Chapter 102: He Wanted to Give Her a Stable Happiness
Chapter 102: He Wanted to Give Her a Stable Happiness
After ten minutes, over a dozen people lay on the ground, unable to get up. Some had dislocated shoulders, while others had dislocated feet, and their faces were swollen like pigs' heads, not one spared.
Seeing that they were still young, Zhou Fu couldn't help but say, "Why don't you study hard and find a decent job? Why do you let others use you as their pawns and become thugs? Today, you're lucky we're being kind. Otherwise, we'd send you to the police station, and you'd have a criminal record. What future would you have then?"
Zhou Chenglei didn't say anything more after the fight and didn't bother to lecture them.
Everyone has their foolish moments when they're young, and boys of this age won't listen to teachings!
He walked over to Jiang Xia.
"Husband, you're so skilled!" Jiang Xia sat at the back of the bicycle with a faint smile, her eyes sparkling with laughter.
Zhou Chenglei met her gaze, and his heart felt like a dragonfly had gently touched its surface, creating a ripple of emotion. He couldn't help but pat her head, "Not bad, my little wife."
He knew she had some self-defense skills, probably taught by Jiang Fu.
Jiang Xia giggled at being called "little wife," "I only know one move."
"I'll teach you more later." Her body was too weak, prone to fevers, so Zhou Chenglei decided to take her with him for morning exercises from now on.
He held the bicycle's handlebars with one hand and put his other arm around her shoulder, reminding Jiang Xia to sit tight. Then, he gently kicked the stand and pushed the bicycle, engaging the kickstand.
With his long legs, he effortlessly mounted the bicycle, turned back to Zhou Fu, and said, "Dad, let's go home!"
Zhou Chenglei pedaled hard, and the bicycle started moving.
"Okay!" Zhou Fu responded and couldn't resist saying to the boys on the ground, "Dare to block my son's path? Do you know who he is? Do you know that when he was your age, he was already on the battlefield, bombing two enemy warplanes with artillery fire? Young men, if you're so good at fighting, why not serve your country instead of causing trouble?"
Zhou Fu whistled as he rode his bicycle past the boys lying on the ground, feeling triumphant.
Did they not know that his son could take on a hundred enemies on the battlefield?
Only when the two bicycles were far away did the boys on the ground dare to speak, "Who is that guy? Is he really that powerful?"
Bombing two enemy warplanes? That sounded incredibly impressive!
And there were twelve of them against one man, yet they couldn't even touch the hem of his clothes.
They considered themselves invincible fighters in this area!
"He must be the King of Soldiers! We have soldiers from our village too, but none as skilled as him! We really kicked the iron plate this time!"
Admiration and envy filled the eyes of the dozen or so boys.
"Let's go find Guo Laoban and report this," the leader of the boys said, watching the distant bicycles with a thoughtful look in his eyes.
"No, my foot hurts so badly. It hurts with every step. Shouldn't we go see a bone setter first?"
"My hand hurts too; it's dislocated!"
...
Zhou Chenglei rode the bicycle for a while, then stopped. Jiang Xia was watching the silhouettes of the boys behind them, supporting each other. She was puzzled when he suddenly stopped, "What's wrong?"
"Did you forget something?"
Jiang Xia thought for a moment, puzzled, "What?"
Zhou Fu approached them at that moment, and he heard his son say, "Hold on to me."
Jiang Xia: "..."
She instinctively glanced back at Zhou Fu, who was catching up.
Zhou Chenglei added, "I'm going to speed up."
Zhou Fu smiled, understanding the situation, "Hold on tight, don't fall off."
Jiang Xia: "..."
...
By the time the three of them returned home, it was already dark. Zhou Mu had been worriedly pacing in and out of the house several times before she finally spotted their silhouettes.
"Why are you so late? Did you buy it?" Zhou Mu couldn't help but ask.
Zhou Fu pushed the bicycle into the yard, laughing, "It's a long story, we'll talk about it later. I'm starving, let me eat first."
Zhou Mu hurried to get the food, not having eaten herself, waiting for their return. She only let Zhou Zhou eat first, as children shouldn't go hungry.
Zhou Chenglei helped Jiang Xia off the bicycle and then pushed the bike away.
During dinner, Zhou Fu vividly recounted the events at the shipyard.
Zhou Mu's eyes widened in disbelief. She couldn't believe it: eighteen thousand? Her son had bought a fishing boat worth eighteen thousand that could venture into the open sea! And her daughter-in-law, who worked as a translator at the shipyard, had managed to get a discount of five hundred?
Zhou Mu was so excited that her hand holding the chopsticks trembled, and she struggled to serve the dishes.
After allowing Zhou Mu to calm down for a moment, Zhou Fu cautioned, "Don't tell anyone about this yet. Wait until the boat returns before saying anything!"
Zhou Mu rolled her eyes. "Do you think I'm like you?"
There were still a few thousand left to save, and in two months, it was uncertain if they could make enough.
Zhou Mu's heart sank; they had never saved this much money in their entire lives! If they couldn't come up with the money in time, and the news got out, she didn't know what the villagers would say. Moreover, keeping quiet about important matters was crucial. Most of the time, when things were shouted out early, they didn't turn out well.
...
That night, Jiang Xia translated until 9:30 PM, leaving about a quarter of the work remaining. She put away the book, planning to finish it the next day while out at sea and then review it in the evening. The day after tomorrow, when they went to the shipyard to pay the deposit, she could also deliver the book to the publishing house.
Jiang Xia put away the book and took out the money box, counting all the money. Excluding the three thousand she had given out today, they now had eleven thousand eight hundred and seventy, including the red envelopes from Jiang Fu, Jiang Mu, and Jiang Dong. The red envelopes from Jiang Fu and Jiang Mu contained two hundred yuan, and Jiang Dong's had one hundred. She wondered if the scholarship was of a similar amount.
After counting the money, Jiang Xia went to the toilet, and Zhou Chenglei, who had just finished hanging the laundry, accompanied her.
He always accompanied her to the toilet at night, even though they were practically inseparable. But Jiang Xia still felt embarrassed, trying to be as quiet as possible when relieving herself, not wanting him to hear.
Jiang Xia longed for a new house so that she wouldn't need his company during her nightly trips to the toilet.
Jiang Xia also thought about the big ship they would have in two months. Yes, a new house wasn't far off either! After washing up, the couple returned to the room. Zhou Chenglei closed the door and turned to see the books neatly put away on the desk. His eyebrows lifted slightly, and with his long arms, he pulled her into his embrace. His voice was husky as he asked, "Waiting for me?"
Jiang Xia was about to set up the mosquito net when she was pulled into his arms, trapped. Their foreheads touched, and as they gazed at each other, their breaths mingled. Her heart skipped a beat, and she denied it, "No way!"
"Why didn't you want to buy that ship today?" Jiang Xia tried to change the subject.
Zhou Chenglei seemed dissatisfied with her response, his eyes darkening. He tightened his arm around her and replied, "If we buy it, the next two months will undoubtedly be more financially challenging. I don't want you to live in a dilapidated house or have to scrimp and save."
He wanted to provide her with a stable and happy life.
Jiang Xia's heart warmed, and she hugged his neck. "Although a new house would be better, I don't find our current situation bitter. It's only two months of financial strain, and I can endure that much. Besides, don't you think that with a big ship, our future will be more promising and motivating?"
Zhou Chenglei had never felt hopeful about the future, but at this moment, he too felt that their future was full of promise.
Because he had her, and she was his motivation.
He wanted to give her stability, happiness, and a life better than anyone else's.
"Mhm," he murmured, lowering his head to capture her lips.
That night, he was tender yet not so tender.
Jiang Xia couldn't hold herself back in this embrace.
She almost drowned in that deep and surging power once again.
What a bummer, this chapter got censored again. Time to revise!
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
