Chapter 79

This line was rich with double meaning.

Lu Nong froze, enveloped in his arms, breathing in the fresh scent of his body, while warmth radiated from his breath against her cheek and neck.

Help!

She felt like a piece of meat…

Curiously, she wondered if saying “I don’t know” would lead to being bitten.

Feeling mischievous, Lu Nong suddenly wanted to see if saying “I don’t know” would indeed lead to that outcome. She coughed lightly and said, “Hmm? In this poem, ‘red beans’ doesn’t refer to actual red beans but to the red dots on the dice, which the poet uses to represent red beans metaphorically. If you ask if the red beans know, I guess they probably don’t, right?”

Pei Ji’an’s tone turned dangerous. “Oh really? Then I should thank you for enlightening me.”

“Ha ha, no need for that.”

The experiment concluded with Pei Ji’an not biting her, but Lu Nong sensed something was off and instinctively felt it was best to run.

Just as she thought about escaping his embrace, Pei Ji’an pulled her back, teasing, “Where do you think you’re running off to?”

Lu Nong: “…”

Of course, she wanted to run because there was danger!

Noticing her silence, Pei Ji’an lifted her up and said calmly, “But you guessed quite right.”

Lu Nong: “…”

Pei Ji’an carried Lu Nong back to the bedroom, laying her down on the bed before slowly unbuttoning her shirt.

…Help! This old man is too sexy. Even the clumsy military uniform can’t hide his allure.

Pei Zheng often said that Xiao Xia was a reincarnation of Daji, but Lu Nong thought that Xiao Xia’s biological father was more of a male Daji.

“Wah wah wah…”

The sound of Xiao Xia crying interrupted them.

Lu Nong sighed in relief, saying, “The baby is crying. I’ll go comfort her.”

However, after a few cries, Xiao Xia fell back asleep. Lu Nong was bewildered. Was the baby dreaming about crying?

Pei Ji’an looked at her amusedly. Lu Nong smiled sweetly at him, giving him a peck on the lips.

“Brother, spare me. I’m going to the market with Director Leng tomorrow. I heard we’ll have to walk a long mountain path.”

Pei Ji’an replied, “Then I’ll go easy on you.”

Lu Nong wondered if she should thank him.

The next morning, Lu Nong took a cloth bag and arrived at the agreed intersection with Director Leng. When she arrived, she found not only Director Leng but also Hu Mei, Liu Erniu, Wang Xiuzhi, and several women whom Lu Nong didn’t recognize.

Director Leng pulled Lu Nong over and said with a smile, “The first and fifteenth days are when the logistics department goes out for procurement. Everyone takes the opportunity to go down the mountain and buy things.”

“Let’s go, comrades. We’ve kept Old Yu waiting for too long,” Director Leng called to everyone.

They passed through the farmland and reached the riverbank. Director Leng raised her hand to shield her eyes from the sun and looked out at the river, pointing to a few children playing in the water. “Erniu, Xiuzhi, can you see if those kids are Xianglan and your boys?”

“It really is. Why are they all in the deep water?”

Liu Erniu, with her quick temper, lifted her straw shoe and rushed to the riverbank, shouting, “Zhao Diaobao, Zhao Gangtie, are you two tired of living? How dare you take Xianglan into the river to play! Get over here!”

Lu Nong: “…”

She hoped that when her children grew up, she wouldn’t become a fierce tiger mom.

Then she thought about what kind of person Pei Zheng was. He could easily lead Xiao Huai into mischief, and with Xiao Huai’s high IQ when he grew up… When it came to wits and courage, she truly might struggle to match the combination of the male lead and the original number one villain.

Lu Nong began to worry about her future hair.

Liu Erniu’s two sons ran over, breathless and frightened, while the other children laughed at them. Within three seconds, they locked eyes with their own mother. Apart from two or three obedient children walking over quietly, the others quickly disappeared.

The first to come ashore were Zhao Diaobao and Zhao Gangtie, looking guilty as they approached their mother.

Liu Erniu pulled her two sons and smacked them with her shoe. “Do you still dare to do it again?”

“Mom, please stop hitting me. It hurts,” Zhao Diaobao covered his buttocks. “My eldest brother will be back tomorrow and I won’t be able to get out of bed. He will laugh at me.”

Liu Erniu pointed at her son’s head and said, “You! You know you’re afraid of being laughed at, but you still go swimming in deep water?”

The few obedient children who followed behind him each went to find their own mothers, and then were beaten by their own mothers.

Director Leng didn’t hit anyone, but she frowned and asked, “Xianglan, where’s your little brother? You left him at home all alone while you came out to play?”

“I’m not his mother. Why should I have to babysit him all day?” Xianglan pouted like a little pepper.

Director Leng didn’t want to scold her granddaughter too harshly. Instead, she brushed off the mud on Xianglan’s clothes and said, “Even if you want to play outside, you can’t go into the deep water. That place is dangerous even for the soldiers. What do you think will happen to you kids?”

The clever little girl rolled her eyes and shook Director Leng’s arm, saying, “Grandma, I won’t go into the deep water anymore. Are you going to the market? Take me with you!”

Director Leng’s heart softened as she felt Xianglan’s enthusiasm. “Alright, alright, I’ll take you. Now let go of my arm.”

“Great!” Xianglan cheered. “I want to go to the market to buy some candy!”

The Zhao brothers swallowed hard, saying, “Mom, we want to go to the market too.”

After the Zhao brothers spoke, the other kids looked eagerly at their mothers, but with so many kids and adults, plus the need to bring back supplies, there just wasn’t enough space.

Liu Erniu raised a straw sandal and threatened, “Go home!”

“The usual rules apply. Be on the other side of the river by noon, and then help your mother carry things home.”

The Zhao brothers muttered gloomily, “More work for the ox…” “And no food for the ox…”

Liu Erniu raised the sandal again and warned, “What are you saying?”

The Zhao brothers obediently fell silent, walking home with their heads down like two big losers.

With the Zhao brothers quieted the other kids stopped insisting on going to the market. As for Xianglan, being a little girl, she was naturally included in the women’s outing and didn’t feel the need to compete with the boys.

Once Lu Nong and Director Leng crossed the bridge, they found the procurement vehicles waiting by the roadside. Old Yu got out of the driver’s seat, opened the gate of the truck bed, and the army wives climbed aboard one by one. The first ones up helped the others on until everyone was on board, and then Old Yu closed the gate.

“Sisters-in-law, please be safe. Let’s go.”

Lu Nong had initially wanted to sit with Director Leng, but when it was time to get on the truck, everyone jostled around, pushing her into a crowd of unfamiliar military wives. Director Leng tried to pull her over, but since they were on a mountain road, it was too risky for her to stand up. They had no choice but to let it go.

As the truck bumped along the mountain road, the lush green scenery flashed by. The women in the truck bed chatted idly and soon got used to the bumps.

“Hey, did you hear? I heard that Xiao Sun from the art troupe and the second battalion commander of the first regiment are in love with each other.” A military wife gossiped.

“Ah? Didn’t they say Xiao Sun and Captain Zhou were a couple?” another military wife asked in surprise.

“You don’t know? Captain Zhou has a wife. She came to the base last month with his mother, and I happened to run into them. Honestly, I’m not saying this to be mean, but his wife is quite attractive. I don’t know what Captain Zhou is thinking…”

“Well, what can he think? Homegrown flowers never smell as sweet as wild ones. These men think anything outside is better.”

The others nodded in agreement, and then someone chimed in, “Speaking of pretty, have you heard? The new wife of Deputy Commander Pei is stunning. Her name is… what was it? Oh right, it’s Lu Nong. They say she’s as beautiful as a fairy. The first day she arrived, she left all the soldiers in the fields dumbfounded.”

Honestly, this kind of talk wasn’t really necessary. When the gossip hits too close to home, it loses its charm.

“That’s not entirely true,” Lu Nong said softly, trying to defend herself.

“Is she really prettier than Zhang Xiaoya from the art troupe?” another army wife questioned skeptically. “In this remote place, how could we have a fairy? Not just anyone can be called a fairy.”

“Exactly,” Lu Nong said, feeling embarrassed. She quickly agreed, not wanting to get into a debate.

“Who are you?” the army wife who had complimented Lu Nong turned to her, clearly displeased. “I’ve never seen you before. Why are you covering your face with a scarf? Who brought you here?”

Last night, Director Leng had warned Lu Nong that the wind could be strong on the way down the mountain. To protect her face from getting chapped, Lu Nong had tied a scarf around her head, which meant that people could only see the upper half of her face.

Even though only her upper face was visible, Lu Nong’s fair and radiant skin was hard to hide. Since she had just arrived and her clothing style hadn’t been blended in yet, she stood out among the crowd. It wasn’t a problem until she started to speak, and then people began to notice her.

Lu Nong blinked and replied, “I came with Director Leng.”

The military wives fell silent for a moment. Just as Lu Nong thought they recognized her, one military wife grabbed her hand and said, “You’re Director Leng’s granddaughter? No wonder you dress so nicely.”

“Since you’re not an outsider, we can relax.”

“Exactly.”

“I saw Director Leng help someone onto the truck before. So it was you!”

Everyone started chattering, quickly accepting Lu Nong as one of their own.

Lu Nong: “…” Is it really that easy?

Now that she was considered one of their own, the military wives continued to gossip, this time turning the topic back to Zhang Xiaoya. “…Zhang Xiaoya is so ambitious. She doesn’t even look at the soldiers who show interest in her. I wonder who she will end up marrying.”

Someone quietly added, “My aunt’s cousin’s daughter shares a dorm with Zhang Xiaoya. She said Zhang Xiaoya has a crush on Deputy Commander Pei!”

Lu Nong: “…”

Lu Nong expressed her doubts about this story. Pei Ji’an had only arrived two days earlier than her. How could someone be interested in him? It was outrageous, too outrageous.

So, she asked, “Really? Didn’t Deputy Commander Pei just get here a few days ago?”

“You don’t know this, do you?” The military wife next to her clarified, “With Deputy Commander Pei’s status and looks, during the welcome meeting on his first day, all the young ladies were eyeing him, wanting to take him home. Too bad he’s already married, so they were all wasting their efforts.”

So that’s how it is. Lu Nong rubbed her chin, wondering if older men were really that appealing.

As she was thinking, the car stopped by the roadside.

The military wives got out one by one. As soon as they were out, Director Leng called out to Lu Nong, “Lu Nong, hurry up! We need to leave quickly.”

“Okay, coming!” Lu Nong replied.

The few military wives who had just sat with Lu Nong exchanged glances, and one hesitantly asked what everyone was thinking, “What’s the name of Deputy Commander Pei’s wife?”

“It seems to be… Lu Nong.”

The military wives: “…”

Director Leng held Xianglan in one hand and Lu Nong in the other and said, “Let’s go to the market first. Xie Laosan is a carpenter. When there is a market, he will go to the market to sell his handicrafts. Maybe we can run into him. If not, don’t worry. The Yushui Brigade is not far away. We just need to walk a few hundred meters.”

Lu Nong was unfamiliar with the area and had no objections to following Director Leng’s lead. “I’ll listen to you.”

Director Leng led Lu Nong and Xianglan to a threshing floor that was bustling with activity. This was where the market was held.

Xianglan begged for some candy, and Director Leng had no choice but to say to Lu Nong, “I’ll take her to buy some candy first. We’ll meet back here later.”

“Alright,” Lu Nong agreed, glad to have some time to herself.

She followed the crowd into the market and didn’t rush to buy anything, instead listening to others haggle over prices.

As soon as the vendor and the buyer started talking, Lu Nong felt lost. The locals were speaking in their dialect, and no matter how clever she was, hearing it for the first time made it impossible for her to understand.

Feeling frustrated, Lu Nong stepped out of the crowd and waited by the roadside for Director Leng to return.

At that moment, a group of people walked toward her, and Lu Nong quickly spotted Xu Yao. However, Xu Yao wasn’t the center of attention. Instead, she stood on the outskirts of the group. The focal point was a sweet-looking girl about sixteen or seventeen years old, who was playfully nagging a boy beside her, saying, “Brother, you promised to buy me snow lotion. You can’t go back on your word.”

“Okay, okay, I’ll buy it for you. If you want anything else, just let me know,” the boy replied kindly.

Lu Nong noticed Xu Yao standing apart, her lips pressed together, looking lost and gloomy.

Lu Nong sighed in her heart. Her eldest son was so lucky; both the female supporting character and the female lead were so pretty. But why did she feel that the female supporting character was more pleasing to the eye?