Chapter 192: Well, foolish people have their own reckoning—he keeps his hands clean

After great effort, Yuan Qingqing finally found a fellow villager willing to charge her just one cent less to pull her by ox cart for a leg of the journey.

Before she could enjoy it too long, that villager dumped her halfway, claiming that one cent only buys half the distance.

She was furious; no matter how she cursed, they just whipped and left, ignoring her verbal threats.

Helpless, with the sun about to set, she dared not wait alone on the road, so she had to trudge back on foot, miserable.

After walking an hour, she finally returned to the shack she and her husband rented.

"I thought you'd died out there—why did you take so long to come back? Don't you know I'm home alone, maybe starving?"

As soon as the door opened, a barrage of complaints came from her husband.

"How is this all you brought? Where's the wine? Why didn't you bring any wine?"

Lin Zhendong stood bare-chested, his hair a mess; since marrying, he rarely shaved his beard, so he now looks sloppy and filthy to the point of disgust.

But love makes the ordinary seem beautiful—Yuan Qingqing was used to it and felt nothing wrong.

"Ah, the groom's side had plenty of male relatives, but today each table only got two bottles of baijiu—nowhere near enough to drink. Though I didn't snag any liquor, I did grab some dishes."

Saying this, Yuan Qingqing proudly opened her lunchbox, revealing a whole Wenchang chicken, fish balls, and other meats inside.

Seeing this, Lin Zhendong finally nodded in satisfaction and gave her an approving look, praising:

"Not bad, not bad—my wife is capable, quick-eyed and quick-handed, she snagged the good dishes."

After saying that, he smacked his lips again, still tasteless, wanting something to drink.

"Go get me some wine—having food but no wine cuts the flavor in half."

"But I have no coupons to trade for wine with the villager."

Yuan Qingqing shook her head, looking troubled.

"It'ssimple—go to Er Lengzi's house in the village; he has wine, just get a little, I'm not asking for much."

Lin Zhendong's tone was coaxing, as if to say, if you love me, you should relieve my worries.

Yuan Qingqing frowned; Er Lengzi, that lecherous guy—if she went to ask him for wine, she'd surely be taken advantage of.

Just as she hesitated, Lin Zhendong spoke again: "Ah, forget it—if you don't want to go, then forget it."

"Fine, I'll go—don't feel bad."

Unable to bear seeing her husband so disappointed, Yuan Qingqing impulsively agreed……

"I knew it—my wife treats me best. When I get rich, I'll repay you a hundredfold, no, a thousandfold: I'll buy you a gold necklace, a Bulagi skirt, and move us into a big house……"

As for sponging off others, Lin Zhendong dares claim he's first—no one on Sea Island can match him.

While others still worry about making a living, he's already able, by cajoling his wife, to take the essence of eating well and doing nothing to its extreme.

And yet, Yuan Qingqing believed him completely.

This led to, over the next several years, Lin Zhendong becoming increasingly slick, while all the livelihood pressure fell on Yuan Qingqing, who still foolishly bore the toil and resentment, immersed in it……

This led to Section Commander Duan later having a communications officer investigate Yuan Qingqing; upon seeing the results, he was speechless.

Well, foolish people have their own reckoning—he keeps his hands clean.

He also wanted to accumulate virtue, do good, live a few more years, so he could spend more time with Jiang Ye's kids and share family bliss.

After Zhou Yan's wedding feast, half a month later Ji Xianxian followed him to the family compound to pay her respects.

Men have men's topics to chat about; women have women's topics.

Zhou Yan gets spirited at happy occasions; now he looks entirely different from his former unkempt self—a contrast.

Before, his fingernails were always filled with dirt, overgrown and looking unclean.

Now, his nails are neatly trimmed; though the old calluses won't come off, the grime under the nails can be washed away.

Seeing his good friend's change, Jiang Ye's lingering worry also vanished.

Anyway, as long as his good friend is happy, what that sister‑in‑law used to be like is none of his business.

"Jiang Ye, come on—let's go see Section Commander Duan; my wife pickled some cabbage, I'll bring him a jar."

"Sure."

Jiang Ye nodded, gave his wife a few reminders—shout if anything comes up, the brother‑in‑law next door is home and can help.

"Go ahead—I'll chat with Sister‑in‑law Ji."

Shen Man took it in stride; perhaps she and her husband had once had some unpleasantness with Ji Xianxian, but the main trouble had been stirred up by Yuan Qingqing.

Now, since the other side married Zhou Yan—big brother Zhou—she won't hold a grudge for the monk's sake but for the Buddha's; out of respect for big brother Zhou, she can't give Ji Xianxian the cold shoulder.

After the two big men left, only the two women remained in the courtyard.

Shen Man rested her hand on her visibly pregnant belly, smiled, and said:

"Sister‑in‑law, please sit—don't be polite."

"Hey, thanks."

After marriage, Ji Xianxian hardly had to work as she used to, so her complexion improved a lot.

Her skin was white with a hint of red, no longer as fragile as when she first married, and her cheeks had filled out a bit.

This shows how well Zhou Yan treats her after marriage.

"Sister‑in‑law, have some fruit first—I'll go check if the oven's cooled down; I baked a tray of egg cakes this morning, not sure how they turned out."

Shen Man's attitude was easygoing, with no intention of raking up old scores.

"Good."

Ji Xianxian's nervous mood eased, her shoulders relaxed, and she loosened up.

She glanced around; the small courtyard's fruits and vegetables were sprouting, vines covered the walls, melon seedlings peeked from the green leaves, growing vigorously.

What's rare is that there's also a well in the courtyard.

Moreover, the courtyard has a private toilet, not a public one—building such a facility must cost quite a bit.

Taking another look at Shen Man's bearing, what she wears, what she wears on her hands……

Unconsciously, she began to compare again.

"Meow."

Suddenly, a cat's meow came from above.

Looking up, she saw a tabby cat; its mandarin-duck eyes were very beautiful, like glazed glass, extremely pretty.

Shen Man heard the noise and called out in a doting tone:

"Tangyuan, don't scare the guests, come down; the egg cake is ready, I'll put a piece in your bowl......"

At the same time, she slipped thick gloves onto her hands.

These gloves were altered from old clothes by Sister Qinghong, stuffed with cotton and palm fiber, providing good heat insulation.

She liked them very much; they were super convenient, and she no longer had to worry about burning her fingers on the hot oven.

"Meow."

Tangyuan lightly leapt from the roof to the walltop, then jumped from the wall into the cushioned cat climbing frame below, walking with graceful cat steps, murmuring in a voice only it and its owner could understand——

It knew its master, and thought: "This human has a little bit of darkness in their chest."

Shen Man sighed; she had also seen it, but chose not to investigate further.

"Younger sister, I—"

Ji Xianxian rubbed her fingers nervously, wanting to speak but stopping……