Chapter 14: When I Marry Brother Qingshan, We’ll Have as Much as We Want

Liu Guifen quietly pulled Huo Beichuan aside. “Son, you should keep some of the deer blood. It’s great for soaking in wine, and you need to drink more of it.”

Huo Beichuan didn’t understand his mother’s intentions. “Why do I need to drink more?”

Liu Guifen’s face showed some embarrassment. “Why do you still need me to explain? You’re in the military, and it’s easy to hurt your body. Drinking more deer blood is good for that… especially for that side of things!”

Huo Beichuan: …

“I don’t need it!”

“Why don’t you need it? Stop being stubborn. Do you think this is an insignificant matter? You’re about to go back to the military. You need to replenish yourself so you can get your wife pregnant quickly. Otherwise, when will I ever get to hold my grandchild?” Liu Guifen was getting anxious.

Huo Beichuan didn’t know how to explain to his mother that there were no issues in that regard. He was well aware of his own body.

Once the meat was divided, the young men left, and the Huo family members washed up and returned to their rooms.

As soon as Huo Beichuan entered his room, Shen Jintao noticed that his face seemed a bit strange.

“What’s wrong with you?”

As soon as she asked, Shen Jintao realized the very aggressive look in the man’s eyes.

Of course, she knew what that meant, but she also felt a bit nervous. “Why… why are you looking at me like that?”

Huo Beichuan took a few steps toward the bed, then rolled over and slipped into the covers.

The man must have taken a cold shower, as he carried a faint chill with him. Shen Jintao was immediately enveloped by the distinct scent of a man’s pheromones.

Once she wasn’t feeling so cold, Huo Beichuan pulled Shen Jintao into his arms. “Wife…”

His voice was hoarse and lingering, full of an enticing undertone.

“Jintao, you’ve finally married me.”

Shen Jintao blushed. “What do you mean ‘finally married you‘? You were previously engaged to someone else, not me.”

“I’ve always liked you!” Huo Beichuan looked directly into Shen Jintao’s eyes, not at all guilty.

Shen Jintao was shocked by the information. “You like me?”

She had always believed that Huo Beichuan married her simply because he saved her when she fell into the water, and because of the rumors flying everywhere, he had no other choice.

“I’ve always liked you. When we were engaged, I thought it was to you, which is why I agreed. When I came back, I found out it was Shen Chunmiao. I couldn’t cancel the engagement on the spot. Although I shouldn’t have, I felt happy that I was eventually able to call it off and marry you.”

“Even when you were running after me as a little girl, I thought that when you grew up, I would marry you. What would happen if you were married to someone else and suffered? You were such a crying little girl.”

“Now, it’s good. You’re my wife now, and from now on, I can appear by your side openly.”

Huo Beichuan suddenly smiled. A usually serious person smiled so warmly, like a spring breeze. Especially since he was so good-looking, it was hard to look away.

It wasn’t until she felt an unfamiliar sensation on her lips that Shen Jintao came to her senses. But by the time she wanted to say something, it was already too late.

A night of spring light, with the moon shyly hiding behind the clouds.

The next day, Shen Jintao slept until the sun was high in the sky.

“Wife, if you’re awake, get up and have breakfast. Then I’ll take you to visit an elder.”

Huo Beichuan happened to push open the door, looking at Shen Jintao with tenderness and adoration.

Shen Jintao realized that her body felt clean and fresh, knowing that after everything last night, Huo Beichuan must have helped her tidy up.

But now she was still bare, and Huo Beichuan had no intention of leaving. She felt a bit embarrassed. “Uh… could you go outside for a moment?”

“Alright.” Huo Beichuan turned and exited the room, also closing the door behind him.

Shen Jintao pulled the blanket away and immediately noticed the ambiguous marks on her body. Her face instantly turned red.

She didn’t expect a man to be so skilled in this regard. At first, it had been a little painful, but later, she responded. However, this man didn’t know when to stop, relentlessly continuing all night. She felt like a pancake, flipped over and over again.

Fortunately, the man had a bit of conscience and knew to help clean up afterward.

Without any preparation, as Shen Jintao got out of bed, her legs weakened, and she almost fell. It made her a bit resentful toward Huo Beichuan.

But after she left the room, she found Huo Beichuan busy making her breakfast, which helped dissipate some of her frustration.

Huo Nanxi pouted and pretended not to see her sister-in-law.

Huo Dongsheng politely greeted her, and Shen Jintao smiled and nodded in response.

At this time, Liu Guifen and Huo Chenggong had gone to the fields. Normally, Huo Nanxi and Huo Dongsheng should also be going to work in the fields, but since Huo Nanxi was the only girl in the family, and the Huo family was doing well, they didn’t make her work in the fields. She only had to do some housework, and she was raised very well.

Huo Dongsheng needed to go to work, but Father Huo and Mother Huo were concerned that Shen Jintao, who had just gotten married and moved into the house, might not adjust well, so they asked the younger ones to stay home. If the older brother and sister-in-law needed anything, they could help.

Huo Beichuan made Shen Jintao a bowl of fried egg noodles, and his frying egg skills were surprisingly good, which was a bit surprising.

“You can cook like this?” Shen Jintao asked.

“Yeah, in the army, you have to learn everything. Otherwise, survival would be a problem,” Huo Beichuan smiled.

Shen Jintao couldn’t help but nod. Although Huo Beichuan said this, she absolutely didn’t believe that every soldier knew how to cook. Men of this era often thought that cooking and housework were women’s responsibilities and wouldn’t learn to cook.

The fact that Huo Beichuan had this skill made Shen Jintao quite satisfied.

After Shen Jintao finished the noodles, Huo Dongsheng conscientiously came forward to clear the dishes and quickly washed them in the kitchen.

“Let’s go, wife, I’ll take you.” The bicycle for the wedding was borrowed from a friend by Huo Beichuan, and it hadn’t been returned yet.

Huo Beichuan led Shen Jintao out, and Huo Nanxi didn’t say anything, instead feeling relaxed and free.

“Who are we going to see?” Shen Jintao asked curiously, wrapping her arm around Huo Beichuan’s waist.

“My teacher,” Huo Beichuan answered.

“But you didn’t go to school for long, right?” Shen Jintao was surprised. From what she knew, Huo Beichuan wasn’t really a person who liked to study.

“I didn’t say it was a school teacher…” Huo Beichuan was speechless. He knew his academic performance wasn’t great, but it wasn’t something he’d openly admit like that.

Huo Beichuan took Shen Jintao straight to the county, first going to the department store to buy a lot of things.

Then, after winding through several streets, they entered a small alley and stopped at the entrance of a small courtyard.

“Knock knock knock!”

The sound of knocking echoed, and after a while, the main door creaked open.

“When did you get back, kid?”

The person who opened the door was a middle-aged man in his fifties, though his posture seemed a bit odd.

“Teacher!” Huo Beichuan called out, then turned to introduce Shen Jintao, “This is my master, Master, this is my wife.”

“Ah! When did you get married, you brat? Why didn’t you even tell me?” The middle-aged man quickly stepped aside, “Come in.”

Huo Beichuan and Shen Jintao pushed their bicycle into the yard, then took out the items they had bought for Wang Jianguo.

“Teacher, this is a small token of appreciation from my wife and me.”

Huo Beichuan and Shen Jintao sat with Wang Jianguo for the whole morning until it was time for lunch.

“You really aren’t thoughtful, getting married and not even telling me,” Wang Jianguo said, angrily.

Huo Beichuan smiled and explained, “I knew it would be inconvenient for you and you’d be busy, so I didn’t tell you. But didn’t I bring her to see you right now?”

Through Huo Beichuan’s introduction, Shen Jintao learned about Wang Jianguo’s background. He had once been in the same army unit as Huo Beichuan, and Huo Beichuan was assigned under his command. Because they were both from the same hometown and Wang Jianguo had a lot of ability, he really appreciated the young man and had taken good care of Huo Beichuan.

Later, after getting injured, Wang Jianguo had to retire. Now, he worked as the head of the county police station, showing that he had once held a high military rank.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been directly appointed as a director after retiring, especially since his legs were no longer in good condition.

Huo Beichuan bringing Shen Jintao here was obviously to make sure that Wang Jianguo would look out for his wife while he was away at the army.

“Stay here for lunch, we’re going to the state-owned restaurant,” Wang Jianguo said, looking pleased.

After lunch, the two went shopping for a few more things, all items Shen Jintao would use daily. Huo Beichuan was concerned that after he returned to the army, he wouldn’t be able to take care of her for a while, and he worried she might not be used to staying at home alone or going out by herself.

“Wife, how about we buy a bicycle? It’ll be easier for you to go out, and when I go to the army, you can leave the bike at home, and we can buy another one when we get there.”

Passing by a bicycle counter, Huo Beichuan suggested.

Shen Jintao thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.

According to Huo Beichuan, it would probably take about two months for the marriage report to come through after he returned to the army, and without a bicycle, it would indeed be inconvenient for her to go out.

So, the two of them directly bought a 28-inch bike, and the bicycle Huo Beichuan had borrowed could now be returned.

They rode the bicycle back to the team, immediately drawing attention from others.

Although bicycles didn’t have much style these days, this one was clearly brand new—it was obvious it was a fresh purchase.

“Wow, Beichuan, you two bought a bicycle?”

“Tsk tsk, this bike looks really nice!”

After responding, Huo Beichuan planned to take his wife home.

“It’s just a bicycle. Once I marry Brother Qingshan, I can have as many as I want!” Shen Chunmiao suddenly appeared out of nowhere, speaking with a tone of disdain, though there was an unmistakable sourness in the air.

“Yes, yes, yes! You and Brother Qingshan will have a happy marriage and many children, but that has nothing to do with me. No need to show off here!” Shen Jintao replied, making it clear she didn’t want to engage.

“Shen Jintao, I really don’t know what you’re thinking, haha. When Huo Beichuan goes back to the army, let’s see what you’ll do!” Lu Qingshan also suddenly appeared.

He was actually a little upset. Although Shen Chunmiao was more favored by the old lady, Shen Jintao was definitely more beautiful. He had hesitated to agree to be with Shen Jintao at first, hoping to make her understand that he wasn’t easy to win over, so that she would listen to him more in the future.

But he never expected such an outcome—Shen Jintao and Huo Beichuan had married directly. By the time he found out, it was too late. With Shen Chunmiao’s advances, he just went along with it.

In fact, he was afraid of any more unexpected developments with Shen Chunmiao, and he had to become a son-in-law of the Shen family, or he wouldn’t be able to get the quota for returning to the city.

There were so many educated youths in the brigade, but there were only two spots available each year, and he couldn’t afford to wait.

Still, he couldn’t help but feel a bit dissatisfied. Regardless of whether he liked Shen Jintao or not, a woman like her would certainly make him look better if he took her out in public.

Simply put, since he had to marry a daughter of the Shen family, he naturally wanted one who was more attractive.

“What does it have to do with you? My man is going to take me with him when he goes to the army, so you don’t have to worry. Besides, it’s just a bicycle, my man can afford it. Even if he goes to the army, we can always buy another one. This one can be used at home. To be honest, marrying my man was the right choice. If I had married one of those good-for-nothing guys, that would have been really unfortunate.”

Shen Jintao had really liked Lu Qingshan in the past, but his words now were really making her speechless.

It made her feel a bit disappointed.

Lu Qingshan’s face turned pale with anger.

Shen Chunmiao looked at Shen Jintao with a smug expression. “So you married a poor soldier. What’s there to be proud of?”

“Yes, yes, yes, a poor soldier can buy me a bicycle and a watch. I wonder what your Brother Qingshan plans to buy for you?”

Shen Jintao rolled her eyes. She didn’t like to show off, but she couldn’t just let others talk about her man like that.

“Shen Jintao, you!” Shen Chunmiao was angry, but she quickly smiled again. “You can be proud now, but it won’t matter in the future. You’ll understand then.”

Shen Jintao knew why she was saying this. It seemed that Shen Chunmiao’s rebirth was indeed true. She probably thought that Lu Qingshan would be very successful in the future.

“That has nothing to do with you,” Shen Jintao said, pulling Huo Beichuan away.

The villagers in the brigade could feel the tension between the two sisters. It was clear they didn’t get along.

“Tsk, looks like these two sisters fell out because of that educated youth Lu.”

“Probably. Who doesn’t know that Shen Jintao used to follow Lu Qingshan around?”

“Hey, do you think Shen Jintao married Huo Beichuan just to get back at Lu Qingshan?”

“Could it be?”

“…”

The rumors outside were also heard by the Huo family, and they weren’t happy about it, but they were very protective of their own.

Hearing such talk, Liu Guifen immediately got into a confrontation with a few people, making it clear that Shen Jintao wasn’t someone they could gossip about just because they wanted to. No matter what they thought, they knew better than to talk casually about Shen Jintao.

Everyone tried their best not to talk about it, as long as they understood what was going on in their hearts.

“You bought a bicycle?” Huo Nanxi looked in shock at the new bicycle.

“Yeah, your sister-in-law said that once we go with the army, this bike will be for you and Dongsheng to ride,” Huo Beichuan said with a smile.

Huo Nanxi looked at Shen Jintao in astonishment. “She really said that?”

Huo Beichuan gave Huo Nanxi a hard knock on the head. “What do you mean ‘she’? She’s your sister-in-law!”