TPW – Chapter 38

“I had another burst of inspiration today! Look!”

As soon as Xu Haizhou returned home after packing up the stall, his enthusiastic wife pounced on him—shoving a new cloth bag into his arms. It was another patchwork style, but with some changes to the design: instead of a vertical rectangle like before, it was now a horizontal rectangle, about the size of a small handbag.

The straps were especially distinctive—attached with metal clasps on each side, which were then connected to fabric strips forming the shoulder strap. And not just a single strap—two were twisted together like a rope, giving it strong decorative appeal. A narrow strip of deep maroon trim was sewn around the edge of the bag—simple yet elegant, exuding a high-end feel.

Xu Haizhou raised his eyebrows in surprise. He took the little accessories off the bike handlebar with one hand while carrying the new bag into the room with the other. “Is this a scarf?”

Qiao Lu followed excitedly. “Yes! Don’t you think the bag looks so much more refined with the scarf?”

“Hmm… I’m not exactly an artistic guy, but yeah, it does look better,” he admitted. The plain handbag paired with a tie-dyed silk scarf gave the bag a more refined look, and the scarf stood out beautifully.

The key difference lay in the material. Unlike the previous bags, which were relatively soft, this new handbag was made of a stiffer material—stiffer even than work cloth. Upon closer inspection, he saw that it was made of two layers stitched together. It was stiff enough to rival soft leather.

That had its advantages—the bag could stand upright. When placed on a table, it kept its boxy shape instead of collapsing like a typical cloth bag. It was also easier to put things in and take them out, and just looked more appealing overall.

“Not bad—really not bad. But… I feel like maybe you could add a little design here?” Xu Haizhou pointed to the blank space in the middle of the bag.

“I could, but I left it blank on purpose. If I do add something, I’ll go with more patchwork—small pieces, no big patterns. I’ve just been debating whether to use warm or cool colors.”

Cool tones would make it look more sophisticated; warm tones were more eye-catching. Both had their merits.

“Forget it, I’ll decide later.” Qiao Lu couldn’t hold back her excitement anymore. She placed her hands on Xu Haizhou’s shoulders, beaming. “I made three of these this afternoon. I’ll tweak them a bit tonight. You take them tomorrow—I have a feeling they’ll sell like crazy!”

Xu Haizhou turned his head; their lips were less than a centimeter apart.

He smiled and nodded. “Okay.”

With that, he cupped the back of her head and pulled her into his arms, capturing her lips in a lingering, hungry kiss.

“Mmm…” The kiss came so suddenly that Qiao Lu was caught off guard and nearly lost her breath.

She pushed him away to catch her breath, but before she could speak, he leaned in again and kissed her repeatedly, unwilling to let go.

“I’m not done talking!” She punched him, exasperated, but he caught her fist in his hand and kissed it gently.

“What else do you need to tell me? I’m all ears,” he asked, his voice husky and muffled.

Qiao Lu took a deep breath, pinched his earlobe lightly, and said, “One more thing—make sure to emphasize that buying the bag comes with a free scarf. We want customers to feel like they’re getting a deal. That way it’ll sell better, got it?”

“Got it.” The pinch made his shoulders twitch. “Didn’t know my wife had so many tricks up her sleeve.”

“Of course I do.” Qiao Lu smirked and let go of his ear. “But that scarf cost me six yuan at the department store—pretty expensive. So the bag needs to be priced at least fifteen yuan. Also, your buddy Hou deals in that sort of stuff, right? Can you ask him… see if he can find us some cheaper scarves? If sales go well, we’ll need them in bulk. No way we’ll lose money.”

“Okay, I’ll talk to him tomorrow.” Whatever his wife said was right. If something wasn’t, they could discuss it—they had two brains, after all. Surely, they’d figure out the best plan.

“When we’ve saved up some money, I want to try making leather bags!” No matter how good a cloth bag looked, it could never match the feel of leather.

Xu Haizhou looked at her with eyes as soft as water. “Sure.”

He couldn’t help but wonder—just how many good deeds had he done in a past life to deserve such a clever wife in this one? When they first married, he’d assumed she’d spend her days managing the household. He never expected her to be so full of energy and ideas.

But maybe that was a good thing. Life felt more fulfilling this way—kept them both motivated.

“If you can, try to get scraps of fabric in different colors—especially this kind of material. Something more durable.” Qiao Lu handed him a sample. The fabric was a bit costly, so she hadn’t yet bought much of it.

“Scraps would be more economical. Cutting from new fabric every time would be wasteful.” It was a small business, after all—every bit saved helped.

“Oh, and buttons—I want all kinds of beautiful buttons. The more, the better!”

Buttons could replace zippers, but also served as decoration. Most cloth bags on the market were made from homespun fabrics—durable, sure, but usually dyed in drab blue tones. They looked dull and weren’t popular among younger girls, who preferred making their own colorful bags.

That’s the thing—after living through decades of dull blue, gray, and green, people were starved for color. It didn’t matter if something looked “tacky.” These days, the brighter the better. Over-the-top “tacky” was the new trendy!

To celebrate the new bags’ potential success, dinner was a feast: stir-fried pork with green peppers, steamed egg custard, and a small bowl of seaweed and dried shrimp soup—a veritable spread. During the stir-frying, all the aunties from the shared courtyard came over to peek. If there was one downside to living in a communal courtyard, it was the lack of privacy. Watching was one thing, but they had to comment—“Wow, you guys must be loaded!”

Well… they weren’t exactly wrong.

Qiao Lu decided—next time she bought meat, she’d just make soup. Stir-fried meat was way too fragrant, far too tempting.

After cooking dinner, Xu Haizhou took their son to the provisions shop and bought three bottles of orange pulp juice in glass bottles. Normally, Qiao Lu wouldn’t let their son drink these sugary drinks, but since she was in a rare good mood today, she let him finish a whole bottle.

But come midnight—oh no.

The next morning, Qiao Lu felt a dampness on her back. She reached out and touched it. That’s strange… she hadn’t been sweating, so where did the moisture come from? It felt wet and sticky—

Realization hit her like a firework explosion in her mind.

She lifted the blanket—and was dumbfounded.

“Ah… this…”

Feeling the cool breeze, Qiao An slowly woke up from his dream, and in a daze, noticed something warm and wet under his bottom.

As it dawned on him what had happened, he scrambled up from the bed, staring at the large, chaotic map-like stain. His little face turned deathly pale, and his lips began to tremble.

“I-I-I didn’t mean to…”

Qiao An had wet the bed. Overwhelmed with guilt, he refused to eat breakfast. Not only that, but every time he saw Qiao Lu, he burst into tears. He cried and cried—his eyelashes hadn’t dried since he got up, sticking together in clumps. His poor mother was honestly afraid he’d cry himself to death.

She finally managed to force a brown sugar bun into his hands. His inner foodie couldn’t resist—he nibbled on it in small bites, all the while sobbing, his little face turning beet red.

“I didn’t do it on purpose, Mommy… I remember… I remember I found the bathroom. It was a little smelly inside, then I went in, and Daddy helped me pull down my pants, and then I peed… I clearly found the bathroom, I didn’t pee anywhere else…”

Who would’ve guessed it was all a dream? That toilet wasn’t real—it was the bed!

It had been so long since she’d seen her son so depressed that Qiao Lu’s heart was breaking.

Helplessly, she scooped the little one into her arms and comforted him. “It’s okay, it’s okay. It’s not a big deal. Mommy wet the bed when she was little too. So did Daddy—if you don’t believe me, just ask him.”

Xu Haizhou was anxious too. Seeing how late it was, he had no mood for setting up his stall.

“It’s true. Daddy wet the bed when he was three, and again at four, and even five. It’s perfectly normal. All little kids wet the bed sometimes. But Daddy believes in An’an. You definitely didn’t do it on purpose. Just work on controlling it slowly, okay?”

The little guy sniffled and snorted, his voice hoarse and barely recognizable: “Then… then did Daddy’s mommy and daddy laughed at you?”

Xu Haizhou rubbed his head and shook his head. “No, they didn’t.”

Qiao Lu squeezed his chubby little hand. “Nope, our mommies and daddies didn’t laugh at us. And Mommy and Daddy aren’t laughing at you either, right?”

Qiao An lowered his head. “You… you’re not allowed to laugh at me in your hearts either…”

Pfft—like they had mind-reading powers. How would he even know if they did?

Still, Qiao Lu kept a straight face and did her best to reassure him: “We’re not laughing at you, really. Bedwetting is totally normal. We’ll just be more careful next time. No big deal, okay?”

Curled up in his mother’s arms, the little guy whimpered pitifully: “Mmm… Don’t laugh at me… Don’t dislike me… An’an didn’t mean to…”

After breakfast, Xu Haizhou rushed off on his bike to set up the stall. Qiao Lu stripped the bed sheets, duvet covers, and little Qiao An’s underwear and washed them clean. Thankfully, the sun was shining bright today—perfect for drying out even the cotton padding.

Once everything was washed and hung up to dry, she took her son to the market to buy groceries. The little piglet didn’t say a word the entire way—clearly still in a funk.

For lunch, Qiao Lu had her son help pick and wash the vegetables. As they got more into the work, he actually seemed to forget about the bedwetting for a while. But when Qiao Lu carried the vegetables to the kitchen to cook, leaving him alone to play with his pet fish, Bubble and Little White, the depression came creeping back in.

“Do you two ever wet the bed?” he asked, dipping a finger in the water and stirring. Startled, the little fish flicked their tails and scattered.

They didn’t have mouths. They couldn’t tell their little owner whether they wet the bed or not.

Unwilling to let it go, Qiao An ran to the kitchen door and asked Qiao Lu in a small voice: “Mommy, how old are Bubble and Little White?”

Qiao Lu paused her cooking, thought quickly, and replied, “About the same age as you—maybe one or two years old.”

The little guy bit his lip. “Then… do Bubble and Little White wet the bed too?”

Qiao Lu: “…uh… if you really want an answer… then yes, they definitely wet the bed too!”

Qiao An seemed comforted, but still sighed, “Sigh… if only I were Bubble or Little White. Then no one would see me wet the bed.”

Pfft—

Why was her son so adorable?

Lunch was all of Qiao An’s favorite dishes, and dessert was an almond-flavored mille-feuille from the long-established Yifangzhai bakery. His mood finally shifted from gloomy to sunny, but apparently he had still been stewing inside.

At bedtime, Qiao An lay stiffly beside Qiao Lu, without a peep. Qiao Lu thought he’d fallen asleep—until the lights went out, and the little guy suddenly clutched her sleeve and murmured:

“Mommy, I didn’t mean to…”

Qiao Lu remembered seeing something in a book or online before—it said that children aged three to six go through a phase of “initiative vs. guilt.” The general idea was that if a child is pressured when feeling guilty, it can lead to a guilt-ridden personality in adulthood, where fear of being blamed makes them avoid trying altogether.

At this stage, scolding a child doesn’t help; it’s more important to help them understand what happened and move past regret.

Besides, bedwetting at three years old is completely normal. Of course Qiao Lu wouldn’t scold him—just seeing how guilty he felt already made her heart ache.

Sigh… who would’ve thought a case of bedwetting could be so hard to deal with?

The next morning, just as the sky began to brighten and the couple were still fast asleep, Qiao An was already awake. He repeatedly felt his bottom and the bedding beneath him, confirming over and over that it was dry, before curling back up and going back to sleep.

At breakfast around 8 AM, Qiao An acted like everything was normal, though he still didn’t have much of an appetite.

But there was no hiding that from his sharp-eyed mother—she could tell something was still off and felt both worried and helpless.

She stopped Xu Haizhou just before he left: “Haizhou, our son’s way too stubborn. What should we do?”

Xu Haizhou thought for a moment, then said, “Leave it to me.”

He suddenly turned his bike around and went over to the Chen household across the street. Who knows what he did there, but when he returned, he told his wife, “All set. Let’s see how it goes.”

Then he grabbed his box of trinkets and went off to set up his street stall.

Qiao Lu was left scratching her head. Around 11:30 a.m., Chen Jingkang came home from school and suddenly showed up at their house looking for Qiao An. The two boys ran into the bedroom to whisper secrets, and Jingkang even specifically reminded Qiao Lu, “Auntie Qiao, I have a super secret to tell Qiao An, you’re not allowed to eavesdrop!”

Qiao Lu couldn’t help laughing. Before she left, she kindly closed the door for them. “Go ahead and talk. I won’t listen in. I’ll go cook lunch.”

Almost the moment the door shut, Chen Jingkang dragged Qiao An over to the window to peek out. Only after confirming Qiao Lu had really gone into the kitchen did he let out a breath of relief and whisper to Qiao An, “Qiao An, I’m gonna tell you a secret today!”

Qiao An crunched on a cucumber. “Brother Kangkang, what secret?”

Jingkang went straight to the point: “Qiao An, have you ever wet your pants?”

That one sentence hit Qiao An like a bolt of lightning. His little body went stiff, and his heart practically leapt into his throat. The more he thought about it, the more panicked he became—had his parents told on him?!

He gripped the cucumber tightly, nearly in tears.

“I… I… I…” His toes curled with nerves, but no words came out.

“I’ll tell you a secret, but you can’t tell anyone, okay?” Jingkang leaned in, whispering into his ear.

“W-what secret?” Qiao An honestly didn’t want to hear anything at all—he was heartbroken. Why would Mom and Dad tell Kangkang about his accident?

Jingkang scratched his head, blushing. “Um… I… I wet the bed last night.”

And just like that, the air seemed to freeze.

“Brother Kangkang, you wet the bed?!” That was even more shocking than his own accident!

Kangkang was already eight years old and a real elementary schooler. Elementary schoolers could wet their pants too?

“Shhh—!” Jingkang quickly clapped a hand over Qiao An’s mouth, utterly embarrassed. “It’s our secret. Only you, me, and my mom and dad know. You can’t tell anyone!”

Qiao An blinked and pushed his hand away, nodding solemnly. “Okay! Brother Kangkang, I won’t tell anyone!”

“Then… do you know if I wet my pants?” Qiao An asked shyly.

Jingkang frowned. “How would I know if you did or didn’t? Anyway, I wet mine—just last night.”

Then he patted his pocket. Inside was a one-yuan bill—a whole yuan! It was given to him by Qiao An’s dad, as payment for “dirtying” his reputation… Sigh, if it weren’t for that one yuan, he’d never have revealed such a shameful truth in front of Qiao An!

But Qiao An suddenly felt so much better. Turns out his parents hadn’t told anyone. Turns out all kids could have accidents. Turns out it was totally normal!

“But… Brother Kangkang, why’d you tell me?” he asked.

“Because… because…” Jingkang scratched his head. Because your dad asked me to!

“…Because I trust you not to tell anyone!” he declared. Technically true, anyway.

Qiao An nodded hard, thrilled by the trust. “Mm! An’an is a good kid!”

Jingkang stressed again, “This is a secret between kids. You can’t tell grown-ups!”

“Brother Kangkang, I won’t tell anyone.”

He held out his pinky. “Pinky swear.”

“Pinky swear, hang it high, never ever tell a lie! If you lie, you’re a stinky dog!”

At lunch, after Jingkang left, Qiao Lu noticed her son wasn’t sad or mopey anymore. He was a completely different person, even eagerly picking up food for her.

“Our An’an is so cheerful today!” she said, rubbing the back of his head affectionately.

“Mommy, I’m happy every day!” He picked up a potato and chewed it with delight.

Qiao Lu raised her eyebrows in surprise and exchanged a look with Xu Haizhou—they silently gave each other a thumbs-up.

This dad really came through!

“Mommy.”

“Hmm?”

“I want to tell you a secret.”

“What is it?” Qiao Lu leaned her head over.

Qiao An hesitated for a moment before finally saying, “I—I wet the bed yesterday. You and Dad can’t tell anyone. This is a secret just between you, me, and Dad.”

Only the three of them could know about this—just like how only Kangkang’s parents knew about his accident.

Qiao Lu couldn’t help but laugh. “Alright, this will be a secret known only to heaven, earth, you, me, and Dad. How’s that?”

“Okay!”

…

In the blink of an eye, it was already the end of March. The return of the southern humidity made life miserable. It was bad enough that laundry wouldn’t dry—on top of that, it kept raining.

Finally, in early April, a rare sunny day arrived. Xu Haizhou had someone deliver a bicycle home for Qiao Lu. It was the same brand as the one he rode—both were “Forever” brand bikes.

Qiao Lu found it a little funny. Xu Haizhou never fetched big-ticket items himself—it was as if he had hired a mover to handle it all. Every time, he had someone else bring things home.

Though just about every household in the courtyard had a bike, Xu Haizhou’s new delivery still sparked widespread discussion.

“You two sure are something. Already got two bikes.”

“Ever since you married in, I swear Xu Haizhou’s business has taken off. First a radio, now another bike. Do you guys even have any savings left?”

People hadn’t thought much of Xu Haizhou before, nor did they know what kind of profit he made. No one was really interested in his affairs. Who knew peddling goods could actually bring in money?

“Eh, we’re doing okay. Just getting by. Never thought much about saving—make it, spend it. Gotta enjoy life while we can.”

Her casual words left everyone unsure how to respond. They just laughed and said, “That’s nice. Really nice. Look at how loving they are as a couple.”

“Yeah, we’re jealous—but envy won’t get us anywhere!”

But deep down, some thought the couple was wasteful. One bike was enough for the household. Instead of buying another, why not get some new clothes or improve their meals? And still, they couldn’t help but feel a twinge of envy.

Two bikes, and just from selling stuff on the street? Times really were changing.

As for the new bike—no matter what others said, Qiao An was thrilled. He couldn’t wait to beg his mom to take him out for a ride.

Qiao Lu pinched his cheek. “Haven’t you already ridden with Dad? What’s so exciting?”

But it was exciting! So much that he was practically bouncing in place. He didn’t even seem like his usual self. “It is exciting! Super exciting! I’ve never ridden with you, Mommy. And this is a new bike! I want to ride the new one!”

Qiao Lu scratched his chin. “You little rascal. Sounds like you’re just chasing after the new and ditching the old.”

“What does that mean?” His big deer-like eyes blinked rapidly, full of curiosity.

Qiao Lu said, “It means you only like new things and don’t care about the old ones.”

He shook his head fiercely. “No, no! An’an likes both the new and the old!”

“With a brain this sharp, I’ll have to test you with some brain teasers later.”

Qiao An didn’t really get what she meant. He was too caught up in the joy of riding the brand-new bike.

Qiao Lu was great at riding. Even though she hadn’t touched a bike since her reincarnation, the moment she got on, it was like second nature. She didn’t even need to adjust—just pedaled off smoothly.

She didn’t have a destination in mind, so she circled around the city. On the way, she asked residents if they knew of any rental places with private bathrooms. It was a thought that had been lingering in her mind. Since she was just out for a ride, she figured she might as well ask around.

No luck yet, but she wasn’t discouraged. Sooner or later, they’d get a place like that.

Just as she was about to take her son to Qingteng Alley to see Xu Haizhou, a thought struck her. She changed course and decided to bring her son to see his second aunt. They hadn’t seen each other since the New Year—over two months now.

Soon, they arrived at Lian City Chemical Plant. There was an old gatekeeper at the entrance. When she asked if they could go in and mentioned that her sister and brother-in-law were plant managers, the guard happily called the office for her.

Once approved, she rode the bike inside with her son.

Back in these days, factories were surprisingly nice—far better than in later years. Not only were they spacious, but they had their own clinics, daycare centers, corner shops… practically everything. It was a bit like the residential complexes twenty or thirty years down the line—just that this was also a workplace.

After hearing her sister was coming, Qiao Yan waited downstairs outside the office building. The bike hadn’t even come to a full stop before the little guy was already waving excitedly.

“Auntie! Look at me and Mommy’s new bike! Daddy got it for us!”

Qiao Yan couldn’t help laughing as she walked over. The little guy jumped off the bike and into her arms. She squatted down and gave him a big kiss—he still smelled sweet like milk.

“You little rascal. First thing out of your mouth isn’t how much you missed me, but showing off your new bike? What, here to brag?”

But little Qiao An wasn’t that kind of kid. He just genuinely wanted to share his happiness with his aunt.

“What’s ‘brag’ mean? Auntie, I’m super happy! Come look at our new bike!”

Qiao Lu burst out laughing. Qiao Yan sighed helplessly, “Forget it, you silly goose. You don’t get it.”

What’s so special about a bike, really? Still, she gave a few perfunctory compliments, then turned to Qiao Lu. “So, what brings you here today? Nothing else to do?”

Qiao Lu smiled and rubbed her son’s head. “Pretty much. I’m home all the time anyway. Just got this new bike today and thought I’d take Qiao An out for a spin.”

Then she asked, “How have you been? Things still good with my brother-in-law?”

At the mention of Yuan Jianghe, Qiao Yan’s smile grew especially sweet. These two had been married a while—this reaction was a bit unexpected. She was actually blushing?

Sure enough—

She suddenly dropped a bombshell: “Qiao Lu, I’m pregnant!”