Talking about Xu He, Luo Zhiyong felt even more wronged, "I’m truly wronged. I hardly know these two and have barely spoken in private, yet I’m treated as if I’ve committed a grave mistake."
Seeing him looking so aggrieved, Fang Pingying couldn’t help but chuckle to herself, but she stared at him and said, "You still cry foul? Why don’t you admit that you’ve been too high-profile? Otherwise, why would so many women covet you? Why don’t other men have so many unwanted pursuers?"
Luo Zhiyong didn’t even know whether to take it as a compliment or an insult, and he didn’t want to upset her, so he reluctantly replied, "Alright, alright, from now on, apart from you, I will run away from any woman I see."
Fang Pingying’s health was still robust, especially since it was her first pregnancy; only the doctor and Luo Zhiyong were a bit nervous.
After staying in the hospital for four days, Fang Pingying got plenty of sleep and food which immediately helped her feel better.
Plus, she wasn’t showing much due to being early in her pregnancy. If people didn’t know she was pregnant, they wouldn’t be able to tell at all.
Luo Zhiyong and Luo Honglan came together to pick her up from the hospital. When they returned to the shop, Qiu Lian was busy attending to customers and handling transactions.
Seeing Fang Pingying, Qiu Lian wanted to greet her, but Fang Pingying smiled and said, "Sister-in-law, you carry on with your work; we can talk later when you’re free."
"Yes, sister-in-law, let her rest a bit inside first, then you all can chat later," said Luo Zhiyong, greeting Qiu Lian before helping Fang Pingying to sit down on Honglan’s bed.
After tidying up the things they brought from the hospital, Luo Zhiyong sat by the bed and said to Fang Pingying, "Oh, I asked Huang Lin to look at some houses for me a few days ago. He found a few good ones, though they are second-hand. The location is decent, about a four to five minutes walk from here."
"Have you checked them out?" Fang Pingying wasn’t against buying a second-hand house, since getting a new house near the shop was difficult, and a renovated second-hand house would do just fine.
Luo Zhiyong nodded, "Yes, I have checked them. I think they’re fine. Although they are second-hand, the exteriors are relatively new. Inside, we’ll have to redo it anyway, although the existing decoration, only a few years old, could still work for now. The main thing is the location is suitable, and it would be easy to sell or whatever in the future if needed."
Fang Pingying, seeing that he had considered all aspects, felt reassured about how he handled things and nodded with a smile, "If you think it’s suitable, then go ahead and talk to Huang Lin to secure the house."
"Otherwise, you can go see it this afternoon; I don’t know if you’ll like that house." Since it was their first time buying a house, and it might be where they’d live for the rest of their lives, Luo Zhiyong wanted Fang Pingying to have a look and like it; he himself was indifferent as he wasn’t picky about these things.
Fang Pingying found it convenient since it’s nearby and said with a smile, "Sure, I’ll go have a look this afternoon."
Finally, when it was less busy at noon during lunch, Qiu Lian let Luo Honglan watch the shop, and she came in to check on Fang Pingying.
Since it’s been busy at the shop, and she was unfamiliar with the city, she hadn’t visited Fang Pingying at the hospital since she arrived.
Luo Zhiyong knew the women would surely have plenty to talk about, so he went to the kitchen to make lunch.
Qiu Lian sat down by the bed and looked at Fang Pingying who was half-lying down, gently stroking her belly, "Is the baby fine? Why did you suddenly have to go to the hospital?"
Fang Pingying smiled lightly, "Nothing much, it’s just that Zhiyong is a bit tense, saying I’ve been too busy and insisting that I be hospitalized."
"Indeed, the business at the shop has been too good. I’ve been here a few days and have barely stopped working in the mornings." As the New Year was approaching, business had improved a lot compared to before. Qiu Lian had been constantly busy in the shop these days, like a spinning top, even swapping lunch breaks with Luo Honglan.
Fang Pingying knew that Qiu Lian must be exhausted from these days, so she smiled and said, "Sister-in-law, you really have worked hard, coming to help out."
"What are you talking about? You’ve paid me a salary. I’m not helping for no reason; if anything, you’ve helped me out," Qiu Lian said, thinking of the money she made. "You know, those beads you taught me how to make, after I first sold them, the students really liked them. Many who didn’t get any placed orders, and the second time I sold nearly forty strings of beads and made about 20 yuan."
Hearing that she made money, Fang Pingying was happy too, "That’s great. Let’s plan it out well next year, try to make some other things, and definitely make some money."
Qiu Lian nodded, sharing her plans, "Hmm, I’ve thought about it. I made tens of dollars selling beads before and adding the tens of dollars I’ll make this month at your place, by next year I’ll have about US$ 100. I’ll use it as capital to invest in beads. It’d be best if I could rent a shop nearby by the second half of next year so I can take care of Lele. I’m not comfortable leaving him at his grandma’s for another year."
Fang Pingying thought her plan was good as having a shop is definitely better than setting up a stall, which is always at risk from supposed patrol teams or some hoodlums causing trouble.
But she also didn’t forget to remind her, "Sister-in-law, renting a shop can be quite expensive, you’ve got to think it through."
Qiu Lian wasn’t someone who acted recklessly. She smiled in agreement, "Yeah, I won’t rent now. I’ll wait until I’ve saved enough money."
After chatting for a while, Luo Zhiyong finished cooking and called them to eat. After Qiu Lian had her meal, Luo Honglan went to eat.
In the afternoon, Fang Pingying went with Luo Zhiyong to look at houses.
Although it was Luo Zhiyong who asked Huang Lin to find the house, Huang Lin didn’t ask anyone else directly; instead, he had Juzi inquire about it, and then Juzi asked Zeng Weiguo to look for it, so this house was actually through a friend of Zeng Weiguo.
The new house was indeed not far from their current shop; just about a five-minute brisk walk.
Also, the house was only five years old and was quite affordably priced. Although not luxuriously, it was remodeled with at least the basic plastering done, and ceilings installed.
If Fang Pingying and her family decided to buy it, they wouldn’t need much, just to buy some furniture and move in.
The three-bedroom, one-living room house quite pleased Fang Pingying; she immediately decided to go ahead, and Luo Zhiyong took the money to finalize the home transaction.
Having money to buy things was never a difficult matter; Luo Zhiyong managed to handle most of the procedures in one afternoon, only the property ownership certificate was left undone.
Since Luo Zhiyong insisted on registering the property in Fang Pingying’s name, he had to come back to get her ID card to complete the registration, but the people at the property bureau had finished work for the day and couldn’t process it, so they had to wait till the next day. (To be continued. If you work, you are welcome to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets, monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)