My wife and I are both time travelers.

Chapter 102 Eating Apples

Zhou Jiye spent more than an hour at a nearby public bathhouse, and didn't go home until after 6 p.m.

When they arrived home, Lin Ying was already back and cooking in the kitchen, with Lin Wen and Lin Xi helping her.

When Zhou Jiye returned home, Lin Ying turned to him and said something, telling him to remember to put his clothes in the bathroom and then tidy up the tables and chairs in the room, as dinner would be served soon.

If this dinner had been any other time, it would have made Zhou Jiye happy. After being away from home for so many days, he was finally back, and Lin Ying had specially prepared several of his favorite dishes. Normally, Zhou Jiye would have eaten two extra large bowls of rice and chatted with Lin Ying for a while.

Today, Zhou Jiye seemed very restrained during the meal, mainly because Lin Wen was sitting right across from him, and he could see her whenever he looked up. Thinking about what happened that afternoon, Zhou Jiye felt uncomfortable all over.

Forced to finish his meal, Zhou Jiye took the initiative to clean up the dishes and then hid in the kitchen to wash them all. When he returned to his room, he found that Lin Wen and Lin Xi were no longer there. He asked them and found out that they had gone to the room next door. Only then did Zhou Jiye breathe a sigh of relief.

Something's not right with you!

Just as Zhou Jiye lit a cigarette, relieved that he had finally gotten through this ordeal, Lin Ying suddenly said something like this.

His hand trembled slightly, and a bit of cigarette ash fell onto his trousers. Zhou Jiye quickly reached out and swatted it away, casually saying, "Something's wrong? No, everything's fine."

"No?" Lin Ying tilted her head and asked, "Why were you so quiet at dinner today? You're not usually like this."

"Oh, you must be tired from the journey. It's normal to not want to talk when you're tired," Zhou Jiye replied calmly, suppressing his pounding heart.

"Then let me ask you, what was with the way you looked at Lao San when you were eating? Why were you looking away?"

"What do you mean by hiding? Absolutely not!"

Zhou Jiye vehemently denied it: "I'm not familiar with your two younger sisters, and we haven't had much interaction before. It's understandable that I'm a little reserved when I see them today... Yes! I am reserved, there's no question of me trying to hide."

Seeing that Lin Ying seemed to be pondering something, Zhou Jiye quickly switched from defense to offense and said to her, "By the way, I haven't asked you yet. Pandi and Niandi... no, no, they're called Lin Wen and Lin Xi now? How did they get to Shanghai? When did they arrive? Why did they change their names? Did you give them these names?"

Perhaps this tactic worked, because Lin Ying didn't press further about what had just happened and began to explain to Zhou Jiye.

After hearing her explanation, Zhou Jiye finally understood what these two girls had gone through back in their hometown and had almost ended up homeless in Shanghai. He couldn't imagine what would have happened if Lin Ying hadn't happened to run into them.

"Your living father is a real scoundrel!" Zhou Jiye couldn't help but curse, "He wanted to marry you off to Zheng the Cripple, and now he wants to marry Pandi off to Niu Lao Er? What's wrong with his pig brain? Just for a few dozen yuan in dowry? Isn't he afraid of breaking his daughter's heart? What will you do with him when he gets old?"

“What is he afraid of with sons?” Lin Ying sighed. “He’s stupid, wicked, and incompetent. He’ll suffer when he gets old. Who knows what will happen to the third and fourth sons who ran away from home this time? Just wait and see. He won’t learn his lesson. He might even try to take advantage of the fifth and sixth sons.”

"No way?" Zhou Jiye was very surprised: "Aren't your fifth and sixth children still young? I remember one is twelve this year, and the other is only ten? Your living father dares to dream of such young girls?"

"Hehe, just you wait and see." Lin Ying sneered, "If he hadn't arranged for my eldest sister to work as a scorekeeper back then, he would have married her off long ago to get a dowry. The fifth and sixth sons are not young anymore. It's not uncommon for fifteen or sixteen-year-olds to get engaged in the countryside. If he doesn't do this in two or three years, I'll twist my head off and give it to you. In his heart, only his sons are his own flesh and blood."

At this point, Lin Ying discussed with Zhou Jiye: "I've been thinking about this for the past few days. After all, I've lived in that family for several years. Although I don't have much affection for those parents, I raised my younger sisters myself. My eldest sister is an honest person. If we let this living father continue to torment them like this, who knows what will happen to them in the future."

"What do you mean...?"

Lin Ying said earnestly, "You should ask your father to help you think of a way. First, introduce a good marriage for the eldest sister, and then arrange for the fifth and sixth children to go to school. They are still young. They can't just stay at home and farm every day, can they? How can they have a future like this? When there is another opportunity in the future, let them go out and live separately. Whether they go to work in the city or work outside, it's better than staying at home. This way, I, as their second sister, can help them out."

Zhou Jiye thought about it and felt he should intervene. Just like Lin Ying said, no matter what, they were still his sister-in-law and his wife's older sister. If they continued to stay in that house and let Lin Ying's father continue to cause trouble, these girls' lives would be ruined.

“I’ll write a letter home another day and send some money back as well,” Zhou Jiye said thoughtfully. “The contract responsibility system has already started here, and the notice about converting several brigades in the suburbs into townships was issued some time ago. The implementation in the Northwest will probably be slower, but if there are no unforeseen circumstances, it should be implemented as early as this year or as late as next year. I’ll take this opportunity to have my dad and two older brothers make some connections and get in touch with people. What do you think?” “That’s a good idea!”

Lin Ying's eyes lit up, thinking that Zhou Jiye's idea was good. Zhou Fugui was now the Party Secretary, Zhou Jijun, the eldest son of the Zhou family, was the production brigade leader, and Zhou Jimin was the militia company commander. All three men in the family were cadres, and they were prominent figures in both the commune and the village.

Once rural policies change, especially after the formal implementation of the document on changing brigades to townships, if they can occupy an important position in the township in the future, their influence will not decrease, but will actually be more beneficial.

Moreover, Lin Ying knew her living father all too well. Putting aside his wickedness and stupidity, he was also a coward. As long as the Zhou family's status remained unchanged or even improved, Old Lin would not dare to disobey Zhou Furong's every word. At that time, by using the Zhou family's power to suppress Old Lin, it should not be difficult to accomplish this matter.

Lin Ying immediately agreed to Zhou Jiye's suggestion and decided to send some money back to Zhou Furong in a few days. She also asked Zhou Jiye to write a letter to his father to tell him about the situation and ask him to take care of her eldest sister and two younger sisters back in their hometown.

After finishing this story, Lin Ying's mood improved considerably. She smiled and asked Zhou Jiye about his gains from the trip to Lingnan. Zhou Jiye explained the situation in Lingnan to Lin Ying in detail. He was very happy to learn that they had acquired five times more goods than last time. With this batch of goods, their stall in Xigong would be bustling again in the coming days.

After chatting about the source of goods for a while, Lin Ying remembered that Zhou Jiye had asked about her name earlier. She told him that she hadn't chosen the two names herself, but that Fang Manxia had given them to her.

The two names Fang Manxia chose were very good. Pandi and Niandi liked them very much, especially since they had been with Fang Manxia every day during their stay. Fang Manxia had been subtly guiding them and teaching them in her own way, and in just a few days, she had made a great difference.

"Haven't you noticed that they're a little different from when they were in the countryside?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Jiye recalled that when he saw Lin Wen and Lin Xi today, it was indeed like that. Although they still looked a bit rustic and the two red patches on their cheeks hadn't faded, their temperament was indeed slightly different from what he remembered. Coupled with the change in their clothing and appearance, this was the main reason why Zhou Jiye mistook them for people today.

"She has changed a bit, she's more generous, and she's prettier too." Zhou Jiye nodded with a smile, echoing Lin Ying's words.

"Right? You've become prettier, haven't you?" Lin Ying asked with a smile.

Seeing Zhou Jiye continue to nod, Lin Ying suddenly asked, "After they've been in Shanghai for a while longer, they'll look no different from the locals. Everyone likes pretty girls, don't you think?"

"Think? What can I think?" Just as he was about to answer, a sense of crisis suddenly surged up in his heart. Zhou Jiye suppressed his nervously beating heart and pretended to be confused and bewildered.

"What else could you possibly think? Doesn't the book say that a beautiful and virtuous woman is sought after by a gentleman? Everyone has a love for beauty. You're a man, you know this better than I do."

As she spoke, Lin Ying looked at Zhou Jiye meaningfully, her eyes sharp as if she could see right through him.

Zhou Jiye shuddered involuntarily, suddenly remembering when Lin Ying directly exposed his identity when he first transmigrated, and her gaze then was almost identical to his now.

"I don't understand, what could I possibly understand?" Zhou Jiye felt his body stiffen, forcing a smile. "You know my background, I was a bachelor for many years before I came here, I've never even been in a relationship. I'm content to have you as my wife in this life, besides, I'm busy making money and getting rich, I'm always on my feet, how could I have time for these things?"

"Oh, so it's not that you don't want to, it's because you haven't made a fortune yet?" Before he could finish speaking, Lin Ying seized on the loophole in his words and asked with a smile, "If you really made a fortune and achieved financial freedom in the future, then you can consider these things, right?"

"No! Don't talk nonsense! Absolutely impossible!" Zhou Jiye's survival instinct was stronger than ever, his expression resolute and his tone firm.

"Oh, what are you afraid of?" Lin Ying leaned on Zhou Jiye's shoulder with a grin, tracing circles on his chest with her hand. Her tone was gentle as she said, "You actually took a joke seriously? Besides, I don't care about these things. As long as husband and wife are honest with each other, what can't they talk about? These are all minor things. Men, sometimes it's normal to have a little flirting. It's not a sin, it's perfectly normal, right?"

A sudden thought crossed Zhou Jiye's mind, and he instinctively wanted to nod. But then his mind cleared instantly, and he broke out in a cold sweat. He shook his head vigorously, swearing to the heavens that he had absolutely no such thoughts, or else he would be struck down by the heavens!
"Hehe, I believe you, okay?"

Lin Ying giggled with delight. Suddenly remembering something, she turned around, grabbed a fruit knife, and asked Zhou Jiye if he wanted some fruit. Zhou Jiye watched her brandish the gleaming knife and couldn't help but swallow hard. He nodded and said he would.

Lin Ying peeled an apple for him, and the way she peeled it so carefully made Zhou Jiye feel uneasy. After she finished, she cut the apple into small pieces with the fruit knife and fed it to him by sticking the pieces on the knife tip. Looking at the apple pieces sticking on the knife tip, Zhou Jiye felt a chill down his spine, subconsciously squeezed his legs together, and opened his mouth with a mournful face...

(End of this chapter)