"Good child," Shen Jianhua gently patted her head.
Zhou Lanfang and Zhou Siyu, seeing this scene, felt a bit unsure themselves; could Shen Jianhua be changing his mind?
Zhou Lanfang couldn’t keep things to herself. Right after dinner, she hurriedly pulled Shen Jianhua back to their room.
"Jianhua, you’re not seriously considering selling everything to let that wretched girl go to school, are you?"
"Don’t you know what I think?" Shen Jianhua glared at her. It was better to keep these things to ourselves—why keep bringing it up?
If the children heard, how could he face his daughter?
"It’s just that you scared me," said Zhou Lanfang, relieved to know he wasn’t really planning on sending Shen Mianmian to school.
How had she not noticed before? Her man was such a good actor; she was almost fooled.
"Go and clean up the dishes," Shen Jianhua didn’t want to discuss the matter further. Although he hadn’t treated Shen Mianmian unfairly, he still felt a twinge of guilt.
A college student—that was something many families couldn’t even dream of. As for his own... sigh...
Early on Saturday, Zhou Lanfang got up and steamed some mixed-grain cakes, but she didn’t serve them to everyone. Instead, she packed them up for Shen Jianhua to take with him.
"Bring it out for the children to eat," Shen Jianhua didn’t want to hog it all to himself.
"They can have some more if they want; these are for you to take," Zhou Lanfang said, pressing on his hand to stop him from taking any out. "You’re doing physical work over there; you need to eat some staples." Thɪs chapter is updated by 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡•𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚•𝙣𝙚𝙩
Seeing the concern on his wife’s face, Shen Jianhua didn’t insist any further.
It would be another month or two before the man returned. Zhou Lanfang felt a little hesitant to part, accompanying him to the entrance of the village, still wearing an expression of reluctance.
Seeing his wife’s reluctance, Shen Jianhua softened slightly, "You three women take good care of yourselves at home and make sure to lock the doors and windows at night."
Zhou Lanfang nodded and said, "Why don’t you just find some work close to home? Even if the pay is less, we can’t do without a man at home."
Without a man by her side, she felt an emptiness even in her sleep at night.
"Siyu will start high school in the second half of the year, and the tuition and living expenses will add up. Our family of four also needs money for food and drink. How can we make do with less pay?" He didn’t want to leave for one or two months either, but it was a necessity.
"Oh my! You two are so reluctant to say goodbye this early in the morning," said a group of village women, teasing as they saw the scene.
"Look at Lanfang, her eyes are all red."
"Go away, this has nothing to do with you. If your men were away for a month or two, you’d be even less willing to part," retorted Zhou Lanfang. She had a thick skin and often joked with them, feeling not the least bit embarrassed.
It was her husband, why shouldn’t she be reluctant to let him go?
"We’re not as clingy as you two," the women countered.
"Exactly, we’ve been watching you both for quite a while. One can’t bear to leave, and the other doesn’t want to let go. You might as well stay at home for another day," the women laughed heartily, and Shen Jianhua, as a man, felt a bit awkward standing there.
He said to Zhou Lanfang, "You better go back now! I have to leave, or I’ll miss the bus."
"Be careful on the road."
Zhou Lanfang watched as he left.
"You’re still watching; he’s already out of sight," the women teased Zhou Lanfang again.
"What’s wrong with me watching my own man?"
Zhou Lanfang, snorting, walked back home with a swing in her hips.
The women laughed and chatted for a while longer before heading to Zhang Changfa’s house to watch TV.