Chapter 5 An'an has a hereditary disease from the Xie family.
I was afraid this question might offend Comrade Qiao.
Xie Zhongming politely added, "Comrade Qiao, I didn't mean anything by it. If your husband also wants to find a job in the city, I can help inquire and see if there are any suitable jobs for him."
Sometimes the military canteen is short of a cook, and the logistics department is short of a handyman or something similar.
If Comrade Qiao is simply coming to the house as a nanny, he can help her husband find work, allowing the couple to see each other more often, and also letting the two children see their father more frequently.
For him, it was just a small favor.
Besides, if Comrade Qiao's identity is indeed suspicious, we can get more information from her.
After all, we cannot conclude that Comrade Qiao is a spy based solely on the information we already have.
His calm yet slightly sharp gaze fell on Qiao Xingyue, carefully observing her subtle reactions.
Huang Guilan, who was standing next to her, wondered why the fourth brother was being so enthusiastic today.
She was just about to ask Comrade Xiao Qiao what her husband did for a living, and whether she needed help finding him a job in the city so that the young couple could see each other more often.
The fourth brother was like a tapeworm in her stomach.
Huang Guilan couldn't help but chime in, "Yes, Comrade Xiao Qiao, what does your husband do? Does he want to work in the compound with you?"
Qiao Xingyue answered decisively, "Thank you for your kindness, Aunt Lan and Comrade Xie, but it's no need. My husband sacrificed his life for the country not long after we got married."
When her man was mentioned, Qiao Xingyue couldn't help but feel that it was a bit outrageous.
That man was an unlucky fellow.
She was just on a mission in Chadian Village when she was tricked by Fatty's mother. A bowl of sweet potato porridge made her sleep with the platoon leader, and the man married her against his will.
And not long after, that man died for his country.
What bad luck!
This news weighed heavily on Huang Guilan's chest, and her heart ached even more when she looked at Comrade Xiao Qiao and the two children.
No wonder these two kids look so pitiful; they've been fatherless for a long time.
It seems she'll have to take better care of Comrade Qiao and her two children from now on.
Hearing this, Xie Zhongming felt apologetic, regardless of whether what she said was true or false. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked these questions."
"It's okay, I'm used to raising two kids on my own." She said it lightly, never mentioning the hardships and difficulties in front of others.
I noticed a barely perceptible bitter smile appearing on her lips.
For some reason, Xie Zhongming regretted asking that abrupt question.
After dark, Qiao Xingyue washed Xie's grandmother's face and soaked her feet, then gave her a full-body massage, and finally took her pulse.
Grandma Xie's hemiplegia was not caused by muscle atrophy, but by poor blood circulation. She was fairly confident that she could help Grandma Xie recover.
But she couldn't make such a definitive statement.
"Commander, Aunt Lan, I'll give Grandma a massage for the next few days. If you trust me, I'll give her acupuncture in a few days."
Privately, Xie Jiang went to Xie Zhongming's room and asked, "Fourth brother, Comrade Xiao Qiao performed surgery on you in Shantang Village. What do you think of her medical skills? Can she perform acupuncture on Grandma?"
Xie Zhongming pursed his thin lips slightly.
The image that automatically popped into his mind was of Comrade Qiao's technique for inserting needles into his arm when he stubbornly refused to let anyone take off his pants for surgery. The technique was fast, accurate, and ruthless.
After the injection, his hand became numb and weak, and he couldn't move it.
This Comrade Qiao must be quite capable.
"Let Comrade Qiao give it a try."
"She's so young, won't she hurt your grandma?"
"Probably not."
Xie Jiang was a filial son, and he dared not joke about the old lady's safety.
“I think Xiao Qiao is still quite young. It’s fine for Xiao Qiao to take care of and massage Grandma. But let’s forget about acupuncture. If Xiao Qiao brings it up again next time, please politely decline on Dad’s behalf.”
"Dad, you really should let Comrade Qiao give it a try."
"It's not that Dad doesn't believe in Comrade Qiao's medical skills. It's just that your grandma is too old and can't take any more treatment."
Then, Commander Xie changed the subject, "Fourth brother, how badly are you injured? Does it affect your sexual function?"
"It required dozens of stitches."
"Oh no, how is it so serious?"
"..."
"Fourth brother, you absolutely mustn't be childless, you and Fatty haven't had a baby yet."
Xie Zhongming's face darkened at the mention of Fatty.
"Dad, I will never have a child with Fatty in this lifetime."
He won't let Fatty come to the compound to accompany the army, and it seems Fatty might not want to come either.
Perhaps Fatty's mother only cared about the living expenses he sent back every month.
As long as he sent the money on time, Fatty and her mother never mentioned coming to join him in the army.
He will never have that kind of relationship with Fatty again in his life.
Let him mail the money to Chadian Village every month, that way he can make up for Fatty's lifelong debt.
If Fatty can't stand the long-distance relationship and files for divorce, he will agree to her request at any time and will compensate her with a sum of money.
But I just won't have a child with her!
...
In Grandma's room, Qiao Xingyue had been massaging her for half an hour.
While she was massaging her grandmother's left leg, An'an and Ningning followed suit and massaged their great-grandmother's right leg.
Qiao Xingyue kept working with her hands and didn't forget to ask Aunt Lan for some basic information.
"Aunt Lan, how long has Grandma been paralyzed?"
"About six months."
"What caused the paralysis? Have you had a stroke, encephalitis, or other injuries?"
"No, none of them."
"Does Grandma have any other underlying medical conditions?"
"Comrade Xiao Qiao, what is meant by underlying disease?"
"It's high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease."
"No," Huang Guilan shook her head.
Qiao Xingyue nodded thoughtfully, "Okay, I'll help Grandma with her treatment later."
Grandma appears to be quite seriously injured due to hemiplegia and facial paralysis. However, this paralysis is not caused by cerebral infarction or encephalitis; it is only temporary. Furthermore, Grandma has no underlying medical conditions, and with acupuncture treatment, there is a high chance of a cure.
She covered her grandmother with the blanket.
"Girl, girl, thank you." Grandma's mouth was crooked, and her speech was not very fluent, but her face was full of kind smiles.
Then I looked at An'an and Ningning.
How come these two girls are so beautiful!
Grandma Xie is seventy-six years old. Her name is Chen Suying. She participated in the revolution in her early years. Like Huang Guilan, she longed to have a daughter, but she gave birth to seven sons.
Then, all of his great-grandchildren were boys; there wasn't a single girl among them.
The old lady looked at An'an and Ningning and liked them more and more: If only these two girls were her great-granddaughters!
"An'an and Ningning, you two stay here and chat with Great-Grandma for a while. Mommy will go out and tidy up."
As soon as Qiao Xingyue left, Great-Grandma looked at the two children and called out to Huang Guilan, "Alan, look... the eyes of the two children are so similar, don't they look like Zhongming when he was little?"
My great-grandmother has facial paralysis; her mouth is crooked, and she speaks somewhat incoherently.
But Huang Guilan understood everything. "Mom, these two kids look exactly like Comrade Xiao Qiao. How could they look like our Jiaming? You miss your great-granddaughter too much. If we really had such a well-behaved girl, I would wake up laughing in my dreams."
However, upon closer inspection, Huang Guilan noticed that An'an's bright and clever eyes did indeed resemble those of her fourth child when he was young.
And you know what? The more I look at it, the more familiar and intimate it feels.
After Qiao Xingyue walked out of her grandmother's room, she saw Xie Zhongming fill a basin with water and place it on the washbasin stand in the main room, washing his face and neck.
He was strong and worked very hard.
After scrubbing and washing, I filled a basin with clean water and splashed it on my face.
Water droplets clung to his strong hair and brow bone, dripping down his angular cheeks, making him look more energetic and sharp than ever before.
After he finished wringing out the handkerchief, Qiao Xingyue called out, "Comrade Xie."
Xie Zhongming looked up and said, "Comrade Qiao, you should all go to sleep early too."
As he spoke, Xie Zhongming carried the enamel basin to the toilet and poured the water into the water tank, intending to save the water for flushing the toilet.
Inside the compound, soldiers of lower rank could only be assigned single dorm rooms without their own kitchens and toilets. They had to cook in the communal kitchen, do laundry in the water room, take a bath in the communal bathhouse, and relieve themselves in the communal dry toilet.
But the Xie family is different. Their house is a two-story courtyard with five rooms, a kitchen, and a bathroom. There is a yard outside the main room where they can grow flowers and vegetables, which is very convenient.
When Xie Zhongming returned with the water, Qiao Xingyue asked directly, "Comrade Xie, how is your injury? Do you need me to take another look?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Qiao Xingyue noticed that Xie Zhongming's earlobe had quietly turned a thin layer of red.
This guy is still as conservative and shy as ever.
"Thank you, but no need." He clenched his enamel basin tightly.
Qiao Xingyue knew he was shy, so she didn't press the matter, but kindly offered a reminder:
"Comrade Xie, I think today is the eighth day since your surgery. You can go get your stitches removed tomorrow, or at the latest within the next two days. Don't delay too long."
"Okay, thank you, Comrade Qiao. I will go to the health department tomorrow."
Even if Xie Zhongming goes to the health department tomorrow, he will find a male doctor.
Qiao Xingyue asked another question, "Comrade Xie, has the wound become infected again these past few days?"
In fact, Xie Zhongming's wound was already infected.
After the second crack in Shantang Village, he lay in bed for less than four days before participating in the final stages of the mine disaster relief work, putting in a lot of physical effort. Given the poor sanitation conditions in the village, it was quite normal for him to get infected there.
If we tell Comrade Qiao that he has been infected.
Isn't Comrade Qiao going to take off his pants again?
The thought of having to take off his pants in front of her made Xie Zhongming's palms sweat.
At this moment, the tungsten filament lamp above the main room flickered a few more times.
The light alternated between bright and dim.
Aside from his ears burning, Xie Zhongming's expression remained unchanged as he replied in a deep voice, "No infection. Comrade Qiao, I'm going back to my room. You should all get some rest too."
...
After finishing her work, Qiao Xingyue led An An and Ning Ning back to their room.
Aunt Lan said that Comrade Xie helped change the sheets and duvet covers on the bunk beds.
They were all military green.
The quilt was folded into a neat square shape, and the sheets were laid out without a single wrinkle.
An An slept peacefully on the lower bunk, each with a small pillow. The cotton filling in those pillows was also stuffed in by Xie Zhongming; they were soft and warm.
An'an suddenly felt a lump in her throat, and peeked her little head out at Qiao Xingyue on the upper bunk, "Mom, Dad is also a soldier, so did he serve here?"
“My father works in the Kuncheng Military Region, not in Jincheng.”
“I thought my dad used to serve in the army here.”
As An'an gazed at the bright moon and sparse clouds outside the window, her soft, whimpering voice suddenly lowered.
Even the night was tinged with a deep sadness by An'an's depressed mood. She thought her father had stayed here before he died, and that she could look at the same moon in the same sky as her father did when he was alive!
Qiao Xingyue peeked out from the upper bunk and looked at An'an and Ningning on the lower bunk. "No matter where Dad served in the army before he died, he will be watching over An'an and Ningning from heaven and always protecting them."
I just don't know the man's name.
Otherwise, she could have inquired with Commander Xie's family. Perhaps Commander Xie had extensive connections and could find out how An'an and Ningning's father had sacrificed himself.
Who knows, they might be able to ask the military for some more compensation, or even get some benefits for the two children as orphans of martyrs.
Unfortunately, she really didn't know what the child's father's name was.
All I knew was that he was a platoon leader.
After An An and Ning Ning fell asleep, Qiao Xingyue stopped thinking about the child's father.
Right now, I need to keep this job so I can support my two kids and have a chance to get Ningning medical treatment.
But then she thought of the seemingly calm yet wary and suspicious look in Comrade Xie's eyes when he saw her come to the Xie family to work as a nanny.
What exactly is he suspecting?
Whatever Comrade Xie suspects, hopefully he won't lose his job because of it.
The next day, in order to get started on the job of being the Xie family's nanny as quickly as possible, Qiao Xingyue got up early to make breakfast, steaming buns with potato shreds and sauerkraut fillings, and also cooking a pot of porridge.
While Qiao Xingyue was making cold pickled vegetables, Huang Guifang walked into the kitchen and said, "Little Qiao, you're up so early."
Qiao Xingyue turned around and said, "Aunt Lan, perfect timing. There are some things I'd like to ask you about at home."
Yesterday, she learned that Commander Xie's hometown was in Sichuan and Chongqing, while Aunt Lan was from the south; one ate spicy food, and the other didn't.
She put down the cold kimchi and asked, "Aunt Lan, what are your usual habits, likes, and taboos, along with those of your teacher, grandmother, and Comrade Xie? I'll pay more attention to them in the future."
As she spoke, she took out a small notebook from her pocket, which she had cut into small squares and bound with needle and thread, ready to take notes as she listened.
Huang Guilan thought for a moment, "There's nothing special to be careful about. It's just that your Uncle Xie likes spicy food, which I can't eat. Also, Zhongming and I are both allergic to peanuts, so we'll avoid peanuts in the future."
Qiao Xingyue stopped making notes.
She paused for a moment.
What a coincidence!
Are Aunt Lan and Comrade Xie both allergic to peanuts?
Her eldest daughter, An'an, is also allergic to peanuts.
Huang Guilan sighed as she recalled her and Lao Si's peanut allergy. "Oh, Xiao Qiao, do you know how terrible a peanut allergy can be? The symptoms are terrifying."
How could Qiao Xingyue not know how serious a peanut allergy could be?
If it gets serious and isn't treated in time, it can be fatal.
When An'an was a little over two years old, she turned around and wasn't watching her closely enough. Someone gave An'an a peanut, and she had an allergic reaction within five minutes. When she was taken to the hospital, her whole body was swollen, and her throat was so swollen that she suffocated and almost didn't survive.
That time, it scared Qiao Xingyue to death.
She said to Huang Guilan, "Aunt Lan, what a coincidence, my An'an..."
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