Chapter 94: Giving a Congratulatory Gift

Chapter 94: Chapter 94: Giving a Congratulatory Gift

Looking at the famous landmark—oh no, the famous restaurant—before her, her first instinct was to reach for her waist, wanting to pull out her camera and snap a picture.

She imagined sending the photo back to her village. Her parents, older brothers, sisters-in-law, nephews, and nieces would surely be thrilled to see it.

Hmm... she could also go take a picture of Tiananmen...

As Su Wan was lost in thought, Qi Hao was already leading the way and walking right into the Capital Restaurant.

The Capital Restaurant was incredibly lively at night, with a constant stream of foreign guests coming and going. Su Wan saw visitors from at least eight different countries inside.

When Qi Hao reached the entrance, a staff member came forward to check the trio’s letters of introduction and officer IDs.

"Mr. Qi, please follow me."

"Sister-in-law, I booked this private room a month in advance. Congratulations on your marriage to Brother Lu. I was on a mission when you got married, and by the time I got back, you were already long married."

Qi Hao sat down on a chair in the private room, reached into his pants pocket, pulled out an envelope, and handed it to her. "This is the wedding gift I prepared for you two. I just hope you don’t mind that it’s late."

Su Wan didn’t take it, looking to Lu Zhengchuan instead.

"Sister-in-law, why are you looking at Brother Lu? This is my wedding gift for you. Don’t tell me Brother Lu doesn’t respect you at home?" Qi Hao seemed to be defending Su Wan, but he was actually backing up Lu Zhengchuan. He said casually, "Don’t worry, Sister-in-law. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with Brother Lu’s character. You definitely didn’t lose out by marrying him."

Su Wan found Qi Hao’s attitude a bit strange.

Before she could figure anything out,

Lu Zhengchuan reached out, took the envelope, glanced inside, and tossed it right back at Qi Hao.

"This is too much. What are you giving this to me for? Who gives such an expensive wedding gift? You think I’m so rich you can get a huge red envelope in return when you get married?" Lu Zhengchuan rolled his eyes.

In front of Qi Hao, he showed no signs of fawning or low self-esteem.

Qi Hao was a little displeased. "I put a lot of thought into preparing this. You’re my brother. This wedding gift is just pocket money to me; it’s not like I spent my entire fortune. I just happen to be rich and gave a little extra. What’s wrong with that?"

Su Wan picked up her teacup and took a sip. ’These city folk sure talk big,’ she thought.

If she weren’t able to earn money herself, she would have been jealous. But now, she mostly felt calm and at ease.

"If you think it’s too much, then you have even more reason to work hard in the upcoming exercise. We’ll take first place and win the prize money together. You’ll earn the money back then, and I can go brag to my old man."

"Besides, isn’t Sister-in-law pregnant? You might not need money, but she and your future nephew will. You can’t let Sister-in-law and the child suffer, can you?"

"If that happens, I’m afraid all the brothers will laugh at you."

These words hit a nerve with Lu Zhengchuan.

Did he love money?

No.

Was he short on money?

Not really.

But he couldn’t bear to let his wife and child suffer.

"Fine, fine, I’ll take it. And I’ll definitely participate in this exercise."

The moment she heard Lu Zhengchuan agree, Qi Hao couldn’t help but break into a smile. ’His goal wasn’t to give a gift,’ Su Wan realized, ’it was to get Lu Zhengchuan to join the exercise.’

Her lips moved, but the words she wanted to say remained unspoken.

Lu Zhengchuan had already casually placed the envelope in her hand. "Honey, you keep this."

Su Wan nodded. "Mm."

This was no different from when Lu Zhengchuan gave her his household money, except this time, Su Wan didn’t feel as happy taking it. Although she knew that Lu Zhengchuan must face danger in the army to earn such a high allowance, she didn’t want him working a job that risked his life.

But that was destined the moment Lu Zhengchuan became a soldier.

With something on her mind, Su Wan didn’t eat much for dinner.

Qi Hao and Lu Zhengchuan, on the other hand, were deep in a lively discussion, talking about the arrangements for the exercise right in front of Su Wan.

As she listened, Su Wan discovered that while the exercise would use live ammunition, the various protective measures were much better than on a real battlefield. She particularly noted that they mentioned the number of casualties was extremely low.

Even so, after dinner, when they returned to the courtyard outside the school, she saw that Su Jue had already cleaned it up perfectly.

Even the quilt and sheets in their room were neatly made, and when Su Wan sat down, she could smell the scent of the sun on them.

Su Wan reached out and patted the quilt.

"Lu Zhengchuan, come here."

Lu Zhengchuan had just taken off his military uniform and was only in an undershirt, holding a basin of water and getting ready to bathe.

Hearing her, he walked over and saw that Su Wan had opened the envelope. She had taken out a bearer passbook that showed a balance of one thousand yuan.

"What’s wrong?" Su Wan handed the passbook to him.

"You should keep this money."

Lu Zhengchuan’s handsome brows furrowed, and he looked a little stern. "What would I keep it for? You’re my wife, so it’s only right that I give the money to you. Or are you saying you don’t think we should accept such an expensive gift from Qi Hao?"

As he said the last sentence, his voice changed noticeably as he suppressed his anger.

Su Wan frowned. "Why would you think that?"

"What else am I supposed to think?"

Su Wan took a deep breath and rationally analyzed the situation for him. "First of all, this gift from Qi Hao is indeed very valuable. Our entire net worth combined isn’t even one thousand yuan. It’s not just a grand gesture; it’s an incredibly grand gesture."

Lu Zhengchuan pursed his lips. "It’s true, I haven’t saved any money over the years. That’s my fault."

"I’m not blaming you for using your allowance to help the families of your comrades. After all, that was before you married me." Su Wan genuinely wasn’t angry; she wasn’t the meddlesome type.

Unexpectedly, after she said this, Lu Zhengchuan became even angrier, and his expression turned cold.

Su Wan frowned, not knowing what he was angry about.

She decided to get straight back to the point. "You take this passbook. I’m not giving it back for any other reason. I’m just thinking that you’ll definitely have to return the favor someday. We can’t spend this money. You should hold onto it, and then you can use it when you need to. Otherwise, we won’t be able to give a return gift when he has a happy occasion of his own."

"There’s no need. I’ll be able to afford a return gift when the time comes," Lu Zhengchuan said with a dark expression.

Seeing his expression, Su Wan thought he had misunderstood and subconsciously explained, "I don’t have any other motives. I simply won’t spend a gift that’s too expensive, because I feel that money never truly belongs to you, so I won’t use it."

Su Wan never touched money she felt didn’t belong to her, which was why she was always able to maintain a stable savings.

Perhaps this way of thinking was too strange, completely different from ordinary people, and difficult for others to understand.

"Never mind that I’ll give Qi Hao an exceptional gift when he gets married—and it won’t necessarily be money. Never mind that I’ve already prepared gifts for all my other brothers. Let’s just say that if the time comes and we don’t have the cash at home, I have other ways to handle it." At this, Lu Zhengchuan glanced at her, hinting, "Why haven’t you asked where all the gift money I received from other leaders and brothers for our wedding went?"

Su Wan: "..." She really hadn’t thought about that. After all, she respected Lu Zhengchuan and hadn’t pried into such matters since they married. Those were his social obligations.