Chapter 270: Chapter 270: Birthday

Wen Jingerui pushed his bicycle across the street and came up to Jiang Moli. "Ms. Jiang, what are you doing here?"

Jiang Moli pointed behind her. "I live here."

Wen Jingerui was a little surprised to see the Military District Courtyard behind her.

He only knew that Jiang Moli worked in the song and dance troupe and nothing else. He hadn’t expected her to have such a prominent family background.

Jiang Moli stuffed her hands back into the pockets of her military greatcoat. She looked up, her small, palm-sized face flushed red from the wind, and said in a clear voice, "Doctor Wen, where are you headed?"

"I’m going to my older sister’s house for dinner."

Jiang Moli smiled. "You’re already passing by my front door. Why don’t you come eat at my place?"

Wen Jingerui just assumed she was joking. "Definitely next time."

"No next time. You treated me to a meal last time, so I insist on treating you back today."

Just as she was speaking, she saw Lu Tingting hurrying toward them, head tucked down.

"My dear niece!"

Lu Tingting looked up, saw Jiang Moli, and let out a light snort before walking over.

"What are you doing here?"

Though she was asking Jiang Moli, her eyes were sizing up Wen Jingerui.

"What else? Waiting for you."

Hearing Jiang Moli’s words, Lu Tingting gave a haughty pout. "What are you waiting for me for?"

"We’re going to your grandma’s for dinner tonight. I’ll treat you to something good."

The moment she heard there was good food, Lu Tingting ducked her head and started to walk into the courtyard, only to be grabbed by the collar by Jiang Moli.

"What’s the rush? We’re taking Doctor Wen with us."

Wen Jingerui quickly waved his hands. "No, no, that’s not necessary."

Jiang Moli wouldn’t take no for an answer and started pushing him toward the courtyard. "Don’t be a stranger. A few more friends are coming over later. We’ll all celebrate the Winter Solstice together. It’ll be lively."

Being stood up by Meng Wei had left Wen Jingerui feeling heartbroken and lonely.

Jiang Moli’s warmth was like a warm current flowing into his cold, silent heart. He couldn’t bear to push such warmth away and subconsciously agreed.

He followed Lu Tingting into the Military District Courtyard.

"You’re a doctor? How do you know my Third Aunt?"

Hearing Lu Tingting’s question, Wen Jingerui didn’t think much of it and told her the whole story of how he met Jiang Moli while on a blind date with Meng Wei.

When Lu Tingting heard that Wen Jingerui was Meng Wei’s blind date, she couldn’t help but gloat.

"Then you and Meng Wei will definitely never work out!"

Ever since she and Meng Wei had argued over Lin Jianfeng, Lu Tingting and Meng Wei had a complete falling out. She didn’t even call her Sister Weiwei anymore.

Wen Jingerui was puzzled. "Why is that?"

"Meng Wei hates my Third Aunt the most. If she finds out you came to my Third Aunt’s house for dinner, she’ll be furious."

Wen Jingerui was confused. "Aren’t Xiao Wei and Ms. Jiang friends?"

"Meng Wei would be friends with anyone before she’d be friends with my Third Aunt. She’s had a crush on my Third Uncle for twenty years, but he ended up marrying Jiang Moli instead."

Wen Jingerui hadn’t expected to hear such gossip, and he was filled with mixed emotions.

On the surface, Meng Wei was gentle and virtuous, but deep down, she was aloof and proud.

’A man she could like and pursue for twenty years must be one in a million,’ he thought.

"Your Third Uncle must be an exceptional man."

"Of course he is! The line of women who want to marry my Third Uncle could stretch from the north side of the city to the south. It’s just that my Third Uncle is blind. He had to go and fall for Jiang Moli!"

Wen Jingerui subconsciously replied, "Ms. Jiang is a good person too. She’s witty, a good conversationalist, well-informed, and very sincere with her friends."

Outwardly, Lu Tingting looked dismissive, but inwardly, she couldn’t help but agree with Wen Jingerui.

’That damn woman does have her good points, I guess.’

At the gate of the Military District Courtyard, Jiang Moli was talking with Qian Ling.

Qian Ling stomped her feet while blowing warm air into her hands. "It’s so cold today! I’m not late, am I?"

Jiang Moli grinned. "Cold? How about you come warm up in my arms?"

Qian Ling’s face turned red as she laughed. "No, that’s okay."

Jiang Moli then eyed the cloth bag in her hand. "What’d you bring?"

Qian Ling explained, "My mom made some ejiao candy. Eating more ejiao in the winter helps enrich the blood and qi."

Jiang Moli was already hungry, so when she heard it was food, she asked Qian Ling for a piece to try.

The ejiao was cut into thumb-sized strips. It had a gelatinous texture and a slightly gamy taste, but with the added red dates, peanuts, and black sesame seeds, it was quite fragrant when chewed slowly.

Before she could finish one piece of the ejiao candy, Yang Lijiong and Chen Lan arrived.

Seeing Jiang Moli’s red lips moving like a little rabbit’s, Yang Lijiong laughed. "What are you eating?"

"Ejiao candy that Qian Ling brought. I’ll have her give you both a piece."

Qian Ling quickly took out two pieces of ejiao candy from her cloth bag and handed one to Yang Lijiong and the other to Chen Lan.

The two of them took the candy and began to eat.

Chen Lan was full of praise. "Mmm, this ejiao is prepared really well."

Qian Ling couldn’t hide her pride. "My great-grandfather used to be the one who specialized in decocting medicinal pastes at a traditional Chinese medicine hall. This skill for preparing ejiao was passed down from him."

Chen Lan asked, "Could I ask your mom to prepare some for me? I need some for a gift."

"Of course. Just buy the ingredients and bring them over, and I’ll have my mom prepare it for you."

"Then it’s a deal. Thank you so much."

"It’s nothing."

At that moment, Qian Ling hadn’t yet realized that having Chen Lan owe her a favor was something countless people could only dream of.

Yang Lijiong pulled a box out of her coat pocket and handed it to Jiang Moli.

"Happy birthday."

Only then did Qian Ling realize with a start. "Moli, today is your birthday? Why didn’t you tell me earlier? I didn’t even prepare a gift for you."

Jiang Moli beamed. "Didn’t you bring the ejiao? We can just say that’s my birthday present."

Chen Lan also presented her gift: a set of tea bowls with gold tracery.

Jiang Moli was touched and hugged them each in turn. "Thank you. You’re the source of all my warmth this winter. It’s so good to have you guys~"

The three of them laughed along with her.

...

「Rongfeng Building.」

Watching Meng Wei eat gracefully, He Ming took out a gift.

"Xiao Wei, this is just a small token of my affection. Please accept it."

Meng Wei accepted it with surprise. Opening it, she found a lady’s watch. It had a diamond-studded face the size of a cherry, set with a delicate 24K gold-plated band—small, exquisite, and expensive.

"This is too valuable. I can’t accept it."

He Ming held her hand with deep affection. "I truly like you, and I want to be with you. Please say yes, okay?"

Meng Wei remained reserved and didn’t speak, but her heart was pounding wildly in her chest.

Back in the Lu Family’s courtyard, the coffee table and wicker chairs under the pavilion had been moved away. In their place were two old iron woks, filled with glowing red charcoal.

A wire grill was placed over one wok, and a griddle over the other.

One for barbecue, one for teppanyaki.

Marinated beef, lamb, and pork belly sizzled and rendered their fat under the high heat of the charcoal.

Jiang Moli didn’t bother setting up a table. She just brought out a few wooden stools, and everyone gathered around the braziers, grilling, eating, and drinking.

It was only then that Wen Jingerui found out it was Jiang Moli’s birthday.

"Ms. Jiang, I didn’t know it was your birthday, so I didn’t have time to prepare a proper gift. I originally bought this scarf for someone else, but due to some complications, I won’t be giving it to them anymore. But rest assured, I haven’t given it to anyone. If you don’t mind, please accept it as a birthday present."

The scarf was quite nice—pure white, fluffy, and looked very warm.

But Jiang Moli didn’t accept it. "Doctor Wen, I appreciate the thought, but the scarf isn’t necessary. My husband is the jealous type; he’d get upset if he knew I was wearing a scarf from another man."

Wen Jingerui looked embarrassed. "It was inconsiderate of me."

"Don’t worry about it."

Perhaps feeling a bit awkward, Wen Jingerui said his goodbyes after he had eaten his fill.

Jiang Moli didn’t press him to stay, politely seeing him to the door.

When she returned to the courtyard, she found that Wen Jingerui had forgotten to take the scarf with him.

Jiang Moli was a bit fuzzy-headed from the alcohol, so she asked Qian Ling to take it out to him.

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