Chapter 133

After the couple left, two figures, one tall and one short, appeared again near the cowshed.

The tall one asked the short one, “Should we report this?”

The short one shook his head. “No need. Our task is to ensure Professor Shi and his wife’s safety. As for Captain Lu, he’s Professor Shi’s son-in-law, so it’s normal for him to visit.”

They never doubted Lu Weiguo’s identity. After all, he was a formidable presence from the battlefield. Besides, if the enemy forces could infiltrate this deeply, their military system would be doomed.

The tall one thought for a moment and then fell silent.

Besides the two of them, there were another two people assigned to protect Professor Shi, switching shifts every week.

During the day, there was no need to watch over Professor Shi and his wife since they worked with the brigade members in the fields. They only needed to keep watch at night.

At dawn, they would return to their temporary rental in town to catch up on sleep.

On the twenty-ninth of the twelfth lunar month, a phone call came into the brigade office for Lu Weiguo.

Shi Tingyu also went along.

Who would have thought the call was from Lu’s mother?

When Lu Weiguo picked up the phone, his mother’s loud voice came through.

“It’s almost the New Year, and I still have some bathhouse tickets. Ask Xiaoyu if she wants to come and have a bath at our factory’s bathhouse. We can scrub each other’s backs.”

Since 1966, bathhouse scrubbing services had ceased. People had to scrub each other’s backs themselves or ask a stranger for help.

Without needing to ask, Lu Weiguo immediately refused.

“No need, Mom. We have hot water from the kang here, and the room is warm. She can just wash in the room.”

He was sure that if his wife knew that going to the bathhouse meant exposing herself to a bunch of naked women and scrubbing each other’s backs, she definitely wouldn’t agree.

Lu’s mother, a bit disappointed, didn’t press further. Seeing that the time was nearly up, she hung up the phone right at the one-minute mark.

Sighing, Lu’s mother left the post office.

No one at the textile factory had seen Weiguo’s wife yet, and she had a bit of a show-off mentality. In the past, she had often been envied by colleagues because Weiguo hadn’t married for a long time.

She wanted them to see that not only had her son married, but he had married the best.

After Lu Weiguo hung up the phone, Shi Tingyu looked at him.

Lu Weiguo cleared his throat. “Let’s talk outside.”

There were still people near the brigade office phone.

Once they were outside, Lu Weiguo said, “My mom wants you to go to her factory’s bathhouse for a scrub.”

Shi Tingyu was shocked.

She knew about northern bathhouses, where everyone was naked together. It was normal for those who grew up in that environment, but she felt uncomfortable.

And to be naked with her mother-in-law was embarrassing to think about.

She felt relieved that Weiguo had refused on her behalf.

Lu Weiguo also had a personal reason for refusing. His wife’s milk-white skin and curvaceous figure were too precious for others to see.

They hadn’t been intimate for several days due to worrying about her parents. Now that he thought about it, his heart burned with desire.

Feeling his heated gaze, Shi Tingyu didn’t need to look to know what he was thinking.

With many worries lifted from her mind, she also felt a longing.

The saying that warmth leads to desire was proving true.

That night, they washed up early and went to bed.

In the camp, Lu Weiguo was almost nightly active, but back home, he had been restrained. With his wife in his arms now, he couldn’t hold back anymore.

The night was beautiful. On the warm kang, his movements were bold and unrestrained, more indulgent than before.

Indeed, the kang was sturdier than a bed with slender legs.

Shi Tingyu’s voice was like a warbler’s song, soft and fluid.

In the silent night, with the north wind howling outside, the only sounds in the warm room were his deep breaths and her gentle moans.

The next day, they slept in until late morning, then got up slowly.

They planned to thoroughly clean the house today. Though people no longer put up spring couplets or “Fu” words, the New Year’s cleaning was still necessary.

Remembering how tired his wife was last night, Lu Weiguo took on the major cleaning tasks.

But Shi Tingyu didn’t stay idle. She avoided climbing and reaching high places but was still busy with wiping and washing.

While he cared for her, she also cared for him.

Reciprocity is key to maintaining long-lasting relationships.

By around three in the afternoon, the cleaning was done, and Lu’s father, mother, and Lu Jianguo’s family had all returned.

Seeing the clean and tidy house, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

In previous years, they had to take time off work early to come back and clean, but this time everything was already taken care of.

They brought back quite a few items, many of which were New Year benefits from their factory.

Lu Zhen, always restless, ran over to Lijian and took him out to play with his friends.

School was out for winter break, so every day he would go to his parents’ two factories, where the workers’ children would gather to play wildly together.

Qin Ping initially thought that since her brother-in-law and his wife were at home, they could help look after the child. But they went back to their hometown the next day, so she had to let it go.

She wasn’t comfortable with letting Xiaozhen go back to their hometown with them.

When Lu Jianguo found out, he scolded her.

“They hardly get any time off to visit family. You can’t just dump a kid on them to take care of. That’s just creating unnecessary trouble.”

If her brother’s kids were handed over to her to look after, would she be happy about it?

Taking care of a child isn’t easy. You have to ensure their safety, feed them, and there’s no personal space left.

Qin Ping couldn’t argue with that.

She had just thought of it because they were family.

Lu Jianguo explained clearly that before Weiguo and his wife came back, their child managed just fine. It was the same for other colleagues’ children; they weren’t making exceptions.

With the cleaning done, the family began preparing for the New Year’s Eve dinner.

This time, Lu’s parents brought a lot of meat and vegetables.

Since Weiguo and his wife had done the cleaning, Lu’s mother didn’t let Shi Tingyu and her husband cook the New Year’s Eve dinner.

She now had two daughters-in-law, so she had to be fair and treat them equally.

Qin Ping didn’t mind; she was used to doing these things.

Shi Tingyu felt uncomfortable just sitting around, so she decided to take a walk. Lu Weiguo accompanied her outside.

In the afternoon, the weather had turned gloomy, and it looked like it might snow.

Most of the kids were outside playing, while their parents were busy indoors.

Even though many of the traditional New Year rituals had faded, celebrating the New Year was deeply ingrained in Chinese culture. People always tried to make it as good as possible within their means.

As they strolled around, they found themselves near the youth camp.

A group of people had gathered there, and Shi Tingyu thought she heard Lijian’s voice.

Worried, she pulled Lu Weiguo over to see what was happening.

In the middle of the crowd, Lijian’s leash was in Lu Zhen’s hand, surrounded by children, while Lijian sat in the center, being petted by several young men.

One of them was even holding a piece of jerky near Lijian’s mouth.

Lijian completely ignored him, turning its head away.

Lu Zhen proudly said, “Our Lijian is very smart. It never eats food given by strangers.”

The young man looked a bit disappointed. He rarely ate the jerky himself and only offered it to Lijian because he admired the dog.

Lijian was the first to notice Shi Tingyu and Lu Weiguo. It suddenly stood up, barked in their direction, and wagged its tail happily.

The young man was startled by Lijian’s sudden movement and instinctively asked, “What’s wrong, Zhuifeng? Is there a thief here?”

^[1]Fu Blessing