Chapter 46 Has It Mutated?

Chapter 46: Is This Some Kind of Mutation?

Su He had always maintained the habit of taking a nap. No matter what, she would sleep for at least half an hour, or else she’d feel sluggish in the afternoon.

After waking up and tidying herself up, she saw Fu Tinghua walking in from outside.

"You didn’t take a nap?" Su He asked, surprised.

"No, I don’t have the habit of napping," Fu Tinghua replied casually.

Then they fell silent.

Without the two kids around, things got awkward between them.

Fu Tinghua didn’t feel awkward—after all, this was how things had always been between him and Su He in the past. Most of their interactions were silent, and if anyone spoke more, it was usually Su He.

But Su He was uncomfortable.

So she said, "I’ll go check on the little ones. We should get ready to head up the mountain." With that, she walked into the room.

Fu Tinghua said nothing.

The two kids were woken up by Su He but didn’t make a fuss, only rubbing sleep from their eyes.

Then Fu Tinghua also entered the room. Su He was helping Niu Niu into her shoes while he picked up Zai Zai, who was sitting nearby, and started putting on his shoes for him.

"Let’s go, little ones."

Su He carried a woven bamboo basket on her back and asked the kids if they wanted to walk on their own or if she should carry them.

Fu Tinghua looked at Su He, then at the kids, and said, "If they don’t want to walk, I’ll carry them."

The two kids looked at their parents and finally shook their heads, saying they wanted to walk by themselves.

Along the way, they met many villagers. The Fu family had always kept a low profile, so they hadn’t announced Fu Tinghua’s return to the village.

But eagle-eyed villagers remembered Fu Tinghua well—after all, he was the most handsome guy in the village. Who could forget him? For miles around, no one had ever seen anyone more good-looking than Fu Tinghua.

"Oh my, isn’t this Fu Tinghua from the Fu family? When did you get back?"

They met many relatives along the way. Su He had seen them before, but since she didn’t remember them, they’d never spoken.

This time, however, they greeted Fu Tinghua warmly.

"Auntie, I came back yesterday afternoon," Fu Tinghua answered with a smile.

"Hah, you’ve only grown more handsome after all these years away," Aunt Liu said, then turned to Su He beside Fu Tinghua. "This must be your wife?"

"Yes, this is my wife, Su He," Fu Tinghua replied.

"Well, I’ve run into your wife a few times, but she probably doesn’t recognize me—never greeted me before."

*I don’t know you... did you?* Su He thought, mentally rolling her eyes.

"She’s a bit shy around people she doesn’t know. Now that she’s met you, she’ll definitely greet you next time," Fu Tinghua said smoothly, smoothing things over for Su He.

In rural areas, social etiquette was even stricter than in the city. If a younger person didn’t greet their elders, they’d be swamped with gossip.

However, Su He didn’t care, as she figured most villagers didn’t care for her anyway, so they wouldn’t bother talking to her either.

“Yes, it’s just because we didn’t know each other before, hehe. Your two kids are just as handsome as you,” Aunt Liu added.

Fu Tinghua made small talk before Aunt Liu finally left.

Once she was out of hearing range, worried that Su He might overthink things, Fu Tinghua said to her, “Villagers are generally very friendly—they greet everyone they meet. What she said earlier wasn’t meant as criticism.”

“Huh? Oh, I’m fine. It takes time for neighbors to get familiar, and I haven’t been in the village for long anyway,” Su He replied casually.

Fu Tinghua was a little surprised. In the past, Su He had been very sensitive about how others perceived her, especially fearing that people would say she was too fat for him.

That was why she rarely took the two kids outside—she didn’t want to hear those comments.

When they reached the durian trees, Su He was shocked. Had these trees grown so much taller?

Did they get fed some kind of growth hormone?

Fu Tinghua didn’t know how big the saplings had been when planted, but he knew seedlings usually weren’t very large. He asked Su He in confusion, “Did these durian trees mutate?”

Su He inspected the trees closely before saying, “The saplings were already big, but they have grown unusually fast.”

Fu Tinghua: “......”

This wasn’t just “fast”—these trees were nearly three meters tall already, and some small fruits had even started forming.

“When can we eat these durians?” Fu Tinghua asked.

“About another month, at this rate,” Su He replied, her eyes shining as she gazed at the trees.

Amused by her money-hungry expression, Fu Tinghua didn’t say anything else.

Meanwhile, the two kids went searching for mushrooms under the trees again—they still wanted to eat some.

But they found nothing and turned back.

Well, not completely—Fu Tinghua carried a bundle of firewood home, so it wasn’t a complete loss.

After returning, Fu Tinghua handed Su He five hundred yuan.

That amount was a small fortune these days.

Just look at Su He—slaving away selling candies and fried dough cakes, yet she hadn’t even earned a hundred yuan combined.

Su He looked at Fu Tinghua in surprise. “For me?”

“Yeah. I mostly eat at the hospital, so I don’t have many expenses. Use it to buy things for the kids. It’s part of my assignment bonus—the rest is still pending,” Fu Tinghua explained.

He’d hesitated for a long time before deciding to give her the money. He had to report back to the hospital tomorrow, but judging by how Su He and the kids were, they likely wouldn’t come to the city with him.

Actually, Su He was doing fine in the countryside. She’d changed quite a bit, and Fu Tinghua had noticed.

Su He stared at the five hundred-yuan bills, fighting with herself.

Ah, whatever. Right now, she and Fu Tinghua were officially married, so what was wrong with spending his money?

You need money to make money—she might as well spend it! If it came to it, she could pay him back later when she earned more.

Without hesitation, she took the money, counted off three bills to keep, and pushed the other two back into Fu Tinghua’s hand.

"Even though you always eat at the hospital, you shouldn't dress too shabbily. Here, take this money and get yourself some clothes."

Fu Tinghua was clearly very frugal—his clothes were so worn they’d faded from washing.

But his good looks kept him from seeming poor—instead, he exuded the aura of a down-and-out nobleman.

Though his appearance made clothing seem less important, Su He still felt uneasy about it.

With that, Su He left Fu Tinghua behind and headed to the kitchen to prepare dinner.

Clutching the two bills she’d pressed into his hand, his fingertips still warm from her touch, Fu Tinghua froze for a moment.