The second son of the Song family was the manager of a state-owned restaurant. Later, he took over all the department stores and restaurants in Qingcheng, eventually expanding to banquet halls.

Within a few years, he built a nationwide chain of large supermarkets and rose to the top of various industries, naturally becoming the undisputed richest man.

What puzzled Gu Jiaojiao was why Song Zijie, as the eldest grandson of the Song family, had not taken over the family business and was even left unnamed in the book.

Could he also be a cannon fodder, one even more miserable than her and her husband, without even a name to his character?

Should she lend him a hand?

Meanwhile, the cannon fodder Song Zijie, whom Gu Jiaojiao was thinking about, was also having a meal. As usual, he heard his mother and sister gossiping about Gu Jiaojiao at the dinner table.

Normally, Song Zijie would scoff at such talk, but today, for the first time, he spoke up.

“Xixi, are you saying that Su Shuoci’s family is running a street stall selling cold skin noodles?”

What a clever idea!

No wonder they had so much rice and flour. While selling cold skin noodles all day, they still had flour to sell to him.

Song Zijie felt a growing interest in befriending Su Shuoci, so he asked his mother and sister for more information about him.

“Brother, did you forget to take your medicine today? Why are you suddenly interested in other people’s affairs?” Song Xixi asked in surprise.

Mrs. Song, his mother, looked at her son with concern. “Your brother takes medicine every day, but it doesn’t seem to help. I wonder when Dr. Jiang will be back.”

“Mom, life and death are predestined, and wealth is determined by heaven. Don’t worry about me. I can eat and sleep just fine. There’s nothing wrong.”

“Poor Su Shuoci. He only married a sickly woman because he was disabled. Now, Gu Jiaojiao’s family has brought over a few more sickly members.

The Su family has no choice but to engage in speculative trading, selling cold skin noodles. It’s only because the people in our compound are easygoing that they haven’t been reported. If it were outside, they would have been arrested long ago.”

Seeing her mother’s worried expression, Song Xixi quickly changed the subject.

She and Gu Jiaojiao were the same age and classmates. She had an older brother, Song Zijie, and two older sisters who were already married.

“Gu Jiaojiao is sickly? That can’t be. I just saw her today, and she looked perfectly fine.”

“Yes, we’re classmates. She takes leave every other day, either complaining of dizziness or stomachaches.”

“That doesn’t necessarily mean she’s sickly. Maybe she’s just smart and doesn’t need to attend class every day.”

Song Zijie couldn’t believe that Gu Jiaojiao was in poor health, so he made excuses for her.

“She’s smart? Big brother, are you misunderstanding the word ‘smart’?”

Song Xixi stared at her brother in disbelief. “Brother, you’ve never met Gu Jiaojiao, so you don’t know. She’s incredibly foolish…”

Song Xixi then rambled on about everything related to Gu Jiaojiao, and Song Zijie learned that Gu Jiaojiao was the fiancée of his cousin, Song Zijin.

To be honest, Song Zijie felt that his cousin was not worthy of Gu Jiaojiao. Only someone like Su Shuoci could match her.

Although Song Zijie had only met Gu Jiaojiao once, her insight and vision surpassed his own.

As for Su Shuoci’s heroic deeds, Song Zijie had heard countless stories. He was practically the epitome of an inspiring young man in their compound.

Marrying Su Shuoci was the best choice for her, but Song Zijie wouldn’t say this to his mother and sister.

He didn’t want them spreading gossip, so he buried himself in his meal. He had congenital heart disease.

Doctors had predicted he wouldn’t live past twenty-five, and this year he turned twenty-five. Apart from occasional chest tightness and shortness of breath, he had no other issues.

Having known since childhood that he wouldn’t live long, Song Zijie had come to terms with life and death.

After the Su family finished counting their money, they all took a nap. However, Second Brother Gu was too excited to sleep.

His sister had paid him fifteen yuan as wages and promised daily payments.

Su’s father and mother each received fifteen yuan as well. His father hadn’t gone the previous afternoon, so he only got ten yuan.

His sister also arranged to set aside ten yuan from the public fund for their meals, so they didn’t feel like they were freeloading off the Su family.

The remaining money was temporarily kept by Su’s mother. His sister was amazing, making them feel like they weren’t living under someone else’s roof.

His grandfather said that once they recovered, they would return to the capital. Then, he could set up a stall in the capital selling cold skin noodles and jianbing guozi.

He had even thought about how many people to hire in the future. As for his grandfather’s suggestion of going to university, he knew he wasn’t cut out for studying, so he decided to forget about it.

Once lost about his future, Second Brother Gu now had a goal and something to look forward to, thanks to his sister’s guidance. He felt full of energy.

Gu Jiaojiao and Su Shuoci didn’t take a nap. Instead, they returned to their room to continue his acupuncture treatment.

Although Su Shuoci was partially paralyzed, he had recently started to show some response, something that hadn’t happened since his injury.

He had accidentally learned from his wife that their first kiss was when he gave her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation in the water.

But he had been too panicked at the time to savor the taste of that first kiss!

Every night after his IV drip, his wife would already be fast asleep. Gazing at her beautiful face, he couldn’t help but sneak a kiss.

She didn’t resist, lying there motionless, perhaps thinking he was incapable and thus feeling safe.

At first, he only kissed her lightly, gently brushing her lips, making her think she was dreaming of nibbling on a pig’s trotter. Occasionally, she would smack her lips a few times.

But he grew greedier, craving more of her essence…

When his wife responded, it reminded him of the raunchy jokes the married veterans used to tell in the army…

Now, as his wife boldly stripped him for acupuncture, her fingers brushing over his skin felt like feathers tickling his heart.

It sent a shiver through his body.

“Acupuncture can be a bit painful, but you’ll have to bear with it.”

His wife’s hand, whether intentionally or not, brushed past his thigh.

Su Shuoci couldn’t help but tremble again.

“Huh? Su Shuoci, can you feel your legs now?” Gu Jiaojiao’s voice was filled with excitement.

“…I don’t know. When I massage them myself, I don’t feel anything.”

Hearing this, Gu Jiaojiao said nothing more and made no further moves, which left Su Shuoci somewhat disappointed.

What caught him off guard was that, as usual, after removing the needles, his wife flipped him over.

“Su Shuoci, you pervert!”

Su Shuoci: …

The rest of the Su family had woken up from their nap. Gu’s father and mother were sitting in the living room when they heard their daughter’s scream.

Instead of worrying, they exchanged a smile. It was good that their (son-in-law) could be a pervert.

Su Shuoci’s voice sounded a little aggrieved. “Wife, if you shout so loudly, Mom and Dad will hear.”

Gu Jiaojiao: …

Damn it!

Can you blame me for screaming?

“Jiaojiao, are you going to set up the stall this afternoon?” Second Brother Gu had just come downstairs.

He hadn’t heard his sister’s scream, so he didn’t know why his parents and Su’s parents were so happy.

“You go ahead first. We’ll catch up with you later.”

Su Shuoci’s voice made the two pairs of parents even more convinced of their misunderstanding…