Chapter 22

Su Wan felt like her brain had exploded with a loud bang.

She stammered, “I… I didn’t ask.”

How could she bring herself to ask about something so… wild?

If the doctor heard her ask such a thing, he might think she was desperate!

Chen Yuan wrapped his arm around her waist, his warm breath brushing the top of her head. “Then let’s wait a bit longer. Once I’m fully recovered, you won’t need to drug me—I’ll take the initiative myself.”

Su Wan’s face flushed even redder!

Help!

She really wanted to find a hole to crawl into right now—or maybe grab a stick and knock herself out?

Chen Yuan didn’t seem like he intended to let her off the hook. He continued, “Actually, I really like how bold you were. You don’t need to feel shy. We’re husband and wife, and our relationship will only get more intimate.”

I-Intimate?

Su Wan immediately thought of the passionate night they had shared. Her cheeks turned scarlet, and even her body reacted unconsciously.

Why did this man talk so shamelessly?

“I… you…”

She felt like her tongue was tied in knots. She wanted to say something, but nothing came out.

“If you get any closer, your head’s going to end up inside my shirt.”

Chen Yuan had thought Su Wan was very bold—after all, that night…

Cough, cough!

Even though he had never experienced such things before marriage, being in the army, surrounded by men, meant the conversations were rarely clean. Naturally, he’d heard plenty about this kind of stuff.

Su Wan had been so passionate that night—he had truly felt it. That’s why he brought it up.

Seeing her so embarrassed she didn’t know where to look, Chen Yuan stopped teasing her.

His voice softened. “Go to sleep. You’ve had a long day.”

Su Wan really was tired, and she had to go to Yangcheng early the next morning, so she needed to get up early.

Around six in the morning, Su Wan was awakened by the rich aroma of chicken soup.

Chen Yuan was already gone from her side. She got up, got dressed, and washed up. Seeing her mother-in-law cooking chicken soup, she walked over. “Mom, you’re up early making chicken soup?”

“Chicken soup helps the body recover faster. I’ll serve you a bowl too. You’ve been working hard lately—you need to build yourself up.”

Li Cuihua looked at her daughter-in-law, now so skinny, and felt it must be her son’s fault. Otherwise, how could a girl who was plump and healthy in the village end up looking like she’d lost half her body weight just six months into marriage?

“No, no need. One chicken doesn’t have much meat—Chen Yuan should have it. I’m fine; I don’t need the chicken soup.”

She had already drunk chicken soup the past two days. You couldn’t drink it every day.

It was for Chen Yuan to recover—he’d been seriously injured and needed the nourishment more than anyone.

Li Cuihua felt uneasy when she heard that.

Could her daughter-in-law think she was being biased? Cooking chicken only for her son and not for her?

She quickly explained, a little flustered, “Wanwan, it’s not that I don’t want to cook chicken for you. I just…”

“Mom.”

Seeing how nervous her mother-in-law was, Su Wan immediately understood. “Mom, I just think that Chen Yuan had a major operation and lost a lot of blood. He needs more nourishment. If I wanted something, I’d speak up. If there’s not enough, we can always buy more. Don’t overthink it.”

“You really are a thoughtful girl. Mom’s just not very good with words.”

Li Cuihua genuinely felt her daughter-in-law was a good person. She had seemed a bit spoiled back in the village, but not unreasonable.

She used to worry that they might not get along, but now, seeing how easygoing her daughter-in-law was, she felt reassured.

Su Wan smiled brightly. “We’re family. You don’t need to be so careful around me. If you act like this, I’ll start wondering if I did something wrong.”

Li Cuihua hurriedly said, “No, no, nothing wrong. I just worry that I’m the one not doing well enough. If you ever want to eat anything, just say so—Mom will make it for you.”

“Don’t worry, I definitely will.”

While they were talking, Zheng Aifang and Su Jianguo came in, pushing Chen Yuan in his wheelchair. “Time to eat, right? Weren’t you heading to Yangcheng today?”

“Yes, we’ll head there after breakfast.”

As Su Wan replied, she turned to Li Cuihua and said, “Mom, while we’re in Yangcheng, if anything comes up here, you can ask someone else for help.”

Li Cuihua agreed, and everyone sat down to eat together.

After breakfast, Su Wan went back to her room to get the money—she brought 3,200 yuan for the trip to Yangcheng and left some spare cash for Chen Yuan.

The three of them took an army vehicle, driven by two new recruits. Su Wan greeted them briefly before settling in for the trip to Yangcheng.

From the county town to Yangcheng, the bus ride usually took about three to four hours.

Once they arrived at the Yangcheng bus station, they got off and found a roadside stall to eat noodles. While eating, they asked around and found out where the clothing wholesale market was.

Clothing wholesale markets were typically located near the train station to make it easy for merchants to take goods and leave quickly. Since the bus station was also near the train station, they easily found the wholesale market.

Yangcheng’s winter sun was still strong and bright.

The clothing wholesale market was bustling. Crowds of people haggled over prices, and all around, vendors shouted:

“Come take a look! Jeans, 70 yuan a dozen! Long-sleeves, 5 yuan each…”

Hearing those prices, Su Jianguo tugged on Su Wan’s sleeve and said, “Little Sis, the prices here are really cheap. We should check some out.”

“Second Brother, let’s not buy anything yet. Let’s look around first,” Su Wan replied while pulling Zheng Aifang along with her, squeezing forward through the crowd.

Although Su Jianguo didn’t quite understand what his sister was thinking, he trusted that she had a reason and followed her.

Most of the clothing at the market looked similar. Su Wan wanted to take some goods back to the factory for a test run, so she was searching for something with more unique styles.

She pushed her way forward and was soon drawn to a stall with some eye-catching knit cardigans.

When she stopped, Zheng Aifang and Su Jianguo stood beside her.

The vendor looked at her and asked, “Wholesale or retail?”

“Wholesale.”

Su Wan pointed to a knit button-up cardigan with a lapel collar. “How much for this one?”

“Minimum of 10 pieces. Fourteen yuan each. We’ve got black, white, red, lake blue, and light yellow.”

“I’ll buy in bulk. Will you do twelve yuan each?” Su Wan asked.

“No way,” the vendor replied, holding up one of the cardigans. “Look at this—it’s an export-quality item straight from the factory. I’m the only one in Yangcheng selling it.”

“Twelve yuan. I’ll take thirty each of the white ones in small and medium sizes. Ten each of the other colors in small and medium.”

The vendor hesitated for a moment before nodding. “You’re tough at bargaining.”

Su Wan then looked at the jeans on the stall. “How much are these?”

“Eight yuan a pair,” the vendor quickly said, clearly afraid she’d haggle again. “These aren’t the cheap ones sold by the dozen. These are from a big manufacturer. Feel the fabric.”

Su Wan touched the material—it was indeed better quality than what other stalls offered.

After a moment’s thought, she said, “I’ll take fifty pairs each in small and medium. Seven yuan a pair—deal?”