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Li Xia ended up purchasing four rattan chairs, a rattan table, and a woven storage basket.
The chairs and table could be placed in the courtyard, making it a perfect spot to relax, enjoy tea, and unwind. The storage basket would also come in handy for organizing things—it was always useful no matter the time or place.
Since she had bought several items, the seller offered to deliver them.
Seeing her buying so many tables and chairs, Sister-in-law Tao asked curiously… “Didn’t you already buy tables and stools last time we went to the supply and marketing cooperative? Why are you buying more?”
“I plan to put these in the courtyard,” Li Xia explained. “That way, we can sit outside, drink tea, and read when we have free time.”
“Oh my, your scholarly types really are different,” Sister-in-law Tao remarked with admiration.
Drinking tea and reading? Their family didn’t own a single decent book.
Even though her two eldest sons were in elementary school, their grades were terrible. The textbooks they received at the start of the semester barely lasted before they ended up looking like greasy scraps, with the covers long gone.
“No wonder your little An An is so well-behaved! Just now, while you were shopping, he even helped you with the calculations! There were so many numbers, yet he didn’t make a single mistake. If I remember correctly, An An is only four years old, right? Has he already started elementary school back in your hometown?” Sister-in-law Tao asked.
Little An An, who had just been praised for being so obedient, was happily licking the Monkey King candy figure in his hand. He looked up and gave Sister-in-law Tao a bright smile.
“Not yet. An An hasn’t gone to school,” Li Xia replied.
He hadn’t attended preschool for military families, as Daxi Village didn’t have one—only an elementary school.
An An was only four years old this year, and the original plan was to send him to elementary school in two years.
“He hasn’t been to school, yet he can already do calculations? That’s incredible! How does An An’s little brain work? My two kids are already in elementary school, and I doubt they could figure it out.” Sister-in-law Tao was even more astonished.
Comparing one child to another was truly frustrating.
Li Xia said, “I usually have An An help with simple addition and subtraction and read storybooks with him. He enjoys it and is eager to learn, so he picks things up quickly. Sister-in-law Tao, if you have time, you can try this too.”
Incorporating learning into daily life, making it a fun and engaging experience, was the easiest way for children to absorb knowledge.
It was far better than sitting in a classroom all day, enduring dry and tedious lessons, and memorizing everything by rote.
Besides, An An was naturally bright. Many times, Li Xia only had to explain something once, and he would remember it immediately.
“To be honest with you, I haven’t had much schooling myself. I only attended a literacy class for a while in the countryside, so I can’t really teach much. But with An An being this smart, when school starts, you could probably send him straight to first grade,” Sister-in-law Tao said.
Li Xia nodded. “That’s what I was thinking too.”
The ‘Preschool for Military Families’ was an early version of modern-day kindergartens, though even less structured.
At least kindergartens taught children basic skills like singing and drawing. However, the current ‘Preschool for Military Families’ was just one teacher overseeing dozens of kids.
The youngest were only a few months old or a year old, while the older ones were three or four. Some cried, some fussed—the teacher’s only responsibility was to keep them out of trouble. There wasn’t much actual teaching involved.
Li Xia felt that sending An An to ‘Preschool for Military Families’ would be a complete waste of time. That was why, when Gu Weicheng had previously suggested enrolling An An, she hadn’t agreed.
Even back then, she had already planned to wait until elementary school started and send An An straight to first grade.
…
When she got home, she let the chicken loose in the courtyard. She planned to wait until Gu Weicheng returned so he could slaughter it.
She didn’t dare to kill it herself…
For lunch, Li Xia and An An had rice noodles. There were still some left from her last trip to the market, enough to last a few more days.
She stir-fried some shredded wood ear mushrooms and mixed them into the rice noodles. The aroma was especially appetizing. After finishing one bowl, An An still wasn’t satisfied and asked for another half bowl.
Gu Weicheng had written on a note that he wouldn’t be coming home for lunch, so Li Xia hadn’t prepared his portion. But unexpectedly, he came back after all.
“The rattan table and chairs in the courtyard—did you buy them at the market yesterday?” Gu Weicheng asked as he walked in, seeing Li Xia and An An sitting at the table eating rice noodles.
He had been training all morning, and his clothes were damp with sweat.
Li Xia had just finished eating. She looked up and asked, “Didn’t you say you wouldn’t be back for lunch today? Have you eaten yet? If not, I can soak some rice noodles and cook you a bowl right now.”
“No need, I already ate at the cafeteria,” Gu Weicheng replied.
Li Xia sat back down. “That’s good, then. How did you know we went to the market? Was it Sister-in-law Tao who told you? I didn’t just buy the rattan chairs: I also bought a chicken. Tonight, we’re having braised chicken with mushrooms.”
Upon seeing Gu Weicheng again, Li Xia couldn’t help recalling what that monk had said.
He told her that she belonged here, that she had come to rekindle an old fate with him.
Was there some deeper connection between her and Gu Weicheng?
“Alright, I’ll kill the chicken when I get home tonight,” Gu Weicheng said. “Not Sister-in-law Tao—it was the political commissar.”
“Huh? The Political Commissar?” Li Xia was stunned.
She had only gone to the market, so how did even the Political Commissar know about it? And he even specifically mentioned it to Gu Weicheng.
“Yes, our Political Commissar’s wife also went to the market today. When she returned, she told him that she saw you save a child who was choking,” Gu Weicheng explained.
“The Political Commissar said that his and Sister-in-law’s first child also choked while eating. They weren’t rescued in time and ended up suffocating to death. At the time, the child was only three years old. The Political Commissar and Sister-in-law were both away in another region, so they didn’t even get to see their child one last time. This time, when Sister-in-law saw how quickly you saved the child, she wanted to ask if you would be willing to teach everyone this life-saving method. If you agree, in a couple of days, our military district happens to have a training session, and the Political Commissar would like to invite you to be a guest instructor and teach everyone about this technique. If you don’t want to, that’s fine too. The Political Commissar specifically asked me to convey the message to see if you would be interested.”
Li Xia hadn’t expected such a turn of events.
Thinking about it, it made sense. Many people in this era weren’t aware of these emergency first-aid methods. If a child choked while eating, they might miss the best window for rescue during the rush to the hospital.
“I’m willing, of course I’m willing,” Li Xia replied without hesitation.
“But this method wasn’t something I figured out on my own. I actually read about it in a book a long time ago. That book recorded several emergency rescue techniques, but unfortunately, it was later burned,” Li Xia explained.
She was more than willing to teach everyone, but in order to protect herself, she needed to come up with another reason. Otherwise, there would be no way to explain why someone with no medical training knew these things.
Hearing this, Gu Weicheng suddenly understood.
“So that’s how it is. Today, when the Political Commissar came to me, the first thing he asked was whether you were a doctor. It caught me completely off guard. I’d never heard you mention studying medicine before, but now it makes sense. Some books truly were valuable. It’s a shame they were burned.” He stopped himself from saying anything further.
Ever since the movement began, he had seen far too many books being burned. Among them, there were indeed harmful ones, but there were also many good books. What a pity.
“I’ll go talk to the Political Commissar about this later,” Gu Weicheng added, not forgetting to remind her.
“The bowls can wait; I’ll wash them when I get back tonight. Leave the chicken for me to handle too. You and An An should take a good nap this afternoon and get some rest,” Gu Weicheng said.
Such a meticulous man.
Li Xia thought to herself, but her heart felt warm—sweeter than the sugar figurine An An had eaten.
…
Meanwhile, Vice Regimental Commander Yan returned home from the cafeteria with his lunch. As soon as he stepped inside, he saw Lin Jinghe sitting there in a daze, holding Chen Chen in her arms.
After asking about it, he finally understood what a dangerous situation had unfolded that morning.
Vice Regimental Commander Yan broke into a cold sweat upon hearing the story. He immediately reminded Lin Jinghe to be extra careful when feeding Chen Chen in the future.
“Who was the comrade that saved Chen Chen? Do you know where she lives? We must properly thank her,” Vice Regimental Commander Yan said.
“I was just about to tell you! Do you know who she is?” Lin Jinghe’s voice was full of excitement. “She’s actually Commander Gu’s wife!”
She was still in disbelief as she continued, “When I heard it, I couldn’t believe it. She’s really Commander Gu’s wife! She looks so beautiful, speaks so gently, and she even saved our Chen Chen! Yan Ziqiang, tell me, how can someone be so wonderful?”
Vice Regimental Commander Yan was dumbfounded. Just last night, his wife had assumed that Commander Gu’s wife must look plain, like an average countryside woman.
And now, all of a sudden, she was singing a completely different tune.
“This time, do you believe I wasn’t making things up?” Vice Regimental Commander Yan said. Last night, Lin Jinghe had accused him of speaking favorably just because he owed Gu Weicheng a favor.
“You ‘did’ make a mistake—she’s even more beautiful than you said!” Lin Jinghe huffed.
“But back to the point, we really need to think about how to properly thank her. I tried to give her money today, but she refused to take it. She even said there was no need to thank her! But how could we not? That would be far too ungrateful.”
…
That afternoon, Lin Jinghe appeared outside Li Xia’s house.
She didn’t knock on the door. Instead, she quietly hung a piece of pork on the door handle and slipped away.
When Gu Weicheng returned home in the evening, he was met with the peculiar sight of a slab of meat hanging on their courtyard door—and it was the highly sought-after pork belly!
Even with all the unusual things he’d encountered before, Gu Weicheng found this baffling.
Who would just leave a piece of pork at his door for no reason?
…