Chapter 29: How can a patrol officer have the nerve to coax his wife?
Just as I finished saying that it was dark and there was no one around, I ran into two acquaintances head-on. It was as awkward as it could be.
Moreover, Yan Xue was only carrying the basket, while Liu Weiguo even held her hand. Yan Xue was still fine, but Qi Fang's gaze fell over at that moment.
Liu Weiguo was still unaware of the situation and greeted them with a smile, "You two are out for a walk too."
Before he could finish his words, Zhou Wenhui had already shaken off his claws, lowered her head, and her ears were red.
Yan Xue felt as if the man behind her snorted, "It's so late, we don't have the time." Unlike the man opposite, his hand showed no sign of loosening.
Yan Xue naturally wasn't easily embarrassed. Seeing Liu Weiguo's awkward expression, she smiled at him and said, "You're making pretty fast progress."
Liu Weiguo immediately laughed, "It's just average, not as good as you and Qi Fang."
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhou Wenhui secretly kicked him with her toes.
He immediately shut up and put on a serious expression. "Actually, Comrade Zhou Wenhui dropped something, and I'm helping her find it."
Even if they could pretend to be blind and not see them holding hands, how could they go out to look for something at night without a flashlight?
Yan Xue smiled but said nothing. Qi Fang looked at Liu Weiguo as if he was a fool.
Zhou Wenhui's face turned even redder after what he said. This time she couldn't stand it anymore, so she lowered her head and turned around and ran away.
Liu Weiguo hurried to catch up, "Hey, don't be angry. I was wrong. Isn't it okay if I was wrong?"
They chased each other and apologized all the way, and soon they slowed down. After a while, although they stopped holding hands, they seemed to have calmed down.
"Liu Weiguo is quite capable." Yan Xue couldn't help laughing.
"Yeah, you're pretty thick-skinned."
This time Yan Xue was sure that the man behind her had definitely snorted.
She was a little amused. "Why would you have the nerve to coax your wife? If you were so arrogant, your wife would have run away long ago."
The man behind him was silent for a moment, then said, "I'm not being polite."
"I'm holding it, okay." Yan Xue was too lazy to argue with him and pulled the basket on her back.
He tugged, but it didn't loosen. He tugged again, and the man finally let go. "Are you optimistic about them?"
"Why not?" Yan Xue adjusted her shoulder straps. "I think Liu Weiguo and this young woman are good. They're both good."
"I'm afraid her family won't agree." Qi Fang walked over and stood shoulder to shoulder with her.
After all, Zhou Wenhui came from the city. Just because she was willing didn’t mean her family members were willing too.
Yan Xue also knew this and turned to look at him. "Comrade, I find you're a bit pessimistic. You always tend to think the worst."
She had noticed this a long time ago, especially after the two of them talked about the topic of "selling blood" on the mountain in the afternoon.
I don't know if it's his nature or if he's been through something, but his usual attitude of not being interested in anything actually means that he doesn't care about anything and has no expectations for anything.
This doesn't look like a young man in his early twenties at all. He looks a bit like Guo Changan next door who just suffered a huge blow, except that the despair in Guo Changan is heavier.
If he hadn't behaved normally in other aspects, with neither suicidal tendencies nor irritability or depression, she would have suspected that he had some mental problems.
Qi Fang paused when he heard this. He didn't look at her, but cast his gaze into the distance. "I'm just preparing for the worst."
"Planning is about preparing for the worst, so you're prepared for whatever happens." Yan Xue agreed. "But planning is planning, and expectations are expectations. Humans point their feet forward, and their eyes are forward too. Doesn't that tell us to keep moving forward and keep looking ahead?"
But what if our expectations are dashed? What if there is endless darkness ahead?
For a second, Qi Fang wanted to ask, but when his eyes met those crescent-shaped eyes, all the words stopped at his lips.
She's fine like this, so why bring up his affairs to ruin her mood...
Qi Fang turned his gaze away, but Yan Xue, for once, didn't stop there. Instead, she asked another question, "Don't you want to attend the training?"
When Liu Weiguo asked about it before, his attitude was a bit perfunctory and he deliberately changed the subject.
At that time, the two had just gotten married, and Yan Xue did not delve into it. When Secretary Lang mentioned it today and he was still not proactive, she really became suspicious.
This made Qi Fang fall silent again. After a long while, he whispered, "No."
After a pause, he looked at Yan Xue and added seriously, "I will attend the training."
This turn of events surprised Yan Xue a little, but the man seemed to have figured something out and even reached out to rub her head. "Go back, you still have to dry the Gastrodia elata tomorrow."
This time he rubbed her much harder than last time, and he did it while standing. Yan Xue immediately felt the pressure from her height.
This made her a little unhappy, "Can you please stop pressing my head? I'm only eighteen years old, I can still grow."
Yes, only eighteen years old.
Such a young girl has already suffered a lot by marrying him, so we can’t let her suffer poverty again...
*
There are two ways to process Gastrodia elata: raw sun-drying and cooked sun-drying. Raw sun-drying will retain more nutrients, but it is not easy to preserve, so everyone chooses cooked sun-drying, which means cooking the Gastrodia elata before drying it in the sun.
After breakfast, Yan Xue and Qi Fang started cooking the Gastrodia elata while the fire in the large earthen pot was still burning. When the white core was gone, they drained the water and put it on the roof to dry in the sun.
Since Qi Fang is tall and has long legs, he is of course responsible for climbing the ladder.
Yan Xue was standing below, making a canopy with her hands, and instructed him to put the curtain in the place where it would get the most sun. "It shouldn't rain these few days, right?"
Qi Fang jumped down, clapped his hands, and looked at the sky. "It might snow."
This joke is a bit cold, although it is possible that it will snow in the Changbai Mountain area and Greater and Lesser Khingan Mountains at this time, sometimes it still snows in May. In Yan Xue's previous life, she would often see the soul-stirring "Where is Spring" on the Internet.
She looked at the roof again and said, "We have to keep an eye on it. Don't let it get soaked by rain or snow."
It’s just over twenty yuan, which is half a month’s salary for Ding Qifang.
Qi Fang also realized that this girl was really interested in money, and couldn't help but want to reach out and rub her head again, but she dodged him alertly.
It had been a long time since Yan Xue had been treated like a child like this. She glared at him before turning around and going back to the house.
Those eyes were mostly smiling and rarely showed other emotions. It was the first time that Qi Fang was stared at, and he stared at her petite back for a while.
Just as I was about to put the ladder away, someone came over and said, "Xiao Qi is at home."
It turned out to be Director Yu. Qi Fang raised his eyelids calmly.
This doesn't seem like someone who would appear here. Yan Xue, who had just entered the room, was a little surprised to see him. She made eye contact with Qi Fang without saying a word.
The couple's meaning was very clear: no one would come to the temple for no reason. I wonder what he is up to.
As expected, Director Yu sat down and didn't have much to say to them. He directly brought up the incident with Hei Xia Zi. "Cui Yun was injured and was only discharged from the hospital two days ago. Yong Zhi was also very scared. I have been busy and worried these days and haven't had time to say thank you to you."
After the incident with Hei Xia Zi, the Yu family really didn't even say a word of thanks, unlike the Lang family, who acted very sincerely from top to bottom.
Because of this, many people secretly talked about it, saying that Qi Fang at least saved Yu Yongzhi's life.
Director Yu came over now, not knowing whether it was because he was too busy before and just remembered, or because he had overheard the discussion. Qi Fang's expression was indifferent, and Yan Xue was also smiling, waiting to see what the other party was up to.
After all, the Lang family gave two large pieces of steamed cakes and a large bowl of pickles yesterday, but Director Yu came empty-handed.
Director Yu quickly explained the purpose of his visit. "Registration for the chainsaw operator and tractor operator training is opening soon. I've already contacted Liu Daniu and Hu Changjiang and asked them to recommend you. Secretary Lang will also give me some credit. Study hard and don't let me down."
If Yan Xue hadn't been in charge, I would have almost laughed.
It was clearly Liu Daniu and Hu Changjiang who took the initiative to recommend Qi Fang, but after coming to him, it became him who asked the two to recommend him.
If they hadn't just gone to Lang's house yesterday and learned the news in advance and knew exactly who he was, they might have actually believed it.
Yan Xue smiled with surprise, "I really have to thank the organization for their trust, and thank you to Masters Liu Daniu and Hu Changjiang."
He didn't mention Director Yu or the Yu family. Director Yu paused, "This is the best I can do. I don't want to make it too obvious."
"Yeah." Yan Xue continued to nod, "We will definitely not tell anyone that this has anything to do with you."
Director Yu choked again.
Didn't he come here on his own initiative just to make them appreciate his kindness and talk about this matter, so that people wouldn't say that they were ungrateful?
Director Yu couldn't help but look at Qi Fang, hoping that Qi Fang could understand what he meant.
Qi Fang, who was usually very cold, actually followed his wife and served her tea and water. "Yan Xue is right. We must keep our mouths shut."
Director Yu felt a little upset. The couple looked good, but why was one of them so stupid?
In the end, he hinted and hinted, but Yan Xue and Qi Fang didn't understand. They were so angry that they left without drinking the water. The water Qi Fang poured for him was too hot for him to drink...
As soon as the person left the yard, Qi Fang immediately picked up the water cup and poured it into the dirty bucket, and then picked up the thermos and rinsed it again.
He moved slowly and leisurely, obviously not disgusted by this disgusting thing.
Yan Xue also understood his love of cleanliness. "Since we've pissed him off so much, he won't change his mind and tamper with your spot, right?"
"No," Qi Fang said, "unless he has absolutely no shame."
Even if he was completely shameless, there was still Secretary Lang. As a field director, he couldn't really throw away his face.
"No wonder he is almost ten years older than Secretary Lang, yet he is only a field manager." Yan Xue couldn't help but sigh.
Whether he can behave as a person or do things well is really far from enough. She even suspected that Director Yu was lucky or had connections with the higher-ups to become the director.
As if he knew what she was thinking, Qi Fang said calmly, "Director Yu's brother-in-law works at the County Forestry Bureau."
Yan Xue was immediately amused by what she heard. "Is this true? Aren't brothers-in-law always protecting their younger brothers-in-law?"
When she smiled sincerely, it was a little different from her usual smile. Her eyes were curved, with beautiful bags under their eyes. Curiosity and cunning seemed to be written all over her eyes.
Qi Fang watched, unconsciously slowing down his rinsing of the cup, "Really, Director Yu was quite good-looking when he was young."
I've seen Director Yu's wife, Yan Xue. She's definitely not as good-looking as Director Yu. Yu Cuiyun is pretty because she looks like her father, but Yu Yongzhi is...
"Did Liu Weiguo tell you all that?" Yan Xue winked at the man.
Qi Fang said "hmm" and was about to put the rinsed cup back when someone came to look for him. "Qi Fang, are you home? Check and see if this is your letter."
It was Dawei who had brought them firewood last time. Qi Fang put down his things and went out to take it.
Then, when he saw this, his eyes darkened.
"Is it sent to our forest farm?" Even though he had already seen the address, he still asked the visitor.
Dawei didn't know him well after all, so he didn't realize that his voice was not only indifferent but also had a hint of coldness. "It was mailed to town, but they couldn't find anyone there, so they checked and sent it to our forest farm. You can check to see if it's yours. If not, you have to send it back."
"It's mine." Qi Fang lowered his eyes, his fingers gripping the envelope unconsciously tightening. "Do you know when it was mailed?"
Dawei really thought about it and said, "It must have been more than a month. Anyway, it has been in the town for quite a long time."
Seeing that the letter was indeed from Qi Fang, he didn't stay any longer. "Since it's been delivered, I'm leaving now. I don't know who could write the address wrong."
"Is there a letter for you?" Yan Xue cooked the cocoon pupae she had picked up yesterday. She didn't follow the man out, but asked casually when she saw him come back.
After asking for a long time, no one responded.
She looked back and saw that Qi Fang had already torn open the envelope and was looking at the contents of the letter with no expression on his face.
Although he was usually indifferent, Yan Xue's intuition told her that this person was in a bad mood.
Sure enough, the man only took two glances, folded the envelope, pulled open the iron sheet blocking the hole at the bottom of the pot, and threw it in.
Something was still simmering in the pot, and the fire beneath was blazing. Almost immediately, flames shot up and set it ablaze. The man lowered his eyes and watched the papers burn, as if he were back in the snow on the day they first met. No, it was even colder than the day they first met.
Yan Xue couldn't help but hold his hand, "What's wrong?"
The fingertips were indeed cold, and the man even dodged subconsciously. "It's none of your business."
Yan Xue paused.
Qi Fang also realized that he had accidentally said or done something wrong, "I'm saying this has nothing to do with you."
It was still not right. This time he pursed his lips tightly. After a long while, he calmed down a little bit. He shook Yan Xue's hand and said, "Don't worry, it's not about you."
This was not what Yan Xue was worried about. The loneliness and coldness that emanated from the man at that moment seemed to have drained away even the last bit of vitality.
And beneath the cold and thick ice and snow is the magma that can burn everything, the endless anger, and the hopelessness that seems to be hidden in the deepest part.
She held both hands up, "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." Qi Fang actually used the same answer as she had given him without even thinking. Only after he finished speaking did he realize, "I'm sorry."
For some reason, Yan Xue could understand Qi Fang's feelings at that time.
After all, they were both very capable people, and being able to handle things meant they wouldn't easily show vulnerability. Two months wasn't enough time for them to get to know each other well enough to open up to each other.
She didn't ask any more questions and just said, "Ah," "The cocoon pupae are still in the pot. Will they get burnt?"
Qi Fang had long legs and immediately stepped forward to open the lid of the large earthen pot. "It's okay, there's still plenty of water."
"Let's add some more so the pot won't dry out." Yan Xue also took a look.
In fact, it is impossible for the cocoon pupae to be cooked in such a short time. Yan Xue said this just to divert the man's attention and give him something to do.
Qi Fang didn't know whether it was clear or not, but he still listened to her and added some more water to the pot.
Yan Xue glanced at the watch and said, "It will be ready in five minutes. Once it's completely cool, you can tell me whether you want to stir-fry it or deep-fry it."
"It's all fine." Qi Fang lowered his eyes, obviously still not out of his previous emotions.
Yan Xue wanted to say something more when the loudspeaker at the field office rang, "Comrade Qi Fang! Comrade Qi Fang, please come to the field office! Comrade Qi Fang..."
She glanced at the man in confusion, "Looking for you?"
Qi Fang didn't look like he knew anything about it, but he still went back to the inner room and put on his coat. "I'll go over there."
He came back in about ten minutes and started packing up. "The person who went up to patrol the mountain today has diarrhea and can't go. I'll go up the mountain to watch for a few days."
Every spring, April and May, when the winds are strong and autumn, when the grass is dry, are the most critical times for forest fire prevention. All staff members must patrol the mountain watchtowers. Qi Fang was originally scheduled to join Liu Weiguo at the beginning of the next month, but he was unexpectedly brought forward.
Yan Xue raised an eyebrow. "Who arranged for you to go? Was it Director Yu?"
"I don't know." Qi Fang didn't seem to care much.
Yan Xue stopped asking and looked at him, "Are you still going to eat at home?"
"No, just bring me some dry food and pickles." At this point, the man who had been busy with his work finally raised his eyes and called her, "Yan Xue."
"Um."
"Give me a few days, just a few days."
The man looked at her, not sure whether he was talking about going up the mountain for patrol or his bad mood.
"Then be careful and remember to eat well." Yan Xue said nothing more and went to the kitchen to help him prepare food.
After the man left, she was in no mood to continue making silkworm pupae, so she temporarily put the things in the warehouse to cool down.
The next day, Qi Fang was not at home, but Liu Weiguo came to share gossip, "I want to tell you something, you definitely don't know."
When he entered the house, he found that Qi Fang was not at home. "Where is Qi Fang? How could he not be at home even though he married a wife and never leaves the house?"
"One of the people patrolling the mountain had diarrhea, so he went to take care of it first." Yan Xue explained and asked, "What did you just say?"
Liu Weiguo complained first, "I was wondering why the loud speaker at the field office was looking for him. Turns out it was for this." Then he said, "Didn't you guys bump into Lang Yue'e the other day when her ex-husband came to see her?"
As soon as she heard Lang Yue'e, Yan Xue roughly knew what was going on, but she still asked, "What happened to Sister Yue'e?"
"Didn't her ex-husband get caught assaulting her?" Liu Weiguo gloated. "Secretary Lang's family is furious this time. He's in big trouble."
Without waiting for Yan Xue to ask, he lowered his voice and said, "I heard that Secretary Lang's family directly sent him to the town to sue him for attempted rape. If he is sentenced, he will have to spend at least ten years in prison."
It seems that the Lang family did accept her suggestion and kept it a secret for her, not saying that the idea was hers.
Liu Weiguo was very curious, "Is her ex-husband really that bad?"
Before this matter was concluded, Yan Xue certainly would not say anything nonsense and just smiled without saying anything.
Liu Weiguo also knew that the couple were tight-lipped. Although he was curious, he didn't ask any more questions. Instead, he talked about Lang Yue'e's ex-husband Kang Peisheng. "Is he mentally ill? He's a loser outside, but at home he gets drunk and beats his wife. He deserves to be in Secretary Lang's hands."
This idea was quite different from Li Shuwu's wife's. Yan Xue couldn't help but look at him and asked, "Do you think men shouldn't hit their wives?"
Liu Weiguo was very alert. "Of course, don't tell Zhou Wenhui that. I don't have that problem. No one in our Liu family has that problem."
As if afraid that Yan Xue wouldn't believe him, he lowered his voice again, "My mom has the final say in our family. How dare my dad touch her? If my mom gets angry, she'll chase my dad with a rolling pin."
Yan Xue really didn't realize that Huang Fengying seemed easy to get along with, but Liu Daniu and Old Man Liu were both fierce.
However, there are significant differences in size, strength, and stamina between men and women. Even though Northeastern women are relatively tall and strong, they can chase and fight men, mostly because the men let them. This beating is probably not a real fight, otherwise the men would have fought back long ago.
Of course, there are women who can really beat men. Yan Xue had seen this in her previous life. She could hold her own man under the armpit and spank him...
Although there was one less person to share with, Liu Weiguo's main audience now was Yan Xue. After gossiping with Yan Xue, he went back feeling satisfied.
However, the forest farm is so small. If Liu Weiguo knows it, others will naturally know it too.
Over the next few days, this incident became a hot topic of conversation. Sometimes when Yan Xue went out to take out the trash, she could hear people whispering about it over the top of their sticks. Sometimes it was Lang Yue'e's former sister-in-law who came to make a scene, and sometimes it was Lang Yue'e's former mother-in-law who came to beg for mercy. Judging from the situation, there was likely to be more trouble.
Yan Xue didn't listen to the rumors. She guessed that Qi Fang should have digested it almost completely, so she prepared to go up the mountain to bring food to the man.
He left in a hurry that day and she didn't have time to prepare anything. Now the weather is not as cold as in winter, and things will not stay put if left for too long.
Unexpectedly, just as I turned onto the road going up the mountain, someone called me, "Xiao Yan."
Yan Xue looked over and found that it was a young sister-in-law from the same family team.
"Are you going up the mountain?" The sister-in-law looked at the bulging cloth bag on her back. "Go up the mountain and take this comrade with you. He's looking for your Qi Fang."
Yan Xue took a look at the young man next to her sister-in-law. He was about twenty-five or twenty-six years old, with a gentle face, wearing glasses, and a pen in the chest pocket of his Zhongshan suit.
The young man was also looking at her, his smile gentle and polite, "Hello, comrade, who are you?"
"This is Qi Fang's wife." Before Yan Xue could say anything, the sister-in-law said, "I have work to do at home, so I'll go back first."
"Go ahead and do your work. Thank you for showing me the way." The young man thanked her and then turned to look at Yan Xue again. "I didn't expect Qi Fang to be married."
There was a familiarity in his words, but Yan Xue didn't know that Qi Fang knew this person, nor had she heard Qi Fang mention him.
She didn't respond to the other person's words. Instead, she arched her brows and asked with a smile as she walked up the mountain, "Comrade, do you know Qi Fang?"
The young man just smiled. "Well, I had something to ask him. I didn't expect it to be such a coincidence that he actually went up the mountain. Is he in charge of the watchtower at the forest farm?"
This person was obviously not Liang Qimao. He was very tight-lipped and didn't say a word about his own affairs. Instead, he quietly asked Yan Xue about Qi Fang all the way.
Yan Xue saw through it, so she naturally didn't say much. She even quietly adjusted the route and took the other party on a road that was a little farther but would be exposed to the telescope in the watchtower.
Sure enough, before reaching the top of the mountain, a black dot flashed under the watchtower. It was Qi Fang coming.
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