Chapter 115: Thank You
Chapter 115: Thank You
After the two families finished their lively dinner, the Jiang Xia’s family went home.
Great-Grandmother’s family also came over. Great-Grandmother and He Xinghuan came to help clean the fish, while Great-Grandfather and Zhou Yongguo helped tidy up the kitchen and the yard.
Zhou Mu led a few people in cleaning the fish, while Jiang Xia helped tidy up the kitchen.
It took everyone about an hour to clean up the kitchen and the yard.
By then, the fish had been cleaned, salted, and placed on drying racks to air out. Zhou Mu paid the helpers and saw them off, then closed the yard gate and went to take a shower.
She was quite exhausted after a day of hard work! Just then, Zhou Fu came out after his shower.
Zhou Chenglei prepared hot water for Jiang Xia, set up a reclining chair, and called her over to wash her hair.
He was about to help Jiang Xia wash her hair when a knock came at the yard gate. After a brief conversation, Zhou Chenglei returned and said to Jiang Xia, "I can’t help you wash your hair tonight. I need to visit my brother and pick up the bicycle from the production team. After you finish your shower, leave your clothes for me to wash when I get back."
"Okay," Jiang Xia replied.
Zhou Chenglei hurried out.
After washing her hair and taking a shower, it was already past nine o’clock.
Zhou Chenglei still hadn’t returned, and she wondered what had happened.
She yawned, feeling a bit sleepy, but remembered that she didn’t need to go fishing tomorrow and only had to meet Jill at the city dock at 7:30 AM.
She took out a book and started checking her translation.
Not long after, Zhou Chenglei returned. He showered quickly and then went back to the room. There, he saw her back hunched over a desk, diligently writing under the dim light. Her long hair flowed over her shoulders, and she looked so focused, gentle, beautiful, and enchanting...
Zhou Chenglei walked over, and Jiang Xia seemed to sense his presence and turned back with a soft smile, "You’re back? Why so late?"
Zhou Chenglei didn’t say anything but walked closer and lifted her into his arms.
He carried her to the bed and gently laid her down.
Propping himself up on the bed, he looked at her and called her name, "Jiang Xia."
Jiang Xia met his gentle, deep gaze and, smelling the fresh scent of his recent shower, softly replied, "Hm?"
"Thank you."
Jiang Xia was confused, "For what?"
Zhou Chenglei didn’t explain but gently lowered his head.
The night seemed especially long that night.
It left her feeling utterly drained.
As Jiang Xia drifted off to sleep, her last thought was about what had happened to him tonight.
Zhou Chenglei helped Jiang Xia clean her body, dressed her, and took care of her. Afterward, he cleaned the used tools and found one of them was broken.
He frowned, a bit worried, but calculated that the dangerous period had probably passed.
He threw it away.
Returning to the bed, he glanced at his watch; it was already past one.
He kissed her forehead and then lay down.
Jiang Xia subconsciously raised her hand to rub her forehead, then turned over and draped her limbs over him, snoring softly.
Zhou Chenglei couldn’t resist leaning in to kiss her again, then held her hand, intertwining their fingers, and closed his eyes.
He had gone to his brother’s house earlier because his nephew had asked him to persuade his brother to come out for a meal. His brother had overturned the dinner table upon returning home and locked himself in his room.
His brother had said he couldn’t go on living like this!
He said that if the couple wasn’t united, there was no point in continuing, and they would end up with no parents, no siblings, and no one left.
Zhou Chenglei thought back to the past.
He was very grateful to Jiang Xia, grateful that she had given him a chance, stayed, and was willing to live a good life with him.
He was grateful for how well she treated his parents and niece.
And he was even more grateful for how good she was to him.
At this moment, he thought of an ancient saying: To have a wife like this, what more could a man ask for?
The next morning, when Jiang Xia woke up, Zhou Chenglei was no longer beside her.
She reached under the pillow for her watch and saw it was 5:45 AM.
She sprang out of bed and ran to the wardrobe to find clothes to change into.
Zhou Chenglei pulled back the curtain and pushed the door open, only to see her standing in front of the wardrobe, looking for clothes.
Last night, he had casually put one of his shirts on her.
The shirt was long and loose on her, making her legs look straight, long, and glowing white.
It still bore the marks from last night.
His Adam’s apple moved as he quickly closed the door.
Jiang Xia turned around, "You go out first, I need to change clothes."
Zhou Chenglei didn't respond but stepped forward, took the clothes from her hands, held her waist, and pulled her into his embrace, his voice hoarse, "I'll help you."
Jiang Xia: "……"
It was already fifteen minutes later when the two of them left the room. Jiang Xia only had time to wash her face and brush her teeth, and they packed their breakfast to eat on the boat.
The dock was relatively quiet around six in the morning.
Most of the boats had already gone fishing, and the ones that had gone out at night had not yet returned.
The dock was sparsely populated, with Zhou Family's boat among those that remained.
Zhou Guohua had been waiting on the boat for two hours and couldn't help but say, "Wen Wan, they won't be going fishing today, will they? It's already six, everyone else has gone out!"
Wen Wan was translating an article from a science magazine, which was quite difficult. There were many words she didn't understand, and she had no dictionary to consult.
She said irritably, "Why are you in such a hurry? Wait a bit longer. If they still don't show up, we can go out later. Don't disturb me while I'm translating!"
Zhou Guohua didn't dare to speak after hearing this. He knew that Wen Wan was translating, and this thin book could earn fifty yuan.
It was said to be a foreign science magazine, filled with scientific knowledge. Wen Wan was truly amazing and very capable!
The men in the village were jealous that Zhou Chenglei had married an urban bride, with a good family background, educated, and beautiful.
However, Zhou Chenglei's wife was only a high school graduate. Once Wen Wan got into university, she would be far ahead of her.
Moreover, Wen Wan was very beautiful. She was the prettiest in the surrounding villages, though her skin wasn't as fair as Jiang Xia's, which was due to her hard labor.
Zhou Guohua felt happy every time he thought about his future wife being a college student, the first in the village, and everyone envying him.
The more he looked at Wen Wan, the more he liked her. He couldn't resist leaning in to kiss her cheek.
Caught off guard by the unexpected kiss, Wen Wan's face changed, and she slapped him, "What are you doing?!"
With a "slap," Zhou Guohua's face burned, feeling it swell. He looked at Wen Wan with disbelief.
How disgusting! Wen Wan wiped her face vigorously with her sleeve, angry and looking at Zhou Guohua, then met his shocked expression.
Wen Wan: "……"
She had forgotten, they were dating.
Wen Wan took a deep breath, suppressing her disgust and anger, and lowered her head, pretending to be shy, "What if someone sees us in public? What about my reputation? And we're just dating, these things should only happen after marriage. Normally… we can only hold hands."
Wen Wan felt she was right. In this era, people were still very conservative. Holding hands while dating was already the limit!
Even married couples wouldn't show much affection in public. Not everyone was as shameless as Jiang Xia, who would hug her husband's waist while riding a bicycle and even correspond with other men after marriage, despicable and low!
Zhou Guohua thought she was being a bit dramatic. Holding hands was for those who were just starting to date and didn't know each other well.
Moreover, he had seen couples hiding in the cornfields to kiss, and even more extreme behaviors.
Wen Wan felt it necessary to warn him, "I am a chaste person! I don't want to engage in overly inappropriate behavior before marriage. I plan to go to university, and if my reputation is ruined, it will be troublesome. I hope our relationship is emotional but chaste, noble! When you look at me, you don't just think about those things, right? That's desire, not love!"
Zhou Guohua became anxious and hurriedly said, "I didn't! I really like you, I promise, it won't happen again. You said after marriage, so it will be after marriage!"
That was more like it! At this moment, a few figures appeared on the road, and Wen Wan immediately recognized Zhou Chenglei and Jiang Xia. She said, "They're here! Let's go out first, don't let them recognize us, then follow them."
Last night, she had a dream again. Today, she must follow them closely and not let them discover her!
"Okay. I'll go start the boat." Zhou Guohua obediently went to start the boat.
(End of Chapter)
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