Chapter 86.2

After the New Year, time flew by quickly.

By early April, the land in the North had come back to life; no snow was visible in the family compound, and the trees on the back mountain had begun to sprout green buds. The atmosphere was filled with the essence of spring.

Although it was spring in the North, the cold snap of early spring still visited occasionally.

Wen Nuan’s winter clothes were always ready, as the daytime temperatures could reach ten to twenty degrees Celsius. Still, at night, they would drop below freezing, requiring the stove in the house to be lit from time to time.

One night, when Gu Qinghan returned from the flying team, Wen Nuan was already dozing off on the kang while holding the child.

Hearing noise from the compound, Wen Nuan glanced at the already sleeping Lele, then got up from the kang and walked out of the room. She just happened to see her husband pushing the door open.

Seeing him looking exhausted, Wen Nuan said, “I’ve boiled water in the pot; don’t take a cold shower.”

The weather had recently warmed up, and the flying team resumed their night flying missions. Gu Qinghan must have just finished his task and come home.

Gu Qinghan hung up his hat and began to unbutton his outer coat. “Mm, I know. You go lie down first; I’ll take a shower and come back.”

Wen Nuan looked at her watch; it was just past nine. She guessed he hadn’t gone to the mess hall for dinner and said, “I’m not tired yet. You go take a shower first; I’ll make you some noodles.”

Hearing this, the man draped his coat over a nearby stool and walked over to his wife. He kissed her on her rosy lips and smiled, “Okay, you’ve worked hard.”

Wen Nuan stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek, saying, “It’s not hard. I’ve already put your clothes on the sofa. Hurry and wash up.”

Before long, Gu Qinghan came out of the bathroom looking refreshed.

Wen Nuan brought a large bowl from the kitchen. Seeing that he was already done with his shower, she placed the bowl on the table and waved to him, “Qinghan, come eat the noodles.”

Thinking that her husband had showered quickly, she had simply made a vegetable and egg noodle dish. To her surprise, just as the noodles were ready, Gu Qinghan emerged from the bathroom.

Gu Qinghan took the chopsticks Wen Nuan handed him, sat down next to her, and without worrying about the heat, he began to eat. He looked genuinely hungry.

Wen Nuan propped her chin up with one hand, watching him eat, and then said, “Next time, just have dinner at the mess hall before coming back. Look how hungry you are.”

She had heard that the night training for the flying team was quite strenuous, and Gu Qinghan had mentioned last week that the selection for last year’s pilots was about to be finalized, with the first batch of reserve pilots undergoing various assessments.

He must have been extremely busy.

Gu Qinghan smiled, blew on the noodles wrapped around his chopsticks, and brought them to his wife. “I just wanted to get home early.”

After winter, the power supply was extended until nine-thirty to accommodate the soldiers training at night. Gu Qinghan wanted to return home before the lights went out so he wouldn’t bother to go to the mess hall for food and would come straight home instead.

Wen Nuan looked at the noodles in front of her and smiled as she took a bite. She then placed her hand over Gu Qinghan’s other hand. “Lele is already asleep, and I’m ready to sleep too.”

In fact, she had intended to wait for Gu Qinghan to come home before going to bed, but holding the little bundle of Lele had been so cozy and soft that she almost fell asleep herself.

After thinking for a moment, Gu Qinghan asked, “By the way, now that the weather is warmer, the supplies from the research institute may only come once a month. The frozen dumplings and noodles from winter might not be suitable anymore. Have you discussed how to improve this with Quartermaster Luo?”

Earlier that month, Gu Qinghan had sent supplies again, but with the weather improving, the items could no longer be kept frozen, making many of them unsuitable for delivery.

Gu Qinghan wasn’t very knowledgeable about food supplies; he relied entirely on Wen Nuan to oversee everything.

Wen Nuan nodded and began to tell Gu Qinghan about the recent developments in their cooking class regarding the factory.

After two months of preparation, the factory had been expanded, and her grandfather had arranged for a sealing machine to be sent over from the capital.

Since they no longer had the winter climate advantage in the North, the frozen food was no longer appropriate. Wen Nuan planned to replace the frozen noodles with dried noodles, which would be directly dehydrated, packaged, and sent over.

As for meat, there was no alternative but to send live chickens, ducks, geese, and sheep so that they could be slaughtered on-site.

However, spring and summer were relatively less problematic. In addition to making dried noodles, she could also produce dehydrated vegetables and dried fruits.

Not only would these be convenient to store, but they could also be kept for winter, ensuring they wouldn’t only have to eat cabbage and radishes during that season.

After explaining, Wen Nuan lazily leaned against her husband and smiled, “Sister Guihua’s father has prepared the dried seafood, and it should be delivered soon.”

If it weren’t for the batch of dried seafood, Sister Guihua’s father would have come to the family compound to help her earlier, but he had been delayed until now, just waiting for this batch.

Hearing this, Gu Qinghan put down his chopsticks and wrapped his arms around his wife. “That’s good. The comrades at the research institute will have more diverse ingredients to eat.”

Previously, Liu Minghua had wanted to accompany him on test flights, but after several check-ups by the flight physician, he was still deemed undernourished and unfit to fly. Now, the entire test flight team was anxious, and it seemed Liu Minghua would finally be able to recover his health.

Wen Nuan smiled, “That’s really great.”

The two began to share amusing stories from the family compound. After talking for a while, Wen Nuan yawned, and Gu Qinghan, while conversing with her, let out a couple of hums.

Feeling sorry for her, Gu Qinghan directly carried her back to the room.

A month passed in the blink of an eye, and Wen Nuan returned to work at the cooking class. Quartermaster Luo called out to her and said, “Comrade Wen Nuan, you came back at just the right time. Sister Guihua’s father has arrived, and the comrades in the cooking class are unloading the goods. You should go over and take a look later.”

Today, Wen Nuan hadn’t brought Lele to the cooking class because Gu Qinglan was on leave. She said that she and Yang Xiaomei wanted to take the kids into town for a little outing.

Lele was thrilled at the news and eagerly set up her little child seat on the front of the bicycle, shouting that she wanted to go along.

Seeing that her child hadn’t had a chance to play outside for a while, Wen Nuan let Gu Qinglan help take her out for a walk.

Upon hearing Quartermaster Luo’s words, Wen Nuan thought it was perfect timing. “Okay, I’ll go over later.”

She intended to return to the kitchen to see if there was anything she could help with, but after a moment’s thought, she turned back and said, “Quartermaster, you can call the Baobao State Restaurant in the capital and tell them we have a batch of dried seafood. Ask if they want it.”

When she visited the state restaurant where Chen Meijiao worked during the New Year, the manager mentioned wanting to order a batch of meatballs. However, Quartermaster Luo had calculated that the profit from the meatballs wouldn’t be substantial, especially as the weather was gradually warming up, making preservation a concern.

However, this batch of dried seafood was different; it might bring in more money and could significantly boost the troops’ income.

Quartermaster Luo’s eyes lit up at her suggestion, and he exclaimed, “Great! I’ll call them right away!”

Soon, Wen Nuan met Sister Guihua’s father, who was a hearty man. Before Wen Nuan could say anything, he expressed gratitude for her help in increasing the farmers’ income.

Uncle Zhang said, “We used to feed these things to the chickens and pigs, but there aren’t enough chickens, ducks, and geese to feed! Now it’s great; these things can be used as ingredients for the troops, and our folks have work to do.”

“Comrade Wen Nuan, I really appreciate this.”

Wen Nuan had ordered a particularly large quantity of dried seafood, which was why Uncle Zhang had taken so long to come. Previously, no one wanted the product, and he couldn’t sell it himself.

When Wen Nuan requested several hundred catty of goods, Uncle Zhang thought he had misheard. But later, he realized he hadn’t misheard anything; Wen Nuan indeed wanted that much.

Uncle Zhang worked with the villagers for several months to gather a large shipment.

Fortunately, they also helped with the transportation; otherwise, this business deal would have been difficult to complete.

Wen Nuan listened to Uncle Zhang’s long-winded speech and smiled, saying, “Uncle Zhang, you’re being too polite. We should be thanking you. You’ve worked hard these past few months. Our supply officer said you can go over to him to check the accounts, and once everything is settled, we can arrange your payment.”

Upon hearing this, Uncle Zhang quickly replied with a smile, “No rush, no rush. I came this time with the intention of seeing my daughter, Guihua. Her mother has also come over here. It won’t be too late to reconcile the accounts once you’re done.”

Wen Nuan explained, “Sister Guihua lives right next door to me. I’ll go with you to find her once you’ve finished checking the accounts. Besides, our cooking team has already tallied everything up; you’ll be good to go in a bit.”

Wen Nuan knew that Uncle Zhang was eager to see Sister Guihua, so she didn’t want to waste his time, so she joined in the busy work, thinking about organizing the inventory losses.

However, the batch of dried seafood that Uncle Zhang had prepared was all top-notch: the pieces were large, perfectly dried, and it was clear they had been recently air-dried without any inferior goods mixed in.

Thus, the supply officer readily settled the accounts and told Uncle Zhang to head to the family compound to reunite with his family.

Uncle Zhang carefully tucked away the account reconciliation slip and solemnly thanked the supply officer.

Wen Nuan waited outside the supply officer’s office for Uncle Zhang. When she saw him come out, she directly said, “Uncle Zhang, I’ll take you to the family compound now.”

Uncle Zhang nodded, “Okay, thank you, Comrade Wen Nuan.”

Wen Nuan had given her bicycle to Gu Qinglan to ride into town, so she walked back to the family compound with Uncle Zhang.

On the way, Uncle Zhang asked Wen Nuan again, “Comrade Wen Nuan, will the army still need those dried seafood in the future?”

Wen Nuan nodded, “Of course! You can tell the villagers that they should dry more while the weather is good in summer. We will need it all.”

During this time, businesspeople were practical. Just by looking at the dried seafood Uncle Zhang brought, one could tell its quality was excellent, and most importantly, the price was reasonable. Being by the sea allowed them to catch seafood easily, making it a business without investment, so Uncle Zhang’s prices were quite low.

Upon hearing this, Uncle Zhang smiled broadly and nodded, “That’s wonderful! I’ll definitely have the villagers prepare more when I go back!”

Wen Nuan laughed, “Great, thank you for your hard work.”

Uncle Zhang, feeling anxious, wasn’t curious about the family compound. His footsteps quickened, and Wen Nuan almost couldn’t keep up.

From a distance, Aunt Liang saw her husband and waved, shouting, “Old Zhang, over here!”

Uncle Zhang saw his wife, whom he hadn’t seen in months, and said to Wen Nuan, “Comrade Wen Nuan, I’ll go ahead. Thank you for showing me the way.”

Wen Nuan replied, “You’re welcome! Go have a good time with Auntie.”

At that moment, it was lunchtime. Sister Guihua invited Wen Nuan to join them for a meal, but Wen Nuan thought that Qinglan should be coming back home with Lele around this time, so she declined the invitation.

Wen Nuan returned home to prepare a meal, planning to wait for the children and Qinglan to come back so they could eat together.

However, before she could wait long, Gu Qinghan returned home first, holding a letter in his hand.

Seeing him come back at this time, Wen Nuan curiously approached him, asking, “Qinghan, why are you back at this hour?”

Gu Qinghan first went to wash his hands, then walked over to Wen Nuan’s side and said, “I was going to the cafeteria, but the supply officer said you were back home, so I returned.”

Wen Nuan wiped her hands and explained, “Sister Guihua’s father came over, and since he might not know the way, I brought him back.”

“Oh, no wonder,” Gu Qinghan replied. He then handed the letter he had received to Wen Nuan, saying, “This is a letter from Grandpa for you.”

Since returning from the New Year in Beijing, Wen Nuan occasionally spoke with General Lu. However, General Lu had been traveling for the past few months and hadn’t spent much time in the capital.

So, most of the time, Grandpa would write to her. The letters came from different addresses, but they generally contained messages of reassurance. Often, he would tell her not to reply, and any letters she wrote would typically be sent to the capital.

Wen Nuan opened the letter and intended to sit down and read it slowly. However, in the next moment, she found herself being embraced by a man who pulled her onto his lap.

Gu Qinghan leaned close to her and said, “Just read like this; I won’t get in your way.”

Wen Nuan thought that there was no one else at home, so she obediently let him hold her, adjusting herself into a comfortable position as she opened the letter.

In the letter, Grandpa wrote that he had travelled to the South. Wen Wenkang had been reported for behaving inappropriately and was sentenced to ten years of hard labor, being sent to the border regions under the jurisdiction of General Shen.

Meanwhile, Mother Wen attempted to swindle money from others by using General Lu’s name, but she was caught red-handed by General Lu himself.

General Lu didn’t care about losing face; he directly took her to the police station and had her compensate for the losses incurred by the victim. He took the opportunity to explicitly sever ties with the Wen family, stating that he was unfamiliar with them. He even exposed the Wen family’s past of favouring sons over daughters and their intentions to sell their daughters.

Later, it seemed that the folks back home stirred up quite a gossip storm, saying that Mother Wen and Wen Wenkang had attempted to “extort” General Lu during the New Year when they were in the capital.

General Lu turned the tables on them and staged a play, though the details of this performance were not disclosed in the letter. Regardless, he successfully had Mother Wen sent to labour reform as well, which was quite satisfying.

At the very end of the letter, General Lu stated that he had already severed all ties with the Wen family, instructing Wen Nuan to have no further contact with any of them.

Wen Nuan glanced at the date on the letter, which was from half a month ago. By this time, it was likely that Wen Wenkang had already arrived at the border for his labour reform. She had heard that it might even snow there in May.

Wen Wenkang had always been afraid of the cold; every winter, the family’s warm quilts had been given to him. That place would be just right for him.

Gu Qinghan had earlier guessed that this would be the outcome. Seeing Wen Nuan remain silent, he softly said, “Don’t worry; they won’t bother you anymore.”

Wen Nuan nodded. Wen Wenkang had played with the feelings of a woman, all while being engaged. He thought he could rise to fame just because General Lu recognized him, only to abandon her.

He deserved what was coming to him; she didn’t feel sorry for him at all.

Mother Wen was also greedy, constantly scheming for benefits and setting her sights on others. This was the fate they deserved.

Wen Nuan put down the envelope, hugged the man’s shoulders, and smiled, “Let’s not think about them; they brought this on themselves.”

“It’s just that Grandpa had to take the time to deal with all these troubles while being so busy.”

Gu Qinghan chuckled, “Grandpa is worried about you. As long as the Wen family is around, they’re a ticking time bomb. Now that they’ve received their due punishment, it’s their own doing.”

Wen Nuan nodded, “Yeah, let’s not talk about them anymore.”

Then she leaned in and kissed the man’s cheek, saying, “Qinglan took Lele to town; they probably had lunch and will be back soon. Let’s have a little something to eat for lunch; what do you want?”

Gu Qinghan raised an eyebrow, a hint of mischief glimmering in his eyes, and whispered something in Wen Nuan’s ear.

Wen Nuan’s fair cheeks visibly flushed, and she bit her lower lip, unable to help but scold the man, “You… in broad daylight…”

Before she could finish, he swept her up into his arms and walked toward the door, crazily locking it behind him.