A Man Seemed to Be Following Her

Zhou Chenglei was a man of few words who disliked talking. Now that he was driving the tractor, he had to watch the road and keep an eye on whether Jiang Xia was feeling unwell.

Having someone "chattering away" beside his ear nonstop, spouting all kinds of meaningless nonsense, only made him feel annoyed.

That was why he finally snapped, "You're so noisy!"

He thought she was even noisier than the tractor! Wen Wan's face turned bright red, overwhelmed by an embarrassment she had never felt before.

The world fell silent! At long last, they arrived at the town market. Zhou Chenglei found a place to park the tractor, then quickly climbed down to help Wen Wan unload the Iron Bucket Cart and the mutton.

He moved so quickly that Jiang Xia found it a little amusing. She had long since sensed Zhou Chenglei's impatience, but the female lead seemed completely unaware of it, chattering away like a motormouth.

Wen Wan's face was still red. Despite her awkwardness, she smiled and said, "Thank you, Brother Zhou. Sister Jiang Xia."

She could not help glancing at Jiang Xia, feeling as though Jiang Xia was laughing at her.

Zhou Chenglei nodded coldly, not wanting to say a single word.

He looked at Jiang Xia and patiently waited for her to "arm" herself.

Jiang Xia did not look at anyone. The sun had come out, so she put on a Straw Hat and sleeve protectors, doing her best not to let even an inch of skin show beneath the sunlight.

Jiang Xia wore her hair in two Fried Dough Twist braids today. She had on a white Dacron floral Ready-to-wear Clothing dress, green Military Pants, a pair of Liberation Shoes, and a Straw Hat. Her skin was whiter than frost and snow. Though the outfit was plainly rustic, she somehow carried it off with a hint of urban flair, beautiful enough to make people unable to look away.

Everyone who passed through the market could not help taking a few extra glances at her.

Wen Wan was beautiful too, with a gentle, limpid sort of beauty.

But Jiang Xia was tall, well-proportioned, and graceful. Her every gesture carried an aura of command. Standing there, she was like the dazzling sun rising above a midsummer river, eye-catching and radiant.

Beside Jiang Xia, Wen Wan was like the moon that had not yet set after the sun came out.

Her beauty faded.

Looking at Jiang Xia like this, Wen Wan felt displeased. Too affected!

If she was afraid of the sun, she should not have come out.

When rural people went to the market, who dressed like her? Brother Zhou must dislike it, right? Wen Wan glanced at Zhou Chenglei, only to see him staring at Jiang Xia without blinking.

Wen Wan: "..."

She lowered her head and glanced at the white dress on which a little sheep's blood had splashed. Her face reddened, and she hurriedly pushed the Iron Bucket Cart away.

"Let's go!" After Jiang Xia had fully armed herself, she carried a yellow-green plastic woven-handled vegetable basket and headed toward the market.

The market occupied an entire main street. Most of the goods sold along this first stretch were chickens, geese, ducks, rabbits, and other domestic fowl. They had chickens and ducks at home, so there was no need to buy any.

Jiang Xia saw some goslings for sale. They were covered in soft green down and looked adorable.

"Want to raise geese?" Zhou Chenglei asked from beside her, shielding her from the pedestrians passing by.

Jiang Xia nodded, then shook her head. "I want to eat Goose Meat. We won't buy any for now. Let's go!"

Jiang Xia continued forward, and Zhou Chenglei said nothing, quickly following after her.

Chicken feathers and goose feathers flew everywhere along this stretch, so the two of them walked somewhat quickly.

Zhou Chenglei led Jiang Xia to the area selling handicrafts.

Jiang Xia saw many Bamboo Baskets, winnowing baskets, and other woven-bamboo goods. Only one stall sold bamboo beds, bamboo chairs, rattan chairs, and other furniture. Not far away, there was also a stall selling wooden furniture. Everything came in very simple styles, without any patterns or other decorative craftsmanship.

Jiang Xia stroked a bamboo bed, admiration in her eyes.

"This bamboo bed is so pretty! We can buy it and put it in the courtyard. Later, we can build a grape trellis over it. In summer, we can hang a gauze canopy beneath the trellis and sleep there. It should be wonderfully cool."

"Uncle, how much is this bamboo bed?" Zhou Chenglei asked.

The uncle named a price, then added, "No bargaining!"

"I'll take it," Zhou Chenglei said.

Jiang Xia looked at the bamboo chairs. "How about buying a few bamboo chairs? We sit on a bench when we eat, but it feels like sitting on a seesaw. I'm always worried that if the other person suddenly gets up, the bench will tip over."

Zhou Chenglei turned to the owner and said, "Six bamboo chairs as well."

"This recliner looks so comfortable! How about buying two recliners too? We can carry them out into the courtyard at night, lie on them while enjoying the breeze and looking at the stars. Wouldn't that be comfortable?"

"Those are rattan chairs," the owner said. "They're more expensive, but much more comfortable than bamboo recliners."

Zhou Chenglei looked at the recliners and thought of the last time he had washed her hair. She had said that washing it while lying down would keep the water out of her eyes and prevent her clothes from getting wet.

"Two."

The owner happily said, "All right! Have a look and see if there's anything else you need. I've got plenty here. Do you want winnowing baskets, Water Chestnut baskets, or anything like that?"

In the end, Zhou Chenglei bought a bamboo bed, six bamboo chairs, two recliners, a lidded woven-bamboo vegetable basket, two round bamboo baskets, several round winnowing baskets of different sizes with holes in them, winnowing baskets, Winnowing Baskets, fish baskets, Bamboo Hats, and more.

Whatever Jiang Xia picked up to examine, Zhou Chenglei bought.

The married couple bought more than half the goods at the little stall.

The uncle selling the goods grinned, exposing a full row of white teeth, and offered to help them carry everything to the tractor.

Zhou Chenglei paid him and said they would come back for the goods after they finished shopping.

The married couple continued forward. Jiang Xia saw a lumber shop with a solid-wood sofa inside, paired with a coffee table. It looked simple and sturdy.

"That looks quite practical," Jiang Xia said. "We can put it in the Living Room. Later, we can make a few seat cushions and throw pillows, and it'll be comfortable to sit on. And that coffee table too—the set looks quite nice. It should look good in that old house of ours."

Zhou Chenglei then led Jiang Xia across to the lumber shop and bought a solid-wood sofa, a wooden coffee table, and a desk for Zhou Zhou.

The owner enthusiastically offered to help them carry the furniture to the tractor.

Zhou Chenglei then went to a general store nearby and bought a large iron wok and a coal stove. Only after that did he bring everyone over to load the furniture onto the tractor.

Jiang Xia wanted to see what else was for sale, so she walked around the market on her own.

Then Jiang Xia bought three jin of fresh Water Chestnuts, two jin of Myrtle Berries, three pineapples, and four melons at the market. After that, she went to the pork stall and bought half a side of ribs.

Wen Wan saw Jiang Xia buying things at the market as if money did not matter. Whatever caught her eye, she could buy, as though she never had to consider the cost.

Meanwhile, she could only stand there calling out and selling mutton. Wen Wan's gaze dimmed.

After Jiang Xia and Zhou Chenglei divorced, would I live a life like this too if I married Zhou Chenglei?

Jiang Xia walked on, looking around to see what else the market had to offer, when someone suddenly grabbed her arm from behind. "Xiao Xia."

After Zhou Chenglei had carried everything to the tractor and tied it down, he turned around to look for Jiang Xia.

When Wen Wan saw Zhou Chenglei looking around, she called out, "Brother Zhou, are you looking for Sister Jiang Xia?"

At that, Zhou Chenglei turned toward her. "You saw her?"

Wen Wan pointed ahead. "I saw Sister Jiang Xia go up ahead to buy something. There was a man who seemed to be following her, but there are so many people at the market that I'm not sure whether he really was following Sister Jiang Xia. He only looked at her a few extra times, which is normal too. Sister Jiang Xia is so beautiful."

Zhou Chenglei strode forward at once.

Wen Wan bit her lower lip. She seemed to have said the wrong thing. She should not have added those last two sentences; it made her sound as though she was trying to drive a wedge between them.

But she had also been afraid that something might happen to Jiang Xia.

Just now, Wu Qizhi had come to buy mutton and harassed her.

That was Jiang Xia's man. Why was he harassing her? Unable to hold back, she had said, "Aren't you afraid Sister Jiang Xia will see you?"

Then she had looked toward Jiang Xia in the distance, and Wu Qizhi had followed her gaze and spotted Jiang Xia too.

He had then chased after her.

Wen Wan could no longer see Jiang Xia's figure. There were too many people, and she felt uneasy. She was worried about Jiang Xia, which was why she had told Zhou Chenglei.