Faced with the hot water bottle thrown at him, Zhou Jiuzhen didn't dodge. Instead, he grabbed the hot water bottle and moved closer, like a puppy that had been hit.
He leaned his head closer to her hand, his voice so aggrieved it could drip water: "I know, it's my fault. Can I not ask him to take over? I'll marry you."
He gripped Ling Huanwu's wrist, not with much force, but very tightly, his fingertips rubbing against her skin until it burned. "We'll get our marriage certificate tomorrow. I've prepared all the dowry—cloth coupons, grain coupons, and my savings—it's all for you. Don't marry him, okay?"
Lin Xiaoqin, who was next to her, finally understood and poked her head out from under the covers, staring in disbelief: "Comrade Xiaozi, you, you and the regimental commander... by the pond?"
Ling Huanwu's face instantly flushed red. She tried to pull her hand away, but Zhou Jiuzhen gripped it even tighter.
The man lowered his face even further, almost touching the back of her hand, his voice slurred and pleading, "If you think my rank is too low, I'll work harder and try to get promoted next year... no, I'll go write the application right now..."
"Zhou Jiuzhen!" Ling Huanwu was both angry and amused. "Get down from the window! Who told you I was going to marry him? I was just trying to keep him in check so you wouldn't be implicated."
Zhou Jiuzhen looked up abruptly, his eyes shining like torches suddenly lit: "Really?"
"Would a fake one allow you to climb in through the window?"
Zhou Jiuzhen was stunned for a moment, seemingly not having reacted yet. After a few seconds, he slowly let go of her hand, his ears turning red little by little.
But then, as if remembering something, he grabbed her hand again, gripped the windowsill tightly with both hands, squatted down, rested his chin on the table, and stared at her expectantly, looking exactly like a large dog waiting to be petted: "Comrade Ling, will you agree to marry me? Otherwise, I'll just squat here tonight."
Lin Xiaoqin was trying so hard not to laugh that her shoulders were shaking. Ling Huanwu was both angry and heartbroken. Looking at his pitiful look in the moonlight, her heart felt a pang of tenderness and sorrow.
"You should go out through the main gate," Ling Huanwu sighed, her voice softening. "What if you fall?"
Zhou Jiuzhen's eyes lit up, and he immediately followed her words, wriggling his whole body into the house, his head almost sticking out in front of her eyes, like a well-behaved puppy that had received its owner's permission.
Only the lingering redness in her eyes still quietly spoke of the panic she had just experienced.
Lin Xiaoqin nervously clutched the blanket, only her eyes showing. "Should I go to sleep right now and make a quiet little pond? You can do whatever you want?"
Zhou Jiuzhen's face turned bright red, and he instantly slid out of the window like an eel...
*
The next day.
Ling Huanwu took her toothbrush to the sink to brush her teeth, but as soon as she stepped outside, a shadow blocked her way.
She walked to the left, and he walked to the left too.
She walked to the right, and he walked to the right too.
Ling Huanwu looked up angrily, but her expression turned unnatural when she saw Zhao Jingxiang. "Zhao Zhiqing, what are you doing?"
Zhao Jingxiang, thinking he was showing off, smoothed his slicked-back hair and said with a wicked smile, "Comrade Ling, since we'll be family sooner or later, I know a purchasing agent from a foreign trade company on the coast of China. Would you like me to introduce you?"
Ling Huanwu's eyes lit up, and she looked up at him, "You know this person?"
After asking her the question, she realized that her question was unnecessary.
Not to mention that, given his father's status, he would naturally have access to these people.
Even with his previous position as a department store leader, knowing these people was naturally a given.
"Of course, as you know, only a foreign trade company has the capability to absorb such a large quantity of clams from your farm in one go."
Zhao Jingxiang objectively analyzed the situation at the farm, and noticing Ling Huanwu's thoughtful expression, he subtly approached her, saying, "As long as you agree to marry me, I'll immediately introduce you to this purchasing agent..."
Ling Huanwu snapped back to her senses and immediately took a step back. "Never mind then. Even if these clams are given to the villagers for free, I won't use my marriage to owe Mr. Zhao a favor."
She raised an eyebrow and smiled brightly, "Besides, I have plenty of money!"
After saying those few words, Zhao Jingxiang's face, which had been full of confidence, gradually turned ashen.
After saying this domineeringly, Ling Huanwu didn't look at him again and turned to walk towards the sink.
Zhao Jingxiang turned around with a cold face and bumped right into Zhou Jiuzhen, who appeared from around the corner.
Zhou Jiuzhen, holding the soy milk and fried dough sticks he had just bought, smiled with his eyes crinkling, "Didn't Zhao Zhiqing say that women all like money? How come he's proven wrong this time?"
"That's right. Who told Huanhuan to be no ordinary person? She's a capitalist herself. Your money isn't even worth a second to her."
Zhao Jingxiang, who had never known what anger felt like before, was truly angry this time. His phoenix eyes, which were the same size as Zhou Jiuzhen's, glared wide open. "That's still better than you. You're just a peasant, do you think you can live off a woman?"
"It's so nice to be a kept man! Even if you want some, Huanhuan wouldn't let you have any!"
Zhou Jiuzhen took a bite of the crunchy fried dough stick and smiled proudly, which made Zhao Jingxiang so angry that his mouth twisted in anger.
Qiao Hui, who happened to be going out, witnessed this scene and was utterly stunned.
Zhou Jiuzhen looked so smug that he was practically sticking his tongue out at Zhao Jingxiang's face and making a "lè lè lè lè" sound.
*
Eight o'clock in the morning.
Ling Huanwu, dressed in a smart white shirt and black trousers, led Zhou Jiuzhen and his group to the local aquatic product import and export company, which was under the unified management of the national foreign trade department.
Zhou Jiuzhen, dressed in a sharp suit, held a sample of clams in one hand and a file folder in the other, looking somewhat uneasy. "Huanhuan, I...I'm afraid I can't do it!"
Ling Huanwu sighed helplessly, then stood on tiptoe and pinched Zhou Jiuzhen's cheeks with both hands. "You're something else! You're Zhou Jiuzhen, the sharpshooter, the hope of the entire island, our great hero. There's nothing in this world that you, Zhou Jiuzhen, can't do!"
As tall hats were placed on his head, Zhou Jiuzhen, who was already standing upright, stood even straighter, as if afraid that the tall hats on his head would fall off.
Just when Ling Huanwu thought she had won him over with her mental hypnosis, Zhou Jiuzhen's shoulders suddenly slumped, as if all his strength had been drained. "I still can't do it. I'm bad with words and can't do business. Comrade Ling, can you give me some encouragement and courage?"
At this point, Ling Huanwu was getting a little impatient.
They arrived early in the morning, but because their identities made it impossible for them to enter such a large, highly confidential company, they placed all their hopes on Zhou Jiuzhen, who held a military rank.
To her surprise, even after she encouraged him for half an hour, he still wouldn't start, like a broken-down tractor.
He's a regimental commander, and he's not afraid of going to the battlefield, let alone something as trivial as this.
Ling Huanwu looked at him knowingly and asked him directly, "So, Commander Zhou, how exactly do you want me to cheer you on?"
Zhou Jiuzhen's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and he straightened his shoulders again, pretending to be deep in thought, resting his chin on his hand. "I'm not good with words, but if Comrade Xiao Ling gives me a little physical encouragement, I might immediately become as energetic as if I've been injected with chicken blood..."
"How about I give you a kiss?"
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