Chapter 58.1

For several consecutive days, Wen Nuan had been writing a recitation for the upcoming gala.

She had discussed it with her comrades from the Kitchen Team, and they had decided that the performance would consist of a choir and a patriotic recitation.

Wen Nuan had considered it and realized that it would be quite difficult for her comrades to learn a dance in a short amount of time; they simply didn’t have that luxury. Moreover, even if they practiced the dance thoroughly, they could never compete with the female soldiers from the art troupe.

Wen Nuan had ruled out the idea of dance right from the start.

However, combining the choir and the recitation was much simpler, and everyone’s voices were loud enough and filled with spirit, making it a good fit for the gala’s theme and message.

Additionally, Wen Nuan added a little surprise at the end to ensure that the performance wouldn’t be too monotonous and would bring some novelty.

Quartermaster Luo was very optimistic after learning about the program arranged by Wen Nuan. He believed it was highly creative and had a solid ideological foundation.

It was important to note that in that era, as long as the ideology was sound, they were already halfway to success.

Thus, Quartermaster Luo instructed the comrades participating in the performance, including himself, to practice for two hours every day after work, starting at five o’clock.

—o—o—o—

Before they knew it, the National Day had arrived.

In the past two months, Wen Nuan had been very busy, but fortunately, Lele behaved well. When they needed to rehearse, Lele would follow Xiao Dong and Xiao Mei to their Kitchen Team to watch performances.

Three days before National Day, Quartermaster Luo decided that everyone participating in the performance should stop working and focus entirely on rehearsing.

On the morning of the performance day, it was the last rehearsal for their Kitchen Team. When Gu Qinghan came for lunch, he brought Lele along to the Kitchen Team.

Lele had become more and more clever, greeting Quartermaster Luo and Old Zhong sweetly: “Uncle!”

Lele no longer called every person in military uniform “Daddy” like before–this was something that made Gu Qinghan very pleased.

To reward the comrades who had persevered in coming for rehearsal every night, regardless of the weather, Quartermaster Luo arranged a special meal at 5 PM in the cafeteria. There was not only yogurt but also fruit and chicken.

Today, Comrade Old Zhong was serving the food. Wen Nuan was one of the last to get her meal. Old Zhong picked up the serving ladle, scooped a large spoonful of scallion chicken, and placed it directly into Wen Nuan’s tray.

Wen Nuan looked at the chicken in her lunchbox, eyes widening in disbelief. “Isn’t this too much?”

Old Zhong waved his hand dismissively, “How is it too much? Go eat.”

Wen Nuan smiled brightly at him, “Thank you, Squad Leader Zhong.”

“What’s there to thank me for? Hurry up and eat so we can give a good performance tonight,” Old Zhong said, the corners of his mouth quirking up awkwardly.

Just as Quartermaster Luo came in to get his meal, he happened to see the chicken in Wen Nuan’s lunchbox. With a bounce in his step, he headed straight toward Old Zhong, who was serving the food that day.

“Old Zhong, come on, I need to eat too!” Quartermaster Luo said as he handed over his lunchbox.

Old Zhong glanced at him and scooped half a ladle of chicken, along with a full ladle of cabbage and shredded radish, into his box.

Quartermaster Luo, having seen how much chicken Wen Nuan received, had expected Old Zhong to give him a generous portion as well. To his surprise, Old Zhong only gave him five or six pieces of chicken.

Quartermaster Luo was stunned when he saw his meal and couldn’t help but ask, “Old Zhong, you’re playing favorites! Why did Wen Nuan get so much more meat than me?”

Old Zhong let out a small snort. “Take it or leave it.”

Quartermaster Luo, unwilling to give up, placed his lunchbox back in front of Old Zhong. “No way, you need to give me more. My fingers are swollen from playing the accordion, and I deserve some extra, don’t I?”

“And you think that’s hard work?” Old Zhong leaned in, lowering his voice. “Look at me—playing the bamboo flute has made my lips swell!”

“Besides, what we’re doing is nothing compared to Wen Nuan. She’s been going home past 8 PM every day for the past two months because of the rehearsals for the performance. Every day, Gu Qinghan has to bring their child over here to wait for her.”

With that kind of effort, it was only natural for Old Zhong to show a little favoritism.

Quartermaster Luo huffed at Old Zhong in frustration, let out a loud “hmph,” then muttered under his breath as he carried his lunchbox away. Before leaving, he made sure to grab his yogurt.

Meanwhile, Wen Nuan, carrying her lunchbox, headed to the dining hall, planning to eat with Gu Qinghan and Lele. Gu Qinghan had already gotten his meal and was waiting with little Lele in the dining hall. Lele, holding a spoon, was already practicing eating on his own.

As soon as Wen Nuan walked over with her freshly served meal, she saw Lele climbing down from his seat, spoon in hand, eyes fixated on the scallion chicken in her lunchbox, practically drooling.

Old Zhong had generously given her a large serving of chicken, and the sight was quite impressive.

Lele eagerly shouted, “Mommy, meat!”

Wen Nuan, with a lunchbox in one hand and balancing fruit and yogurt in the other, couldn’t grab Lele, so she bent down and said, “Come here. Mommy has lots of meat. Lele, come eat.”

Lele loved meat more than anything, and upon hearing there was plenty of it, he happily trotted after Wen Nuan.

Gu Qinghan, who had a flight to catch in the afternoon, had skipped the scallion chicken for lunch.

Although Gu Qinghan’s lunch wasn’t lacking in meat, it was clear that Lele much preferred Wen Nuan’s fragrant scallion chicken.

After setting down her lunchbox, Wen Nuan handed the yogurt to Lele and said, “This is for you. Drink it after you finish your meal.”

Gu Qinghan had given Lele yogurt many times before, as Lele preferred it over the malted milk drinks. So when Wen Nuan gave her the yogurt, Lele immediately tried to bite it open.

Seeing this, Gu Qinghan quickly took the yogurt from her and said, “You can’t drink it now, or you won’t eat your food.”

Lele pouted and let out a little huff, starting to throw a tantrum.

Wen Nuan glanced at her, then picked up a piece of scallion chicken with her chopsticks and said to Lele, “Lele, if you don’t eat, Mommy will finish it all.”

When she heard this, Lele’s mood instantly brightened. She grabbed her spoon back and began eating again, though clumsily. Being so young, she dropped about as much food as she managed to eat.

Gu Qinghan couldn’t stand watching any longer and gently took her spoon, feeding her bit by bit.

Just as they were nearly done eating, Deng Juxiang’s three children, along with Quartermaster Luo’s two kids, arrived.

Since Wen Nuan had been rehearsing for the past two months, Lele had become quite familiar with the older kids. Seeing them approach, she beamed and called out sweetly, “Brother! Sister!”

“Lele, have you finished your meal? We’re heading to the auditorium. Do you want to come with us?” Xiao Mei, the eldest of the group, asked. The other children, all a few years older than Lele, had been playing together for some time, and Lele especially loved following Xiao Mei around.

In the family compound, soldiers could be seen everywhere, making it a very safe place. The children often ran freely through the compound without needing much supervision from the adults.

But since Lele was still very young, Wen Nuan smiled and told the group, “Lele hasn’t finished eating yet. Xiao Mei, why don’t you all head to the auditorium first? We’ll catch up with you later.”

The evening performance was scheduled to start at six, and many people were already heading over after lunch to grab seats. Some comrades were also busy setting up the venue, so it was likely getting crowded. The older kids could manage on their own, but little Lele still needed her afternoon nap. Gu Qinghan would have to take her back to his office to sleep for a while.

Xiao Mei nodded in understanding and said, “Alright, we’ll see you later then. Bye, Auntie! Bye, Lele!”

Lele waved her tiny hand and said sweetly, “Bye-bye, sister!”

Having eaten her fill, Lele started yawning and stretched her arms out toward Gu Qinghan, signaling for him to carry her.

Gu Qinghan picked her up without hesitation and then looked at Wen Nuan. “Do you want to rest in my office for a bit?”

Wen Nuan shook her head. “No, I still have a quick meeting with Quartermaster Luo and the others. But make sure Lele gets her nap. If she gets cranky during the performance tonight, that’ll be a disaster.”

Gu Qinghan understood his wife’s concerns and smiled. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure she gets a good nap. I promise she won’t cause any trouble during the performance tonight.”

Wen Nuan gently pinched Lele’s cheek and said to her, “Make sure you sleep well in Daddy’s office, okay? Tonight, we’ll be counting on you.”

Lele looked up at her mother, then nodded before burying her head in Gu Qinghan’s shoulder, letting out a big yawn.

Wen Nuan stroked her daughter’s hair and said, “Hurry up and take her to sleep.”

As Gu Qinghan left with Lele, Wen Nuan turned to head back to the kitchen, but she noticed Yang Xiaomei talking to a man. They were standing a bit far away, so Wen Nuan couldn’t hear what they were saying. The man had his back to her, so she couldn’t see his face clearly.

Wen Nuan wasn’t the type to gossip, so she quickly slipped back into the kitchen, thinking little of it. However, not long after, she saw Yang Xiaomei return, her eyes red from crying.

Wen Nuan, who had always found Yang Xiaomei to be friendly and helpful, couldn’t help but be concerned. Remembering the man from earlier, she asked, “Xiaomei, what’s wrong?”

Since the incident with Chen Meijiao and the domestic violence she had suffered, Wen Nuan had grown worried about the well-being of the women around her. She wondered if Yang Xiaomei was going through something troubling as well.

What concerned her even more was that Yang Xiaomei had been making small mistakes during their rehearsal lately. Because of her beautiful voice, Wen Nuan gave her a short solo part in the performance. But if she made any errors during the show tonight, it could affect the entire program’s success.

Wen Nuan, whether out of personal concern or responsibility, wanted to find out what had happened to Yang Xiaomei.

Yang Xiaomei paused for a moment, then slightly turned her face away and softly replied, “I’m fine.”

She had actually noticed Wen Nuan earlier and had planned to avoid her by heading straight back to the kitchen area. But Wen Nuan had called out to her first.

Walking over to her, Wen Nuan said, “I noticed your eyes are red. Has someone been bullying you?”

Yang Xiaomei quickly shook her head, “No.”

“Really?” Wen Nuan wasn’t convinced and asked again, “I saw you talking to a man just now. If someone is giving you trouble, you need to speak up. Even if I can’t help you, we have so many colleagues in the kitchen who would stand up for you.”

“Sister Nuannuan, it’s not that,” Yang Xiaomei hesitated before finally admitting, “That man was my boyfriend. I asked him to come watch me perform tonight, but he said he couldn’t make it.”

She continued, explaining that her boyfriend, Ding Guoli, was the younger brother of the 25th Battalion’s commander. However, unlike his brother, Ding Guoli wasn’t in the military but was instead a civilian working as a temporary employee at the post office within the camp.

Yang Xiaomei mentioned that his behavior had been strange recently. Not only was he hard to reach, but even when they ran into each other at the cafeteria, he would deliberately avoid her, turning away without even a greeting.

Just now, she had specifically caught him after his meal to talk, but he acted as though she had a contagious disease. He barely said a word to her. He outright refused her request to come see her performance tonight.

In this era, entertainment options were limited. Whenever the military held a film screening or organized a performance, nearly everyone would attend, especially the children from the family compound who had been eagerly anticipating tonight’s show.

Wen Nuan frowned. She really didn’t know that Yang Xiaomei was seeing someone.

Yang Xiaomei followed her brother in joining the military. Her looks were not particularly outstanding, but she had a lively personality and loved talking to others. She rarely kept her own matters hidden.

Unexpectedly, she had been secretly dating someone, and from the way she talked, it seemed like they had been together for quite a while.

But from Yang Xiaomei’s description, wasn’t this man just giving her the cold shoulder?

Could it be that he was trying to push Yang Xiaomei to initiate a breakup?

After all, in this era, people dated with marriage in mind. Dating without the intention of getting married was considered playing with someone’s feelings.

Wen Nuan speculated in her heart, then asked Yang Xiaomei, “Does your family not know that you’re seeing someone?”

Yang Xiaomei lowered her head, staring at the floor tiles, and softly murmured, “Mm. Sister Nuannuan, you’re the only one who knows… just pretend you don’t know, okay?”

For some reason, she hadn’t told even her brother and sister-in-law about her relationship with Ding Guoli, but she chose to confide in Wen Nuan.

Instinctively, she felt Wen Nuan was reliable, someone she could depend on. Besides, her mood had indeed been a bit off these past few days because of Ding Guoli.

Wen Nuan pressed her lips together, thinking to herself that, indeed, no one else knew. So, it was very likely that the man wanted to keep a cold distance from Yang Xiaomei, waiting for her to lose interest on her own, and then they would naturally break up.

Anyway, no one knew about their relationship before, so if they broke up, no one else would likely find out.

There was definitely something off about this man.

Wen Nuan looked at Yang Xiaomei and said, “No problem. I can pretend I don’t know, but I also hope you can put this aside for now and focus on preparing for tonight’s performance.”

“Thank you, Sister Nuannuan,” Yang Xiaomei said earnestly, then promised, “I’ll temporarily put this matter aside and won’t let it affect tonight’s performance.”

Wen Nuan nodded. “Don’t push yourself too hard. If there’s anything you can’t talk to your family about, you can always talk to me.”

“Okay. I’ll go have lunch now.” Yang Xiaomei’s stomach had been growling for a while as she had skipped lunch to catch Ding Guoli.

—o—o—o—