MGASC -Chapter 114 Wall Slam—Qiaoqiao Smells So Good~

“I’m afraid you might not like the smell…”

“Then I’ll just go wash my hands, right?”

Zhang Qiao said as she was about to head to the bathroom.

Lin Tianyue panicked and pulled her back. Zhang Qiao, caught off guard, suddenly found herself sitting in his arms, tightly held by him.

Beneath her was his firm, powerful thigh. Her face pressed against his chest, and the feel of his muscles was solid and hard. So close, the crisp scent of soap hit her, and Zhang Qiao finally noticed something delightful.

“Eh, Lin Tianyue, you smell so good. Did you use the soap I bought?”

She leaned closer and sniffed him.

Lin Tianyue, teased by her breath on his face, tensed all over. He hugged her tighter: “Really? I can’t smell it.”

Then he lightly sniffed her hair. “But you smell really nice.”

As he spoke, he bent down to kiss her.

Zhang Qiao quickly used her fingers to block his lips, leaving him tasting only medicine.

It was a bit bitter, and seeing Zhang Qiao giving him a playful, teasing smile, he realized she did it on purpose.

“Smells good, right? Good, then enjoy it more. Lin Tianyue, you big pervert!” Zhang Qiao shoved the full box of medicine at him, wriggled out of his arms like a little fish, and ran toward the bathroom.

After washing her hands twice in a row, she still couldn’t help laughing when recalling the look on Lin Tianyue’s face after tasting the medicine.

Eh—her soap had shrunk a lot!

How much had this big, rough man used?!

This secretly flirtatious guy… Zhang Qiao didn’t even realize it herself, but every time she thought of Lin Tianyue, she couldn’t help smiling.

By the time the new furniture was ready, the sauerkraut jars and ingredients like mustard greens, green beans, cabbage, and chili that Zhang Qiao needed had arrived.

She planned out the backyard of her new home and set up a full yard of pickled vegetables. The empty storage room downstairs was organized under her direction with Sister Li and Sister Xu to store ingredients and prepare the day’s fish fillets.

At the same time, the three stores run by franchisees she assisted also gradually opened—one near a school, the other two near busy farm machinery and fertilizer factories.

Zhang Qiao helped select the locations, and it turned out her judgment was excellent.

By now, the Zhang’s Pickled Fish brand had already built a reputation. As soon as the three new stores opened, customer traffic didn’t stop.

Meanwhile, Zhang Qiao used this time to improve the dishes. The stores no longer only served breakfast but lunch and dinner as well. The main offerings remained affordable and delicious pickled fish noodles and sour soup wontons, limited by store size and local income.

To keep things fresh and competitive, she introduced seven specialty snacks—plum juice, brown sugar rice cakes, old-vinegar peanuts, minced meat with sour beans, snow pear with white fungus, and more. Each day of the week featured a different item, priced reasonably with half-buy, half-giveaway promotions, as limited-time perks and highlights to attract other franchisees.

It proved that Zhang Qiao’s decisions were correct. The snacks were fresh and cheap, bringing in a large number of repeat customers who came specifically for them. After all, these treats weren’t easy to get elsewhere, and if they were, they were common local fare.

What had seemed like an empty dream of a franchise business slowly became reality. Listening to the daily reports from the three store owners, Zhang Qiao felt increasingly confident.

But the stores were small, so profits were limited. Zhang Qiao had other plans…

Once the new furniture was ready, she moved into the new home piece by piece and began notifying her old neighbors that she was moving.

Of course, moving required a celebration. Her belly was getting bigger, her body heavier, so she couldn’t personally manage the kitchen. Even if she wanted to, Lin Tianyue wouldn’t allow it.

So Zhang Qiao and Lin Tianyue agreed to hold the housewarming banquet at one of the franchisee stores—Sister Feng’s restaurant.

In the 1980s, it wasn’t common to host banquets in restaurants. Most people held them at home, hiring chefs for large events if they were wealthy. Like Zhang Qiao and Lin Tianyue, openly inviting everyone to a restaurant was rare.

But moving was a joyous occasion, and face had to be kept.

Sister Feng’s restaurant was bustling, with both dining rooms filled. One table had their old neighbors, another had Lin Tianyue’s relatives.

Each table had over a dozen dishes—chicken, duck, fish, meat—arranged abundantly, showing their sincerity.

Yingzi and Chen Gang became waiters, helping entertain guests. Each table had two bottles of Maotai, and every elder received two extra boxes of Red Pagoda Mountain cigarettes. Everyone praised Lin Tianyue and Zhang Qiao for their thoughtful and generous hosting.

Amidst the toasts, Lin Tianyue drank a bit more.

Today, he was both happy and unhappy.

Happy because after years of wandering, growing distant from relatives, today he reentered the Lin family’s view. His second and third uncles, and two maternal uncles, seemed to fully acknowledge him.

It gave him a sense of returning home in glory.

Of course, Zhang Qiao had played a big part in reconnecting with the relatives.

The unhappy part: his mother still hadn’t come.

But by now, it didn’t matter.

Having drunk a bit, Lin Tianyue went to the bathroom once. On returning, he saw Zhang Qiao standing at the restaurant entrance waiting for him.

Today, she wore maternity pants that he had asked Sister Chen Wang to bring her. They were cute overalls with a white cotton T-shirt underneath, embroidered with two chubby Winnie the Poohs on the belly.

From afar, Lin Tianyue saw her and his lips couldn’t help curling into a wild, uncontrollable smile.

His wife looked stunning. Most pregnant women, under hormonal changes, would become less attractive. But Zhang Qiao, only with a slightly rounder face and a bigger belly, was still beautiful—her round face, fair, clear skin, paired with her delicate, clever features, made her even more approachable and adorable.

“Wife, you’re waiting for me here.”

Having drunk, Lin Tianyue’s face was slightly flushed, and when his dark eyes fixed on her, they burned with heat and mischief.

He abandoned his usual seriousness in public, scooped her up, and planted a loud kiss on her cheek.

“Qiaoqiao, you’re so good! Are you worried I’ve drunk too much? Don’t worry, I’m completely sober now!”

Zhang Qiao was speechless, rubbing her hand across her face a few times.

This was on a busy street, yet he openly kissed her.

“Lin Tianyue, behave!”

She pushed him away but, worried he might stumble, held onto his arm again.

“I’m waiting for you just to tell you—drink less later. Don’t drink whenever someone encourages you. Don’t overdo it!”

“All right, wife. I promise I won’t drink too much! I promise, from now on, I’ll listen to wife in everything!”

Not drink too much… saying “wife” after every sip—obviously he had already had too much.

Zhang Qiao wanted to remind him a few more times, but suddenly he pinned her against the wall in a wall slam, trapping her between the door and his arms.

What hit her was his sharp, mischievous face and the intoxicating scent of alcohol.