Chapter 88.1

Gu Qinghan had been away for a month and a half for test flights.

Wen Nuan did not expect him to return with several large bags of fruit, as well as some snowflake cream and shampoo. This time, he did not buy clothes for her and Lele, likely because he had been discouraged by Gu Qinglan’s comment about the ugly clothes he had bought last time.

Wen Nuan walked over to take a look. The fruit was incredibly fresh, clearly harvested just in the past couple of days.

Moreover, most of the fruit was from the southern regions, including longan, lychee, yellow skin fruit, peaches, mangoes, and several round, large watermelons!

Their cooking team’s farm also grew some fruit, which was supplied to the soldiers in the unit.

However, the fruits of that era were not very large, especially the watermelons, which were about the size of a soccer ball.

Because there were so many people in the unit, they probably only ate watermelon about twice during the summer. When it was distributed to each person, it would only be a small piece.

Lele’s favourite fruit was watermelon, but because the portions they received were quite limited, the little one never seemed to have enough, almost gnawing on the rind.

At that moment, when the little one saw the large watermelon Gu Qinghan had brought back, she dashed over, crouched down, and wrapped her arms around a watermelon that was bigger than her own head, pressing her face against it with a grin, saying, “Wow, a big watermelon! I love big watermelons. They’re so sweet!”

Seeing Lele so happy, Gu Qinghan peeled longan, removed the seed, and then handed it to her. “This is also delicious; try it and see if it’s sweet.”

Lele, noticing there was something tasty, let go of the big watermelon and opened her mouth wide, popping the white, glistening longan into her mouth.

After chewing a few times, Lele joyfully lay on her father’s lap and exclaimed, “Delicious! So good!”

“Dad, you’re the best!”

Gu Qinghan’s lips curved into a smile, and he rubbed Lele’s soft hair. “Then let Daddy peel you another one.”

“Okay, I want to eat! I want to eat a hundred!” Lele stretched out her ten little fingers, spreading them out in front of Gu Qinghan, thinking her ten tiny hands equated to a hundred.

Gu Qinghan’s eyes softened, and he began to peel longan for Lele, peeling two lychees and placing them in a bowl for her to eat.

After peeling a few for Lele, Gu Qinghan peeled lychee and brought it to Wen Nuan’s mouth, gently saying, “Wife, you should try one too.”

Wen Nuan was not polite at all and directly ate the lychee that Gu Qinghan had peeled for her. The crystal-clear fruit flesh was sweet and juicy, with a tender texture. The white part at the top was still intact, and when she took a bite, the sweet juice burst into her mouth, filling her with satisfaction.

Seeing the content expression on his wife’s face, Gu Qinghan softly asked, “Do you want more?”

Wen Nuan pointed her finger at the longan and smiled, “Peel one of those for me.”

“Sure, no problem. I’ll peel it for you; you don’t need to dirty your hands,” Gu Qinghan said as he took a large bunch from the bag and started peeling some for Wen Nuan.

As Wen Nuan enjoyed these long-awaited fruits, she peeled one for Gu Qinghan and fed it to him. “You should try it too.”

The family happily sat together at home, eating fruit. Lele, still unsatisfied, wanted Gu Qinghan to cut open a big watermelon for her, but Wen Nuan gently patted the little one’s round belly and didn’t let her eat more since she had just had lunch a short while ago.

Lele pouted her little lips, looking at her mother, “Then I’ll eat it later.”

Having had her fill, she began to play her pretend house game.

Wen Nuan had eaten quite a bit as well, and she thought how nice it would be to chill the fruits in this sweltering summer.

After some thought, she looked over at Gu Qinghan, who was in the shower, and asked, “Didn’t you go to Factory 112? Did you bring these fruits back from there?”

However, longan and lychee were clearly not fruits that could be grown in the North, so Gu Qinghan must have gone to the South.

Gu Qinghan dried his hair with a towel and then sat on the sofa, pulling Wen Nuan onto his lap. He spoke softly, “No, I happened to go on a mission on the southern border. I landed at the military airport on Qiongzhou Island and thought you would love the fruit, so I brought back a little.”

Wen Nuan looked at the large pile of fruit, a bit surprised. This was considered… a little?

Gu Qinghan thought that since he was flying back and forth, he might as well buy some fruit from the local farmers. He heard that many of the fruits there were homegrown and required little care, especially the mangoes, which were larger than ever. He would have considered buying more if he hadn’t worried about them not lasting long.

After all, both his wife and child loved to eat them.

Wen Nuan brushed her fingers through Gu Qinghan’s slightly damp hair, inhaling the refreshing scent of soap that clung to him. She smiled at his handsome profile, saying, “That’s way too much; there are several watermelons alone.”

It was no wonder the military wives in the family compound cherished marrying pilots. Every time Gu Qinghan went on a mission, he would bring back treats from various places.

Before she started working in the cooking team, whenever Gu Qinghan returned, the military wives would love to come over to see what goodies he had brought back for their family.

Previously, in the compound in Beijing, Wen Nuan had heard General Lu mention that in recent years, the country had been actively establishing diplomatic relations with various nations, and many pilots had opportunities to go abroad and buy some foreign goods.

At first, Gu Qinghan would buy her some clothes, scarves, and hats, but after purchasing a couple of horrendous skirts, he stopped buying clothes altogether and mostly brought back food.

Gu Qinghan wrapped his arms around Wen Nuan’s waist and laughed, “Anyway, it doesn’t require a ticket. If we can’t finish it, we can just share some with the comrades in the family compound.”

His fingers grazed her waist a few times, the special warmth radiating through the thin fabric, making Wen Nuan squirm uncomfortably.

Wen Nuan had initially thought about making some dried fruit, but the amount of fruit here was neither too much nor too little, and turning it into dried fruit would probably not yield much.

Moreover, only the mangoes were suitable for making dried fruit; the longans and lychees were best eaten fresh.

She had also considered making canned fruit, but the costs were too high. Not only did they lack natural advantages in the North, but the jars and cans needed for making canned fruit were also a problem.

Still, it felt incredibly fortunate to occasionally have fresh fruit.

It was a way to reward herself for her hard work over the past six months.

After pondering for a moment, Wen Nuan asked the man beside her, “Should we send some fruit to the research institute?”

Compared to canned fruit, it would probably be better to let the comrades at the research institute enjoy fresh fruit.

Gu Qinghan had already considered this, and he leaned in to kiss Wen Nuan’s neck, speaking in a husky voice, “I’ve prepared some already. I’ll take it over later.”

“Are you in such a hurry?” Wen Nuan looked at him in surprise. He had just come back, and now he was off to work again?

Gu Qinghan didn’t seem rushed at all. He glanced at Lele, who was playing nearby and said, “Not urgent. I’ll take a nap first and should be back before lights out tonight.”

Before Wen Nuan could respond, Gu Qinghan added, “I’ll get the child to sleep first.”

Wen Nuan knew he must be a bit tired after just returning. Seeing that he genuinely planned to take a nap, she decided to tidy up the fruits.

While Lele was playing, her father suddenly picked her up and carried her to the bed in the room. Lele didn’t quite understand at first, but when she realized that her dad wanted her to take a nap, she protested, “I don’t want to sleep!”

Gu Qinghan firmly pressed her down on the bed, smiling patiently as he told her, “If you take a nap, you can have some watermelon when you wake up.”

“Really?” Lele’s eyes widened in excitement, sparkling with curiosity. “Then I’ll sleep with Daddy and wake up to eat watermelon!”

“Daddy isn’t lying to you.” Gu Qinghan brushed the sweat-dampened hair off her forehead, then took her small blanket and covered her belly before saying, “Hurry up and sleep.”

Wen Nuan, thinking that Gu Qinghan genuinely wanted the child to nap, was surprised when, right after Lele fell asleep, he walked out of the room, and his gaze seemed a bit unusual.

—o—o—o—

After taking a half-hour nap, Gu Qinghan got ready with some seasonal vegetables and fruits and set off for the research institute.

Wen Nuan slept with the child until four in the afternoon. Since it was the weekend, she had a day off, and summer nights came a bit later.

After dinner in the evening, Wen Nuan took Lele to visit Sister Guihua, who brought along some fruit. She picked a variety of them to share.

Wen Nuan planned to keep some mangoes to make dried fruit so that Lele could enjoy them in the winter.

There were still quite a few peaches left, so Wen Nuan planned to make some canned peaches to enjoy in the winter. The rest of the fruit would be shared with everyone else.

Just as she was about to leave, Aunt Liang and Sister Guihua prepared to go for a walk.

Sister Guihua had previously followed Old Master Zhao’s advice to lose weight in preparation for pregnancy. However, she regained quite a bit after becoming pregnant and enjoying good food.

Last week, she went to Old Master Zhao for a check-up, and he advised her to control her weight. Otherwise, gaining too much in the later stages of pregnancy could complicate childbirth and potentially lead to gestational diabetes.

Although Sister Guihua didn’t fully understand what diabetes meant, she had trusted Old Master Zhao completely since becoming pregnant. So, these days, she made it a point to take walks every morning and evening.

Seeing Wen Nuan approach, Sister Guihua cradled her round belly with both hands and smiled, saying, “Little Nuan, Lele, are you two planning to go for a walk as well?”

Then Sister Guihua added with a smile, “Wasn’t Vice-Captain Gu back this afternoon? I thought I heard his voice.”

Wen Nuan chuckled and nodded, mentioning that Gu Qinghan had brought back some fruit from the southern region. “Yes, he came back, but he’s gone on another mission. I thought it wasn’t too hot now, so I came out to bring you some fruit.”

Lele, who had just woken up from her nap, immediately wanted to eat the big watermelon. Originally, Wen Nuan planned to bring some fruit to everyone, but Lele, feeling the heat, threw a tantrum and didn’t want to go out.

Fortunately, after six o’clock, the weather finally cooled down a bit, and Lele was willing to go out and deliver the fruit to her aunts.

Just as Wen Nuan finished speaking, Lele took the bag of fruit from her hands with both of hers.

Wen Nuan reminded her, “Lele, it’s heavy. Let’s lift it together.”

So, the two of them carried the large bag of fruit to Sister Guihua, handing it to her.

Lele smiled brightly, saying, “Auntie, this is for you! It’s really sweet!”

Seeing that Lele was struggling to carry it, Sister Guihua had initially thought to decline, but Lele insisted on shoving it into her hands.

Sister Guihua then said, “Well, I won’t be polite, then.”

When Zhang Guihua saw there was even a watermelon in the bag, she couldn’t help but praise, “Wow, there’s even a watermelon! Lele has such great strength!”

Lele beamed even wider, proudly saying, “Watermelon is the best!”

“Exactly, watermelon is the best! I love it too,” Zhang Guihua replied, passing the fruit to Aunt Liang nearby so that her mother could take it home first and eat it after their walk.

After that, Sister Guihua took Lele’s hand and walked with Wen Nuan to Sister Juxiang’s house.

Sister Juxiang had just finished her meal when she saw Wen Nuan and the others arrive. She put down her bowl, then kicked her husband, saying, “Old Zhao, you wash the dishes tonight. I want to chat with Guihua and Xiao Nuan.”

Zhao Yongfu pouted. He didn’t want to wash the dishes, but ever since Deng Juxiang started working in the cooking team, she had become particular about fairness. They always divided tasks for things like eating and cleaning the table.

Despite this, Zhao Yongfu felt that Deng Juxiang was increasingly happy. Although the work on the cooking team was tiring, she seemed more fulfilled.

Under the watchful eyes of several women, Zhao Yongfu cleaned up the dining table and then took the bowls into the kitchen.

On the living room sofa, Lele followed Xiaodong and Xiaomei as they read comic books. Being young, Lele preferred to play with slightly older children, as they could take her along.

The two older sisters liked her as well. When they saw Lele, they pulled her over to read comic books together and tell her stories.

When Wen Nuan handed the fruit to Deng Juxiang, the latter shyly pushed it away, saying, “So much stuff! How can I accept this? Xiao Nuan, you should take it back!”

Wen Nuan usually shared everything delicious with them, and now she had brought over so much fruit, including a large watermelon. How could she ask for it back?

These were probably all brought home by Gu Qinghan, who must have thought of getting them for Wen Nuan and Lele.

Wen Nuan smiled and joked, “I carried this over from home, and my hands are sore. I broke a sweat. Sister Juxiang, do you want me to take it back? Not a chance!”

The two women laughed, and then Deng Juxiang said, “Then I’ll accept it. Thank you, Xiao Nuan.”

The group of women sat together, most fond of gossiping. However, as they talked, sister-in-law Juxiang looked at Wen Nuan and asked, “I heard the factory’s approval procedures have come through. Does that mean we need to hire more people?”

Wen Nuan nodded, saying, “A few days ago, Quartermaster Luo told me the same. There are also two units in Shenyang that have ordered some things from us. If we don’t hire more people, we probably won’t be able to keep up with the workload.”

The factory wasn’t large yet, but the machines had been moved in and installed. Wen Nuan also helped with the next batch of instant noodles and dried noodles. Now, they were already short-handed, and everyone was busy as bees. If they could hire more people, the cooking team wouldn’t have to be so overwhelmed.

Sister Guihua sighed upon hearing this, “It’s still not the right time. Before, the cooking team was hiring, and now the factory is hiring, too. I missed both opportunities.”

Having idled in the family compound for so many years, she couldn’t say she didn’t want to work; it was just that after all these years without opportunities, she happened to be in a situation where she needed to prepare for pregnancy, which completely cut her off from work.

Aunt Liang beside her pinched her lightly and replied impatiently, “Once the baby is born, you’ll be busy. Then I want to see if you’re still thinking about going back to work.”

Deng Juxiang poured tea for Zhang Guihua and smiled, saying, “What are you so anxious about? There will be plenty of opportunities later. Once the baby is born, you’ll really have a lot of diaper duties to keep you busy.”

As they chatted, the topic naturally shifted to children, and everyone began sharing the hardships of pregnancy and raising kids.

However, even after discussing it, they still couldn’t resist cuddling the babies. Wen Nuan was just like that.

Since the beginning of the year, she had been taking Lele to the cooking team. Although there were other children to play with, having more kids meant there were more bumps and scrapes. Sometimes, Lele could be a bit temperamental, refusing to back down and arguing with the older kids.

Overall, though, Lele was much easier to manage than other children. In the cooking team, she understood that her mother was busy, so sometimes she would find things to do on her own or help collect eggs from the chicken coop.

When it was time for everyone to work in the kitchen, the little one would also help pick vegetables, although sometimes she loved to create a bit of chaos.

Nonetheless, it didn’t stop Wen Nuan from thinking of her daughter as a little angel!

Hearing the adults laughing, Lele walked over and hugged Wen Nuan’s leg, asking, “Mommy, what are you laughing about?”

Wen Nuan playfully tapped the child’s nose with her finger and said, “We’re saying that our Lele is a good baby.”

Lele placed her hands on her hips and glared at her, snorting, “Of course! Lele is Mommy’s good baby!”

Wen Nuan gently ruffled the child’s hair and said, “Go play now; we’ll be heading home soon.”