"It’s nothing. My grandfather has sent some things for you...you might already know that he is not in the county at the moment. So, he packaged some things and sent them over for you to take. Can you go to the postal service station and pick them up? My grandfather has called me countless times over this, and I cannot listen to his nagging anymore." Zhai Muchen sounded tired when he talked about his grandfather, and it almost made Han Ruochen laugh. It seemed like Old Master Zhai had caused quite a fuss over these gifts.
"Alright, Brother Muchen. I have nothing to do, so I will go and pick them." Just on time as well; she was worried about third-wheeling between Lu Jingmo and Tong Zhaodi, but now she no longer had to worry about becoming a thorn in Lu Jingmo’s path to chase his wife.
Zhai Muchen hummed in response and wanted to ask her how she was, but then he was called by someone and had to end the call in a hurry.
Listening to the beeping sound, Han Ruochen couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed, but as soon as the feeling rose, it disappeared. She smacked her cheeks lightly and woke herself up. Just because Zhai Muchen was being kind to her doesn’t really mean that he had some sort of feelings toward her. Most likely, he was helping her because he felt burdened over the fact that she saved his brother.
As soon as this thought flashed in her heart, Han Ruochen calmed down, and even the heat in her cheeks receded quietly. Indeed, how could Zhai Muchen even care about someone like her? Someone like him would definitely get married to a woman whose background was well matched with his. As for her, she had not even taken the college entrance exam. How could she even be worthy of standing next to him?
With her rationality coming online, Han Ruochen slowly calmed down.
"Ruochen?"
Han Ruochen turned to look at her second uncle.
"What’s the matter?" When Han Cheng saw Han Ruochen smacking herself on the cheeks, he felt a bit confused. Why was his niece hitting herself on the face? What was going on? Were there too many mosquitoes? He looked around the restaurant and indeed found some mosquitoes flying around. Thinking of the poor conditions around the area, he decided to talk with Lu Jingmo and tell him that he should start paying attention to the hygiene, or else someone would end up falling sick.
"It’s nothing. Second Uncle, do you mind coming to the postal service station with me? There are a few packages that I want to pick up." She wondered what Old Master Zhai had sent her and why he was in such a hurry for her to receive them. Or maybe he was in a hurry because this was his way to apologise for what happened the last time with his daughter and maternal grandson.
"Sure." The postal service station was not far from the state-run restaurant, so it wouldn’t take long for them to arrive at the postal service station. What was more, it was on the same path. So how could there be any trouble?
"Sister Ruochen."
As soon as Han Ruochen walked out of the state-run restaurant, she heard Tong Zhaodi call her.
"Sister Ruochen, where are you going? Brother Jingmo said that he wants to invite us all to dinner."
"Ah, you go ahead and eat something. I have something to do, so my second uncle and I will first finish the job. You order first."
As she spoke, she glanced at Lu Jingmo with a warning gaze. Even though she was leaving Tong Zhaodi alone with him, he better keep his paws to himself, or else she wouldn’t mind giving him a piece of her mind. The only reason she was willing to help Lu Jingmo was that she hoped that the man would be able to marry Tong Zhaodi as soon as possible, such that the separation from the Tong family wouldn’t hurt her for a long time.
Lu Jingmo smiled at her and made a gesture. He promised that he would not touch a strand of Tong Zhaodi’s hair and return her safe and sound to Han Ruochen; only then did Han Ruochen take her leave.
Once the two of them left, Han Ruochen brought four pancakes filled with a lot of seafood and then shared two with her second uncle. It was not as good as the food at the state-run restaurant, but it was still good to eat every now and then.
Second Uncle Han did not know why Han Ruochen refused the offer to eat a free meal at the state-run restaurant, but he was used to following his niece and simply bit into the pancake. It was quite delicious, and the filling inside was also generous, so he did not think that there was anything wrong with skipping the meal at the state-run restaurant.
Han Ruochen also knew that compared to the dinner at the state-run restaurant, these pancakes were a bit shabby, but there were certain sacrifices that had to be made for the greater good. Fortunately, the postal service station was not too far, and the two of them arrived at the postal service station quite soon.
"Hello, excuse me? Is there a package for Han Ruochen?"
Han Ruochen asked as she walked over to the reception. She glanced at the man who was sitting behind the glass counter and frowned. It was clear that the man was not writing anything in the notebook and was just scribbling, but he was still pretending to be busy.
"You–" When the man heard her question, he was about to snap at her and say that she was too late, but as soon as he raised his head, he saw a really pretty woman standing in front of him. Immediately, he swallowed all of his words and curled his lips in a polite manner. "Yes, how may I help you?"