Chapter 28.2

Two days later, it was the twenty-eighth day of the lunar month, the day when the family quarters distributed pork.

As the New Year approached, the weather improved a bit. That afternoon, Wen Nuan carried the child on her back and went to the dining hall with Sister Guihua.

When they arrived, they saw a bustling scene.

Not only were there many military personnel, but there were also quite a few people from the family quarters lining up.

The little one loved the excitement. Seeing so many people, his small feet kicked up and down, and his round, sparkling eyes surveyed the surroundings, occasionally bursting into laughter.

This year, before the New Year, several small teams went hunting in the mountains. Gu Qinghan also led a team up the mountain, but she had forgotten to ask him how the hunt had gone last night.

On the table in front of her, several pigs were placed. In addition to the big pig raised by the military, she heard some army wives say that they had also brought back wild boars from the mountain.

No wonder it was so lively.

“Did you see? This year, several wild boars were brought back from the hunt!”

“Really? Last year, six or seven teams went up the mountain and only caught two. How many did they get this year?”

“Six. I heard that Vice Captain Gu, who just came to the family quarters not long ago and his team caught three.”

“That’s incredible! The other teams didn’t catch even one. No wonder he’s already a Vice Captain at such a young age; he’s the youngest regimental cadre in our division!”

“What a pity. Out of more than thirty Combat Pilots, he’s the only one who got married so early. He’s tall and handsome. If he had waited two more years to get married, I would have married him to my sister. No way would that other person have had a chance!”

“Shh! His wife is right here. What nonsense are you talking about?”

Wen Nuan was wearing a floral cotton jacket today, her long braid accentuating her delicate and beautiful face, which had already caught the attention of several people.

Whether it was her or the little baby she carried on her back, both attracted a lot of eyes.

The woman who had just been reminded didn’t seem to care that Wen Nuan had overheard. Instead, she sized Wen Nuan up and said in a teasing tone, “Oh, Sister Wen, I was just joking, you wouldn’t take it seriously, would you?”

Wen Nuan truly wasn’t angry; instead, she smiled brightly and looked over at the sister-in-law. “How could I be? That just shows that my taste is as good as Sister-in-law’s!”

Then, Sister Guihua, who was standing next to Wen Nuan, chimed in, “It’s just that Vice Captain Gu’s standards are even higher; not just any woman can catch his eye.”

While complimenting Gu Qinghan, she also threw in a compliment for Wen Nuan.

It seemed that these people had quite a lot to say!

As the woman’s expression grew increasingly sour, Wen Nuan smiled and asked, “We were just joking; Sister-in-law, you wouldn’t take it seriously, would you?”

Sister Guihua nodded vigorously in agreement. “Yes, yes, I was just joking too! Weren’t you the one who started it? Can’t you take a joke?”

Facing the back-and-forth banter of the two, the woman curled her lips and awkwardly said, “How could that be?”

Wasn’t she implying that her sister was not good enough for Gu Qinghan?

Previously, she had thought Wen Nuan looked delicate and fragile as if a gust of wind from the northwest could blow her away. She had also assumed Wen Nuan was meek and honest, but unexpectedly, her words were quite sharp.

The woman felt a mix of anger and helplessness. However, over there, Wen Nuan and Zhang Guihua had already been called over by Li Daxiang, as the 76th Regiment had opened a separate line to distribute the pork.

Zhang Guihua’s man was not in the 76th regiment, so when it was time to divide the pork, she and Wen Nuan separated and lined up differently.

Li Daxiang saw Wen Nuan walking over and immediately said, “Sister-in-law, yesterday Vice Captain Gu single-handedly hunted a big wild boar. Our brigade Captain said we could give your family an extra eight catties of pork and three ribs. Do you want some pig offal too?”

Wen Nuan did not yet know that Gu Qinghan had actually hunted a pig all by himself and could take more pork for his share!

Why hadn’t that guy mentioned it last night?!

No wonder those military wives had been talking about Qinghan. If it really was a one-man job to hunt a wild boar, that was truly remarkable.

What kind of strength and endurance would that require?

Had she known earlier, she would have brought a cart to carry it all back. Now, if they divided that much pork, how would she manage to take it home?

Wen Nuan asked, “Can I also have some pig offal?”

Over there, Erhu and Maodou, who were cutting the pork, smiled and said, “Sister-in-law, this pig was just slaughtered and is quite fat. You can choose whichever part you want.”

Wen Nuan didn’t think too much about it and directly said, “Just give me a pig’s stomach, please.”

She had been wondering how to cook that chicken last night, and now she could make a pig’s stomach and chicken pot instead!

Upon hearing this, Erhu skillfully cut eight catties of pork belly, three ribs, and wrapped up a pig’s stomach, then handed it to Wen Nuan.

On the other side, Liang Guoan looked at Wen Nuan receiving so much meat and couldn’t help but say to Gu Qinghan beside him, “Old Gu, what are you planning to cook for the Spring Festival this year? How about we have a little drink together?”

Previously, during the Winter Solstice, a few soldiers in the 76th regiment mentioned that they had eaten braised pork at Gu Qinghan’s house, and it had made him envious; the aroma of the braised pork had wafted through the window to their home.

Yet, Gu Qinghan had invited a group of soldiers to feast without including him!

Liang Guoan thought to himself that he wasn’t imposing enough as the head of the squadron.

Nearby, Brigade Captain Guo and Li Zhengwei also curiously looked over at Wen Nuan, simultaneously staring at Gu Qinghan and asking, “Is that your wife? I heard she’s a great cook. I want to come over for drinks too.”

Liang Guoan shot a glance at the two who had suddenly intruded and added, “I’ll bring Maotai!”

He didn’t believe Gu Qinghan would refuse.

Brigade Captain Guo chimed in, “I’ll bring Wuliangye.”

Li Zhengwei loved drinking tea, but at that moment, he felt that his collection of teas might not be useful after all.

Little did they know, Gu Qinghan glanced at them, seemingly understanding their intention to mooch a meal, and promptly said, “I only drink Beibingyang soda. If you want alcohol, you should find someone else.”

After saying this, he dashed toward Wen Nuan, taking the pork she had received, and a rare smile appeared on his usually cold face.

Liang Guoan and the others who were left in disbelief: “???”

Was there really a man in the army who didn’t drink?

He must have found Liang Guoan’s appetite too large. Liang Guoan shouted again, “Hey, Old Gu, I can at least bring my own meal, right?”

Gu Qinghan didn’t pay them any mind at all…

But inside, he felt a little pleased.

—o—o—o—

Over here, Wen Nuan glanced in Liang Guoan’s direction and nodded at him as a form of greeting.

Then she asked Gu Qinghan beside her, “Is that the captain of your squadron? He looks quite young.”

Gu Qinghan teased the child, and Lele, seeing Gu Qinghan, happily kicked her little feet, mumbling a sound that resembled “Daddy.”

Then he smiled and replied, “Yeah, he just likes to drink a bit.”

 

—o—o—o—

On the other side, Liang Guoan sneezed and looked at Gu Qinghan, feeling as if that guy was talking about him behind his back.

Wen Nuan was a bit confused. Can pilots really drink casually?

After that, Gu Qinghan introduced her to Brigade Captain Guo and Li Zhengwei. Wen Nuan recognized Li Zhengwei from the ideological education class they had attended before, but she had never met Brigade Captain Guo.

—o—o—o—

On the way back, Wen Nuan asked him with concern, “Why didn’t you tell me you hunted a wild boar by yourself? Did you really do it alone? You weren’t hurt, were you?”

During this time, Wen Nuan hadn’t checked to see if he had any injuries, but after hearing Li Daxiang’s words, she started worrying that he might have gotten hurt while hunting.

After all, wild boars were indeed fierce, with strength and speed far surpassing that of domesticated pigs.

Perhaps Wen Nuan’s gaze was too focused, as the man suddenly turned his face toward her and revealed a smile.

Gu Qinghan rarely smiled so freely; he only did so when they were alone at night, playing around together.

The last time he had acted that way was just last week.

Wen Nuan suddenly felt something was off about the man. She looked him up and down and joked, “You didn’t really get hit on the head by the wild boar, did you? Have you gone silly?”

“No, I just suddenly feel very happy.”

Wen Nuan glared at him, a bit annoyed. “I asked if you were hurt?!”

Gu Qinghan noticed that quite a few families on the road were looking over, so he suppressed his smile leaned closer to Wen Nuan’s ear, and said: “I’ll let you check me for injuries when we get home.”

“……”

However, when they got home, Wen Nuan still carefully examined him and found only a few minor scratches on his body, which made her breathe a big sigh of relief.

Wen Nuan gave the man’s arm a hard slap, producing a loud “Pa” sound, and then said: “You scared me to death! I thought you had your head smashed by a wild boar.”

The little one who was watching, saw Wen Nuan hit Gu Qinghan’s arm and thought something was wrong between them.

She pouted and looked at her with a hint of grievance.

“It’s all your fault; even the child thinks I’m bullying you.” Wen Nuan discreetly pinched the man’s arm where the child couldn’t see.

Gu Qinghan raised an eyebrow. ‘Wasn’t that considered bullying?’