Chapter 55.2

The next morning, Wen Nuan woke up in the large bedroom, but Gu Qinghan was no longer in bed.

When she woke up, Lele was already sitting on the bed drinking milk, her head covered in sweat again. Wen Nuan took a towel from the bedside and wiped her down.

After finishing the milk in her cup, Lele planned to toss the cup off the bed…

Luckily, Wen Nuan was quick to react, caught the cup, and placed it on the nightstand.

Just from turning over, Wen Nuan felt soreness in her waist and legs.

The saying “absence makes the heart grow fonder” wasn’t wrong after all.

Wen Nuan then pulled Lele, who was full of milk, into her arms and said, “Lele, you’re not allowed to throw things anymore!”

“Oh.”

Lele acted pitifully as she looked at her mother.

After eating and drinking her fill, Lele rested in Wen Nuan’s arms for a while, but soon she became excited again, climbing up and walking back and forth on the bed.

Wen Nuan was so shaken by Lele’s antics that she couldn’t fall back asleep, and her stomach was growling with hunger.

With that, she decided to get up and might as well grab some breakfast.

Gu Qinghan must have heard the noise from the bedroom as he soon walked in from the living room.

Seeing Wen Nuan getting ready to get up, the man said, “Didn’t you say today’s cafeteria recruitment exam didn’t start early? No need to head over there so soon, right?”

At the sight of him, Wen Nuan recalled last night’s madness. She wasn’t really in the mood to talk to him and replied irritably, “I’m hungry.”

She didn’t even know how long the craziness had gone on last night. If it weren’t for her exhaustion, she would’ve definitely gotten up for a midnight snack before going to bed!

But Gu Qinghan, as if nothing had happened, was still full of energy!

The man smiled and handed her a coat. “It’s cooler in the mornings and evenings. Wear this.”

“I won’t. The sun will be out soon, and it’s not that cold now,” Wen Nuan said, standing up from the bed.

Lele, who was on the bed, seemed to think that Wen Nuan was going to play hide-and-seek with her again, and started running around wildly.

However, she had barely run a few steps when there was a sudden “crack” sound from the not-so-sturdy bed frame, as if one of the bed slats had broken.

Right after that, one of the bed’s legs gave way, causing the bed slats to tilt toward the collapsed side.

“Lele, be careful—” Wen Nuan tried to reach out to catch her, but her hand couldn’t reach the child in time.

Gu Qinghan reacted swiftly. As the bed frame collapsed, he scooped Lele up securely, holding her close in his arms. “Careful!” he said.

Lele hadn’t even processed what had just happened. As Gu Qinghan picked her up, she tightly wrapped her arms around his neck and called out, “Daddy!”

Both Gu Qinghan and Wen Nuan immediately checked Lele to make sure she was unharmed. Relieved that she wasn’t hurt, they both sighed.

Only then did they turn to look at the collapsed bed…

On it was a very obvious wet patch—clearly a “map” of Xiao Gu’s nighttime accident.

Gu Qinghan and Lele, as if caught doing something wrong, remained silent, both glancing at Wen Nuan, waiting for her to speak.

Wen Nuan looked at the two of them, amused. Did they think she was about to scold them?

The truth was, the bed had been in poor condition for a while. Plus, with Gu Qinghan frequently playing with Lele on it, it had long been unable to bear the weight.

Thankfully, it broke while Gu Qinghan was around; otherwise, Wen Nuan wouldn’t have been able to handle it on her own.

Wen Nuan let out a snort, then pinched Lele’s chubby cheek, saying, “Gu Wanyue, you’ve really outdone yourself. You actually managed to break the bed with your pee.”

Lele, realizing she might be in trouble, quickly clung to Wen Nuan’s neck, squeezing out two pitiful tears as she whimpered, “Mommy, scared…”

‘Scared, my foot.’

Wen Nuan had clearly seen Lele laughing at the sight of the collapsed bed just moments ago!

Gu Qinghan also thought Wen Nuan was about to get angry, but when he heard her comment, he sighed in relief, as did Lele. “It’s fine. I’ll just grab a few nails and fix them,” he said.

After thinking it over, Wen Nuan suggested, “Since the weather’s been nice lately, why don’t we take this opportunity to build a heated bed?”

If Gu Qinghan had to go on a mission during winter, she and Lele wouldn’t have to worry about being cold, even if it was just the two of them sleeping.

Gu Qinghan glanced at Wen Nuan. “A heated bed? If we build that, will you still let me hug you while we sleep?”

“…”

‘Always looking for opportunities, aren’t you?’

Wen Nuan shot him an annoyed look. “Let’s talk about it after the bed’s done.”

Then, she playfully smacked Lele’s little bottom for wetting the bed. “Once your daddy finishes building the bed, you’re not allowed to jump on it anymore, got it?”

Lele didn’t quite understand what her mother meant, but she could sense Wen Nuan’s mood and knew she was upset, so she obediently nodded her head.

Gu Qinghan, feeling like the broken bed was bad timing, pinched Lele’s cheek and teased, “It’s all your fault. You broke the bed.”

—o—o—o—

Gu Qinghan tidied up a bit before heading to the logistics office to collect some flat stones and bricks.

He also called Erhu and Li Daxiang over to help, planning to get the heated bed built before he had to return to his unit.

Wen Nuan initially thought of helping out, but Gu Qinghan said, “Didn’t you say Sister Juxiang is taking the exam today? No need to stay here, take Lele and go check out the excitement.”

Wen Nuan smiled. “Alright, then I’ll leave it to you guys. I’ve made some mint water and left some mung bean pastries on the Eight Immortals table. Make sure you drink plenty of water later, okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, go on.”

Wen Nuan went back to the room and changed into a new dress. As she walked out of the courtyard, Gu Qinghan furrowed his brow—that wasn’t the dress he bought.

Noticing his reaction, Wen Nuan smiled and, glancing at her white floral dress, explained, “This was sent by Meijiao a couple of days ago.”

Gu Qinghan gave a simple “oh,” his expression unreadable.

Wen Nuan chuckled, “Alright then, I’m off!”

Li Daxiang and Erhu had just pushed a cart full of bricks over and couldn’t help but watch Wen Nuan’s figure as she walked away.

“Sister-in-law looks really nice.”

Gu Qinghan clicked his tongue lightly, suddenly feeling that the dress he had bought wasn’t that great after all.

No wonder Wen Nuan had made that face last night. The outfit she was wearing now—this was what really looked good.

The news about Wen Nuan’s broken bed spread quickly around the family compound. Everyone also knew that Vice Captain Gu had returned last night after being away on a mission for nearly two months.

It seemed that “absence makes the heart grow fonder” was really true, and the young couple even managed to break the bed.

‘Ah, youth.’

That same day happened to be the final exam for Sister Juxiang’s application to join the cookhouse staff. Wen Nuan, Lele, and Sister Guihua went along to support her, hoping to cheer her on.

Sister Guihua couldn’t hide the smile on her face as she discreetly asked, “Xiao Nuan, did your bed really collapse?”

Wen Nuan nodded, not catching the teasing tone in Guihua’s voice, and replied, “We were already planning to build a heated bed anyway. It’s perfect timing with the hot weather now. That bed wasn’t too sturdy to begin with.”

Sister Juxiang covered her mouth with a laugh. “Looks like your Vice Captain Gu really is quite capable.”

A couple that had been apart for two months, and the first night back, they managed to break the bed—definitely a first in the family compound.

The other military wives couldn’t help but feel a bit envious!

Sister Juxiang suddenly felt nostalgic for her younger days. ‘Ah, those days are gone now…’

“Yeah,” Wen Nuan replied without batting an eye: “After the bed broke, Qinghan went to the logistics office to get materials. He’s at home now with Daxiang and Erhu, fixing everything up. They should have the new bed finished by midday.”

Wen Nuan had thought about helping as well, but Gu Qinghan mentioned that there’d be no one to look after Lele. Since she was already planning to accompany Sister Juxiang to the exam, she decided to take Lele along and enjoy the outing.

Before leaving, she had prepared a big pot of mint water and some mung bean pastries for the men working at home.

Both sister-in-laws chuckled. Then Sister Guihua chimed in, “Being young really is different. After my husband Lao Zhou had surgery, even though he can now go half an hour at a time, I’m not sure if it’s the side effects of the surgery, but these days, even once a day feels like a lot.”

“???”

Wen Nuan paused for a moment—were they even talking about the same topic?

Sister Juxiang snorted, “Do you know what some men say? They say that before marriage, menstruation is a roadblock, but after marriage, it’s a lifesaver. They treat it like completing some task.”

Sister Guihua widened her curious eyes and asked Juxiang, “Is your Lao Feng like that?”

Juxiang smiled, “No, not really.”

Then she looked at Wen Nuan and said, “But for sure, he’s not as affectionate as little sister Nuan and Vice Captain Gu. At our age, we can’t compare to that anymore.”

Wen Nuan glanced at the Lele in her arms. If Lele hadn’t been as clueless as she was, she would have definitely covered her child’s ears.

This topic was way too inappropriate for children.

Wen Nuan forced a smile and explained, “Actually, it’s because Lele was jumping on the bed this morning and broke it.”

She swore it was the truth!

Sister Guihua and Sister Juxiang looked at Wen Nuan and nodded, “We understand.”

Wen Nuan: “…”

You don’t seem like you actually understand!

But Wen Nuan didn’t have time to explain anything further, as she quickly arrived at the Cafeteria.

Even though the Cafeteria was only hiring two employees this time, the military wives were all competing fiercely, each trying to secure the cafeteria job.

Although it was called an “exam,” it wasn’t actually that difficult since this wasn’t a technical hiring process.

The first exam was literacy. Even though most of the work in the Cafeteria was manual labor, being able to read was still crucial. During this era, where most people hadn’t received widespread education, literacy was an important criterion.

The second part of the exam was recognizing vegetables…

Because it was spring, the Kitchen Team often had to go into the mountains to gather wild vegetables. Knowing which ones were edible and which ones weren’t was a must.

In winter, there weren’t many types of vegetables in Northern City, and sometimes they had to rely on transported supplies, so it was essential to recognize a wide variety of vegetables.

Sister Juxiang had already passed the first two rounds of exams, and the final one was cooking.

Although the soldiers in the Kitchen Team were the ones who usually did the cooking, if an emergency arose, someone else needed to step in. So, while they didn’t demand expert cooking skills, at the very least, one had to know how to cook.

Today, Wen Nuan had Sister Guihua make a vegetarian dish called dumplings. Considering that meat wasn’t regularly consumed during this era—and even in the army’s Cafeteria, meat was scarce—making creative vegetarian dishes was more valuable than preparing a meat-based meal.

Many of the wives competing for the Cafeteria jobs saw Wen Nuan approaching and began whispering among themselves.

“Deng Juxiang has Wen Nuan as her advisor. Looks like she’ll definitely get into the Kitchen Team.”

“Well, why didn’t you try to curry favor with her? Maybe you could’ve passed, too.”

“I wanted to! But Comrade Wen Nuan is resistant to such things, you know that. Even when Huang Yueying sent her sugar and meat, she turned it down.”

“Well, looks like I won’t be getting this job either.”

There was another group of people discussing the incident about Wen Nuan’s bed collapsing, and Wen Nuan could probably guess what they were saying.

Although the bed wasn’t actually broken by Gu Qinghan, her husband did indeed have the strength to do so.

After all, the timing of the bed breaking coincided perfectly with her husband returning from his hometown, and it seemed unlikely that this misunderstanding could be cleared up.

Meanwhile, Quartermaster Luo and the Squad Leader of the logistics kitchen were already prepared, and Wen Nuan said to Sister Juxiang, “Juxiang, you don’t need to be nervous. This vegetarian dumpling is really simple; just showcase your usual skills.”

Deng Juxiang came with the mindset of simply participating. After all, she had been idling in the family compound for so many years, so whether or not she found a job didn’t really matter.

Of course, it would be great if she could land a job.

The Cafeteria was something everyone envied—one could even wake up smiling when thinking of it.

Seeing so many people participating in the exam, Sister Guihua quietly asked Wen Nuan, “Nuan, is a vegetarian dumpling really okay? I see everyone else is preparing pork.”

Wen Nuan smiled and answered: “Sister Guihua, how many pork meals have you had in the cafeteria?”

Sister Guihua thought for a moment and replied, “Not many.”

“Isn’t that the case?” Wen Nuan glanced at Lele, who was looking around but still behaving herself. She continued, “If you can make the vegetarian dish look appealing, isn’t that better than just cooking meat?”

Sister Guihua thought Wen Nuan’s point was valid. “That’s true.”

Suddenly, a young girl popped her head over and asked, “Are you Comrade Wen Nuan?”

Wen Nuan felt she didn’t recognize this girl, but everyone present was likely to be a family member, so she nodded, “That’s me. And you are?”

The young girl smiled, “It’s nothing. I just heard your comments earlier and thought they made sense, so I wanted to ask. My name is Yang Xiaomei, and I’m the sister of the Captain of the 64th Regiment.”

“You’re really pretty! I also want to join the Kitchen Team and work with you!”

Wen Nuan smiled. Although she didn’t know this girl, she had a good impression of her. “Then good luck to you.”

The exam began shortly after. Though it wasn’t official, the participants were all quite nervous.

Wen Nuan noticed that Liu Meili and Huang Yueying had also come to participate, which indicated that many people really wanted to get a job in the Kitchen Team.

Sister Guihua was shelling sunflower seeds for Lele, who was enjoying them with delight and causing no trouble, sitting on Wen Nuan’s lap and waiting patiently for Sister Guihua to feed her.

Every time Lele ate a seed, she smiled at Sister Guihua and said, “Thank you.”

Seeing this made Sister Guihua’s heart melt. She laughed and said, “What are you being polite for with your aunt? If there’s something good to eat, it should all go to our Lele.”

Lele, now learning to share, pulled off a small hairpin from her head and handed it to Sister Guihua. “Here.”

“Hahaha, your aunt doesn’t need this. I’m not a little kid anymore,” Sister Guihua said, accepting the hairpin from Lele and putting it back in her hair. She smiled, “There you go! It looks really nice on you, Lele.”

Lele clapped her hands and smiled brightly. “Pretty?!”

Wen Nuan pinched Lele’s cheeks. “You little vain thing!”

Sister Guihua chimed in, speaking softly to Lele, “She’s not vain; our Lele is truly beautiful.”

After waiting for about half an hour, the exam finally ended, but the list of results wouldn’t be announced just yet. Quartermaster Luo explained that it would be announced over the loudspeaker tomorrow.

As everyone prepared to go home, Quartermaster Luo suddenly walked over to Wen Nuan and asked her, “Comrade Wen, I heard Vice Captain Gu has returned?”

Wen Nuan initially thought he would discuss something related to the Cafeteria. To her surprise, he was asking about Gu Qinghan.

She nodded, “Yes, he’s at home now. Quartermaster Luo, do you need to talk to him? Should I pass a message to you?”

Quartermaster Luo waved his hand and chuckled, “No, no, just let him rest well. I was just asking.”

After saying that, Quartermaster Luo happily pulled the Squad Leader away.

Wen Nuan was left feeling puzzled. “?”

Sister Juxiang wiped her sweaty palms and sighed, “Oh my God, it’s finally over! Why does it feel like finding a job is harder than taking a school exam?!”

Sister Guihua chuckled, “Isn’t this just a sign of how much they value you? They want to ensure everything is fair and just.”

Sister Juxiang sighed in relief and then said, “That’s true. If I get into the Kitchen Team, I would feel quite proud.”

After all, she earned this job opportunity through rigorous exams!

Not long after returning home, Gu Qinglan came over from the infirmary.

As soon as she entered their house, she smiled and asked, “Sister-in-law, I heard your bed collapsed. Is that true?”

Gu Qinglan was especially curious and peeked into their room, her face practically shouting, ‘I’m here for the show!’

In annoyance, Wen Nuan tapped her on the head and said, “Your brother and Daxiang are still in there making the bed. There’s nothing interesting to see.”

“Wait, it really did collapse?” Gu Qinglan exclaimed in a loud voice, nearly summoning everyone from the neighboring rooms.

Gu Qinglan immediately gave a thumbs-up, her eyes wide with admiration. “Big brother is impressive!”

Wen Nuan huffed and patiently explained again, “It was Lele who jumped on the bed and broke it, and she even soaked the entire bed!”

“Really?”

Wen Nuan pinched her arm and scolded, “Go ask Lele if she’s the one who broke the bed!”

Gu Qinglan blinked, clearly skeptical.

She couldn’t believe that Sister-in-law was using such a childish excuse, claiming it was all Lele’s fault!

Before long, Gu Qinglan walked into Wen Nuan’s room to see if there was anything she could help with.

But just under ten minutes later, Wen Nuan heard Gu Qinglan’s loud voice calling from the yard, “Oh my God! Where did this ugly dress come from?!”

The next second, Gu Qinglan was thrown out by a very angry-looking Gu Qinghan.