Chapter 38: Smoking

When Old Lady Xue returned home, she found the house empty. She cursed in her heart: It’s so late, and no one’s home to cook. Where the hell did they run off to?!

She sat on the sofa and waited for a while, but instead of her daughter-in-law, she saw her son coming home from work.

Commander Xue saw his mother sitting on the sofa, shooting a fierce glare at him.

“Mom, what’s wrong?” he asked, puzzled.

Old Lady Xue looked behind him but didn’t see anyone following. She asked, “Where’s that wife of yours?”

Commander Xue replied, “How would I know? Weren’t you both at home? Don’t you know where she went?”

Old Lady Xue cursed, “Who knows where she ran off to? She’s never home, always wandering around! Look at the time—it’s so late, and she’s still not back to cook. Does she want to starve us to death? If we were back in the countryside, I’d have beaten her 800 times by now! Let’s see if she’d dare to do this again!”

Commander Xue frowned at her increasingly unreasonable words and said sternly, “What nonsense are you talking about?”

Old Lady Xue immediately became upset. “You useless thing! You married a wife and forgot your mother! Have you forgotten how I raised you, cleaning up after you day and night…”

She launched into a long list of how much she had sacrificed for him, making Commander Xue sigh in frustration.

At this moment, the door opened, and Yin Guixiang finally returned, holding their youngest daughter in her arms, with the two older girls following beside her.

Commander Xue immediately asked, “Where have you been? Why are you back so late?”

Old Lady Xue, still sitting on the sofa, sneered sarcastically, “Oh, so you still know to come home? I thought you had died out there! Look at the time—don’t you know you’re supposed to come back and cook?”

Yin Guixiang abruptly raised her head, her gaze sweeping coldly over both mother and son. Then, she announced icily, “From now on, don’t expect me to cook for you two anymore! The children and I will eat at the cafeteria. You and your mother can figure it out yourselves.”

There were traces of iodine on her face. Commander Xue’s expression darkened when he saw it. “What happened to your face?” he asked.

Yin Guixiang pointed at Old Lady Xue on the sofa and said through gritted teeth, “Who else? Your mother’s handiwork!”

Old Lady Xue immediately jumped up and defended herself, “I didn’t hit you! Don’t you dare falsely accuse me!”

Yin Guixiang sneered. “Oh really? You already forgot what you did this afternoon? Should we go ask around the family compound and see what people say? The whole place is talking about how Old Lady Xue beat her daughter-in-law and granddaughter so badly they ended up in the hospital! Our family is now the biggest joke in the compound!”

“Starting today, we’re splitting up! I’ll take the kids, and you and your mother can live on your own. Also, next month, I’ll keep our ration coupons myself. No one is taking them from me.”

Hearing this, Old Lady Xue panicked. “Then what will I eat?”

Yin Guixiang scoffed. “Go ask your son. What does it have to do with me?”

With that, she took the children into the bedroom and shut the door.

Commander Xue turned to his mother and asked sternly, “Mom, why did you hit Guixiang and the kids?”

Old Lady Xue met his gaze and felt a flicker of guilt, but she quickly straightened up and said righteously, “So what if a mother-in-law hits her daughter-in-law? That’s how it’s supposed to be! Disobedient daughters-in-law need to be disciplined! Back in the countryside, we would’ve kicked out a woman like her long ago!”

Commander Xue took a deep breath and said coldly, “Since you miss the countryside so much, I’ll buy you a boat ticket tomorrow. Pack your things and go back.”

Hearing that he wanted to send her away, Old Lady Xue immediately collapsed onto the floor, wailing, “You—you unfilial son! Fine, fine! Now that you’re successful, you look down on your own mother… Oh, how miserable my life is!”

Commander Xue stood there, impatiently watching his mother rolling and throwing a tantrum on the floor. After a long while, he sighed and said, “Alright, stop crying. You don’t want to go back, right? Fine… for now, you don’t have to go back.”

Hearing this, Old Lady Xue immediately stopped her wailing. She got up from the floor and sat down on the sofa, ordering her son, “Go to the cafeteria and get some food, I’m starving.”

Commander Xue extended his hand, saying, “Then give me the ration coupons.”

Old Lady Xue covered her pocket, looking at him warily, and glaring. “What do you want?”

Seeing her suspicious movements, Commander Xue felt a chill in his heart and said angrily, “The ration coupons we get every month have been with you, haven’t they? Don’t we need coupons to get food from the cafeteria?”

Old Lady Xue asked, “What about your coupons? Aren’t your wages and coupons issued directly by the army?” She had checked, and she knew that the family compound only issued coupons for the family members.

Commander Xue helplessly explained, “I keep my wages and coupons with Guixiang.”

Old Lady Xue rolled her eyes and scoffed, “You useless thing, how can you let your wife manage the money? Fine, go and put it on credit. You’re a military officer, don’t you think people will still show you some respect?”

Commander Xue chuckled angrily and said, “Why are you keeping these coupons? Are you planning to take them to my older brother’s house? I’ll remind you, these coupons can only be used here in Qiongzhou, they’re no good back home.”

“Really?” Old Lady Xue pulled the coupons from her pocket. She couldn’t read, so she didn’t know what the coupons said, but they definitely looked different from the ones she used to see back home.

Commander Xue pointed at the coupon and said, “It says ‘Qiongzhou Food Ration Coupon,’ meaning it can only be used in Qiongzhou. It’s no good back in our hometown.”

Old Lady Xue looked at the coupon again, still unsure. Commander Xue snatched it from her hand and said, “You heard what Guixiang said, right? From now on, she’s keeping the coupons for herself and the kids. If you want to stay here, you need to transfer the rations to this location, or you won’t have any food to eat.”

Old Lady Xue was unhappy. “Why bother with all that? You still have coupons, and I’m just an old woman. I don’t need much.”

Commander Xue’s face turned cold. “You’re not transferring the rations because you want to send the food and labor credits to my older brother’s house, aren’t you?”

Old Lady Xue replied defiantly, “So what? You’ve made it big now, what’s wrong with helping out your brother? My brother’s family has our family’s eldest grandson, after all. If you ask me, it’s better to bring your nephew over and let him enjoy a good life while sending your useless kids back to the countryside.”

Thinking about the girls eating well, wearing new clothes, while her eldest grandson was still suffering back in the countryside, Old Lady Xue couldn’t help but feel bitter.

Hearing this, Commander Xue’s heart sank…

It was clear now—no matter how much success he achieved, his parents still favored his older brother. He suddenly felt that his decision to return to the countryside had been a joke. He shouldn’t have brought his mother here and disrupted the peaceful life he had built with his small family.

Commander Xue coldly said, “I have no intention of raising someone else’s son. Since you don’t want to transfer the rations, I won’t force you.”

What he was actually thinking was that he would send a telegram to his father tomorrow, asking him to come and take her back.

After saying that, he turned and went to the kitchen to grab his lunch box and headed out to get food.

Old Lady Xue shouted from inside, “What kind of nonsense are you talking about, someone else’s son? He’s our family’s eldest grandson!”

—

Saturday was the last working day of the week.

Xiao Zhang pumped herself up in the office, “Just one more day, tomorrow I can sleep in~”

Xia Qinqin said to her, “Aunt Xiao Zhang, Grandpa says: ^[1]“The early bird catches the worm” means that people who act early or start things ahead of others are more likely to succeed or get the best opportunities.The early bird catches the worm, children can’t always sleep in.”

Xiao Zhang ran up to Xia Qinqin, pinched her little cheek, and smiled, “Children shouldn’t sleep in, but I’m an adult. Adults need to sleep in on their rest days.”

Xia Qinqin tilted her head and said, “Huh? But my mom and dad don’t sleep in.”

Xiao Zhang: “……”

Gently pulling on Xia Qinqin’s little braid, Xiao Zhang said, “Because they want to set an example for you, little one. In my family, there are no kids, so I can sleep in without worry.”

Xia Qinqin touched her head, puzzled, “Oh, so that’s how it is?”

Xiao Zhang nodded seriously, “Mm-hmm, that’s right.”

Meng Yufei was in the personnel department next door, and her salary grade had been finalized.

Section Chief Chen handed her her pay slip, saying, “Your position level is still the same as before, cadre level 19. However, your salary is now slightly lower than Haishi’s. According to our standards, your monthly salary is 68 yuan, but since the army provides a remote area allowance, you’ll also get an extra 2 yuan each month, so your total salary is 70 yuan.”

When you add it up, her monthly salary was only 2 yuan less than Haishi’s.

In fact, what had really decreased were the benefits provided by the unit. Haishi Bank’s benefits were quite generous. During holidays, in addition to rice, flour, and cooking oil, various kinds of coupons were always available. Even the hardest-to-find coupons could be obtained by the bank and distributed to employees as benefits.

In this era, everyone’s salary was fixed, but how much in benefits an employee received depended on the unit’s resources.

Meng Yufei thought: Although the benefits are fewer now, there’s not much to spend on here on the island, and there’s nowhere to redeem those coupons even if I had them.

After taking the pay slip, Meng Yufei smiled and said, “Section Chief Chen, thank you for your hard work.”

Section Chief Chen replied, “It should have been done earlier, but we’ve been busy with recruitment these past few days. Now, we’ve taken care of your salary along with the new recruits.”

He then handed over a few more pay slips, saying, “Take them with you. For this month, you can issue your salary according to the pay slip, and for next month, please have the finance department handle the salaries for the kindergarten staff as well.”

Meng Yufei nodded, “Got it. They’ll start next week, just in time for April, so they can receive a full month’s salary.”

Back in the office, Xia Qinqin ran up to Meng Yufei, hugged her leg, and said, “Mom, I’ll wake up by myself tomorrow and won’t sleep in. You and dad can sleep in and rest well.”

“Ah?”

Meng Yufei was confused, not understanding why her daughter was suddenly bringing up the topic of sleeping in.

Xiao Zhang cleared her throat and said, “Well, Sister Meng, I just told Qinqin that you and your husband don’t sleep in to set an example for her. She feels guilty that her sleeping in is preventing you two from resting.”

At this point, Xiao Zhang became a little embarrassed and explained to Qinqin, “Qinqin, Auntie was just joking with you. The real reason I sleep in is… because… well, Auntie is just lazy…”

Meng Yufei smiled and said, “There’s no such thing as not sleeping in, if you sleep well, it means you have good sleep quality, and it shows you’ve been working hard. You need to rest properly on weekends.”

Xiao Zhang scratched her head, saying, “Is that so? I never knew that. I’ve always loved sleeping, and my dad always says it’s because I’m lazy.”

Meng Yufei replied, “Good sleep leads to good health. When you can’t sleep anymore, you’ll realize just how wonderful it is to be able to sleep.”

She bent down to her daughter and said, “Qinqin, Mom and Dad don’t need to sleep in. We get enough sleep every day, and it’s not because of you that we don’t sleep.”

Hearing her mom’s words, Xia Qinqin felt relieved and cuddled up to her mom, saying, “So can I stay in bed tomorrow morning? I want to have breakfast in bed. Auntie Xiao Zhang just said she would have breakfast in bed.”

Meng Yufei shot a glance at Xiao Zhang, who quickly stuck out her tongue in embarrassment.

Next time, I’ll never speak carelessly in front of kids again… Wuwuwu, such a good memory…

Meng Yufei said, “Tomorrow we’re taking a boat to the city for dim sum. Don’t you remember?”

Xia Qinqin’s eyes lit up. “Oh, that’s right! Then I won’t sleep in. I’ll be the first one up!”

—

Commander’s Office.

Commander Li sat in his office chair, a cigarette between his fingers, his brows tightly furrowed.

Standing in front of his desk were three men: 1st Regiment’s Commander Xia Junshan, 4th Regiment’s Commander Fang Yonghua, and Battalion Commander Zhao Zhengliu from 1st Regiment.

Commander Li’s voice was serious. “This has happened three times in a row now. Every time we conduct joint training, the enemy finds out our training schedule in no time. In the previous cases with 2nd Regiment, 3rd Regiment, and 5th Regiment, some of the leaks happened as quickly as the same day. Last night, 1st Regiment and 4th Regiment trained together—will this turn out the same way?”

He slammed the desk in anger. “Where exactly is the problem!?”

Xia Junshan said, “The island’s residents have already been screened three times, and no suspicious individuals were found. The family compound were also checked once, and again, nothing unusual was discovered. If the leaks continue…”

Commander Li took a deep drag from his cigarette, exhaled slowly, and said in a hoarse voice, “Then it means the problem might be coming from within the military.”

Everyone present looked serious. If that was the case, the situation was far more severe than they had anticipated.

Commander Li took two more deep drags before putting out his cigarette in the ashtray. “We’ll leave it to time. You’ve all worked hard—go back and get some rest.”

As he spoke, he took another cigarette from the pack, placed it in his mouth, and held up the pack. “Want one?”

Xia Junshan shook his head. Fang Yonghua stepped forward, took one, and smiled. “Thank you, Commander.”

Zhao Zhengliu also took one, sniffed it, and raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Since when did you start smoking this brand? Doesn’t suit your status—it’s too cheap.”

Commander Li shot him a glare and said gruffly, “You brat, now you’re picky? If you don’t want it, give it back.”

Zhao Zhengliu bit down on the cigarette and grinned. “Once a gift is given, you can’t take it back. I’ll bring you two cartons of Zhonghua next time.”

Commander Li pointed a finger at him and scolded with a laugh, “And where are you going to get them from? You’re just going to mooch off your old man again. Just don’t blame me when he gets mad and you try to pin it on me.”

Zhao Zhengliu grinned cheekily. “How could I? You’re my big boss now.”

Commander Li snorted. “As if there’s anything you don’t dare to do.” Then he turned to Xia Junshan and said, “Junshan, what’s up with you? I was the one who taught you to smoke back in the day, and now you’ve quit?”

Xia Junshan rubbed his nose. “Well, my wife and daughter are here now. If I go back smelling like smoke, wouldn’t I choke them out?”

Fang Yonghua chuckled as he took a drag. “They say Regiment Commander Xia is the most famously ‘^[2]“henpecked” describes a man who is excessively controlled or dominated by his wife, especially in a way where he is seen as too obedient, submissive, or afraid to go against her wishes.henpecked’ man in our unit. Looks like the rumors are true.”

Xia Junshan grinned. “My wife nags me because she cares about me. It just means we have a good relationship.”

Commander Li scoffed and shook his head. “You spineless, wife-fearing fool.”

Xia Junshan coughed lightly and said, “Commander, didn’t Doctor Huang say before that, for the sake of your health, you shouldn’t be smoking? How come you’re secretly smoking again?”

Commander Li: “……”

Thinking about the cigarettes that had been confiscated, Commander Li muttered, “Women are always meddling. Now she’s even keeping an eye on me.”

Even though he said that, he still didn’t light the cigarette.

Zhao Zhengliu, who had been holding his cigarette between his lips, stiffened slightly and glanced at it in his hand.

As they left the commander’s office, Regiment Commander Fang said, “Old Xia, Battalion Commander Zhao, it’s almost lunchtime. How about we head into town and grab a meal together?”

Next to the town government building was a small restaurant, originally the town’s cafeteria, but after the military arrived, it started serving outsiders as well. Soldiers would occasionally go there for a special meal.

Xia Junshan waved his hand and declined, “No, I have to head home. I told my family I’d be back this morning. If I don’t go now, they’ll start worrying.”

Fang nodded. “Alright, alright. You’ve really become a family man.” He then turned to Zhao Zhengliu. “What about you, Battalion Commander Zhao?”

Zhao Zhengliu also shook his head. “I’m heading back too. I’m a bit tired and need some rest.”

Fang shrugged helplessly. “Fine, if neither of you are going, I’ll just go home and sleep too.”

When Xia Junshan got home, he checked the time—there were still about ten minutes before Meng Yufei finished work.

He went into the kitchen, opened the cabinet, and saw the leftover rice from last night. He took it out.

He heated oil in a pan, cracked a few eggs in, and scrambled them until they were cooked, then set them aside. Adding more oil to the pan, he poured in the rice, stirring and breaking it up, before mixing in the eggs and frying everything evenly together.

Meng Yufei came home holding Xia Qinqin’s hand, and as soon as they stepped inside, they were greeted by the aroma of fried rice.

Xia Qinqin took a deep sniff with her little nose. “Wow~ It smells so good~”

Hearing the commotion, Xia Junshan poked his head out of the kitchen. “You’re back! Just in time—the fried rice is ready.”

Xia Qinqin was surprised. “Dad, you got home before us today!”

Xia Junshan chuckled. “That’s right. Dad came home early to make fried rice for you. Are you happy?”

“Happy~ Dad’s fried rice smells amazing!”

Meng Yufei asked him, “Didn’t you say last night that you’d be back this morning? Last night… everything went okay, right?” As she spoke, she looked him over with concern.

Xia Junshan smiled and said, “I’m fine. The commander called another meeting this morning, so I got back a bit late.”

Meng Yufei asked again, “Are you going back to the base this afternoon?”

Xia Junshan replied, “No, the commander gave us half a day off to rest.”

Meng Yufei sighed in relief. “That’s good. You should take the afternoon to catch up on some sleep.”

Xia Junshan said, “Alright, after you get off work, let’s go to the beach together. Didn’t we say last time that we’d let Qinqin play in the mud? It’s hard to do that at home, so we’ll go to the beach and build sandcastles instead.”

Hearing that they were going to the beach, Xia Qinqin excitedly asked, “Can I play with the ocean?”

Xia Junshan glanced at Meng Yufei, not quite understanding what his daughter meant. Meng Yufei explained, “She wants to play in the water.”

Xia Junshan crouched down and said to his daughter, “How about we play with sand this time? Dad can build you a little car and a big tank—it’ll be really fun.”

“Okay! I want a little car, and I also want a camera.”

“Alright, I’ll build you a camera, and I’ll even make you a radio.”

“Yay~”

Meng Yufei placed the lunchbox on the dining table, then went to the kitchen to get bowls, chopsticks, and plates. She called out to the father and daughter, “Let’s eat first.”

“Alright.” Xia Junshan walked over to help Meng Yufei set the table. She wrinkled her nose slightly and asked, “Did you smoke?”

Xia Junshan chuckled, “You have such a sharp nose. I didn’t smoke—it must have rubbed off on me when someone else was smoking in the commander’s office. I’ll go change my clothes now.”

“No need,” Meng Yufei pulled him back. “Change after we eat. You’re planning to sleep after lunch anyway.”

“Alright, let’s eat first.” Xia Junshan nodded.

—

Zhao Zhengliu returned home and saw Zhou Wenqian sitting on the sofa reading a book. He said softly, “I’m back.”

Zhou Wenqian turned her head and, upon seeing him, put down her book and stood up. “You’re back. I’ll go to the cafeteria to get food.”

Zhao Zhengliu walked over and gently pressed her back down onto the sofa. “You keep reading. I’ll go get the food later.”

Zhou Wenqian nodded. “Alright.”

Zhao Zhengliu sat down beside her and asked, “Why didn’t you ask me why I came back so late? I told you yesterday I’d be back in the morning.”

Zhou Wenqian said, “Isn’t your work classified? Family members aren’t allowed to ask about work matters. I understand that.”

Zhao Zhengliu was momentarily speechless. He wanted to ask her if she wasn’t worried that something might have happened to him, but the words stuck in his throat, and he swallowed them back down.

After sitting for a while, Zhao Zhengliu lowered his head and sniffed his clothes before asking, “Do you smell anything on me?”

Zhou Wenqian looked up from her book, glanced at him in confusion, and said, “Well, maybe you should take a shower first?”

Zhao Zhengliu: “…”

He got up and went to the kitchen to heat some water for a bath. Halfway there, he turned back and said, “I smoked today.”

Zhou Wenqian stared at him calmly. Zhao Zhengliu felt a little uncomfortable under her gaze and asked, “Don’t you have anything to say to me?”

Zhou Wenqian asked back, “What do you want me to say?”

Feeling frustrated, Zhao Zhengliu ran a hand through his hair, his tone carrying a hint of grievance. “You used to never let me smoke. You said it was bad for my health and that you didn’t like the smell.”

Zhou Wenqian said indifferently, “Oh? Did what I said ever make a difference?”

Zhao Zhengliu lowered his voice and admitted, “Yeah… I’m sorry. I really was selfish before, only thinking about myself.”

He walked over to Zhou Wenqian, crouched down so that they were at eye level, and said seriously, “From now on, I’ll listen to you. I won’t smoke ever again!”

Zhou Wenqian listened to his promise and simply replied, “Alright, I understand.” Then, she lowered her head to avoid his gaze and continued reading.

Zhao Zhengliu felt a little disappointed. For some reason, his heart felt heavy, like something was stuck inside, but he didn’t know what to say.

After a moment, he stood up and smiled. “I’ll go take a shower first. After that, I’ll head to the cafeteria to get food.”

Zhou Wenqian, still reading, nodded lightly. “Okay.”

As Zhao Zhengliu turned away, he let out a slow breath. This time, he was determined to keep his word and gradually change the way Qianqian saw him. They still had plenty of time…