When the young couple arrived home, Yu Jingqiu had just returned from get off work, along with Li Yanzhong, who had come back from the north after completing the household registration transfer procedures.
The family was reunited, and everyone was very happy.
After preparing a table full of dishes, they also served wine.
This time, Feng Mingshu refused to drink alcohol at all; instead, she drank frozen pear juice with her younger siblings.
These frozen pears were brought from Li Yanzhong's hometown. The juice they made was very sweet, and Feng Mingshu couldn't help but drink more than half a cup.
Suddenly noticing a gaze on her face, Feng Mingshu turned her head and met Zhou Jinshan's gaze, and couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong?"
Zhou Jinshan's gaze fell from the girl's moist lips to the juice glass, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly: "Is it sweet?"
Feng Mingshu nodded: "It's sweet."
"Can I have a taste?" Zhou Jinshan asked again.
The two were seated next to each other, and the smell of alcohol that he exhaled lingered around Feng Mingshu's nose. It wasn't unpleasant, but it carried an indescribable ambiguity.
A blush crept onto Feng Mingshu's fair face, and she said somewhat anxiously, "I'll go get you a cup and pour you some juice."
She was about to get up when her hand was suddenly grabbed.
"No need to take it, I'll drink yours."
Zhou Jinshan grabbed her with one hand, took her juice glass with the other, tilted his head back and drank it down, then looked at her and said, "I've tasted it, it's sweet."
The man's eyes told her that his words were not innocent.
Feng Mingshu's face flushed. She tried to get up from the table, but Zhou Jinshan held her hand tightly.
Fearing that her mother and Uncle Li across the table would find out, she had no choice but to give up struggling. Unexpectedly, the man took advantage of the situation and put her hand on his leg.
Even through his pants, Feng Mingshu could feel the taut muscles on the man's thighs. Her face flushed, and she couldn't help but whisper, "What are you doing?"
Before Zhou Jinshan could respond, Yu Jingqiu looked over and asked with a smile, "Have you finished eating?"
"Mom, I'm done eating. I want to go play with the bullet tank my brother-in-law gave me," Li Mingyu, who was sitting on the same side, said first.
“Go ahead.” Yu Jingqiu nodded with a smile.
Li Mingyu immediately got up from the table with joy, ran to the living room, and picked up the new toy.
This is a tank model that Zhou Jinshan made using empty bullets, which Li Mingyu loves so much that he willingly calls him brother-in-law.
"So this is how you bribed my brother?" Feng Mingshu glared at Zhou Jinshan.
"Sister, brother-in-law also gave me a gift, it's a little house." Xiaomingxue got off the table and ran to the living room, bringing a little house to show her sister.
The little houses made of seashells are exquisite, like the craftsmanship of people living by the sea.
Feng Mingshu: "..."
"Mingshu, I left your gift in your bedroom. Would you like to see it?" Zhou Jinshan asked.
"Go ahead, your Uncle Li and I will clean up the table," Yu Jingqiu said with a smile.
"Mom, let me clean up. You and Uncle Li have both had a long day, go and rest." Feng Mingshu freed her hands and quickly got up to start clearing the table.
"Mom, I'll help Mingshu, you guys go and rest." Zhou Jinshan also got up, rolled up his sleeves. He worked quickly, and in the end, he became Feng Mingshu's assistant.
Yu Jingqiu and Li Yanzhong exchanged a glance, smiled, and left the table.
Fifteen minutes later, the dining table was cleared, the bowls and chopsticks were washed and placed down, the tabletop was wiped clean, and the dishcloth was washed.
As soon as Feng Mingshu dried her hands and turned around, she bumped into Zhou Jinshan's arms.
Just as she was worried that the same scene from last time would happen again, the man simply took her hand and said, "I've eaten a bit too much. Come with me for a walk."
"Okay." Feng Mingshu breathed a sigh of relief and nodded in agreement.
The Lantern Festival is approaching, and the chill of the night has lessened slightly. A bright moon hangs in the sky, casting a silvery frost.
Under the streetlights outside the villa, it remains the preferred spot for neighbors to chat and gossip. When they see the young couple coming out together, they all tease them.
And then there are the impatient ones, asking when they're going to have children.
Feng Mingshu immediately regretted coming out, but the man beside her remained calm, smiling as he said to the neighbors, "Children are a matter of fate; they will come when the time is right." He added, "Uncles and aunts, you continue chatting; let's go for a walk ahead."
"Go ahead, go ahead."
The neighbors naturally let them pass, but after walking for quite a while, Feng Mingshu could still feel the gazes behind him and hear the neighbors' laughter and teasing of the newlyweds.
"Aren't you used to it? Then let's go somewhere they can't see us."
Zhou Jinshan led her to the place where they had agreed to meet before their marriage, a deserted alley.
Once inside the alley, Zhou Jinshan didn't do anything special, but simply talked to her about the recent maritime training, avoiding any mention of classified information.
The most talked-about topic was the weather at sea. They described how after the rain, the sea was calm, the sky was azure, and it was unbelievably beautiful.
The trainees were tired of canned food and didn't want to eat seafood anymore. They wanted to eat something green, but the kitchen couldn't even find a bean sprout. Some clever ones took advantage of the break time to send a small boat down to collect seaweed, but they didn't manage to collect any seaweed and were scolded and made to write a self-criticism.
They were talking about interesting things, but Feng Mingshu could still sense the hardship and danger involved. She suddenly felt guilty and interrupted him, saying, "You must be tired after so many days at sea. Let's go back and get some sleep to recharge."
“Ming Shu,” Zhou Jinshan held her hand and looked down at her, “If you’re not ready, I’ll sleep in the guest room tonight.”
Zhou Jinshan's sudden words stunned Feng Mingshu. She opened her mouth, but ultimately remained silent.
The two returned home, and Zhou Jinshan went straight to the guest room on the first floor. When he opened the door, he found that Li Yanzhong was already there, and the bed was already made.
The old man and the young man met eyes, and Li Yanzhong smiled, wrinkles appearing at the corners of his eyes: "We'll be leaving in a few days, and since we have some free time tonight, let's have a good chat."
Zhou Jinshan naturally agreed.
Feng Mingshu went upstairs to the second floor, entered the bedroom, washed up, and went to bed but couldn't fall asleep. She sat up and noticed something extra on the dressing table.
It is a ship setting sail, carved from wood. The craftsmanship is not very good, and it is somewhat rough, but the surface is polished finely and there is no roughness to the touch.
Feng Mingshu picked it up and looked at it for a while. When he turned it over to the base, he found that the date was engraved on it, which was today.
She suddenly realized that this was the gift Zhou Jinshan had mentioned to her at the restaurant, and the rough craftsmanship clearly indicated that it couldn't have been bought from a store.
A strange emotion welled up in Feng Mingshu's heart. She put down the sailboat, put on her clothes, went downstairs to the guest room, and knocked on the door.
Inside the house, the father and son, who were sitting by the window drinking tea and chatting, stopped and looked at the door that had been knocked on.
“Go ahead, it must be Ming Shu knocking on the door,” Li Yanzhong said with a smile.
Zhou Jinshan stood up abruptly and walked towards the door.
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