The 1970s: Married First, Fell in Love Later-Chapter 36 - 35: Who Entered the Room?

Xue Yue and He Lang didn’t get back until it was almost dark.

They learned that He Yun’s family had also just left.

He Lang went to the main house.

The moment Xue Yue entered their room, she realized someone had been inside.

The items on the table had been moved.

Xue Yue’s face darkened. She first pushed the table aside to check the brick where they kept their money. She opened it and saw the money was still there.

She pushed the table back, then opened the cupboard. It was filled with snacks, many of which had been opened. Xue Yue couldn’t tell if anything was missing.

Opening the wardrobe, she could tell from the slight disarray that the clothes had been rummaged through as well.

A wave of disgust washed over Xue Yue. It felt like something was stuck in her throat, deeply unsettling.

When He Lang returned, he saw Xue Yue sitting on the edge of the bed, staring blankly at one spot.

"What’s wrong?" He Lang walked over.

"Someone was in our room. They went through our things."

Hearing this, He Lang glanced around. "What did they go through?"

Xue Yue gestured vaguely. "The things on the table were moved, and so were the things in the cupboards. Even the clothes were touched."

"Is anything missing?"

"The money’s not missing. I don’t know about the rest. The snacks were all opened."

He Lang’s eyes lowered, a cold glint appearing in their depths.

He raised a hand and gently stroked Xue Yue’s cheek. "It’s alright. As long as nothing important is missing. We’ll move out as soon as we can. After the fifth day of the New Year, I’ll have Dad ask the village chief about applying for a homestead."

He Lang used to live alone. With his reputation, no one thought he’d have anything valuable. He often left his door unlocked when he went out, and no one ever went in. Now, it seemed they needed to buy a lock.

Xue Yue was sullen all the way until bedtime. He Lang sighed, pulling her into his arms and patting her back gently.

"I’ll ask Mom and Dad tomorrow. But if no one saw anything, no one will admit to it. And since we didn’t lose anything, we’ll probably have to let it go. Besides, there are outsiders in the house. He Yun’s family was here yesterday, too. This is my fault. I never thought about buying a lock. Don’t be upset anymore, okay?"

He Lang kissed Xue Yue’s forehead.

Xue Yue’s eyelids fluttered. After a long moment, she mumbled, "I feel so disgusted. They even went through my clothes, the ones I just washed. And I don’t want any of those opened snacks anymore."

"Okay, we’ll throw out the snacks. We can just buy more. If the clothes make you feel gross, we’ll buy new ones too," He Lang said, sounding very magnanimous.

Tucked in his arms, the corners of Xue Yue’s mouth curved up slightly. She patted his chest and pouted, "So generous of you. Throwing out the food is one thing, but how can we just get rid of the clothes? There are new ones in there! I can’t bear to part with them. Besides, cotton and fabric are hard to come by. A good wash will be fine."

He Lang smiled and nodded. "Alright. I’ll wash them tomorrow. I promise I’ll get them sparkling clean."

Only then did Xue Yue feel the knot in her throat loosen. She hugged He Lang’s waist a little tighter.

「The next morning」

First thing the next morning, He Lang took all the clothes out of the wardrobe, carried them to the courtyard, and started washing them by the well.

At that time, the families from the first and second households were also in the courtyard cooking. Seeing He Lang washing so many clothes so early, they were quite surprised.

"Third Brother, have you lost your mind? It’s only the third day of the New Year, and you have that much laundry? You could have at least waited until after the fifth!" Mrs. He shouted from the kitchen doorway.

Gao Cuiyun chimed in, "That’s right, Third Brother. This is really improper. And I see Third Sister-in-law’s clothes in there, too. This won’t do. What kind of man washes clothes?"

He Lang scoffed. "Second Sister-in-law, does washing clothes have to be a man’s or a woman’s job? Are you saying men don’t have to wear clothes?"

"Third Brother, is that what I meant? I meant what kind of man washes so many clothes this early in the morning, during the New Year, no less?"

He Lang let out a cold laugh. "Well, what can you do when you don’t lock your door? We were gone for one day, and a rat got into the house, rummaging through all our cupboards. Tsk, Yue’er is disgusted by it, so I’m the only one left to wash them."

The meaning behind He Lang’s words couldn’t have been clearer.

Mrs. He frowned. "Third Brother, are you saying someone went into your room while you were out yesterday?"

He Lang kept his head down, washing the clothes. "I didn’t say that."

Mrs. He glanced at Gao Cuiyun, who quickly waved her hands. "It wasn’t me."

Mrs. He then looked over at Guo Jinfeng, who had been watching the scene unfold. Guo Jinfeng quickly shook her head too. "It wasn’t me either. We got back right after Third Brother and his wife yesterday."

He Lang didn’t even look up, focusing on his laundry.

Mrs. He shot him a glare and stormed back into her room.

This left Guo Jinfeng and Gao Cuiyun to look at each other, before they each went back to their own business.

「On the sixth day of the New Year」

On the sixth day of the New Year, He Lang, two bottles of wine in hand, followed Mr. He to the village chief’s house.

When the village chief heard their reason for visiting, he wasn’t surprised.

"Do you have a plot of land in mind?"

Mr. He looked at He Lang, who nodded.

"Uncle Village Chief, you know that empty lot not far from the village entrance? My family’s private plot is right next to it. I want that one."

The village chief thought for a moment. "Isn’t that a bit big? How many rooms are you planning to build?"

He Lang tilted his head and grinned. "If I’m going to build, I might as well build a few extra rooms. What if my future son needs a place to live when he gets married? I’d have to build all over again."

Both Mr. He and the village chief laughed at his words.

"You shameless brat. Your wife isn’t even pregnant yet and you’re already thinking about your son getting married?"

"Uncle Village Chief, I already have a wife, so a son can’t be far behind, right? And if I have a son, isn’t it just a matter of time before he gets married?"

The village chief laughed and nodded. "Alright, for that alone, I have to approve this land for you."

"Hey, thank you, Uncle Village Chief!"

Then the village chief wrote a note, stamped it, and the matter was settled.

Mr. He and He Lang went to look at the plot of land again. It wasn’t far from the village entrance, but it was some distance from the He Family home.

"How many rooms are you planning to build?" Mr. He asked.

He Lang made a rough estimate. "At least six or seven, I think."

"That many? And all brick-and-tile houses? That would cost at least six or seven hundred yuan." Mr. He had thought that if He Lang was only building two rooms, 300 yuan would be more than enough.

"Do you have that much money?" Mr. He looked at He Lang with a complicated expression.

He Lang smirked. "Don’t I still have you and Mom?"

Mr. He instantly flew into a rage. "You little brat! So you were scheming for our money all along! Where would your mother and I get that kind of cash?"

"Not my problem," He Lang said with a grin.

Mr. He was so angry he nearly took off his shoe to beat his unfilial son.

「The next day」

The next day, He Lang went to the transportation team in town.

"Captain Zhang."

Seeing He Lang walk in, Zhang Bin stood up with a smile.

"What brings you here, kid? Have you finally come around to helping me out?"

He Lang smiled and nodded. "That’s exactly why I’m here today."

Zhang Bin looked at him in surprise. "Really? I’m in desperate need of people. Last winter, several guys got injured because of the blizzard."

"Yeah, I got married. Now I have to support a family and a wife, so finding a steady job seems like the responsible thing to do."

Zhang Bin nudged He Lang’s shoulder with his fist. "Well, I’ll be. I haven’t seen you for two or three months, and you’ve already gone and gotten married?"

He Lang said helplessly, "Captain Zhang, are you making fun of me? I’m already 29 after the New Year."

"HAHAHA."

Afterward, Zhang Bin took He Lang to handle the onboarding paperwork and introduced him to the team.

He Lang was actually quite familiar with the transportation team. He had hitched rides on Zhang Bin’s truck to several places before, including Island City. Each time, he would smuggle a few things back to sell on the black market.

As a result, He Lang already knew several people on the transportation team.