Chapter 90.2

Winter has arrived, and the farm is even colder than Wancheng.

Secretary Huang looked out at the biting cold wind, and just as he was about to speak, he suddenly remembered something and called out into the house.

“Wife, wife?”

“What are you shouting for? Are you calling my soul?”

A woman of similar age to Secretary Huang stepped out.

She wore a worn, thick sweater and had a rounded figure. In her hand, she held a rolling pin, and her fingers were dusted with cornmeal. Her expression was fierce as she glared at Secretary Huang, who stood at the door fully bundled up.

“Wife,” Secretary Huang chuckled, trying to please her, “I’m inviting Old Ruan to dinner tonight, you should prepare something…”

“Get lost!”

She shot him a dirty look.

If it weren’t for the cornmeal on her hands, she would have twisted his ear to show him who’s boss.

“Wife~”

Secretary Huang acted coy, his eyes fixed on her.

Secretary Huang’s wife: “…”

At over forty, he’s still behaving like this. It’s really embarrassing.

She looked at him with disdain, “You’ve already messed up the house, where’s there any food left?”

Secretary Huang was an idealistic man.

Because of this, his family had to endure hardships along with him. Thankfully, his wife also worked. Otherwise, they wouldn’t know how to get by.

“This is my pocket money,” Secretary Huang pulled out a crumpled bill from his pocket. “Do you think it’s enough?”

“This is the money I gave you for breakfast, isn’t it?”

Secretary Huang’s wife was furious.

Without caring whether she got cornmeal on her hands, she stepped forward and twisted Secretary Huang’s ear.

“Huang Zhongren, do you treat my words like wind?” she glared at him. “Tell me, is the money I gave you for breakfast all saved up by you?”

“Wife, it hurts…”

The bear-like Secretary Huang looked particularly comical as his wife twisted his ear.

“Stop putting on an act and tell the truth!”

Secretary Huang glanced at his wife’s expression and had to confess.

“… Well, sometimes I get busy at work, and by the time I get to the cafeteria, everything is gone…”

“Huang Zhongren! Do you want to drive me to an early grave?” His wife’s eyes turned red. “Do you know you have a stomach issue and need to eat on time?”

Don’t be fooled by his tough appearance; he’s actually quite weak.

Just the other day, he was hospitalized for half a month due to a stomach bleed. Knowing he tends to work through meals, his wife even quit her job just to keep an eye on him.

But the moment she had to care for their injured son, he…

Seeing her distress, Huang Zhongren felt guilty and quickly apologized.

“I’m sorry, wife.”

His wife was so furious that she smacked him a few times with the rolling pin, leaving cornmeal on his military coat.

“Take it easy, I still have to go out and meet people later…”

“Shut up!”

His wife went into the house, and shortly after, she returned with two steaming hot eggs that were clearly just cooked. She shoved them into Secretary Huang’s arms and spoke harshly.

“If I catch you not eating on time again, we’re getting a divorce!”

“Wife, I understand my mistake.”

Secretary Huang hurriedly held the two hot eggs to his chest, wincing from the heat but not daring to put them down.

Seeing him in this flustered state, Secretary Huang’s wife suddenly felt a pang in her heart.

“What are you looking at? Hurry up and get lost! You just irritate me.”

Secretary Huang looked at her with a pleasing smile, “Wife, so today…”

“I got it,” she shot him an annoyed glance. “Just go!”

“Alright! Don’t worry, I’ll be back on time today.”

Secretary Huang carefully opened a crack in the door to slip out. She watched him stand in the snow and wind, grinning like a fool before turning to leave. As she watched his receding figure, she couldn’t help but take a step forward.

Once he was out of sight, she wiped her eyes with her sleeve.

“Fool, they’re all fools.”

All the way to the office, Secretary Huang held the two hot eggs, braving the wind and snow. As soon as he entered, he saw Father Ruan sitting nearby.

He shook the snow off his coat. “Brother Ruan, you’re here so early?”

Father Ruan looked much better than before.

He sat at the desk, writing notes. Without looking up, he simply acknowledged with a grunt.

“Here,” Secretary Huang handed over the eggs. “I brought these along, they’re still warm.”

The conditions on the farm are definitely not as good as those in the Ruan Mingfu family compound.

Here, they don’t have heated pits, and enduring the harsh winter relies solely on willpower and a strong sense of righteousness.

In simple terms, it’s all about toughing it out!

This year has been better; to combat the cold, Father Ruan had people build up the kang^[1]a traditional heated bed and make some renovations to the houses. At the very least, fewer people would die this year.

“Eggs for me?” Father Ruan pulled out a lunchbox from beside him. “Are you trying to mooch off my wife’s soup today?”

Secretary Huang sat down beside him, appearing unconcerned about the accusation.

“If that’s how you see it, then I can’t help it.”

Father Ruan: “……”

That statement felt a bit strange to him.

“Let’s split them quickly. I brought them all the way here, and they’re still warm.”

Hearing this made Secretary Huang’s mouth water.

He had tasted the soup made by Mrs. Ruan before, and the flavor… he still couldn’t forget it.

Secretary Huang eagerly rubbed his hands together, gazing at the soup.

“Brother Ruan, I won’t hold back then.”

Father Ruan: “……”

It sounded like he was the one being polite here.

As soon as the lunch box opened, the whole room was filled with an inviting aroma. Secretary Huang leaned forward, his face showing his anticipation.

“Sister-in-law’s cooking skills have really improved,” he said, taking the soup from Father Ruan and gulping it down. “By the way, I submitted that report you wrote, and the leaders are very interested.”

Secretary Huang had seen that report.

Damn, it was absolutely brilliant!

If they actually implemented the plans outlined, this place would surely be transformed in less than twenty years.

“The leaders want to meet you.”

“So soon?”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Father Ruan felt they were unnecessary.

If that report didn’t carry enough weight, it wouldn’t have attracted such attention from the higher-ups.

“Of course, the development here will be quick,” Secretary Huang finished his soup, feeling warm in his stomach. “Come to my place today, and we’ll have a good chat.”

“Sure…”

Father Ruan readily agreed.

Secretary Huang wiped his mouth and hesitated before speaking again.

“Brother Ruan, there’s something I’m not sure if I should say…”

“Then don’t.”

Secretary Huang: “……”

Why wasn’t he following the script?

He was just doing a favor for someone… it wouldn’t be good to stay silent.

“Brother Ruan, what’s going on with your niece?”

Father Ruan paused, frowning at him.

“No, no, no, I don’t mean anything by it,” Secretary Huang quickly explained, gathering his courage. “It’s just that someone has taken an interest in your niece and wants me to help with the introduction.”

After saying this, he even felt a bit embarrassed.

“Who?”

“That person you know too,” Secretary Huang smiled amicably. “He’s my nephew. He’s a fine young man with a good job. What do you think? We could even become relatives!”

Father Ruan narrowed his eyes.

He did have some impression of Secretary Huang’s nephew.

As Secretary Huang said, he was indeed a decent fellow, but…

Father Ruan shook his head. “No way.”

“Why not?”

Director Huang was surprised.

“My nephew is such a good catch, and his parents are open-minded. They would never meddle in the couple’s affairs,” he said, putting an arm around Father Ruan’s shoulder and squinting at him. “Old Ruan, I never expected you to have such high standards.”

Father Ruan: “……”

What do you know!

The better the conditions, the less likely it would work out.

“I’m not saying it’s a done deal,” Father Ruan replied, “My wife needs to see him first. Besides, marriage is about mutual attraction.”

Secretary Huang nodded. “That makes sense. I’ll go back and have my nephew get to know your niece.”

Father Ruan: “……”

Wow, Secretary Huang was really overstepping!

Was that really what he meant?!

But looking at Secretary Huang’s enthusiastic face, Father Ruan found it hard to refuse.

Oh well, let them figure it out.

……

After the first snowfall, it seemed to have opened the floodgates, leading to continuous heavy snow over the following days.

Ruan Mingfu, on the other hand, had gone from excitement to feeling numb.

It was simply unfortunate that she had caught a cold.

Sitting on the couch, holding a hot water bottle, and wrapped in a thick blanket, she watched the heavy snow outside and sneezed.

“Let’s see if you’ll still want to go out and play in the snow now that you have a cold,” Hu Wanning laughed loudly from beside her.

Ruan Mingfu: “……”

How annoying!

She adjusted her blanket. “Sister-in-law, what brings you here today?”

Due to her cold, Ruan Mingfu’s voice had changed a bit.

“Oh, it’s just that your Old Xie, afraid you might be sick and alone, sent me over to keep you company.”

Ruan Mingfu: “……”

“You wouldn’t believe it, you’re the most envied sister-in-law in the entire compound right now,” Hu Wanning said playfully, looking at her. “All the other sisters-in-law are talking about you.”

Ruan Mingfu’s face turned red.

That dog of a man’s words had spread around, and the sisters-in-law were all gossiping.

They all said they were blind for not seeing that Xie Yanzhao was such a good man. Regret? Don’t even mention it.

The atmosphere in the compound had changed, with half of them envious and the other half sour.

“Where’s the truth in that?”

Even though Ruan Mingfu denied it, she felt incredibly proud inside.

Looks like that dog man has good taste!

Just as she was feeling pleased, her nose tingled again, and she sneezed once more.

She sniffed and felt utterly disheartened.

“I think you’re really not doing well,” Hu Wanning said, frowning at her. “Have you seen a doctor?”

Ruan Mingfu shook her head.

“It’s just a sneeze. I’m not coughing, and I don’t have a fever, so I don’t want to bother anyone.”

The dog man had suggested she go to the hospital, but looking out at the snow… brr—

It was so cold!

Stepping on the snow felt like freezing her toes off.

“That’s not acceptable,” Hu Wanning said, reaching out to feel Ruan Mingfu’s forehead. “You need to get dressed and come with me.”

How long had she even been there?

Ruan Mingfu sneezed several times without stopping.

She sniffled and, seeing Hu Wanning’s determined expression, finally agreed.

To be honest, sneezing was quite annoying.

The two of them trudged through the snow, battling the wind, as they made their way to the military hospital. Ruan Mingfu touched her forehead and said, “Sister-in-law, why do I feel like my head is a bit warm?”

Hu Wanning felt her forehead too.

Before she could say anything, the doctor came over, looking serious as he addressed them, “Who is Ruan Mingfu?”