QTIMP -Chapter 79 Character Persona – Lazy (Part 27)

Si Qiu quickly stuffed the money into her bag, pressed it down with her hand, then pinched her own cheeks and leaned close to Elder Yu.

“Elder Yu, take a look—haven’t I gotten thinner? I’ve been raising this flesh for eighteen years, and in just half a month it’s been worn away like this. What does that mean? It means every bit of this money is hard-earned blood and sweat!”

Elder Yu imitated her usual manner, rolling his eyes before clasping his hands behind his back and walking off. The man following him gave Si Qiu an apologetic smile, but she suddenly shoved a small rag-wrapped bundle into his hands.

“A local specialty for Elder Yu, to thank him for his guidance and advice during this time.” After saying that, she turned around and ran out.

The man froze for a moment. Just as he was about to return the bundle, she had already disappeared without a trace.

At that moment Elder Yu came back again.

“What are you staring at, kid? I’m telling you, that girl is already married—and it’s a military marriage at that. Don’t go making mistakes.”

The man was startled and hurriedly stuffed the cloth bundle into Elder Yu’s arms.

“Comrade Si Qiu gave this to you as a local specialty. She pushed it straight into my hands. I was just wondering whether I should return it or give it to you.”

He quickly explained himself. This kind of misunderstanding would be terrible.

Elder Yu glanced at it and immediately opened the bundle. Inside was a ginseng root.

“How many years old is this? Looks like a pretty big one.”

The man took a look. “Elder Yu, it should be around fifty years old.”

“Oh ho, that little girl is quite generous. Alright then, we’ll keep it. Before I came here, I heard that old fellow Wang bragging about the ginseng his grandson’s wife gave him. Now we’ll have something to brag about too.”

Si Qiu’s smile was dazzling with excitement. Lu Hongjun drove to pick her up, and she hummed songs all the way home. As soon as they entered the room, she threw herself into his arms.

“Ah, it’s finally over! I’m exhausted. I’m going to have a good rest.”

Lu Hongjun’s heart skipped a beat, but he still gently rubbed her back.

“Go wash up first, then take some fruit from the fridge to eat. I’ll return the car and come back to cook a big celebratory meal for you.”

Si Qiu nodded eagerly, grabbed a change of clothes, and rushed into the bathroom. Living here meant being sweaty every day—without a shower she felt sticky all over.

Soon the fragrance of food drifted faintly through the hallway.

Lu Hongjun sent some dishes to the regimental commander and to the neighbors across the hall. The couple also poured some fruit wine that Si Qiu had made herself. While eating, Si Qiu excitedly talked about what she had gained from this trip.

“Do you know how much salary I got? 1,650! Wow! That’s four years of my pay!”

“Our Qiuqiu is amazing. Here, this is the braised prawns you wanted—try some.” Lu Hongjun listened to her excited chatter with a smile.

Si Qiu bit into a prawn and chewed.

Suddenly she stopped, narrowing her eyes slightly.

“Lu Hongjun, let me tell you something. I earned this money myself. You have no right to interfere.”

Lu Hongjun’s hand holding the chopsticks trembled slightly, but he steadied it. He set the chopsticks down and sighed helplessly.

“Don’t worry. I won’t touch your money. I already said before—your money is entirely yours to control.”

Si Qiu also set down her chopsticks and stared at him intensely.

“Then whatever you’re planning, just say it.”

Lu Hongjun sighed inwardly. His little lazy wife was actually quite clever.

Meanwhile Si Qiu muttered to herself: the guy across from her was as shrewd as a sieve come to life—she had to be careful.

The next moment, there was a slight sting on her forehead.

“We’re husband and wife, a natural community of shared interests. If you keep looking at me with such suspicion, I’ll have to deal with you on the spot.”

Si Qiu withdrew her suspicious gaze and continued to look like she was listening attentively. Lu Hongjun picked up his chopsticks again and put some food into her bowl.

“Qiuqiu, when are you planning to go back to work? You should go cancel your leave with your director.”

Si Qiu immediately understood what he meant. She didn’t rush to answer. Instead, she tossed the remaining half of a prawn into her mouth, finished chewing it, and then took a sip of soup.

“Actually, I think it doesn’t really matter whether I work or not. With the money I have now, I can last four years without working. When I run out of money, I can just translate something again and last for a while longer. Ah, why didn’t I think of that before? I always thought translation was exhausting and stressful, but now that I think about it, I was the one narrowing my own path.”

Lu Hongjun rested his elbow on the table and supported his forehead with his palm, hiding his helpless expression. It wasn’t that he minded Si Qiu translating without having a regular job—the key point was what she had just said.

She was planning not to work for four whole years. He really couldn’t understand what was so good about staying inside the house sleeping all day. Most importantly, it wasn’t good for her physical or mental health.

Meanwhile, Si Qiu held up her soup bowl to hide the slight curve of her lips. This man was always secretly trying to scheme against her.

Letting him struggle a little wasn’t a bad idea.

If she really had to lie around at home doing nothing, she’d probably get sick of it after just a few days. After all, there was no internet now, no mobile phones—there wasn’t even something like the projection stones from the cultivation world.

Staying indoors all day would probably make a person go dull.

As for why Lu Hongjun thought she would stay like that forever—it was because when they had just gotten married, she had indeed been like that. Back then she no longer had to study, and her mother wasn’t around to nag her to do housework.

She had been so lazy she practically melted into a puddle.

After quite a while, Lu Hongjun finally organized his thoughts and spoke earnestly.

“Qiuqiu, if you really stop working… not to mention how boring it would be staying at home all day, people will definitely start gossiping. And the most important thing is—once that happens, people will start urging you to have children. The neighbors, the elders in the family… think about it. No matter how troublesome work might be, is it more troublesome than giving birth and raising a child?”

Si Qiu’s movements while drinking soup gradually slowed, as if his words had really convinced her.

Seeing this, Lu Hongjun pressed on.

“You saw how valued and welcomed you were at the institute before—you felt it yourself. If you stop working, aren’t you afraid they’ll drag you into becoming a full-time translator? Like you said, full-time translation work is really exhausting. And when the time comes, if you have no children and no job, how would you refuse? If they just say it’s for contributing to the country, you won’t even be able to decline.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Si Qiu set down her soup bowl and slapped the table.

“I’ll work. I must work. Tomorrow I’ll go cancel my leave.”

The smile on Lu Hongjun’s face became even more radiant.

“There’s no need to rush that much. You just finished your work—resting for a couple of days is necessary.”

Si Qiu looked at him suspiciously. Since when was he so kind?

He affectionately added more food to her bowl before continuing, “Of course, you can also finish paying the remaining balance for the installment plan from the past two days today. That way you’ll still have time to rest properly tomorrow.”

Si Qiu viciously bit into the food he had given her.

“You capitalist exploiter. Being with you is even more tiring than going to work.”

He leaned forward on the table again, lowering his voice slightly. It sounded both ambiguous and lingering.

“Only tiring?”

Then he slowly sat back against the chair and casually unbuttoned two buttons of his shirt.

Si Qiu thought to herself:

Of course there’s enjoyment too. After all, this man is top-tier… but she absolutely couldn’t admit it, otherwise he would only become even more arrogant. 😏