Courtyard House: Drunk and barging into the Xu family's house, I woke up numb.

"How much do you borrow, and when do you plan to repay it?"

Xia Jie held up four fingers.

"Forty yuan, I'll pay you back next month when I get my salary."

Cao Xu was taken aback.

"Pay wages?"

"Have you been assigned your work?"

Xia Jie nodded.

"Yes, it's settled, not bad."

Cao Xu said.

"Which unit, and what do they do?"

A sly glint flashed in Xia Jie's eyes.

I won't tell you now, you'll find out next time we meet.

Cao Xu leaned back in his chair and snapped his fingers.

"If you don't tell me, how can I lend you the money? What if you never come back? Wouldn't I be at a huge loss?"

"Forty yuan, plus the previous ten yuan, that's fifty yuan. It's not a lot of money, but it's not a small amount either."

Xia Jie said.

"I won't renege on my debt; I can write you an IOU."

Cao Xu said.

"An IOU is just a piece of paper. What guarantee do you have?"

Xia Jie rolled her eyes and pointed to herself.

"I swear on my life, if I don't pay you back, may I never be able to get married."

Cao Xu got up and went to the bedroom, taking out the hundred yuan he had put in the drawer earlier.

He counted out forty yuan from inside, and then took ten jin of grain coupons and one jin of meat coupons from the side. He squatted down in front of Xia Jie and said.

"Go look in the mirror yourself. If you wanted to get married, would you be unable to find one?"

Cao Xu handed the money and receipts to Xia Jie.

“I don’t have any food coupons here, this is all I have, ten jin, which I was saving for when I came to stay here.”

"But it should be enough for you for a few days. Once you've started working at your company, they should issue you your monthly food rations in three or four days."

Cao Xu still trusted Xia Jie. Firstly, she was a soldier, and secondly, if she were really after money, there would be over 120 yuan in cash in the room, and she would have already run away with it.

If she really leaves, he won't be able to find her, and the money will be wasted. There's no need for her to keep borrowing money from him.

Cao Xu got up and went back to the inner room to sleep. He had to go to work that night, so he decided to catch up on some sleep now.

In the evening, Cao Xu smelled the aroma of food while he was asleep. He sat up and saw Xia Jie bringing dishes into the house.

"You're awake. The food is ready too, let's eat together."

Cao Xu glanced at his watch; it was already five o'clock, and it was dark outside.

Upon entering the main room, Cao Xu saw that the table was already set with food—four dishes and a soup—which smelled quite good.

After washing his hands, he sat down and picked up the shredded potatoes that were closest to him with the chopsticks next to him.

"It tastes good. I didn't expect you to be such a good cook."

On New Year's Eve, the two only ate dumplings and did not cook any dishes, so this was the first time Cao Xu had eaten Xia Jie's cooking.

"It's alright. I'm used to being independent, and after doing it a lot, I've only mastered a few signature dishes."

Cao Xu sighed.

"Alright, consider this meal a farewell meal for you."

Xia Jie said.

"Hey, this is the food I made, isn't it good? Can you bring me some of my cooking instead?"

Cao Xu nodded.

"Yes, you cooked the meal, and I paid for it. It's perfect that I pay and you do the work."

Xia Jie tilted her head and said.

"I still have to pay you back, okay? In the end, I'm the one who's treating myself."

Cao Xu was amused by the way she tilted her head.

"Okay, I'll make it up to you next time."

Xia Jie straightened up and said.

"You said it, you can't go back on your word."

Cao Xu was both amused and exasperated by these words.

"It's just one meal, why would I try to cheat you?"

Xia Jie nodded.

"I'll remember this, you owe me a meal!"

Cao Xu shook his head and said nothing more, then launched a full-scale attack on the food on the table.

After the meal, Cao Xu rested for a while before getting up to leave.

"Just give the key to Aunt Wu when you leave tomorrow."

Xia Jie, who was washing dishes nearby, looked up and said.

Aren't you going to see me off?

Cao Xu shook his head.

"I have a shift tonight and need to go back to Dongcheng. I also have some things to take care of tomorrow, so I can't make it."

· ·······Requesting flowers···· ······

"If your things are hard to carry, just hail a tricycle at the street corner and have it take you directly to your workplace."

Cao Xu looked at Xia Jie, who was still washing the dishes.

"Take your time washing, I'm leaving now."

Xia Jie called out to Cao Xu and stood up.

"Cao Xu, we're friends, aren't we?"

Cao Xu countered with a question.

"if not?"

Xia Jie stretched out her hands.

"Since I'm leaving soon, shouldn't we have a farewell ceremony between friends?"

Cao Zu crossed his arms and stared at the water droplets falling onto her fair arms.

"Comrade Xia Jie, you've already eaten my food and stayed at my place, are you planning to take advantage of me again before you leave?"

Let's save this hug for when we meet next time.

After saying that, Cao Xu walked out of the house, but halfway there he turned back and looked at Xia Jie, who was still standing there in a daze.

"Hey, remember to pay me back!"

Xia Jie gritted her teeth as she watched Cao Xu's departing figure.

"I won't pay it back!"

"Cao Xu, you wait, we'll meet soon!"

........................................................................

In the evening, Qin Huairu came to He Yuzhu's room and saw He Yuzhu drinking alone.

"Zhu Zi, I'm sorry about what happened today. It was my fault for not thinking things through."

As she spoke, she sat down and lowered her head.

"It's your sister who dragged you down and made you the subject of gossip. If you want to blame someone, blame your sister."

"If you hadn't been helping your sister, you wouldn't have..."

"Zhu Zi, I apologize to you."

As soon as she finished speaking, Qin Huairu picked up He Yuzhu's wine glass and drank it straight down.

After finishing one glass of wine, she picked up the bottle and poured herself a second glass, which startled He Yuzhu, who quickly snatched it away.

"Oh my goodness, sister, this is strong liquor! You're drinking it straight without even chewing it properly, you'll be drunk in no time!"

........ ........ ...