Chapter 36

For three days, the howling wind wreaked havoc, and the snowflakes flew wildly, making the surroundings feel icy cold.

Tian Mi had gone outside once, though strictly speaking, she hadn’t really gone out; she simply couldn’t contain her curiosity and stepped out the door to stand under the eaves.

In just a short while, even though she was bundled up tightly like a silkworm cocoon, she quickly felt the biting cold.

Cold!

Extremely cold!

That feeling made Tian Mi gain a more vivid understanding of the freezing climate in the north.

It turned out… just a few days ago, it had been relatively warm.

Fortunately, this icy chill didn’t last long. As her husband had predicted, it returned to calmness three days later, as if the roaring winds that had sounded like mountains and tsunamis had never invaded, and everything was just a fleeting dream.

On that day, Lou Luhui left early for the army, saying he wouldn’t be back until very late.

He had to lead a team to check on the conditions of the local villagers’ houses and, conveniently, pick up any animals that had frozen to death.

It sounded unusual, but whenever the temperature dropped sharply, there would be frozen wild chickens, and if they were lucky, they might even find some wild rabbits.

Although the animals were all dead, everyone didn’t mind; it was free food, after all. Even the smallest mosquito is still meat, right?

Not long after her husband left, Tian Mi, who had been cooped up at home for three days, tidied up the house and put on her coat to go to her elder sister’s house.

Her brother-in-law should have already told her sister about the gold.

So, as soon as she entered her sister’s home, her arm was patted several times.

Tian Mi pretended to be playful and laughed, “It doesn’t hurt; I’m wearing so many layers!”

Upon hearing this, Tian Yu became even angrier. After her sister took off her thick coat, she gave her another couple of pats and then scolded her resentfully, “Look at what you’ve done! Such a big deal, and you didn’t even tell me. If it hadn’t been for your brother-in-law stopping me, do you believe I would have gone to your place to give you a good scolding the other day? How do you have the audacity to do this? Huh? You naughty girl, always doing things to scare people!”

When she arrived, Tian Mi had already mentally prepared herself for a scolding. Now, she put on a painfully compliant expression and, as soon as her sister paused slightly, immediately played the victim: “I didn’t want this either! If it weren’t for the circumstances, who would be willing to take risks? With what happened with Tian Chang Qing, Grandparents and Mom are all focused on marrying me off to a fool, just to bring their precious darling home. And that Liu Xiangdong is pressing me hard; I didn’t want to be taken captive, so I had to take the risk…”

Sure enough, after hearing her sister’s words, Tian Yu, who had been frowning, immediately showed a complicated expression: “…It’s my fault; I should have brought you over earlier.”

Those years, because of her grievances with their mother and grandparents, she had deliberately distanced herself from her family. Plus, with such a large age gap between her and her younger sisters, she never thought to communicate with them. She felt that as the eldest sister, it was enough to send some clothes and food every year.

Tian Mi hung her coat on the wooden rack, turned back, and linked arms with her sister as they walked into the house, pretending to be proud: “Actually, I’m quite lucky, right? Otherwise, how could I hand over those… things to Commander Wang? Don’t worry, big sister, I only did it because I was absolutely sure… I really like swimming, and I’ve been training in the Chaoyang River all these years. Now I can hold my breath underwater for about ten minutes! Even my family’s Lao Lou says I could compare with professional naval divers.”

“Really? Wow! How is my sister so amazing?” Tian Yu, who had been feeling down for less than a minute, quickly became captivated by her sister’s words. She had no concept of what a diving soldier was, but the meaning behind those words made her proud.

Look at that! Such an incredible girl is her sister’s own sibling.

Seeing her sister cheerful again, Tian Mi also smiled, picking up the chubby little girl who was playing on the sofa and giving her a big kiss, not forgetting to take the opportunity to ask for a treat: “Da Jie, your Mei Zi^[1]Younger sister is so awesome, surely I can get a frozen pear as a reward?”

“Pff…can! I’ll go pick the biggest one for you right now,” Tian Yu replied.

“Auntie little greedy cat!” the chubby little ghost spirit teased her aunt.

Tian Mi raised her hand and pinched the little girl’s chubby cheeks, showing no awareness that she was bullying a toddler: “Who are you calling a greedy cat? If I’m a greedy cat, then what is Guo Guo?”

The chubby girl giggled, “Guo Guo is a little greedy cat, Auntie a big greedy cat.”

Initially, upon hearing the first half of that sentence, Tian Mi thought the child not only looked like her but also had a similar perspective, especially when it came to being pragmatic…

But when she heard the little girl call her a “big greedy cat,” Tian Mi burst out laughing, hugging the chubby little one and giving her a series of playful kisses, which made the child giggle uncontrollably. She didn’t forget to tease, “See how the big greedy cat eats little kids! Quick, say… is your aunt still a greedy cat?”

The little girl’s excited face turned red: “No! Auntie is a good auntie, not… haha… a greedy cat…”

“Don’t indulge her; this girl just goes wild. It’s making my head hurt,” Tian Yu said as she came out with a tea jar. Seeing her sister messing around with her daughter was amusing, but more than that, she felt relieved. It seemed her sister had been living quite happily since getting married, and that was good.

“Is this for me? Why is it mixed with formula?” Tian Mi released her niece and took the tea jar that her sister handed over, surprised to find it filled with milk powder.

“You like to drink it, right? I’ll soak the frozen pear in water for a while; for now, drink some milk,” Tian Yu said, bringing over her chubby daughter and handing her a small cup so the girl could hold it herself.

After hearing her sister’s explanation, Tian Mi couldn’t help but laugh: “I’m not that young anymore! Besides, Lou has already arranged with the logistics department to bring me milk every week. I don’t need this. By the way… Jie, does Jie Fu have any tea? I brought some frozen milk at the door; I’ll make you milk tea.”

“I think so. The milk tea you’re talking about is the salty one that Mongolians drink, right?”

Tian Mi nodded, then shook her head: “It’s not salty; it’s sweet. Have you ever tried the salty one?”

Once the chubby girl finished the milk in her cup, Tian Yu wiped her mouth and let her go play by herself before getting up to look for her husband’s precious tea: “Years ago, the first time I went with the Saozis to the village to buy mutton and beef, there were quite a few people who had moved from Mongolia. They were very hospitable and served us that milk tea you mentioned. I didn’t really like it; I always felt that drinking something salty was strange. After that, I didn’t have it again. I didn’t even know there was a sweet version. Is it good? How does it compare to soy milk?”

“That’s hard to say. Just like there are people who like salty milk tea, everyone has their own taste. You’ll know once you drink it. Or should I make it now? We can also talk about Lai Di and Pan Di.” The difference between sweet and salty was really hard to pin down.

It was like her; she liked salty tofu pudding but couldn’t understand the sweet version. However, her high school classmates particularly liked sweet foods, and neither of them could argue which was more delicious.

“Alright! Let’s make it now… Your brother-in-law told me, and I guess you want to give one of the slots to Lai Di, right?” Tian Yu handed her sister a small packet of tea and, picked up her chubby daughter in her arms, headed into the kitchen.

Once they entered the kitchen, Tian Yu tossed a small sandbag for the girl to play with before sitting down behind the stove to start the fire, asking her sister about her specific plans.

“…This is just my personal idea; I still need to consult Lai Di and Pan Di,” Tian Mi said as she put white sugar and tea leaves into the pot to dry roast. After achieving a caramel color, she tossed in the pre-crushed frozen milk cubes. With a quick stir, the milk cubes melted and mixed with the caramelized tea leaves, creating a color and flavor she was very familiar with.

Tian Yu sniffed the air a few times: “Quite sweet and fragrant… We should ask them. How about after we finish the milk tea, we go to your brother-in-law’s office and give Dad a call to have Si Mei and San Mei come over?”

The middle and elementary schools in town were only a ten-minute walk from the police station.

Tian Mi was indeed planning on it, but… “Should we tell Dad about the military service first? Or wait until Lai Di personally answers the call?”

Tian Yu furrowed her brows and fell silent for a moment: “It’s fine to tell Dad, but don’t mention the two slots or the rewards. Just say your brother-in-law arranged it and that a lot of people helped out.”

“I understand!”

After happily downing a bellyful of milk tea, the two sisters and the chubby girl sat for a moment before heading to Chen Gang’s office.

When he saw the sisters, Chen Gang wasn’t surprised at all. He took his precious daughter into his arms, kissed her a couple of times, and said, “Comrade Xiao Yu, let’s keep this short; try not to go over three minutes.”

“Got it; this isn’t my first time,” Tian Yu replied, taking the phone and, without thinking, smoothly pressing the numbers. She found her husband annoying and turned her back to him.

Chen Gang rubbed his nose.

Tian Mi observed quietly.

The call connected quickly, and it turned out to be their father, Tian Hongxing, on the other end.

Tian Yu didn’t immediately bring up the military service. Instead, she exchanged simple pleasantries, asked if he received the packages sent back, inquired about the certificate for the little sister, and how things were at home. She talked for over a minute before finally getting to the main point, prompted by her husband’s frequent gestures.

“Ah? It’s snowing heavily at home? Lai Di and Pan Di didn’t go to school today? …What terrible timing! …Don’t worry, Er Mei is doing well; the wedding banquet has already been arranged… Yes, it’s quite extravagant, the brigade commander personally officiated the marriage. A few days ago, my mother-in-law came all the way from Beijing with three big bags of gifts, not leaving out any of my three kids—there was plenty of food and clothes… Yes, she really likes Er Mei… The wedding was done with style; they had all the essentials, and the watch was even specially brought from Beijing by her mother-in-law—imported… So, you can rest assured, Er Mei is doing quite well, and they even arranged a job for her in the military… Yes, everything is good in the army… Dad, I have some things I want to ask the third and fourth sisters; can you take them to the police station when you go to work tomorrow? …I’ll tell you the details tomorrow; it’s all good news… Right… Don’t forget, 8 AM tomorrow, I’ll call you again. Alright, Dad, it’s time; I won’t keep you. Er Mei sends her regards; take care of your health… Oh! Okay, then I’ll hang up!”

The call was predictably kept within three minutes. Although Tian Yu felt disappointed that she couldn’t immediately talk to her sisters, she still wore a happy expression, as it wasn’t easy to hear the voices of loved ones these days.

She reached out to take her chubby daughter again but found her too heavy to hold, so she passed the child to her younger sister: “We’ll come back tomorrow morning; it’s just bad timing.”

Tian Mi held Guo Guo as they walked outside: “It’s fine; it’s just a stroll. Besides, we’ll definitely be able to get through on the phone tomorrow.”

“We’re heading back now.” As they reached the door, Tian Yu seemed to remember something and turned to greet her husband.

Then, without waiting for him to respond, she linked arms with her sister and left without looking back.

“Jie, do you think we should tell Dad tomorrow? We might as well change Lai Di and Pan Di’s names too?”

“They should be changed…”

“…”

Chen Gang… Comrade Xiao Yu, you weren’t like this before.

—

That evening.

Just as Chen Gang settled onto the couch after work, his wife brought him a treat.

“Milk tea? Did you make it yourselves?” Chen Gang had seen milk tea before. He took the cup, sniffed it, and then cautiously took a sip.

Hey… not bad! He took a big gulp, feeling satisfied.

Mmm… rich and creamy, really nice.

“Yes, Er Mei is clever; she figured it out. This sweet milk tea tastes great. If you like it, I can make it for you again tomorrow. Just add tea leaves, milk, and a bit of sugar—it’s not difficult at all.”

“Cough, cough… tea… tea leaves?” Chen Gang felt a pang in his chest.

“What? Who are you showing such distress to? I can’t drink your precious tea leaves.”

“Of course you can! You must!” Chen Gang downed the milk tea in the cup and wiped his mouth, ready to head out.

“Where are you going?”

“Uh… I, uh, have something urgent to discuss with Commander Wang.”

Unaware of her husband’s inner calculations, Tian Yu replied without suspicion: “Then hurry back; it’s almost dark.”

Chen Gang nodded. He had to hurry; otherwise, when Lao Lou returned, they would fight over it.