Chapter 25.2

The next morning, Gu Qinghan woke up early. Not only did he steam some buns, but he also cooked porridge and was now fixing the window in the small room.

Earlier, they hadn’t repaired the window in this room because it wasn’t occupied, so last night, the cold air had left them a bit sniffly, and they hadn’t dared to stay too long.

After Wen Nuan finished washing up, she found that Gu Qinghan had already replaced the glass and was now wiping down the bed frame with a cloth.

Wen Nuan ladled two bowls of porridge onto the Eight Immortals table and then walked over to glance at the bed, her face feeling a bit warm. She quickly asked, “Why did you get up so early? Aren’t you tired?”

Gu Qinghan turned back to look at the woman who had just woken up, then smiled and walked over to her, gently fixing her hair. “I’m not tired. I woke up when the alarm went off.”

“Don’t you have to go back to the squadron today?” Wen Nuan pulled him down to sit at the dining table. “Let’s eat breakfast first; I’m really hungry.”

“I just finished a mission, so I have a day off today.” Gu Qinghan took a steamed bun from the plate and split it in half for Wen Nuan. “Did you sleep well last night?”

Speaking of last night made Wen Nuan feel a bit awkward. Although they hadn’t gone all the way, they had lingered in the living room for quite a while after turning off the lights, and she still remembered the sticky feeling in her hands.

She lowered her head and took a sip of porridge. “I slept pretty well. How about you?”

“Very well.”

Wen Nuan felt the topic was getting a bit strange, so she shifted gears. After sipping her porridge, she exclaimed, “This porridge is so delicious!”

“If it’s delicious, you should drink two more bowls. There’s more in the pot.”

Wen Nuan curved her brows and smiled at him, nodding. “Mm-hmm, I want to eat more! It really smells good…”

After they had nearly finished eating, Wen Nuan brought up some happenings in the family compound while Gu Qinghan was away. “The pork that Liu Meili had in her yard was stolen.”

Gu Qinghan raised his eyebrows, seemingly unfazed, and simply asked, “Who stole it?”

Wen Nuan tore off a small piece of the steamed bun and popped it into her mouth, then looked into Gu Qinghan’s eyes. Without keeping him in suspense, she said directly, “He Dazhuang and He Xiaofei.”

Immediately, Gu Qinghan’s expression changed. While he had just been listening to Wen Nuan talk, he now looked cold and serious.

“It was Daxiang who caught them in the birch forest. Daxiang thought the kids were being naughty and had eaten the family’s meat, but it turned out to be He Dazhuang and his brother who took Liu Meili’s pork.” Wen Nuan felt a bit sorry for the two children, but He Dazhuang was neither too young nor too old; he could definitely be taught a lesson.

However, from Wen Nuan’s perspective, He Dazhuang’s grandmother seemed to want to protect the two kids.

It was hard to say whether that was right or wrong.

Gu Qinghan took a sip of porridge, his expression turning serious. After a moment, he asked, “So what happened to He Dazhuang and He Xiaofei?”

Wen Nuan recounted how Li Qiuyan’s family had gone to Liu Meili’s house to plead for leniency: “In the end, Li Qiuyan said they would compensate Liu Meili with four catties of pork and five yuan, and they also gave her a catty of candy.”

Gu Qinghan set down his chopsticks, suddenly speaking in a cold voice. “Absurd.”

“Didn’t they send them to the security department?”

Wen Nuan thought it would be better for the kids to receive some punishment. Sending them to the security department for a bit of ideological education might be more suitable.

However, it was clear that Chen Sanmei didn’t want to part with them. But this was someone else’s family matter; what could the outsiders do about it?

Moreover, Liu Meili herself might have been greedy; after all, four catties of pork, according to the food standards of that era, would be enough to last until after the New Year.

Gu Qinghan suddenly sighed. “Actually, He Dazhuang had been caught once before, and back then, I sent him directly to the security department.”

Wen Nuan quietly waited for Gu Qinghan to continue. He began recounting a story from his time in the G Province military.

At that time, He Dazhuang was about 8 or 9 years old. Displeased with the food at home, he often comes to Gu Qinghan during mealtimes, and Gu Qinghan, feeling pity for them, would sometimes share his meals with them.

Perhaps He Dazhuang thought Gu Qinghan was easy to deal with. One time, he wanted to buy ice pops to eat and directly took fifty cents from Gu Qinghan’s coat to buy snacks.

However, He Dazhuang made a mistake and took the money from Zheng Wei’s coat instead.

While Gu Qinghan was kind-hearted, he also had his principles.

He hadn’t expected that even after being treated decently, He Dazhuang’s hands would still be itchy.

Thus, Gu Qinghan and Zheng Wei agreed that they needed to take him to the security department so that the comrades there could discipline him for a few days.

Reflecting on the past, Gu Qinghan continued, “After that incident, Li Qiuyan’s family probably felt embarrassed being associated with the provincial military and requested to transfer back to Northern City. Once they returned, Li Qiuyan’s husband had an accident, and now their children are still in the same situation.”

Upon hearing this, Wen Nuan realized how things had unfolded back then.

However, this method of avoidance seemed even less appropriate. The child had made a mistake, and the key was to correct it.

But in doing so, it undoubtedly made He Dazhuang and the others feel that as long as they escaped after doing something wrong, they wouldn’t have to take responsibility.

Just like yesterday, after He Dazhuang had run away, he directly sneaked back home, leaving everything for Grandma to deal with.

Wen Nuan sighed and then reached out to cover Gu Qinghan’s hand with hers. “By the way, what do you want to eat for lunch? I’ll make it.”

It was rare for Gu Qinghan to have a day off, and with such heavy snow outside, they couldn’t go out. Today, she would make him a good meal.

Gu Qinghan smiled. “I like whatever you make; just do what you think is best.”

Speaking of food, Gu Qinghan suddenly remembered that he had brought back not only mutton fat white jade, and a rattle drum last night but also a pile of food.

“There’s a rack of lamb outside in the yard. It was brought back from the border; you can see when it should be cooked.”

Gu Qinghan also pointed to a snakeskin bag beside his military coat. “There are a lot of snacks from inside the border; they didn’t require tickets. I bought a bunch, just in time for the New Year.”

“You told me to buy you some food, so I bought it,” he said, adding a bit proudly.

Wen Nuan’s eyes lit up at his words. What a big bag! This was not just a little; it was a lot, wasn’t it?

It seemed like they could look forward to a bountiful year!

Wen Nuan stood up, cupping the man’s handsome face with her hands, and exaggeratedly pecked his lips. “Qinghan, you’re the best!”

The man was clearly delighted, wanting to kiss his wife again, but Wen Nuan had already released him and walked toward the snakeskin bag.

Wen Nuan walked over to the snakeskin bag and opened the top. Inside, she found several paper bags filled with some of the most famous dried fruits from the border, such as raisins, walnuts, and dried red dates, as well as a type of snack rolled up in coils that looked like mosquito coils.

Wen Nuan loved to eat that snack; it was crispy and fragrant, perfect for munching on.

She rummaged through the bag and discovered more items that weren’t available in their area—she could save the red dates for making soup or porridge, and she could also enjoy a couple as snacks throughout the day.

Although there were red dates available in Northern City, they were not as large as these.

“By the way, you mentioned there was lamb? Where did you put them?” Wen Nuan suddenly turned to look at Gu Qinghan.

He smiled and pointed outside the yard. “They’re out there. I let them freeze in the snow first.”

“Huh? Outside the yard?” Wen Nuan frowned. “Shouldn’t we bring them in? After all, there was that incident with the pork going missing in the family courtyard…”

Gu Qinghan shook his head. “No need; they wouldn’t dare.”

Wen Nuan looked into Gu Qinghan’s eyes, realizing that He Dazhuang probably wouldn’t dare to act recklessly in front of him.

She mumbled, “That’s good. I’ve been worried that our wild ginseng might get stolen these past few days.”

Although they were just kids, they might know that Wen Nuan and Gu Qinghan were not to be trifled with, and even if caught, they wouldn’t be held accountable.

Regardless, it was better for her to be cautious.

—o—o—o—

After organizing the items Gu Qinghan had brought back, Wen Nuan divided them into three portions, planning to take some to Sister Guihua and Sister-in-law Juxiang.

They often took good care of her, and sometimes when they exchanged vegetables with the villagers, they would bring back a little something as well.

Distant relatives are not as valuable as close neighbors. Wen Nuan felt that some relationships needed to be maintained well.

After thinking for a moment, Wen Nuan decided to give each of them a lamb chop, leaving three for Gu Qinghan to help restore his health.

Just as she finished sorting out the items, the little one in the room woke up. Wen Nuan planned to take advantage of the snowfall and the absence of people outside to deliver the items to Sister-in-law Juxiang without being watched all day.

Gu Qinghan looked out at the heavy snow. “I’ll go. You stay home and look after Lele; she needs you a little more since she just woke up.”

“Do you know where Sister-in-law Juxiang lives?” Wen Nuan asked him, concerned that he might go to the wrong place.

“I don’t know. Can’t I ask? Don’t worry, I won’t deliver it to the wrong place,” Gu Qinghan replied with a smile, ruffling her hair before putting on his military coat.

“Just be careful; the snow is pretty heavy today.” As Gu Qinghan took the cloth bag and was about to go outside, Lele, seeing him push the door open, started to cry, her little face flushed from just waking up, becoming even redder as she cried.

Hearing the child cry, Gu Qinghan turned back into the room and gently patted Lele’s little head. “Daddy is going out to deliver some things to Aunt Juxiang. You stay at home with Mommy and wait for me. I’ll be back soon.”

Wen Nuan also pinched the child’s rosy cheeks. “Your daddy will be back shortly, so there’s no need to cry!”

The little one probably hadn’t seen Gu Qinghan for days, having only seen him for a moment last night, and now he was leaving again. She likely thought that her father would be gone for several days again.

Lele couldn’t take in anything; she cried heart-wrenchingly, watching Gu Qinghan’s figure leave, and she didn’t understand, thinking that Wen Nuan was the one bullying her!

However, it didn’t take long for Gu Qinghan to leave before the little one stopped crying. Seeing the food on the table, she scratched her little head and pointed at the porridge, muttering a couple of words she didn’t quite understand.

As for her dad, she was probably not as enticing as the porridge in front of her.

—o—o—o—

Not long after Gu Qinghan stepped outside, he ran into Huang Yueying, who was coming out to throw out dirty water.

But Huang Yueying was not that familiar with Gu Qinghan; they just nodded at each other and went about their own business.

However, Huang Yueying had already noticed the cloth bag Gu Qinghan was holding. Looking at the outline of the bag, she felt it was filled to the brim with good stuff as if he was going to deliver it to someone.

It was likely for Deng Juxiang since she had such a good relationship with Wen Nuan.

A couple of days ago, she had heard her husband mention that Gu Qinghan had gone to the border on a mission, thinking he wouldn’t be back until after the blizzard. She thought Wen Nuan would have to spend a few days dealing with the storm alone.

Who would have thought that Gu Qinghan managed to return before the blizzard hit? His abilities were indeed not to be underestimated.

No wonder he had become the youngest regiment-level officer in the family courtyard at such a young age.

As soon as Huang Yueying got home, she slammed the bucket for washing dishes, pointing at her husband, Feng Weiguo, who was brushing his teeth after just waking up, and scolded, “Sleep, sleep, sleep! You only know how to sleep when you have a day off. I should have sent you to become a pilot, but you wouldn’t go! Look at Gu Qinghan, flying around the border and coming back with so many things!”

“No wonder you’ve been a company Captain for eight years and still haven’t achieved anything! What skills do you have? I must have been incredibly unlucky to marry you!”

Feng Weiguo didn’t know what had gotten into his wife, so he spat out: “Enough already! You only see the good in others; what’s the point of comparing? How old am I now? Even if I wanted to become a pilot, I wouldn’t make it. You’re just daydreaming!”

Huang Yueying glanced at Feng Weiguo, whose appearance resembled a chicken coop, and sneered, “I can’t be bothered to deal with you, you good-for-nothing! It’s no wonder you’ll never rise up!”

“Crazy!” Feng Weiguo thought to himself, feeling both annoyed and helpless at Huang Yueying’s unfounded anger.

There were so many people in the army; did he really think he could just climb up the ranks easily?

It wasn’t like climbing a mountain!

—o—o—o—

Meanwhile, after delivering the items to Deng Juxiang, Gu Qinghan hurried back home because Lele had been crying quite a bit when he left.

It was a rare day off, and Gu Qinghan wanted to spend the entire day playing with his child and wife.

The fact that his daughter was so reluctant to part with him made him increasingly aware of his responsibilities as a father.

On his way back, Gu Qinghan, undeterred by the heavy snow, hurried home, feeling as if he could run if it weren’t for the snow on the ground.

When he finally arrived home, he brushed the snow off his clothes before pushing the door open.

Inside, he saw Lele with her head down, playing with the rattle drum he had bought. She shook it, and the drum made a “dong dong dong” sound.

The little one tugged at the two small beads, her small head slightly drooping. From Gu Qinghan’s angle, her face was adorably chubby, with a plump cheek that stood out, her skin fair and tender, making her look incredibly cute.

But in the next moment, the child lifted her little arms, let out a hum, and threw the rattle drum onto the ground.

—o—o—o—

Lucia:  HAHA