People in the alley: A woman dressed as a man shouldn't be foolishly filial, Zhuang Chaoying

Chapter 221 Rejecting Menstrual Shame

After finishing all that, he took a small stool and sat down in front of the stove. The fire warmed him comfortably, and his eyelids grew heavier and heavier.

His head bobbed up and down, his thoughts gradually becoming hazy, and before he knew it, he leaned against the wall and closed his eyes.

After Huang Ling got off work, she hung her handbag on the wall.

She took a deep breath, smelled the aroma, and looked at Tu Nan. "Is your dad cooking?"

Tu Nan nodded and pointed in the direction of the kitchen.

When Huang Ling walked into the kitchen, she saw Chao Ying asleep against the wall, and her eyes showed some heartache.

She quickly opened the pot lid, took a spoon and gently stirred it a couple of times, the soup bubbling as the spoon moved.

She took a small piece of chicken with a spoon, blew on it, tasted it, and found it wasn't tender enough yet; it needed to stew for a while longer.

Steam was rising from another pot. She opened it and saw that the shrimp had turned bright red. They were ready, so she quickly took them off the heat.

Zhuang Chaoying opened her eyes upon hearing the sound, yawned, and stretched. "Ling, you're back. How come I was still asleep?"

"Are you too tired today?"

Zhuang Chaoying shook her head. "The person being roasted by the fire must be sleepy; Ah Ling hasn't even steamed the rice yet!"

Huang Ling reached out and nudged him. "Come inside and sit for a bit, I'll take care of the rest, it'll be ready in a minute!"

Zhuang Chaoying nodded and went back inside.

Huang Ling took a basin and put the washed rice into the pot.

Just then, Song Ying came in, dressed in her new clothes and wearing an apron, looking distressed. "Sister Ling, what is Teacher Zhuang cooking for us today? I've been so worried all day, I don't know what to cook!"

Huang Ling smiled and said to Song Ying, "Chao Ying stewed chicken, I'll serve you a bowl in a bit."

Song Ying took a bunch of bok choy from the refrigerator, put it in a basin, held the basin steadily with both hands, and turned to walk towards the water room.

Halfway there, she turned back to look at Sister Ling with a smile on her face: "Okay, then I'll just cook one more side dish. Thank you, Sister Ling. I don't worry about food, but I worry about cooking. I'm so tired of cooking all day long. I don't know what I did in my past life to be relegated to the kitchen."

Huang Ling laughed when she heard her words. "That's right. Buying groceries, cooking, washing dishes, cleaning, and taking out the trash are all part of the job. Luckily, Chao Ying is on vacation, so I can finally relax for a month."

Song Ying pouted. "I should have found a teacher back then."

,,,,,,,

After dinner, it gradually got dark.

Xiaoting and Tunan took the initiative to clear the dishes, chatting and laughing, working together very well.

Xiaoting picked up the bowls and chopsticks from the table one by one, while Tunan followed behind carrying a plate. The two of them made their way to the kitchen, and in no time, the table was cleaned up.

Dongzhe was also washing dishes by the sink. "Get in line, Xiaoting, Tunan-ge."

Zhuang Chaoying sat down next to A-Ling, turning slightly to the side. "A-Ling, there are counterfeit versions of the electric kettles produced by our factory. The quality isn't as good as ours."

He paused, his brow furrowing slightly. "We're worried that these low-quality immersion heaters might use our name, and if something goes wrong, it'll be a real problem. Today, Engineer Lin, Factory Manager An, and I discussed it, and we're going to check out the counterfeit factories in Changcheng."

Huang Ling, who was peeling an orange, immediately stopped what she was doing upon hearing this, the orange hanging in mid-air. She frowned. "Chaoying, this imitation is too fast, isn't it? Will something happen if the three of you go to their factory like this?" As she spoke, she put down the orange and gently took Zhuang Chaoying's hand.

"There's not much technology involved in making an electric kettle; it's easy to copy once you take it apart."

Zhuang Chaoying gently patted Huang Ling's hand, trying to soothe her emotions.

“We’re just going to take a look. If we can’t reach an agreement with them, then we’ll have no choice but to sue. We’ve already registered the trademark, so we’re in the right. Don’t worry, Ah Ling.”

Zhuang Chaoying continued, "Since I'm going to Changcheng this time, I'll stop by to visit my parents. If they'd like to come, I'll bring them over for the New Year."

"Chao Ying, how many days will you be gone this time?"

Zhuang Chaoying thought for a moment, then paused slightly. "Three, two days should be enough for him to be back!"

After saying that, he got up and walked to his briefcase, opened it, and took out sanitary napkins. "I went grocery shopping today and bought some for you, so you won't be without them later."

Huang Ling quickly took the sanitary napkin, moved swiftly to the cabinet, opened the cabinet door, put the sanitary napkin inside, and then gently closed the cabinet door.

Then, she went to the back door, gently pushed it open a crack, and looked out. Tu Nan and Xiao Ting were still washing dishes.

"Chaoying, what did the sales clerks think of you when you bought sanitary napkins?"

Huang Ling turned around, her face slightly flushed. "You know, it's a bit inappropriate for a man like you to buy these things. I'll buy them myself from now on."

Zhuang Chaoying smiled. "What's there to be embarrassed about? Women have their periods every month. It's not a bad thing; it's a normal physiological process, nothing to be ashamed of. I'm buying sanitary napkins for my own wife and daughter; there's nothing to be embarrassed about."

Huang Ling pursed her lips and smiled, her eyes sparkling with happiness.

She reached out and pinched Zhuang Chaoying's inner thigh hard. "Stop talking, I know, you're good to me and Xiaoting, we know that's enough."

Zhuang Chaoying put his arm around A-Ling and looked into the kitchen. After confirming that the children were still busy, he leaned closer and his voice softened. "A-Ling, it's been so long since we last saw each other since we came back from Tunan. I feel like it's been almost a month. How about we go to the courtyard today?" He then gently tightened his grip on her arm.

Huang Ling glanced nervously at the back door, lowered her voice, and blushed even more. "Zhuang Chaoying, it's only been half a month."

"Please, Ah Ling, I'm leaving tomorrow, and we won't be together for several more days."

Zhuang Chaoying clung to A Ling's arm, rubbing her head against A Ling's neck like a spoiled child.

"Please, Ah Ling!"

Huang Ling pushed his head away forcefully, her face showing anger, but also doting affection, and the corners of her mouth unconsciously turned up.

"Okay, okay! Okay! I've really spoiled you too much."

She just couldn't stand Chao Ying's coquettish manner. Every time she saw him like that, it felt like a feather was gently brushing against her heart, making her feel tingly and itchy.

Sometimes she felt that Chaoying was just like a girl, not only very considerate of her, but also very responsible in all matters, big and small, in life.

Although Chao Yingyi felt a chill run down her spine from doing this to herself, she was secretly delighted.

Zhuang Chaoying smiled, like a cat that had just stolen some cream, blinked at A-Ling with expectant eyes, and leaned closer to whisper.