Chapter 40: Requesting Leave

“Nan girl, is this your big brother?”

Nan Qiao, Nan Zhou, and Shen Nian had just arrived at the field where she usually worked when they ran into Aunt Xiumei, who looked delighted.

“Yes, Aunt Xiumei, this is my big brother, Nan Zhou.”

“Oh, what a fine young man! Look at that height and those looks,” Aunt Xiumei praised sincerely.

“You’re too kind,” Nan Zhou replied politely with a smile.

“Big Brother, this is Aunt Xiumei. We’re staying at her place.”

“Nice to meet you, Aunt Xiumei. Thank you for looking after Nan Qiao all this time.”

“Oh, don’t be so polite. Nan girl came here all alone and is staying with us. Of course, I’d look out for her.”

“She’s the only daughter in our family, and we’ve always doted on her. Please continue to take care of her.”

Hearing her brother’s words, Nan Qiao felt warmth in her heart. Her usually cold and stern brother was now patiently thanking everyone around her.

“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure she stays safe and sound here, so your parents can be at ease. Our village folk are decent. You won’t see any messy or troublesome things going on here.”
Of course, her own son was also keeping watch, but ironically, to Nan Zhou, that son might just be the greatest threat, Aunt Xiumei thought to herself.

“Thank you so much,” Nan Zhou said.

Aunt Xiumei’s face lit up even more at those words. She cast a glance across the field toward Sheng Yanchuan, then sighed inwardly—what a situation this is.

“Alright then, go on and get to work. If you get the chance these next few days, come over for a meal,” Aunt Xiumei said as she turned to leave.

Nan Zhou nodded and walked back to Nan Qiao’s side.

The day passed quickly. With his usual military training being far more rigorous, Nan Zhou found this farm work light and easy.

That evening, Nan Qiao wrapped up a pound of pork and a pound of brown sugar in paper and headed to the village chief’s house.

“Village Chief, are you home?” Nan Qiao peeked in at the courtyard gate.

The chief’s wife heard her and came out. “Oh, Nan Zhiqing, come in! Your Uncle Dong is home.”

The chief’s wife, Gai Xian, was good friends with Aunt Xiumei, so Nan Qiao had met her several times.

“Auntie Gai Xian, is Uncle Dong still awake? I hope I didn’t come too late.”

Nan Qiao had purposely come late to avoid being seen bringing gifts, but she worried now it might be too late and the family would already be resting.

“Resting? It’s only just past nine. Our daughter-in-law just gave birth, and we’re all fussing over the baby. He’s inside watching the little one.”

“Perfect then. I brought some pork and brown sugar to help Sister Meimei recover.”
Nan Qiao knew the daughter-in-law’s name was Meimei, though she had never met her and didn’t know she had already given birth. Luckily, the brown sugar was very timely.

“Oh, you sweet girl, you’re too thoughtful. Come in and see our handsome little fellow,” Auntie Gai Xian said warmly as she took the pork and sugar.

She didn’t care much about the pork—after all, while meat wasn’t easy to come by, her husband was the village chief and the village was relatively well-off, so they weren’t exactly short on meat.

But the brown sugar—now that was a treasure. What villagers lacked most were ration tickets. Unlike the town folks with proper jobs who received allotments, villagers had to struggle for every ticket.
Just a single sugar ration ticket could cause a headache. And buying from the black market? That was unaffordable for most, and finding rare items required luck and patience.

Now that her daughter-in-law was in confinement, even making simple brown sugar eggs wasn’t easy. Holding that heavy packet of sugar, Auntie Gai Xian couldn’t hide the joy on her face.

Inside, a wave of heat rushed at them. During postpartum confinement, villagers believed in no bathing, no washing hair, and avoiding the wind entirely.

It was bearable in winter, but in the heat of summer, it was rough. After barely a minute or two inside, Nan Qiao was already drenched in sweat.

“Zhiqing Nan, were you here to see me?”
Nan Qiao didn’t see Sister Meimei, who was in confinement in the inner room. Only Uncle Dong was outside watching the baby.

“Yes, Village Chief. I have a small favor to ask.”

“What is it? Go ahead,” the chief said as he played with the baby.

“Well, since my brother came to visit, I’d like to take a few days off to show him around the area.”

“How many days?” the chief asked, raising his head.

“Three days. He’s only staying for three.”

After she said this, Nan Qiao looked at the chief expectantly.

“Three days… That’s a bit long, isn’t it? You haven’t been here that long. You already took time off to recover from your foot injury, and now another three days? The other zhiqing might start complaining.”
The chief frowned slightly.

“That’s why I came to ask for your help.”

“Oh come on now, what’s the big deal?” Auntie Gai Xian chimed in.
“Xiao Nan’s been working so diligently—never slacks off. If other zhiqing are unhappy, they can let their actions speak for themselves. It’s just three days, not a big deal. And her brother even got leave from the army to visit. If the army can spare him, surely we can spare a zhiqing for three days.”

With his wife speaking up like that, the village chief had nothing more to say. After thinking it over, he added, “Alright, this time it’s special—your family came to see you. I’ll approve the three-day leave, but don’t ask again anytime soon.”

“Got it! I’ll definitely work hard once I’m back,” Nan Qiao promised with a grin.

Then she looked at the baby in the chief’s arms and said, “What a cute little guy! Just look at those big shiny eyes. What’s his name?”

“Li Junfeng. We call him Junjun.”

“Hi Junjun,” Nan Qiao said, teasing the baby. Junjun’s eyes turned into happy crescents as he smiled at the pretty girl.

Seeing her grandson laugh so brightly, Auntie Gai Xian also laughed and said, “Junjun must be smiling at the pretty young lady, huh?”

Nan Qiao laughed joyfully and touched the baby’s warm little arm. “Babies are so cute—chubby, soft little arms and legs.”

“He’s actually lost quite a bit of weight,” Auntie Gai Xian said, her voice shifting from cheerful to a bit troubled.

“He’s thinner? Is it because he’s not eating well?” Nan Qiao asked. She had noticed the baby was on the slimmer side but didn’t think too much of it—everyone in this era was underfed.

“That’s right. He was a lot chubbier when he was just born.”
The chief’s family only had one son and one daughter. The daughter was married off, so this son and now their first grandson were extremely cherished. They’d tried to provide the best for him, but the daughter-in-law didn’t have enough milk. Lately, they’d been supplementing with rice water, and before the month was even up, the baby had lost weight.

The village chief gave a small cough to signal his wife to stop.

Auntie Gai Xian glanced toward the inner room and sighed. She knew Meimei was already feeling guilty—milk supply issues weren’t her fault. Still, she couldn’t help but worry about her grandson not getting enough to eat.

Suddenly, Auntie Gai Xian seemed to think of something. She looked at her husband, then at Nan Qiao.

A bit embarrassed, she asked,
“Zhiqing Nan, could I trouble you with a little favor?”

As soon as Auntie Gai Xian spoke, the village chief immediately realized what his wife was trying to say and pulled her aside with displeasure. “Don’t bring up things that don’t matter. It’s not easy for them to come to the countryside either.”

“What do you mean things that don’t matter? It’s not like I’m asking for it for free,” Auntie Gai Xian snapped back, shaking off his hand with clear disapproval.

“Let’s hear what Auntie Gai Xian has to say first before we say anything else,” Nan Qiao quickly interjected, seeing the two about to argue.

“Don’t listen to her. What could we possibly need?” the village chief said.

“You’re just being stubborn. Look how much weight Junjun’s lost lately—how much more can he afford to lose? Can you really bear to see him like this?” Auntie Gai Xian’s voice grew louder, paying no mind to how Meimei might feel in the inner room.

At that, the village chief gave up protesting—he did feel sorry for his grandson, after all.

“Oh dear, Chief, Auntie, let’s not get upset. Just tell me what the matter is. If I can help, I will. If I can’t, then at least we won’t have argued for nothing,” Nan Qiao said, trying to defuse the tension.

“Zhiqing Nan, I know it’s not easy for you to be stationed out here, but your family is from the city, and I… I wanted to ask if you have any malted milk powder or extra sugar ration tickets. I’d like to buy some from you! Adults can eat whatever, but kids can’t. Especially with things like malted milk—it’s a specialty item, and no one in our village can get their hands on it.”

Auntie Gai Xian looked at her with hopeful eyes as she finished.

Nan Qiao thought for a moment before replying, “I still have an unopened can. My parents sent it with me when I came. I’ll give it to you tomorrow.”

She had plenty of milk powder in her space. Compared to that, malted milk powder wasn’t as nutritious anyway. This was a perfect opportunity to earn some goodwill from the village chief’s family.

“Oh, Zhiqing Nan, thank you so much!” Auntie Gai Xian’s eyes were slightly red with gratitude.

“No need to be so polite.”

“Then… would 4 yuan per can be okay?” she asked cautiously.

“That’s fine. But Junjun is still small—a single can won’t last long. How are you planning to manage it going forward?”
In town, a small can of malted milk powder with a ration ticket cost over 3 yuan, so 4 yuan wasn’t unreasonable.

“Zhiqing Nan, do you have any more? Would your parents be able to send more in the future?” The more she spoke, the more ashamed Auntie Gai Xian felt. After all, Nan Qiao was just a girl herself, and asking her for supplies was like taking from a child to feed her own.

“It depends on how many cans you want per month. I can ask my parents to send a few more. I don’t really drink the stuff, so when they first offered to send it, I declined.”

That was the truth. In modern life, she was used to drinking milk and coffee. Malted milk powder really wasn’t her thing.

“Then… would three cans a month be okay?”
Three cans would cost 12 yuan. Even though her husband was the village chief, that was a hefty sum. But for the health and growth of her grandson, she was willing to pay.

“That’s fine. I’ll bring you one tomorrow, and once the others arrive, I’ll give you the rest.”

“Thank you, Zhiqing Nan, truly!”

“You’re really being too polite. I’m not giving it to you for free,” Nan Qiao said with a grin.

“But it’s different. You can’t buy it in town for 4 yuan without a ticket, and I know that,” Auntie Gai Xian said earnestly.

“No worries. Uncle, Auntie, get some rest. I’ll head home now. Since I’m not working tomorrow, I’ll drop it off in the morning before I go out.”

“The girl doesn’t need to bring it. I’ll swing by your place early tomorrow before I head to the fields. No need for you to make a trip,” Auntie Gai Xian insisted.

“Alright then. Thanks, Auntie,” Nan Qiao replied, seeing that she was determined.

With that, she headed toward the door.

“Auntie, Uncle, no need to walk me out. Stay here with Junjun, I’ll be fine on my own.”

The village chief didn’t get up, still holding the baby, but as Nan Qiao was leaving, he called out, “Zhiqing Nan, thank you.”

Nan Qiao nodded, then turned and walked home leisurely.

“…That’s quite a big favor she’s done for us. How are we supposed to repay that?” the village chief sighed, sounding a little worried.

“It’s all for the child. Just look out for her a little more in the future. We paid for it, didn’t we? It’s not like we’re taking bribes that would ruin your good name as the village chief,” Auntie Gai Xian said.

“Would you listen to yourself?” the chief snapped.

“Alright, alright. Let’s go to bed. I’ll take the baby to Meimei, and then get some rest. Zhengqing should be back soon. I wonder how the dorms for the zhiqing are coming along.”

“Should be almost done,” the village chief said. Just as the words left his mouth, they heard a sound at the door.

Auntie Gai Xian opened it and saw her son coming back.

“Zhengqing, why are you back so late today?”

The man washed up with the cool water by the well before replying, “We’re trying to rush the work. Since the job ends this week, we stayed a little longer to get things done.”

“Ma, did someone visit?” Zhengqing asked, noticing a cup on the table.

“Mm-hmm. Zhiqing Nan came by to request leave from your father.”

Zhengqing nodded without another word. He’d seen the zhiqing before—a pretty girl. She seemed to be close to Chuanzi, so maybe there was something going on there.

“Since you’re back, take the baby inside and rest. Your dad and I are heading to bed,” Auntie Gai Xian said, placing the child into his arms.

Zhengqing went into the inner room and found Meimei sitting there with red-rimmed eyes. He laid the baby down on the bed and sat beside her.

“What’s wrong? Why are your eyes red?”

Meimei recounted what had happened earlier in the evening.

“Zhiqing Nan helped us. Even though Mom paid her, we should still thank her properly,” Meimei said.

“I know. But don’t blame Mom—she was just worried. Sometimes she says things that come out a bit harsh.”

Meimei nodded. “I understand. I just feel like I’m not doing enough.”

“Don’t say that,” Zhengqing said, gently rubbing her head. “It’s not your fault. The baby will grow up just fine. Now that we have malted milk powder, you can relax a little. He still needs you.”

Meimei nodded and reminded Zhengqing to rest early.

Meanwhile, back at the courtyard, Nan Qiao found Nan Zhou still working out in the yard.

“Ge, you’re still up?”

“Waiting for you. Got the leave approved?” Nan Zhou asked as she wiped the sweat from her face.

“Yup. Tomorrow I’ll go with you to town.”

“Alright.”