When She Stops Being Dramatic

Chapter 98: Chapter 53: The 1950s Chaff-and-Bran Wife (53)

With that, he strode away.

Lin Jin was so furious her stomach cramped with pain.

When Zhu Yun entered the room and saw it was covered in banners, her expression immediately soured.

Chu Shenyu suppressed a smile. ”See? I told you. You should always leave yourself a way out.” As he spoke, he bustled about, pulling down all the banners, tearing them into tiny pieces, and tossing them into the trash can.

Zhu Yun followed him around the room like a little shadow, as if she wanted to be attached at his hip.

Chu Shenyu laughed, pulled her down onto the sofa, and held her, kissing her deeply for a long moment.

It was rare for her to be so quiet and obedient, so completely devoted to him. His chest swelled with emotion as he held her tightly. ”Honey, thank you. Thank you for coming into my life.”

Before meeting her, he’d had no concept of women at all. His mind had been filled with purely rational things like studying, work, and exercise.

He never knew that a man and a woman forming a family could bring such a different kind of fulfillment and completeness.

Mrs. Chu, laden with bags, was soon dropped off by Mr. Chu. Seeing Zhu Yun so lively and well, she let out a long sigh of relief. ”You young people don’t know how to be careful. If you overlook some small detail, you’ll regret it when it’s too late.”

”Anyway, I’ve had enough of my time at the school, and the family doesn’t need my pocket money, so I applied for medical retirement and left early.”

”Zhu Yun, dear, don’t think I’m being a nag or too controlling.”

Zhu Yun chuckled and shook her head. ”Of course not. I’d be happy to have you look after me. Being cared for is a kind of happiness.”

Mrs. Chu was used to being a dean of students, her face perpetually tense. Her elegant features showed almost no trace of age. But when she relaxed, her smile was gentle and kind.

Afraid the young couple wouldn’t know the taboos, Mrs. Chu specifically wrote down a long list of things for Chu Shenyu and Zhu Yun to memorize one by one.

Ever since the cafeteria staff learned Zhu Yun was pregnant, they wouldn’t let her lift a finger. All she had to do was give verbal commands.

With nothing else to do, Zhu Yun would bury herself in a book, supervising her apprentices’ diligent cooking practice and studies. Her life was even more comfortable and pleasant than before.

Across the hall, Wang Xianbing and Lin Jin had been fighting for a long time. They finally, and awkwardly, made up after Lin Jin gave birth to a girl, which led to her accepting help from the old lady and Jingjing for her postpartum confinement.

The weather in the Capital City was cold and dry. It hadn’t rained or snowed in a long time, and the air felt foul and heavy, as if it could never be purified. Many people were catching colds, complete with coughs and runny noses. Worried Zhu Yun might get infected, Chu Shenyu and Mrs. Chu kept her at home.

Zhu Yun hated the cold, so she was more than happy to stay comfortably in the heated room.

Her apprentices would occasionally visit to ask for guidance, bringing things with them. They weren’t valuables—one might bring two sweet potatoes, another a handful of chestnuts—just little things to enrich their master’s snack collection.

They also brought news from the cafeteria. ”Master, you truly have great foresight. The villagers in many communes have already eaten all their grain.”

”At first, everyone ate like they were starving ghosts reborn. They’d stuff themselves to bursting and still take food home. Then they started wasting it in all sorts of ways. I heard some of the thoughtless kids even use rice balls to hit people.”

”Now, a lot of people are hearing that we can still get full meals here, and they’re all trying to submit applications to visit relatives. But the leaders are keeping a tight grip and not letting just anyone in...”

”The supply from the organization is back to the original quota, but now they keep reducing it every few days...”

”Everyone’s just hoping spring comes quickly so they can fill their bellies with wild greens and vegetables to last until the autumn harvest...”

Taking turns, they recounted everything that was happening at the other cafeterias.

Zhu Yun stroked her belly, which was already starting to show.

’Waiting for the autumn harvest... that will only be another devastating blow.’

Wang Simi’s eyes sparkled as he looked at Zhu Yun. ”Master, my dad said he’s waiting for you to make the decision. People in other places can’t get enough to eat. Shouldn’t we reduce our portions too, so we don’t draw unwanted attention?”

Zhu Yun nodded. ”From now on, whatever amount we receive from the organization, once it’s in the warehouse, take out seventy percent of that total and deliver it to the cafeterias.”

”We’ll keep our cooking methods the same, which should let people feel about seventy or eighty percent full.”

”The warehouse must be guarded well. If word gets out about our surplus, it could cause a lot of unnecessary trouble.”

Wang Simi nodded repeatedly. ”The leaders are taking it very seriously. They’ve already assigned a group of skilled veterans to patrol day and night.”