Zhou Qiqi's heart skipped a beat, her fingers gripped the receiver tightly, and her voice trembled.
"How come it's so fast? Didn't you say it would take ten minutes? How long has it been?"
She still had a lot to say!
I wanted to ask him if his wound had become infected, if he was eating on time, and if he was cold at night.
But those words of concern, once they reached his lips, turned into urgent and trivial admonitions.
"Your injury hasn't fully healed yet, remember to take your medicine on time, and be careful not to exert any force on the left side of your chest, and also..."
"Qiqi, I've written it all down."
Shen Huaichuan's voice came through the receiver, tinged with a hint of longing, "Take care of yourself and Zhouzhou, and wait for me to come back."
As soon as he finished speaking, the static suddenly became much louder and louder, and the crackling noise in the receiver instantly drowned out Shen Huaichuan's voice.
Zhou Qiqi was so anxious that she kept hitting the microphone and shouting at the top of her lungs, "Shen Huaichuan! Shen Huaichuan!"
She just held the receiver blankly, staring ahead with empty eyes, until her fingers went numb from pressing on the receiver and she lost all feeling in them, before slowly letting go.
"Sister-in-law, are you done making the call?"
Seeing her distraught appearance, Xiao Li grinned, revealing a set of bright white teeth, and handed her a White Rabbit milk candy with a smile.
The candy wrappers were printed with the auspicious double happiness symbol, clearly indicating that they were wedding candies distributed by Lin Yao today.
Zhou Qiqi waved her hand weakly at him, then forced herself to speak.
"I just brushed my teeth, I'm not eating anymore. I'm heading back now, Xiao Li, thanks."
Xiao Li didn't pull his hand back; instead, he chased after him and handed him another flashlight.
"Don't mention it, sister-in-law. Take this flashlight with you, don't fall while walking at night."
Zhou Qiqi then realized that she had rushed over to answer the phone and hadn't even bothered to grab a flashlight.
She jogged back to her room to get her own flashlight, then turned back to return Xiao Li's. After going back and forth for quite a while, she finally lay back down on the bed.
Although she only spoke with Shen Huaichuan for a few minutes on the phone, the emptiness in her heart gradually dissipated, as if warmed by a stove.
She curled up on the side of the bed where Shen Huaichuan usually lay, and could still faintly smell the lingering scent of soapberry. Before long, she fell into a deep sleep.
The next day, just as dawn was breaking and the sky was beginning to lighten, Zhou Qiqi quietly got out of bed.
She rolled up her sleeves and skillfully made egg pancakes for herself and Zhouzhou.
After hastily finishing a few bites of breakfast, she picked up a watering can and went to the flower beds in front of and behind the house, carefully watering them.
When Deng Cuixiang and Zhu Yingying entered the courtyard, Zhouzhou was sitting on a small stool, sipping warm goat milk.
"Yo!"
Deng Cuixiang put the cloth bag in her hand on the table and teased her with a wink.
"I thought Qiqi would have dark circles under her eyes again today, so I specially brought two steamed buns over. Turns out Zhouzhou is already eating? Has the sun risen in the west?"
The men have been away from the military region lately, so the three women often get together for meals. They all know that Zhou Qiqi tosses and turns at night, unable to sleep.
"uncle......"
After finishing the last sip of milk, Zhouzhou made the shape of a stethoscope with her fair little hand near her mouth and shook it. Her big eyes sparkled as she looked at the adults.
Deng Cuixiang understood immediately, took out a handkerchief to gently wipe the corner of her mouth, and casually asked.
"Shen Huaichuan called? Is this training camp over already?"
Hearing the commotion from behind the yard, Zhou Qiqi quickly finished watering the last bucket, leaned it against the wall, and came out with a smile.
"No, Sister Cuixiang, it's just that the first stage of the team competition has ended, and Huaichuan won first place, so he was rewarded with a chance to make a phone call."
"Is this for real?"
Deng Cuixiang smacked her lips, glanced at Zhu Yingying, and couldn't help but sigh.
"Sigh, my husband is useless. He's never won first place in all these years, and he's never even called me. Yingying, where's your husband, Lao Wang?"
Zhu Yingying covered her mouth and laughed, her eyes crinkling.
"You all know him. He does a lot and talks little. He never talks to me about work-related matters."
Deng Cuixiang sighed, "I'm so envious," but a hint of schadenfreude crept into her eyes.
"Commander Shen dotes on his wife so much that he's thinking of calling her. He's definitely putting in his best effort to win first place! I wonder which unlucky guy's team ran into them. They'll probably get a really bad beating!"
Just then, a heart-wrenching wail suddenly erupted from the neighboring yard.
"I want to eat eggs! I want to eat eggs!"
Deng Cuixiang shrugged, clapped her hands, and looked disgusted.
"Alright, Qiu Chunfang's son is putting on a one-man show again! Let's hurry up and get him out of here, so we don't have to listen to him anymore."
Hu Chunxiao contacted a driver yesterday who said he had tricycles and bicycles that didn't require tickets, and the three of them planned to go and take a look.
"Okay, let's go, we can catch the purchasing truck."
Zhou Qiqi quickly washed her hands and turned to go inside to get her bag.
Zhao Yaozu next door kept crying and wailing, "I want to eat eggs! I want to eat eggs!"
Hearing this, Deng Cuixiang frowned deeply, "Doesn't Qiu Chunfang know how to manage things!"
As Zhou Qiqi tied the scarf around Zhouzhou's neck, she said with a smile.
"I think I saw her leave this morning. She and Li Hongjuan went to sell flowers today. I guess Er Meng is at home taking care of the kids. She has a plan..."
What trick?
As soon as Deng Cuixiang asked the question, she heard a shrill female voice from next door, "I won't give you any eggs! I won't give you any eggs!"
Immediately following was a "smack" of a broom hitting the ground. Before Zhao Yaozu's crying had even stopped, the broom bristles fell down, and the crying actually stopped shortly afterward.
Zhu Yingying and Deng Cuixiang were speechless with astonishment.
"Is that even possible? This Er Meng is really something. Isn't she afraid of Qiu Chunfang finding out?"
Zhou Qiqi put her arms around their shoulders and lowered her voice.
"Who knows? Anyway, we have to keep it a secret for Er Meng."
"Okay, no problem."
The three of them exchanged a glance, and even Shen Duzhou simultaneously raised his index finger and put it to his lips.
The four of them quickly got into the purchasing vehicle and went to the city. The businessman that Hu Chunxiao introduced to them was an old master who ran a bicycle repair stall.
The old man, dressed in a faded, old military green cotton coat and wearing small round glasses, led the group through several turns in the alley before finally bringing them to a small courtyard.
"These bikes of mine were all from bicycle factories, they're all absolutely brand new!"
The experienced craftsman patted his chest and assured him.
The three of them went over and took a closer look. The cars were indeed new, clean and spotless, and came in two brands: Phoenix and Flying Pigeon.
"It's really good! It's a Phoenix brand, how much does it cost, master?"
"A bicycle costs 350 yuan, and a tricycle costs 400 yuan!"
The experienced craftsman quoted a price.
"What? It's so expensive?"
The three of them were startled; this was almost half the price that Hu Chunxiao had mentioned last night!
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