Chapter 1402: Wearing Sister Jiang’s clothes
Evening.
Jiang"s mother’s home.
The rain continued, showing signs of increasing intensity.
Raindrops pattered onto the balcony, striking the gla.s.s outside the house. The noise was not insignificant, and the putty on the gla.s.s, having deteriorated over time, had already fallen off in many places. The gla.s.s creaked and seemed unstable as if it might fall off at any moment.
Living room.
It was past 7 pm.
After dinner, the three of them were watching TV.
Dong Xuebing asked Jiang Fangfang, "Is everything okay with our windows?"
"No problem." Jiang Fangfang glanced outside and said, "They won"t fall."
"It looks a bit precarious. Why not use sealant now? If it falls later, it might hit your mother and then ours. It"s dangerous," Dong Xuebing suggested.
Jiang"s mother said, "I"ve mentioned fixing it, but the chair isn"t high enough, and your wife can"t reach it. The helper is also too lazy, only taking care of cooking and nothing else."
Dong Xuebing immediately said, "Hey, isn"t there me for that?"
Jiang Fangfang glanced at him and said, "It"s too high, and it"s easy to fall."
"Oh, what"s a little height? I"ll take care of it."
Jiang Fangfang looked at him and said, "I will help you get the tape and scissors."
“Be careful, Xiaotao.” Jiang’s mother said. “Forget it if you cannot reach it.”
"Don"t worry, Mom. This job is really nothing. Just a quick fix. In the future, if there"s anything that needs to be done at home, just let me know."
Jiang"s mother smiled, "Good. By the way, the light in the bathroom is also broken."
Jiang Fangfang chuckled, "Mom, you don"t need to order him around."
"He"s my son-in-law. Why should I hold back against him?" Jiang"s mother said matter-of-factly. "Xiaotao, while you"re at it, go ahead and replace the bathroom light too. The light bulb has been bought for a while, but your wife tried once and couldn"t climb up."
"Sure thing," Dong Xuebing said without hesitation.
Dong Xuebing looked up and noticed that her house was quite old. The height was also a bit higher than the typical residential buildings in the neighborhood, about half a meter higher. No wonder Jiang Fangfang couldn"t reach. Dong Xuebing tried stepping on a chair but couldn"t reach the topmost gla.s.s. Finally, he turned around, removed the gla.s.s panel from the dining table, carried the table to the window, and stood on it with newspapers underneath. Only then could he barely reach. Jiang Fangfang cut the tape at the bottom and handed it to him. Dong Xuebing applied it bit by bit to the gaps between the gla.s.s and the window. Although it didn"t look very nice, at least it’s safe. Otherwise, it could be dangerous if someone walked underneath the gla.s.s and a gust of wind blew it down.
"Is it done, Fangfang?"
"It"s okay, come down."
"Alright."
Dong Xuebing came down from the table and moved it back, covering the gla.s.s.
However, the gla.s.s was still slightly swinging when the wind blew outside. It seemed that just sticking it inside wasn"t enough, and the outside also needed attention. After all, there was no gla.s.s on the balcony.
"I"ll go outside and stick it again."
"It"s raining." Jiang Fangfang shook her head. "Let"s talk about it another day."
Dong Xuebing exclaimed, "It"s just a trivial matter. Let"s do it together."
Jiang Fangfang looked out the window and said, "Then I"ll get you an umbrella."
"Don"t, don"t come out. I don"t want you to catch a cold in the rain."
"Xiaotao, wait until the weather clears tomorrow," Jiang"s mother suggested. "The rain is heavy. You"ll get soaked again."
"It"s okay, Mom. Leave it to me." Dong Xuebing decisively took the tape from Jiang Fangfang"s hand and grabbed a few dry rags. Then he went out.
Balcony.
Dong Xuebing closed the door and didn"t let Jiang Fangfang follow.
The wind rose, and even though there was a roof above, rain occasionally flew into the balcony without windows. It hit Dong Xuebing, and he instantly got a bit wet.
Dong Xuebing didn"t mind. He glanced down and saw that the windowsill outside was relatively long, probably enough to stand on with both feet. There was no need for a table to prop himself up. He grasped the windowsill and pulled it slightly. His body soared onto the windowsill. He looked at the water droplets on the edge of the gla.s.s, immediately wiped them off with a dry rag, and then quickly taped the gla.s.s to fix it, repeating the process for each pane.
Ten minutes later.
All the windows were fixed.
The gla.s.s no longer made the creaking sound.
Dong Xuebing quickly opened the door and entered the house. He was already quite wet, and some water droplets were on his hair. "It"s done, Mom. Do you think it"s okay?"
"Okay, okay." Jiang"s mother said.
Jiang Fangfang took a towel and wiped his hair.
Dong Xuebing felt a bit embarra.s.sed, but since Jiang"s mother was there, he had to let Jiang Fangfang wipe it for him. "There’s still the light bulb, right? Where is it?"
Jiang"s mother laughed and said, "Let Fangfang find it for you. I forgot."
Putting down the towel, Jiang Fangfang rummaged in a drawer and found a light bulb. "Take a break. You"ve been working hard for half a day. We"ll fix the bathroom light later."
"No problem, give it to me."
"Then wait for me to turn off the power first."
"No need, it won"t leak electricity."
The bathroom was small, and the cement floor looked quite old.
Jiang Fangfang brought a chair for him and closed the door, making it easier for the two to talk.
Dong Xuebing stepped on the chair, removed the lampshade skillfully, then expertly screwed in the light bulb, covered it with the lampshade, and finished the job in just a few seconds.
Jiang Fangfang looked up and said, "Last time, I spent half a day trying to remove the lampshade."
Dong Xuebing responded, "You just need to turn it in that direction, and then it comes off easily."
"You"re quite skilled." Jiang Fangfang looked at him unexpectedly. "I thought you wouldn"t know how to do these things."
Dong Xuebing smiled and came down from the chair, wiping the shoe prints from his shoes. He explained, "How can I not know? My family used to be poor. Our living standards were probably tougher than those of most families in Zhen Shui County. We owed a lot of money and relied on my mother"s salary to get by. We couldn"t even afford to eat. There was no spare money for anything else, so we had to do it ourselves. If the range hood broke, the toilet tank malfunctioned, or a light bulb went out, I had to fix it myself. Not to brag, but I even know a bit about carpentry. Our old bed broke many times. I used tools to nail it back together. Later, I even added a leg. You see me living in luxury, driving a Land Rover, smoking Zhonghua cigarettes, but all this happened later. In the past, I went through tough times."
He is wealthy now.
He holds an official position.
He even has a beautiful wife.
It can be said that Dong Xuebing has everything a man should have.
But everyone sees Dong Xuebing"s successful side, envying him and admiring him, without knowing that he achieved all of this by risking his life.
"Alright, is there anything else to fix?"
"Nothing, let"s go out for a drink of water."
They left the bathroom, and Jiang"s mother asked, "Is it fixed?"
Dong Xuebing smiled and said, "Installed it. Mom, if there"s anything in the house in the future, just let me know."
Jiang"s mother chuckled and said to her daughter, "It"s good to have a man at home. You young couple, live a good life in the future, understand?"
Jiang Fangfang gently agreed, "I know."
Jiang"s mother said, "Quickly pour some water for your man. Look how tired my son-in-law is."
Dong Xuebing shook off his damp clothes, "Not drinking for now. Uh, the water heater in the house, is it okay? My clothes are a bit wet. I want to take a bath."
Jiang Fangfang looked at his clothes, "Sure, go ahead."
Dong Xuebing blinked, "What about these clothes of mine?"
"Take them off and give them to me. I"ll hang them up for you. They"re not completely wet and will dry by tomorrow." She paused. "But there are no clothes here. My dad"s clothes were just burned, so let me find something for you. Tonight, you can wear my clothes; I still have a set of autumn clothes."
Dong Xuebing exclaimed, "Wear yours?"
Jiang Fangfang said, "I"ve washed them. They"re clean."
Jiang"s mother laughed and said, "Xiaotao, are you complaining about your wife?"
"No, no, well…" Dong Xuebing couldn"t help it.
Jiang Fangfang said, "Go and shower. I"ll find my autumn clothes for you."
Dong Xuebing indeed needed a shower. Firstly, he felt uncomfortable with the dampness on his body. Secondly, he is too busy dealing with County Government matters these days. After returning home yesterday, he went straight to bed, and today, he rushed out again. It had probably been two or three days since he last took a shower. If he were just sitting around, it would be fine, but he would sleep with Jiang Fangfang at night. Dong Xuebing certainly couldn"t get into bed feeling dirty.
In the bathroom.
He closed the door, and Dong Xuebing began to undress.
Just as he finished undressing, someone outside twisted the doork.n.o.b. "Xiaotao."
"Yeah," Dong Xuebing said, "What"s up?"
"Give me your clothes."
"Ah, now?"
"Yes, I brought my autumn clothes too."
Dong Xuebing looked down and saw that he was only wearing boxer shorts, suddenly feeling awkward. He patted his forehead and decided to hand over his damp clothes. However, he didn"t fully open the door. He left a gap and didn"t look outside. He directly handed the clothes out.
With a light touch, the clothes were gone.
A second later, another weight was on his hand, and he felt the touch of pure cotton.
"Okay, my clothes might be a bit small for you. Make do with them," Jiang Fangfang said.
Dong Xuebing closed the door and took a look. It was a set of pure white women"s autumn underwear. Well, at least it was white and not red or pink.
Let"s take a shower. He turned on the hot water.
Splash, splash.
The warm water felt extremely comfortable on his body.
After was.h.i.+ng, Dong Xuebing didn"t ask which towel belonged to Jiang Fangfang. After all, in Jiang"s mother"s eyes, he should know. So, he picked up a pink towel, sniffed it, and thought, "Well, it has the scent of Mayor Jiang." Then, he used the towel to dry his hair and body. As for the toothbrush, he didn"t dare to use Jiang Fangfang"s. Instead, he took some toothpaste and rinsed his mouth, considering his hygiene routine complete.
It was time to get dressed.
Dong Xuebing took Jiang Fangfang"s autumn clothes awkwardly, looked at them, rubbed his forehead in contemplation for a while, and thought, "I have to wear them. There"s no other choice. Whomever I love." Dong Xuebing gritted his teeth and wore the white women"s autumn underwear. It was a bit tight, a bit short, but he could manage.
Smelling Jiang Fangfang"s scent on the clothes, Dong Xuebing"s heart was a bit chaotic.