TPW – Chapter 39

“Ah? What?” Qiao Lu dug at her ear, thinking she’d misheard.

But then she saw Qiao Yan all shy and bashful—when had she ever looked like this?

“Ahem, I… I’m pregnant!”

“Really?!”

Qiao Lu grabbed her hand and bounced in excitement—then suddenly remembered she was pregnant and stopped herself just in time.

Qiao An, not understanding what had his mom and second aunt so happy, looked puzzled. “Mom, Second Aunt is pregnant. What does ‘pregnant’ mean?”

Qiao Lu exclaimed, “An’an, your second aunt has a little baby in her tummy. You’re about to have a little cousin!”

Qiao An blinked. “Little cousin?”

Qiao Lu: “That’s right! A little brother or sister!”

Qiao An turned to look at Qiao Yan. “Second Aunt is going to have a little brother or sister?”

Qiao Lu corrected him, “Not that she’s having your little brother or sister—she’s having her own baby, who will be your cousin.”

With wide, round eyes, the little guy reached out to touch his second aunt’s belly. “Second Aunt~ you have a baby in your tummy? But it doesn’t look like it—it’s still flat.”

Qiao Yan rubbed his head gently, her eyes filled with tenderness. “The baby is only two months along. It hasn’t grown yet.”

“If I can give birth to a sweet, clever, and pretty baby like you, An’an,” she said with a smile, “then your uncle and I will be totally content.”

“You will, you will,” Qiao Lu laughed. “I’ll bring An’an to visit often. They say if you look at cute kids during pregnancy, you’ll have a cute baby too!”

“Is that true?” Qiao Yan asked. Even if it was just an old wives’ tale, it was still nice to hear—nothing wrong with a little good luck.

“It’s true!” Qiao Lu said as she affectionately touched her sister’s belly. “When did you find out?”

Qiao Yan smiled and said, “Found out last week. It’s already been two months. Jiang He and I wanted to wait until we hit the three-month mark before telling everyone. Who knew you’d show up today!”

Qiao Lu clapped her hands in delight. “Ah, that’s wonderful! A December baby—should be a Sagittarius, if all goes well. Not bad, not bad.”

“Sagittarius? What are you talking about?” Qiao Yan looked at her, amused.

Qiao Lu winked playfully. “Doesn’t matter if you don’t get it. What matters is—I hope my big sis gives birth to a lively and adorable baby!”

Qiao Yan’s smile deepened. Then Qiao Lu asked, “So, can you still work right now?”

“Of course. Don’t forget, when you were pregnant with An’an, you were still out in the fields weeding. I’m in a factory—it’s way easier, no wind or rain.”

She looked around, then lowered her voice. “Plus, your brother-in-law already had a word with the office. Everyone’s being really good to me.”

Pulling strings, huh! They might as well carry her around on a golden platter.

But Qiao Lu could understand—this was a long-awaited child for them, so of course they were being extra careful.

“Ah, that’s great. Sis, you should get back to the office and rest. I’m going to tell Haizhou the good news!”

…

Maybe because he’d just seen his second aunt, little Qiao An was extra energetic. As soon as the bicycle reached the entrance to Qingteng Alley and turned the corner, he couldn’t wait to shout: “Daddy! Daddy——”

Wiggling his little butt, he rushed into Xu Haizhou’s arms. The nearby stall vendors looked over curiously.

Xu Haizhou scooped him up with one arm and kissed his cheek. “Good boy. Where’s Mommy?”

Seriously, this guy—he didn’t ask how his son got here first. First thing out of his mouth was about the kid’s mom.

“Mommy’s behind me!” Hugging Xu Haizhou’s neck, he rubbed and rubbed against him, planting a kiss on his cheek. “Daddy, I missed you.”

Xu Haizhou’s eyes curved into a smile as he kissed the boy’s cheek back. “Really?”

Qiao An rarely said things like that to him—it was usually “I love Mommy” or “I miss Mommy.”

“Mhm! It’s true, Daddy! Daddy, we came here today on a new bike. Mommy said you bought it. Did you, Daddy?”

This kid—asking a question he already knew the answer to.

“Yeah, I bought it for you and Mommy.”

The little guy flailed his arms and legs in joy, looking smug like I knew it!

“Daddy, Daddy, do you know where Mommy just took me?” he asked again.

Xu Haizhou: “Where did she take you?”

Qiao An shouted, “She took me to see Second Aunt!”

“Were you happy to see her?” Xu Haizhou scratched his chin.

Bouncing in his arms, Qiao An said, “Mm-hmm! I was super happy! Daddy, I have something to tell you that you definitely don’t know!”

“Oh? Something I don’t know? What is it?”

The little guy covered his mouth with a giggle, acting all sneaky and mysterious. “Daddy, Second Aunt has a little sister hiding in her belly.”

Xu Haizhou instantly turned to Qiao Lu, his reaction even more dramatic than hers had been. “Really?! Your second sister’s pregnant? When? How far along? Is it a boy or a girl?”

Qiao Lu chuckled. “I can answer the first few, but even my sister doesn’t know if it’s a boy or girl—how would I?”

The couple had been married for three years without children. The family was urging them, and they themselves were anxious too. So right now, boy or girl—it didn’t matter. They were just happy.

“Daddy, Daddy! Do you know where else Mommy took me?” Qiao An chattered like he was on a sugar high.

Xu Haizhou looked back at Qiao Lu and smiled. “Where else did she take you?”

“Mommy said she’s taking me to see a new house. She said she wants to buy us a big—house!” He stretched out his arms dramatically, his tone and expression exaggerated.

“Buy a house?” That shocked him even more than Qiao Yan’s pregnancy.

Qiao Lu laughed and shook her head, patting her son’s butt. The little chatterbox threw himself into her arms.

“What big house? There’s nothing worth buying these days. We wandered around all morning and didn’t find a thing,” she said, holding her son.

A big house, huh? That reminded Xu Haizhou. “Have you been to Huxi Road yet? There’s a new residential complex being built over there. People are calling it a xiaoqu—a gated community. It even has a name: Nanhu Garden. It’s invested in by Hong Kong merchants. Pretty nice.”

He’d gone to take a look when it was newly built. The uniform six-story apartment buildings, both inside and out, looked quite novel by Lian’an standards.

Actually, back in 1980, China had already seen its first proper commercial housing complex, built in a neighboring province to Lian’an—also funded by Hong Kong investors. But back then, most urban residents weren’t inclined to buy property. Either their work units assigned them homes, or they lived in inherited family homes. These early complexes were mainly built to sell to Hong Kong investors or overseas Chinese.

“Really? I’ll check it out when I get the chance!” Qiao Lu’s face lit up—what a pleasant surprise. She hadn’t expected there’d be commercial housing available as early as ’83. She asked, “If I said I wanted to buy a house, would you agree?”

No matter what, Xu Haizhou was the main breadwinner now. Buying a home was a big deal—of course she had to ask.

“Are you worried Li Xiuxiu might come back?” Xu Haizhou asked.

“No.” It really wasn’t about that. “I just want a place that belongs entirely to us. And it has to have a private bathroom. So… I, uh, looked into it. Turns out a whole apartment these days is only about ten thousand yuan…”

Well, not “looked into”—she had already known. Before time-traveling, Qiao Lu had bought a house herself. It had cost her three million. Out of curiosity, she once looked up housing prices from the ’80s.

What she found was shocking. Even in big cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, a downtown apartment only cost ten to twenty thousand yuan. She’d even dreamed about time-traveling back to the ’80s, making a fortune, buying hundreds of apartments, and just waiting for them to skyrocket in value. Now she had actually time-traveled—but hadn’t made the money yet to buy anything. Sigh—

“Ahem, I’m not saying ten thousand yuan is cheap or anything,” she added quickly. “Just that, if you think buying is too much pressure, we could always look into renting. Renting for now is okay too.”

Honestly, she just couldn’t stand sharing a public restroom anymore!

That sounded like a plea. Xu Haizhou sighed inwardly and reached over to gently rub the back of her head. His tone held a trace of reproach: “I’ve told you before. After marriage, we’re husband and wife—everything we do, we do together. If you need something, just say so. If I can manage it, I’ll make it happen. Especially something like this—it’s completely reasonable. You don’t have to tiptoe around me.”

Qiao Lu beamed. “I wasn’t tiptoeing! I just thought a house was kinda expensive, and I was worried you’d say no. I really, really want to move!”

Xu Haizhou smiled. “Then let’s move. We’ll start saving up.”

Aww, what a sweet husband. Now Qiao Lu felt a little embarrassed for being so hesitant earlier.

“Then… can we find time to go look at some places? Me and An’an? We don’t have the money yet, but I just wanna go take a look to get excited.”

That sounded pretty humble—but hey, what’s wrong with window-shopping when you can’t afford the real thing?

Even though their savings couldn’t cover a house right now, if the community turned out to be appealing enough—nice environment, good facilities—it might just give her more motivation to earn money.

She was really looking forward to it.

“Okay,” Xu Haizhou agreed warmly, gently squeezing her hand, his eyes full of tenderness.

Qiao Lu believed that if there weren’t so many people around, this man would have definitely pulled her into his arms and kissed her to his heart’s content.

Ahem—

Back to the story.

“How about the scarf I mentioned a couple of days ago? Any news? What did Brother Hou say?”

Xu Haizhou frowned slightly and composed himself: “Cai Jun said the scarf can be found, but it will take a few days.”

“That’s fine, no rush.” The bags she had just put out were still selling well—on a good day, she could make twenty or thirty yuan, sometimes even fifty or sixty, usually on Sundays.

Suddenly, Xu Haizhou leaned close to Qiao Lu’s ear and lowered his voice: “We’ve saved some more money recently. I’ll count it for you when we get home tonight.”

Qiao Lu looked up and met his pair of deep, smiling eyes. Her heart skipped two beats, and she smiled slyly at him, “With that tone, you sound like you’re coaxing a child. Do you really think I’m a money fanatic?”

Ever since she’d jokingly told Qiao An she was a money lover, this man had been teasing her with money all the time. She swore she wasn’t obsessed with money!

She just… kind of liked it a little.

Xu Haizhou chuckled softly, his big hand gently stroking the back of her neck, soothing her like a cat. The scene was so sweet it tormented the single guys next door, who covered their faces and looked away, unwilling to watch.

This pink bubble world was just unbearable.

Qiao Lu, holding her son, stayed with Xu Haizhou to watch the stall for a while. In less than ten minutes, they sold a bag with a scarf on it—faster than she expected. Just adding a scarf plus some bright, trendy elements made it ridiculously easy to sell!

Each bag sold for fifteen yuan, with a net profit of eight yuan after costs. So if the scarf’s cost could be reduced, making over a thousand yuan a month wouldn’t be a dream!

Suddenly, many ideas about “bundled sales” popped into her mind. She couldn’t stay there any longer and wanted to go back and write them down before she forgot.

She called Qiao An over to get in the car, ready to leave.

Xu Haizhou reluctantly pulled her back. Qiao Lu teased him, “Alright, you’re acting like a kid.”

“Stay a little longer.” Having been married for more than half a year, Xu Haizhou no longer blushed in front of his wife.

“I still have to go home and cook,” Qiao Lu smiled.

Pointing outside the alley, Xu Haizhou said, “How about we don’t cook today? It’s tiring. Let’s take a break and eat out at noon.”

Qiao Lu’s eyes lit up. She was about to say something when suddenly a piercing, heart-wrenching shout came from the alley entrance: “The big hat is coming! Big hat! Big hat!”

“What?” Qiao Lu thought she misheard. What big hat? What’s wrong with the hat?

Her mind went blank for a moment, and she watched helplessly as the stall owners in the alley erupted into chaos, fleeing like rats.

By the time Qiao Lu finally understood, Xu Haizhou shouted urgently behind her:

“Run!”

On a warm April day, wearing a knit shirt and jacket, Qiao Lu was so frightened she shivered. She hurriedly got off the bike, scooped up her son into the back seat, pushed off forcefully with her right foot, and quickly followed the crowd riding out from the other side of the alley.

“An’an, hold Mommy tight! Hold on tight!”

“Ah—Mommy, run! Mommy, run! People are chasing us! Mommy, run!”

The sound of the wind mixed with Qiao An’s sharp screams and the chaotic clatter of the bike rush. Surrounded by it all, her heart clenched tightly, and her nerves became taut.

The wind roared. She didn’t know how long they rode—long enough for her legs to go numb—when Xu Haizhou finally caught up and shouted, “Follow me!”

Qiao Lu hurried to keep pace, and the little guy’s clear voice rang out into the air: “I see Daddy!”

The bike group darted from one alley to another, weaving through one street after another. After about ten minutes, the speed finally slowed a bit.

Because they’d been going so fast, Qiao An had to hold onto his mother with all his strength.

Five minutes later, Xu Haizhou found a safe spot. The bikes slowed and eventually stopped.

Qiao Lu stopped as well, planted her feet firmly on the ground. Her legs trembled weakly, and her hands ached so much she couldn’t lift them.

Before she could catch her breath, Qiao An suddenly said something that almost made her laugh: “Mommy, that was fun! I like playing the Big Hat game!” The big hat was chasing from behind, and they were running ahead, almost ready to take off! So thrilling, so much fun!

It was so exciting that they forgot to be scared!

Pfft—

Son, we just escaped so messily, and to you, it was just a game?!

You really are innocent.