While the doctor
at the clinic
was cleaning Zhou Chenglei's wound, he didn't even blink, but Jiang Xia couldn't help but look away.
Zhou Chenglei had been watching Jiang Xia closely, and seeing this, he said, "Why don't you wait for me outside?"
Jiang Xia turned and glanced at him.
Zhou Chenglei: "..."
Forget it, he'd better not say anything!
The doctor cleaned the wound while saying, "The wound is too deep, and if it's a sailfish sting, the wound inside will be very narrow. You need a tetanus shot to prevent infection and the need for IV fluids. You might have a fever tonight or tomorrow, and you've lost quite a bit of blood, so I suggest you stay in the hospital for observation for a day."
"No need, I'll go home..."
Jiang Xia glanced at him.
Zhou Chenglei: "Okay! Doctor, if you say I should be hospitalized, I'll be hospitalized. If you say how many days, I'll stay for that many days; if you say what injections, I'll get those; if you say what medicine, I'll take that. I'll actively cooperate with the doctor's treatment!"
The doctor was very satisfied!
He liked obedient patients the most.
Jiang Xia was also very satisfied!
Jiang Xia continued, "Doctor, give him all the injections you think are necessary, like nutritional injections, tetanus shots, and rabies vaccines!"
Zhou Chenglei: "..."
The doctor couldn't help but laugh: "Rabies vaccines are for bites or scratches from dogs or other animals."
A nurse next to the doctor also laughed: "Fish usually don't carry the rabies virus."
Jiang Xia: "I suspect he was bitten by a dog or scratched by other animals before and didn't get vaccinated!"
Zhou Chenglei: "..."
He had indeed been bitten by a dog, but that was many years ago!
Jiang Xia could tell from his expression: "Yes, he absolutely must get vaccinated! " Zhou
Chenglei nodded: "Yes, I've been bitten by a dog before." How many boys who grew up in the village haven't been bitten by cats or dogs?
But he's probably the only one who got a rabies vaccine! He'd not only
been bitten by dogs and scratched by cats, but when he was a
child, he'd caught mice and snakes in the fields and been bitten by them!
Besides that, he'd been stung by wasps, bees, and crickets.
He'd been bitten by fish, shrimp, and crabs the most, so why would he need a shot...
Oh well, he'll get vaccinated!
Whatever she said went.
Who could blame her? Her gaze was as powerful as an atomic bomb!
After the doctor applied medicine and bandaged Zhou Chenglei's wound, they were moved to a ward.
Jiang Xia glanced at the sky, then at her watch; it was already past six.
Worried that the shops outside would close in the dark and there wouldn't be anything to eat, she said, "You lie here and rest, I'll go buy some food."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Chenglei immediately got out of bed: "I'll go with you."
Jiang Xia gave him another glare.
Zhou Chenglei sighed helplessly: "...I injured my shoulder, not my leg."
He had even pulled up a net full of fish after his injury.
This injury was really nothing!
"Lie down! Moving around too much will make you sweat, which is bad for your wound. I'll just go to that seafood noodle shop we ate at last time, I'll be right back."
Zhou Chenglei could only nod.
Jiang Xia hurriedly left.
A minute after she left, Zhou Chenglei quickly got out of bed and followed her out.
As Jiang Xia walked out of the ward and passed the operating room, she saw Wen Wan and Zhou Bingqiang's family.
Jiang Xia also noticed the bloodstains on Zhou Bingqiang's body.
The operating room's soundproofing was probably poor; loud cries of pain could be heard coming from inside.
"Doctor, it hurts, be gentle, be gentle..."
Jiang Xia recognized Zhou Guohua's voice.
So Zhou Guohua was also stung by a sailfish?
What a coincidence?
Jiang Xia didn't dwell on it and hurried out.
Zhou Bingqiang, seeing Jiang Xia, asked with concern, "Is A-Lei alright?"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Xia replied, "It's nothing. Who's inside? What happened?"
Jiang Xia asked politely.
They were all from the same village, and he was from Zhou's father's generation, so it wasn't appropriate to ignore him.
"It's Guohua. He was also stung by a sailfish, and he has three bloody holes in his body!" Zhou Bingqiang felt a chill
run down his spine when he thought about the scene. "Then remember to get a tetanus shot from the doctor. I'm going out to buy some food, otherwise the shops will all be closed soon." Jiang Xia didn't want to say much more and left after saying this.
Wen Wan watched Jiang Xia's departing figure, lost in thought.
She was on her way home for the National Day holiday, but unexpectedly encountered the village tractor halfway there, carrying the bloodied Zhou Guohua to the town's health center. As his wife, she naturally had to come along.
She asked Zhou Bingqiang, "Zhou Chenglei was also stung by a sailfish?"
"Yes, he was stung by that fish too. We've dragged him into this." Zhou Bingqiang felt embarrassed.
Wen Wan looked at him in surprise.
Zhou Bingqiang gave a brief explanation.
Zhou Guohua had just caught a sailfish, and the moment it was pulled ashore, it flew straight at him!
Zhou Guohua reacted quickly and dodged it.
The sailfish fell back into the water.
But little did he expect that sailfish would have a temper!
It flew back up after a while.
This time, Zhou Guohua couldn't dodge and was stung.
Instinctively, he flung the fish away, sending it back into the sea.
A little while later, it flew up again.
And this time, it wasn't one, but two!
Two sailfish! Who would have thought?
Sailfish are known for their speed and ferocity!
With so many flying up at once, and Zhou Guohua checking his wounds, he was stung again!
And this time, it was two bloody gashes!
He grabbed the tails of the two sailfish, trying to throw them onto the boat to kill them, but he missed, and they fell back into the water.
Zhou Bingqiang, fearing the sailfish would continue their pursuit, quickly sped the boat away. Sure enough,
the two sailfish leaped out of the water again, chasing after him.
They escaped injury only because the boat veered slightly off course.
However, for some reason, the two sailfish relentlessly pursued them.
In the chaos, Zhou Bingqiang somehow steered his boat towards Zhou Chenglei's boat.
Their boat was moored there, unoccupied.
Zhou Chenglei and Zhou Chengxin had just gone into the sea to feed the fish.
Zhou Bingqiang glanced at them and quickly steered away.
Zhou Chenglei and Zhou Chengxin had just finished feeding the fish when they saw two more fish rapidly approaching. They quickly climbed back onto the boat.
Just as they reached the boat, one of the fish swam towards Zhou Chengxin.
Zhou Chenglei pulled Zhou Chengxin aside, but he couldn't dodge the next one that flew up, only managing to avoid a fatal wound.
Zhou Bingqiang briefly explained to Wen Wan, "It's my fault too. If I hadn't driven that way, nothing would have happened."
Wen Wan reassured her, "That's not exactly causing trouble. There was no one on the boat when you drove over, and you drove away quickly. It wasn't intentional."
Just then, she saw Zhou Chenglei approaching.
Wen Wan: "..."
Zhou Bingqiang quickly said, "Chenglei, are you alright? I'm so sorry about this. I'll pay your medical bills."
Zhou Chenglei replied calmly, "I lost too much blood and need to be hospitalized. I'll trouble you to pay the medical bills."
After saying that, he walked away.
He was planning to ask the doctor to prescribe more health supplements for Jiang Xia to take care of.
Jiang Xia walked out of the health center and saw Zhou Chengxin and his mother arriving on bicycles.
They brought food and clothes.
Zhou's mother asked Jiang Xia, "What did the doctor say?"
Jiang Xia smiled and said, "It's nothing, the wound has been bandaged, but they're worried about infection, so he needs to stay in the hospital for a day. I'll stay with him."
Zhou's mother's expression changed slightly upon hearing about hospitalization: "I'll stay!"
Hospitalization isn't serious?
"No need, I'll stay. It's only for one day; I'll go back tomorrow."
Since Zhou's mother had brought food, Jiang Xia led them back.
Jiang Xia returned to the ward. Zhou Chenglei was lying comfortably in bed. He greeted Zhou's mother and Zhou Chengxin.
Seeing that he looked alright, Zhou's mother felt relieved.
Jiang Xia glanced at him, and Zhou Chenglei smiled at her.
Jiang Xia: "..."
"What's wrong? Did you just go out?"
Usually, that kind of smile means something's wrong!
"..."
"No!" Zhou Chenglei realized Jiang Xia had the ability to be a scout!
Why was she so perceptive?
Just then, the nurse came in with the IV fluid: "Where did you go? We couldn't find you to give you the injection."
Zhou Chenglei: "..."
Jiang Xia looked at Zhou Chenglei.
Zhou Chenglei had a sudden inspiration!
"The toilet."
"Going to the toilet!"
Jiang Xia rolled her eyes.
The nurse didn't pursue the matter and gave Zhou Chenglei the injection, saying, "It's getting dark, the patient needs to rest, only one person can stay to take care of him, the others should
leave as soon as possible." Jiang Xia decided to settle the score later, she said to Zhou's mother and Zhou Chengxin, "Mom, brother, A-Lei is fine now. It's dark and the road is hard to walk, you should go back! I
'll stay here with him." Zhou Chengxin said, "I'll stay!"
Zhou Chenglei: "No need, you should all go back!"
Jiang Xia: "No need, he won't listen to the doctor if I don't stay. Mom, brother, you should go back!"
Zhou Chenglei: "..."
Zhou's mother smiled at her youngest son's helpless look of being tamed: "Then we'll go back."
So Jiang Xia successfully stayed, and Zhou's mother and Zhou Chengxin left.
Jiang Xia saw them out and bought a washbasin, two towels, a toothbrush, a kettle, and an enamel mug from a small shop next to the clinic.
Back in the ward, Jiang Xia took out the lunchbox to feed Zhou Chenglei
. Zhou Chenglei said, "You eat too, I can do it myself."
Otherwise, by the time she finished feeding him, the food would be cold.
He wasn't really that weak, and he could eat on his own.
Jiang Xia ignored him, scooped up a spoonful of food, and fed it to him.
His arm was on an IV drip, and his shoulder was injured; any movement of his arm would probably hurt.
Jiang Xia knew he wasn't afraid of pain, but not being afraid of pain didn't mean he wouldn't feel it.
Zhou Chenglei was forced to eat a bite.
After swallowing, he took the lunchbox from Jiang Xia on the bedside table and asserted, "You eat too. You feed me a bite, then you eat a bite yourself."
Jiang Xia didn't object, scooping up a spoonful of food, eating it herself, and then scooping up another spoonful and feeding it to him.
Sharing a lunchbox, a smile appeared in Zhou Chenglei's eyes as he obediently let her feed him.
A touch of warmth crept into the otherwise chilly hospital room.
Wen Wan accompanied Zhou Guohua, whose wounds had already been bandaged, into the room and witnessed this heartwarming scene.
Wen Wan paused.
One lunchbox was empty; Jiang Xia put it down, took out a second, opened it, and continued feeding Zhou Chenglei, without even glancing at the two of them.
There were no curtains separating the two beds in the hospital, offering absolutely no privacy.
Wen Wan helped Zhou Guohua lie down on the adjacent bed, and while the nurse came to give him an injection, she took the opportunity to go out and buy food.
Jiang Xia continued feeding Zhou Chenglei.
Today's meal included shrimp, fish, crab meat, crab roe, and green vegetables.
Zhou's mother had already prepared the shrimp, crab, and fish, and cut the green vegetables into pieces, making them ready to eat.
Zhou Chenglei urged Jiang Xia to eat more meat. He was used to eating more rice and less vegetables, while Jiang Xia preferred vegetables and ate less rice.
Jiang Xia said, "Eat more, it'll help you replenish your blood!"
Zhou's mother had prepared a lot; this meal was probably for her, with very little rice and a lot of vegetables.
The previous meal had more rice and less vegetables.
The aroma wafted to Zhou Guohua next door, who was starving and had lost a lot of blood, making him even hungrier.
The nurse, an older one, finished giving Zhou Guohua an injection and teased Zhou Chenglei, "Your wife is really good at taking care of people; you married a treasure!"
Zhou Chenglei rarely smiled at strangers: "Yes."
The nurse paused for a moment, then couldn't help but laugh.
Jiang Xia: "..."
Wen Wan returned just then, having bought some pastries and biscuits instead of rice.
It was almost completely dark outside. Except for the small shop next to the hospital, all the other shops were probably closed. Too lazy to look, she bought some biscuits instead.
She gave them to Zhou Guohua: "I couldn't find any food, eat these first."
The nurse frowned: "The patient has lost too much blood; this isn't enough nutrition. Remember to prepare some blood-replenishing food for him tomorrow. Didn't you see the patient next door, whose injuries aren't as severe as your husband's, is eating so well? It's not even seven o'clock yet; it's not like we can't find a restaurant."
Wen Wan's face darkened. Zhou Chenglei was eating food brought by his family, not bought by Jiang Xia.
Zhou Guohua smiled: "It's okay, I like biscuits." He
ate the biscuits dryly.
After feeding him, Jiang Xia poured Zhou Chenglei a glass of water.
The nurse then said to Wen Wan: "Remember to pour some water for your husband to drink, to replenish his fluids."
Wen Wan: "..."
"Okay!" There were no water cups or kettles, so Wen Wan had to go out to the small shop near the entrance to buy some.
Jiang Xia took the two lunchboxes to wash.
Back at the hot water room, she filled a basin with hot water to wash Zhou Chenglei's face.
When Wen Wan returned with the kettle, she was surprised to see Jiang Xia so caring.
Of course, she must have learned it from marrying Wu Qizhi in her past life!
She'd heard that Jiang Xia served Wu Qizhi's entire family, young and old, and would be beaten if she didn't do a good job.
Watching Jiang Xia bustling about, Wen Wan didn't want to be outdone by her or get scolded by the nurses.
She poured Zhou Guohua a glass of water and went to the convenience store to buy a basin, towels, and other toiletries.
When she returned, she imitated Jiang Xia, filling the basin to wash Zhou Guohua's face.
While Wen Wan was busy, Zhou Chenglei's IV drip finished, and he lay comfortably in bed, sleeping.
Jiang Xia also dozed off on the edge of the bed.
Around nine o'clock, Wen Wan finished her work, ate a few biscuits, and then, exhausted, rested by the bedside.
After the ward quieted down for a while, Zhou Chenglei opened his eyes, carefully got out of bed, and gently carried the sleeping Jiang Xia to the bed. He then sat in a chair and slept.
Wen Wan wasn't asleep. Hearing the slightest movement, she looked up and saw this scene.
Wen Wan: "..."
She glanced at Zhou Guohua, who was sleeping like a log.
He couldn't compare!
He was definitely not as good as Zhou Chenglei.
Wen Wan suddenly lost all sleepiness and had to take out a book from her bag to translate.
Jiang Xia showed signs of waking up in the middle of the night. She stirred, worried that Zhou Chenglei might have a fever.
Zhou Chenglei immediately put his arm around her, gently patted her, and whispered, "I'm fine."
Jiang Xia felt his temperature was normal, he didn't have a fever, and after that thought, she drifted back to sleep.
Wen Wan: "..."
So what a gentle, considerate, caring, and capable man she had missed!
Wen Wan knew Zhou Chenglei was sitting there, which made her even more awake. She focused intently on her translation.
In this ward, only the two of them were awake, giving her an unusual sense of closeness.
She felt Zhou Chenglei's gaze on her.
So, she subconsciously straightened her back and focused intently on her book.
After some time, Wen Wan stood up to drink water and couldn't help but steal a glance at Zhou Chenglei.
She then discovered that Zhou Chenglei was sitting there watching Jiang Xia's sleeping face, just staring without blinking.
His hand was also holding Jiang Xia's hand, unconsciously playing with her fingertips.
Wen Wan: "..."
At this moment, Jiang Xia suddenly pulled her other arm under the covers. He quickly tucked her other arm under the covers as well, carefully pulling the blanket up to her shoulders, then went to close the window slightly, leaving only a crack for ventilation. Autumn had arrived
, and the temperature difference between day and night was large, with the nights getting cooler.
Back at the hospital, he rested his head on his bent arm, leaning against the edge of the bed, and fell asleep. His other long arm draped outside the blanket, resting on Jiang Xia's waist and abdomen—a protective posture.
Jiang Xia slept like a child, falling asleep instantly and soundly, though she would fidget. But if she was holding something or someone was cuddling her, she would sleep peacefully.
It was impossible to hold her while she slept now; he could only support her, giving her a sense of security.
Wen Wan put down her water glass, suddenly losing interest in translating. She packed up her book and lay down to sleep.
Jiang Xia woke up at two in the morning.
The kind of wakefulness that couldn't be soothed back to sleep.
She found herself lying in a hospital bed.
Zhou Chenglei patted her: "Sleep a little longer."
Jiang Xia sat up, got out of bed, and whispered, "Why are you sitting up? You should lie back down."
Zhou Chenglei wanted to say no, he could fall asleep sitting up too.
But realizing it was pointless, he obediently lay back down.
Jiang Xia sat back in her chair, touched his forehead—it didn't seem hot—then touched the back of his neck and his palms.
Sometimes you can't feel a fever on your forehead, but you can
feel it on the back of your neck and palms. Then she touched her own forehead, then his.
It seemed like he had a fever, but also seemed like he didn't; she wasn't sure.
Zhou Chenglei: "I don't have a fever, it's just a minor injury, I'm not as weak as you think..."
Jiang Xia looked at him.
Zhou Chenglei obediently shut his mouth, letting her take his temperature with her hand.
Just then, a nurse came to check on the patients. Seeing Jiang Xia like this, she assumed Zhou Chenglei had a fever and handed her the thermometer, asking, "Do you have a fever?"
Jiang Xia withdrew her hand, took the thermometer, and smiled, "It seems like I do, but also seems like I don't; I'm a little unsure."
"Then let's take his temperature."
"Okay." Jiang Xia smiled and took it, gesturing for Zhou Chenglei to raise his arm. She inserted the thermometer under his armpit and had him clench it tightly.
The older nurse went to the isolation bed to take Zhou Guohua's temperature.
Wen Wan had just fallen asleep, so she didn't know anything.
After the older nurse placed the thermometer, she left.
A while later, she came back to retrieve the thermometer.
"No fever," the nurse said to Jiang Xia after glancing at the thermometer.
Then she went to get Zhou Guohua's thermometer.
38.2 degrees Celsius.
A low-grade fever.
Not a big problem.
It's just that his wife is so carefree, sleeping so soundly.
The patient in the next bed only had a bloody hole, yet they were worried and suspected the other person had a fever, repeatedly checking.
The old nurse mentally grumbled, recorded the data, and left.
Jiang Xia gestured for Zhou Chenglei to go to sleep.
Zhou Chenglei obediently closed his eyes under Jiang Xia's gaze.
Only when he was asleep could Jiang Xia sleep peacefully.
Jiang Xia had already slept for three or four hours and wasn't sleepy at all, so
she just sat there watching over him. Zhou Chenglei had been waiting for Jiang Xia to fall asleep, but after waiting for a long time and seeing that she wasn't asleep, he knew she wouldn't fall asleep anymore; she was waiting for him to fall asleep.
This was the first time someone had watched over Zhou Chenglei like this when he was injured.
He relaxed himself, closed his eyes peacefully, and fell asleep quickly.
After Jiang Xia found that he was asleep, she also lay down to try to fall asleep.
However, she couldn't fall asleep. At 5:30, Jiang Xia planned to go out to buy breakfast for Zhou Chenglei. As
soon as she stood up, Zhou Chenglei woke up: "Where are you going?"
"To buy breakfast."
"Mom should bring it over, no need to buy it."
Jiang Xia thought that made sense, so she sat down again, "You can go back to sleep."
"Okay." Zhou Chenglei had no choice but to close his eyes again.
But then the nurse came to check on him and change his dressings.
She took out a thermometer to check Zhou Chenglei's temperature.
"Let me do it," Jiang Xia said, taking the initiative. "I feel like he doesn't have a fever."
The older nurse said, "Take a temperature check too, I'll record it, the doctor and the nurses on shift will need it later."
"Okay."
The older nurse went to the next bed.
Wen Wan was woken up and stood up.
The older nurse saw Zhou Guohua's flushed face, immediately touched his forehead, and put the thermometer under his armpit, looking at Wen Wan: "He's got such a high fever and you didn't even notice? Are you here to keep him company or to sleep?"
Wen Wan: "..."
She was truly wronged!
"I stayed up until after 2 a.m. before I went to sleep."
The older nurse didn't believe her at all. She had come at 2 a.m. and was already sleeping like a log. She couldn't help but mutter, "Others come to keep company, but you do. Everyone knows her husband didn't have a fever all night. How come you didn't know anything?"
After saying that, the older nurse ignored her and quickly went to call the doctor to take a look.
The round trip was just enough time to get the thermometer out.
Wen Wan: "..."
Jiang Xia had occupied Zhou Chenglei's bed and slept all night, why didn't she say anything?
Why was she so nice to Jiang Xia just now?
Even the hospital nurses are looking down on people, are they targeting her?
Jiang Xia's clothes are all brand new, the style and fabric clearly bought from a high-end department store, probably only available at Friendship Store. Although she's bought many new clothes since getting married, and no longer only has that white dress she's presentable, and she no longer wears that white dress and her old clothes, giving them all away,
her new clothes are still noticeably different from Jiang Xia's!
So that nurse is just playing favorites, changing her tune with the wind!
The doctor arrived quickly, checked Zhou Guohua's temperature, 39.3 degrees Celsius!
Then the doctor checked his wound, disinfected it, changed the dressing, and the nurse gave him fever-reducing and anti-inflammatory medicine and put him on an IV drip.
After examining Zhou Guohua, the doctor checked Zhou Chenglei's wound and said, "The wound is healing well. There's no redness or fever. After the IV drip, you can take some medicine home and be discharged. Remember to come back every one or two days to change the dressing, and don't let the wound get wet."
Zhou Chenglei asked, "Can I take the disinfectant home and change the dressing myself?"
He was a little afraid of riding on the back of Jiang Xia's motorcycle.
The doctor said, "Yes, you can. But if the wound becomes red or suppurates, you must come to the hospital."
"Okay."
So, after the nurse helped Zhou Chenglei with the IV drip, Jiang Xia got water for Zhou Chenglei to wash his face, then called Zhou's mother to tell her they didn't need to come and would be back soon.
Then she took a lunchbox to get breakfast for Zhou Chenglei.
Wen Wan did the same to avoid being scolded by the nurse.
However, after Jiang Xia and Zhou Chenglei finished breakfast, they were discharged, but she had to stay in the hospital.
And Wen Wan didn't expect to stay for the entire National Day holiday, almost missing her translation work at the Guangzhou Trade Fair.
Today happened to be market day in town.
Jiang Xia rode her motorcycle with Zhou Chenglei to buy a pig liver to help him replenish his blood.
However, Jiang Xia couldn't control her shopping urges. Besides the pig liver, she also bought five jin of pork belly, ten jin of lean meat, a large rib, two large bones, and even ten jin of beef and two pieces of beef shank when she saw they sold beef. She also bought flour at the grain station and some seasonings at the supply and marketing cooperative before going home.
The pig liver was for Zhou Chenglei to replenish his blood, the pork belly was for dumplings, the large bones were for soup, the beef shank was for braised beef, and the ten jin of beef and ten jin of lean meat were for beef jerky and pork jerky.
They ate seafood every day, and it was a rare treat to come out and find so much good meat, especially since it didn't require ration coupons, so Jiang Xia bought a lot.
Jiang Xia was already attracting attention riding her motorcycle, but buying so much meat made her even more conspicuous!
Motorcycle riders are definitely rich!
Buying meat is like buying vegetables!
The market was crowded, and Zhou Chenglei was injured. Jiang Xia bought some meat at the market entrance and left without lingering.
Back at the door, Zhou's mother stopped him, telling him not to come in yet!
She quickly ran back to the kitchen, grabbed a bundle of rice straw, lit it, and made Zhou Chenglei step over the flames to ward off bad luck.
Zhou Chenglei stepped over and went inside.
Jiang Xia, still sitting on the motorcycle, couldn't get in and said, "Go back to bed and lie down."
Zhou Chenglei: "..." This
was really unnecessary! He
had a shoulder injury, and he had to lie down!
His brothers would laugh themselves to death if they knew!
But Zhou Chenglei wisely didn't argue. He obediently went to the well to wash his hands and face, then went back inside to change into clean clothes before taking the magazine Jiang Xia needed to translate. He lay back down on the bed to heal his injury while translating.
Great-Grandma came out when she heard the motorcycle and asked, "Is Lei alright?"
Jiang Xia waited until the fire was extinguished before riding the motorcycle inside and smiled, "He's fine now. The bleeding has stopped, he'll be better in a few days. Great-Grandma, come over for dumplings later, I'm making them today."
Great-Grandma smiled when she heard he was alright, "Okay, Xia, you can make dumplings?"
"Yes, a little, but I'm not very good at it." Hearing Great-Grandma's question, Jiang Xia decided to make the simplest kind of dumplings. She had originally wanted to make them nicer so Zhou Zhou could see.
Seeing so much meat hanging on the motorcycle, Zhou's mother went over to help unload it. She noticed some pig liver and asked, "Xia, what are you planning to do
with this pig liver?" Jiang Xia replied, "I'm planning to use it to replenish Lei's blood. What do you think, Mom?"
"I'll go pick some goji leaves to make a pig liver and goji leaf soup,"
said Great-Grandma. "The goji leaves in my garden are freshly picked; I'll go pick some too. I'll also cut some chives; we'll make dumplings later."
At this moment, Zhou Zhou and his brothers, Guangzong and Yaozu, also ran home. They had been playing at the beach and saw Jiang Xia returning on her motorcycle, so they quickly ran home.
The siblings rushed in: "Auntie, is Uncle alright?"
Jiang Xia smiled and said, "He's fine. Wash your hands; I'll teach you how to make dumplings later."
The children immediately rushed to the well to wash their hands.
Jiang Xia glanced at the freshly picked vegetables in the kitchen and assigned them tasks: some shelled corn, some chopped sauerkraut, some washed chives, some chopped meat, and some washed tools, dividing the work according to age.
She went back into the room to see what Zhou Chenglei was doing.
Seeing Jiang Xia enter, Zhou Chenglei immediately said, "I really can't lie down anymore."
Seeing him sitting on the bed translating, Jiang Xia said, "You can sit at your desk to translate, just don't do heavy work. Rest when you're tired."
Zhou Chenglei breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, "Okay!"
Jiang Xia went out to prepare the meat she had bought and to knead the dough for dumplings.
First, she braised the two pieces of beef shank in a pot, then marinated the ten pounds of pork and ten pounds of beef with salt and seasonings to prevent them from spoiling. She and He Xinghua made pork and beef jerky in the afternoon.
Then she kneaded the dough and taught the children how to make dumplings.
Great-grandmother and Zhou's mother also helped, and later Tian Caihua came to help as well.
Tian Caihua was a little displeased that Jiang Xia was actually making the Guangzong and Yaozu brothers make dumplings; what did boys need to do in the kitchen?
However, seeing Zhou Jie happily making dumplings—more like playing than making—she didn't say anything.
That morning, Jiang Xia and the children made three large round baskets full of dumplings.
At noon, Jiang Xia cooked a large pot of dumpling soup for everyone.
All three families ate until they were stuffed!
Jiang Xia liked corn dumplings, Zhou Chenglei liked chive dumplings, and Great-Grandma and Zhou's mother liked pickled cabbage dumplings. The children liked everything because they rarely ate these kinds of dumplings.
Seeing that there were still a dozen or so dumplings left, Tian Caihua said, "Xia, should I take these dumplings back for your older brother? Your brother and I went out to sea together; he probably hasn't had such delicious dumplings before. I don't know how to make them."
Yesterday, knowing that Zhou Chenglei was going to be hospitalized, she went back to her parents' home overnight and asked her older brother to come over this morning to go out to sea with Zhou Chengxin.
Jiang Xia nodded, "Okay, they were meant for my brother anyway."
Tian Caihua smiled and thanked her, then took a plate and tidied up the dumplings.
He Xinghuan then came over and asked, "Xia, didn't you say you were going to make beef jerky and pork jerky?"
Jiang Xia nodded, "Yes, let's make them over there! We'll move these two bowls of meat over there."
Great-Grandma's kitchen was a little bigger than theirs, so Xiaoyuzai always cooked there.
Upon hearing this, Tian Caihua quickly put the dumplings in a basket and hung it up, saying, "I'll go help too!"
Jiang Xia replied, "No need, the two of us are enough. Sister-in-law, you should steam the dumplings! Otherwise they'll get stale by evening."
Jiang Xia made particularly delicious beef and pork jerky; she had a recipe.
She planned to mass-produce and sell it when pork and beef were no longer rationed. She also planned to open a small food workshop with He Xinghuan, so she was teaching He Xinghuan how to make it. How could she let Tian Caihua help?
Tian Caihua wasn't discreet and wasn't very reliable; it wasn't appropriate for her to help with this kind of thing.
After saying this, Jiang Xia went next door with He Xinghuan.
Tian Caihua: "..."
She just didn't understand why Jiang Xia was closer to He Xinghuan than to her, even though she and Jiang Xia were actually sisters-in-law!
Oh well!
There was a lot of work to do at home, and she had to go to the dock to pick up fish later; it was better if she didn't need help!
Tian Caihua left with the plate of dumplings.
In the evening, Zhou Chengxin and Tian Caixing returned from fishing at sea.
Back at the old house, Zhou Chengxin said to Tian Caihua, "I'm going in to see my fourth brother and give him the money he earned from fishing today."
Tian Caixing's expression changed slightly.
Zhou Chengxin carried a bucket of fish, shrimp, and crabs into the yard and handed the bucket to his mother: "Mom, these are the fish I brought back today. You can cook them for dinner tonight!"
"Okay," Zhou's mother replied, taking the bucket.
The fish were conger eels, shaped like snakes; the shrimp were red-legged shrimp, quite large; there were also two swimming crabs and several mudskippers.
"Is Lei in his room? Where's Xia?"
If his sister-in-law was also in her room, he wouldn't want to disturb her.
"Xia is making snacks at your great-grandmother's house!"
Zhou Chengxin said after hearing this, "Then I'll go check on Lei."
"Go ahead!"
Zhou Chengxin walked into the hall and arrived at Zhou Chenglei's room. The door wasn't closed, but a curtain was drawn, so he couldn't see what was inside. However, he could hear a tape recorder playing a foreign language, though he didn't know what it was.
Zhou Chengxin knocked on the doorframe but didn't go in. "Ah Lei, are you feeling better?"
Zhou Chenglei was in his room learning French with a tape recorder. Hearing the sound, he turned off the recorder and went out. "Back from sea?"
Before the curtain was even lifted, Zhou Chengxin had already left the room and sat down at the table. As
Zhou Chenglei entered the room, he asked again, "What were you doing in your room? Learning a foreign language? Does your wound still hurt?"
"Listening to Jiang Xia's foreign language tapes. It's a minor injury, it doesn't hurt."
"Rest for a couple more days, so the wound doesn't reopen."
"Okay," Zhou Chenglei replied.
Zhou Chengxin took out a stack of money: "This is the money from today's fishing trip, a total of fifty-six yuan. Ten yuan for Brother Ahua's wages, and twenty-three yuan each for the two of us brothers."
Zhou Chenglei didn't take it: "No need, I didn't go out to sea today, you can keep all the money! Did you go out to sea with Aguang's uncle today?"
Zhou Chengxin: "Yes, your sister-in-law asked her brother to come and help. Take it! We agreed that we'd split the money we earn from fishing trips in the future."
Zhou Chenglei refused even more: "That's for when everyone goes out to sea together. I didn't go out to sea today, so I don't need it, you keep it! Besides, Xiaxia and I are going to Suicheng in a couple of days, it'll be more than half a month, so I won't split the fishing money during that time. We can talk about it when I go out to sea again after I come back."
Hearing this, Zhou Chengxin thought of Tian Caihua's brother and nodded: "Alright, then I'll give this money to Mom and Dad as boat rental money."
Zhou Chenglei didn't care about that.
Zhou Chengxin continued, "Once the new boat returns, Ahua's older brothers will probably come to help. We should discuss how to sail with the family boat in the future."
"I think it would be best if we didn't split it like we are now, but rather separate it, like before, with the three of us—us, Dad, and me—each taking a day? You can also hire someone to go out to sea."
A-Lei's sea voyage was successful; sharing so much money with him was a loss, so splitting it was best.
Otherwise, the Tian family might think A-Lei and his wife were taking advantage of Tian Caihua.
Zhou Chenglei understood Zhou Chengxin's concerns and said, "Okay! We brothers will each take a day! Dad probably won't take turns with us."
Zhou Chengxin: "Then we'll ask him later."
"Okay." The two brothers talked for a while longer when Jiang Xia came in carrying a large basket.
Zhou Chenglei quickly stood up and took the basket from her.
He used his uninjured hand, and Jiang Xia let him take the basket.
She picked up a bag of beef jerky, took out a piece, and handed it to Zhou Chengxin with a smile: "Brother, this is a new snack I made. Try it, and take some back for your brothers to enjoy."
Then she picked out a bag of pork jerky and a bag of beef jerky and gave them to him to take back.
Zhou Chengxin smiled and took the bait, taking a bite, his eyes lighting up: "Delicious!"
***
After Zhou Chengxin entered the courtyard, Tian Caihua said, "Big brother, let's go home first! A-Xin left a lot of seafood today, all expensive stuff. I'll cook you a nice meal."
Hearing this, Tian Caixing and Tian Caihua left the old house's gate together.
Once they were far from the old house, walking on the path, and no one was around, he asked, "Why did A-Xin share some of the fishing money with his brother today?"
Tian Caihua replied, "Our two families agreed to split the profits from fishing in the future."
Tian Caixing looked at Tian Caihua incredulously: "But none of their family went out to sea today, and you still want to share half the money with them? Isn't it only when we fish together that we split? Aren't you two at a disadvantage?" They
earned over fifty yuan today.
They just said they'd share half.
Half that's over twenty yuan!
Tian Caihua said, "The boat belongs to both brothers, we can't keep it all to ourselves, can we? Besides, didn't we ask you, eldest brother, to fill in for fourth brother today? Of course we should share the money!"
Tian Caihua thought about how she only had a little over fifty yuan today. Usually, when she went out to sea with her fourth brother and his wife, a single catch would bring in more than fifty yuan!
It was a loss, but not because of the money split with her fourth brother and his wife; it was because Zhou Chenglei couldn't go out to sea.
And it was a huge loss!
After deducting the wages for her eldest brother, each family only received twenty-three yuan, which usually amounted to more than that for catching a single fish in Jiangxia.
Tian Caixing was immediately unhappy. Was Ahua treating him like an outsider?
Zhou Chengxin was Zhou Chenglei's eldest brother, and he was Tian Caihua's eldest brother too!
He went out to sea with Zhou Chengxin, so why was he only paid ten yuan a day? Zhou Chenglei didn't do anything but get half the money?
They were all brothers, the difference was too great!
Why the discrimination?
Tian Caixing continued, "Are you stupid or crazy? Who's your real brother? Even if the boat belongs to both of you, and you agreed to split the profits 50/50, that only applies if you both go out to sea together! Whoever doesn't go out to sea or work doesn't get a share! You could say that on the days you don't go out to sea, they go out on their own, and you don't have to share the money! If you didn't work, why should you get a share?"
Tian Caihua waved her hand and shook her head without thinking, "That won't do! We can't do that! Xin will be angry! Fourth brother got hurt because he pulled Xin away! Big brother, stop talking! You don't understand!"
Tian Caixing continued, "If he's injured, just pay for his medical expenses. Just tell Xin that you asked me to help and we agreed to split the fishing profits 50/50. Zhou Chenglei is his brother, but am I not his older brother? You said Zhou Chenglei was injured these past few days and shouldn't be able to go out to sea for several days, so I have to help him for several days. Does Zhou Chenglei get a share of the money just by sitting at home without working? What's the point of me working myself to death to help you then?"
“Besides, Seventh Brother is getting married soon, and you and Ah Xin will have to go home to help out for a couple of days. Then you two won’t be able to go out to sea, right? They can keep all the money they earn, so you can just not take it.”
Zhou Chengxin’s voice rang out from behind: “Big Brother is right, that works too. Let’s do it this way from now on!”
Tian Caihua: “…”
She quickly turned around: “No, no need for that! Don’t listen to my brother’s nonsense, just stick to what we agreed on before, half for each family!”
Zhou Chengxin: “No! From now on, the money my brother and I earn from fishing, after deducting the boat rental fee, will be half for me and half for my brother. This boat isn’t mine, so just give the rental fee to my dad and Ah Lei.”
Tian Caixing smiled: “That’s good! That way no one will have any objections. That’s fair!”
Tian Caihua: “…”
What do you mean “that’s good”!
What do you mean no one will have any objections!
Only her brother has no objections, right?
She has a lot of objections!
She’s so ripped off!
Her brother is just here to dump the rice!
She should have asked her second brother instead of her eldest brother.
Tian Caihua firmly said, "This isn't good, let's split it in half! We've already agreed that our two families will go to sea together and split the profits in half. Fourth Brother got injured because of you, how can we do this?! It doesn't matter if Fourth Brother and his wife aren't available to go to sea, everyone has their busy times, we won't be available in a few days either! We agreed to split it in half, so it's split in half, regardless of whether the other party is available to go to sea or not. Even if they don't go to sea, they still have a share of the boat, it's only fair that we split the money."
Tian Caixing just couldn't understand what had gotten into his sister today!
"You're only unavailable for a day or two, can that compare to being unavailable for a month?"
Zhou Chengxin smiled, "Big Brother is right, Ahua, listen to Big Brother. It's settled then! Big Brother is doing this for our own good!"
Tian Caihua had always listened to her older brother and sister-in-law, so she continued to listen!
Tian Caihua: "..."
She had indeed always listened to her older brother and sister-in-law.
Because Tian Caihua's family had seven siblings.
Tian Caihua was the only daughter in the family, with two older brothers, she was the third child, and had four younger brothers.
The matchmaker who introduced Zhou's mother to Tian Caihua praised her diligence, caring nature towards her younger brother, good looks, and filial piety.
At that time, everyone in the village spoke highly of her, commending her hard work, competence, and filial piety—she had always helped her parents with chores and cared for her brother since childhood!
Many people from the surrounding villages and towns proposed marriages to her.
After all, Tian Caihua was hardworking, tall, and beautiful. Furthermore, her mother was prolific, mostly having sons, a trait likely passed down to her daughters, so many people sought marriage partners for her.
Zhou Chengxin wasn't from the wealthiest family among the matchmakers, but he was definitely the most handsome.
Tian Caihua was immediately drawn to Zhou Chengxin's good looks and tall, dashing appearance.
As for family background, most families were poor at that time, even taking pride in poverty; a good class background was considered good. Moreover, the Zhou family lived by the sea, enjoying seafood daily, so their life was better than many others.
She had been very hungry as a child, rarely eating meat, and longed for a future where she could eat meat, which is why she married him.
She glanced at Zhou Chengxin. She hadn't married the wrong man after all; none of the men she'd been betrothed to before were as good as him!
Life was so good now!
Better every day!
Every woman in the village who had married out envied her.
A new house, a boat, several well-behaved sons, a separate household, the elderly no longer living together, a handsome, hardworking, and successful man who was always willing to help his wife's family!
Thinking this, Tian Caihua insisted, "That won't do! We already agreed to split the money 50/50 between the two families. Besides, Lei was injured saving you, so it's only right that he get half the fishing money!"
Zhou Chengxin also insisted, "No need. Lei is going to Suicheng with Xia in a few days, probably for more than half a month. They won't be able to go out to sea for that long, and they'll feel bad accepting payment. We'll also need your help for the next half month, brother. Let's split the fishing money 50/50 between us!"
Tian Caihua was also thinking of asking her brothers for help with the new boat.
Zhou Chengxin disliked working with Tian's brother-in-law, but he couldn't refuse.
So he went ahead and
tried, to see what he'd get in return.
He figured Tian Caihua wouldn't be able to handle it
. He'd let her refuse herself,
lest she have a reason to accuse him of neglecting her family.
Tian Caixing immediately said, "I can stay and help. We're all family, no need to split the money. Just give me some wages! They won't be able to go to sea for over half a month, plus the days they need to recover, that's almost a month. It's really not fair to split it in half, it's not like it's just a day or two. Let's agree on this from now on: whoever is unavailable to go to sea, the money doesn't need to be split, just pay for the boat rental. That's good! Very fair!"
Tian Caihua was furious!
Good, good, good, good my foot!
They wouldn't even earn enough to cover the boat rental!
Zhou Chengxin nodded: "Big brother is right."
Then he looked at Tian Caihua: "From now on, when we go out to sea to fish, we'll give Lei and Mom and Dad 20 yuan as boat rental money. And we'll split the profits from fishing with Big brother!"
Tian Caixing: "Of course, we should pay for the boat rental, since it's shared by both families."
Tian Caixing knew before that his family's boat usually cost thirty yuan a day to rent. Giving twenty yuan, split among the three of them (father and sons), not between the two families, meant a slight loss, but it didn't matter.
He'd heard Ahua say that on a lucky day at sea, they could earn several hundred, even a thousand yuan!
On a bad day, they could still earn forty or fifty yuan. Giving twenty yuan a day for boat rental was just a small fraction.
Zhou Chengxin: "Then it's settled."
Tian Caihua felt utterly hopeless.
She was wrong!
She shouldn't have called her older brother.
Her eldest brother didn't come to help her fish and earn money; he came to dump rice!
That night, the couple lay in bed, Zhou Chengxin and Tian Caihua discussing, "When our new boat comes back, we'll ask your eldest and second brothers to come and help. I'll let your eldest brother know I'm going fishing tomorrow, so they don't have to look for work and we can't find anyone..."
Tian Caihua immediately said, "No need, no need! We'll talk about it later! It doesn't necessarily have to be my eldest brother! We'll talk about it when the new boat comes back. If my eldest brother finds work, let him do it! There are still a few months to go!" Why
would she ask her eldest brother?
To spend money?
He's a complete spendthrift!
She couldn't afford to ask him!
If anyone should ask, it would be her second brother!
She regretted it terribly!
But she couldn't say anything bad about her eldest brother in front of Zhou Chengxin.
Fortunately, she had many brothers on her mother's side, so she had many choices. She should be like in the plays, sharing everything equally, so there would be no conflict!
It has to be said that Tian Caihua really cared about her brothers.
In the darkness, Zhou Chengxin smiled but said nothing more.
Fortunately, some of Tian Caihua's brothers were honest and hardworking.
Her sixth brother wasn't very bright and didn't have many schemes, but he was diligent and obedient.
Her seventh brother had been raised by his mother along with Wenguang since childhood, and he was of good character and could distinguish right from wrong.
In short, he was willing to help those who were worth helping. It was just
that "it's not scarcity that's worrisome, but inequality; it's not poverty that's worrisome, but injustice."
It was a difficult situation!
So he didn't want A Lei to get involved, and it would be best to separate them while he was at it.
He could be bothered by it himself; after all, this was his wife's family, the maternal grandparents' family of his sons, and he couldn't let his brothers get involved too.
***
For the next two days, because Zhou Chenglei needed to recover from his injury, the couple stayed home doing translations. Apart from that, they only went to the city once to hand in the translated book and then brought back many books and magazines to translate.
They couldn't help it; they were bored!
Jiang Xia didn't even allow them to be close, afraid that his wound would reopen, so the two could only translate from morning till night.
Jiang Xia could translate three or four magazines in a day.
Zhou Chenglei could also translate a medium-sized English book.
The couple could earn two or three hundred yuan a day translating, enough to keep them from going broke.
Early on the 8th, Zhou Chenglei's wound had scabbed over, meaning it was completely healed. He drove his motorcycle with Jiang Xia to a meeting in the city.
The Guangzhou Trade Fair was about to begin, and all the manufacturers and members participating in the fair needed to be in the city that day to collect their credentials and discuss their travel arrangements to the fair.
Zhou Cheng and Jiang Xia arrived at the Municipal Guest House. The
Guangzhou Trade Fair was being held at the Municipal Guest House.
This guest house was newly built and was specifically used for attracting investment and receiving foreign guests and leaders of various units.
Therefore, it was fully equipped.
The building that Zhang Rong had asked them to invest in was also built for attracting investment in a certain sense, and it was considered a landmark building.
Zhou Cheng helped Jiang Xia off the motorcycle, and carefully helped her take off her helmet, tidying up the hair that had been messed up and pressed into it.
"Is it messy?" Jiang Xia reached out and helped him tidy up his hair as well. There wasn't much to tidy up, as his hair was short.
"No, it's just pressed into shape. Let me loosen it for you."
Jiang Xia let him help her tidy up. She took off her blue knitted cardigan to keep herself warm.
Zhou Cheng had found this cardigan in the closet for her to wear when they left home, afraid that she would be cold on the motorcycle in the wind and in the early morning.
Wen Wan arrived in a hurry. She had discharged Zhou Guohua from the hospital the day before, letting him walk home himself. She had taken a bus back to school and stayed overnight, then walked here early this morning.
The school was a bit far, and the autumn morning was cool; she was sweating profusely, her bangs damp.
Looking disheveled, she watched as Zhou Chenglei helped Jiang Xia off the motorcycle and tidied her hair.
A comparison unconsciously crossed her mind.
Zhou Guohua said he loved her, but he wasn't as gentle, considerate, and attentive as Zhou Chenglei was to Jiang Xia. She
really couldn't compare!
Zhou Guohua couldn't compare to Zhou Chenglei in any way!
Wen Wan looked at Jiang Xia in her white top and light blue floral skirt. It was a bit formal, but the style of the top was sweet, very suitable for a girl around twenty years old.
Jiang Xia looked not only graceful and charming but also elegant and capable, radiant and dazzling.
Wen Wan glanced at her newly bought clothes again: a white shirt, a red plaid skirt, cinched at the waist, the skirt almost reaching her ankles. This outfit made her look tall and slim.
Plus, red is inherently more eye-catching than light blue, but Jiang Xia's clothes were made of such fine material that they shone brightly in the morning sunlight!
This made her white shirt look dull and cheap.
She'd spent sixty or seventy yuan on this outfit at the mall!
Then she looked at Jiang Xia's spotless white sheepskin shoes and her own black shoes, covered in dust from walking all the way! They looked
even cheaper!
Wen Wan pursed her lips: Dressed so beautifully, you'd think she was here for a beauty pageant!
How much did her outfit cost? Probably a hundred or two, right?
With so much money, why is she working as a translator?
Leave the opportunities to those who really need to earn money!
Wen Wan didn't immediately go forward; instead, she turned and squatted in a corner to clean her shoes.
After Zhou Chenglei fixed Jiang Xia's hair, he said, "I'm going to the publishing house. I'll wait for you in the lobby when I get back. If you're finished with your meeting and I'm not back yet, wait for me in the lobby. Don't wander around, okay?"
"Okay, go ahead! Drive carefully."
"Okay, let's go in!"
Jiang Xia nodded and walked towards the hotel entrance.
As soon as Jiang Xia stepped onto the stairs, a hotel staff member approached her with a smile and politely asked if she was attending the Guangzhou Trade Fair training meeting.
Jiang Xia smiled and nodded, "Yes, may I ask where the meeting room is?"
The staff member personally led her inside, even forgetting to ask Jiang Xia for her work badge and invitation.
Wen Wan wiped her shoes clean and watched Jiang Xia go inside before walking into the guesthouse. She deliberately came up to Zhou Chenglei and said gently, "Brother Zhou, did you bring Sister Jiang Xia to the meeting? Thank you for saving me last time; I haven't formally thanked you yet."
After watching Jiang Xia go inside, Zhou Chenglei bent down to tidy up Jiang Xia's coat and helmet. Hearing her words, he didn't even glance at her, didn't respond, and after putting the clothes away, he drove off on his motorcycle expressionlessly.
Wen Wan bit her lower lip. Had Jiang Xia spoken ill of her?
Otherwise, Zhou Chenglei wouldn't have ignored her before!
Feeling embarrassed, Wen Wan walked towards the entrance of the guesthouse.
Another staff member stopped her with a smile: "Excuse me, sir, where are you here?"
"I'm here for the Guangzhou Trade Fair training,"
the staff member smiled. "Could you please show your work ID and invitation?"
Being treated differently again, Wen Wan felt uncomfortable: "Why didn't that lady who just went in need to show her work ID and invitation? But I do?"
The staff member, annoyed by the question, stopped smiling and said expressionlessly:
"My colleague knows that lady; she's here for the Guangzhou Trade Fair."
Wen Wan pursed her lips. See?
Jiang Xia has everything easier than others.
Just because she's lucky, she has a good father!
Everything is arranged for her!
She didn't say anything more, and showed the staff member her temporary translator work ID and invitation from the textile factory.
After looking at them, the staff member told her where the meeting room was, but didn't offer to escort her, as someone had to stay at the entrance to receive guests.
Again, being treated differently; no staff member personally escorted her in! Wen Wan pursed her lips, too lazy to argue, and strode towards the conference room.
She had already experienced unfairness from Jiang Xia many times, so she didn't care anymore.
The staff member who had escorted Jiang Xia came out just then, smiling and asking Wen Wan if she was going to the conference room, then offering to personally lead her there.
Jiang Xia wanted to use the restroom first, so after finding out the location of the restroom and the conference room, she went to the restroom herself, not needing Wen Wan to escort her.
Because of this time difference, she and Wen Wan arrived at the conference room door together.
The conference room was large, capable of accommodating hundreds of people.
It was still early, and many factory representatives hadn't arrived yet, making it seem quite empty.
Jiang Xia noticed the business cards on the tables of those who had arrived, indicating a certain machinery factory, agricultural machinery factory, aquatic product factory, and textile factory.
Only representatives from these four factories were present; the others hadn't arrived yet.
Jiang Xia only knew people from the textile factory, or rather, she had a working relationship with them, so she went over to greet them.
Just then, someone from the textile factory waved to Wen Wan: "Xiao Wan, over here! We've saved you a seat."
Jiang Xia recognized the person; besides Factory Director Peng Yuhua, she had been in the office that day, so she must be the director's secretary or assistant.
Wen Wan smiled and quickly walked past Jiang Xia to the textile factory workers. She greeted the director first: "Director Peng, good morning."
Then she smiled and nodded to the others.
Peng Yuhua's assistant gestured to her: "Xiao Wan, please sit down!"
Wen Wan smiled and sat down in the last seat in the textile factory, then watched Jiang Xia walk over gracefully.
There were no seats left in the textile factory.
She sat down, then watched to see where Jiang Xia would sit.
Each factory only had a few fixed seats.
She believed that other factories were the same and wouldn't prepare a seat for a part-time translator.
Jiang Xia also walked over at this moment, smiling: "Director Peng, good morning! Good morning, everyone."
Wen Wan smiled and sized up Jiang Xia, waiting for her to make a fool of herself.
Jiang Xia was dressed beautifully and appropriately today.
Everyone in the conference room couldn't help but look at her.
Peng Yuhua's assistant knew that Peng Yuhua didn't like pretty women and hadn't been very warm towards Jiang Xia last time, so she hadn't prepared a seat for her at this meeting. She smiled and said to Jiang Xia, "Comrade Jiang,
good morning. I'm sorry, our factory can only apply for a limited number of seats. There are too many people participating in the exhibition this time, so we can't get more seats, so..." Peng Yuhua stood up and extended her hand, "Comrade Jiang, hello!"
She worked in textiles and was very sensitive to clothing fabrics. She glanced at Jiang Xia's clothes.
These clothes were not something an ordinary person could buy.
You needed money and a ticket.
Those tickets were not easy to obtain.
Jiang Xia was introduced to her by Editor-in-Chief Fan. She originally thought she was just a part-time translator at the publishing house, like Wen Wan.
Her attire last time was also ordinary.
Now it seems she's more than just a part-time translator.
Wen Wan: "..."
Director Peng didn't stand up to shake hands with her just now.
Jiang Xia smiled and shook hands with Peng Yuhua.
Peng Yuhua turned to his secretary and said, "Xiao Zhi, I'm done here, you can go back now."
Xiao Zhi, Peng Yuhua's secretary and assistant, had already stood up and smiled as she finished speaking, though her words were completely different, "So I took Comrade Jiang's seat first. I'm sorry! I'll be going now! Comrade Jiang, please sit down!"
Jiang Xia smiled and said, "Thank you, I really wanted to sit with everyone, but someone has already reserved a seat for me."
At this moment, a group of men rushed in; they were from the shipyard.
Someone spotted Jiang Xia immediately and said to Director Zhou, "Director Zhou, Comrade Xia is over there." Director Zhou
and Director Xu, seeing that Jiang Xia had gone to the textile factory, assumed the textile factory was trying to poach her and immediately waved at the same time.
Director Zhou shouted through a loudspeaker, "Xia! Your organization is here! We're here, come over quickly!" "We've
already applied for employee housing for you; you still want to go to other organizations? That won't do! "
Factory Director Xu called out loudly, "Xia, come back quickly, I need to discuss something with you."
Although Comrade Jiang Xia was only willing to work as a part-time translator, even part-time jobs have priorities; the shipyard was her home!
Peng Yuhua: "..."
Wen Wan: "..."
Other factory workers: "..."
Jiang Xia smiled and said to Peng Yuhua, "Factory Director Peng, I'll go ahead first."
Peng Yuhua nodded with a smile.
At this moment, the food factory team also arrived. Fang Aiyuan saw Jiang Xia's smiling face and immediately waved to her, "Xia, you're here so early? Come and sit with Aunt Fang.
" Peng Yuhua: "...
" Wen Wan: "..."
Shipyard workers: "..."
Other factory workers: "..."
The plastics factory team also followed closely behind. Factory Director Feng strode in and immediately saw Jiang Xia.
He immediately waved, "Comrade Jiang, come over here, I specially saved a seat for you!"
Peng Yuhua: "..." Wen
Wan: "..."
Shipyard workers: "..."
Other factory workers: "..."
Who is this Comrade Jiang?
Why are all the factory directors vying to pull her to a seat?
Which factory is her organization?
Jiang Xia was also a bit confused. She only asked Factory Director Zhou to reserve a seat for her, not the other factories!
Why are they all saying she should sit with them?
At this moment, Jiang's mother also led the clothing factory team in and recognized her daughter at a glance.
Jiang's mother was stunned for a moment, "Xiaxia? What are you doing here?"
Jiang Xia smiled: "Mrs. Jiang, I'm here as a part-time translator."
Jiang's mother glared at her. What kind of Mrs. Jiang was she?
No respect for elders!
She didn't even know which factory she worked for as a translator. But she didn't argue.
" Sit next to me!"
Jiang's mother said. The two factory managers at the shipyard couldn't very well try to take her away; after all, she was their mother. Jiang Xia smiled
and said, "I'll sit at the shipyard. I asked them to prepare a seat for me. You didn't know I was coming, so you didn't arrange a seat for me, did you?"
Jiang's mother didn't mind. Mainly, she didn't know Jiang Xia was coming and hadn't applied for a seat for her.
Of course, if Jiang Xia didn't have a seat, she could have arranged one for her.
Now that Jiang Xia had a seat, she could sit wherever she liked.
Jiang Xia thanked the factory managers again and said that she had already asked the shipyard to reserve a seat for her, and that she had to sit there so as not to take up anyone else's seats. Factory
Manager Zhou, seeing Jiang Xia's unwavering choice, felt that applying for employee housing was worthwhile.
Factory Manager Xu also felt that giving away the discount was worthwhile!
Fang Aiyuan patted Jiang Xia with a smile, "Remember to sit with Aunt Fang next time!"
Jiang Xia smiled and agreed, then walked to the shipyard area and sat down next to Factory Director Zhou, in the same row as the two factory directors.
Wen Wan watched Jiang Xia sitting in the first row, sitting with the factory directors, pursed her lips, and felt disdain.
No wonder Jiang Xia didn't work as a translator for just one factory, asking for commission instead of a salary.
She was trying to fleece them! She had
already heard from the textile factory that Jiang Xia didn't want a fixed salary but commission, because she wasn't just working as a translator for one factory, but for several factories simultaneously.
Working as a part-time translator for several factories simultaneously, asking for commission instead of a salary, meant either she was truly capable, considering herself a top salesperson, a so-called sales champion, confident in her ability to close orders and earn a hefty commission,
or she lacked real ability, was afraid of being exposed, couldn't work independently, but still wanted to take advantage of the situation and make a quick buck.
Jiang Xia, who failed the college entrance exam three times and only got a translation job through her father's connections, naturally falls into the latter category.
Wen Wan now knows Jiang Xia's purpose.
Therefore, she knows that Jiang Xia will definitely make a lot of money at this Guangzhou Trade Fair.
There's no way around it, she's lucky, and every factory is probably happy to give her their sales figures.
Just look at the entire conference room, everyone is scrambling to pull her into their camp, and you can guess why.
Why is that?
Is it because she's capable?
Who would believe that?
Wen Wan secretly became more vigilant. It seems that she will have to be wary of Jiang Xia, lest she take the opportunity to steal her thunder.
Although she only gets a fixed salary and doesn't get commission, she doesn't want to let Jiang Xia benefit from her hard work.
Jiang Xia is talking to two factory managers.
All three of them have a slight smile on their faces, and Jiang Xia's smile is sweet and confident.
Everyone can't help but look at her, but she doesn't show any timidity.
Wen Wan shifts her gaze, too lazy to look at her hypocritical face.
Fang Aiyuan walks towards Jiang's mother, greeting her with a smile.
Jiang's mother asked with a smile, "Is Xiaxia the translator you hired this time? That child didn't tell me."
Fang Aiyuan smiled and said, "I did want to hire her as a translator, but she didn't want to, saying she wanted to translate for several factories. Didn't you see everyone pulling her over to sit down?"
Jiang's mother arrived last and hadn't seen her. Hearing this, she frowned: How did Jiang Xia become so ambitious? Working as a translator for several factories at the same time, what kind of success could she possibly achieve?
But she didn't say much. She wouldn't speak ill of her daughter in front of outsiders. She only said, "She just likes to have fun! She's just going to broaden her horizons. How could she be a translator? By the way, how many translators did you hire this time?"
Fang Aiyuan: "None. Jingxuan said he could come back and translate for me."
Jiang's mother's heart skipped a beat, and she couldn't help but glance in Jiang Xia's direction again.
She smiled casually: "Jingxuan is such a good boy! He's getting more and more capable, unlike Jiang Dong, who's such a greenhorn!"
Fang Aiyuan: "Jiang Dong is also a good boy, I heard
from Jingxuan that..." So the two of them praised each other's children until the meeting was about to start, when Fang Aiyuan returned to her seat.
The meeting lasted three hours, mainly discussing the precautions for the Guangzhou Trade Fair. Jiang Xia brought paper and pen and took careful notes.
After the meeting ended and everyone left, Jiang Xia went to greet her mother, smiling, "Mrs. Jiang, would you like to have lunch together? Lei is here too, he should be waiting in the lobby."
Her mother glared at her, "No manners! I have a lunch appointment. Do you want to come with me?"
What Mrs. Jiang?!
Jiang Xia smiled and said, "No, it's not appropriate for you to bring your family to that dinner. Mom, has Dad returned from his business trip?"
Jiang's mother replied, "Not yet, he said his flight is early tomorrow morning. What's wrong with you today? Your Aunt Fang said you're working as a part-time translator for several factories at the same time? How come I didn't know? Why is our garment factory not good enough for you? Why didn't you ask me to be a translator?"
Jiang Xia said, "I was afraid of causing you trouble. I have to avoid
nepotism when recommending someone!" Jiang's mother said, "What nonsense! You're working as a translator for so many factories this time. Can you handle it all? Don't end up not helping at all and even delaying the factories' business. The Guangzhou Trade Fair is a big event, and each factory has foreign exchange quotas. You'd better not go. Anyway, there are still a few days before the Guangzhou Trade Fair, and they have time to hire another translator. You shouldn't go!"
Jiang Xia: "..."
"I'm confident I won't be delayed. Besides, they don't only have me as a translator."
"Anyway, you shouldn't go! Being a translator is exhausting, do you think it's easy? Lei is home anyway, wouldn't it be better for you to stay and keep him company? Otherwise, he's always going out to sea for ten days or half a month at a time, when will you ever have a child?"
Jiang Xia felt her mother was acting strangely again, so she could only say, "I've already agreed, I can't refuse, I absolutely have to go, and Lei will go with me."
Jiang's mother was stunned for a moment: "Lei will go with you too?"
Then Jiang Xia definitely couldn't go!
Jiang Xia nodded: "Yes, he also speaks a few foreign languages, and his spoken English is quite good."
Jiang's mother: "You young people are really meddlesome. If both husband and wife go out, what will happen to the family? You should let Lei go, you stay at home! What if something happens to the family, there'll be no one there."
Jiang Xia: "My parents-in-law are here!"
Jiang's mother felt that Jiang Xia was just stubborn.
She wouldn't listen to reason at all!
"Gu Jingxuan is going too. Think it over carefully, don't do anything foolish! I'm advising you not to go, it's all for your own good, don't disobey." Jiang's mother had to rush to the dinner party and couldn't keep everyone waiting, so she said, "You and A-Lei go home for dinner! I'll call Auntie to cook for you, I'm going to the dinner party first."
Jiang Xia didn't understand what was so foolish about, but didn't dare to ask more, so she could only say, "I know what I'm doing. There's no need for Auntie to cook for us, we can eat out, and after we eat, we'll go shopping and then go home."
It was autumn, and she wanted to buy Zhou Zhou several sets of autumn and winter clothes.
Jiang's mother said, "It's good that you know what you're doing, then don't shop too late! If it's too late, go home for the night, don't rush back to the village overnight."
"I know." The two walked out of the meeting room together and came to the lobby, where they saw Zhou Chenglei talking with Factory Director Zhou and Factory Director Xu.
The two called Zhou Chenglei to come to dinner, thinking that Jiang Xia would probably go to dinner with Zhou's mother.
It was all a dinner party, attended by factory managers and above, because they still needed to discuss the Guangzhou Trade Fair.
Next to the coffee table in the lobby was a large box of snacks and a sack of food packaging.
These were products from the food and plastic factories, given to Zhou Chenglei to take home and try after they saw him waiting for Jiang Xia.
Seeing Jiang Xia come out, Zhou Chenglei said, "My wife is out, let me ask her."
He walked towards Jiang Xia and his mother, "Mom."
Jiang's mother smiled, "Have you been waiting long? Shall we go eat together?"
Zhou Chenglei looked at Jiang Xia; he would listen to her.
Jiang Xia said, "We're not going."
Factory Manager Xu and Factory Manager Zhou also greeted Jiang's mother, "Factory Manager Yang, let's go! Let's go eat together!"
Jiang's mother smiled and said, "Factory Manager Xu, Factory Manager Zhou, you go first, I'll be there in a bit."
After saying that, she told her daughter and son-in-law, "Then you two find something to eat, I'll head over first."
It's impolite to be the last to arrive at such a dinner party.
After watching Jiang's mother and the two shipyard directors leave, Jiang Xia said to Zhou Chenglei, "Let's go! Let's grab something to eat and then go shopping."
As Zhou Chenglei walked towards the coffee table to move some things, he asked, "What do you want to eat?"
"I want to eat Peking duck from Xinfeng Restaurant." Jiang Xia followed him to move the boxes.
Zhou Chenglei wouldn't let her move them, carrying a box of snacks in one hand and the plastic bag in the other, and walked out.
"Does your wound hurt?" Jiang Xia asked worriedly.
"Didn't you see? It's all healed, the scabs are almost falling off."
Wen Wan had just finished using the restroom and came out of the corridor, just in time to see Jiang Xia sitting sideways as she got on the motorcycle.
She hurriedly said, "Brother Zhou, Sister Xia, can I ride your motorcycle back to the village? There are no more buses back to the village now! I need to go back to take care of Guohua."
Jiang Xia directly refused, "No!"
It was quite speechless!
A box and a snakeskin bag were strapped to the back of the motorcycle, leaving little room to begin with.
Plus, both she and Wen Wan were wearing skirts.
Wearing skirts meant they could only sit sideways on the motorcycle; how could two people fit?
She felt too embarrassed to ask.
"Let's go!" Jiang Xia patted Zhou Chenglei's shoulder.
Zhou Chenglei then drove off.
Wen Wan figured both of their skirts were long enough that they could sit sideways, even if they squeezed in.
In this day and age, a motorcycle could carry a family of five; why couldn't it carry one more person?
*
Jiang Xia and Zhou Chenglei ate at a restaurant, then went to the mall and bought Zhou Zhou six sets of autumn clothes and three pairs of autumn shoes. Three thin sets, two thick sets, and a skirt.
Zhou Zhou didn't like wearing skirts; the skirts bought in the summer, she only wore once or twice.
Wearing skirts to play with the children in the village was indeed inconvenient.
But Jiang Xia liked the skirt so much that she couldn't resist buying it.
Jiang Xia finished shopping at the mall, then bought two sets of clothes for both of their parents, and two sets for Zhou Chenglei as well.
Jiang Xia had a lot of clothes; her two wardrobes were almost entirely filled with them. She hadn't originally planned to buy anything, but Zhou Chenglei picked out three outfits and a down jacket without even asking her, and then paid.
The three outfits and the down jacket had used up all the six hundred-plus yuan she'd received for her translation work that day.
Luckily, he had good taste; Jiang Xia thought the styles were quite nice.
Jiang Xia said, "I was planning to buy them at the Guangzhou Trade Fair to see if there were any nicer styles there."
Zhou Chenglei carried everything in one hand, took her hand, and led her out, saying, "If you find anything nice then, just buy more. I'm not buying much."
He might not be able to give her a very comfortable life now, but at least they could provide for her comfortably.
After buying the clothes, the two returned to the village.
As soon as they got home, Zhou's mother, who was about to leave, saw them return and smiled, "You're back? Your sister-in-law said she's going to have dinner there tonight. I'll go help out first; you can come over after you're done!"
Jiang Xia was a little surprised. When Zhou Chenglei carried the things from the motorcycle back into the house, she asked, "Is it my brother's birthday?"
Zhou Chenglei: "No, no one has a birthday this month."
"Then why is sister-in-law inviting us to dinner? It's not a holiday, and no one has a birthday."
"To send off the gods."
Jiang Xia paused for a moment, then understood, and couldn't help but laugh.
Tian Caihua knew that Zhou Chenglei's injury had healed, and he couldn't stand Tian Caixing. He wanted to send him away but was too embarrassed to say it directly, so he wanted to invite them over for dinner, to ask Zhou Chenglei in front of Tian Caixing when he could go to sea, and then let her brother go home, right?
Jiang Xia had to admit she guessed right!
There was no way around it; Tian Caixing was just too classic!
These past few days at Zhou Chengxin's house, he'd been acting like the perfect older brother, demanding good food and drink at every meal!
He wanted half the money from helping him go to sea.
The problem was, he hadn't earned much money from sea these past few days, only forty or fifty yuan a day.
Zhou Chengxin gave his mother twenty yuan every day, leaving him and Tian Caixing with only ten or twenty yuan each.
Tian Caixing was very satisfied with this daily income; he had worked odd jobs building houses, earning a maximum of only two yuan and thirty cents before.
Now he was earning ten or twenty yuan a day, almost ten times more than before! This made him so happy he didn't want to leave.
Tian Caixing was satisfied, but Tian Caihua was very unhappy!
Even more ridiculously, Tian Caixing, having earned a little over two hundred yuan in the past few days, felt very rich!
He knew Zhou Chengxin had ordered a new boat and hadn't paid the final payment yet. He took the two hundred yuan and said he wanted to invest, saying he would also have a share in the new boat, and everyone would work together and make money together. He would contribute two hundred yuan and give her one-third of the profits.
Two hundred yuan for one-third of the shares? Dream on!
Tian Caihua listened to her older brother and usually took care of her family.
But she wasn't so generous as to not care about anything, so naturally she was unhappy!
Besides, not caring doesn't mean accepting being schemed against.
Tian Caihua just wants to get rid of her older brother as soon as possible and get back to her previous life.
Earning ten or twenty yuan a day is enough for Tian Caixing, who has never experienced earning hundreds or thousands a day, but Tian Caihua is not!
Moreover, ten or twenty yuan a day is less than what the three of them earned taking turns going out to sea after the split. No wonder Tian Caihua is unhappy!
Having brought back a spendthrift, she naturally wants to get rid of him as soon as possible.
Jiang Xia and Zhou Chenglei packed up the things they bought, and then Jiang Xia packed a basket of snacks and went with Zhou Chenglei.
Tian Caihua prepared a very sumptuous dinner today: boiled tiger prawns, stir-fried squid with chili peppers, spicy flower crab, boiled sea bass, braised eel, braised pork, mixed fish stew, boiled duck, taro with pork belly, green vegetables, and an old duck soup.
For not being a holiday, having Tian Caihua kill a duck is really going all out!
When the family divided their property, Tian Caihua kept ducks that could lay eggs.
Tian Caihua immediately put a piece of eel on Zhou Chenglei's plate: "This is good for replenishing blood. A-Lei, you were injured saving your older brother and lost so much blood, you need to replenish it."
Zhou Chenglei replied, "Thank you, sister-in-law, but my injury is already healed. Besides, Wen Guang and the other brothers have been catching eels for me every day recently, so my blood has already been replenished."
He even had a nosebleed that night!
The Guangzong and Yaozu brothers knew that Zhou Chenglei was injured and lost a lot of blood, and that eel rice was good for replenishing blood. The brothers had been catching eels in the stream every day for the past few days.
Jiang Xia was afraid of those things, so it was Zhou's mother who did the cooking.
Tian Caihua hadn't expected Zhou Chenglei to be so perceptive, immediately saying he was healed from the start. She seized the opportunity, asking, "Fourth Brother, you're healed? When can you go to sea?"
Zhou Chenglei replied, "I was just about to tell Big Brother, I can go to sea tomorrow."
Tian Caixing immediately said, "A broken bone takes a hundred days to heal, how can it be so quick? It'll take at least two or three months to fully recover. Otherwise, you'll have lasting effects! Chenglei, listen to your Big Brother Tian, rest for a while longer, otherwise you'll regret it when you're old and have aches and pains everywhere."
Zhou Chenglei said calmly, "No bones were broken, it's not that serious. The scabs have all fallen off, I can go to sea now. Brother Tian, thank you for your help these past few days. I can go to sea tomorrow, you can finally go home and visit."
Zhou's mother didn't like Tian Caihua as her older brother, but this was her eldest son's family matter, so she didn't say much.
However, now that Chenglei was better and going to sea, she certainly couldn't let Tian Caixing take his place.
So Zhou's mother said, "Farmers can go to sea in a couple of days with a minor injury. If it takes two or three months, how will they support their families?"
Tian Caihua almost wanted to clap her hands!
They were absolutely right!
Zhou Chenglei and his mother's words had struck a chord with her!
Tian Caixing laughed, "No trouble at all! Not at all! I'm not in a hurry to go home. Your injury has only just healed, so I'll stay and continue helping you!"
Zhou Chenglei's face remained expressionless. He placed a piece of braised pork on Jiang Xia's plate and said calmly, "No need. The boat is too small to accommodate so many people. Brother Tian, please go back."
Although his tone was calm, it brooked no refusal. After speaking
, Zhou Chenglei glanced at Tian Caixing.
Tian Caixing wanted to stay, but meeting Zhou Chenglei's gaze, he couldn't bring himself to speak. He
didn't know why, but looking at Zhou Chenglei's expressionless face, he felt as if someone had grabbed his throat, rendering him speechless.
This was the aura that a leader had cultivated over many years.
Moreover, Zhou Chenglei had been on the battlefield, fought with real guns and bullets, and emerged from the carnage of war!
Such a person was unapproachable.
Therefore, when he didn't hold back, the way he looked at people was very different. Who could withstand that?
The people around the table dared not speak.
Jiang Xia was the only one who didn't seem to notice, because Zhou Chenglei had taken her hand under the table and was playing with her fingers.
Jiang Xia scratched his palm with her nail and pulled her hand back. "I want to eat braised pork."
Jiang Xia would never speak up about Tian Caihua and her older brother unless absolutely necessary, lest she accidentally cause trouble.
After all, they were siblings, while she and Tian Caihua were just sisters-in-law with a less-than-friendly relationship—to put it bluntly, they had no real connection!
Zhou Chenglei's calloused palms didn't hurt, and Jiang Xia couldn't scratch them. He reached out and picked up a piece of taro braised pork for Jiang Xia.
Then, as if something had been punctured,
the atmosphere instantly relaxed.
Zhou's mother smiled and said, "Luckily, A-Lei recovered quickly and can go to sea now. Otherwise, the rice in the fields would be ripe soon, and if we kept Uncle A-Guang around, it would delay the work on the in-laws' side."
Tian Caihua smiled and said, "Yes, the rice will be ready for harvest soon."
Tian Caixing's face instantly darkened.
The rice is only just beginning to ripen;
it won't be ready for harvest for another two weeks! They're all just kicking him out after he's done his bidding.
They don't even consider that Zhou Chenglei was injured and needed help going out to sea. Who was it that went out of their way to ask him for help?
If he hadn't come to help, they wouldn't have been able to even set sail!