretty but not knowing how to live life is a problem, isnât that harming someone?"
The woman gossiping is from East Province, ever since she found out He Jinxuan is also from East Province, sheâs seen him as family, not allowing anyone to bully him.
The outside gossip, Xinyan and He Jinxuan were unaware, as they both returned to the yard.
Xinyan then carefully examined the yard. Although the main house is three rooms, they are small, much smaller than those in the Mechanical Factoryâs family quarters in East Province.
However, the yards here all have walls, once the doors are closed, no one can see anything.
Xinyan had He Jinxuan measure the dimensions of the room and drew a floor plan on the paper she brought, marking it out.
She planned to create a layout when back, and then He Jinxuan could arrange it according to her ideas.
When He Jinxuan went to pick up Xinyan, he had steamed white rice and made a pot of lotus root and pork ribs stew. He had also bought some braised meat from the street corner earlier. Seeing the ribs almost done, he reminded: "Yanyan, letâs eat first."
Xinyan, noticing the main houseâs three rooms were similarly sized, spoke: "Iâm almost done too, you can serve it up."
As He Jinxuan set up the food, Xinyan finished her work and saw the lotus root and pork ribs stew on the table: "You made this?"
He Jinxuan nodded with a smile: "The lotus roots were brought back by Wang Baoliangâs team, he passed by yesterday and brought a few sections for me. I thought you liked them, so I bought pork ribs to stew with them."
Mostly because stewing didnât require constant attention, he had the time to pick someone up. Anyway, adding more water to the big stove and simmering on low heat was sufficient.