Chapter 14: Fang Xiaoying Woke Up
The siblings were talking and didn’t notice Ye Ting walking in. It was only when Su Qiao happened to look up that she saw Ye Ting standing at the hospital room’s doorway.
“Captain Ye.”
“Just call me Ye Ting,” he corrected once again.
“I will next time, for sure.”
Seeing Su Qiao’s humble acceptance, yet the unmistakable readiness to slip up again, Ye Ting gave up trying to press the point and changed the subject: “Comrade Su Qiao, have you thought about what to do next?”
“I’m planning to take Xiaoying back to Yang City tomorrow. The medical facilities there are much better than in Shan City.”
“Hm, I was thinking the same.” Ye Ting pondered for a moment, then shared his plan. “Tomorrow, Comrade Su Qiao will take Comrade Fang Xiaoying and ride with us back to Yang City by car. Comrade Su Mu will have to take the train back with Comrade Fang Xiaofeng.”
“Alright, that sounds like a good arrangement. Sorry to trouble you, Comrade Ye Ting.”
Su Qiao’s willingness to change how she addressed him pleased Ye Ting.
When dinnertime came, Su Qiao wanted Su Mu to take Ye Ting and the others to the state-run restaurant. She had borrowed a stove in the hospital cafeteria to boil some noodles for a simple meal.
Ye Ting, upon hearing this, said he also wanted noodles and asked Su Qiao to cook extra.
Since Ye Ting said noodles, Su Mu and Fang Xiaofeng had no objections.
Su Qiao had initially planned to just throw together a quick meal, but with Ye Ting joining, even cooking noodles couldn’t be too careless.
She wandered around the back kitchen of the hospital cafeteria, using half a pound of meat coupons and half a pound of egg coupons, plus one yuan, to exchange with the head chef for the only remaining small piece of pork, five eggs, and the right to use oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar.
She heated oil in the wok, then dropped in chopped scallions and shredded ginger. With a sizzling sound, the aroma of stir-frying filled the air.
Even the lazy head chef nearby sniffed the air and muttered quietly, “That smells pretty good.”
Su Qiao didn’t hear him and added the sliced pork to the wok, gently stir-frying it so the meaty fragrance invaded everyone’s nostrils.
She then ladled water into the wok, and the broth quickly came to a boil. Su Qiao deftly dropped her dry noodles into the boiling soup.
Taking advantage of the moment, she started heating oil on another stove and pan-fried five soft-boiled eggs.
The head chef kept glancing secretly from nearby, growing a bit interested in Su Qiao’s perfectly cooked eggs.
The pork noodle soup was served in a rough large ceramic bowl, the broth and noodles mingled, topped with an enticing pan-fried soft-boiled egg and a sprinkle of fresh cilantro.
Luckily, Su Mu and Fang Xiaofeng came to help Su Qiao carry the bowls. Su Qiao didn’t dare turn around, fearing that if she left, her noodles might be snatched away.
Even without seeing it, people were already asking if the cafeteria had introduced a new dish.
Ye Ting hadn’t expected a bowl of pork noodles placed before him could look so appealing.
The military cafeteria also served pork noodles and fried eggs, but compared to what Comrade Su Qiao had made, it seemed like an entirely different thing.
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Fang Xiaoying slept deeply, as if she had been hearing her mother’s voice the whole time.
She thought she was dreaming and didn’t want to open her eyes.
She was afraid that when she woke, her mother wouldn’t be there, and she’d be left facing the scowling Chen family, who constantly found fault with her and spoke filthy words.
Yet, she seemed to smell a familiar fragrance—that of her mother cooking.
And this scent seemed even more delicious than before.
Fang Xiaoying didn’t want to admit it, but it was the aroma of her mother’s cooking that had tempted her awake.
“Mmm, Mom, the pork noodles you made today smell so good.”
Her voice was soft, but everyone in the ward heard her.
“Mom, I haven’t eaten your cooking in so long, I was starving for it.”
No one spoke, listening quietly to Fang Xiaoying muttering as if it were unreal.
Then Fang Xiaofeng suddenly rushed over to her sister’s bedside, eyes brimming with tears as he gazed at her face. “Sis, you’re awake?”
“Xiaofeng? Why are you here? Where’s Mom?”
“Mom’s here.” Su Qiao crouched down to meet Fang Xiaoying’s eyes.
“Mom—” Fang Xiaoying opened her arms to hug her mother’s neck.
Su Qiao reached out and held her tightly.
“Mom, I thought I was dreaming.” Nestled in her mother’s arms, Fang Xiaoying’s tears fell like broken pearls.
“Poor child, why didn’t you tell Mom when you were hurt?”
“Mom, I thought I could handle it.”
“How could you handle it? One-on-one, Mom believed you could manage. But with so many Chen family members, even that shameless old Chen head tripped you—how could you handle that?”
“Mom, I really didn’t expect...” That kick from the old Chen man had shattered Fang Xiaoying’s worldview.
“That Chen family is nothing but a den of wolves, rotten to the core, no good from top to bottom.”
“Mom, I was wrong. I thought I could protect myself.”
“Xiaoying, when you can’t handle it, don’t confront them head-on.”
“But Mom, you fought three people and won.”
“How can your little sister’s frame compare to Mom’s?”
---
“Mom, you’re really good at fighting.”
“Comrade Su Qiao must be skilled in fighting.”
Su Qiao smiled wryly. Growing up in an orphanage, which child wouldn’t know how to fight?
Later, to support her schooling, she worked as a cleaner in a boxing gym after school every day. During winter and summer breaks, she spent all day at the gym, sparring with younger kids to earn more money.
The gym owner was a tough-looking man with a somewhat innocent heart.
Every time she saw him getting scolded by his wife, she found it amusing and secretly took photos, making several memes she kept hidden in her phone gallery.
Thinking back, it was a pity she hadn’t brought those memes along.
“Let’s not talk anymore. Eat the noodles first, or they’ll get soggy and taste bad.”
“Okay, let’s eat.”
“This big bowl of pork noodles really whets my appetite.”
“Uncle, what really whets your appetite is that sister is awake.”
“Both! Both!” Su Mu said, biting hard into a soft-boiled egg. “Mmm, my sister’s cooking is still the best.”
Su Qiao ignored their teasing. She gently helped her daughter sit up properly, then picked up some noodles from the bowl and fed her.
Fang Xiaoying was truly hungry, eating nearly half a bowl and finishing the soft-boiled egg before contentedly leaning back on her pillow, cuddling her mother.
“Mom, your noodle cooking skills have improved again. Even dry noodles taste this good.”
“Is that so?” Su Qiao smiled, gladly accepting her daughter’s praise.
“Mom, you don’t know, it was your noodles that tempted me awake.”
Su Qiao: …
So this is what it’s like for a child to be with her mother—having family feels truly wonderful.
“Mom, I’m serious.”
“I know. We’re going back to Yang City tomorrow. Can your body hold up?”
“I can. As long as I can go home, even if I have to crawl, I’ll crawl back.”