Chapter 45 Arrival / Crazy Woman

“No evidence? We all saw it. You three men were about to search a woman’s body.” The people on the train were all enthusiastic citizens. Seeing the three men shouting, they immediately came forward to testify. Someone even took out their work ID card and showed it to everyone, “This is my work ID. I work for the Hai× City Fisheries Administration. If these three men are innocent, I’m willing to apologize to them in person.”

This action woke everyone up. They all followed suit. “I work for the Wen× City Newspaper. If these three men are innocent, I’m willing to apologize to them in person.” “I work at the Hai× City Tractor Factory. If these three men are innocent, I’m willing to apologize to them in person.” “I work at the San× City General Supply and Marketing Cooperative. If these three men are innocent, I’m willing to apologize to them in person.”…

One passenger after another reported their identity and accused the three men. Qian Xiaolan was truly touched. She bowed to everyone and thanked them, “Thank you all for trusting me and helping to expose these bad guys.”

Everyone waved their hands with a righteous expression. An old comrade from the Agricultural Bureau said with a smile, “This is what we should do. People like them should be arrested. Otherwise, more innocent people will be tricked. Besides, comrade, your eyes are bright and you’re well-dressed. You couldn’t possibly steal anything.”

Everyone nodded in agreement. Seeing this, the conductor asked someone to record everyone’s testimony and took the three men away.

To thank everyone for their righteousness, Qian Xiaolan took out a bag of Great White Rabbit candies from her luggage. She opened it and gave each person three candies. One bag was just enough for the whole carriage. In those days, Great White Rabbit candies were very precious. Qian Xiaolan’s actions won her even more favor.

When they got off the train, Qian Xiaolan had a handful of notes in her hand. They were contact information left by people in the same carriage.

Gu Yanqing glanced at her and said with a hint of disappointment, “Hey, my wife is so capable and popular. I don’t have any use anymore.”

Qian Xiaolan laughed, “Cut it out. If it weren’t for the blue uniform you’re wearing, how could they have trusted me so easily?”

It was true. In those days, people were very trusting and admired soldiers.

Gu Yanqing instantly puffed out his chest with pride. He was about to say a few words about how great he was when he heard someone excitedly shout, “Captain, over here!”

It was Gu Yanqing’s subordinate who came to pick him up and return to his unit.

Qian Xiaolan followed Gu Yanqing into the car and listened to the young soldier chatter for three hours, almost questioning her life choices. When the car stopped, Qian Xiaolan immediately got out. She stood and took a breath of the salty sea air, finally feeling alive again.

Gu Yanqing chuckled and patted her back, “Are you alright? Xiao Huang just talks a lot.”

“He’s not just talkative. He’s louder than a flock of chickens and ducks arguing, alright?” Qian Xiaolan mumbled softly, causing Gu Yanqing to burst into laughter again.

Xiao Huang parked the car and came down to see the two of them still standing there laughing. He was puzzled, “Captain, Sister-in-law, we need to go to the state-owned restaurant to eat before going back to the military unit. Why aren’t you going in?” He then asked them what they wanted to eat. After asking, he went to order food.

The two of them followed him in. It was past mealtime, and the state-owned restaurant only had rice and salted fish left. They didn’t mind and ordered two bowls of rice, a plate of salted fish, and a bowl of egg drop soup. They ate it all.

After filling their stomachs, Gu Yanqing asked Qian Xiaolan, “Should we stay at the guesthouse tonight or go to our house?”

“Staying at the guesthouse is more expensive. Of course, we’ll stay at our own house. It’s not cold here. We can just tidy up a bit and make do for one night. We’ll talk about the rest tomorrow.”

“Yes, yes, Sister-in-law is right. The big furniture in your house has been prepared by me and the other comrades. We’ve also cleaned it roughly. Now we just need to add some small items that you need.” Xiao Huang agreed, nodding. He thought Qian Xiaolan was a good homemaker.

Qian Xiaolan asked him to list the furniture in the house, and Xiao Huang listed them one by one. Then, Qian Xiaolan asked the two of them to take her to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy things.

Qian Xiaolan took out her tickets and bought rice, flour, oil, salt, pots, pans, soap, tissues, basins, thermoses, a pair of rain boots, a small shovel, and a small bucket. Since she had come to the South Province, she needed tools for catching seafood. Her eyes scanned the area. There were dried salted fish and seaweed. Since they had just arrived and didn’t have any vegetables to eat, Qian Xiaolan bought some. She saw potatoes and cabbage nearby and wanted to buy them, but Gu Yanqing stopped her, “We can exchange vegetables in the village.”

Qian Xiaolan thought about it and agreed. She didn’t buy them.

They loaded the things into the car. Gu Yanqing asked Qian Xiaolan to wait, then ran off for a while. When he came back, he was carrying a piece of pork, probably three or four pounds. Xiao Huang was amazed, “Captain, you’re so lucky! You actually managed to buy so much meat!” He swallowed nervously.

Qian Xiaolan felt a little sad, “When I settle down here, I’ll invite you guys over for dinner and make you some meat.”

Xiao Huang happily agreed.

The house that the old man bought and the military base were all on the same island. After they bought the things, they drove for another hour before finally arriving. Their new residence was in a village a kilometer away from the military camp. Besides locals, there were also many military families living nearby.

As soon as Qian Xiaolan got out of the car, a group of people surrounded her, smiling and greeting her.

“Hey, you must be Xiao Gu’s new wife. You’re so beautiful.”

“Good, good. You’re truly a perfect match.”

“Xiao Gu (Captain Gu) has a wife now. You can’t be so reckless and charge forward like before.”

Qian Xiaolan didn’t recognize anyone, so she just smiled back at those who smiled at her. Hearing this, she raised her eyebrows and looked at Gu Yanqing.

Gu Yanqing unloaded the things from the car and introduced the people who had greeted her to her. Then, he whispered to her, “I didn’t know you would come here.”

Qian Xiaolan understood, but she still didn’t agree with his actions. She glared at him.

The others saw them flirting with each other and laughed and teased, “Xiao Gu (Captain Gu), there are so many people here. If you have anything to say, wait until you’re under the covers at night.”

There was a burst of laughter around them. Qian Xiaolan also blushed at the right time.

Just then, an incongruous voice broke in.

“I thought Captain Gu had such high standards that he wouldn’t accept this or that. So, it turns out he’s just like everyone else!”

Everyone stopped and turned to look at the speaker. Qian Xiaolan also looked up.

The speaker was a young woman in her twenties with an extremely ordinary appearance. She disdainfully looked Qian Xiaolan up and down, then said, “Captain Gu’s wife is so beautiful. I guess the dowry wasn’t low, right?”

“You men are so superficial. They say a wife should be virtuous, but you bring home a vase. Are you going to treat her like an ancestor and worship her?”

What kind of crazy woman was this? Qian Xiaolan was amused by her anger.