Chapter 21: Can Being Pretty Fill Your Stomach?

“Sister-in-law, you’d better go by yourself. I wouldn’t dare bring bad luck upon myself. What if Battalion Commander Gu’s wife gives me trouble later?”

After saying that, Yu Juan turned and left immediately, as if terrified that Lin Banxia would cling to her.

Hou Xiufen glanced at the two people in the courtyard, then looked at the vegetables in her hands. After thinking it over, she ultimately decided not to go in.

What Yu Juan said wasn’t wrong. If Lin Banxia really was as difficult to get along with as the rumors claimed, then her good intentions of bringing some homegrown vegetables might be completely misunderstood.

That sort of thing had happened before. It seemed that Madam Ding, the wife of another regiment commander, had brought some vegetables to the neighbor living next to her, only for that person to turn around and throw them away. It was incredibly disheartening.

When Hou Xiufen got home, Gangdan immediately asked: “Mom, did you go see Fairy Sister? Is she super pretty?”

Pretty, yes—but she didn’t do any housework at all. How could that be acceptable?

Gangdan added: “When I grow up, I want to marry a wife as beautiful as Fairy Sister!”

Rolling her eyes at her love-struck son, Hou Xiufen said: “What good is just being pretty? Can that fill your stomach?”

Gangdan nodded like a pecking chick. “Of course it can! If my wife’s pretty, I can eat two extra bowls of rice!”

Just as he said that, Battalion Commander Liu stepped into the courtyard and, having overheard, said helplessly: “What nonsense are you spouting, you rascal? You’re still a kid and already dreaming about getting married?”

He then turned to Hou Xiufen and asked: “I heard that Battalion Commander Gu’s wife has joined the military family. Did you go check on her yet? Did you bring anything over? We’re neighbors, after all. If it hadn’t been for Battalion Commander Gu, my leg would’ve been a goner. His wife just came to join the unit—if she’s unfamiliar with anything, you should help out where you can.”

Hou Xiufen replied: “I did want to help more, but I’m worried she won’t appreciate it! You don’t know—people say she’s not easy to get along with. I was going to bring over some of our homegrown napa cabbage, but I thought better of it. She’s from a big city, after all—she might just look down on it.”

Hearing that, Battalion Commander Liu frowned and disagreed. “You haven’t even talked to her. How would you know she’s hard to get along with? Don’t just go by what other people say—only by getting to know someone yourself can you really tell what they’re like.”

After speaking, he picked up the two heads of napa cabbage and said: “I’ll go take the cabbage over.”

As soon as Gangdan heard that, he patted his chest and declared: “Don’t worry, Dad! I’ll definitely take good care of Fairy Sister!”

Battalion Commander Liu shot him a glare—look at you showing off.

Your Uncle Gu’s wife—what makes you think you’re the one to take care of her?

If Gu Shiqing heard you say that, you’d better watch out or she might knock your head sideways!

⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆

Meanwhile, Lin Banxia and Gu Shiqing were unaware of the stir going on in the Liu household.

All the luggage had been unpacked and organized, but Lin Banxia suddenly noticed that there wasn’t a wardrobe in the house. She asked curiously: “Why isn’t there a wardrobe here?”

Where would she put her clothes without a wardrobe? She’d brought quite a few pretty outfits with her for this move to join the army unit.

Gu Shiqing explained: “I asked Old Xiao not to get a wardrobe just yet.”

He took a piece of paper out of his pocket, handed it to Lin Banxia, and said: “I noticed you really liked this set of wardrobes back then, but since we couldn’t bring it with us, I sketched it. There’s a carpenter in a nearby town with great craftsmanship—he should be able to replicate this style pretty closely.”

Lin Banxia’s eyes lit up the moment she saw the drawing.

It was the exact wardrobe she had taken a liking to at the department store!

To be honest, Lin Banxia had really loved that wardrobe set. If it weren’t for the fear of exposing her secret, she would’ve simply bought it, stashed it in her space, and brought it out after arriving at the base.

She hadn’t expected Gu Shiqing to be so thoughtful—to not only notice her interest in the wardrobe but to secretly sketch it as well. And he had drawn it quite well. As long as the carpenter had some experience, he’d definitely be able to reproduce a near-exact replica based on this drawing.

Lin Banxia lifted her gaze to look at Gu Shiqing and couldn’t help but say: “If you keep being like this, I might not be able to stop myself from falling for you.”

Good-looking, great figure, meticulous, and doting—he was practically a celestial-grade husband!

Hearing Lin Banxia’s words, Gu Shiqing’s heart stirred, and his lips curled upward uncontrollably.

It’d be perfect if she really did fall for him.

Gu Shiqing said: “Banxia, actually, I…”

“Old Gu!” Before Gu Shiqing could finish his sentence, Xiao Wenlei’s voice rang out from outside.

“Someone’s calling you.” Lin Banxia pointed toward the door and said to him.

“That’s my comrade, Xiao Wenlei. I’ll go take a look.” Gu Shiqing took a deep breath. Of all times, this Xiao Wenlei just had to show up now.

⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆

At the courtyard gate, Xiao Wenlei was standing there with a fish and some vegetables in his hands.

Seeing Gu Shiqing come out, he grinned and said: “I figured today would be your arrival day and guessed you’d be running all over the place. So, I went to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative to buy some groceries for you. How’s that, thoughtful enough?”

Gu Shiqing took the vegetables and gave Xiao Wenlei a meaningful look.

Considering he came all the way to deliver food, he decided to forgive him—for now.

Xiao Wenlei, oblivious to the fact that he had just interrupted Gu Shiqing at a crucial moment of expressing his feelings to his wife, simply stood there smiling.

To be honest, he actually felt a bit sorry for his good brother.

He hadn’t met Gu Shiqing’s wife yet, but he had heard a few things about what she had done.

After all, he and Gu Shiqing had been long-time teammates. Two years ago, Gu Shiqing had merely gone on a mission and came back claiming he was married. And from his behavior, it wasn’t hard to tell that he wasn’t exactly thrilled with his chosen spouse.

It was precisely because of this matter that he had developed a shadow over the idea of marriage. Even now, he still had no desire to go on blind dates, let alone get married.

Who wouldn’t be frustrated with a wife like that?

He felt frustrated on Gu Shiqing’s behalf!

It had been tolerable before when the two were living apart in different places. But now that Lin Banxia had joined the military family and moved to be with him, Gu Shiqing’s days were definitely not going to be easy.

Gu Shiqing had no idea what Xiao Wenlei was thinking. He politely asked: “Want to stay for dinner tonight?”

“No way! I’ll just eat at the dining hall!” Xiao Wenlei immediately refused. With a wife as terrifying as Gu Shiqing’s, he had no desire to stick around and ask for bad luck.

He patted Gu Shiqing on the shoulder and added: “Old Gu, man, you’ve really got it tough!”

Gu Shiqing: “?”

What the hell was wrong with this guy?

As soon as Xiao Wenlei left, Battalion Commander Liu happened to walk out of his own courtyard, holding two heads of napa cabbage in his hands. “Battalion Commander Gu, these are homegrown napa cabbages. We can’t finish them all anyway, so I’m bringing some over for your family.”

“Perfect timing. We just moved in and don’t have much in the kitchen. I’ll gladly accept them.” Gu Shiqing said with a smile.

Battalion Commander Liu said: “If you need anything, just say the word.”

Gu Shiqing replied: “Sure thing. I won’t stand on ceremony.”

Carrying the groceries inside, Gu Shiqing stepped into the house. Lin Banxia came out and, seeing the vegetables and fish in his hands, asked: “Your comrade brought those?”

No wonder people missed their comrades so much even after leaving the military. Gu Shiqing’s comrade really was thoughtful—helping clean the house, arrange furniture, and now even delivering groceries.

“Yeah, the fish and green beans are from Old Xiao. He said we just arrived and would probably be too busy to go to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, so he bought them for us. These two cabbages are from Battalion Commander Liu next door.” Gu Shiqing explained.

Lin Banxia asked: “Then why didn’t you have him stay for dinner?”

It didn’t seem very polite to take groceries and not invite someone to eat.

Gu Shiqing said: “No big deal. He likes eating at the dining hall—let him go.”

Actually, it was for the best that he didn’t stay. This was their first day at the base together and their first meal in the Family Courtyard. It would be more relaxing with just the two of them.

Besides, Xiao Wenlei had a mouth that never said anything nice. If he ended up saying something unpleasant, it would just ruin the atmosphere.

“I’ll go clean the fish.” Gu Shiqing said. “Do you prefer it braised or steamed?”

So he was going to cook?

Lin Banxia immediately understood. Since Gu Shiqing had taken the initiative to cook, she wasn’t about to fight him for the chance to do it.

She strongly agreed with the saying: If you’re willing to endure hardship, then hardship will never run out. She wasn’t foolish enough to volunteer for it.

“Braised.” Lin Banxia answered, then reached out and took the vegetable shoots from his hands. “Then I’ll prep the vegetables.”

Since Gu Shiqing had taken on most of the work, she had to do something, at least. Otherwise, wouldn’t she really seem like a slave driver?