Chapter 132

As the weather gets colder, Gu Xi rarely goes out unless absolutely necessary.

Although her health has improved and her strength has returned, her fear of the cold hasn't changed much. In fact, she prefers the hot summer to the cold winter.

At least in the hot summer, there are alternatives to cooling down. These days, there are so few things to keep warm in the winter, it's really hard to get through.

When the weather is cold, Gu Xi likes to huddle around the fire, brew a pot of jujube tea, and roast some sweet potatoes and fruits, thus passing the day.

Fearing that she would get too much internal heat from eating too much roasted food, Xu Yuansheng took out the dried chrysanthemums he had specially dried in the summer and would brew her a pot of chrysanthemum tea from time to time to cool her down.

As the twelfth lunar month arrived, there was a heavy snowfall almost every few days, and a light snowfall every day.

Fortunately, although the snowfall was heavy, it didn't last long and didn't cause a snow disaster.

After the snow stops, people come out with shovels and other tools to clear the snow blocking their doorways, and children excitedly run out to have snowball fights and build snowmen. If the snow is too heavy, schools will close for the holidays so that children can stay home and avoid getting sick from the cold.

Because of the cold weather, the schools near the military base have given the children an early winter break.

Since they didn't have to go to school, Xu Huaisheng and Gu Tuantuan stayed at home, with Gu Xi taking over their studies.

In Gu Xi's words, even if the holiday is given early, we can't fall behind in our studies; we still have to study hard and make progress every day.

When Xiang Zhao and Xiang Yun came over to deliver things to them, Gu Xi took the opportunity to bring them over to study together.

What are students supposed to do if they don't study? And in this weather, we can't go outside, so we might as well stay home and study.

Xiang Changchuan was busy with work and often away from home. He was worried about leaving the two children alone at home. Gu Xi felt that it didn't matter whether she was herding one cow or several cows. With someone taking care of them, Xiang Changchuan could rest assured.

Xu Yuansheng saw several children being forced to study by her sister, but she was too embarrassed to tell them that they might be affected by her.

To motivate her to study, her sister gathered several children together to study with her. Having someone with her made her more engaged and less bored.

Fortunately, they only studied during the winter; their sister didn't catch them studying at other times. As long as they could get through this winter, everything would be fine.

It was probably because she was too idle during the winter that Gu Xi had the time to keep an eye on their studies. At other times, she was either busy writing articles or drawing illustrations for publishing houses, so she wouldn't have time to keep an eye on them.

After more than a year of working together, Gu Xi's collaboration with the publishing house went very smoothly. Sometimes the publishing house would even send her manuscripts from other authors and ask her to help with illustrations.

It's just that the weather is too cold, so Gu Xi usually reduces her workload. She doesn't want to sit for long periods of time because her hands and feet get stiff from the cold.

"Big sister, don't you need to write articles for publishing houses?" Xu Huaisheng asked curiously.

She recalled that during this period, her eldest sister seemed to have not written anything, spending her days lazily lounging around, seemingly unbothered by the boredom.

Xiang Zhao and Xiang Yun also looked at Gu Xi. Ever since they learned that Gu Xi could write articles and paint, the two siblings have admired her very much.

Their favorite book was a children's picture book written by Gu Xi, which she gave them, and they treasured it carefully.

Gu Xi poured herself a cup of jujube tea and said lazily, "It's cold, I have no inspiration."

Xu Huaisheng said "Oh," she didn't really understand what inspiration was. She often heard her older sister say that she had no inspiration and didn't want to write, so she would go to paint instead. Sometimes she would take them to the river to sketch, which was quite interesting.

Unfortunately, since the weather got colder, her sister hasn't been going out much, and she hasn't been sketching anymore.

Gu Xi took a sip of jujube tea, felt a little hungry, took the roasted apple, and ate it with a spoon.

She roasted a few apples, cut them in half, removed the cores, sprinkled some brown sugar inside, and roasted them over charcoal. The apples softened and released their juices, and the brown sugar seeped into the flesh, making them soft and sweet. They were exceptionally delicious, and not only Gu Xi liked them, but all the children loved them too.

After finishing the homework assigned by Gu Xi, Xu Yuansheng turned around and saw her sitting there eating a baked apple. He said, "Big sister, don't eat so much. We'll have dinner later. Be careful you won't be able to eat."

Gu Xi didn't even look up. "I know! Don't worry, I'll definitely be able to eat it!" She shamelessly praised herself. "My appetite has increased recently. I can eat and sleep well, and I'm very healthy."

As the old saying goes, being able to eat is a blessing, and Gu Xi also hopes to become able to eat a lot.

Whether I'm fat or not is another matter; I'll lose weight when I'm too fat to look at.

Recently, her appetite has suddenly improved, and she thinks it's because her health is getting better. Now she is very confident that she can live to a ripe old age.

Xu Yuansheng couldn't help but glance at her a few more times, feeling that something was amiss.

Her sister's appetite has been really good lately. She looks lazy and sometimes she can even fall asleep while sitting.

When we woke her up, she said it was so warm here that she felt sleepy. She said winter is for hibernation, and her reasoning was so convincing that we had nothing to say.

In the evening, Shen Mingzheng returned home covered in snowflakes.

Xu Yuansheng was making dinner with several children. The children were not the type to sit idly and wait to be fed; they were very sensible and helped out.

Gu Xi was yawning when she saw him return, and immediately became alert.

She got up to greet him, brushed the snowflakes off his clothes, and asked, "Brother, I heard the army is going to hold a ski competition this year. When is it?"

Last year, the troops were busy with disaster relief and no skiing competitions were held. This year, because the snowfall was not heavy and there were no reports of disasters outside, the troops decided to hold a skiing competition to let everyone relax. They even offered prizes, with the first prize reportedly being several dozen kilograms of pork, and the second and third prizes also being very generous, which greatly motivated everyone.

Recently, the people in the family compound have been getting together and talking about the ski competition. Gu Xi and her friends overheard some of it.

"The date is still uncertain, but we'll hold it on a nice day before the New Year." Shen Mingzheng looked at her. "You want to go skiing?"

Gu Xi nodded and followed him back to the room. "I really want to." Seeing the disapproval on his face, she went up and hugged his waist, unceremoniously putting her slightly cool hands inside his clothes and pressing them against his abs to warm them. She said, "I've never skied before in my life, of course I want to go. I'm in good health now, and I also want to participate in skiing competitions and win back the weight I gained."

Shen Mingzheng chuckled, so she didn't really want to go skiing, she was just craving the meat.

"If you want to eat meat, I'll ask someone to buy some from the meat processing plant." He lowered his head and kissed the corner of her lips. He had just returned, and the chill emanating from him was too strong for him to penetrate too deeply, lest he make her feel cold.

Gu Xi muttered, "No meat that you pay for yourself can taste as good as free meat."

And since you won it yourself, it's even better.

Shen Mingzheng knew she had a lot of fallacies, so he didn't refute her. He patted her head and decided that he would sign up for the competition when he had nothing else to do, and win the meat back.

During dinner, Shen Mingzheng told Xiang Zhao and Xiang Yun, "Your uncle is back, but he has some things to do and will be home a little late. Take some food back to him later."

The brother and sister were overjoyed.

My uncle is on a mission for over a month this time. The weather is so cold, and it snows frequently. It would be a lie to say I'm not worried.

After dinner, Xu Yuansheng packed the reserved food into two large bowls, put them in a basket, and gave them to Xiang Zhao to carry.

It was already getting dark outside, and fearing that the two children might fall while walking at night, she decided to take them home.

"Yuan Sheng, remember to bring an umbrella!" Gu Xi called out.

Xu Yuansheng picked up a large black umbrella standing by the door and took the two children out.

After safely delivering the two children to their home, Xu Yuansheng was about to leave when he noticed the lights were on and someone was inside.

"It's Uncle back~~"

Xiang Yun exclaimed with delight as she ran home, only to fall flat on her face in the snow because she was running too fast.

Xu Yuansheng quickly went over and picked her up.

Hearing the commotion inside, Xiang Changchuan ran out, took his niece from her arms, and said to her, "Yuansheng is here, come in and sit down."

Xu Yuansheng originally wanted to leave, but after hearing what he said, he realized it wouldn't be good to just walk away, so he had no choice but to go inside with his umbrella.

Xiang Changchuan led them to the kitchen, where a fire had already been lit, making the room warm and cozy.

He checked on his niece and found that although it was cold, the child was dressed warmly and hadn't fallen or hurt herself. She was even smiling at him in good spirits, so he was relieved.

"Uncle, we brought you food. We made it together with Aunt Yuansheng." Xiang Zhao took the dinner out of the basket and found that it was completely cold with ice crystals on it, so he put it in a pot to steam it.

Xiang Changchuan turned to Yuansheng and said, "Yuansheng, thank you for taking care of the two children."

Xu Yuansheng sat down, waved to him, and said, "No need to thank me. Xiao Zhao and Xiao Yun are very sensible and have helped me with a lot of work." Then he added seriously, "My sister has also been taking care of them and has been tutoring them during this time."

Xiang Changchuan found it amusing and nodded, saying, "Yes, I know, and I also want to thank you, sister-in-law."

Xu Yuansheng sat for a while, and seeing that the three uncles and nephews were alright, he prepared to leave.

"Wait a minute." Xiang Changchuan called out to her, "I brought gifts for you, your sister-in-law, and Huaisheng when I came back this time. Take them with you."

Upon hearing this, Xu Yuansheng sat down again to wait.

Xiang Changchuan went back to his room, brought over a large bag, and asked Xu Yuansheng to take it back, saying, "It's too dark outside, and it's snowing. Let me take you back."

"No need, this is the military base, it's very safe, nothing will happen." Xu Yuansheng waved to him, picked up the bag of gifts, and got up to leave. "You go ahead and eat, no need to see me off."

She walked briskly, holding an umbrella in one hand and carrying a bag in the other, into the dark snowy night.

Xiang Changchuan stood at the door and watched her leave until she was out of sight before turning back.

In the kitchen, Xiang Zhao took out the steamed food and called him over to eat, "Uncle, come and eat quickly, don't go hungry."

Xiang Changchuan smiled and agreed, then sat down to eat in front of the fire pit, with his two nephews and nieces sitting beside him.

They hadn't seen their uncle for a month and missed him terribly, so they all sat next to him.

When Xiang Changchuan learned that the school was on holiday, he asked them how they had been doing.

"It's great. We go to Aunt Gu's house every day, and Aunt Gu tutors us. Aunt Huaisheng and Tuantuan also study with us. Aunt Yuansheng will cook delicious food for us..."

After breakfast, the brother and sister would go to Gu Xi's place and stay there for most of the day until dinner, when Xu Yuansheng would take them home.

Hearing this, Xiang Changchuan felt very comforted. With Gu Xi and her sisters taking care of his two nephews and nieces, caring about their well-being and whether they had eaten enough, the two children could grow up healthy and happy.

"Uncle, are you going out again before the New Year after you come back this time?" Xiang Zhao suddenly asked.

Xiang Changchuan said, "I don't know. If nothing unexpected happens, I probably won't go out."

"Can Uncle go participate in the skiing competition?" Xiang Yun asked excitedly, clinging to him and saying, "Uncle, Uncle, the first place winner of the skiing competition gets fifty catties of pork as a prize."

Xiang Zhao continued, "The second place winner gets thirty catties of pork, and the third place winner gets ten catties of pork."

The brother and sister looked at him at the same time: "Uncle, if you were here, you must sign up for the competition. I want to eat pork."

Xiang Changchuan laughed heartily and reached out to rub their heads. "Alright, if I were here, I would sign up and try my best to win pork for you guys."

The brother and sister were a little shy. "Actually, Aunt Gu also wanted to go skiing. She asked Uncle Chen to sign up."

"Mingzheng also signed up..." Xiang Changchuan stroked his chin. "Then the first place is really a bit uncertain."

From childhood to adulthood, Shen Mingzheng was the kind of child everyone admired, a role model for others. If he wanted to do something, there was nothing he couldn't do. He had exceptional athletic ability, and skiing was nothing to him.

Especially now that his wife is urging him to sign up for a competition, he has to take it seriously and show the spirit of winning the championship.

The two children said, "It's okay, second place is fine too."

Uncle Shen is so amazing, so can their younger uncle compete for second place? There's plenty of meat in second place too.

Xiang Changchuan smiled at them and said, "Alright, I'll try my best."

The next day, when the brother and sister went to Gu Xi's place, they told the sisters that their uncle would probably also sign up for the skiing competition.

Xu Huaisheng looked on with anticipation, "Brother Xiang is also participating, it will definitely be very lively, let's go watch together."

The brother and sister nodded, also looking forward to it.

Only Gu Tuantuan pouted, "I want to see it too, but I don't know if I'll be able to."

"What's the matter?"

The brother and sister turned to look at her.

Gu Tuantuan propped her round little face up with her hands and said, "Mom and Dad said that we are going to Beijing to spend the Chinese New Year with Grandma this year, instead of here. I wonder if the ski competition can be held earlier, so I can watch it before we leave."

It's hard to say, as it depends on the weather. The event will be held on the day with good weather.

-

Children have their own worries, but these worries are often quite amusing to adults, bringing a smile to their faces.

Adults have more and more real worries, but most of them revolve around the mundane realities of daily life.

No matter what, life goes on.

A few days later, the weather improved for once, and the troops prepared to hold a ski competition.

Anyone interested can sign up, including not only men but also many women. A large number of people signed up at once, all drawn by the meat prize.

Qiao Hui asked Gu Xi if she wanted to sign up. She actually wanted to sign up, not for the prizes, but because she wanted to ski. She was from the south and had never skied before.

Gu Xi asked, "Would your Chief of Staff Gao allow you to participate?"

Qiao Hui is an intellectual; she doesn't look like someone who'd be good at sports. Skiing is quite dangerous; Chief of Staff Gao probably won't let her participate, right?

"Of course not," Qiao Hui said nonchalantly. "But I want to go skiing, and he said he'd take me skiing in the nearby mountains."

During the ski competition, if Chief of Staff Gao is available, he can take her skiing.

Gu Xi rarely gets to witness other people's displays of affection, and suddenly doesn't want to say anything.

She really wanted to participate in skiing competitions, but she knew that she was just strong and had good learning ability, but she had never professionally trained in skiing and was definitely not as good as those battle-hardened soldiers, or even some military wives who participated in skiing competitions every year.

Forget it, I'll just go and watch when the time comes, I'd rather not participate.

The sky was exceptionally clear on the day of the ski competition.

Although the sun wasn't out, the clear, glass-blue sky and the pristine white forests were breathtakingly beautiful, instantly lifting one's spirits.

Gu Xi brought Gu Tuantuan, Xiang Zhao, Xiang Yun, and her two younger sisters to watch people skiing.

When they arrived, the area was already bustling with activity.

The ski competition hadn't started yet, but on the nearby hillside and in the woods, many children had already brought planks, wooden tubs from home, bath tubs, and other things, sat on them, and were pushed along the hillside, their laughter filling the air.

Seeing this, Gu Xi found it quite fun, so she went home and got two wooden basins for washing clothes. She and the children sat in the basins, and Xu Yuansheng pushed them from behind, sending the basins sliding down the hillside.

"Ahhhh—"

The wooden tub flew off the snow, skimming the ground, and the person inside let out a high-pitched scream, which then turned into laughter.

It's really fun.

Because they were having so much fun, they had no interest in paying attention to ski competitions or anything like that.

Until cheers came from the other side, and they learned that the competition results were in, Gu Xi carried a wooden basin and led several children through the snow, running over to see the results.

By the time they arrived, the awards ceremony was already over, and even the crowd had dispersed.

The preparation time for a ski competition is relatively long, but the competition itself is very short. Participants ski down the mountain from the planned route in just ten minutes or so.

After receiving their rewards, everyone naturally dispersed, some going home, others continuing to play in the snow nearby.

Gu Xi and the others missed the competition because they were playing around, and they all looked regretful.

However, when they saw Shen Mingzheng and Xiang Changchuan carrying meat, they had no regrets and excitedly rushed over.

"Big brother, what number are you?"

"Wow, so much meat! Brother-in-law, you must be number one!"

"Uncle, what place did you get?"

"Uncle, can we have stewed meat tonight? I want stewed meat, with shiitake mushrooms, wood ear mushrooms, and dried vegetables, stewed together until it's fragrant. I love the dried vegetables in it..."

The group of people were talking all at once, leaving Shen Mingzheng and Xiang Changchuan unsure which one to reply to first.

Shen Mingzheng, carrying the meat in one hand and supporting Gu Xi with the other, said, "Don't run too fast, be careful not to fall." Then he added, "I'm the first place winner, this is fifty jin of meat."

Gu Xi exclaimed, her eyes sparkling as she looked at him, "Big brother, you're amazing!"

Shen Mingzheng was very pleased with her admiration; if they weren't out in public, he would have wanted to pull her into his arms.

He coughed lightly. Although he didn't care much about winning first place, seeing her happy made him feel that participating in the competition was worthwhile.

Xiang Changchuan came in second and received thirty catties of meat.

He carried the meat and smiled at Gu Xi, saying, "Sister-in-law, the brigade commanders just said that if there are any more skiing competitions next year, Mingzheng will be banned from participating."

"Why?" Xu Yuansheng asked, clearly dissatisfied.

“Because he participated, he didn’t give anyone a chance. He was a sure first place winner, without any controversy. Saying it wasn’t interesting is like telling him to give the younger generation a chance and not steal the spotlight.” Xiang Changchuan laughed uncontrollably. “You didn’t see it before, he was in the lead. I, the second place winner, was far behind him, not to mention the third place winner.”

Sometimes being too outstanding isn't good either; if the gap between you and others is too large, you have to give those who come later a chance.

Xu Yuansheng muttered, "What's this all about? Is being too outstanding a bad thing?"

She respected and admired her brother-in-law, Shen Mingzheng, for his military background and for his character, but she had no idea how outstanding he was.

Shen Mingzheng is not the kind of person who likes to show off. On the contrary, he is very low-key. Only Gu Xi sometimes likes to brag about him in front of her two younger sisters, so that they know a little about him.

Xiang Changchuan said, "There's no other way. Mingzheng is the team leader, and he's married. He doesn't lack anything. We have to give the younger members a chance to perform. After all, there are many single women watching the competition today..."

Hearing this, Xu Yuansheng understood.

This ski competition is not only to enrich the lives of everyone in the military, but also to create opportunities for young men who are single, allowing them to perform well on the field and perhaps catch the eye of a female comrade, leading to a good marriage and solving the problem of some bachelors in the military.

Shen Mingzheng's popularity is too high, which will raise the standards of single women looking for partners, and that won't do.

-

When Shen Mingzheng and Xiang Changchuan carried the meat back, many people looked at them with envy.

They won first and second place, and third place went to a young battalion commander from the Third Brigade.

Xiang Changchuan carried the meat to Shen Mingzheng's place. The two families would be having dinner together tonight, and he would also invite Gu Yuanyang and Ji Ya to join them for a meal.

Dinner was lively, with the three families sitting together, filling the eight-immortal table to the brim.

On the table was stewed meat simmering on a small clay stove, its aroma filling the air.

Gu Xi picked up a piece of meat. Because it was stewed meat, the meat was cut into large pieces, so that it would be more satisfying to eat meat in big bites.

She used her chopsticks to pick out the fatty parts and gave them to Shen Mingzheng, while she ate the lean parts herself.

I didn't expect that when I bit into it, I would find some fat inside. It was so greasy that I couldn't help but spit it out with a yelp.

"What's wrong?" Shen Mingzheng asked worriedly, gently patting her back.

The others looked over as well, their faces filled with worry.

Gu Xi frowned. "Some of them are fatty, and too greasy."

Shen Mingzheng knew that she didn't like fatty meat. The only kind of fatty meat she could accept was the kind that was fried until it was crispy and fragrant, so that she couldn't taste the fat. In short, she was very picky.

He picked up a piece of lean meat, carefully checked it to make sure there wasn't a single bit of fat, and then put it in her bowl.

Seeing that Gu Xi was alright, the others didn't think much of it and continued eating.

After the meal, the men washed the dishes and cleared the table, while the women sat in front of the fire to warm themselves, eating fruit and drinking tea to cleanse their palates, chatting as they went. The children gathered together to look at picture books, whispering and chattering away.

While drinking tea, Gu Xi felt the air in the room was stuffy for some reason, and couldn't help but frown and cover her nose.

"Big sister, what's wrong?" Xu Yuansheng looked at her with concern, noticing that she didn't look well. She hadn't seemed to be feeling well since the meal earlier.

Gu Xi was about to say she was fine when she opened her mouth and felt a little uncomfortable breathing. She couldn't help but turn her head and gag.

Ji Ya and Xu Yuansheng were both startled by her. They quickly leaned over to check on her, one patting her back and the other taking the things from her hands to calm her down.

After a while, Gu Xi recovered from the discomfort and smiled at them: "It's nothing, it's just that the air in the room is a bit stuffy, and I feel a little uncomfortable."

Upon hearing this, Xu Yuansheng quickly lifted the curtain to let the cold wind blow in.

There were many people eating inside, and a brazier was burning, so the air was naturally quite stuffy. When the curtain was opened, a gust of cold wind blew in, dispelling some of the stuffy atmosphere and making people shiver.

Ji Ya stared at Gu Xi for a moment and said, "Xi Xi, why don't you go to the health station tomorrow?"

Gu Xi felt much better and waved her hand with a smile, "No need, I'm fine."

Seeing her oblivious expression, Ji Ya wanted to sigh and said, "You should still get checked out, just in case..." She paused, then asked, "How long has it been since your period came?"

Gu Xi hesitated for a moment, then tried to recall, saying uncertainly, "It seems like it was three months..."

She froze before she could finish speaking.