Chapter 21: Mom, There Are Ghosts Talking

At night, Bai Ruoqiao was lying on her side, holding An An asleep.

Suddenly, Zhao Sihai leaned over, gently pulling her hand away from An An.

His low voice, warm and close, whispered softly into her ear.

“Jojo.”

Feeling something, Bai Ruoqiao’s body stiffened, then a sudden wave of heat surged through her.

He turned her onto her back, looking down at her with his strong chest pressed close. Blushing, she nervously pushed his muscular chest.

“What are you doing? An An is still here, don’t wake the child.”

“I’m not doing anything. I just want to kiss you.”

His rough fingers lifted her hair and gently stroked her cheek, sending shivers down her spine.

Bai Ruoqiao felt like she was burning up.

She swallowed hard, suddenly thirsty.

“Kiss? Kiss what? It’s the middle of the night, what’s the point?”

But Zhao Sihai lowered his head like a big lion nuzzling her neck, his deep magnetic voice teasing.

“Jojo, I miss you so much.”

Bai Ruoqiao swallowed again.

This guy was breaking all the rules—actually acting cute!

“Well, then… kiss me once.”

One kiss wasn’t going to be just one.

That kiss opened a floodgate.

The temperature in the room suddenly soared.

“Ghost!”

A crisp childlike voice suddenly rang out, startling them both.

The next moment, An An, seemingly frightened by something, burst into tears.

Bai Ruoqiao quickly pulled down her clothes and turned around to hug An An.

“An An, An An, it’s okay, it’s okay.”

“Mom, hic—boohoo, there are ghosts, hic—talking, boohoo.”

An An cried, clutching his mom tightly, hiccuping from fear.

At first, Bai Ruoqiao thought they had just disturbed An An, so she comforted him.

“There are no ghosts. It’s just Mom and Dad talking.”

But An An cried even harder.

“No, hic, Mom and Dad, they are ghosts.”

Bai Ruoqiao paused, thinking maybe the kid had a nightmare about the house during the day.

“An An, you had a nightmare, don’t be afraid. There are no ghosts. Dad is here—no ghost dares come.”

An An finally stopped crying a bit, blinking his wet eyes.

“Really no ghosts?”

“Really no ghosts. If you don’t believe me, ask Dad. Dad is very good at fighting ghosts.”

“Yeah, no matter what ghosts come, Dad can chase them away. An An, don’t be scared.”

Only then did An An believe it, and after making sure the scary voices didn’t come back, he slowly stopped crying.

But he was still hiccuping every now and then.

Bai Ruoqiao couldn’t help but laugh and cry at the same time, gently patting him to sleep while softly humming a lullaby.

Zhao Sihai wiped his face, exhaled deeply, and could only lie down to sleep as well.

Early the next morning, Zhao Sihai went to find a carpenter to make furniture.

Bai Ruoqiao took a bag of rice to the kiln factory to exchange for some ceramic pots and bowls.

Then she sent An An to Aunt Fang’s house, and gave Fang Meizi a list, asking her to help notify those on the list to come for dinner that evening.

After that, she rode her bicycle to the commune.

The villagers saw her going to the commune again, with two large baskets tied to the back of her bike, and some felt sour.

“How many times has the Sihai family been to the commune since yesterday? They must have bought so many things!”

Some were envious; others were resentful.

They even criticized Bai Ruoqiao for not managing the household well, saying she shouldn’t have married into the family. No matter how much money they have, they’ll waste it all.

They heard they even ate meat all day yesterday, and wondered how many ration coupons that must have cost.

Just for a few bites of meat, they blew through their ration coupons—really not worth it.

Bai Ruoqiao had no idea how much people were gossiping and criticizing her.

She rode her bike to pick up supplies at the supply and marketing cooperative, then left the bike at a storage spot.

She turned and went to the public restroom.

At this time, the public restroom had just simple squat toilets separated by half-human-height brick walls—no doors.

Bai Ruoqiao covered her mouth and nose, squatted down at one stall.

When only one woman remained inside and left, she immediately went in.

Her “space” was originally just a system reward—a learning area.

At first, it was just a bare hall with nothing inside.

Later, she customized and placed a mobile villa inside.

So now it was a single-story villa over 100 square meters.

She first went to the bathroom and took a shower.

The villa had no running water; all water was stored in advance.

Everything was neatly stored in the system backpack and didn’t take up space.

After showering, she took out makeup and started applying it all over.

Her oval face transformed into a square-shaped one; her fair skin turned bronzed.

Her hair was tied up, and she put on a slightly worn, faded military-green liberation cap with a red star.

She put on a military-green vest, a faded red checkered shirt over it, a pair of military-green liberation pants, and wore height-increasing liberation shoes.

Looking in the mirror, she drooped her eyelids and corners of her mouth.

In an instant, the delicate young woman transformed into a tall, lean female soldier full of a tough vibe.

When no one was in the public restroom, she left.

After leaving, she turned into an alley and, following her memories from the last life, arrived at a courtyard gate, then knocked: tap tap tap.

“Who’s there?” a man’s somewhat impatient voice called from inside.

Then came slow footsteps.

Soon the door opened.

A young man about 20 years old stood there, dark-skinned, wearing a white tank top and gray Zhongshan-style pants, muscles bulging.

He glanced at the woman outside, sizing her up.

“Who are you? What do you want?”

Bai Ruoqiao lowered the corners of her mouth, replying calmly, “Someone introduced me to come find Boss Tang.”

The young man glanced at her again and stepped aside.

“Come in.”

He closed the door behind and led her inside.

Inside, a bald, slightly plump man lay in a rocking chair, listening to opera on the radio, humming along.

“Hua Ge, someone’s looking for you.”

The bald man opened one eye, glanced once, then immediately reached to turn off the radio.

He sat up, squinting, looking cautiously at her.

Bai Ruoqiao’s aura was very strong, her military temperament hard to ignore.

“Who are you?”

She drooped her eyelids and looked down at him with an air of superiority.

“So you’re Tang Hua?”

Tang Hua was a driver for the 714 Transport Team.

She knew who he was but had never met him.

In her past life, when Zhao Sihai was captured, she went to the police station to see him.

Zhao Sihai had whispered an address and a password to her then, telling her to find Tang Hua.

But she was in a daze, worried about An An, and left the city.

Later, Qin Lao took her back to the northern city, and she completely forgot about this.

She only recalled Tang Hua’s story after hearing others talk about his rise to wealth.

By then, Tang Hua had become a big boss of a listed logistics company.

“Yeah, what do you want?” Tang Hua grabbed a teacup and slowly took a sip of wine.

“The East is rising a red sun.”

Upon hearing this, Tang Hua’s movement froze, then frowned and sized her up again.

“Who are you?”

“I have some hard goods on hand. Someone introduced me to find you. Don’t ask who. The deal is 30/70, take it or leave it.”

Bai Ruoqiao didn’t beat around the bush and went straight to the point.