The child's sudden cries startled even Guan Wanxin, who had seen many storms in her life.
Guan Wenru reacted quickly and took out beef jerky from her storage space from an angle where the child couldn't see her.
However, the beef jerky in the space was wrapped in plastic wrap, with words and a date written on it.
She could only tear open the packaging as quickly as possible and throw the bag back into the storage space.
Then, using chopsticks, he picked up the beef jerky and handed it to the child at the door.
Sure enough, as soon as he saw the beef jerky, the little kid stopped crying and ran in to grab the meat.
Hearing the commotion, He Yanzhi hurriedly came out of the house. Upon seeing the scene at the dining table, he seemed to guess what was going on and smiled helplessly, “Grandma, Wen…Wenru, this is Maowa. He is the youngest son of the commander of our division’s cavalry regiment.”
Perhaps because he wasn't used to calling Guan Wenru by her name, He Yanzhi even paused for a moment.
He didn't think much of the beef jerky in Maowa's hand, since he knew the Guan family was rich and had the ability to get some beef jerky, which was normal.
Guan Wanxin is getting old, but she has an inexplicable patience with children. She smiled and patted Maowa's head, saying, "You little one, you have a pretty good nose."
No sooner had these words been spoken than another person appeared at the door, laughing, "Everyone in our compound says this kid has a dog's nose; he can't hide anything from anyone when they're eating meat."
Upon seeing the person at the door, Guan Wenru stood up on her own initiative.
Although she knew him, she still had to wait for He Yanzhi to introduce her.
He Yanzhi reacted quickly, immediately calling out to the people at the door to come inside and introducing them to each other.
This woman was Xiahenazi, the wife of the commander of their division's cavalry regiment.
Xiahenazi looked at Guan Wanxin with a smile, "I have long admired your name, sir. You are indeed as beautiful and elegant as the legends say."
In this era, addressing outstanding women as "Mr." is a sign of respect and praise.
Guan Wanxin smiled and said, "You have such a sweet tongue. We'll be living in the same compound from now on. If you don't mind, you can call me Grandma Guan, just like my Wenru does."
Xiahenazi quickly replied, "It's my honor, Grandma Guan. I arrived a few days earlier than you and am familiar with the situation here. You're new here, so please don't hesitate to ask if you need any help. Don't be shy."
Guan Wanxin and Guan Wenru nodded quickly.
Xiahenazi then asked Maowa to greet the elders.
After the 4-year-old boy sweetly called out to her, Xiahenazi quickly pulled him away first.
She didn't want to delay Mr. Guan and Guan Wenru from having lunch.
After the mother and son left, He Yanzhi went back into the house to continue making bedding for Guan Wenru.
Guan Wanxin and Guan Wenru quickly ate the food in their lunchboxes.
After finishing the meal, Guan Wanxin suddenly laughed, "From now on, it will be really difficult for us to eat meat. This child actually has this skill."
Guan Wenru smiled and put away the aluminum lunchbox on the table. "Maowa's nose is indeed sensitive, but it's not particularly strange. We'll just close the door next time."
After saying that, she took the aluminum lunchbox into the kitchen to wash it.
He Yanzhi had prepared all kinds of daily necessities in the kitchen.
But she still took out dish soap and a dishcloth from her storage space.
In those days, there was no dish soap, so people usually washed dishes with hot water.
But she had dish soap, a dishcloth, and gloves, so she didn't need to prepare hot water separately.
She put on gloves and washed the aluminum lunch boxes in no time.
The only downside was that she had to be careful when using gloves, dish soap, and dishcloths, lest He Yanzhi see them.
When she came out of the kitchen, He Yanzhi had already made the bed for Guan Wanxin.
Immediately afterwards, he quickly went into the kitchen.
Help them heat up the kang (heated brick bed), and while you're at it, boil a few pots of water and put them into thermos flasks.
Guan Wenru took the initiative to go into the kitchen and asked, "Is there anything I can do?"
"No, I'll boil a few kettles of water and then boil more after you've used them. There's limited coal resources around here, so we mostly burn firewood. If you don't know how to start a fire, I'll take care of these things when I get back. You don't need to cook either; there's a canteen in the camp. You can bring some back to eat or eat there."
Guan Wenru knew he had misunderstood, and raised an eyebrow. "Do you really think I'm some kind of capitalist's daughter who can't do anything? I can still cook and start a fire."
He Yanzhi was quite surprised. He didn't question it, but pointed to the wooden cabinet in the corner. "I've already bought grain and oil. If you want to cook, you can do it yourself. If you don't want to cook, take Grandma to the canteen. I'm used to eating in the camp, so I won't eat with you anymore."
Guan Wenru knew that he never truly considered her his wife, so to avoid awkwardness, he tried to minimize contact with her.
She pursed her lips. "I understand, thank you."
She opened the cabinet and took a look.
Inside was a jar of soybean oil, as well as rice and flour.
He doesn't eat at home, but he buys them the finest grains...
He probably gave all his ration of refined grains to them, so wouldn't he have to eat coarse grains every meal?
Thinking of this, Guan Wenru narrowed her eyes. "If you don't eat at home often, I'm afraid Grandma will become suspicious. How about this, if I cook, I'll tell you in advance, and you can come back to eat then."
He Yanzhi wanted to refuse, but Guan Wenru added before he could, "Brother He, even if we can't be husband and wife, we can still be friends, right?"
In any case, our two families have been on good terms for many years. As far back as I can remember, I would go with my grandmother to your family compound to pay New Year's greetings every year. Before you joined the army, we could see each other every year.
And I vaguely remember that when we were little, you took me to buy popsicles. Does that mean we can't even eat together at the same table now that we're grown up? Or... are you still blaming me for scheming about your marriage?
She had said everything, and He Yanzhi didn't know what to say next.
But what she said makes sense. If he always avoids her and deliberately creates this distance, it will only make Grandma Guan worry.
After thinking for a moment, he nodded, "Okay, we'll do it your way."
Guan Wenru knew when to stop, and gave a sweet smile, "Thank you for your understanding, Brother He. I'll go and tidy up the rest of my things now."
He Yanzhi initially had a thought that she might be taking a roundabout approach, trying to win him over step by step so that the marriage could be finalized.
But every time she finished speaking to him, she would turn around decisively, and the look in her eyes when she looked at him was completely devoid of any ulterior motives.
He then realized he was overthinking things.
As he pondered this, he suddenly gave a self-deprecating laugh.
That's true, he's not exactly a hot commodity.
Guan Wenru came from a well-off family and had seen all sorts of outstanding people.
She schemed against his marriage to protect her family; she never genuinely wanted to live with him.
He Yanzhi shook his head, clearing his mind of the complex thoughts.
As soon as the water boiled, he immediately poured it into the thermos.
He had other tasks in the afternoon, so he hurriedly returned to the camp after boiling the water.
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