My Wife Came From A Thousand Years Ago

Chapter 84: The little girl is amazing

After a few snowfalls, the coldest days of deep winter arrived.

"Has that kid asked you for money?"

Xu Wenbin sat on the couch, holding a cup, watching Zhou Suzhi bustle around the room tidying up. Suddenly, he asked.

"When has he ever asked me for money?" Zhou Suzhi didn't even look up. "Did he ask you?"

"No."

"Then why ask... I think even if he’s short on money, he'd ask Haozi first before coming to you."

"My colleague, Old Li, lost big these past two weeks. The stock market is a sea of red. I figure that kid’s playing the market too, so he’s probably not doing great either." Xu Wenbin rubbed his thermos cup, clicked his tongue, and plotted aloud. "Think about it: he's got a girlfriend living with him now. You know his nature—he'll insist on covering everything. He’s going to burn through his money sooner or later. Can he really make much from those lousy videos? Am I right?"

Zhou Suzhi said nothing. She was tired of hearing it.

Even now, he hadn’t given up. At the slightest sign, he wondered if Xu Qing was on the brink of going broke.

"I heard the government is cracking down on that whole livestreaming industry. It's about time. His nonsense will definitely be affected too. What’s the saying? Ignore an old man’s advice, and you’ll suffer the consequences. I knew his gig wasn’t reliable, nothing for the long term…"

"Isn't he making videos?" Zhou Suzhi asked, puzzled.

"Same thing, isn't it?"

"Maybe… not exactly?"

"Close enough." Xu Wenbin waved his hand. "When he comes over, see if you can figure out if he’s broke yet. It’s not too late for him to get a proper job. A girlfriend and a job—getting on the right track would be great. Imagine if he took the civil service exam like Haozi—that’d be perfect."

Zhou Suzhi listened to his rambling but didn’t respond. She was already thinking about how to chat with that girl later. Last time went well, but they hadn’t talked much. This time, she wanted to get closer.

Hearing the sound of keys at the door, she wiped her hands and went to open it before the door unlocked. Outside, Xu Qing and Jiang He stood wrapped tightly in hats and scarves.

Xu Qing was bending over, fumbling with the keys. Seeing the door open, he paused, pocketed the keys, and pulled Jiang He inside.

"Mom, wow, it’s so warm in here. Way better than my place… Hey, Dad."

"Hmm," Xu Wenbin acknowledged, sipping his tea while watching Xu Qing help Jiang He remove her scarf and coat.

"Hello, Auntie, Uncle," Jiang He greeted them politely, just as Xu Qing had told her to. Xu Wenbin and Zhou Suzhi treated her much better than they treated Xu Qing, even offering her a cup of hot tea.

Even though he no longer paid rent, Xu Qing still came back once a month for a meal to let them know he was alive and doing well. He also brought Jiang He along to get her familiar with them. That way, when he finally revealed his "orphan background," they wouldn’t object and try to break them up.

Better to be safe. Building relationships first was always a good move.

"Are you both free today? Staying home instead of going out?"

Xu Qing plopped onto the couch. Since no one poured him water, he helped himself, then picked up an orange, tossing it in his hand. He wanted to eat it but thought it was too cold, leaving him in a dilemma.

"You’re calling us free?" Xu Wenbin shot him a look.

"Compared to usual. Aren't you out excavating ruins, even in the snow?"

"Don’t be ridiculous."

"Well, just take a break then… Mom, what’s for dinner? Let Jiang He help you."

Xu Qing couldn’t sit still. After a moment, he got up, checked the fridge, peeked into the kitchen, and tried to find something for Jiang He to do.

"Just wait for dinner."

"It’ll be quicker if she helps. Not to brag, but she’s a great cook. Super talented. You should teach her a few dishes, so we can make them ourselves later."

Hearing Xu Qing babble, Xu Wenbin and Zhou Suzhi exchanged a glance, their eyes saying: See? This kid loves to show off.

"You sure you don’t need help? If not, we’ll just watch TV."

Xu Qing turned on the TV, flipped through a few channels, then settled back on the couch and peeled the orange for Jiang He.

The initial excitement of being together had worn off over these days. Xu Qing had gotten used to life with Jiang He and Winter Melon the cat. It wasn’t much different from before—eating, sleeping, and now, when he was free, he’d mess with Jiang He’s calluses, playing with her hands.

Bringing her home was the same. Apart from not having an ID card, Jiang He was no different from a regular girl. She was quiet and well-behaved, not very talkative.

"Are you still messing around with that computer at home?" Xu Wenbin asked, his eyes on the TV, pretending not to notice their little gestures.

"Nope, I got a new one to mess with," Xu Qing replied casually.

"Is that what I asked?" Xu Wenbin shot him a look, then paused. "You bought another one?"

"Yeah, another one."

Xu Qing had bought a second-hand laptop from Li Gaobo. After repairing it with some cheap parts, it cost just over a thousand yuan. It worked as well as a new one worth five or six thousand.

"So you're set on this nonsense, huh?"

"It’s called double the side hustle," Xu Qing shrugged.

Xu Wenbin snorted but said nothing. Their usual conflict was about work.

Young people—always chasing fleeting pleasures, never thinking about the future. Short-sighted!

After a pause, he glanced at Jiang He and, pretending to be casual, asked, "So, um… Jiang He, what do you do? Do you work on those videos with him?"

Last time, he hadn’t gotten any answers. This time, he couldn’t rely on Zhou Suzhi getting distracted by a meal.

"No," Xu Qing shook his head and nudged Jiang He to answer.

"I work on connecting ultra-large-scale integrated circuit microprocessor systems… to modems and servers," Jiang He carefully repeated what Xu Qing taught her. "To exchange high-speed information with other network users."

???

Xu Wenbin was stunned. After a moment, he nodded, pretending to understand. "…Sounds good. Better than this kid."

He didn’t know what it was, but it sounded professional. Impressive.

"Of course, it’s really hard work," Xu Qing said seriously, squeezing Jiang He’s hand in encouragement.

Since that day, Jiang He no longer resisted when he held her hand. As long as he didn’t tickle her palm, she’d pretend not to notice, sometimes sneaking glances at him.

Xu Qing didn’t know what she was looking for. Maybe checking if he was a hand-holding pervert?

Whatever. Better than her pulling away. Not a bad thing.

"Hard work? What do you mainly do?" Xu Wenbin couldn’t help asking.

"Using a set of numeric and alphabetic keys combined with a display system’s coordinate indicators to complete interactive communication with other users through processing and conversion programs."

Jiang He said seriously. Her demeanor made Xu Wenbin nod again.

He didn’t understand, but it sounded solid.

The younger generation was promising.

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