"Wife, quick, come see what I brought back!"
As soon as he got home, Chen Yang hid the wrapped roast chicken behind his back and ran into the house excitedly.
Shen Xue's envious expression back then was deeply etched in his memory.
In his past life, by the time he had the means, the state-run grand hotel in Liuhe County had long since disbanded, and Shen Xue was no longer around. He never had the chance to let her taste the roast chicken she longed for.
But today, he was going to fulfill this dream for Shen Xue!
"Chen, Chen Yang, you, you really bought roast chicken?"
Hearing Chen Yang's voice, Shen Xue, holding the baby, ran out. Before she could get close to Chen Yang, the aroma of roast chicken, mixed with the freshness of lotus leaves, wafted towards her.
She would never forget this smell.
It was the first time she had smelled roast chicken when she and Chen Yang went to the city. She had never smelled anything so delicious.
At that time, she thought, the roast chicken in that grand hotel was probably the most delicious thing in the world. If she could eat it once in her lifetime, she would die with no regrets.
"Congratulations, you got it right!"
"You'll get a chicken leg as a reward later!"
Chen Yang brought the wrapped roast chicken behind his back to Shen Xue. The even richer aroma of the roast chicken instantly made Shen Xue dizzy.
Images of her wedding with Chen Yang flashed through her mind. She remembered leaning in Chen Yang's arms and saying, "It would be great if I could eat a roast chicken from a grand hotel in this life."
The aroma from the large roast chicken in front of her was the same as back then, but it was so real that she thought she was dreaming.
"Mama, it smells good."
"Yanyan wants to eat."
It wasn't until the baby's crisp voice sounded that Shen Xue was jolted awake. This was not a dream, it was real!
"You prodigal, a roast chicken costs ten yuan. I don't want it. Take it back quickly and return it. Ten yuan can buy more than ten catties of meat."
But Shen Xue looked at Chen Yang, gritting her teeth tightly. The roast chicken was too expensive. If this money was saved to buy rice, it could buy fifty catties of japonica rice, enough for their family to eat for several months. She was reluctant.
"Silly girl, do you think the grand hotel is ours? We can buy it if we want, and return it if we want."
"Besides, what's ten yuan? As long as you're happy, whether it's a hundred yuan or a thousand yuan, I'll find a way to buy it for you to eat."
"I made money selling fish this time, and I'll only make more money in the future. Don't think about saving money for me. I earn money for you and our daughter. If you don't spend it, do you expect me to spend it on other women?"
Chen Yang pinched the woman's delicate and smooth face. She was perfect in every way, except that she was too considerate of him, always willing to wrong herself rather than spend more money.
"How dare you!"
As soon as Shen Xue heard Chen Yang's words, her pretty face turned stern. But seeing Chen Yang staring at her with a sly grin, she immediately realized she had been tricked.
A circle of pink blush instantly spread across Shen Xue's entire small face. Her rosy, apple-like face made Chen Yang want to pounce on it and take a bite.
"What are you looking at? If you dare to find other women outside, I'll, I'll..."
Shen Xue glared fiercely at Chen Yang, as if she wanted to utter some harsh threat, but the words got stuck in her throat. After thinking for a long time, she couldn't come up with any threat, which made her small face even redder.
"Alright, alright. If I dare to betray you, I'll be struck by lightning and never be able to..."
Chen Yang was also amused and exasperated by this silly woman. She couldn't even utter a proper scolding. But before he could finish speaking, a small hand directly covered his mouth.
Then he saw Shen Xue looking at the sky with devotion, and then spitting on the ground fiercely.
"Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey, Heaven, he's ignorant, please don't take it to heart."
Before Shen Xue could finish her ritual, Chen Yang swept her into his arms. Now Shen Xue's face turned even redder.
She was naturally introverted. Even after getting married, she had little physical intimacy with Chen Yang except at night. Moreover, Chen Yang was holding her and their little one in his arms this time.
With the little one present, her face felt even hotter.
"Daddy, hug."
"Mama, hug."
"Yanyan, hug."
The little one was overjoyed. Held between her daddy and mama, with the two people she loved most holding her at the same time, she was the happiest.
"Alright, alright, let's eat the roast chicken quickly."
"Soon, the villagers will know I'm back and come to collect their money. We won't even have enough roast chicken for ourselves."
With the little one's fussing, Chen Yang couldn't openly take advantage of his wife anymore.
He untied the string of the brown paper wrapping, revealing the lotus leaf-wrapped roast chicken. The already strong aroma became even more intense.
"Here, a reward of a big chicken leg for you."
Chen Yang tore off a chicken leg and handed it to Shen Xue without further ado, then tore off another chicken leg and gave it to the baby to hold in her two small hands and gnaw on.
Compared to children from other families who had to scramble for porridge, little Miss Chen Mengyan was already enjoying chicken freedom with a chicken leg as big as her washbasin.
"So good!"
The little one's mouth was greasy, but Chen Yang didn't care, letting her gnaw on the big chicken leg.
If only there was a phone, he could take a picture of the baby eating like a little soldier and show it to her when she grew up. It would surely be very interesting.
Meanwhile, Shen Xue nibbled small bites of the fragrant roast chicken, a little worried that the baby might choke.
"It's delicious. You wanted to eat it when we got married. It's my fault for being incapable and only letting you eat it after so many years."
"I'm watching the child, she won't choke."
Chen Yang gently brushed a strand of hair from Shen Xue's mouth. Hearing his words, Shen Xue felt a warmth surge in her heart.
This was happiness she had never dared to imagine, even in her dreams. She had never thought Chen Yang would treat her so well one day!
She also didn't expect that Chen Yang would remember something she said so long ago.
"You eat too. This roast chicken is delicious."
Shen Xue's eyes glistened, almost tearing up. Looking at Chen Yang's increasingly resolute profile, she felt a warmth in her heart.
Marrying him in this life was her greatest fortune!
"It is indeed very fragrant. With this skill, even after thirty years, it would definitely sell out."
Chen Yang tasted it. The flavor of this roast chicken was truly exceptional. He had tasted countless delicacies in his previous life. Even the roast chicken made by the chefs in five-star hotels was not much better than that of the chefs at the Liuhe County state-run grand hotel.
He also thought that if the grand hotel were to be disbanded in the future, he could recruit all the chefs. With the skills of these master chefs and abundant ingredients to showcase their culinary prowess, opening a grand hotel again would likely bring in a fortune.
"Speaking of which, my father loved roast chicken. I still remember when I was little, my father bought roast chicken. He was clearly drooling with desire but still saved it for me and Er Ni to eat."
As they ate, Shen Xue suddenly thought of her elderly father, and the atmosphere turned somewhat somber.
As if afraid Chen Yang would be unhappy, Shen Xue wiped away a tear that fell from her eye and quickly tried to change the subject.
"We can't finish this roast chicken. We'll send some to my parents later."
Chen Yang took over the conversation. He knew why Shen Xue stopped mid-sentence. In the past, he had been quite a scoundrel, so Shen Xue's father had always disliked him.
Once, he even got into a physical altercation with Chen Yang, so the two families rarely interacted, and Shen Xue rarely mentioned her parents to him, fearing it would upset Chen Yang.
But Chen Yang knew that although the elderly couple no longer visited his home, they had secretly helped Shen Xue quite a bit. Without them, relying solely on Shen Xue, their household would have run out of food long ago.
He had been a scoundrel and ignorant in the past, but now, how could he not respect the elderly couple and put Shen Xue in a difficult position?