The ward housed Fang Pingying along with a few other pregnant women.
Seeing Luo Zhiyong, clad in military uniform, helping Fang Pingying inside, everyone turned to look at them. At that time, soldiers were seen as somewhat extraordinary in the eyes of others.
Fang Pingying, noticing their gazes, flashed a smile at them and headed for the bed furthest inside.
Luo Zhiyong helped her sit down and whispered, "You lie down for a bit, the doctor will arrange for someone to come and give you an IV soon."
Fang Pingying felt okay herself and shook her head with a smile, "I’d rather sit for now; lying down is uncomfortable."
Upon hearing this, Luo Zhiyong frowned deeply as he looked at Fang Pingying, "Please just listen, the doctor already said you should rest in bed more over these next few days. Are you not scared yet, or what’s going on?"
Seeing him look as if he was about to lose his temper, Fang Pingying shot him a glare and immediately prepared to take off her shoes and get into bed, "Fine, I’ll lie down, I’m lying down now."
Luo Zhiyong glanced at her, bent down to take off her shoes for her, and let her recline on the bed.
After doing so, Luo Zhiyong then instructed Luo Honglan, "Honglan, don’t bother opening the shop these next few days. Just focus on cooking three meals a day, prepare them for your sister-in-law, and bring them here. Stay with her during the day, and I’ll come over at night; then you can go back to watch over the shop."
Since the military base is not close to the city, Fang Pingying worries the daily back-and-forth is too tiring for him, so she smiles and says, "It’s okay, you don’t have to come over at night. I’ll be fine here by myself, and I can call the doctor if anything happens."
"What’s with the stubbornness?" Luo Zhiyong looks at her, his expression mixed with slight anger, "Don’t you know why you had this scare with your pregnancy this time?"
When the topic is brought up, Fang Pingying feels guilty and forces a smile at him, trying to gloss over it, "No one can be certain about these things. The doctor said such things could happen to anyone in early pregnancy."
"I asked the doctor, and the doctor said it’s due to overexertion. You still want to hide it from me?" After Luo Zhiying exposes her, his tone carries an imperious note, making decisions for her without discussion, "After you’re discharged, we’ll either hire someone for the shop or close the shop for a while, until you’ve had the baby next year."
At that, Fang Pingying immediately starts to protest in a low voice, "We can’t just close the shop."
Luo Zhiyong didn’t actually insist on closing the shop. He then said, "Then let’s hire someone. And from now on, I won’t allow you to be here alone at night. I’ll come to pick you up every day and take you back to the compound. Honestly, if I don’t keep an eye on you for a single day, you just don’t give me peace of mind."
"Running back and forth like that, wouldn’t I be even more tired?" Fang Pingying thought for a moment and then discussed with him, "Look, we were talking about buying a house before, right? Why don’t you see if you can ask someone to look around the shop area these next few days? We could finalize the house, and then move there. If you have time from the military, you could come back here to stay at night."
Thinking of his daily commute and sometimes worrying about missing the bus, she added, "Right, and how about buying you a motorcycle too, would that work? Taking the bus every day is also a hassle."
At that time, a motorcycle was still a luxury. Luo Zhiyong, feeling it wasn’t appropriate for him to have something too ostentatious as a soldier, didn’t want to stand out too much.
Besides, he wasn’t willing to spend that much money since a motorcycle wasn’t cheap. He said, "No need for a motorcycle, we can just get a bicycle. I can bike faster myself, and it will only take a little over half an hour."
Fang Pingying also understood what he was thinking and nodded in agreement, "That’s also fine. You can go and look at houses these next few days."
"Alright, I’ll go back tomorrow and ask Huang Lin to help me inquire around. There should be houses for sale nearby," Luo Zhiyong said.
At noon, Luo Zhiyong stayed here while Luo Honglan went back to buy groceries and cook.
At first, Luo Zhiyong saw there were many people in the room and did not bring up the matter with Fang Pingying. When it came to midday, the pregnant women in the sickbeds all went out to eat, and Luo Zhiyong moved a stool over to sit in front of Fang Pingying’s bed. With a very serious expression, he began to go over their accounts, "Comrade Fang Pingying, tell me, did you make a mistake with what happened today?"
Fang Pingying knew that she had been negligent this time, failing to take Luo Zhiyong’s instructions to heart, and admitted with a somewhat guilty nod, "I was a bit wrong this time."
"Just a bit wrong?" Luo Zhiyong raised an eyebrow.
Seeing that he was unrelenting and insistent, Fang Pingying knew that he cared about her. Although she felt sweet inside, she glared at him and retorted, "Alright, I was wrong, okay? I didn’t do it on purpose. These past few days, the shop has been busier with more customers, and Hong Lan couldn’t handle it alone. I couldn’t just stand by with my arms crossed and watch."
Luo Zhiyong wasn’t actually trying to blame her. She was working so hard for the sake of their family, and he felt sympathy for her.
He sighed, took Fang Pingying’s hand in his, and spoke softly, "No matter how busy you are, you have to take care of yourself. If it really gets too much, call me, and I’ll figure something out. Otherwise, what use am I as a man?"
Fang Pingying smiled and gripped his hand back, "Can it work if my business interferes with your work?"
"It won’t interfere," Luo Zhiyong said. "I will figure something out."
"Alright, figure something out for me now," Fang Pingying pouted, tossing the problem to him, "It’s almost Chinese New Year, and my shop is very busy. The business isn’t bad either. In any case, I don’t want to close the shop. You figure out what to do."
Luo Zhiyong gave it some thought and said, "I think we should buy a house nearby the shop to live in first, and then hire a temporary worker for the shop. They can help sell goods when it’s crowded in the morning and let the temporary worker go home in the afternoon. If you offer a little more for the monthly salary, there should be someone willing to take the job."
"The problem is where to find the right person." Recently, Fang Pingying had also posted a hiring notice in the shop, but none of the candidates were satisfactory.
Luo Zhiyong had a suitable person in mind, "Actually, I think you could temporarily ask Sister-in-law Qiulin for help. She had worked with you before, and although the business was good, her students will be going on winter break soon. She had Lele at home to take care of and didn’t really want to set up a stall elsewhere. Now that she’s not running a stall, she could come over to help in the mornings. In the afternoon, if she wants to go back to the courtyard, she can return; if not, she can stay with Hong Lan in the shop. Isn’t there two beds here? We’ll move to the new house when it’s time."
After listening, Fang Pingying frowned, "But, you also mentioned Aunt Qiulin has Lele at home, he needs someone to look after him."
Luo Zhiyong smiled, "Lele was taken back by Mr. Su’s family yesterday, saying they would bring him along to play and then go back together for the New Year."
"That can work." Fang Pingying agreed on the spot, then instructed Luo Zhiyong, "When you go back, talk to Sister-in-law Qiulin about this. Tell her we’re hiring temporary workers, but we provide food and accommodation. I’ll pay a salary of 35 dollars this month. See if she would like to do it. At any rate, she has seen my shop."
Luo Zhiyong took note of the conditions Fang Pingying mentioned, and nodded, "Okay, I’ll speak to her when I go back in a few days." (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, we welcome you to vote for and recommend it on Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)