L.F-Hist.Novelist Chapter 169
Chapter 169
"Let's go rest now," Song Nianchu said softly.
"Alright," Mu Shi'an replied.
Once they were in bed, however, Song Nianchu couldn't help but snuggle into Mu Shi'an's embrace, her small hands restlessly wandering over his chest.
Mu Shi'an caught her hand and looked down at her.
"Didn't you say you didn't want to have children for the next few years?"
"Not wanting children and doing this don't fundamentally conflict," Song Nianchu said, staring at him with bright, sparkling eyes. "Or is it... you don't want to?"
Mu Shi'an's Adam's apple bobbed. How could he not want to?
"But we don't have any... birth control at home. Wait until tomorrow, you can go to the clinic and get some," Mu Shi'an said, his voice a bit hoarse.
With Song Nianchu leaning against his chest like this, his body was already reacting.
"There are ways around not having any. We just won't go all the way..." Song Nianchu said, leaning in to kiss him.
Mu Shi'an's body was already tense. Unable to withstand Song Nianchu's teasing, he surrendered in less than three seconds.
The two tossed and turned for half the night until they were both thoroughly satisfied.
Drowsily, Song Nianchu thought that not going all the way was somehow much more exhausting than the real deal.
Seeing that Song Nianchu didn't even have the strength to lift her arm, a trace of tender affection filled Mu Shi'an's eyes. He got up, fetched some water to wipe her body clean, and then held her as they drifted back to sleep.
The next morning.
When Song Nianchu woke up, she thought she heard Wu Zhengui's voice out in the yard.
She struggled to open her eyes, taking a good while to fully wake up.
She threw off the covers, got out of bed, dressed, and went outside. Sure enough, Wu Zhengui was standing in the yard talking to Mu Shi'an.
"Uncle Zhengui, why are you here so early?" Song Nianchu's voice was still a bit husky.
"Didn't you tell me to find a more spacious place for Comrade Mu? I came over to ask if he has any specific requirements for the site," Wu Zhengui explained.
"Ah! I didn't get a chance to tell him yesterday." Song Nianchu finally remembered that she hadn't told Mu Shi'an about expanding the woodworking shop.
"You child, you ran over to my place yesterday without even eating, and then you completely forgot to tell him when you got back." Wu Zhengui's words sounded like a scolding, but his eyes were full of affection.
"I was just too tired and forgot," Song Nianchu said, feeling a bit guilty.
She had been too busy messing around last night to remember such things.
"Alright then, have a good talk with Comrade Mu. I'll go look for people and a place for him," Wu Zhengui chuckled.
"Okay," Song Nianchu nodded.
After Wu Zhengui left, Song Nianchu walked over to Mu Shi'an.
"Did we wake you?"
"I signed a huge order for you."
They spoke at the exact same time.
Song Nianchu paused for a moment before bursting into laughter.
"You didn't really wake me. It's about time I got up anyway," Song Nianchu explained.
"If you're still tired, you can go back to sleep for a bit. I'll call you when breakfast is ready," Mu Shi'an said gently.
"No need, my constitution isn't that weak," Song Nianchu cleared her throat.
"Is that so? But last night you were clearly crying out..." Mu Shi'an started to say, but Song Nianchu quickly reached out and covered his mouth.
"What's said in bed stays in bed."
Mu Shi'an blinked, then finally nodded.
Only then did Song Nianchu pull her hand back.
"Oh, right. Yesterday, after the director of the fishing gear factory saw your net-weaving machine, he ordered five hundred of them from our village." To prevent Mu Shi'an from saying anything else shocking, Song Nianchu quickly changed the subject.
"Five hundred? That's quite a large order. Did he say when they need to be delivered?" Mu Shi'an frowned.
"I promised him an initial delivery of twenty machines in a month. I knew you were short on manpower, so I specifically went to see Uncle Zhengui yesterday to ask him to recruit more hands and find you a bigger workspace," Song Nianchu explained.
"If we have more people, the timeline shouldn't be a problem," Mu Shi'an nodded.
"This time we might also select some people from the newly arrived refugees, so the final assembly must be left strictly to trustworthy people from our village," Song Nianchu cautioned.
"Are the five helpers who came before alright?" Mu Shi'an asked.
"They're fine," Song Nianchu nodded.
"Alright, I'll let them know later. The new arrivals will only be responsible for specific components, and we'll handle the final assembly ourselves," Mu Shi'an said.
"Exactly. After all, this is an order for five hundred machines. If word gets out to the wrong people, someone else might steal our business," Song Nianchu agreed.
"I'll be careful," Mu Shi'an answered solemnly.
"Then I'll have to trouble you with overseeing everything at the woodworking shop from now on. Let me know if you run into any problems you can't solve," Song Nianchu instructed.
"Okay."
"..."
Wu Zhengui worked very efficiently. It only took him a morning to select nearly twenty people.
Six of them were chosen from the newly arrived refugees.
As for the new workspace, Wu Zhengui marked off an empty plot of land for them not far from the canning workshop.
Woodworking didn't require much in terms of environment; as long as it provided shelter from the wind and rain, it would do.
Wu Zhengui planned to have the villagers help build a shed so they could work inside.
The village simply didn't have any other empty buildings available.
Mu Shi'an had no objections to the location. After all, when they worked at home, they were just in the yard, and the yard didn't even have a shed.
That afternoon, Song Nianchu took the twenty-five workers up the mountain to cut bamboo and build the shed.
When the refugees saw that their own people could be selected for jobs that earned full work points, their appreciation for the village grew even stronger.
They only wanted to work hard, do a solid job, and strive to stay and integrate into the community.
Meanwhile, as Mu Shi'an and the others were busy building the shed, Qinghe Fishing Village welcomed a group of unexpected guests.
"Chu, Chu!" Song Nianchu was inside the canning workshop helping to boil fish maw when Wu Zhengui's urgent shouts rang out from the doorway.
"What's wrong, Uncle Zhengui?" Song Nianchu set down her work and stepped outside.
The hygiene standards inside the canning workshop were quite strict, so the villagers rarely went inside.
"They're here, they're here!" Wu Zhengui was so excited he could barely speak clearly.
"Who's here?" Song Nianchu was completely confused.
"The... the people from the power supply bureau," Wu Zhengui said, catching his breath.
"Really?" Song Nianchu's face lit up with joy.
"Yes, a young man brought them over. Is he a friend of yours? He was asking me about you," Wu Zhengui asked.
"A young man?" Song Nianchu's voice trailed up in question.
"Yes!" Wu Zhengui nodded. "I saw the comrades from the power supply bureau treating him with a lot of respect. He must have an important background; he's probably a leader."