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Chapter 10
Now it made sense. Chen Shengqing nodded but said nothing further.
When the package contents were unpacked, it was clear how much Chen Shengqing had bought: seven cans of malted milk, five bags of milk powder, ten cans of yellow peaches and cantaloupes, seven cans of meat, a dozen thick sausages, two pounds of mutton jerky, two pounds of beef jerky, three pounds of raisins and dried apricots, snacks, biscuits, Hotan red dates, fresh pears and walnuts, a toy military truck, and a small tank toy for Tianyou, filling the bed.
“How much did all of this cost?” Yang Qiujin asked after sorting everything.
“It wasn’t much,” Chen Shengqing replied, knowing what she was thinking. He pulled out a stack of bills from a package and handed them to her. “Don’t worry about the bills. There’s a reason I couldn’t come back all these years. I’ve been on secret missions. Each time I complete one, the country rewards me with subsidies beyond my salary. These are extra funds. You can keep them and buy whatever you need.”
When he first entered the yard, he noticed that his mother’s clothes and the small clothes Tianyou had placed on the bed were patch-free. Meanwhile, Yang Qiujin was still wearing the same clothes from their wedding seven years ago, and the clothes stored in the elm cabinet were patched everywhere.
Used to seeing well-dressed military wives in the compound, he felt a deep sense of pity for his wife, who was still living in hardship.
Yang Qiujin gave him a strange look. “You give me so much money. Why not divorce me?”
“Divorce? You want to divorce me?” Chen Shengqing paused. “Are you still thinking about Ji Mingchen?”
When Yang Qiujin had dated Ji Mingchen, the incident involving Shi Fangfang had stirred controversy. At the time, he had married her because of pressure from both families.
Although there was no love between them, he remembered her fierce yet fragile nature, especially on their wedding night. When she shyly undressed, he saw that her skin was delicate and white like the finest jade, not the honey color of her face, and couldn’t handle even his mild touch…
Now, she sat before him quietly, no longer aggressive. Instead, she exuded a calm and gentle beauty that drew his attention. He wondered what had happened to her to change her so much.
In the past, whenever she met his gaze, she had either been fearful or hostile. But now, she was calm and conversing with him normally.
He glanced at the clothes on the small bed. Had becoming a mother made her personality more restrained?
Thinking of the son he had never met, Chen Shengqing felt a warmth in his chest. This woman, who had married him reluctantly, had stayed by his side, caring for his parents, burying his father, and bearing him a son without ever remarrying or divorcing him. She remained the same, always saying one thing but doing another.
“How dare you bring up Ji Mingchen,” Yang Qiujin snapped. “Wasn’t he working at the Capital Military Region Hospital? How did he come back with you? You even let him into our house. You know what happened between us…”
“You seem to know him well,” Chen Shengqing’s eyes grew darker. “He was transferred to our border area last year and was stationed at the same camp. During this visit, we were on the same route, so I took his car back.”
“Isn’t he a military doctor? How could he come back in a regimental vehicle?”
Yang Qiujin knew Ji Mingchen well. Shi Fangfang’s widowed mother frequently boasted about how great her son-in-law was, which often led to arguments with her own mother. Yang Qiujin had even blocked and fought with Shi Fangfang several times.
“He’s not just a civilian doctor but a professional military doctor with a military rank. He’s currently a deputy regimental officer, which is higher than me. He can drive the regimental car.”
“I see, so military doctors have military ranks.”
Yang Qiujin wasn’t concerned about Ji Mingchen’s rank. She had some feelings for him back then, but the rumors surrounding them had caused her to abandon any thoughts of him. She didn’t care if he was alive or dead.
She disliked him mainly because of his affair with Shi Fangfang, whom she hated. She didn’t want anything from him.
However, Ji Mingchen had given her two cans of malted milk, a large box of Suguo chocolate, and a big bag of White Rabbit milk candy. These were expensive items in that era, and ordinary people couldn’t buy them without special access.
Normally, Yang Qiujin only bought malted milk for her mother-in-law and son but never for herself. She only bought White Rabbit milk candy for Tianyou during festivals. Now that Ji Mingchen had given her these items, she couldn’t bear to return them.
The two agreed not to discuss divorce again. Yang Qiujin counted the money and found over 1,200 yuan, including special grain national bills. She was shocked. “Wow, you must have gone through so much to earn this.”
“It’s okay, it’s all in the past.” Chen Shengqing softened at her words.
In camp, he often heard comrades’ wives complain that their husbands didn’t earn enough to support the family. When their husbands received bonuses or subsidies, the wives would sigh, never considering the hardships their husbands endured to get the money.
Though Yang Qiujin seemed bold and carefree, she was deeply considerate, which moved him.
Chen Shengqing felt a rare comfort as warmth surged through him, the exhaustion from days of travel hitting him all at once.
“Rest before you get up,” Yang Qiujin noticed his tiredness. She tidied the bed, helping him lie down, covering him with a quilt before preparing to leave.
“Qiu Jin.” He held her hand in his large, warm, calloused palm.
Yang Qiujin’s heart trembled at the touch, and she turned back to him. “What’s wrong?”
“Qiu Jin, thank you. Thank you for waiting all these years and staying by my side.” Chen Shengqing’s eyes were filled with tenderness. “You made me feel that all those years in the army were worth it.”
Yang Qiujin was taken aback by his warm expression, something she had never seen before. Her face flushed, and she awkwardly pulled her hand away. “No need to thank me. I just don’t want to part with the money you gave me.”
In a hurry, she left.
Chen Shengqing smirked, realizing how this woman said one thing but thought another.
Once she left, the house became quiet. A faint aroma of food from his mother’s cooking filled the air. The quilt covering him was thick and warm, smelling faintly of soap, just like Yang Qiujin. A warm feeling surged in his heart. His eyelids felt heavy, and slowly, he closed his eyes to sleep.
Yang Qiujin exited the west room and entered the kitchen. “Mom, let’s cook later. Shengqing is asleep, and we don’t know when he’ll wake up.”
The distance between the border and their province was vast. Seeing how exhausted Chen Shengqing was, it was clear he had traveled nonstop. No one could endure such long hours in a car, not even a god.
“Okay.” Li Xiu’e immediately extinguished the stove’s flame. Seeing her daughter-in-law taking out a pile of money to give her, she stopped her. “Qiu Jin, what are you doing?”
“Shengqing gave me 1,200 yuan, and I want to give you half,” Yang Qiujin replied, offering the money.
Yang Qiujin never kept money to herself. She believed that in a family, everything should be shared. No matter how much money Chen Shengqing gave her, she didn’t need to guard it. It was for the family.
Li Xiu’e sighed, feeling a pang of regret. She had once looked down on Yang Qiujin, but now she saw her differently.
Li Xiu’e reached out and took only a hundred yuan, pushing the rest back. “Silly child, San’er (her son) gives you all the money because he wants you to lead the family. I’m old and forgetful. What if I lose it? San’er worked hard for this. You should keep it and buy whatever you need. Don’t worry about me.”
“Mom, don’t say that. If I run off with the money, don’t scold me later,” Yang Qiujin joked. She put the money away, planning to deposit it in the county later. She turned to Li Xiu’e and said, “I divided the items Shengqing brought into three parts. Two for my eldest sister and second brother’s families, one for my mother’s family, and the rest for us.”
“You decide. Mom has no objections.”
Yang Qiujin, with her fierce temper, remembered how her in-laws had refused to contribute to her mother-in-law’s medical expenses, leaving her to carry the burden alone. Now that Chen Shengqing was back, she didn’t want to share what he brought.
However, Chen Shengqing had a good relationship with his siblings. Since the time of Old Master Chen, the siblings had been kind to their mother-in-law. She didn’t want to stir up trouble with them, so she reluctantly agreed to give them something.
“Third sister-in-law, third sister-in-law?”
While the two women were talking, they heard knocking at the door. They exchanged looks, recognizing the voice of Tian Chunlian, the second wife. They both sighed.
Normally, the second branch didn’t communicate with the third branch, but after Chen Shengqing returned, Tian Chunlian came to visit. She saw the many things he had brought and came to ask for money.
***
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Vyl[Translator]
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