Chapter 31: The Package

In the 1980s, there was no liquid soap, which Lin Qiao hadn’t realized. When she made it earlier, Ji Duo hadn’t mentioned it either, so she looked at him.

Ji Duo’s face showed no expression, making it unclear if he knew about this. Now wasn’t the time to ask, so Lin Qiao didn’t pursue it.

Ye Minshu was the first to react, laughing, “Liquid soap, isn’t that just soapy water?” Her attitude was dismissive.

Liquid soap is not soapy water. Its formula is different from that of solid soap, and making thick liquid soap like Lin Qiao’s is even harder than making solid soap. But since Ye Minshu insisted, Lin Qiao didn’t bother explaining further, knowing she wouldn’t listen anyway.

Lin Qiao explained its use to Xu Li, “This is mainly for washing hands and hair. Just pour a little into a container, add water, and it will lather quickly.”

All detergents are saponification products, a reaction between alkalis and fats with different ratios. Although called soap, liquid soap is rarely used as soap. It’s the precursor to shampoo, hand soap, and dishwashing liquid. Liquid soap came first, and after adjustments and improvements, other cleaning products were developed.

With limited materials, Lin Qiao could only make basic liquid soap.

But this already delighted Xu Li, “Our Qiao Qiao is amazing, knowing everything. Teaching chemistry really makes a difference.”

She immediately unwrapped a bar of handmade soap and placed it on the washbasin stand, then put the rest and the liquid soap away, “I’ll find a smaller bottle to pour some into.”

She was clearly happier than when she received the new clothes from Ye Minshu.

When she finds out Ji Duo also gave her something, her joy is even more evident, even though he bought her a pair of reading glasses, which seems unoriginal.

“Getting married really changes things. If I’d known, I would’ve had you marry earlier.” Then she reconsidered, “No, if you’d married earlier, you wouldn’t have wanted to.”

Still not right, “If it were earlier, Qiao Qiao wouldn’t have been of age.”

Not only was she underage, but Lin Qiao was also previously betrothed to Ji Ze. Of course, these things couldn’t be mentioned, but Xu Li was very happy nonetheless.

Just as she thought of Ji Ze, he returned, entering with a shout, “Happy birthday, Grandma! Look what I got for you!”

“I told you not to buy anything,” Xu Li repeated for the umpteenth time that day.

Ji Ze just smiled, “I didn’t buy anything. I didn’t spend a penny. See for yourself.” He unfolded a notebook filled with clippings.

The first page featured a photo of a younger Xu Li, not too young, probably in her forties, with neatly styled shoulder-length hair, a bright smile, and sparkling eyes. The background suggested it was taken at a school. There were several more clippings, all cut from different newspapers, reporting on Xu Li. Some had photos, and some didn’t. The last page was a collage of various awards, likely taken by Ji Ze himself. Who knows when he took these photos?

Xu Li couldn’t help but touch the pages, her eyes filled with nostalgia. Ji Ze handed the book to her solemnly, “I cut these from old newspapers. It’s a little memento of your sixty years. I didn’t spend a penny, Grandma.”

But were such old newspapers easy to find?

Some of these were from when he was just a few years old. Collecting them and making this scrapbook took a lot of effort, far beyond what money could measure.

When it came to giving heartfelt gifts and making people happy, even ten Ji Duos couldn’t match his nephew. Xu Li was visibly moved, her eyes brimming with tears.

Lin Qiao couldn’t help but glance at Ji Duo, noticing his deep gaze toward the old man, Old Mr. Ji.

Old Mr. Ji, however, didn’t seem to notice, looking at his grandson with a hint of pride.

Does this have something to do with Old Mr. Ji?

Just as Lin Qiao had the thought, Ye Minshu laughed and said, “I was wondering what this kid was busy with all day, not even coming home. Turns out he was making this for you. Whoever raises a child, that’s who they’re close to. I remember the first time he called ‘Mom,’ he was actually following Ji Duo and called you.”

Children can’t tell the difference between ‘Mom’ and ‘Grandma.’ Ji Duo called you every day, and Ji Ze, who was just learning to talk, picked it up. She said this to highlight her son’s efforts and show closeness, but there was a hint of jealousy she probably didn’t even notice.

Lin Qiao immediately thought of the incident at the dinner table last time and wondered if Ji Ze knew how hard his mother was trying. But today, Ye Minshu was very well-behaved, only saying a few words before glancing at Ji Jun and not daring to say more.

Since she spread rumors about Ji Duo and Lin Qiao, Ji Jun has been so angry that he hasn’t come home for half a month, as if he has unlocked some inner strength. Whenever she did something wrong, he would stay at his unit or apply for business trips, staying away for several days.

This time, he hadn’t been home for more than half a month. Fortunately, he had just been promoted, so he could say he was trying to make a good impression. Any longer, and it would be hard to explain.

Ye Minshu wanted to use Xu Li’s birthday to make amends with her husband, so she didn’t dare to provoke him. Xu Li, however, was genuinely happy and didn’t care what she said. She hugged her grandson, “Grandma loves it. Next time, don’t go into so much trouble. Just knowing you care is enough.”

“Next time, when you turn a hundred, I’ll go to the trouble again,” Ji Ze said sweetly.

Old Mr. Ji had been watching from the side. Seeing that the conversation was wrapping up, he said, “Let’s eat. I think Xiao Ling is hungry.”

Actually, Xiao Ling wasn’t hungry. She had learned from experience that when her dad left home, it was because her mom had upset him again. After all, her dad had such a good temper. When she was little, she would ride on his shoulders and pull his hair, even breaking his favorite teapot, and he wouldn’t get mad.

Children shouldn’t interfere in adult matters. When she couldn’t stay at home, she would come here, where Xu Li fed her so well that her face had become rounder.

When the old man spoke, she was munching on a peach crisp cookie. Hearing him, she immediately hid her little oily hands behind her back and nodded, “Yes, yes, I’m hungry.”

The key was that while her hands were hidden, the cookie crumbs at the corner of her mouth were not, making Lin Qiao want to laugh.

The family happily ate together, and after the meal, Lin Qiao handed the little girl two pieces of handmade soap wrapped in wax paper. “Here, your aunt made these for you.”

“Really?” Ji Ling’s eyes lit up.

“Just kidding.” Lin Qiao extended her hand, “Give them back, I don’t want to give them to you anymore.”

“No way, once you give them to me, they’re mine!” Ji Ling hugged the soap and ran off.

Watching her pigtails bounce as she ran, Lin Qiao laughed for a moment before sitting next to Xu Li to chat. She and Ji Duo planned to stay the night and leave early the next morning. Ji Ze would also ride back to the military district with them, staying at the old house for the night.

Back in their room that evening, Ji Duo suddenly asked, “Do you like little girls?”

Lin Qiao was momentarily confused before realizing he meant Ji Ling. “Who wouldn’t? Xiao Ling is so adorable.”

Ye Minshu’s two children didn’t resemble her much—one was carefree and outgoing, the other mischievous and clever. Ye Minshu was gentle and considerate but always calculating, while Ji Ling’s eyes were pure, filled with innate kindness toward people and things.

Ji Duo didn’t say anything more and picked up the package Xu Li had left on the desk.

The package was about a foot square and wrapped securely in multiple layers. Ji Yan had sent it from abroad, and who knows how long it took to arrive?

Lin Qiao watched him unwrap it and brought up the previous topic, “Isn’t liquid soap sold here?”

“I don’t know,” Ji Duo replied without looking up from his task.

This surprised Lin Qiao. “You don’t know?” But then she realized it wasn’t so hard to understand.

Women typically paid more attention to such household items. Ji Duo, spending most of his time in the military with a bunch of rough men, probably didn’t know. They could wash their entire bodies with one bar of soap, and using scented soap was considered a luxury.

Maybe she should ask Xu Li or Aunt Zhang when she have time. Aunt Zhang would definitely know about these things.

However, Ji Duo noticed Lin Qiao’s question and put down the scissors, looking at her sideways, “Who taught you?”

In her previous life, there were plenty of recipes online, not to mention she studied this field. But she couldn’t say that. If liquid soap wasn’t sold yet, she had to be cautious with her answer.

Lin Qiao didn’t show any panic, “I learned to make soap from someone else. I modified the recipe for liquid soap myself. Solid soap is too cumbersome for washing hair and bathing.”

The formula for solid soap is simple. There was a small soap factory in their county that produced long bars of soap, selling for forty cents each. Finding out the recipe wasn’t difficult. The challenge was the raw materials, how to make it well, and how to convert solid soap into liquid.

Lin Qiao remained calm, and Ji Duo couldn’t read anything from her face. He continued unwrapping the package, and it was unclear whether he believed her or not.

Now wasn’t the time to say more. Over-explaining would only make her seem guilty.

Lin Qiao also focused on the package and saw the man pull out… um…

She stepped forward and took the item from his hand, along with the package, “Let me do it.”

Ji Duo’s hand, holding the item, paused mid-air. He glanced at her, “What is it?”

“Women’s clothing.” Lin Qiao didn’t expect that the “good stuff” Ji Yan mentioned several times would turn out to be underwear. Ji Yan had sent more than one piece, including padded and unpadded lightweight styles and sports bras. The presentation was a bit unexpected. She decided to ignore the image of the light pink piece hanging from Ji Duo’s long fingers and quickly pulled out several packages from under the underwear.

This time, Lin Qiao smiled, feeling both surprised and relieved, because the packages were sanitary pads she had recently been missing.

Afraid she wouldn’t know how to use them, Ji Yan had even included a note. Lin Qiao read it and found it no different from later versions. “Our sister is really a good person.”

She promptly gave Ji Yan a mental “good person” card and was about to put everything away when a small box fell out from the bottom of the package, rolling to Ji Duo’s feet.

The box wasn’t large, covered in foreign text, looking like a medicine box.

Ji Duo bent down to pick it up, and with just one glance, his face darkened. Lin Qiao followed his gaze and saw his jaw tighten as if he was suppressing a laugh.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, curious.

“Nothing, just someone being overly concerned,” Ji Duo said, tearing off the paper on the box and crushing it. Seeing Lin Qiao still looking at him, his gaze shifted to the underwear she had put back in the package. “How do you wear this?”

Lin Qiao couldn’t help but detect a hint of mischief in his otherwise serious tone.

So she stopped packing and raised an eyebrow at him, “Guess.”

She probably didn’t realize how alluring she looked with her chin slightly raised and her eyelashes fluttering. Ji Duo instinctively turned his face away, then quickly frowned and turned back, “Put it on and let me see.”

He was frowning seriously while asking her to put it on for him to see…

Lin Qiao thought this man was definitely not as proper as he seemed. A man who acted like an old cadre during the day and turned into a wolf at night couldn’t be that proper.

She wasn’t one to follow the rules either. She held up one piece against her chest, “Do you think this one looks good?” Then picked up another, “Or this one?”

Even if he had only guessed before, her actions made it clear where it was worn, especially since she smiled and looked at him with a teasing glint in her eye. Ji Duo instinctively rubbed the paper box in his hand, his gaze deepening. “I’ll go lock the door.”

“Why lock the door? Do you want me to change now?”

Ji Duo didn’t say anything, but his expression confirmed her suspicion.

Lin Qiao couldn’t help but laugh, stuffing the underwear back into the package. “I don’t dare. You didn’t bring the stuff.”

It’s funny. She didn’t know because she had transmigrated, but Ji Duo, born and raised here, didn’t ask clearly either. When he found out they didn’t have enough, he went to the family planning department, only to be told these were meant to be reused and he should wash them himself. They had wasted five, and the dignified Captain Ji couldn’t go rummaging through the trash.

Today, they came back for Xu Li’s birthday, and no one thought about those things, so they didn’t bring any. Lin Qiao was just teasing him.

Indeed, the seemingly proper ones were the most interesting. If it were those who talked dirty, she wouldn’t dare tease them, as they would verbally take advantage of her ten times over.

The more she thought about it, the more she wanted to laugh. She hadn’t finished packing when she was suddenly grabbed around the waist. Before she could react, the man behind her turned her around and placed her on the desk, his breath close to hers. “You did that on purpose.”

It was a statement, not a question.

Lin Qiao’s legs were forced apart by his knees, her inner thighs brushing against his waist, a very dangerous position. The man’s hands were pressed against the table on either side of her, and despite her efforts to lean back and retreat, she was still firmly held in his embrace, pinned down from above.

“You did it on purpose.” The man pronounced slowly yet firmly, repeating himself.

Lin Qiao never expected him to skip the teasing and go straight to the action.

“There’s footsteps outside. Isn’t someone coming?” She chose to divert his attention, trying to mislead him, and immediately lowered her voice.

However, the man was not fooled; instead, he grabbed her waist as she tried to retreat and pulled her back, “My hearing is trained.”

In this grab, Lin Qiao directly miscalculated her strength and crashed into him, a collision between softness and hardness. And it wasn’t a mutual injury; at least the hard side came out unscathed, even more vigorous, ready to launch a more intense attack on her at any moment.

The man seemed to sense it, too. He lowered his gaze and tightened his grip on her.

Lin Qiao really didn’t dare to move this time, only stubbornly holding her ground, “I’m serious, someone really is coming.”

She didn’t know if the man’s previous words were just to scare her, but after a moment of silence this time, he actually let her go. Just as Lin Qiao was about to breathe a sigh of relief, a knock on the door came from outside, “Second son, are you asleep?”

Someone really is coming?!

Lin Qiao quickly slid down from the table, grabbed the pile of things they had messed up, and stuffed them into the drawer under the writing desk.

After stuffing them in, Ji Duo quickly resumed his cold and serious demeanor. When he spoke again, his voice was as low as ever, “Not yet.”

His expression management was spot on. He didn’t say anything, and Lin Qiao didn’t say anything. Who would know what position they were in just now?

Outside, Xu Li obviously didn’t know. Upon hearing, she pushed the door open, “Your dad is looking for you, he wants you to go to the study.”

Going to the study this late?

Lin Qiao noticed that the man’s jawline tightened slightly, but he didn’t show any surprise, “Okay, I’ll go in a bit.”

“In a bit? Your dad is waiting for you in the study…” Xu Li wanted to say something more, but when she saw Lin Qiao in the room, she paused, “Then hurry up.”

She closed the door, and Ji Duo immediately turned back and fiercely kissed Lin Qiao on the lips, saying, “Wait for me.” He straightened his clothes and went out.

Wait, wait for what? Really wait for him to come back and continue?

Lin Qiao took out the packages she had hastily stuffed into the drawer and began to organize them.

Ji Yan is really a good person. With her previous menstrual frequency, these sanitary pads would last her more than a year. She even told her to try them and switch if they weren’t good.

These underwear too, Ji Yan probably didn’t bring them before because she didn’t know Lin Qiao’s size and was afraid of buying the wrong size.

After tidying up, Lin Qiao glanced at the mirror on the desk and suddenly froze. The light wasn’t very bright, but it couldn’t hide the blush on the beautiful face in the mirror. Maybe it was the angle, but the upturned eyes even had a hint of red, full of allure. If Xu Li had seen her like this just now…

What’s with this body, reacting so obviously to a little teasing?

Xu Li saw it, so she quickly closed the door. As soon as she stepped out, she whispered to her son, “Didn’t I tell you to be careful? Qiao Qiao is still young.”

Ji Duo looked at her inexplicably, “Not that small.”

T/N: The word xiao (小）used here is the same but has a different meaning.

Although he hadn’t looked closely with the lights on, whether it was from his large hands measuring or the soft feel of her skin pressed against his, Lin Qiao definitely couldn’t be considered small. She had a curvy figure, and any extra weight would go to the right places.

Xu Li didn’t catch the hidden meaning in her son’s serious appearance: “Nineteen isn’t young? I heard the Marriage Law is going to change, and soon men will have to be 22 and women 20 to get married.”

This proposal had been around for a while. Initially, the legal age was set at 18 for women and 20 for men because the newly established country needed people.

Later, the population grew too quickly, especially between 1963 and 1972, becoming a burden on the country. There wasn’t enough food or jobs in the cities, so young people were encouraged to move to the countryside, and family planning policies were introduced.

The legal marriage age was bound to be raised to reduce the population burden, which didn’t surprise Ji Duo.

As they reached the study, he pushed the door open and saw Ji Lao sitting behind the desk, with Ji Ze standing opposite him.

The atmosphere wasn’t exactly tense, but it was clear they hadn’t been talking before he entered. Ji Ze looked like he was waiting to be reprimanded. Ji Duo glanced at his mother, who waved her hand, “You talk, I can’t stay up any longer.” She returned to the main house and closed the door behind her.

“Sit down,” Ji Lao said, looking at the chair by the wall.

Ji Duo adjusted his pants and sat down. Ji Lao got straight to the point, “This kid wants to go into business. Did you know?”

Ji Duo not only knew about it, but he also knew that Ji Ze had gone to great lengths to prepare a birthday gift for Xu Li. He had even changed his usual behavior of avoiding Lin Qiao and had proactively suggested riding back to the military base with him the next morning, staying at the old house for the night. This was all to take advantage of the old man’s good mood to bring up the matter.

He didn’t hide it, “I’ve heard a bit about it.”

The old man looked at his grandson, “So you’ve been planning this for a while, just waiting for today to tell me?”

“It’s not that I was specifically waiting for today. I wanted to bring it up earlier, but then you got sick and hospitalized, and… I just couldn’t find the right opportunity.”

The old man didn’t need to ask what else. He rubbed the armrest of his chair, “You were afraid I’d be angry about Qiao Qiao and wouldn’t agree, so you prepared the gift for your grandmother?”

The old man’s tone was calm, but his gaze on Ji Ze had shifted from tonight’s appreciation to scrutiny and evaluation.

Having personal motives isn’t a problem, but if those motives lead to using family relationships to achieve goals, he needed to reassess his grandson’s character.

Ji Ze wasn’t foolish; he immediately understood and looked aggrieved, “I’ve been preparing since the beginning of the year. I even asked Yu Jin and Chen Weiguo to help me collect the newspapers. You can ask them if you don’t believe me. I wanted to give Grandma a special gift for her sixtieth birthday.”

If he had indeed asked people to collect newspapers, it would be easy to verify, making it hard to lie.

The old man’s expression softened slightly, but his face remained stern, “What’s making you unhappy at work? You can talk to the family. Your uncle and I can help you find a solution. If you really don’t want to stay in the military, you can return to civilian life. Why do you suddenly want to go into business?”

“Do you want to hear the truth?” Ji Ze looked at him.

The old man didn’t speak, so Ji Ze lowered his gaze, showing some bitterness, “I’m actually unhappy everywhere. If I perform slightly below expectations, even if it’s just normal performance, people say I’m not good enough, that I can’t compare to my uncle. If I try to stand out, they say it’s normal because I’m my uncle’s nephew.”

Ji Duo was like a mountain blocking his way. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t surpass it.

“Wherever I go, I’m always Ji Chunming’s grandson, Ji Duo’s nephew, and because my name is similar to my uncle’s, I’m constantly compared to him.”

When Ji Ze first enlisted, the family planned to send him far away for a few years, like Ji Duo, to gain experience and make a name for himself before transferring him back. But Ye Minshu couldn’t bear to part with her son, and Ji Jun’s attitude was ambiguous, so they placed him in Ji Duo’s unit. He ended up being able to come home often but felt suffocated.

“You can say I’m useless or can’t handle things, but I don’t want to be compared to others all the time.”

Having said it, Ji Ze felt relieved, “Besides, with my uncle ahead of me, no matter how hard I try, I can’t surpass him. I might as well switch tracks. Now that the country is opening up and supporting private business, maybe this suits me better.”

The old man had only thought about winning battles and surviving, and Ji Duo had never been outdone in any aspect since he was young. He hadn’t considered the pressure and pride Ji Ze felt.

But as Ji Ze spoke, his face showed a hint of hope, just like when he first joined the army.

When he first joined, he had proudly declared that he would follow in his grandfather’s footsteps and perform better than his uncle.

The old man remained silent, but Ji Duo suddenly leaned back in his chair, looking at him with deep, sharp eyes, “If you just wanted to do business, you could have done it first and apologized later. Seeking your grandfather’s approval first isn’t just about getting him to help you deal with your mom, is it?”