Su Xueli denied it: "Where did I laugh?"
"I'm not blind, you're grinning from ear to ear, how could I not see you!"
"That's your hallucination!"
"Don't give me that. Try laughing again!"
"What are you doing, you brat, yelling like that!" Cao Maizi pushed the door open and came in.
The two stopped abruptly.
Cao Maizi came over and questioned her son: "Why are you yelling at my Xue Li? What did Xue Li do to you!"
Su Xueli lowered her head and smiled with her lips pursed.
Wei Mingshen waved his hand at his mother, "Mother, this is none of your business, go to sleep."
Cao Maizi wouldn't allow her son to bully such a good daughter-in-law, and said relentlessly, "Shenzi, let me make this clear: if you dare to bully Xue Li, neither Dad nor I will forgive you!"
Wei Mingshen raised his hands in surrender, "Your Majesty, I was wrong. I shouldn't have spoken loudly to your daughter-in-law. Slap me once, or two if one isn't enough."
Su Xueli spoke up, "Mother, Mingshen and I were just joking. My sister is going on a blind date tomorrow, and I need to tidy up the house. You should go to bed early."
Cao Maizi was relieved after hearing her daughter-in-law's words. Before leaving, she pointed at Wei Mingshen's head and instructed Su Xueli, "If he dares to treat you badly in the slightest, just call me, and I'll beat him to death!"
Wei Mingshen looked at her retreating figure and said, "You really are my mother."
Su Xueli stopped laughing and started talking about serious matters: "Let's go to the bathhouse in town tomorrow and take a bath. It's almost Chinese New Year."
Wei Mingshen said, "That's what I was thinking too, but I haven't had a chance to tell you yet. The bathhouse was just opened by my comrade-in-arms this year, and he even gave me a few tickets."
He added, "We're the best of friends."
The town only opened a bathhouse this year. But people in the countryside aren't particular about bathing; some don't even take a bath once a winter, so there's not much profit in running a bathhouse.
Moreover, it requires investment, so it hasn't happened yet. Even in the dead of winter, the cleanest person can only boil a large pot of water at home, scoop it into a large wooden basin, and light a fire next to it.
Su Xueli, a reborn person, knew that Wei Mingshen, her comrade-in-arms who ran a bathhouse, would later become very successful, gradually expanding his business and eventually opening several bath centers, becoming extremely wealthy.
She deliberately asked, "Is that bathhouse owned by your comrade-in-arms? Where is he from? He has a good eye for business; he'll make a fortune running the bathhouse."
Wei Mingshen didn't pay attention to her last sentence, and only said, "He's from Shaozhuang on the west side of the town, his name is Shao Jiang. We retired from the army the same year and often hung out together. His grandfather had just passed away when we got married, so he couldn't come, and that's why you've never met."
He's very daring; he opened this bathhouse with a loan, and of course, some of his parents' savings.
Su Xueli exclaimed in surprise, "Great job! You dared to be the first to try something new."
Then, casually, she asked, "Is he married?"
Wei Mingshen laughed, "Just because he opened this bathhouse, his fiancée of four years broke off their engagement with him, and because he had loans, she was afraid that being with him would drag her down."
Su Xueli shook her head: "What an unlucky woman! By the way, anyway, we might get divorced soon after the New Year. Don't introduce me to your comrade when we go to take a bath tomorrow, otherwise it will be awkward later."
Wei Mingshen fell silent.
“You’ll definitely marry Lin Meizhi in the future. They’re all in town, and we’ll run into each other all the time. I’d better not show my face between you two.”
She suddenly remembered, "Oh right, I still have your handkerchief. I can't keep it for the New Year."
Wei Mingshen scolded her: "Look at you, you promised to clean up the mess for me, but you've been dragging your feet and haven't done it yet. Isn't this dereliction of duty?"
Su Xueli raised an eyebrow. "You're getting too big for your britches, aren't you? Well, here's your handkerchief back. You can deal with it yourself."
"Just kidding, just kidding. I'm grateful to you, I wouldn't really blame you. How about this, I'll talk to Shao Jiang after I take a shower tomorrow, and you can take care of this. Tomorrow is the 29th of the lunar year, there won't be many people eating steamed buns at her shop, she shouldn't be too busy."
Su Xueli squinted at him and said, "Don't worry, this matter will be handled well tomorrow. After all, you helped me a lot today, otherwise I might have suffered some kind of retaliation from Lin Meizhi."
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