Chapter 26.1

Zhou Yao had long been wanting to show off.

He hadn’t found the right opportunity before, but now that he finally had it, he couldn’t care less about whether his image would collapse in the villagers’ eyes. He kept showing off non-stop.

It helped that the white shirt looked really good on Zhou Yao. It lessened his usual roguish air, making people feel that his words weren’t as prickly as before. Otherwise, everyone would have turned away long ago. Who would stay to listen to him?

But just because he had thick skin didn’t mean Wen Yue did too.

Seeing that everyone else’s attention had shifted from Zhou Yao to her, Wen Yue felt so embarrassed she wanted to dig her toes into the ground, but she still answered their questions good-naturedly.

“It’s made of cotton. Cotton is more comfortable.”

“This outfit isn’t suitable for work. It’s not very convenient.”

“If you really want to learn, I’ll give you the pattern drawings I have at home later. Just follow the instructions. It’s not that difficult…”

Zhou Yao, feeling satisfied with his show-off session, turned around and found his wife surrounded by people. Her petite figure seemed so small and helpless in the crowd.

He raised an eyebrow and rudely squeezed into the crowd.

With a long arm, he hooked Wen Yue’s thin shoulders and pulled her out, saying languidly, “It’s getting late. We should head home. You all should get back to whatever you were doing and stop standing around like this.”

Without waiting for a response, he led Wen Yue away, leaving everyone with a very dashing view of his back.

Villagers: “…”

Our questions weren’t finished. Do you only care about your own satisfaction?

“I have to say, Zhou Yao has changed a lot since getting married. He’s not as fierce as he used to be. He was even smiling just now when he talked!”

“I heard he bought Wen Yue a sewing machine that cost over 200 yuan!”

“When did that happen? He actually bought a sewing machine? Wow, this guy treats his wife really well. If I had known, I would have introduced my niece to him. My niece has a big butt, she would definitely give birth to a son! Wen Yue is so skinny…”

“Wen Yue has changed a lot too. She used to never talk or greet people when she was living with her uncle. She always had a gloomy face. But just now, she was smiling while talking. She’s gained a bit of weight and looks much better, even prettier than her cousin.”

“If Zhou Yao could be a bit more diligent in the fields, this couple could have a good life.”

“He’s got a good father. I bet he left quite a bit of money, enough to support them for years…”

Zhou Yao and Wen Yue had always been popular topics in the village. Now, seeing them so harmonious and changed, the villagers discussed them with great interest.

With today’s showoff session, Zhou Yao’s reputation in the village improved significantly.

Wen Yue silently breathed a sigh of relief after getting out of the crowd. She turned and glared at Zhou Yao, her little face scrunched up slightly, “Don’t include me when you show off next time.”

She wasn’t used to being surrounded by so many people and couldn’t handle it.

“Don’t you like to hear people praise you?” Zhou Yao tilted his head to meet her slightly accusing gaze, a roguish smile playing on his lips, “That’s not going to work. You made these clothes, so you have to be included.”

Wen Yue’s eyes widened, her clear pupils reflecting Zhou Yao’s mischievous face. This man really had no shame!

She threatened, “Then I won’t make clothes for you anymore.”

“Ah.” Zhou Yao gave in, “Fine, fine, I won’t include you.”

That’s more like it!

Wen Yue was satisfied.

Not long after they got home, Li Nianqiu arrived, having heard the news. She and Li Xiangdong each carried a bamboo basket on their backs, the straps pulled tight, indicating they were full of things in it.

Wen Yue quickly pointed at Zhou Yao, asking him to help carry them.

Zhou Yao didn’t say anything. He dutifully stepped forward, lifted both bamboo baskets, and carried them into the house. Then, being very considerate, he left the room and headed towards the kitchen, giving space to the three young women.

Wen Yue lifted the hays covering the baskets and saw various sizes and colors of plastic beads inside the bags, as well as other bright and beautiful decorations, like colorful ribbons and simple, unadorned hair clips and pins. Another basket contained fabrics and colorful gauze of various colors.

Wen Yue was a bit surprised. “Bought so much?”

“Not much, just fifty or sixty yuan. We still have more than half left,” Li Nianqiu laughed. “We need to make a lot. This business is a one-time thing. If it sells well, others will soon make the same thing to compete with you.”

“I have final exams next week, and I can help after the exams when the summer vacation starts. For now, I’ll have to trouble you to make them on your own for a few days.”

Li Nianqiu felt a little embarrassed.

Wen Yue waved her hand, her eyes curved into a smile, “It’s okay. I get bored at home anyway. I enjoy tinkering with things.”

Seeing her smile so innocently, Li Nianqiu felt a bit helpless. “Wen Yue, doing business is different from passing time when you’re bored. The latter you can do whenever you want and rest whenever you don’t want to. The former requires repetitive, mechanical work, and it’s hard to keep up.”

Especially since Zhou Yao had been treating her so well lately, Li Nianqiu doubted she could persist for long.

But these were minor issues.

“In the next few days, you just need to make one finished product of each. After my exams, I’ll come with Xiangdong to help. Just the three of us might not be enough… We’ll talk about it later. If needed, we can ask someone to help and pay them. There will definitely be people willing to come.”

Li Nianqiu was used to planning ahead, thinking several steps forward.

Wen Yue found it hard to keep up with Li Nianqiu’s thinking. She hadn’t even processed the previous sentence before hearing the next plan, leaving her expression blank and confused.

The heroine is indeed the heroine. She’s really sharp!

Wen Yue didn’t bother trying to keep up. She decided to just follow Nianqiu’s lead. She cheerfully agreed, “Alright, I’ll listen to you. Whatever you say goes!”

Li Nianqiu chuckled, sighing again, “Zhou Yao treats you really well.”

Wen Yue was puzzled, “?” What does this have to do with Zhou Yao?

“I’ll head back now. I’ll come to help after my exams next week.” Li Nianqiu stood up to leave, but halfway out, she paused and turned back to say, “Don’t tell anyone about this. We’ll earn money in secret first.”

Wen Yue nodded, “Okay, I won’t say anything!”

She didn’t have many acquaintances here and seldom went out, so there was no one to tell anyway.

Wen Yue saw off the Li sisters and then hummed a little tune as she walked to the kitchen.

Zhou Yao had already washed and cut the vegetables for dinner. He was now washing rice, rinsing it twice before pouring it into the pot. He also washed two sweet potatoes, cut them into chunks, and added them to the rice, planning to make sweet potato rice.

Hearing the noise, he turned his head, his thick black eyebrows slightly raised, “What were you talking about that made you so happy?”

“I’m not telling you,” Wen Yue replied with a smile. “Nianqiu said it’s a secret, so I can’t tell you.”

Zhou Yao: “?”

Zhou Yao rolled up his sleeves, revealing his strong forearm muscles, his face darkened. He took big strides toward her, cracking his knuckles as if he was about to hit someone. He stood in front of her, nearly six feet tall, giving off an intense sense of pressure. He didn’t say anything, just looked down at her, his deep black eyes unreadable and mysterious, making his gaze even more intense and unfathomable.

“What, what are you going to do?” Wen Yue gulped nervously, slowly backing away.

Could he be mad and about to hit her? Domestic violence is unacceptable!

Zhou Yao’s long, thick eyelashes cast shadows on his eyes as he kept a stern face and leaned in slightly.

They were so close, their breaths mingled. Wen Yue’s eyes fluttered, her thoughts running wild, but she saw Zhou Yao raising his fist.

Instinctively, she closed her eyes and threatened, “Zhou Yao, if you dare hit me, I will never forgive you…”

“Look at you being such a coward.” Zhou Yao flicked Wen Yue’s forehead lightly with his finger and couldn’t help but laugh. “I told you I don’t hit women, so what are you afraid of?”

“I’ll go start the fire.”

Wen Yue opened her eyes, “…Zhou Yao, you are really sick.”

He just liked to scare her.

“Yeah, you’re right, I’m sick. Do you have a cure for me?” Zhou Yao sat down by the stove, laughing mischievously, and casually lit some dry grass to start the fire.

The flickering flames reflected on his face, softening his usually stern features.

Wen Yue felt her toes curl in embarrassment.

Oh my gosh, what kind of cheesy line was that?

She shook her head to rid herself of the thought, rubbed the goosebumps on her arms, and turned to start cooking.

“In the next few days, Old Fang and I have to go to the city.” Zhou Yao added wood to the stove.

Wen Yue responded with an “Oh” and looked down at Zhou Yao, “Are you going to sell the goods Uncle Sun gave you?”

He nodded lazily, “The sooner we sell them, the sooner we can rest and take you to the movies.”

“Eh? But I’ll be very busy later on too,” Wen Yue’s long eyelashes trembled, and her dimples appeared uncontrollably. “We’ll wait until I’m done too.”

Zhou Yao stared at her dimples for a while, then lifted his chin slightly, “Alright, you’re the busy one.”