After the meal, Zhang Liunian handed his daughter to his younger sister and stayed in the room with his wife, starting to count the money. One handful, then another… only when the small table was covered with colorful bills did he stop.
"Wow! So much!" Seeing the considerable sum, Jiang Qingqing's large eyes instantly turned into starry orbs, and she pounced forward to count the money.
Counting money was Jiang Qingqing's absolute favorite activity, no exceptions. And Zhang Liunian loved watching his wife's money-obsessed expression, also no exceptions.
As one counted and the other watched, the atmosphere was surprisingly good.
Only after Jiang Qingqing finished counting all the money did she exclaim with delight, "It's 7,141 yuan in total. Adding our original ten thousand yuan, we now have over seventeen thousand yuan. Tomorrow, no, the day after tomorrow, won't we break twenty thousand?"
Ah! Jiang Qingqing was so excited and happy, hugging the money and shaking her arms, looking like a little money grubber.
"I don't know about tomorrow, but we'll definitely break twenty thousand the day after," Zhang Liunian said, smiling at her and confirming her anticipation.
"My goodness! With so much money, where should we put it so no one steals it?" Jiang Qingqing, realizing their money was growing rapidly, began searching everywhere on the bed for a place to stash it.
Zhang Liunian let her have her way, because this was her happiness, and his as well.
"Not here, not here either, and definitely not here…" Jiang Qingqing tried several spots to hide the money, but none felt safe. There were too many people around during the day, with over twenty workers hired. If someone were to sneak away with her money, she would cry to death. Therefore, she had to find a secure place.
Wait, that's not right. Couldn't she just deposit it in the bank?
Lightly patting her forehead, she rushed into Zhang Liunian's arms, holding a large wad of cash. "Help me deposit this money in the bank. I'll give you the passbook tomorrow."
Zhang Liunian stared intently at her shifting red lips, his throat bobbing. "Okay."
After receiving his nod, Jiang Qingqing thought for a moment, then found several thousand more yuan and handed it all to him. "And this, deposit it together. Then we'll have exactly seventeen thousand, and we'll keep the remaining few hundred for living expenses."
"Whatever you say."
Zhang Liunian reached out and embraced his wife, who had walked right into his trap. Just as he was about to kiss her, he noticed she had lowered her gaze to her money, looking at it with such intensity that she had completely forgotten about him.
Zhang Liunian watched her for a long time, realizing that her affection for money seemed to be even stronger than for him. Thinking this, Zhang Liunian felt inexplicably displeased. He reached out to kiss her, trying to reclaim her attention, only to find his path blocked by the money.
Zhang Liunian froze and tried to move the money away, but found his wife's small hands gripping it tightly. She even glared at him, "I won't be able to see it tomorrow once it's deposited, can't I look at it a little longer now?"
"..." Zhang Liunian suspected his status might soon be lower than money. It seemed it already was, a rather sad realization.
Glancing unhappily at the bills in his wife's hands, Zhang Liunian narrowed his eyes and tempted her, "You like money, don't you?"
Jiang Qingqing, looking at the bills in her hands, replied without looking up, "Yes."
"And do you want even more money?"
"Yes!"
"Then look at me, because I can help you earn more money, the kind you can't even count." Zhang Liunian openly began to compete for her attention with the money.
Jiang Qingqing seemed to realize his intention, shifted her gaze from the bills, and looked up, meeting her husband's heated gaze.
"Look, look at you?" Look at me for what? Jiang Qingqing's face flushed and her heart pounded under his gaze, her mind becoming hazy.
Seeing her unfocused eyes, Zhang Liunian moved his large hand upwards, wandering over her sensitive spots.
"No, don't touch," Jiang Qingqing gasped, jolting back to awareness as she felt his hand becoming disobedient, trying to stop him.
But Zhang Liunian, seeing her embarrassed and flustered, no longer fixated on the money, deepened his gaze. He knew this was indeed the most effective tactic.
"Don't touch where? Here? Or there?"
"Neither is allowed." Jiang Qingqing was so embarrassed her toes curled, her body trembling.
But Zhang Liunian didn't listen. He leaned close to her eyes, looking directly into her gaze filled with a watery depth, and said, "Tell me where 'there' is, and I'll stop."
"You bad guy." How could she possibly say it! Jiang Qingqing glared at him, a mix of playfulness and shyness, and the bills slipped from her hands, falling onto the bed, her attention completely diverted.
With the bills no longer in her hands, her own small hands were freed and had the opportunity to stop his large one. However, her strength was far too weak, no match for Zhang Liunian. In the end, she nearly drove him mad.
"Stop, Liunian."
"Call me husband."
"Husband?" What a novel term. Jiang Qingqing didn't recall anyone ever addressing their husband like that. However, seeing Zhang Liunian's bright eyes, she knew her man liked it, so she'd call him that.
"Husband, husband, I can't." Jiang Qingqing truly couldn't. She felt uncomfortable all over and wanted her husband's comfort, but mindful of her belly, she could do nothing but cling tightly to his neck.
"Wife, we haven't even started yet!" Hearing Jiang Qingqing, Zhang Liunian looked up and kissed her slender neck.
Jiang Qingqing shivered all over and held him even tighter.
Feeling her eagerness, Zhang Liunian unbuttoned her blouse and began the real battle.
After a long while, both lay side by side, their bodies slick with sweat, completely satisfied.
"Today, I rented a shop in the county town. It cost eight hundred yuan. The place is quite large. I want to build a small room behind the shop, making it convenient for you to rest in the county town later." Zhang Liunian held his wife's small hand, their fingers interlaced.
Jiang Qingqing leaned into Zhang Liunian's embrace, listening to his strong heartbeat, and turned to him with surprise. "Really? That's great!" If their family moved to the county town, they wouldn't have to worry about a place to rest.
"I also want to get a telephone installed for our home, and for the shop in the county town. As for a television and an electric fan, once our new house is ready, I'll get them one by one." Zhangjia Village had electricity, so getting a telephone wasn't too difficult.
"Install a telephone?" Jiang Qingqing's heart fluttered, but she suppressed the thought afterwards.
"This way, we won't have to rely on others to inquire about how much inventory we need to ship out. They can call us directly. Qingqing, you'll have to meticulously record all these matters."
"You can count on me to handle it without error. I promise." Jiang Qingqing, hearing that this task would be assigned to her after the phone installation, immediately raised her small hand and pledged to complete it diligently.
Zhang Liunian was amused by her raised hand and grabbed it, kissing it. "I naturally trust Qingqing to handle things."
Hearing this, Jiang Qingqing felt a sweet warmth in her heart.