Chapter 70

Wei Ling had no idea that the person he escorted would still be remembered by others. Anyway, after sending the person off, he quickly hurried back, not to see his wife earlier, but simply to be closer to her.

During work hours, he could not leave the team on his own; that was military discipline.

The convoy hurried on, and just as quickly returned.

On the way there, they passed Kaoshan Village, but on the return journey, they no longer passed by. Instead, they went straight to the division headquarters. Before entering, the driver, Xiao Shi, thought for a moment and said, “Colonel, why not go back and check on your sister-in-law?”

Qin Qingman had encountered fake police officers and narrowly escaped with her life. It was only natural that she would be shaken by the experience. It made sense for Wei Ling to visit her.

Wei Ling, looking at a house far away in Kaoshan Village, shook his head and said firmly, “Go back to the division headquarters, that’s an order.”

The first thing a soldier must follow is discipline.

Discipline had long been engraved in Wei Ling’s bones. In both this life and his previous one, he had been a soldier, and soldiers knew the discipline and duty of soldiers better than anyone.

Xiao Shi looked at Wei Ling’s expression through the rearview mirror and understood what he meant.

The neatly arranged convoy finally entered the division headquarters along its usual route. Wei Ling went to hand over tasks with Wang Chengping, and the others quickly returned to the camp.

In Kaoshan Village, although Qin Qingman and her brother had gone through the Wu Weimin incident, neither of them was affected in their sleep. Not only did their sleep remain unaffected, but their appetite was unchanged as well.

The next day, the siblings woke up on time.

Looking at the dimly lit west room, Chuchu blinked for a while before realizing the light was still on. The child immediately turned to look at the kang (bed), where an oil lamp was placed. As soon as he saw the oil lamp, he quickly got up and walked over.

He was careful not to step on Qin Qingman, who was lying in the middle of the kang.

Qin Qingman had already woken up when Chuchu got up but hadn’t opened her eyes. Sensing the child’s movements, she curiously asked, “Chuchu, why aren’t you sleeping in this morning? What are you doing?”

“Ah, Sis, you’re awake.”

Chuchu stopped in his tracks, turned around to look at Qin Qingman, who had just opened her eyes, and said, “Sis, I forgot to blow out the lamp yesterday.”

“Mm.”

Qin Qingman, who had deliberately left the lamp on, felt embarrassed but didn’t mention it.

“Ah, half a bottle of oil’s gone, what a waste, so regrettable,” Chuchu exclaimed dramatically as he approached the oil lamp. His tone clearly showed that he was genuinely upset about the kerosene that had been used to keep the lamp burning through the night.

“Whoosh—”

The child puffed his cheeks and blew out the lamp.

As soon as the light went out, the room immediately became pitch black, and nothing could be seen.

Their curtains were very good at blocking light, so even though it was bright outside, the room only had a faint glimmer of light. Chuchu’s eyes had just adjusted to the dimly lit room, but now, with the light suddenly gone, he couldn’t see anything at all.

Qin Qingman helplessly climbed out of bed, took the child’s hand, and led him back under the covers.

“Sis, did Brother-in-law come back yesterday?” Chuchu asked as he settled back into his own bed.

Qin Qingman, still waking up, hadn’t gotten up to check, but she had slept fairly lightly the night before and hadn’t heard anything. After thinking for a moment, she replied, “Ah Ling had a task; he probably didn’t come back last night.” Otherwise, Wei Ling would have definitely come to check on them in the west room.

“Oh.”

Chuchu’s tone carried a hint of regret.

“What’s wrong, do you miss Ah Ling?” Qin Qingman stretched her foot out of her blanket and lightly kicked Chuchu’s cover.

Chuchu immediately wrapped himself tightly in his blanket and retorted sharply, “Sis, don’t you miss Brother-in-law?”

Qin Qingman: … She really couldn’t bring herself to talk about missing Wei Ling in front of the child.

And besides, why on earth was she discussing such an adult topic with a child so early in the morning?

Chuchu didn’t hear Qin Qingman’s response and immediately became smug. “Sis, I’m going to tell Brother-in-law that you really missed him last night!”

Qin Qingman was taken aback. “I didn’t say anything.”

“Big Sister didn’t say anything out loud, but I know you were thinking about him in your heart, you missed him a lot, a lot. I know,” Chuchu replied smoothly, his words leaving Qin Qingman speechless. To be honest, she hadn’t thought about Wei Ling the last minute before falling asleep, but she had dreamed about him.

“See? Big Sister won’t answer because she’s definitely thinking about him in her heart.”

Chuchu laughed heartily, clearly enjoying himself.

However, his bright smile pulled at the injury on his face, and he immediately frowned, hissing and taking shallow breaths.

“See, that’s what happens when you talk nonsense. Hmph.”

Qin Qingman teased the child, but she still lifted the curtains, got out of bed, and started checking the injuries on his face.

When she returned yesterday, she had applied tea oil to his face.

Tea oil contained many natural vitamins, it could kill bacteria, improve skin, and also treat abrasions or acne scars. So, when Qin Qingman came back, she applied tea oil to the child’s face. After his bath, she applied it again. After a night of healing, the redness and swelling had subsided, leaving only a few small abrasions. It was because Chuchu had laughed too exuberantly that it had pulled on those abrasions.

“Sis, it hurts.”

Chuchu held his face and looked at Qin Qingman with a pitiful expression.

In truth, his face didn’t hurt that much. He was just worried that Qin Qingman would scold him, so he exaggerated his pain to make it seem worse than it was.

Qin Qingman carefully examined the child’s face and, of course, knew what the real situation was. She tapped his forehead with her finger and said, “If it hurts, stop talking nonsense. Just lie down and sleep a bit more. I’ll apply the tea oil again after you get up.”

“Sis, I want to get up.”

After Chuchu said this, he added an explanation, “Sis, I promised Brother-in-law that I would exercise on time every day.”

Qin Qingman looked at Chuchu seriously for a minute before nodding. “Alright, get up.” She also had to get up. It wouldn’t be good if the child got up and she stayed in bed.

“Sis, you’re the best.”

Chuchu cheerfully jumped onto Qin Qingman.

Seeing that the child really had no psychological trauma, Qin Qingman finally felt at ease. Perhaps their child was naturally braver than most, unaffected by the death they had experienced.

With that thought in mind, Qin Qingman got up with Chuchu.

Both the indoor and outdoor stoves were stoked up again, and after they finished washing up, the siblings each went about their tasks. Chuchu practiced the horse stance that Wei Ling had taught him, while Qin Qingman went to the well to fetch water and fill the water tank in the hall.

The water in the tank would be more convenient for everyday use.

The Qin family’s water tank wasn’t small, and it took Qin Qingman half an hour to laboriously fill it up. By the time she finished, she was drenched in sweat.

In that moment, she couldn’t help but long for the running water in the future.

With just a properly installed pipeline, you could turn on the tap and have water whenever you needed it, so convenient.

Unfortunately, they didn’t have that luxury yet.

As Qin Qingman gently massaged her lower back in exhaustion, Chuchu came out of the west room, waddling like a crab with his arms outstretched, clearly still adjusting to the horse stance.

That was the side effect of practicing the stance; once he got used to it, it wouldn’t have such an effect anymore.

The siblings exchanged a glance, both silently acknowledging each other’s difficulties.

“Sis, when I get bigger, I’ll take care of the water tank at home,” Chuchu said, feeling sorry for Qin Qingman’s struggles.

“Alright, I’ll wait for you to grow up.”

Qin Qingman was deeply touched by the child’s thoughtful words, her heart swelling with affection.

The winter days were uneventful, and there wasn’t much to do. After breakfast, Qin Qingman sat by the stove in the west room, knitting a sweater for Wei Ling, while Chuchu squatted on the ground, playing small games.

The child was young, full of curiosity about everything. A simple solo game could keep him entertained for a long time, and when he got tired, he could lead the two geese around the yard for a run. If the weather was good and it hadn’t snowed, he would take the geese for a stroll around the village.

Since the villagers had helped Qin Qingman at the Hongqi farm yesterday, Chuchu had made friends with some of the other children. It was easy for kids to get along with one another and form bonds quickly.

That day, after playing at home for a while, Chuchu told Qin Qingman and then took the two geese outside.

Not long after leaving, he ran into a familiar child.

“Chuchu, are you walking the geese?”

The child curiously looked at the two big white geese behind Chuchu. The Qin family’s two Da Bai geese were quite famous. Ever since they had protected Chuchu from being bullied by his cousins, they had become highly regarded in the village. 

The children all dreamed of having such imposing geese, as if walking them made them generals leading their own troops.

“Sanmu, this is Da Bai and Xiao Bai,” Chuchu introduced the two geese to his friend.

“Wow, Chuchu, your Da Bai and Xiao Bai are so pretty.” Sanmu was also quite bold. When Chuchu introduced the geese to him, he ran over without worrying about the geese pecking his backside.

This made Sanmu’s family, who were watching from the window, break into a cold sweat. They didn’t dare call out to the child, fearing that their voices might scare the geese.

Hearing someone compliment his geese, Chuchu became even happier. Proudly, he said, “I clean Da Bai and Xiao Bai’s feathers every day. They’re so clean, and being clean makes them even more beautiful.”

Children’s logic was completely different from adults. Cleanliness and beauty didn’t seem to have much connection, but to Chuchu, they were closely linked.

“Can I touch your Da Bai?”

Sanmu couldn’t resist his envy of Chuchu’s geese and couldn’t help but drool as he stared at the larger Da Bai.

“Feel free to touch.”

Chuchu grabbed Sanmu’s hand and guided it toward Da Bai’s wings.

This caused Sanmu’s father, who was inside the house, to nearly jump up in alarm. Oh dear, his foolish son! The geese from the Qin family were only tame in front of Qin family members; they were fierce toward outsiders.

Sanmu’s father, unable to bear seeing his son being pecked, decided to shut his eyes. However, instead of hearing his son’s miserable screams, he was surprised to hear his son laughing joyfully.

Opening his eyes, Sanmu’s father squinted and glanced over.

Not only was his son not being pecked, but the two geese from the Qin family were also calmly allowing their feathers to be touched.

“You’re just overthinking it,” Sanmu’s mother said while knitting a sweater, teasing her husband. She wasn’t worried about Sanmu’s safety.

She believed Chuchu could certainly handle his own geese.

“These two geese do seem quite intelligent,” Sanmu’s father was convinced by his wife’s words. He wrapped himself in a cotton jacket and opened the door.

“Where are you going?” Sanmu’s mother casually asked.

“I’m just going for a walk. It hasn’t snowed for the past couple of days. I want to see how everyone feels about going up the mountain, and ask the old hunter if he has any days planned for going up,” Sanmu’s father replied to his wife before stepping outside. As he passed by Chuchu and his son, he glanced at the Qin family’s two geese. Remembering what his wife had said, his hand itched, and he couldn’t resist touching Xiao Bai’s wing.

“Ah ah ah ah ah—”

“Ah—help—”

Along with the geese’s displeased squawking, Sanmu’s father was chased until he cried out for help.

This scene not only shocked Chuchu and Sanmu, who were unaware of what was happening, but also startled Sanmu’s mother. She looked through the window at her husband, who was being chased by the two geese, and after a long while, she sighed and muttered, “What an idiot.”

The big idiot, Sanmu’s father, was chased around the entire village by the two geese, providing a source of entertainment for everyone who watched.

Chuchu and Sanmu also ran behind them.

“Chuchu, do you think my father will get pecked by your Da Bai and Xiao Bai?” Sanmu asked anxiously as he ran, concerned for his father’s well-being despite the fact that it was his father being chased by the geese.

Chuchu observed the situation carefully and reassured, “It’s fine. Da Bai and Xiao Bai have been cooped up at home for too long and are just a bit excited. They’re just chasing your dad; they won’t really peck him.” Based on his experience with the two geese, he could tell from the cheerful expressions hidden beneath their feathers that they meant no harm.

“That’s good. Now I can relax,” said San Mu.

Like his father, San Mu had a carefree personality. Once Chuchu assured him that the geese wouldn’t peck his dad, he believed it without question.  

In fact, he even cheerfully shouted at his father from behind, “Dad, keep running!”  

San Mu’s father, who had no idea he was being led on a “walk” by the geese: … *What an unfilial son!*  

“Ahhhhhhh!” The excitement of Da Bai and Xiao Bai grew, and they flapped their massive wings, which stretched out to a span of about 1.5 meters.  

With the loud flapping sounds, the snow on the ground was whipped up into the air, swirling everywhere.  

Since entering the Qin household, the two geese had never had their wings clipped. As they flapped their wings energetically, their speed increased to the point where their feet actually lifted off the ground. For a brief moment, they were half-flying and immediately overtook San Mu’s father.  

“Ah!”  

Terrified, San Mu’s father squatted down, hugged his head tightly, and trembled all over.  

Everyone in the village knew by now about Qin Caiyun, whose hair had stopped growing entirely after being pecked by the Qin family’s two geese.  

“Ahhhh!”  

San Mu’s father turned pale with fear, and the onlookers, who had gathered to enjoy the spectacle, also cried out in shock.  

In everyone’s mind, they suddenly pictured Qin Caiyun’s head wearing a hat to cover her baldness. Was San Mu’s father about to suffer the same fate and get pecked bald today?  

“Da Bai, Xiao Bai.”  

Chuchu’s voice rang out from the distance, breaking the tension just in time.  

The two geese stopped flying as soon as they passed San Mu’s father. They stood still, leisurely preening their feathers, as if nothing had happened. Their calm demeanor caused the crowd to relax and start laughing at San Mu’s father.  

“Goudan, what’s the deal with you and these geese? How did you end up being chased by two geese?” someone teased.  

San Mu’s father had been the first young man to be addressed by his childhood nickname by a parent the previous evening. Now, having been chased by geese, the crowd couldn’t help but start calling him by his nickname again.  

Goudan no longer heard the sound of the geese chasing him. Cautiously, he lowered the hands that had been shielding his head and saw the two geese not far away. They were leisurely preening their feathers, exuding an air of arrogance while casting a disdainful gaze in his direction.

Swallowing nervously, Goudan decided he would never admit what his meddlesome hands had done.

“Dad, what did you do to Da Bai and Xiao Bai to get chased like that?” San Mu, panting heavily, finally caught up. Despite being out of breath, he wasted no time asking his father the same question the crowd had just asked.

At this point, Chuchu also arrived. At five years old, Chuchu was a year younger than San Mu and clearly less fit, as he was even more out of breath. “Dog… Goudan Bro, did you touch my family’s geese?” he asked between gasps.  

He knew all too well how temperamental his geese could be.

Goudan: …He had absolutely no intention of answering that question.

“Hahaha! I knew it! Goudan must’ve gotten himself in trouble again because of his meddlesome hands. Let me tell you all, this isn’t the first time!” someone in the crowd exclaimed, laughing so hard they were bent over, clutching their stomach.

“What happened?” someone else eagerly asked.

“Well, when Goudan was a kid, he was always messing around. One time, he tried to pet a dog in the village—a dog that had just given birth to puppies. And guess what happened? Hahaha!” the speaker burst into laughter again before continuing.  

“Of course, he got chased all over the village by the dog, just like today! If the dog’s owner hadn’t come in time, I swear Goudan would’ve lost two big chunks of meat from his backside!”

“Hahahahaha!”  

The villagers roared with laughter, pointing at Goudan in sheer amusement.

“And that’s not all! When Goudan was younger, he loved climbing the mountains to raid beehives for honey. Every single time, he’d come back swollen from bee stings. And one time… oh, this one’s hilarious… he poked a wasp nest instead!”

As the story got going, the villagers couldn’t stop laughing. One person would finish a tale, and another would eagerly jump in to continue.

“No way! He poked a wasp nest? That’s killing me! How did he survive that?” someone wheezed, nearly out of breath from laughing.

“Yeah! He poked a wasp nest! You know how big those nests are—bigger than your head! As soon as he broke it open, a swarm of wasps came flying out. Luckily, Goudan was smart enough to realize he couldn’t outrun them. So, he jumped straight into the water to hide, and that’s how he managed to escape.”

“Man, that’s some serious luck. Getting stung by wasps can be fatal!”

“Exactly! Wasp stings are really dangerous. And how Goudan managed to see that nest and still poke it is beyond me. Honestly, I suspect he did it on purpose. While he managed to avoid being stung back then, he ended up swallowing a bellyful of water and almost drowned,” someone added, shaking their head while laughing.

“Why?” A few curious kids, who had never seen such a scene, asked in confusion.

“Well, the wasps kept circling above the pond and wouldn’t leave. Goudan had no choice but to stay submerged in the water. But since he hadn’t prepared before jumping in, he ran out of breath and ended up gulping down a lot of water.”

“Hahaha, Goudan must be such a fool!” another chimed in, sending the crowd into fits of laughter again.

“Alright, that’s enough. Let’s stop here!” Goudan’s face had turned as red as a monkey’s backside from embarrassment. “We all grew up together. Who doesn’t know everyone else’s dirty secrets? If you keep bringing up my past, don’t blame me for what I’ll say next!”

“Hahahahaha!” The crowd continued laughing, their tone full of good-natured teasing.

“Uncle, come on, tell us more! Please!” A boy, about ten years old, was utterly captivated by the stories. When San Mu’s father tried to stop the storytelling, the boy tugged at a nearby man’s sleeve, begging for more.

“No, no, we can’t go on. If we keep talking, your dad’s going to spank your butt later,” the man teased, laughing as he tried to shake off the boy.

“Why?” The boy still didn’t understand.

“Because if we keep this up, Goudan will definitely bring up the time your dad fell into the latrine when he was a kid. Your dad’s been hiding that story for decades. If it gets out because of you, your dad’s absolutely going to tan your hide!” The man chuckled as he patted the boy’s head.

The boy froze in shock: …Wait, Uncle, even though you didn’t go into detail, you’ve already spilled the beans! Are you trying to get me beaten up?

“Hahahahaha!”  

The group of men, still chuckling, rounded up the kids and headed off to visit someone they all knew well.  

During the idle days of winter, when there wasn’t much to do, the more energetic villagers liked dropping by each other’s homes. They’d chat, share stories, and sometimes drink a little wine. It was an easy way to pass the time, and before they knew it, the day would be gone.

Chuchu had an excellent memory and could recall anything he heard.  

When he got home, he eagerly retold the story to Qin Qingman. Hearing it, Qin Qingman laughed so hard she couldn’t even continue knitting the sweater in her hands. She hadn’t expected there to be so many funny tales in the village and even guessed that the boy who accidentally exposed his father’s embarrassing story about falling into the latrine must have been beaten when he got home.  

She was absolutely right. The boy did, in fact, receive a sound thrashing from his father as soon as he walked through the door.  

The boy, almost in tears, tried to argue, “Dad, why don’t you go beat up the uncle who told everyone about you falling into the latrine instead?”  

The man: …If he could win a fight against that guy, would he even need to take his anger out on his useless son?!  

For the next few days, Qin Qingman spent peaceful days at home with Chuchu. Occasionally, Chuchu went out to play in the village with San Mu and a few other kids, and life passed by in a slow, carefree rhythm.  

Qin Qingman hadn’t seen Wei Ling return home yet, but what she did see was the arrival of the village’s big hunting day.  

After several days of clear, sunny weather, the village’s seasoned hunters all agreed that the upcoming week would be ideal for hunting in the mountains.  

As soon as the news spread, the entire Kaoshan Village buzzed with excitement. Everyone began preparing.  

This time, women wouldn’t be joining the hunt. Only the strong and able-bodied men would head into the mountains, with Zheng Anguo leading the team and Qian Xiangyang staying behind to oversee Kaoshan Village.  

No one from Qin Qingman’s family joined the hunting party.  

That night, Qin Qingman was startled awake by a faint, whimpering sound.  

She listened carefully and realized that the sound seemed to come from the front hall. It was accompanied by the faint scratching of something against the door.  

The whimpering noise was oddly familiar. Grabbing a wooden stick, Qin Qingman stood behind the door, listening for a long while. When she finally recognized what the sound was, she was so shocked that she immediately opened the door.  

The moment the door opened, a small, pitch-black creature darted inside and flung itself at her feet. It then bit onto the hem of her pants and began climbing up her leg.  

“Hey! You’re not a dog!” Qin Qingman exclaimed.