Chapter 67

After Lu Yun returned home, He Cheng’an did not mention anything about Chen Zhiqiang.

He was still helping Lu Yun heat oil to braise the big prawns. If it had been Lu Yun who saw He Cheng’an with the “white moonlight” she imagined, instead of He Cheng’an encountering such a situation today, Lu Yun would have been very upset.

When Lu Yun hugged He Cheng’an from behind, he relaxed entirely. Although they were in a public kitchen, there was no one else cooking at that hour. He Cheng’an turned off the gas, then turned around and tightly embraced Lu Yun.

“I ran into Chen Zhiqiang today,” Lu Yun said.

He Cheng’an’s voice was low and muffled. “And then?”

“He told me some things, but those aren’t important. In the end, I told him one thing: I love my husband.”

She nestled closer in He Cheng’an’s arms. “He Cheng’an, I love you.”

In the past, Lu Yun had always said she liked him; this was the first time she openly declared her love for He Cheng’an.

Lu Yun smiled as she looked at He Cheng’an. “Do you think what happened earlier is important?”

He Cheng’an kissed her, his movements gentle yet filled with a restrained possessiveness.

Later, Lu Yun heard him murmur that it was not important.

Lu Yun had considered whether to tell He Cheng’an about the encounter.

What she cared about was not whether He Cheng’an knew the secret; she worried that if He Cheng’an discovered how their story ended in the novel, it would be difficult for him to bear.

So, Lu Yun chose not to say anything.

—o—o—o—

After school started, Lu Yun had classes to attend, yet she felt that her days were much easier than when she was reviewing constantly.

Another weekend came, and He Cheng’an took Lu Yun to Professor Zhou’s house. They brought various types of porridge that He Cheng’an’s company had recently produced, packaged in small servings.

There was purple sweet potato porridge, mung bean and white fungus lily porridge, and others. Although these were not as popular as the white fungus soup, many people still enjoyed buying them to take home, and the quantity was substantial.

Professor Zhou and his wife were surprised that even after the college entrance examinations had concluded, He Cheng’an would still bring Lu Yun over to deliver gifts. This made them even fonder of the couple.

After spending over an hour at Professor Zhou’s house, Lu Yun and He Cheng’an did not stay for lunch. They hadn’t informed Professor Zhou and his wife in advance about their visit, as they were concerned that the couple might feel obligated to hurriedly prepare a meal for them.

Since they were already at the Rose Garden, Lu Yun and He Cheng’an did not leave immediately. They decided to check on their property there. As Lu Yun was about to unlock the door, she suddenly realized that she wasn’t sure which key belonged to the Rose Garden. She couldn’t help but laugh at herself.

“He Cheng’an, we own so many properties now,” Lu Yun said.

They had three apartments in the provincial capital and three commercial properties, all located in the suburbs. Additionally, they were planning to purchase more houses and commercial properties in the suburbs due to their lower prices and potential for appreciation. Of course, if they had the means, they would continue to buy in the city center as well—a particularly large apartment for themselves, as living in the city center was more convenient, plus they needed the commercial properties for their business.

In the county, Lu Yun wanted to buy a spacious three-bedroom apartment for their occasional visits. She thought it would be more convenient for Lu Dong and Zhang Meili if they had a place to stay.

He Cheng’an looked at Lu Yun with a smile. “In the future, I’ll definitely work hard to earn money so that we can buy a lot of houses for you, Ah Yun.”

“But first, we need to find the key for this place,” Lu Yun replied.

He Cheng’an held up the keys. “Let me handle it.”

After checking their property at the Rose Garden, they went out for lunch. On their way back, they saw Zhang Hao outside the Seagull Garden community, looking very excited. His excitement only grew when he spotted Lu Yun and He Cheng’an.

“I was watching that store in the suburbs, and they’ve started demolishing the surrounding area to build new houses! There are several locations. I acted quickly and used the group-buying method we talked about before to sign down over forty places at once! Oh, and I also used that limited-edition strategy your sister-in-law mentioned!” Zhang Hao exclaimed.

Lu Yun recalled the limited-edition concept. It was something she had suggested when He Cheng’an’s team was working on their products. She hadn’t expected Zhang Hao to catch on so quickly.

He Cheng’an chuckled. “Alright, since you’ve done well, I’ll reward you with a trip to the bookstore. Go back and read more!”

Zhang Hao quickly interjected, “Brother, please spare me!”

—o—o—o—

On October 1st, Lu Xiang’an and Zhou Nuan got married, and Lu Yun and He Cheng’an returned for the occasion.

Lu Yun prepared a big red envelope with ten thousand yuan for Lu Xiang’an. Zhou Nuan’s parents were genuinely delighted, especially her mother, who held Lu Yun’s hand and expressed many heartfelt words.

Although it wasn’t Lu Yun’s wedding, she felt quite exhausted from the day’s events. When they returned home, she immediately lay down on the bed to rest. He Cheng’an walked over and gently massaged her shoulders.

“Today, Sister Sun also attended,” Lu Yun said. “I heard her mention that her relationship with her mother-in-law has been pretty good lately, but she still doesn’t dare to be too sincere, especially since her youngest son is still around. She can’t be too naive about it. Oh, and our colleague Xiao Sun is also getting married during the National Day holiday. We’ll need to attend her wedding before we can go back.”

After a moment of reflection, she added, “Li Ling and Han Jiangang have invited us out for dinner; don’t forget. And tonight, I want to eat oil-splashed noodles.”

Listening to Lu Yun, He Cheng’an’s expression was gentle and patient.

“Who is Xiao Sun marrying?” He Cheng’an asked.

“It’s a good match from a blind date,” Lu Yun replied. “I heard the family is nice, and he has a steady job. Xiao Sun just agreed to marry him, and he’s already given her his salary card.”

As they continued talking, Lu Yun eventually fell asleep. He Cheng’an quietly tucked the blanket around her before stepping out.

When Lu Dong saw He Cheng’an heading to the kitchen, he asked, “What are you doing?”

“Making some oil-splashed noodles,” He Cheng’an replied.

“Isn’t that what Ah Yun wants to eat?” Lu Dong asked.

He Cheng’an, wearing an apron and smiling, said, “No, I want some too.” After a pause, he added, “Ah Yun has started preparing for a new store again, but she can’t find suitable management. Could you help out? The store in the county isn’t a problem; I think one of the people who used to work there would be a good fit as a manager. Or Li Ling could do it too; I heard she plans to resign soon.”

Lu Dong looked around the courtyard and chuckled. “Really busy, huh?”

He Cheng’an nodded. “It’s really quite busy, and besides, it’s reassuring for our family to keep an eye on things.”

Lu Dong thought for a long time before responding, “Let’s discuss it then.”

After Lu Yun woke up, He Cheng’an was just waiting to head to the kitchen to turn the prepared ingredients into oil-splashed noodles.

In just a few minutes, Lu Yun was enjoying a bowl of fragrant noodles. As she ate, she also fed some to He Cheng’an, and when their eyes met, they both smiled.

During this trip back to the county, He Cheng’an also had another task: he needed to find some skilled workers in the county and the surrounding areas. Ever since he opened a physical store for his renovation company, he had signed more and more clients and was getting busier recently.

Several workers under Chen Zhiqiang had expressed interest in transferring to He Cheng’an’s company; they had come over together, but He Cheng’an didn’t take them.

Zhang Hao sneered at this. “I’m not specifically targeting Chen Zhiqiang, but he previously poached one of our workers, Xiao Chen, to help him establish himself in the provincial capital. Now he’s planning to come back to the county, and now his people want to come over here. Who knows if they’re genuine or just undercover?”

After saying this, he remembered that Lu Yun was also present and felt awkward, glancing at her.

Lu Yun nodded. “That makes sense. We shouldn’t take anyone jumping from Chen Zhiqiang’s side; it’s hard to tell who’s sincere.”

He Cheng’an stood there, quietly smiling.

—o—o—o—

They stayed busy right up until the end of the year. He Cheng’an converted the over three-hundred-square-meter processing factory in the suburbs into a temporary processing site.

He planned to build a factory in the county primarily for packaging wood ear mushrooms, white fungus soup, and various rice products. He also listened to Lu Yun’s advice and registered a trademark for himself.

The factory was now preparing to start negotiations for kelp.

Lu Yun was quite reflective about how far they had come. She remembered how it all began with the Lu family and Zhang Hao’s family packing their first batch of goods.

She thought to herself that maybe one day this place would transition from entirely manual labor to automated machinery.

In the provincial capital, Lu Yun had already opened six chain stores, while He Cheng’an’s renovation company had seven, although most were located in the suburbs. The storefronts were cheaper in the suburbs, and with their funds, they could buy the properties outright. After all, it was better to do business in their own store than to rent someone else’s.

Essentially, there was always a Lu Ji Spicy Skewers next to He Cheng’an’s physical store.

—o—o—o—

On the day before New Year’s Day, Lu Yun took a moment to summarize what they had accomplished over the year, and she realized that it had been a year of remarkable progress for them.

He Cheng’an returned from the snowy weather, holding the Snow Cream that Lu Yun had just forgotten to take back to the Lu family courtyard.

When Lu Yun opened the window to look at him, He Cheng’an hurried over to help her close it.

Once inside, He Cheng’an remarked, “It’s windy and cold outside.”

After saying this, he stepped out again to change out of his coat and warm himself up before coming back in.

Lu Yun protested, “Didn’t you say I didn’t need to buy any? I can make do without it; it’s cold today.”

He Cheng’an smiled. “It’s fine; I’m not cold. I’m wearing thick clothes.” He then placed the Snow Cream he had bought for Lu Yun on the table. “This one is different from what you usually use; they don’t sell it here in the county.”

Lu Yun glanced at the Snow Cream He Cheng’an had bought for her and smiled. “Then this one is the best for me.”

As they chatted in the house, Lu Xiang’an and Zhou Nuan soon returned.

After getting married, they had moved out to live on their own, and Zhang Meili and Lu Dong had also gone to their two-bedroom apartment.

Lu Yun and He Cheng’an had purchased a large three-bedroom apartment in the county as well, but it wasn’t renovated yet, so they were celebrating New Year’s at the courtyard.

Lu Yun felt that compared to celebrating the New Year in a big three-bedroom apartment, she preferred being here.

This place marked the beginning of her new life, as well as the start of her journey with He Cheng’an.

“He Cheng’an,” Lu Yun said.

He Cheng’an looked at Lu Yun, waiting for her to continue. However, instead of saying anything further, Lu Yun simply leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek before stepping out to find Lu Xiang’an and Zhou Nuan.