448. Grocery Shopping
“Spring has arrived! It’s mating season for the animals!”
As she exited through the back door of the bus, Ning Chu held an umbrella, grinning with a playful glint in her eye as she mumbled to herself.
Thinking about all the people who would join her for some “succubus” fun made her inexplicably cheerful.
“Hmm?”
Wen Yang turned back, confused, glancing at the little succubus behind him.
“Lily’s dorm is probably having wild parties every day for the next two months!”
“Is it really that crazy?”
“Absolutely! Her dorm is full of charming beings! Plus, the vixen and Xinya are all about spring love, and Lily can set the mood anywhere, anytime!”
Imagining that scene, Ning Chu clicked her tongue in awe. “That sounds terrifying!”
Just picturing the three girls playing with toys in the dorm was enough to make anyone cringe!
Though, to be fair, she herself was living it up every night…
After getting off the bus, the duo ventured to the vegetable market, an hour’s drive from the school.
This market was a gem Lily had told her about—cheaper than supermarkets and with a wider variety. Sure, it was in the outskirts and couldn’t compete with the downtown markets, but for Ning Chu, it was more than enough.
After all, she didn’t cook much anyway.
Having already had lunch, she and Wen Yang were there to pick up ingredients for dinner.
“Are you still going to work later?”
“Yeah, I’ll swing back in the evening, then head out to set up my stall if it doesn’t rain.”
“Why are you always so busy?”
“Starting next week, I’ll have basketball practice three times a week too.”
Seeing the little succubus’s puffed cheeks and her cute, disgruntled expression, Wen Yang couldn’t help but ruffle Ning Chu’s hair affectionately. “But we’re together every day, right?”
To avoid showing her clingy side, Ning Chu turned her head and swatted away his hand.
“What do you want to eat for dinner? I’ll look up a recipe for you.”
“Whatever you want, I’m not picky.”
If I knew that, I wouldn’t be asking you…
As they entered the narrow street where the market was, it was already afternoon, and rain was still falling; only about thirty percent of the stalls remained open.
The ground was muddy and littered with trash, and a faint fishy smell wafted through the air.
This suburban market wasn’t the cleanest, but Ning Chu and Wen Yang looked like tourists on an outing, curiously peering around and sniffing everything.
Yesterday, Lily had dragged Ning Chu here, and she had just wanted to hurry up and leave after buying her stuff.
This time, she was linking her arm with Wen Yang, standing on tiptoe to whisper, “That meat shop has a super shady owner. I bought a ton of meat yesterday, and when I got home, it was way less than what I paid for! Total rip-off!”
“And that crab vendor is just as bad! He said they were packed with meat and stuffing, but when I steamed them at home, it was like opening an empty shell!”
Wen Yang looked puzzled. “Crabs? I didn’t have crabs last night, did I?”
“How could I give you a shell? I ate all the good stuff!”
Ning Chu puffed her chest proudly.
Compared to supermarkets, while the prices at the market were cheaper and products fresher, the chances of getting scammed were definitely higher.
Most stalls didn’t have clearly marked prices; bargaining was essential and one had to keep an eye out for missing weight—trusting the vendors was a gamble.
Like a whirlwind, Ning Chu wasn’t even interested in haggling; whatever price the vendors said, she took it and bought her ingredients, handing them off to Wen Yang before moving on to the next stall.
“I feel like we overpaid…” she muttered quietly, “Do you think they’re treating us like easy targets?”
“As long as it’s cheaper than the supermarket!” Wen Yang reassured her from behind. “And the owner was really nice too; he even cleaned the veggies for us.”
Not only did they help clean the veggies, but they also filleted the fish and sliced the meat as requested. When Ning Chu returned home, she’d just have to wash them, sprinkle a bit of seasoning, and toss them in the pot.
She wouldn’t even need a kn*fe.
“True… Hey, Wen Yang! Do you want some sauce-flavored cakes?!”
Ning Chu suddenly spotted a stall for saucy cakes and her eyes sparkled. “They just came out!”
“If you want it, just buy it.”
“I just had lunch… I’m afraid I might gain weight.” She hesitated for a moment but then tugged Wen Yang along. “Never mind, I had fried chicken legs and milk tea earlier. Eating so much will definitely make me balloon.”
Even though Wen Yang was perfectly okay with her figure, she still wished to be a little slimmer, especially concerning the meat on her thighs.
“If you can’t finish it, I’ll help you out.”
Wen Yang’s comment made Ning Chu halt in her tracks, her eyes lighting up as she dragged him to the sauce-flavored cake stall.
“Hey, boss! One piece for five bucks!”
Though she was from the south, she had an insatiable love for all sorts of noodles and pastries.
After receiving the sauce-flavored cake from the vendor, she took a blissful bite, only to scrunch her eyebrows together, immediately tossing it to Wen Yang.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s so good… you eat it.”
Wen Yang immediately recognized that the sauce-flavored cake tasted absolutely horrid.
Sure, Ning Chu was slowly being spoiled by him, but she wasn’t the type to buy something and only take one bite before chucking it.
“I don’t have enough hands.”
“I’ll help you! Trust me, it’s delicious!”
Turning around, Ning Chu speared a hefty bite of the cake and shoved it into Wen Yang’s mouth. “See?”
Wen Yang’s cheeks bulged like a chipmunk as he chewed for what felt like an eternity before he swallowed and shot her a glare. “Are you trying to choke me?”
“Is it good?”
“Meh.”
“Meh?! There’s barely any flavor! It’s like plain bread! They didn’t even want to brush on extra sauce for the sauce-flavored cake! This is utter garbage!”
Ning Chu fumed, her face a mask of outrage. She had never encountered a sauce-flavored cake this terrible before!
Even the cafeteria food was better!
After making two laps around the vegetable market, Wen Yang was burdened with several bags of ingredients while Ning Chu still wanted to buy more.
“Isn’t that enough? Otherwise, cooking will be a hassle.”
“It’s fine! I don’t have anything to do this afternoon. I’ll whip up something delicious for you.”
Ning Chu was already envisioning what she could make with her newly acquired ingredients.
Stir-fried meat with green peppers, pickled vegetable fish, sautéed garlic hollow veggies, and a pot of oyster tofu soup…
She could look up tutorials; none of it seemed too hard, and she confidently lifted her chin. “Just wait for dinner! It’ll definitely be better than cafeteria food!”
Wen Yang calculated how much they had spent that day. “But cooking seems more expensive than eating at the cafeteria?”
“…”
Ning Chu paused, brushing it off with a wave of her hand. “It’s healthier to cook! Someone ate a metal wire at the cafeteria last week!”
It seemed that eating out wasn’t as good of a deal. Not only did they spend more money, but it would also cost her an entire afternoon!
The more she thought about it, the more unfair it felt, but then she suddenly pictured Wen Yang relishing her lovingly prepared meal.
Seeing him clean his plate would fill her with a sense of accomplishment and happiness that was hard to beat.
Actually, maybe it wasn’t such a loss after all…
