Chapter 18.1

“Everyone in the family compound treats me like a lazy ancestor who just waits for food and drinks! Can you get out of the way?!”

Upon hearing Wen Nuan say this, Gu Qinghan handed her the rolling pin in his hand.

Wen Nuan took the long rolling pin and brandished it threateningly. In fact, since arriving in the Northern Military District, she had grown tired of eating steamed buns and noodles; she had long planned to take over the cooking duties.

Unfortunately, it seemed that Gu Qinghan was afraid she would burn the kitchen down, so she hadn’t had the opportunity to showcase her culinary skills!

However, this was perhaps not entirely her fault, as “Wen Rou’s” laziness and love for food had become well-known.

Furthermore, Gu Qinghan had spent many years in the military, and since he rarely returned home, he had indeed never seen her step inside the kitchen.

Previously, at the old house, Wen Nuan had also deliberately avoided doing chores, so everyone naturally didn’t know that she could cook.

Yet in her past life, she would always prepare various delicacies during holidays, collecting countless videos of recipes along the way.

From stir-frying and deep-frying to braising and boiling, as well as various Western pastries, she had tried them all. Although her cooking skills were not particularly outstanding, compared to Gu Qinghan, she could certainly impress him a bit.

After Wen Nuan took the rolling pin, Gu Qinghan paused slightly before asking her, “What do you plan to make?”

Wen Nuan looked over at him and replied coolly, “Dumplings, I guess.”

There was no choice; they could only receive food supplies once a month, and their rice couldn’t be picked up yet. For the past few days, they had been alternating between steamed buns, noodles, and dumplings.

Gu Qinghan’s gaze turned strange as he seemed to think of something, asking, “Can you roll out dumpling wrappers?”

Wen Nuan silently set down the rolling pin, realizing she really couldn’t.

As a typical Southerner, she always bought dumpling wrappers from the market.

Gu Qinghan smiled lightly, his expression suggesting he thought she was joking about reclaiming her right to use the kitchen. “I’ll handle this meal.”

Wen Nuan recalled how Deng Juxiang had told her about the various rumors circulating in the family compound, reminding him, “Starting tomorrow, don’t bother coming home for lunch. I can manage on my own, so don’t worry about it.”

Gu Qinghan already had a specially customized crew kitchen for flight personnel; he could eat in the cafeteria for all three meals. Now, he was wasting so much time running back and forth every day, cooking and washing dishes, leaving him with no time to rest at noon.

Gu Qinghan turned his back to her and remained silent for quite a while before finally responding with an “Mm,” then added, “If you find cooking too troublesome, you can always eat in the cafeteria.”

“…”

Wen Nuan’s face darkened. That was quite an insult to her!

However, the little one on her back kicked his feet a few times and laughed, as if also saying that she could only eat in the cafeteria…

Wen Nuan reached back and gave the little one a light pat on the bottom. “Let’s see if you keep laughing at me!”

To her surprise, the child laughed even louder, causing Wen Nuan’s ears to hurt.

Upon hearing the child’s laughter, Gu Qinghan deliberately poked the little one’s chubby face with his flour-dusted finger, while also pulling the little one’s finger out of his mouth, smearing the drool onto Wen Nuan’s back.

Wen Nuan couldn’t help but scold him, “Can’t you just wipe it off for her?”

“My hands are dirty too.” Gu Qinghan said, lifting his flour-coated hand, now turned white.

The little one listened to their conversation, his big, round eyes watching them, before opening his mouth again and laughing.

He didn’t realize that Gu Qinghan had turned him into a flour-covered little mess but still cheerfully reached out his arms toward Gu Qinghan, wanting him to pick him up.

Wen Nuan felt a pang of jealousy. The little one had only been with Gu Qinghan for a few days, so how was it that he already preferred to be held by him?

—o—o—o—

After dinner, Gu Qinghan took advantage of the remaining light and sat under a tungsten light in the living room, working on the child’s pushcart.

Having worked on it for several days now, he was nearly finished.

The room was quite warm, though not too hot. Gu Qinghan wore just two layers of clothing as he sat there tinkering with the cart. Next to him was a small chair holding the pushcart design Wen Nuan had drawn. It was a simple sketch, just a rough outline showing where the handle would go and the cart body in front.

The drawing was filled with many notes, and numbers written in abundance, along with some slightly messy words.

The cart body had already been assembled, with each wooden board aligned perfectly, leaving almost no gaps. The surface was polished to a smooth finish; even when touched with bare hands, there were no splinters to prick.

This meticulousness was probably due to Gu Qinghan’s military background; he had a bit of a perfectionist streak, which made everything look flawless.

However, this was exactly to Wen Nuan’s liking; everything arranged neatly was truly pleasing to the eye.

Under the warm light, Gu Qinghan looked serious and focused. The soft yellow glow highlighted his delicate features, making him appear even more handsome.

Wen Nuan felt a pang of jealousy; how had this little one become so fond of Gu Qinghan after just a few days?

After dinner, Gu Qinghan took advantage of the fact that the lights hadn’t been turned off yet. He sat under the tungsten lamp in the living room, working on the pushcart for the child.

Having worked on it for several days, he was now nearly finished.

The room was quite warm, but not too hot; Gu Qinghan was only wearing two layers of clothing as he sat there tinkering. Beside him was a small chair with the design for the pushcart drawn by Wen Nuan. It was a simple sketch, just outlining a push handle and a cart bed.

The drawing was filled with many annotations, including lots of numbers and some slightly messy handwriting.

The cart bed had already been assembled, with each wooden plank fitting together perfectly, leaving almost no gaps. The surface was polished smooth and delicate; even touching it with bare hands wouldn’t result in splinters.

This meticulousness likely stemmed from Gu Qinghan’s military background; he had a slight obsession with perfection.

However, this suited Wen Nuan just fine, as everything looked so neatly arranged and pleasing to the eye.

Under the dim light, Gu Qinghan appeared serious and focused, the warm yellow glow of the tungsten lamp highlighting his exquisite features even more.

His narrow, dark eyes were fixed on the wooden slats in his hands, deep yet bright. Occasionally, the fire in the stove would crackle softly, imparting a sense of tranquility and peace.

The little one wasn’t sleeping as much as before. After Wen Nuan had cleaned her up, she placed her in the finished cart bed.

The child played with the little cotton balls Wen Nuan had tossed to her, occasionally reaching out toward Gu Qinghan, very curious about what her father was doing.

However, Gu Qinghan was shaving off a lot of wood shavings and had many tools around, so he kept her at a distance, fearing that those things might hurt her.

Thus, the little one, feeling far away, constantly tried to stand up and crawl over to “make trouble.”

For the past few days, she had been eager to learn to crawl, and it seemed that in another half month, she would be crawling all over the place.

“Don’t go over there! Your Daddy is making you a little cart; soon you’ll be part of the ‘cart family’!” Wen Nuan yawned. The dim lighting combined with the warm fire made her feel drowsy.

She sat beside the cart bed, warming the diapers. With the stove going, the diapers would dry a bit easier. She also changed the bottom shirt every two days; otherwise, she sometimes felt itchy.

Gu Qinghan glanced over at her and said, “If you’re tired, take Lele back to sleep first. I still have a bit more to finish here.”

When Wen Nuan met Gu Qinghan’s concerned gaze, her heart felt warm.

But she didn’t show it on her face and softly replied, “No, I want to wait for you and sleep together.”

The man paused for a moment while hammering in a nail, his gaze lowering slightly as he looked at Wen Nuan.

As their eyes met, Wen Nuan noticed that the man’s deep black eyes sparkled with a bit more brightness, causing a flush to rise slowly on her face. She wasn’t sure if it was due to the warmth of the stove.

Feeling somewhat awkward, Wen Nuan set down the diaper she was holding and casually draped it over the back of a nearby bamboo chair. She then suggested, “If there are leftover wooden pieces, let’s make a little clothes rack. It’ll be more convenient for drying Lele’s clothes.”

Afterward, she bent down and picked up the still-spirited little one. “Lele, let’s go back to the room and sleep.”

The little one wanted to keep watching Gu Qinghan work on the pushcart. As soon as she was lifted, her little hands and feet began to flail about, and she protested with little “eek” sounds.

She looked at Gu Qinghan and let out a cry for help, as if Wen Nuan were bullying her!

She was quite the little tattletale.

Wen Nuan was exasperated. “You don’t realize how late it is now! You didn’t use to stay up this late!”

Great, just what she needed—a little one causing trouble!

Seeing this, Gu Qinghan brushed the wood shavings off his hands, poured some hot water to wash his hands, and walked over to Wen Nuan’s side.

As soon as Lele saw Gu Qinghan approaching, she immediately stretched out her arms and pouted her little lips, as if to emphasize just how wronged she felt.

Gu Qinghan picked her up and said, “Come here, Daddy will carry you back to sleep.”

The little one laughed, clearly not looking very wronged at all just a second before while in Wen Nuan’s arms.

Wen Nuan watched as Gu Qinghan carried the child toward their room, the little one grinning widely and looking extremely happy in his embrace.

After calming the child down, Gu Qinghan returned to working on the pushcart. He continued until the lights were turned off, by which time the child had already fallen asleep.

Wen Nuan still didn’t feel sleepy. She had nothing much to do; she had gathered enough vegetables and didn’t need to visit the supply store every day, so she often lay in bed trying to sleep and wandering around instead.

Moreover, for the past few days, Gu Qinghan hadn’t required her help with chores, leaving her with nothing to occupy her time.

After thinking for a moment, Wen Nuan asked Gu Qinghan about the families living nearby.

Gu Qinghan wasn’t much of a talker, but he would respond when Wen Nuan asked, so he shared some information about the nearby families.

Their house was at the end of the row, which contained five families. Next to them lived the commander of the 62nd Regiment, Zhou Jianshe. The day that Sister Zhang visited their home was actually Zhou Jianshe’s wife, named Zhang Guihua. The couple was both in their thirties but did not have any children yet.

Next to them was the couple who were the leaders of the 38th Battalion, Huang Yueying and Feng Weiguo. Wen Nuan had seen Huang Yueying the last time she visited the vegetable station; she had been there with Liu Meili.

Then there was the couple He Zaijun and Tian Chunmei, but Wen Nuan hadn’t met them yet.

At the front of the row was the widow of a martyr, Li Qiuyan. She was a widow with three children and also had her mother-in-law living with her.

Wen Nuan curiously asked, “Can you still stay in the family compound after your husband sacrifices himself?”

Gu Qinghan replied with a low “mm,” his voice quiet. “Generally, they can stay for three years. But that comrade’s situation is a bit special. She originally had a job in the family compound, and since her husband’s body hasn’t been found yet, the organization arranged for her family to live here for the time being.”

He then shared some of Li Qiuyan’s husband’s honorable deeds. It turned out that the comrade had once been Gu Qinghan’s subordinate; he had only been reassigned to the Northern Military District last year and had passed away earlier this year.

Wen Nuan felt a pang of sadness as she listened. It was indeed glorious to earn merit, but every mission they went on was like walking past the gates of hell.

She guessed that the soldier had most likely sacrificed his life.

The thought that Gu Qinghan would also have to go on missions frequently made her heartache.

Feeling a bit uncomfortable, Wen Nuan changed the subject and asked Gu Qinghan to tell her how flight soldiers were trained.

After listening, Wen Nuan realized how hard he had been working these days, running back and forth all day. No wonder Deng Juqiang had been unable to help but remind her about it.

Wen Nuan quietly said, “Don’t worry. I can take care of myself and the child; you don’t have to worry about us.”

Gu Qinghan noticed a hint of guilt in her tone and chuckled lightly before responding, “It’s mainly because we just got here; I’m afraid you both might not adjust well.”

“I’ll be fine; I adapt very well,” Wen Nuan said confidently.

Just like how she had adapted so well after arriving in the 1970s!

“Mm.” Gu Qinghan turned over and skillfully pulled her closer into his arms. He then used his long legs to trap her feet, which were still quite cold.

Wen Nuan felt a bit uneasy; she wanted to shift closer to the child but also wanted to pull her feet away.

However, Gu Qinghan didn’t allow it. He encircled her waist with his hand, directly pressing her into his embrace, slowly tightening his hold.

“Go to sleep.” His voice was low and somewhat intimate, whispering in Wen Nuan’s ear. She instinctively moved slightly, but the pressure around her waist made it hard for her to shift.

—o—o—o—