Chapter 42

Shen Xiao was also a man with a strong sense of self-esteem. How could he keep his face when Qiao Baozhu spoke to him so bluntly?

But he didn’t blame Qiao Baozhu in his heart. Qiao Baozhu had no other man in her heart, and she didn’t despise his little things. That was good enough.

In this marriage, Qiao Baozhu did not gain any advantage. The 500 yuan he gave as a betrothal gift seemed like a lot, and the furniture in this room was not bad for him.

Both of them have jobs, and Qiao Baozhu doesn’t rely on him for support, so she is confident.

This is the confidence that comes from being financially independent and having support from your mother’s family.

Shen Xiao lowered his head, finished his meal in a few bites, and took the initiative to wash the dishes and scrub the pot.

Qiao Baozhu didn’t bother to be polite with him. She picked up a broom and swept the floor inside and outside the house, and wiped the kang mat at the same time.

After washing the dishes, Shen Xiao walked into the room and saw Qiao Baozhu sitting on the kang knitting a sweater.

He rubbed his hands and said somewhat embarrassedly: “Today is the day for the third brother to return to his parents’ home, that…”

Just now when he was washing the dishes, Shen Xiao remembered this matter and realized that he had caused trouble for Qiao Baozhu again.

The groom was absent on the wedding day, and he did not accompany her to her parents’ home today. Shen Xiao immediately understood why Qiao Baozhu said such harsh words.

Shen Xiao imagined that if this happened to his sister, he would want to kill her.

Qiao Baozhu raised her head and looked at Shen Xiao, who looked embarrassed and guilty, and smiled faintly.

“Do you have tomorrow off?”

Shen Xiao nodded, “I have three days of wedding leave, starting from tomorrow.”

Qiao Baozhu tilted her head and thought for a while, then said softly, “I also have three days of wedding leave, but I have already taken it. But our situation is special, so if I ask for another three days off, the leader should agree.”

“Well, I’ve asked for leave early tomorrow morning, and you accompany me back to the city to visit my parents. The remaining two days…”

Qiao Baozhu raised her head, her eyes clear without a trace of distracting thoughts: “You need to treat us to a meal, right? If you want to treat us, let’s arrange it in these two days.”

After saying that, Qiao Baozhu pointed to the roof and said, “When my dad was helping us paint the walls, he found that the roof of this house was leaking. Can you see if you can arrange a day to fix the roof?”

Shen Xiao listened carefully to Qiao Baozhu’s words. She had arranged the three-day vacation clearly.

“Thatching and inviting guests to dinner can be arranged on the same day. Invite a few comrades to help with thatching in the morning, order a few dishes in the cafeteria at noon, and have a meal at home.”

“Why order it from the cafeteria? It’s more economical to make it at home.”

Shen Xiao was stunned for a moment and frowned. “It’s okay to cook in the cafeteria, but the chef cannot leave his post during working hours. Cooking for others is even more forbidden.”

Qiao Baozhu understood that Shen Xiao was just embarrassed to trouble her.

She explained with a smile: “What I mean is that we buy our own food and cook our own food. As long as we are willing to use more oil and meat, the taste should be acceptable.”

The living conditions in those days were not good. Even in the family compound, you couldn’t eat meat every meal. That day, the family had a dinner party. From the way the family members ate, I could guess their living standards.

“On the day I moved in, several sisters-in-law came to help me. The eldest sister who was in charge of cooking was called Wu Meili, and her cooking skills were very good.”

“Instead of paying a chef to come and cook, why not give Sister Wu a chance to earn some money? I heard her family is under a lot of financial pressure.”

“Last time we had dinner, my sisters-in-law didn’t feel comfortable bringing their children along. This time when you host a dinner, the children won’t have a chance to go. How sad they must be.”

Shen Xiao didn’t expect Qiao Baozhu to be so thoughtful. He smiled and nodded: “You have thought it through more thoroughly than I have. It’s settled then. I’ll go to the cafeteria to order some meat now, and prepare some fresh vegetables tomorrow.”

“We still have some fresh vegetables at home. If we don’t have enough, we can buy some from our neighbors. As for the meat, hey, where did my dad put the meat?”

When Qiao Baozhu heard Shen Xiao say that he was going to the cafeteria to order meat, she remembered that there was still a lot of meat at home.

“Is there any meat at home?”

Shen Xiao didn’t expect that Qiao Baozhu brought so many things.

“Yes, my sister and I got married on the same day, and he wanted to treat us to a meal when we returned home in three days.”

“I’ve already ordered a pig.”

“Everyone ate a little on the day we came, and there was still quite a bit left.”

“Does your house have a cellar?”

Qiao Baozhu stood up and prepared to go outside to take a look.

Shen Xiao stopped her and said with a smile: “I know where the cellar is. I’ll go check it out.”

Shen Xiao walked to the corner of the wall near the wardrobe and lifted up a hidden floor tile.

A few floor tiles were lifted up, revealing the wooden planks underneath. When the planks were opened, a long and narrow cellar was revealed.

“Here it is.”

The house is located at the edge of the street, with no shelter in front or back. It is cold in winter and the house is not very warm.

When the previous owner lived there, he also took some measures to keep the house warm. One of them was to lay some red bricks on the floor. When he did that, he covered the wooden planks in the cellar, so Qiao Baozhu never saw it.

Shen Xiao went down to the cellar as light as a swallow. With the help of the light from the room, he saw the cut pieces of pork hanging inside.

Seeing several large pieces of pork, Shen Xiao felt even more guilty.

This marriage has caused the woman to suffer so much injustice.

Shen Xiao secretly swore that he would never make Qiao Baozhu angry again. Otherwise, he would be sorry for the girl’s family.

You have to know that his father-in-law is a disabled person. He did so much because he was afraid that his daughter would be wronged after marriage.

Shen Xiao was taught a lesson by his father-in-law today, and he knew what selfless fatherly love is.

Shen Xiao climbed out of the cellar, covered the room with wooden boards, said hello to Qiao Baozhu, and went out.

Qiao Baozhu didn’t ask him where he was going, and she was knitting woolen trousers at home as fast as she could. She had to knit woolen trousers for her adoptive father as soon as possible when he returned home tomorrow.

More than half an hour later, Shen Xiao came back from outside.

There were a lot of things clanging and making noises. Qiao Baozhu took a look and found that there were not only malted milk and milk powder, but also two packs of cigarettes and two bottles of wine.

“When I go back tomorrow, I’ll bring some for my father-in-law, okay?”

Qiao Baozhu looked at the pile of things with a headache, and said helplessly: “My dad doesn’t smoke or drink, so there’s no use buying these things.”

“There are also malted milk and milk powder. I bought them for them before and asked them to bring them to me secretly.”

“The bag of milk powder for Bai Hongmei was bought by me for my mother.”

Qiao Baozhu looked at the astonished Shen Xiao and pulled the corners of her mouth with a wry smile: “No matter how much of these things we send over, they will return them in a short time.”

Shen Xiao was embarrassed…

“Just take it. These are hard currency. They will be more useful than giving money when you ask people to do things for you in the future.”

When a couple first start living together, they are both trying to figure out each other’s temperament and character.

Qiao Baozhu knew it clearly and couldn’t give Shen Xiao too much face.

Moreover, these things are expensive, so even if Qiao Changhai can’t use them, he will still be proud.

Qiao Baozhu also had a way to get the old couple to keep these things, saying that they would be used to smooth relationships in their future work.

The old couple would definitely not refuse, nor would they exchange it for money.

As for who to get the job for, that’s up to Qiao Baozhu herself.