Chapter 62

For two consecutive days, Wen Nuan had gone to the military hospital to deliver meals to Gu Qinglan.

Gu Qinglan had been very busy lately. Just a couple of days ago, Lele had said she was getting fat when, in reality, she had lost weight and looked similar to how she did when she first arrived in Northern City.

This time, Wen Nuan brought food from the Kitchen Team. She took the portion that Old Zhong had given her and planned to go home to cook later.

In a few days, Gu Qinghan would be going out again, so Wen Nuan intended to cook at home for the next few days.

Gu Qinglan was the happiest of all—having someone to feed her for two days straight.

Knowing Wen Nuan was coming over again, she rushed over even before the nurse’s uniform had been taken off.

Wen Nuan saw her happily running over and, while opening the lunchbox, chuckled, “Why are you running so fast? No one is going to snatch it from you.”

Gu Qinglan teased, “That little glutton Lele is definitely going to try to take it from me. Just watch…”

Just as she finished speaking, Lele pointed at the sweet and sour pork ribs in the lunchbox and said, “Mommy, I want meat!”

Saying this, she pressed her hands on the table, preparing to climb up to the dining table to grab a piece of rib.

Wen Nuan quickly stopped Lele from climbing onto the table and pulled her back into her chair. “Didn’t you just eat in the cafeteria? This is Auntie’s food; you can’t snatch it. We’ll cook some more at home later.”

After Gu Qinglan washed her hands and her chopsticks and spoon, she walked over.

Seeing Lele genuinely trying to snatch food from her, she laughed, “Go ahead and eat. If it were anyone else, I wouldn’t share, but only our Lele gets this special treatment.”

Gu Qinglan picked up the largest piece of rib with her chopsticks and held it to Lele’s mouth. Without a second thought, Lele grabbed it with glee, smiling as she said, “Thank you, Auntie!”

Wen Nuan noticed that Lele’s small hand was already coated with a sticky layer of honey-colored sauce. Luckily, she had just wiped Lele’s hands clean; otherwise, she wouldn’t have let her eat like this.

“You’re welcome! Now Auntie will dig in, too,” Gu Qinglan said. She was starving, and since her sister-in-law had also brought her food, she felt like she could eat a whole cow.

Wen Nuan watched the duo, both of them devouring their food without any manners, and couldn’t help but say, “Slow down! Be careful not to choke.”

With her mouth full of buns and rice, Gu Qinglan mumbled, “Can’t slow down! I have to help my colleagues with the night shift later. I hope I can get a break in a couple of days.”

Wen Nuan thought about it for a moment; Gu Qinglan really hadn’t had a proper break in a long time. She hadn’t even had time off during the Mid-Autumn Festival, so it was about time for her to rest a little.

Wen Nuan watched Gu Qinglan devouring her food and asked with concern, “Are you adapting well to such a busy job?”

Although the military hospital was quite large, there were many people due to the troops and the nearby villages. Each time Gu Qinglan came before, she was extremely busy.

Upon hearing her sister-in-law’s question, Gu Qinglan looked up and smiled. “Of course, I can handle it! Don’t worry, sister-in-law; I’m very capable of enduring hardship.”

Then she added, “Besides, working in a hospital is nothing compared to working in the fields. When I was sent to the countryside, during the busy farming season, I only slept about four hours a night and had to go out to harvest wheat and rice.”

Gu Qinglan truly didn’t find the work at the hospital tiring. “If I can’t even handle this little bit of exhaustion, how can I aspire to be a doctor in the future?”

She always kept her sister-in-law’s advice in mind: she wouldn’t give up until she became a doctor.

Wen Nuan felt somewhat reassured after hearing Gu Qinglan’s words. It seemed that the girl wasn’t just saying this for show; she was indeed working hard to learn.

Wen Nuan smiled and said, “Alright, just be sure to take care of yourself and don’t overdo it.”

“Mm, I got it,” Gu Qinglan said, savoring a piece of sweet and sour pork rib. Then she asked, “By the way, when is Big Brother going out? I’ll come over and stay at your place then.”

Wen Nuan thought for a moment and replied, “He leaves next Tuesday. But if you’re busy, you don’t have to keep running back and forth.”

The hospital was a bit of a distance from their home, unlike their dormitory, which was right next door.

“The dorm is too noisy. It’s fine being a bit farther away; at least I can see Lele every day,” Gu Qinglan replied.

“Well, do as you wish.”

Just as Gu Qinglan was about to pinch Lele’s cheek, she noticed that the little girl’s face was already smeared with the sauce from the sweet and sour pork ribs.

In the next moment, Lele threw the piece of rib she hadn’t eaten onto the table and reached out to grab some meat from Gu Qinglan’s lunchbox.

Wen Nuan glanced at the discarded rib. Lele had only licked the sauce off the meat, hardly taking a bite from the actual rib.

“Are you still eating? You can’t eat anymore; you just tasted it and wasted it!” Wen Nuan exclaimed as she caught Lele’s hand. In a huff, she pulled out a handkerchief and handed it to Gu Qinglan.

“Qinglan, please wet this handkerchief for me; I need to wipe her face.”

Wen Nuan took the handkerchief that Gu Qinglan had dampened and placed it over Lele’s round face. Lele even stuck out her tongue to lick the wet handkerchief, which made Wen Nuan feel the urge to pinch her cheeks.

Just as Wen Nuan finished wiping Lele’s face, a voice came from outside the door. “Qinglan, are you off work yet?”

“I’m here, Daxiang! I’m right here!” Gu Qinglan stood up and waved at the person outside.

Li Daxiang suddenly froze upon seeing a familiar figure inside the room. For some reason, he thought about turning around and leaving.

However, Wen Nuan inside the room called out to him first. “Daxiang, you’re here! Come in!”

Even Lele, who was usually focused on food, momentarily forgot about her meal and softly called out, “Uncle.”

Upon hearing Wen Nuan and Lele calling him, Li Daxiang stiffly waved back at Wen Nuan as he walked in. “Sister-in-law, you’re here too?”

He then turned to Lele, who had been smiling at him from the chair. “Lele…”

Lele grinned and called out again, “Uncle Daxiang!”

Li Daxiang felt his heart melt at the sweet voice of the little dumpling, which eased his awkwardness significantly. He then asked Wen Nuan, “Sister-in-law, are you off work?”

Wen Nuan stuffed the handkerchief into the bag containing the lunch boxes.

Seeing Li Daxiang come in, she smiled and said, “Right, I brought lunch for Qinglan. You need to talk to her about something, right?”

As she spoke, Wen Nuan had already noticed the yellow mesh bag in Li Daxiang’s hand, which contained two lunch boxes.

Li Daxiang keenly sensed Wen Nuan’s gaze and explained, “Oh, this is lunch I made for Erhu.”

Wen Nuan smiled but said nothing, accepting that it was indeed “for Erhu.”

Meanwhile, Gu Qinglan had finished her last bite of rice and asked, “By the way, Daxiang, what do you need to talk to me about?”

Li Daxiang instinctively glanced at Wen Nuan, unsure whether to speak or remain silent.

Seeing the troubled expression on his face, Wen Nuan took the initiative to say, “I need to get ready to go home and cook, so you two can chat slowly.”

“Sister-in-law, don’t misunderstand! I— I—” Li Daxiang’s face turned red with anxiety.

The tall man, over six feet tall, was awkwardly holding the two lunch boxes, looking flustered. Anyone who didn’t know better might think that the two women were bullying him.

Wen Nuan couldn’t help but laugh, saying, “If you don’t speak up soon, I might really misunderstand.”

Only Gu Qinglan felt puzzled by the situation. Chewing on her last piece of meat, she looked at Li Daxiang in confusion. “Daxiang, just say what you need to say. My sister-in-law isn’t an outsider. Is there anything she can’t hear?”

Li Daxiang met Gu Qinglan’s gaze and, bracing himself, said, “Vice Captain Gu mentioned that next year, they will recruit a batch of pilots from the army. Do you think I could apply to be a pilot?”

Li Daxiang had thought this through. As a rural kid with no background, joining the military had been a stroke of luck for him. If it weren’t for the fortunate turn of events that led him to Gu Qinghan, he doubted he would have had such quick opportunities for promotion.

However, he felt that being a Platoon Leader was not enough; he wanted to climb higher.

Now, there was just the right opportunity, but he was unsure how to proceed.

That’s why he had come to hear Qinglan’s opinion.

Upon hearing Li Daxiang’s words, Wen Nuan instinctively looked at Gu Qinglan.

Gu Qinglan, catching the gaze of both, suddenly felt a strange feeling. Wen Nuan then asked, “Qinglan, what do you think?”

“Ah?” Gu Qinglan replied, looking at Wen Nuan in confusion. She instinctively said, “How would I know? But it wouldn’t hurt to try if there’s an opportunity.”

After all, it wasn’t guaranteed that he would be selected. There were only about thirty pilots in the entire division, and just wanting to become one didn’t necessarily mean he would get in.

It wasn’t as simple as just signing up and automatically being accepted.

Li Daxiang’s mind turned over the question, and he asked, “So, do you think being a pilot is good?”

Gu Qinglan found this question much easier to answer and replied without hesitation: “Of course it’s good!”

Although it was tough and dangerous, being selected as a pilot would be a tremendous honor. Who wouldn’t want that?

In the family compound, who didn’t envy the military wives who had pilots in their families?

Upon hearing Gu Qinglan’s words, Li Daxiang felt a bit shy as he scratched the back of his head and nodded. “Okay, I understand.”

He then glanced at the smiling Wen Nuan and added, “Well, sister-in-law, I’ll head back now.”

Wen Nuan replied with a soft “Mm,” saying, “Go home and eat. Don’t skip meals.”

Li Daxiang turned his gaze away and felt it was best not to say anything more. He took a couple of steps toward the door but suddenly turned back and asked, “By the way, Qinglan, I heard you had an argument with someone at the hospital yesterday. Who was it?”

Gu Qinglan recalled for a moment and quickly realized that Li Daxiang was likely referring to He Manqing and Zhou Yun from the Art Troupe. She huffed and said, “Who did I argue with? It was those two women from the Art Troupe spouting nonsense, and I scolded them.”

Li Daxiang chuckled at her response. “As long as it’s nothing serious. Then I’ll head back.”

“Sister-in-law, goodbye! Lele, goodbye!”

Lele waved her little arms cheerfully, saying, “Uncle, goodbye!”

This time, Li Daxiang really left without looking back—and he walked quickly.

Gu Qinglan didn’t think much of it. After Li Daxiang left, she started tidying up the lunch boxes by herself, humming a little tune and looking quite happy.

Wen Nuan watched Gu Qinglan and couldn’t help but ask, “Do you and Daxiang see each other often now?”

Gu Qinglan nodded. “Yes, the army is right next door, and sometimes I can see him during training on my way to work.”

Speaking of this, Gu Qinglan recounted how the nurses at their station would gossip about the soldiers during the summer when they saw them training every day, commenting on which soldier had a better physique.

They didn’t even try to hide their interest.

Wen Nuan almost burst out laughing. It seemed that Gu Qinglan truly didn’t have any hidden thoughts, but given how obvious Li Daxiang had been, how could she not notice?

Wen Nuan contemplated whether she should remind her. However, just as Gu Qinglan finished tidying up the table, someone from the nurse station called for her to come help.

Wen Nuan had no choice but to take Lele along and ride her bike home.

—o—o—o—

When Li Daxiang returned to the dormitory, holding the two lunch boxes, just in time to see Erhu preparing to go out.

He knew that Erhu was about to go get food, so he called out to him, “Hey, this is for you.”

As he spoke, he handed one of the lunch boxes over.

Erhu’s eyes lit up when he saw the silver lunch box. He quickly took it, feeling its warmth, clearly just brought back from somewhere.

Without hesitation, he lifted the lid, and upon seeing the braised pork inside, his eyes widened in delight. He exclaimed loudly, “Comrade Li! No, Brother Li…”

“Forget it, I will just call you Daxiang. I’d rather call you ‘Dad’ for this meal. Thank you for the feeding! How did you know I hadn’t eaten? You’re not secretly in love with me, are you?”

Li Daxiang shot him an annoyed glance but wasn’t truly angry. “Just eat your food and stop rambling!”

Erhu grabbed his chopsticks and began to wolf down the food. After he had eaten quite a bit, he remembered something. He had heard others say that Li Daxiang had been going to the hospital quite frequently lately. Was it possible that he had his eyes on a nurse?

Then Erhu walked over to Li Daxiang and whispered, “Daxiang, this lunch box wouldn’t happen to be for your crush, would it?”

Li Daxiang remained silent, just staring at Erhu.

Erhu, sensing the tension, dared to ask, “You mean that female comrade didn’t accept your lunch, did she?”

Moments later, the dormitory was filled with Erhu’s cries of pain, echoing throughout the entire floor.

—o—o—o—

In the Art Troupe.

He Manqing had taken two days off to recover from her cold and felt much better, so she returned to practice.

As soon as she entered the door, she ran into Leader Liao. Upon seeing her, she immediately frowned and asked: “Your illness is all better? Why are you back so soon?”

He Manqing nodded, saying, “Leader, my illness is no longer serious.”

If she didn’t come back to practice, her body would become stiff from inactivity. With so many people in the Art Troupe, it was easy to be replaced if one wasn’t careful. She had worked hard to get into the dance team; she was now considered a minor dancer and couldn’t let a small illness keep her from her spot.

Leader Liao said nothing more, but she looked down at He Manqing and asked, “I heard you had a dispute with Comrade Wen Nuan from the Kitchen Team at the hospital. Is that true?”

He Manqing slightly raised her eyes, feeling a bit puzzled by Leader Liao’s tone.

However, she knew that Leader Liao always cared about the team’s reputation and valued consistency in their public image, so she nodded and replied, “They said our performance wasn’t as good as the Kitchen Team’s, and I couldn’t accept it, so I said a few words to her.”

But before she could finish, Leader Liao’s scolding came down on her like a storm: “He Manqing, how could you have the audacity to argue with someone from the Kitchen Team? Don’t you know your own worth? Is it so hard to admit that others are excellent? You’ve embarrassed our Art Troupe!”

“I’m telling you, you need to go to the Kitchen Team right now and apologize to them!”