Chapter 270: What's So Funny?
Chapter 270: What's So Funny?
The boat gradually sailed deeper into the ocean, initially steered by Zhou Fu.
Zhou Chenglei and his teammates began organizing the food they brought on board.
Jiang Xia and three female comrades stood by, watching them at work.
The three female comrades were the wives of Zhou Chenglei's fellow soldiers.
Jiang Xia observed as Jiang Yang and the others stacked bag after bag of rice and flour neatly, and placed baskets of ingredients in an orderly manner. She found it pleasing to the eye; no wonder they were former soldiers.
"This boat is huge, about two stories tall, right?" Yang Mei exclaimed.
Jiang Xia thought for a moment and laughed, "Almost."
Pan Jinmei, Yang Bin's wife, looked at the clean and tidy arrangement, with various equipment in their designated places and fishing gear in perfect order. Even the deck under her feet was clean and refreshing, without a single fish scale or a hint of fishy smell. She laughed, "I thought fishing boats would be smelly and messy, but this one is so clean."
Feng Jiezhen, the wife of Zhang Jiayang, added, "It's a new fishing boat that has only been out to sea twice, so it's clean."
Yang Mei responded, "I think this is all thanks to Captain Zhou. Honestly, my husband, Jiang Yang, is very particular about hygiene. After marrying him, I was surprised to find that he's even more cleanliness-conscious than me. He says he developed these good habits because of Captain Zhou. He also mentioned that Captain Zhou is very strict, even specifying the direction in which toothbrushes should be placed, allowing no room for error! So, this ship's tidiness is definitely Captain Zhou's doing!"
Pan Jinmei vigorously nodded in agreement, "Yes, yes, yes, my husband, Yang, is the same! He's a big man who's even cleaner and tidier than me. He can't stand dirty shoes or unbuttoned shirts! The shoes at home are arranged in a straight line, all thanks to him. He also says he picked up these habits from Captain Zhou."
Feng Jiezhen smiled and chimed in, "Even the bed sheets! Before marriage, I would just fold them casually. But my husband, Zhang, couldn't stand the way I folded them! He made me practice folding bed sheets for a month! I almost went crazy! I wanted to kick him out of bed!"
As the three women laughed and chatted, they turned to Jiang Xia, "Xia, is Captain Zhou this strict at home too?"
Jiang Xia smiled and nodded, "His habits are indeed very good, and he keeps everything neatly organized."
However, Zhou Chenglei didn't impose such standards on her, and he never asked her to do anything specific. If she didn't arrange things as neatly as he preferred, he would adjust them himself without asking her to change.
But Jiang Xia was naturally a very disciplined and organized person. Many times, after Zhou Chenglei adjusted something, she would follow his preferences the next time without him even needing to ask.
The items she arranged would be returned to their original positions by Zhou Chenglei, not a bit out of place.
Every couple goes through a period of adjustment, so in the process of integrating into each other's lives and becoming part of each other's world, there is sweetness but also inevitable pain.
However, when one accommodates and the other cooperates, this pain is significantly reduced, and even the pain can become sweet.
But if only one side accommodates and the other doesn't know how to cooperate, the relationship remains in a state of pain or even becomes more painful, making it difficult to last.
Fortunately, she and Zhou Chenglei had always been in a state where one accommodated and the other cooperated to make adjustments, so Jiang Xia felt very content.
As the women teased their men, the men finished arranging the food and took their wives to see where they would sleep.
The boat had a cabin for the crew to sleep, with a separate room for the captain and a shared space for the rest of the crew.
Each crew member had a small bed, just enough for one person to lie down.
Now that there were female passengers on board, the cabin was offered to them, while the men slept on the floor in the bridge or on the deck outside.
(End)
Zhou Chenglei had his own room, and he led Jiang Xia inside.
The small room had a bed about one meter wide, barely enough for one person, a narrow passageway just wide enough for a single person to pass through, and a desk the same width as the passageway. That was all there was.
Jiang Xia had seen it before.
The bed wasn't made, and the futon that Zhou Fu had slept on previously was taken home to be washed after he got off the boat.
Zhou Chenglei laid out the futon he had brought. The bed was a bit high because there was a cabinet underneath, and after making the bed, he carried Jiang Xia and sat her on it, saying, "You sit here, and I'll put away the things."
The cabinet under the bed was for storing clothes and daily necessities.
Since they would reach Suicheng the next morning, there was no need to unpack their clothes. Zhou Chenglei only took out two towels from his luggage and hung them on a rope by the small window. He then took out a toothbrush and a cup, placing them on the desk.
Jiang Xia watched as Zhou Chenglei carefully placed the toothbrush heads together, the two toothbrushes seeming to kiss each other, and she couldn't help but laugh.
She remembered how, in the beginning, every time she woke up and brushed her teeth, she would find that her and Zhou Chenglei's toothbrushes and mouthwash cups were always arranged facing the same direction, very neatly, with the cup handles and toothbrushes in a straight line, like soldiers in formation.
She knew it was Zhou Chenglei who arranged them, as if he had a touch of OCD.
Later, when they were truly together, she would intentionally mess up the arrangement of the toothbrushes and mouthwash cups, pressing the toothbrush heads together so that they resembled a couple leaning their foreheads against each other.
From then on, their toothbrushes were always arranged in this way, with the heads touching, in a very intimate position.
Sometimes, when he was particularly affectionate with her at night, she would intentionally rearrange the toothbrushes the next day, either placing the heads apart, facing away from each other like an angry couple, or with the heads on opposite sides, as if they were distant from each other.
Whenever he saw this, he would rearrange them, insisting that the toothbrush heads touch.
This time, with only one mouthwash cup, he couldn't create the forehead-touching position, so he simply let the toothbrushes 'kiss' each other!
It wasn't just the toothbrushes; the towels were the same. The two bath towels they used were always tightly stuck together, and if there was even a slight gap between them, Zhou Chenglei would pull them back together!
The two pairs of shoes by the bed were also placed closely together.
Zhou Chenglei was like a man who had discovered a new world, as if opening the door to a new realm. As long as it was their personal belongings, he would arrange them in pairs, side by side, as if they were embracing each other.
This man could be so childish at times, and so adorable!
After putting away the toothbrush, Zhou Chenglei turned around and saw Jiang Xia's smiling face. He sat down beside her and asked, "What are you smiling about?"
Jiang Xia pointed to the 'kissing' toothbrushes, "Smiling at how cute and childish you are!"
Zhou Chenglei raised his eyebrows.
He admitted to being cute, but he refused to acknowledge being childish.
Then he showed her through his actions that he was a mature man, not childish but cute.
He could love her in a 'cute' way.
Zhou Chenglei started from her lips, deeply savoring her sweetness, his actions strong yet gentle.
Jiang Xia couldn't keep up with such intensity.
It had been over ten days since his injury, and they had only done it once, due to her menstrual cycle.
After such a long thirst, even a tiny spark could start a wildfire.
However, the kiss didn't last long. Zhou Chenglei restrained himself and pulled away from Jiang Xia's lips, gazing at her flushed face. He kissed her again and said in a low voice, "Dad is calling to set the nets."
Zhou Fu's voice was so loud that even someone with impaired hearing like him could hear it.
Jiang Xia also heard it and blushed, pushing him away, "Go out quickly!"
If Zhou Fu came over and knocked on the door, it would be embarrassing!
Zhou Fu would definitely call her to help with the nets.
(End of Chapter)
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