Gu Qingqing thought for a moment and asked, "Did he know that you came from the Construction Corps, so he wanted to go?"
The man's frown relaxed and he nodded: "The clothes you used to make him out of my combat training uniform have the regiment's organization on them."
That's right.
Gu Qingqing felt that the child was particularly caring. "Actually, I feel relieved to send him to the Construction Corps. My brother and Uncle Yu are all there. But I don't want him to go there just to repay us. I want him to make his own choice."
Understanding what his wife meant, Chu Dai nodded, "It's still early. He's only twelve. He has time to choose the path he wants to take."
Gu Qingqing said "hmm", and after noticing the man's reaction, she kissed his chin soothingly, "Be patient, brother."
The man's Adam's apple rolled up and down, and he lowered his eyes to look at the smug look on her face, feeling helpless.
He pinched the flesh under her chin, led her to lie down under the quilt, and sighed, "Go to sleep."
Have a good night.
When Gu Qingqing woke up, Shen Sui was already cleaning the yard. She rubbed her eyes and yawned, "Ah Sui, what do you want to eat in the morning?"
"Porridge." Shen Sui took the initiative to choose, which was rare.
"Okay." Gu Qingqing's face was full of joy. "How about seafood porridge?" There were fresh shrimps and clams at home, just right for cooking in one pot.
Shen Sui nodded.
Every time he took the initiative, Gu Qingqing was extremely happy. She would hum a little tune while washing up, then wash the pot and cook seafood porridge.
Chu Dai came back from morning training and had dinner with them, and then the couple sent Shen Sui to school.
It was still Building No. 1 in the North District. It took less than ten minutes to get there. Many of the people who brought their children there were strangers.
Because today is Shen Sui's first day of school, Gu Qingqing specially sewed a military green cross-body schoolbag for him with a red star embroidered on it.
Shen Sui was also wearing clothes made of new fabric. Xiao Huanniang originally asked her if she wanted them to be made bigger so that she could wear them for a few more years, but Gu Qingqing directly declined, saying that they would look better if they were slimmer.
The boy, who originally had porcelain-white skin, looked even more gloomy in a set of slim-fitting black pants and black cloth shoes, but Gu Qingqing thought he looked very handsome.
The child's appearance was rare, with a pair of narrow, dark red eyes, and a tall, thin figure, like a young poplar tree.
Someone was chatting, "Don't mention it, this kid does look a bit like Captain Chu."
"Yes, he is really good-looking. I never saw how handsome he was before. This is because the Chu family raised him well."
"Of course, Teacher Gu is willing to spend money on this kid. I heard from Xiao Huan's wife that she made him several new sets of clothes, two sets of casual clothes and two sets of pajamas. It seems that she will make more clothes for him when the supply ship with fabric arrives in a while."
"Wow, I can't even bear to raise my own son like this. Although firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar and tea are free of tickets on our island, cloth is still needed."
"He's a wealthy family..."
Yu Ruan came to send Yu Yang to school. Bai Tao felt a little unwell, so her brother asked her to come over and said there was a parents' meeting today.
Hearing these words, she smiled but her heart was gritting its teeth.
She later found out that before Bai Tao went to the battalion headquarters to ask Instructor Jiang to resign, she went to see Gu Qingqing. She was sure that Gu Qingqing was targeting her.
Also, I heard that it was her interference in Chen Jiefang's matter that caused it to fail.
The more Yu Ruan thought about it, the angrier she got. She didn't know why Captain Chu's wife always targeted her. Was she afraid that she would be outshined by her when she became a teacher? Or was she jealous that she was prettier than her?
She herself was a little confused.
After hearing that Gu Qingqing had taken a fisherman's child back home, she overturned her previous thoughts and felt that this woman was probably problematic.
So she took advantage of the situation and inadvertently brought up this topic when chatting with the military wives, making them think that Gu Qingqing was unable to have children so she took a teenage boy home to raise as her own son.
Gu Qingqing didn't notice her resentful look, but Shen Sui noticed the unfriendly gaze and looked in the direction. A dark light flashed in his eyes, and he took a step forward calmly to block the gaze that was falling on his elder sister.
Touched by the boy's vicious gaze, Yu Ruan felt an inexplicable palpitation and turned away.
After the reaction, she was somewhat incredulous.
Was that child the one Gu Qingqing had brought back? A casual glance at him was like being stared at by a poisonous snake.
Seeing that she didn't move for a long time, Yu Yang tugged at her sleeve and said, "Aunt, the teacher is calling your name."
The teacher had a name list in his hand, and those whose names were called would go over.
Yu Ruan finally came back to his senses. He was still patient with his nephew and took his hand: "Let's go."
During the past half month, Gu Qingqing taught Shen Sui how to read in her free time at home. He was very smart and could almost remember everything he saw, which surprised her.
In half a month, Shen Sui had already recognized 1,500 new words. Chu Dai and Gu Qingqing would take turns testing him in the evening and found that he not only had a photographic memory, but also remembered it very well. He could remember the definitions and word combinations you told him.
We will have an exam today to divide the classes. Age is not an issue, just the test paper.
If nothing unexpected happens, all the children on the island will join the army, and if the girls are well trained, they can join the art troupe or service agency to work as clerks.
If neither of these two options works, you will have no choice but to return to the countryside and farm.
The couple first took Shen Sui to the classroom for the exam. It was originally a two-story building, with one room on the first floor used as an office and the two rooms on the upper floor used as classrooms.
Now the layout has been changed, with five classrooms upstairs and an office and a data room downstairs.
Although the layout of Building No. 1 is the same as that of other buildings, its area is the largest. It was originally used as a command post, and it would take a lot of space to hang up the coastal defense map.
Chu Dai and Gu Qingqing sent him into the classroom. The young couple watched from outside the glass window and saw Shen Sui sit down and turn his head to look at them. Gu Qingqing looked at him with a smile, and Chu Dai nodded slightly.
Shen Sui's originally confused heart calmed down instantly. He took out a pencil from his schoolbag and waited for the teacher to hand out the test papers.
There was a kid next to him trying to talk to him, but he kept a cold face, pursed his lips and said nothing.
Seeing him like this, Gu Qingqing couldn't help but think of her own elder brother. She didn't know who was colder between the two. If Gou Sheng knew that he had found him another cold-blooded brother...
As she thought about it, she couldn't help laughing out loud.
Chu Dai casually looked at the layout of the classrooms upstairs and said to her, "When I have time, I will also modify the second floor. I won't use the living room anymore."
"Hmm?" Gu Qingqing was puzzled. "Why?"
The man smiled at her, "There are two rooms upstairs, Ah Sui lives in one. If you..." His eyes followed the trend and landed on her belly, his eyes were gentle, "If you are really pregnant, like Zhao Ze said, it's twin boys, you have to have a place to live, you can't always stick to us."
Gu Qingqing didn't expect him to think so far ahead. She was stunned for a moment and then smiled: "So are you planning to move out of another room?"
"Two rooms." The man said calmly, "The living room is big enough. Just leave a corridor for them to open the door. It can also lead to the balcony. Maybe they will want to have a daughter in the future."
There was a military wife standing next to them, nervously looking through the glass to see her son's exam results, and she wasn't paying attention to what they were saying. Gu Qingqing still pinched his arm shyly.
The man bent down, leaned over and whispered in her ear, "Don't want to give birth to a daughter for me? Huh? Sister." His tone was nonchalant.
Gu Qingqing paused: "No... no way, if you want to have one, just give birth." She was also a little embarrassed and lowered her voice: "What if it's two daughters?"
"Then let's have another son." The man said nonchalantly.
Gu Qingqing pushed him and pouted, "You favor boys over girls? Do you really want a son?"
"No." Chu Dai laughed a little: "It's better to have three men at home to run errands for you, wife."
Gu Qingqing counted on her fingers: Chu Dai, male. She, female.
Shen Sui, male, two daughters.
It seems that I really need another son.
She thought of another possibility, "What if a dragon and phoenix twin was born?"
"Then you'll have no trouble." The man chuckled, "and you won't have to suffer again."
Gu Qingqing curled her lips, and when she thought of the spider-web-like red marks on Xu Nian's belly, she fell silent again.
Seeing that she remained silent, Chu Dai took out a candy from his pocket and gave it to her.
Gu Qingqing bit the candy, and her uneasiness eased a little. She looked through the glass at Shen Sui who was working hard on his homework in the classroom.
Chu Dai was going to the camp at eight o'clock, so he left first.
Gu Qingqing and Zhou Saozi were chatting——
"My dear, our Da Mao should be assigned to the fourth grade, right?"
Gu Qingqing thought for a moment. Zhou Damao studied very hard and had a sharp mind. She nodded and said with a smile, "It should be no problem. Damao can recite more than 50 poems now. He is smart and willing to work hard."
"You've taught me well! This kid is also very good at math." After receiving her praise, Mrs. Zhou felt as sweet as if she had eaten honey.
Who doesn’t like a teacher praising his or her child?
Although Gu Qingqing is no longer a teacher, she is still happy.
"Qingqing, your Shen Sui should be assigned to the fifth grade this time. With you and your wife practicing together, he shouldn't be far behind." She glanced at the thin boy in black with his back straight.
Gu Qingqing curled her lips and smiled, "I don't know. It depends on him."
"In four years he will be able to join the army, Qingqing, what do you think?"
"It depends on his own wishes. Chu Dai and I respect his own choice."
Mrs. Zhou nodded. "It's a blessing for this child to meet you and your wife. With your family's background, it's just a matter of a word to send him to serve in the army. He can choose any military region or regiment."
Gu Qingqing just smiled and said nothing.
There were many people in the camp who were transferred from the Southern Military Region. Among them were people who knew Chu Dai and knew that he was the son of the military region chief.
She was too lazy to explain anything further, lest others think she was showing off or something.
At 8:30, the bell rang and the teacher began to collect the papers.
The children were like little birds that had been set free, jumping out with all their might.
Gu Qingqing stuffed the candy she had taken from Chu Dai's pocket into his mouth and asked softly, "How do you feel?"
Shen Sui nodded, peeled a candy and handed it to Gu Qingqing first. After she ate it, he took another one.
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