The 70s Novel: The Supporting Character Just Wants to Lie Down-Chapter 24: A Satisfying Ending, Take It Easy
After the meal, Wang Zhaodi was stuffed. It seemed as if she had never enjoyed a meal like this before. Indeed, marriage was wonderful—it marked a brand new beginning, allowing her to leave behind the past and freely shape the life she desired.
Zhu Zicheng watched his new wife eat with such joy, and the more he looked at her, the more he liked her. That little oily mouth—he was getting hungry too...
"Zhaodi, are you full?" Zhu Zicheng asked, his eyes flashing with a bit of urgency, "Shall we go home now..."
Upon hearing ’go home,’ Wang Zhaodi imagined what home looked like, filled with anticipation. She patted her stomach and nodded obediently, "Sure, let’s go home."
When they hurried to the Wang Family’s house, there was nobody home; everyone had gone to work.
Seeing the locked door, Wang Zhaodi smiled helplessly and said, "Let me go find Dad to get the key, you wait here for a moment."
Zhu Zicheng suddenly recalled that when he came that morning, it was the second aunt who welcomed him; it seemed throughout the discussions about this marriage, Wang Family members have never shown up...
"I’ll go with you; I ought to meet my father-in-law and mother-in-law." Zhu Zicheng had been so focused on Wang Zhaodi that he hadn’t thought about anything else. Now that he recalled, he noticed something was off, naturally wanting to clear things up.
"This..." Wang Zhaodi hesitated, suddenly unsure how to explain her relationship with her family.
"Zhaodi, you’re back..." Wang Baoxing hurried back from the fields after Li Yinfeng informed him that Wang Zhaodi and her husband were back. After putting down his farming tool, he indeed saw the two locked outside the door.
"Dad..." Wang Zhaodi called him ’Dad’ genuinely at this moment, feeling grateful for his timely arrival to resolve the awkwardness.
"Dad, I’m Zhaodi’s husband, Zhu Zicheng." Zhu Zicheng quickly stepped forward with a smile to introduce himself.
As Wang Baoxing approached, he had already observed him closely; tall and handsome, they were quite a match standing with Zhaodi.
"Good, very good." He nodded with a smile, not knowing what else to say, and went forward to unlock the door, saying to Zhaodi, "There are quite a few things, see how you want to take them." Apparently, he had no intention of helping them move.
Once the door was opened, four neatly packed burlap bags were arranged in the hall. Zhu Zicheng glanced at his bicycle and asked, "Dad, do you have any hemp rope? I’ll tie all the things to the bike’s rear seat."
"Yes." Wang Baoxing went to the storage room to get a bundle of hemp rope and helped Zhu Zicheng secure the four large bags.
Among the four bags, two were filled with food, tied together and hung on either side of the bicycle. One bag contained soft items like quilts and clothes, tied to the rear seat. The last bag, filled with daily necessities like kettles and basins, was placed on top of the soft items. The rope was long enough and firmly tied, so there was no worry of them falling.
After everything was sorted, seeing Wang Baoxing and Wang Zhaodi silent, Zhu Zicheng had no choice but to speak up with a smile, "Dad, we’re leaving first. We’ll return in three days, and I’ll bring Zhaodi to visit you again."
Upon hearing this, Wang Baoxing glanced at Wang Zhaodi and said faintly, "As long as you live your lives well, that’s all that matters."
"Dad, I’m leaving." Wang Zhaodi only gave Wang Baoxing a glance, then turned towards Zhu Zicheng, smiling, "Let’s go."
Zhu Zicheng still didn’t know at this point that the father-daughter relationship was distant, which underestimated his intelligence. However, it wasn’t the right time to discuss it, so he suppressed the questions for now.
He kicked down the bike stand, straddled the seat himself, and pointed at the front crossbar, "Sit up here." Being tall and strong, he supported the bike effortlessly with one leg.
Following his suggestion, Wang Zhaodi sat sideways on the bike.
Zhu Zicheng encircled her in front of him, secretly savoring the youthful fragrance from her neck, his mood elevated, "Dad, we’re off now." With another call back, he pedaled, beginning to ride the bike steadily forward.
"Ah, slow down; I’m scared..." Wang Zhaodi was flustered by the wobbling and grumbled quietly.
Zhu Zicheng laughed heartily, "What are you afraid of? You’re in my arms; you won’t fall off. Don’t worry, I’ll protect you."
Watching the two move further away, a faint smile tugged at the corners of Wang Baoxing’s lips, vanishing swiftly. He turned around to lock the door and continued to work. But as he walked, his footsteps felt much lighter, as if he had released something.
Wang Baoxing returned to the fields beside Liu Yulan.
"Gone?" Liu Yulan didn’t lift her head, her voice unremarkable.
"Yes." Wang Baoxing squatted down to help her weed, "Yulan, thank you."
Despite a thousand things he could say, he finally spoke only those three words.
"No need, I didn’t do it for you." Liu Yulan understood his meaning but felt no obligation; her decisions weren’t driven by him.
Wang Baoxing remained silent.
"Go do your own work; I can manage here," Liu Yulan urged him away.
"Alright." Wang Baoxing eventually stood up and left. Work at the village was portioned out: the more work completed, the more points scored, clearly defined. He had to finish his own tasks before helping her; otherwise, failing to earn full points wouldn’t be worth it.
Wang Miaomiao came home from school in the evening, finding the dinner particularly bountiful today.
"Wow, there’s fish today; I’ll have an extra bowl of rice." Wang Miaomiao lifted the bowl, chopsticks eager to reach for the braised fish.
A pair of chopsticks blocked her, "No, your wound hasn’t healed, no braised or fish and shrimp dishes allowed."
Liu Yulan felt a bit annoyed now; she was happy today, and upon returning from work, she saw a few kids by the river catching fish. Wanting to celebrate, she spent money on a half-pound fish.
Seeing Wang Miaomiao’s wound suddenly reminded her that the young daughter couldn’t eat it. Alas, a misstep.
"Huh?" Wang Miaomiao was heartbroken and disappointed, greatly affected.
"Uh, eat more eggs, eat the eggs." Liu Yulan quickly added several chopsticks of scrambled eggs for her.
"Ah..." She didn’t want more eggs; she had been eating them every day, feeling fed up. She wanted to try something different...
"Haha..." Wang Jia Bao laughed mischievously, "Oh dear, this fish smells so good; I must eat several pieces."
"Wang Jia Bao!" Wang Miaomiao was furious. She quickly picked up her chopsticks and served several pieces to Wang Baoxing, Wang Pandi, and Liu Yulan, leaving everyone astonished by the speed and intensity.
"Hmph, it’s all distributed now; the youngest gets the least." Wang Miaomiao raised her little chin proudly at Wang Jia Bao.
"Ah... Third sister, at least leave me one more piece..." Wang Jia Bao looked at the solitary piece on his chopsticks and the empty plate, feeling like crying without tears.
"Yes, your sister’s right." Liu Yulan affirmed, "Good children should respect the elders; now, quickly eat." Happy, she lifted her bowl and cheerfully urged everyone to eat.
Wang Pandi, gazing at the three pieces of fish in her bowl, smiled with delight.
Wang Baoxing’s brows and mouth corner also acquired a few creases, no longer the bitter wrinkles of the past.
