Chapter 18: Opening a Coconut

Han Jianhong and Han Jianping were both wearing the same style and material of clothing. Normally, Regiment Commander Han hadn’t paid much attention to it, but now, upon closer inspection, he noticed that Han Jianping’s clothes fit perfectly, while Han Jianhong’s were quite a bit smaller.

Wei Shufang followed Regiment Commander Han’s gaze and, feeling a bit awkward, said with a laugh, “Hehe, this child grows too fast. The clothes we just made are already too small. The fabric we bought is still at home, hasn’t had time to be made into anything yet. You wouldn’t know, with three kids at home, making clothes keeps me busy.”

She pointed to Han Jianbao and chuckled, “Especially this boy. He’s so tough, one moment he’s fine, and the next his clothes are torn. I’m always behind him mending them. Eh! Sister-in-law, it’s much easier for you with just a girl, unlike us with boys—it’s quite a hassle.”

Although she spoke with a troubled expression, there was also a sense of pride in her voice about having a son.

Meng Yufei looked at her with a faint smile, then said slowly, “Making clothes yourself is indeed a hassle. I’m not good with a needle and thread, so all of Qinqin’s clothes are bought from a department store in Haishi, just to make it easier.”

Wei Shufang was caught off guard and, though not happy inside, smiled and said, “We have three kids, so we try to save wherever we can. If I have to work a little harder, it’s nothing.”

Meng Yufei suggested, “Sister-in-law, if you’re too busy, you could have Jianhong make her own clothes. Just give her the fabric and money, let her buy it, and then make it herself when she gets back. Isn’t that much more convenient? Besides, the colors and styles we choose might not even be what the child likes.”

Wei Shufang stiffened for a moment, then hurriedly said, “I can’t bear to have her work. I keep thinking they’re still so young, I don’t feel safe letting them handle needles and thread, so whenever there’s something, I just help them with it.”

Meng Yufei picked up the teacup in front of her, blew on it lightly, and said, “You really spoil your kids.”

In her heart, she mocked: She wouldn’t let her make clothes, but she was willing to have her wash dishes. When she had touched Han Jianhong’s hand earlier, it was obvious that it was the hand of someone who did rough work often.

Wei Shufang forced a smile and said, “… Hehe, it’s nothing.”

Regiment Commander Han coughed lightly and said, “Jianhong isn’t a little girl anymore. She’s not in school now and spends all day at home with nothing to do. Let her make the clothes herself in the future, it’ll lessen your burden.”

Wei Shufang clenched her teeth and, forcing a smile, said, “Eh, alright.”

—

After leaving the Han family’s house, Xia Junshan noticed that Meng Yufei was wearing a serious expression and asked, “What’s wrong? Are you upset? If you don’t get along with that Sister Wei, then we don’t have to go over there in the future.”

He could easily tell that Wei Shufang had been bragging about her son earlier. Hearing it in the house made him feel uncomfortable. He lifted his daughter and said, “Our Qinqin is the cutest, no other child can compare.”

Xia Qinqin giggled, playing the “lift me higher” game with her dad. Dad was taller than Uncle, so lifting her up was even more fun!

Back home, Xia Qinqin saw the coconut on the table and tugged at Xia Junshan’s sleeve, saying, “Dad, I’m thirsty.”

Without thinking, Xia Junshan replied, “Thirsty? I’ll get you some water right away.”

He walked over to the table, picked up the thermos, which had hot water from earlier, and poured it into Xia Qinqin’s special cup.

Holding the cup, Xia Junshan blew on it, crouched down in front of his daughter, and said, “It’s still a little hot, drink slowly.” He then brought the cup to her lips.

To his surprise, Xia Qinqin turned her head to the side and refused to drink the water.

Xia Junshan looked at the water, puzzled, and said, “What’s wrong, is it too hot? Should I let it cool down a bit more?”

Meng Yufei, standing nearby, smiled and said, “She wants coconut water.”

Xia Junshan froze for a moment, then smiled and gently scratched his daughter’s nose, saying, “You little rascal, at such a young age you’re already learning to make people guess your thoughts.”

Shaking his head, he added, “Looks like I’ll have to work harder around here in the future.”

“Cough,” Meng Yufei said from behind him, “What are you saying?”

Xia Junshan turned around and smiled, saying, “I’ll go open the coconut now. The shell is really tough, and opening them requires some skill.” He got up and went to the kitchen to grab a knife while speaking.

Although the coconut shell was stiff, for someone like Xia Junshan, who could practically do tricks with a knife, it was a piece of cake. He easily pried open a hole.

Under Xia Qinqin’s curious gaze, Xia Junshan opened both coconuts, poured out the coconut water, and it filled exactly three cups.

Xia Qinqin knelt on the chair, her upper body leaning on the table. She rested her chin in her hands and stared at the coconut water in the cup. She leaned in and sniffed it, and a sweet fragrance hit her face.

With both hands, she struggled to lift the teacup, the full cup of coconut water was still a bit heavy for her.

Xia Junshan saw that his daughter was having trouble holding the cup, and finally remembered that he had given her so much coconut water, forgetting that she was still just a little child.

“Let Daddy pour half of it out for you.”

“No!”

“…”

Meng Yufei smiled and said, “Qinqin, Daddy is worried you can’t lift the cup.”

Xia Qinqin tried hard to lift the cup and said, “Qinqin can lift it.”

Xia Junshan helplessly smiled and said, “Alright, you can lift it. Daddy won’t pour it out.”

Xia Qinqin shakily lifted the cup to her mouth, and Xia Junshan hurriedly supported the bottom of the cup with his hand. Finally, he successfully helped her drink the coconut water.

After taking a big gulp, Xia Qinqin sighed in satisfaction and said, “It’s so delicious~”

She looked up and smiled at Xia Junshan, then chirped, “Thank you, Daddy, for holding the cup. Otherwise, my hands would have gotten sore.”

Looking at his daughter’s smiling face, Xia Junshan’s heart softened. He thought, “What’s so difficult about holding a cup? I’d do anything for her, even hold a coconut tree without complaints…”

He gently patted his daughter’s soft hair and said in a tender voice, “No need to say thank you to Daddy.”

Xia Qinqin raised her right index finger and shook it, then seriously said, “No, Mommy says even family members need to say thank you.”

Xia Junshan glanced at the smiling Meng Yufei, then nodded and smiled, “Alright, Daddy will listen to Mommy.”

After the three of them finished the coconut water, Meng Yufei took Qinqin to rinse her mouth. Coconut water is sweet, and it can harm teeth if it stays on them.

After rinsing their mouths, they returned to the room, where Xia Junshan was putting on his hat and getting ready to leave. Meng Yufei checked the time, it was already 1:30 PM and asked, “Aren’t you going to take a nap?”

Xia Junshan shook his head, “No, there are still some things left to handle in the team. I’ll go over now. You and Qinqin should take a nap. I’m leaving now.”

Xia Qinqin waved and said, “Goodbye, Daddy.”

“Goodbye!”

After sending Xia Junshan off, Meng Yufei closed the door and took her daughter back to the room for a nap. She still had work in the afternoon, and if she didn’t rest a bit, she wouldn’t have the energy to keep up.

In an age without alarm clocks, it seemed like everyone’s body had naturally formed its own internal clock, waking up right on time.

Meng Yufei woke up from her afternoon nap, quickly tidied up herself and Qinqin, then left with her shoulder bag.

She walked next door and told Mrs. Zhang, “I plan to take the child to the logistics office this afternoon.”

Mrs. Zhang looked a bit embarrassed and said, “Oh, this morning’s incident was all my fault. I didn’t notice and let them run out. They almost got bitten by a snake! Fortunately, they met Jianhong, or I really wouldn’t know how to explain this to you, sister.”

Meng Yufei hurriedly replied, “Sister, it’s not your fault, it’s mine. My girl is very careless and loves to run around. If I’m not paying attention, she just disappears! I didn’t expect there to be snakes on this island, and I almost caused trouble for your Fangfang. I really feel bad for bothering you.”

Mrs. Zhang said, “I’ve been here for years and never seen a snake. These two girls are really something, they run out and run into a snake. Isn’t that a bit too much of a coincidence? Fortunately, they were lucky enough to meet Jianhong.”

Meng Yufei replied, “Sister, I’m planning to make a pair of shoes to thank Jianhong, but my sewing skills aren’t great. I was wondering if I could trouble you to help. I have some leftover fabric from making the sofa, and I was hoping you could help me make some shoe soles.”

Mrs. Zhang clapped her hands and said, “What’s the trouble? Jianhong saved my Fangfang, so I’ll help. I even have a piece of material left that can be used for the shoe uppers.”

Meng Yufei said, “I’ll come by after dinner to get it from you.”

“Sure, I’ll find the fabric this afternoon,” Mrs. Zhang readily agreed.

In the personnel department of the logistics office,

Xiao Zhang hummed a tune as she walked into the office. A colleague sitting in the next seat asked, “Sister Zhang, I heard that the new person in the finance department today is the university graduate who came yesterday. Did you meet her?”

Xiao Zhang nodded.

“I wonder if she can solve this mess. I heard she was personally recommended by the head of the department. If she can’t fix it, won’t the department head lose face too?”

Xiao Zhang glanced at her sideways and said, “Sister Wu, I haven’t heard anything about that. You seem to know a lot.”

“Hehe, I heard it, just heard it.”

The sound of footsteps came from outside the door. Sister Wu quickly got up, grabbed the thermos from the tea table near the door, and looked up at the newly arrived Section Chief Chen. She greeted him with a wide smile, “Section Chief Chen, you’re here!”

Section Chief Chen nodded, noticing the thermos in her hand. “Xiao Wu, are you going to make more hot water again?”

“Ah, this water was made in the morning, it’s not as hot now. Using it to make tea will affect the taste.”

Section Chief Chen said, “It’s rare to see you put so much thought into this.”

Xiao Zhang looked down, scoffing slightly. She had seen this scene many times already. Sister Wu had been working here for over half a year, but still hadn’t learned much about her work, though her tea-making skills were already flawless.

Section Chief Chen sat at his desk, looking at Xiao Zhang and Sister Wu with a frown, deep in thought.

After Meng Yufei arrived in the morning, the director had called her over to talk, and the idea was to move someone from the personnel department to the finance department. They wanted to consult her opinion first.

What opinion could she have?

The personnel department now had four people, but in the finance department, only Meng Yufei was working, plus the accountant Zheng who was on maternity leave. That made just two people. So, it was reasonable for them to transfer someone from the personnel department to the finance department.

She considered her three subordinates. The Regiment Commander Ma at the next desk loved to drink tea and read newspapers, always dragging his work and unable to delegate anything to him.

Xiao Zhang’s work ability was good, she handled tasks quickly and never complained. She had been here for two or three years, and more than half the work in the department was done by her. But she was a bit too blunt at times.

As for Xiao Wu, her work ability was not as good as Xiao Zhang’s, and after half a year, she still hadn’t mastered the work. However, she was diligent and perceptive, though she spent too much time on personal relationships. If only she focused more on the work, it would be better.

If she had to choose, she would definitely choose to transfer Regiment Commander Ma.

However, this was impossible. The director’s intention was to assign someone to assist Meng Yufei and be her subordinate. Moving Regiment Commander Ma over would be inappropriate. If that happened, not only would Meng Yufei have objections, but the leadership might also think he was intentionally setting her up to fail.

Sigh, who should I send, Xiao Zhang or Xiao Wu? Section Chief Chen thought, troubled.

Meng Yufei brought Xia Qinqin to the finance department and seated her in a nearby chair. She took out colored pencils and drawing paper from her bag and softly instructed, “Qinqin, Mommy is going to work here. Can you draw over there?”

“Mm, okay~”

Xia Qinqin happily agreed. She curiously looked around the office and asked, “Mommy, is this your new department?”

“Yes, it is.”

“This new department isn’t as big as the one Grandma used to take me to when she came to find you.”

She was referring to the bank where Meng Yufei worked in Haishi. Grandma often took Xia Qinqin to pick up Meng Yufei from work, so it was natural for the bank to be much larger than here.

Meng Yufei smiled and replied, “No matter if the department is big or small, work must be done carefully. Mommy is going to work now, so you should start drawing too.”

Xia Qinqin nodded and said, “Mm, Grandpa said we should be serious when drawing and reading. I’m going to be serious about drawing now.”

“Good, let’s both work hard.”

Xia Qinqin stared at the drawing paper in front of her, thinking for a while. She decided to draw the fruits she had eaten in the past few days—strawberries, pineapples, and coconuts. She wanted to draw all of them and show them to Grandpa, Grandma, and her little uncle when they returned to Haishi.

She first drew the shapes of the fruits on the paper, then colored them. The strawberries were pink, the pineapples were yellow, and the coconuts were gray.

When Xia Qinqin finally finished the fruit drawing, Meng Yufei had also closed the account book. She had finished reviewing it.

Looking at her watch, it was exactly 4:30.

She locked the account book in the drawer, took the notebook with the recorded data and put it in her bag, then took Xia Qinqin to find Wang Cuilan.

The Women’s Committee was just in front of the cafeteria, at the far left of a row of houses.

When they arrived, Wang Cuilan had just resolved a dispute between two military wives. She was so parched from talking that she was drinking water. Upon seeing them, she quickly set her cup down and said, “Xiao Meng, what brings you here? I was just thinking of coming to find you after I finish here.”

She looked down at Xia Qinqin and smiled, “Qinqin, you came with Mommy, huh?”

Xia Qinqin obediently greeted her, “Hello, Aunt Wang.”

Wang Cuilan gestured for them to sit down and was about to pour them some water. Meng Yufei quickly said, “No need, Sister Wang. We just had some water, we’re not thirsty.”

She took out the notebook from her bag and said, “I’ve finished reviewing the account book. I came over to report to you.”

“Oh? You’ve finished already!” Wang Cuilan was a bit surprised and immediately said, “Quick, tell me, what’s the situation?”

Meng Yufei replied, “The accounts are fine. The income and expenditure data all match up.”

Wang Cuilan sighed in relief upon hearing this: “That’s good.” She then asked, “But what’s going on with the issue of Battalion Commander Qin’s family receiving fewer ration coupons?”

Battalion Commander Qin’s family claimed that they had received half a year’s worth of ration coupons for their youngest son, but Meng Yufei had just said the accounts were fine. Wang Cuilan trusted Meng Yufei’s ability to handle things.

Could it be that Battalion Commander Qin’s family was lying?

This thought briefly crossed Wang Cuilan’s mind, but she quickly heard Meng Yufei say, “Battalion Commander Qin’s family wasn’t wrong. They indeed received fewer ration coupons.”

Wang Cuilan: “?”