Chapter 190: Giving a Gift

Chapter 190: Chapter 190: Giving a Gift

"If all else fails, let’s just give Zhao Xiangxiang her money back. Even though your third brother was just trying to make her give up by deliberately acting like a freeloader with an attitude, it’s best that we, the Su family, don’t keep the money."

"Even if we return it, now isn’t the time. Giving it back now would only make the Zhao family even more arrogant."

"However, we could give Zhang Yunlu a heads-up. We’ll make it clear from the beginning that we’ll give the money directly to Zhang Yun and let her return it herself or handle it as she sees fit."

Su Wan was only looking after Zhang Yun for Lu Zhengchuan’s sake. It was to maintain harmony in her marriage.

But she couldn’t drag her parents into it and make them worry as well.

Her parents had nothing to do with Zhang Yun, after all.

"Alright, let’s do that. When do you think we should ask Zhang Yun to come over?" Mother Su also felt the money was too hot to handle.

They couldn’t punish the other party, and instead, they ended up in a mess.

"Let’s do it this afternoon. Now that she’s moved out, she’ll only think Zhao Yuan is wonderful. If this continues, I’m afraid she’ll trust him even more, and it’ll be harder for her to think clearly."

"You can’t really blame her for not thinking clearly. Zhao Yuan is running a deliberate ’pig-butchering scam’ on her, and very few people can resist that. But if she knows he has ill intentions and still chooses to dive in, then she’s beyond our help. As long as we give her a proper warning, we’ll have fulfilled our duty."

Su Wan said flatly, her voice devoid of emotion.

Mother Su knew her daughter was just too disappointed. She sighed to herself and gently rubbed Su Wan’s head.

"You go rest for a bit. The two children are awake now, and they’ll probably be fussy for a while. You won’t get any sleep if they’re making a racket."

"Mhm." Su Wan rubbed her forehead and wearily went into her room.

Aunt Zhao took the two children out to play in the courtyard.

Luckily, the sun wasn’t too strong today.

Su Wan enjoyed a comfortable rest until noon, when Mother Su called her to get up.

She first nursed the two children and put them to sleep before heading into the living room.

Zhang Qiao was also at the dining table. After a few hours of rest, his energy had recovered nicely. ’He’s a soldier, after all.’

"Comrade Zhang, thank you for all your trouble last night. I hope you’re finding the food to your liking," Su Wan said, playing the part of a gracious host.

Zhang Qiao chuckled and shook his head. "It’s very much to my liking. Everything is delicious."

"On the other hand, Comrade Su Wan, you don’t look well-rested. You should take better care of yourself." Zhang Qiao’s concern was perfectly measured.

It made Su Wan feel at ease, and she found him to be very tactful.

"When Lu Zhengchuan gets back, I’ll have him take you out for a drink."

Zhang Qiao’s expression faltered for a moment, but he quickly recovered his composure and brought up the related topic.

"I heard Battalion Commander Lu got a promotion. This is a congratulatory gift for him. Please, Comrade Su, accept it."

Zhang Qiao handed Su Wan a box wrapped in gift paper.

Su Wan couldn’t tell what was inside. The box wasn’t very large, only about the size of her palm. "Comrade Zhang, you’re too kind. Zheng Chuan hasn’t even hosted a dinner for everyone to celebrate, so I can’t accept this gift."

The main reason was that she didn’t know the gift’s value, and she was afraid to accept something too expensive. Both she and Lu Zhengchuan had a policy of not accepting valuable gifts.

Although, as a division commander’s guard, Zhang Qiao would certainly know the rules, so it was unlikely he would give an expensive gift.

"Rest assured, Comrade Su, it’s nothing valuable. It’s just some tea my grandfather roasted. Something from our home village."

Once she heard what it was, Su Wan felt she couldn’t refuse any longer and accepted it.

"Alright, enough chatting. Let’s eat first."

"Comrade Zhang, have some of this roast mutton."

"Sir, I will. Please, you eat as well."

The meal was a pleasant affair for everyone, and once it was over, Zhang Qiao didn’t stay long.

Su Wan walked him to the door. "Comrade Zhang Qiao, where do you live? Would it be possible to leave a contact address?"

"Of course." Zhang Qiao took a fountain pen from his breast pocket and wrote his name and his parents’ home address in a notebook. He even included his apartment number in the Southwest Military Region’s family housing and the guardhouse telephone number, making it easy to contact him.

After Su Wan saw Zhang Qiao off, she turned and went back inside.

Mother Su had just finished changing Tuantuan’s diaper.

For some reason, Tuantuan was clutching the gift from Zhang Qiao.

"Tuantuan, don’t play with that. Here, play with this toy." Su Wan hurriedly took the gift away and handed him a wooden toy instead.

Mother Su was helping Tuantuan stand. He opened his little hand, dropping the wooden toy. Babbling, he reached out toward Su Wan, demanding the gift back.

"Tuantuan likes flashy, bright colors. He wanted it because he saw the wrapping paper was a shiny, pinkish-orange. I just let him play with it for a moment," Mother Su explained with a smile.

"Then I’ll unwrap it and give the paper to Tuantuan. Tuantuan, you must not put this in your mouth, or Mommy will take it away."

Su Wan quickly opened the gift box. The moment he got the wrapping paper, Tuantuan beamed from ear to ear.

As for not putting it in his mouth?

That was impossible.

Mother Su doted on the boy, patiently keeping an eye on Tuantuan as she asked, "What kind of tea did Comrade Zhang Qiao give you?"

Having just opened the box, Su Wan fell silent for a moment when she saw the tea inside. "...It’s red date and goji berry tea."

"Isn’t that the tea women drink to recover after childbirth?" Mother Su blurted out.

Su Wan replied, "It seems Comrade Zhang Qiao didn’t know what kind of tea to get, so he just gave me something I need. It just so happens I can use it."

Hearing this, Mother Su recalled Zhang Qiao’s behavior at the dinner table. She then glanced at the dates in the gift box. Each one was plump and a vibrant red; they didn’t look like anything that could be grown in a village. If he had bought them, they were surely a premium-grade product.

Seeing no change in Su Wan’s expression, Mother Su kept her suspicions to herself and acted as if she hadn’t noticed a thing.

’Besides, maybe I’m wrong,’ she thought.

"Mom, I have school this afternoon and will be home a little after six. You and Dad should stay here and rest. You can go back to your stall tomorrow."

"No need. We’ll take a two-hour nap, but we still need to open for the dinner rush. We can just go to bed early tonight. Your father and I are getting old; we don’t sleep that much anyway."

"This works out perfectly. We can just ask Zhang Yun to come to our stall for dinner tonight, and you won’t have to come all the way back here to cook."

"Alright." Su Wan thought about it and agreed it was a good idea, so she nodded.

Su Wan didn’t take a nap and went straight to the university. She attended her classes, finished her homework, and skipped going to the lab. When her last class ended at 5:40, she left campus immediately.

When Su Wan arrived, Mother Su and Father Su were right in the middle of the dinner rush, their busiest time.

For dinner, they were selling noodles with fried bean sauce and noodles with gravy. Next door, Second Brother Su was selling savory pies.

Both dishes were favorites among the locals from the Capital, and they were very popular even with the many students from out of town.

The two stalls helped boost each other’s business.

"Wanwan, what do you want to eat? Dad will make it for you."

"Dad, I’ll have a bowl of the noodles with gravy, with extra sauce, please. I’m going to eat over at Second Brother’s stall."

Customers usually bought the savory pies from Second Brother Su’s stall to-go, so they didn’t need to eat there. This left the tables and chairs free for family to use.

Su Wan carried her bowl of noodles over and got a savory pie from her second brother.

It was a cabbage and pork one.

The first bite of noodles was exceptionally satisfying. But just as she took that bite, she saw Zhao Yuan walking over with Zhang Yun.