Chapter 24

The next day, the weather was clear, and the sky in the northern city was as blue as a gemstone.

After taking a nap, Wen Nuan planned to take the children out for some fresh air and to collect a few branches from the birch forest behind the house to light the stove.

Lele had not been out for several days. Sometimes, when looking through the living room’s glass window at the nearby birch forest, she would excitedly make little sounds, eager to go out and play.

Since there was snow accumulated in the yard, Wen Nuan had asked Gu Qinghan to remove the wheels from the little cart a few days earlier, making it easier to pull the cart through the snow.

Lele also loved playing with the sled in the snow, but the previous weather had been gloomy, with continuous snowfall, so she didn’t have many opportunities to play.

Today, the weather was better, so Wen Nuan decided to take the child out to play.

As soon as they stepped outside, Wen Nuan bumped into Li Daxiang, who was coming over with a piece of meat in hand.

Wen Nuan had wrapped a scarf—knitted two days prior, around the child and asked, “Daxiang, what brings you here?”

Li Daxiang raised the pork he was holding, which was strung together with rattan, and said, “Vice Captain Gu said the weather has been bad these days and asked me to bring you some meat for you to make soup. Sister-in-law, where should I put this pork? I’ll put it away for you.”

Originally, Wen Nuan had planned to put the pig’s head outside the yard to freeze it first, but thinking of how Liu Meili had lost her pork, she hesitated to place it outside the yard. So, she asked Li Daxiang to put the pork in the cooler kitchen for now.

Wen Nuan sincerely said to him, “Thank you, Daxiang. I’m sorry for wasting your time with these trivial matters.”

Li Daxiang grinned broadly, showing his white teeth, and replied, “How could it be a bother? Sister-in-law, you treat me like a brother, and I’m very happy to help you with these tasks. Besides, I happen to have half a day off today.”

Thinking of how Wen Nuan had not forgotten about those soldiers during the Winter Solstice, Li Daxiang felt that buying some pork was a trivial matter, hardly worth mentioning.

Noticing that Wen Nuan and Lele were both bundled up warmly, with only Lele’s shiny black eyes and a rosy little nose peeking out, Li Daxiang curiously asked, “Sister-in-law, are you taking Lele out?”

Wen Nuan nodded and smiled, “Yes, I thought the weather was nice today, so I’m taking her to the birch forest behind the house to collect some dry branches and let her play a bit.”

Looking at the two of them, Li Daxiang felt a bit uneasy and asked, “Are you going alone with Lele?”

Remembering that Gu Qinghan had specifically asked him to look after his sister-in-law and the child, and appreciating Wen Nuan’s care towards him, Li Daxiang took the matter to heart.

Wen Nuan smiled and declined, “No, no, it’s fine. That forest isn’t far; I’m just taking the child for a walk.”

Initially, Wen Nuan had planned to invite Sister Guihua, but she said she needed to take advantage of the nice weather to go to the post office and send some things home.

Moreover, the birch forest behind the yard was not large; it was mainly used to block the view of the airplane runway in front. Guihua had taken her there several times to gather branches, and she could walk back with her eyes closed.

Upon hearing Wen Nuan say this, Li Daxiang thought for a moment and reminded her, “Sister-in-law, there are lynxes and badgers in the forest. It’s not safe for you to go in there alone with Lele.”

Li Daxiang then said, “How about this? I’ll go into the forest to help you collect some branches, and you can take Lele for a walk around the residential area.”

He couldn’t mess up the task that Vice Captain Gu had entrusted to him!

Wen Nuan initially wanted to decline, but Li Daxiang had already grabbed the rope from the wall and hurried out of the yard toward the forest.

His speed was so quick that Wen Nuan who was carrying Lele, couldn’t keep up.

Seeing that he had already run far away, Wen Nuan rubbed her finger against the child’s cheek and said, “Lele, Uncle Daxiang is going to help us collect branches. Mommy will take you to play around the residential area for a while.”

Lele had already put on her clothes and hat. Upon hearing that Wen Nuan was taking her out to play, she smiled brightly, waving her little hands and no longer tugging at her cotton socks.

Instead, she shook her head and wiggled her body as if she were ready to set off at any moment.

Wen Nuan placed the lively little one into the cart and easily pulled it along.

The snow in the residential area was not too deep, only a few centimeters thick. Wen Nuan didn’t plan to go too far; she just wanted to let the child play nearby.

The little one sat in the cart, gripping the handles on either side. She bounced up and down excitedly, making little sounds as if urging Wen Nuan to go faster.

Wen Nuan pinched the chubby little face and complained, “You just sit there and have fun. It’s tiring for Mommy to pull you through the snow.”

At that moment, Wen Nuan thought of Gu Qinghan. If he were here, Lele would definitely have more fun.

Gu Qinghan was strong and had great stamina. Even when carrying the child to play airplane, he could do it for half an hour without breaking a sweat, and each time, Lele would have the time of her life.

With this comparison, Wen Nuan finally understood why Gu Qinghan always said she was in poor health.

Lele, hearing Wen Nuan’s voice but not quite understanding her, continued to bounce around with her little body, wanting Wen Nuan to pull her along.

In fact, she even pulled off the scarf that Wen Nuan had carefully wrapped around her before they left.

Wen Nuan had no choice but to play with her for a while. Later, the little one stretched out his small arms, pointing toward the road to the supply and marketing cooperative, wanting Wen Nuan to take her to a farther place.

With the sun shining down, Wen Nuan felt comfortable and didn’t plan to head back home so early.

Who would have thought that just a short distance from the row of red brick houses, Wen Nuan would hear Liu Meili’s voice?

Liu Meili, who usually cared about her image, seemed genuinely heartbroken over the lost pork this time. While wiping her tears, she lamented to the gathering military wives, “Damn it, which heartless bastard stole the pork that was supposed to help me regain my strength? Don’t they fear choking on it!”

“Sister-in-law, you all know I went up the mountain to pick mushrooms a few days ago and got caught by a weasel. My husband, Chen, felt sorry for me and managed to snatch two catties of pork from the supply cooperative, planning to make soup for me every day to help me recover. But I only made it once, and when I woke up yesterday, the pork was gone!”

“Come on, help me out here. Is this something a person would do?” With that, Liu Meili covered her face and cried.

The news about the stolen pork from Liu Meili’s house had spread throughout the compound. Today, the weather was sunny, so many residents came over to see what had happened.

Everyone watched with interest while also reminding themselves of the situation.

After all, it was Liu Meili’s pork that was stolen this time; who knew if they would be next? Maybe next time it wouldn’t be pork but something even more valuable.

After Liu Meili wiped her tear-streaked face, she asked the onlookers, “Which kind sister-in-law here has seen anyone enter my yard? I can’t let this scoundrel get away with it! This time it was pork that was stolen; what if they break in next time and steal money?”

The military wives nearby consoled Liu Meili, speaking gently, but they all mentioned that with the recent heavy snowfall, no one had been out to see who stole the pork.

Liu Meili knew very well that the chances of recovering stolen items were slim to none; she just couldn’t accept it. After all, that was a whole two catties of pork, using up their family’s meat ration for an entire month!

Through gritted teeth, Liu Meili cursed, “If I find out which little brat did this, I won’t just skin him; I’ll take his last name!”

Everyone felt angry about the theft of Liu Meili’s pork, but in these times, if the thief wasn’t caught in the act, the chances of recovery were incredibly low.

Just when everyone thought the matter would end unresolved, a child’s voice suddenly called out from the direction of the forest—

It was Li Daxiang, who had just said he would help Wen Nuan collect branches. He was now carrying a child in one hand and walking toward the residential area.

Wen Nuan recognized them at once; those two children were He Dazhuang and He Xiaofei, the sons of Li Qiuyan.

He Dazhuang was relatively small but surprisingly strong, nearly breaking free from Li Daxiang’s grip, shouting, “Why are you holding me? I didn’t do anything wrong! Let go of me!”

“Let me go!”

He Xiaofei was slightly younger than He Dazhuang and was now sobbing softly, not daring to say a word.

Seeing Li Daxiang about to take him to Liu Meili’s house, He Dazhuang suddenly kicked Li Daxiang in the side and took off running while the latter was caught off guard.

Li Daxiang furrowed his brow at the kick, and seeing the little brat escape, he didn’t even bother to chase after him and let go of He Xiaofei, dropping him onto the snowy ground.

“Sisters-in-law,” Li Daxiang said, “I just ran into these two in the birch forest, and they were gnawing on some pork. But when I asked where they got it, they wouldn’t say.”

He then asked, “Whose kids are these? Did they sneak home and steal some pork?”

In these times, meat was a rare treat. When Li Daxiang saw the pork in the kids’ hands, he guessed it was at least one or two catties. He was worried that the young children had playfully stolen large pieces of meat from home, so he brought them back.

Li Daxiang clearly had no idea that someone in the compound had reported stolen pork. He pulled out two pieces of pork from the pocket of his military coat, which had been reduced to the length of his fingers, and placed them on a stone by the side of the road.

Upon hearing this, Liu Meili rushed forward, her eyes wide and her hands on her hips as she scolded, “You little brat, He Xiaofei! So it was you who stole my pork!”

Under Liu Meili’s fierce gaze, He Xiaofei curled up and cried, “No, it wasn’t me!”

As the crowd of onlookers grew, He Xiaofei cried even harder. Liu Meili, furious, ordered someone to call Li Qiuyan back immediately.

Meanwhile, He Dazhuang had escaped and ran straight home, bursting into his grandmother’s room and kneeling on the ground.

“Grandma, save me! You have to help me!”

Chen Sanmei was still asleep with her granddaughter when she heard the child crying. She immediately climbed up from the kang and said, “Dazhuang, what are you doing?”

He Dazhuang, at that moment, was so frightened that he burst into tears, lamenting, “Grandma, I… I ate the pork from Aunt Mei Li’s house…”

Upon hearing this, Chen Sanmei raised her hand as if to slap him but couldn’t bring herself to hit her own grandson. Frustrated, she scolded, “You, you! What do you expect me to do? Where’s the pork? How much is left?”

He Dazhuang shrank back a little, sniffing. “I… I…”

Seeing the expression on her grandson’s face, Chen Sanmei knew it was bad news. She held back her anger and asked, “Did you eat it all? And did they find out?”

Chen Sanmei knew that Liu Meili had lost two catties of pork, which was quite a large piece! In her entire life, she had never dared to buy two catties of pork at once!

“You brat!” Chen Sanmei finally slapped He Dazhuang, her face turning green with anger. “How can you face your father like this!”

She scolded for quite a while, waking the little granddaughter on the kang. The child, not yet two years old, began to cry upon hearing the adults wailing.

Chen Sanmei was annoyed. Hearing the child cry, she yelled at her for a moment, then turned to He Dazhuang and said, “You stay at home, don’t go out.”

After saying this, she put on her cotton coat and, with her hair disheveled, stepped out the door.

On the other hand, Liu Meili finally waited for Li Qiuyan to return from work and directly told her, “Your child stole the pork from my house!”

Li Qiuyan who had just come back from the cafeteria, heard people talk about how Liu Meili had found the one who stole the pork—her son. She felt both angry and frustrated.

She grabbed a tree branch from the ground and directly swung it at He Xiaofei.

“I told you not to take other people’s things, you little brat! I won’t just beat you; I’ll make sure you regret it for your late father’s sake!”

He Xiaofei clearly hadn’t expected such a harsh welcome from his mother. In pain, he curled up on the ground, crying out, “Mom, it wasn’t me! I didn’t steal it! Big Brother gave it to me! It hurts, Mom, don’t hit me anymore!”

As she struck him, Li Qiuyan scolded, “You won’t admit your mistakes, and you still have the nerve to say it hurts. I’m going to beat you to death today!”

He Xiaofei was younger and didn’t know that he should run away like He Dazhuang, who understood the situation was against him. Instead, He Xiaofei, crying in pain, remained frozen in place.

Wen Nuan observed closely; the child was genuinely sobbing in pain, not pretending at all. Li Qiuyan was indeed hitting him hard.

Worried that the scene would frighten the child in the cart, Wen Nuan quickly stepped in front of her to block her view.

She covered the child’s ears with her hands, not wanting to watch any longer, and decided to take the child home first.

Li Daxiang had no idea things would escalate like this. Seeing Wen Nuan leaving, he followed her home.

Nearby, the older Chen Dama saw the child’s lips turning purple and couldn’t help but advise, “Qiuyan, that’s enough. Let’s talk it out. If you keep hitting him, you might kill him!”

“Well, it’s not just that. If this child steals a needle when he’s young, he’ll grow up to steal someone’s cow! How can I not discipline him properly in memory of his late father?”

He Dazhuang was notorious for his dirty hands; he had previously snuck into other people’s homes to take buns, and many had lost pickled radishes and vegetables without catching him in the act. Although they hadn’t caught him red-handed, it now seemed almost certain that he and his brother were behind it.

Upon hearing people embellishing the story, Li Qiuyan became even angrier, her head almost smoking from the heat of her frustration, and she struck harder.

It wasn’t until Chen Sanmei rushed over from her home that Li Qiuyan finally stopped.

Chen Sanmei held her child and cried, lamenting the child’s lack of a father and expressing her sorrow in various ways…

Meanwhile, Li Qiuyan was almost on her knees, begging Liu Meili to forgive the child. Seeing the child lying in the snow, barely conscious, Liu Meili didn’t dare say anything definitive.

If she were to let them off the hook, it would be too lenient.

However, with so many people watching, some were trying to mediate, while others were stirring the pot, eager to escalate the situation. Liu Meili genuinely didn’t know how to handle it at that moment and simply said that they would wait for her husband to come home tonight and decide how to deal with the situation.

Wen Nuan left early. As she took the child home, she passed by Li Qiuyan’s house and heard the cries of a little girl coming from inside.

He Dazhuang had been missing until Chen Sanmei showed up, clearly returning home to fetch reinforcements.

In truth, Wen Nuan felt that the one who needed education the most was He Dazhuang; it was evident that He Xiaofei was merely a scapegoat.

Li Daxiang appeared, looking somewhat embarrassed as he said, “Sister-in-law, I didn’t expect things to escalate like that. I thought it was just a matter of a naughty child…”

Wen Nuan recognized his guilt over what had happened to He Xiaofei, who had been beaten nearly to death. She reassured him, “Daxiang, you did nothing wrong. If I were in your position, I would also expose them. If you don’t pull him out now, it would only encourage this kind of behavior.”

“If such a young child isn’t educated properly, he might grow up to be a danger in the future. You’ve done well. Even though He Xiaofei has faced some hardship, I hope he can reflect on himself through this lesson.”

If it were her own child behaving like that, Wen Nuan might also feel compelled to discipline him severely.

Li Daxiang, tough and resilient, had also been beaten plenty as a child. However, this time, since the child had been punished because of him, he couldn’t help but feel a bit uneasy.

But after hearing Wen Nuan’s words, Li Daxiang felt much better. From any angle, he had done nothing wrong this time.

“Thank you, sister-in-law. I’ll help you bring back that tree branch; I’ll return to the team later,” he said, and with that, he turned and walked away.

Before long, he returned to Wen Nuan’s yard, carrying a large, neatly bundled bunch of branches.

After placing the branches in the kitchen, Li Daxiang prepared to leave.

Wen Nuan knew he had worked hard, so she took some roasted chestnuts from the dresser and gave them to him, telling him to take them back to the dormitory for Erhu and the others to enjoy.

Then, recalling how Li Daxiang had been kicked by He Dazhuang earlier, she went back to the room and grabbed a tube of ointment.

Gu Qinghan occasionally received some external medication for his flight team, and he often sustained minor injuries, so they kept some at home.

Li Daxiang looked at Wen Nuan as she handed him more items and said, a bit shyly, “Sister-in-law, you always give me good food when I come over. I feel embarrassed. But about this ointment…”

He examined the medicine, a bit confused.

Wen Nuan held Lele, then raised Lele’s little hand to wave at Li Daxiang. “That’s not true! You’ve helped us a lot; I’m the one who feels embarrassed. I saw you get kicked by He Dazhuang earlier. That child may look small, but he has a lot of strength. If you hadn’t handled it, things could have gotten serious.”

Then she turned to the little one and instructed, “Lele, we need to thank Uncle Daxiang properly.”

Li Daxiang, being a soldier, already had good physical strength, yet He Dazhuang was able to break free from his control, this only meant that he had put in all his effort.

Feeling touched but unsure how to express it, Li Daxiang awkwardly said, “Thank you, sister-in-law.”

When the little girl heard the words “thank you,” she immediately waved at Li Daxiang—her cute appearance melting his heart as he tucked the chestnuts into his pocket.

“Don’t mention it,” Wen Nuan smiled. “Be careful on your way back; it’s snowing again.”

—o—o—o—

The next day, Sister Guihua came to Wen Nuan’s house early in the morning and began to share the gossip she had heard the day before.

“Did you know? They caught the person who stole the pork from Liu Meili’s house! Can you guess who it is?”

Sister Guihua had been gossiping so much the previous night that she hadn’t even gone home to cook dinner. Now that she had woken up, she rushed over to Wen Nuan to discuss the pork theft, clearly excited about the news.

However, Sister Guihua was unaware that she had actually been present at the scene the day before.

Before she could finish speaking, Sister Guihua, with her impatient nature, couldn’t help but lower her voice to say, “It’s He Dazhuang and He Xiaofei, those two brothers! I suspected it was them right from the start, but I didn’t dare say anything back then for fear of being talked about behind my back. Now it turns out I was right! They never change their ways!”

“You have to wonder how a child can turn out this way. If they’re not taught a lesson, he really won’t change! His whole life will be ruined! How can he face his father, who sacrificed himself so heroically?!” Sister Guihua expressed these sentiments with a tone of pain and regret.

Wen Nuan sighed and then asked, “What did Liu Meili say?”

When she left last night, Liu Meili didn’t make any clear statements. If this matter were to be pursued, He Dazhuang and He Xiaofei would definitely have to visit the military security department for some education. If they showed a bad attitude in admitting their mistakes, it wouldn’t be impossible for Zheng Wei to personally handle the situation.

It all depended on whether Liu Meili could harden her heart and take action.

Sister Guihua scoffed a little, feeling somewhat helpless. “Oh, you don’t know! He Dazhuang’s grandmother can really put on a show. She went on about how she’s old and can’t do any work to support the family, and how her son died young, leaving no man in the house to keep the grandsons in line.

Then she complained about how Li Qiuyan has it hard, having to work and take care of the family all by herself, crying all night long. You know Liu Meili, who cares so much about her reputation—how could she compete with that?”

“Did you hear? They said that last night, Chen Sanmei really gave her two grandsons a good beating and then she fainted at Liu Meili’s house! The doctor even came over, which scared Liu Meili and Chen Jiawei so much that their hearts nearly stopped. They thought the old lady might pass away in their home, how unlucky that would be!”

“In the end, Li Qiuyan said she would compensate Liu Meili with double the amount of pork and money, and even sent over a catty of candy. That’s not all; last night, Li Qiuyan had the two kids bow three times to Liu Meili. Liu Meili found herself in a difficult position; that was how the matter was settled.”

After hearing what Sister Guihua said, Wen Nuan felt somewhat speechless. Chen Sanmei’s behavior was hard not to suspect as an act, yet they had called the doctor, which seemed rather serious.

The most outrageous was Li Qiuyan, directly compensating Liu Meili with double the items, as if trying to show off her generosity. But if no one had stolen the pork, how could such a ridiculous matter arise?

And having the children kneel and bow several times—wasn’t that just asking for trouble?

Wen Nuan didn’t know what to say; she was just determined never to have any interaction with Li Qiuyan’s family.

Once the gossip was finished, Sister Guihua asked, “I heard there’s going to be a heavy snowfall. When will your family’s Vice Captain Gu come back?”

Wen Nuan lowered her gaze. “I still don’t know.”

Lele seemed to understand Sister Guihua’s words, and immediately let said: “Da-ddy?”, her delicate little brows furrowing.

Sister Guihua patted the child’s small head and smiled as she asked, “How about it? Our Lele misses her daddy, right? Your mommy misses your daddy too. But don’t worry, he’ll be back soon, so Lele doesn’t need to cry.”

The little one, having her head patted, shook her head in dissatisfaction—her soft hair floating about adorably.

—o—o—o—

That day, Wen Nuan also locked the vegetable cellar. One could never be too careful; it was better to be cautious.

Then there was that wild ginseng, which couldn’t be left in the unlocked wooden box any longer, so Wen Nuan locked it away in the huanghuali jewelry box she had bought alongside the wooden box.

Once she took care of these matters, Wen Nuan finally felt at ease enough to go to sleep.

The weather was clear for two days, but then a strong wind began to blow through Northern City. The families in the courtyard said that this time there would be heavy snowfall, possibly the biggest of the year before the New Year.

Wen Nuan gazed at the overcast sky and listened to the howling wind outside, which sent a chill down her spine. It seemed that the snow would be much heavier this time.

Watching the changing weather, Wen Nuan found herself thinking of Gu Qinghan again.

This time, while on a mission, he didn’t even know how many days he would be away.

There were no phones at home, and he didn’t know where he had gone. She felt a hollow emptiness inside, completely unsettled.

She had heard that a group of Combat Pilots would return to Northern City in the afternoon, but Gu Qinghan was not on that team.

—o—o—o—

After dinner, which consisted of noodles, Wen Nuan took Lele back to their room. Without Gu Qinghan to help warm the bed, she took out an extra cotton jacket and draped it over the quilt to keep them warmer.

The little one seemed to have grown a bit, as she was no longer going to bed so early at night; she used to sleep by nine o’clock.

In these past few days, it took until the lights were turned off to coax her to sleep.

The cold air arrived suddenly. Even before the lights were out, the trees next to the house rustled, and the roof seemed to shake from the wind.

Lele, perhaps frightened by the wind, buried her small head into Wen Nuan’s embrace, her big eyes watching the banging roof as she called out, “Mommy, Mommy,” a couple of times.

Wen Nuan had initially thought about checking if the doors and windows were securely closed, but upon noticing that the child seemed a bit frightened, she wrapped Lele tightly in her arms and gently said: “Lele, don’t be afraid; it’s just the wind. Mommy is here.”

The child had a fairly brave personality. With the reassurance, she calmed down and no longer seemed as scared, though her little hand continued to grip Wen Nuan’s clothing. Even as Wen Nuan coaxed her to sleep, Lele wouldn’t close her eyes.

Suddenly, Wen Nuan heard the sound of a board creaking, which seemed to be coming from the wooden door outside the courtyard.

After the incident with Liu Meili, Wen Nuan felt a bit uneasy.

Holding the child, she walked out of the living room, planning to see if someone was trying to take advantage of the dark and windy night to do something bad. She didn’t dare turn on the lights in the living room.

In the dark environment, she felt a bit tense, holding the little one closer and straining to hear the sounds outside.

Just before she reached the window of the living room, a familiar, deep voice mixed with the howling wind came from outside—

“Wife, it’s me.”

—o—o—o—