Su Yanjing was talking to Sanxi. He was actually very annoyed with Sanxi because she stuttered and was not good-looking. It was just because she was the daughter of the village chief that he had no choice but to be perfunctory with her. Sometimes, he would give her a good face and tease her in private, but she would take it seriously.

Look at her now, she actually came to give him tofu with eager eyes.

Su Yanjing was a little hesitant about whether to accept it. If he didn’t, it would be a waste. If he accepted it, he was afraid that she would take it seriously. It was just a joke said in private, and it wasn’t a big deal. But if she took it seriously, he would be entangled.

He was struggling with his thoughts when suddenly he saw a shadow over there.

Although she was standing behind the persimmon tree, he saw the braid.

Chu Wan’s hair was not good; it was a little yellower than that of other girls, and it looked bad. He recognized Chu Wan’s braid at a glance.

It looked like Chu Wan was carrying a basket.

He immediately had an idea in his mind.

Chu Wan said she was going to the market today and that she had saved more than 20 eggs at home and was planning to sell them. Su Yanjing knew that she would definitely buy some delicious food after selling the eggs at the market.

See, it was being delivered to him in a basket now.

He knew that since Chu Wan went to the market, she would definitely not just bring a piece of tofu. She must have something delicious in her basket. So he immediately looked down on the tofu and coughed lightly. He said politely to Sanxi, “Sanxi, I’m a teacher. How can I just accept things from ordinary people? You can keep this tofu for yourself. I’ll make some myself later.”

Sanxi was a little disappointed when she heard this. “Three pieces, three pieces! This one— this one is for Teacher Su!”

Su Yanjing said politely, “No, no, I have to go get busy first.”

As he said this, he made a move to go into the house. Sanxi stood there, feeling very lost.

After Su Yanjing entered the house, Chu Wan planned to go to Teacher Ning. Sanxi happened to be walking towards the south and saw Chu Wan.

Although Sanxi looked silly, she was very thoughtful. She knew that Su Yanjing and Chu Wan were dating, so she frowned at Chu Wan, clenched her fists, and said to Chu Wan in a fierce voice, “Su- Teacher Su!”

Chu Wan saw Sanxi like this and smiled.

Sanxi was a bit domineering and had a bad temper. She could be irritable sometimes, but overall she was not a bad person. She just stuttered and didn’t know what to do when she was anxious. In addition, she was spoiled and had become lawless in this closed, little village.

So Chu Wan didn’t dislike Sanxi. Sanxi liked Su Yanjing, but Chu Wan only felt that it was misplaced.

If Chen Lei and Su Yanjing were together, she would be happy to see it happen. After all, they were both very selfish and the couple would not live happy lives together. But if Sanxi was with Su Yanjing, she would worry about Sanxi.

So she said, “Sanxi, the village can’t keep Teacher Su with his status. I don’t know what will happen to him in the future.”

Sanxi frowned even more and made a ‘hissing’ sound at her.

Since she couldn’t speak clearly, she sometimes used some strange expressions to make herself heard.

When Chu Wan saw this, she stopped talking.

Everyone had his or her own destiny. Her little preference or inclination  could not change anything. After all, she was not her parent. So she said goodbye to Sanxi and went to find Teacher Ning.

Sanxi glared at Chu Wan for a while before she walked away angrily, basket in hand.

Chu Wan went to Teacher Ning’s place, but just as she reached the door, she saw Su Yanjing coming out.

Su Yanjing smiled as soon as he saw Chu Wan.

He really did like Chu Wan.

Although Chu Wan was a little thin, and her hair was a little yellow, so she looked ‘ugly’ in the words of rural people, but if you looked closely, you would find that her eyebrows and eyes were delicate and charming, and her facial features were very outstanding. She may not look very good in the eyes of farmers, but cultured people would think that she was a girl with some ‘charm’.

Last summer, he had seen her wearing a single layer of clothing. Her waist was extremely slender and surprisingly attractive, something that no farm girl could compare to.

When he began dating Chu Wan, some people wondered why he would be attracted to such a ‘lazy’ girl, but Su Yanjing was certain about his own vision.

Besides, Chu Wan was actually very generous. Although her family was poor, she had relatives in the city who would send them some delicious food every two or three months. Her great-grandfather actually didn’t eat many things and only ate the lightest diet, so some meat and other things dropped onto his hands cheaply.

Su Yanjing felt that although he had fallen into poverty in the village, the person he had chosen was really good.

At this time, he came over with a smile. As he got closer, he smelled a fragrance, a soft and sweet fragrance mixed with the aroma of braised pork. It must have been cooked with a rich sauce, and the sauce itself just right.

He was right indeed not to get the tofu from Sanxi. Even if he didn’t have tofu, he would have braised pork!

Su Yanjing smiled and said, “Wanwan, did you go to the market today? When I finished my class today, I said I would go look for you, but I heard you weren’t at home.”

Chu Wan looked at Su Yanjing. He was only in his early twenties and his looks were not bad.

But after experiencing some of the things that happened later, Chu Wan felt that this kind of ‘not bad’ had a bit of a shifty taste.

This was what ‘outlook is determined by the mind’ meant.

So she smiled and said, “Yes, I went to the market.”

Su Yanjing’s eyes slid towards her basket: “Wanwan, come in, come in and sit down.”

Chu Wan said, “Forget it, I won’t go in.”

Su Yanjing was surprised. “What’s wrong?”

“We are a single man and a single woman. Others will misunderstand if they see us.”

Su Yanjing looked at Chu Wan in surprise.

You have to know that Chu Wan was the most simple girl in this mountain village. She knew nothing and didn’t know how to avoid things between men and women. She was full of curiosity about everything. She even seemed to have less ‘shame’ than other girls. She was completely ignorant of the world.

She actually said such words suddenly.

He looked at her meaningfully and said with a smile, “Wanwan, why are you thinking so much all of a sudden?”

Chu Wan said seriously, “Of course I should think about it. You’re an elementary school teacher. As a role model, shouldn’t you think about it?”

Su Yanjing nodded quickly, “Yes, yes, let’s just talk here.”

As Chu Wan listened, she lifted the cloth covering her basket. When she did so, the ceramic jar inside was revealed.

Su Yanjing’s eyes were fixed on the ceramic jar; he could already smell the rich fragrance.

Chu Wan said, “I went to the market today and bought a cut of pork belly. I happened to have chestnuts at home, so I made chestnut with braised pork belly. Teacher Su, smell it, how is it?”

Su Yanjing swallowed his saliva, feeling extremely greedy.

He grew up in the city, but his family was poor and he could not easily eat meat. Then he fell into this small mountain village. There was no lack of vegetables, but as for meat, it was rare to see pigs slaughtered in the village. If it was not a festival, who would eat meat? He was a grown man, but he could not eat greasy food. Now, when he smelled the braised pork belly, he immediately became very greedy.

He nodded repeatedly and said, “Wanwan’s cooking skills are really good. This tastes amazing. Even the chefs in the city can’t make as good a dish as Wanwan does!”

Chu Wan smiled and said with satisfaction. “Teacher Su smelled this and thought it was delicious, so I feel relieved.”

As she spoke, she covered the basket with cloth again, took the basket out from under her arm and held it in her hand.

This action made Su Yanjing subconsciously reach out to catch it.

Who knew that just as Su Yanjing reached out to take it, Chu Wan walked away with the basket.

Su Yanjing missed the basket, and his hand remained there, outstretched. He looked at Chu Wan in confusion.

Chu Wan smiled and said, “Teacher Su, if you like it, then that means Teacher Ning’s family should like it too. I made this for Teacher Ning’s family.”

After saying that, she turned around and walked towards Teacher Ning’s house.

Su Yanjing: ???

He stared at Chu Wan blankly, “Wanwan, you—”

He completely didn’t understand what she meant. The braised pork made for me should be given to Teacher Ning instead?

Chu Wan turned around, her eyes expressionless. “Teacher Su, we are not related in any way. Don’t call me Wanwan since you don’t have anything to do with me. Only my family members can call me that. Remember that.”

She headed straight to Teacher Ning’s house.

Su Yanjing stood there in a daze. He felt like he was living in a dream and had no idea what was going on.

Was she having a hysterical fit?

Chu Wan ignored Su Yanjing, lifted the curtain and walked into Teacher Ning’s house.

Pearls and Jade Beside Me in the ’80s translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

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T/N: It’s okay to tease someone you don’t like in private but she shouldn’t take it seriously… Ah, this is a novel about escaping scummy partners after all.

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Chapter 5.2 — Thick Skin is a Must
Chapter 6.1 — He Gave Her Pocket Money
Chapter 6.2 — He Gave Her Pocket Money
Chapter 6.3 — He Gave Her Pocket Money
Chapter 7.1 — There Must be Compatibility Between Husband and Wife
Chapter 7.2 — There Must be Compatibility Between Husband and Wife
Chapter 8 — The Beauty of Line Carving
Chapter 9 — In My Eyes, This Is 200 Yuan