Chapter 46.1

Since Wen Nuan started working at the cafeteria, she hasn’t been as fond of cooking at home anymore.

Sometimes, she would take Lele and Gu Qinghan to eat meals at the cafeteria. However, now that Lele could walk, she wasn’t as eager to go there with Wen Nuan.

If they asked Sister Guihua to help take care of Lele, Wen Nuan and Gu Qinghan would often return home early to cook, and then bring Lele back afterward.

This evening, Wen Nuan and Gu Qinghan decided to cook dinner at home again.

When they reached the gate of their courtyard, Wen Nuan was the first to hop off the bicycle and headed over to Sister Guihua’s house. “Sister Guihua, I’m back!”

The weather was still a bit cold today. When Wen Nuan left for work that morning, Lele was still asleep, so she had simply asked Sister Guihua to look after her.

Upon hearing Wen Nuan’s voice, Sister Guihua came out of the room—she was holding Lele, who had been on the kang. “Xiao Dong and Xiao Mei just went home. Lele wanted to go with her two sisters.”

Xiao Dong and Xiao Mei would visit almost every day to see if Lele had gone to the cafeteria. If she hadn’t, they would usually spend the whole day playing with her.

Wen Nuan took Lele from Sister Guihua’s arms and gave her chubby cheeks a kiss. “Lele, did you miss Mommy?”

As soon as Lele saw Wen Nuan, she immediately wrapped her arms around her neck, nuzzling into her chest. In her soft, childish voice, she said, “Yes.”

Sister Guihua watched the affectionate scene between mother and daughter, unable to suppress a warm smile. “Of course, she missed you! After waking up from her nap at noon, she cried a bit when she didn’t see you. But luckily, Liu Huaqing came by to play with her, and then Xiao Dong and Xiao Mei arrived. Only then did Lele stop crying.”

If Wen Nuan didn’t take Lele to the cafeteria, she would ride home every day at noon to take a nap with her.

However, Lele tended to sleep for a long time, and most of the time, Wen Nuan had to head back to the cafeteria before Lele woke up. When Lele woke up and didn’t see her, it was expected that she would get upset.

Wen Nuan gave the chubby little one in her arms a couple more kisses, then looked at Sister Guihua and asked, “By the way, sister-in-law, did Captain Zhou say anything about going to Doctor Zhao’s place tomorrow?”

Sister Guihua nodded with a smile and said, “He mentioned that since it’s a holiday, they should take the time to go and visit.”

Upon hearing this, Wen Nuan concerned that if she went with them, Zhou Jianshe might feel awkward, asked, “So are you two going by yourselves, or…?”

Sister Guihua pursed her lips before replying, “It’s fine. The two of us have been married for so many years and still haven’t had a child, so clearly there’s a problem somewhere. Old Zhou isn’t the kind of man who clings to his pride. He said if we still can’t have a child by the end of this year, we’ll adopt one of the martyrs’ children next year.”

It seemed that the couple had already discussed this thoroughly. Since Zhou Jianshe himself wouldn’t feel uncomfortable, Wen Nuan decided she would go with them, taking the opportunity to bring some green rice cakes to the old man.

—o—o—o—

After returning from Sister Guihua’s house, Wen Nuan and Gu Qinghan made a plate of dumplings.

Steam rose from the pot as the dumplings bobbed up and down in the boiling water. Gu Qinghan tossed a handful of firewood into the stove, and it crackled and popped loudly. Originally, they had planned to make dinner, but since Lele kept talking about wanting dumplings, Wen Nuan decided to keep things simple and made dumplings for dinner.

Wen Nuan saw that the dumplings had floated to the surface, so she scooped out two and placed them in a bowl to cool. Lele saw Wen Nuan taking out two dumplings and started babbling loudly, though neither Wen Nuan nor Gu Qinghan could understand her “baby talk.”

Ignoring Lele’s excited calls, Wen Nuan picked up a pair of chopsticks and placed a dumpling in Gu Qinghan’s bowl, saying, “Try it and see how it tastes.”

Gu Qinghan originally wanted her to eat first. On the way home from the cafeteria, Wen Nuan had already mentioned being hungry. Even though she’d just eaten a peach pastry, it was likely that she was hungry again.

Wen Nuan always felt particularly hungry when the weather was cold. When she was hungry, her temper worsened, and she became lethargic.

But since Wen Nuan had already offered the dumpling, Gu Qinghan took a bite. The savory filling filled his mouth instantly, and he nodded. “Wife, anything you make is always delicious.”

Meanwhile, Lele had been staring impatiently, and when she saw Wen Nuan give Gu Qinghan a dumpling but not her, she raised her little feet and toddled over, grabbing onto Wen Nuan’s pants and shouting loudly, “Mommy!”

Seeing Lele’s frustrated expression, Wen Nuan couldn’t help but reach out and pinch her cheeks. “Alright, alright, I’ll give you some now!”

After the dumplings had been served, Gu Qinglan arrived.

Wen Nuan knew that Gu Qinglan often complained about being hungry, and considering how she was constantly running around at the hospital all day, Wen Nuan had invited her to come over for dinner.

Gu Qinglan entered carrying a bag in her hand, and Wen Nuan, thinking she had once again bought something for Lele, said, “Did you spend money recklessly again?”

Gu Qinglan placed the cloth bag on the Eight Immortals table and took the plate Wen Nuan was holding. “No, this is my food ration. I can’t just come here and eat for free…”

Before she could finish her sentence, Wen Nuan picked up Lele’s bamboo fishing rod, pretending to swat her with it.

Now Wen Nuan finally understood why, the other day when she brought her rations to Sister Guihua’s house, Guihua had been so upset.

She now felt it herself and scolded Gu Qinglan, “You silly girl, bringing rations when you’re coming to eat at your brother and sister-in-law’s house? What, do you not see us as a family anymore?”

These past few days, the cold snap had Gu Qinglan dressed in thick cotton clothing, so the bamboo rod didn’t hurt at all. Not that Wen Nuan would have really hit her anyway.

Gu Qinglan put down the large plate of dumplings and grinned. “I just eat a lot! I can easily eat twenty or thirty dumplings on my own! And I get off work late, so if I don’t help out and don’t even bring my own food, sister-in-law, how could I keep coming over to mooch meals from you without feeling bad?”

Unlike Wen Nuan, who had a small appetite and could barely manage fifteen dumplings, often leaving a few uneaten, even her elder brother frequently worried that Wen Nuan wasn’t eating enough.

But Gu Qinglan, on the other hand, had a much bigger appetite. She could easily eat twenty or thirty dumplings in one sitting, sometimes even snacking on apples or frozen pears afterward. If she didn’t bring her own food, she really feared she might eat her sister-in-law’s pantry dry!

After all, times were tough for every household. Since she often got tired of cafeteria food and craved her sister-in-law’s delicious cooking, she felt that bringing her own food was a necessity.

Wen Nuan was kind to her, but that was because her sister-in-law had a good heart.

But Gu Qinglan couldn’t take advantage of her sister-in-law’s kindness and push her limits.

When it came to doing her part, she would never back down. And when it came to money, if she had any, she would hand it over to her sister-in-law without hesitation.

After all, even her own mother wasn’t as good to her as Wen Nuan was.

Holding Lele, Gu Qinghan walked over to the Eight Immortals’ table and glanced at Gu Qinglan with a chuckle. “If your second brother had even half of your sense, things wouldn’t be so strained right now.”

Gu Qinglan pouted. She hadn’t known before that her second brother, Gu Qingsong, had been asking their eldest brother for money repeatedly after marrying Lin Meizhi.

She had asked Wen Nuan about it before, but her sister-in-law didn’t want to discuss Gu Qingsong’s matters, saying it would only deepen the rift between the siblings.

Gu Qinglan thought to herself, considering how Gu Qingsong had once hit her without even figuring out the situation, the gap between them was already wider than the Chunhua River outside.

Later, she learned from Li Daxiang that her second brother had been persistently asking their elder brother for money—through phone calls, telegrams, and numerous letters sent to his office.

Gu Qinglan was baffled. Gu Qingsong had a decent job in the city as a team leader at a soy sauce factory, which should have paid well. How did he end up in such a mess?

She picked up a plump dumpling with her fingers and stuffed it into her mouth, mumbling, “Don’t compare me to him, bad luck!”

The next second, Wen Nuan smacked the back of her hand lightly. “Gu Qinglan, did you even wash your hands? You’re just grabbing and eating like that—aren’t you afraid of getting a stomach ache?”

Seeing Gu Qinglan getting scolded, Lele, immediately raised both her tiny hands and clapped them together, laughing so hard that drool nearly spilled from her mouth.

Gu Qinglan pinched Lele’s chubby cheeks and made funny faces, teasing, “You little rascal! How dare you laugh at your Auntie! Just wait, I’ll deal with you later!”

Lele thought Gu Qinglan was about to start playing rough again, so she quickly hid in Gu Qinghan’s arms, shouting loudly, “Daddy… Daddy!”

Seeing that Gu Qinglan was about to pinch Lele again, Gu Qinghan tapped her hand with the chopsticks. “Go wash your hands.”

Feeling wronged, Gu Qinglan trudged toward the kitchen, grumbling, “Boo hoo, everyone’s bullying me!”

Lele laughed even louder at this.

—o—o—o—

After dinner, everyone lounged lazily around the stove.

Gu Qinghan was using the soles Wen Nuan had sewn earlier to make Lele a new pair of shoes. The child was growing fast, and her shoes were quickly becoming too tight.

Wen Nuan sat beside him, flipping through a novel. Suddenly remembering their plans for the next day, she said, “Tomorrow, just head back to the regiment. You don’t need to wait for me. I’ll be going with Sister Guihua and Captain Zhou to visit Doctor Zhao.”

Without looking up, Gu Qinghan continued stitching the shoes and asked, “What are they going there for?”

Wen Nuan yawned softly, closed her book, and replied, “Well, Sister Guihua and Captain Zhou have been trying for a baby for a long time now without success. She said they’ve seen most of the doctors around here, but they haven’t visited Doctor Zhao yet. I figured I’d take them over.”

Gu Qinghan had recently inquired about Doctor Li Yunhua, who had treated Wen Nuan before, but Doctor Li was incredibly busy. During the heavy snow in winter, she hadn’t even returned to the Northern City.

Plus, according to what Gu Qinglan mentioned, Li Yunhua was a special consultant for the Flight Squad and only occasionally visited the Northern City.

Gu Qinghan let out a soft “oh” and tied a knot in the thread before asking, “Do you want me to go with you all?”

Wen Nuan shook her head, replying, “No need. Honestly, I wasn’t planning to go at first, so I wouldn’t make them feel awkward, but Sister Guihua said it was fine. Captain Zhou has already prepared himself for it.”

Ever since Liu Minghua and Shen Bairong joined the brigade, Gu Qinghan had been exceptionally busy, constantly attending meetings.

As for Liu Minghua and Shen Bairong, they had only visited once and usually weren’t available. Yesterday, Wen Nuan went over to the guesthouse to bring them some qingtuan (glutinous rice balls), but they hadn’t returned yet. Only an older lady was there, she was looking after Liu Huaqing.

Gu Qinghan wasn’t much for gossip, so unless Wen Nuan told him about what was going on in the family compound, he wouldn’t hear about it at all.

“Just be careful and take Lele with you,” Gu Qinghan said, “but it probably won’t be as windy tomorrow, so riding a bike should be fine.”

Although the village they were visiting was nearby, walking there took over half an hour. Now that they had a bicycle at home, getting around had become more convenient.

Wen Nuan considered for a moment and said, “Actually, never mind. Since Sister Guihua and Captain Zhou don’t have a bike, we’ll just walk over together.”

Gu Qinglan, who was playing around with Lele, suddenly asked, “Sister-in-law, can I come along to learn something?”

“I happen to have the morning off tomorrow after switching shifts.”

Gu Qinglan had heard about Doctor Zhao before. Even though he had been labeled a “rightist,” she had met some impressive intellectuals during her time in the countryside as an educated youth.

Wen Nuan had mentioned that Doctor Zhao was a medical doctor who had studied abroad, which sounded incredibly impressive. Gu Qinglan had been waiting for a chance to meet him and learn from him for quite some time.

Wen Nuan paused for a moment, unsure if Captain Zhou would mind Gu Qinglan tagging along. She said, “Why don’t you come by in the morning and see? Sister Guihua probably wouldn’t mind, but Captain Zhou would probably feel embarrassed.”

Gu Qinglan responded with an “Oh, okay.”

—o—o—o—