Chapter 192 With great power comes great responsibility
Having finally made it through her postpartum period, Xia Qianqian entered Peach Blossom Spring early in the morning. She brought out fine wine from the cellar and prepared pork, seafood, and other delicacies to treat everyone to a good meal.
"Miss Xia, congratulations!" Old Hei and the people from Peach Blossom Spring greeted Xia Qianqian with smiles.
The good news had already spread throughout Peach Blossom Spring. After offering their congratulations, everyone said they would let their child come and play in Peach Blossom Spring when he grew up.
Now, Peach Blossom Spring is developing better and better, with green mountains and clear waters, blue seas, abundant resources, and everything you could want.
In addition, Lao Hei and others had previously purchased a lot of building materials from outside, and those shacks were all replaced with bright, large tiled houses.
Old Hei and the others said to Xia Qianqian with big smiles, "This is simply a life like that of gods, with no worries about food or drink every day!"
"When the little guy grows up, he can come here to fish!" A burly man with a thick beard patted his chest. "Now we raise chickens and ducks on the back hill, the cucumbers in the vegetable garden can be used as clubs, and we've even set up a loom—"
He proudly lifted the coarse cloth, revealing the indigo checkered homespun cloth underneath. "Look at this cloth, it's very sturdy!"
Xia Qianqian chuckled, her fingertips tracing the rough fabric: "You guys, what don't you have in the mall? Why bother with this?"
“Miss Xia, you’re really out of your depth!” Zhang San waved his hand impatiently and argued gruffly, “The polyester fabric in the mall may look nice, but it’s nowhere near as durable as our homespun cloth. It’s the only comfortable thing to wear when you’re working in the fields or chopping firewood in the mountains!”
He tugged at the corner of the cloth, moving closer to Xia Qianqian, "Besides, the air here is good for you, and the cotton we grow ourselves is three times longer than the cotton you buy outside! Feel it—"
Xia Qianqian twirled the fabric between her fingertips; it was indeed as soft as a cloud, with fine cotton seed husks sandwiched inside, carrying a warm, sun-dried fragrance.
She smiled and nodded: "It really is good stuff."
She packed up her belongings, took a piece of homespun cloth, and then left Peach Blossom Spring.
Seeing her daughter-in-law bring out so many nice things, Wang Meihua grabbed Lu Zheng's arm when no one was looking and whispered, "Where did all this food come from?"
Lu Zheng simply waved his hand vaguely, "Don't ask."
Knowing that her daughter-in-law was hiding a secret, Wang Meihua stopped talking and began to put on an apron and pack her things.
Before noon, the sound of a jeep chugging could be heard outside the courtyard. Just as Lu Zheng unlatched the door, Peng Fei's booming voice rang out like thunder: "Brother Lu! Sister-in-law! We've come to celebrate the baby's one-month celebration!"
A group of men rushed into the courtyard, each carrying a heavy bundle on their arm. Net bags were filled with Guoguang apples, paper wrapped with snow-white granulated sugar, and some were carrying tin biscuit boxes, making the net bag ropes tremble.
In those days, goods and money were expensive; just a few pounds of white sugar required several months of ration coupons.
Xia Qianqian was helping Wang Meihua set the table when she suddenly saw two figures in white coats emerge from behind the crowd. She exclaimed in surprise, "Dr. Zhang, you're here too!"
Dr. Zhang took off his cotton cap, his glasses still covered in snowflakes: "That kid Peng Fei is worried and insists on having us come and check you again."
He looked at Xia Qianqian's rosy complexion and waved his hand with a smile, "It seems we went to unnecessary trouble. Your body has recovered better than that of women who have given birth in the city!"
Lu Zheng patted Peng Fei on the shoulder and laughed, "You're just worrying about nothing!" But his heart was warmed—these brothers who had gone through thick and thin together even remembered such a small thing.
The octagonal table in the living room still had leftover food, with a small mountain of oily braised pork hock bones and half a steamed bun left in a rough porcelain bowl. The air was filled with the aroma of wine and meat.
Peng Fei, his face flushed and neck bulging, clinked glasses with Lu Zheng, his military overcoat open, revealing a newly made blue shirt underneath: "Brother Lu! This liquor of yours is strong! Stronger than the baijiu from our army!"
Xia Qianqian brought out the plum juice and bumped into Er Ya, who was tiptoeing to reach for the candy on the table. Da Ya grabbed her by the back of the collar. She smiled and put the enamel basin on the stone table: "Drink less, or we'll be late for business."
"Don't worry, sister-in-law!" a dark-skinned man patted his chest. "We brought three cars, so we promise we won't drink and drive!"
After several rounds of drinks, the banquet ended. Just as Lu Zheng was about to tell everyone to go to the west wing to rest, Peng Fei waved his hand and said, "Brother Lu, no need to bother, we're leaving now."
"Why the rush?" Lu Zheng frowned. "It takes two hours to get back to the county town from here. I couldn't keep you here last time, but this time you absolutely have to stay."
Peng Fei exchanged glances with his brothers, scratched the back of his neck, and chuckled, "Brother Lu, we really have something important to do..."
"Serious business?" Lu Zheng's face darkened, and he kicked him in the butt. "You bunch of brats, you think you're all grown up now? You're hiding things from me?"
Peng Fei stumbled from the kick and hurriedly waved his hands, "No, no! Your wife just gave birth, you have to stay home with her!"
"Don't give me that!" Lu Zheng glared at him. "You and Xueying are getting married next month. What could be more urgent than your wedding? Speak up! Don't make me take action!"
The courtyard fell silent instantly. Peng Fei and his gang of men, who were usually fearless, didn't dare to breathe loudly when they saw that Lu Zheng was really angry.
"Peng Fei, speak!"
Someone nudged Peng Fei's arm, "This can't be kept secret. Rather than waiting for Brother Lu to find out on his own, we might as well confess."
Peng Fei swallowed hard, pulled a crumpled newspaper from his pocket, and handed it over with both hands: "Brother Lu, it's not that we deliberately kept it from you... You know, we have special identities, and we were afraid of causing you trouble."
Lu Zheng opened the newspaper, and the headline on the front page was a shocking headline: "Our army's border conflict with the enemy country escalates." The bold text was alarming, and below it was a conscription mobilization order.
The battle was described as fierce, with images of soldiers fighting valiantly in every line.
His fingers clenched tightly, crumpling the edges of the newspaper. So these guys wanted to go to the front lines!
“We’ve discussed it and decided to sign up as veterans. That way, you can go to the battlefield without getting involved. Brother Lu, don’t get involved in this mess. Your wife and the kids need you.”
Lu Zheng stared silently at the newspaper, his knuckles turning white from the pressure. The courtyard was so quiet that only the sound of the wind rustling through the treetops could be heard.
After a long pause, he raised his head, his eyes as deep as a still pool: "Don't leave yet, I'll go and tell Qianqian."
With that, he turned and went inside.
Lu Zheng pushed open the door, looked at the whimpering child in Xia Qianqian's arms, his Adam's apple bobbed, a struggle flashed in his eyes, but he finally clenched his fist and looked intently at Xia Qianqian: "Qianqian, there's something... I need to discuss with you."
He took out the newspaper and handed it to Xia Qianqian.
Xia Qianqian took the newspaper and immediately saw the conscription notice.
She read it word by word, her fingertips trembling slightly, but when she looked up, she suddenly smiled. That smile was like a stream thawing in early spring, gently washing over Lu Zheng's tense nerves.
“You told me before,” she tilted her head and thought for a moment, her voice clear as a spring, “With great power comes great responsibility.” She reached out and placed her hand on the back of his hand, her palm warm. “Go if you want to. I support you. I’ll take care of things at home, so don’t worry about going.”
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