Qin Yuanzheng deliberately said his wound hurt, just to keep Qiao Lanshu from being angry.
When his little wife got angry, she was very hard to coax.
Looking at Qiao Lanshu, it seemed she didn't even want to talk to him.
How could that do?
He loosely covered his bandaged wound with one hand, frowned, leaned on Qiao Lanshu's slender shoulder, and whispered, "There's no need to call a doctor. It will just hurt for a while. Once I rest a bit, I'll be fine."
Saying that, he looked up and said to Qiao Lanshu, "Wifey, can you help me over to sit for a while? My arm is hurting more and more."
How could Qiao Lanshu still care about being angry?
She nervously supported Qin Yuanzheng, walking toward the hospital bed, saying as they walked, "Brother Zheng, are you okay? If it hurts terribly, let's call a doctor to take a look, alright?"
Call what doctor? When the wound was stitched, anesthesia was applied. The numbness hadn't even worn off yet, so it actually didn't hurt much at all.
If they called a doctor over, what if the doctor let the truth slip?
Qin Yuanzheng sat on the hospital bed and pulled Qiao Lanshu into his arms. Then, he buried his face in the crook of her neck, took a deep breath, and whispered, "No need to call the doctor. As long as you're by my side, it doesn't hurt anymore."
As he spoke, he lifted his head again, leaning close to Qiao Lanshu. "Wifey, give me a kiss?"
Qiao Lanshu: "..."
Qiao Lanshu only hesitated for a second before Qin Yuanzheng immediately groaned and frowned again. "Ah, it hurts. My arm hurts so much."
Qiao Lanshu hurriedly cupped his face and kissed him several times in a row.
Qin Yuanzheng was finally satisfied. Holding Qiao Lanshu, he lay down on the bed, closed his eyes, and said, "Alright wifey, sleep with me for a while. I haven't closed my eyes for a day and a night."
Last night, he had spent the entire night doing emergency rescue work at the mining area. His arm was injured at dawn. After a simple bandaging, he stayed to arrange the work at the mine. It was over an hour later before he finally had someone drive him to the hospital.
Furthermore, not going home last night meant Qin Yuanzheng had actually missed his little wife very much.
He kept thinking about Qiao Lanshu, worrying that she would be scared alone, and worrying that she would stay up all night waiting for him.
Staying up late was very bad for one's health, after all.
Now holding Qiao Lanshu, Qin Yuanzheng felt somewhat exhausted.
He lay on the bed, holding Qiao Lanshu. "Let's sleep for a bit together."
Qiao Lanshu originally wanted to talk with him a little longer.
But seeing how exhausted he looked, she held back her words. She hugged Qin Yuanzheng's uninjured arm and whispered, "Go to sleep, I'm right here with you."
The two lay hugging on the bed, and before long, Qin Yuanzheng fell fast asleep.
Qiao Lanshu looked at Qin Yuanzheng's face from up close.
There were also scrapes on his cheeks, but they were minor abrasions that didn't bleed.
He hadn't gone back for a night, and looking now, his stubble had already popped up again.
Just how exuberant was this man's energy?
Not shaving for just one night and it was already showing.
She reached out and gently touched it, finding it extremely prickly.
Her palm tingled from being pricked by the stubble.
Not knowing what she suddenly thought of, her face flushed slightly.
She leaned into Qin Yuanzheng's embrace and simply stared at him for a while.
It wasn't long before she fell asleep too.
After all, last night, she had waited up very late for Qin Yuanzheng to return.
She couldn't remember the exact time herself, but it was very late, and she eventually drifted off without realizing when.
Now lying together with Qin Yuanzheng, smelling his familiar scent, she quickly fell asleep as well.
...
When Commander Li brought people over, he saw the two guards at Qin Yuanzheng's door only saluting him but not opening the door for him.
Commander Li stood at the door and asked, "Who is inside?"
The guard saluted him and then said, "Reporting to the Chief, Regiment Commander Qin's family member has arrived and is still inside."
Commander Li: "..."
Commander Li stroked his chin and smiled, saying, "It seems Commander Qin married a good wife who knows how to care for him."
Qin Yuanzheng had suffered for so many years, and finally married a sweet little wife who knew how to care for him.
It was quite nice.
In his heart, Commander Li felt somewhat gratified.
He said to the guards beside him, "Put the apples and pears down, let's go."
Having heard about Qin Yuanzheng's injury, Commander Li was originally quite worried.
Qin Yuanzheng was, after all, someone he valued highly. He had followed him for over a decade. If anything bad really happened to him, he would feel terrible too.
Now that he knew Qin Yuanzheng was fine, he decided not to disturb the young couple. He left the fruits they brought and left with his men.
Qin Yuanzheng and Qiao Lanshu slept for two hours.
After waking up, Qin Yuanzheng went to find the doctor, saying he wanted to be discharged. He didn't want to stay in the hospital anymore.
He wanted to go home with his little wife and sleep on their heated brick bed.
The doctor checked his wound and could only tell him, "Regiment Commander Qin, if the wound tears open, you must come to the hospital immediately. Don't endure it by yourself; this kind of wound won't heal easily if you just bear it. It's too deep."
Qin Yuanzheng nodded. "Alright, I understand."
Only then did the doctor let him go. Before he left, the doctor reminded him again, "Regiment Commander Qin, your arm needs a dressing change every two days. Remember to come to the hospital for it."
Such wounds required dressing changes every two or three days at the beginning, and the stitches could only be removed after more than half a month.
Qin Yuanzheng nodded in agreement to all of it, and then took Qiao Lanshu out of the hospital.
Although Qin Yuanzheng was injured, the matters at the mining construction site still needed him to handle them.
As the regiment commander, the burden on his shoulders was heavy, and his responsibilities were great.
This time, the explosives were buried in the wrong location, causing the mine tunnel to collapse. This was a major blunder.
The military region had already brought back several people in charge at the mine, along with the workers, for investigation and interrogation.
Qiao Lanshu and Qin Yuanzheng got into the car. The guard driving asked, "Commander, are we returning to the mining area?"
Qin Yuanzheng nodded. "Yes."
The guard then drove the car in the direction of the mining area.
Qiao Lanshu asked him in a low voice, "You're already injured, why can't we just go straight home? Do you still have to go to work at the mine?"
Qin Yuanzheng whispered, "There's still a little matter left to handle. Once it's taken care of, I'll go home with you."
Qiao Lanshu sat there feeling a bit unhappy.
Thinking she was still angry, Qin Yuanzheng coaxed her in a low voice, "I'll try to be as quick as possible. You can sit in the office for a while, and then we'll go home together, how about that?"
Qiao Lanshu nodded.
She had never been to the mining area before; this would be her first time.
On the way, hesitating in her heart, she still said to Qin Yuanzheng, "Brother Zheng, when I married you, I had a nightmare."
During the time Qin Yuanzheng and Qiao Lanshu had just gotten married, Qiao Lanshu seemed to have nightmares frequently.
Qin Yuanzheng didn't know what Qiao Lanshu was afraid of, but he knew she definitely lacked a sense of security.
Therefore, he had always tried his best to spend as much time with her as possible, even though every time he was with her, he couldn't help but do those intimate things with her.
Thinking of this, Qin Yuanzheng felt a bit guilty.
He wrapped his uninjured arm around Qiao Lanshu and asked her in a low voice, "What kind of nightmare did you have? Tell me about it. Did you dream about someone following you and locking you in a cave dwelling again?"
Qiao Lanshu shook her head. Looking at Qin Yuanzheng with a serious expression, she whispered, "I dreamed that when you went out on a mission, you were injured by explosives. You were covered in blood and mangled flesh, and you almost died."
She continued softly, "So when I heard you were injured, I was truly terrified."
Qin Yuanzheng patted her back gently and murmured, "There, there. I'm fine now, aren't I?"
He felt quite happy that his little wife cared about him so much.
However, seeing her so scared made his heart ache.
All he could do was hold her close and comfort her.
Qiao Lanshu told him, "If you go out on missions in the future, you must be extra careful. Watch out for explosives, and absolutely do not get hurt again, understand?"
Qin Yuanzheng nodded. "I know. Don't worry."
Afraid he wouldn't take it to heart, Qiao Lanshu warned him, "Let me tell you, if something happens to you, I'll remarry and live my life with another man."
Those words were certainly effective. Qin Yuanzheng's arm around her tightened slightly, and his face darkened. He said, "You actually want to remarry another man?"
When Qin Yuanzheng had a dark expression and furrowed brows, his aura was quite intimidating.
The guard driving in the front seat sat up a bit straighter, looking ahead with a serious face, terrified of being caught in the crossfire of Qin Yuanzheng's anger.
Qiao Lanshu, however, wasn't afraid of him at all. She nodded and said, "That's right. If something happens to you, I'll definitely remarry. Then, you won't have a wife anymore."
Qin Yuanzheng was speechless.
He hugged her tightly and whispered fiercely, "In your dreams. You are my wife, and don't even think about remarrying in this lifetime."
Look at how domineering and forceful Qin Yuanzheng was now.
What he didn't know was that in his previous life, just days before he died, he had been running around trying to find a match for his little wife.
He had even called back his nemesis, Guan Wenjun, wanting to marry Qiao Lanshu off to Guan Wenjun.
If she told him all this now, he would probably think she had gone mad.
...
When the two arrived at the mining site, Qin Yuanzheng took Qiao Lanshu to the military office, where Staff Officer Lin surprisingly happened to be as well.
However, he had already changed his clothes and taken a shower. He looked clean and was sitting in the office munching on a steamed bun.
Seeing Qin Yuanzheng and Qiao Lanshu enter, he asked in surprise, "Commander, why are you back again? Didn't Commander Li tell you to go home and rest for a couple of days?"
Under Qin Yuanzheng's command, there were two deputy regimental commanders, five or six battalion and deputy battalion commanders combined, and further down, company commanders and platoon leaders.
Although he had plenty of manpower, when a real incident occurred, Qin Yuanzheng couldn't just wash his hands of it.
He asked Lin Yucheng, "How are things over at the mine?"
Lin Yucheng immediately stuffed the rest of the steamed bun into his mouth and walked over with a stack of documents. "The people have all been apprehended. Here are their files, which we just finished compiling. Take a look."
Qin Yuanzheng pulled Qiao Lanshu over to sit in his chair and placed his own insulated water bottle in front of her before finally taking the documents to review.
Lin Yucheng was absolutely amazed.
Qin Yuanzheng had injured an arm, yet with only one good hand left, he was still waiting on his wife.
The last time Commander Li visited, Qin Yuanzheng hadn't even poured him a glass of water.
A short while later, Qin Yuanzheng stood up, threw on his overcoat, and said to Qiao Lanshu, "Wife, sit here for a bit. Wait for me to finish handling this matter, and then we'll go home together."
Qiao Lanshu nodded and watched as Qin Yuanzheng and Lin Yucheng walked out the door.
Qin Yuanzheng went to interrogate the suspects. It didn't take much time before the interrogation was over. The two people in charge were sentenced to reform through labor. A few workers had been implicated because the supervisors had misread the data, resulting in explosives being planted in the wrong locations.
Fortunately, it hadn't resulted in any fatalities; otherwise, it wouldn't have been as simple as just a labor camp sentence.
After Qin Yuanzheng finished dealing with the matter, he finally took Qiao Lanshu home.
He needed to rest at home for a few days to recover from his injuries.
Qiao Lanshu also took time off from work, saying she wanted to take care of him, but in reality, Qin Yuanzheng didn't let her do a single chore.
...
Meanwhile, Chu Liangjun arrived at the main gate of the food factory once again. In his hand, he carried a red gift box containing a mechanical watch he had just bought.
This watch had cost him two hundred yuan.
He didn't actually have that much money himself; he had secretly taken the cash from his second cousin's house.
To him, stealing a little money to use wasn't a big deal.
In his mind, he reasoned that he would definitely pay it back, so he was merely borrowing it in advance.
Therefore, he felt no burden of guilt.
After taking the money, he immediately went to the department store and bought a watch.
Following that, he brought the watch to the food factory gate, intending to wait for Qiao Lanshu to finish work so he could give it to her.
However, unfortunately, Qiao Lanshu was not at work today.
Qiao Lanshu had taken three days off and spent those three days at home taking care of Qin Yuanzheng.
Chu Liangjun came for three consecutive days but never managed to catch Qiao Lanshu.
He knew the factory gatekeeper disliked him, so he asked the factory employees instead. He even tagged along when the supply and marketing cooperative's convoy came to the warehouse to pick up goods.
But he still didn't see Qiao Lanshu. The warehouse keeper covering her shift told Chu Liangjun that Qiao Lanshu had taken a three-day leave.
Chu Liangjun had no choice but to wait until the fourth day to stake out the food factory gate again.
On this day, Qiao Lanshu got off work early, intending to head home soon to cook for Qin Yuanzheng.
After all, with Qin Yuanzheng's arm injured, she couldn't let him do the chores anymore.
As soon as she walked out, she saw Chu Liangjun waiting at the factory gate.
Qiao Lanshu was speechless.
She felt a bit exasperated.
She had clearly left early today.
How could Chu Liangjun be here so early? Seeing the item he was carrying in his hand, something stirred in Qiao Lanshu's mind.
She shot him a glance and then walked toward the street outside the factory.
Chu Liangjun immediately chased after her, carrying the box.
He caught up to her side and called out, "I know your name now. You're Qiao Lanshu, right?"
Qiao Lanshu gave him a look of disgust and said, "Stay away from me. I don't want to talk to you."
Chu Liangjun's face instantly darkened. In his dreams, Qiao Lanshu treated him the exact same way. No matter what he did or said, she refused to speak to him or pay him any attention.
What exactly was so wrong with him?
He felt somewhat angry, yet he was still perfectly willing to try and win her favor.
He said, "Qiao Lanshu, I bought you a watch. Take a look. Do you like it?"
