Chapter 62: Zhou Chenglei's Heart Skipped a Beat
Chapter 62: Zhou Chenglei’s Heart Skipped a Beat
After soothing Zhou Zhou, Jiang Xia sent her to take a bath while she continued to help salt the fish.
In the fall, the fish could be air-dried, but in the summer, it was better to salt them first before drying. Fortunately, the sun had been strong and the wind strong these past few days. If they hung the fish up at night to dry the surface, and then placed them on the roof tiles during the day, the heat would likely dry them in a day or two. If not, an extra day would definitely do the trick.
By nine o'clock in the evening, they were still busy hanging the fish. The bamboo poles were lined with rows of fish, creating a spectacular sight.
Jiang Xia was laying newspapers on the ground to catch the salt and blood dripping from the fish, and Zhou Chenglei was securing the edges with stones to prevent them from being blown away.
"Almost done," Zhou Chenglei said. "I'll finish up. You go take a bath. Didn’t you need to wash your hair?"
Jiang Xia was very particular about cleanliness and almost always washed her hair daily.
Zhou Mother added, "Yes, you should all go take a bath. You have to go out to sea tomorrow!"
Zhou Chenglei corrected, "We won’t be going out to sea tomorrow. I switched with my brother. Jiang Xia and I are going to the city."
Wen Wan’s eyes flicked to Zhou Chenglei. They were going to the city? Why? Was it about the household registration? Her gaze suddenly caught a circled area on the newspaper.
She was taken aback.
Zhou Mother said, "Well, go take a bath quickly. You’ve all been working hard all day. Xia, dry your hair a bit before you sleep, or you might get headaches when you’re older."
"Okay," Jiang Xia agreed, finishing the ground layout with Zhou Chenglei. With the hired help and Zhou Mother overseeing, she left to wash her hair and take a bath.
Zhou Chenglei poured water for Jiang Xia. "Let me wash your hair. It’ll be less tiring for you."
Jiang Xia glanced at the outsiders in the yard and refused, "No, you go give the money to Mother for the workers’ pay."
Zhou Chenglei had no choice but to return to the room to fetch the money.
Wen Wan had been observing Zhou Chenglei and Jiang Xia, thinking how Zhou Chenglei was a great husband and Zhou Mother a wonderful mother-in-law. She couldn’t let this opportunity slip by. Finding such a good man in this era was incredibly difficult.
After washing her hair and taking a bath, Jiang Xia returned to her room, avoiding the strong fish smell in the yard. She sat at her desk, fanning herself with a large palm fan to dry her hair. She had to wait until her hair was dry before going to bed.
But today had been exhausting. She had woken up at four in the morning and worked until nine at night. By the time she finished washing her hair and taking a bath, it was already ten. As she fanned herself, she couldn’t resist resting her head on the desk, intending to wait until her hair was dry before going to bed.
When Zhou Chenglei finished and returned from his bath, he found her asleep on the desk.
He touched her hair, which was already dry, and gently removed the fan from her hand, placing it on the table. Then, he carefully lifted her into his arms.
Jiang Xia was a deep sleeper, a result of working multiple jobs in her past life, which left her with too little sleep. Once she fell asleep, she would be deeply asleep. However, being lifted into the air woke her up, but after a quick glance at Zhou Chenglei, she closed her eyes and fell back asleep.
Zhou Chenglei walked to the bed, knelt on one knee, and carefully placed her on the inner side of the bed, keeping her a safe distance from the mosquito net.
As he was about to get up to fetch the fan, he noticed several mosquito bites on her white, tender arms and ankles, and even one on her face. Her skin was so fair that the bites stood out prominently.
She hadn’t even woken up from the bites, a clear sign of how exhausted she was.
He felt a mix of emotions.
He got off the bed and retrieved a box of mentholated oil from the drawer, then returned to apply it to her bites. He also applied it to the wound on her knee, which was almost healed and no longer needed white medicine.
After applying the ointment, Zhou Chenglei turned off the light and lay down.
In the dim room, he turned on his side and couldn’t resist leaning down to place a gentle kiss on her forehead.
Jiang Xia subconsciously scratched her forehead, then turned over, draping her arms and legs over Zhou Chenglei, and fell into a deep sleep.
Zhou Chenglei held her hand, thinking that rural life couldn’t compare to city life, and the life of a fisherman was risky and hard.
But he couldn’t bear to let her go.
That night, he thought a lot and took a long time to fall asleep.
It was the second time in twenty-nine years, after discovering his right ear was deaf, that he had so many thoughts.
The next day, before dawn, Jiang Xia woke up. Zhou Chenglei was already gone, as he would always go running unless he was out at sea.
When Jiang Xia stepped out of the room, Zhou’s mother had already prepared the porridge.
Zhou’s mother’s breakfast menu never changed—sweet potato porridge. But today, there were a few tender corn cobs and two boiled eggs added to the mix.
She said to Jiang Xia, “Take these corn cobs and eggs with you today when you go to the city. I’ve also filled two water flasks. Is that enough?”
Jiang Xia smiled and replied, “Yes, that’s enough.”
Zhou’s mother then cautioned, “Make sure to keep the money well-hidden. There are a lot of people on the bus, and you never know if there are pickpockets around.”
“Okay.”
Zhou’s mother continued to nag, “When you’re on the bus, keep a close eye on your belongings. If you get a seat, take it and don’t give it up. Otherwise, you might end up standing in the middle of the crowd. Go brush your teeth, wash your face, and eat breakfast. We need to leave early. Why hasn’t Chenglei come back from his run yet? Doesn’t he know we’re going on a long trip today? If he’s late, we’ll miss the bus.”
Just as Zhou’s mother finished speaking, Zhou Chenglei ran into the house, drenched in sweat.
Zhou’s mother glanced at him and said irritably, “Go take a shower and eat breakfast. Your running time is getting longer and longer. You’ve been waking up an hour earlier these past two days. Do you have too much energy to burn?”
Zhou Chenglei ignored his mother’s nagging, went to brush his teeth, and then fetched two buckets of water to take a shower.
After breakfast, Zhou Chenglei brought out an old 28-inch bicycle from the shed.
Jiang Xia held a small basket to carry their things.
Seeing Zhou Chenglei bring out the bicycle, she was surprised, “We’re riding a bicycle?”
She wanted to ask if the city was close enough to go by land, but the original Jiang Xia had been there before, so she didn’t voice her question.
“Yeah. The production team’s tractor isn’t available today,” Zhou Chenglei replied.
As for taking the bus, the last time he took her to the city by bus, it was summer, and the bus was crowded and smelly. She couldn’t handle it and ended up vomiting.
He also had a private reason: riding a bicycle meant they would be alone, with no one to disturb them.
“I’ll bring out the other bicycle then,” Jiang Xia said. Her dowry included two bicycles.
One of them was bought by Zhou Chenglei, but her parents had added a women’s bicycle, giving both to the couple.
“No need, just sit on the back of mine,” Zhou Chenglei said.
He pushed the bicycle out of the yard, mounted it, and placed one foot on the pedal while the other supported him on the ground.
At nearly six feet tall, he could easily handle the bicycle, which was difficult for most people to ride.
The trip to the city was long—about eighty kilometers to the outskirts, and a few more kilometers to the city center.
A round trip would be over a hundred kilometers, and she definitely couldn’t ride that far.
Zhou’s mother also thought the bus was unsafe and prone to theft: “Riding a bicycle is better. You won’t have to squeeze onto the bus, and it’s more convenient.”
There were no buses from the village to the city; they had to walk to the town to catch one. There were only two buses a day—one in the morning and one at noon.
Back then, there was no concept of overloading, and each bus was packed to the brim, with people squeezing in even when there was no more space.
This gave pickpockets the perfect opportunity. Zhou’s mother had once taken a bus and found her money missing from her pocket!
She was so upset that she couldn’t sleep for several nights.
Since then, she had a fear of taking buses and avoided them whenever possible.
Zhou Chenglei said to Jiang Xia, “Hop on!”
Fortunately, she wasn’t wearing a skirt today, so Jiang Xia climbed onto the back of the bicycle.
Zhou’s mother reminded them, “Be careful on the road and come back early.”
Once Jiang Xia was seated, Zhou Chenglei pedaled hard, and the bicycle started moving.
Zhou Chenglei was an excellent rider, and even though the village roads were bumpy, the bicycle remained relatively steady.
He had also attached a piece of wood to the bike’s rear rack the night before, making it more comfortable for Jiang Xia to sit.
However, the road conditions were terrible, especially after a heavy rain, leaving the entire route full of potholes. Even with his skill, the ride was still bumpy.
If they fell, getting hurt was a minor concern; the main issue was getting their clothes and shoes dirty.
Jiang Xia’s hands instinctively wrapped around his waist.
Zhou Chenglei’s heart skipped a beat.
(End of Chapter)
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