Buy a Washing Machine

After finishing his second bowl of noodles, Li Yang turned and saw that his silly wife, Xiao Dan, had actually fallen asleep there.

Li Yang smiled and gently lowered her little feet. Not wanting to disturb Xiao Dan's sleep, he cleared up the bowls and chopsticks himself, went to the sink in the outside corridor, and washed all the pots, bowls, and utensils from lunch.

By the time Xiao Dan woke up, Li Yang had already carried her onto the bed. He was lying on the sofa reading a novel. He was afraid that if he lay beside Xiao Dan, he would be unable to resist getting intimate with her again. Although he had already vented his desire with Zhang Yujie that morning, he was young and full of energy, so another round would not be a problem.

"Honey, why aren't you sleeping with me today?" Xiao Dan asked sleepily as she put on her slippers and walked over. She sprawled into Li Yang's arms and started acting spoiled again, casually kicking off her slippers.

"Hehe, I'm afraid you won't be able to take it. We made love twice last night," Li Yang said with a wicked grin as he looked at Xiao Dan.

"You're awful. Can't you just hold me and sleep?" Xiao Dan said coquettishly.

"Alright, alright. I'll hold you tonight, and I promise I'll behave. We should get going, shouldn't we, honey?" Li Yang checked the time. It was almost one in the afternoon.

"Mm, let's go. When we get back tonight, let's clean the ceiling fan. It's getting hot, so it's time to use it." Xiao Dan pointed overhead. The landlord's room came with a ceiling fan. It was quite useful in the summer, even more comfortable than air conditioning.

"Alright, honey. Leave this little thing to me," Li Yang promised confidently.

"Mm, my husband is so good. Kiss me." Xiao Dan puckered her lips, and Li Yang could not help but kiss her.

Before long, Xiao Dan seemed to be getting worked up from the kiss, and her little hands began wandering.

"Honey, wait until tonight," Li Yang said, afraid that if this went on much longer, he would lose control again.

Hearing that, Xiao Dan, her eyes hazy, regained a bit of clarity. "Alright, honey. I'll listen to you." Slightly breathless, she rested in Li Yang's arms for a moment before the two of them went to work hand in hand.

"Honey, come home early after work. Bye-bye!" Xiao Dan gave Li Yang a reluctant kiss, then turned and ran off with a smile.

When Li Yang got to the store that afternoon, everything was as usual. He wandered back and forth around the Midea section. Who knew where Zhang Mimi and Liu Yueyue had run off to? They had probably gone to the bathroom again.

"Li Yang, make a price tag for that Midea eight-kilogram top-loading washing machine," Li Pin, the manufacturer's promoter and an old employee, called out to him.

"Okay." Li Yang went over to the computer. "What price should I put?"

Li Pin smiled. "Put down seven hundred. It's a display model, and it's been sitting around too long, so it won't sell easily. Make it cheaper and leave some room for bargaining. It can go for as low as five hundred. Got it?"

They were all insiders, so there was no need to hide the prices from one another. Besides, Li Pin liked Li Yang, and the two got along well. But Li Pin had gotten married last year; otherwise, she might have had some thoughts about Li Yang too.

For every brand, the manufacturer's promoter had the final say on the selling price. The mall only took a commission. Who cared how much they sold it for, as long as they did not short the mall by even a penny?

Li Yang was tempted when he heard that. Xiao Dan's place happened to have no washing machine, so he decided to buy it.

"Hey, sis." Li Yang quickly grabbed Li Pin and pulled her into an empty corner.

"What is it? Got a thing for me?" Seeing how mysterious Li Yang looked, Li Pin covered her mouth and teased him. They were the same age, so they often joked around when they had nothing to do.

"What are you thinking? I want to buy the washing machine, so I'm asking you—can I really get it for five hundred?" Li Yang asked doubtfully.

"You don't trust me? I can't promise that for anyone else, but if you want it, I can definitely make the call. Go write up the invoice now. Put down five hundred and fifty, and I'll let you use a fifty-yuan coupon. That way, it'll pass through the mall's procedures. Otherwise, the Jiamei Sales System will block the price. Hurry up. What if someone else snatches it later?"

Li Pin genuinely wanted Li Yang to get a bargain. A sale was a sale, no matter who bought it. It was not her own store, so there was nothing to lose.

Li Yang then wrote up the sales order as Li Pin had instructed. Sure enough, it was not blocked. That fifty-yuan voucher had saved him; otherwise, a price of five hundred definitely would not have gone through.

"Can it be delivered tonight, sis?" Li Yang asked Li Pin happily.

"Oh, it definitely wouldn't work for anyone else. Why don't you just ask Lao Zhao to make an exception for you?" Li Pin casually reminded him.

"That's right. Wait here, I'll go find Lao Zhao." With that, Li Yang headed to the drivers' break room.

Lao Zhao was forty-two that year. Li Yang had helped him out before, and the two had gradually become friends despite their age difference. Lao Zhao had even invited Li Yang over to his home for drinks.

Lao Zhao had two daughters. Li Yang had met the older one; she was only nineteen and stunningly pretty, nothing like Lao Zhao's big, burly appearance. Li Yang had even wondered whether she was really Lao Zhao's biological daughter. The younger daughter was away at college in her first year.

That was also something Lao Zhao was proud of. Having a college student in the family put him in a good mood every day.

"Lao Zhao," Li Yang called casually as he walked into the break room. The moment he entered, the stink of feet and cigarette smoke hit him so hard that he covered his nose.

"What's up, Xiao Yang?" Lao Zhao asked cheerfully, completely unfazed, as though he was used to it.

"I bought a washing machine. Can you help me take it to Tang Village after work?" Li Yang asked openly. There was no need for politeness between the two of them.

"If you're asking, then of course I can. It's a small thing. We can just use a little three-wheeler." Lao Zhao scratched at his bare foot with a smug expression.

"Alright, then. I'll come find you after work. I'm off, Lao Zhao."

"Oh, right, Xiao Yang. It's my eldest daughter's birthday next week. Come have a couple of drinks," Lao Zhao invited him.

"Sure. Just let me know when the time comes," Li Yang agreed readily. Then he ran off, unable to bear the power of that poisonous air any longer.

After finally enduring the wait until the end of the workday, Li Yang had already paid with his bank card. Over the past few years, he had worked all over the place, even in Guangdong, but he had not saved much money. There was still less than twenty thousand yuan in his card. If he were not in such a hurry to get married, it would be enough for ordinary living expenses.

But when he thought about the conditions for marrying Xiao Dan, his family home would need another story built on top, or there would be nowhere for them to live after the wedding. Add in renovations, the bride price, and all sorts of miscellaneous expenses, and Li Yang did not dare imagine how much money that would take. No one knew his family's situation better than he did.

His father's illness had drained the family dry over the past few years. Forget savings—it was already good enough that they were not in debt.

Li Yang still did not know how much bride price Xiao Dan's family would ask for. Just thinking about it gave him such a headache that he wanted to sleep. If he fell asleep, there would be no worries.

After work, he and Lao Zhao carried the washing machine downstairs onto a three-wheeler. Li Yang sat in the back holding it steady while Lao Zhao hummed leisurely as they set off.

They passed through Pedestrian Street and reached Tang Village not far to the west. Thank goodness they had the little three-wheeler, or they really would not have been able to get it to the landlord's door. The streets were unbelievably narrow. Li Yang had no idea how vehicles got in when the villagers held weddings or funerals.

They carried it into the rental room together. Xiao Dan was indeed a girl; she had arranged the room with great care, making it far better than Li Yang's doghouse.

At the back were the bed and a fabric wardrobe, along with a small wooden table covered with Xiao Dan's simple cosmetics. A cloth curtain divided that area off, making it a little bedroom. Outside stood a small sofa and a coffee table for meals. Near the door was a simple chopping board setup, and right by the entrance was the gas stove for cooking.

"You've got yourself a girlfriend, don't you?" Lao Zhao glanced around the room with a knowing smile and guessed casually.

"Of course. What grown man would make a place this tidy?" Li Yang answered bluntly, telling Lao Zhao the truth.

"You really do attract girls. The few times you came to my house, my eldest girl looked at you differently." Lao Zhao smiled helplessly. A grown daughter could not be kept at home forever. If Li Yang had not already been seeing someone, Lao Zhao really would have wanted to set him up with his daughter. He had never expected his daughter to marry into some wealthy family. Lao Zhao could tell that Li Yang was the kind of good man who could live a stable family life. At the very least, he was not like those street punks outside, loafing around all day with nothing to do.

Lao Zhao was truly afraid that one day his daughter would be tricked away by Yellow Hair. That would be unbearable.

Seeing that Li Yang already had a girlfriend, Lao Zhao swallowed his thoughts. His eldest daughter was still young anyway. It would be fine to wait another couple of years before finding her a husband.

The two men chatted arm in arm for a while before Lao Zhao said goodbye. It would not be good if Li Yang's little girlfriend came back and saw him. With his rough appearance, he might scare the young woman.

"When you get married, make sure you let me have a drink at your wedding," Lao Zhao said to Li Yang with a smile from the doorway.

"Definitely. You're not getting out of it—I still need your wedding gift money." Li Yang laughed heartily, then went into the little shop next door and bought Lao Zhao two packs of Red Flag Canal cigarettes.

"Oh, come on. Why are you being so formal with your big brother?" Lao Zhao casually said when he saw the cigarettes Li Yang handed him.

"Take them. I can't let you make the trip for nothing. How else are you going to explain it to your wife when you get home?" Li Yang knew Lao Zhao was henpecked and that his pockets were usually emptier than his face, so he teased him.

"If you put it that way, I really can't argue. Your sister-in-law is always number one at home. I rank fourth," Lao Zhao said. Whenever he mentioned his capable and beautiful wife, Wang Jingjuan, his face could not hide his happiness.

Both daughters took after their mother. Each had grown into a graceful young woman, beautiful through and through. He had no idea which bastard they would end up with in the future. Whenever he thought about his daughters getting married someday, Lao Zhao felt uneasy.

After hearing Li Yang say that, Lao Zhao stopped refusing. He knew Li Yang did not smoke, so he simply accepted the cigarettes, rode away, and bid Li Yang goodbye. His wife was still waiting for him to come home for dinner.

Li Yang then returned to the room, quickly assembled the washing machine, and waited for Xiao Dan to come back and praise him.

Sure enough, the moment Xiao Dan saw the fully automatic washing machine, she was overjoyed. Women loved household appliances that saved them effort the most.

Who did not want to lie down and rest? Xiao Dan was hardworking, but she also wanted to slack off once in a while.

Xiao Dan happily took off her dress, then put every piece of clothing in the room that could be washed into the machine. Seeing that there was not much, she felt it would be wasteful to run a load. She looked at Li Yang, walked straight over, and began taking off his clothes.

"Hey, honey, we haven't even gone to bed yet. Why are you in such a hurry? I'll make you feel good tonight," Li Yang explained nervously.

"What are you thinking, honey? I just think it's a waste to wash so few clothes at once." As Xiao Dan spoke, her hands kept moving. In a few quick motions, she stripped Li Yang naked, even pulling off his last pair of underwear and tossing everything into the washing machine.

"Oh, right, honey, let me remind you: my underwear and stockings can't go in the washing machine. They have to be washed by hand, remember?"

Xiao Dan sat on the sofa taking off her stockings. She wore the lace underwear with a bow that Li Yang had bought her. Seeing Xiao Dan deliberately strike such a seductive pose, Li Yang could not help swallowing.

Tonight, I'll give this silly wife of mine a proper shot. He thought this, and slowly found himself unable to hold back.

Since the weather had turned hot and Xiao Dan liked being clean, she changed out of her underwear after wearing it for a day. She soaked her underwear and stockings separately in a basin, then walked naked to the bed, picked up clean underwear, and put it on.

"Honey, come take a look," Xiao Dan called to Li Yang from behind the curtain.

So he walked over naked. "What is it, honey?"

Xiao Dan did not react too strongly when she saw Li Yang's thing. She had had plenty of close-up contact with it recently, so she had gotten used to it.

"Look, do you think this part of mine has gotten bigger?" Xiao Dan lifted her head and thrust out her chest excitedly for Li Yang to see. What girl did not want the best possible figure?

Li Yang lay calmly on the bed and said casually, "Honey, isn't that all thanks to me? I massage you every day. Your figure is only going to get better and better."

"Oh, you. All you do is tease me." Xiao Dan kicked Li Yang's butt, though she did not put much force into it.

"Honey, why don't we take a bath first? Then we can go out to eat. You did well today, so your wife is treating you to dinner. We won't cook at home tonight." Xiao Dan wrapped her naked arms around Li Yang's neck and spoke excitedly.

"Alright, but put some clothes on first. Are we going to run outside like this?" Li Yang patted Xiao Dan's perky butt and replied casually.

"Got it. Just get me a nightgown. I'll put my underwear on when we get back." Before long, they put on a few simple clothes to cover themselves, grabbed their bathing basket and towels, and headed to the third-floor bathroom. Luckily, Xiao Dan was the only tenant on the third floor now, so it was fairly quiet. Above them was a large rooftop terrace where they could even sleep during the summer.

While bathing, Li Yang fell back into his old tricks.

The two of them clung to each other in the bathroom, making love and bathing for nearly an hour before they finally finished. Luckily, no one outside came to disturb them. In the end, Xiao Dan shamelessly made Li Yang carry her back to the bed in their room.

Li Yang thoughtfully helped Xiao Dan get dressed before slowly cleaning himself up.

"Honey, let's hang the clothes out," Xiao Dan said, seeing that the washed clothes were still in the washing machine.

The fully automatic machine was so convenient. With the drying function, the clothes were nearly dry already. At Xiao Dan's reminder, Li Yang hung their clothes in the outside corridor, then brought the washing machine and power cord back into the room and locked the door. Only then did the two of them head out hand in hand, happily going to dinner.