Completely devoted to his career, Song Zhuowei left as soon as he finished speaking.
Watching his hurried retreating figure, Lin Xizhi felt both annoyed and amused.
By Song Zhuowei’s generation, he was the only remaining male heir in the entire Song family.
His grandmother’s hair had already turned silver from worrying about his marriage.
Yet here he was, still insisting on building his career before starting a family.
As Lin Xizhi pondered how to become part of the Song family…
A sudden wave of dizziness washed over her.
When her vision cleared, she discovered that her space had changed.
The farmhouse was still the same farmhouse.
The Spiritual Spring well was exactly as before.
But beside the farmhouse, a small bluestone path had appeared.
Lin Xizhi quickly locked the wooden hut at the drying yard from the inside, secretly entered her space, and followed the stone path toward the back…
There, she discovered an enormous guide map.
Beyond the guide map stretched a vast sea of mist.
The fog was so dense that she couldn’t see what lay beyond it.
She could only study the map first.
It was a guide to the Space Pagoda.
According to the map, the place she currently occupied was merely the first floor of the pagoda.
As she gradually accomplished major milestones in her life, additional floors would unlock one after another.
The pagoda had a total of thirty floors.
The higher the floor, the more astonishing the treasures within.
From rice, flour, grain, and cooking oil…
To gold, silver, jade, and precious gemstones…
To priceless rare treasures…
An entire sanctuary of exotic beasts…
Cold weapons…
And even modern firearms!
Lin Xizhi stood there in stunned silence.
Her birth mother had practically left her an entire empire.
Fortunately, this priceless treasure hadn’t fallen into someone else’s hands.
Otherwise…
Her mother’s glorious legacy would truly have been wasted.
Still…
She needed to work harder.
Because only by falling in love, getting married, having children, and living a complete and fulfilling life would the pagoda continue unlocking level by level.
If she could fully unlock the Space Pagoda…
She could carry modern firearms herself and help Song Zhuowei beat those sea pirates into a miserable rout.
No.
No.
Winning Song Zhuowei’s heart had to become her top priority.
She absolutely had to restore her health as quickly as possible
And then do everything she could to make Song Zhuowei seriously confront the issue of his own marriage.
…
After leaving the drying yard, Song Zhuowei returned to the Sea Guard Team office.
That day’s coastal patrol had made an excellent catch.
They had brought back a large haul of prized large yellow croakers.
The entire team was in high spirits, having already agreed to roast the fish together for dinner.
Everyone busied themselves with preparations.
Everyone except Song Zhuowei.
He was visibly distracted.
“Captain, what’s wrong?”
One by one, the team members noticed something was off and crowded around him, chattering with concern.
“Could this autumn heat have finally gotten to the captain?”
“Don’t underestimate him!”
“In the entire Shajing Commune, anyone might collapse but never our captain!”
“Our captain’s built like a fortress made of steel!”
“So what’s bothering him then…?”
Song Zhuowei waved them away irritably.
“Go, go!”
“Do whatever you’re supposed to be doing.”
“Stop bothering me.”
Shuisheng, who had escorted Pei Yunnuo to the pig farm, took the opportunity to report back.
“Captain, I’ve already arranged everything for Comrade Pei to learn at the pig farm.”
“You don’t need to worry anymore.”
“I even specifically told Uncle Huang and the others to take extra care of her so she wouldn’t suffer too much.”
“Who told you to do that?”
Song Zhuowei suddenly snapped back to attention and glared at him.
“When did I ever tell you to look after her?”
Shuisheng froze.
“Captain… weren’t you trying to transfer the new educated youth because Ke Yuerong was bullying her, so she could catch her breath somewhere else…?”
“Catching her breath, my foot!”
Song Zhuowei barked.
“Stop standing around here!”
“Go back to the pig farm right now and make yourself clear!”
“Tell them to treat her exactly like everyone else!”
“No special treatment!”
“If she doesn’t perform well, don’t go easy on her!”
“Punish her!”
“Punish her as harshly as you can!”
Shuisheng: “…”
What on earth happened to the captain?
Seeing that Song Zhuowei was genuinely angry, everyone else immediately fell silent.
No one dared make another sound that might irritate him.
With nowhere to vent the inexplicable frustration bottled up inside him, Song Zhuowei went for a long swim in the sea before dinner.
By the time he returned, most of his anger had subsided.
But the corners of his mouth still drooped.
He radiated murderous intent.
The younger team members remained concerned about their captain.
Yet none of them dared approach him directly.
Instead, they quietly urged Old Ma, the oldest member of the team, to sound him out.
Carrying a freshly grilled large yellow croaker, Old Ma walked over with a smile.
“Captain, even if the sky falls today, we’ve still got to eat.”
“Here.”
“Taste this first and tell me whether my cooking has gotten rusty.”
At least Song Zhuowei accepted the fish.
He glanced to the side, signaling Old Ma to sit on the empty little stool beside him.
Realizing he wanted to talk, Old Ma sat down without hesitation.
“So?”
“Is it the pirate situation that’s giving you such a headache?”
Song Zhuowei sighed.
“Half of it.”
“Old Ma…”
“You’ve been married longer than anyone else on the team.”
“Tell me…”
“How did you manage to marry Sister-in-law?”
Old Ma nearly bit his own tongue.
“Captain…”
“Have you… taken a fancy to some young lady?”
Song Zhuowei immediately resumed his usual aloof expression, as though the entire world annoyed him.
“If I ask, you answer.”
“Where’d all this nonsense come from?”
Suppressing a grin, Old Ma rubbed his nose and pretended to adopt a serious expression.
“What exactly do you want to know?”
“Ask one thing at a time.”
“I’ll explain it all.”
Song Zhuowei tore off a huge mouthful of fish.
As he chewed, he asked,
“How did you two meet?”
“What kind of personality does Sister-in-law have?”
“How did you know you truly belonged together?”
“Were you the one who proposed first?”
“Or did Sister-in-law say she wanted to marry you?”
Old Ma was bombarded by the rapid-fire questions.
“Slow down, kid!”
“Can you ask one question at a time?”
“You asked so many all at once I’ve already forgotten the first one!”
“But that last question…”
“How could you even ask that?”
“Women are reserved and modest.”
“How could your sister-in-law possibly have run up to me saying she wanted to marry me?”
“When we first met, it was like this…”
“Your sister-in-law was Aunt Wang from the neighboring village’s distant niece.”
“She came to visit relatives, and my mother happened to see her.”
“So my mother asked her…”
Old Ma enthusiastically recounted the story of how he and his wife had gotten together.
Song Zhuowei silently chewed his fish while listening carefully.
Yet the more he listened…
The less interesting the story seemed.
Wasn’t this just the ordinary way marriages happened?
Either relatives and friends introduced the couple…
Or the two people fell for each other, and their elders arranged the proposal.
There was nothing unusual about it.
Nothing at all like what Lin Xizhi had said to him today.
Once again, Song Zhuowei found himself thinking about the question she had asked him twice.
What kind of wife are you looking for?
Truthfully…
He already had an answer.
He had known it for quite some time.
But having an answer was one thing.
Marriage was another.
It was a lifelong matter.
He couldn’t treat it lightly.
It concerned the future of the woman he would marry.
If he couldn’t give her a wedding that was perfectly arranged…
If he couldn’t marry her openly, honorably, and with all the dignity she deserved…
Then how would she ever know just how precious she was to him?
He was nothing like those despicable people in the Pei family.
Her heart had already been hurt once.
Pei Yuncheng had even shamelessly gone around calling her his “fiancée.”
The sheer audacity of that man…
If one day he truly earned the right to marry Lin Xizhi…
He would give her the very best the world had to offer.
Only then would he be worthy of the trust she had placed in him.