Chapter 28.1

Wen Nuan had been taking care of that child on the train for those few days.

Later, when she asked Liu Mingfei, she learned that the little baby boy was actually three months older than their Lele.

However, due to the lack of breast milk, the child looked particularly thin and small. Now, months had passed, and the child probably could walk now.

Wen Nuan did not know who the child’s parents were. When she asked Liu Mingfei about it at the time, he had not said much, only subtly informing her that the parents’ jobs were confidential.

Thinking of the many predecessors in that era who had hidden their identities for decades for the cause of revolution and technology, it was obvious that the child’s parents were also pioneers who had dedicated their youth and blood to the organization.

Wen Nuan felt that what she had done at that time was merely a small effort. She never expected that others would remember it. As the Spring Festival approached, the child’s parents specifically sent over two chickens as a gift.

When they arrived in Northern City, winter had already set in, and there were no chicks available for purchase anywhere. To raise chickens, one would have to wait until spring of the following year. However, Wen Nuan knew that there were restrictions on how many chickens one could raise, and it seemed the limit was about three at most.

The child’s parents had suddenly sent them two chickens, which was indeed a big gift.

Lele was already sound asleep, and Wen Nuan was not feeling sleepy yet. She filled a basin with hot water for Gu Qinghan, asking him to wash his hands and face first.

Looking at the two chickens in the coop, Wen Nuan asked, “Are the child’s parents also involved in aerospace-related work?”

Gu Qinghan paused for a moment. Thinking that they would eventually be coming over as well, and there was no need to conceal so much, he said, “Yes, the child’s father is called Liu Minghua. He is an aerospace propulsion expert and is currently doing research at the 634 Institute.”

Wen Nuan guessed roughly what that meant, though she did not know what Comrade Liu’s specific research direction was. She nodded, “Oh, I see. That sounds impressive. So how is that child doing now? Have they written us a letter or anything? Back on the train, he looked quite small. I didn’t expect him to be a few months older than our Lele.”

Wen Nuan recalled the events on the train. At that time, the child did not want Liu Mingfei; every time he held him, the baby would cry.

So during those few days on the train, it was Gu Qinghan who helped change the child’s diapers while she was responsible for feeding her with a bottle.

Fortunately, both little ones had each other as company, so those days weren’t too difficult to endure.

Gu Qinghan then took a letter out of his pocket and handed it to Wen Nuan. “Wife, you guessed it right. They indeed wrote us a letter. I read it before I came back; you should take a look too.”

Wen Nuan quickly took the letter from him. Since the cover was addressed to the couple, Gu Qinghan had already opened it and read it beforehand.

The content of the letter was not particularly special. It began with a greeting and then included two paragraphs expressing their gratitude.

People in that era were very sincere. Although the message was brief, Wen Nuan could tell they were genuinely thankful.

The letter also mentioned that, due to work commitments, they had not contacted them until so long after. Wen Nuan thought that their jobs must really be quite confidential that’s why they can’t just casually go in and out of their workplace.

What was rare was that the letter also included a photo, which appeared to be a recent picture of the child. Looking at it now, the child had indeed grown quite a bit since before. He no longer appeared as thin and small. His clothes and hair were neatly arranged, and he looked much more energetic.

Wen Nuan was surprised that just three months had passed, and the child had changed so much—he could now stand steadily.

Gu Qinghan interrupted Wen Nuan: “Alright, wife, after reading the letter, can you at least look at me? We haven’t had a proper conversation in days.”

He had been returning home only after the lights were out, so it had been several days since he had chatted with Wen Nuan and hugged her properly.

He returned home a little earlier that night, but to his surprise, Wen Nuan didn’t even glance at him. So, Gu Qinghan decided to take the initiative to speak up.

Wen Nuan put the letter away, then stood up and walked over to Gu Qinghan’s side, reaching out to take his large hand.

She slightly curled her lips and smiled as she said, “I was just about to warm your hands, but I didn’t expect yours to be warmer than mine!”

Gu Qinghan extended his other hand wrapped her in his embrace and said softly: “I just washed my hands.”

He held Wen Nuan’s hand in return, finally feeling her palms and fingertips warm this time.

In the past, he often felt her hands were a bit cold.

Wen Nuan buried her head into the man’s broad chest and murmured, “Then let me warm you up. You must be cold. Did it snow outside just now?”

The man chuckled softly, tightening his embrace, and simply carried her over to the leather sofa in the living room.

Gu Qinghan shook his head. “It didn’t snow, but it is indeed quite cold.”

Then the man asked, “Did you take the herbal medicine tonight?”

Wen Nuan directly sat down on his lap, allowing her to meet his gaze straight on. Feeling a bit shy, she turned her face away. “I drank it. Do I even dare not to? You count those medicine packets every day.”

The man chuckled softly. When he listened to Wen Nuan’s voice, he found it quite pleasant and was satisfied with her answer. He said, “I brought you a gift.”

Wen Nuan was slightly taken aback, sensing that Gu Qinghan sounded a bit awkward when he said this.

However, this was not entirely surprising. Sister Juxiang often told her that if it weren’t for the time she had seen Gu Qinghan with her own eyes, protecting her and the child in his arms on that big truck, she would never have imagined that a man who appeared so cold and unfeeling on the surface could be such a good man who cherished his wife and child.

Even though he had brought her something the last time he was on a mission, they hadn’t seen each other for a few days then, and the two had been a bit excited.

However, now that they’re seeing each other every day, it made them feel a bit like an old married couple.

Wen Nuan looked at him and smiled: “A gift? Didn’t you go hunting in the mountains today?”

With the New Year approaching, food supplies were not as plentiful during that era. If people wanted to celebrate the festive season well, they had to rely on nature’s gifts.

Although she knew Gu Qinghan had gone up the mountain, she had gone to bed early the past few nights and hadn’t waited up for him, so she had no idea how their hunting team had fared.

Gu Qinghan felt even more awkward under her gaze but still rummaged through the pocket of the military coat draped over a nearby chair.

Wen Nuan noticed that the bag seemed to be bulging with something. She wondered if he had brought her some wild rabbit, frog, or bird.

She… she didn’t really want that anymore…

The light in the living room illuminated the two of them as Gu Qinghan carefully pulled out a small bunch of yellow flowers from his inner pocket. The flowers were tiny, not particularly large.

Wen Nuan was slightly taken aback, holding her breath as she curiously blinked her big, sparkling eyes.

“What… what kind of flower is this?” Wen Nuan asked. Aside from the green vegetables she had seen in the cellar, she had not come across any greenery in the snow-covered landscape.

Even when she had gone up the mountain before, the wild ginseng she had picked was one of the few plants with green leaves, and green leaves were already hard to find, let alone flowers.

Although the flower was small, it was indeed very beautiful.

Gu Qinghan’s expression was also a bit awkward. “I’m not really sure either. When I saw it, I thought of picking it for you because I thought you might like it.”

Many of the fabrics in their home had floral patterns, and Gu Qinghan felt she should like flowers, so when he saw them, he decided to pick some.

Wen Nuan smiled brightly and wrapped her arms around the man’s neck, quickly pecking his lips. “I love it! Thank you!”

For some reason, hearing his words made Wen Nuan incredibly happy.

Sometimes she felt the same way when she saw something novel or delicious—she wanted to keep it to share with Gu Qinghan.

She thought of the saying that the desire to share is probably the essence of high-level romance.

However, what mattered most was the response after sharing.

It was that response that gave meaning to the act of sharing.

Gu Qinghan raised an eyebrow upon hearing her. He seemed a bit incredulous. “Really?”

These few small flowers were actually not as long as his fingers, and they looked a bit shabby. However, hearing Wen Nuan’s words still made Gu Qinghan feel happy.

Wen Nuan nodded nonstop, her tone was firm as she said: “Of course! That means you were thinking of me while working. How can I not be happy about that? I often think of you at home too. I wonder if you’re tired from training and if you might catch a cold after sweating…”

As she spoke, she took the flowers from Gu Qinghan’s hand and tucked them into her hair—she was really really happy.

Listening to her softly express her feelings, Gu Qinghan felt his heart warm up, the corners of his lips curving into a slight smile.

Once Wen Nuan finished speaking, Gu Qinghan said, “I still have two mushrooms in my pocket. Let me get them out.” He then pulled out two large reishi mushrooms, each about the size of Gu Qinghan’s palm.

“What a big one!” Wen Nuan exclaimed. Although she didn’t know the benefits of reishi mushrooms, she felt that there were indeed many good things to be found in these mountains!

It was definitely worth keeping!

Gu Qinghan glanced at the reishi mushroom that Wen Nuan took and said, “I’ll dry it by the stove. I asked Doctor Li, and she said it’s fine to occasionally add some when simmering herbal medicine.”

Thinking of the bitter herbal medicine, Wen Nuan suddenly felt that the reishi mushroom in her hand didn’t smell as good anymore…

Remembering the herbal medicine, Wen Nuan asked him, “You must have smelled the folk remedy that Sister Guihua drank earlier, right? Can you ask Sister Guihua to let Doctor Li take a look at her? I feel like those remedies are not reliable. After drinking those remedies, Sister Guihua even vomited a few times.”

Sister Guihua had always been so kind to her, and Wen Nuan wanted to help her. However, since she wasn’t a medical professional herself, she felt helpless and could only seek some connections for her.

Doctor Li was the only doctor she had interacted with up to that point.

Gu Qinghan shook her head. “It seems difficult. Doctor Li only comes here once a month; the rest of the time, she is at the hospital in the capital. It’s hard for an ordinary person to get an appointment with her. Even if one goes to the capital, it’s difficult to schedule a visit; she is the vice president of the 801 Military Region Hospital.”

Wen Nuan took a slight breath. So, Doctor Li was that impressive. No wonder Gu Qinghan had to talk to Zhengwei before she could see her even once.

After that, Wen Nuan didn’t go to the hospital for Doctor Li to check on her. It was likely that it wasn’t because she didn’t need to see a doctor, but rather that Doctor Li simply didn’t have time to help her.

Thinking about how Gu Qinghan had mentioned her “minor illness” to Zhengwei, Wen Nuan felt quite touched.

Wen Nuan did not show it on her face and merely responded with a faint “oh.” She then said, “I just feel that Sister Guihua has suffered. Those folk remedies might not be effective at all. Some of the names of those things sound quite strange, even eerie.”

Seeing her expression darken, Gu Qinghan hugged her tighter. “When Doctor Li returns, I will ask her.”

Wen Nuan sighed. “However, Sister Guihua and Captain Zhou have been trying for so many years to have a child, and it’s unlikely that one person can manage it. Some things still require cooperation between two people.”

After hearing this, Gu Qinghan felt it made sense and added, “They should be more anxious than anyone else. Sister Guihua has probably seen quite a few doctors already, but Captain Zhou might still find it hard to lower his pride.”

Wen Nuan nodded. “She should have seen quite a few doctors. I often smell traditional Chinese medicine, but I haven’t heard of Sister Guihua giving Captain Zhou anything to drink.”

Wanting a child was a matter for two people, but Wang Xiaoxia only pressured Sister Guihua to drink a bunch of folk remedies. However, she hadn’t heard Sister Guihua say that her husband, Captain Zhou, needed to drink anything as well.

In reality, the problem might not necessarily lie with the woman; it could also be with the man.

Yet, in this era, men cared about their pride. Even if they were genuinely unable to have children, they would still blame the woman.

However, Wen Nuan had interacted with Captain Zhou. Although he was also a taciturn person, she felt that he treated Sister Guihua quite well.

Captain Zhou knew that his family often brought up the fact that he and his wife had been married for many years without having children. They frequently talked to Sister Guihua about it, so unless it was absolutely necessary, he wouldn’t let anyone from his hometown come to stay in the family quarters.

It was likely that Wang Xiaoxia’s visit to the family quarters had taken a lot of persuading from Captain Zhou to allow her to come for the New Year.

Seeing that Wen Nuan was really deep in thought, Gu Qinghan felt a bit annoyed that she had been talking about others for so long. “Since you’ve been talking about everyone else, shouldn’t you pay attention to your husband as well?”

Wen Nuan was somewhat distracted until she felt the man’s solid presence—a blush suddenly rushed to her face.

When the man tentatively leaned closer to her lips, Wen Nuan squeezed his arm and innocently said, “Um, I just got my period.”

It was quite remarkable, actually; this was her first period since finishing her confinement.

She hadn’t had her period in months, which had saved her a lot on sanitary supplies. It hasn’t been a year since she gave birth–if she had physical intimacy with Gu Qinghan again, she might think she was pregnant once again.

Later, after asking Sister Juxiang, she learned that she wasn’t alone. Sister Juxiang told her that after she had her child, it had taken her a little over half a year to get her period as well.

It was likely that she had recently been drinking some medicinal herbs to replenish her body, which is why it had finally come.

Gu Qinghan’s expression changed. After kissing her lips, he slightly loosened his grip and asked, “When did it start?”

“Just the day before yesterday.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

Wen Nuan glanced at him innocently. “What was there to say?!”

Gu Qinghan fell silent.

Before heading back to their room, he prepared a cup of red date tea for Wen Nuan and later filled a basin with hot water for her to soak her feet.

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T/N: Hi~ I have a new schedule~ So, it’s now 6 chapters/week~ (´▽`ʃ♡ƪ)

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Schedule of Updates: 2 Chapters every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday

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