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Chapter 4 of 6

Chapter 58

5 min read1,190 wordsMature

Translated by An Edited by An

At the same time, there was another thought hidden in the woman’s heart.

When they were eating, her eyes often fell involuntarily on Xiao Jing’s shoulder, where torn marks on his clothes were obvious. She didn’t know how injured he was.

‘Perhaps… that job… he should not be allowed to do that job.’

The woman’s thoughts tossed and turned over and over again, but she didn’t know how to say these words. She didn’t know what position she had to say these words.

In the end, when she forcefully pressed it down to the bottom of her heart, her mood turned heavy and her forehead was not as bright and spacious as it was before.

After going to the bed to rest, her heart still felt choked with anxiety. She grabbed the small jar of ointment in her hand, fiddling it with her fingertips.

Some time later, as soon as Xiao Jing stepped into the room, he saw the woman’s worried expression.

He sat down at the edge of the bed and took out something from his chest, “This is for you, take it.”

The woman stretched out her hand to take it, thinking Xiao Jing had brought her something delicious again. She had become a little gluttonous these days.

This thing was wrapped in a coarse cloth and it was also somewhat heavy. She opened it little by little, and saw some copper coins and broken silver skilfully packed inside.

“?”

She raised her eyes in surprise and looked at the man in confusion.

Xiao Jing replied in all seriousness, “This is my wage for the past few days and since I worked till late for these few days, the foreman gave me a little more money. You will manage the household in the future, so you should take care of these things.”

Manage the household?

Before the woman could snap out of the shock of these words, she saw Xiao Jing get up and walk to the cabinet. He opened it and let the woman see the position of the inner partition and took out all the things hidden there.

Xiao Jing came back and sat on the edge of the bed again as he continued, “I don’t have any permanent property. Apart from this dilapidated house, I don’t even have a mǔ of land. These are the only savings I have, and now, they are all under your control.”

The woman did not count. She just looked at the things Xiao Jing took out, there must be eight or nine taels of silver at the very least.

He completely skipped the matter of spending 100 taels of silver to buy ginseng for her medical treatment before and said that he didn’t have any property or much savings.

The woman stared at Xiao Jing’s solemn face, and suddenly felt that the money scalded her hand. It was extremely hot.

Was he not afraid?

Wasn’t he worried that she would take the opportunity to leave when he was not present now that she was in a good health? Won’t he lose both the person and his money then?

She looked at Xiao Jing again, unable to see through the intentions of this boorish man.

Xiao Jing scratched his hair in rare embarrassment as his wheat-colored skin flushed a dark red.

He stated, “I know this is not a lot of money, but I have strong limbs and I’m also somewhat skilful, so I can continue to earn money. If you have anything you want, you can just tell me. Or you can wait till the next fifteen when a market is held in the town. I’ll take you there to buy you whatever you like.”

He rambled on a lot, speaking calmly but softly, as if he wanted to indulge his listener.

After he finished speaking, he noticed that the woman was looking at the small pile of silver with a complicated expression. Seeing her like this, he was not in a hurry, waiting quietly for her.

For a while, only the crackling sound of candle’s flame could be heard in the room.

The woman knew very well in her heart that if she accepted Xiao Jing’s money, it would mean… she had really accepted this man and this home.

And at this time, she also realized the man consolidated his every step saying the sentence “You are my wife” everyday. From washing clothes and cooking to today’s ‘financial authority’, under the unhurried propaganda of this man, they had reached the present situation gradually.

This man was not as simple, silly and boorish as she thought. Of course, the exception was when he was taking small advantages of her in bed.

It was only about ten taels of silver but her hand felt heavy as if she was holding a thousand jīn . It was the heavy burden of responsibility.

After a long silence, the woman pursed her lips and put the money back on Xiao Jing’s palm.

In that second, the man’s tall figure stiffened suddenly; even his fingers were tense.

The woman grabbed his hand tightly.

She was unable to speak, so she pointed a finger at her forehead and spun it in circles.

【She wants to think about it.】

It’s not that she refused him, but because she hadn’t made up her mind yet.

Xiao Jing’s expression remained the same after he had understood her gesture, but he let out a sigh of relief inwardly.

At this point, he himself also felt that he was moving rather fast, but after witnessing what the woman did today, a fire was kindled in his heart.

Everyone had some things they were itching to grab and possess.

Xiao Jing understood what the woman meant, but he simply announced, “I’ll put the money back. If you need it, take it yourself. If I want to spend money, I’ll ask you to give me some.”

This was equivalent to retreating in order to advance; he wanted to lure the woman in.

The woman was smart. How could she not understand that all of Xiao Jing’s words were aimed at not giving her an opportunity to refuse.

A pout unconsciously formed on her lips. She panted with rage, as if she recalled the time she felt indignant when she discovered that Xiao Jing had deliberately not reminded her of the smudges on her face.

Xiao Jing turned around and saw the woman’s crimson face, the corners of his lips hooking in a smile.

“I came back in a hurry today, so I didn’t have any time to buy something delicious for you. However, I did find some time to buy another item.” As he spoke, he stretched his hand into his chest and took something out.

The woman’s attention was attracted by his words as she looked at him without blinking.

In the package of brown coarse cloth, she saw Xiao Jing’s hand grab a bright red thing.

When he opened his palm, she finally saw what it was. His rough fingers were pinching the thin straps of a dudou .

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