Huang Erling quietly returned to her own room and quietly closed her door.
She was terrified of interrupting the intimate moments of the newlywed couple next door.
She thought to herself, no wonder Commander Qin likes Comrade Xiao Qiao so much.
You have to admit, this little girl from the south really is different. Her voice is soft, her smile is sweet, and most importantly, she is quite good at acting coquettishly.
She either calls him 'brother' or 'hubby'—what man could resist that?
Anyway, Huang Erling thought about it herself. If she were to call Zhao Jiannong 'hubby'...
Huang Erling broke out in goosebumps all over.
Just thinking about it was unbearable, let alone actually saying it out loud!
She might as well call him a blockhead.
Just then, Zhao Jiannong came out of the room and asked her, "What were you doing outside just now?"
They hadn't turned on the lights in their house yet; only a single kerosene lamp was lit in the living room.
Huang Erling took off her apron and said, "Nothing much, I went to cook."
Originally, she had planned to take the mattress and other things over once the neighbors returned, but now it seemed better to wait until tomorrow.
Zhao Jiannong muttered, "Is Commander Qin not back yet? Isn't it way past his off-work time?"
Huang Erling: "..."
Huang Erling rolled her eyes at him. "You're a grown man, why are you such a gossip!"
Zhao Jiannong: "..."
Wait, he didn't even say anything much, how was that gossiping?
...
Next door, Qin Yuanzheng had been holding back the entire car ride. As soon as they got home, he pinned Qiao Lanshu against the wall and started undressing her himself.
The house had heating, so the moment they opened the door, a wave of warm air rushed over them.
Qin Yuanzheng took off Qiao Lanshu's scarf and then removed her hat.
Then he took off her thick padded winter coat.
Qiao Lanshu's thick, jet-black hair was tied into two thick braids, which were still neat and tidy.
As Qin Yuanzheng pulled her padded coat off, she quickly grabbed his reaching hand and said, "Brother Zheng, I can take it off myself."
Saying this, she hurriedly took off her thick padded pants as well.
This was the inconvenient part about the North. It was too cold outside, so they had to wear a lot of layers.
Going out took over ten minutes just to put on clothes, and coming home meant taking them off piece by piece, which was quite a hassle.
Qiao Lanshu took off her padded clothes and pants, and placed her padded shoes neatly by the door. Crouching there and arranging the shoes, she said to Qin Yuanzheng, "Brother Zheng, let's get a shoe rack made. We can measure the dimensions and make a six-tier one to hold lots of shoes."
Qin Yuanzheng, undressing at the same time, stared at her with deep eyes and nodded. "Sure, I'll get it done tomorrow."
Qiao Lanshu arranged Qin Yuanzheng's shoes together with hers. Qin Yuanzheng wore a size 44, so his military boots were huge, making Qiao Lanshu's size 36 shoes look very petite in comparison.
She placed the two pairs of shoes neatly by the door and stared at them for a few seconds.
She loved seeing her things placed next to Qin Yuanzheng's. It gave her the feeling that everything was in pairs.
Being with the person you love was truly wonderful.
Qin Yuanzheng called out to her, "Wife, what are you looking at?"
Qiao Lanshu stood up and said, "Looking at our shoes. Once we have a shoe rack..."
She paused. Seeing Qin Yuanzheng stripped down to nothing but a pair of black shorts, her words caught in her throat, and she looked at him with intense shyness.
Qin Yuanzheng had even taken off his undershirt. He walked over and said to Qiao Lanshu, "We're husband and wife now, what are you still shy about? Didn't we agree on seven times a night? Since it's still early, let's do two rounds first."
Two rounds?
Qiao Lanshu was stunned. She said, "Brother Zheng, we haven't taken a bath yet."
Qin Yuanzheng had already slipped off her lightly padded jacket and started lifting her knit sweater, pulling it off in one swift motion to reveal her innermost thermal underwear.
Qin Yuanzheng didn't speak; he just held her and kissed her. Qiao Lanshu went weak all over from his kisses. Blushing, she said, "Brother Zheng, wait a minute..."
Qin Yuanzheng's hands slid in under the hem of her clothes.
His technique was like kneading dough.
He whispered in her ear, "Do you have to take a bath every single day?"
Qiao Lanshu felt her legs go a bit weak. She nodded and said softly, "Yes, I have to wash."
Qin Yuanzheng ignored her, holding her close while using both his hands and mouth.
He teased his little wife until she was almost in tears before scooping her up in his arms and saying, "Then let's wash together."
Qiao Lanshu: "..."
Qin Yuanzheng carried Qiao Lanshu into the kitchen. He was like sticky candy, insisting on staying glued to his little wife.
His voice was a bit hoarse as he set Qiao Lanshu down on a chair and said, "Wait here, I'll heat some water for you."
He filled a pot with water and set it to boil, then opened the window and brought in six cornmeal buns that had been left outside to freeze.
Then, he put millet and water into another small pot, washed and chopped a sweet potato, and tossed it in to cook a pot of sweet potato millet porridge.
The six cornmeal buns were frozen rock hard.
He placed the buns into the millet pot so that by the time the porridge was done, the buns would be ready to eat too.
Qin Yuanzheng worked very quickly. Qiao Lanshu just sat there watching him work. She wanted to help, but Qin Yuanzheng wouldn't let her.
She wanted to leave the room, but he wouldn't let her do that either, insisting she sit there and keep him company.
Qiao Lanshu was wearing only thin pants, and her upper body was stripped down to just a camisole.
Even at home, she rarely dressed this scantily, so she felt a little embarrassed.
As for Qin Yuanzheng, he would turn back to look at her from time to time. His fiery gaze made her feel very shy.
Qin Yuanzheng really wanted to pin her down and have a go right then and there. Such a fragrant, soft little wife, with a great figure and fair skin, wearing nothing but a white camisole—she was simply too tempting.
He really could hardly control himself.
But his wife had said they had to bathe beforehand, otherwise she would feel uncomfortable all over.
What else could he do?
He could only carry his spirited, aroused state around while first cooking the millet porridge, heating up the buns, and boiling the bathwater.
After that, he went to the bathroom and scrubbed clean a large water vat inside.
This large water vat had been sitting in the bathroom ever since they first moved in.
Because tap water wasn't very reliable during these times, every household had the habit of storing water.
This vat was meant for storing water, but now Qin Yuanzheng was using it for their bath.
In this kind of weather, even with indoor heating, taking a bath every day made it easy to catch a cold.
Normally, Qiao Lanshu didn't take a full bath and would just soak her feet, but if they were going to do the deed, a bath was absolutely necessary.
After cleaning the large water vat, Qin Yuanzheng poured the boiling water into it, mixed in cold water, and tested the temperature with his hand. Deeming it just about right, he said to Qiao Lanshu, "Alright, come take your bath."
Qiao Lanshu walked into the bathroom and took a look. The large vat was filled with hot water, and a towel and soap were laid out beside it.
