Chapter 43 The Troublemakers of the 1980s 13 Okay, I’ll listen to you…

Just now, when Chen Qian was still in the kitchen, everyone had already been captivated by the various aromas coming from the kitchen. Now that the meal was finally served, after a simple opening speech, everyone started to eat without hesitation.

Zhou Tingyue is a retired senior executive of a military factory. He had made military achievements in his early years and enjoyed many benefits after retirement. He thought he had tasted a lot of delicious food, but he didn't expect to be drooling at the table of dishes prepared by his daughter-in-law today.

He first served himself a bowl of beef offal soup. When he was young, he was injured and in a life-or-death situation. He had drunk a bowl of beef offal soup at a fellow villager's house. Over the years, he had always wanted to taste that flavor again, but he had never tasted such delicious beef offal soup.

Before Zhou Tingyue took a sip of the soup, he was still picky, thinking that no matter how well his daughter-in-law cooked it, he would just praise her. After all, there might not be another beef offal soup in the world that was so delicious.

Unexpectedly, after taking a sip of the soup, Zhou Tingyue drank the whole bowl of soup in one breath.

He also slurped up the beef offal and the soup in the bowl.

"Dad, there's still some in the pot. Let me scoop you another bowl from the pot." The eldest daughter-in-law took the initiative to say when she saw that her father-in-law seemed to like the beef offal soup very much.

Zhou Tingyue nodded: "Okay."

Li Suzhen looked at Zhou Tingyue in astonishment. He wasn't usually a glutton, so why was he enjoying this beef offal soup so much today? She scooped a bowl for herself and tasted it. "Old man, this soup is really good. How does it compare to that beef offal soup from your fellow villager you keep talking about?"

Zhou Tingyue said honestly, "It's different. The fellow's soup had lots of ginger slices, Sichuan peppercorns, and chili peppers in it. It was so spicy I was in so much pain, but that one sip brought me back to life. This soup made by Chen Qian... is very fresh, and even has a hint of medicinal herbs."

Shen Qian nodded and said, "I put Chinese yam, wolfberry and angelica in it, which can suppress the fishy smell of beef offal. In addition, the ingredients my brother bought are very fresh, so we can make beef offal soup with this taste."

The method of making beef offal soup is very simple, but to make it delicious, the soup must be thick. It took Chen Qian a lot of effort to learn how to make this dish.

After Xiang Ying scooped some soup for her father-in-law, she also scooped a bowl for herself. After just one bite, she discovered that her third brother's wife was such an amazing cook. The three home-cooked dishes she had taught her to cope with lunch were only a small part of her skills.

Any of the dishes she made today would be a hit in their street if she opened a restaurant there.

Xiang Ying felt both ashamed and excited. Her mind was racing, thinking that she would have to find a way to get her third brother's wife to do business with her in the future. This way, the store would have a steady stream of customers, she could make more money, and her third brother's wife's family would live a more prosperous life.

Zhou Shenglin's favorite dish is beef. He fell silent as soon as the dish came to the table. He was completely captivated by the braised beef with spring bamboo shoots.

By this time, he had quietly devoured several pieces of beef brisket and spring bamboo shoots, and finally looked up, "Third sister-in-law, your dish is amazing! I've never had beef brisket stewed so soft and tender, and it's so fragrant and flavorful! I almost bit my tongue while eating it!"

Shen Qian smiled and said, "The beef brisket is so tender because I stewed it for a long time and started stewing it in a big pot early in the morning. The spring bamboo shoots are so delicious because I asked my sister-in-law to help me pick out the fresh spring bamboo shoots that have just been put on the market."

I don’t have a pressure cooker at home, so if I want the food to taste good, I can’t be lazy. I have to get up early and prepare, and use my time to make a pot of tender and tasty beef brisket.

"It's really delicious! Sister-in-law, your cooking skills are really amazing."

Everyone in the family praised Shen Qian's cooking skills. Shen Jianguo also praised it after tasting it. He thought that Shen Qian learned her cooking skills slowly after getting married, while the Zhou family thought that Shen Qian often went back to her parents' home and learned it there. No one knew that Shen Qian was actually no longer the original owner.

After the meal, there was not a single dish left on the table. Zhou Shenglin happily cleaned up and washed the dishes. Everyone helped clean up and left one after another.

Zhou Shian was led by his grandmother and looked back several times before leaving.

He didn't have the courage to say it at the dinner table, but he actually really liked the food his mother cooked.

He still wants to eat that roast chicken with taro, he wants to eat it every day.

"Let's go, Shi'an, stop looking." Li Suzhen said, holding the child's hand.

Zhou Tingyue looked back at his grandson after hearing this and said, "Xiao Shi'an wants to move back to his new home."

He said this from a distance. Li Suzhen's face darkened. She knew in her heart that the old man was telling the truth, but she was not mentally prepared yet, so she pretended not to hear it.

She deceived herself by thinking that the third son had difficulty walking and his wife had to take care of both him and their daughter, so she probably wouldn't be able to take care of two children, so it would be better for her to help out.

Shi Wei didn't care at all that her brother went home with grandma again. Her brother was always like this and preferred grandma's house. But she was different. She could feel since she was a child that grandma liked her brother more and didn't like her and her aunt's sister Lanlan very much. She didn't want to follow her brother wherever he wanted to go.

The braised fish my mother made today was absolutely delicious. She wants to eat her mother’s cooking every day!

That night, Zhou Shengmo completed his bedtime washing and dressing independently without relying on anyone. He also pushed his wheelchair to his daughter's room, told her a fairy tale, and accompanied her to sleep. Then he pushed the wheelchair back to his bedroom.

He was still in an excited state and had no desire to sleep at all, but his wife was so sleepy that she could hardly lift her eyelids.

Zhou Shengmo looked at her with a smile, and subconsciously hugged the pillow before falling asleep. It was his pillow.

Zhou Shengmo was a little stunned. He used to think that his wife was pretty, but now he felt that Shen Qian's sleeping profile was the same as his daughter Shi Wei, with rosy cheeks, which was very cute.

He stared at her, unwilling to look away, thinking of one thing in his mind.

She took the trouble to prepare a home for him, a home that was so tailored to his needs. She also gave him a pair of children. What had he given her over the years?

He didn't even know what her hobbies were, what she wanted, or what she liked.

They never talked.

He wanted to prepare a return gift for her but didn't know where to start.

Forget it, he would think about it slowly later. There was still a long time to live. Anything he gave her now would not be enough to repay her for her kindness.

All he could do was follow her instructions, drink plenty of water, get better slowly, and then take care of himself so as not to become a burden to her.

After thinking this through, Zhou Shengmo moved himself from the wheelchair to the bed, and felt a little conflicted after turning off the lights.

Chen Qian was sleeping soundly with his arms around the pillow at this moment, as if he felt very safe holding something in his arms.

There were extra pillows in the closet, but Zhou Shengmo didn't want to get out of bed to get them. He gently picked up her slender arm and carefully pulled the pillow out of her arms.

Fortunately, his movements were slow enough so as not to wake her up. Then he put the pillow in place, gently moved his body, and lay down.

For people with disabled legs, it is difficult to turn over once they lie down, and they usually cannot move after lying down.

But at this moment, the person whose pillow was taken away hugged his arm and clung to him...

Zhou Shengmo's body stiffened as he felt his wife's soft hair brush across his face and fall on his arm.

The half of his body that was hugged by her suddenly felt numb, blood rushed up little by little, and his face felt a little hot.

How can I sleep like this?

Zhou Shengmo tried to pull his arms back from her arms, but as soon as he made a slight movement, she simply pressed her legs over and pinned him down with half of her body.

Zhou Shengmo: “…”

He is a soldier and the word surrender is not in his dictionary.

But from this moment on, there was only a little man in his mind, waving the white flag pitifully.

Zhou Shengmo closed his eyes resignedly and tried his best to ignore the changes in his body. What else could he do? He had to pamper such a good wife!

But in the darkness, the curve of his lips gradually widened. She had returned from her parents' home. She had designed such a nice home for him. She was even willing to hold him in her arms while sleeping, and had never mentioned the idea of disliking him or wanting to separate from him.

Does this mean...she really won't leave?

So, on the first night after moving into his new home, Zhou Shengmo suffered from insomnia.

Many years later, when his family talked about the move again, Zhou Shengmo's impression of it was not only the unforgettable emotion, but also the sleepless night.

…

The Zhou family’s excitement about the third child’s new home lasted for many days, and everyone would come over to play whenever they had time.

Zhou Shengmo himself had a desire to explore his new home for a long time.

The next day he slept until noon before getting up. He still couldn't calm down. He pushed his wheelchair around the room and went to the backyard. He unexpectedly found some devices in the backyard that he had never seen before.

When Shen Qian saw him coming to the yard, he followed him over.

"What is this?" Zhou Shengmo asked curiously.

"This is a clothesline. People are passing by the front yard, so we'll hang clothes in the backyard from now on. You see, this is a pulley device. After you wash your clothes, hang them on the hanger, and then hang them on the clothesline. Then pull the steel rope and the clothesline will rise. If you want to collect the clothes, pull the other side and it will go down."

This is a very simple principle, and Zhou Shengmo understood it at a glance. It should have been made by his elder brother Zhou Shengwu and the masters in the factory. It is very easy for a machinery factory to make small items of this size.

But it is easy to do but difficult to think about.

"Did you figure this out while sitting in a wheelchair?" Zhou Shengmo asked.

"Yes, all the designs in the house are based on me sitting in a wheelchair. If I lose my legs, I'll know what I need. Of course, some of the equipment may be unnecessary for you. If you don't want to do these chores yourself, you can put the dirty clothes in the laundry basket. I can wash them for you when I'm free."

Zhou Shengmo quickly pushed the wheelchair closer to Shen Qian. He couldn't help but reach out and hold her hand: "Shen Qian, don't say that. You don't know how happy I am to see these! From now on, let me wash the clothes at home. You can also teach me how to cook. I hope to help you share more of the burden. I hope to do more things, as long as I can help."

This was what he came up with last night when he couldn't sleep and thought about it all night. Instead of giving her those flashy gifts, it would be better to do something practical for her and share her burden.

After Chen Qian came through, the two had not had any physical contact. At this time, Zhou Shengmo held her hand. She tried to break free gently, but he held it tighter, as if he was afraid that she would refuse.

What Chen Qian didn't know was that she slept with half of Zhou Shengmo's body on her for most of the night, and Zhou Shengmo had already secretly held her hand.

Shen Qian sighed lightly. How could she not understand the depression in his heart? It would take an ordinary person a long time just to accept his disability, not to mention lying in bed for several months and making himself so haggard.

He must have felt like a useless person before, and must have felt bad.

Chen Qian also wished that he could share more of the burden. When she chose not to divorce Zhou Shengmo, wasn't it because she thought that they could live a better life together?

"Don't worry, I won't let you sit idle." Shen Qian smiled and said, "I found out before that maybe we spend too little time with Shi Wei. She has a little separation anxiety. You have to help me spend more time with my daughter in the future. When the two children go to elementary school, you will also be responsible for tutoring the children's homework. All the housework you can do will be left to you."

Zhou Shengmo looked up at her with a relieved smile on his face. He took her hand and couldn't help squeezing it.

"Okay, I'll do whatever you tell me to do!"

Zhou Shengmo suddenly realized that his wife was really beautiful.

Of course he knew that she was pretty, and her two children had inherited her good genes and were adorable, but he had never truly admired her beauty from a man's perspective of a woman, the kind of beauty that touched his heart.

Zhou Shengmo felt a strange heat suddenly rising in his heart, and finally let go of her hand with a guilty conscience.

Seeing that Zhou Shengmo was in a good mood today, Shen Qian took this opportunity to make another push. She pointed to a corner in the backyard and said, "When you recover a little and have better upper body strength, I will help you stand here for a while every day."

Only then did Zhou Shengmo discover that there was a height-adjustable parallel-bar-like device in the corner of the backyard, with a soft cushion underneath, so even if he fell without holding on, he would not fall hard.

"You prepared this specially for me?" Today's shocks were enough, but this device still made Zhou Shengmo stunned.

He knew that he shouldn't be sad at this moment, but he was afraid that Chen Qian might misunderstand him.

The atmosphere today was really good, and he was really happy. Zhou Shengmo knew that he shouldn't pour cold water on her at this time, but there were some things he still had to tell her the whole truth.

"Chen Qian... the doctor said that I will most likely be disabled for the rest of my life. The brain trauma is very serious and has damaged the nerves, which cannot be repaired... This part of the nerve just happens to control the ability to walk. Even if I practice every day, as long as the nerve is not repaired, I won't be able to stand, let alone walk."

It was cruel for him to say that, cruel to himself and cruel to her.

But this is the fact, and both he and she have to accept reality.

After he finished speaking, he mustered up all his courage to look at Chen Qian's face, comforting himself that he should not be sad even if he saw disappointment on her face.

People always have to go through a process of acceptance.

Shen Qian has done so much for him, it's already very good.

What Zhou Shengmo didn't expect was that his wife didn't feel disappointed at all. She said nonchalantly, "I know, but just like lying for a long time hurts your lungs, sitting for a long time will also cause problems. Your lumbar spine will be damaged, and there will be other problems. If you stand up occasionally, it can keep your blood flowing smoothly, and it can also relieve your lower limb joint deformation and muscle atrophy. There are many benefits."

She didn't want to force him to practice walking when his legs couldn't move.

However, Shen Qian felt that Zhou Shengmo's brain nerve damage might not be completely hopeless, but what needed to be done now was to strengthen his physical foundation first.

Zhou Shengmo finally understood his wife's intention and said with shame: "Okay, I'll listen to you. I will practice every day from now on!"