Chapter 25: A Man from the Past

As soon as Hu Songlin finished speaking, he dashed away faster than a rabbit. 

In the courtyard, Li Xia and Gu Weicheng exchanged glances, both of them looking embarrassed. 

Gu Weicheng quickly said, “Ignore him. That guy’s got a loose tongue.” 

Li Xia pressed her lips together and said, “This morning, when I was walking to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative with Sister-in-law Tao, she mentioned it too. It seems like everyone has misunderstood…” 

Last night, nothing had happened between her and Gu Weicheng. With An An sleeping right between them, there was a clear boundary between them. 

But in other people’s eyes, it seemed that their brief separation had made their reunion all the more passionate, like dry wood meeting a raging fire… 

Gu Weicheng felt a little frustrated. It looked like the news about their bed breaking had indeed spread far and wide.

Had he known this would happen, he wouldn’t have gone to Commander Ma’s house to borrow nails and a hammer. 

Gu Weicheng reassured Li Xia, “It’s fine. They’ll talk about it for a while, but eventually, they’ll move on. Don’t take it to heart.” 

“What are you planning to cook today?” Gu Weicheng asked. “I can wash and prep the ingredients first so it’ll be easier for you when you start cooking.” 

His cooking skills were lacking—otherwise, he would have done it himself. 

Since the situation was already what it was, the only thing to do was to take it in stride. Li Xia listed the dishes she planned to make: 

“Sour and Spicy Shredded Potatoes—just wash the potatoes and peel them for now. 

“Sister-in-law Tao also gave us a few small dishes today. We can make pork skin and vermicelli, stir-fried shiitake mushrooms with choy sum, stir-fried celery with dried tofu and shredded pork, minced meat with eggplant, braised pork intestines, stir-fried pig’s heart, and Husband and Wife Lung Slices.”

“I also bought some field snails. Later, just add some salt to them so they can expel the mud faster. Then, use scissors to snip off the tails. Stir-fried snails go great with alcohol,” Li Xia said. 

Two pounds of meat wasn’t much—if it were made into a single dish, ten or so people could finish it easily. So, Li Xia divided the meat into portions, adding a bit to each dish. 

“Got it,” Gu Weicheng rolled up his sleeves and began peeling the potatoes, working swiftly and efficiently. 

After preparing food for her three boys, Sister-in-law Tao came over to help. 

As soon as she stepped in, she saw Gu Weicheng peeling potatoes. With a smile, she said to Li Xia, “Xiao Li, your Commander Gu is really a good man.” 

Washing dishes, prepping vegetables—if only her Old Ma could learn a thing or two from him. 

Li Xia replied, “Sister-in-law, your Commander Ma isn’t bad either. Weicheng told me that whenever he’s on a business trip, he always thinks about you and the kids, buying things for you first.” 

Soldiers often had to travel for work, whether to the city or other locations to attend meetings.

Li Xia had never been in the habit of prying into other people’s affairs. However, since she had gotten closer to Sister-in-law Tao, she had asked Gu Weicheng a bit about her family. That way, when they chatted, she wouldn’t be at a loss for words. 

Her words hit right at the heart of Sister-in-law Tao, who, despite saying, “Not really,” had a smile on her face. 

Just then, Xiao Zhang arrived. “Sisters-in-law, Commander, someone’s looking for you.” 

Seeing the usually serious Commander Gu peeling potatoes, Xiao Zhang didn’t even know where to look. 

So, the mighty Commander Gu did things like this at home too! 

Gu Weicheng, on the other hand, didn’t think anything of it. There was no rule that said a regimental commander couldn’t do housework. Even their brigade commander had to tend to his vegetable garden when he got home. 

“Sister-in-law Tao, I’ll have to trouble you to help Xiao… Li,” Gu Weicheng said. 

For a moment, he didn’t quite know how to address Li Xia. He had always called her by her full name, but after what she had said in the car earlier, it felt like the distance between them had lessened. Calling her by her full name now seemed too formal.

Thinking about how comrades usually addressed each other by their surnames with a ‘Little’ in front, Gu Weicheng simply followed suit. 

“Alright, no problem. It’s just a bit of work; I can handle it. You go ahead and take care of your business, I’ll look after your wife here,” Sister-in-law Tao said, giving Li Xia a knowing look. 

It was as if she was saying, ‘Look at that—he can’t bear to leave you.’

Li Xia pretended not to notice and continued with her tasks. 

Gu Weicheng spoke to An An before leaving, promising to finish what they hadn’t completed together once he returned. 

As he stepped out of the house, he asked Xiao Li, “Do you know who’s looking for me?” 

Xiao Li replied, “The man said his surname is Zhou.” 

Zhou? Gu Weicheng couldn’t immediately recall anyone with that surname. 

When they reached the entrance of the military district, Xiao Li pointed to a man pacing anxiously near the gate. “Commander, that’s him. He’s the one looking for you.”

Gu Weicheng narrowed his eyes as he looked over—he didn’t recognize this man. 

Years ago, he and Li Xia had gotten involved in a muddled, unclear situation, which forced him to marry her, only to later find out that she had feelings for another man. 

At the time, he had been in a rush to return to the army and had never met Zhou Qingshan. 

Similarly, Zhou Qingshan had never seen Gu Weicheng before. 

In his mind, Gu Weicheng was nothing more than a rough, unrefined soldier—broad-shouldered, burly, and uneducated. Otherwise, why would Li Xia not like him and instead prefer Zhou? 

So, what if he was an officer? He must have just been lucky to get promoted. 

He had heard that in those years, anyone who enlisted and managed to survive could climb the ranks. If he had joined the army himself, who knew? Maybe by now, he would have held some high position too. 

“You’re Gu Weicheng?” Seeing Gu Weicheng for the first time, Zhou Qingshan looked stunned, unable to believe his eyes.

How could this man possibly be Gu Weicheng? 

He wasn’t ugly at all. On the contrary, he was tall, handsome, and exuded an imposing presence. 

As Zhou Qingshan approached, he even found his own breathing becoming tense. 

Gu Weicheng gave him a once-over. Zhou Qingshan had changed into clean clothes—a white button-up shirt, green military-style trousers, and a pair of glasses perched on his nose. 

In that moment, Gu Weicheng came to a sudden realization. “I am. You’re Zhou Qingshan?”

But wasn’t Zhou Qingshan supposed to be in Luzhou County? Why was he here? 

“How… how did you know?” Zhou Qingshan hadn’t even introduced himself yet, but Gu Weicheng had already guessed his identity. That made him even more uneasy. 

However, the thought of Su Wenyen’s promise steadied his nerves. 

She had agreed to his request—if he told Gu Weicheng about his past with Li Xia and threw in some extra dirt on her, Gu Weicheng would surely fly into a rage. Then, as long as things went as planned, he would abandon Li Xia and divorce her.

Afterward, Su Wenyen would give him a large sum of money. With that money, he could finally live a better life, no longer forced to endure the dog-like existence he had in Luzhou County. 

Besides, he utterly despised Li Xia. 

If it weren’t for Li Xia reporting him, how could he have been expelled from university? Even Xiaoya had abandoned him. The educated youth station refused to take him in, leaving him with nowhere to go, barely able to survive! 

Helping Su Wenyen meant he could both exact his revenge and receive money—it was killing two birds with one stone! 

With these thoughts in mind, Zhou Qingshan steeled himself and said: 

“Yes, I am Zhou Qingshan. I came to see you to talk about Li Xia.” 

“Commander Gu, you must be curious know the truth about your wife, aren’t you?”