At home, Wang Guixiang was also struggling internally. She didn't know how to treat Zhou Zhengye. Should she continue to be assertive towards him or give in?
Wang Guixiang recalled her mother's words before she came to Qianyuan County. After all, she was a woman, and her future depended on her husband and children. Her mother told her to be gentle with Zhou Zhengye and to get pregnant as soon as possible, so that she could at least keep Zhou Zhengye in check and not let other women take advantage of the situation.
Zhou Zhengye slept in a separate room from her last night. If she doesn't give in to Zhou Zhengye, their relationship won't improve, and they can forget about having a child.
Wang Guixiang gritted her teeth and decided to first improve her relationship with Zhou Zhengye and get pregnant as soon as possible. Only with a child would their relationship be more stable.
Wang Guixiang looked at the food in her house and found that she only had some cornmeal and nothing else. She immediately went out to buy something.
As she walked down the street, she discovered that Qianyuan County was truly dilapidated, with run-down bungalows everywhere and hardly any multi-story buildings. It was more like a small town than a county seat.
She inquired about the location of the grain store; several state-owned stores were clustered together, making it easy to find. Upon arriving at the grain store, Wang Guixiang discovered that it was late in the month and there was no grain for sale. She also found very little edible food at the department store and grocery store.
Only then did Wang Guixiang truly realize that Qianyuan County was really poor and backward, with very difficult conditions. It lacked even some of the necessities it should have, and was simply incomparable to Kyoto.
She bought some daily necessities at the department store and some food at the grocery store. Although she was extremely disgusted with what she bought, there was nothing she could do; that was all she could get there. Fortunately, she did manage to buy some eggs, but only a few.
She realized she couldn't go on living like this. Once again, she began to waver about whether she should stay in Qianyuan County.
She couldn't continue living apart from Zhou Zhengye. But if Zhou Zhengye stayed in Qianyuan County, was she also destined to stay in this wretched place forever? Staying in such a place was pure torture for her. She had to find a way to get Zhou Zhengye back to the capital.
Wang Guixiang's mind was in turmoil. But thinking about dinner, she had no choice but to go to the only state-run restaurant in Qianyuan County again. She bought some steamed buns and mantou, preparing dinner for tonight and breakfast for tomorrow, spending a lot of money and food coupons.
She was exhausted from carrying a bunch of things home and lay in bed for a long time. When had she ever suffered like this?
Winter days are short, and it was already dark when Zhou Zhengye got home from work. He opened the door and entered the house, immediately smelling a delicious aroma – the smell of food. He saw Wang Guixiang carrying food to the table.
When Wang Guixiang saw Zhou Zhengye return, she said, "Zhengye, you're back! I bought steamed buns and made egg drop soup. Come and eat with us!"
Zhou Zhengye placed the lunchbox he was carrying on the table and said, "I've already eaten in the cafeteria, so I won't eat anymore. I also bought you dinner. But since you have steamed buns to eat, you probably won't want to eat the food I brought back. You eat first, and we can talk after you're done."
Wang Guixiang felt resentful when she heard that Zhou Zhengye had finished eating, but there was nothing she could do, since he didn't know she had bought steamed buns.
Wang Guixiang's stomach was already growling with hunger, so she sat down to eat without saying anything more. As she ate the steamed buns from the state-run restaurant, she felt that the taste was quite different from those in Beijing. Sure enough, this was a small place; they couldn't even make a decent steamed bun.
Wang Guixiang was eating steamed buns and drinking egg drop soup. She looked up and saw the lunchbox Zhou Zhengye had left on the table. She thought that Zhou Zhengye was still thinking of her and had brought her dinner back because he was afraid she would go hungry.
She took the lunchbox, opened it, and saw two steamed cornbread buns inside, with stewed cabbage underneath that looked just like boiled cabbage.
She had no appetite at all when she saw the food. The thought that she might have to eat these things in the future made her unable to even eat the steamed buns.
She drank a bowl of egg drop soup and then cleared away the dishes. Zhou Zhengye had just said he wanted to talk to her, but she didn't know what they wanted to talk about.
Zhou Zhengye listened to the sounds coming from the living room from his bedroom. Knowing that Wang Guixiang had finished eating, he came out of his bedroom and sat down in a chair in front of the dining table.
He looked at Wang Guixiang, who was coming out of the kitchen, and said, "Sit down, let's talk."
Wang Guixiang obediently sat down at the other end of the dining table.
Zhou Zhengye looked at the somewhat familiar stranger in front of him. Calling him a stranger wouldn't be an exaggeration. He and Wang Guixiang hadn't spent much time together, didn't know each other well, and hadn't even spoken much.
But they are husband and wife in name only, which is undeniably a tragedy.
Zhou Zhengye said, "Now that you've come to Qianyuan County, you should have seen how backward it is and how difficult the conditions are. It can't compare to what you had in the capital."
However, since you're here, you'll have to adapt to the environment. My income is just my salary; I don't have any extra income. So, with my income, I can't afford for you to eat at state-run restaurants every day.
So from now on, let's try to cook at home as much as possible. If you can't cook, you can eat with me in the cafeteria.
Wang Guixiang frowned and said, "Is this the kind of food you brought back today?"
Zhou Zhengye said, "This is the kind of food everyone eats."
Wang Guixiang said, "How can we eat this? The cornbread is coarse and hard, and the vegetables are just boiled in water."
Zhou Zhengye retorted, "If others can eat it, why can't you? Your thinking is dangerous; it's hedonism."
Although Wang Guixiang didn't care about the situation, she knew that Zhou Zhengye's evaluation of her was very serious.
Unable to contain her anger, she suddenly stood up and said, "How can you say that? What's wrong with wanting to eat better? You're my husband, shouldn't you support me?"
Zhou Zhengye said with a stern face, "I should support you financially, but if I can't support you in living a life of enjoyment, I won't support you. Besides, you are a normal adult, and you should work instead of being idle and unproductive all day."
Wang Guixiang never imagined that this was how Zhou Zhengye perceived her. This was the man she had always wanted to marry. She felt extremely sad, angry, and somewhat regretful.
She originally came from a good family and could have found a husband who would dote on her, but she married a man she couldn't control because of a moment of infatuation.
She also realized that this man had no feelings for her whatsoever. That's why he showed her no tolerance and was unwilling to tolerate her.
Wang Guixiang was also a proud and arrogant person, and she was unwilling to admit defeat and be suppressed by Zhou Zhengye. Since he had no marital affection for her, she no longer needed to consider him. In any case, she would absolutely not compromise with Zhou Zhengye.
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