Chapter 13 Handing Over Wages

Qin Suisui was unaware that her face was terribly pale at that moment.

Pei Jiuyan walked over with a cold face, put his arm around Qin Suisui's shoulder, and nodded slightly to Su Yunyi: "My wife may not be feeling well right now, so I'll take her back first."

Su Yunyi naturally noticed Qin Suisui's unusual behavior. She had come to Qiongtan Island alone for rural work and didn't have many friends there. She got along very well with Qin Suisui and genuinely considered her a friend.

But it seemed Qin Suisui really disliked Zhou Zhiqing. Her expression changed after I told her about Zhou Zhiqing. Suisui was her friend, but Zhou Zhiqing… never mind!

Having made up her mind, Su Yunyi quickly stepped forward and whispered in Qin Suisui's ear, "Suisui, if you really don't like Zhou Zhiqing, I'll stay away from him!"

Qin Suisui had already come to her senses when Pei Jiuyan arrived.

She didn't know how to tell Pei Jiuyan and Su Yunyi that she knew about the original plot, so she could only innocently follow Su Yunyi's words and say, "Sister Su, I don't know what's wrong with me, but every time I meet Zhou Zhiqing, I feel a tightness in my chest, like I can't breathe."

These words were not only for Su Yunyi, but also for Pei Jiuyan. Before she understood what the "past events" were, she hoped that Pei Jiuyan would stay away from her.

As for Su Yunyi, she genuinely likes the kind and talented female protagonist in the original book, and Su Yunyi's words just now actually revealed her attitude. Between her and Zhou Zecheng, Su Yunyi chose her, at least for now! So if she is willing, she will do her best to help her avoid the ending of being abandoned by everyone in the original book. If she is not willing... In short, it all depends on Su Yunyi's own choice.

Upon hearing Qin Suisui's words, Su Yunyi's expression changed. She quickly stepped forward, patted Qin Suisui's head, and then touched her hand: "Are you really not feeling well? Then let's go to the hospital quickly! I thought it was because you didn't like me getting too close to Zhou Zhiqing..."

Qin Suisui nodded: "I've recovered by now, Sister Su, don't worry. You go and take care of your business first. When you have your holiday, I'll come to the brigade to visit you!" She had to go to the Bright Peak Brigade herself to find out about the "benefactor".

As she spoke, she picked up her own bucket, grabbed two handfuls of clams from it, and then took two crabs and an octopus, stuffing them into Su Yunyi's bucket: "Sister, take these back to eat. I'll bring you more next time I catch some!"

Su Yunyi and the others were all sent-down youth who had to work every day. Since it wasn't time to gather yet, a few sent-down youths from other places got together to go beachcombing and have some fun.

Hearing that Qin Suisui was still willing to hang out with her meant that she hadn't given up on her as a friend, Su Yunyi was very happy. She nodded and said, "Okay! It's almost time to go to work! I'll be going now! Remember to go to the hospital for a check-up. I'll be waiting for you to come and play with me!"

After Su Yunyi and the others left, Qin Suisui and the others also returned to the family compound.

It was only a little past seven in the morning, the sun had just risen, and Chi Donglin and Song Yunlai were waiting at the door, each holding two lunchboxes. When they saw the family of three, each carrying a full bucket, they were astonished: "Wow! No way! Did they really have this much harvest on the beach today? We should have gone too!"

Qin Suisui greeted them with a smile: "Hello, Brother Donglin and Brother Yunlai, why are you here so early?"

Chi Donglin pouted: "It's all because of your son, Ayan. He was worried that if we went to the beach too late, there wouldn't be any food left in the company cafeteria, and you'd go hungry. So he told us to go to the cafeteria early to keep watch."

Qin Suisui glanced at Pei Jiuyan, her eyes and brows full of smiles: "Thank you for your trouble!" She then waved the bucket in her hand: "Let's stay here and eat seafood together today! I received a package from home yesterday, with lots of delicious food. You can take some back with you!"

Song Yunlai smiled warmly: "Ayan, look how considerate your sister is, unlike you, who only knows how to order us around!"

Pei Jiuyan ignored them, looked down at Qin Suisui's flushed face, and asked with some concern, "Are you really alright? Should we go to the hospital to get checked out?"

Qin Suisui shook her head: "It's really nothing now, just stay away from him."

When Chi Donglin and Song Donglin asked what happened, Zanzan chattered on and on about what had just happened. At the end, she added, "Daddy Chi, Daddy Song, Mommy gets short of breath whenever she sees that educated youth brother. That means he's not a good person. You should stay away from him too! We should all stay away from him! Otherwise, the air we breathe will infect Mommy and make her uncomfortable!"

Zan Zan looked serious and earnest, but Qin Sui Sui wanted to give him a big thumbs up. The little guy had said everything he wanted to say! She was also about to give Chi and Song some advice! After all, they were members of Pei Jiu Yan's annihilation team!

Chi and Song also doted on Zanzan. Hearing his words, they smiled and patted his head, agreeing without hesitation: "Okay! Dads will listen to Zanzan and stay away from that bad guy, so as not to spread the smelly air to your mother!"

The family walked inside with smiles, and Aunt Tang promised to come over for lunch after she finished her chores at home.

Qin Suisui remembered that she hadn't heard Sister Tang mention the children in the past two days, and that she hadn't taken them to the beach today, so she asked Pei Jiuyan about it.

Pei Jiuyan paused for a moment before explaining, "Sister-in-law Tang fell into the water and caught a chill. They went to the hospital many times, but they still can't have a child."

Qin Suisui understood that in this era of scarcity, many people were already physically deficient, and if they were to catch a cold, it would indeed affect their ability to have children.

But this is no problem for her! Her grandmother is a master of traditional Chinese medicine, and this kind of illness is nothing to her. She has left behind a lot of medicine for this kind of thing. She just doesn't know if it will work for Sister-in-law Tang. If it doesn't work, she will go and find the medical books and prescriptions left by her grandmother!

Seeing Qin Suisui's expression, Pei Jiuyan suddenly understood. He smiled and asked, "Grandma has medicine?"

Qin Suisui smiled at him, revealing her teeth, and the two understood each other without saying a word.

Aunt Tang quickly finished her work and came over. The group of people busied themselves washing the seafood in the yard.

It was still Sister Tang who was in charge of the cooking. There were many kinds of seafood today. Sister Tang made a steamed seafood medley, steamed grouper, and made Sichuan-style spicy stir-fried octopus with the remaining octopus. She also took out a few crabs to make spicy crab, and cooked kelp to make a cold dish.

Qin Suisui ate without looking up. She had naturally eaten seafood before, but seafood transported from the sea to the inland was never as fresh as this kind of seafood that was just caught and put into the pot. Moreover, Sister Tang's cooking skills were really good. The spicy stir-fried octopus and crab were chewy and flavorful, and the steamed seafood with her special sauce was simply twice as fresh!

Qin Suisui once again dreamed of becoming Sister Tang's dining partner!

After finishing their meal and cleaning up, Pei Jiuyan and Chi Donglin left the house. Qin Suisui then pulled Sister Tang into the inner room and mysteriously pulled a porcelain bottle from her bosom, handing it to her: "Sister-in-law, my grandmother was a traditional Chinese medicine doctor when she was alive. Many people came to her seeking medicine. If you trust me, you can give it a try!"

Aunt Tang was initially confused: "What kind of medicine is this? I haven't given birth..." She stopped mid-sentence, her eyes suddenly lighting up as she looked at Qin Suisui in disbelief: "This is... a medicine that can cure my... problem?!"

Qin Suisui nodded, then shook her head: "Not necessarily. Everyone's constitution is different. This only has a targeted warming and nourishing effect for people like you who have been harmed by the cold, but it will work for most people. You can try it first, and if it doesn't work, I'll think of something else!"

Aunt Tang nodded vigorously. Over the years, she had visited countless hospitals, big and small. They would go to any hospital with even the slightest hope, spending almost all of Lao Guo's allowance on these visits, but to no avail. She was already 35 this year, considered an older mother, and if she couldn't conceive soon, she probably would never have a child in her life.

She had considered seeking help from traditional Chinese medicine practitioners, but given the current special circumstances and Lao Guo's unique background, they dared not take the risk.

She grabbed Qin Suisui's hand tightly: "Little sister, thank you so much! Whether it works or not, you'll always be my little sister! You like Sichuan food, right? I'll cook it for you every day from now on! I'll cook whatever you like!"

Now Qin Suisui felt embarrassed. Although she had been dreaming of becoming dining partners with Sister Tang since yesterday, Sister Tang's directness made her feel a bit shameless. Besides, there were Pei Jiuyan and Zanzan there too. She couldn't possibly bring her whole family to Sister Tang's house for meals every day!

But her wish came true that night.

After Qin Suisui finished washing up in the evening, she was applying face cream in front of her dressing table when Pei Jiuyan finished setting up the mosquito net he had just bought and washed that afternoon. He then walked up to the dressing table, looked into Qin Suisui's eyes, and spoke in a soft voice: "I just received a last-minute mission. I need to go out to sea urgently, which is expected to take about three days. Is it okay for you to stay here alone with Zanzan for the next few days?"

Qin Suisui paused in applying face cream, then quickly asked, "When are we leaving?"

"I'm leaving soon."

Unexpectedly, things were in such a rush. Qin Suisui quickly stood up to help him pack his luggage: "Why didn't you say so sooner! What if you forget something in this hurry? We're at sea, far from any village or shop! You're worried about me? I have everything I need at home, what are you worried about!"

Under the dim light, watching her bustling around him, Pei Jiuyan suddenly felt a surge of emotion in his heart. He had dreamt of this scene countless times.

They only got their marriage certificate last night and have only been legally married for a day and a night. I had to go on a mission, and I thought she would be angry, but I didn't expect her to react like this.

He grabbed Qin Suisui's hand, pulled her to sit on the bed, stroked her hair, and took out a bankbook, some loose change, and a stack of receipts from his pocket, handing them to her: "This is my salary and various benefits and allowances from the past few years. You'll be in charge of keeping it safe from now on. And these cash and receipts, you can buy whatever you want. If you need more, just go to the bank to get more. I'll bring them back to you every month after I get my salary, so you can spend them without worry."

Qin Suisui took the money and saw that the cash totaled over three hundred yuan, not counting various receipts. There was also over twenty thousand yuan in her savings account!

"Where did you get so much money?" Qin Suisui knew that Pei Jiuyan had been studying at the Naval Academy and had only been in the army for three or four years. His monthly salary should be over a hundred yuan, but she didn't know the exact amount.

“This is my monthly salary plus subsidies, plus the benefits of teaching students at other schools. Sometimes when I go on assignments, there are also rewards from above, and I also get technical bonuses.”

Qin Suisui knew that Pei Jiuyan was not only the regimental commander, but also participated in the research and development of some top-secret warships, and sometimes even went on some extremely dangerous missions. So much money was probably earned by risking his life.

Qin Suisui felt a pang of sadness. The Pei family was clearly well-off, yet Pei Jiuyan still worked so hard; it was his faith and commitment as a soldier. As a soldier's family member, she had to perform even better in the future and not hold him back.

Seeing the worry on her face, Pei Jiuyan smiled and said, "Don't worry about me, I'm used to it after all these years. I've already told Aunt Tang that she will cook for you every day and bring it over. Just tell her what you want to eat, I've already paid for it. If you don't want Aunt Tang's cooking, you can also have Zanzan get food from the cafeteria."

“I washed and dried the two sets of bed sheets and duvet covers that Mom and Dad sent, as well as your clothes, during the day. You can change them anytime.”

"If you want to buy anything, just ask Zan Zan to go to the military service center. He's very familiar with it."

"If you go beachcombing, remember to go with Sister Tang. High tide is dangerous at the beach. If you are not familiar with the beach, don't wander off on your own."

Qin Suisui shook off his hand, muttering, "I know, time is of the essence, don't delay me from getting your things!"