Helped Her Wash Her Hair

Zhou Chenglei glanced at Zhou Yongguo indifferently.

"Grandpa Zhou," Zhou Yongguo instantly caved. "Watermelon juice is fine. Xiao Xia can just drink watermelon juice!"

He had even forgotten to call her Granddaughter-in-law.

Grandpa had instantly turned into a grandson!

Jiang Xia had an excellent tolerance for alcohol, something she had trained up in her previous life. After graduating from graduate school, she had partnered with her senior fellow student to start a venture capital firm.

When you worked in venture capital, social engagements were unavoidable, and wherever there were social engagements, there was always alcohol. Especially at dinners she hosted, she had several times drunk until she vomited blood and had to be hospitalized, only to continue drinking after she was discharged.

In her previous life, she had had no choice. Now, she could indulge herself a little more. She had already toasted everyone just now, so she picked up the glass of watermelon juice and said with a smile, "My tolerance really is poor. I'm a one-glass knockout, so I'll use watermelon juice in place of alcohol and toast Grand Uncle."

Zhou Yongguo's spine immediately straightened. He was from the generation of grandfathers! Why should he act timid? "Grandson, hurry up! Your Granddaughter-in-law is about to toast me! Hurry!"

Zhou Chenglei did not argue with him and picked up his wineglass.

The meal ended with both hosts and guests thoroughly satisfied, and every dish was wiped clean.

The four brothers—Guang Zong Yao Zu and the others—even mixed the remaining sauce with rice, not letting even the sauce go to waste.

Even the picky Zhou Jie ate an extra bowl of rice.

Everyone praised Jiang Xia's cooking to the skies.

Great-Grandmother said, "I've never eaten Braised Pork Belly this delicious."

Zhou Chengxin said, "It's the same White Shrimp, but the shrimp Fourth Sister-in-law makes are especially crisp and sweet."

Unlike that wife of his, who boiled all the flavor out of the shrimp.

"I only realized today that sponge gourd and White Clam are a match made in heaven!"

"Even the chef at the State-Owned Restaurant doesn't cook as well as A'Lei's wife."

Listening to everyone's praise, Mother Zhou's face was wreathed in smiles, and she found Jiang Xia much more pleasing to the eye.

Tian Caihua felt a little sour. After marrying into the Zhou Family, she had worked herself to the bone for years without earning a single word of praise from anyone. Jiang Xia had cooked one meal, and they had nearly praised her to the heavens.

With so much oil in the cooking, even a sow could make it taste good! Still, Tian Caihua admired Jiang Xia's knife skills. They were simply extraordinary!* After the meal, the men put away the tables and chairs while the women cleared the bowls and chopsticks.

Jiang Xia was just about to wash the dishes when Zhou Chenglei stopped her. "Let my mother and the others wash them."

She had already done more than enough by cooking just now. Besides, using a spatula did not require much contact with water, whereas washing dishes was different—her hands would have to stay wet.

Zhou Chenglei then said to Mother Zhou, "Mom, Jiang Xia pulled all the weeds in the courtyard with a hoe, and her hands have blistered. You wash the dishes!"

Mother Zhou: "..."

Have sons! Have sons! Every one of them forgot his mother the moment he married a wife!

But Jiang Xia had actually pulled the weeds in the courtyard? Mother Zhou had already looked at Jiang Xia with new eyes after this meal. Now she felt even more that Jiang Xia was willing to live properly with her son.

Otherwise, when had she ever been so eager to work?

As long as Jiang Xia was willing to live properly with her son, Mother Zhou was not the kind of person who would make things difficult for her daughter-in-law.

Besides, she was delighted to see the relationship between the two developing in a good direction.

Mother Zhou smiled and said, "A'Lei, why didn't you say earlier that Xia's hands were blistered? We'll wash the dishes and chopsticks. Go sit for a while."

He Xinghuan, Great-Grandmother's daughter-in-law, said with a smile, "Xiao Xia's hands are blistered, so don't get them wet. We'll wash a few bowls. Besides, you cooked so many dishes just now—you must be tired."

Jiang Xia did not insist. She hated washing dishes most of all. "Then I'll go sweep the floor."

Tian Caihua pressed her lips together. What was so remarkable about having blisters on her hands? In the past, she had suffered a huge cut from a sickle and still done everything as usual. Though she thought this, Tian Caihua did not show it. She merely echoed them, then wiped the stove clean after washing the dishes before carrying her family's large iron pot and clay pot away.

Once the house had been cleaned and everyone had left, Zhou Chenglei carried the last few chairs back to Great-Grandmother's house and closed the Courtyard Gate behind him.

Father Zhou and Zhou Zhou had already washed up and returned to their room. They were accustomed to going to bed early.

When Zhou Chenglei saw Jiang Xia carrying a bucket of hot water out of the kitchen, he hurried over and took it from her.

Jiang Xia said, "I'm going to wash my hair. Just put it in the courtyard."

The Shower Room was too narrow and had no light. Who knew whether there were snakes inside? She did not dare stay in there for too long.

She had no choice but to bathe, so she could only steel herself and do it.

Zhou Chenglei frowned. "Can't you wash it in a few days?"

"I can't stand not washing it." After cleaning and cooking, her hair was full of dust and the smell of cooking smoke. She could not tolerate it.

"Don't your hands hurt?"

"Even if they hurt, I still have to wash it. I can't stand having dirty hair."

Mother Zhou came out of the Shower Room just then. Hearing this, she said, "A'Lei, just help Xiao Xia wash her hair."

The two of them: "."

Seeing them both frozen, Mother Zhou said, "What's wrong? Isn't it only natural for a man to wash his wife's hair? When my hands were injured, your father washed mine for me too."

As long as a married couple spent more time together, their feelings would naturally grow. Her son was already twenty-eight, yet they did not even have a child.

Zhou Yongguo was the same age as A'Lei, and Zhou Jie was about to start elementary school.

Zhou Chenglei looked at Jiang Xia. "I'll help you!"

Jiang Xia blurted out, "No need. You can help me wash my hair, but what about bathing?"

Mother Zhou said, "You can help with that too. When you're old and can't move, won't you have to rely on your spouse to help you?"

Zhou Chenglei: "."

Jiang Xia: "..."

She had gotten on the wrong bus, hadn't she?

Mother Zhou simply brought out a small stool, sat in the courtyard, and rubbed her hair dry while staring at them. "Hurry up! A'Lei, why are you just standing there? Go help Xiao Xia wash her hair!"

The two of them were helpless and had no choice but to steel themselves and begin.

*On an August night, cicadas chirped one after another, a gentle breeze wafted by, and stars twinkled as they secretly peeked at the pair below.

Jiang Xia sat on the small stool with her head covered in foam.

The foam came from Bee Flower Brand Shampoo. Jiang Xia was the only person in the entire village who washed her hair with shampoo. The villagers generally boiled Soap Pods, Arborvitae Leaves, Camellia Seeds, and similar things in water to wash their hair.

Standing behind her, Zhou Chenglei gently scratched her scalp with all ten fingers, his hands covered in foam and his movements somewhat flustered.

It was Zhou Chenglei's first time washing someone's hair, and he had no experience. When Jiang Xia said there was not enough foam and told him to pour in more shampoo, he poured in a little more—only to end up using far too much! The two of them were both rather disheveled.

"Does it hurt?" He was afraid he was using too much force.

"No. You can rinse it now." Jiang Xia used a towel to wipe away the water and foam that had run onto her face, eyes, and neck.

It was even more agonizing than washing it herself! Jiang Xia lowered her head, positioning her hair over the Enamel Basin decorated with large red flowers, revealing the smooth, fair nape of her neck, long and graceful.

Zhou Chenglei ladled a scoop of water from the bucket beside them. He slowly poured it over the back of her head while combing through her hair with his hand, allowing the clean water to wash the foam away.

"It would be nice if I could lie down to wash my hair. Then I wouldn't have to worry about water getting in my eyes." Jiang Xia wiped the water from her eyes and could not help saying this.

Zhou Chenglei did not reply, but he thought of buying a reclining chair at the market the day after tomorrow.

Tomorrow would not do. Tomorrow, he had to go out to sea.

His Eldest Brother was probably feeling guilty, so he had Zhou Chenglei go out to sea first. His Eldest Brother's turn would be the next day, and Father Zhou's would be the last day.

Zhou Chenglei's attention wandered, and the clear water that had originally streamed down her silky black hair mischievously changed course. It flowed along Jiang Xia's slender, lustrously pale neck and slipped into her collar.

Zhou Chenglei instinctively reached out to wipe it away, inadvertently catching sight of the proud curve beneath the collar of her floral blouse.