After lunch, Lu Qingyuan and Shu Beiqiu helped clean up the dishes and sat down for a while to chat with Grandma Lu and the others. Then, Lu Qingyuan went to the educated youth quarters to visit Zheng Xiaoxin and brought her some delicious food.

Zheng Xiaoxin took it with a bright smile. “When are you heading to the county?”

“This afternoon,” Lu Qingyuan replied. “If you need anything, just go to my mother. I’ve already spoken to her about it.”

“Alright.” Zheng Xiaoxin looked a little reluctant. “Chunhong will be getting married soon too. Now all the sisters I’m close with in the production team are leaving.”

“There are plenty of sisters at the educated youth quarters.” Lu Qingyuan linked arms with her. “Take care of yourself.”

“You too.”

As Zheng Xiaoxin watched her leave, she noticed a tall man waiting near the bamboo forest.

How nice.

Zheng Xiaoxin smiled slightly, then turned around, only to meet Secretary Chen’s gaze.

The smile on her lips disappeared instantly. She quickly picked up her things and went back to her room.

Secretary Chen pressed his lips together. After standing in place for a moment, he turned and left.

Before leaving in the morning, Lu Qingyuan and her husband had already packed the things they needed to bring to the county and left them at the clinic under Shu Beidong’s care.

Now that they were back, Shu Beiqiu strapped on a bamboo basket. The couple bid farewell to Shu Beidong before heading to the main road to wait for the bus to the county.

Lu Qingyuan looked cheerful, her face beaming with happiness.

Seeing that no one was around, Shu Beiqiu reached out to hold her hand.

Lu Qingyuan didn’t pull away. Her face flushed red, but she let him hold it.

There weren’t many people heading to the county today, so the bus was fairly empty. The two of them sat in the last row, and Lu Qingyuan rested her head on Shu Beiqiu’s shoulder.

Their hands remained clasped together.

Just before the livestream ended, the system had notified Lu Qingyuan that she had reached five hundred fans. Once the next livestream started, the gifts sent by her fans could be converted into the currency of this era, meaning she would finally have an income.

The system mentioned that, in the future, many people would make a living as streamers by receiving gifts from their fans. It told her not to feel burdened by it.

Lu Qingyuan was rather curious about what kind of gifts she would receive.

Since she had woken up early that morning, she drifted off to sleep while leaning against Shu Beiqiu.

Noticing this, Shu Beiqiu gently pulled her into his arms.

By the time they arrived at the county station, Shu Beiqiu woke her up. Lu Qingyuan rubbed her eyes before following him off the bus.

On their way back to the machinery factory, Shu Beiqiu took Lu Qingyuan to register her as his family member with the gatekeeper and collected a pass. From now on, she would need to show it whenever she entered or exited.

“Today, we’ll tidy up the house. Tomorrow night, let’s prepare a meal and invite the colleagues you’re close with over for dinner.”

“Okay, there aren’t many people, just the few people in our dormitory and the Master.”

They discussed as they walked toward their rented house.

When they arrived, Lu Qingyuan noticed a red “Double Happiness” character pasted on the door and smiled.

“I cut it myself,” Shu Beiqiu said.

“It looks great.” Lu Qingyuan opened the door.

The house had two rooms—one was used as a study, and the other was their bedroom. There was also a small living room. Cooking was done outside, and all the pots, bowls, and utensils were brand new. Shu Beiqiu had prepared everything carefully.

There wasn’t much to tidy up. After resting for a bit, the couple took the candies they had bought and handed them out to the neighbors on their floor.

They also took the opportunity to get to know them.

By the time they returned home, an hour had passed.

Lu Qingyuan downed half a cup of water. “They’re all so enthusiastic. I could barely keep up.”

“Drink slower.” Shu Beiqiu sat beside her, gently rubbing her back. “I’ll go make dinner. You rest.”

“Okay.”

Lu Qingyuan didn’t argue.

But she didn’t just sit idly either. She unpacked the things they had brought from home, put everything in its place, and wiped down the table.

“Beiqiu, when are we going to get our marriage certificate?”

“The day after tomorrow. It’s a good date—I already checked.”

Shu Beiqiu’s voice came from outside the door.

Lu Qingyuan thought for a moment and added, “Let’s take a photo together too.”

“Alright.”

In this era, getting a photo taken meant waiting several days to receive it, and it would be in black and white.

After a simple dinner, Shu Beiqiu cleaned up the dishes before taking Lu Qingyuan out for a stroll in the factory park.

“Hey, did you see that? It’s always Comrade Shu who does the cooking and washing.”

“Well, he did marry such a beautiful wife. If it were me, I’d spoil her too.”

“A woman shouldn’t be too lazy, though. Comrade Shu works all day. He can’t be expected to rush home and cook too.”

“What’s it to you how they live their lives?”

“Exactly. Just worry about your own husband.”

Some people spoke positively, while others were discontent, feeling that Lu Qingyuan’s life was simply too easy.

As Lu Qingyuan and Shu Beiqiu returned from their walk, they noticed a few odd glances from some people.

Shu Beiqiu fetched some water to boil before sitting beside his wife. “Ignore them. Some people just can’t stand seeing others living well.”

“I won’t pay them any mind.” Lu Qingyuan cupped his face and kissed him. “Our life is our own. We know best whether it’s good or not.”

Shu Beiqiu hugged her tightly.

After washing up, the two locked the door and went to bed.

The house had decent soundproofing. Lu Qingyuan didn’t hear anything from the neighbors. She glanced at Shu Beiqiu.

Understanding her look, Shu Beiqiu took off his shirt and leaned in closer…

The next morning, Shu Beiqiu fetched breakfast from the cafeteria, left a portion for Lu Qingyuan, and then headed to work.

By the time Lu Qingyuan woke up, it was already close to nine o’clock.

She only learned the time when a “kindhearted” aunt loudly reminded her as she fetched water to wash her face.

Lu Qingyuan picked up her bamboo basket, locked the door, and went out.

The factory had a state-run store selling vegetables. It took her more than ten minutes to walk there, and with the time spent picking out vegetables and returning home, the whole trip took over forty minutes.

Back home, Lu Qingyuan boiled some water and washed her hair.

She sat by the door, using a wooden comb to tidy her half-dried hair. After enjoying the sunlight for a bit, she tied on her apron and started preparing lunch.

When Shu Beiqiu returned from work, the dishes had just been placed on the table.

“I timed it just right, didn’t I?”

Lu Qingyuan smiled.

Shu Beiqiu nodded and gave her a thumbs-up. “Perfect timing!”

Lunch was simple, but dinner had more elaborate dishes.

After finishing their meal, Shu Beiqiu helped clean up, then lay down next to Lu Qingyuan for half an hour before heading to work.

As he walked to the washing area, Aunt Zhou—the one who had spoken to Lu Qingyuan that morning—called out to him.

“Xiao Shu, your wife got up close to ten this morning. You’re spoiling her too much, aren’t you?”

“My wife was hard to come by, of course, I’m going to spoil her,” Shu Beiqiu replied with a smile. “Auntie, it’s best if you don’t meddle too much in our affairs. Even my parents don’t interfere this much.”

Without waiting to see Aunt Zhou’s reaction, he turned and left.

“Exactly, why is an outsider poking her nose into other people’s business? It’s laughable.”

“Well, when you can’t control your own daughter-in-law, you start meddling in others’ affairs. You’ll get used to it.”

A few younger wives made sarcastic remarks, infuriating Aunt Zhou. But since they hadn’t called her out directly, she couldn’t respond without making a fool of herself. The last time she did, someone had pointed at her nose and asked, “Did we say it was you?”

That humiliation was already bad enough—she didn’t want to go through it again.

So this time, she turned around and went straight into her house, slamming the door shut.

“Ridiculous.”

“Exactly.”

Lu Qingyuan started preparing dinner at four in the afternoon. When Shu Beiqiu returned from work at five-thirty, he helped out. Together, they quickly finished cooking.

Zhuo Bin and a few others, who had gone back to their dorms to freshen up, arrived carrying gifts. Their master was among them.

Lu Qingyuan greeted everyone. Since they all had work the next day, they didn’t drink alcohol.

The meal lasted about an hour, and after dinner, Zhuo Bin and the others helped clean up before leaving.

“That was a lot of work.”

After showering and lying down, Shu Beiqiu massaged Lu Qingyuan’s shoulders and legs, acting very attentive.

“It wasn’t too bad,” Lu Qingyuan said lazily, lying on her stomach. “That Aunt Zhou, she glared at me several times when I passed by after my shower. What’s her deal?”

Shu Beiqiu told her about how he had called Aunt Zhou out earlier. “She loves meddling. Originally, her daughter-in-law lived here, but she forced her way in, pushing the daughter-in-law back to her hometown so she could take care of her son herself.”

“Wow, there are actually mothers-in-law like that?”

“Yeah, her son doesn’t like it either, but whenever they try to send her back, she throws a fit—crying, making a scene, even threatening to kill herself. It’s a huge headache.”

After hearing this, Lu Qingyuan decided to stay far away from Aunt Zhou.

Two days later, Lu Qingyuan was at the communal washing area with a few women from the same floor, washing clothes together.

The livestream started.

【I’ve only seen this kind of setting in old TV shows.】

【Yeah, cooking right outside like that is actually pretty dangerous.】

【There’s no choice. Housing is scarce, and as more people move in, they have to make do.】

At that moment, Aunt Zhou walked over with a basin of laundry.

Lu Qingyuan pretended not to see her and continued washing her clothes.

But Aunt Zhou wasn’t about to let her off. “Xiao Shu’s wife, don’t you think you wake up way too late every day?”

Lu Qingyuan ignored her.

【Who is this nosy old woman?】

【She’s a crazy busybody. I watched the earlier livestreams—she keeps picking on our Qingyuan. Psycho!】

“I’m talking to you! How can you be so rude?”

Aunt Zhou wanted to act authoritative, but Lu Qingyuan’s silence only made her angrier. She reached out and gave Lu Qingyuan a shove.

Lu Qingyuan had already anticipated this and quickly dodged to the side. Aunt Zhou nearly lost her balance.

Before she could regain her footing and lash out, Lu Qingyuan said, “Sorry, I didn’t recognize who you were talking to. No one calls me ‘Xiao Shu’s wife.’ People use my actual name—it’s more polite, don’t you think, Auntie?”

“That’s just how people talk. Where are you from, being so particular about this?” Aunt Zhou looked her up and down. This Xiao Shu’s wife was indeed good-looking, with a great figure—it was no wonder Shu Beiqiu was so bewitched by her.