Chapter 208: The Gift Arrives

Chapter 208: Chapter 208: The Gift Arrives

Lu Zhengchuan, however, was quite calm. The money his father had earned abroad was all his now. The fact that he’d only sent this much was likely because the government had told him to keep it modest to avoid attracting attention.

This was nothing.

"What is this?" Aunt Zhao asked, picking up another colorful box.

"That’s an electronic game console," Zhou Yu spoke up. He had a keen eye and had already figured out these were all popular items from E Country. Lu Zhengchuan’s friend must be a foreigner, and a rich one at that, to afford all this.

These foreign goods were incredibly difficult to find in Hua Country, mainly because they were expensive and scarce.

"A game console, huh. Tuantuan is still too young to play it," Aunt Zhao said with regret.

She picked up another large box and asked, "What’s this?"

"It’s a video recorder." Lu Zhengchuan said this while looking at Zhou Yu.

Aunt Zhao was surprised. "A video recorder? Is that a camera? Can it take pictures? Sister Su mentioned before that we should borrow the camera Mr. Zhou brought to take a family photo for you all as a keepsake."

"I didn’t expect Mr. Zhou to leave so quickly, so we couldn’t do it. But now you have one of your own? Wanwan will be so happy when she finds out."

Lu Zhengchuan hadn’t known about this. He glanced at Zhou Yu.

Zhou Yu awkwardly touched his nose. Back then, he had actually been trying to make things difficult for Su Wan and had no idea the Su family had this in mind.

"This is a video recorder. It’s even more impressive than a camera. It can record moving images of people that you can watch for years to come."

"That’s incredible!" Aunt Zhao exclaimed. "How much does something like this cost?"

"Here in Hua Country, it would probably cost between four and five thousand," Lu Zhengchuan replied, as he knew the market.

Aunt Zhao gasped. "Doesn’t that mean you could buy a whole house with that much money?" she blurted out.

Although real estate transactions were rare these days, they weren’t entirely nonexistent.

Zhou Yu couldn’t help but add from the side, "...You could buy a small, ordinary bungalow, but not a courtyard house."

Lu Zhengchuan gazed at him with a faint, knowing smile. "So, now you see that my family isn’t short on cash, don’t you, Mr. Zhou? I won’t see you out."

Zhou Yu had to admit defeat. Lu Zhengchuan had obviously let him in just to show him the Lu Family’s financial situation. With this mysterious, wealthy friend in the picture, it was even less likely that Zhengchuan would be tempted by Old Lu’s inheritance.

Frustrated, Zhou Yu left.

「Back at the nursing home」

He went straight to Mr. Lu’s room.

"How did it go? Did he come?"

Mr. Lu was actually sitting by his bed reading a newspaper, his complexion much better than when he had been on the respirator.

"...Old Lu, Zheng Chuan refuses to come." As Zhou Yu stood before Mr. Lu and said this, his heart was filled with guilt and unease.

Mr. Lu’s hand, holding the newspaper, paused. He frowned at him. "Ah Yu, tell me in detail. What exactly happened?"

Zhou Yu recounted his several attempts to get ahold of Lu Zhengchuan.

"He won’t come even though he heard I was gravely ill."

"Money can’t entice him either."

"All he asks is that we respect his wife, Su Wan."

Mr. Lu couldn’t help but frown. "For a woman... He has the same temperament as his father, Lu Tingyan. How disappointing."

Zhou Yu felt it wasn’t his place to comment. Personally, he thought Lu Zhengchuan’s request was quite reasonable.

"...Old Lu, you’ve recovered a little. Why don’t you wait until after you’ve had surgery abroad and returned to see Zheng Chuan?" Zhou Yu suggested after a moment of thought.

"No, I’m going to see him now."

"If he won’t come to see me, then I’ll go to see him."

"Wanwan, come look! These are all gifts Dad sent for you and the kids. See if you like them. If not, I’ll write to him and have him pick things you like next time."

Lu Zhengchuan pulled Su Wan, who had just returned from her classes, into the room to see the items.

Su Wan had been feeling a bit tired, but her fatigue vanished as her eyes were dazzled by the sight of expensive clothes, electronics, and all sorts of fancy candies.

"This is so much. How much money must Dad have spent?"

"Wanwan, try them on and see if you like them." Lu Zhengchuan took out a pile of dresses.

"Aunt Zhao washed these dresses during the day. The sun is strong now, so they dried in an afternoon."

Su Wan could indeed smell the fresh scent of laundry detergent on them.

"I don’t need to try them on, I love them all. Dad is so thoughtful. The styles he picked are all very fashionable right now." Su Wan was flattered and overwhelmed; no one had ever bought her so many extravagant gifts before.

She felt like she was seeing stars.

"Let’s try the kids’ things first. These little clothes are so soft, they must be wool. Is this satin? Or real silk?"

Su Wan deftly changed Tuantuan and Yuanyuan into their new clothes.

Because they were so smooth and obviously high-quality, Yuanyuan didn’t resist at all and was even quite docile.

Even the usually mischievous Tuantuan didn’t struggle. It had been so hot lately that he sometimes tried to rip his clothes right off.

"Tuantuan and Yuanyuan both love them. I was just thinking about how their skin is so delicate that slightly rougher clothes would chafe and leave red marks. Now that’s not a problem. The kids won’t get sores from friction in the summer anymore." Su Wan’s eyes were red with emotion.

Lu Zhengchuan felt a pang of guilt. ’It’s my fault they’ve had to endure this; I haven’t been capable enough.’

"Wanwan, I’ll ask Dad to send more clothes made of real silk for the kids then."

Hearing how casually he said it, Su Wan couldn’t help but glance at him. "You started calling him ’Dad’ pretty quickly. Don’t cause him any more trouble. We have more than enough already."

"Wanwan, Dad is working with Hua Country now. It’ll be very convenient for him to send things in the future. He might even be able to meet you and the kids." Lu Zhengchuan knew what she wanted to hear, and he watched her intently after he said it.

Sure enough, a huge smile blossomed on Su Wan’s face.

Lu Zhengchuan felt his heart race. THUMP-THUMP. It felt full, almost bursting. He thought she looked beautiful no matter how he looked at her.

He keenly realized his affection for Su Wan was much greater than he let on.

In reality, he was simply restraining his longing and love.

"Wanwan, I’m being transferred to the political commissar position." Lu Zhengchuan couldn’t resist taking the opportunity to share the news, gently pinching her earlobe with his fingers.

Su Wan had been about to pull her ear away, but the news made her freeze in place, allowing him to continue feeling the softness beneath his fingers.

Lu Zhengchuan’s heart leaped with joy, as if he’d gotten away with something wonderful.

"Are you serious?" Su Wan asked, reining in her emotions.

Beyond her delight, she was more focused on observing Lu Zhengchuan’s expression. ’Logically, he should have been angry upon hearing this news.’

"Mhm, my superior specifically sought me out to tell me today. But it’s not finalized yet, so don’t tell anyone."

’Tell anyone?’ Su Wan would have to be a fool to do that.

All she knew was that once Lu Zhengchuan became a political commissar, he would be able to come home every night for at least the next year or two. She could finally live the stable life the other military families had.

The other families envied her for being well-read, but she envied them for being able to see their husbands come home safe every day.