Chapter 8

Walking out of the cooperative, with two large bags of items hanging from the bicycle and another big bag in her arms, Lu Baiwei thought to herself that even with mountains of gold and silver, you couldn’t spend money like this. She was worried sick for the man riding the bicycle up ahead.

Along the way, Lu Baiwei stayed silent, thinking about how they would live their lives in the future.

He Ting, pedaling the bicycle, broke the silence: “When we move, I’ll give you the money and food coupons from the house, and you can manage the household.”

When they were buying things, He Ting had felt that Lu Baiwei was someone who knew how to manage money.

Before he had a wife, he could spend money freely.

Now that he had a wife, things were different.

If they had children, he and his wife would have to raise them.

Lu Baiwei hadn’t expected that the seemingly high-and-mighty man who had married her and planned to live seriously would think so far ahead.

“I didn’t mean it that way.”

Lu Baiwei explained, “I was just thinking that if we want the team to allocate land to build a house, we’d have to wait for a while before we could move.”

“I have an idea.”

Was she so eager to start a life with him?

He Ting smiled faintly: “What idea do you have?”

“We don’t need to build a house. The team’s health clinic has two rooms. My maternal grandfather was the barefoot doctor in the team. Those two rooms were built for him, but after he passed away, the rooms were taken back.”

“The place is spacious, and the rooms are still in good condition. We just need to replace the broken tiles. If we move in, we can save the money we would have spent building a house.”

The abandoned health clinic was not far from the youth workers’ point and was close to the team’s threshing ground. The building was still relatively new.

When He Ting had first arrived at Xiangyang team, he had considered renting the space with Zhou Yanfeng.

But it was the team leader, Tang Jinghe, who said that the building was a public facility for the team and could only be used as a clinic. When they found a suitable person to take on the barefoot doctor role, the team would reopen the clinic so that the villagers could see a doctor without having to go so far to the commune health center.

He Ting had to give up and continued living with the other youth workers.

Later, when the rumors spread that Lu Baiwei was talking about marriage with Yin Zhihe, He Ting got so upset that he didn’t consider moving out of the youth workers’ point at the time.

Hearing Lu Baiwei’s suggestion now, He Ting spoke up: “That place is not easy to manage. If you really like it, I’ll think of a way to make it work.”

“I’ll handle it!”

Lu Baiwei teased, “Living together is our shared responsibility. You went to the cooperative and bought so many things, so I should also do my part and contribute to the building of our little home.”

Lu Baiwei playfully replied, “Living together is our shared responsibility. You went to the cooperative and bought so many things, so I should also contribute to the building of our little home, shouldn’t I?”

Since arriving at Xiangyang team, every time He Ting saw Lu Baiwei, she would dart away like a rabbit, disappearing the moment she saw him, as if she thought he might eat her.

He Ting had prepared himself for a wife who was a quiet, reticent person. But after spending time with Lu Baiwei, he found that although she didn’t talk much, when she did speak, she was quite interesting—she had a bit of wit and humor.

He Ting was amused: “Alright, Comrade Lu Baiwei, our little home is in your hands.”

“Comrade He Ting, no need to be polite. From now on, we’re comrades in the same pit. Just wait for your revolutionary partner to show her prowess!”

In fact, since she had started thinking about moving out of the Lu family’s house and getting away from the “vampires” in that household, Lu Baiwei had already been considering how to get her hands on those two rooms in the team’s health clinic.

She just needed the right opportunity.

On the way back to the team, while thinking about how to acquire those rooms, an opportunity presented itself unexpectedly.

He Ting had just ridden the bicycle to the village entrance and saw the team’s secretary’s son, Liu Zaicheng, rolling down the slope, spilling a basket of seedlings.

“Zaicheng, Zaicheng, where did you fall?”

“Oh no, it looks like Liu Zaicheng fell and his hand hit a big rock!”

Some people who were working nearby rushed to the slope to help Liu Zaicheng.

When they touched his hand, Liu Zaicheng cried out in pain, “Don’t touch it! Ow, it hurts so much, I think my hand is broken.”

“Stop, stop! I’ll go down and have a look.”

He Ting stopped the bicycle, and Lu Baiwei jumped off, handing the things in her arms to him. She nimbly skipped down the slope in a few steps.

Liu Zaicheng was sweating profusely, crying out in pain. Lu Baiwei rushed over to support his arm and then applied a little force. There was a loud crack, and before Liu Zaicheng could react, it was done.

“Ouch, that hurts so much! Lu Baiwei, what are you doing?”

Since Lu Baiwei’s maternal grandfather had been the team’s barefoot doctor, and she had grown up at her grandfather’s house, their families were close. Lu Baiwei and Liu Zaicheng had practically grown up together, so she had no hesitation in helping him.

When she rushed over and did it in one go, Liu Zaicheng didn’t have time to react. By the time he realized what had happened, his hand was already snapped, and Lu Baiwei had already let go.

“Oh no, oh no, Lu Baiwei, with you doing it like that, my hand is really broken!”

Liu Zaicheng, trying to joke, said, “If my hand is broken, Lu Baiwei, you’ll have to take responsibility for me.”

“You’re making such a fuss, does it really look like your hand is broken?”

“You’re making such a fuss, does it really look like your hand is broken?”

Lu Baiwei rolled her eyes at him. “Stop complaining, just shake your hand and see.”

Liu Zaicheng obediently shook his hand, and to his surprise, it didn’t hurt at all.

He was ecstatic. “Lu Baiwei, you’re amazing! I knew you must have learned that trick from your grandfather!”

“You just dislocated it, and I popped it back in place. You’re a grown man, screaming like you saw a ghost. Isn’t that embarrassing?”

“Lu Baiwei, your mouth is still so sharp…”

Liu Zaicheng acted all pitiful, pretending to be hurt and asking Lu Baiwei to take responsibility for him. He was suddenly caught off guard by the cold glance from He Ting on the small road above. The cold stare made him shiver in broad daylight.

Everyone in the team had heard about He Ting’s three turns and a marriage proposal yesterday.

Realizing he couldn’t joke around anymore, Liu Zaicheng quickly changed his tune. “Lu Baiwei, you and He Ting went to the commune to get your marriage certificate, didn’t you?”

He Ting didn’t know why, but seeing Lu Baiwei talking and laughing with Liu Zaicheng, and Liu Zaicheng continuously saying Lu Baiwei should take responsibility for him, made He Ting feel uneasy. His gaze naturally turned colder as he looked at Liu Zaicheng.

Seeing that they were about to continue their conversation, He Ting coldly urged Lu Baiwei.

“Don’t you want to get on? Hurry up.”

Earlier, they had been laughing and talking all the way back.

But now, it felt like something had changed with the young master. His mood was off, and he had reverted to his usual, unapproachable self.

“Alright, I’m coming.”

Lu Baiwei turned to Liu Zaicheng. “Zaicheng, I need to go to your house with He Ting. If you’re not busy, why don’t you come along? I’ll bring you some wedding candy.”

They had just started working for the afternoon.

Liu Zaicheng, who had grown up with Lu Baiwei, immediately understood that if the “big boss” suddenly wanted to visit his house and asked him to come along, she must need his help.

Since she had just helped him with his hand, Liu Zaicheng naturally agreed right away.

“Alright, I’ll get someone to help with the seedlings and go with you.”