Chapter 144: Snowy Night

After the meal, everyone chatted for a while, and Zhang Ping'an also proposed to take his leave.

"Xu Shu, Brother Xu and sister-in-law, Brother Li and sister-in-law, it's getting late, so I'll be heading back now."

"Alright, then I won't keep you any longer."

"Ping'an, I heard from Li that your wife just gave birth not long ago; here are some nutritional supplements for you to take back."

"Sister-in-law, this..."

Zhang Ping'an looked at the two large parcels Xu Lijuan had packed up, and the corner of his mouth twitched; was she afraid she hadn't packed up all the household's stock for him?

"Listen to your sister-in-law; these don't compare to those two jars of Honey you brought."

"Ping'an, accept them. You can come find the old man to chat when you have time later."

"Alright, I'll listen to Xu Shu."

Downstairs, Zhang Ping'an tearfully accepted the two large bags of items, tied them onto his Bicycle, and waved goodbye to head home.

"Huaide, look after him more in the future. I've seen so many people, but this is the first time I've found someone a bit hard to read."

In this day and age, everyone in a high position has walked out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood; combined with the aura cultivated over many years, Li Huaide would have to tremble at a single glance, yet Zhang Ping'an was not the least bit flustered while meeting his gaze.

Xu Qianshan considered himself a judge of character, but Zhang Ping'an's performance was far too indifferent. The key was that he knew Zhang Ping'an's background clearly; even with a retired Regimental Commander for a grandfather, he shouldn't have such confidence, which was why he said he couldn't read Zhang Ping'an.

Little did he know that Zhang Ping'an had even seen the red idol he most believed in and worshipped with his own eyes. Coupled with his own abilities and now possessing a space, he feared no one, so he could naturally ignore Xu Qianshan's aura.

Halfway home, Zhang Ping'an took the items down to look; good heavens, four cans of malted milk extract, two cans of Milk Powder, two bottles of Moutai, two cartons of cigarettes, six cans of canned goods, and various pastries.

Zhang Ping'an casually put the items into his space, leaving only the canned goods and pastries. He hadn't even finished much of the space-made Milk Powder himself, so he would just use the malted milk extract to give as gifts to relatives later.

Upon returning home, Zhang Ping'an handed the items to his mother, checked on the two children, and then entered the bedroom to start the night's "great battle."

Time flew by, and Sijiucheng turned into a world of ice and snow in the blink of an eye. This day, on his way home from work, Cai Quanwu encountered his soulmate: a helpless woman with a large belly in the snow.

"Shopkeeper Xu, are you alright?"

"Quick, take me to the Hospital."

"Alright, alright, alright."

Seeing her in the middle of labor, Cai Quanwu didn't dare delay and hurriedly borrowed a flatbed cart to take her to the Hospital.

"Doctor, doctor, hurry, hurry, hurry, she seems to be giving birth." This trip had exhausted him, and he was already tired from working all day.

"What kind of husband are you? Don't you know to cover your wife with another quilt? Go pay the fees quickly."

Xu Huizhen was in agonizing pain at this moment and had no mind to quibble over these things.

After the doctor finished speaking, without waiting for Cai Quanwu to react, they hurriedly pushed Xu Huizhen into the delivery room. Cai Quanwu was left a bit dazed by the scolding and had no choice but to helplessly pay the fees.

Cai Quanwu was worried about leaving Xu Huizhen alone, so he could only wait in the Hospital corridor.

"Nurse, how long does it take to give birth?"

"First child?"

"Yes, yes, yes."

"At least four or five hours."

Seeing there was enough time, Cai Quanwu ran to He Daqing's house to ask him to help request a leave of absence for the next day, then went home to cook some food to bring back, only then returning to the Hospital.

It wasn't until the middle of the night that Cai Quanwu, who was about to fall asleep in the corridor, was startled awake by a commotion.

"Congratulations, it's a daughter. She'll know how to care for people when she grows up."

"Looking at you, you're a novice. Did you prepare food and drink for the mother?"

"I prepared some, but I'm not..."

"It's good that you prepared some. Take the mother to the ward to rest first; she'll wake up in a while. Take good care of her. You can heat up food at the back of the Hospital." After speaking, they handed the baby to Cai Quanwu.

Cai Quanwu felt a little bit of secret joy in his heart, but at the same time, he was a bit troubled, holding the baby and not daring to let go for fear of waking her up.

Inside the ward, Cai Quanwu sat on a stool holding the infant, waiting for Xu Huizhen to wake up.

Half an hour later, Xu Huizhen wearily opened her eyes and saw a strange man holding her child.

"You're awake? Don't misunderstand, I'm the one who brought you to the Hospital. This is your child; I was afraid she'd wake up, so I've been holding her the whole time," Cai Quanwu explained hurriedly as he looked at the slightly dazed Xu Huizhen.

Xu Huizhen then remembered that Cai Quanwu looked familiar; wasn't he the porter who often solicited customers at the tavern entrance? It was just that she hadn't seen him for over a year.

"Comrade, thank you for bringing me here."

"It's nothing, it's nothing. By the way, my name is Cai Quanwu." Cai Quanwu placed the child at the head of the bed and scratched his head in a simple, honest way.

"Waa, waa, waa."

"That, comrade, you..."

"Oh, oh, right, right, you must be hungry. I'll go heat up the food." Cai Quanwu knew she needed to breastfeed, and it was just the right time for him to heat up the food while she did that.

A stewed cabbage, a stewed chicken soup, plus Steamed Buns and white porridge. Twenty minutes later, Cai Quanwu estimated the time was about right and returned to the ward with the food.

"I made some simple things; eat a little to fill your stomach."

"Mm, okay, thank you, Brother Cai." The baby girl had already finished eating and was lying on the side sleeping.

"It's nothing. You eat first; if you need anything, call me. I'll be right outside." Cai Quanwu went out first, fearing she would feel embarrassed.

Xu Huizhen was indeed hungry; she drank some chicken soup and finally had the strength. She ate more than half of what Cai Quanwu had brought.

At this time, Cai Quanwu was starving outside, and since it was the dead of winter, it wasn't long before he was shivering from the cold.

"Brother Cai, I've finished eating."

"Oh, oh, okay."

Cai Quanwu came over, and as he cleaned up, his stomach growled, making him incredibly embarrassed.

"That, I didn't eat dinner either."

"I'm sorry, Brother Cai, I delayed your meal. When I go back, I will definitely treat you to a meal."

"No need, no need. I see you don't have anyone to take care of you; I'll bring you some food again tomorrow morning. You hurry up and rest."

Cai Quanwu quickened his pace as he left, looking rather like he was fleeing in a sorry state, which even made Xu Huizhen laugh.

That bright smile was caught head-on by Cai Quanwu as he turned his head; his little heart was struck once again, and he just stared blankly, forgetting even to go home, while Xu Huizhen was also looked at until her face turned bright red.

"Ahem, well, I'm heading back."

The behavior of the two left the older woman who had just returned to watch the bed nearby completely stunned.

"Girl, you two are already married and have a child, yet you're still not familiar with each other?"

"……"

"No..."

Xu Huizhen found it difficult to explain this matter; if she said Cai Quanwu was not her husband, there was no telling how people might gossip, so she could only laugh it off and move on.

On the way back, Cai Quanwu's mind was filled with Xu Huizhen's smiling face, and the corners of his own mouth couldn't stop curling upward.

Returning home, Cai Quanwu ate a little something simply and went to bed, as he still had to go deliver food early tomorrow morning.

Early the next day, He Daqing went to find Cai Quanwu; yesterday he had spoken ambiguously about needing to take leave without saying what for, so He Daqing was worried and came over to check.

Who would have thought that as soon as he arrived at the courtyard where Cai Quanwu lived, he smelled the fragrance of chicken soup, which was clearly made by Cai Quanwu.

"Quanwu."

"Big Brother, why have you come over?"

"I was just worried, so I came to take a look; why are you making chicken soup so early in the morning?"

"I have a friend who is hospitalized, so I was thinking of helping her build up her strength."

He Daqing looked around at the ingredients; wasn't this clearly a meal for someone in postpartum recovery?

"Your friend is... never mind, finish up and come back to work early."

"Oh, oh, alright."