That afternoon, the soldiers came out of the hidden bunker covered in mud and walked out of the military restricted area, chatting and laughing. When they thought about going home soon, the smiles on their faces gradually became bitter.
"Who knows where my brat has gone. I searched for him on the muddy beach in the South District for several circles last night before I caught him. I don't know if he skipped classes today."
"My Da Mao and Er Hu are the same," one warrior shook his head. "It's too noisy. Let's go find them together later. These wild boys can't sit still in the classroom. They might even make the teacher cry."
After saying this, he glanced guiltily at the thin man not far away.
Chu Dai held a bag of dates in his hand and turned his head to talk to Zhao Ze, "Where did you pick those oranges?"
Although Zhao Ze did not need to do hard labor in the hidden cave, he had to go along. Many people were injured in the past two days.
He was carrying a medicine box on his back and holding a cloth bag in his hand. He squatted on the ground, opened the bag, and gave a handful of oranges and hawthorns to Chu Dai: "On the mountain next to the cave, I have almost pulled out all the wild orange trees on the edge. Don't even think about it."
"Besides, your wife isn't pregnant, how can she eat something so sour?"
"I guess so." Chu Dai happily accepted the things he handed over. "The old customer likes this sour taste. The taste of the brother and sister should be similar."
"If you hadn't told me, I would have forgotten. If Gu Qinglie hadn't wanted to eat candied green plums, you wouldn't have been able to get married."
Chu Dai reached out and pulled him, "Of course, thank you for your patronage."
After saying that, the man took a big bag of fruit and strode out of the restricted area: "I have to go home to see if my wife has been wronged today. I won't talk to you anymore."
Zhao Ze looked down on this man who talked about his wife all the time. He wondered where the tough guy who said he wanted to be a bachelor all his life and die on the battlefield had gone. It was outrageous.
"Hey, wait for me, aren't we going the same way?!" Zhao Ze ran up and followed him.
The round-faced sister-in-law's husband wandered at the door of the house for several times before he dared to push the door open with courage, "Wife, I'm back."
Unexpectedly, his wife didn't come out, but his eldest son came out with a military green enamel cup, "Dad! Have some water."
Erhu also tore a piece of rag from the bamboo pole and used it to brush the mud off his father's body.
When the round-faced sister-in-law came out holding the baby sucking his fingers and babbling, she saw the father and son staring at each other. She said, "Pockmarked boy, Damao is offering you a drink of water, why don't you take it?"
Zhou Mazi looked at his eldest son, who was almost as tall as his chest, with a headache, "Tell me, did you two brothers do something bad today? Did you tear down the desks and chairs in the classroom? Or did you bully your classmates? Damn Zhou Damao, you two brothers would not beat up Teacher Gu, would you?!"
The more he thought about it, the more he felt that this was the most likely possibility. He paced back and forth on the spot and snatched the towel from Zhou Erhu's hand, "What's going on? Dad is scared of you two brothers like this."
After hearing this, the round-faced sister-in-law didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She stuffed the baby into Zhou Damao's hands, took the enamel cup from his hand and put it on the stone table next to him, snatched the towel from the man's hand and wiped the dust off him personally: "Zhou Mazi, can't you hope that your sons will be better? The two brothers are very well behaved today. Teacher Gu told me that they are very serious in class."
Zhou Damao is nine years old this year and is the oldest child on the island. Erhu is seven years old. The two brothers follow Zhang Ta around every day, picking crabs, fish and shrimps at the beach and picking wild fruits and looking for wild honey in the mountains.
When Zhou Mazi heard what his wife said, his first reaction was that it was impossible. Someone who was obedient and serious could not be his son.
He asked suspiciously, "Then you two tell me what you learned in class today." If they couldn't tell, he would beat them up.
Maybe he even deceived his wife. If the teacher was really angry and cried, he would not even think of eating and would just take the two bastards to Captain Chu's house to apologize.
"Study hard, and when you grow up you will defend our country like your daddy did!" Zhou Erhu said without hesitation.
Zhou Damao nodded repeatedly: "Dad, when I grow up I want to be a navy and drive a warship!"
Zhou Mazi was shocked. If you said you didn't learn anything today, these two brats would definitely not be able to make up such a story. He crossed his legs and sat down in front of the stone table, took the little son from Damao's arms, and then let the two sons sit on his lap.
"Tell Dad again what you learned today." He already believed it about 70%.
The same scene was played out in the four major family areas in the southeast, northwest and northeast. The soldiers who had thought they would have no peace when they returned home felt for the first time the care and warmth from their sons and daughters. They felt very happy and all the fatigue from a day in the hidden cave disappeared. They took their wives and children to the cafeteria for dinner, chatting and laughing all the way.
The soldiers from the four districts gathered at the intersection, and their eyes turned curiously to the first courtyard of the North District. "I never thought that Captain Chu's wife is so capable."
"Captain Yulian's wife is not bad either." Someone nearby agreed with a smile: "Today, the eldest of our family served me tea and water, and said that she would wash my feet in the evening. The younger one did not make any trouble and obediently helped me massage my legs. Oh, I can't believe how wonderful our life is."
"Of course, who would have thought that there would be a school on the island and the teachers are so good," Zhou Mazi held his little son in his arms, his wrinkles on his face showing through with a smile, "My son Da Mao told me today that he would join the army in a few years. I was really touched."
"Look, isn't that Captain Chu and Teacher Gu?" Someone spotted the couple walking down the path behind the courtyard. "They're still holding hands. Young people are just clingy. Let's go and don't disturb them. Captain Chu doesn't have any children yet. Let them be alone for a while."
"I guess they don't dare to accept it after seeing the bunch of troublemakers in our family." Someone made fun of his own kid mercilessly.
Hearty laughter filled the island, the sun set, and the sea breeze was leisurely.
Gu Qingqing heard the laughter and looked forward curiously: "There are so many people. The cafeteria will be very busy tonight."
As she said this, she tried to shake the man's hand off.
Now that Chu Dai is the battalion commander, she doesn't want anyone to say behind his back that he is careless and has no morals.
Chu Dai held her slender fingers tightly with his big hands and glared at her: "Teacher Gu, are you looking down on your own man now?"
"No." Gu Qingqing stopped struggling and held his hand tightly: "This is for your own good."
"I know what's going on," Chu Dai led her slowly, his long legs following her pace. "How do you feel today?"
"That's great. My nephew is in my class. I told him that if he can help me deal with the other kids, I'll let you teach him the art of war and tell him about the battles in the Construction Corps."
After hearing this, the man couldn't help but laugh, "Okay, that's good, you've made the best use of it. You really do love your man."
"It's a good opportunity for you to get along with the little boy for a while," Gu Qingqing leaned on his arm and said shyly, "Brother Zhao said that we have a high chance of having twins in the future, and they will most likely be boys. It's very noisy, so let you get used to it in advance and see if we can find a solution."
Chu Dai understood this time, and said with a half-smile: "You want me to find a way out from the most naughty kid on the island, accumulate experience, and use it to deal with my son in the future?"
Gu Qingqing laughed dryly, "You can put it that way, Comrade Battalion Commander, I have to correct you on one point, he is our son."
"Okay, our son." Chu Dai said lazily, "My wife is different after becoming a teacher." He didn't let go of even the smallest details.
Gu Qingqing stuck out her tongue at him and told the man all the trivial things that happened today. The man listened patiently without getting bored.
When she arrived at the cafeteria, Gu Qingqing found that the military wives all greeted her warmly.
"Teacher Gu is here for dinner?"
"We have chicken legs today. Teacher Gu, please have two more. You've worked hard all day."
"Hello, Mr. Gu."
Gu Qingqing was somewhat flattered and responded with a beautiful smile.
While she was chatting, Chu Dai had already brought the meal and took her to sit at the long table against the wall.
Xu Nian had been bored at home for a long time and wanted to go out for a walk. Zhao Ze happened to take her out for dinner. When he saw Gu Qingqing, he asked her to sit over there. "Old Chu and the others are over there. You go first. I'll get you some food."
Xu Nian nodded, pulled his sleeve and whispered, "I want to eat shrimp. Can I have two small ones today?"
Zhao Ze smiled, "Okay, don't just talk about small ones, big ones will do too." Although one cannot eat cold food often, it's okay to eat it once in a while, and his wife is not allergic to seafood.
Xu Nian was happy this time, and there was a faint smile on his face when he sat next to Gu Qingqing.
Seeing that she was in a good mood, Gu Qingqing pushed her untouched seaweed egg drop soup over to her and asked with a smile, "Did Brother Zhao pick something good for you again?"
"Isn't your Captain Chu the same?" Xu Nian was not polite this time. He was more open and less shy when he got to know her. "Brother Ze said that you are not pregnant yet. Captain Chu will think about how to bring you something new after the mission. If you really get pregnant in the future, he will pick stars for you."
This time it was Gu Qingqing who felt embarrassed. Seeing the man turned his head to chat with his comrades behind him, she whispered in Xu Nian's ear: "I don't know what he was thinking. It's fine if he brought me dates, but today he also brought sour oranges and hawthorns. They almost made my teeth sour."
"Your man robbed me of that." Zhao Ze came over with a lunch box and sat next to Chu Dai, opposite Xu Nian, complaining, "I'm a military doctor, and I finally climbed up the tree to pick some fruit to bring home for my wife, but he still misses me."
"You did it voluntarily. Don't make it sound so aggrieved." Chu Dai turned around, resting his right hand lazily on the back of the chair, and tilted his head slightly to look at him: "At worst, I'll climb the tree tomorrow, and you just tell me where it is."
"That's impossible." Zhao Ze refused directly: "My wife still needs to eat this for several months. If you saw it, I would have to eat it all in two days. Didn't you hear it just now? Your wife doesn't like sour food like your second brother-in-law. Those sour oranges and hawthorns today must have gone into your stomach."
Although Chu Dai carried White Rabbit milk candy with him and put one in his mouth from time to time, he knew that this man liked sour food more.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com