Chapter 49: Bragging

“Zhang Xiaoqin, before she even arrived, her voice came first.” The three children tensed up as soon as they saw her. Qian Xiaolan glanced at her and continued to eat her noodles.

“You’re such fools. You’re just eating a little bit of her food, and you’re going to gather firewood for her? You’re so small, how can you do such heavy work?” Zhang Xiaoqin snorted, muttering under her breath, but her heart was shouting, “It smells so good,” “It’s so fragrant,” “I want to eat a few bites.”

Qian Xiaolan saw her eyes glued to her bowl of noodles. She deliberately slurped loudly. She successfully saw Zhang Xiaoqin secretly swallowing her saliva. She chuckled and took her bowl back to the kitchen.

“What’s so great about it? You have no manners at all.” Zhang Xiaoqin was unhappy that she hadn’t gotten any noodles. She turned to the three children and yelled, “Go home! Do you want someone to feed you dinner or something?”

Gao Changzheng made a face at her and ran away. Gao Hongjun also glared at her, took his sister’s hand, and followed closely behind. Zhang Xiaoqin was furious. She wanted to scold Qian Xiaolan again, but she was afraid that she would really go to the leader and complain. If she angered her husband, she would only be able to go back to the countryside and live a hard life.

Speaking of the military camp, Gu Yanqing returned to the unit today. After seeing the leader, he received a lot of attention. Everyone knew that he had been injured on a mission and was recovering at home. They didn’t expect him to bring his wife to join the army. So, everyone, besides asking about his recovery, teased him.

Gu Yanqing responded calmly to everyone. Regarding his health, he just brushed it off. The rest of his words were all about praising his wife. For example:

“My injury healed so quickly thanks to my wife. She’s a doctor, and she massages my body and acupoints every day.”

“My wife cooks so well. Have you noticed I’ve gained weight? It’s all because my wife takes good care of me.”

“Did you see this watch on my hand? My wife bought it for me.”

Everyone: !!!

“And this uniform…”

Finally, everyone found a chance to interrupt him, “That’s your military uniform. You’re bragging too much.”

Unfortunately, before their smiles could fully emerge, Gu Yanqing just smiled and continued, “This uniform has several holes from the mission. My wife is so skilled, she sewed them up perfectly, you can’t even see the traces.”

Everyone didn’t believe him. They surrounded him and touched the uniform. Sure enough, they found several mended patches. Now, they were truly convinced. Their curiosity about Qian Xiaolan reached its peak.

After Gu Yanqing finished boasting about his wife, he tried to do some simple training. He felt weak, so he went to the military hospital for a checkup. By the time he finished the checkup and dealt with some accumulated matters, it was very late when he got home. His body couldn’t handle missions now, so he could go home and spend time with his wife at night. Once his body recovered, he wouldn’t be able to come back every day.

As he walked to the door of his house, countless tempting aromas rushed into his nostrils, relieving his day’s fatigue.

Qian Xiaolan guessed that he would be back late on his first day back at the unit, so she made dinner a little later. It was just right. She had just finished putting all the dishes on the table when he arrived.

“You’re back! Quickly wash your hands and eat!”

Gu Yanqing smiled and responded, washing his hands at the well before entering the house.

“Wow, my wife had a good catch today. Dinner is so lavish.”

Qian Xiaolan proudly raised an eyebrow, “I’m a lucky charm. My luck can’t be bad.”

“Braised abalone, braised flatfish, stir-fried octopus, sweet and sour cutlassfish, steamed cat’s eye snails, fish head tofu soup… My wife is so capable. I’m so lucky to have married you. It’s a blessing from three lifetimes.” Gu Yanqing sat down and showered Qian Xiaolan with praise, making her smile wide.

After they finished eating, there was a lot of food left on the table. Qian Xiaolan lamented, “Why can’t I grow two stomachs?”

Gu Yanqing laughed, “I know you like seafood, but you can’t eat too much. What if you get gout?”

Qian Xiaolan sighed, “Hey, even after being reborn, I still can’t eat and drink freely.”

“Everything in moderation. Should we save this for tomorrow?” Gu Yanqing picked up the leftovers and looked at Qian Xiaolan hesitantly.

“Of course, we’ll save it for tomorrow. It’s not like before.” In those days, everyone was struggling to make ends meet. Who could afford to waste food?

Gu Yanqing knew that. He had been here for so many years and had gotten used to eating leftovers. It was just that for a moment, he thought of the past.

They had eaten too much for dinner. After cleaning up, they went out for a walk to digest their food. As they passed by their neighbor’s house, they heard Zhang Xiaoqin’s scolding and a girl’s crying. Qian Xiaolan sighed, “Isn’t Gao Yingchang coming back tonight? His three children came to our house for lunch. They were all so skinny. I made them some noodles. They were all very well-behaved. They thanked me after eating and said they wouldn’t eat our food for free. They said they would gather firewood for me tomorrow.”

Gu Yanqing looked at the door of Gao Yingchang’s house and said softly, “Lao Gao wanted to get a divorce, but he should be getting promoted this time. Everyone is advising him to endure it for now. After things settle down, he can deal with that woman.”

Hearing this, Qian Xiaolan didn’t say anything more.

The weather in the South Province was warm. Many people were sitting outside chatting. Seeing Qian Xiaolan and Gu Yanqing, a handsome man and a beautiful woman, they looked at them curiously. An auntie who had been catching seafood near Qian Xiaolan that morning recognized her. She pointed at her and said with a laugh, “Hey, isn’t this the nimble little wife from this morning? Hahaha, you guys didn’t see her. Not only are her eyes sharp, but she’s also fast. We hadn’t even seen anything, and we felt a figure flying past us, and then the fish was in her hands.”

Qian Xiaolan remembered her behavior that morning, like someone who hadn’t eaten for three days and suddenly saw meat. She felt a little embarrassed.

The auntie continued to laugh, “Haha, little wife, don’t be shy. Auntie doesn’t mean any harm. Auntie just feels like you’re like me when I was young. Hahaha.” She couldn’t stop laughing. Someone next to her chimed in, “Yes, yes, little wife, don’t mind her. This old woman is just laughing because she sees herself in you.”

What could Qian Xiaolan say? She could only smile awkwardly and quickly pull Gu Yanqing away.

Gu Yanqing teased her, “Are you really as amazing as that auntie said? You can fly?”

Qian Xiaolan angrily raised her hand to hit him.

“Ah, Shi Tou, Shi Tou, Shi Tou, what’s wrong? Don’t scare your mother, Shi Tou!”

As they were laughing and joking, they suddenly heard a shrill cry. They looked at each other and quickly ran towards the sound.

In a nearby clearing, a crowd of people had gathered. In the middle, a woman was crying, holding a child.

Qian Xiaolan pushed through the crowd and ran to them. “I’m a doctor. What’s wrong with the child?”

Hearing the word “doctor,” the woman grabbed Qian Xiaolan’s wrist as if she had grasped a lifeline. “Doctor, doctor, please save my Shi Tou. He’s so uncomfortable. Please save him!”