His aged, cloudy eyes scanned Qin Huai up and down.
“You’re Qiuyue’s man, right?”
Qin Huai nodded slightly, his gaze calm yet wary, clearly having overheard their conversation.
Li Gensheng let out a satisfied smile, then looked at Li Qiuyue. “Qiuyue, Qin Huai is a good boy. You should cherish him.”
“This time, I’ll pay for the medicine, but you must cut ties completely with those shady people outside. You absolutely cannot let anyone bully Qin Huai.”
He spoke with earnest seriousness.
He couldn’t believe any man would tolerate a woman spending money on some random guy outside.
Though it was cold, there were still many people on the street, and Li Gensheng’s words drew their attention.
“Isn’t that right? A perfectly good soldier, and he’s been victimized like this!”
“I heard she just made Erni’s whole family miserable, and Gensheng even paid for her medicine. Kids really are a debt…”
Li Qiuyue didn’t care about others’ opinions. Hearing these accusations, she was about to retort when Zhaozhao spoke first:
“Grandpa, I saw it Mom paid for the medicine.”
Li Gensheng choked, frowning. “But I also gave 3.2 yuan, didn’t I?”
“The total medicine cost was thirty yuan. You gave 3.2, and you still dare say that?” Zhaozhao sighed dramatically, amusing the bystanders so much they laughed out loud.
Qin Huai tapped Zhaozhao’s nose and looked down at Li Qiuyue. “Thank you for braving the cold to get me the medicine.”
His gentle voice and the warmth radiating toward her made Li Qiuyue shiver involuntarily.
Goosebumps prickled all over her.
Qin Huai then looked at Li Gensheng with cool detachment. “Although your wife injured me, I said I wouldn’t pursue it, and I won’t. You don’t need to pay for this medicine anymore.”
“Wait… so his woman injures someone, making him spend thirty yuan on medicine, and he only pays 3.2 in compensation?”
“You don’t know Qiuyue came to confront them because of Erni’s kid…”
The bystanders’ conversation changed so quickly that Li Gensheng couldn’t keep up.
Hearing the constant mention of “3.2 yuan,” he couldn’t lift his head.
He had always cared about his reputation, and inwardly wished he could chop Li Qiuyue, Qin Huai, and that little bastard into pieces.
Outwardly, he could only glare at Li Qiuyue viciously. “Anyway, watch out for yourself!”
Then he strode away, as if that would escape the storm.
Li Qiuyue blinked. She was used to people gossiping to poke at her backbone, but this was the first time she’d felt the joy of someone else speaking up for her.
Even the elderly sitting by the roadside seemed less hostile now.
“Mom, look at the hat Uncle bought me! Isn’t it pretty?” Zhaozhao tugged at the little pompom on his hat, snapping Li Qiuyue back to reality.
Li Qiuyue cleared her throat. “Why are you two out here?”
“Uncle said that if I slept now, I wouldn’t sleep tonight, so he woke me up,” Zhaozhao pouted.
But he quickly cheered up again. “Mom, Uncle bought so many things! Peach cookies, White Rabbit candy, and even a chicken… chicken, Mom!”
“It’s a building block,” Qin Huai corrected, poking Zhaozhao’s little head.
Zhaozhao tilted his head, thought for a moment, then nodded firmly.
Watching their interaction, Li Qiuyue couldn’t help but smirk.
Zhaozhao caught her look of mock resentment immediately: “It’s just as good as what Mom bought me!”
“Too much cold wind outside close your little mouth!” Li Qiuyue reached out and pinched Zhaozhao’s mouth, reducing the rest of his words to muffled whimpers.
Seeing her flushed face, Qin Huai didn’t stop her “angry embarrassment” toward Zhaozhao.
Overhearing the pharmacy conversation, he understood why Li Qiuyue dared to boldly demand money, unafraid of trouble.
Seeing the behavior of Li Qiuyue’s parents, he sympathized with her experience.
Yet he increasingly felt Li Qiuyue wouldn’t raise Zhaozhao well.
She had already developed a “violence begets violence” temperament.
If Zhaozhao continued staying with her, he’d inevitably learn the same.
And he had come for Zhaozhao, after all.
Once he and Zhaozhao’s relationship improved, he would have to be honest with Li Qiuyue.
Each with their own thoughts, they returned home.
Back home, Li Qiuyue suddenly remembered she hadn’t accounted for Qin Huai bringing Zhaozhao out in the cold.
She took a breath and noticed the big cloth bag Qin Huai had brought was empty.
Instead, the table was now filled with food and supplies.
Even the noticeable piece of wood was already nailed onto the squeaky window frame.
The window frame had been broken for some time, and in the past couple of days, she had been too busy to notice yet he had.
Qin Huai had Zhaozhao go play with the building blocks.
He pulled out five “big unity” bills from his pocket. “Comrade Li Qiuyue, this is the living allowance I promised you.”
“This is for the medicine,” he added, producing three more “big unity” bills.
Li Qiuyue valued money and didn’t want to be indebted.
Even less did she want Zhaozhao to have any entanglement with him after being taken away.
Yet Li Qiuyue didn’t even glance at the money, stiffly refusing. “No need. It’s kind of you to let Zhaozhao stay, but I didn’t want you to stay here anyway.”
That said, she used her peripheral vision to watch his movements with the bills hardly subtle.
Qin Huai laughed in exasperation.
Finally, he stuffed the money into her hands. “Take it. I promised the living allowance, so I must follow through.”
His hands were large, cold, rough, and scarred.
Yet his grip on hers was firm.
Li Qiuyue belatedly recalled the muscles extending from his chest down to his waistband.
Her ears filled with Qin Huai’s words of thanks as he leaned close.
Her face instantly flamed.
No matter how much she disliked him, he was still a man.
“Mom! How can you not take the money Uncle gave you? It’s money!” Zhaozhao’s eyes sparkled.
Qin Huai looked at Zhaozhao in surprise, not expecting such a small child to speak like that.
Li Qiuyue snapped out of it, quickly withdrawing her hand and feigning cold indifference. “Put the money on the table, enough dawdling!”
She went to brew the medicine and package the wontons she planned to sell tomorrow, fully absorbed and forgetting Qin Huai and her own flustered embarrassment.
Left alone, Qin Huai sat inside with a taut expression what had he done to annoy Li Qiuyue?
And then there was Zhaozhao’s obsession with money…
Looks like he needed to prioritize taking Zhaozhao away.
Li Qiuyue’s business was breakfast, so she needed to leave early.
Zhaozhao’s health was fragile, and Li Qiuyue returned home at noon, so he was usually home alone.
Now with Qin Huai coming along, it was convenient they could go to town together.
When they went out, a few people were already sitting by the large millstone at the village entrance.
Among them was Liu Jinhua.
The plump aunt patted Liu Jinhua’s shoulder and winked: “See? Soldiers really have patience. Li Qiuyue caused a ruckus outside and brought back a bastard, and he still accepted him!”
Liu Jinhua snorted coldly, about to reply, but then noticed Qin Huai watching.
Meeting his sharp gaze, her words instinctively turned into a defense: “Don’t talk nonsense! Li Qiuyue went to town to work, she didn’t fool around with anyone.”
The aunt hadn’t noticed Qin Huai’s stare, and suspiciously glanced at Liu Jinhua wasn’t she usually the loudest? Why now acting timid?
Someone else nearby spoke, changing the topic: “Li Qiuyue’s future is looking bright. I hear these soldiers’ allowances are high. Saving someone from a flood earns a nice bonus too.”
“Ah, too bad when she got married her man was down on his luck, otherwise the bride price would have been huge thousands, plus the three big gifts!”
Liu Jinhua was startled by “thousands.”
But soon, a shadow fell over them.
A cheerful voice said, “Excuse me, are you talking about me?”