Chapter 57

The customers who came in were a husband and wife who looked very well-matched.

The man held his wife's hand, "What would you like to eat?"

The woman shook her head, looking like she didn't have much of an appetite.

<Ding Sha> looked at the menu <Du Rourou> handed over, "Hmm... let's get an order of Kung Pao shrimp balls, a plate of tiger skin peppers, a bowl of West Lake beef soup, and two bowls of rice."

The food came up quickly. Smelling the aromas in the air, the woman couldn't help feeling rather hungry.

"The flavor's not bad. Try some," the man picked out a shrimp for her. "The texture of this shrimp is bouncy—they must be fresh."

After eating a few bites, the woman also praised, "It really is delicious."

After eating their fill, the two of them sat in silence.

The man was the first to speak. "Full? Want shaved ice for dessert? I saw it on the menu."

"No need, I've been too busy the last few days to digest much," the woman shook her head.

Another stretch of silence.

"Well... let's go then," the woman finally said.

Without a word, they went to pay at the counter. <Du Rourou> smiled and asked, "How was it? The food good?"

"Very nice, we ate well," the woman smiled back.

"I'm glad to hear. You two look well-matched—your relationship must be wonderful!" <Du Rourou> handed back change as she spoke.

"We match?" The man glanced at his wife.

"Very well-matched. You two have a unique temperament, clearly special, but your auras harmonize so you look very well-suited," <Du Rourou> enthused.

The woman smiled. "Thank you, young lady."

"My pleasure. Please come again soon!" <Du Rourou> saw them to the door.

About a week later, the couple returned and ordered the same dishes.

<Du Rourou> still remembered them and greeted them with a smile as she served them. The woman also smiled back warmly.

With few customers in the restaurant, <Du Rourou> sat at a nearby table reading a thick textbook.

The man suddenly asked, "Not getting divorced?"

"No divorce," the woman said. "I thought it over more and didn't see anything unacceptable."

"You serve the country on missions, I save lives at the hospital—just as the young lady said, we match," he replied.

"But..." The man still seemed hesitant.

"What's there to fret over?" The woman gave him a reproachful look. "Like I said, we match well."

She went on, "I'd considered divorcing because we only meet a few times a year and have barely spent any time together. It felt meaningless."

"But now I don't want to put anyone else through my unhappiness. We ought to be together."

"This way when we retire, it'll be like we just started dating—we'll never tire of each other."

The man lifted his head, eyes wet, "I've wronged you, Little Qing."

"No wrongs here," she chided gently. "I told you, we match well."

Their conversation wasn't quiet, but <Du Rourou> had listened in attentively without realizing. Seeing the couple start eating again, she went to the backyard.

"<Ding Sha>!" <Du Rourou> ran to find Ding Sha and repeated everything she'd overheard.

"I, I want to buy them a small cake... could you, um..." <Du Rourou> was a little embarrassed asking Ding Sha to bake something impromptu.

Ding Sha laughed and agreed readily. "Of course, but there likely isn't time to bake a cake now. Why don't you make them two bowls of shaved ice instead, my treat?"

<Du Rourou> prepared two deluxe bowls of shaved ice and paid at the counter herself before bringing them out to the couple.

"Miss, we didn't order this," the woman said, surprised.

"My treat," <Du Rourou> explained, flustered. "I accidentally overheard your conversation earlier... sorry about that. Please take this as my apology."

The woman froze a moment. "Oh, but..."

The man, however, smiled—a rare sight. "Thank you, young lady."

<Du Rourou> shook her head with an embarrassed smile and went to sit farther away with her book.

After a big spoon of cool, sweet watermelon, the woman felt refreshed all the way down. As they left, she thought to herself that she'd definitely have to visit again during her next break.

After finishing up her work, Ding Sha also recounted the incident in full to Xiao Jun. She kept nothing from him except the transmigration into this world.

Xiao Jun suggested, "After Ping'an gets a little bigger, let's take a trip. Go to the beach—how about it?"

Ding Sha blinked, confused. "Why bring this up all of a sudden?" "I feel you've lost out, becoming a mother so young. I don't want to keep you tethered here. Let's go see the outside world!"

"What about Ping'an then? We'd leave him to go play?"

"Aunt Zhao is here, along with Sister-in-Law and Auntie!"

"But the shop?"

"There's Wenhao!"

"......"

The conversation ended vaguely with Ding Sha murmuring, "We'll see, we'll see."

"<Du Rourou> poked her head in through the curtain. "Sister Ding Sha! The Tasty Rice company sent samples!"

Ding Sha went over immediately. "Oh? How do they look?"

"Haven't tried them yet, but the packaging looks pretty good!"

They'd commissioned an illustrator to design packaging featuring Ding Sha's courtyard and a silhouette of her in the background.

Ding Sha opened a can and spooned some out. "Have a taste. What do you think?"

<Du Rourou> tried a spoonful, eyes shining. "Delicious! Good with rice!"

Ding Sha also sampled some. Though not as tasty as her handmade version, it was still much better than commercial jarred rice porridge on the market.

"Tasty Rice raised the price a little," <Du Rourou> read messages on her phone as she ate. "They also hope you can stream to promote the product."

"Stream?" Ding Sha shook her head decisively.

"I know my limits. I only have so many followers."

"Don't underestimate yourself!" <Du Rourou> retorted. "You broke 500k followers long ago! Great stats!"

She listed a few other influencers, none growing nearly as quickly as Ding Sha.

Spurred on by <Du Rourou>, Ding Sha was no longer camera-shy, but still somewhat apprehensive.

"What if I mess up?"

"You won't, you won't!" After analyzing for ages, <Du Rourou> concluded, "You'd have to try to fail."

Seeing Xiao Jun nod too, Ding Sha felt a glimmer of anticipation herself. "Well... shall we try?"

<Du Rourou> excitedly messaged Tasty Rice back while Ding Sha pondered how best to prepare.

The news that wife would be livestreaming also went out, eliciting declarations of support from smitten fans—much to the neglected Xiao Jun's jealousy. The sour Xiao Jun thought of making dumplings every day.

The long-awaited stream day finally arrived. Ding Sha sat nervously before the camera.

"Um, hi everyone... I'm Leisurely Wind and Moon..."