"My body is fine. You're the one I'm worried about. You were injured the day before yesterday, and you didn't rest yesterday. You must rest later, even if it's just for a little while." Jiang Qingqing gently caressed Zhang Liunian's handsome face with her small hand, very worried he would overwork himself.
Facing his wife's concerned eyes, Zhang Liunian was deeply touched. He leaned down and kissed her exquisite little face, saying dotingly, "As you wish. I'll go rest for a bit now."
After speaking, he glanced at his watch. It was only eight in the morning. He could rest for two hours first. Thinking this, Zhang Liunian suddenly stood up, holding his wife.
"Ah, put me down." Jiang Qingqing felt her body suddenly lift off the ground and quickly wrapped her arms tightly around Zhang Liunian's neck.
"Sleep with me for a while." Zhang Liunian lowered his gaze, staring intently at his blushing wife in his arms, his heart stirred. Sleeping with such a lovely wife would surely be wonderful.
"I just got up, I can't sleep." When Jiang Qingqing heard the suggestion of sleeping together, her entire head felt as if it had been ignited, hot and red. Her large, watery eyes darted left and right, afraid to look at Zhang Liunian.
"Just for a little while." Zhang Liunian gently placed her on the bed, then lay down beside her and closed his eyes, beginning to fall asleep.
He was indeed tired. He had been busy all day yesterday. Now, with his wife in his arms, his heart was both at peace and filled with joy. Before long, he drifted off to dreamland.
After hearing his steady breathing, Jiang Qingqing raised her small face to look at him. Once she was sure Zhang Liunian was truly asleep, she supported herself and gazed at his sleeping face.
With a high nose and thick eyebrows, Zhang Liunian's face was as handsome as when they first met. Just looking at him could still make her heart flutter.
"If anyone needs something, you can't help them, do you understand?" Jiang Qingqing reached out and couldn't help but caress Zhang Liunian's eyes. She didn't know how much time had passed until her hand began to ache and swell, bringing her back to her senses.
"Hiss!" Her hand was numb. Jiang Qingqing sat up and began to rub her numbed left hand. Her gaze swept over Zhang Liunian, who was still sleeping, her eyes full of happiness.
Getting out of bed, Jiang Qingqing suddenly noticed the black bag by the bedside. A smile gradually bloomed on her face. This bag was used by Zhang Liunian to carry money. Zhang Liunian had been injured the day before yesterday, and he hadn't returned yesterday. She hadn't been in the mood to count money.
Now that Zhang Liunian was by her side and doing well, she felt a bit more interested.
However, when she opened the black bag, she was stunned. Inside, there was only a piece of clothing, no money.
"How could this be?" This bag was used by her man to carry money. And calculating the time, it was indeed the day he usually brought back money. Why was there only a piece of clothing?
Could it be that she was mistaken, and Liunian hadn't brought back money?
"Liu..." Jiang Qingqing opened her mouth, about to wake Zhang Liunian, but swallowed the words back.
Never mind, she would ask Liunian when he woke up. He had finally fallen asleep.
She hoped she was just overthinking things and that there really was no money inside.
"Comrade Ma, Liunian is resting. You might have to wait a while longer."
Two hours later, Jiang Qingqing, her heart unsettled, waited for Ma Quancai's return visit.
"It's alright, I can wait." Ma Quancai didn't seem embarrassed. He had come specifically to find Zhang Liunian for help. He didn't want to leave here for some "Zha Ma."
Although he didn't know if Zhang Liunian could help him, his circle of acquaintances was truly limited, and Quan couldn't help him. Therefore, his hope now rested solely on Zhang Liunian.
Zhang Liunian, who had slept for two hours, heard Ma Quancai's voice in his groggy state. He jolted awake, got up, and pushed open the door to go out, "Uncle Ma?"
Upon hearing this, Ma Quancai excitedly stepped forward, "Liunian, please think of a way for Uncle. My transfer order is out, and the result hasn't changed. But I don't want to go. Is there any other possibility for me?"
Going to Zha Ma meant preparing to die there. No, he might not even live long enough to die old before being kicked out, because if he stayed in office for too long without achieving anything significant, he would surely be finished.
But Zha Ma was unlike Datang County. It was all mountains, and the inhabitants were stubborn mountain folk. It could take a whole day just to get to someone to talk to. In such a place, no matter how capable he was, he couldn't achieve any development.
Moreover, the intellectual isolation there was the worst in the entire country.
"Uncle Ma, I've heard about your situation, but I haven't found any leverage against the Tang family to help you. However, if you truly don't want to do it, I can offer you a job. I've recently established a construction company in the southern city with a total of only twenty-odd employees. If you come, I'll directly make you the manager to oversee this construction company.
At the same time, I'll make you the chief engineer. I've just taken on the project for the Nan Cheng Food Factory Workers' Dormitory complex, so you can start immediately."
"Construction company? Manager? Chief Engineer?" Ma Quancai was stunned. He had been a railway soldier in the past, actually in logistics. However, during his military service, he had participated in many construction projects, such as building railways, constructing stone bridges, and building houses.
How could Zhang Liunian, with just a few words, ask him to be the chief engineer? Did he misunderstand him?
He had never built a skyscraper!
"Liunian, Uncle Ma has indeed done many things in construction before, but I've never built a skyscraper. If you ask me to manage a construction project, I don't have that ability." Ma Quancai dared not casually accept this job, although he was somewhat tempted, as he also needed to find a way out.
"If we don't know how, we'll learn. I'll find a way to hire a designer to guide you then." Zhang Liunian was slightly taken aback, but after thinking about it, it didn't matter. Once Ma Quancai agreed to come, he could find a designer to mentor him.
"This..."
Faced with Zhang Liunian's earnest offer, Ma Quancai found himself unable to refuse. Then, remembering Zhang Liunian's offer to hire someone to guide him, a person suddenly came to mind. "To be honest, I used to know an old designer who specialized in these designs. He's retired now and living at home."
"That's great. We'll bring some Maotai to invite him to guide you then." Zhang Liunian was somewhat surprised that Ma Quancai knew such a person. This would save him the trouble of looking.
"Let me think about it again. Let me think about it again." Ma Quancai felt a bit uneasy at the thought of leaving everything behind and working with Zhang Liunian.
It wasn't that he didn't trust Zhang Liunian, but he was worried about his own inability to handle the job.
"Uncle Ma can take his time to consider. There's no rush. However, I plan for this company to go nationwide. Whether it's railways, roads, or stone bridges, we'll take on whatever we can. I don't want it to stay only in the southern city..." Zhang Liunian, fearing he might feel a lack of ambition, revealed his expectations for the construction company, so he would understand that this company would not only do this one project but many more in the future, and not just in the southern city, but with the entire country as its goal.
These words were quite effective. After hearing them, Ma Quancai's heart was filled with a sense of longing.