Chapter 65

When Shen Qingyun and his group traveled to Beijing this time, it took almost two months to go back and forth. When they initially accompanied Elder Hua to the capital, there had been four people in their group: Elder Hua, his assistant Xiao Wang, Shen Qingyun, and Shi Lei.

However, on the return journey, nearly half of the boat was filled. They had brought along a group of more than a dozen or twenty people, including their families.

Looking at this scene, not to mention the Yin Xiaoman family, who had come to welcome them after hearing the news, even Qi Feng, who had been mentally prepared, was startled, his eyes blinking in surprise.

The large number of people was not the main issue; the most important thing was that nearly all of them could be classified as the elderly, the sick, and the disabled.

Except for women and children, there were mostly old people, and among them, there was a man who seemed to be in his sixties, still using a cane, with bandages wrapped around his leg. It was clear that he had not yet recovered from an injury.

The journey from Jingcheng to Zhongshan Island spanned over a thousand miles, with multiple transfers between vehicles and boats. How had they managed to travel with such a large group?

The difficulty of the journey could only be imagined.

Qi Feng couldn’t help but take a deep breath, and glanced at his Brother Shen secretly.

What he saw was Shen Qingyun’s face, which had clearly become much thinner and appeared exhausted.

Along with this group, there were also various tools filling half of the boat.

There were seeds, farming tools, millstones, and even cages filled with chicks and ducklings.

It was clear that Elder Hua’s earlier suggestions had yielded results, catching the attention of higher-ups.

Qi Feng waved his hand, leading a group of young soldiers onto the boat.

They first helped the elderly and children off the boat, either supporting or carrying them. Then, they began to lift and move the various items.

Perhaps because they were finally able to land, the anxiousness that had been building up for so long seemed to dissipate. The tired and weathered faces that had been filled with exhaustion now unfolded into smiles.

The boat immediately became lively.

Da Bao and Erniu, seeing their father after several months, were naturally extremely excited. They both rushed towards him, shouting and calling out “Dad!” as they grabbed at his clothes and clung to his leg.

Their enthusiastic calls made everyone around them laugh heartily.

Shen Qingyun simply picked them both up, one in each arm, and kissed each of their little faces.

Erniu was used to such affection, so, she held onto Shen Qingyun’s neck without letting go.

But Da Bao immediately turned red, squirmed a little, and jumped out of his father’s arms.

Shen Qingyun didn’t stop him. He just reached out and ruffled Da Bao’s hair.

Yin Xiaoman also came over.

In front of the large crowd, Yin Xiaoman naturally wouldn’t show any signs of intimacy with her man. However, her eyes sparkled with happiness, her gaze following him intently with every move he made.

Anyone could easily sense her happiness in that moment.

How could Shen Qingyun not notice?

But at this moment, his work was not yet complete, and their situation didn’t allow them express such affection.

He could only stare at his wife for a moment, his eyes filled with longing and desire.

The moment their gazes met, Yin Xiaoman’s heart skipped a beat, and she quickly turned away, almost as if defeated.

As she turned, her gaze landed on a young girl not far away, who was busy packing up her things in preparation to disembark.

“Li Fang?” Yin Xiaoman called out tentatively.

The girl’s actions clearly froze for a moment before she turned around and smiled slightly at her. “Sister Xiaoman.”

Her tone showed no surprise, which suggested that she must have recognized her as soon as she boarded the boat but had not intended to approach her until now.

Li Fang had once been a sent-down youth in Shuanggui Village, and she, along with another young educated youth named Liang Xiaoyu, had helped Yin Xiaoman when she went to confront Liu Chunxia about the house.

Later, she had spoken highly of Yin Xiaoman in front of the village committee.

It could be said that if it weren’t for the presence of Li Fang and Liang Xiaoyu among the educated youths, Yin Xiaoman would not have made the decision to lend her family’s house to the Female Educated Youths without hesitation.

She trusted their character and knew that they wouldn’t cause trouble in the house, which was why she made that choice.

So, seeing Li Fang on the boat now was a surprise for her.

“Li Fang, how come you’re here? Is something happening in Shuanggui Village?” Yin Xiaoman took a step forward, her voice tinged with concern as she asked.

When she mentioned Shuanggui Village, Shen Qingyun, who had been speaking with Qi Feng nearby, turned his head as well, his brows furrowed in confusion.

It was clear that he hadn’t known that Li Fang came from Shuanggui Village.

“There’s nothing happening in Shuanggui Village, Sister Xiaoman, please don’t worry.” Li Fang quickly reassured her.

Then, she continued: “I came because I received a letter from my brother. He asked me to follow Elder Hua and Battalion Commander Shen to come here for work. By the way, my brother’s name is Li Hai, and he’s with the Research Team.”

Li Hai—Yin Xiaoman recognized the name. He was one of the two young assistants who had arrived on the island earlier. The other one, named Wang Jianli, had accompanied Elder Hua to Beijing this time, while Li Hai had stayed on the island.

Yin Xiaoman looked around but didn’t see Li Hai. Just as she was about to speak, Li Fang took the initiative to reassure her again. “My brother is definitely busy and has no time to take care of me. Sister Xiaoman, don’t worry. He’s always like this—when he’s busy, he even forgets who he is, let alone remember me, his little sister. I’ve long been used to it. It’s no big deal.” After saying this, she laughed herself.

What she said was exactly the normal work routine of these Researchers, wasn’t it? Seeing Li Fang still looking so cheerful and lively, Yin Xiaoman finally stopped worrying as much.

She nodded at Li Fang. “Alright, you go ahead and get off the boat. Once you’re done, we’ll chat later.”

Then, she said goodbye and called the children to follow her as she headed toward the back of the ship’s cabin.

She was going to get her family’s things.

Since Shen Qingyun had been away for such a long trip, after returning, he would need to go straight to the camp to report on his work. She didn’t know when he would get back home.

Naturally, his luggage and the items he had bought had to be taken back first.

She asked Dami where he had placed his things, and then she took the children to the rear cargo hold.

Based on her understanding of her husband, after such a long trip, he would surely not leave without spending all the money he had on him.

Before leaving, he had taken 200 yuan and all of their national universal ticket.

So, they were practically determined to buy and stock up on everything they could. Even each of them had carried a large bamboo basket on their backs.

Yin Xiaoman’s was relatively better, but Dami’s basket had been borrowed from the Kitchen Unit. It was so big that it was almost the same height as him, which made it look ridiculously exaggerated.

But what they hadn’t expected was that—

In the back cargo hold, aside from finding a package that Shen Qingyun had carried with him containing thick clothes, there was nothing else.

Everyone stared in disbelief, their eyes wide open.

“Brother, are you sure this is the place?” Da Bao asked in surprise, turning to Dami.

Dami looked equally confused. “This is the place, Uncle said it was here.”

After saying that, he hesitantly walked around the area again, but by this time, almost everyone from the front and back cargo holds had already left, and the space was completely empty. Everything was clear to see.

There were no other packages.

“Alright, let’s talk about it later.” Yin Xiaoman said, reaching for the travel bag.

At that moment, Erniu, with her sharp eyes, spotted something white sticking out from the zipper of the outer bag. She immediately pulled it open.

What came into everyone’s view next was a white coarse cloth bag.

Seeing the group of children with eager little eyes, Yin Xiaoman pressed her lips together, then helplessly took the cloth bag out on the spot and opened it.

Inside, there was only a small packet of hard candies and a red scarf.

Everyone: ……

The older ones managed to hide their emotions somewhat, but Erniu’s eyes turned red instantly.

She pouted, stomping her feet angrily on the spot. “Where’s the meat? Daddy promised to bring me lots and lots of meat! And the colored pencils—he promised to buy me a set with twelve different colors!”

The others looked at her, but no one wanted to respond.

“All right, all right, we’ll talk about it when we get back.”

Yin Xiaoman gently patted each child on the head to soothe them, then went to put the bag into her own basket, but Dami snatched it away in one quick move.

She didn’t fight him for it and simply led the few little ones back home.

The children were still young, and their father had indeed made firm promises before he left, patting his chest and vowing to bring them gifts. The greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment—so their unhappiness was understandable.

But what Yin Xiaoman was more concerned about was: where had the money gone?

After being husband and wife for these past few years, she believed she knew this man well. He wasn’t stingy at his core.

When he made a promise to the children, he always followed through.

If something like this had happened, there must have been a reason.

But no matter what, he had at least returned safe and sound.

As long as he was fine, nothing else really mattered, so her mood remained rather calm.

---

Knowing how rare it was for husband and wife to reunite, no one came over to disturb them that evening. Thus, the whole family had an unusually quiet dinner together.

“I’m full. Ah, food at home really is the best. I haven’t had a proper meal in days.” After drinking the last spoonful of vegetable soup from his bowl, Shen Qingyun let out a long, contented sigh.

Seeing that he had finally finished eating, Erniu could no longer hold back. She asked in a hopeful whisper: “Dad, do you still have other luggage you haven’t brought in yet? Where did you put it? Why don’t we go get it now?”

As she spoke, her big eyes blinked eagerly, full of longing.

Seeing the relaxed expression on Shen Qingyun’s face gradually replaced by discomfort, he said hesitantly: “Um, my daughter, Dad ran into something this time. I didn’t get the things you wanted. Next time, wait till next time, all right?”

Erniu, who had been strictly warned by her mother not to whine or cry when her father returned, finally broke down after all her hopes were crushed. She couldn’t hold back anymore, and tears began to fall.

“There won’t be a next time! I don’t believe you anymore!” she cried out, then rubbed her eyes hard with the back of her hand, jumped off the bench, and ran out.

Yin Xiaoman sighed, quickly grabbed a handful of fruit juice candies from the nearby cabinet and shoved them into Dami’s hand, then gave Da Bao a pat and motioned toward the door with a jerk of her chin.

The two boys exchanged a glance, then shot a look at Shen Qingyun. They sighed in unison and ran out together.

“These little rascals.” he said with a laugh, the way they pretended to be grown-ups genuinely amusing him.

Yin Xiaoman stood up and poured a cup of honey lemon water, pressing it into his hand.

Although it wasn’t yet the season for bees to produce honey in large quantities, Zhongshan Island was a place with flowers blooming year-round. So occasionally, Cui Yan was able to harvest a bit of honey.

Since the amount was too little to be officially collected, she would take it out and let the children enjoy a treat.

So Yin Xiaoman used that honey to preserve a large jar of lemon slices, and now and then she would scoop some out to make water for the family to drink.

After handing him the cup, she didn’t say another word, turning instead to start cleaning up the dishes.

Shen Qingyun held the cup without moving, just quietly watching her for a long time, until suddenly he chuckled.

“You’re not going to ask me where all the money went?”

Yin Xiaoman paused in the middle of wiping the table. She lifted her eyes and gave him a sidelong, teasing glare. “If I don’t ask, you won’t tell me?”

---

Because Li Chun had found the face cream recipe Master had given her in a box, and that girl had started trying to make it herself according to the formula.

And because the gift was meant for an immortal, Li Chun spared no cost or effort—much more than Yin Xiaoman had ever invested when making them herself. The results were even better than the original, surpassing the master in skill.

That wasn’t all. Over time, Li Chun seemed to discover genuine joy in making these skincare products, and she began experimenting with new kinds.

Now, Yin Xiaoman had plenty at hand—not just face cream and hand cream, but all sorts of floral waters, even scented powder ground from various flower seeds, and lip balm made from petals.

Knowing her man was coming home today, and feeling genuinely happy about it, she had dressed up carefully. She applied jasmine face cream, used powder made from the seeds of four o’clock flowers, and even dabbed on a faint layer of rose petal lip balm.

Though the color had faded a little during dinner, the light pink hue made her lips look even softer and more delicate.

Hearing the man’s words, she, for once, showed a hint of attitude. Her eyes widened, and the shifting of her gaze carried a trace of playful charm and flirtation.

Her usual composed and poised demeanor she always carried was gone—it was neither humble nor arrogant.

This was something Shen Qingyun had never seen before. His mind buzzed, and half his body went numb.

Without even thinking, he reached out and pulled his wife into his arms, settling her directly on his lap. The arms wrapped around her waist tightened, as if he wished he could press her into his own body.

“I will tell you—even if I can’t share it with anyone else, I still have to tell my wife.” Shen Qingyun said a he buried his head in the curve of her neck, inhaling the faint, unique fragrance of her body.

Though he answered her, his mind was clearly elsewhere, as his burning hands began to wander boldly across her body.

Caught off guard, Yin Xiaoman let out a small cry as he pulled her into a full embrace.

She tried to jump down, but at that moment, she felt the heat of his breath at her ear, followed by his slightly hoarse voice. Her body instantly went soft.

Seeing the color rise in his wife’s cheeks, slowly turning a deep blush, and even her breathing becoming a little rushed, Shen Qingyun’s gaze grew even darker and more intense.