CHAPTER 17

Spicy strips with rice were amazing!

Zhou Cheng’an picked out some greens for Lu Zhi. She ate every bite, not leaving a single leaf.

Zhou Jun looked at her with admiration.

Aaaaahhh!

His sister-in-law was incredible—she could eat spicy strips and still be willing to eat vegetables!

Zhou Jun stopped being picky too and started digging into his food with gusto.

Lu Zhi was fully mesmerized by Zhou Cheng’an’s hands. So nice to look at. Even the plainest vegetables he picked out for her seemed tastier.

….

Li Changyuan and Chen Chunni were out for a walk. Passing by Zhou Cheng’an’s house, they casually stopped to take a look.

Everyone lived close by anyway.

Chen Chunni suggested, “How about we go to the seaside later? The sea breeze is cool and comfortable.”

Li Changyuan paused mid-step!

He had really forgotten—Zhou Cheng’an was no longer the old Zhou Cheng’an. If Zhou Cheng’an did something now, would that mean he had to follow suit again once they got home?

Li Changyuan said, “I thought about it. Those two just got married not long ago. Maybe… we shouldn’t disturb them.”

Just as Li Changyuan was about to turn around and leave, Lu Zhi and Zhou Cheng’an stepped out of the house.

Chen Chunni fell silent.

Seeing their slightly red lips, she thought—what her Old Li said wasn’t unreasonable at all.

Lu Zhi smiled, “Sister-in-law, you’re here. Come in and sit for a while?”

Chen Chunni felt a little awkward. “No, no, that’s okay.”

Li Changyuan gave an awkward laugh, “We were just passing by—passing by. We’ll head back first. Let’s have a meal together some other time.”

Lu Zhi watched their backs as they left and commented, “They’re acting kind of weird.”

She turned around—and met Zhou Cheng’an’s eyes.

Zhou Cheng’an pointed to his lips. Lu Zhi leaned closer.

Wow!

They really did look like jelly.

Zhou Cheng’an couldn’t resist. When he bent down and kissed Lu Zhi, his heartbeat quickened noticeably.

They had been married for a while now.

But their situation was different. They got married quickly after a blind date, and on their wedding night, Lu Zhi had expressed she didn’t want children for the time being. So they had a quiet wedding night. Since then, their days together had felt more like they were dating.

Lu Zhi gave a light nibble.

Yep, really jelly-like.

When they pulled apart, Lu Zhi noticed that Zhou Cheng’an’s blush had spread all the way from his neck to his ears.

At this point, even if she didn’t want to notice Li Changyuan and Chen Chunni’s awkwardness just now—it would’ve been impossible not to.

She felt just a tiny bit embarrassed.

….

That night, the lights-out bugle sounded.

Lu Zhi called, “Old Zhou!”

Zhou Cheng’an turned off the light and got into bed. They couldn’t use the electric fan, and tonight was especially hot. Zhou Cheng’an was still using a hand fan to keep Lu Zhi cool.

Lu Zhi said, “Let’s not sleep yet. Let’s check on Zhou Jun in a bit. He slept for a long time earlier.”

After waiting a while, Lu Zhi and Zhou Cheng’an moved quietly and tiptoed to Zhou Jun’s room.

The chubby little guy was lying on the bed, hugging a pillow, with his legs spread wide like he was about to do the splits.

Wow!

This sleeping position definitely deserved to be shared on social media.

Too bad there was no social media to post it on.

Lu Zhi whispered, “He’s asleep again!”

Zhou Cheng’an: “He used to sleep even more when he was younger.”

Just then, Zhou Jun turned over on the bed again—this time into another strange sleeping pose.

It wasn’t the splits anymore. Now he looked like he was about to start dancing—hahaha.

The two of them returned to their room. As Lu Zhi lay in bed, she suddenly realized that Zhou Cheng’an had a really good sleeping posture.

She, on the other hand, tended to take up a lot of space. Zhou Cheng’an was totally different.

Lu Zhi asked, “When I’m asleep, have I ever hit you?”

Zhou Cheng’an replied, “No.”

Good. Lu Zhi was relieved.

Still unable to sleep, she turned over again. “I think we should let sister-in-law and the others try spicy strips. Tomorrow, invite them over for a meal. I’ll steam some mantis shrimp, blue crabs, and sea snails.”

“I’ll also soak some dried string beans and cook them with potatoes. Last time at the market, I saw some really tiny potatoes. I’ll peel them and toss them right in.”

Lu Zhi had no fear—might as well invite them, awkwardness be damned.

Zhou Cheng’an: “Okay. I’ll tell them tomorrow.”

Now that she thought about wrapping spicy strips with rice to eat, she was kind of craving it again. Who would’ve thought spicy strips could be eaten this way? Kids really were creative.

Her first time eating spicy strips, and he already knew to pair them with rice.

….

A new day began.

Lu Zhi planned to head to the market. She got up early. Seeing Zhou Cheng’an putting on his hat, she reached out to straighten it for him.

Of course, she’d never admit it was because she couldn’t resist.

Lu Zhi said, “There. Perfect!”

Zhou Cheng’an looked in the mirror at Lu Zhi’s reflection. She was standing behind him, facing him.

Lu Zhi said, “Isn’t it perfectly straight? Practically like I used a ruler!”

As she spoke, a few loose strands from her casually tied low bun swayed slightly in the reflection.

This was what she had called the “feather duster bun,” right?

Zhou Cheng’an didn’t really know, but he did know it looked very cute.

Lu Zhi stood her ground—after all, they had a marriage certificate!

Lu Zhi reminded, “Don’t forget to tell sister-in-law and the others.”

Zhou Cheng’an looked at her and said, “Mission guaranteed to be completed.”

That made Lu Zhi burst out laughing.

….

Li Changyuan looked at Zhou Cheng’an, his brain almost overheating. He had no idea what spicy strips were.

He’d never heard of such a thing.

But just hearing the name made him feel like it must be very spicy.

He wasn’t a picky eater—except he just couldn’t handle spicy food.

Li Changyuan said, “I can’t eat spicy food, but your sister-in-law and that nephew of yours love it. I’ll go home and tell them. When the time comes, the two of us can have a drink.”

Zhou Cheng’an frowned slightly, “Let’s skip the drinking. We can just chat.”

Back when both of them were single, they’d sometimes drink together when they were feeling down. Not a lot—but just enough. After Li Changyuan got married, they drank together even less.

But Li Changyuan never expected that after Zhou Cheng’an got married, he’d just stop drinking altogether.

He really stopped drinking!!!

Forget it if he didn’t want to drink—those treasured bottles of his, he hadn’t even planned on bringing them out anyway.

Li Changyuan shook his head and clicked his tongue. “Tsk, tsk, tsk.”

He had already walked quite a distance when his expression suddenly changed, and he bolted back at a speed that nearly broke his personal record.

Li Changyuan: “Zhou Cheng’an!”

Zhou Cheng’an looked at him.

Li Changyuan: “Zhou Cheng’an, be a decent human being, okay? Don’t tell your sister-in-law about this, whatever you do! Otherwise, those precious bottles of mine will never see the light of day again!”

Those bottles had taken a great deal of effort to get—he had gone through all sorts of trouble to buy them and then hauled them all the way from his hometown.

….

After breakfast, Lu Zhi asked for Zhou Jun’s opinion, then took him along to the market.

Even though Zhou Jun was just a kid, sometimes kids had their own opinions too.

Little things like this could help build Zhou Jun’s independence.

Zhou Jun asked, “Sister-in-law, are we going by bike?”

Lu Zhi glanced at the bicycle in the yard. “I’m… not very good at riding bikes.”

Let alone riding with Zhou Jun on the back.

That was also why, when she first suggested Zhou Cheng’an get a men’s bike, he thought it was for her and ended up buying a women’s model instead—because he could ride that too.

Worried Zhou Jun might be disappointed, Lu Zhi said, “Next time, how about your big brother takes you to the market on the bike?”

Zhou Jun really adored his sister-in-law!

She was even better than the grown-ups he knew. His big brother was great too, but he wasn’t as gentle as his sister-in-law.

Zhou Jun patted his own chest. “No need! When I grow up, I’ll be able to take you on the bike. You’ll ride on the back seat, and I’ll ride in front—I’ll definitely be even better at it than big brother!”

Awwww… what a little angel trying to repay kindness!

Lu Zhi pinched his cheek. “Alright, big sister-in-law will wait for you to grow up and take me on bike rides. Maybe by then, you’ll even be able to drive me around.”

Zhou Jun raised his chubby little hand. “Okay!”

They strolled to the market hand-in-hand.

They finally arrived.

Today, the seafood selection was especially abundant. Lu Zhi managed to buy everything she needed—mantis shrimp, swimming crabs, and sea snails.

Ah, mantis shrimp… never enough of them.

Last time, she had them marinated. This time, she planned to make crab in soy sauce and mix it with rice—though the crab would need some time before it could be eaten.

While buying seafood, Lu Zhi picked up a few extra crabs.

She also got the small potatoes she wanted!

What else?

She looked around, thinking about picking up some meat to go with the green beans and potatoes. But when she reached the butcher stall, the line was incredibly long.

And the weather was scorching.

Just as she was hesitating, Li Cuihua waved at her. “Lu Zhi, Lu Zhi, come here a sec!”

Lu Zhi walked over, and Li Cuihua immediately gave up her spot in the line. “You queue here and buy the meat. Once you get it, we’ll split it fifty-fifty, sound good?”

Lu Zhi nodded. “Okay!”

Li Cuihua seemed in a rush. “I just saw Deputy Company Commander Chen and his sister. They looked like they were having a fight. I need to go check it out. Once you’ve bought the meat, wait for me here! Or, if I’m not back, you can drop it off at your second sister’s place.”

She didn’t forget to hand over her meat ration tickets and money either.

It was fine. People weren’t exactly flush with cash or rations these days—so when it came to overpaying or covering a bit, every penny and ticket counted.

Besides, just looking at Lu Zhi, you could tell she was a good girl—no need to worry.

Lu Zhi: “……”

Oh dear, were Li Cuihua’s dark circles under her eyes because of Deputy Chen’s sister?

If Deputy Chen heard this, he might be moved to tears—who would’ve thought someone cared more about his sister than he did?

Watching Li Cuihua squeeze her way through the crowd, Lu Zhi could only say one thing: now that’s a talent.

As she neared the front of the line, Lu Zhi took stock—only pork belly and tenderloin were left.

She pulled out her tickets and bought the pork belly. At this time, pork belly was more popular than lean cuts because it had fat on it.

If it had been Li Cuihua, she definitely would’ve chosen pork belly too—no way she’d go for tenderloin.

With the pork belly in hand, Lu Zhi held Zhou Jun’s hand, and under his eager gaze, handed the meat over to him to carry.

Lu Zhi: “Alright, we can go home now!”