Chapter 46 : Raising You Up High

Shen Haifeng’s hand stung a little. He glared at the breathless woman in front of him, full of anger. He had just told himself that he would treat her better.

But before he could do anything, she had already knocked the chocolate out of his hand.

Fang Xiaoluo didn’t have time to care about how the two children were feeling. She simply said, “You can’t eat this chocolate.”

She then collected all the chocolate and went into the kitchen.

Shen Jinxia didn’t think much about it. If Fang Xiaoluo said it couldn’t be eaten, then it couldn’t be eaten. After all, Fang Xiaoluo always had her best interests at heart.

However, Shen Haifeng, being eight years old, had seen and thought about a lot more. He had planned to change his attitude today, but it turned out he had overthought things.

In this house, the chocolate they placed there couldn’t be eaten just like that.

Furious, Shen Haifeng stormed out of the room. He glanced at the kitchen, where the woman had thrown such a large piece of chocolate into the trash bin.

She was so heartless, throwing it away like that and not even thinking about giving it to them!

His eyes reddened, and he ran outside without a word.

Shen Jinxia called after him, “Big Brother, where are you going?”

But she received no response.

Zheng Lanhua noticed that Fang Xiaoluo was hurriedly adding firewood and boiling water, and she had even gone out to pick a few dandelions from the fence. Zheng Lanhua didn’t fully understand what she was doing, but she could tell that Fang Xiaoluo was in a hurry.

She asked, “Should we fill the thermos with the water?”

“Yes,” Fang Xiaoluo replied.

Zheng Lanhua helped fill two thermoses, and Fang Xiaoluo continued boiling water.

Zheng Lanhua then asked, “Why didn’t you let the kids eat the chocolate?”

Fang Xiaoluo was washing the dandelions and tossed one into each thermos. “The chocolate had laxatives in it.”

She stared at the other large pot of water on the stove, then finally sat down. “You probably want to ask me why I didn’t explain to Shen Haifeng directly. I was too busy earlier and didn’t have time. Plus, he doesn’t like me anyway, so I didn’t bother talking to him. Honestly, if someone I didn’t like told me that there was laxative in the chocolate, I might not believe them and think they were just stopping me from eating it, trying to deceive me.”

Zheng Lanhua didn’t say anything. She just watched as the water boiled, and then she filled two more thermoses, slipping the last two clean dandelions into them.

Once Zheng Lanhua finished, she stood up, picked up the two thermoses, and said, “Thank you.”

With that, she quickly headed out the door.

Before boiling the water, Fang Xiaoluo had added some spiritual spring water, though it was diluted. Based on her experience, it should be enough for the soldiers who were physically weak.

The reason she added the dandelions was that it gave the water color. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to explain what she had mixed into it. It was just a way to cover up what she had done.

Fang Xiaoluo arrived at the infirmary. After searching around, she finally spotted Shen Zheng, who was feeding water to one of the soldiers.

“Shen Zheng, I’ve brought what I made.”

Shen Zheng looked up, seeing Fang Xiaoluo holding two thermoses. Her forehead was covered in beads of sweat.

“Chen Shisong.”

“Here.”

“Take this water and give it to the soldiers.”

As soon as Shen Zheng finished speaking, Sun Shuling walked over and said, “No!”

Shen Zheng narrowed his eyes. “These are my soldiers. I say what goes.”

Sun Shuling replied, “This is the military district’s infirmary, and I am responsible for my patients. Your wife is not a doctor. She brought this here, and you didn’t even ask where it came from, yet you want to give it to the soldiers. If anything happens, who will take responsibility?”

Shen Zheng stood up, his voice firm and resolute. “I will take full responsibility.”

“Captain Shen, you’re getting more and more arrogant. Do you think you can bear the consequences on your own? How many soldiers’ lives are at stake here?”

A strange voice came from behind. Fang Xiaoluo turned around and saw several people she vaguely recognized. She had seen them at the wedding banquet, but only the man leading the group was familiar, Zhang Jianhui, the deputy division commander of Shen Zheng’s unit.

The person speaking was next to him.

Shen Zheng, seeing so many people arriving, quickly walked over, stood at attention, and saluted.

“Deputy Division Commander Zhang.”

“Shen Zheng ” Zhang Jianhui said sternly. “You can’t play with the soldiers’ lives like this. Your Third Battalion is about to start a drill, and yet something so serious happens. I’m telling you, don’t think you can escape punishment this time!”

Chen Shisong quickly spoke up, “Deputy Division Commander Zhang, this is my responsibility. The chocolate was brought by me for everyone, and it has nothing to do with our Battalion Commander.”

Yu Xinzhen said, “Chen Yinglong, what are you talking about? Aren’t you from the Third Battalion? Isn’t Captain Shen your commander? How could this have nothing to do with him? You can’t wash your hands of it.”

Shen Zheng said, “Deputy Division Commander Zhang, the soldiers’ conditions are improving. The immediate priority is to figure out how to help them recover their health and strength.”

Zhang Jianhui said, “The doctors can’t help them recover quickly. Do you think your wife can?”

He glanced over at Fang Xiaoluo, standing aside.

Shen Zheng’s wife was incredibly beautiful up close.

Fang Xiaoluo had never intended to interfere with Shen Zheng’s work. If she hadn’t heard them mention that the troops were about to depart tonight, she wouldn’t have even thought of using her spiritual spring water.

Fang Xiaoluo asked for a cup, filled it with some cold water, then, under everyone’s watchful eyes, poured some of the water from the thermos into the cup and drank it.

She turned the cup upside down and smiled sweetly. “No poison.”

Zhang Jianhui and Yu Xinzhen were momentarily dazzled by Fang Xiaoluo’s smile.

Fang Xiaoluo continued, speaking softly, “Deputy Division Commander Zhang, you see, I’m just a woman, and I don’t know much. I just happened to hear about this, and since they say the wife is supposed to support her husband, I’m married to Shen Zheng, so he’s my priority. I didn’t want to see him so anxious, so I brought out a remedy I learned.”

“Deputy Division Commander Zhang, I… you see, I don’t understand military matters. If I’ve done something wrong, please don’t take it to heart.”

Zhang Jianhui had heard that someone came to report on Shen Zheng yesterday, and that his wife had been rather sharp-tongued then.

Now, she was speaking softly and politely, making him question whether the rumors were true.

As the saying goes, one does not strike a smiling face, especially when it’s a beautiful one.

The tension in the room eased considerably, and Zhang Jianhui sighed. “Sister-in-law, you’re straightforward, and while this isn’t poisonous, it hasn’t been tested. We can’t just give it to the soldiers without knowing for sure. We’re doing this for their safety.”

Fang Xiaoluo nodded seriously. “You’re right, Deputy Division Commander Zhang. You are the leader, and you think things through more thoroughly than I do. I’m always thinking about cooking and taking care of the house. I’ve heard so many great things about you from Shen Zheng. You’ve made so many contributions, and it’s because of people like you that we can live such peaceful lives today.”

Fang Xiaoluo praised Zhang Jianhui so much that he couldn’t help but feel pleased. She had him smiling in approval.

Shen Zheng, standing aside, said, “Deputy Division Commander Zhang, I’m willing to take full responsibility. If anything happens to the soldiers in my battalion after drinking this, I, Shen Zheng, will take the blame alone. I will go to the military court, and no one else is involved.”