After eating a few mouthfuls of noodles, Zhou Guoping was about to take his bowl to wash when he suddenly saw his wife, Liu Nianhua, come out and stand behind him. 

“Nianhua, why are you out? Didn’t you cut your hand? I’ll…” In front of everyone, Zhou Guoping spoke gently and with concern for his wife. 

“Look at Xiao Zhou, how much he cares about Nianhua.” The more Aunt Luo looked at Zhou Guoping, the more she felt that he was a good man. She said to Liu Nianhua, who looked a little pale behind him, “Nianhua, you are lucky to have found a good man… unlike some people.” 

Aunt Luo was hinting at someone, but the person she was referring to didn’t even open her eyes and just leaned back in her seat leisurely. Liu Nianhua spoke first, “Aunt Luo, you are joking.” 

Then she looked at Zhou Guoping and said quietly, “Didn’t you ask me to get up and cook for you? My hand doesn’t hurt that much now, so why did you go and cook the noodles yourself?” 

“Nianhua, he didn’t ask you to cook,” Aunt Luo heard everything clearly and spoke before Zhou Guoping, “Xiao Zhou said he let you rest because of your cut. How considerate of him.” 

“Auntie Luo, that’s not true.” Liu Nianhua forced a bitter smile, which made her already pale face look even more lonely. “Guoping said that this kind of injury is not really an injury and asked me to hurry up and cook for him.” 

As soon as Liu Nianhua finished speaking, the courtyard fell silent. Why… why are this couple saying different things? 

Zhou Guoping’s face turned pale and blue in the night. Looking at the curious eyes of the neighbors, his lips trembled, and he suddenly didn’t know what to say. What happened to Liu Nianhua today? 

He turned to look. She seemed fine and was even smiling at him. She didn’t look like she wanted to quarrel or cause trouble. He had seen many sharp-tongued wives who could cause a big scene, which he disliked. But Liu Nianhua was different; she had never lost her temper in her life and would never quarrel with anyone. 

“Uh… Nianhua must have misunderstood. I said not to cook, and she must not have heard clearly, hahahaha.” Zhou Guoping casually brushed it off and pulled her back to the house. 

The neighbors left in the courtyard exchanged glances. 

“What’s going on?” After the couple left, people in the courtyard began to whisper again.

 

“Why do I feel like Xiao Zhou and his wife are acting strange today?” 

“Yes, Xiao Zhou just mentioned that he was being considerate of Nianhua’s injury and let her have a good rest. However, it hasn’t been long, and Nianhua said that Xiao Zhou insisted she get up and cook. Why is there a contradiction in what they are saying?” 

“Maybe there’s just some misunderstanding.” 

Chen Yulian slowly opened her eyes at this time, sneered, and a seductive smile appeared on her face. “You believe everything he said? That he was so considerate of his wife? He even brings a bowl out to show off in front of everyone and shouts about how good he is?” 

“Oh, could it be that Zhou Guoping said one thing in front of Nianhua and another thing in front of us?” 

“That’s impossible. Xiao Zhou has been our neighbor for years. He’s not like that!” 

Listening to everyone gossiping after having nothing to do after eating, Chen Yulian had a sarcastic smile on her lips. She just sighed, thinking that everyone really knows how to pretend. 

*** 

While the courtyard was lively, Xu Shengjie and Liang Baozhen were not there. 

Today, the two of them went to the bathhouse to take a bath with the bath tickets issued by the factory. 

One of the employee benefits of the State Cotton Factory is two bath tickets per month. In summer, it was fine to bathe quickly at home, but as temperatures dropped, it became more challenging to avoid catching a cold, no matter how much water you boiled. 

Today, the two of them took their bathing tickets and went to Songhua Bathhouse, which is closest to Crescent Alley, to take a bath. 

Taking a bath in the bathhouse is comfortable. It was clean and warm. Liang Baozhen has fair skin, and if she bathes for a little longer, her skin will turn red. When she came out, her long hair was tied up behind her and fixed with a chopstick. Her little face was red, and she looked refreshed. 

Xu Shengjie washed quickly. He was used to taking combat showers when he was a soldier and had no habit of soaking in baths. He quickly came out and waited for a while at the door of the bathhouse. 

“Are you cold?” 

Liang Baozhen was wearing a thin cotton jacket and looked energetic. She shook her head, “It’s not cold. Feel my hands. They are warm.” 

Xu Shengjie looked around. It was pitch black, and no one was paying attention to the place. He then reached out and touched his wife’s warm hand, which felt like a small heater. 

“Don’t be careless. It’s easy to catch a cold in this weather.” 

“I know, I know.” Liang Baozhen had already been reminded by her mother, Song Chunhua, during her recent visit home. She had been told to wear more clothes as the temperature dropped, and now Xu Shengjie was reminding her again. 

“By the way, I have something to tell you.” Liang Baozhen hadn’t mentioned the big news to Xu Shengjie yet because, after getting home from work today, she had been busy eating and getting ready to go to the bathhouse. 

“What is it?” 

“Today, Director Xue told me something. He asked if I was interested in becoming a broadcaster.” 

“Broadcaster?” Xu Shengjie paused, recalling the voice that came through the factory loudspeaker every noon. It was a female comrade reading newspapers and books. If it was his wife… 

“He wants you to switch jobs?” 

“Yeah!” Liang Baozhen recalled what Xue Lijun said in the afternoon. “He said that this job is much easier than working in the workshop. It mainly involves writing some scripts and preparing for the twenty-minute broadcast every day at noon. The other thing is to notify the factory of various things. Overall, it is relatively easy. The key is that the salary is not low. I would directly get the salary of a second-level worker, but there is no room for advancement; this job can only reach a second level.” 

Xu Shengjie heard this and remembered how his wife often came home with sore arms from working in the workshop.  The workload had been heavy recently, and once she became a regular worker, she would have to work in three shifts. Although the treatment and benefits for workers were good, the job was far from easy. It would be a relief if she could transition to an easier position. 

“What do you think? Do you want to go?” 

Liang Baozhen nodded, “I want to go.” 

The author has something to say: 

Ms. Liu Nianhua: Prepare to blow the horn of counterattack. 

Let’s give my Zhenzhen a lighter job.