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

Chapter 56: Chapter 56: Give Her Money

Those who had originally doubted Su Zhaozhao started to believe in her after seeing that she had truly helped Jiang Shulan improve.

"See? I told you this girl Zhaozhao was amazing!" Zhao Shuqin said. "Zhaozhao, we’ve really troubled you. Seeing that Xiao Jiang is starting to get better, I can finally rest easy."

"It’s not enough yet," Su Zhaozhao said. "From now on, I’ll need to come over every day to give him an hour of psychological counseling. Let’s schedule it for a week to start."

Su Zhaozhao couldn’t help but sigh as she said this.

She was supposed to leave in the next day or two, but she had to delay her departure because of the treatment.

But there was nothing to be done. She wasn’t in a hurry to leave anyway. Since she could help someone, she would definitely stay and help.

’Who could blame me? I’m just beautiful and kind-hearted.’

"A week? We’ll be troubling you then, Comrade Su. If you need anything, just let us know." Political Commissar Shen Qiangjun was no longer as wary of Su Zhaozhao as he had been at first. In fact, he warmly welcomed her. "If you need any help from my end, don’t hesitate. Just say the word."

"Help? Of course, there is," Su Zhaozhao said after a moment’s thought. "I came here by myself and didn’t bring much money. If I stay here too long, I’ll have living expenses... So, for this psychological counseling, I’m going to have to charge a fee!"

She had always charged for her services in the past, unless she was volunteering.

But she wasn’t needed as a volunteer here. The military district could surely afford this small amount, right?

She just hadn’t expected that as soon as she finished speaking, the other three people’s gazes would all land on Xie Huaizheng, while Xie Huaizheng’s gaze landed on her.

The light in the hallway was rather dim, making his dark eyes seem even deeper.

As always, it was impossible to guess what he was thinking.

Su Zhaozhao blinked, looking at Xie Huaizheng with an innocent expression. ’What’s wrong? Did I embarrass him by saying that?’

’It seems like it’s fashionable to treat money like dirt in this era, but I can’t do that.’

’As a young person who transmigrated from the modern era, no money means no food and no good life.’

’I’m just earning money with my own knowledge. He can’t lecture me for that, can he?’

"Are you that short on money?" Xie Huaizheng asked her.

He could feel the other three people staring at him with accusatory eyes, as if he were some heartless scumbag who had wronged Su Zhaozhao.

"Yeah. I didn’t bring much money with me, and I’ve been away for so long. I’ve spent quite a bit lately, so I’m almost broke," Su Zhaozhao said.

Xie Huaizheng asked, "How much per session?"

"Fifty cents," Su Zhaozhao said, giving the price after a quick mental calculation.

In modern times, she charged several hundred yuan for a one-hour counseling session.

But in this era, people didn’t understand psychological counseling. Plus, she felt sorry for Jiang Shulan. After thinking it over, she decided she couldn’t charge too much.

’This is half for profit, half for charity,’ she thought.

Of course, even if they were unwilling to pay, given Jiang Shulan’s condition, she would have helped him for free.

’What can you do? I’m just beautiful and kind-hearted.’

"That price is perfectly reasonable. Thank you for your trouble, Comrade Su," Shen Qiangjun said to Su Zhaozhao.

He even shook Su Zhaozhao’s hand. "We’re counting on you. His parents are still on their way here. I’m afraid when the time comes, we’ll have to entrust you with the task of talking to them as well."

As parents, seeing their child in such a state, they would surely find it hard to accept.

"Of course, of course," Su Zhaozhao said.

Just then, Xie Huaizheng walked over to her, grabbed her arm, and said to the others, "Zhaozhao and I have something to attend to, so we’ll be leaving."

He pulled Su Zhaozhao out of the hospital.

Only after they were out of the hospital did Xie Huaizheng let her go.

The midday sun blazed overhead as the two of them stood under a large tree.

The shade of the tree concealed their figures. Xie Huaizheng’s brows were furrowed, his expression serious as he stared at Su Zhaozhao.

"Are you that short on money?"

Su Zhaozhao nodded. "My food and expenses here—what doesn’t cost money?"

’If Xie Huaizheng dares to call me materialistic, I’ll definitely punch him,’ she thought.

Xie Huaizheng, of course, knew that Su Zhaozhao was very generous. If someone was good to her, she would repay them twofold.

Liu Guosheng had already told him several times to persuade Su Zhaozhao to stop sending gifts to his family.

She had sent so many things that they were starting to feel embarrassed.

She had mentioned that her family didn’t treat her well, so where did she get the money?

’This girl... she repays grudges with grudges and kindness with kindness. She’s very clear about her debts and grievances.’

’But this clearly makes her own life much harder.’

She hadn’t mentioned it before, so he’d assumed she had brought a lot of money. Now, she had finally spoken up.

He took a ten-yuan bill from his pocket and handed it to her.

Su Zhaozhao hadn’t expected Xie Huaizheng to suddenly give her money. Staring at the ten-yuan bill, her eyes widened as she looked up at him. "For me?"

Her exaggerated reaction, her eyes instantly sparkling like she’d discovered treasure, made the corners of Xie Huaizheng’s mouth curve up. He actually found her quite cute like this.

"Didn’t you say you were short on cash? Take it."

"Oh, I couldn’t possibly. Camp Commander Xie, I haven’t done anything to deserve this..." Although Su Zhaozhao said this, her hand was already reaching for the money.

"You’ve helped us out in a big way. This little bit of money is nothing."

Ten yuan was equivalent to a month’s salary for many people in this era.

But Xie Huaizheng’s family was not short on money; they even sent him money every month.

And his benefits as a camp commander were excellent.

On the base, he lacked for nothing except money to buy cigarettes.

Therefore, he had saved up quite a bit of money over the past few years.

Besides, Su Zhaozhao was his fiancée. And the girl was all skin and bones.

Today, she was wearing a white short-sleeved shirt and black trousers.

Her slender arms seemed to have no meat on them at all.

The trousers were a loose fit, so you couldn’t tell unless you looked closely, but when the wind blew, the fabric billowed and revealed just how thin her legs were.

The doctor had also said she was malnourished. Xie Huaizheng pressed his thin lips together. ’Looks like I’ll have to work on fattening her up.’

’Let her go hungry on my military base? Not a chance.’

"Thank you, Camp Commander Xie! You’re so nice!" Su Zhaozhao took the money and stuffed it in her pocket.

’Ten extra yuan out of nowhere! I’m so happy!’

She assured Xie Huaizheng, "Don’t you worry, I’ll definitely counsel him properly and help him move past his pain."

She was very experienced in this area.

"Enough talk. Let’s go eat first." Xie Huaizheng hadn’t given her the money because of Jiang Shulan; that was just an excuse.

Unfortunately, she wasn’t being sharp when she should have been and didn’t question his reasoning.

The two of them went to the cafeteria to eat. Xie Huaizheng had the cook put a lot of meat on Su Zhaozhao’s plate.

Su Zhaozhao looked at the braised pork in her mess tin and frowned. "I can’t eat this much."

"You can. The doctor said you’re not in good health. You need to eat more meat."

Hearing this, Su Zhaozhao immediately tilted her head up to look at him. "You’re so concerned about me. Do you like me?!"

Thinking about how he hadn’t been as cold and sarcastic these past few days as he was at the beginning, Su Zhaozhao suddenly felt like she had a chance!

Xie Huaizheng’s heart skipped a beat. Then he said, "Everyone in the entire military district knows you’re my fiancée. With a frame like yours, they’ll think I’m mistreating you."

’Like her...?’

Xie Huaizheng was a little lost. He had never liked anyone before.

But his relationship with Su Zhaozhao was indeed different.

After eating, Xie Huaizheng returned to his dormitory. The soldier on duty in the communications room called out to him, "Camp Commander Xie, there’s a phone call for you. It’s from someone named Cheng Mo."

’Cheng Mo called. Does that mean the investigation results are in?’

Xie Huaizheng picked up the phone and dialed back.