Chapter 189: Too Reliable

Chapter 189: Chapter 189: Too Reliable

Shen Rongdan poked at the pile of coins in front of him, pushing them one by one with his fingertip before looking up to ask.

"How much do you have over there?"

"Sixty-three... sixty-eight."

After counting, Song Yao pushed the last coin to the side.

"I’ve got sixty-eight here. Not a penny missing."

"Sixty-eight plus eighty-five... that adds up to one hundred and fifty..."

Shen Rongdan slapped his thigh and turned to shout toward the kitchen.

"Li Hanchen! Maybe we should set up a stall too? This is such easy money!"

Li Hanchen was wiping a spatula, water dripping down its handle.

He didn’t even look up, just reached out to tighten the faucet.

"Sure, go ahead."

Shen Rongdan grinned.

"Ah, forget it. I can’t just go stealing food from my sister’s bowl!" 𝑓𝑟ℯℴ𝓂

"Let her be the one to earn all the money. A girl should dress well and eat what she likes. I’m just a rough guy. My clothes are fine after a wash, and I’m perfectly happy with steamed buns and pickles. What do I need to hoard so much cash for?"

Song Yao swept the change into her apron pocket, the coins CLINKING.

She looked up at him.

"Brother, once you get married, won’t you have to buy your wife this and that?"

"If a girl is always pinching pennies, her complexion will turn sallow and her hair will fall out faster."

Shen Rongdan blinked.

"But I don’t even have a potential girlfriend in sight!"

"Being single is so freeing! Full when you’ve eaten, happy when you wake up—life is comfortable all around!"

As he spoke, he shrugged his shoulders, stuck one hand in his pocket, and gestured in a circle with the other, looking smug.

Song Yao: "..."

「Once the Lantern Festival passed, a hint of warmth began to be carried on the wind.」

Song Yao couldn’t sit still. She was out and about every other day, setting up her little stall more reliably than an alarm clock.

And what about Li Hanchen and Shen Rongdan?

One felt for his wife, bustling about with her pregnant belly, while the other felt for his little sister, working from dawn till dusk.

The two of them spent their nights making hair accessories by lamplight, needles flying back and forth, piles of fabric growing into mountains.

During the day, they attended drills and stood in formation as usual, their backs ramrod straight.

After just a few days, dark circles formed under both their eyes, looking as if they’d put on smoky eye makeup.

The brothers in the troops saw this and started muttering amongst themselves.

"Director Li has a family, so it’s understandable he’d stay up late. But why is Battalion Commander Shen sporting two panda eyes too?"

"Don’t tell me he’s been sneaking out at night, climbing walls and crossing ditches?"

Someone else added, "And isn’t Director Li’s wife pregnant? He should be resting early and waking up late."

The weather grew warmer by the day. Song Yao had long since switched to soft, thin spring clothes, and her belly was now round and prominent.

One glance and anyone could tell she was going to be a mother.

When the news spread, everyone became even more puzzled.

"So what are those two pulling all-nighters for?"

Finally, a sharp-eyed comrade said, "I’ve seen Director Li’s wife leaving several times with a huge sack over her shoulder. She only ambles back around noon, and the sack is as flat as if the air’s been sucked out!"

"That’s probably it, huh?"

Everyone’s hearts pounded with curiosity, but they didn’t dare ask Li Hanchen directly.

His stony expression could freeze water.

So they turned around and found Shen Rongdan.

After all, the man had a smile full of white teeth and looked much more approachable.

But as soon as they started to ask, Shen Rongdan waved his hand.

"Helping my Song Yao earn some living money."

"Earning money?"

"Yep. Making hair accessories for her. Sewn one stitch at a time."

"Sewing... hair accessories?"

"Of course! Even Li Hanchen is sewing! He’s the husband—can I, as her brother, just slack off? Does that seem right?"

The other person waved their hands repeatedly.

"Not right at all! Truly not right!"

In less than two days, the entire regiment knew.

Their sleepiness had been chased away by colorful ribbons.

After the political commissar found out, he called a special meeting.

"Look at Director Li and Battalion Commander Shen! They don’t drop the ball at work, and they don’t shirk their duties at home. That’s real progress! Anyone who struts around like a lord all day needs their ideology sent back to the factory for a complete overhaul!"

A wave of diligence instantly swept through the family compound. The wives discovered their husbands were suddenly fighting to wash the dishes and proactively folding the laundry...

「In the warm spring of March, Ning City was just the right temperature, warm enough to get through the day in a single sweater.」

It was around this time that the lease expired on the apartment Li Hanchen had been renting out.

Song Yao rubbed her belly and decided to stop taking on new work.

She packed up their things and moved into the city with Li Hanchen.

Sitting for half the day left her with an aching back and weak legs. Her belly always felt like it was pulling downward, making even breathing a chore.

Moving into the city was much more convenient.

She could get to the factory with a single bus ride.

If she didn’t mind the sun, she could pedal there on a bike in ten minutes.

It was so much easier than when they were in the old family housing building.

The only thing was that Li Hanchen had to commute between both places, but he didn’t mind the hassle at all, happily driving her back and forth.

Shen Rongdan, on the other hand, was suddenly flustered.

"Hey! You two are both leaving, what am I supposed to do?"

Song Yao casually replied.

"Why don’t you move in with us? Dad’s going to transfer you two back to Beijing soon anyway."

Shen Rongdan’s eyes lit up.

"Deal! That’s a brilliant idea!"

He slapped the table, making the sewing basket jump.

After that, Shen Rongdan and Li Hanchen continued to make hair accessories, their heads bowed.

Li Hanchen pinched the wire base with his left hand while Shen Rongdan trimmed the edges of the flannel with a small pair of scissors.

The two men barely looked up.

Meanwhile, Song Yao set up her stall every day, and business was booming.

From the New Year until now, her account book showed she had already made several thousand yuan.

Just yesterday, she was thinking about whether to get Shen Rongdan a new sewing machine.

Today, the sun was scorching, and the cicadas chirped shrilly.

She rounded the street corner with an empty food container, her heels tapping on the concrete, her mind still floating on air.

One afternoon in April, Song Yao had just reached her front door when she looked up and froze.

Song Wen was standing there, his nine-year-old face scrubbed clean.

Song Yao stared at him, and he stared right back at her high, swollen belly, his little brows furrowed.

In the end, he called out.

"Auntie!"

Song Yao didn’t answer. She took half a step back and raised her hand.

"Stop! Don’t just call me that. I’m not your relative."

Song Wen tried to get closer, and she immediately shuffled back again.

"Stay right there! Don’t move! If you take another step, I’ll really call for help!"

Her heart was pounding. ’Something’s not right with this kid.’

Seeing how insistently she was avoiding him, Song Wen frowned and asked, "Auntie, what’s wrong with you?"

Song Yao replied stiffly.

"How many times do I have to say it? I’m not!"

Song Wen seemed to sigh and even managed a smile.

"Auntie, are you teasing me? I’ve been calling you that for over twenty years. How could I get it wrong?"

The moment the words left his mouth, his shoulders stiffened for an instant.

Seeing the worldly expression forced onto his young face, Song Yao almost burst out laughing.

"Song Wen, did you cook your brain and forget to let it cool down?"

She pressed her tongue against her back teeth, suppressing the urge to laugh.

"Have you really forgotten why your grandmother is in the clink?"

Song Wen stood on the stairwell landing, his hands in his pockets.

"She kidnapped me! Kidnapped! Understand?"

Song Yao placed her right hand on her lower abdomen.

After speaking, she gave him a disdainful top-to-bottom look.

Song Wen tilted his head, his eyes a mix of feigned confusion and unconcealable certainty.

"The person who raised you is always more valuable than the person who gave birth to you, right?"

Song Yao rolled her eyes dramatically.

Her hand was itching to slap the back of his head.

"Have you got water on the brain? Go to the hospital and get it rinsed out!"

she retorted casually.

She didn’t dare go downstairs right now.

She was afraid this brat would suddenly go crazy and launch a sneak attack when she wasn’t looking.

Her peripheral vision was locked on the position of his feet.

’I’ve got a baby in here.’

’If he really pushed me or tripped me, wouldn’t I be the one to suffer?’