Chapter 9 A real man doesn't act like a baby.

Pei Jiuyan remained silent, while Qin Suisui was puzzled. Pei Jiuyan didn't seem like a gossipy person; why was he asking the male lead's name and hometown for no reason? Was it an occupational hazard of a soldier? No, Qin Suisui also squinted at Zhou Zecheng. His appearance... it looked vaguely familiar...

"No, Comrade Qin, I'm sorry for what happened. Just tell me what you want, and don't look at me like that..." At this moment, the author's favorite son, the male protagonist of the original book, a powerful and domineering character in the book, was being stared at by several people in Qin Suisui's ward, making him feel like he was about to suffocate.

Su Yunyi couldn't help but burst out laughing, and Qin Suisui laughed along with her.

After the examination, fortunately the donkey cart was not going fast, Qin Suisui only had a few abrasions. After applying medicine and bandaging, she will be fine after a few more dressing changes at the hospital.

Zhou Zecheng paid the bill courteously and handed Qin Suisui several pounds of pastries and two pounds of White Rabbit milk candy he had bought from the department store: "Comrade Qin, I am also in Guangmingding Brigade, in the same place as Su Yunyi, the educated youth. If you have any health problems later, you can come to me anytime!"

The educated youth all had to go to work. Today, he and Su Yun had both asked for leave to come out and collect their packages. Time was limited, so the two left quickly. Qin Suisui was also carried into the car by Pei Jiuyan and headed to the state-run restaurant in town.

Qin Suisui was a little embarrassed. Although she was raised in a pampered manner, she was not delicate. She only had a scratch and was not unable to walk. However, Pei Jiuyan seemed to be convinced that she was very delicate and directly carried her to sit on the chair.

Song Yunlai and Chi Donglin had already arrived. Seeing the bandages wrapped around Qin Suisui's body, they frowned and said, "Isn't this Ayan? How did you take care of her? You've only been gone for a short while, how did my sister get so badly injured?"

Fearing they might misunderstand, Qin Suisui hurriedly explained, "No! I was hit by a donkey cart at the post office myself, it has nothing to do with him."

Chi Donglin, raising his voice in bewilderment, exclaimed, "A donkey cart? How could they let someone who can't drive a donkey cart be driven? Which brigade is so irresponsible?"

Chi Donglin's idea was simple: now the donkey cart was collective property, just like the oxcart, and it was very valuable. Generally, people who didn't know how to drive it would not be allowed to drive it out easily. If it was bumped or knocked, it would be a loss for the whole team, not to mention injuring someone.

Qin Suisui pouted: "He's a new educated youth from the Bright Peak Brigade, named Zhou Zecheng." It's not that the brigade leader is irresponsible, it's just that Zhou Zecheng has the protagonist's halo!

Upon hearing Qin Suisui's words, Song Yunlai and Chi Donglin's expressions changed slightly. They then looked at Pei Jiuyan at the same time. Pei Jiuyan nodded, seemingly unwilling to say anything more, and got up to go to the window to order food.

Qin Suisui turned her head to look at this person and then at that person. Everyone seemed to have a serious expression. Recalling Pei Jiuyan's unusual behavior at the hospital earlier, she wondered if they all knew the author's biological son, Zhou Zecheng.

The meal was somewhat quiet, but fortunately, Chi Donglin quickly recovered and cracked a few jokes, which livened up the atmosphere again.

After dinner, everyone rushed back to the family compound. Pei Jiuyan was in a hurry to get married, so as his brothers, they had to work overnight to tidy up his new home.

The furniture they had bought earlier had all been brought back, but things like the bed and some cabinets still needed to be installed, and the house needed to be cleaned and tidied up again. Pei Jiuyan carried Qin Suisui to sit under the mango tree in the yard, poured her some water, and gave her some pastries and candy.

After preparing everything, he half-squatted in front of Qin Suisui, his gaze level with hers:

"Just sit here and don't move around. I'll go inside and help them clean. Call me if you need anything. If you're bored, I'll have Xiao Sheng bring Zan Zan back to play with you. If you think it's too noisy, I'll let him play outside a little longer."

Qin Suisui nodded obediently: "Don't worry about me, you go ahead and do your work. I'll sit here for a while." She had a limp and it was inconvenient for her to move around. In fact, she had hardly ever cleaned the house. Rather than pretending to help and causing them trouble, she would rather stay quietly to the side.

Seeing that she was quite obedient, Pei Jiuyan couldn't help but chuckle. Before getting up to leave, he couldn't resist reaching out his big hand and patting her fluffy head twice. He had often wondered what it would feel like to touch her head when he was 13 years old. Now, touching it... well, it felt like the neighbor's cat.

After scratching his head, just as he was about to get up and leave, a small force suddenly tugged at his sleeve. Pei Jiuyan turned around and met Qin Suisui's somewhat cautious gaze: "Um... I'm not very good at cleaning, I mean... I've never done this before, I might have to learn gradually..."

"It's alright, I can do it myself, you don't need to tell me." Pei Jiuyan left these words behind and strode away coolly.

Qin Suisui swallowed the unfinished "learn slowly" along with the rice cake in her mouth. This... is okay, right? Anyway, she's not good at it, so she can do something she's good at. Her mother said that a family can't rely on just one person's efforts; both people have to work hard together.

What's she good at? Washing clothes…I don't think she's ever done that. Sewing…not very good. Cooking…I think she can do a little, like a big, mixed stew? Pharmaceuticals…she can make itching powder, herbal powder…well, that doesn't seem very presentable…

Thinking about it this way, it seems like she doesn't know anything!

If it really doesn't work, can she go out and make money?

Qin Suisui frowned, lost in thought, until a string of swaying seashells appeared before her, making her a little dizzy. She turned her head and saw Zanzan grinning at her, showing off his little white teeth. When he saw her looking over, his dark little face lit up with a wide smile.

"Mom, this is a seashell wind chime I made. It's a gift for you. Do you like it?"

Dad said his task for today was to make Mom happy. He went to the beach and collected so many pretty seashells. Worried he wouldn't have enough, he even traded some small fish with other kids to make a lot more. Finally, he finished this wind chime! Mom should be happy to see it!

Qin Suisui took it and looked at it. Her eyes lit up. The wind chime was made of red and blue seashells with silver-white as a transitional color. In this era where black, white and gray are the most common colors, such a bright seashell wind chime is really easy to like.

She gave a serious review: "Wow! You're so amazing! The color scheme of this wind chime is so beautiful! The holes are so neat, and the shells aren't cracked at all. You're so skillful! Thank you! I really love it!"

Zan Zan hesitated a little shyly. He was often praised, but what he heard most often were things like "You're so smart, you're so great, you're so good..." He had never heard his mother praise him so earnestly and meticulously before. He liked this mother!

Qin Suisui held the seashell in her hand and twirled it around. Then, pretending to reach into her purse, she pulled out a small green tin frog from her spatial storage and handed it to Zanzan: "Here! This is my return gift. I hope you like it!"

The moment Zan Zan saw the little tin frog, his eyes lit up. He had seen Liang Liang play with this kind of frog in the yard before. He had heard that his father had bought it from a department store in Guangzhou, and it was very expensive!

Although he has three fathers, Zan Zan knows in his heart that none of them are his biological fathers, and all three fathers are very busy and have limited time to spend with him. He doesn't want to bother them with these small things, but actually he also wants a little frog! That way, all the children in the compound would genuinely want to play with him, instead of playing with him reluctantly because of his three fathers!

Zan Zan reached out to take it, but after thinking about it, she pulled her hand back: "Mom, this little frog is too expensive. My wind chimes are worthless. I can't accept such an expensive return gift."

He lowered his head, his dark little feet in sandals kicking at the stones, and whispered, "Mommy, can I keep this little frog with you for now, and I'll make you five more later!" He held out one small hand, then pulled it back, and then held out both small hands at the same time: "Oh no! Ten! After I make you ten wind chimes, will you give me the little frog then?"

Qin Suisui, a child raised in love, had never experienced Zanzan's cautious feelings, but hearing Zanzan's words, she couldn't help but tear up. She hugged Zanzan tightly and spoke softly:

"Zanzan, you've already called me Mom. Once your dad and I get our marriage certificate, I'll be your mom. How can a gift from Mom to her baby be measured in money? Besides, the gift you gave Mom was handmade by you. It contains your labor and blessings, making it a very valuable gift to Mom, no less precious than the little frog! So, Zanzan, would you like to accept Mom's gift?"

Zan Zan couldn't explain his feelings either. He was happy to hear his mother's words, but tears kept welling up uncontrollably. He tried to control himself, nuzzled his little head against Qin Sui Sui's neck, and nodded vigorously.

He was reluctant to get up from his mother's arms. So this is what a mother's embrace is like? It smells nice, and although it's not as wide as his father's embrace, it's very soft. He likes it! The stars in Zan Zan's eyes came out again, and he couldn't help but secretly rub against Qin Sui Sui's arms. The next second, a big hand grabbed him by the back of his neck and lifted him up.

Zan Zan was terrified, his legs flailing wildly in the air. He turned around and saw it was his dad. Oh no! His dad must have seen him secretly being affectionate! His dad had always taught him to be a little man, that men don't act cute. His dad's face was so sour; was he angry?

Pei Jiuyan was a little annoyed. This brat! He had never hugged his wife so affectionately before, and this brat had already done it!

Qin Suisui couldn't understand the little tricks between father and son, so she quickly rescued Zanzan from Pei Jiuyan's clutches and looked at him with some resentment: "Zanzan is still young. If you carry him like this, he will get hurt!"

Following Qin Suisui's force, Zan Zan ran down behind Qin Suisui and hid, sneaking out with half of her face to look at Pei Jiuyan.

Pei Jiuyan laughed in exasperation. Wait, he's already protecting him? How come he never realized this kid was so good at winning people over?

After rescuing Zanzan, Qin Suisui looked at Pei Jiuyan and asked, "What's wrong? Is something the matter?"

Pei Jiuyan withdrew his gaze from Zan Zan before nodding slightly, his eyes fixed on Qin Sui Sui: "Yes, I just received the notification that the marriage application has been approved."