Chapter 82: Full of Vitality, Palms Warm

Chu Yue didn’t bother to hide her little money-grubber excitement—her sparkling eyes and the pile of money laid out beside the pillow were all there for Lu Zhanlin to see.

She tilted her head back slightly, revealing her fair and slender neck. The quilt had slipped just a bit down her shoulder.

Under the warm, yellow lamplight, Chu Yue’s delicate and refined face seemed to glow.

Ever since that hotpot meal with Xu Feng, it had been several days since she last saw Lu Zhanlin. Now, seeing this tall man appear suddenly, there was an unexpected delight she hadn’t anticipated.

Looking up at him, Chu Yue asked softly,

“You’re back? Training’s over?”

“Not yet. I just came back temporarily. It’ll officially end two days before the New Year,” Lu Zhanlin replied as he took off his military cap and placed it on the cabinet beside him. The moment his dark eyes met Chu Yue’s, the winter cold seemed to melt under a sudden wave of warmth. His voice dropped to a low, soft timbre.
“You went down the mountain?”

“Mhm! Took the bus down. I brought ginseng, pine nuts, and yams to sell in the market,” Chu Yue said cheerfully and made a move to sit up.

Lu Zhanlin stepped closer and gently pressed her shoulder down. His voice was deep and concerned:

“Don’t get up. It’s cold at night.”

Chu Yue lowered her head slightly, tucking her chin and nestling back into the warm quilt. Unconsciously, her smile grew even sweeter.

She reached under her pillow and pulled something out, handing it to Lu Zhanlin.

“Look.”

Just two simple words, but spoken with a hint of prideful glee.

It was a bank passbook.

After finishing her business in the town market, Chu Yue had made a special trip to open an account at the bank.

Lu Zhanlin flipped open the passbook and saw the account holder’s name: Chu Yue. The bank clerk’s handwritten entry read:
Deposit: 500 yuan.

His brows lifted ever so slightly. Surprised, he looked at Chu Yue, his deep, handsome face written with: “How do you have so much?”

Chu Yue had been waiting for this moment.

“Three hundred of that, like I told you before, is what I brought from home—technically the money you gave me. The other two hundred is what I made selling ginseng in town. It’s not safe to keep that much cash at home, so it’s better to keep it in the bank. Safer, and it earns interest too. Once we save more, we can even buy national bonds. That way we can make more money in the future!”

Her soft, sweet voice recited her little savings plan with quiet joy.

“When you get your salary, I’ll put some into savings every month. Dabao is still young and doesn’t need money yet. But when he grows up, we’ll need to send him to college in the city, buy him a home there—that’ll cost a lot.”

Chu Yue murmured in her heart: City housing will only get more expensive. We have to start saving early.

Holding the passbook in his hand, Lu Zhanlin gently rubbed the paper with his fingertips, as if he could already imagine the blank lines slowly filling with deposits, one by one.

He then pointed at the loose change scattered beside the pillow and asked:

“And this?”

“That’s what I made in the town market. Don’t look down on it just because it’s in small bills—I counted, it adds up to nearly twenty yuan! That’s enough to feed our family for a month or two.” Chu Yue’s face was still full of cheerful pride.

Lu Zhanlin asked,

“Carrying all that stuff back and forth—wasn’t it tiring?”

“Tiring? Not at all! I’m overjoyed just to make money!” Chu Yue once again had the look of a little money-grubber on her face. But thinking of the confrontation in the market, she asked seriously:
“Some of the other wives saw me selling at the market. Will that affect you?”

“No. If it’s something you like doing, go ahead boldly. No need to worry.” Lu Zhanlin paused.
“Did any of them give you trouble?”

“No.”

Chu Yue shook her head, not quite wanting to tell Lu Zhanlin that not only had she not been troubled, she’d actually managed to shut Wang Xiulan up completely.

She had never shown this side of herself in front of Lu Zhanlin before — after all, he was her man, and she still wanted to maintain a bit of a graceful image.

Lu Zhanlin handed the bankbook back to Chu Yue. When she took it, her fingers brushed against his — they were ice-cold.

Lu Zhanlin instinctively tried to pull back, but Chu Yue was quicker and grabbed his hand first.

She frowned slightly, a bit worried.
“Why are your hands so cold?”

Her soft, fair hand wrapped tightly around his large palm. It wasn’t just the warmth of skin contact — her fingertips gently pressed the acupoints in the center of his palm.

Lu Zhanlin’s arm stiffened slightly. With his strength, he could’ve easily pulled away — but when Chu Yue frowned with concern, he froze, choosing instead to enjoy the warmth of her touch.

Because the recruit training camp wasn’t in the same location as the main military base, Lu Zhanlin could’ve stayed overnight at the training facility like Xu Feng did — there was no real need for him to keep coming back.

But he wasn’t alone anymore. He had a wife and child at home.

So, even though coming back meant extra travel, enduring the freezing wind, and heading out again at 4 or 5 in the morning, Lu Zhanlin still made the effort whenever he could — just to see them.

Whether it was the massage or simply his own strong blood circulation, soon his hand began to warm up.

Chu Yue said,
“Give me the other hand.”

The tall, imposing man was surprisingly obedient. Lu Zhanlin switched hands and placed the other one in Chu Yue’s palm, letting her press and knead at will.

This naturally brought back thoughts of that night a few days ago — also in this same room — when he had taken off his shirt and these very hands of hers had applied medicated balm to his red, overheated body.

Lu Zhanlin’s Adam’s apple bobbed, his gaze darkened. His eyes shifted from Chu Yue to the sleeping Lu Yuanbao, snoring gently nearby — only then did he calm himself.

He heard Chu Yue muttering softly:

“…Everything went pretty smoothly today, except when I was lining up at the supply co-op — the pork had just sold out, so I couldn’t get any.”

“Pork?”

“Mm. The New Year’s just around the corner, and everyone’s scrambling to buy pork. It’s really hard to get. This is our first New Year with Yuanbao — I want it to be lively, festive, something special.”

Under the warm lamp, Chu Yue and Lu Zhanlin’s conversation could not have been more ordinary — like any typical husband and wife chatting before bed.

Lu Zhanlin asked,
“Besides pork, what else do you want?”

“What do I want? Oh, I want lots of things!” Chu Yue’s voice perked up. “Like a bicycle! Right now, every time I want to go down the mountain, I have to wait for the commune bus — and that only comes once a week! It’s such a hassle. If I had a bicycle, I could go whenever I wanted!”

Among the cash and ration coupons Lu Zhanlin had given her, there was a ticket for a bicycle, but Chu Yue had already been to the supply co-op twice — and there wasn’t even a bike tire in sight, let alone a full bike.

If it really came down to it, she might just have to spend a little extra and buy one secondhand from someone.

She had that plan in mind, but for now, didn’t mention it to Lu Zhanlin.

He silently memorized everything she said.

His hand now warm, he gently pulled it back from hers and got up to wash up.
“Time to sleep.”