A charming widow in her 70s married a factory manager and raised his children.

Chapter 221 Someone Gave Me Money

Although Dai Hongying is from a food factory family, she is best at martial arts. It would be better to let her cook than to cook in the kitchen, so she firmly rejected Zhuang Qingxiang's offer.

Zhuang Qingxiang was amused and wanted to laugh: "Then I can't go to your house to tutor, you're my nanny now."

After spending another night at the guesthouse, someone finally came to pick them up and take them to their accommodation.

It's a newly vacated detached house in the government compound. It has three main rooms, two side rooms, a kitchen, and a toilet.

The furniture was all brought by the owner, though it was a bit old.

Zhuang Qingxiang lived in the east room with her three children, Lu Congyue lived in the west room, the middle room was the living room, Dai Hongying lived in a side room, and the other side room was used as a guest room and usually used to store some odds and ends.

Dai Hongying put down her luggage and helped clean and tidy the yard. Zhuang Qingxiang put away the bedding and clothes she had brought, and went to check the kitchen. She found that many things were still missing, so she went to the west room to find Lu Congyue.

Then I saw him shaking the bed...

Zhuang Qingxiang blushed deeply, glanced instinctively at Dai Hongying in the courtyard, and whispered, "What are you doing?"

Lu Congyue said calmly, "We finally have a double bed, but it's an old one... Let me see if it's sturdy."

Zhuang Qingxiang almost choked on her breath.

Dai Hongying is going to be living at home for an extended period from now on. What is he thinking?!

Lu Congyue had finished trying out the bed and wasn't very satisfied. He was thinking that he should change it when he had time, or maybe he could just build a kang (heated brick bed) in the west room. In the dead of winter, a kang would be much warmer. It was a bit late now, but it was still passable...

Thinking about it, she turned her head and saw Zhuang Qingxiang standing at the door with her cheeks flushed. She raised an eyebrow and said, "Are you blushing? What are you thinking? There are outsiders in the house right now."

Zhuang Qingxiang's watery eyes widened in disbelief that he had turned the tables on her.

Zhuang Qingxiang turned and left angrily; she shouldn't have come to ask him...

As a result, Lu Congyue caught her, and Zhuang Qingxiang was so frightened that she almost cried out, fearing that Dai Hongying would run in at this moment.

"Let go!"

"Tell me first why you came to see me?" Lu Congyue asked.

"Let go of my hand and say it!" Zhuang Qingxiang said urgently.

Lu Congyue squeezed her hand for a moment before letting go.

Zhuang Qingxiang immediately put her hands behind her back and glared at him angrily: "There's only one pot in the kitchen, we have to buy everything else..."

"Make a list, and I'll go buy it in a bit."

Zhuang Qingxiang then ran back to her room, found paper and pen, and began to make a list.

After she finished writing, Lu Congyue said he would take her shopping together.

"You two are husband and wife in name only, and I'm the housekeeper at home, so of course you should go shopping together," Dai Hongying said matter-of-factly. "It's also a good opportunity to show yourselves off and see if anyone is secretly watching you."

Zhuang Qingxiang was very reluctant to entrust her three children to Dai Hongying. She herself was not very old, how could she take good care of the children?

"Sister Zhuang, don't worry, I've been trained." Dai Hongying practically pounded her chest with confidence.

"Yueyue can help at home, don't worry, we'll be right back," Lu Congyue reassured her.

Zhuang Qingxiang then pulled Xiao Qianyue aside and gave her instructions for a long time before finally following Lu Congyue out the door.

First, I went to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, pots and pans, and then I bought a small coal stove, which is usually convenient for boiling water. Since there's an extra person in the family, I also bought two thermos flasks for convenience...

When they got back, the back of the car was packed with cars.

Zhuang Qingxiang watched Lu Congyue take out money, her heart pounding with fear. For the first time, she realized what it meant to spend money like water and how difficult it was to build a home.

The organization provided the house and furniture; otherwise, Lu Congyue didn't know if he would have enough money to fill a family's space.

It was already noon, so Lu Congyue simply bought some food from the restaurant to take home, so he could cook something for the two children when he got back.

After lunch, the kang (heated brick bed) builders that Lu Congyue had found arrived. They moved the bed from the west room to the side room, and the two builders immediately began work.

During the event, one of the workers joked, "Two adults and three children can all sleep on one kang (heated brick bed), why build another one?"

With Lu Congyue not around, Zhuang Qingxiang blushed and replied, "It's too crowded. Besides, our daughter is old enough to sleep in her own bed."

The two masters exchanged knowing smiles, as if they had learned something extraordinary, which made Zhuang Qingxiang blush even more.

Fearing they might say something else, Zhuang Qingxiang went back inside to check on the children, asking Dai Hongying to keep an eye on them.

Dai Hongying pretended to be a naive and clueless young woman, chatting casually with the two masters until she learned all about their backgrounds. She then returned to Zhuang Qingxiang and said, "Sister Zhuang, these two should be fine. They're probably just gossipy."

Zhuang Qingxiang finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Dai Hongying suppressed a laugh and said, "Sister Zhuang, just live life as it comes. Don't be so suspicious, and don't be afraid, I'm here for you."

"I know, I just... couldn't control myself." Zhuang Qingxiang smiled awkwardly.

Who knows where those people are lurking? They always suddenly appear and startle people. And she's been waiting for so long without any movement. She's really getting anxious.

However, her anxiety didn't last long before someone actually came looking for her.

I didn't see anyone. It was on Xiao Qianyue's first day of kindergarten that Zhuang Qingxiang came to drop her off. A child ran over and handed her a letter, saying that someone had given it to her.

Zhuang Qingxiang clutched the letter nervously, glancing around guiltily. Suddenly remembering what Dai Hongying had said, she quickly composed herself, pretending to be nonchalant as she stuffed the letter into her pocket and headed home.

When they got home, she immediately gave Dai Hongying a look, and the two of them went to the east room, opened the envelope, and found that it contained a hundred yuan and several cloth coupons.

"What does this mean?" Zhuang Qingxiang asked, bewildered.

Dai Hongying didn't know either; she had to go back and discuss this matter with her superiors, but she couldn't go back now.

When Lu Congyue returned in the evening, the three of them met together to discuss it.

After frowning and thinking for a moment, Lu Congyue told Zhuang Qingxiang to go to the department store to buy clothes the next day.

"Your current clothes were borrowed from Ma Ting. You should buy some new clothes. I'll give you some more money so you can buy a couple more outfits. Dress as smartly and attractively as possible. When you get them back, I'll have a fight with you. You'll cry and make a scene, saying I'm stingy and can't even buy two outfits..."

Zhuang Qingxiang understood: "This is a sugar-coated bullet, isn't it?"

Lu Congyue smiled and nodded: "Those who were dragged down are those who couldn't withstand the test of money."

"But is it okay if I just spend it like this? Won't the organization say anything?" Zhuang Qingxiang asked hesitantly.

She was afraid that things would be easy when she spent the money, but she would be unlucky when it came time to settle accounts.

How much money was received and how much was spent will be unclear in the future.

"Have Comrade Dai Hongying keep a special record for you. When it's safe, keep a record with your superiors. Don't try to contact them rashly, or you'll be in big trouble if you're discovered," Lu Congyue instructed.

Zhuang Qingxiang and Dai Hongying both nodded repeatedly.

The next day, Zhuang Qingxiang swaggered off to the department store.