Chapter 197 Is he really jealous? The delighted Regiment Commander Zhao
Not long after Jiang Wanqiu finished speaking, the students on the playground erupted in an uproar.
"What's going on? Didn't Ping An plagiarize Hu Xiaohu?"
"You misheard! The broadcast said that Ping An got two perfect scores and came in first place! Teacher Zhang is wronging an innocent person!"
"My God, Hu Xiaohu was usually so capable, but it turns out he was just bragging?"
"And Teacher Zhang, he apologized in front of the whole school, he really lost face..."
After finishing her business and leaving the teaching building, Jiang Wanqiu let out a long sigh of relief. The pent-up frustration in her chest vanished, and she felt an indescribable sense of comfort throughout her body.
Jiang Wanqiu said to Ping An, who was walking beside her, "Ping An, tell me, what do you want to eat when we get home? Mom will make it for you."
Ping An shook his head: "Mom, you're pregnant with your little sister, so I'll take care of all the cooking from now on."
The mother and daughter walked hand in hand, slowly making their way home.
As we passed the intersection near the supply and marketing cooperative, a conspicuous green Jiefang brand pickup truck screeched to a halt on the side of the road, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Jiang Wanqiu's steps subconsciously stopped.
She recognized the truck; it was used by the military region's supply and marketing cooperative to transport goods.
The back of the truck was pushed open with a "bang," and Zhao Wenchang jumped out. His crisp military uniform made him stand tall and straight, like a young poplar tree, exuding a spirited and vigorous air.
Before Jiang Wanqiu's smile could fully bloom, she saw the passenger door open as well.
A young woman in a trench coat got out of the car; she was the same female colleague Zhao Wenchang had seen in his office when she delivered food last time.
The woman was smiling as she walked over and spoke to Zhao Wenchang.
Just as Jiang Wanqiu was about to walk over, she saw Zhao Wenchang take something out of his pocket and proudly wave it in front of the woman.
The female colleague's eyes lit up instantly, her face showing a mixture of surprise and delight, and she reached out to grab it.
Zhao Wenchang reacted quickly, twisting his wrist and raising his arm high, while deftly shifting his body to the side, easily dodging the woman's attempt to snatch his weapon.
“Mom, it’s Dad,” Ping An saw him too. He tugged at Jiang Wanqiu’s sleeve and looked up at her, asking, “Dad’s talking to someone over there. Should we go over?”
Jiang Wanqiu looked at the man and sneered.
"Never mind him, he's busy. Let's go home first."
After saying that, she grabbed Ping An's hand, turned around, and left without looking back.
Meanwhile, at the fork in the road, Zhao Wenchang was tucking the things in his hands into his pockets.
"Hey, Zhao Wenchang, you're not being fair!" Liu Lu exclaimed, stomping her feet in frustration after missing her target. "Where did you find this treasure? My hand cream is almost gone, and I couldn't get it from my relatives in the city last time!"
Zhao Wenchang tucked the hand cream into his innermost pocket, patted it, and said with undisguised pride, "I have a brilliant plan. I got this bottle from the department store through my old comrade-in-arms, just for my Wanqiu. You won't have the chance."
"You stingy person!" Liu Lu pouted, pretending to be angry as she cursed, "Fine, I won't tell you then, who cares!"
As dusk fell, Zhao Wenchang hummed a little tune and pushed open the door to his home, clearly in a very good mood.
"Late Autumn, Ping An, I'm back!" He was carrying the meat he'd bought in town that day. "I asked someone to buy me a piece of pork belly today, with a good mix of fat and lean meat, really good stuff! We'll have a special meal tonight to nourish you two!"
However, instead of his wife's usual gentle smile, he was met with complete silence.
He muttered something strange to himself, then peeked into the kitchen. Jiang Wanqiu and Ping An were busy at the stove. One was tending the fire, the other was chopping vegetables; neither of them turned around or even uttered a sound.
The two figures, one tall and one short, exuded an indescribable chill.
Zhao Wenchang frowned and took a few steps closer.
He leaned close to Jiang Wanqiu from behind, inhaling the familiar scent of soap on her. He deliberately lowered his voice, with a hint of flattery: "What's wrong? Who angered our hero who stood up for our son today? Look at that long face, you could tie a donkey to it."
Jiang Wanqiu slammed the cleaver in her hand onto the cutting board with a loud thud, making the stove tremble.
Without turning her head, she stared at the pile of shredded potatoes on the cutting board, her voice flat: "It's nothing, I'm just a little tired. If you're free, go out and rest, don't get in the way here."
Zhao Wenchang was left feeling awkward and his efforts were met with indifference.
He looked at his wife's back as she walked away, and it seemed as if the words "Don't mess with me" were written all over the back of her head.
Zhao Wenchang touched his nose and awkwardly left the kitchen.
What kind of situation is this? He was puzzled. He bought meat and rare items, hoping to win favor, but how did he end up being the sinner?
Unable to figure it out, Zhao Wenchang simply stopped thinking about it and decided to adopt a "roundabout tactic".
He placed the piece of pork belly, with its evenly marbled fat and lean meat, on the cutting board, picked up a cleaver, and started chopping it up himself, muttering, "You take a break, I'll do the heavy work. I'll show you my new Dongpo pork recipe."
The atmosphere at the dinner table was eerily quiet.
A large pot of fragrant meat was steaming in the center of the table. The meat chunks were glistening with oil and had an appealing dark brown color, but no one had the appetite to touch it.
Zhao Wenchang realized this wouldn't do and needed to find a way to start the conversation.
"Our Ping An really lived up to expectations today! He got a perfect score in both Chinese and Math, that's amazing! Just like me, his mind is so quick!" He picked up the biggest piece of meat and put it into Ping An's bowl.
Ping An kept her head down and quietly replied, "Thank you, Dad."
Zhao Wenchang then turned his gaze to Jiang Wanqiu, his face beaming with a smile: "This is mainly because you taught her so well, Wanqiu. You deserve the lion's share of the credit."
Jiang Wanqiu didn't even lift her eyelids, only gave a faint "hmm", and also put a piece of green vegetable on Ping An's plate, saying softly, "It's not enough to just eat meat, eat the vegetables too."
Ping An ate the most at that meal.
It was also the most agonizing time.
As soon as she finished eating, Jiang Wanqiu slammed down her chopsticks and stood up, leaving behind a cold statement: "I'm tired, I'm going back to my room to sleep."
After saying that, she went straight into the inner room, and the curtain was flung open with a loud "whoosh".
Zhao Wenchang watched her retreating figure, then looked at the almost untouched bowl of food on the table, and scratched his head.
This time, even he, who was usually slow to understand, finally got the gist of it.
This is a big deal.
He quickly tidied the table and carried the bowls and chopsticks into the kitchen. Ping An put down his bowl and was trying to slip out on tiptoe when he was grabbed by the back of his collar.
"You brat, why are you running?" Zhao Wenchang pulled him in front of him and lowered his voice, "Tell me honestly, who upset your mother today? Or did something happen to her?"
Ping An was startled by his serious expression and quickly waved her little hands: "No, no! Mom was really amazing today. She even went to school and made Teacher Zhang, who had wronged me, turn pale. Nobody dared to make Mom angry."
"So what exactly happened?"
Ping An's bright eyes darted around, and she cautiously peeked into the inner room to make sure she couldn't hear anything before leaning close to Zhao Wenchang's ear: "Dad, I'm telling you something, but don't tell anyone I told you."
He paused, then muttered softly, "On the way back, at the fork in the road near the supply and marketing cooperative, Mom saw you. You...you were standing with a woman, chatting and laughing, and you even took something out of your pocket to show her, and she tried to snatch it..."
"My mom's face darkened immediately, and she grabbed me and left."
Zhao Wenchang was taken aback when he heard this.
He went over the whole scene at the crossroads that afternoon, and then an irrepressible joy appeared on his tense face. The corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn upwards, eventually stretching into a wide arc that almost reached his ears.
This little girl is jealous!
His heart felt as sweet as honey; the slight resentment of being neglected vanished instantly, leaving only a delightful sweetness.
Zhao Wenchang's hands moved swiftly, quickly washing the pots and pans clean. He wiped his hands haphazardly on his apron and rushed into the inner room like a gust of wind.
The light in the inner room was still on, casting a dim, yellowish glow over the entire room.
Jiang Wanqiu lay on her side on the kang (a heated brick bed) with her back to the door, covered with a quilt, her breathing light and even, as if she were already fast asleep.
Zhao Wenchang was secretly pleased, but he moved with extreme care. He quietly took off his shoes, sat cross-legged on the kang (a heated brick bed), and slowly moved behind Jiang Wanqiu. The kang was warm and cozy, and Jiang Wanqiu's face flushed red as well.
He reached out his finger and gently poked her slightly hunched shoulder.
Jiang Wanqiu's body stiffened for a moment, but she didn't move and continued to pretend to be asleep.
"Alright, stop pretending. I know you're not asleep." Zhao Wenchang's voice was filled with barely suppressed laughter, and his warm breath brushed against her ear.
He stretched out his long arm and, with a mixture of force and gentleness, turned Jiang Wanqiu's body around so that she was facing him.
Jiang Wanqiu could no longer pretend after being teased by him, so she simply sat up, her pretty face as cold as ice under the light.
She tried hard to pull her arm out of his grasp, but his large hand held it tightly, preventing her from moving.
"Let go!" she said, suppressing her anger.
Instead of letting go, Zhao Wenchang used his other hand to magically produce a small box from behind his back and held it up in front of her.
"Look what this is! I went to great lengths to get this for you."
It was a cream or something similar with a few lines of incomprehensible foreign writing printed on it, and its workmanship was much more refined than the clam oil sold at the supply and marketing cooperative.
Jiang Wanqiu glanced at it only once, and her heart skipped a beat: it was actually a gift for her...
But she was still sharp-tongued, turning her head to the side and saying curtly, "Who cares? I don't want it."
Zhao Wenchang wasn't annoyed. He chuckled and opened the lid with his other hand.
He squeezed a dollop of milky white ointment onto his finger, then grabbed her hand, which was trying to break free, and forcibly smeared it on the back of her hand.
His rough fingertips, calloused from years of holding guns, brushed against her delicate skin, bringing waves of tingling itch.
“This is a hot commodity,” he explained as he carefully applied the cream evenly to her hands. “I heard it’s from Taiwan, it’s called something like hand cream, it prevents frostbite and chapping. I’ve seen all the young women in our office secretly using this, and their hands are all so white and tender. I thought to myself, this is a good thing, my Wanqiu must have some too.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Jiang Wanqiu slowly turned her head, looking at him with a half-smile, her tone sarcastic: "Oh, Commander Zhao, you're quite observant, aren't you? You can even tell so clearly whether that young lady's hands are fair and delicate. You must have been staring at her quite a bit in the office all the time, right?"
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