Chapter 37.2

After spending over half a month in the hospital, on the day of their discharge, Chang Yong was busy and couldn’t come, but Fu Fei paid a visit to pick them up.

Meanwhile, Cao Wang in the next ward had to stay longer. As Li Xiao was leaving, the grandmother and daughter-in-law from the next ward, along with their child, came to see them off.

While Jiang Rou was in the bathroom packing up, the grandmother suddenly squeezed in and whispered, asking how much money they had received.

Not only did Jiang Rou not know, but even if she did, she wouldn’t discuss it with her. It was inappropriate to inquire about such things. If Chang Yong found out, he might be upset.

Jiang Rou couldn’t help but remind her, “I really don’t know. My husband didn’t tell me anything. There’s no point in asking. Mr. Chang is a good person and surely won’t shortchange us. Look at him; he’s so busy but still comes to the hospital every day. Which boss is as good as him?”

Grandma, unable to get an answer, was somewhat unwilling and muttered, “You’re just pretending. Mr. Chang gave us twenty thousand last night, so your family must have received more.”

Twenty thousand was a lot, but for those big bosses, it might not be considered much. The grandmother felt shortchanged and wanted to inquire with her neighbors.

“…”

Jiang Rou didn’t know how to respond. This grandma seemed shrewd but was rather transparent with her thoughts. Pretending to be surprised, she asked, “So much? That could buy a house in our hometown. My family definitely doesn’t have this much; my husband only hurt his leg.”

The grandma looked at her suspiciously.

Jiang Rou smiled, finished packing her things neatly, and walked out. Chang Yong hadn’t given them any money last night because Li Xiao would continue working with him in the future.

For them, a job was far more valuable than a one-time payment.

And Chang Yong didn’t seem like the type to mistreat his subordinates.

After they left, the grandma returned to her own ward and relayed the conversation to her son.

Lying in bed, Cao Wang didn’t say anything. The woman holding a child whispered, “Why don’t we go home and buy a house? We should be able to afford one in the county.”

The grandmother glared at her, “What do you know?”

Then she turned to her son and said, “Eldest, what do you think?”

Cao Wang gritted his teeth and replied, “I don’t want to go back. Our hometown is too poor. It’s better here. I want to stay and start a small business here.”

The grandmother immediately supported her son, “That’s right. What’s so good about our hometown? Let’s stay here. If we run into any trouble, we can always go to your boss. After all, if it weren’t for him, would you be in this condition? Do they think they can get rid of us with 20,000 yuan? They’re dreaming!”

Cao Wang agreed with a resolute “Hmm.”

The middle-aged woman standing by their side hesitated, sensing something was amiss.

She feared that if they followed through with her mother-in-law’s plan, it might lead to conflicts and turn them into enemies in the future.

-o-o-o-o-


Li Xiao’s dormitory had been thoroughly cleaned by Jiang Rou.

When he returned, he remarked, “It’s really clean.”

Jiang Rou replied, a bit annoyed, “How could it not be clean? I had to throw away the garbage twice.”

Fu Fei, who was carrying Li Xiao on his back, almost burst out laughing.

After settling Li Xiao on the bed, Fu Fei went out to bring in crutches and daily necessities.

Li Xiao’s dormitory was in an old residential building that had been bought by Chang Yong’s brother-in-law.

The land had not been developed yet and was temporarily reserved for company employees and rental.

However, from Jiang Rou’s perspective, the location of this land was excellent. If it were developed, its value could increase many times.

It could only be said that those big bosses had a vision ahead of their time.

However, the current area was just a cluster of ordinary residential buildings—two or three stories high, narrow alleys with uneven roads, and every household had bicycles parked in front with tangled electric wires overhead.

Li Xiao lived on the first floor. He arrived quite late, and the rooms on the upper floors were already occupied, so he ended up choosing one of the available first-floor apartments, which had one living room and one bedroom.

The advantage of the first floor was that the kitchen was on the same floor. Since the company provided meals, no one used the kitchen, making it Jiang Rou’s domain for the time being.

Fu Fei also lived in the building and told them to come to him if they needed anything.

After everyone left, Jiang Rou began unpacking their things, putting clothes in the closet, and went to the kitchen to boil some water—planning to take a bath later.

While Jiang Rou was bathing, she asked Li Xiao to recite a text. She recited two ancient passages but couldn’t remember two of the explanations that Li Xiao had to remind her of.

The two of them asked each other back and forth. An An, sitting on the bed, noticed that his parents were talking and ignoring her and couldn’t help but shout to call their attention as if trying to join in their conversation.

-o-o-o-

At night, the family of three lay in bed together. The light was dim, and Jiang Rou couldn’t read, so she asked Li Xiao to recite some formulas.

Math, physics, chemistry, and her summarized answering techniques. Jiang Rou was able to answer nearly everything Li Xiao asked, and she could even summarize the knowledge framework of the entire book.

An An lay between them, playing with her hands and feet.

Growing impatient, she cried out twice.

After spending two hours going through several books, Jiang Rou tossed the notebook aside and said, “That’s enough for today. I’ll do two more practice papers tomorrow.”

She had everything planned out clearly.

Xiao also put away his book and replied with a “mm,” then asked, “When are you going back?”

Jiang Rou pinched An An’s round little butt and replied, “I’ll go back later. The doctor said you need rehabilitation, and I’m worried you won’t go.”

Then she looked at him sternly and added, “Don’t try to make excuses. You must do it.”

Li Xiao rubbed his nose and said, “Then stay a few more days.”

He didn’t want her to leave so quickly. It felt like time was slipping by too fast.

An An, lying between them, was still a bit excited at night, possibly because she was sleeping with her parents. She kept turning over, unable to settle down.

Jiang Rou noticed that her forehead was sweating and quickly held her down to stop her from moving. “Okay, stop playing and go to sleep.”

An An seemed to understand, turned over, and snuggled closer to Jiang Rou, burrowing into her arms and nudging her to be fed milk.

She always needs to drink milk before going to bed.

Jiang Rou pulled the thin blanket over An An.

It was hot in G Province, and even though it was only May, everyone was wearing short sleeves. Luckily, Jiang Rou had packed only summer dresses that were compact and easy to wash.

The dress she wore reached her knees and was loose at the waist, making it easy to lift up and nurse An An directly.

An An had started to eat more solid food and had become less interested in milk, but she still needed it as part of her nightly routine.

As she drank, her little feet kicked up, and her hands, always fidgety, began tugging at the blanket, eventually pulling it down and exposing a large area of Jiang Rou’s fair chest.

Li Xiao happened to witness this.

His eyes immediately burned with desire, but he quickly looked away.

But the image of what he had just seen couldn’t be erased from his mind.

He couldn’t help but recall the time when An An was just born, and Jiang Rou’s milk had been blocked.

He had helped in sucking the milk out…

Back then, the two of them had hidden under the quilt.

He couldn’t quite remember what it felt like, but the most vivid memory was the heat—the warmth of the quilt, the warmth of their bodies.

Jiang Rou, feeling a bit embarrassed, pulled the blanket up and patted An An’s bottom, saying, “No biting.”

An An lifted her eyelids and looked at Jiang Rou. Realizing she had made a mistake, her eyes curved into a sweet smile as she continued drinking milk.

But she was still restless. Her little body twisted and turned, and she accidentally stepped on her father’s face with her tiny feet.

Li Xiao, who was a little annoyed, grabbed her little feet, and An An laughed, finding it ticklish.

Then she choked a bit and coughed twice. Jiang Rou hurriedly patted her and gave Li Xiao a reproachful look. “What are you doing? So what if she steps on you?”

She was stepped on every day.

Li Xiao remained silent.

An An, no longer interested in milk, turned to play with her father.

Jiang Rou straightened her skirt and told Li Xiao, “You take care of her.”

As if relieved of a burden, she quickly turned over.

Li Xiao glanced at her back and took over the task of letting An An sleep.

Fortunately, An An had a habit of going to bed at a certain time. She began yawning at the usual time and soon fell asleep in Li Xiao’s arms.

Li Xiao placed her carefully into the crib, which was against the wall and covered with a mosquito net, so he wasn’t worried about her rolling out of bed during the night.

Once An An was settled, Li Xiao carefully moved away, hugged Jiang Rou from behind, and whispered in her ear, “She’s asleep.”

Jiang Rou turned to face him, a bit concerned. She propped herself up on one elbow to check on An An, who was sleeping with her hands and feet sprawled out. Li Xiao worried that her body might touch the mosquito net and let mosquitoes in, rolled up the blanket into a half circle to protect her inside.

As the two were embracing, Li Xiao felt something brushing against his face when Jiang Rou propped herself up.

Both of them froze for a moment.

When Jiang Rou lay back down, Li Xiao seized the opportunity; he held the back of her head and kissed her.

-o-o-o-o-

After about ten days, Chang Yong came to visit.

He had been quite busy lately. His brother-in-law, in an attempt to please his sister (Chang Yong’s sister), had given him three project management roles.

Chang Yong couldn’t afford to relax and had to take on these projects with a heavy heart.

However, he didn’t have many people to rely on, so he thought of Li Xiao, who had been discharged from the hospital for some time. He wanted to check on him and, as a way to repay his kindness, offer him a project to manage on his own.

Li Xiao was deeply moved by this.

It was not only a chance to make money but also an opportunity to build connections and resources. During his time working with Chang Yong, he realized that having ability alone was not enough; one needed connections and resources as well.

The real estate industry was more complex than he had initially thought. The more he learned, the more he realized how deep the waters were. Not everyone could benefit from it; some even went bankrupt.

Chang Yong’s sister and brother-in-law were both in their second marriages and had met and married unexpectedly. Before marrying, Chang Yong and his sister were just ordinary people. There was a significant social hierarchy, and while the big bosses respected Chang Yong’s brother-in-law, it didn’t mean they respected Chang Yong himself.

On the construction site, Chang Yong was a big deal, but to rich people, like Chen Feng, who came from a well-off family, Chang Yong was merely a subordinate.

Li Xiao felt this was a rare opportunity.

Just as he was about to agree, he noticed that Jiang Rou’s expression was off.

He hesitated and said he needed to think about it a bit more.

Chang Yong was not offended; in fact, he thought that his response was quite normal. He understood that taking on such a significant project was not something you should take lightly.

He patted Li Xiao’s shoulder and told him to rest well before leaving.

As soon as Chang Yong departed, Jiang Rou couldn’t help but ask, “What’s more important, your leg or the money? The doctor said you need six months to recover. Are you planning to become a cripple?”


She didn’t know much else, but she was concerned that working in construction meant daily visits to the site. Based on the information she had read in her past life, she suspected that Li Xiao had permanently damaged his leg because he had been pushing himself too hard at the site.

Li Xiao rubbed his nose and said softly, “It shouldn’t be that serious.”

Jiang Rou glared at him.

Li Xiao immediately fell silent.

Jiang Rou continued, “I don’t care how you earn your money; even if you earned it by begging, I won’t care, but there’s one important thing that you have to remember: you are not allowed to run around until your leg is healed. Chang Yong is a general manager, isn’t he? You can ask him to transfer you temporarily to a clerical job that handles paperwork, but you must avoid doing anything strenuous.”

“I’m planning to go back in two days. You’ll need to go to the hospital for your rehabilitation. Don’t think about slacking. If you end up crippled, I will divorce you. I don’t want a crippled husband.”

Li Xiao was stunned by her words. “Why are you leaving so soon? ”

Jiang Rou responded unhappily, “What do you mean ‘ so soon’? I’ve been here for a month.”

She added, “There’s still a month before the college entrance examination. I need to go back to prepare.”

Li Xiao was lost for words.

-o-o-o-

That night, when both of them were lying in bed, Li Xiao held her tightly. He thought about many things and suddenly said, “If I start from scratch and quit the real estate business, I might not earn much money in the future. Would you support me? ”

Jiang Rou responded without hesitation, “Do whatever you want to do. I’ll 100% support you. But remember, you must ensure your own safety first. With your current injury, don’t force yourself.”

After hearing this, Li Xiao felt a surge of warmth in his heart.

He couldn’t help but lower his head and kiss her deeply, his voice hoarse as he replied, “Okay.”