I was reborn after my cousin stole my life.

Chapter 101: Drunkenness

"Is our Chief of Staff Jiang drunk?"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Xiu turned to look at Jiang Zhou. His face was flushed, his eyes were glazed, and he was holding a wine glass filled with wine without saying a word. He did indeed look like he was drunk.

Yuan Xiu quickly got up and went over. "How are you? Is anything bothering you? Are you dizzy?"

She had never seen Jiang Zhou like this before, and she felt a pang of sympathy.

Chunmei's sister-in-law also came over from another table, glared at Li Shan next to Jiang Zhou, and said, "If you're going to drink, then drink. Why are you forcing young Jiang to drink? He's still young. Do you think he's someone like you, a drunkard?"

Li Shan chuckled awkwardly, "I was just unhappy, so I drank a few more glasses."

There were several cups there. This group of men not only finished the two bottles of Moutai that Jiang Zhou brought, but also the two bottles of Wuliangye that Li Shan brought from home. Now they were drinking the wine that Guiying's husband had brought.

Jiang Zhou was the host, and it was such a good thing as a promotion, so everyone toasted him, one cup after another. It would be strange if he didn't get drunk.

Sister-in-law Guiying was also talking about Instructor Liu, "Little Yuan is quite sick, and you all got Little Jiang drunk. Who's going to take care of him? Why don't you go and take care of him?"

After the two sisters-in-law said that, everyone felt quite embarrassed. Thinking about it, it seemed that they had made Chief of Staff Jiang drink too much.

Yuan Xiu looked up and smiled, "It's alright. Everyone's having a good time, so it's normal to have a few more drinks. I'll go to the kitchen and see if I can make some hangover soup. If I can, everyone can have a bowl."

She had one hand on Jiang Zhou's shoulder, and the other hand was being held by Jiang Zhou, who was also restless, scratching her palm with his fingertips.

It seems he really is drunk.

"I'll go with you," said Sister Chunmei.

"No need, you all sit and continue eating, I'll be right back."

After Yuan Xiu finished speaking, she walked out.

Stepping outside, you'll find yourself in the restaurant's lobby, where a few diners are scattered about. The kitchen window is open, and you can easily bend down and talk to the chefs inside.

Yuan Xiu first went to the cashier at the counter. The cashier knew that she was a military dependent and that the people she had invited were all officers in the army. Without saying a word, she agreed, "I'll go ask our Master Cheng to see if he can do it."

"This is troublesome."

"Serve the people."

The two approached the window, and upon hearing this, Master Cheng brought out a large bowl of sour and spicy hangover soup with a reddish hue.

"Knowing you're drinking, I prepared it a while ago. I was just about to have it brought over when you arrived. Here you go."

Yuan Xiu was slightly taken aback, then smiled and thanked him, "This is so timely, thank you, Master Cheng."

"You're welcome. It's for the people."

Yuan Xiu returned with a large bowl of hangover soup. Sister-in-law Chunmei quickly came to take it. "Why so fast?" she asked, wrinkling her nose at the aroma wafting from the soup. "How much vinegar did you put in?"

Hangover soup is not difficult to make. At home, it is usually made by boiling ginger and vinegar. If you have better conditions, you can add some brown sugar to make it more nourishing.

This hangover soup contains brown sugar.

Yuan Xiu quickly scooped a bowlful and made Jiang Zhou drink it.

He frowned as he drank, "That's enough."

His voice was hoarse, and his face was flushed with the effects of alcohol, but his eyes were clearer.

"Have a couple more sips. This was prepared for you by the head chef of the restaurant's kitchen this morning, and it even has brown sugar in it. We can't waste their kindness."

Sister-in-law Guiying: "The head chef at this restaurant is quite attentive and a nice person."

Sister Chunmei said, "He's a nice person. Last time some people from my hometown came, we treated them to a meal here. I even spoke with the head chef. He's a very warm-hearted person. I heard he was just transferred here last year."

At this point, Sister Chunmei lowered her voice, "She said her husband died more than ten years ago and didn't leave behind any children. Some people tried to set her up with a widower in our army, but she didn't agree, saying she didn't want to remarry."

"That's a real shame, such a good person."

The women's conversation gradually veered off course, starting with Master Cheng, and then moving on to the topic of which family in the compound had lost their wives.

It's an age-old truth that sisters-in-law are enthusiastic matchmakers!

After that, no one poured any more alcohol for Jiang Zhou. After the dinner, Instructor Liu helped Jiang Zhou into his home and put him on the bed before leaving.

As soon as the others left, Jiang Zhou immediately sat up.

Yuan Xiu: "..."

She leaned closer, cupping his burning face in her hands. "Are you really drunk?"

"I'm not drunk." Jiang Zhou stared straight at her. His cheeks were chubby from being squeezed by Yuan Xiu's hand, making him look several years younger than before. Let alone twenty-six, he looked like he was in his early twenties!

Yuan Xiu nodded: "Hmm, it seems you're really drunk. Shall I go and make you some hangover soup?"

Jiang Zhou shook his head: "No way, it's awful. It's sour, spicy, and sweet all at once—a complete mess. How can there be something this awful in the world? You even offered me a few more sips!"

His face clearly showed his disgust!

His tone was also aggrieved, as if he was blaming Yuan Xiu for not caring about him.

At this moment, Yuan Xiu only found him cute. He was just drunk. If he wasn't drunk, why would he make such an expression and say such things?

She gently touched his eyebrows and eyes with both hands: "So cute..."

The moment those three words were spoken, Jiang Zhou's expression changed. He reached out and pulled the petite woman into his arms. "What did you say?"

Yuan Xiu couldn't see his expression, but she could feel his arms tightening around her and his tone carrying a hint of danger.

"I'm praising you, let go of me, I'm going to get some water to wash up." She grabbed Jiang Zhou's clothes from behind and pulled him out.

"I won't let go!"

"Hey hey..."

You shouldn't mess with a drunk person, because they become very clingy and stubbornly refuse to admit it.

That night, both of them went to bed early. Yuan Xiu wanted to read for a while, but Jiang Zhou held her tightly to his chest and she couldn't break free, so she had no choice but to lie down with him on the bed and go to sleep early.

When she opened her eyes again, it was already 9:30 a.m. the next day. Jiang Zhou was also awake, half-sitting up and lying down next to her, holding a book in his hand and reading.

"What time is it?"

"It's 9:30. I've already made breakfast and it's keeping warm on the stove. Shall we get up now?"

"rise."

She went to bed quite early last night, but she still woke up so late today. This is the first time Yuan Xiu has ever slept for such a long time.

Is she starting to enter the sleepy phase of pregnancy?

Fortunately, today is a day off, so she doesn't have to rush to work. She has a whole day to study.

"You knew you were drunk last night?"

On the dining table, Yuan Xiu had a bowl of millet porridge in front of her, two shiny fried eggs, and a plate of steamed buns that she had bought from the canteen earlier. Jiang Zhou had sliced ​​the steamed buns and fried them in a pan, making them crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.

"I wasn't drunk." Jiang Zhou cleared his throat. "I remember everything. I didn't act crazy, so how can you call me drunk? I'm not the kind of person who gets drunk."

Jiang Zhou felt uncomfortable thinking about how Yuan Xiu had called him cute last night. How could the word "cute" be used on a grown man like him?

And he looked so wronged...

How could he look so wronged?

Jiang Zhou: ...I'm never drinking again!

Yuan Xiu suppressed a laugh: "That's right, you're not drunk. Anyway, drunk people never admit they're drunk."

Jiang Zhou tore off a piece of fried egg and fed it to her, saying, "Eat!"

After breakfast, Yuan Xiu began her day of study. She first went next door and spent two hours learning medical skills from Dr. Liu. She didn't return home until noon to cook lunch with Jiang Zhou.

After lunch, Yuan Xiu took a nap for about half an hour. If she didn't sleep, she wouldn't have much energy for the rest of the afternoon.

At 2 p.m., she went to Teacher Shen's house again and handed in the homework she had accumulated over the past week to be corrected.

"At this rate, you should have no problem finishing the textbook material before having the baby, but what about your English?"

Yuan Xiu gave an awkward smile: "I really can't learn this."

Fortunately, Yuan Xiu had some understanding of the college entrance examination. In her previous life, she had heard the educated youth in the village talk about it. They said that English was also tested, but it was not included in the total score. This item was for people who applied for related majors.

Teacher Shen laughed and said, "Actually, I don't know much either. Even if you asked me to teach you, I wouldn't be able to teach you anything. When I was in school, I learned Soviet language."

Yuan Xiu knew that English would be a very important subject in the coming decades, but she simply didn't have the energy to learn it now. If she were to learn it, she would have to wait until her dream came true.

After leaving Teacher Shen's house, Yuan Xiu ran into Zhou Lei on her way back.

He was holding two tickets in his hand, standing under a tree by the roadside, seemingly lost in thought.

Upon looking up and seeing Yuan Xiu, he put the ticket in his pocket and called out, "Sister-in-law."

"...I'm so sorry."

Yuan Xiu's gaze subtly swept over his chest pocket; the ticket was clearly a train ticket. Was he planning to send Yuan Juan back?

Are you apologizing for her spreading rumors, or for the time she and her mother came to my door last week and verbally abused me?

Zhou Lei was taken aback. "They went to your house?"

"Yes! Luckily my wife was home. If she hadn't, your mother-in-law probably would have attacked me."

Yuan Xiu looked at him calmly, "If you can't control her, no amount of apologies will help, right, Battalion Commander Zhou?"

Zhou Lei nodded silently.

After Yuan Xiu left, Zhou Lei went home. At the door, Yuan's aunt peeked out, but when she saw him, she quickly shrank back inside.

As soon as Zhou Lei stepped into the house, she quickly gave her daughter a wink.

Yuan Juan: "Old Zhou, did you really go into town to buy a ticket?"

Zhou Lei didn't answer her question. He took the tickets out of his pocket and put them on the table. "I'll go to the camp headquarters to file for divorce first thing tomorrow morning."

After saying that, he took out a piece of paper from another pocket and handed it to Yuan Juan: "Sign here, and we'll be divorced after you sign it."

Yuan Juan quickly unfolded the folded paper, which read "Divorce Application" in large characters, followed by the statement that their relationship had broken down... At the bottom, where Zhou Lei had signed, he had already written his name and pressed his fingerprint.

Yuan Juan's legs went weak; he really wanted a divorce!

She quickly looked at Aunt Yuan, "Mom!"

This is different from what you said!

He really wants to divorce me!

They even filed for divorce!

Aunt Yuan panicked too. She picked up the train ticket on the table and looked at it. It really was a train ticket, and the departure time was tomorrow afternoon!

She didn't expect Zhou Lei to suddenly become so tough, when he had been wavering just two days ago.

"You, surnamed Zhou! You're truly heartless! My Juan'er is pregnant! And you want to kick them all out now, abandoning your wife and your child! My Juan'er is carrying a son! How can you do this to your Zhou family ancestors?!"

Zhou Lei's face darkened. Her mother was right; they didn't dare!

"Mother-in-law, you're wrong. If Yuan Juan didn't want to divorce me, I certainly wouldn't. Now it's her who wants to divorce me, and I'm just granting her wish."

"Who said Juan'er wanted a divorce? If you'd paid the bride price, none of this would have happened!" Aunt Yuan sighed, her chest heaving. "My Juan'er, your father, your grandparents don't love you, and your husband doesn't love you either!"

Yuan Juan burst into tears.

Seeing her like this, Zhou Lei's heart tightened, and he said ruthlessly, "I'll say it again: if you don't want a divorce, then we won't. I'll send you back to your hometown to prepare for childbirth in a while, and I'll bring you back when the baby is a bit older. As for the dowry your family wants, I won't give it to you. I can buy you the three turns and one sound later. Think about it carefully."

Yuan Juan panicked: "I'm not going back to my hometown, I don't want the bride price anymore, and you're not sending me back to my hometown. If you do send me back, then we're getting a divorce!"

Aunt Yuan frantically tugged at her daughter's sleeve, calling out, "Juan'er!"

Yuan Juan stood upright, touching her belly, ignoring her aunt. The dowry was her parents' money, it had nothing to do with her, and it wouldn't end up in her hands anyway. The matter of going back to her hometown was what really concerned her, and Zhou Lei had even said he would buy her a three-wheeled vehicle and a radio.

Zhou Lei's lips twitched, then he hardened his heart: "No, we have to go back to our hometown. We can postpone it until it gets warmer, then I'll personally take you and my mother back!"

Yuan Juan stamped her foot: "I'm not going back!"

"We must go back!"

If we leave him here, who knows how much trouble he'll cause and how much trouble he'll create.

Jiang Zhou is now the chief of staff. As the old saying goes, "a higher rank can crush you." Don't underestimate this rank; for most people, it's an insurmountable gap.

They knew perfectly well that Jiang Zhou had been promoted, yet they still dared to cause trouble. They had no regard for him at all!

"Then let's get a divorce!"

Enraged, Yuan Juan picked up the divorce application and ran to Zhou Lei's desk to find a pen. She rummaged through the drawer, and the only pen in the drawer rolled around in her hands as if she hadn't seen it.

Aunt Yuan: "Juan'er, isn't this a pen? Sign it!"

As she spoke, she secretly glanced at Zhou Lei, trying to gauge his reaction.

Zhou Lei put his hands behind his back and looked out the window.

Just then, Aunt Zhou returned with Xiaohua. The neighbor next door pulled her aside and whispered, "They're getting a divorce! They need you to sign some papers. You'd better go back and check on them. You can't just get a divorce like that! She's pregnant, after all. If you really get a divorce, it'll be in Deputy Battalion Commander Zhou's fault."

Aunt Zhou left Xiaohua at her neighbor's house and went inside.