Gu Jianing finally placed some of her cosmetics and jewelry in the drawer of the cabinet next to the heated brick bed (kang).

Just as she finished, she turned around and saw Sheng Zexi walking in with a cup of steaming hot water.

“Drink some hot water first to warm up.”

Gu Jianing took the cup, feeling the warmth in her hands. Thinking about how Sheng Zexi, while busy in the yard, still remembered to bring her hot water to warm her up, her heart felt warm too.

“Have you had any?” Gu Jianing asked.

“I have,” Sheng Zexi’s voice came from the kitchen. Gu Jianing followed him and saw him holding lunch boxes.

Looking at his tall figure, Gu Jianing felt an inexplicable sense of security.

She took a small sip of the hot water, and as the sweetness and warmth spread in her mouth, her eyes widened. “You added honey?”

“Yes,” Sheng Zexi replied as he rinsed two lunch boxes and chopsticks with hot water. “I just took it from the cabinet. Your second brother gave it to you, right?”

“Mm-hmm.”

The honey was from a beehive that Gu Yunnan had found in the mountains. He had managed to extract two jars of honey—one for his wife, Su Miao, and the other for Gu Jianing.

In this era, wild honey was a precious commodity.

And Gu Jianing happened to have a sweet tooth.

“I’ll go to the cafeteria to get some food. You can sit on the kang in the living room and drink your water. It should be warmer there by now.”

“Okay.”

Sheng Zexi stepped forward and hugged Gu Jianing before turning around and leaving with the lunch boxes.

Only when he was out of sight did Gu Jianing turn back, holding the cup with both hands. She sat cross-legged on the kang in the living room, sipping the sweet, hot water while feeling the warmth beneath her. Suddenly, she thought that this kind of life didn’t seem so bad after all.

The family quarters weren’t far from the cafeteria. On his way there, Sheng Zexi ran into many comrades and their family members, all of whom greeted him warmly.

Soon, he arrived at the cafeteria. It was already past noon, so there wasn’t much food left, and there were no meat dishes at all.

“Battalion Commander Sheng, you’re back!”

“Sorry, Battalion Commander Sheng, it’s a bit late now, so there aren’t many good dishes left. And you know how it is in winter—supplies are scarce, and we don’t have much food to work with. Even the best cook can’t make a meal without ingredients.”

“It’s fine.” Sheng Zexi was well aware of the situation and understood their difficulties.

In the end, Sheng Zexi could only take a few large steamed buns and two side dishes. On his way back, he thought about what else he could prepare to make the meal better.

Lost in thought, Sheng Zexi didn’t notice the occasional strange glances and whispers directed at him by the people around him.

However, a close comrade, Ji Hui, patted him on the shoulder and said earnestly, “You’ve had it rough.”

Sheng Zexi: ? Rough with what?

“Even though… you should still try to live well with your wife.”

Sheng Zexi: “Of course.” He would definitely live well with Ningning.

“Anyway, I’ll head off now.”

Ji Hui watched Sheng Zexi’s retreating figure and sighed, thinking that Sheng Zexi didn’t want to talk much about his ugly wife. After all, as a man, who wouldn’t want to marry a beautiful, well-proportioned woman?

This Sheng Zexi—previously, leaders and comrades had introduced him to so many beautiful women, but he turned them all down. Then, during his leave, he ended up being trapped by an ugly rural girl.

It was really…

But this didn’t seem like Sheng Zexi’s usual personality. The rebellious Sheng Zexi of the past would have resisted being manipulated to the death, right? How could he have just gone along with it?

It didn’t make sense. It really didn’t make sense.

Sheng Zexi left the cafeteria and quickly returned to his small courtyard.

He placed the lunch boxes on the kang table in the living room and explained to Gu Jianing, “I went too late, so this was all I could get. I’ll go to the kitchen and stir-fry some rabbit meat, okay?”

Stir-fried rabbit meat?!

Gu Jianing, who had been feeling a bit down seeing only steamed buns and two side dishes, immediately perked up. “Okay!”

But then she hesitated, “Won’t that be too much trouble for you?”

Sheng Zexi glanced at her and ruffled her hair. “What nonsense are you talking? I’m your man. If you don’t trouble me, who else would you trouble?”

Gu Jianing: Is that what I meant?

Sheng Zexi looked at her seriously and said, “I like being troubled by you. No, to be precise, anything related to you isn’t trouble to me.”

“A man should take good care of his wife. From now on, if you want to eat something, just tell me. I’ll do my best to get it for you.”

“Got it.” Gu Jianing felt warm inside hearing this.

“Should I go and watch the fire for you?”

“Sure.”

Actually, there wasn’t much need to watch the fire.

The stove was connected to the two kangs. Once the kang was heated, the stove would be hot too. All he needed to do was put the wok on, prepare the ingredients, and start stir-frying.

The stove, wok, firewood, bowls, and chopsticks—all these things had been purchased in advance by Sheng Zexi with the help of his comrades.

“…After we got engaged, I called my comrades to help me buy these things,” Sheng Zexi said.

“Brother Xi, you’re so thoughtful and prepared,” Gu Jianing praised sweetly without hesitation.

Thanks to Sheng Zexi having these daily necessities prepared in advance, they could use them as soon as they arrived. Otherwise, it would have been quite inconvenient to wait and buy them later.

Sheng Zexi took out a marinated rabbit, picked up a knife, and swiftly cut the rabbit into pieces. Then he took out scallions, chili peppers, and other ingredients to chop.

The scallions, chili peppers, and other ingredients had also been brought from the Gu family. Since Gu Jianing liked spicy food and was quite picky about flavors, she didn’t enjoy bland dishes.

So, while they didn’t bring vegetables, they did bring these seasoning ingredients.

There was no lard, but there was oil. Once the oil was heated in the wok, Sheng Zexi poured the rabbit meat in…

“Stand further back so you don’t get splashed,” Sheng Zexi reminded her.

“Okay.” Gu Jianing obediently complied.

A moment later, Sheng Zexi added the chili peppers, scallions, and other ingredients, stir-frying them vigorously. The aroma soon filled the air.

“Brother Xi, you’re amazing. I knew you were great at military missions, but I didn’t know you were such a good cook too. This stir-fried rabbit meat smells so good already—it must taste even better.”

“How lucky I am to have married such a wonderful man. You’re truly a once-in-a-lifetime catch!”

Gu Jianing’s words were as sweet as honey, and her compliments flowed endlessly. When she praised him, her tone rose slightly, and her beautiful eyes sparkled, showing that she was genuinely sincere.

The corners of Sheng Zexi’s mouth curled up so much that he could barely suppress his smile. His entire demeanor radiated pride, and even his stirring motions became more vigorous.

He said, “Of course your man is good. You’ve struck gold, so you should treasure it well.”

Gu Jianing covered her face and giggled. This man really had a thick skin, but it was kind of cute.

“Alright then, from now on, whether it’s cooking or washing dishes, you’ll handle everything in the kitchen?”

“Absolutely!”