The Reborn Sidekick Rejected The Male Lead
Chapter 120 - 118: The Man on the Train

Chapter 120: Chapter 118: The Man on the Train

Jiang Nanzhou was expected to take her for a stroll nearby, but to her surprise, he donned a military uniform today and directly took her to the Friendship Store.

This was a store she had never visited before, not to mention in her previous life. Its interior decoration was slightly better than the department stores, selling groceries, tobacco, alcohol, clothing, household appliances, newspapers, magazines, and even some exotic jewelry from the Western Regions.

Upon entering, Lu Jingqiu felt so dazzled that Jiang Nanzhou leaned down and asked, "Do you see anything you like?"

Lu Jingqiu shook her head.

Knowing she would react like this, Jiang Nanzhou didn’t ask her opinion further. He walked to the clothing section and said to the salesperson, "Comrade, please wrap up this beautiful red knitted sweater and that woolen overcoat over there, in her size."

Lu Jingqiu tugged at him, but Jiang Nanzhou wrapped her hand in his large palm, leaving no room for rejection.

He then bought her a pair of leather shoes and some delicate hair clips and hair ties. Arriving at the daily necessities section, they came across the much-coveted Colgate toothpaste, and Jiang Nanzhou bought two tubes.

In the tobacco and alcohol section, he purchased two boxes of cigarettes that Lu Jingqiu didn’t quite understand, explaining they were for his future father-in-law. This sent a wave of throbbing through Lu Jingqiu’s heart.

When they left, Lu Jingqiu, holding bundles big and small, asked in confusion, "How do you have so many foreign exchange coupons?"

"I work as a translator, and besides payment for the manuscript, they give me some tickets."

"Nanzhou, thank you for buying me so much."

"If you want to thank me, how about knitting me a sweater? Over the years, I’ve seen some colleagues casually show off the sweaters their wives made for them, and I’ve been incredibly envious."

Lu Jingqiu stared at Jiang Nanzhou for a while, trying to discern the truth in his words – this man had at least eight hundred tricks up his sleeve.

"Shall I take you to buy some wool then?"

"No need, I’ll prepare it when we get back. What color do you like?"

"Anything’s fine."

After they arrived home, they promptly organized the items. The four portions of cake they bought yesterday left one portion for Grandpa.

Seeing there was still time, Lu Jingqiu helped Aunt Zhang wrap dumplings. Today’s dumplings had a delicious pork and celery filling.

Aunt Zhang served her a big bowl, but she couldn’t finish it all, and in the end, it was Jiang Nanzhou who took care of the leftovers.

Grandpa Jiang was delighted to see his grandson being so observant and caring. As they prepared to leave, he said, "Yesterday Aunt Shen called me to talk about Nanzhou’s situation. He’s not getting any younger and would like you two to get married soon. As for the matter of children, it’s all up to you. We won’t hurry you. Let’s talk over the phone in a few days."

"Okay."

Grandpa Jiang had Xiao Wang drive them to the station. Aunt Zhang prepared a day’s worth of dry food for them, made some Meat Buns, and the dumplings leftover from lunch, which she pan-fried for them to take, and boiled a few eggs.

Initially, Jiang Nanzhou wanted to boil more eggs, but he refused, saying that during the summer, they could spoil if left too long, and he didn’t want Lu Jingqiu to eat leftover food.

This time they had sleeper berths again, both lower berths, and their co-passengers were two middle-aged men carrying briefcases, likely on a business trip.

Luckily, they did not encounter any chatty aunties. Generally, those who could afford sleeper berths, if not on a business trip, came from families with good conditions and had high standards.

However, there was one man whose feet smelled so bad, and when they ate dinner, he didn’t come down from his berth, choosing instead to eat his dry food up there.

Lu Jingqiu really couldn’t stand the stench, and during the meal, she nearly vomited.

Jiang Nanzhou saw this and stood up to remind him, "Comrade, it’s summer now, and your feet smell too strong. This is a public place, so please go wash them."

The middle-aged man didn’t say much, just grunted in acknowledgment, but he didn’t make any move to wash them even when it was seven or eight o’clock.

Jiang Nanzhou reminded him again. The man was getting ready for bed and seemed annoyed, muttering, "You’re really nosy." But he still showed no intention of washing.

Seeing that he was unmoved, Jiang Nanzhou looked at him with a somewhat stern gaze. His colleagues naturally noticed this and hastened to persuade him, "I’m just about to go freshen up myself. Let’s go together."

The man with the smelly feet also noticed Jiang Nanzhou’s piercing gaze, and a chill climbed slowly up his spine. The invisible pressure around him also made him feel timid.

He hadn’t paid much attention before, and he didn’t take Jiang’s reminders seriously, but now he was genuinely frightened.

His colleague dragged him out of the compartment and reminded him, "That person looks like someone of importance, let’s not provoke him. And your feet really do stink." He couldn’t stand it either, but out of consideration for his colleague, he didn’t feel it was his place to say anything.

"So being someone important gives him the right to intimidate people?" The man was still defiant, grumbling.

His colleague didn’t know what else to say. The couple was traveling a long distance, opting for a sleeper for comfort, but then they encountered someone like him. How could they be comfortable? They kindly warned you, and you didn’t listen; they had no choice but to be firm.

He had realized that this colleague was the type who bullied the weak but feared the strong. During this trip for work, he had noticed quite a few things about him, and decided it would be best to keep his distance after returning.

Lu Jingqiu, seeing that the man had left, quickly opened the door to air out the compartment, fanning with her hands to get the air flowing.

Jiang Nanzhou couldn’t help feeling sorry, "Wait here, I’ll ask the conductor to change our compartment."

"No need, as long as he washes his feet, it’s fine."

"You didn’t eat much just now. I’ll go to the dining car to see if there’s anything to eat."

Lu Jingqiu held him back, "I’m not hungry, and with those two men there, I’d rather you stay with me."

"Alright, are you tired?"

"A little." She hadn’t slept well the night before, got up early in the morning, and didn’t nap at noon.

Jiang Nanzhou asked her to lie down and sleep while he sat by the bed with a fan to cool her down, holding a magazine in his other hand as he read.

When the two men returned, they saw Jiang Nanzhou, a grown man, fanning a woman with such care that they found it unbearable.

They felt Jiang Nanzhou was disgracing all men. A woman is brought home to serve her husband, yet here he was, serving his wife.

Especially the man with smelly feet, who was always waited on by his wife at home. He had never cooked a meal or washed clothes. At home, his foot-washing water would be brought right to his feet, and he was too lazy to wash his socks while traveling, which was why his feet smelled so bad.

Lu Jingqiu lay down and fell into a deep sleep shortly, with a light blush on her cheeks and her body curled up like a child’s. Her hands clutched at her chest, making Jiang Nanzhou’s heart flutter, and he quickly used his body to shield this beautiful scene from view.

Late at night, when going to the restroom, he didn’t feel at ease leaving her alone, so he woke her up, and they went out together.

Lu Jingqiu saw the time; it was past two in the morning. Knowing Jiang Nanzhou stayed up watching over her, she quickly told him to lie down upon returning and took over the night watch herself.

The next day, early in the morning, the train attendants started hawking their goods. Jiang Nanzhou bought two servings of thin porridge and a dish of stir-fried cabbage with pork slices. The porridge was two fen, and the dish was three fen, neither requiring grain coupons, though there were no boxed meals. The attendant kindly said, "We have boxed meals. You can use ours first, and just replace them when you’re done."

The two of them thanked the attendant profusely. The other two men above also ordered a dish and two steamed buns upon hearing that no grain coupons were needed.

Lu Jingqiu and Jiang Nanzhou took out their fried dumplings. With a serving of thin porridge and a dish in the morning, they felt very satisfied.