Chapter 31 – Married Life

The next morning, Ye Tao was woken by the blare of a bugle. Her sweet dream was shattered. Frowning, she buried her head in Huo Tingwu’s chest and let out a dissatisfied murmur.

He left a kiss on her forehead, reluctantly got up, and went out.

At the door, he happened to bump into Zhou Chongli. The two headed to the barracks together. Zhou noticed the lunch box in his hand and asked curiously.

Huo Tingwu said, “I’m a married man now. Not like you.”

With that, he strode off, leaving Zhou stunned. What did that mean? Did he not have a wife?

“Hey, Old Huo, make yourself clear!” Zhou called after him.

When Ye Tao woke again, the spot beside her was already cold—clearly, Huo Tingwu had left long ago.

She pressed her sore waist as she sat up, angrily thumping the bed. She’d make him sleep in the side room from tonight on—her waist couldn’t take these nightly indulgences!

When Huo Tingwu returned after planting vegetables, washing clothes and bedsheets, and fetching food, he immediately noticed his wife’s stormy expression. Bad sign.

“Taotao, you’re up. I bought your favorite meat buns—come eat,” he said guiltily, trying to coax her.

Ye Tao brushed her teeth, shot him a sidelong glare, and deliberately turned her head away.

His heart sank—he had really made her angry this time. Quietly, he laid out the food and waited for her.

“Taotao, have a meat bun.”
“Taotao, drink some soy milk.”
“Taotao, how about some pickles?”

Her ears buzzed with irritation. Finally, she shoved a bun into his mouth. “Eat! No talking.”

“Taotao, don’t be mad. I know I was wrong.”

“You’re banned from that… thing for a whole month,” she declared.

“What?!” Huo Tingwu felt the sky collapse. After only a few days of “meat,” was he going back to chaff already? He wanted to plead, but one sharp look from her killed the thought.

The bun in his mouth instantly lost all flavor, as tasteless as wax.

Later, at the barracks—

“Old Huo, Huo Tingwu!”

He cast Zhou a sidelong glance. “What’s with the yelling?”

“I called you twice before you answered. What’s on your mind?”

“Nothing.” In truth, Huo Tingwu was pondering how to cheer up his wife at noon. A new cooking pot, maybe? She loved cooking—surely she’d be happy with that.

Zhou, the seasoned old hand, immediately guessed from his gloomy face. “Kicked out of the bedroom, huh?”

“No. Don’t compare me with you.”

The words hit Zhou like arrows to the chest. He told himself they were brothers—he couldn’t get angry.

Instead, he hooked an arm around Huo’s neck. “Want some advice from your big brother?”

Huo Tingwu kept reading his file, but didn’t shake him off.

“Hey, with your boring personality, it’s a wonder your wife hasn’t made you sleep on the street already.”

A sharp glare from Huo shut him up, hands raised in surrender. Then Zhou poured out every trick he had learned over the years for keeping peace with his wife.

From disdain at first, Huo Tingwu gradually turned impressed. “Thanks, brother.”

Zhou nearly wept. At last, a word of gratitude! He had suffered too long.

That morning, Huo had already sown the vegetable seeds, saving Ye Tao the work.

She brewed a pot of tea and sat under the eaves, enjoying the sun.

“Anyone home?”

She opened the door to see a kindly woman smiling at her.

Zhang Yuzhen, wife of Commander Wang next door, sized her up. She hadn’t expected Deputy Commander Huo to marry such a pretty young girl. Zhang liked pretty things, so her smile grew even warmer. “Hello, I’m from next door, Commander Wang’s wife. My name is Zhang Yuzhen.”

Ye Tao remembered Huo mentioning that his direct superior lived next door. “Hello, Sister-in-law Yuzhen. Please, come in.”

“Yesterday I didn’t get a chance to visit. Today, when my husband reminded me that you’d just moved in, I thought you probably hadn’t planted vegetables yet. So I brought you some from home.”

Ye Tao gratefully accepted. “That’s wonderful, thank you! I was just worrying about what to cook for lunch.”

She brought out a stool, and they sat chatting under the eaves.

“The climate here’s great—you can grow several crops a year. I saw your furrows when I came in. Looks like you’ve already planted?”

“Yes, Tingwu planted them early this morning.”

“Deputy Commander Huo really dotes on his wife. Much better than my old man.”

Ye Tao only smiled. Every household had its own way—no place for her to comment.

Before long, Zhang said she had to go cook. Ye Tao put some candy in her basket so she wouldn’t leave empty-handed.

“Candy’s expensive. Those vegetables aren’t worth that much,” Zhang protested, refusing.

“Sister-in-law, if you don’t take it, I won’t dare accept your vegetables next time.”

“Alright then. If you need anything, just come to me. Don’t be shy.”

Ye Tao agreed, and after seeing her out, went to prepare lunch. Among the vegetables was a bundle of garlic shoots—perfect for stir-frying with cured pork.

She cut a slab of bacon, boiled and scrubbed it clean, then sliced it thin. Into the pan it went, sizzling until the fat rendered, then the garlic shoots were tossed in. Finally, a sprinkle of scallions to lift the aroma.

Huo Tingwu caught the fragrance from afar and quickened his pace toward home.

“Hey, why’re you rushing?” Zhou asked blankly. But when he reached the doorway and smelled the rich aroma, he made the same drooling face as little Ruirui. Back home, he told his wife, “Ye Tao’s cooking is amazing. Old Huo’s lucky.”

“What? My cooking’s not good enough?” Xu Lan demanded.

He quickly switched into survival mode. “Impossible! If anyone dares say your cooking’s not good, I’ll fight them. Look at your knife skills, your seasoning—if you’re not a culinary god of our time, who is?”

“Wow!” Ruirui exclaimed, almost believing his father’s tall tale.

Xu Lan burst out laughing. “Alright, stop clowning. I know my own skill. Only you would praise me that high.”

“I was telling the truth. Right, Ruirui? Doesn’t Mom’s food taste the best?”

Catching his father’s meaningful glance, Ruirui shouted, “Yes! Mom’s cooking is the best!”

In truth, Xu Lan hadn’t cooked at all in her first twenty years. After a family accident forced her into marrying Zhou, they had lived on canteen food. It wasn’t until Ruirui was born that she slowly learned to cook. Now, though not a master chef, her dishes had good color, aroma, and taste—no wonder Ruirui grew so plump.

Not far away, at the Wang household, the delicious smells drifted over as well.

“Good thing we’re leaving soon. If I smelled Comrade Xiao Ye’s cooking every day, I’d gain ten pounds,” said Wang Mingshan.

He rarely talked about work matters. For him to say this, it must mean progress was being made.

“Is it settled?” Zhang Yuzhen asked.

He nodded. After seven or eight years stationed on the island without promotion, the chance had finally come. In his thirties now, he couldn’t afford to miss it.

Once he transferred out, the position of regimental commander would likely pass to Huo Tingwu. At just twenty-five, the young man’s future looked bright. Wang urged his wife to maintain good ties with Ye Tao—connections mattered, and perhaps one day, she could lend a hand.