Chapter 196 Drinking

Until Zhang Yuandong came back, Lin Yue never had the chance to see Zhang Yulan's "sister" again.

I don't know if Zhang Yulan's warning worked, but the woman usually stayed at home and rarely went out. Zhang Yulan had spread the news of her past experience to everyone in the family compound. She seemed to have become the hottest topic recently, but this person never showed up, and almost no one had seen this woman again.

Lin Yue called Liu Fang and learned that Zhang Xiaohui had been spotted in Linshi some time ago and that they were already monitoring her nearby.

Liu Fang told her about Zhang Xiaohui's situation in the past few years. It was said that she had been living in seclusion in the countryside. She got married at first, but became a widow after a few months. Now she lives in poverty. If she hadn't deliberately shown off her watch in order to compete with an educated youth, no one would have noticed anything.

It was obvious that the watch was not cheap, and it was not something that anyone with money could buy. Lin Yue thought of the Omega that Zhang Xiaohui had worn on her wrist. She had often shown off that watch.

Lin Yue listened to Liu Fang's clear and logical explanation, but she still felt a little uneasy. This uneasiness was without reason, and even she herself couldn't explain it clearly, so she didn't tell Liu Fang about her feelings. Instead, she took the initiative to talk to Zhang Yuandong about this matter when he came back.

Zhang Yuandong has been in a bad mood recently. The people on the other side of the river have been making continuous movements, and the order they received was not to fire first. He has been feeling very aggrieved during this period. When he heard Lin Yue talk about this, his heart skipped a beat and he immediately shifted his attention over.

His first suspect was Zhang Xiaohui, a dangerous person, especially since she had an inexplicable hostility towards Lin Yue. He clenched his hands and paced back and forth in the room for a few circles. Finally, he said to Lin Yue, "Don't worry, I'll go find out."

He took out a jar of wine from the cabinet and was about to go out.

Lin Yue grabbed him and asked, "Where are you going?"

"It's okay, don't worry, I'm just looking for a few people to drink. You don't have to prepare, there are private rooms in the cafeteria, I'll take everyone there."

Lin Yue said unhappily, "You just came back, why are you in such a hurry to go out? At least take a shower and change clothes first!"

Zhang Yuandong looked down at his clothes, raised his hand and sniffed them, and asked in confusion: "Do they smell? I knew I had to come back today, so I just changed them this morning!"

He changed his clothes only when he knew he was coming back. Does that mean he never changed his clothes at all? What kind of life does this person live in the borderland? Lin Yue glared at him and took him into the space.

When they got to the space, Zhang Yuandong was no longer in a hurry. He took a good bath and asked Lin Yue to shave his head with a razor. A razor can't do any hairstyle. Lin Yue touched his smooth forehead. If it weren't for Zhang Yuandong's righteousness, it would be easy for people to mistake him for a labor reform prisoner.

She pursed her lips and said, "I can only shave your hair like this. There are barbershops in the army. They can even shave your hair in a buzz cut. Let the professionals do it next time!"

Zhang Yuandong held a palm-sized mirror in his hand, looked at himself left and right, and even reached out to pick up his non-existent hair. He smiled and showed his big white teeth: "My wife's craftsmanship is pretty good. Why does it have to be so beautiful? I'm already beautiful enough. If everything is perfect, people will be mad at me!"

Lin Yue was amused by him and couldn't help but pat him.

Zhang Yuandong chuckled, "I'm telling the truth. People always ask me why I look like a woman without any peeling on my face. It really annoys me."

The border environment is harsh, and it is common for soldiers to have dry and flaky faces in the summer and frostbite on their faces in the winter. However, Zhang Yuandong's skin is better than that of most military wives, so it would be strange if this didn't cause talk about it.

Lin Yue paused, and said worriedly, "What should I do? They won't think you are a hedonist, right?"

"Well, I was born with good skin. What can I do? Let them talk! If anyone is dissatisfied, let him come to me. I will call him Grandpa if he can beat me down!" He is not bragging. Among the several group leaders, it is really hard to find one who has made more contributions than him. He has no background and no connections. Every step he took to get to the top was risked by his own life.

Lin Yue laughed. They both understood that the skin problem was caused by the spiritual spring water. But Zhang Yuandong often had to go on missions, and he rarely used the spiritual spring water. No matter how much he had abused his face over the years, his skin was still very good. So it was not that he could stop using it in the future, but because he had absorbed a lot of spiritual spring water at the beginning.

Zhang Yuandong changed into a clean suit, a military coat, and a liberation cap to cover his shiny forehead. He smiled at Lin Yue, who was immediately stunned, feeling that he didn't look like a military commander, but more like a literary soldier.

Zhang Yuandong saw that his wife was distracted by him and her eyes became deep. He wished he could stay with his wife. His Adam's apple moved and he said with red ears: "Wife, I really have to go. If it's too late, the canteen will be out of food. Don't worry, I'll be back soon..."

Lin Yue's face flushed, and he said angrily, "What are you talking about? Go away!"

Zhang Yuandong smiled foolishly, picked up the wine altar and went out.

When the children came back from school, they saw the luggage that had not been packed yet and shouted excitedly: "My dad is back, right? Mom, where is my dad?"

Lin Yue said unhappily: "Your father is out again, wash your hands and eat!"

The children looked at each other and went to wash their hands obediently.

It was already mid-afternoon when Zhang Yuandong returned. He and several of his comrades walked back arm in arm, singing "Yellow River Cantata" at the top of their lungs.

When Lin Yue heard the noise, he hurried out to see, and saw Zhang Yuandong, Lu Mangang, Captain Shen, Ma Fangdong and Li Zhiguo lined up in a long row on the street, supporting each other and acting crazy while drunk.

Recently due to the conflict between the two countries, the number of soldiers guarding the border has increased a lot. These people have just returned from the border. According to the routine, they are given a few days to rest after returning, so it’s okay for them to drink some wine.

It was unknown how much these people had drunk. Zhang Yuandong took the jar, but he couldn't drink to that extent. Lin Yue sighed helplessly and wanted to go forward to support Zhang Yuandong, but she saw Ma Fangdong winking at her in a subtle way.

She paused and looked carefully, and found that among the five people, at least three were pretending to be drunk. Only Li Zhiguo was really drunk. He was spread on Lu Mangang like noodles, roaring the loudest and singing the most discordantly.

Another person who was truly drunk was Captain Shen. He simply took advantage of the alcohol to get angry. While others were singing, he was the only one who hugged Zhang Yuandong's neck hard, calling him a pretty boy and threatening to fight him.

Zhang Yuandong ignored him and sang loudly to himself, with the tune going off the track. His elbows went off track as well, and when Captain Shen tried to strangle him, he would secretly use his elbows to hit back, since he would not suffer any loss anyway.

Lin Yue's face was filled with black lines. If she had known earlier, she would not have come out. But now, with this group of people in this state, she was in a dilemma as to whether to go or not.

Fortunately, the noise made by the few people was so loud that several households nearby heard it. Tao Laixiang hurriedly turned the corner, pinched Captain Shen's ear and rescued him. Otherwise, she was really afraid that when Captain Shen sobered up, he would suspect that she had gone out to pick a fight with someone.

Zhang Yuandong was afraid of alerting the enemy, so it was inconvenient for him to go to Li Zhiguo's house. He winked at Ma Fangdong on the other side, and Ma Fangdong followed the order and half-carried Li Zhiguo back home together with Lu Mangang.

When the three men entered the house, Zhang Yuandong staggered forward and leaned on Lin Yue. Lin Yue helped him into the house, and seeing that he was still drunk and mad, and refused to get off him, he was so angry that he picked up a broom and wanted to beat him.

When Zhang Yuandong saw that she was really angry, he jumped away from her, grinned foolishly and said flatteringly: "Wife, I just drank too much and my head hurts. Can you take a look at it for me?"

Lin Yue glared at him angrily. Just as he was about to say something, several children ran out of the house and shouted, "Dad, you're back!"

Zhang Yuandong stood straight for a second, put away the playful smile on his face, and nodded pretentiously.

However, he was a little too much and scared a few children. Lingling grabbed Wanli and they both stopped and looked at the serious-looking father in confusion.

Little Mushroom didn't care about that and jumped onto his father's body. Zhang Yuandong picked him up and lifted him up. Little Mushroom laughed in the air and danced with joy.

The other children couldn't wait any longer and all rushed over. Zhang Yuandong picked them up one by one, and even Lingling, who was already seven years old, was thrown into the air by her father twice.

As soon as Ling Ling's feet touched the ground, she covered her nose and said, "Dad, you drank alcohol, you stink!"

Zhang Yuandong was rejected by the lady and said with some hurt: "Does it stink? Not too bad, I took a good shower when I came back."

Ling Ling interrupted him and said, "Dad, I'll get you some water, go wash up now!" Zhang Yuandong suddenly stopped feeling hurt. Seeing his daughter scooping a bucket of hot water from the pot and carrying it to the room, he was immediately moved. He had drunk some wine, so he grabbed Lin Yue's arm and kept saying, "Wife, my daughter can get me water now!"

Lin Yue perfunctorily said, "Yes, yes, yes, don't let your daughter down. Go and wash yourself, and wash your clothes as well!"

She had just finished washing the big bag of clothes he brought back. The two military coats were big and heavy, and she didn't want to wash them again.

Zhang Yuandong put his legs together and saluted: "Yes, I promise to complete the task!"

Lin Yue glared at him with amusement and pushed him to take a shower.

Zhang Yuandong took a very long bath this time. Lin Yue found the cotton trousers and cotton shirt that he had just sewn for him. When he went to look for him, he found that he had fallen asleep in the bathtub.

He probably hadn't rested for a long time. He had dark circles under his eyes and frowned even when he was asleep. The food at the border was not good, so he looked much thinner. Lin Yue had a lot to say to him, but now he couldn't say a word.

She was afraid that the person would freeze, so she looked outside carefully and saw that the children were not nearby. She moved the person into the space and placed him on the bed.

When Lin Yue finished cleaning up the bathroom and came out, several children immediately gathered around him, looking in. Little Mushroom asked, "Mom, where is my dad?"

Lin Yue said nonsense: "Go out, what are you looking for your father for?"

"Let's play! My dad promised to take me ice skating!" This was Lingling's voice.

"My dad said he wanted me to ride a big horse!"

Lin Yue turned his gaze to Wan Li, who looked at him expectantly: "My dad said he would teach me how to ride a real horse!"

Little Mushroom refused to do it when he heard this. He burst into tears and looked at Lin Yue eagerly: "Mom, I don't want to ride a fake horse anymore. I want to ride a real horse too!"

"Mom, Dad is biased. Why did he only allow Wanli to learn horse riding? I want to learn too!"

Lin Yuefu was puzzled. Didn’t this guy just come back? When did he promise so many children?

"You should ask your father about this matter. He promised you this. Go discuss it with him!"

Little Sisi tugged at her mother's sleeve. Lin Yue lowered his head and asked, "Did your father promise you anything?"

Sisi shook her head and said softly, "Mom, my brother is awake and calling me!"

Lin Yue was startled and hurried into the house.

Sisi added slowly from behind: "When dad comes back, Sisi will teach him to sing!"

Lin Yue found it very funny and laughed out loud as she walked into the house. She really wanted to see Zhang Yuandong's expression when he woke up.