Chapter 474: , Harvest

At first, neither of them slept.

It wasn't until 40 minutes later that Mai Sui, who didn't often stay up late, finally couldn't resist the sleepiness and fell into a deep sleep.

Li Heng, who was used to staying up late, had no sleepiness for a while because he was thinking about various things.

Instead, his stomach didn't cooperate and let out a grumbling sound. He touched his shriveled belly with his right hand, looked at the person sleeping beside him for a while, and finally, with a sudden thought, secretly kissed her red lips.

He got up and got out of bed.

Li Heng finally couldn't resist the hunger, ran to the kitchen on the first floor, rummaged through boxes and cabinets, and finally fried 4 eggs, eating them with sweet wine.

Time flies. After such a toss, the sky outside was already dawning. He carried a bowl of sweet wine to the second floor.

Later, he wasn't in a hurry to eat. After placing the sweet wine and eggs on the coffee table, he ran to the bathroom without stopping, opened the gate to release water, and then washed his face.

After wiping his face dry with a towel, he froze when he appeared in the living room again.

Guess what he saw?

He actually saw Zhou Shihe!

Fine, seeing her was seeing her; there was nothing to be surprised about.

But this girl was standing sideways at the master bedroom door, listening intently to something!

Who was sleeping in the master bedroom? It was himself and Mai Sui sleeping there tonight, right?

Could she be eavesdropping on the movements in the room?

A thousand thoughts flashed by. Fearing to disturb her and fearing to embarrass her, Li Heng made a decision: to retreat to the washroom without making a sound.

But!

But it was too late!

Just as his legs were retreating, Zhou Shihe had already looked over. It was obvious that his movements just now had already attracted her attention.

The sudden eye contact across the air left both of them somewhat at a loss. You look at me, I look at you, falling into a stalemate. For a moment, neither of them spoke.

After a good while, Li Heng, who had come back to his senses, nodded at her, then came to the sofa and sat down, opening his chopsticks to prepare for a feast.

Zhou Shihe watched his every move with a calm expression. After hesitating for a while, she finally walked toward the sofa and sat down on the single sofa beside him.

Actually, this girl had just come in from the attic outside. When passing by the master bedroom door, she had stopped in a trance.

It was just that she didn't expect to be caught red-handed by Li Heng after staying for less than 3 seconds.

Seeing her gaze cast on himself and on the bowl, Li Heng, who had taken a bite of egg, asked vaguely: "Are you hungry too?"

Zhou Shihe pondered for a moment, but still couldn't resist the temptation of the sweet wine and egg aroma, and nodded.

Li Heng laughed, immediately put down his chopsticks, and stood up: "You wait."

Zhou Shihe remained quiet, her gaze moving as he moved.

Li Heng quickly went downstairs, ran to the kitchen, brought up a new bowl and a pair of chopsticks, and divided two eggs for her.

He explained: "I only fried 4 eggs. Let's have half each. Don't mind it. This can also be considered sharing joy."

Zhou Shihe smiled knowingly, reached out to take the bowl and chopsticks, and said thank you.

She asked: "Why don't you turn on the light?"

Her meaning was very simple: if the living room light were on, she wouldn't have stayed at the master bedroom door and wouldn't have made a fool of herself.

Li Heng replied: "The light is so bright, I can see clearly."

Zhou Shihe looked out the window and accepted this statement.

Next, the two ate their eggs, neither paying attention to the other, and neither mentioning the matter at the master bedroom door.

He didn't ask, she didn't explain; they had quite the tacit understanding.

However, he was a man and had grown up in the countryside, so he wasn't particularly particular about eating and was quite fast.

Look, he had already finished two eggs and even drank the sweet wine soup without a drop left, while this Miss Zhou had only just finished one egg.

Her slow and methodical way of tasting it in small bites was truly the picture of a young lady from a prominent family.

Noticing his movement, Zhou Shihe said gently: "This is my first time eating it like this, it tastes very good."

Li Heng introduced: "Fried eggs with sweet wine is the way we eat in our hometown. I've eaten it since I was a child and have never gotten tired of it."

"Mm."

Zhou Shihe gave a light hum and continued to eat the second egg. When she was halfway through, she asked: "You haven't slept at all?"

"No, I was chatting with Mai Sui earlier, and later she fell asleep, but I got hungry," Li Heng said.

Zhou Shihe looked at him with a strange gaze and took another small bite of egg into her mouth.

Li Heng was speechless: "Hey, don't look at me with that gaze. Mai Sui and I haven't reached that step yet... uh, forget it, I won't explain."

Indeed, there was no need to explain. They were already sharing a bed, so it couldn't be explained clearly anyway!

Then what was the point of explaining?

Seeing him rambling, Zhou Shihe smiled faintly and lowered her head to eat on her own.

Li Heng took the initiative to change the subject: "You haven't slept all night either?"

Zhou Shihe said weakly: "I can't sleep."

Li Heng knew that the person in front of him had the habit of being picky about beds. Back in Jingcheng, because of the new bed, she had spent almost the first half of the night counting stars with her eyes open.

At this point, the two seemed to have killed the conversation and fell into silence again.

Two minutes later, Zhou Shihe slowly put down her chopsticks, looked up at him, thought for a moment, and said: "Aren't you going to make breakfast? I'll help you."

He was going to make a big meal for Yu Laoshi this morning.

Her meaning was: I've eaten such delicious sweet wine and eggs, I won't eat for free, I'll help you as an assistant.

Li Heng asked: "Aren't you going to sleep for a while?"

Zhou Shihe said: "I have more energy now."

"Fine, then come downstairs with me." Saying this, Li Heng stacked the two bowls together and walked toward the stairs.

Zhou Shihe didn't hesitate and got up to follow.

It wasn't their first time cooking together. The two had a tacit understanding, with clear primary and secondary roles, and knew what to do without needing to be told.

While cutting the dried wild rabbit, Li Heng suddenly had a whim and asked: "Am I a very fickle person in your eyes?"

He was asking about taking Mai Sui away last night right in front of her and Sun Man.

Zhou Shihe didn't give him any face at all: "Yes!"

Li Heng's face collapsed, and he said depressedly: "Even if it's a fact, you should at least give me some face. We're old friends after all."

Zhou Shihe smiled lightly, squatted down, and began to wash the wild mushrooms.

After a while, she said: "It's understandable, I suppose. Sui Sui is indeed beautiful. After being in contact with her for a long time, most men should find it hard to resist."

She was one step away from saying it clearly: Mai Sui's inner charm attribute was too lethal to men.

Just like Wei Xiaozhu and Mai Sui, both were great beauties, but the charm that Mai Sui invisibly radiated from the inside out was simply a fatal poison to men. In terms of arousing men's desire, it was far, far stronger than Wei Xiaozhu's pure temperament.

There was another point, and that was that Mai Sui had great growth potential, changing almost every day, making even the breathtakingly beautiful Zhou Shihe feel that the other party's changes were quite obvious.

Especially after Sui Sui and him broke through the window paper in their relationship, it was as if Li Heng had become Sui Sui's maturity catalyst, making Sui Sui's inner charm leap forward by a thousand miles.

Li Heng didn't deny it. Every time he was alone with her for a long time, his mind would involuntarily drift toward erotic fantasies.

If it weren't for the fact that he had many women, and each one was a peerless beauty, he might have surrendered long ago, long ago disregarding everything and eagerly wanting Mai Sui, becoming a slave under her skirt.

It was precisely because of the existence of Xiao Han, Song Yu, and Zijin, and precisely because of Huang Zhaoyi's lack of reservation in bed, that he had some willpower when facing Mai Sui.

Of course, the most important thing was that Mai Sui had completely touched him in the depths of his soul. In his past life, he was lonely until old age, and in this life, she followed him closely. Who wouldn't treasure such a woman?

Compared to these, what did those messy things in bed count for? Not worth mentioning, okay!

Just as the two were chatting idly, a sound came from the stairs. Before long, Mai Sui walked in.

As soon as she entered the kitchen, Mai Sui asked with concern: "Shihe, your sleep quality is generally not good, why are you up so early?"

Zhou Shihe said: "I got up when I woke up. It's fine, I'll make up for it during the day."

Li Heng interjected: "Playing cards for too long last night, let's not talk about it. I think you two will have to get a good sleep during the day."

The two women smiled at each other and helped out.

While the two best friends were chatting, Zhou Shihe secretly observed Mai Sui's various reactions. As a result, she believed Li Heng's words a little; they might really not have reached the final step.

Especially since there were no clothes to change on the second-floor balcony, and Mai Sui didn't get up to take a bath last night, which undoubtedly corroborated this point.

Thinking of this, Zhou Shihe, who had finished cutting all the dishes, let her gaze linger quietly on Li Heng's back, then left the kitchen, leaving the space to them.

The morning dishes were very rich, 6 dishes and 1 soup. Besides Yu Laoshi, the fake Daoist couple was also at the dining table.

But just as they were eating, and the meal was nearing its end, Chen Siya suddenly covered her stomach with her right hand and said: "Old Fu, I think my water has broken."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's gaze at the table cast over simultaneously. Then, within 5 seconds, everyone left their seats and began to help in a flurry.

The water had indeed broken. Everyone hurriedly sent Chen Siya to the hospital's obstetrics and gynecology department and stayed there until noon before returning.

There was no other way; giving birth wasn't that fast, and the hospital's delivery room was relatively crowded. With nowhere to stay, they could only return first, thinking of visiting after the baby was born.

After 1:00 PM, Yu Shuheng left to arrange for the release of the pure music album.

It was also at this time that Chief Editor Liao and editor Zou Ping came over.

Leading them to the study and pouring tea, Mai Sui left with great discernment. Zhou Shihe and Sun Man in the living room went to the kitchen again, preparing to cook a meal to entertain Chief Editor Liao and the other.

Chief Editor Liao drank two cups of tea in a row, then glanced at Zou Ping. The latter understood and took out a document from his briefcase and handed it to Li Heng:

"Old Li, in response to market and reader requests, "Harvest" magazine is preparing to strike while the iron is hot and launch the standalone book of "Bai Luyuan." This is the publishing contract. Take a look and see if you have any opinions?"

These were all expected things, and also old topics. After "Bai Luyuan" concluded, it had a great impact on society. Whether it was "Harvest" magazine or Li Heng, naturally, they couldn't miss this opportunity to make money and gain fame.

Taking the document, Li Heng spent more than ten minutes reading it patiently twice.

He found that all the terms in the agreement were basically the same as the contract for "Cultural Bitter Travel," with no changes. His personal royalty remained at 8%. Of course, this was after-tax income.

After confirming there were no errors, Li Heng was very straightforward. He unscrewed his fountain pen, signed his name on the agreement with a flourish, and then pressed his thumbprint on it.

Seeing that he didn't raise any objections and seeing him be so straightforward, Chief Editor Liao and Zou Ping looked at each other. Both felt relieved, and their faces were filled with enthusiasm.

Before coming, both had assumed that Li Heng would raise additional demands as his fame grew. For this reason, "Harvest" magazine had also made comprehensive preparations in all aspects.

As a result...!

Whoa! Li Heng didn't say a single extra word of nonsense and signed the agreement.

Actually, it wasn't that he didn't know how to ask, but he understood one principle: that he could have today, could survive intact through the big winds and waves, and that his social reputation could advance further, all were inseparable from the strong support of Old Man Ba and "Harvest" magazine.

It's just that people shouldn't forget their roots and shouldn't be too greedy. If he could eat a good meal, sharing the rest with others wouldn't be a bad thing.

After being reborn, Li Heng saw things clearly after experiencing this series of events. In the literary circle, fighting alone was too tiring; he needed friends, and the more friends, the better.

After the standalone book agreement was signed, Zou Ping took out another document from his briefcase and handed it to him.

Li Heng asked curiously: "What is this again?"

Zou Ping looked at Chief Editor Liao. Seeing that the latter had no intention of speaking, he immediately explained: "This is an authorization agreement. Currently, many countries have applied to the magazine to publish foreign language versions of "To Live"..."

This was good news. Li Heng asked happily: "Which countries?"

Zou Ping seemed even more excited than him, the author, that "To Live" could go overseas. He counted on his fingers and narrated: "The most active countries with the most applications are Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Spain. In addition, the publishing willingness of countries like France, Italy, South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, and the United States is also very strong. At the same time, Boyi Publishing House in Xiangjiang and Wheatfield Publishing House across the strait have been contacting us, hoping we will authorize them to publish."

Li Heng was overjoyed upon hearing this: "I didn't expect so many countries and regions to apply. Through what channels did they learn about the book "To Live"?"

At this time, Chief Editor Liao interjected: "Since Nixon's visit to China and the normalization of China-US relations, our country has set off a wave of establishing diplomatic relations with countries around the world. Although some of these countries haven't officially established diplomatic relations with us, they are in warm contact.

The leaders above like your book very much and are unanimously optimistic about it. When discussing cultural exchanges with various countries, they recommended your book, and the effect was unexpectedly very good.

The "New York Times" even did a column report for "To Live," praising the book for depicting the full picture of 20th-century China. It tells the history of 20th-century China in the tone of Fugui and is a model of contemporary Chinese literature."

Li Heng felt a bit floaty, suddenly having some expectations for the influence of "To Live" overseas. Next, he spent another 10 minutes reading the contract and signing it.

After the two contracts were signed, Zou Ping automatically hid himself and found an excuse to leave the study. Chief Editor Liao took over the topic.

Liao Hua spoke: "Junior brother, there are two more things that need your consent."

Li Heng said: "Senior brother, go ahead."

Chief Editor Liao took a letter from his bag and placed it in front of him: "This is a letter sent by Old Mr. Jin Yong from Xiangjiang, asking us to forward it to you. The purpose is that he wants to come to the mainland to visit you."

ps: Update first, edit later.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 475 =====