After Qin Yuanzheng left, Qiao Lanshu lay limp on the kang, resting for quite a while.
She could hear the voices of Zhong Mei and An'an coming from outside the house, along with the sound of Niuwa chasing the dog around the yard.
She also heard Sister Shi running into the vegetable garden, shouting at Niuwa for trampling her seedlings again.
Qiao Lanshu picked up the watch on the bedside table and saw that it was already ten o'clock in the morning.
It was already this late!
Qiao Lanshu reached back and rubbed her lower back, feeling soreness in her waist and legs, utterly exhausted.
It was all Qin Yuanzheng's fault. He really was... really...
Qiao Lanshu buried her face in the quilt, closed her eyes for a moment longer, then got up to change her clothes.
By the time Qiao Lanshu had dressed, washed up, and stepped into the yard, Niuwa, who had been arguing with Sister Shi just moments before, immediately rushed over at the sight of her. He hugged Qiao Lanshu's thigh and started wailing loudly. The puppy that Qin Yuanzheng had brought back from the mining site followed Niuwa, barking furiously.
Zhong Mei and Sister Shi were both stunned.
That little rascal—he was turning the tables and blaming others!
Qiao Lanshu nearly stumbled when Niuwa, strong as a little calf, threw himself at her.
She quickly crouched down, hugging Niuwa, and asked, "What's wrong? What's wrong? Has my Niuwa been wronged?"
Niuwa sobbed loudly while showing Qiao Lanshu his bright red bottom.
Qiao Lanshu held back a smile, rubbed it gently for him, then looked up at Sister Shi.
Sister Shi, while tidying her seedlings in the garden, said angrily, "This little brat—I asked him to help water the vegetables this morning, but instead, he started playing with the water. He soaked his own clothes, and on top of that, he flooded my seedlings. Look, this whole patch has turned into a puddle."
What made it even more infuriating was that Niuwa, knowing wet clothes could make him catch a cold, had stripped them off and tossed them into the vegetable garden, covering them in dirt.
Zhong Mei, holding An'an in the corridor, had actually tried to tell Niuwa to stop when she saw him playing water fights with the dog, but Niuwa didn't react at all.
She couldn't tell if he genuinely hadn't heard her or was intentionally ignoring her.
So Zhong Mei had called Sister Shi over.
Then Sister Shi had grabbed Niuwa and slapped him a few times on the bottom.
Strictly speaking, Sister Shi was the housekeeper. Whether the children in the family were adopted or biological, she wasn't supposed to hit them.
But this time, she truly couldn't hold back.
So after explaining, she apologized to Qiao Lanshu. "Xiao Qiao, I'm really sorry. I just couldn't help it. That boy Niuwa is too mischievous. Look what he's done to my garden!"
If it were her own child, Sister Shi would have used a broomstick. A few slaps would have been the least of it.
Qiao Lanshu sighed and looked at Niuwa. He was staring back at her with pitiful eyes, waiting for her to scold Sister Shi.
Qiao Lanshu shot him a glare and said to Sister Shi, "Kids are naughty; it's right to discipline them. If Niuwa acts up again, sister, just spank him as you see fit! When Director Han gets back, I'll explain it to him."
Niuwa: "!!!"
Niuwa's eyes went wide instantly, as if the sky had fallen.
He started wailing again, clinging to Qiao Lanshu and playing the sympathy card. "Mommy, you don't love me anymore. Mommy, you can't let other people hit me, because hitting hurts a lot, and if it hurts a lot, I'll be sad, and if I'm sad, I won't be happy..."
Everyone: "..."
Zhong Mei couldn’t help but laugh when she heard this: "A four-year-old boy who can express himself so well—he’s definitely got the makings of a good student."
Zhong Mei had taken care of several younger siblings before, and none of them had been able to talk this much at the age of four.
Niuwa really knew how to play on people’s sympathy. He’d figured out that if he cried and then acted pitiful with a few well-chosen words, Qiao Lanshu would inevitably scold him.
The last time he refused to leave with Han Wenlin, he’d used the same trick.
It worked every single time.
Sure enough, Qiao Lanshu picked him up and said, "Alright, stop crying. Go apologize to Sister Shi, then take a bath and change your clothes. Go on."
And so Niuwa stopped crying, happily went to apologize to Sister Shi, picked up his clothes—which were covered in mud—put them in the basin, and took them under the tap to wash them himself.
Zhong Mei carried An’an over and said to Qiao Lanshu, "Niuwa is a decent kid. He’s a bit mischievous, but I think he’s actually quite sensible. He probably understands everything in his own way. He’s a clever child."
Qiao Lanshu watched An’an playing with the rocking horse and said softly, "I hope An’an will be well-behaved when he grows up. I don’t want him causing trouble every other day."
If Niuwa caused trouble, it could be blamed on Han Wenlin. But if An’an started getting into trouble, it would be up to her and Qin Yuanzheng to handle it.
Qiao Lanshu picked An’an up, kissed him several times, then suddenly remembered something and looked at Zhong Mei. "Didn’t you say you were supposed to be spending these two days dating Director Guan and building your feelings? Why are you here today? You’ll be back at work tomorrow, right? You only had today left—why didn’t you seize the chance?"
At this, Zhong Mei’s face flushed slightly.
She looked a little embarrassed, lowered her voice, and said, "I met him yesterday. I made him dumplings, and we had lunch together. And then..."
She paused here, looking a bit awkward.
Qiao Lanshu led Zhong Mei into the house. Once they were seated inside, Zhong Mei lowered her voice and whispered in Qiao Lanshu’s ear, telling her everything that had happened the day before.
After hearing it all, Qiao Lanshu’s expression was quite colorful.
She looked at Zhong Mei, who looked back at her, equally embarrassed.
Qiao Lanshu couldn’t help but laugh. She said in a low voice, "From what you’re saying, I think Director Guan is already hooked. But A-Mei, you’ve got to remember—with men, you can’t fill them up too quickly..."
Just then, she thought of Qin Yuanzheng...
Forget it. Men could never be filled up.
A bit embarrassed, she rephrased it differently: "What I mean is, don’t satisfy them too soon. At least wait until you get the marriage certificate before doing that kind of thing... You know what I’m saying, right?"
In truth, Zhong Mei had originally planned that if Guan Wenjun wasn’t interested in her, she would use some tricks—like getting him drunk and sleeping with him.
But yesterday, she suddenly changed her mind.
She felt that Guan Wenjun was different with her, and if he truly liked her, she definitely wanted to treasure that kind of feeling.
She’d take it slow with him, go out properly for a while, then get married and live a steady life together afterward.
Precisely because she wanted to live a good life with him, to spend decades together, she couldn’t rush into things and just steam the rice before it was fully cooked.
She listened to Qiao Lanshu’s words, nodded, and said, “That’s what I think now too. So, he’ll probably come looking for me today. I want to let him cool off for a while and not see him until tomorrow.”
When Qiao Lanshu heard this, she smiled again.
She knew that Zhong Mei had always been very resourceful and good at reading people, and she was much more thoughtful and clever in handling matters than she was.
So, she had nothing more to remind Zhong Mei about and instead teased her, saying, “Well then, it looks like I should start preparing your wedding gifts now?”
Zhong Mei quickly stopped her, saying, “Please don’t. The little square table and chair you bought me before—you already said they were an early wedding gift. When I get married, you absolutely must not give me anything else.”
Her rent for the past six months had been paid by Qiao Lanshu, and she still hadn’t repaid her.
She owed Qiao Lanshu too much already and couldn’t trouble her any further.
Zhong Mei stayed with Qiao Lanshu in the room, sharing some heartfelt words. After lunch, she followed Qiao Lanshu to the supply cooperative to buy things.
Around four o’clock in the afternoon, she said goodbye to Qiao Lanshu and carried her vegetable basket home.
Qiao Lanshu saw her off at the alley entrance before returning home herself.
The next day, work and school would resume as usual.
Qiao Lanshu had previously enrolled Niuwa in a kindergarten run by the military, where all the children were from military families.
At first, Niuwa hadn’t wanted to go. To coax him into it, Qiao Lanshu not only made him a beautiful new outfit but also sewed him a small backpack. The backpack was made of yellow and blue fabric, with very nice colors.
Moreover, Sister Shi had embroidered a chubby little white cow on the backpack and even stitched his full name, “Han Ye,” onto it.
When Niuwa saw the backpack, he joyfully put it on and refused to take it off even when sleeping. Before bed, he kept murmuring about wanting to go to school.
When Qin Yuanzheng returned home that evening and learned that Niuwa was starting kindergarten the next day, he said to Qiao Lanshu, “I pass by the kindergarten on my way to work. From now on, I’ll take him there. What time do they get out in the afternoon?”
Qiao Lanshu was sitting on a chair in front of her desk. On one side of the desk, five or six textbooks were neatly stacked, and beside them sat a ceramic pen holder with a few pens.
On the other side lay a sewing basket. She was currently holding one of Qin Yuanzheng’s undershirts, mending it.
Although Qin Yuanzheng was not short of money, he was very frugal in daily life.
Several of his army-green undershirts had holes in them, but he still kept wearing them.
The same went for his socks. Qiao Lanshu had noticed that some of his socks also had holes today, and he hadn’t even mentioned it.
So she had gone through his clothes and taken out all the torn ones to patch up.
When Qin Yuanzheng saw this, he came over and said, “Aren’t you not good at sewing? Leave the clothes for Sister Shi to mend.”
Qiao Lanshu was sewing his undershirt under the lamp, smiling as she said, “I learned a bit from Sister Ling before, and later from Sister Shi. Now I can patch up your clothes just fine.”
But she still couldn’t make clothes or quilts.
Those were really too difficult. Even the backpack she had made for Niuwa today was the simplest kind: she sewed the fabric into a circle, then stitched a drawstring around the edge, so pulling the string turned it into a pouch.
That was the easiest to make and could hold a lot of things. Niuwa really liked it.
She had even learned simple mending, since it was relatively much easier.
Qin Yuanzheng walked over to look at the clothes she was stitching. Sure enough, the stitches were very fine, using thread of the same color. If one didn't look closely, it was hard to notice.
He immediately planted a kiss on Qiao Lanshu's cheek and said in a low voice, "My wife is really amazing. The clothes she mends are so beautiful. I can guarantee no one can sew better than you."
Qiao Lanshu smiled at his praise. She looked up at Qin Yuanzheng and said with a laugh, "Brigade Commander Qin, are you speaking against your conscience now?"
Qin Yuanzheng replied seriously, "Not at all. I always tell the truth. My wife is truly impressive."
With that, he stepped forward, reached out, grabbed Qiao Lanshu by the waist, lifted her up, and sat down on a chair, placing her on his lap. Holding her close, he took a deep breath and said, "Alright, keep sewing, my capable little wife."
Qiao Lanshu: "..."
She glanced at the time; it was already past eight in the evening. Qin Yuanzheng must have been quite tired today, so they should rest early.
Thinking this, she stayed seated on his lap and said, "Almost done. When I finish this piece, we'll go to sleep."
Qin Yuanzheng adjusted her sitting position, making her sit facing away from him, straddling his lap. His hands then began to wander.
One arm wrapped around her waist, rubbing her belly.
The other hand moved upward...
Qiao Lanshu, flustered by his antics, quickly put away her needle and thread, folded the clothes, and placed them on the table. She turned to look at him. "Alright, stop fooling around. Let's talk about something serious."
Qin Yuanzheng didn't stop his movements. He kissed her ear a few times and asked in a low voice, "What serious matter?"
Then he added, "By the way, the pants I'm wearing now are also torn. You can mend them for me tomorrow."
He had just finished his bath and, as soon as he entered the room and closed the door, he had taken off his clothes.
Now he was only wearing a tight black pair of shorts.
As he said this, he slightly arched his hips, toward Qiao Lanshu.
Qiao Lanshu blushed and lightly slapped him there, saying, "You're being naughty again."
Qin Yuanzheng grunted, as if in punishment, and squeezed her with both hands.
Qiao Lanshu quickly arched her back to avoid it, pleading, "Ah, ah, don't!"
Qin Yuanzheng bit her earlobe gently and asked in a low voice, "Will you still hit me?"
Qiao Lanshu hurriedly replied, "I won't. I definitely won't in the future."
In truth, this wasn't the first time she had done it. Sometimes she deliberately teased Qin Yuanzheng; other times she truly found him too rough in that regard and, scared by his intensity, would lightly slap him to vent her frustration.
She never used much force, so it probably didn't hurt much.
Qin Yuanzheng was just finding excuses to tease her.
While sliding her pant leg down from her ankle, he asked, "What serious matter?"
Qiao Lanshu, completely limp in his arms, said in a soft voice, "It's about Niuwa going to kindergarten. The kindergarten picks up kids at five every afternoon. You definitely won't make it in time, so I'll go pick him up."
Qin Yuanzheng nodded, focusing on his own actions, without further comment.
Actually, this kind of kindergarten could watch the kids until late, no problem.
After all, it was a kindergarten run by the military, so it could be trusted. Besides, many officer families didn’t necessarily have time to pick up their children—they usually sent an orderly to do it.
Qin Yuanzheng said, “If you don’t want to go, I’ll have the orderly do it.”
Qiao Lanshu shook her head. “It’s fine. I have nothing to do anyway…”
Besides, it would be nice to get out and walk a bit every day.
After a moment, Qiao Lanshu suddenly lowered her voice and said, “Your, your hands are even rougher!”
Qin Yuanzheng murmured in a low voice, “We’ve been training a lot recently, pressing down on the gun…”
The couple didn’t say much more. Qin Yuanzheng scooped Qiao Lanshu up in his arms and strode toward the heated brick bed.
Qiao Lanshu was still thinking about Niuwa. “I hope he doesn’t get into fights at kindergarten. I hope he behaves.”
Qin Yuanzheng said nothing—he was busy having his late-night snack.
