nucmednet Chapter 113 It's only natural for me to serve you.
Chapter 113 It's only natural for me to serve you.
He scooped up a spoonful of well-cooked steamed egg custard, blew on it, and brought it to her lips.
Li Xianglian's face flushed, and that feeling of shame welled up again.
She's such a grown woman, yet she still acts like a baby who hasn't been weaned and needs to be fed.
"I...I'll eat by myself."
She tried to reach for the bowl, but as soon as she raised her arm, it ached so much that she couldn't muster any strength, and her hand trembled like a leaf.
Qin Rushan chuckled, his gaze sweeping over her collarbone, which was exposed outside the blanket and covered in red marks. His tone was teasing: "What are you showing off for? These past three days have worn you out, your hands are all weak, aren't they? Just stay put, it's only natural for me to serve you."
Li Xianglian blushed and had no choice but to open her mouth and take the spoonful of steamed egg custard in.
The smooth egg slid down my throat, leaving a warm feeling in my stomach.
Although he tormented her relentlessly on the kang (heated brick bed) for the past three days, he truly did not neglect her food.
She has eggs with every meal. Yesterday, I don't know where she got a roast chicken, so I tore off the tenderest part of the drumstick and fed it to her.
She had been a slave in the Zhao family for so many years, never even getting a hot bowl of soup, but now she was living a life where food was served to her.
Although... the price is that this old back is almost broken.
After feeding her a bowl of steamed egg custard, Qin Rushan wiped her mouth with a handkerchief, his actions both rough and tender.
He casually placed the bowl on the kang cabinet, not in a hurry to get up. His large hand then slipped under the quilt, gently kneading her soft waist.
"Hiss..." Li Xianglian gasped, the tingling sensation bringing tears to her eyes instantly.
"Does it hurt?" Qin Rushan lightened the pressure of his hands, turning it into a gentle massage. "Bear with it, I'll massage it until it's loosened up for you, otherwise you won't be able to get out of bed tomorrow."
Li Xianglian buried her face in the crook of his neck, listening to his steady heartbeat, and felt a sense of security she had never felt before.
Just then, a burst of shouting and cursing suddenly came from outside.
Even through the wall, the sounds coming from the Zhao family's courtyard could be heard clearly.
Aunt Zhao, with her raspy voice, was howling in a veiled and sarcastic tone.
"Shameless little whore! Doing that kind of dirty work in broad daylight with the door closed! Only a bitch in heat would bark like that!"
"Indecent and immoral! They're going to scrape three layers of soil off Xiahe Village!"
The insults were so harsh, every word seemed to pierce the very back of someone.
Li Xianglian stiffened for a moment, and her previously tender face instantly paled.
Qin Rushan stopped rubbing his lower back.
Qin Rushan frowned, a hint of ferocity flashing in his eyes.
"That old hag, I think she just doesn't want her mouth anymore."
He snorted coldly, lowered his head and kissed the top of the woman's head in his arms. "Wife, this place is too noisy, let's move."
Li Xianglian was stunned for a moment, then lifted her head from his embrace, her watery almond-shaped eyes filled with confusion: "Move away? Move where?"
"county seat."
Qin Rushan spoke decisively, as if he had planned it all along: "I'm leaving Xiahe Village and moving to the county town. That way I won't have to listen to these gossipy women talking nonsense every day; it's so annoying."
Li Xianglian's heart skipped a beat.
county seat?
That was a place she never even dared to dream of.
In her eyes, being able to go to the county town market was like celebrating the New Year, and being able to stay in the county town was a blessing only those who were paid by the government.
"Brother Shan, you...you must be joking, right?"
Li Xianglian bit her lower lip, feeling a little panicked. "We are peasants. How will we survive if we leave the land? If we go to the county town, we'll need money for food, drink, and even basic necessities. We'll have to buy even a single scallion."
Although she knew that Qin Rushan had some money.
She looked at the bankbook he gave her that day; it contained a full three thousand dollars. When she saw that number, she was so shocked she almost threw the bankbook away.
Three thousand yuan! That's an astronomical figure! Even if Old Zhao's family sold their house, they couldn't raise that much money.
But no matter how much money you have, it's dead money.
"Neither of us is employed, and we have no income."
The more Li Xianglian thought about it, the more uncertain she felt. That sense of crisis she had developed since childhood resurfaced. "Expenses in the county town are high. Three thousand yuan seems like a lot, but if it only goes out and doesn't come in, it will be gone in no time. It's like eating sesame pancakes; they look like a big stack, but they're gone in a few bites."
She paused, then grasped Qin Rushan's calloused hand with her small one. "I know you mean well and don't want me to suffer. But life has to be lived slowly and steadily. I'm not afraid of their scolding. As long as I'm with you, I'm not afraid of anything. We can stay in the village and save this money to spend slowly, or build a few big brick houses. That would be the only grand house in the whole village."
Looking at her meticulous and calculating housekeeper-like demeanor, Qin Rushan's heart melted completely, and he found it both amusing and endearing.
This silly woman truly has no idea how capable her man is.
"Do you take me for some incompetent good-for-nothing?"
Qin Rushan pinched the tip of her nose, laughing so hard his chest was shaking. "Who told you that going to the county town would be like sitting around eating our savings? Besides, with your appetite, I could feed you for ten lifetimes and still not make you poor."
As he spoke, he pulled a bunch of brass keys from under his pillow, waved them in front of Li Xianglian, and they made a crisp sound.
"Look what this is?"
Li Xianglian stared at the bunch of keys, blinking her eyes: "Keys?"
"This is our house key."
Qin Rushan shoved the key into her hand. The coolness of the metal against her palm made Li Xianglian's heart burn instantly.
"I had already prepared everything in the county town before we even got our marriage certificate."
Qin Rushan spoke casually, as if he were talking about buying a cabbage. "The location is on the street behind the county machinery factory. It's a detached house with three main rooms, two east wing rooms, and a pomegranate tree in the yard. It's much brighter than this dilapidated house."
"What?!"
Li Xianglian was completely shocked this time. She sat up abruptly, not even bothering to cover herself up when the blanket slipped down, revealing a patch of snowy white skin.
"You...you bought the yard?" Her voice was trembling. "Is it...behind the machine factory?"
She had heard of that area; it was the best location in the county town, inhabited by workers and cadres from large factories. She had heard that houses there were extremely valuable, and even money couldn't buy them.
"Where...where did you get so much money?"
Li Xianglian's voice trembled. The three thousand yuan in savings was already frightening enough. How could she still have three thousand left after buying a house?
Just how much wealth does this man have?
Looking at her utterly shocked expression, Qin Rushan's Adam's apple bobbed, and the suppressed anger in his eyes began to rise again.
He reached out and pulled the person back into his arms, his large hand soothing the smooth back.
"Don't worry about the money, and don't ask whether it's legitimate or not. Anyway, I didn't steal or rob; I earned it all by risking my life."
During his years in the military, his allowance remained largely unchanged.
After being discharged from the army, he didn't take the stable job. Instead, he took the demobilization pay and ran several long-distance freight trips with some comrades from the south.
That was a boom time; the bold got rich, the timid starved.
In his entire life, Qin Rushan has never been afraid of anything except not having a wife.
After several trips, their wealth had grown far beyond what ordinary people could imagine.
However, he couldn't flaunt his wealth. The villagers just thought of him as a good-for-nothing with no proper job. Who would have thought that he was the richest man in the surrounding area?
"I was thinking of taking you there later, but this shabby village is really an eyesore these past two days."
Qin Rushan played with her hair, his tone domineering, "Those gossipy women, and that mess the Zhao family made, stay away from me and keep quiet. My woman is here to enjoy life, not to listen to dogs barking."