My Child and I Married a Billionaire novel Chapter 236

Chapter 236: Chapter 236: A Capable Woman

But that wasn’t all.

Amina finished, and Zeke Walton pulled a pair of gloves from his pocket, dangling them in front of her.

"Eighty bucks didn’t just buy three articles of clothing. I also got the owner to throw in a pair of gloves. See?"

The gloves were wool, the kind that would pill after just a few wears. They sold for three bucks a pair at the wholesale market.

Back in the day, a single pair of socks would cost Zeke Walton hundreds. Why would he ever care about something like this? But what he’d done today gave him a real sense of accomplishment.

Seeing the gloves made Amina happy too, and she praised him sincerely.

"I thought you’d be hopeless when it came to managing a household, but you’re not so bad. As long as you work hard and keep spending like this, our lives will definitely get better."

Her words suddenly gave Zeke Walton a renewed sense of hope.

He put on the gloves and told Amina to get on the back.

"Let me drive."

They looked at four apartments, weighing the pros and cons of each, and finally settled on one: a one-bedroom, one-living-room unit for 1,200 a month.

Amina thought it was pretty expensive, and the cost pained her. She wanted to keep looking, but Zeke Walton couldn’t stomach anything cheaper.

On the way back to get their things, Amina asked Zeke Walton, puzzled.

"If you have the money, you could have just rented a place yourself. Why did you insist on bringing me along? It’s going to be pretty cramped with two of us in one bed."

If Zeke Walton had an ID card and could rent a place on his own, he certainly wouldn’t have roped Amina into this. But he couldn’t tell her that.

"I’m a man who repays his debts. I told you I’d pay you back for helping me that night, and I will."

’Look at that. I help someone out a little without even thinking about it, and I get this big of a reward. There really are more good people in the world.’

They weaved through the urban village and passed an intersection where many elderly people were selling vegetables from roadside stalls. But among them was a middle-aged man with a wooden table. He had a straw mat spread over it, which was covered in a dense array of books.

Zeke Walton started to ride straight past, not giving it a second glance, but Amina hurriedly patted his back. "Wait, wait a second!"

"What is it?"

"Let me look at the books."

Zeke Walton propped up the electric scooter with his feet and backed it up.

Amina hopped off the scooter, her eyes shining as she scanned the rows of books on the stall. The owner quickly stood up to attend to her.

"Buying some books? Take a look, I’ve got all kinds. Ten bucks a pop, take your pick."

’Ten bucks a book? They must be bootlegs. No wonder the stall reeks of cheap, pungent ink.’

Zeke Walton had assumed Amina wanted to buy some kind of practical textbook. Instead, her finger trailed gently and carefully over the spines of the novels.

"Ten bucks a book? That’s so expensive. Can you go any lower?"

The owner replied, "You think ten bucks a book is expensive? If my bookstore hadn’t gone out of business, where else would you find books this cheap? These are all legitimate copies. Look at the quality, the printing is so clear. Young lady, you don’t know a good deal when you see one."

Amina picked up a copy of the *Zizhi Tongjian* and flipped through it.

"How about five bucks a book? I’ll buy a few."

"Go on, go on. If you’re not buying, then be on your way. Don’t cause trouble here."

The owner snatched the book from her hand.

"This is a small-time operation. I’m already selling these at a loss, and you’re still trying to haggle like that? You’ve got to be kidding me."

Amina’s gaze lingered on the rows of books one last time. In the end, she said nothing and returned to the scooter. "Let’s go."

Zeke Walton drove the scooter, and Amina, on the back, eagerly opened *Dream of the Red Chamber*.

She was captivated by the dazzling descriptions of vibrant, bustling life within its pages. She was so completely engrossed that she didn’t even notice when they arrived home.

Zeke Walton parked the scooter by the entrance, went in a step ahead of her, and pulled back the curtain.

But one look inside...

When they left, the bed had been properly made and the quilt neatly folded. Though she didn’t have many clothes, they had been hanging properly on their hangers. But now, everything had been dragged onto the floor and shredded. The culprit, with a sick sense of humor, had even poured some dark, grimy substance all over the mess. All of Amina’s worldly possessions had been destroyed!

Amina walked in, happily hugging her books, but when she saw the scene before her, her smile instantly vanished.

But she didn’t cry, nor did she scream.

She stood there in a daze for a moment before muttering, "My uncle must have done this."

Since she hadn’t seen who did it and there were no security cameras, she couldn’t even file a police report.

Speechless, Zeke Walton reached out and patted her shoulder. "Hey, it’s okay. Don’t be upset. In a way, you can consider your debt to him paid in full. From now on, you never have to see each other again. That’s a good thing."

Amina dazedly hugged her books. "Now we have to spend money on another quilt."

They went back to the wholesale market and bought everything they needed to set up a home: a cheap little iron pot, a small rice cooker, small bowls and plates, a mop, laundry detergent, toothpaste, toothbrushes, and towels.

By the time they got back to the new apartment, Zeke Walton was completely exhausted. He felt like he’d just climbed the Great Wall.

Amina quickly made the bed and told him to lie down and rest.

"I’ll go do some cleaning and get things organized. You get some rest."

Lying on the bed, Zeke Walton watched her move about like a tireless robot, deftly wiping this and sweeping that. The more he looked at her, the more pleasing she was to his eye.

’He’d somehow stumbled into meeting a woman even more capable than Cecelia Archer.’