Chapter 7: Secret Stash of Money

Wang Fangli returned home with a smile still on her face after chatting with someone. Her husband, Jiao Weiping, saw her and asked, “What were you talking about that made you so happy?”

Wang Fangli glanced around at the sound of his question. In truth, there was no real need to be cautious—it was late, and the neighbors had all gone to bed. They were in their own home, and no one was eavesdropping. But people are like that; when gossiping, they instinctively feel a little guilty and tend to look around before speaking.

After checking, Wang Fangli spoke: “Just now, Deputy Commander Zhao brought Gao Xiulian to the Zong family’s place.”

Lying on the bed and fanning himself, Jiao Weiping paused. “What did they go there for?”

“What else? To apologize, of course!”

Quite a few people in the residential area had seen Zong Shao talking to Zhao Feng earlier about the afternoon’s incident. Though they didn’t know exactly what was said, Wang Fangli, who knew the inside story, had no trouble piecing things together and guessing the truth.

What’s more, when Zhao Feng and Gao Xiulian went to the Zong family’s home, she happened to be nearby “taking a walk”—which, truthfully, meant chatting and gossiping. In any case, she’d seen the situation clearly.

Thinking about how Gao Xiulian had hung her head and looked utterly defeated, Wang Fangli couldn’t help but chuckle. “That Gao Xiulian always acts like she’s the queen of the base just because she’s the deputy commander’s wife—always meddling in everything, thinking she’s some big shot. Bet she’s embarrassed now after running into a steel wall.”

Although Wang Fangli often badmouthed Gao Xiulian at home, Jiao Weiping had little patience for women’s gossip. Instead of agreeing with her, he said, “Keep that stuff to yourself. Say it to me fine, but if word gets out, it’ll cause trouble.”

Trouble with who? Obviously Zhao Feng and Gao Xiulian.

Wang Fangli immediately frowned. “So Lin Wei gets bullied, Zong Shao stands up for her, but I can’t even vent a few words at home? Coward!”

Jiao Weiping wasn’t pleased either. “Coward? I call it using my brain! Unlike Zong Shao, charging in headfirst and making enemies everywhere. We all live in the same residential area—was it really such a big deal that he had to escalate it like that?”

Wang Fangli sneered, “Sure, he’s just a hothead. Became a deputy company commander at twenty-four. Unlike you—so impressive at twenty-seven.”

That did it. Jiao Weiping was fuming and practically fell back in frustration. “Not talking to you anymore! Sleep!” He turned over and shut his eyes.

Meanwhile, in the Wang household behind theirs, the same matter was being discussed. But unlike Wang Fangli’s gloating, Li Qin was more worried and said, “If I had known this would happen, I wouldn’t have gone to the Zong family’s place today.”

Her husband, Wang Hua, flipped through a book and said, “Their argument has nothing to do with you—what are you so worried about?”

Li Qin thought that while the matter indeed had nothing to do with her, she had still witnessed Gao Xiulian’s embarrassing moment. Gao Xiulian was the kind of person who cared deeply about her image, and someone like her probably wouldn’t only hold a grudge against Lin Wei, the one she argued with—others who witnessed it might be included too.

Thinking of this, Li Qin sighed again. “I’m just worried Gao Xiulian will hold a grudge against me and get Deputy Commander Zhao to give you a hard time.”

Wang Hua chuckled at her words, thinking she was overthinking things. He put down the book and pulled her into his arms, saying, “You didn’t even get involved in their argument—why would Gao Xiulian have a problem with you? Besides, the deputy commander isn’t the kind of person who can’t tell right from wrong. As long as I do my job well, there’s no way he’d target me just because of a few pillow-side complaints from his wife.”

Li Qin snuggled into her husband’s arms and said softly, “Let’s hope so.”

Wang Hua hummed in agreement, then asked, “Is that why you’ve been staying so close to Gao Xiulian all this time?”

He’d guessed correctly, but Li Qin didn’t want to worry him, so she didn’t admit it. “I haven’t been with the unit long and don’t really know anyone.” She had only joined the family station after the New Year.

Wang Hua was a soldier—and her husband after all—so how could he not hear the truth behind her words? After observing Gao Xiulian for nearly half a year, he already had a poor impression of her, so he said, “When it comes to who you socialize with, just follow your own judgment. There’s no need to force yourself for my sake. I know how to handle things at work.”

Hearing this, Li Qin turned her head, gently pressed her stinging eyes, and when she turned back, she was smiling. “Okay.”

Wang Hua hummed again, then remembered that his wife hadn’t made many friends since moving to the base. He asked, “What do you think of Zong Shao’s wife?”

“Her?”

Li Qin thought for a moment. “She seems alright. Pretty tough, though.”

“Tough is good—less likely to suffer losses. As long as she’s decent and principled, it’s worth building a connection.”

Li Qin understood what her husband was suggesting. But she also thought that since Lin Wei had just seriously offended Gao Xiulian, if she suddenly started getting close to Lin Wei, even if Gao Xiulian didn’t bear a grudge against her before, she certainly would now. So she just said vaguely, “We’ll see.”

While the Jiao and Wang families were talking about Lin Wei, she was sitting at her vanity, brushing her hair. Her thoughts drifted to what was about to happen, and she felt a little nervous.

Although she had been married for four years, she actually didn’t have much experience in that area—aside from a few times during their honeymoon period.

It wasn’t that Zong Shao was incapable, of course. The real reason was that in those four years, he had only returned home twice. Once was when Lin Wei gave birth to the twins. He stayed for ten days, but she was still in postpartum recovery, so even if they had wanted to do something, she had to behave herself. The other time was when Zong Shao’s mother passed away. Though people in this era didn’t strictly observe mourning customs anymore, that was still his biological mother. Zong Shao was grieving—how could he have had the mood for anything else?

This time, when Zong Shao returned to Shicheng, he stayed home for a few days, but they were in the middle of moving. Most of their furniture had already been sold, and Lin’s mother, who had been helping with the children, had gone home. With no one to look after the twins, the whole family ended up sleeping together, which obviously left no room for intimacy.

The same went for the following days. On their last night there, they even slept at Lin Wei’s parents’ house—in her old room, where the bed was small and crowded.

After that, they were on the move—taking a ferry, then transferring to a train. They spent a night at the guesthouse at the Yangcheng base, and the next day boarded the supply ship. They arrived at the Sanlin naval port that afternoon. Throughout all of that, there had been zero time for privacy between the two.

Now, finally, with the twins sleeping in the second bedroom—two doors away—they finally had the chance to be alone. Naturally, something was bound to happen.

Thinking of this, Lin Wei’s hand slowed as she brushed her hair.

Still, her nervousness didn’t stem from shyness. After all, they had been married for years and even had children. They were an old married couple by now. Even after such a long gap, she wasn’t so inexperienced that she’d blush or have her heartbeat.

More than anything, she just felt uneasy. She and Zong Shao were husband and wife in name, but because they spent so little time together, they weren’t really more familiar with each other than ordinary friends. Honestly, if it weren’t for the photos of Zong Shao at home that she looked at from time to time, she might not even remember clearly what he looked like.

Yet they were married. Their interactions were supposed to be more intimate than between regular friends. Even if they weren’t that familiar, hugging and being affectionate was still perfectly natural.

As the original novel put it — they skipped second and third base and went straight to a home run.

As Lin Wei was thinking about this, Zong Shao came in. She turned her head to glance at him and asked, “Are they really asleep?”

“Asleep,” Zong Shao said as he closed the door.

Lin Wei suddenly worried, “It’s their first time sleeping alone. Is it bad to close the door?”

Zong Shao answered naturally, “We’ll open it again before we go to bed.”

As for why the door couldn’t be opened before they went to bed — that was obvious even without spelling it out.

Lin Wei’s breathing paused slightly, and the motion of brushing her hair also came to a halt.

Zong Shao, on the other hand, remained at ease. He sat down at the edge of the bed and looked at her.

He also had photos of Lin Wei, which he would look at now and then, but photos were never the same as the real person. And she had changed quite a bit in the past couple of years.

Two years ago, she always wore her hair in braids, and there was still a touch of baby fat on her face. She didn’t look like a mother of two, more like a young girl. Since she didn’t take photos often, she always looked a little nervous in front of the camera, and her smile was tight. Every time he saw it, he couldn’t help but chuckle.

The baby fat on her face had completely faded now, and she no longer wore braids. She had become much more composed and capable in her speech and actions. Though she still didn’t look very old, when she told people she had two children, no one found it surprising anymore.

But she was still beautiful—more beautiful than in the photos.

Actually, Zong Shao’s gaze wasn’t particularly intense, but since there were only the two of them in the room, his look became hard to ignore. Lin Wei couldn’t help turning her head to ask, “Why are you staring at me like that?”

“You look good.”

Zong Shao’s gaze was frank, and his words were equally direct. So much so that even though Lin Wei hadn’t been feeling especially shy, her cheeks still flushed red, and she responded in a muffled voice, “Oh.”

Seeing the blush on Lin Wei’s face, Zong Shao’s gaze also lost some of its calmness. The atmosphere in the room subtly shifted—it had already been quiet, but now it became even quieter.

Until Zong Shao spoke: “It’s getting late. Let’s go to bed.”

Lin Wei looked up at the clock on the vanity. It was one she brought from home—practical and easy to carry, so she hadn’t sold it.

9:37 PM. It was getting late.

She stood up from the stool but didn’t move immediately, asking, “Which side do you want to sleep on?”

Zong Shao said, “Either is fine.”

Lin Wei gave another soft “Oh,” then walked around to the inside of the bed and lay down.

As soon as she lay down, Zong Shao lay down beside her and pulled her into his arms. He didn’t do anything else immediately—just started chatting with her in a serious tone, asking if she felt hot.

When Zong Shao first pulled her into his arms, Lin Wei instinctively tensed up, but they weren’t exactly just friends. Plus, his choice of topic was ridiculous enough that she relaxed quickly. She looked up at him, the meaning in her eyes obvious.

It was June in Yazhou Island. How could it not be hot?

Actually, if they opened the window, it might be bearable. The sea breeze was still pretty cool. But under the current circumstances, there was no way they could open the window.

Zong Shao also realized how pointless his question had been, and he gave a little cough and said, “I’ll borrow some industrial coupons tomorrow and buy an electric fan.”

Honestly, he should’ve bought one earlier. But between building a toilet, fixing the house, and buying random essentials, he’d used up all the industrial coupons he’d saved and couldn’t afford one.

Summers were long and hotter on Yazhou Island. An electric fan was a must. Otherwise, once the dog days of summer arrived, life would be unbearable.

But Lin Wei thought of something else and asked, “You’re buying it yourself?”

Zong Shao didn’t quite get what she meant and looked down, giving a questioning “Hmm?”

Lin Wei gave him a faint smile. “I mean, how much money do you have left? Is it enough to buy the fan? If it is, I won’t pitch in.”

Zong Shao: “…”

Ever since she found out yesterday that Zong Shao had secretly saved quite a bit of money, Lin Wei had been eyeing it. She just hadn’t found the right moment to “confiscate” it during the trip, so she figured she’d bring it up again when they got paid at the end of the month.

Now that Zong Shao had voluntarily brought up the subject—well, technically it was Lin Wei who forcibly dragged it there—but regardless of how forced it was, since the conversation had already gone this far, she certainly wasn’t going to hold back.

After all, secret stashes of money? Better to have none at all.