Chapter 29

Yan Lei brought several lunch boxes to the military camp, pre-arranged with the canteen. He went to pick them up in the evening, and they were already packed. After settling the money and meal tickets, he carried them back home.

Back at home, he surveyed Qiao Wei and asked, “Are you okay?”

Some female comrades couldn’t get up at all when they had their period. Qiao Wei was okay, seemingly not experiencing such a situation. But she wouldn’t tell him about her period; when they used to sleep in the same room, he could tell by seeing her lay out on a small mattress. The couple had never discussed this matter.

Qiao Wei also thought about it; this time must be a bit embarrassing due to menstruation. Probably even couples rarely talk about this topic, especially when their relationship is not good.

Qiao Wei still had some expectations for the man she was going to live with.

Qiao Wei had already carried out some basic reforms for him, significantly improving his hygiene habits. Now that Qiao Wei had taken over, further refinement was needed.

“The flow will be heavy on the second day; it’s like opening a floodgate when you stand up—a gushing flow of blood,” Qiao Wei sighed. “There’s no comfortable place to sit. I’m afraid of leakage when lying on the bed.”

Yan Lei placed the lunch boxes on the table and said, “There’s no furniture store in our town. This Sunday, there’s a big market in town; let’s see if we can find one. If not, I’ll go to Qingshan Town to buy for you. There’s a furniture shop over there.”

“And don’t dare to touch cold water.” Qiao Wei looked at him eagerly.

It’s not that Qiao Wei was being finicky; it’s because the well water and tap water were different. The well water was drawn from underground, ice-cold, and Qiao Wei really dared not touch it during her menstruation.

Yan Lei had already started unbuttoning his uniform. Upon hearing her words, he glanced at her with a knowing look and said, “Got it; you don’t have to wash the dishes.”

See that! This kind of understanding man is worthy of being the male lead!

Qiao Wei was happy. “Thank you.”

Being strange and quirky, what’s the need to say thank you to an old couple like them? Yan Lei snorted, entered the house, and went on.

Qiao Wei could feel that, compared to the past few days, after last night’s intimacy, Yan Lei was no longer so tense.

He was in a relaxed state.

In one’s own home, facing close family members, this is how it should be. She hopes that he won’t be “chilly” and “stern” in the future.

Indeed, she didn’t have to wash the dishes after dinner.

While washing the dishes, Captain Zhao’s wife, Sister Yang, came over.

After Yan Lei returned home, Qiao Wei locked the courtyard gate. She didn’t have the awareness of locking the door originally, but during the day, Lin Xixi stood at the door, listening to her tell stories to Yan Xiang, which made her more cautious.

Fortunately, she was alert at that time and didn’t tell the story of “The Calabash Baby.” Otherwise, Lin Xixi would have discovered that she was not the original Qiao Weiwei.

Now, Lin Xixi thinks that Yan Lei’s wife is still alive due to the butterfly effect brought about by her rebirth. It’s just fine this way.

Yan Lei was washing dishes, and Yan Xiang was too small to reach the door latch. Qiao Wei had no choice but to get up, and as soon as she stood up, she felt a “rush” underneath her; that feeling is indescribable.

Without protective pads, it’s really lacking a sense of security!

Opening the door, Sister Yang was outside, and Qiao Wei smiled and invited her in. “Why did Sister-in-law come?”

While walking inside, she asked, “How does Xiao Yan wash the dishes?”

Yan Lei also called out “sister-in-law,” paused, and then said, “It doesn’t matter who washes them.”

In one’s own home, it doesn’t matter how things are done, but it might still be a bit embarrassing to be seen by others. After all, in this era, it’s the woman who does the housework while the man smokes and lazes around. No one can break away from the era.

Qiao Wei affectionately grabbed Sister Yang’s arm, blocking her line of sight. “What’s the matter? Let’s go inside and talk.”

Pulling her into the house so as not to make Yan Lei feel embarrassed. Men who can put down their faces to do housework in this era need to be carefully protected so that they won’t be influenced by other people’s eyes.

Sure enough, Sister Yang’s lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but being dragged away by Qiao Wei, she remembered that she came to ask for help. She didn’t say anything and followed into the house.

“I wanted to borrow something from you,” she said. “At our home, Old Zhao wants to arrange a blind date for Xixi. Xixi doesn’t have any decent clothes; all her clothes were brought from the countryside. I was thinking, since you have many skirts, can I borrow one for her to wear?”

At this time, borrowing things for a blind date is quite common.

Qiao Wei heard from her grandma when she was a child that back when her grandma went to her grandpa’s house for a blind date, she saw quilts hanging in the yard and a dough trough in the kitchen. She felt that, although they were poor, they could still get by. As a result, after getting married, she realized that the quilts and the dough trough she saw on the day of the blind date were borrowed just for the blind date.

Qiao Wei smiled and said, “No need to borrow.”

“I’ve been organizing my wardrobe these past two days, and there are a few skirts that I can’t fit into anymore. I was thinking about who to give them to. You know, I don’t have any sisters or nieces. These skirts are still good, and I can’t just throw them away. Since you came, take them to let Xiao Lin wear.”

In fact, Qiao Wei couldn’t quite understand this practice of devaluing the items you are about to give away. But this was taught to her by her mom. Her mom said it was taught by her grandma.

That was how it was in that era. When you saw someone poor and without a quilt, you felt sorry for them. You couldn’t just give them a quilt directly. You had to burn a hole in a cigarette, then say to the person, “Oh, look, this quilt has a burn hole; I don’t want it anymore. You can take it.” Then the two people would give it a slight push, and the other person would gladly accept it.

Probably to make the other party accept it without psychological burden? It doesn’t seem like an act of kindness.

Anyway, no matter what, Qiao Wei remembered the things Grandma and Mom used to talk about. She didn’t expect to use them in this era of her life.

Sure enough, when she said this, Sister Yang’s expression relaxed, but she declined, saying, “Why can’t you fit into them? I don’t think you’ve gained weight.”

Qiao Wei smiled and opened the wardrobe, pulling out a few skirts to show Sister Yang, “Here, take a look.”

“All of them are cotton?” Sister Yang was stunned when she saw them. “And they’re so new…”

She thought the skirts Qiao Wei wanted to give away would be very old, but who knew they were all half-new, and they were cotton?

Qiao Wei actually wanted to take this opportunity to get rid of those skirts made of synthetic fabrics. She said, “Not new, mainly because I can’t fit into them anymore. Take a look, see if they fit Xiao Lin?”

Lin Xixi is going on a blind date, and Qiao Wei must strongly support her.

The two of them, one transmigrated woman and one reborn woman, better not fight over the same male lead.

The male lead has the aura of a male lead, and the female lead also has the aura of a female lead. For Qiao Wei, this is a troublesome matter. Qiao Wei sincerely hopes that Lin Xixi won’t just focus on Yan Lei.

“How could it not fit?” Sister Yang said. “Really, don’t you want them anymore?”

In fact, when it comes down to it, although they are about the same height, Lin Xixi, due to working on household chores in the countryside all year round, has a sturdy and plump body. Qiao Wei, on the other hand, is more slender and thin.

But Sister Yang is not worried that Lin Xixi won’t be able to fit into them. Her eyes are shining. The so-called not fitting into them is just an excuse; everyone understands it.

See, everyone actually understands it tacitly. It’s just that cotton skirts are more expensive than other fabrics, and Sister Yang wants to confirm it again before feeling reassured.

Qiao Wei said, “Of course. Take them to see if Xiao Lin can fit into them.”

“More than that,” Sister Yang said happily. “Don’t mention Xixi; if it’s organized well, after a couple of years, Yingzi can wear them too.”

Clothes are usually worn by sisters after the older sister is done with them, and every family is like this. Qiao Wei’s subjective intention was to give them to Lin Xixi, but once they were in Sister Yang’s hands, she couldn’t control them.

Oh well, let them go.

When Sister Yang came out of the house with a smile, Yan Lei was wiping his hands with a towel. He greeted her, “Sister-in-law, you’re leaving?”

“Leaving, leaving. You’re busy.” Sister Yang left with a smile.

Short of manpower, she wanted to express her opinions on Yan Lei washing dishes before entering the house, but now she had several skirts that had been given to her. She pretended not to see them.

When Sister Yang happily walked out of the house, Yan Lei was wiping his hands with a towel. He asked, “What did she take away?”

Sister Yang came empty-handed and left with something in her arms, making Yan Lei curious.

“She wants to introduce an object to Xiao Lin and wanted to borrow a skirt from me,” Qiao Wei explained.

Yan Lei had clearly seen Sister Yang leaving with skirts in her arms and subconsciously asked, “Did she borrow them?”

Mainly because Qiao Wei rarely interacted with other military spouses in this manner. She often appeared cold and unapproachable, and other military spouses knew she looked down on them. They wouldn’t come to her for such requests.

Unexpectedly, due to this incident, she started having interactions with Captain Zhao’s wife.

“No, she didn’t borrow. I gave them to her directly,” Qiao Wei said. “Those skirts were ones I didn’t want anymore.”

As they talked, they went back inside. The large wardrobe was still open, and Yan Lei was a bit surprised. “All of them?”

Almost half of the wardrobe was empty. Yan Lei, being observant, also noticed that the skirts Qiao Wei gave Sister Yang were made of crinkled fabric.

He asked, “Why don’t you like them anymore?”

Which girl wouldn’t like skirts made of crinkled fabric? When Qiao Wei walked around the town wearing them, young girls would look at her with envy.

Qiao Wei said, “I just don’t like them.”

She simply didn’t like synthetic fabrics, but unexpectedly, this statement was completely misunderstood by Yan Lei.

Because of the significant changes Qiao Wei went through after this incident, she even said, “The previous me is already dead.” In Yan Lei’s eyes, she seemed to have completely transformed and started a new life.

Yan Lei was pleased. “Haven’t you bought new skirts this year? Next time we go to the market, buy a few more, several if you want.”

Qiao Wei: ?

She didn’t understand why he was inexplicably happy.

“Help me boil some water,” she said. “I can’t touch cold water; I’ll wipe myself with warm water since I’ve been sweating.”

Yan Lei became even happier. His eyes lit up, and he went out to boil water.

Now Qiao Wei understood why he was so happy. This morning, there were several marks on her chest and neck.

However, Qiao Wei still felt that this man was easy to please.

After Sister Yang returned home, she peeked in, confirming that Lin Xixi wasn’t in the courtyard. There was movement in the kitchen, indicating that she was probably tidying up.

Taking advantage of Lin Xixi’s absence, Sister Yang quickly ran back into her house, holding a few skirts.

Yingzi was puzzled. “Mom, what did you bring into the house?”

Gangzi said, “I don’t know.”

Hua Zi added, “Like a thief.”

Captain Zhao sneaked back to the bedroom. “What are you doing? Sneaking around. Aren’t you embarrassed? Did you borrow something?”

He thought Sister Yang was embarrassed because Qiao Wei rejected her, so she was acting sneaky.

Sister Yang, however, was in high spirits and scolded him, “Of course not; I didn’t borrow anything. Come over and take a look.”

Captain Zhao went over and frowned. “Why borrow so many? One is enough.”

“I told you it wasn’t borrowed,” Sister Yang said triumphantly. “Qiao Wei gave them to me.”

Captain Zhao was stunned. “Why did she give you them?”

“Just kidding,” Sister Yang laughed. “She can’t fit into them, so she gave them all to me.”

Captain Zhao extended his hand and touched the fabric, realizing it was all crinkled fabric. He muttered, “She doesn’t want so many? Extravagant woman.”

Sister Yang nudged him, “What are you saying? Qiao Wei is just dressing up a bit; it’s not like she can’t afford it. She doesn’t have as many children to raise as we do in our family.”

Moreover, Sister Zhao had many relatives, and it was easy for her to ask for money. After all, Captain Zhao’s mother died early, and his elder sister had taken care of him, equivalent to half a mother.

She gossiped, “You don’t know; when I went over just now, guess who was washing dishes? It was Xiao Yan!”

Captain Zhao: “Ah?”

In the past, Sister Yang would probably share the same expression with him and then say, “Qiao Wei is so lazy; Yan Lei is so controlled by his wife.”

But now, holding several skirts that were given to her, each worth seven or eight yuan, Sister Yang smoothly said, “Xiao Yan really loves his wife.”

Even more commendably, “This Qiao Wei, she’s really a fortunate woman!”