Chapter 96.2

After a busy half day, New Year’s Eve soon arrived.

Wen Nuan had gone to bed early the previous night, planning to wake up early on New Year’s Eve to prepare things. However, she was surprised to find it was already eight-thirty when she woke up, with the sounds of children playing and firecrackers outside the courtyard.

There was no sign of the men or Lele on the kang, which likely meant they had gotten up early.

Upon hearing the sound of Sister Guihua’s baby crying next door, Wen Nuan couldn’t sit still any longer.

She hurriedly got up, planning to make dumplings early and also send some to Gu Qinglan’s colleagues.

There were sixteen people in Gu Qinglan’s dormitory. Usually, Gu Qinglan was carefree and didn’t know whether she might offend anyone.

Now that she was learning from Doctor Zhao, it was easy to give others something to gossip about, so Wen Nuan planned to help Gu Qinglan maintain good relationships with everyone.

Just as she finished fixing her hair, Lele ran back from outside, her round little face red from the cold, and she spoke with white breath visible in the chilly air.

“Mom, I just went to see Auntie’s baby! He cried again!”

Wen Nuan reached out and rubbed Lele’s little head, smiling as she asked, “Did Lele comfort the baby?”

Lele hugged Wen Nuan’s arm and replied cheerfully, “Yes! I gave the baby a present.”

Wen Nuan then asked, “Did the baby like it?”

Two days ago, she had taken Lele to town, and it just so happened that it was Sister Guihua’s baby’s hundredth day celebration.

She had bought a gift for the baby, and when Lele found out, she had picked out a tiger head hat for him.

Lele nodded and smiled, “After I gave it to the baby, he stopped crying.”

“He must have liked it.”

Wen Nuan said with a smile, “He must really like the gift from Sister Lele.”

Then Wen Nuan inquired, “What about your dad?”

The dumpling dough had already been placed on the table to rise, but she hadn’t seen Gu Qinghan and wondered if he had gone back to the troupe.

“Dad is outside.” Lele pointed toward the courtyard, and just then, Gu Qinghan pushed the door open and walked in.

Seeing that Wen Nuan was up, he walked over, pulled her into his arms, and said, “The dough is already cooked and is on the stove. I’ll go back to the troupe for a bit. You eat something first, and we can wrap the dumplings together after I come back and put up the couplets.”

Wen Nuan knew he was busy, so she replied, “Next time, wake me up earlier. You go ahead; I’ll wait for you to put up the couplets before we wrap the dumplings.”

Gu Qinghan leaned down and kissed his wife’s rosy lips, nodding in agreement. “Okay, I’ll go and come back early.”

Lele wanted to go with him as well, and after thinking for a moment, Gu Qinghan said, “Come on, Dad will take you with him.”

Wen Nuan hesitated for a moment and said, “Maybe it’s better if you don’t go, little one. You can be quite a handful.”

Then she turned to Lele and said, “Lele, your dad is going back to work. Don’t be too much of a troublemaker.”

Although Lele was quite well-behaved at times, she had also been known to chase chickens and herd sheep at the Kitchen Unit.

Last time, she had even chased a few ducks into the fish pond behind the farm, which was half-frozen at that point, causing Wen Nuan to have to find someone to help her round up the ducks.

Gu Qinghan understood his wife’s concerns but had already put a hat and scarf on Lele. “It’s fine; it’s just going back to chat with the people in the troupe. Let her go play for a bit and bring back an ice lantern.”

Upon hearing about ice, Lele clapped her hands and exclaimed, “Yay! I want to go play with Dad on the ice!”

“Then it’s up to you,” Wen Nuan said as she adjusted Lele’s hat and put on her gloves.

Dressed in her winter gear, Lele looked at Wen Nuan and said, “Mom, I’ll be good. You just wait for me to come back home.”

Wen Nuan glanced at her and couldn’t help but laugh. “Alright, but don’t disturb your dad while he’s working, okay?”

Lele stuck out her tongue playfully and replied, “Got it, Piggy Mom.”

Wen Nuan pinched her cheek and said, “You’re the little piggy.”

“Wow, bringing the whole family along, huh? Is your wife not home? Why did you bring this little one with you?” Just as Gu Qinghan returned to thebrigade, he was teased by, Wang Xingguo.

Lele tightened her grip on Gu Qinghan’s shoulder and curiously studied the man speaking.

Gu Qinghan gently patted the child’s back and explained, “This is Dad’s comrade; Lele, call him uncle.”

Lele had seen Wang Xingguo before, but she likely forgot, which was why she appeared cautious.

Now hearing Gu Qinghan say this, she smiled sweetly and greeted, “Good morning, Uncle!”

“Wow, this little one is pretty well-behaved,” Wang Xingguo said with a chuckle, waving her over. “Come here; Uncle has some candy for you.”

Lele instinctively looked at Gu Qinghan, and when he nodded, she climbed down and walked toward Wang Xingguo. She accepted the candy with a beaming smile and said, “Thank you, Uncle!”

Wang Xingguo looked at the adorable little girl and said with a grin, “A kid this cute and sensible? You should have more; you and your wife should think about it soon. Kids nowadays are practically old enough to help out!”

Gu Qinghan furrowed his brows in confusion, questioning, “?”

Seeing Gu Qinghan’s expression, Wang Xingguo realized he had said something wrong. He asked, “Huh? Isn’t your wife pregnant? What does that expression of yours mean?”

Upon hearing this, Gu Qinghan’s face darkened even more. He asked, “Who said that?”

“Ah? Isn’t it common knowledge in the whole unit? Did someone throw out a smoke bomb? Damn, who the hell has such a big mouth? If I find out, I’ll make sure to teach that bastard a lesson!” Wang Xingguo was quite upset and seemed genuinely ready to confront someone.

Listening to his comrade, Gu Qinghan rubbed his forehead and finally admitted, “There is indeed something going on.”

He had planned to mention it later, but it seemed the news had already spread. It was likely that someone had heard about it when he took Lele to distribute pork yesterday.

“Ah?” This time, it was Wang Xingguo who was dumbfounded. He looked at his old comrade in disbelief, thinking he must have misheard, and asked, “Then why were you making such a scary face just now? Shouldn’t you be happy that your wife is pregnant?”

Gu Qinghan poured himself a cup of tea from his enamel mug and set it down in front of Lele before replying, “Of course I’m happy.”

“Then why the long face? You made me think I said something wrong!” Wang Xingguo handed him a cup, indicating for him to fill it with water. He continued, “You and your wife should have had more kids by now. Your family genes are so good! Look at Lele, this adorable little girl. Who wouldn’t envy you for having such a well-behaved and cute daughter?”

Wang Xingguo had four sons at home, each one more troublesome than the last. His wife still wasn’t satisfied and insisted on having a daughter. Wang Xingguo thought, was it even possible to pick and choose? If it were, he would want two daughters and two little troublemakers.

Lele, hearing Wang Xingguo praise her, smiled back at him. Her chubby, fair face was simply adorable to everyone.

Gu Qinghan felt his mood lighten from Wang Xingguo’s words. He filled Wang Xingguo’s enamel cup and replied, “Two is enough. Any more than that, we wouldn’t be able to handle it.”

With no one to help out, Gu Qinghan knew Wen Nuan carried a heavy workload and hoped she could have her own career, so he didn’t want to have too many children and tie her down with family responsibilities.

He wouldn’t have any more after this one.

Wen Nuan felt the same way.

Wang Xingguo propped his legs up, leaning back against his chair, and chuckled, “Come on, two is too few, isn’t it? You’re a deputy battalion commander, and raising four or five isn’t a problem. Besides, doesn’t your wife work too? What’s there to worry about?”

In this family compound, there were plenty of families with five, six, seven, or even eight children.

For someone like Gu Qinghan, having only one daughter and delaying the decision to have a second was extremely rare, unless there were fertility issues.

Hearing him say he only wanted two was hard for Wang Xingguo to believe.

Gu Qinghan shot him a glance and smiled slightly, “You wouldn’t understand.”

Wang Xingguo, wanting to head home early, set down his enamel cup and said, “Alright, alright, you young folks really don’t get it. When are we heading to the training ground? Last year, I took charge by myself; this time, you can handle the speech. I won’t participate.”

Gu Qinghan straightened in his chair and picked up the phone on his desk. “Wait a minute, I’ll call the child’s great-grandfather. I’ll head over soon.”

Wang Xingguo patted his military uniform. “Sounds good. I’ll go gather everyone first; you can join us after your call.”

He knew that the child’s great-grandfather was General Lu, so he stepped aside to give them some space and left.

Lele waved at Wang Xingguo with a cheerful smile. “Goodbye, Uncle!”

Wang Xingguo looked at the little girl and replied, “Hey, goodbye, Lele. See you later.”

No wonder his wife was so keen on having a daughter; she was indeed adorable and made people feel a bit envious. But what could he do?

Just thinking about his four naughty sons made his head spin.

Forget it. If they had one more troublemaker, their home would be in chaos.

—o—o—o—

Once Wang Xingguo left, Gu Qinghan dialed General Lu’s office. He thought that since it was New Year’s Eve, getting through would be difficult, but surprisingly, after two tries, he connected.

On the other end, General Lu was in a foul mood early in the morning. After Xiao Zhang informed him about a call from the North, his expression lightened slightly. However, upon hearing Gu Qinghan’s voice, he couldn’t hide his displeasure. “Why is it you?”

It was New Year’s Day; where was his granddaughter?

He was already annoyed about not having a holiday to spend, and now he had to answer a call that wasn’t from someone he wanted to see.

But the next moment, Lele excitedly shouted, “Good morning, Greatr Grandpa!”

“Oh, it’s our Lele! So good!” General Lu’s stern face softened a bit, and he smiled, “Where’s your mom? Is she not coming?”

Lele held the microphone and blurted out, “Mom is at home, and there’s a little baby in Mom’s belly. She can’t run around!”

Gu Qinghan was taken aback.

Indeed, it was this little rascal who leaked the “military secrets”!

“What?” General Lu on the other end of the line asked loudly, “Is that true? Xiao Nuan is pregnant?”

Gu Qinghan worried that Lele might not be able to articulate things clearly, so she took the microphone from Lele and explained Wen Nuan’s situation to General Lu.

After hanging up the phone, General Lu called in Xiao Zhang. “Xiao Zhang, help me check my recent schedule and try to wrap everything up before the Lantern Festival. See if you can free up a few days off for me.”

Xiao Zhang had been scolded mercilessly by General Lu that morning for not getting any holiday during the Spring Festival. He never expected that after the call with the North, General Lu would suddenly be all smiles.

Could it be that their lovely Comrade Wen Nuan had some good news?

Xiao Zhang immediately flipped through General Lu’s schedule for the next two weeks. It was filled with significant meetings, making it difficult to change unless the higher-ups decided to reschedule…

Xiao Zhang swallowed nervously and asked cautiously, “General Lu, is mid-February possible?”

The journey to the North in winter was not easy, and mid-February would still be very cold, with deep snow. It would actually be better to wait until March, but he feared that General Lu might not be able to wait.

Surprisingly, General Lu frowned at the suggestion. “So late?”

Xiao Zhang thought the general was going to ask him to rearrange the schedule, but General Lu waved his hand dismissively. “Never mind, never mind. A little later is fine. As long as I can stay a few more days then.”

As soon as he said this, Xiao Zhang let out a sigh of relief and then voiced his idea, “How about I send someone to the North to bring Comrade Wen Nuan and Lele over in a few days?”

General Lu would be in Beijing until the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, and having them come over for a few days would help ease his longing for his family.

“No, no, no,” General Lu leaned back in his chair and said with a smile, “We can just go to the North ourselves. You arrange it.”

It was the first time Xiao Zhang felt that General Lu was easy to talk to.

Before he could respond, General Lu added, “No need to rush, just make sure it’s done quickly.”

Xiao Zhang was speechless.

General, you understand the difficulty of the situation.

—o—o—o—

After Gu Qinghan and the others left, Wen Nuan took some sesame oil cakes and pastries to Sister Guihua’s house to give the baby a hundred-day gift.

They planned to cut window flowers together as well.

Sister Guihua’s baby was already three months old and was growing plump and fair due to sufficient breast milk.

Every time Lele saw the baby brother’s chubby face, she couldn’t help but reach out to touch it. Fortunately, Sister Guihua was happy to let Lele do so, as it wasn’t someone else’s child.

Wen Nuan wondered if it was because she was pregnant, but her gaze softened involuntarily when she looked at Sister Guihua’s baby.

Sister Guihua received a red string with jade from Wen Nuan, which was meant to be worn on the baby’s little foot. The jade looked smooth and transparent, and it must have cost quite a bit.

Seeing Wen Nuan holding her baby, Sister Guihua smiled and said, “Then let me thank you on behalf of Zhuzi.”

Zhuzi was the baby’s nickname, given by Zhou Jianshe, saying it was a simpler name that would be easier to raise.

Wen Nuan glanced at the baby in her arms and smiled, “What are you being polite for? This is Lele’s favorite little baby.”

Sister Guihua took off one of the baby’s cotton socks and put on the foot string that Wen Nuan had brought. “Lele also gifted Zhuzi a tiger-head hat; it’s so cute! But Zhuzi is still too small now; he’ll be able to use it next winter.”

Wen Nuan knew that the hat was picked out by Lele herself.

Sister Guihua looked at Wen Nuan and smiled, “When your little baby arrives, Lele will have a companion. She’ll definitely take good care of the child.”

Aunt Liang chimed in, “You and Captain Gu are both so handsome; it’s time to have another one. Lele won’t have to run over every day to see the baby.”

Aunt Liang had wanted to say this for a while, but Zhang Guihua had mentioned that Wen Nuan had her own plans and advised against pressuring her to have more children.

However, Aunt Liang had seen so many couples but had never encountered one like Wen Nuan and Deputy Captain Gu, both of whom were so good-looking.

She was always curious as to why they didn’t have more children; it seemed like such a waste.

But this morning, when she went to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, she had actually heard someone say that Wen Nuan was pregnant. This was truly good news.

Wen Nuan was taken aback. “??”

She was surprised that everyone already knew!

Wen Nuan had initially planned to go to the hospital for a urine test before telling them the news, but now that everyone knew, it saved her the trouble of bringing it up.

She smiled and said, “It’s still early; I haven’t been to the hospital for a check-up yet.”

Aunt Liang, speaking from experience, chuckled, “No need to check; you’ll probably feel the effects soon enough.”

When Wen Nuan returned home, Sister Guihua handed her some fried dough twists.

Wen Nuan had intended to chop up the filling while Gu Qinghan and Lele were still out, but just as she finished washing the black fungus, chives, and Chinese cabbage, they came back.

Each of them was holding a beautifully translucent ice lantern, which looked stunning.

As soon as they arrived, Gu Qinghan hung the ice lantern under the eaves and then turned to Wen Nuan, asking, “Are you okay on your own? Have you felt nauseous? Are you tired?”

“It’s not that serious. I probably haven’t reached that point yet; I feel quite normal right now.” Wen Nuan felt completely fine and often thought that Doctor Zhao had made a mistake in his diagnosis. She constantly wanted to go to the hospital for a urine test to ease her mind.

Upon hearing Wen Nuan’s words, Gu Qinghan placed his hand over his wife’s belly and said, “Good baby, keep it up and don’t make your mom suffer too much.”

Wen Nuan was amused by her husband’s childish behavior and couldn’t help but give him a sidelong glance. “It’s probably still just a single cell; how can it understand what you’re saying?”

Despite her teasing, she smiled and placed her hand over his, and they shared a glance, both chuckling.

Seeing this, Lele hurried over and exclaimed, “Mom, Mom, I want to listen to the baby talk too!”

Saying this, she pulled her dad and mom’s hands apart and pressed her ear against Wen Nuan’s belly.

Wen Nuan couldn’t do anything about it, so she let her listen and asked, “So, Lele, what did you hear?”

“Ah—” Lele raised her little head to look at Wen Nuan and suddenly giggled, “The baby says it wants to sleep!”

Wen Nuan was speechless.

“You’re quite the storyteller,” Wen Nuan thought to herself.

Gu Qinghan glanced at the time and noticed it was already past eleven, so he took Lele with him to put up couplets.

Wen Nuan helped by making the paste, and Gu Qinghan didn’t help her, preferring to avoid getting his hands dirty, allowing the father and daughter to busy themselves.

Once they finished wrapping the dumplings, they planned to take some over to Gu Qinglan, but she showed up first.

As soon as she entered, Wen Nuan heard her angrily exclaim, “What a bad luck this New Year!”

Wen Nuan wiped her hands and asked, “What’s wrong? Who made you upset?”

Gu Qinglan’s face was flushed, clearly agitated. She spoke rapidly, “Our Director Xu has a relative who said that I’m already in my twenties and still not married. She insisted on introducing me to someone.”

After pouring herself a glass of water and taking a sip, she continued, “I had already rejected her before, but today she showed up with a male comrade, saying he came all the way from Beijing to see me! I was so scared that I left class early and ran back!”

Wen Nuan furrowed her brow, incredulous that someone would force such a situation on another person.

Even if Qinglan had no relation to that male comrade, this incident would tarnish her reputation.

Wasn’t this just bullying?

Wen Nuan was infuriated and decided to take Qinglan back to confront that woman and make it clear that she shouldn’t go around damaging Qinglan’s reputation.

Initially, Gu Qinghan had planned to keep Wen Nuan from going anywhere, but with what had happened to Gu Qinglan, he naturally couldn’t ignore it.

Lele grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds and stuffed them into her pocket, then handed some to Gu Qinglan, saying, “Auntie, I want to go too!”

Gu Qinglan frowned, “Are you going to watch a show?”

Lele beamed at her, “Auntie, hurry up and carry me!”

With no way to refuse, Gu Qinglan squatted down so that Lele could climb onto her back.