The moment she finished speaking, every woman in the crowd instinctively raised their hands to cover their faces. Zhang Guixiang, on the other hand, shuddered in fear.
“Exactly! Auntie Zhang, I don’t even know how many times I’ve told you about this issue! If you don’t clean it up, I really will have to call the mediator.”
“I don’t think calling the mediator is enough. We should report this to Ma Changjun and Yang Liqun’s supervisors instead! They earn a good salary every month, and it’s not like they can’t afford to eat. So why on earth are they resorting to scavenging for trash? And worse, piling it up in the hallway, blocking our way and endangering our safety!”
“There are so many households in this building, yet yours is the only one hoarding junk in the hallway. Do you even have a shred of shame? Not an ounce of public decency!”
Once one person spoke up, a second and a third followed suit.
Zhang Guixiang was completely overwhelmed.
When it was just Zhou Yinghuai and Cheng Fangqiu, she could still pull the “elderly senior” card and boss them around. But now, with so many people speaking out against her, she didn’t dare utter a single word.
Moreover, if they really reported her son and daughter-in-law to their supervisors, that would be a disaster!
If her actions caused them to get scolded—or worse, fired—her husband would surely beat her to death!
The mere thought of it made her tremble twice in fear.
Just then, an aged male voice spoke up from behind her.
“This old woman is just too frugal. She can’t bear to throw anything away. She was only trying to lighten our children’s burden.”
The voice belonged to Ma Shugen, Zhang Guixiang’s husband.
He sighed and then continued, “We’ll move everything inside right now. Sorry for taking up everyone’s time—I sincerely apologize.”
Now that he had come forward and spoken so humbly, the crowd didn’t push the issue any further.
They simply told him to hurry up and clean up the mess. Before long, the neighbors started dispersing.
“Comrade Zhou, and…”
Ma Shugen glanced at Cheng Fangqiu. His aged eyes briefly flashed with admiration, as if unsure how to address her. So, he simply skipped over it and instead offered a seemingly sincere apology.
“I truly apologize. This is all our fault. You two must be busy, so go ahead and take care of your errands. We’ll clean up everything here.”
“Hm.”
Zhou Yinghuai subtly stepped in front of Cheng Fangqiu, shielding her from Ma Shugen’s gaze. He wasn’t pleased with the way the old man was staring at her, so he shot him a warning glance.
Only when Ma Shugen finally averted his gaze did Zhou Yinghuai take Cheng Fangqiu’s hand and carefully lead her away.
“Tch, those two geezers sure know how to play good cop, bad cop.”
Cheng Fangqiu crossed her arms and stomped her foot in frustration.
“One plays the villain, the other plays the reasonable elder—so they get to have it both ways, huh? That old man stayed silent inside the whole time, only coming out at the end to smooth things over. Ha! What kind of man is that?”
“They’re not worth getting angry over.”
Zhou Yinghuai patted her back gently to soothe her. “But thanks to our clever and quick-witted Qiuqiu, we resolved everything perfectly in just a few sentences.”
Hearing him praise her, Cheng Fangqiu’s anger faded a little. She tilted her chin up proudly.
“Handling people like them requires more than just calling a mediator. You have to mobilize the crowd, strike them where it hurts, and deal a fatal blow to truly win.”
At her words, Zhou Yinghuai nodded thoughtfully.
He had never encountered such shameless troublemakers before, so his first instinct had been to handle things in the most conventional way.
It was clear now that he had been too naïve.
Retracting his thoughts, Zhou Yinghuai looked at Cheng Fangqiu with newfound admiration and appreciation, chuckling. “Qiuqiu is really smart.”
Cheng Fangqiu was momentarily stunned. Her eyes flickered, and then, in a complete reversal of her previous domineering attitude, she transformed into a delicate and pitiful little white flower. Pinching the corner of his shirt, she swayed it slightly, her voice turning soft and clingy.
“You don’t even know how scared I was just now, wuwu~ In the future, you have to protect me.”
This sudden change in demeanor made Zhou Yinghuai halt in his tracks. He first glanced at the fabric she was clutching, then at her face—one she thought was perfectly disguised but in reality showed not a trace of fear.
The stark contrast between before and after was truly a spectacle to behold.
Was she… deliberately trying to make him feel bad for her?
This little fox—she was truly an amusing one.
The corners of Zhou Yinghuai’s lips lifted ever so slightly. Unable to resist, he reached out and gently smoothed her hair, his voice low and soothing. “Don’t be afraid. From now on, no matter what happens, I’ll always be at the front.”
If it hadn’t been for her pulling him behind her today, there was no way he would have let her charge ahead like that.
“You’re the best.” Cheng Fangqiu beamed the moment she got his promise, her bright peach blossom eyes twinkling with mischief.
Zhou Yinghuai caught it all and couldn’t help but smile even more. But suddenly, as if remembering something, his smile faded slightly. He let out a sigh, his voice tinged with guilt.
“Qiuqiu, I’m sorry. Before moving in, I should have checked the neighbors’ backgrounds. If I had, we wouldn’t be dealing with all this nonsense now.”
Most of the time, he only interacted with colleagues at work. As for other people, they were just passing acquaintances. He knew little about the affairs of the residential compound. When his transfer papers had finally been approved, he had been so elated that he merely let his supervisor take him to see the house. It had seemed decent enough, so he had immediately settled on it.
Yet in just two short days, they had already run into two unpleasant incidents with their next-door neighbors. Who knew how many more problems would arise in the future?
In a few days, when his wedding leave ended, he would have to return to the factory, which meant he wouldn’t be around all the time. If Fangqiu was home alone and those people gave her trouble, even if he were chopped into a thousand pieces, he still wouldn’t be able to forgive himself.
Thinking of this, Zhou Yinghuai’s breathing became noticeably heavier. “Tonight, I’ll go talk to the leadership about switching to a different house.”
“How can this be your fault? It’s not like you have bad character—you’ve already done enough.” Cheng Fangqiu noticed the change in his mood and quickly comforted him.
If anyone was to blame, it certainly wasn’t Zhou Yinghuai.
When they arrived yesterday, the house had been clean and well-organized. Clearly, he had put in the effort to tidy it up beforehand.
As for their eccentric neighbors, that wasn’t something they had a say in.
“Are there even any other houses available?” Cheng Fangqiu tilted her head, thinking it over. “Actually, I quite like this one. If there isn’t anything better, let’s just stay here. We’re the ones living in it, not the neighbors.”
In this era, houses couldn’t be bought and sold; they were allocated by work units. Getting a perfectly ideal house was nearly impossible. And even if they did switch, what if their new neighbors seemed nice on the surface but turned out to be even worse behind closed doors? They couldn’t just keep moving indefinitely.
Besides, what if the new place wasn’t as good as this one? Wouldn’t that just be a pointless hassle?
By comparison, while their current neighbors were indeed troublesome, they had weaknesses. Cheng Fangqiu wasn’t afraid of them. As long as they shut their door and minded their own business, everything would be fine.
Having thought it through, she voiced her reasoning to Zhou Yinghuai.
He pondered for a moment and found her argument reasonable. “I’ll still ask the leadership. If there’s a better option, we’ll consider it. If not, we’ll stay.”
“Alright. But really, this is all just minor stuff. You don’t need to worry so much. What matters most is that you focus on your work and earn money—you still have to support me, you know.”
After saying that, perhaps realizing how blatantly she was implying she planned to freeload off him, Cheng Fangqiu coughed lightly in embarrassment. Then, pressing her face against his back, she shamelessly clung to him in a coquettish manner.
“Our family depends on you now, so don’t worry too much about me. I can take care of myself at home. Though I may look as delicate as a flower and as frail as a willow in the wind, I’m not easy to bully, you know.”
Hearing this, Zhou Yinghuai immediately recalled how she had dominated the hallway earlier, effortlessly taking control of the situation. His usually cold and sharp features instantly softened, as if an icy mountain had melted into a vibrant spring.
“I know, Qiuqiu. I will definitely work hard to give you a better life,” Zhou Yinghuai murmured, narrowing his eyes. His face, always calm and composed, now radiated a fierce determination.
The higher he climbed, the better the housing he would be allocated. Take the department supervisors and deputy factory directors, for example—they all lived in independent Western-style houses, with private yards and no nosy neighbors. There, they wouldn’t have to deal with all these petty troubles.
A gentle breeze passed by, lifting the edges of their clothing, which playfully intertwined in the air.
—
The largest department store in Rongzhou was quite a distance from the machinery factory. By the time the two of them arrived, they were both drenched in sweat. After parking and locking their bicycle in the designated area, they headed straight to buy two bottles of ice-cold soda to cool down.
“I want to eat that.”
Cheng Fangqiu, sharp-eyed as always, had just taken a sip of soda when she spotted a freezer stocked with popsicles nearby.
The provincial capital was indeed different from their small county town—even the popsicles came in a variety of flavors and packaging, far surpassing what she was used to.
“Buy it.”
Before she could even finish speaking, Zhou Yinghuai had already taken out money and ration coupons from his pocket. The pouch he was using was actually hers—since all their money and ration tickets were kept with her. If not for the fact that she found carrying a bag troublesome, she would have been the one confidently handing over the money right now.
Still, seeing Zhou Yinghuai pay so decisively, Cheng Fangqiu found it rather pleasing.
They say a man is most attractive when he spends money on a woman—there was definitely some truth to that. Otherwise, why were all these young girls around them staring at him? Even Cheng Fangqiu herself felt momentarily blinded by his good looks.
Zhou Yinghuai was tall and well-built, a walking clothes hanger. Today, he was dressed in a crisp white shirt and black dress pants. His broad shoulders, narrow waist, and long legs made even his back view utterly mesmerizing, let alone the fact that he had a face practically designed to lure people in.
As he bent slightly over the freezer, searching for the orange-flavored popsicle she wanted, his perfect proportions became even more pronounced.
Seeing this, Cheng Fangqiu immediately stepped forward, blocking the wandering gazes directed at him.
“Hmph, male vixen,” she muttered under her breath, sipping her soda as she grumbled.
Unexpectedly, Zhou Yinghuai caught her words loud and clear.
Tearing open the popsicle’s wrapper, he brought it directly to her lips, his long, narrow eyes narrowing dangerously. “Hm?”
Cheng Fangqiu’s heart skipped a beat. She swiftly changed her tune.
“I was just saying, how could they be like this? Sure, everyone appreciates beauty, but staring so openly at my dear husband like that—aren’t they going too far? I’m getting jealous!”
Her voice took on an exaggeratedly soft and coquettish lilt, the kind popular in Taiwan—sweet, sticky, and full of charm. It slithered into his ears, leaving a tingling sensation in its wake.
Especially the way she said, “my dear husband” and “I’m getting jealous.”
Zhou Yinghuai’s breath hitched slightly.
The surrounding noise faded into the background as he became acutely aware of the accelerating rhythm of his own heartbeat—faster and faster, louder and louder.