Hello, Comrade. I'm Here to Marry You!

Chapter 24: Chapter 24: Take Off Your Shirt

Su Zhaozhao was pleased to hear that Xie Huaizheng was returning. "He’s finally coming back."

’To be honest, she wasn’t sure she could wait a month for him.’

’What if the original owner’s good-for-nothing dad and stepmom found out she’d stolen her mother’s things and came looking for trouble?’

’Even though West State was far away, they must know she was all alone with few people to turn to for help.’

’If they tracked her down here, it would be a huge mess.’

’That’s why she hoped to settle the marriage with Xie Huaizheng as quickly as possible.’

’He did say he would have a proper talk with her when he got back.’

He was returning two days ahead of schedule, which made Su Zhaozhao very happy.

Over the next two days, Su Zhaozhao split her meals between the cafeteria and the Liu Family’s home.

She still went to the wet market early in the morning to sell apples.

Her regular customers, having tasted the apples they’d bought, found that Su Zhaozhao’s produce was indeed exceptionally fresh and tasty.

Su Zhaozhao also cut up an apple for samples, putting the slices in a plastic bag with toothpicks for people to try.

Anyone who tried a piece couldn’t resist buying some.

Su Zhaozhao only sold a fixed number of fifty apples each day. Once they were gone, they were gone.

She even ran into Zhou Xiaoyun. Since Su Zhaozhao was bundled up, Zhou Xiaoyun didn’t recognize her, only her apples.

"These apples! Could they be the ones Zhaozhao bought before?" Zhou Xiaoyun picked one up, sniffed it, weighed it in her hand, and immediately bought four.

Su Zhaozhao took the money, bagged them for her, and handed them over.

Su Zhaozhao breathed a sigh of relief; thankfully, Zhou Xiaoyun hadn’t recognized her.

’Never mind Zhou Xiaoyun,’ Su Zhaozhao thought. ’With my current getup, even Xie Huaizheng wouldn’t be able to recognize me.’

The crops in her black soil land had ripened again—this time, they were sweet potatoes.

’How fitting for this era,’ she thought.

Su Zhaozhao divided the sweet potatoes into two portions. She kept some fresh and had her space convert the rest into dried sweet potato strips.

They made for a great snack.

They were all-natural with no additives and tasted much better than any store-bought snacks she used to eat.

’It seems this is the world’s way of compensating me for transmigrating into a book.’

Drinking the spiritual spring water and eating food from her space every day was steadily improving her health.

Despite the harsh UV rays and sandstorms of the Northwest, Su Zhaozhao’s skin was actually becoming fairer and more radiant.

Her wounds were almost completely healed.

Su Zhaozhao now took the sweet potatoes to the wet market to sell.

Sweet potatoes were cheaper than apples. As a staple food of the era that was also easy to store, they were much more popular.

This also meant she could keep her stall open for longer.

Therefore, Su Zhaozhao sometimes went to set up her stall in the afternoon.

And just like that, she sold out quickly every time.

Today, after selling out of sweet potatoes, she put the money in her space and slowly walked back to the guesthouse.

Over the past few days, she had actually saved up five yuan!

’That was no small feat.’

She worked hard selling every day, and even though she had no overhead costs, she would still occasionally bring vegetables and meat with her when visiting Zhou Xiaoyun.

After all, she wasn’t a great cook and craved Zhou Xiaoyun’s meals. She was too embarrassed to show up empty-handed each time, so she always bought some vegetables and meat to bring along.

Today, after she was done with her business, Su Zhaozhao found herself calculating when Xie Huaizheng would be back.

Liu Guosheng hadn’t said what specific time Xie Huaizheng would return.

As it turned out, just as she reached the entrance of the guesthouse, she saw Xie Huaizheng standing on the balcony opposite her door.

He still had that indolent look, and was smoking a cigarette.

She hadn’t seen him in days, but he still had that same roguish air. Hearing her footsteps at the top of the stairs, his heavy gaze swept over her.

It was a look both casual and tinged with a dangerous edge.

"Good. Seeing you alive and kicking, I can rest assured." Xie Huaizheng’s thin lips curled slightly into a faint smile.

Su Zhaozhao was already used to his sharp tongue. She rushed over like a cannonball, straight into Xie Huaizheng’s arms.

"You’re finally back! I missed you like crazy!"

Xie Huaizheng hadn’t expected Su Zhaozhao to pounce on him so suddenly, crashing right into his arms.

The force wouldn’t have been much on a normal day, but at this moment, it made Xie Huaizheng’s body tremble slightly. He sucked in a sharp breath.

The impact pressed against the wound on his waist, and it started to throb with pain.

Su Zhaozhao also felt something was wrong. She couldn’t help but look up at Xie Huaizheng. "What’s wrong? Are you hurt?"

The next moment, Xie Huaizheng peeled her off him. "You’ve gotten even more shameless, haven’t you? We just have a childhood engagement, and you’re jumping into my arms the second you see me?"

It was a good thing no one was around. Otherwise, if someone had seen that, he wouldn’t have been able to clear his name even if he jumped into the Yellow River.

Su Zhaozhao, however, wasn’t bothered. ’If he already thinks I’m shameless, what’s a little more?’

Su Zhaozhao sized up Xie Huaizheng. He looked annoyed, but not disgusted.

’I can keep this up,’ Su Zhaozhao decided.

’When a woman chases a man, there’s but a veil between them.’

However, that wasn’t the point right now.

Su Zhaozhao’s focus shifted. "Let me see your wound."

As Su Zhaozhao spoke, she lifted up Xie Huaizheng’s shirt.

Immediately, she saw the gauze wrapped around his side, with blood seeping through it.

It was a frightening sight.

Su Zhaozhao couldn’t help but furrow her brow. "I must have hit it just now, right?"

She felt a little embarrassed.

She had been so happy to see Xie Huaizheng that she hadn’t thought twice about hugging him.

She never imagined she would cause his wound to start bleeding again.

Xie Huaizheng smacked her hand away. "It’s nothing," he said, the cigarette still clamped between his lips.

To him, a wound this small was nothing worth mentioning.

But then he remembered why he had come to see Su Zhaozhao right away.

He shot a quick glance at Su Zhaozhao’s palm and raised an eyebrow. ’It healed up fast,’ he thought. ’There isn’t even a scar.’

Su Zhaozhao grabbed his arm with a serious expression. "No, this wound needs to be treated."

’It’s bleeding. It must be serious.’

After saying this, Su Zhaozhao opened her door and pulled Xie Huaizheng inside.

Xie Huaizheng paused, his gaze falling on the girl’s small, fair hand. In the end, he stubbed out his cigarette and followed Su Zhaozhao into her room.

Xie Huaizheng had only been gone a few days, but he found she had made her guesthouse room much more homey.

Besides the things he had given her, Su Zhaozhao had also spread a light blue tablecloth on the table. On it was a vase with a bouquet of fresh flowers.

They were just ordinary wild chrysanthemums, but blooming in the room, they seemed exceptionally vibrant.

The scent in the room was a faint jasmine fragrance, very fresh and pleasant.

’This girl,’ he thought, ’not only can she endure, she can even make a flower bloom in the midst of hardship.’

The man’s thin lips pressed together. He considered himself an excellent judge of character, but he couldn’t figure out the girl in front of him.

Su Zhaozhao took out a few bottles of medicine and pulled up Xie Huaizheng’s shirt. "Take your shirt off. Let me see if you have any other injuries."