Although the moment he saw Ranran, he had been deeply attracted to her, and although he had complete confidence that he could take care of her for the rest of her life and never let her suffer any grievances, today was still only their first meeting. He still hoped that, as a young woman, Wen Ranran would be more cautious—wait until his actions proved that he truly was someone worthy of spending her life with before considering taking the next step.
After all, for a woman, marriage was equivalent to choosing a second life for herself!
That was what Lu Shi’an thought in his heart.
But what came out of Lu Shi’an’s mouth was:
“I do!”
The response was loud, powerful, and full of conviction. Wen Ranran could even feel the vibration in his chest beside her.
So this was the physique of a soldier!
Wen Ranran subconsciously looked toward Lu Shi’an’s nose. His nose bridge was high and sharp, the lines as clean and sculpted as if carved by a knife—handsome yet resolute. Suddenly recalling a rather risqué joke about men’s noses, her cheeks instantly flushed bright red, and she lowered her head awkwardly.
Lu Shi’an thought he had acted too rashly and upset her, and he immediately felt annoyed with himself. Normally, he was steady and dependable, capable of remaining calm even amid gunfire and bullets. Yet for some reason, whenever he faced Ranran, he always acted like an inexperienced fool!
Taking two deep breaths, he solemnly raised his hand in a military salute toward Wen Ranran.
“Comrade Wen Ranran, I am formally applying to marry you. If you are willing, I will notify my parents today and submit a marriage application to the military immediately.
Please rest assured that after marriage, all matters big and small in our home will be decided by you. I will be responsible for obeying orders.
My salary is more than enough to support a family. If in the future you wish to continue studying, improve yourself, or go out to work, I will support you wholeheartedly. And if you wish to stay home and rest, then I will become your strongest support.
Please approve my application!”
Wen Ranran had to admit that one saying was absolutely true—
A man looked incredibly handsome when he was serious!
She smiled brilliantly.
“Then it’s settled, Lu Shi’an. I’ll be relying on you from now on.”
“Guaranteed to complete the mission!”
Now that they had settled their marriage plans, they were nearly at the end of the road and preparing to head back when suddenly a black pig with manure smeared all over its head burst through a fence and charged straight toward them.
Lu Shi’an reacted instantly. He wrapped an arm around Wen Ranran and pulled her aside just in time as the enormous breeding boar thundered past the very spot where they had been standing moments before.
Wen Ranran’s heart pounded wildly. She had heard stories before—ferocious breeding boars could even rip open a grown man’s stomach alive!
Lu Shi’an gently patted her back and softly comforted her a few times, though dark emotions churned beneath his black eyes.
He had clearly heard something suddenly appear and frighten the pigs in the sty, causing them to leap over the fence and escape.
After a moment’s thought, Lu Shi’an said to the still-shaken Wen Ranran:
“Ranran, wait here for a moment. I’ll go take a look.”
Though Wen Ranran also wanted to know what was happening, her body had not fully recovered yet. If something really went wrong, she didn’t want to hold Lu Shi’an back.
She swallowed nervously.
“Then be careful. I’ll go call someone.”
Wen Ranran immediately ran toward the security office. Only after her figure disappeared into the distance did Lu Shi’an casually pick up a stick from the ground and head toward the pigsty.
Inside the pigsty, chaos reigned.
Several terrified sows crashed frantically into everything around them. Every time Jiang Yue managed to poke her head out through the hole, powerful pig hooves stomped her right back down again.
She tried once—stomped back down.
Tried again—stomped back down again.
Her head was literally kicked into several swollen lumps by pig hooves!
Unable to do anything else, she could only stick her rear into the air and maintain an utterly humiliating posture while bitterly waiting for an opportunity to crawl out.
But the pigsty smelled absolutely horrific.
The factory’s supply department only cleaned it once every half month, and thick piles of pig manure had accumulated everywhere. The stench was unbelievably foul, enough to make one’s eyes sting shut. Jiang Yue had already dry-heaved several times from the smell blasting straight into her skull. If she hadn’t kept thinking about Zhou Musheng, she absolutely could not have endured such inhuman torture!
Just endure a little longer.
As long as she could meet Zhou Musheng and marry him successfully, her good life would soon begin.
Jiang Yue silently encouraged herself in her heart, even feeling moved by her own devotion.
Finally, the cursed pigs seemed to calm down slightly. Jiang Yue held her breath and struggled upward through the hole in one burst of effort.
Yet the instant she poked her head out, someone grabbed her by the shoulder and yanked her upward. Her arm was twisted behind her back, and her face smashed directly into the filthy, rotting pig manure at point-blank range!
“Ahhh! Let go of me! It stinks! Let go!”
Jiang Yue screamed in collapse, so disgusted she nearly vomited up yesterday’s dinner.
Lu Shi’an’s expression remained cold and indifferent. He completely ignored her and simply carried her out of the pigsty as easily as lifting a chicken.
Anyone secretly crawling out of a pigsty like this was either a bandit or a thief. Best to hand her straight over to the police.
Just as Lu Shi’an dragged her out, Wen Ranran arrived with the factory security team. Behind them followed a huge group of workers armed with sticks and shovels.
These people had all rushed over after hearing someone outside shouting about catching a thief during the mixer. Zhou Musheng, wearing glasses, was among them as well.
Looking at the filthy thief sprawled on the ground, Zhou Musheng’s eyes flashed with disgust.
Everyone was extremely agitated.
“Where’s the thief?! Where’s the thief?! Daring to steal from the pharmaceutical factory? We’ll beat you so badly even your parents won’t recognize you!”
People in this era treated the collective as their own home. Anyone stealing collective property was basically stealing from their own family!
How could they tolerate someone stealing from their home?
The last person caught stealing from the factory had eight teeth knocked out before being handed over to the police!
The crowd angrily rushed over, only to discover that the thief dragged out of the pigsty was actually a woman—black and blue, covered from head to toe in pig manure.
Honestly, there was no need for them to beat her anymore. Even her own mother probably wouldn’t recognize her now.
Everyone widened their eyes in confusion. Wen Ranran also opened her eyes slightly wider, because she vaguely felt this thief looked strangely familiar.
But no matter how hard she stared, she simply couldn’t tell where the woman’s eyes or nose even were anymore!
Had Lu Shi’an hit her a little too hard? Would he get criticized for this?
Wen Ranran quietly stepped forward a little, trying to shield some of the evidence for him. But after taking just two steps, the overwhelming stench from the thief blasted straight into her face, and she immediately retreated again.
Forget it, forget it.
If he got criticized, then so be it. It wasn’t like Lu Shi’an would lose a piece of flesh over it. Catching a pig thief was far more merit than fault anyway.
Noticing her little movements, Lu Shi’an found it rather amusing.
His wife was protective of her own people, but also delicate and pampered. She would need careful care in the future.
As the crowd murmured among themselves, Director Chen from the Production Department stepped forward to examine the captured Jiang Yue. He found it unbelievable that a lone woman would sneak into the factory to steal pigs.
His tone turned stern and authoritative as he pointed at Jiang Yue and demanded:
“The pharmaceutical factory walls are this high. How exactly did you get inside? And do you have any accomplices?”