Chapter 99 The Young Couple's First Night

A night of lingering clouds and rain!

The next morning at 5:30, Xie Zhongming got up early as usual to prepare for his morning exercise.

At 5:30, the sky was still shrouded in a gray-blue hue. The shadows of the poplar trees outside the paper window were quiet, with only the floor fan beside the bed slowly turning, the breeze from the fan blades carrying the coolness of the morning dew.

Xie Zhongming pulled the thin blanket over Qiao Xingyue's stomach.

He moved with extreme gentleness, afraid of disturbing the person in bed. The warmth of last night lingered in his heart, and even his fingertips retained the soft touch of the stars and moon.

At this moment, the way he looked at Qiao Xingyue while sitting on the edge of the bed was more tender and affectionate than usual, no longer the restraint he had shown at the beginning, but mixed with tenderness and affection.

Qiao Xingyue was fast asleep, her eyelashes long and her breathing even. Her fair face was flushed with a faint blush. She had unconsciously kicked open a corner of the thin sheet, revealing her slender neck and fair shoulders. Her two arms, like lotus roots, were exposed and pressed against the sheet.

Xie Zhongming stared at her for several minutes.

It still feels like a dream—was Xingyue really his wife?

This dream feels so unreal.

Seeing the stars and moon sleeping so peacefully, it felt so real.

He cherished this precious moment of being able to gaze at Qiao Xingyue quietly, his calloused fingers brushing against the stray hairs on her cheek.

"Xie Zhongming, stop messing with me, let me sleep a little longer."

She mumbled a couple of times, turned over, grabbed a pillow, held it between her legs, and continued sleeping.

This sleeping posture made Xie Zhongming smile.

He must have exhausted her last night.

He gently patted the back of her head and said softly, "Okay, you sleep well, I'm going to do my morning exercise."

Xie Zhongming ran a lap around the playground in the compound.

The familiar figure in front of the horizontal bar made him stop in his tracks.

Aren't those my father Xie Jiang, my eldest brother Xie Zhongyi, and my second brother Xie Zhongjie?

A tall, upright figure jogged to the horizontal bar. "Dad, eldest brother, second brother, why are you up so early?"

The morning mist had not yet dissipated.

The poplar trees beside the playground were bathed in the gray-blue morning light.

The iron frame of the horizontal bar gleamed with a cold, hard metallic luster, and was covered with fine morning dew.

On the horizontal bar, Xie Jiang, Xie Zhongyi, and Xie Zhongjie, father and sons, completed several sets of pull-ups together, their movements perfectly synchronized.

Xie Jiang glanced at Xie Zhongming and said, "You got up pretty early too, let's get started."

Xie Zhongming responded and mounted the bar, gripping it tightly with both hands. The muscles in his arms instantly tensed, and his lean, muscular physique became even more clearly visible in the morning light.

His pull-up movements were clean and efficient, and beads of sweat rolled down his chin, soaking his military green shirt and creating a small damp patch.

Xie Jiang watched Xie Zhongming's rising and falling figure, and tried to keep up with Xie Zhongming's speed in doing pull-ups, but he couldn't keep up.

I'm getting old after all.

Xie Jiang's shoulder cleared the horizontal bar, maintaining the pull-up position, then stopped and slowly began to speak, "After your morning exercise, your eldest and second eldest brothers, as well as your eldest and second eldest sisters-in-law, should help arrange the banquet. Our family also needs to give Xingyue an explanation; this banquet must be held. You should also go to the army and ask for a wedding leave."

The eldest brother, Xie Zhongyi, with a scar on his forehead, jumped down from the horizontal bar, spun half a circle around it, stood in front of Xie Zhongming, and wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Zhongming, you've saved up a lot of leave, haven't you? Take a few more days of your wedding leave this time and spend some quality time with your brother and sister-in-law."

Xie Zhongming got married five years ago.

During holidays, the army would grant him leave to visit his family, but he never went back to Chadian Village to visit Fatty.

Even now, he still feels guilty.

These accumulated vacation days can indeed be used for make-up days.

He should spend more time with Xingyue and An'an Ningning.

The father and sons exercised on the playground for a while, and then returned to the Xie family home together.

It was still early.

Huang Guilan and the old lady were still sleeping inside.

An'an, Ningning, Shen Liping, Sun Xiuxiu, Zhiyuan, Mingyuan, Chengyuan, and Boyuan were also sleeping upstairs.

Last night, Shen Liping and Sun Xiuxiu took their six children to sleep in the room where Qiao Xingyue and the others had slept before. They originally wanted An'an and Ningning to sleep on the bed while the four older brothers slept on the floor.

But An An and Ning Ning insisted on sleeping on the straw mats on the ground with their brothers.

Right now, An'an and Ningning are sleeping in the middle of their brothers.

Of the two children, Ningning's little legs were kicking against her older brother Xie Zhiyuan's stomach.

An'an's head was resting on her second brother Xie Chengyuan's arm, and one of her feet was kicking her third brother Xie Mingyuan's face.

In his sleep, Xie Mingyuan removed An'an's feet from his face, but An'an kicked them again, as if only by kicking her brother's face could she sleep more soundly.

Xie Mingyuan glanced at An'an groggily. Whenever he moved her little feet away, she would frown as if she were about to wake up. Xie Mingyuan had no choice but to let the little feet kick his face and continue sleeping.

My little sister's feet not only don't smell bad, they smell nice too.

Xie Mingyuan let the little feet rest on his face, and as he touched his sister's little feet, he slept even more soundly.

The children and women in the family are all asleep.

Xie Jiang, along with his three sons, the eldest, second eldest, and fourth eldest, were busy in the kitchen preparing breakfast for the whole family.

In front of the stove, Xie Jiang added firewood to the fire.

After adding firewood, he didn't forget to instruct, "Keep your voices down, don't disturb your mother, grandma, Pingping, Xiuxiu, and the children's sleep."

Beside the stove, Xie Zhongming held a kitchen knife, peeling sweet potatoes, preparing to cook a pot of sweet potato porridge.

The eldest brother, Xie Zhongyi, and the second brother, Xie Zhongjie, were making steamed buns with braised pork filling together in the kitchen.

The porridge in the pot was boiling. Xie Zhongming chopped the peeled and washed sweet potatoes into pieces and put them into the porridge, continuing to cook.

The Xie family hasn't been this lively in a long time.

Xie Jiang looked at his three sons, now that the eldest, second, and fourth sons were all married and had harmonious families. An Anning had also become his beloved granddaughter, whom he had always dreamed of. He was extremely gratified.

After breakfast was cooked, the men in the family went to call the old lady, Huang Guilan, Shen Liping, and Sun Xiuxiu to get the children up and have breakfast.

Xie Zhongyi helped the old lady to sit down at the table. "Grandma, sit tight."

The second and fourth brothers brought out a large bowl of sweet potato porridge, steaming hot meat buns, a plate of cold pickled vegetables, a plate of cold cucumber salad, and stir-fried green pumpkin.

After Huang Guilan led An An and Ning Ning to sit down at the table, she didn't see Qiao Xingyue. She looked at Xie Zhongming and casually asked, "Fourth brother, why don't I see Xingyue?"

"Yes, Dad, where did Mom go?" An'an asked as well.

Xie Zhongming took an enamel basin, filled it with three large meat buns, and then took another enamel basin, scooping out half a basin of sweet potato porridge. "Xingyue is still sleeping. Let her get some rest. I'll bring her breakfast over and heat it up on the honeycomb stove in a bit. Mom, please don't go over and disturb Xingyue's sleep later."

Huang Guilan smiled broadly, "Okay, okay, okay, Mom won't bother you."

Xingyue must have been exhausted by Lao Si last night.

Huang Guilan was also considerate of her daughter-in-law, and she instructed the children in the family not to go over and disturb her fourth aunt.

After breakfast, Xie Jiang and Xie Zhongming returned to their unit. They needed to ask for leave from the unit because they were having a happy occasion at home.

The eldest and second eldest sons' families also took leave to come back this time. After the fourth son's wedding banquet, they will return to their respective military units.

It's summer vacation now, so the four boys in the family can stay and keep An'an and Ningning company.

...

Qiao Xingyue slept until 11 a.m.

Sunlight streamed in brightly and dazzlingly through the paper windows.

Yesterday, Huang Guilan bought her a windable mechanical watch, which is now on her bedside table.

Just as she was about to pick up her watch to check the time, a note under the watch caught her attention.

It was a note Xie Zhongming left for her: Xingyue, I've gone to the army. There are some meat buns and a bowl of sweet potato porridge on the honeycomb briquette stove. Under the dust cover on the table, there's a plate of cold pickled vegetables, a plate of cold cucumber salad, and a bowl of stir-fried green pumpkin. Remember to eat breakfast after you get up, don't go hungry. Also, don't worry about sleeping in; Mom and Grandma won't say anything. They want you to rest a little longer. I'll be back.

The handwriting is as beautiful as Xie Zhongming himself.

It is written with vigor and strength.

Just as his elder brothers had said, this man possessed astonishing physical strength.

He had been kept awake all night by the security department the night before, and his eyes were bloodshot.

We slept together all night again last night.

She remembered that they did it four times in total.

The first two times, she took the initiative.

The next two times, she was half asleep when a large, hot, calloused hand wrapped around her waist, becoming increasingly restless.

His physical strength is truly amazing!

After she got up and washed, she saw steaming hot meat buns in the pot and side dishes to accompany the porridge on the table, and her heart felt warm.

If you were to travel to this era and live with a considerate man like Xie Zhongming, life couldn't be better.

Besides, this man is also very skilled in bed.

Qiao Xingyue sat at the octagonal table, eating a large meat bun while pondering how to live a good life with Xie Zhongming in the future.

Although she knew Huang Guilan wouldn't blame her for getting up late, Qiao Xingyue still felt quite embarrassed when she went to her in-laws' family home after breakfast.

She had just finished breakfast when her older brothers' lunch was already on the table.

Shen Liping called to her, "Xingyue, it's just in time, go wash your hands and have lunch."

Sun Xiuxiu came up to her with a smile and said, "Xingyue, my sister-in-law and I went to the state-run restaurant this morning and booked nine tables for the wedding banquet. Your eldest and second brothers have also sent out the invitations. Mom said she'll take you to buy two wedding dresses this afternoon."

As Shen Liping set out the bowls and chopsticks, she said, "Xingyue, this date is a bit rushed, but don't worry. There's work to be done by me, your sister-in-law, your older brothers, and me. Just relax and be a good bride."

As she spoke, she leaned close to Qiao Xingyue's ear and whispered, "Are there enough condoms left by your sister-in-law? This morning, after your second sister-in-law and I went to the state-run restaurant, we went to the family planning office and got you some more condoms."

As she spoke, Shen Liping stuffed the matchbox-like box into the pocket of Qiao Xingyue's polyester short-sleeved shirt.

Qiao Xingyue thought to herself, "This sister-in-law is indeed someone who studied abroad. She's not shy at all when talking about these private topics with me."

She also thanked her generously.

Fortunately, her sister-in-law helped her; otherwise, given Xie Zhongming's frequency of pregnancies, and given that last night was another unsafe period for her, she might have gotten pregnant again.

Sun Xiuxiu, watching from the side, lowered her voice and reminded them, "Sister-in-law, Xingyue, you two stop whispering, the children are still here."

“Okay.” Shen Liping gave Qiao Xingyue a wink. “Xingyue, let’s talk quietly in a bit.”

Huang Guilan helped the old lady to the table. Seeing her three daughters-in-law getting along harmoniously, she was also pleased. "What are you three sisters-in-law whispering about?"

Shen Liping smiled and agreed, "It's nothing, let's eat."

It was a little after 3 p.m.

Under the scorching sun, Huang Guilan borrowed a bicycle from Zhang Hongmei's house, pushed it to the door, and called out, "Pingping, Xiuxiu, Xingyue, the bicycle is here! Come out quickly, let's go pick out two beautiful wedding dresses for Xingyue."

Shen Liping also pushed a bicycle, and when she reached the threshold in front of the courtyard gate, she gently lifted it.

Qiao Xingyue, who was behind, lent a hand and lifted the old bicycle out.

Huang Guilan couldn't ride a bicycle, so Sun Xiuxiu took the borrowed old-fashioned bicycle and said, "Mom, you sit behind me. Xingyue will sit behind your sister-in-law."

Under the old locust tree, Zhou Dahong from next door was enjoying the cool air with his grandson and neighbors.

Zhou Dahong fanned himself as he watched Huang Guilan and her three daughters-in-law getting along harmoniously, feeling both sour and jealous.

The Xie family's sons are all outstanding and capable, and their daughters-in-law are all equally excellent.

These past few days, Zhou Dahong had heard rumors circulating in the courtyard and thought that Xie Zhongming and Qiao Xingyue would really be arrested as enemy agents, which would bring disaster upon their entire Xie family.

Zhou Dahong was more than happy for the Xie family to get into trouble.

As a result, nothing happened to the Xie family, and they even had to hold a wedding banquet for their fourth son.

How could Zhou Dahong not be jealous?

She waved the banana leaf fan in her hand and snorted sourly, "What's so great about holding a wedding banquet? It's not like other families can't afford to get a daughter-in-law."

Huang Guilan ignored Zhou Dahong as she passed by.

While fanning himself, Zhou Dahong glanced sideways at Huang Guilan and her daughters-in-law, saying, "Look at Huang Guilan's three daughters-in-law, each one dressed more flamboyantly than the last, like vixens, each one more seductive than the last."

This time, Huang Guilan could no longer tolerate it.

Shen Liping was already riding her old bicycle, ready to go far away, when Huang Guilan patted her on the back and said, "Pingping, stop for a moment."

After Shen Liping stopped her bicycle, Sun Xiuxiu, who had ridden a few meters forward, also squeezed the brakes.

Under the shade of a tree, Huang Guilan jumped off her old bicycle and stormed up to Zhou Dahong.

Last week, Da Hong and her daughters Deng Yingying and Jiang Chunyan made fun of Lao Si and Xing Yue, and Huang Guilan threw feces and urine all over her.

And your mouth smells so bad!

As Huang Guilan approached Zhou Dahong, she had already gone back to the vegetable garden to retrieve a chamber pot.

The bucket contained the gourd ladle that was usually used to water the vegetables under the stars and moon.

With a "whoosh" sound.

Before Zhou Dahong could react, Huang Guilan had already splashed a ladle of water at him.

Dare to say that her three daughters-in-law are vixens, each one more seductive than the last?

You can criticize her, but you can't criticize her daughter-in-law.

Her three daughters-in-law and her two granddaughters are all her precious treasures.

Not satisfied with just splashing water on Zhou Dahong, Huang Guilan splashed water on him again, saying, "Zhou Dahong, if your mouth stinks, go back and brush your teeth. I warned you last time not to talk about my daughter-in-law anymore. What, haven't you learned your lesson?"

If she doesn't learn her lesson, then throw a few more buckets of excrement and urine at her.

Today, the manure water used to water the vegetables wasn't just mixed with An An Ning Ning's urine; it also contained excrement that Huang Gui Lan had Xie Jiang fetch from the cesspool.

Zhou Dahong was covered in feces and urine.

Zhou Dahong was jealous of Huang Guilan.

In the compound, Huang Guilan's daughters-in-law were all filial, and their harmonious relationship with their mother-in-law was well-known.

Zhou Dahong had just had a fight with his daughter-in-law this morning.

Seeing Huang Guilan's harmonious relationship with her mother-in-law, as close as mother and daughter, how could one not be envious?

But now Zhou Dahong was covered in feces and urine, smelling terrible and nauseous. She kept vomiting and threw up all the food she had eaten at noon.

The surrounding neighbors who were watching were unable to get out of the way.

Zhou Dahong was already dark-skinned, and now, suppressing his disgust, he glared fiercely at Huang Guilan, looking every bit the villain.

She rushed towards Huang Guilan, shouting, "Huang Guilan, I'll fight you to the death!"

"Splash!"

Before Zhou Dahong could rush forward, Qiao Xingyue took the bucket of excrement from Huang Guilan and threw the entire bucket of excrement at Zhou Dahong...