Chapter 32 : Awkward Atmosphere

After dinner, the two waited for all the Han family members to finish bathing before heading to the backyard to wash up quickly.  

When Su Xieqiu returned to the room, Han Zhenyu was already lying on the kang, his breathing steady, seemingly asleep.  

She climbed onto the kang, blew out the kerosene lamp, and lay down at the opposite end.  

A while later, just as Su Xieqiu was about to drift off to sleep, she faintly heard a woman’s voice humming from the next room.  

“Hmm… um… ah… ah… Zhenhua… you… you’re so bad…”  

At first, Su Xieqiu didn’t understand what she was hearing. Annoyed by the noise, she pulled the quilt over her head and tried to fall back asleep.  

But as she processed the sounds, realization dawned on her. She blushed deeply, flustered and unsure of how to react.  

After some time, she peeked out from under the quilt to glance at Han Zhenyu. His breathing remained steady, and it seemed he hadn’t been woken up.  

Relieved, she sighed quietly. It would have been unbearably awkward if he were awake too.  

She resolved to endure it for the night, but to her dismay, the couple next door, undeterred by a day’s work, continued their “activity.” If one round wasn’t enough, they started again after a short break.  

Su Xieqiu had no choice but to cover her ears and pretend she didn’t hear anything.  

‘Luckily, it’s my last night here,’ she thought. ‘Once I move out tomorrow morning, I won’t have to endure such embarrassing situations again.’  

As she lay on her back, she felt uncomfortable in that position and shifted quietly.  

At that moment, Han Zhenyu turned over, and their eyes met in the dim light. The air seemed to freeze in an instant.  

Right then, the sounds from the next room peaked, and Zhang Qianyun’s voice grew louder.  

The two glanced at each other briefly, both fully aware of the other’s embarrassment. Without a word, they quickly looked away, pretending as if nothing had happened.  

Su Xieqiu’s face burned with heat, as if she could fry an egg on it. She closed her eyes tightly and stayed completely still.  

Han Zhenyu wasn’t faring any better. Though typically composed, he was still a young man in his prime, unaccustomed to such awkward situations. His discomfort was evident not just in his demeanor but also in a certain part of his body.  

When the noises finally subsided, both lay still, eyes closed, but sleep eluded them. Neither dared to toss or turn, for fear of repeating the earlier awkwardness.  

Eventually, neither knew when the other fell asleep.  

The next morning, Han Zhenyu got up at the first crow of the rooster.  

Careful not to wake Su Xieqiu, he tiptoed out of the room, grabbed a broom, and headed to the brigade headquarters.  

He was just about to clean the empty room when Han Lei and Sun Dashu arrived to help.  

The three of them quickly cleaned up the small space.  

“Brother Zhenyu, there’s not even a kang here. How are you going to sleep at night? Why not stay at my house for now?” Han Lei suggested.  

“No, your place is too cramped already. I’ll set up a wooden bed for your sister-in-law temporarily. We’ll manage until the new house is ready, it should be before the snow comes,” Han Zhenyu replied.

He had already thought about this beforehand. If he asked a carpenter to make a bed, it would take too long, so he decided to find a simple solution for Su Xieqiu to sleep on temporarily.  

Sun Dashu said, “I remember there’s a small wooden bed in the warehouse where we store farm tools. It should still be usable, but it’s a bit cramped for two people to sleep on.”  

“It doesn’t matter if it’s small. I’ll be leaving tomorrow night anyway, so it just needs to be enough for your sister-in-law to sleep alone,” Han Zhenyu replied. He figured that, worst-case scenario, he could sleep on the floor. It was summer, so sleeping anywhere wasn’t an issue. “I’ll talk to the captain later and borrow it for now.”  

Just as he finished speaking, Hongbing arrived.  

Seeing the three of them, he asked in surprise, “Why are you here so early?”  

“Captain, we just got here as well,” Han Zhenyu replied with a smile and was about to mention the bed.  

Hongbing opened the warehouse door and said, “Zhenyu, there’s an old wooden bed here. It used to be used by the literacy teacher who came to the village a few years ago. You can use it for now. No need to spend money on a new one.”  

Han Zhenyu expressed his gratitude, “Captain, I was worried about where to find a bed, and I didn’t expect you to solve this for me. Thank you so much.”  

Though his words were slightly exaggerated, they pleased Hongbing, who felt affirmed in his decision to help this young man.  

Han Lei and Sun Dashu carried the bed out. After inspecting it, Han Zhenyu found it to be in decent condition, so he cleaned it up and set it in the room.  

“Leizi, Dashu, I need to go to the city to buy pots, pans, and other necessities. Could you two go around the village and ask if any bricklayers are free to help build the house? I’ll pay 80 cents a day, but meals won’t be provided.”  

Originally, Han Zhenyu planned to ask his grandfather and uncle to find people to help, but he thought it would be better to involve the villagers directly. Since Su Xieqiu would be living in the village long-term, it was a chance to ease relations with them.  

Another reason was practicality, if the workers were local, they could eat at home, sparing Su Xieqiu the task of cooking for so many people.  

Han Lei and Sun Dashu thought the offered wage was generous. Without providing meals, the cost would be about the same since feeding workers would require better-quality food, increasing expenses.  

“Alright, we’ll go ask around,” they agreed.  

Sun Dashu added, “Brother Zhenyu, how many room are you building? How many workers do you need?”  

“We’re building four tile-roofed houses. Try to find about ten people. I’ll ask my uncle to arrange for the rest.”  

Since his aunt’s home was close to the Sanhua Brigade, the extra workers could easily go there for lunch.  

“Got it. We’ll head out in a bit,” they said. Before leaving, they asked, “Anything else we can help with?”  

Han Zhenyu thought for a moment. Since he had to leave tomorrow night and still had many tasks, he said, “Why don’t you two take the day off and come with me to the city to pick up supplies?”  

There was a long list of items to purchase kitchenware, food, and daily necessities all of which needed to be handled that day. He also needed to visit his grandfather and uncle in the afternoon and arrange for bricks to be delivered.  

“Alright,” they agreed without hesitation.  

“Brother Zhenyu, when are we leaving? We’ll let our families know first,” Han Lei asked.  

Looking at the sky, Han Zhenyu saw that it was already dawn. He guessed that Su Xieqiu was awake by now.  

“I’ll head back and move the things over here now. Let’s meet at the village entrance in half an hour,” he said.  

“Okay, we’ll head home first,” the two replied, leaving him to handle the move.  

Their families had mentioned the day before that Han Zhenyu left home with almost nothing, so they figured the couple wouldn’t have much to move.  

When Su Xieqiu woke up and didn’t see Han Zhenyu, she immediately guessed he had gone to clean the house at the brigade headquarters.