I was married off to a disabled hero in lieu of marriage; my in-laws doted on me and I aspired to gr

Qiaoqiao bought her favorite blue bicycle and was overjoyed.

Qiaoqiao couldn't ride a bicycle, and Zhou Wenhui had a leg injury, so the two of them had to push the bicycle home.

The streets were sparsely populated, and the two walked and talked, creating a rare moment of romance.

"It's a pity I didn't see Sister Han. I wonder if she's gained weight," Qiaoqiao said, pushing her bicycle.

"If you miss her, go see her in the chemical plant's residential area."

"Forget it, I consider her a friend, but she might not consider me a friend."

"What do you mean?"

"Sister Liu doesn't like her and told me not to be too sincere. Actually, Sister Han is like me, from a bad family background, and Lin Jie doesn't treat her well either, so she always feels inferior," Qiaoqiao said softly.

"You...you also feel inferior?"

"Of course I would. The first time I saw you, I wanted to hide in a hole."

"Is it really necessary? I just don't like to talk."

"Don't you like talking? Your face is colder than the weather today. You won't even look at me, as if I, a toad, am going to eat you, a swan," Qiaoqiao said indignantly.

Zhou Wenhui chuckled and looked down: "Qiaoqiao, what woman compares herself to a toad?"

"You are a hero, a college student, and the eldest son of Commander Zhou. As for me, I'm just a country girl with a bad class background. What am I if not a toad?"

As she spoke, Qiaoqiao thought to herself that she had indeed married above her station with Zhou Wenhui.

"Yang Qiao is a college student now, the daughter-in-law of Commander Zhou, and the wife of the editor-in-chief of the supplement of the Huailin Daily. You're a swan. Qiaoqiao, I have to remind you, there are toads in college too. You can't abandon me," Zhou Wenhui teased.

"As the saying goes, birds of a feather flock together. Look at my grandparents, my parents, and my in-laws—they're all so loving and affectionate. Children raised in families like that are unlikely to go astray in matters of the heart. I trust you, and you should trust me too," Qiaoqiao said logically and persuasively.

"Our marriage may seem like an arranged one, but we were actually the best couple chosen from among many. My parents mobilized everyone they knew to help them find you." Zhou Wenhui said with a half-smile, it was hard to tell whether he was telling the truth or not.

"The first time I met my mother-in-law, I had just returned from working in the fields, and she wiped my sweat with the sleeve of her brand-new military uniform, her eyes full of love and affection. I was deeply moved. Wenhui, rather than saying I married you, it was actually your parents who I fell in love with first. They are so kind and approachable, without any airs at all."

Looking back, the anxiety, struggle, and pain of that time have become a laughing stock today.

"Heaven saw that Yang Qiao had a hard life, so it sent her to my side, and I watched her grow up happily."

"You, Zhou Wenhui, don't be so sentimental, you're making me want to cry." Qiaoqiao's nose twitched, she was very moved.

Yes, the Zhou family treated her like their own daughter, and Zhou Wenhui guided, encouraged, and loved her like a brother and friend.

It was Zhou Wenhui's strict discipline that prevented a junior high school student from getting into university.

In order to get Qiaoqiao into a university in the city, he shamelessly went to the principal to ask for leniency, only to find out that he had failed the political review and had to face the humiliation from Cheng Zhaoying's brother.

He is Zhou Wenhui, the son of a high-ranking official who never asks for favors and is fawned over by everyone.

Qiaoqiao looked at Zhou Wenhui with deep emotion and said, "Wenhui, marrying you is the greatest blessing of my life. Even if a celestial being descended to earth, I wouldn't give him a second glance; I only want you."

"Oh my, look at Qiaoqiao, she can even say sweet words now. My father said that it's the greatest blessing for the Zhou family that I can marry you."

"Wenhui, since you're the editor of the supplement section, do you meet a lot of young women?"

Qiaoqiao changed the subject so quickly that Zhou Wenhui didn't react in time.

"There are only a few female editors in their thirties in the office, no girls at all."

"I'm not talking about your colleague, but rather the artistic young women who submit their work, like Zhang Man."

Are you jealous?

"Of course I'm jealous. Zhang Man looked at you differently just now."

Qiaoqiao pouted, and Zhou Wenhui laughed: "All the letters in the supplement are handled by the editors below. The published articles are selected by the editors and then sent to my office."

After I review it, I send it to the typesetting room for typesetting, and then to the printing factory for printing. Yang Qiaoqiao, at which stage will I meet the artsy young woman?

"But you just promised Zhang Man that if the editor couldn't see her letter and it couldn't be published, didn't you break your promise?"

"Good articles will not be buried, and bad articles, even if they are written by Yang Qiao, cannot be published. What I said to Zhang Man was encouragement. I couldn't just tell her not to submit her work because it definitely won't be published; that would be discouraging her, wouldn't it?"

Qiaoqiao's inner conflict was resolved, and Zhang Man's gaze towards Zhou Wenhui was quite strange.

Zhou Wenhui is not the kind of person who is fickle. When he was giving speeches, so many girls admired him, but he remained unmoved.

Upon arriving at the villa, they saw a man carrying a black leather bag, furtively peering into the courtyard. Qiaoqiao shouted, "Hey, who are you looking for?"

The man was startled by Qiaoqiao's loud voice and stammered, "I...I'm looking for Minister Zhou, who are you?"

"Minister Zhou is not home," Zhou Wenhui said gently but authoritatively.

"Yes, a woman just said that Minister Zhou is not at home. I wanted to ask for Minister Zhou's phone number, but the woman wouldn't open the door no matter what I said."

"What do you want with him?"

"Oh, I am Pan Delin, Minister of Agriculture of Huailin City. I only learned today during the municipal party committee meeting that Minister Zhou of the Provincial Party Committee's Department of Agriculture lives in Huailin, so I came to pay him a visit."

"Minister Pan, if it's a work-related matter, my father will naturally issue notices to all cities and counties. You can just wait for the news. If it's a personal matter, my father won't show favoritism. Please go back now. The nanny won't give my father's phone number to anyone." Zhou Wenhui said indifferently.

"Are you Minister Zhou's son? I'm sorry, I'm here to visit Minister Zhou on both official and personal matters. I heard that Tonggang County has bypassed the municipal party committee and started implementing the land redistribution policy. I wanted to ask if this was Minister Zhou's idea?"

If so, I'd also like to ask if other counties in our city can follow suit? The people of Tonggang County are starving and freezing, and urgently need agricultural reform. But in our city, there are fifteen counties, many of which are poorer than Tonggang. I need concrete instructions.

"Minister Pan, I am not familiar with the work-related matters. However, my father is a decisive and efficient person. He is concerned not only with Tonggang County, but with the entire province. Please go back and wait patiently. My father will surely have arrangements for how each county should carry out its work."

"Then, will Minister Zhou take extra care of Huailin City?"

"My father has worked in Huailin for decades, and this is his home too. He won't show favoritism or neglect me, so please rest assured."

"Okay, okay, I'm relieved to hear that. I'm sorry to have bothered you, I'll take my leave now." Pan Delin bowed and left.

"You rushed over on your first day of work? Are you that passionate about your job?"

"Hmph, it's probably not him who's anxious, it's the municipal party secretary," Zhou Wenhui said sharply.

"What do you mean? Why is the Party Secretary in such a hurry?"

"After my father fell into a coma, I was kicked out of the military family compound, the pigs in Dashui Village were confiscated, and Fu Sanjun was almost dismissed. Unconsciously, the municipal party secretary and my father had already developed a grudge. He sent Pan Delin to sound him out."

"We were kicked out of the military dependents' compound. Was this at the behest of the municipal party secretary?"

"You don't understand the ways of officialdom. They may seem unrelated, but in reality, they're all interconnected. My father always had enemies, and when he was unconscious and powerless, people started kicking him while he was down. Even Cheng Zhaoying's brother dared to target you," Zhou Wenhui said coldly.

"This is so complicated. Could Dad have been framed by a villain?"

"Don't worry, he's alive, and his connections will follow. Uncle Pu has already taken a position in the central government, and Dad is one of his trusted subordinates. With that connection, who would dare to frame my dad? Don't let my dad's carefree attitude fool you; he's actually quite shrewd. There's no need to worry about him."

"You're saying Daddy is a fox?"

"Isn't that right? He's still a cunning fox. Knowing him as I do, he's probably off trying to get money from the governor right now. Who knows how much he'll spoil Tonggang County?"

A sly smile appeared on Zhou Wenhui's lips; he was also a cunning little fox.