Chapter 85: You’re Not Letting Brother Jun Marry a Wife?
Yu Deng hugged the man and started rubbing against him again.
He pressed his face against Zhou Yuejun’s hard chest, then hooked his arms around the man’s neck to press their faces together. He even proactively peppered Zhou Yuejun’s thin lips with kisses.
He showered Zhou Yuejun’s face with kisses.
Zhou Yuejun already couldn’t resist him, and Yu Deng was being so… wanton.
The sweet-scented body was constantly restless, bumping against him. Zhou Yuejun’s heart was in a mess, and he could only swallow hard to suppress the rising fire within him.
Yu Deng’s greed was blatant, and Zhou Yuejun’s indulgence was excessive. “I put your money in your piggy bank.”
Yu Deng had a pig-shaped piggy bank that was only slightly larger than his hand.
The moment he heard he had money, he immediately ignored Zhou Yuejun, heartlessly pushing the man aside to unscrew the pig’s head. He poured out all the bills inside.
The first thing he saw was two one-hundred-yuan bills.
They were neatly folded. They hadn’t been there before, but they were now.
Yu Deng’s eyes lit up and he let out an “oh.” “So much money.”
Then, sitting cross-legged, he began to count them one by one, auditing his little treasury.
All the money in Yu Deng’s treasury was given to him by Zhou Yuejun.
Zhou Yuejun would give him five or ten yuan one day, and the next day Yu Deng would scavenge the loose change from the man’s pockets. The day after that, if Zhou Yuejun wanted to be intimate, he had to pay up.
In short, Yu Deng had plenty of ways to squeeze Zhou Yuejun dry.
Was he bad?
He was going to be exactly this bad and bully Zhou Yuejun.
After taking the money, Yu Deng didn’t do anything with it; he just hoarded it—a stingy little money-grubber.
He already had quite a lot of money.
When Zhou Yuejun was away before, he hadn’t spent the three hundred he was given. Now he had another two hundred. Adding that to what he had before, he found he had 927 yuan in total.
“Give me another 73 yuan!”
He didn’t know any other sophisticated methods. He just held out both hands—it wasn’t a plea for charity, but a direct demand.
“If you give me 73, I’ll have exactly one thousand yuan saved up.”
His dark eyes watched the man expectantly, and his voice was soft and waxy.
Zhou Yuejun’s heart felt like it was being tickled by a feather, and his mind was completely bewitched. He turned around to grab his bag from the cabinet.
Zhou Yuejun didn’t have much cash on hand. He had just gone to the bank to deposit most of it yesterday and had given Yu Deng two hundred; he only had some change left in his pocket.
Fortunately, it was enough for 73 yuan.
Zhou Yuejun served Yu Deng some chicken soup mixed with rice. Besides that, he had also made braised beef with tomatoes and steamed fish slices.
They were all very light dishes.
School was nowhere near as good as home, and Ning Qian was always bringing Yu Deng fried cakes and snacks. Zhou Yuejun was worried Yu Deng wouldn’t get enough nutrition or be able to eat what he wanted, so he made quite a few dishes.
If Yu Deng hadn’t forbidden it, Zhou Yuejun would have wanted to feed him himself.
Yu Deng’s appetite was alright, but he preferred spicy food, so he acted a bit picky. “I want to eat shredded eel noodles tonight.”
Zhou Yuejun used a handkerchief to wipe the corner of Yu Deng’s mouth. “I’ll make it for you tomorrow at noon. We’re having braised ribs tonight.”
Firstly, he was concerned about Yu Deng’s body; secondly, fresh eel was usually only available at the morning market.
“He Yuan might come over this evening.”
He Yuan did indeed come by around four or five o’clock. He was wearing a new, colorful floral shirt and carrying several bottles of alcohol and a bunch of bananas.
The moment he stepped into the house, he was shocked once again.
“Wow, Brother, when did you guys get air conditioning?!”
The living room unit was brand new, humming as it blew a refreshing, cool breeze.
He Yuan’s eyes widened, shining with envy.
“Did the landlord install it? The monthly rent must be really expensive now, right?”
Air conditioners were a hot commodity and incredibly expensive. For an ordinary family, having a refrigerator was already considered doing well.
“Yu Deng bought it.”
Zhou Yuejun’s voice came from the kitchen.
He was busy in the kitchen, and the aroma of braised beef was wafting through the house, teasing one’s taste buds and making them salivate.
Even though it had been a gift from Ning Qian, Zhou Yuejun planned to pay the man back in three installments.
So he would treat it as if Yu Deng had bought it.
He Yuan was so surprised his mouth fell open. “You bought it? You were willing to spend that much?”
He Yuan was full of confusion; he had no idea Yu Deng had the money for an air conditioner.
But he wasn’t very close to Yu Deng, so it wasn’t appropriate to ask about such things.
Having been rejected twice by Zhou Yuejun, He Yuan wasn’t someone who lacked boundaries; he didn’t mention moving in together again.
The cool breeze felt wonderful, and for a moment, he was filled with ambition. “I’ll buy one too once I have the money next year.”
He was estimating that once he had more capital, he could stock up on more goods. He wouldn’t just sell clothes; he’d sell leather shoes, sneakers, and other small accessories.
Besides, winter clothes were expensive, so the profit per piece would be even higher.
As the host, Yu Deng was very polite, taking a cup to the kitchen to brew some tea for He Yuan.
The thermos was in the kitchen. Yu Deng put in some tea leaves, along with some chrysanthemum and honeysuckle. Just as he finished pouring the water, he received a light swat on his bottom.
“You’re not wearing shoes again!”
Before he could lose his temper, a piece of braised beef was stuffed into his mouth.
The braised flavor was intense and well-infused; Yu Deng’s mouth was filled with the taste of the spices.
He Yuan put the beer in the fridge to chill.
Zhou Yuejun had made three meat dishes. He Yuan had smelled the aroma long ago, and the moment they sat at the table, he began to heap on the praise.
“Brother, with your skills, you could easily open a restaurant.”
Yu Deng didn’t stop Zhou Yuejun from drinking.
When Zhou Yuejun was working at the construction site or the nightclub, drinking could easily lead to trouble. Besides, if he drank constantly, he’d smell like a brewery, which was quite unpleasant.
But now that they had air conditioning, they didn’t sweat as much. Zhou Yuejun was also very fond of cleanliness; after a shower, there was no smell at all.
He Yuan tapped a beer bottle against the edge of the table, and the cap popped right off.
“Want a bottle?”
He was asking Yu Deng, who shook his head vigorously. “I don’t drink.”
In the end, Zhou Yuejun took it, turning around to get a soda from the fridge for Yu Deng.
He Yuan joked, “You’re not a child anymore; you’re old enough to date and get married.”
Yu Deng didn’t think much of it. He took a sip of his soda and said casually, “You can’t get married in university; it’s a school rule.”
Zhou Yuejun, however, became withdrawn and silent, a shadow of gloom crossing his features.
At the dinner table, after they finished chatting about casual things, He Yuan brought up the business.
“Brother Jun, when are we going to restock? The market was crowded today, and the clothes are almost sold out.”
Immediately, Yu Deng turned his head, his gaze locked with Zhou Yuejun’s.
Zhou Yuejun had a bony face—his cheekbones were slightly prominent, his eye sockets were deep, and beneath his slightly fierce brows, his thin lips were pressed tight.
Yu Deng had just started school, and he was afraid the boy wouldn’t be able to adjust. Plus, since Yu Deng had been upset, there was no way he was going to leave so soon.
“Wait another week.”
Of course, Zhou Yuejun had other considerations as well.
“The truck from the construction site we hitched a ride with before is headed to the coast now. I’ll contact Old Wu and ask him about renting a vehicle.”
A tricycle definitely wouldn’t cut it; they needed a larger cargo truck.
He Yuan knew his own limitations. Since he was working for Zhou Yuejun, as long as what the man said made sense, he would just listen without questioning.
“Fine. We’ve been working hard for so many days anyway; a break is good.”
“But Brother Jun, since we’re selling clothes, we should dress a bit more stylishly ourselves.”
“It’s good for business, and it’ll help you find a wife.”
The moment He Yuan finished speaking, Yu Deng choked and let out a series of violent coughs.
Zhou Yuejun sat beside Yu Deng, patting his back and helping him catch his breath until the boy finally managed to swallow whatever was stuck in his throat.
He Yuan just thought his words had been too blunt and had offended the refined sensibilities of a scholar like Yu Deng.
“What’s wrong? Just because you can’t marry a wife doesn’t mean our Brother Jun can’t, right?”
Translator’s Note:
A few notes on this chapter:
- Laogong (老公) / Laopo (老婆): Husband / Wife. As mentioned before, these are common terms of endearment.
- Copper Wall and Iron Bastion (铜墙铁壁 – Tóngqiángtiěbì): A common Chinese idiom for something incredibly solid or impenetrable—often used to describe a powerful man’s physique.
- Squeamish / Spoiled (娇气 – Jiāoqì): This is a key trait of our MC. It describes someone who is delicate, easily bothered by small discomforts, and needs to be pampered.
- Financial Context: Earning 2,000 yuan in the mid-90s in China was a massive amount of money for a regular laborer, whose monthly wage might only be 200-300 yuan. It shows how successful their reselling business is becoming.
Happy reading!
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