Chapter 46 To make his wife smile, the regimental commander traveled a thousand miles to obtain a guqin!

"Guqin?"

Qin Lie repeated the two words, his mind blank.

He was a rough, uncultured guy who spent all his time training on the field, so his understanding of such refined things was practically zero.

"What's that? Is it like a guitar?" Qin Lie asked cautiously.

Jiang Wu was taken aback by his question, then burst out laughing.

She leaned against Qin Lie's strong chest, laughing heartily.

"Pretty much. It's... a musical instrument that's much, much older than the guitar."

Seeing his wife's happy smile, Qin Lie felt a strange sense of relief, even though he thought his question was silly.

As long as she's happy.

"Okay! A guqin, right? I'll get you one!"

Qin Lie agreed immediately, his tone filled with unwavering confidence.

Although he didn't even know what a guqin looked like.

But that doesn't stop him from making grand pronouncements.

If he can't fulfill his wife's request for something the first time she asks him for it, what kind of man is he?

The next day, Qin Lie got up very early.

He didn't go to the training ground, but went straight to the regimental headquarters' communications room.

He needs to make a phone call.

In those days, private telephones were a rarity. Long-distance calls required transfer through the military's switchboard, which was cumbersome and expensive.

Qin Lie couldn't care less about any of that.

He picked up the heavy black microphone and had the communications officer connect him to his former boss, who was far away in Beijing.

"Hello? Is this Uncle Zhou? This is Qin Lie!"

A strong, resonant voice came from the other end of the phone.

"Qin Lie? You brat, the war's over, and you haven't even come back to the capital to see this old man! What's wrong? You're a regimental commander in the South China Sea, having forgotten all about home?"

"How could that be, Uncle Zhou! I've just been busy!" Qin Lie chuckled, his tone carrying a hint of familiarity typical of a junior.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Qin Lie got straight to the point.

"Uncle Zhou, I need your help."

"Speak! As long as it's not about me promoting you, anything else is negotiable!"

"No, no," Qin Lie quickly said, "I wanted to ask you if you know... someone who can play the 'guqin'?"

There was silence on the other end of the phone.

After a full ten seconds, Commander Zhou asked in an extremely strange tone:

"Qin Lie, say it again, what are you going to do?"

"The guqin!" Qin Lie repeated confidently.

"..."

There was another long silence on the other end of the phone.

Qin Lie could imagine that his old boss must be looking like he'd seen a ghost.

"Qin Lie..." Commander Zhou's voice was full of confusion, "Did something happen to you in the South China Sea? What would a man who carries a gun and fights need that thing for? That kind of thing is not for roughnecks like us!"

"It's not me who wants it, it's my wife!" Qin Lie quickly explained, "She wants to perform at our troupe's Mid-Autumn Festival gala."

"Your wife?"

Commander Zhou's gossip-loving spirit was instantly ignited.

"Oh—I remember now! I heard you married a country girl? What? Your wife can play that instrument?"

"Yes! My wife is amazing!"

Whenever Jiang Wu was mentioned, Qin Lie straightened his back, and the pride in his voice could be heard even through the telephone line.

"Don't worry about whether my wife can do it or not, Uncle Zhou, just tell me, can you get it for me? It has to be done quickly! It must be before the Mid-Autumn Festival!"

Commander Zhou clicked his tongue on the other end of the line.

"The guqin... this thing is not easy to get. What era are we living in now? Who still plays that? It's all feudal dross! Music stores on the market don't sell it at all."

Qin Lie's heart sank.

"Then... do those arts and culture groups, like the performing arts troupes in Beijing, have them?"

"A performing arts troupe? They all play the violin, the piano, and Western music now! Who still bothers with that old relic?"

Commander Zhou's words were like a bucket of cold water, completely extinguishing any remaining hope in Qin Lie's heart.

“However…” Commander Zhou changed the subject.

Qin Lie's heart jumped again.

"I do know an old guy who used to be a remnant of the previous dynasty. After his ideological reform, he became an advisor in our Ministry of Culture. It seems he keeps a few of those things at home, treating them like treasures. That old guy, though, has a terrible temper and is very stubborn. He doesn't even talk to ordinary people."

"Uncle Zhou! Give me his address! I'll go and beg him myself!" Qin Lie said as if he had grasped at a straw.

"You? You flew all the way back from the South China Sea to beg him? By the time you get back, it'll be too late!"

Commander Zhou said irritably on the other end of the line.

"How about this, I'll risk my reputation and ask around for you. I can't guarantee it will work."

"Thank you, Uncle Zhou! Thank you so much!" Qin Lie was so excited he almost jumped up. "After this is done, I'll send you two boxes of the best dried seafood we have here!"

"Get lost! Who cares about your stuff!"

Commander Zhou laughed and scolded before hanging up the phone.

Even after hanging up the phone, Qin Lie's heart was still pounding with anxiety.

He was somewhat absent-minded all morning.

During an inspection of the training ground, a soldier made a mistake and missed the target, but the officer forgot to fire.

My mind is filled with the words "guqin".

What if... we can't get it from Uncle Zhou?

He promised his wife.

He couldn't let her down.

Qin Lie spent the entire day in agony.

In the afternoon, he was sitting in his office worrying when the phone on his desk suddenly rang.

Qin Lie jolted awake and grabbed the phone.

"Hello?!"

"You brat, it's me!" Commander Zhou's slightly tired, yet smug voice came through the phone.

"Uncle Zhou! How is it?" Qin Lie's heart jumped into his throat.

"What else can we do? If your Uncle Zhou personally takes charge, is there anything we can't accomplish?"

Commander Zhou spoke slowly on the other end of the line.

"That old fellow initially refused no matter what. He said his zither was a family heirloom, and he wouldn't lend it out, much less sell it!"

"I drank half a jin of Erguotou with him, and we talked about all the old stories from our time on the battlefield. In the end, he praised you from head to toe, saying you were a combat hero and your wife was a model military family member. He said that we came to him to enrich the cultural life of the troops."

"That old guy was completely fooled by me, and finally he relented."

"He said he has a spare practice piano, not some expensive antique, but it has a pretty good tone. You can... lend it to your wife!"

"real?!"

Qin Lie slammed his fist on the table in excitement, causing the water in his teacup to spill out.

“Of course it’s true!” Commander Zhou laughed on the other end of the line. “However, that old guy has a condition.”

"What are your conditions? Please tell me!"

"He said the zither could be borrowed. However, he wanted to hear your wife play. He wanted your wife to record her performance and send it to him. If she didn't play well and tarnished his zither, he... he would take the zither back and hold me accountable!"

recording?

In those days, tape recorders were a rare commodity.

However, this was no challenge for Qin Lie.

Their unit's broadcasting station had recording equipment!

"No problem! Uncle Zhou, don't worry! My wife plays the best music in the world!" Qin Lie patted his chest and assured him.

"Alright, stop bragging. I'll arrange for someone to airlift the zither to you right away using the fastest military aircraft. It should arrive on your island the day after tomorrow. You owe me a big favor, kid, remember that!"

"I'll remember, I'll remember! You're my uncle!"

After hanging up the phone, Qin Lie felt his blood boiling.

He rushed out of the office, without even taking a bodyguard, and ran all the way back to the family compound.

He just wanted to tell his wife the good news right now!

He wanted her to know that there was nothing her man wouldn't do for her!

However, the atmosphere in the arts rehearsal room was somewhat strange.

The news that Jiang Wu is going to switch programs has already spread.

Wen Xue heard from somewhere that Jiang Wu was going to play the guqin, and she thought it was the biggest joke in the world.

She stood with her arms crossed among a group of female soldiers, and said in a sarcastic tone:

"Oh, not dancing anymore? Switching to playing the zither? The guqin, no less?"

"Who does she think she is? A lady from a noble family in ancient times?"

"Let me tell you, that thing is harder to learn than ballet! Without ten or eight years of practice, the sound it makes is as awful as sawing wood!"

A female soldier who was close to her chimed in:

"Exactly! Sister Xue, could it be that she can't dance at all and just guessed that day, and was afraid of being exposed on stage, so she made up an excuse to change the program?"

"I think it's probably true!" Wen Xue sneered. "She wants a guqin? She probably hasn't even seen what a guqin looks like. Where are we going to get one of those things for her on this island? I think she's just making an impossible request so that she can back out when she can't get the guqin."

"Then she can say that it's not that she doesn't want to perform, but that the army is incompetent and can't even provide a musical instrument. She can completely shirk responsibility!"

Wenxue's words were very detailed and convincing.

Some of the female soldiers who had initially admired Jiang Wu began to waver after hearing these words.

Yes, I've never even heard of the guqin, how could I possibly get my hands on one?

Could it be... that Jiang Wu is really just making excuses?

Zhou Nianci was also present and was furious to hear Wen Xue stirring things up.

"Comrade Wenxue! You can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want! Xiaowu isn't that kind of person!"

"Aunt Wang, I'm not making this up. This is just a reasonable analysis," Wen Xue said with a forced smile. "If you don't believe me, just wait and see. I bet Jiang Wu won't even show up at the Mid-Autumn Festival Gala!"

Just then, the door to the rehearsal room was suddenly pushed open from the outside with a "bang".

Qin Lie, covered in sweat, appeared at the door.

He was breathing heavily, his eyes darting rapidly through the crowd.

The moment he saw Jiang Wu, a bright, childlike, triumphant smile spread across his sweat-drenched face.

He ignored everyone's strange looks, walked straight up to Jiang Wu, and spoke in a loud, proud voice.

"daughter in law!"

"I got you a zither!"