Go back to the prosperous days and become a layman

Chapter 853 852 That's terrifying!
Tang Zhitong's drowsiness only stopped when Wang Bo finished his report and stepped down from the stage, followed by enthusiastic applause.

After bowing, Wang Bo seemed a little unsure of himself and quietly asked Tang Zhitong, "Teacher Tang, did I pass the test just now?"

"Be confident, you'll definitely get full marks. Look how enthusiastic everyone's applause was just now; it's all recognition of you." Tang Zhitong lied through his teeth. He had been dozing off and hadn't paid any attention to how Wang Bo was speaking.

"Hehe." Wang Bo was relieved after hearing Tang Zhitong's words.

Tang Zhitong had drunk a lot of water at noon, and when the afternoon meeting ended, he planned to go to the toilet before the delegation from Beijing gathered to leave. However, when he arrived at the toilet, he found a long queue.

"Wow, it's that popular?" Tang Zhitong was taken aback.

"This is for the large numbers; the small numbers can go in directly," a representative in line kindly reminded them.

"Okay, thank you." Hearing this, Tang Zhitong saw people coming out from inside and squeezed through the gap.

In terms of urination, the men's restroom is much more convenient than the women's restroom, but since there weren't many female representatives at this gathering, the women's restroom was sufficient.

There's an unwritten rule for men urinating: generally speaking, when conditions allow, they won't urinate in pairs; usually, one person will stand with an empty space between them.

There weren't many people at the urinals, but there were a lot of people at the squat toilets.

Tang Zhitong was running the water when she overheard several people talking: "The restaurant is great in every way, except for that toilet seat, it's awkward, you can't poop while sitting on it."

"Wild boars can't eat fine bran, so they use a toilet seat, which is for sitting down to defecate without pressing on the legs."

"I'm a wild boar, and you're not much better. Didn't you come to line up too?"

"I'm saving water for the restaurant..."

"There are too many people here. I heard you can squat on that kind of device to poop. I'll try it later."

……

They must be from the same workplace and know each other, hence their casual conversation.

Tang Zhitong has some experience to share about not being used to a toilet. In the past, living conditions were limited, and people would squat to defecate. They got used to it after a while. But when they suddenly switched to a toilet, they might not be able to defecate properly. People from rural areas should be able to relate to this.

Tang Zhitong shook his head twice, pulled up his pants, and went out to wash his hands.

It's impolite to eavesdrop on other people's conversations, but they don't avoid doing so, so Tang Zhitong can't just cover his own ears.

This situation wasn't limited to local delegations; people from the Beijing delegation were also queuing up. Therefore, Tang Zhitong was unable to leave with the delegation immediately after she came out.

The staff here reacted quickly, directing the delegates in need to other restrooms in areas without meeting sessions.

Representatives who did not have this need gathered according to their respective areas and waited for everyone to arrive before returning together.

Everyone seemed to understand the current situation, and there were all sorts of opinions.

Tang Zhitong listened and said that the reason for today's traffic jam, besides complaining about the bad toilets in the restaurant, was mainly because the food had been plentiful these past few days and everyone had eaten too much.

The delegation from the capital city gathered yesterday afternoon, but the local delegations may not have arrived yesterday. Due to their modes of transportation, many of them arrived earlier and have been eating here for several days.

With ample food and rich nutrition, it's inevitable that there will be more excrement.

Listening to their discussion, Tang Zhitong noticed that no one mentioned that the treatment was excessive or that life in their hometown was too hard; it seemed that they were all quite aware of the situation.

Luo Qingquan saw Tang Zhitong and immediately waved him over, calling him over: "Little Tang, did you not sleep well last night?"

"Hello, Uncle Luo, I'm alright." Tang Zhitong smiled, knowing he couldn't very well tell him that his snoring was keeping him awake.

"You child, you're not being realistic," Luo Qingquan said, pointing at Tang Zhitong with a laugh and a scolding.

"Hehe, there is a little bit." Since Luo Qingquan said so, Tang Zhitong could only admit it.

"You go to sleep first tonight, and I'll go to sleep after you fall asleep. If that doesn't work, I'll go home to sleep. I can't disturb you young people," Luo Qingquan suggested considerately.

"Huh? Didn't we agree on a collective action in yesterday's meeting?" Tang Zhitong was stunned. Whether he went to bed early or not didn't matter; he just wanted to go home.

"In principle, it's not allowed. The organizing committee is worried that individuals might encounter unexpected situations when going out, but there are always special circumstances," Luo Qingquan replied flexibly.

"Oh~" Tang Zhitong understood. So it was because of the security issue? Although the Returning Home Office kept sending people out, new people were also constantly pouring into Beijing. Without money or tickets, it was not surprising that they would do outrageous things.

"Uncle Luo, why don't I go home to sleep tonight? My home is just outside Chongwenmen, quite close to the Sijiucheng Hotel." Luo Qingquan had already put it this way, and if Tang Zhitong didn't seize the opportunity, all those years of hard work would be wasted.

"The hotel has air conditioning. It's so comfortable to sleep with the air conditioning on and a blanket. Are you really willing to give that up?" Luo Qingquan was taken aback.

"Uncle Luo, you have to let me show respect for the elderly and care for the young, right?" Although Tang Zhitong enjoyed the cool air from the air conditioner during the meeting, it was secondary compared to Xiao Wang's kisses, hugs, and piggyback rides.

"Well... okay then." Luo Qingquan remembered that Tang Zhitong had mentioned wanting a child when they were discussing the incubator, so he didn't hesitate much and readily agreed.

"Come on, let's go talk to the head of the delegation." Luo Qingquan was one of the higher-ranking members of the delegation, so he had more confidence in speaking to the head of the delegation arranged by the Beijing authorities.

The head of the delegation knew his members well and was aware of Tang Zhitong's special status, as he was an employee of the postal and telecommunications system but had made great contributions to the cultural and health system.

Given that this member had Luo Qingquan's influence, the team leader was very accommodating and kindly reminded him, "Okay, but don't be late in the morning. Breakfast doesn't wait for anyone. Have dinner before you go back, and try not to let the other comrades see that you're absent."

"Okay! Thank you, Commander." Tang Zhitong shook hands with the commander to express his gratitude.

Breakfast won't wait for anyone, and being absent is just an excuse. The group leader was just subtly reminding Tang Zhitong to save some food for his family, since such opportunities only come a few times a year.

Back at the hotel, after dinner, Tang Zhitong took his room key, left the restaurant, got on his bicycle, and went home.

There were two keys to the standard room, one for each person. Tang Zhitong carried the key not to open the door, but to use as a pass to enter the Sijiucheng Hotel the next morning. Tang Zhitong wasn't home; the front door was locked early. After knocking for a while, Xiao Wang heard the noise, opened the door to the side room, and cautiously asked, "Who is it?"

"I can tell, right?" Tang Zhitong couldn't help but smile when he heard Xiao Wang ask.

"Why are you back? Didn't you say you couldn't come home?" Of course, Xiao Wang could hear her husband's voice, and she rushed over to open the door.

"Hey, who told me to have so much face! Come on, let's go inside." Tang Zhitong was still thinking about the salt his family needed for pickling soybean paste, so he brought back about ten pounds of it today, enough for the family to use for a while.

"You didn't sneak out to deliver salt home, did you?" Xiao Wang asked, guessing, as she saw the salt on her husband's bicycle.

"How could I? I share a room with Uncle Luo, and he snores, which disturbs my rest. He said he was going home, but how could I, as a junior, let him go back? So we went to discuss it with the head of the delegation, and then I came back." Tang Zhitong parked his bicycle, turned around, locked the door, and cupped Xiao Wang's head in his hands, bumping heads with her in the dark.

"Hmph, at least you're polite." Little Wang enjoyed her husband's tenderness and rewarded him with two kisses.

"Wenwen? Who is that?" Zhang Guifang went to bed early tonight. She only heard her daughter-in-law asking outside, but did not hear her son's response. Now that there was no sound outside, she couldn't help but worry, so she put on her clothes and went out.

"Mom, it's me, your son," Tang Zhitong replied, releasing Dingxiang's tongue and kissing Xiao Wang on the head.

"Didn't you say you weren't coming back?" Zhang Guifang was relieved to hear her son's voice, but she had the same question as her daughter-in-law.

Tang Zhitong couldn't help but explain again, and then put the salt he had brought back into the main room.

Back in the side room, Xiao Wang helped her husband hang up his clothes, muttering as she worked, "Without you, the water in the house doesn't taste sweet anymore."

"Hey, I think it must be what you and I are thinking." Tang Zhitong naturally knew the reason. Ever since the family changed to a small water tank, they had to fill it at least once a day, and even three or four times when washing clothes.

The water I fetched yesterday certainly won't last until today; it won't taste like spring water anymore.

“Go away, Mom said the same thing today,” Xiao Wang retorted, tossing a basket of spinach at her husband with her eyes.

"That's different. Mom wants me to fetch water. As long as I fetch it, she'll definitely say it's delicious," Tang Zhitong said, trying to cover it up.

"Then make it again tomorrow, so Mom can taste it and see if it's good. It's getting late, go to sleep." Xiao Wang made the bed and invited her husband to go to bed.

Without the sound of raindrops today, my bedtime exercise was less enjoyable.

"How much money have you saved up in your little stash? Let's buy a mattress, shall we? The mattresses at the Sijiucheng Hotel are so soft, they're really comfortable to lie on. I think those kinds of mattresses are good for your knees." Tang Zhitong pulled Xiao Wang's long legs over and placed them on her stomach, touching her knees as she spoke.

Before experiencing the mattress at the Sijiucheng Hotel, Tang Zhitong had already come into contact with palm mattresses.

Xiao Wang's bedroom has a palm mattress. Before meeting her parents, the couple, deeply in love, had a superficial discussion about body structure on the mattress.

However, the discussion at the time was not thorough, and we did not experience the elasticity and comfort of the palm mattress.

"Ugh, what you're saying sounds so inappropriate. We're not buying it. We'll have so many expenses after we have a baby, we need to save up." Today is a safe period, so Ms. Wang didn't bother to pose anymore. After putting her legs on her husband, she turned to the side.

“Money is earned, not saved. I’ve decided to go with them to the music academy during the holidays to learn from a teacher. Once I write a song, the money will come, right?” Tang Zhitong tried her best to persuade her.

"Open source and cut costs. You haven't even opened the source yet. The only way now is to cut costs. Don't buy it." Xiao Wang still disagreed.

"Sigh, after sleeping on the sofa bed for two days, I'm already thinking about installing springs on the heated kang. We'll buy them after the source is opened." Tang Zhitong sighed helplessly. There was still a lot of money lying in his space, but since it hadn't been verified by Xiao Wang, it wasn't appropriate to take it out and use it.

Or should we say we "found it"? Tang Zhitong immediately rejected the idea.

If the amount is too small, it won't work; if the amount is too large, Xiao Wang will definitely ask him to hand the money over to the police or donate it directly to an orphanage...

The best way is still to make more money. Since Xiao Wang married me, her quality of life has declined in some aspects, and I have to work hard to make up for it.

"You're so witty. Sun Yue is due in a month or so, do you think we'll conceive this month?" Xiao Wang unconsciously drew circles on her husband's chest with her hand, worried that her month of trying would all be for nothing.

"It will definitely happen, you have to believe in yourself." Tang Zhitong had been encouraging herself for a month, and she couldn't afford to falter now.

"I'm not confident." The young couple had been trying to conceive for four or five months since after the Lunar New Year, but after several unsuccessful attempts, Ms. Wang's confidence was waning. If it didn't work out this time, she planned to have a comprehensive check-up done by Ms. Lü Lixian.

"Don't worry about these unnecessary things. It's all about probability. It's possible to not conceive for a year or two," Tang Zhitong comforted Xiao Wang by patting him on the back.

“But we’ve tried our best.” Xiao Wang snuggled closer to her husband, feeling more secure in his embrace.

"Is it possible that we haven't tried hard enough?" After hearing what Xiao Wang said, Tang Zhitong was also unsure. Although theoretically there was a possibility that it would take several months to conceive a child, the possibility was very low.

Xiao Wang has always been very healthy. Could it be that... the heatstroke he suffered in 58 damaged his genitals?
Tang Zhitong was shocked; that was terrifying!

"However, my stomach hasn't felt heavy or bloated these past few days." Xiao Wang changed the subject, a hint of hope in her eyes, afraid it might just be her imagination.

"Oh dear~ You're talking so heavily, it scared me. Just wait a few more days, we'll know in a few days." Tang Zhitong knew that Xiao Wang was referring to the cyclical pattern. Before those few days every month, she would always feel a bit unwell as a warning sign. This time she didn't have that feeling, which meant that the two of them might have successfully taken the first step in cultivating a successor.

"What are you afraid of?" Xiao Wang asked curiously, noticing her husband's muscles had tensed up.

"I suffered heatstroke on a construction site when I was doing odd jobs the year before last. At that time..." Tang Zhitong had never mentioned this to his family until his classmate Xiao Wang asked him about it today, so he told him.

"Pah, pah, pah, stop thinking nonsense. No wonder you reminded them to slow down before Fengzhen went to the countryside. Don't push yourselves so hard in the future." Little Wang felt sorry for her husband after hearing this, and stroked his face as she gave him instructions.

"No, things are different now. I've found that I've been incredibly lucky ever since I met you. You must be the legendary woman who brings good fortune to her husband." Tang Zhitong turned her head and stamped a mark on Xiao Wang's forehead, looking at the treasure girl in front of her with delight.

"Pah, that's all rubbish!" Xiao Wang firmly disagreed with this statement.

"Wang only brings prosperity to you." Okay, well, my stance isn't that firm after all...

(End of this chapter)