Chapter 189 Women Need to Take the Initiative in Times Like This
Zhou Jianjun was starving, and upon hearing this, he nodded repeatedly in gratitude. Liu Lanhua wanted to decline, but when she met Jiang Wanqiu's gentle yet unyielding gaze, she swallowed the words of refusal that were on the tip of her tongue.
In Jiang Wanqiu's kitchen, Liu Lanhua washed her hands and tied on an apron with remarkable speed and efficiency.
She kneaded, rolled, and let the dough rest in one smooth motion. She picked up a small rolling pin, and the tiny dough balls spun rapidly in her hands, quickly transforming into thin, evenly sized dumpling wrappers. Jiang Wanqiu couldn't help but admire her skill.
"Sister-in-law, Battalion Commander Zhou has a sensitive stomach," Liu Lanhua said carefully while wrapping dumplings. "I'll make him a special cabbage filling, with less meat and less oil, so it's light and easy on the stomach."
Jiang Wanqiu chuckled and teased, "Sister Liu is such a thoughtful person, whoever marries you will be truly blessed."
Liu Lanhua blushed: "Comrade Jiang, please don't tease me."
Soon, a pot of plump, white dumplings was put into the boiling water, bubbling and releasing an enticing aroma.
When the steaming dumplings were served, Zhou Jianjun, who was really hungry, ate them with great relish.
However, Jiang Wanqiu noticed that Liu Lanhua hardly touched her chopsticks.
She had seven or eight dumplings in her bowl, but she just gently poked at them with her chopsticks, as if she were counting them or hesitating about something. She didn't eat a single one for a long time.
"Sister Lanhua, what's wrong?" Jiang Wanqiu asked with concern. "Did you not like the dumplings?"
Liu Lanhua suddenly snapped out of her daze, as if someone had seen through her thoughts. Her cheeks flushed, and she quickly waved her hands, "No, no! Sister-in-law, the filling you made is so delicious, how could it not suit my taste!"
She lowered her head in embarrassment, her voice also softening: "I...I just wanted to ask, comrade, could I...could I take these few from my bowl back with me so my two daughters can have a taste?"
After saying that, she lowered her head even further, afraid that Jiang Wanqiu would think she was greedy for small gains.
Given her family's circumstances, the children rarely get to eat meat dumplings even once a year.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Wanqiu felt a slight pang of sadness.
A big smile spread across her face, and she said in a relaxed tone, "Oh dear, I thought it was something serious! Of course I can bring them! I made extra dough today because there are so many people, there's still a pot of it left! Take as much as you want, make sure the children have plenty to eat so they can have the energy to study!"
As she spoke, she got up and went to the kitchen to get a clean enamel bowl, and personally served Liu Lanhua dumplings.
Liu Lanhua's eyes welled up with tears, and she thanked her repeatedly, "Thank you, sister-in-law! Thank you, sister-in-law! We don't need that many, just a few will suffice, let them have a taste..."
Jiang Wanqiu filled her bowl to the brim, but Liu Lanhua refused to accept so much no matter what.
Finally, she took the bowl and chopsticks herself, carefully picked out ten dumplings, no more and no less, and arranged them neatly in her empty bowl.
She poured the rest back into Jiang Wanqiu's bowl.
"That's enough, sister-in-law, ten is enough for the two of them to have a treat."
Liu Lanhua was an honest person; once she had eaten someone's meal, she insisted on washing the dishes.
Jiang Wanqiu couldn't refuse, so she let her go.
Soon, the sound of running water and the soft clatter of bowls and chopsticks came from the kitchen.
After seeing off Liu Lanhua and Zhou Jianjun, who were expressing their deepest gratitude, Jiang Wanqiu looked at the large plate of plump white dumplings left in the pot and took out a thermal lunchbox from the cupboard.
She carefully placed the freshly cooked, still steaming dumplings one by one into the lunchbox, and then added a small dish of her own pickled spicy and sour radish on top.
We need to send it over quickly, otherwise it won't taste good if it gets cold.
Jiang Wanqiu carried the heavy lunchbox and walked briskly toward Zhao Wenchang's office building.
Zhao Wenchang's newly approved office is the innermost one on the second floor, with the largest window and the best lighting.
The office door was open, and she saw Zhao Wenchang cuddling with a woman.
She didn't recognize the woman. She had a head of fashionable curly hair and wore a lake-blue "Dacron" shirt, which made her skin look snow-white. In this drab office building, she was like a bright flower that had bloomed in the wrong place.
The key is the attitude of the two people.
Zhao Wenchang, tall and imposing, was bent over, his head almost touching the woman's shoulder, intently watching her outstretched hand. The woman, her head slightly tilted back, a smile playing on her lips, was speaking to him.
The posture, viewed from a distance, was so intimate it was almost jarring.
...
"How about it, Battalion Commander Zhao, doesn't it smell good? This is hand cream that I asked my relatives in Hong Kong to bring back. The snow cream sold in the department store in our county doesn't smell as good as this."
Zhao Wenchang seemed genuinely drawn in by the aroma, and moved closer to look at the whitish thing inside the plastic tube.
"It smells really good, like flowers. What's the point of putting this on your hands?"
"Of course it works! It protects the skin! Look at my hands, they're so smooth and soft after using this."
Suddenly, Zhao Wenchang's mind flashed to his wife's delicate hands. Even in late autumn, her hands were white, though prone to cracking in winter.
If you use this, your hands will definitely be even prettier than Liu Lu's.
He instinctively reached out to grab it, wanting to test the texture of the hand cream, muttering to himself, "I'll get one for my Wanqiu too..."
"Hey, don't touch it!" Liu Lu quickly snatched the hand cream from her hand and glared at him reproachfully. "This stuff is precious! I don't even use much of it myself."
Just then, Liu Lu caught a glimpse of a figure standing at the door out of the corner of her eye. Her expression changed slightly, and she immediately nudged Zhao Wenchang with her elbow, lowering her voice and gesturing towards the door: "Hey, Commander Zhao, your wife is here."
After saying that, she smiled gracefully at Jiang Wanqiu at the door and greeted her, "Hello, sister-in-law." Then she walked out through the other door with light steps.
When Zhao Wenchang turned around and saw that it was Jiang Wanqiu, his eyes lit up instantly, and his face was full of undisguised joy. He strode over to her and reached out to take the lunchbox from her hand.
"Honey, what brings you here? And you even brought me food? I was just saying I was tired of the cafeteria food."
Jiang Wanqiu couldn't suppress the inexplicable feeling of suffocation in her heart.
She didn't hand him the lunchbox. Instead, she looked up at him calmly and asked softly:
"Who was that woman just now? What were you two doing, getting so close together?"
Zhao Wenchang's smile froze.
He originally planned to go back to the department store in the county town to see if they had this hand cream, and buy a box to surprise his wife.
If I tell you now, the surprise will be gone.
He quickly thought of a way to gloss over the matter, and with a wave of his hand, he said nonchalantly, "Hey, it's nothing, just a new colleague, Liu Lu, we were just chatting about work."
After saying that, fearing that Jiang Wanqiu would ask more questions, he quickly took the lunchbox from her hand and opened the lid.
"Wow! It smells so good! Is it pork and cabbage filling? My wife knows me best!"
The steaming aroma of dumplings instantly wafted out of the lunchbox, domineeringly filling the entire office.
Several colleagues who were peeking out from the nearby desks came over after smelling the aroma, craning their necks to look inside.
Zhao Wenchang immediately acted like a protective mother hen, clutching the lunchbox to his chest and glaring at the man as he shooed him out.
"What are you looking at! Get back to work! My wife made these dumplings with love for me, there's none for you!"
He shouted with a self-righteous air, his face full of smugness and boastfulness.
The young cadres, instead of being angry when Zhao Wenchang drove them away, started to jeer and make a fuss.
"Oh dear, Commander Zhao is hoarding his food!"
"We wouldn't dare to steal it, we're just here to smell it and share in your good fortune!"
"That's right, that's right! Commander Zhao is so lucky to have married such a skillful and capable wife. She even brings us dumplings. We bachelors are so envious!"
Jiang Wanqiu laughed along, but the scene from just now kept replaying in her mind.
It was late at night, and the moonlight outside the window spilled onto the ground like water.
Zhao Wenchang pulled her into his arms from behind. He smelled of fresh soap, and his strong, warm chest pressed against her back, a familiar comfort that put her at ease.
But that's all there is to it.
Normally, he would have already become restless, his hands would have wandered over her, and his warm breath would have been on her ear, carrying a hint of eagerness and longing.
But right now, he's really just holding her.
Even the hand resting on her lower abdomen was unusually still, as if afraid of disturbing the little one inside her.
She stared wide-eyed at the dappled shadows on the wall, wide awake.
Jiang Wanqiu turned over to face him. In the darkness, she could clearly see the contours of his strong jaw.
She didn't know what she was thinking; her mind was a mess. After a long time, she finally closed her eyes in a daze.
The next morning, she was awakened by a "ping-pong" sound coming from the kitchen.
Jiang Wanqiu rubbed her eyes and got up. As soon as she stepped outside, she smelled the aroma of millet porridge. Zhao Wenchang was shirtless, wearing an apron, busy at the stove, where steaming white buns were rising from the pot.
This is his habit; as long as he's not on a mission, he makes breakfast for the family.
Jiang Wanqiu's heart softened. She stepped forward, gently wrapped her arms around his strong waist from behind, pressed her cheek against his broad, warm back, and rubbed against him affectionately.
"Awake?" Zhao Wenchang's body stiffened only for a moment before he continued with his work. "Go wash up quickly, the porridge will be ready soon."
Jiang Wanqiu didn't want to let go, so she hugged him even tighter and whispered sweetly, "Let's hug a little longer..."
Zhao Wenchang stopped what he was doing.
He pulled Jiang Wanqiu out of the kitchen and gently put his arm around her waist: "Why are you being so clingy today?"
As he spoke, his eyes caught sight of the old-fashioned pendulum clock hanging on the wall, and his brows immediately furrowed.
"Oh dear, it's getting late! I have an important meeting this morning, I need to hurry!"
He reacted instantly, as if his backside was on fire, quickly ladling out the porridge and placing it on the table for Jiang Wanqiu, saying:
"You eat first, I'm leaving!"
Jiang Wanqiu looked at the closed door with a complicated expression.
At noon, Li Yanhong's loud voice came from the courtyard.
"Late Autumn! Are you home?"
"Sister-in-law, come in and sit down." Jiang Wanqiu heard the voice from inside the house and went out to greet her.
As soon as Li Yanhong entered the room, her eyes swept over Jiang Wanqiu's face like searchlights, and she exclaimed loudly, "Oh my sister, why do you look so pale? You look like a wilted eggplant, didn't you sleep well?"
As she spoke, her gaze fell on Jiang Wanqiu's slightly protruding belly, circling her twice and clicking her tongue in amazement.
"Look at your belly, it's a bit pointed, but you're walking so nimbly. Listen to your sister-in-law, it's probably a boy! You'll definitely give your Zhao family a big, healthy son!"
Jiang Wanqiu was amused by her rambling manner, but after laughing, she let out a long sigh.
She couldn't hold back any longer. She grabbed Li Yanhong's hand and poured out her grievances: "Sister-in-law, don't laugh at me. I'm pregnant, and Wenchang got a promotion. He's so busy every day that I can hardly see him. I feel... I feel that he's become much colder towards me."
Upon hearing this, Li Yanhong immediately showed an "I understand" expression and pulled her to sit down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed).
"Hey! I didn't think it was a big deal! Men are all the same!" she said with the air of someone who'd been through it all. "Especially at your Wenchang's age, he's at the peak of his fiery temper. As your belly grows bigger every day, he doesn't dare to do anything reckless, because he's worried about you and the baby in your belly. But if you only let the horse run without feeding it, it won't feel good in the long run!"
Li Yanhong became more and more excited as she spoke, and the things she said were shockingly bold:
“If you feel he’s become distant, then listen to your sister-in-law’s advice. Before, he was always the one to take the initiative in bed. But now, during this special time, you need to take the initiative! Men are like that; if you make him feel comfortable and he thinks about you all the time, he’ll be completely captivated. He won’t even bother to look at those other women!”
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