Chapter 37.1

Jiang Rou stayed in the hospital for three days.

One morning after breakfast, Jiang Rou took the test papers she had brought from home and went out to the balcony to review them. 

When she grew tired, she would stand up and gaze into the distance or pick up Li Xiao’s old clothes to mend them.

After Li Xiao started working under a general manager named Chang Yong, he was assigned to a single dormitory. The day before yesterday, when Jiang Rou heard him mention it, she went over to take a look.

She wasn’t sure how to describe it—while it wasn’t particularly dirty, the items inside were scattered about.

After tidying up the room, Jiang Rou took the clothes to wash. Some of the clothes and socks were torn, so she repaired them; she thought that they could still be worn.

A grown man didn’t need to be overly particular; as long as the outer clothes weren’t torn, it was fine.

Li Xiao liked this atmosphere very much. Holding his daughter in his arms, he could look up and see Jiang Rou outside.

This feeling of having someone around was very comforting.

At 11 o’clock in the morning, Jiang Rou put away the test papers and prepared to go out. 

Li Xiao’s dormitory wasn’t far from the hospital. It was a 20-minute bus ride or a half-hour walk if she walked quickly. 

There was a kitchen in the dormitory, but Li Xiao had never used it himself.

Now, Jiang Rou needed to use it, as buying food was somewhat of a waste of money; cooking for herself was more cost-effective.

Jiang Rou said goodbye to Li Xiao and went out. 

She switched to a Chinese practice book and walked while reciting the text, thinking it was a good way to exercise her body as well.

When Jiang Rou arrived at Li Xiao’s dormitory, she first took down the soup she had simmered in the morning, set the rice to steam, and then washed and cooked the vegetables she had bought. She prepared three dishes, which were rather mild in flavor.

Jiang Rou had bought new cooking utensils, as there was a second-hand store nearby selling all sorts of items. She had picked up some usable old plates and disinfected them by boiling them twice.

The vegetable market was also very close, just around the corner. It was large, offering a wide variety of vegetables. You could buy whatever you wanted there.

By the time Jiang Rou returned from Li Xiao’s dormitory, it was already past twelve. When she pushed open the door, she saw Li Xiao and An An sitting on the hospital bed, staring eagerly at the door.

Their eyes lit up when they saw her come in.

Li Xiao’s reaction was more reserved, with just a slight smile at the corners of his mouth.

An An looked very happy, with a sweet smile on her face. 

She clapped her little hands on her calves, looking very excited.

Jiang Rou’s heart softened at the sight, and she asked with a smile, “Is An An hungry? ”

An An shifted, wanting to get up so that Jiang Rou could hold her. Li Xiao quickly placed his hands around her belly to keep her from moving and possibly falling.

When An An found she couldn’t get up because her father was holding her back, she angrily pushed him away, her little eyebrows furrowed in frustration.

Li Xiao patted her little head and complained to Jiang Rou, “An An’s temper is getting bigger now.”

She had been upset when he accidentally hurt her and wouldn’t let him hold her, turning her head to look for Jiang Rou as if seeking support.

Luckily, she had a short memory and forgot about it after a bit of teasing.

Jiang Rou moved the small table to the bed and then took out the vegetables from the basket. She responded directly to Li Xiao, “She’s got it from you.”

Li Xiao felt wronged.

When had his temper become so bad? Clearly, her temper was worse.

After Jiang Rou put away the dishes, she took An An out of Li Xiao’s arms, touched her little bottom, and found it was a bit wet. So she prepared to carry her to the sofa to change her diaper.

As soon as An An was in her mother’s arms, she began to cry “ah ah ah” and touched her forehead with her little hands.

Jiang Rou understood, “Did Daddy hit you? ”

An buried her face in Jiang Rou’s neck and stretched out her hands to hug her, looking aggrieved.

Jiang Rou, amused, kissed her on the head, “It’s okay; Mommy will hit him back for you.”

With that, she pretended to reach out to hit Li Xiao, raising her hand high and giving him two light taps, then rubbed An An’s head, “Did you see? Mommy has already avenged you.”

An An saw it and smiled happily in Jiang Rou’s arms.

Only Li Xiao looked at the mother-daughter in disbelief.

He thought she had forgotten, but it seemed that playing with her didn’t stop her from holding a grudge.

Li Xiao remained seated and didn’t move until Jiang Rou finished changing An An’s diaper and handed An An over to him before picking up his chopsticks.

There were three dishes and one soup; each dish was modest in size, just enough for two people. Jiang Rou was someone who cared about appearances—not only in her clothing and grooming but also in her food. Besides tasting good, the food needed to be visually appealing.

The dishes were a mix of red, white, and green, which looked appetizing, and even the rice in the bowl was decorated to resemble a cat’s face using seaweed, cucumber, and carrot.

As a grown man, Li Xiao was almost unwilling to eat it.

Jiang Rou handed An An over to Li Xiao and went to get some water for her.

An An also noticed the rice in the bowl and perhaps finding it amusing, her little hand reached directly into the bowl.

Before Li Xiao could stop her, An An had already smudged the kitten’s eyes in the bowl.

She looked at her chubby hands, then at the bowl, appearing a bit puzzled, and reached out again to grab more.

This time, Li Xiao wasn’t about to let her, so he raised the bowl out of reach.

When Jiang Rou returned with the bottle, she smiled at the scene.

Perhaps due to good food, good drink, and a positive mood, Li Xiao’s leg was healing very well. When the doctor checked him, he said Li Xiao could leave after a few more days and return later for rehabilitation.

Compared to Li Xiao, Cao Wang, who lived in the neighboring ward, was in much worse condition. 

His right wrist tendons were severed, and even after treatment, he wouldn’t recover to his previous state and wouldn’t be able to do heavy work.

Cao Wang’s mother from the neighboring ward had even cried to Jiang Rou, saying that her son couldn’t even grip with his right hand and they had a big grandson to support. She asked Jiang Rou to speak to Manager Chang.

Jiang Rou didn’t know what to say. Although Chang Yong came by every evening, he and Jiang Rou never really talked. He mostly conversed with Li Xiao.

Jiang Rou politely declined, but when she returned to the ward, she still asked Li Xiao to find out how Cao Wang’s situation was being handled.

Cao Wang was different from Li Xiao. Li Xiao could handle both physical labor and intellectual tasks. Without him, Chang Yong often complained that he had no one to rely on.

But Cao Wang wasn’t like that. When Chang Yong and Li Xiao were inspecting the construction site, Cao Wang had been working nearby. He was an unfortunate victim who ended up with a permanently damaged hand and could no longer earn a living.

Li Xiao didn’t have high hopes for Cao Wang. While Chang Yong was generous, he was still a businessman and wouldn’t support Cao Wang indefinitely, and he himself felt like a victim in this situation.

Nevertheless, when Chang Yong visited in the evening, Li Xiao inquired about Cao Wang’s situation.

Chang Yong didn’t hold back and explained, “The workers who caused the disturbance have been arrested, but from what they’ve said, they’d rather go to prison than pay compensation. My brother-in-law knows about it and has given his sister and her husband severe scolding. It seems he wants to settle this privately with some compensation.”

At this point, Chang Yong’s expression turned a bit sour, and he said to Li Xiao, “You know how things are with my brother-in-law’s family. My sister usually doesn’t handle these matters, but this time she was scared and ended up arguing with my brother-in-law.”

His brother-in-law wouldn’t truly ignore his own sister, but he and his sister had a deep bond, and it could be said that, in his sister’s eyes, he was far more important than her husband.

If it hadn’t been for Li Xiao’s help this time, who knows what might have happened?

His brother-in-law also felt guilty and planned to give him a few more projects to manage.

Chang Yong’s sister had always been someone who avoided conflict, but she couldn’t afford to do the same. He still had to fight for what was right; otherwise, his nephew would be bullied by those two women in the future.

Li Xiao had been with Chang Yong for a few months and already knew the situation with his family. He simply nodded and said, “Give them some money to start a small business. They could earn as much as those working on the construction site.”

“Yes,” Chang Yong agreed, thinking it made sense. “Nowadays, even those selling popsicles on the street are making good money. At most, I’ll just pay a little more when the time comes.”

After Chang Yong left, Jiang Rou couldn’t help but comment, “Is it really that easy to run a business? At least you need some skills.”

Li Xiao replied indifferently, “That’s none of our concern. Next time, if that Grandma talks to you again about this matter, just ignore her.”

Jiang Rou glanced at him and hummed softly in response.

She handed An An to him to take care of and took the dishes to wash. After finishing, she sat on the sofa to read a book.

Li Xiao looked at her back and suddenly asked, “What would you do if my hand was injured like that?”

Jiang Rou heard this; she raised her head and thought about this possibility: if Li Xiao’s hand was broken…

“You will be the one who will take the college entrance examination. I won’t take it for the time being. When you graduate and can make money, I will take over. But by that time, I may have become a big female boss, and maybe I won’t want to take the exam.”

She had attended college once, and if she pursued it again, it would only be for a diploma to secure a good job. However, if she was already earning a lot of money, she might not have the drive to continue studying.

But no matter what, someone in the family had to earn money to support them, especially when there’s a child who depends on them.

Li Xiao didn’t respond immediately; instead, he looked down at the well-behaved baby in his arms. 

He hadn’t received the answer he was expecting. He thought Jiang Rou would say that she wouldn’t mind, that they would earn money together and not live a poor life.

Yet what she said moved him more than what he had expected. She had given it serious thought before speaking. She expressed her willingness to take on the responsibility of earning money to support the family and to plan a hopeful future for them. 

What seemed like a devastating situation to others appeared trivial in her eyes.

This made Li Xiao feel that no matter what challenges they faced in the future, there was no need to be afraid; they would always find a way to overcome them.

Li Xiao lowered his head and gently kissed An An’s head. His mood suddenly lightened, filling him with courage. It wasn’t the kind of fearlessness that comes from being indifferent to life and death, but the courage to pursue what he wanted, knowing that they would always be by his side.

He, too, had someone who he could lean on.

An An frowned after being kissed. She looked up at him and then reached to touch her head, irritated by the prickly beard.

Seeing that she was about to complain again, Li Xiao quickly covered her little mouth and picked up a deck of playing cards from the nearby cabinet, showing her one card at a time.

An An was immediately captivated. Her eyes widened in curiosity, and she even reached out to grab the cards to play with them.

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