Forced to marry a disabled man in the countryside? I'll repay you tenfold!

"Yan Shen, let's talk this over again? It's not as serious as you think. Look, my friends have weapons, but I'm perfectly fine. They couldn't even touch me. I was just a little scared and a bit faint at the sight of blood, that's why I passed out—"

A doctor who faints at the sight of blood?

Zhou Yanshen's attitude was uncompromising, leaving no room for negotiation: "No negotiation. I must come. I can close my eyes and not see anything, I can even plug my ears and not hear anything, but I must come."

This was the first time Zhou Yanshen had been so assertive in all the time they had known each other. Before, they had always discussed everything and respected her privacy immensely, but this time, nothing he said mattered.

Su Wanqing sighed, glanced at Zhou Yanshen who was still as cold as an ice cube beside her, and decided not to bring up the matter for now. She then turned to look at the uneasy Director Li beside her.

Director Li quickly stepped forward, his face full of remorse: "This is all my fault. It's all my fault for not managing my subordinates properly. Xiao Su, your friend has already taken away that batch of supplies, hasn't he?"

Su Wanqing nodded: "They made too much noise, so they dealt with those people and took the things away. Nothing was stolen." She paused, lowering her voice, "But they seemed to have gone a bit too far... Will this cause trouble? How do I explain it?"

Director Li waved his hands repeatedly: "Don't worry, they were the ones who committed robbery, they deserved to be beaten to death! I'll go back and severely punish these traitors, they'll definitely rot in jail!"

After saying that, he left in a hurry.

Zhou Yanshen squinted. When Director Li's men were cleaning up the scene, they only found tire tracks from the dozen or so robbers on this side. There were no traces of Wanqing's friend's men. It's impossible that they could transport several tons of supplies without using any tools.

There is another suspicious point.

All of these people were injured in their legs, as if they had been pierced by something, and from the angle, it looked like they had been shot out from a single angle.

However, rather than from one angle, it was more like one person firing dozens of weapons at the same time... because when he heard the screams, they were also coming from these same people at the same time.

Zhou Yanshen found it increasingly strange. What was even stranger was how quickly these people moved, swiftly retrieving the arrows they had shot, while he had only been at the scene for a minute from hearing the sound...

There are just too many things I can't understand.

After speaking with Director Li, Su Wanqing turned her head and looked at Zhou Yanshen, who was only wearing a pair of underwear. Although his figure was indeed excellent, who could resist being envious of such a good figure if they stared at him for so long?

Besides, it was getting chilly. She quickly tossed the coat over, saying, "Put this on quickly, don't get cold. Let's go home."

Zhou Yanshen silently put on his pants, but wrapped his clothes around her body. Without saying a word, he picked her up and carried her away. He put her in the back of the tractor, covered her up, jumped into the driver's seat, and drove home with a "putt-putt-putt" sound.

When they got home, he carried her into the house and onto the kang (a heated brick bed), then fetched hot water to wash her clean before washing himself hastily and getting onto the kang as well.

Su Wanqing lay on the kang (a heated brick bed), her consciousness sinking into her spatial dimension to collect livestock manure and feed them, while she pondered how to coax the man who was still sulking.

Just then, Zhou Yanshen's strong body enveloped her, and his warm breath sprayed onto her neck.

"I'm sorry." His voice was low and hoarse, filled with barely suppressed fear. "But from now on, I have to stay with you. Wanqing, you know, I was really terrified just now... I've never been this scared before. I can't imagine how I would live if I lost you."

He lowered his eyes, overwhelmed by self-reproach and guilt: "I know following you like this might make things inconvenient for you. But I don't want today's events to repeat themselves. I can refrain from asking about your secrets and your privacy, but your safety—cannot be left to chance again."

Su Wanqing watched him quietly. This man was desperately trying to protect her, yet he was also afraid of overstepping his bounds and upsetting her; that inner conflict was written all over his eyes. She suddenly realized that having him come along wasn't such a big deal after all—it would just mean one more step or a few more detours in doing things, but it would save him from worry.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered, "It's alright, Yan Shen. I've thought it through. We only have one life, and I cherish it. With you protecting me, I feel at ease. From now on, you can come with me in these kinds of situations. If something really becomes inconvenient, we'll talk about it then."

The two embraced, and the knot in their hearts was untied.

The misunderstanding was cleared up, and their bodies became entangled.

Halfway through, Zhou Yanshen suddenly froze, as if he had seen a ghost.

Su Wanqing: "?"

What's wrong?

Zhou Yanshen looked astonished, his voice trembling slightly: "It seems... something is moving?"

Su Wanqing paused for a second, then burst out laughing: "Maybe you disturbed the child's sleep, and the child is protesting."

Zhou Yanshen: "..."

Her face flushed red, all the way down to her ears.

He never expected it to turn out this way.

"Then...should we continue?" At this moment, he had no other thoughts but was concerned about his wife's feelings.

After all... if this matter involved anything else, he wouldn't have any other thoughts. Right now, he was just terrified. Just thinking about that little thing protesting made him too ashamed to continue.

Su Wanqing suppressed a laugh and patted him, "It's okay, why go to sleep so early? It won't matter if they go to sleep later."

Zhou Yanshen: "..."

His little wife.

What could he do? What else could he do but listen to his wife?

-

The next few days were unusually peaceful.

Su Wanqing stayed at home obediently, feeding the chickens, growing vegetables, and going to the clinic for medical treatment. She felt that this kind of life was pretty good—if it could always be this peaceful, she would be happy to wake up laughing in her dreams.

Liu Shuqing wasn't as leisurely as her. The distribution of alfalfa seeds and rhizobia kept him extremely busy, and he was surrounded by the Party secretaries of various farms every day, until his voice became hoarse from shouting.

Zhou Yanshen's side wasn't quiet either. Many people came to his door with red dates, dried apricots, eggs, and even money, wanting to learn how to drive a tractor. Zhou Yanshen turned them all away: "The troupe will make unified arrangements; whoever is assigned to learn will learn. It's no use coming to me individually."

The cellar at Erzhuzi's house was finally finished, and Uncle Ding, along with several old buddies, started digging a cellar for Su Wanqing's house. The men wielded picks and shovels, working with great enthusiasm.

The cowshed at Aunt Wen's house had been reinforced and replaced with an adobe house, its exterior walls plastered with a thick layer of mud and straw, making it bright and warm. A small toilet had also been newly built next to it; although simple, it was convenient and practical. Aunt Wen brought Gu Zhixing to kowtow and express her gratitude, refusing to get up no matter what: "Dr. Su, we have nothing to repay you with right now, so we'll have the child kowtow to you to remember your kindness for a lifetime..." Su Wanqing couldn't stop her and had no choice but to accept Gu Zhixing's bow, and then gave him a bag of fruit candies.