CHAPTER 85: CHAPTER 083: THE MALE CHARM MAX MAKES YOUR LEGS WEAK [222 VOTES+]

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Xie Jingchen harbored his doubts but didn’t hurry to greet the guests immediately. Instead, he brought back his hunting spoils to the left wing first. He was currently covered in mud and dust, wearing old clothes. To go out to meet guests in such a state would be to lose face.

After all, he had been a military officer for over a decade now, and the attention to personal appearance had become second nature. Glancing at the clothing of the two men leading the group, even through the walls, he could discern their proper smiles, and he could tell, without being blind — the visitors were no ordinary people.

He rushed back to his room to find the new clothes his little wife had made for him, hurriedly took a shower, dried off, and changed into a white shirt and black trousers. Then he briskly grabbed the hunting spoils and went into the kitchen. All this took no more than six or seven minutes.

Just then, Zhang Shanni and her mother-in-law, hearing noises in the courtyard, came out of the kitchen to welcome the guests and lead them into the hall. Zhang Shanni went back to the kitchen to prepare a pot of chrysanthemum tea. To show respect, she also added a pinch of sugar to alleviate the bitterness of the tea.

In the countryside, good tea leaves were basically unaffordable. The Xie Family had some aged tea leaves because Mr. Xie held a position in the village committee, but from her mother-in-law’s words, she inferred that the visitors’ status was extraordinary; one of them was Station Chief Li from the grain station in town. In the late 1970s, that was an impressive national public position.

There might not be fine tea available at home, but it was already late September, and the autumn breeze was crisp. Drinking chrysanthemum tea was not a bad choice: it clears the liver and improves vision, and consuming it regularly during autumn was beneficial to health.

Compared to aged tea, Zhang Shanni preferred using chrysanthemum tea to entertain guests, along with the sweet potato cakes she had made the day before, making a perfect tea snack.

As she was ready to present the tea, she caught a glimpse of her husband stepping over the threshold. She exclaimed, surprised: "Brother Chen, how come you’re back so early?"

Her husband had clearly said he wouldn’t be back from the mountain until around eleven o’clock! Although Zhang Shanni was surprised, she didn’t slow down. She put down the wooden tray she was holding and instead got a large bowl, pouring him some warm water to moisten his throat.

Xie Jingchen was indeed thirsty. He took the bowl without a word, gulping down the water in two drafts, handed the bowl back to her, and, glancing at the tray she had previously set down, casually asked:

"Wife, who’s here?"

"Brother Chen, something’s happened, oh~~" Zhang Shanni frowned in annoyance, and seeing her husband stroke her face after finishing his drink, she pretended to be ’exposed’ with a pitiful pout.

But her eyes sized up her husband and, noticing that he had changed his clothes, she knew that the first thing he did when he got home was to go to their room. Realizing that he had come back early because he noticed something was happening at home, Zhang Shanni immediately lost any intention of teasing him. Besides, there were guests waiting outside.

She silently praised her own skills; any man of a certain build wearing a white shirt and black trousers would have his male charm skyrocket, enough to make her heart race!

Xie Jingchen alone, with his physique over one meter ninety, was an exceptionally charismatically attractive man whose presence could make anyone swoon (she had tested it). His features and demeanor painted the picture of a tough guy, and he could make even ordinary clothes look stylish!

"Oh?" Xie Jingchen slightly narrowed his eyes and hummed through his nose, his eyebrows arching as he looked at her.

"Alright, it’s the family of the pregnant woman we saved on the day we registered our marriage." Zhang Shanni playfully stuck out her tongue, no longer being mysterious. She outright said it, then picked up the wooden tray, gesturing for her husband to go ahead, while she followed. Seeing he didn’t move, she thought about it and added:

"Mhmm, it should be good news."

Xie Jingchen noticed her adorable little movement, his tiger-like eyes squinted, and his right thumb twitched. Realizing that he would have to leave home and return to the military tomorrow, his heart sank. He took the tray from her hands, "Mhm, let me do it."

Without giving her any time to object, Xie Jingchen directly supported the bottom of the tray and turned to lead the way, leaving Zhang Shan Ni to hurriedly follow along, slightly bewildered.

Husband... Mhm. Zhang Shan Ni looked up at the tall man in front of her, and her heart unexpectedly relaxed. The nervousness that had filled her before gradually dissipated with his steady steps.

When Xie Jingchen brought his little wife into the main room, the four people who had been seated at the invitation of Xie Tiesheng—Li Baojia, Li Jianfeng, Liu Guilan, and Feng Chunling—all brightened up at their arrival.

After everyone exchanged friendly nods and greetings, they introduced themselves and their reasons for visiting. Upon seeing Shanni return, Old Xie and his wife were all smiles, content to let Xie Jingchen take the lead in dealing with the guests.

"Hello, pardon my rudeness, please enjoy the floral tea. I’ve already heard about your visit from my beloved. Station Chief Li, Aunt Liu, Mr. Li, you are all too kind. Whether I am a soldier or just an ordinary citizen, seeing a pregnant woman in danger, anyone would help her without a second thought! Moreover, the sworn duty of a soldier is to protect the people. You need not be so courteous."

After shaking hands with the father and son of the Li Family, Xie Jingchen gestured for everyone to sit down. Zhang Shan Ni quickly served chrysanthemum tea to everyone present, not forgetting her own in-laws.

"No, no, no, Brother Xie, you and your wife have shown us great kindness, and we must be grateful," said Li Jianfeng with a shook of his head, full of appreciation.

"Brother Xie, your son is really young and promising, truly remarkable!" Li Baojia expressed his envious admiration to Xie Tiesheng.

"Hey, in-laws, there’s no need for such solemn faces that make one uncomfortable to listen. This old lady here is getting a sour taste in her mouth. Nephew Xie, don’t push away our goodwill. I indeed owe you gratitude, but what I am most thankful for is your wife. I know that had it not been for her timely action in getting my daughter to the hospital, she would have suffered greatly; who knows what might have happened..."

The thought of her lifeless daughter in the hospital made Liu Guilan’s heart ache as if cut by a knife. Therefore, upon seeing Zhang Shan Ni who had saved her daughter, she felt an innate closeness and immediately grabbed her hand to sit together, talking earnestly when Zhang Shan Ni tried to return to Xie Jingchen’s side.

Zhang Shan Ni looked at the rough old hand on the back of her own, its strength—as if afraid she would run away?

As the old lady’s voice grew more mournful and she was on the verge of ’gushing with emotion’, Zhang Shan Ni helplessly spoke up to comfort her:

"Aunt Liu, please don’t be like this. Sister Chen and her son are safe and sound, aren’t they? In the future, good fortune will naturally come their way, and their blessings will surely continue."

Truthfully, she felt quite indulgent towards the old lady’s feelings, not being able to stand seeing her cry. Now, with the person beside her replaced by her sister-in-law, she supposed her heart would remain serene!

Zhang Shan Ni suppressed her soft heart, lowered her head to hide her expression, and inwardly criticized herself: Too easily moved by compassion—that’s not good, not good at all.

"Mother, don’t be like this. Little sister and her child are safe, let’s not cry away her good fortune," whispered Feng Chunling, who had treated herself as just a supporting character. After nearly ten years at her mother-in-law’s side, she knew exactly what the old lady feared most.

Seeing their in-laws like this, the father and son of the Li Family ceased their formalities and exchanged a look of helplessness with Xie Jingchen’s family, sympathizing with the widowed old lady who had only one surviving daughter.

To put it bluntly, the number of children born to the old lady was not small, but only a son and a daughter had lived to adulthood. Now that her only son and husband had passed away early, she held her youngest daughter even more precious than her own eyes.

"Uh," Liu Guilan’s tears, which she had been preparing, were instantly startled away by her daughter-in-law’s words. She blinked back the tears that were about to fall and looked at her speechlessly before patting Zhang Shan Ni’s hand, "Hey, I’ve made you laugh..."