Chapter 33 Confidential Mission
When she arrived at the commander's office, he was processing documents. He looked up and saw her and asked her to sit for a while.
Gu Qiuyue was led by the division commander's orderly to sit on a sofa at the side, and was given a glass of water. Just as she put the glass down, a familiar voice of "Report" came from outside the door.
After getting the division commander's permission, Xie Shiyu hurried in wearing his training uniform. Seeing Gu Qiuyue sitting on the sofa safely, he breathed a sigh of relief and turned to salute the division commander, "Hello, Chief!"
"You brat!" The commander pointed his finger at him. "I called your wife over here, and you followed right after. What's going on? Are you afraid I'll eat her?"
Xie Shiyu's tone softened a bit, "I'm just afraid that she will be scared by you."
The division commander was furious and pointed at him, cursing, "Am I really that scary? Speaking of our entire division, you're much scarier than me. Little Gu, you don't know how serious this guy was before he got married. He even scared the political commissar's grandson to tears several times. And those people from the art troupe..."
"Commander." Xie Shiyu called out, "If you're okay, I'll take my wife away."
The commander was so angry that he laughed, but he did not forget the business. He took out a thin brown paper file bag without any label from the drawer and pushed it in front of Gu Qiuyue, "I know you usually take translation work, and I also know that you know German.
We obtained this through special channels, and the organization hopes you can translate it." He glanced at Xie Shiyu and Gu Qiuyue and added, "This document is only for the three of you present. Dissemination is strictly prohibited. Do you understand?"
"I understand!" Gu Qiuyue and Xie Shiyu said at the same time.
The division commander nodded with satisfaction and said, "You can go to the small conference room next door to translate. Deputy Regiment Xie, please protect Comrade Gu."
Gu Qiuyue and Xie Shiyu exchanged a glance, and Xie Shiyu saluted the commander, "I promise to complete the mission!"
The two were led into a small conference room by the orderly. A stack of manuscript paper and a pen were already on the table. Gu Qiuyue didn't bother to say anything more. She sat down at the table and began to look through the document given to her by the commander. She had already realized that the information was unusual, but it was not until she quickly scanned the clear and complex German charts and formulas on it that she realized that the document was more confidential and important than she had imagined.
Her brain was working at high speed, accurately converting the German into Chinese logic in her mind. Xie Shiyu did not understand German. He sat at the door and guarded the peace of this area with the guards.
Time passed quietly with the slight rustling sound of the pen tip and paper. When Gu Qiuyue put the last period, dusk was already falling outside the window.
She rubbed her swollen temples and carefully placed the translated manuscript back into the brown paper bag, her fingertips still trembling with the slight feeling of having touched the core of a secret. The weight of this document far exceeded any translation work she had taken on before.
Xie Shiyu had been standing silently at the door, like a loyal stone statue. Seeing that she had finished, his tense shoulders relaxed imperceptibly. He did not ask a single question, but took the file bag and signaled her to follow with his eyes.
The commander was obviously very satisfied with Gu Qiuyue's work efficiency and quality. He solemnly emphasized the confidentiality discipline again before letting them leave.
As they walked out of the office building, the cool evening breeze blew away the heaviness in Gu Qiuyue's heart. Xie Shiyu naturally took her hand, his dry and warm palm conveying silent comfort.
"Are you tired?" he asked in a low voice, his voice particularly clear in the quiet camp path.
"Not bad." Gu Qiuyue smiled and moved closer to him, "Just a little hungry."
"I'll go back and cook noodles for you."
The plain conversation was like a warm current that dispelled the invisible pressure brought by translating confidential documents. Gu Qiuyue felt the calm aura of the people around her, and the secret sweetness in her heart quietly emerged again.
Xie Shiyu happened to be on vacation on the weekend. Thinking that he had not taken his wife out shopping since arriving at the base, the two of them agreed to go to the city together for a day and buy some daily necessities for the house that the service center did not have.
The city was much more lively than the camp, and the department store was filled with dazzling goods. Mrs. Zhang was a straightforward person, and she dragged Gu Qiuyue and Mrs. Chen around to look around.
After a while, Gu Qiuyue had a lot of things in her hands: some new cakes and candies, and two cans of canned meat that Xie Shiyu liked to eat. She also bought a lot of things for herself. The allowance given by Xie Shiyu and the translation fees gave her the confidence.
"Sister Qiuyue, you're really generous!" Sister Chen looked at the hand full of things in Gu Qiuyue's hand and joked with a smile, "After all, Deputy Commander Xie loves his wife so much that he spends all his allowance on you."
Gu Qiuyue felt a little embarrassed: "Sister-in-law, please stop laughing at me. These are just necessities."
Mrs. Zhang said loudly, "What's the big deal? A man's money is meant to be spent on his wife. Deputy Commander Xie is capable, and Sister Qiuyue is a competent woman. What's wrong with buying them some nice things? Some people just live a tight life themselves, and when they see others buying things, they get jealous and say a lot of sour words."
She spoke in a loud voice, and glanced meaningfully at a middle-aged woman in a half-worn blue cloth jacket not far away. The woman was staring at the newly bought snow cream, canned food and cakes in Gu Qiuyue's hand. Her eyes were complicated, mixed with envy and a hint of imperceptible jealousy. When she heard what Mrs. Zhang said, her face suddenly became embarrassed and she turned away awkwardly.
Gu Qiuyue sighed slightly in her heart. There were so many people in the family compound, and this kind of subtle comparison and jealousy was inevitable. She pulled Sister Zhang's arm and said, "Sister-in-law, let's go over there and look at the fabrics?"
The three were about to relocate when they passed the entrance of the state-owned restaurant. Sharp-eyed Mrs. Zhang suddenly paused, tugged at Gu Qiuyue's sleeve, and lowered her voice with disbelief and surprise: "Hey! Qiuyue, Cuifen, look, that... isn't that Secretary Meng?!"
Gu Qiuyue followed her gaze and saw Meng Hui sitting at a table by the window inside the hotel's street-facing glass window. Opposite him was not Lin Xiu, but a woman wearing a neat Lenin suit, about twenty-five or twenty-six years old, with a capable temperament.
There was a simple meal in front of the two of them, and they seemed to be talking in low voices. Meng Hui's expression was still stern, but there was no longer the heavy sense of depression between his brows that he usually had when facing Lin Xiu in the office. There was even... a hint of concentration.
This scene, like a spark, instantly ignited Mrs. Zhang's sense of justice.
"Great! I was wondering why Secretary Meng always had to face Lin Xiu's bitter face. Turns out he has someone else out there." Mrs. Zhang was so angry that her face turned red, and she forgot to lower her voice. "Sister Lin Xiu is so pitiful. Her husband is gone, she's all alone and helpless, and she was counting on him to take care of her. But he's gone to the city to eat out with other female comrades. Isn't this a betrayal of his comrades? He has a conscience!"
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