Chapter 75: The Big Lion, Full and Satisfied

In the middle of the night, the bathroom finally quieted down after a while of commotion.

Soon, Zhao Sihai, his face full of satisfaction, came out shirtless and went to the kitchen to grab a kettle of water before going back to the bathroom.

After a soft sound of water, the door opened again, and the two emerged, both damp with water vapor.

Bai Ruojiao nestled against his strong chest, her face still flushed, whether from the steam or something else, it was unclear.

She closed her eyes, seemingly exhausted.

Zhao Sihai kept a smile on his lips, like a big lion that had finally been able to eat and drink its fill after a long time.

When she was placed on the bed, Bai Ruojiao raised her foot and gently pushed him away from her chest.

She pulled back the covers and rolled into the bed. She seemed to have twisted her waist and took a light breath.

Zhao Sihai quickly asked, “What’s wrong?”

Bai Ruojiao rolled her eyes at him, “You sleep in the next room tonight.”

Her coquettish tone, still carrying a hint of lingering charm, made a small flame ignite in Zhao Sihai’s chest.

He wiped his nose and obediently agreed, “Okay, then I’ll go to sleep. You go to sleep early too.”

Bai Ruojiao hugged An’an, who was already asleep, and simply said in a low voice, “Get out.”

Zhao Sihai chuckled in a deep, magnetic voice. He took his pillow, turned off the light, and went to sleep in the next room.

That low, magnetic chuckle made a jolt of electricity run through her bones.

She pulled the covers over her head, thinking about the absurdity of the night, and a wave of heat rose in her body.

It had all started innocently enough, a serious discussion in the next room about whether they should start a third shipment.

But then…

That guy, fueled by alcohol, had been restless in the room, and then he continued in the bathroom.

She rubbed her aching waist, which felt like it was about to fall apart. She snorted, thinking that she should just make him sleep in the next room from now on.

Mom was right. You can’t spoil men.

But perhaps because she was tired, she slept soundly through the night without any dreams.

When she opened her eyes, she saw that she was alone in the bed.

She took out her watch and saw that it was only 6:30.

She got up and walked around the room, but she didn’t see anyone. She didn’t know where the father and son had gone so early. The stove only had warm water on it.

After she finished washing up, she heard the sound of the door opening.

She came out and saw An’an running in, holding a sesame seed cake bigger than his face, while Zhao Sihai was behind him, carrying their bicycles.

They were both moving cautiously, probably afraid of waking her up.

When An’an saw her, his eyes lit up, and he immediately ran into the living room.

“Mom, you’re awake! Dad bought a lot, a lot of breakfast. It’s delicious. Mom, eat.”

He said as he tiptoed and held the cake up to her.

His little white face was oily, and he was still chewing on a cake. He smiled, revealing two sharp little canine teeth and a shallow dimple.

Seeing her son’s adorable appearance, Bai Ruojiao couldn’t bear to scold him, “You eat. Be careful not to get it on your clothes.”

Zhao Sihai put down the bicycle and brought over several oil paper packages and a thermos.

“I bought some breakfast. It’s still warm. Come and eat.”

There were three oil paper packages, containing sesame seed cakes, pan-fried buns, and soup dumplings. The thermos was filled with white soy milk.

The soy milk had a strong beany smell, so Zhao Sihai had freshly brewed it and added some sugar.

He also filled a small thermos with a little soy milk for her to take to the factory.

“Why did you think of buying breakfast? Did you buy it from the restaurant?” She wiped An’an’s face before sitting down and picking up a soup dumpling.

“There were no vegetables at home yesterday, so I went to the farmers’ market to buy some. I also bought breakfast while I was there.”

As Zhao Sihai spoke, he went to the back of the bicycle, untied a basket, and brought it into the kitchen. He was going to prepare lunch.

Bai Ruojiao remembered that they hadn’t bought any new vegetables last night because the whole family was going to eat out.

This time, only a very small number of people have refrigerators, so most people buy groceries and eat them on the same day.

“Have you eaten?”

“You guys eat first. I’ll braise the meat. How about braised pork rice for lunch?”

“Okay, I want the lean meat, not the fatty part.”

“Five-flower pork has both lean and fatty parts, it tastes better.”

“No, I only want the lean part.”

A sigh of resignation came from the kitchen, “Qiaoqiao, you’re too thin. You need a balanced diet of lean and fatty meat.”

His tone was like an old father trying to persuade his picky daughter.

Bai Ruojiao pouted, “Fatty meat only has fat, no nutrition. A poached egg will make the diet balanced.”

She just wouldn’t eat fatty meat.

An’an was munching on a sesame seed cake, blowing on the soy milk.

He asked in confusion, “Mom, why don’t you eat fatty meat? Fatty meat is delicious, it’s sweet.”

Then, he blinked and listened attentively.

He then suddenly realized, “Mom, are you afraid of getting fat? What is fat? Why does eating fatty meat make you fat? Didn’t everyone say that fat is beautiful? Mom is so beautiful, you’ll be even more beautiful if you get fat!”

Bai Ruojiao had a black line on her face. She guessed the system was talking nonsense again, “Mom is not afraid of getting fat, I just don’t like it.”

An’an tilted his head, “But Mom said you can’t be picky about food?”

Bai Ruojiao, “…”

Ah, she didn’t know how to answer this question perfectly.

At this time, Zhao Sihai walked out, wiping his hands, and said with a light smile, “Because your Mom knows Dad likes to eat fatty meat, she deliberately left it for Dad.”

Bai Ruojiao raised an eyebrow and gave him an approving look.

An’an blinked his big eyes and said “Oh” as if he had suddenly understood.

Then, he said seriously to Bai Ruojiao, “Mom, I’ll give you my fatty meat from now on.”

“Cough.” Zhao Sihai coughed lightly, pretending not to see the look his wife gave him. He continued to drink his soy milk.

Looking at her son’s face, which was begging for praise, Bai Ruojiao twitched her lips and changed the subject.

“An’an, are you going to the factory with Dad or Mom today?”

An’an was distracted and thought for a moment before saying, “I’m going to the factory with Dad.”

Bai Ruojiao raised an eyebrow, “Why?”

“Because An’an wants to play with the cars with Chaochao.”

Chaochao was a friend he had made at the daycare center at the machinery factory.

The cars were gifts from Tang Hua and the others, a whole bag of toys.

There were tin train engines, tin toy airplanes, marbles, and so on.

No one knew where they had collected them all.

At 8:30, the family left the house, locked the door, and went their separate ways.

Bai Ruojiao had just entered her office and hadn’t sat down for two minutes when Secretary Zhu came over.

Knowing why he was here, she immediately said, “Secretary Zhu, please tell the factory director that we’re getting ready. We’ll be there around 9:30.”

“Okay.” Secretary Zhu nodded.

After Secretary Zhu left, Bai Ruojiao turned around and clapped her hands, drawing the attention of the three staff members in the office.

“Comrades, it’s time for us to check our results.”

Everyone immediately became serious, their faces showing a mixture of tension and anticipation.

The three new staff members in the Commodity Department were all transferred from within the factory.

One was a data manager, and the other two were both skilled tailors.

“Xiao Li, take those documents and make fifteen copies. Old Zhang, sort the sample clothes. Sister Wenxiu, go and call the few women who agreed yesterday.”

“Okay.” The three of them responded and immediately got to work.