Chapter 56

“Sister-in-law, did you practice especially for this? Your strength is amazing!”

Su Xi had just returned to the compartment and hadn’t even settled into her seat when Tong Yun excitedly gave her a thumbs-up from across the aisle.

Su Xi felt like facepalming.

She remembered that a few hours earlier, when she first saw Tong Yun, he had seemed like a refined and distant person, somewhat resembling Eldest Brother Su Dong in temperament.

How had he turned out to be so different once they became familiar?

“Strength is natural; I didn’t practice on purpose!” she replied.

Tong Yun glanced in Xie Zhen’s direction. “I thought your skills were developed because of Brother Xie. I was wondering if he trained you mercilessly like he did to us, but it seems not…”

Su Xi shot a glance at the speechless Xie Zhen and smiled. “That’s really not the case; I’ve had strength since I was little.”

While the others were chatting, Pang Xing had climbed up to the upper bunk with Tong Yun’s help, but he didn’t lie down obediently. Instead, he sat cross-legged and looked down at Su Xi. “Sister Xixi, how strong are you really? I saw how easily you lifted that fat pig!”

Seizing the cover of darkness, Su Xi quickly kissed the man’s lips. Ignoring his instant stiffness, she wore a mischievous grin like a cat that had stolen a fish, swiftly kicked off her shoes, and scampered up the ladder to the upper bunk. Once she lay down, she casually said, “Well, our wooden products often broke when I was a kid!”

Inside, she hummed with delight. That bad man had teased her so much a few days ago that she could barely get out of bed; now he had to keep his thoughts to himself in front of everyone! Hehe!

Pang Xing’s eyes widened in surprise. “Did you break them, Sister Xixi?”

Su Xi chuckled, recalling the scene a few years back when Xie Zhen had been behind her cleaning up. “Strictly speaking, they were crushed…”

“Wow!!! Sister Xixi, you’re amazing…”

She really was impressive. Tong Yun looked at the man opposite him with a sense of schadenfreude, thinking how great it was that Brother Xie had found someone with such strength. He couldn’t help but feel a thrill at the thought of this powerful woman one day putting that big bad guy in his place.

Perhaps Tong Yun’s gaze was too intense. The man, who had just been lost in the intoxicating kiss from his wife, suddenly shot him a fierce look.

Tong Yun quickly flopped down on the lower bunk, putting on an adorably obedient expression.

—o—o—o—

The next morning.

Su Xi and Xie Zhen went to wash up together. As they passed by the adjacent compartment, they could hear people discussing the events of the previous night everywhere.

Clearly, the speed of gossip’s spread could not be underestimated in any era.

Aside from a few who chirped away, insisting that the woman must have dressed provocatively to entice others, most people maintained a proper view of the situation.

Su Xi and Xie Zhen listened closely, exchanging glances that revealed their satisfaction at the unfolding drama.

When they returned to their compartment after washing up, ready to switch places with Tong Yun and the others, they found breakfast already laid out.

There were steamed buns, meat buns, rice porridge, and even a few fried dough sticks. The sight was quite lavish.

Xie Zhen raised an eyebrow. “Where did this come from?”

With food supplies tight, even if they had money and tickets, they couldn’t necessarily buy such things. Did someone…?

Pang Xing was already chattering excitedly. “Brother Xie, the train attendants brought it over. They said it was a gift from the train conductor on behalf of all the staff to thank Sister Xixi for her heroic rescue yesterday. They sent it for free!”

Hearing the word “heroic,” Su Xi twitched her mouth, feeling something was off. Still, she asked, “Did you pay for it?”

Pang Xing puffed out his little chest. “Sister, don’t worry. I told them that we soldiers cannot take a single needle or thread from the people, so I insisted on paying!”

Su Xi patted his fluffy head, finding the action particularly satisfying. No wonder Xie Zhen and the others liked to pat her head; she didn’t hold back on her praise. “I knew it! Our Xingxing is the smartest!”

Pang Xing beamed with pride at the compliment. His fuzzy little head rubbed against Su Xi’s palm, displaying an endearing obedient demeanor.

Watching this, Tong Yun felt a pang of envy. He knew his girl well; despite looking sweet and innocent, Xingxing was actually quite guarded. She wouldn’t show such a cute side to anyone she didn’t genuinely like.

He couldn’t help but feel a bit sour.

As Tong Yun stewed in jealousy, even daring to shoot a glare at Xie Zhen, silently urging him to keep an eye on his wife, he happened to meet Xie Zhen’s icy gaze. It felt like being sliced by cold knives!

Tong Yun shrank back immediately, feeling an overwhelming sense of dread. He was at the very bottom of the food chain here; there wasn’t a single person in the train compartment he could afford to offend.

Just as he was trying to make himself as inconspicuous as possible, Su Xi spoke up, rescuing him from his predicament, “Xing Xing, you guys should go freshen up quickly. We’ll wait for you to eat, alright!”

As she spoke, Su Xi squatted down and reached for one of the suitcases, preparing to open it.

But before she could do so, Xie Zhen leaned over in his crouched position and lifted her onto the bed. Then, he settled back down on the floor to open the suitcase himself, asking as he did so, “What are you looking for?”

Su Xi, half-amused, half-exasperated, chuckled. Although she was perfectly capable of handling herself, this man always treated her as if she were a delicate porcelain doll. “I remember GrandmaGrandma packed four peaches in this suitcase, right? Take them all out and let Xing Xing and the others bring them to the washroom to rinse them.”

Xie Zhen nodded to show he understood. Reaching into the corner of the now-opened suitcase, he pulled out four enormous peaches.

How big were they? Su Xi had weighed one in her hands before; each one was just over a pound. Even with Xie Zhen’s large hands, he could only hold one at a time.

Su Xi needed both of her smaller hands to hold just one peach.

Pang Xing accepted one of the peaches that Su Xi handed over. She hadn’t even had time to marvel at it before the rich, tantalizing fragrance of peach filled the air, making her mouth water.

She forgot all sense of restraint, and, curious, asked, “Sister Xi Xi, I’ve never seen peaches this big, this red, or this fragrant before! It’s almost as big as my face! Should we maybe save two for tomorrow and eat half a peach each day?”

Pang Xing genuinely didn’t want to waste them, feeling that they wouldn’t be able to finish these massive peaches all at once. After all, girls generally didn’t have large appetites, and food wasn’t something to be wasted in these times.

Su Xi then asked Xie Zhen to find a clean bag from the suitcase, and once all the peaches were packed inside, she handed the bag over to Tong Yun, saying, “Don’t worry, even though these peaches look big, you might still feel like one each isn’t enough.”

She was telling the truth. Once they tasted these peaches, they would no longer think they were too large; in fact, they might even wish for more.

Last year, when Su Xi and Xie Zhen had transplanted about a dozen peach trees to the edge of the forest, the soldiers had been curious. Why go to the trouble of transplanting peach trees that rarely bore fruit? But they hadn’t asked any questions.

Later, Doctor Su Xi had explained on her own that she understood how to graft peach trees.

During that time, she had indeed brought in some grafting branches from outside. But none of the soldiers understood what grafting was; they just watched out of curiosity, never truly taking it seriously.

At the edge of the forest, which lay just beyond the safe zone, very few people were aware of Su Xi’s efforts to transplant peach trees. Only the soldiers who frequently went into the mountains for training knew about it.

It wasn’t until spring of this year that the soldiers noticed a change. The previously scrawny and sparse peach trees from last year were now flourishing, their branches lush with leaves.

And when the peach blossoms bloomed, the sight of a dozen or so trees, though not many, gathered in full bloom was a rare beauty to behold.

After that, every time the soldiers went on a training exercise, they would make a point of checking on the small peach grove that Doctor Su Xi had grafted. They wanted to see what kind of peaches these trees might produce.

In just a few short months, everyone was astonished.

The trees had indeed borne fruit, and every peach was an exceptionally vibrant red, remarkably large, and so fragrant that the aroma could be detected from a distance.

The whole situation was quite unusual. Unfortunately, during the two months when the peaches ripened, Commander Xie Zhen and Battalion Leader Xi were both on missions off the island. The other leaders felt it inappropriate to approach Su Xi directly, so they reported the matter to Senior Colonel Zhang.

Senior Colonel Zhang personally visited the peach grove and was thrilled. He hadn’t expected the delicate-looking Doctor Su Xi to have such a skill up her sleeve.

He thought to himself that if Comrade Xiao Su told him she could raise pigs, he’d believe it without a second thought. Truly, one shouldn’t judge by appearances!

Although he didn’t quite understand what “grafting” involved, it didn’t prevent him from seeing the hope of improving life on the island.

Without further delay, he went looking for Su Xi, hoping to buy some of the peaches to reward the soldiers.

As the highest-ranking officer on the island, he could have simply requisitioned the peaches for the unit. But Senior Colonel Zhang was not one to exploit his subordinates.

To his surprise, Su Xi barely let him finish before she assured him that she had transplanted those peach trees specifically to provide a little treat for the people on the island.

She explained that the reason she hadn’t transplanted more trees last year was her concern that others wouldn’t trust her skills, which might have led to misunderstandings.

She had thought it best to start with a few trees, small and inconspicuous, and once they bore fruit, she would graft more trees for the island. Ideally, she hoped to establish a full peach grove in the future.

It would certainly be ideal if the peach grove were closer to the family compound. Then, when March arrived and the peach blossoms were in full bloom, everyone could enjoy this rare, beautiful sight.

Upon hearing Su Xi’s plan, Senior Colonel Zhang was deeply moved. Such a comrade, so selfless and devoted to the people! Overcome with excitement, he immediately waved his hand and granted the young couple an extra week of leave.

The peaches Su Xi had brought along, however, weren’t from the forest’s edge.

At the time, she had transplanted two peach trees into the courtyard, and since they were closer to her, the peaches from these trees grew even better than those outside.

With the two trees at home producing over a thousand pounds of fruit, the Su family certainly didn’t need to share in the distribution of the thousands of pounds harvested from the island’s grove.

She vividly remembered the day when those thousands of pounds of peaches were delivered to the canteen by truck. Everyone had been overjoyed, practically jumping with excitement.

Especially the children, who had never seen so much fruit in one place, chased after the truck in delight.

But when she thought back to her own embarrassing experience at the canteen during the peach distribution, she still cringed. She could practically curl up into a ball just remembering it!

Senior Colonel Zhang had personally called Su Xi onto the stage, pinned a bright red flower on her, and praised her for her spirit of unity and friendship. Despite her overwhelming embarrassment, she’d looked out to see everyone holding a peach, gazing back at her with gratitude and joy.

In that moment, Su Xi decided that a little embarrassment was a small price to pay. If it meant seeing people this happy, she’d gladly plant a hundred more peach trees!

Time on the train passed agonizingly slowly, especially with no real entertainment available. Though each of them had brought books to pass the time, after seven days of travel, they were all becoming restless.

Except for Xie Zhen, who was accustomed to long missions, the others were struggling to endure. Even Su Xi found herself worn out.

At last, on the final day, Su Xi and her companions changed into clean clothes, though with unwashed, slightly oily hair after days without proper baths. They drifted along with the crowd as they squeezed their way off the train.

Finally, they had arrived at J City train station!

While still on the train, they had all agreed on their first plan of action: after getting off, they would head straight to a nearby hostel to take a proper bath, freshen up, and then catch a bus to their destination.

After all, this was Su Xi’s first time visiting her husband’s family home, so it was essential to present herself well!

But just as they walked out of the station, they spotted someone peering in their direction from the entrance — it was Tang Siyun, waiting for them at the station!