Chapter 55, Second Update

Lin Xuexia woke Fu Wei up. As he opened his eyes, a splitting headache instantly assaulted him. Yesterday, his mood had been as light as walking on clouds, but today felt like sailing through a raging sea; his head was spinning severely.

He shook his head, but Lin Xuexia quickly stopped him, saying, "Go lie down on the bed quickly."

Lin Xuexia guessed that due to his consecutive hours on long-distance transport, the huge emotional fluctuations of yesterday, the stark temperature difference between the two places, and sleeping on a makeshift floor mat last night, he had caught a chill in the middle of the night, resulting in a fever.

Supporting Fu Wei to the master bedroom bed and tucking him under the covers, Lin Xuexia fetched a thermometer for him to check his temperature first, then went to fetch a basin of warm water to wipe down his body.

Fu Wei had a fever of thirty-eight degrees Celsius, which was not too severe. Lin Xuexia cooked him a bowl of plain noodle soup, fed him antipyretic medicine, and instructed him to lie in bed and rest properly.

Upon learning that he had a fever, Fu Wei did not care in the least. Whenever he fell ill in the past, he would simply tough it out, and he would recover in a day or two without even needing medicine. From childhood to adulthood, he had rarely stepped foot into a hospital and possessed a remarkably robust physique.

Yet Lin Xuexia insisted on taking meticulous care of him.

Lin Xuexia went out for a while in the morning to add quite a few pots, bowls, and ladles to the kitchen, and bought meat and fresh vegetables. At noon, she cooked him a lean meat and vegetable soup, feeding it to him one spoonful at a time.

Lin Xuexia fed him with such practiced ease that Fu Wei offered no refusal, pretending to be Sister Lin lying on the sickbed.

Leaning against the pillows, Fu Wei sighed, "Wife, you are really good at feeding people."

The food she brought to his lips was at just the right temperature, neither too much nor too little in portion, making it very comfortable to eat.

"I practiced," Lin Xuexia said calmly, thinking to herself that she had simply practiced on a fellow like him.

Fu Wei asked, "How did you practice?"

"I used to take care of my younger sisters whenever they fell ill."

After making Fu Wei eat his lunch and take his fever medicine, Lin Xuexia told him to lie down and rest. Fu Wei wrapped his arms around her right hand, affectionately rubbing his cheek against the back of her hand like a small puppy.

"Wife, when I was sick in the past, no one ever took care of me like this."

To Fu Wei, this feeling was so novel; even his own mother had never cared for him like this—at most, it had been a young soldier from the hygiene squad, and definitely nothing this meticulous and sweet.

He rubbed against Lin Xuexia's hand, the corners of his mouth curving upward secretly. A tingling sensation spread through his body, and this indescribable sweetness gave him an illusion.

Even though he had a fever and his mouth tasted bitter, he felt exceptionally sweet inside.

Lin Xuexia stroked his handsome face and said, "We are husband and wife now. Whenever you fall ill in the future, I will take care of you; and when I fall ill, you must take care of me too."

Fu Wei smiled sweetly and replied, "Of course, I promise."

Having taken his fever medicine, the medication kicked in, and Fu Wei could not resist falling asleep again. Lin Xuexia tucked the blanket around him and sat at the head of the bed, unable to help herself from gazing intently for a moment at the sleeping face of the man before her.

Asleep, Fu Wei's handsome face shed all the aggressiveness he usually displayed, becoming immensely peaceful and serene.

His eyelids were very thin, and his eyelashes were dense and long like two small fans, which were now resting gently. The man's nose was high and straight, beneath which were thin, well-shaped lips with a pale pink hue.

Lin Xuexia could not resist lowering her head to kiss his lips, and a warm, happy sensation spread deep within her heart.

A smile unconsciously formed at the corners of her mouth. In truth, she rarely took the initiative to kiss Fu Wei's lips; most of the time, she kissed his chin and cheeks.

In the past, Fu Wei always liked to brazenly purse his lips and force her to kiss him right there, refusing to accept kisses anywhere else. But she would do the opposite, and when her stubborn streak flared up, she simply wouldn't let him have his way.

The two of them, whose combined ages were nearly seventy, would reach such a stalemate.

Smiling, Lin Xuexia pinched his handsome face and said softly, "This is your reward, get well soon."

Fu Wei took an afternoon nap and had a wonderful dream. In the dream, Lin Xuexia took meticulous care of him for a long time—wiping his body, feeding him porridge and rice, and peeling grapes to feed him whenever he wanted to eat them...

He was intoxicated by the dream and unwilling to wake. Rolling over with a smile on his lips, he subsequently realized it was only a dream, feeling a sense of loss and melancholy.

What was even more disappointing was—his fever had broken.

It hadn't even been a full day, and he was already cured?! Fu Wei's entire world was somewhat disordered. He was just better like that?!! Shaking his head, he genuinely felt neither pain nor itch.

"Fever is gone? That's great." Lin Xuexia was finally at ease.

Fu Wei went to take a hot shower and changed into clean, dry clothes, yet his body showed not the slightest trace of having been sick. He opened the door, went downstairs, and ran into Zhong Xiangdong on the second floor.

Zhong Xiangdong looked at him with a very strange expression and said, "Your sister-in-law said you had a fever and were sick, but you don't look sick at all to me?"

"Call her sister-in-law," Fu Wei said coldly.

Zhong Xiangdong reached out in an attempt to touch his forehead, but Fu Wei dodged him. Disdainfully, Zhong Xiangdong remarked, "You're not having a fever; I reckon you've been acting lovesick since yesterday."

Got married, big deal. So what if you got your marriage license? So what if you managed to trick your wife into your house?

Fu Wei said, "Get lost."

He had originally arranged for someone to come and connect the landline telephone today. The wires had already been pulled yesterday, but since it was delayed today, he planned to install it himself.

Once the landline was installed on the third floor, Lin Xuexia could send messages to his pager anytime while she was at home.

At this thought, Fu Wei felt deeply excited. Lin Xuexia told him to rest a bit before fussing over things, but Fu Wei could not wait.

It had to be installed so his wife could send him more pages.

"Old Wei, why are you so fired up?" Zhong Xiangdong looked at him with an envious yet suspicious gaze, stepped forward to hook arms around his shoulders, and asked in a curious whisper, "Brother, your wife didn't have a fever last night, but you did. Could it be that you're a bit weak?"

"I heard there are good things for sale at the small market over there."

Fu Wei gave him a shove and said contemptuously, "Your brother here doesn't need that."

After installing the household landline and making Lin Xuexia send several paging messages, Fu Wei was fully satisfied. "Wife, in a few days, you should buy a bp pager too."

Lin Xuexia nodded.

She had originally wanted to drop by her younger sister's place today, but having spent the whole day taking care of Fu Wei, it was getting late, so she decided to go tomorrow instead.

Fu Wei held her in his arms, telling her to rest well and promised that in two days they would go pick out a color television and a refrigerator together.

The next day, Fu Wei had someone drive her and Xue Lingjun to the street corner. Gao Chunyan, Zhao Huiru, and the others had already set up their stall. It was eight-thirty now, and quite a few people had come for breakfast.

Seeing Lin Xuexia, everyone was very happy. Knowing that she and Fu Wei had registered their marriage, they offered their congratulations.

Chen Miaorong went over the accounts of the past few days with her, handing over the money clearly. Chen Miaorong was meticulous by nature, having checked the accounts over and over again, and explained every single item clearly to Lin Xuexia.

Lin Xuexia did not brush this off with casual generosity. Even though she knew Chen Miaorong and the others would not secretly swallow the money, she still listened attentively to Chen Miaorong's accounting and asked clear questions about any confusing parts. She knew that such careful attention and listening was the true validation of Chen Miaorong's conscientious work.

Chen Miaorong had no financial burdens in her life; she simply wanted to find her own value through work.

Lin Xuexia praised, "Sister Chen, you are truly so responsible. Thanks to my sharp eyes, I found such a wonderful helper in you. You've really been a huge help to me!"

Flattered by her compliments, Chen Miaorong pressed her lips together. Although she didn't say much, the upward curve of her mouth could not be suppressed.

Lin Xuexia's praise and affirmation sounded like celestial music to her ears, leaving her intoxicated and unable to forget.

Lin Xuexia took all the small change to the bank and exchanged it for bills of larger denominations. She now had a total of over three thousand seven hundred yuan, of which two thousand was deposited in the bank and over a thousand remained in her hands.

When her savings reached five thousand, she would start looking for a location to open a store and decorate it.

Zhao Huiru and Zhang Yuqin were busy at the stall until past nine o'clock before Zhang Yuqin finally had a moment to speak a few words with her daughter.

Having arrived here for two days, Zhang Yuqin still could not speak smoothly and only focused on keeping her head down and working. Yesterday, when she went out to set up the stall with Gao Chunyan for the first time, she thought that as long as she didn't speak and honestly did the tasks at hand, it would be fine. She had always endured hardship without complaint, feared neither toil nor fatigue, and besides, she was working for her daughter—surely her daughter would not mistreat or bully her.

She wanted to work quietly and dully, but things turned out contrary to her wishes—that woman named Zhao Huiru refused to let her off the hook at all.

Not only did she refuse to let her go, but she also insisted on calling her "sister." Zhao Huiru was slightly older than her, so she called her "Sister Zhang" and "Sister Yuqin," while she herself was called "Sister Zhao" or "Sister Huiru."

Hearing these names called out made her blush with embarrassment. The two of them were almost half a century old, yet here they were addressing each other as older and younger sisters; Zhang Yuqin found it exceptionally uncomfortable.

Back in the village, people were simply referred to by terms like "so-and-so's wife" or "the one from such-and-such household." They rarely addressed each other like young girls, and Zhang Yuqin was utterly unaccustomed to it.

"Is Boss Lin your biological daughter? Good sister, you really know how to raise a daughter... You're so blessed..."

"Your daughter's culinary skills are so good, how are yours?"

...

Zhao Huiru was overjoyed to meet Zhang Yuqin. Compared to Chen Miaorong, Zhang Yuqin had the least generational and social gap with her. What was more, one of them had lost her husband while the other was divorced; neither had a man, so they simply stopped talking about men. Zhao Huiru chattered away with countless topics to discuss with Zhang Yuqin.

Zhao Huiru had followed her son into the city a few years ago, while Zhang Yuqin had followed her daughter into the city this year. The two of them were truly in a senior-junior relationship, and they had plenty of common topics to discuss, such as the various types of awe and discomfort upon first entering the city.

Zhang Yuqin originally didn't want to chat with her, but she was stubbornly roped into the conversation.

"Sister Zhao, were you also scared when you first got off the train?"

Zhao Huiru replied, "You bet I was. My hometown is even farther than yours. When I got off the train, both my feet were shaking and I couldn't stand steady, just like shaking from malaria."

"When I first came, I made so many jokes out of myself, and they laughed at me hard..."

Zhao Huiru was very approachable. Even as reticent as Zhang Yuqin was, after a whole day, she was calling her "Sister Zhao" aloud, looking up to her with deep reverence and treating her as an "experienced senior," thoroughly satisfying Zhao Huiru's ambition of "fondness for playing the mentor."

Chen Miaorong was more educated and sophisticated than her, and could even write and keep accounts. In front of Chen Miaorong, Zhao Huiru simply couldn't find the thrill of being a senior. But Zhang Yuqin was different—having just come out of the village, Zhang Yuqin knew nothing at all, making her Sister Yuqin's guide!

With extraordinary enthusiasm, Zhao Huiru introduced Zhang Yuqin to the circle of sisters she had made in the city. Yesterday, she had even dragged her along to stroll through the night market with the older sisters and pick out several sets of clothes.

After being bought, washed, and dried yesterday, what she wore on her body today was supposedly a "sister outfit."

Looking at the clothes on Zhang Yuqin, Lin Xuexia almost didn't recognize her. "Mom, you're adapting pretty well, aren't you?"

"...Pretty, pretty well," Zhang Yuqin stammered, turning red when she saw her daughter staring at her clothes. "Are the clothes I'm wearing inappropriate?"

She was wearing a solid purple pullover fleece sweater, and beside her, Zhao Huiru was wearing an identical red pullover sweater. Both of them had tied a blue-based floral silk scarf around their collars.

In the past, Zhang Yuqin dressed very old-fashionedly in the village. Her eldest daughter, Lin Xuexia, had just turned twenty, and she herself wasn't even forty years old. Yet at barely thirty-something, she was dressed like an old woman in the village, wearing dowdy outfits with split, yellowish hair ends.

Yesterday, Zhao Huiru's sister group had accompanied her to get a haircut, transforming her look into a face-framing, stylish short cut. Now, with the silk scarf tied on, her entire temperament and appearance were completely transformed.

It was said that this style of clothing came in seven colors of the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple, and their sister group had each bought one.

Zhao Huiru said carelessly, "Your mom is the youngest and the newcomer, so she was assigned purple. It looks really good on her."

Lin Xuexia fell silent: "..."

Her mom had joined the Seven-Color Sister Group.