After chasing away that swarm of gossiping women—like flies—the little courtyard finally returned to silence.
Huo Jingchuan rolled his wheelchair back into the room.
His expression remained cold, but the murderous aura that could freeze a man had eased a little.
After all, just now, Jiang Mian’s “cultural output” in her mind—though crude—had hit him right in the heart, and somehow made this seemingly fragile little wife look a tiny bit more appealing.
But only a tiny bit.
The sun climbed higher.
Although winter sunlight carried little warmth, it was now lunchtime.
Jiang Mian rubbed her stomach, still digesting the meat buns, and glanced at the empty rice jar.
The moment had come.
She walked up to Huo Jingchuan, hands clasped in front of her, playing the nervous little wife, voice trembling:
“Brother Jingchuan… um, we’re out of rice, and we ate the sweet potatoes this morning. I want to go to the supply store to buy some grains and vegetables… could you… give me some living expenses?”
She lifted her head, her big wet eyes staring at him as if he were her only anchor in the world.
Huo Jingchuan didn’t speak. He just stared at her for two seconds.
Jiang Mian thought this stingy man would refuse—but then he reached under the pillow.
After a moment, he pulled out an old envelope.
Opening it, he extracted a stack of brand-new bills printed with worker, peasant, and soldier motifs—ten-yuan “Great Unity” notes, the hardest currency of the day.
There were at least twenty or thirty bills—a total of two or three hundred yuan!
In an era when a worker earned barely thirty yuan a month, this was an enormous sum!
Jiang Mian’s eyes lit up instantly.
The timid, pitiful expression vanished, replaced by a green-glinting gaze like a wolf spotting a fat sheep—or a treasure hunter eyeing gold ingots.
【Holy crap!!!】
【Money money money! So many “Great Unity” notes! This must be two or three hundred yuan!】
【I didn’t expect Huo Yama to have a hidden stash under his pillow! With this much, I could buy endless meat buns and stockpile supplies!】
【I’m rich, I’m rich! Is he really giving it all to me? After all, I’m his wife, I should be the housekeeper too, right?】
【Hehe, if it’s all mine, can I embezzle a little? No, half is too obvious… how about a 70/30 split? I take 70, he gets 30! Caring for a disabled person is hard work—charging a little nursing fee isn’t unreasonable, right?】
Huo Jingchuan’s fingers holding the money paused slightly.
70/30 split? Nursing fees too?
This woman’s mental abacus was practically slapping him in the face.
Watching her eyes practically drool over the money—while her face still tried to project that “I despise money” hauteur—the tiny gulp betrayed her completely.
Huo Jingchuan snorted coldly.
Want to steal my money?
Want to take it to buy meat buns for yourself and feed me porridge?
Dream on.
So, with Jiang Mian eagerly watching, he slowly drew a single ten-yuan note from the thick stack of “Great Unity” bills.
Just one.
Then, in front of her, he shoved the rest of the money back into the envelope and pressed it ruthlessly under the pillow.
Jiang Mian’s smile froze; the green glow in her eyes dimmed instantly.
“Here.”
Huo Jingchuan held out the single ten-yuan note, tone indifferent:
“Buy ten jin of rice, two jin of meat, and some vegetables—enough for a few days.”
Jiang Mian’s hands trembled as she took the note, her heart bleeding.
【Just this? Just this?!】
【Sitting on a mountain of gold, and he gives me a grain of rice? Huo Jingchuan, are you even a man? How stingy can you be?!】
【Ten yuan? Not even enough to stuff between my teeth! My 70/30 split! My treasure stash! All ruined!】
Before she could finish mentally cursing, Huo Jingchuan added another blow, his voice stern:
“And record every expense. I want to check the accounts. Not a penny unaccounted for, or you’ll answer to me.”
Boom!
Jiang Mian felt as if lightning had struck her.
Check accounts? Record expenses?
Was this man a demon?!
【Check, check, check! Check your grandpa!】
【Even a scallion needs an invoice, right? Fine, Huo Yama, just wait!】
【Think I can’t handle you? Never faked accounts or watered pork before? I can squeeze a yuan out of ten! I’ll show you the true power of accounting!】
Though she had mentally cursed Huo Jingchuan a hundred times over, Jiang Mian still nodded obediently, carefully slipping the ten yuan into her pocket:
“Understood, Brother Jingchuan. I’ll budget carefully and won’t waste a single cent.”
With that, she grabbed her shopping basket and bolted out the door.
If she stayed any longer, she feared she might pounce and rob the stack under the pillow.
Once the door shut, the room fell back into a deathly silence.
Huo Jingchuan leaned against the headboard, listening to her footsteps fade, along with the faint mental murmurings about “how to falsify accounts,” a faint, mocking smile tugging at his lips.
But the smile didn’t last long.
Less than ten minutes after Jiang Mian left, a stabbing pain suddenly shot through his empty left trouser leg.
“Ugh…”
Huo Jingchuan gripped the bed sheet beneath him, knuckles whitening as sweat broke out on his forehead.
Phantom limb pain.
That leg no longer had sensation; some nerves were already dead. Yet now, he felt fire burning the sole of his foot, countless steel needles piercing his bones—a pain from deep within his soul.
Nothing could dull it. Each episode felt like a brush with the gates of hell.
Gritting his teeth, he remained silent, but his body convulsed uncontrollably.
He struggled in the darkness, consciousness starting to blur.
Before his vision faded, an image flashed through his mind—Jiang Mian’s lively, greedy, yet spirited little face.
That little greedy trickster… when will she come back?