Just as Li Chu was about to pull the girl to the side, he saw her sit up groggily again: "What time is it? Why aren't you asleep yet?" After saying that, she moved a little further inside.
After Li Chu took off his clothes and got into bed, the girl skillfully pulled his arm and snuggled into his arms, muttering that she wanted him to turn off the light and go to sleep.
Before he could even turn off the light, he saw the girl sit up again, quickly stripping herself naked, then snuggling into Li Chu's arms once more, lying on her side, hugging him tightly, with one leg casually draped over his stomach. Perhaps she was finally comfortable now, as she smacked her lips and then remained still.
Li Chu watched his wife struggle silently, without saying a word. When she finally stopped, he thought to himself, "This girl has learned from me now; she's gotten used to sleeping naked." When they first got married, getting her to sleep naked required Li Chu to coax her for ages every night, and he'd have to do it himself. Now, if you ask her to sleep in clothes, she feels uncomfortable.
With his wife's soft fragrance in his arms, Li Chu found it hard to fall asleep. He wanted to do something, but when he thought of his wife's tired expression earlier, he forcibly suppressed the little idea in his heart and started silently counting sheep in his mind.
Because they were going to visit Ding Qiunan's parents' home for the New Year, unusually, the girl got up on her own this morning without Li Chu waking her up.
Breakfast was pancakes made by Li Chu. After eating, the two of them took the gifts they had bought for the girl's family and set off. Li Chu rode his bicycle with Ding Qiunan on the back. He couldn't bear to let the girl ride by herself on such a long journey.
Because they were hosting guests today, Mr. and Mrs. Ding got up early to get busy. Before the New Year, Mr. Ding had specially bought pig's trotters and offal, which were already being boiled.
The courtyard was filled with the aroma of meat. Looking at the much more lavish meals on their tables than usual, the neighbors suddenly lost their appetite. A pang of envy rose in their hearts. "Sigh! That's what they call celebrating the New Year," they thought, "while we're just making do with everyday life."
He couldn't help but wonder, when did the Ding family's life start to get better and better?
Well, it seems to have started after their daughter found a boyfriend. At the time, everyone just thought that since his daughter had found a college student, Ding Qiunan had good taste. But after they got married, people realized that, putting aside whether he was a college student or not, he had indeed found a good son-in-law.
Just as winter was beginning, the son-in-law brought his father-in-law a new cotton-padded overcoat. It was delivered during working hours, and only a few women and elderly people in the courtyard who didn't work knew about it. When everyone came back from get off work, the whole courtyard was in an uproar. Good heavens, it was a cotton-padded overcoat, and a brand new one at that! Nobody had ever even seen one before, let alone worn it.
In addition, Li Chu would occasionally bring over canned fruit, canned meat, peanuts, melon seeds, and candy. It would be a lie to say that the neighbors in the courtyard weren't jealous. Especially those whose daughters had gotten married, they felt that their own sons-in-law were simply unbearable to look at.
Fortunately, Ding's mother was good at interpersonal relationships. She would often share the things that Li Chu brought with each family, so no one in the courtyard wentssip. On the contrary, they all praised Ding's parents for their daughter's good taste.
Ding Qiunan only learned about Li Chu's actions from her mother after she got home.
The young couple entered the house, and Ding's mother poured Li Chu a glass of water before pulling Ding Qiunan into the inner room.
As soon as she came in, Aunt Ding started nagging: "Look at you, you've been gone since that day when you came back to visit your parents' home. Do you think it's been that long since you came back?" Aunt Ding poked Ding Qiunan's forehead with her finger: "People say that men forget their mothers after they marry their wives, but in our family, you forgot your mother after you got married. You're not even as thoughtful as Xiao Chu."
"What happened to Li Chu?" Ding's mother selectively ignored the first half of her question. As soon as she finished asking, she saw a cotton-padded coat on the bed: "Hey, Mom, we bought a coat too? Where did the ration coupons come from?"
When Ding's mother heard her daughter ask this, she was clearly taken aback: "Nannan, you don't know?"
"What do I know?" Ding Qiunan felt that her mother was acting strangely today.
“This coat,” Aunt Ding said, pointing to the coat on the bed.
"What's wrong with the coat? I was asking where our family got the money to buy the coat. Li Chu bought me one too, look."
“This coat was sent by Li Chu. Didn’t you know?” Ding’s mother said, looking at the coat her daughter was wearing.
"Huh?" Ding Qiunan was very surprised and hurriedly asked, "When did he bring it back? How come I didn't know?"
Aunt Ding slapped her forehead and asked again, "Do you know how many times Li Chu has come to our house since you two got married?"
Ding Qiunan took her mother's hand and sat down on the edge of the bed: "Mom, tell me, what exactly happened? Li Chu even came back on his own later?"
Ding's mother counted on her fingers for Ding Qiunan: "Not counting the time you two came back for your wedding, Li Chu came back three more times by himself. The first time he came back, he brought a coat; the second time, he brought canned fruit and canned meat; the third time was before the New Year, when he brought melon seeds, peanuts, candy, and even cigarettes and alcohol for your father." After saying that, she looked at her daughter in disbelief: "You didn't know even once?"
Miss Ding sat there with her mouth agape for a long while before shaking her head and saying, "I don't know, he didn't say that."
"Oh, Li Chu, he's really thoughtful. My silly girl, you're so lucky! How did you end up with such a good man?"
Li Chu and Ding's father were chatting in the outer room. When Li Chu came in and saw his brother-in-law, he gave him a big red envelope with ten yuan. Ding Jianguo was afraid that his mother would confiscate it, so he had disappeared.
"Xiao Chu, I was at work the last few times you came. Your mom only told me after I got back. Come on over, but don't bring those things anymore. It's such a waste of money."
"Dad, I only took what we have at home. It's what Qiu Nan and I are giving to you both as a token of our filial piety. You and Mom, please eat and drink as you please, don't be stingy," Li Chu said with a smile.
Mr. Ding sighed, then smiled with some relief.
Li Chu and his father-in-law were chatting when Ding Qiunan ran out from the inner room, calling out, "Li Chu, Li Chu..."
"What's wrong? I'm right here."
Ding's mother followed Ding Qiunan out to prepare dinner, and also called Ding's father to help.
The two went into the small kitchen that was partitioned off next door, and Ding's mother told Ding's father what she had just said to her daughter in the inner room.
"You mean Nannan doesn't know anything about it?" Ding's father was also surprised after hearing this.
Ding's mother nodded: "I don't think Nan Nan was faking it; she probably really didn't know. You know, Xiao Chu..."
Mr. Ding was silent for a while, then sighed, "What a good child! Our daughter has good taste. It's a good thing we didn't force her to go on blind dates back then, and let her find someone on her own." Mrs. Ding nodded in deep agreement.
The young couple were inside. Ding Qiunan walked over to Li Chu, took his arm, seemed about to say something but then hesitated, saying only, "Never mind, it's okay. I'm going to help my mom. I'll ask my dad to come over, and you can talk to him." After saying that, she went to the kitchen.
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