“Auntie, I’m not saying this to be mean, but it depends on who you live with. My wife is capable, so naturally I have to take care of her logistical support.”
The bucket fell into the well with a thud. Ji Yanchen slowly turned the well pulley, his tone as calm as if he were discussing the weather, his hands moving without stopping.
The women burst into laughter, but their laughter soon stopped after Ji Yanchen added something.
"But then again, the uncles in your families are already lucky if they can do three things a year. As for me and Xixi, we are just two young people, so we can't compare to you hardworking aunts."
Ji Yanchen was not annoyed at all; instead, he added his own explanation earnestly.
These words stirred up a hornet's nest.
Aunt Zhang's face immediately turned red; her husband was a notorious lazybones.
"You're so shameless..."
Someone muttered to themselves.
Ji Yanchen carried the two full buckets of water back home, his heart filled with sweetness.
cheeky?
He wished the whole village would know that he belonged to Xixi, that Xixi's name was etched on his very hair and toes.
Although the new house was simple, Zi Xi decorated it warmly and thoughtfully.
Wild chrysanthemums on the windowsill were covered with morning dew, and the floral bed sheet on the earthen bed was washed white but clean and flat. Even the enamel washbasins were placed in pairs on the wooden shelf, one painted with magpies and the other with red plum blossoms.
The flames crackled in the stove as Ji Yanchen squatted down to add firewood, his gaze fixed on Zi Xi's back.
Today she wore a light purple blouse, her slender waist cinched with a coarse cloth apron, and she was tiptoeing to reach the earthenware pot on top of the cupboard. A section of her snow-white wrist peeked out from the cuff, dazzling him.
"What are you thinking, you idiot?"
Zi Xi suddenly turned around and met his staring gaze.
"I got back too late... I'll cook."
Ji Yanchen hurriedly got up, the spatula clattering against the stove. As he took the spatula, his fingertips brushed against her wrist, and they both trembled at the same time.
Zi Xi curled her lips into a smile, but his neck was burning up.
Dinner was a simple bowl of scallion noodles, but Ji Yanchen ate it with exceptional relish.
The fried egg was golden in the bowl. He was about to pick it up for Zixi when his hand was gently tapped by chopsticks.
"Eat by yourself. You're so thin, eat more. I like things that feel healthy to the touch."
Zi Xi glared at him.
Ji Yanchen obediently lowered his head and ate his rice, but in his heart he was planning to go to the black market tomorrow.
The meat ration coupons I saw last time cost three yuan a pound; I need to take that bundle of hides from the warehouse and exchange them for them.
Xi Xi's chin has become more pointed recently.
As night deepened, Ji Yanchen took out a small notebook and, by the light of the oil lamp, jotted down the trivial matters he needed to do the next day: repairing the hinges of the courtyard gate, asking Liu the carpenter for some wood shavings to start a fire, exchanging kerosene at the commune, and writing the last line with particular solemnity: buy face cream for Xixi.
He heard a few barks from outside the window, and quietly climbed onto the kang (a heated brick bed).
Zi Xi was already asleep, her eyelashes casting a faint shadow under her eyes.
Ji Yanchen carefully tucked the blanket around her, then suddenly remembered the gossip by the well that morning.
Ji Yanchen lay on the kang (a heated brick bed) listening to Zi Xi's even breathing beside him, and gently took her hand in his.
He knew that the villagers were gossiping behind his back, saying that he had married into a wealthy family and that Lin, the educated youth, had been blind.
But so what?
Xi Xi said that they would go to the provincial capital together once the college entrance examination was reinstated.
Thinking of this, Ji Yanchen gripped Zixi's hand even tighter.
Ji Yanchen's hand suddenly stopped. He turned to the side, gazing at Zi Xi's sleeping face in the moonlight, his Adam's apple bobbing softly: "Will you regret it?"
The sound was as soft as a feather falling.
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