Chapter 40.1

The next day, when Wen Nuan returned home from work, she noticed a strange figure in front of the yard gate.

As she walked closer, she realized it was Chen Meijiao, the daughter-in-law of Aunt Zhang, who had caused a commotion in the kitchen the day before. Meijiao was holding some items in her hands. What was she doing here?

Wen Nuan recalled that she had only exchanged a few polite words with her before; they had met once at Sister Juxiang’s house when Meijiao was still pregnant.

Though a bit puzzled, Wen Nuan approached her home and took the initiative to greet her. “Comrade Chen?”

Seeing Wen Nuan return, Chen Meijiao bit her lip and finally mustered the courage to step forward. “Comrade Wen.”

After a moment, Chen Meijiao paused, then handed Wen Nuan the red eggs and some sugar she had brought. “I’m truly sorry about what happened yesterday. Please don’t hold it against me.”

Looking at the two red eggs Chen Meijiao offered, Wen Nuan replied, “Why don’t we go inside to talk? It’s getting windy at night.”

Since Chen Meijiao had just given birth not long ago, it was better for her not to be exposed to the wind.

Chen Meijiao nodded. “Then I’ll intrude.”

She followed Wen Nuan into the yard and headed to the living room.

Wen Nuan gently set down the child she had been carrying on her back. Seeing that Lele wasn’t crying or fussing, she poured a cup of hot tea for Chen Meijiao. “Have some tea first.”

Chen Meijiao waited outside for a while, and her hands felt a bit cold. Now that she was touching the edge of the blanket, she began to feel warmer and, with a surge of courage, said, “Comrade Wen, I truly apologize for what my mother-in-law did yesterday. I don’t understand why she would say such things. She’s just worried that I might lose my job, which is why she acted so rudely. The Quartermaster also came to find me today and said not to worry about the kitchen work. He mentioned that my mother-in-law said some unpleasant things to you yesterday, and I hope you won’t take it to heart.”

Chen Meijiao’s demeanor was very humble, and her tone was gentle. Wen Nuan felt a bit embarrassed to hear this; after all, it was Aunt Zhang who had caused the commotion yesterday, and it had nothing to do with Chen Meijiao at all.

If anyone needed to apologize, it should have been Aunt Zhang herself.

Wen Nuan figured that Chen Meijiao probably didn’t want her mother-in-law to stir up trouble in the kitchen, especially since she would have to work there again in the future, and they were all acquaintances.

Wen Nuan smiled and said, “It’s alright; it’s good that the matter is cleared up. The Quartermaster wouldn’t just say things casually. If he said you could go back to work, he would definitely keep his word, so you don’t need to worry.”

Chen Meijiao nodded, glancing at Wen Nuan, then continued, “Please accept these eggs and sugar. I’ll feel bad if you don’t.”

Wen Nuan looked at the red eggs and sugar and then pushed them back. “You just gave birth. Keep these for your recovery; you don’t need to give me these things.”

“I can’t do that. If you don’t accept them, I’ll really feel bad,” Chen Meijiao insisted, pushing the items back toward Wen Nuan once more.

The two of them went back and forth a few times, and Wen Nuan finally picked up one of the red eggs. “How about this: I’ll take one red egg, and you can take the rest back with you.”

She had heard that some people would give red eggs to close relatives or neighbors after having a baby. When she visited Sister Juxiang, she heard that Chen Meijiao had given her one.

However, she felt she couldn’t accept the sugar; Chen Meijiao looked even more frail than she did. She shouldn’t take those from her.

Chen Meijiao wanted to say something else, but Gu Qinghan had already come home. Upon seeing Gu Qinghan’s expressionless face, she felt a bit embarrassed to stay any longer.

Yet, despite Gu Qinghan’s cold demeanor, he nodded at her, and the first thing he did was wash his hands before taking the child from Wen Nuan’s arms and playing with her.

It turned out that beneath that icy exterior was a loving father.

Next, Gu Qinghan filled Wen Nuan’s cup with hot tea. Wen Nuan smiled at him, and Gu Qinghan returned the smile, looking at her with a doting gaze.

Even without any physical gestures, there was an unspoken intimacy between the two.

Chen Meijiao reflected on it and thought that her husband, Zhang Zhibin, had never interacted with their child in such a way, nor had he ever smiled at her like that.

As Chen Meijiao thought about how, during her confinement period, she had asked Zhang Zhibin to help with the crying baby because her episiotomy wound was still painful, she felt a pang of sadness. His response had been, “I don’t know how to comfort the baby, you hold her,” followed by him retreating to sleep in the living room, complaining about the noise.

These memories brought an unexpected wave of bitterness to her. She started questioning whether going against her parents and insisting on marrying Zhang Zhibin had been the right choice.

In the bigger decisions, Zhang Zhibin had always aimed too high but delivered too little. Before they married, he had vowed to become an Air Force officer, but after repeatedly failing, he lost even the one area he was most familiar with.

In smaller matters, he lacked initiative, especially when it came to their marriage. Knowing that her parents were against it, he never once visited them to discuss things or attempt reconciliation. She had fought that battle alone.

She had believed that once they were married, he would change, and become more grounded, but reality had slapped her hard in the face.

She used to think that all men were more or less the same, and that marriage in every family was a chaotic mess.

But now, she wasn’t so sure.

Snapping back to reality, Chen Meijiao realized Wen Nuan had been watching her the whole time. She gave an embarrassed smile and said, “It’s getting late. I should head home.”

Wen Nuan sent her to the gate of the courtyard and said to her, “Thank you for the eggs. You should hurry home and check on your child.”

The child was still so young and needed to be watched closely; she still needed to be breastfed.

Upon hearing Wen Nuan’s words, Chen Meijiao numbly replied, “Then I’ll head back now.”

After sending Chen Meijiao off, Gu Qinghan, who was holding the child, walked out the door and asked, “What did she come over for?”

“She came over because of what happened yesterday.” Wen Nuan closed the courtyard door and then released the chicks from the chicken coop, allowing them to run around in the yard.

Lele saw the chicks and ran around excitedly. She eagerly wanted Gu Qinghan to hold her hand and chase after those few fluffy chicks.

Gu Qinghan responded with an “Oh” and then asked, “Did her mother-in-law not come over?”

Although Gu Qinghan was not present yesterday, upon returning to the group today, she asked others about what happened. In truth, it was Chen Meijiao’s mother-in-law who had caused the trouble. Even if an apology was necessary, it should have been her who came to apologize.

What was the point of making a woman who had just given birth run back and forth?

Wen Nuan threw a handful of feed onto the ground of the courtyard and then said, “No, those people probably don’t think they did anything wrong at all.”

Wen Nuan continued, “However, this has nothing to do with Chen Meijiao; she seems quite kind.”

But it felt like she might not have much status at home.

Wen Nuan hadn’t visited Sister Juxiang’s house many times, but even during those few visits, she had heard Aunt Zhang scold Chen Meijiao several times.

Moreover, to require someone who had just completed her month of confinement to return to the cafeteria for work was truly a bit excessive; it wasn’t as if there was no maternity leave.

If it were an office job, it might be more manageable. However, having worked in the cafeteria for a while, Wen Nuan knew that the work was already quite easy, but it was still exhausting. Not to mention the people in the logistics kitchen; their workload was likely even heavier.

Gu Qinghan held Lele’s hands, turning around in the courtyard. Hearing Wen Nuan’s words, she chuckled, “You think everyone is kind.”

Wen Nuan glanced over and couldn’t help but laugh. “For someone as introverted as Chen Meijiao, bringing us two eggs and some sugar is quite generous.”

Gu Qinghan raised an eyebrow, not saying anything further, and then led Lele to her side, pecking her on the cheek.

Wen Nuan instinctively glanced outside the courtyard, fearing someone might see them, but fortunately, everyone should be eating at this time.

She then sat on the small wooden stool at the door, watching Gu Qinghan lead Lele as they chased the few chicks around the yard, which scattered in all directions, frightened.

Wen Nuan couldn’t help but remind them, “Don’t let her scare away my chicks; they haven’t finished eating the feed yet.”

The more she talked, the more energized Lele became.

She tightly gripped Gu Qinghan’s hand, moving quickly while laughing heartily.

Gu Qinghan didn’t mind her antics and even deliberately quickened their pace, both of them acting childish together.

Wen Nuan said irritably, “Gu Wanyue, you’re going to step on a chicken poop!”

Gu Qinghan laughed indulgently.

—o—o—o—

Meanwhile, Chen Meijiao had returned home and saw Aunt Zhang sitting at the dining table with an unhappy expression, one hand cradling her daughter, whose face was red from crying.

Aunt Zhang frowned and asked, “Why were you gone for so long? It’s just delivering an egg. You’d think you were delivering it to the capital city!”

As she spoke, she handed her the crying child.

Chen Meijiao set down the sugar and eggs she was carrying, took the child, and said, “I chatted with Comrade Wen for a bit, but she didn’t want our sugar.”

Aunt Zhang was about to say something else, but upon hearing Chen Meijiao, she opened the bag and took a look, her expression softening somewhat.

She didn’t actually want to offend Wen Nuan. After all, her husband was a regiment-level officer. Not only had he helped his sister secure a military position, but he had also helped his wife and children find jobs in the cafeteria, which was highly sought after for its coveted spots.

So when Aunt Zhang saw Chen Meijiao holding the eggs and preparing to apologize to Wen Nuan, she steeled herself and took out the sugar she had hidden away during the Spring Festival, asking Chen Meijiao to deliver it as well.

She pulled out an egg from the bag, thought for a moment, and placed it in front of Chen Meijiao. “You should eat this egg; it will help nourish your body.”

Chen Meijiao glanced at the egg, hesitated for a moment, but ultimately picked it up and then entered the room with the child.

After a while, Aunt Zhang followed her in, never bothering to knock. Chen Meijiao felt that she didn’t want to discuss anything further.

She turned to the side to nurse the baby.

Watching her feed the child, Aunt Zhang then said, “You refused to wean her before. If you weaned her sooner, wouldn’t it be easier to go back to work? After all, your mother is here to help take care of the child. What’s there to worry about?”

Chen Meijiao furrowed her brow. “Mom, the Quartermaster said I could take two months of maternity leave. Please stop bringing it up. I’ll take another month off before going back to work.”

Aunt Zhang frowned, using a dirty cloth to wipe down the dresser, and said, “The work in the cafeteria is tiring. You could have brother go in for you, but you won’t agree.”

That “brother” was Chen Meijiao’s younger brother-in-law, who had come to the military to celebrate the Spring Festival and was still reluctant to return home.

It seemed like he wanted to stay here longer.

Chen Meijiao glanced at her. “The cafeteria job can’t be swapped out for someone else, Mom. There’s no need for you to say more.”

Aunt Zhang mumbled a couple of words, and when she saw Chen Meijiao lying down on the bed with the child, her temper flared up. “You had the chance to talk to your Quartermaster yesterday, but you insisted on being mute! Now look, people who don’t know will think I’m the one causing a scene.”

Chen Meijiao replied, “At least you know you’re being unreasonable. Please don’t make things difficult for me in the future.” As she spoke, she became overwhelmed with emotion and began to cry.

The baby, who had just been calmed down, started crying again as soon as she did.

Hearing the child cry, Chen Meijiao wiped her tears and began soothing the baby softly.

Meanwhile, Zhang Zhibin had just returned home and heard his wife crying. He was about to check the room when Aunt Zhang came out and pulled him back to the living room.

Zhang Zhibin frowned and asked, “What’s going on now?”

Aunt Zhang thumped her chest and sighed, “It’s all my fault; I made your wife angry. It’s all my fault. If you want to scold someone, scold me!”

Zhang Zhibin tossed his hat onto the table and said, “What are you shouting about all day?”

Before Zhang Zhibin could enter the room, there was a knock at the door. When he opened it, he was surprised to see Sister Juxiang from next door.

Sister Juxiang peered inside the house and asked, “Is Meijiao here? I made some soup and brought her a bowl.”

Zhang Zhibin had intended to refuse, but just then, Chen Meijiao suddenly came out of the room holding the child and said to Sister Juxiang, “Sister-in-law, I’m here; please come in.”

Sister Juxiang followed Chen Meijiao into the room, carrying the soup, and then closed the door behind them. “What’s wrong? I thought I heard you crying just now.”

Chen Meijiao shook her head. “It’s nothing. The baby was just crying a bit too much.”

Sister Juxiang placed the soup on the table beside the bed and said, “This is an old fire soup I learned from Xiao Nuan. It’s made with bones and is very fragrant. You should try it.”

“Comrade Wen Nuan? I just came from her place.” Chen Meijiao knew that Wen Nuan had come to deliver something to Sister Juxiang earlier. She really was an easygoing person.

Then, Chen Meijiao recounted what had happened yesterday, ending with a sigh. “Fortunately, Comrade Wen Nuan didn’t hold it against me; otherwise, I really wouldn’t know what to do.”

Sister Juxiang patted her shoulder and reassured her, “It’s okay. Xiao Nuan isn’t someone who sees everything in black and white. This matter has nothing to do with you. Don’t listen to your mother-in-law; you haven’t completed your month of confinement. What work do you need to be doing? The Quartermaster told you to take two months off, so just take those two months and rest well.”

Chen Meijiao nodded. “Yes, I understand.”

Sister Juxiang looked at Chen Meijiao, whose eyes were obviously red and comforted her, “Don’t think too much. If you feel uncomfortable, just tell sister-in-law. Don’t keep it bottled up inside, okay?”

“Mm, thank you, Sister.”