Received A Wife From The Civil Affairs Bureau Ch.18

True to her words, Jiang Ziquan did visit her parents the next day to see how they were doing. 

When Father Jiang saw his daughter, he felt his heart ache with grief. He knew about the card Mother Jiang had given her. Hah, this child of his would only fulfill her filial piety when there’s money involved. He even thought about whether or not to close down her restaurant. Maybe that way she will visit them more often. 

Naturally, Jiang Ziquan did not know that her parents were already reaching this reckless point. 

Her mother’s food has always been delicious, so Jiang Ziquan wolfed down a lot of food. She wanted to eat such delicious food every day, but she felt like she would be a nuisance to her parents if she visited every day. 

“Slow down and eat. Your brother isn’t here, so no one will compete with you for food.” Although Mother Jiang complained, she still said in a pampering tone, “Are you coming back for New Year’s Day?

Jiang Ziquan shook her head. If she visited, she would have to stay for at least a few days. No, she needed to make money for her wife, so where would she find the time to spare?

“Well, you at least have to bring your wife over so she can get to know the family better.” Mother Jiang complained. 

Jiang Ziquan thought about it. Shen Yumo had just met her family a few days earlier, so she most likely wouldn’t want to come. She picked up a piece of fish and said, “We’ll see.”

Mother Jiang gave her a helpless look and stood up to get some more food. 

When Jiang Ziquan left, she cleaned out the kitchen like a bandit, not understanding Mother Jiang’s reluctance….

“Don’t you ever come back!” Mrs. Jiang clutched her chest dramatically. This child had carried off all her snacks and little delicacies she was saving for herself, so of course she was in pain. 

Pretending she didn’t hear anything, Jiang Ziquan returned to her apartment with a big box of food. 

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Shen Yumo arrived at the school a little early. Since she had the time, she cleaned up her office, then water her hyacinths and observed any changes. Sometimes she would write a note or two in her book.

As a Humanities teacher who taught science students, she was often idle like this. 

“Teacher Shen is watering the flowers again?” Xu Yan closed the door and took off her gray hat and teased, “You truly are the definition of ‘Buddha’ that the students say you are.”

Shen Yumo glanced at her and smiled, “Nonsense, it’s only because I have nothing else to do.”

“Well, that’s true too.” Xu Yan sat down and then looked around. She found that the area around her had been cleaned, this wasn’t something someone would do just because they had ‘nothing else to do’. In her heart she thought, If you’re that idle, why don’t you sleep more instead? After all, it is the cozy winter season.

“Your bag is really pretty.” Shen Yumo stopped her work and suddenly broke the silence. 

“Ah?” Xu Yan froze for a moment, then her face flushed as she explained, “Oh, it was given to me the day before Christmas. My boyfriend gave it to me.”

Seeing that Shen Yumo initiated the conversation, Xu Yan handed her the purse for a closer look and then asked, “Did your lover give you anything?”

“Yes.” Shen Yumo received the bag and studied it. She had been thinking of giving Jiang Ziquan something for New Year’s day and although a bag or lipstick was good, she had no idea what style Jiang Ziquan liked. She looked up and asked, “Did you give him anything in return?”

“I did, I gave him a tie. It was quite expensive.” Xu Yan felt a bit of pain after remembering the price, but the Louis Vuitton bag she got was even more expensive, so she was appeased. 

Shen Yumo returned the bag to her and then took out the keychain she got from Jiang Ziquan. She poked the frog’s belly, still trying to figure out what it meant. 

“The frog is really cute.” Xu Yan gave it a look over. The little frog had tiny eyes but a big belly, it was so ugly that it was cute. 

“This is what she gave me, do you have any idea what it means?” Shen Yumo asked curiously. She never received a gift like this before. 

“Maybe she’s trying to say that she is like this frog who has fallen in love with you, a swan-like creature.” Xu Yan smiled and then teased, “Aren’t you the literature teacher? How did you not understand?”

Shen Yumo blinked her beautiful eyes twice, “Hmmm…then shouldn’t she be giving me some Lai Putao instead? [1]

Xu Yan: “?!”

Teacher Shen, aren’t you afraid they might be poisonous?

Have you ever seen a person give a gift like that?

And so, on the 31st, Shen Yumo still doesn’t know what to buy as a gift. She felt somewhat anxious and her eyes kept twitching. She wanted work to end early so she could choose a gift from a gift shop. 

She sent a WeChat message to Jiang Ziquan to arrange a day when they can meet, so she’ll know how much time she has left.

“Are you online?”

“I am, does Teacher Shen need anything?”

The reply came back fast. Shen Yumo glanced at it and quickly typed out, 

“Are you available tomorrow?”

“I’m not.”

Shen Yumo frowned, she’s busy even on New Year’s Day? Before she could reply, a long message came through. 

“I’m sorry, Teacher Shen. This afternoon I’ll be leaving for a business trip up north. It may take me half a month to return. I know that it isn’t easy for Teacher Shen to invite me out and yet I will be stuck elsewhere. I apologized and bow for your forgiveness. When I come back I will personally go to your place and apologize.”

Accompanying the text were several ‘sorry’ emojis. 

Just this morning, Jiang Ziquan had given her a lot of snacks and a cup of milk tea, and now she had a business trip. Shen Yumo felt that Jiang Ziquan was in a hurry and replied, “That’s okay, I will just give you your gift when you come back,” Then feeling it didn’t sound right, deleted it and typed out, “That’s okay, work hard and pay attention to your health.”

“So what did Teacher Shen want from me?” Jiang Ziquan had grinned like an idiot when she had received Shen Yumo’s first text and responded quickly. 

“It’s nothing, I’ll tell you when you come back.”

“Don’t be like that, or I’ll be so sad.” Jiang Ziquan really was sad, you can’t just leave a person hanging! Looking at the chat window, she wanted to see Shen Yumo’s expression right now. 

“It truly is nothing.” Shen Yumo replied, feeling a headache coming on. 

After going back and forth a few rounds, Jiang Ziquan decided to stop and typed, 

“Well then, Good night Teacher Shen.”

“Good night.” 

“You are such a chatterbox.” Lin Cuo took a bite of her pear. She had been watching a certain someone make a fool of themselves for half an hour now. 

Jiang Ziquan read their conversation from start to finish and felt a little regret. She should’ve asked Teacher Shen to send her some voice messages so she can use them to soothe her pain of being so far away from her. 

“Teacher Shen took the initiative this time. Ah, why did you have to make me work, you are such an evil capitalist.” Jiang Ziquan glanced at Lin Cuo and then grabbed a pear for herself and started eating it. 

“You said you were short on money and told me to find you some work.” Lin Cuo glared at her. She really shouldn’t have agreed to accompany Jiang Ziquan on this business trip.

Jiang Ziquan was somewhat irritated at the fact that her parents had to loan her some money and went over to Lin Cuo to pick up some work. Naturally, because it was almost New Year’s Day, there wasn’t any work in the city so they had to go out of town if they wanted to make money.

Jiang Ziquan originally is quite a lazy person. Before she got married, she would only earn enough so she could live comfortably. Something so tiring like a business trip was something she would never do.

And Lin Cuo lived by herself, so she didn’t care. Since she wanted to keep an eye on her friend she went with Jiang Ziquan. Not to mention since it was the holiday season, the wages they would receive would be double the usual amount. From this one trip, she might be able to earn two people’s worth of wages. Furthermore, since Lin Cuo was now a pillar of the company, which meant she could only earn commissions, so of course she wouldn’t pass this opportunity to earn some extra cash. 

“I am short on money.” Jiang Ziquan said with a smile. She bit into her pear fiercely then said in a melancholic tone, “You just don’t understand, raising a wife requires a lot of money.”

Jiang Ziquan looked at Lin Cuo with pity and patted her shoulder. 

The pear in Lin Cuo’s hand broke into two. Ever since Jiang Ziquan got married, it was like she died and went to heaven, She was even more shameless than before and her tolerance had to raise another level. 

“Those eyes of yours are full of envy.” Jiang Ziquan poked Lin Cuo’s cheek and continued on shamelessly. 

Lin Cuo took a deep breath and held back the urge to kick her friend. 

Jiang Ziquan and Lin Cuo both vaguely knew the area where they’ll be working was somewhat remote, but when they saw the place, they were still quite shocked. 

If someone wanted to build a 170 square meter villa in the countryside it was one thing. But for them to build one on a mountain where even birds wouldn’t sh*t on, that person must be crazy. 

No wonder they asked for designers from a third-rate city like Beijin. 

The two glanced at each other and knew that the next few weeks are going to be hell.

But this was the work Lin Cuo’s company found for them. It was a lot of money despite the location. 

Soon after, a group of large men came to pick them up. The leader wore black sunglasses, a thick black suit jacket and had a bunch of beads twirling in his hand. They wouldn’t be surprised if the next few words would be something cliche like, “Even if you yell until your voice is hoarse, no one will come and save you.”

The leader said in a loud voice, “So these two girls are the new designers?” Then the group of men laughed, their eyes hidden. 

Both looked at each other in a daze. They were in the crazy wilderness with no civilization in sight and this leader looked so fierce, so naturally they were scared.

Lin Cuo slowly slid behind Jiang Ziquan. Jiang Ziquan had practiced some self-defense skills and they were not bad. So she can protect Lin Cuo while they calculate their escape route. 

“Sister, why aren’t you saying anything” The leader touched his not-so hairy head and said, “My name is Boss Chen.”

The two continued to stare, not daring to move. 

“Ah-Biao, are they here yet?”

“Little Wen, I think these two girls’ brains have some problems, be careful around them.” Chen Guangbiao hurriedly grabbed Zhang Wen’s hand and pulled her back. 

Jiang Ziquan and Lin Cuo looked at each other and then said together, “You’re the one with a problem in your brain.”

Zhang Wen had guessed that the two were scared silly by Chen Guangbiao and walked over, “Sorry, Ah-Biao is being rude. Hello, my name is Zhang Wen and this is  my husband Chen Guangbiao.”

Jiang Ziquan looked at Zhang Wen. She looked like the type that would fall down if the wind blew too harshly. There was some dirt on her face, probably from the construction site nearby. She shook Zhang Wen’s hand and said, “I am Jiang Ziquan, this is Lin Cuo, we are here to work.”

“Big sister, no need to be polite. Ah, the scenery here is really good, you should come and visit us after this is done.”

Jiang Ziquan looked around the mountain. Except for some stone and grass, she didn’t think it was anything interesting. She even believed that it would be a waste of money to build something here. 

The two of them followed the coupe into a villa to take a closer look. 

“Are there any specifics that Brother Biao wants us to know?” Lin Cuo, feeling more relaxed, finally worked up the courage to start talking about work. 

Brother Biao scratched his head again: “I mainly want this first floor to be used by my mother so I hope that it can have a more warm traditional feel to it. One that seemed to express my love towards her, you know?” 

Lin Cuo secretly felt like she had no idea what he was trying to get at. It would’ve been better if he hadn’t said anything. 

However, Jiang Ziquan nodded, as if she understood perfectly. 

Lin Cuo looked at her in shock. 

“This second floor belongs to me and Little Wen. I hope it will be full of warmth and make both parties feel loved.” Chen Guangbiao started looking embarrassed as he continued, “And pay special attention to the room for our child. I want you to design it so that the child will feel loved.”

“En.”

Lin Cuo was shocked again. Why was Jiang Ziquan being so serious?

Brother Biao felt overjoyed and excitedly rubbed the beads in his hands: “You two do deserve the reputation of being Jingyang graduates.”

The Design School at Jingyang University was famous, but except for someone like Jiang Ziquan who didn’t have a company, no other Jingyang graduates would come to such a remote place and suffer. Moreover, why was this Brother Biao so obsessed with ‘love’ for each design?

Taking advantage of Brother Biao’s inattention as he talked with his wife, Jiang ZIquan asked in a small voice, 

“Did you understand his requests?”

“Weren’t you listening? I thought you were being serious.”

“No.” Jiang Ziquan answered as if it was a matter of fact. 

“Then why were you nodding?”

“We’re eating rice noodles tonight, right?”

“Uh, yeah.”

Jiang Ziquan waved her hand, “That’s why I nodded the first time. If we want to eat, we have to finish early.”

Lin Cuo face palmed, and then said, “Then what about the second nod?

“Then I remembered that Yumo said that we shouldn’t eat rice noodles because it’s bad for your health. I was thinking she was right, so it’s better if we don’t eat rice noodles.” Jiang Ziquan’s expression was deadly serious. 

“Are you serious?” Lin Cuo glared at her. Although she wasn’t truly angry, she had to at least scare her a little and glared at her fiercely. 

Jiang Ziquan poked her cheek, “Of course not.” Seeing Lin Cuo’s expression lighten, she continued: “Hi accent sounds like somewhere from the Fengbei region, and we can just have Little Mu help us figure out the style of that region. Then we just have to modify it. This Brother Biao doesn’t seem to have any real specific requirements.”

Lin Cuo blinked twice, she was actually being serious. She didn’t have any other ideas so she went along with it, “Okay, we’ll do as you say.”

“Sisters, what are you talking about?” Brother Biao approached them, seemingly regarding them as friends now. 

“Nothing, just discussing the style.”

Brother Biao clapped and said, “You two are so earnest. Come, let this Brother invite you to dinner.”

Brother Biao looked like a very fierce person, but who knew he was so soft on the inside? Looking at them, he had tears in his eyes, causing the other two to be dumbfounded. 

“Uh, Brother Biao, what kind of work do you do?” Jiang Ziquan quickly recovered. 

“I work in the coal industry.” Brother Biao took out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it. “Do you girls want one?”

Finally, something about him that matched his appearance. Jiang Ziquan waved her hand and took out her cigarette pack. “I have my own. It’s more suited for women and not as strong.”

Brother Biao nodded but didn’t say anything. 

Instead, it was Lin Cuo who grabbed her arm and said worriedly, “Don’t smoke too much.”

“I know.” 

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T/N notes:

[1]Lai Putao, or in English: Momordica charantia, is a species of fruit/plant/idk some kind of food that apparently symbolizes…matchmaking? Idk that’s what baidu (a chinese search engine) told me, so I’m guessing Shen Yumo is trying to say that by giving this type of fruit you’re trying to date/marry/pursue someone. But these fruits contain poison in them so you might get a stomach ache if you don’t eat it properly. 

In case you are confused, Xu Yan = female teacher friend, Xu Yao = annoying male teacher. Chinese names can be confusing sometimes because they are only one character off.

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