Chapter 90
The snow disaster was not severe, and the soldiers who went out to provide disaster relief returned one after another after half a month.
It was already late at night when Shen Mingzheng got home.
At the time, Gu Xi and her sisters were sleeping soundly in one bed, and the howling north wind made a white noise as it blew through the window from time to time, so no one in the family noticed that he had returned.
Shen Mingzheng entered the room quietly, without making a sound in the darkness.
He went to the kitchen first and gently turned on the kitchen light.
The coal in the tin stove in the kitchen was still burning, and a large pot of water was placed on top of it. The pot was more than half full of hot water, which would be kept warm until dawn, when it could be used for washing.
After the weather turned cold, Gu Xi stopped touching cold water and also prevented her two younger sisters from doing so, paying close attention to this aspect.
There was a hearth near the entrance of the kitchen. Gu Xi bought cement and bricks and built it herself when the weather turned cold.
The hearth was still warm, with two blackened iron rods on top, supporting a small pot.
Shen Mingzheng washed his hands with some hot water, then opened the small pot on the charcoal fire and found a bowl of ginger and brown sugar water inside, realizing it was meant for him.
They probably don't know when he'll be back, so they probably leave a bowl like this every night.
Having just returned from outside, Shen Mingzheng exuded a chilly aura.
He took the ginger and brown sugar water out of the pot, and drank it down in one gulp while it was still hot. His stomach quickly felt warm and comfortable, and even his fatigue was greatly relieved.
Having not showered for several days, Shen Mingzheng's clothes were very dirty, and he needed to take a shower. He carefully went back to his room to get his clothes, but when he turned on the light, he found that there was no one in bed, the quilt was neatly folded, and it exuded a cold aura.
He was speechless for a moment, knowing without a doubt that the person who should have been sleeping in this bed was now in the guest room.
I estimate that during my absence, the three sisters squeezed into one bed.
Shen Mingzheng went to get a clean set of clothes, took a quick hot shower, and added half a pot of water back into the pot to keep it warm.
After taking a shower, he went back to his room to rest.
Lying in bed all alone can be a bit unpleasant.
**
Xu Yuansheng woke up when the work chants sounded.
Having been in the army for so long, she has gotten used to the bugle calls that would sound every day at the appointed time. She would get up, wash and get dressed, make breakfast first, and then go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy vegetables.
You have to get there early to buy meat. Even though there's a daily limit on meat purchases, you can still buy as much as you can. Anyway, the older sister has a lot of meat coupons. If she doesn't spend them, she'll actually have a lot left over each month.
These hostages were issued not only by the military but also sent from Beijing.
Xu Yuansheng only learned after arriving at the army that her older sister's mother-in-law, Aunt Feng, would send all kinds of tickets here every month, with meat tickets being the most numerous. How worried she must be about her sister not having enough meat to eat!
Aunt Feng really dotes on her sister!
This made her very happy; Aunt Feng did not change her attitude just because her sister became her daughter-in-law.
Xu Yuansheng had just come out of the room, yawning, when he saw the tall man appear in the kitchen. He was startled and let out a short cry.
"It's me!" Shen Mingzheng said. "Did I scare you?"
Xu Yuansheng, clutching her pounding heart, was pleasantly surprised to recognize the man standing there as Shen Mingzheng: "Brother-in-law, you're back? When did you get back?"
As she spoke, she looked at the other person, but the kitchen light was dim, so she couldn't see what the person looked like.
She looks like she's lost a lot of weight; she must have been working very hard lately.
"I came back last night," Shen Mingzheng said softly.
Xu Yuansheng also lowered his voice and said, "Are you going to do morning exercises?" Then he added, "I'll make breakfast first, and you can come back and eat later."
Shen Mingzheng nodded slightly to her and said, "Thank you for your hard work."
“It’s not hard work,” Xu Yuansheng said with a smile. “I used to do it the same way back in my hometown.”
Life in the army was so easy. There was no heavy farm work, no scolding or beatings from her parents, and there was really not much to do at home. Apart from making clothes for others to earn money, she had plenty of time to use every day.
She has gotten used to waking up early over the years and can no longer sleep until it is fully light.
Since that's the case, why not make breakfast at home? That way, Shen Mingzheng won't have to go to the cafeteria to buy it after his workout, and it will be cold by the time he gets back, which is a hassle.
It's more comforting to have a hot breakfast at home in winter.
Shen Mingzheng went out quickly.
After washing up, Xu Yuansheng went into the kitchen and quickly prepared breakfast.
Now that her brother-in-law was back, she decided to cook more. After washing the pot, she quickly decided what to make for breakfast: dumplings and egg pancakes, which would be filling.
The dumplings are frozen in the yard; you just need to put them in to cook as soon as the water boils. As for the pancakes, just mix the eggs and batter, put them in the pan to spread them out, and they cook very quickly.
Neither of these tasks took much time. After Xu Yuansheng finished, Shen Mingzheng still hadn't returned.
After finishing his breakfast, Xu Yuansheng put on a scarf, hat, and gloves, then picked up his basket and headed out into the biting north wind.
By this time, the sky was beginning to lighten, and there was some activity in the family compound.
When Shen Mingzheng returned home, he found the house quiet.
He finished his breakfast in the pot, then went back to his room and looked at the deserted room. Thinking that his wife was still sleeping soundly in the guest room, he felt a little uneasy.
Finally, he picked up the hat hanging on the rack, put it on, and went straight out the door.
**
When Xu Yuansheng returned from grocery shopping, he found that the breakfast in the pot was gone, and knew that Shen Mingzheng had already finished eating breakfast and gone to work.
Before Gu Xi and the others got up, she took a piece of ginger from the basket next to her, washed it, peeled and flattened it, put it in a pot with brown sugar and water, and started to boil ginger sugar water.
The ginger and brown sugar water left in the pot last night is gone; it's obvious that Shen Mingzheng drank it when he came back.
Since it snowed, their family has been preparing ginger and brown sugar water every day.
However, after Shen Mingzheng went to the disaster relief site, Gu Xi would leave a bowl of ginger and brown sugar water in the pot every night to keep it warm, so that he could drink a bowl to ward off the cold and replenish his energy when he returned.
Thinking that Shen Mingzheng had returned after they had fallen asleep last night, Xu Yuansheng felt that her sister was indeed quite prescient.
Xu Yuansheng sat down in front of the fire pit, adding firewood to boil ginger and brown sugar water while warming himself by the fire and reading.
She now studies with Gu Xi every day, but because she has to make clothes for others, she doesn't have as much time to study as Xu Huaisheng. She usually chooses to spend more time in the morning memorizing the knowledge that Gu Xi teaches, so that she won't be unable to answer when her sister tests her at night.
Gu Xi and Xu Huaisheng finally got up as dawn broke.
Since joining the army, Xu Huaisheng's daily routine has gradually changed; she no longer gets up early. Especially now that the weather is cold, she, like Gu Xi, sleeps until it's fully light before getting up.
Considering that she was still young and at a time when she was prone to sleepiness, Xu Yuansheng did not wake her up and let her sleep a little longer.
Seeing that Gu Xi and the others were awake, Xu Yuansheng put down his book and made breakfast for them.
When Xu Yuansheng makes breakfast, she prepares the ingredients in advance, then makes Shen Mingzheng's portion first, and then makes Gu Xi and Xu Huaisheng's portions after they get up. This way, the food is still hot and tastes delicious.
While making egg pancakes, Xu Yuansheng said, "Big sister, I saw brother-in-law when I got up this morning."
"Huh?" Gu Xi was brushing her teeth when she heard this and quickly peeked at her. "Really? When did he get back?"
"He said he came back last night. The ginger tea you left is gone. Your brother-in-law must have drunk it."
Xu Huaisheng, toothbrush in hand, also peeked in, puzzled, and asked, "You came back last night? How come I didn't know?"
She didn't hear a sound at all.
"Don't talk while brushing your teeth!" Xu Yuansheng said first, then added with disdain, "You're sleeping like a log, how could you hear me?"
Xu Huaisheng, unconvinced, said suspiciously, "Second sister, you didn't hear it either, did you?" She turned to Gu Xi and asked, "Eldest sister, did you hear it?"
Gu Xi: "I didn't hear anything." She was a little confused. Was she sleeping too soundly, or did Shen Mingzheng come back without making a sound?
Finally, she concluded that it must be because he walked silently like a cat, not because she was sleeping too soundly.
After hearing what his older sister said, Xu Huaisheng concluded, "So, this has nothing to do with whether I sleep soundly or not!"
Xu Yuansheng rolled her eyes at her.
After brushing their teeth, the two sat down at the small table in front of the fire pit to eat.
This table isn't as big as the eight-immortal table in the main room, but there aren't many people in the family, so it's just right for four people to sit in, and it's perfect for eating in the kitchen.
Eating around the hearth in the kitchen during winter is the only way to keep warm.
Gu Xi was very concerned about Shen Mingzheng's return and couldn't help but ask, "Is your brother-in-law really back?"
Xu Yuansheng: "Really!"
"How does he look? Is he injured? Is he hungry? Is he cold?"
"...I don't know, the light was too dim this morning, I couldn't see clearly!" Xu Yuansheng said blankly. "Why don't you wait for him to come back and go see for yourself?"
Gu Xi asked with some concern, "How could you not see it? You can always tell if someone has lost weight, right?"
Xu Yuansheng repeated, "The light in the kitchen was too dim, I couldn't see clearly."
“Oh, I see…” Gu Xi looked at the light hanging in the kitchen. “Forget it, let’s just change to a higher wattage light bulb. Anyway, it’s the same electricity bill no matter how many watts it is.”
Electricity is currently charged based on the number of light bulbs, so why not just replace them with brighter ones?
The Xu sisters were speechless; they never expected that her idea to change the light bulb was because of this.
It doesn't seem too surprising.
**
Upon learning that Shen Mingzheng had returned, Gu Xi was absent-minded all morning, glancing towards the door every now and then.
Today is a day off, and Ji Ya is home, so she didn't bring Gu Tuantuan over.
After a while, Gu Tuantuan still hadn't come over. Gu Xi finally remembered what day it was and asked in bewilderment, "Isn't it a day off? Why does he have to go to work?"
Are they going to go out for disaster relief? They just came back to rest last night?
The Xu sisters, naturally unaware of this matter, honestly shook their heads.
Seeing that Gu Xi was out of sorts, Xu Yuansheng and Xu Huaisheng, who were studying next to her, were speechless. Although they knew that their eldest sister and brother-in-law had a good relationship, this was too much.
Recently, the three sisters have been studying in the morning, Xu Yuansheng making clothes in the afternoon, and Xu Huaisheng continuing to study. In the evening, Gu Xi checks the sisters' homework and summarizes the day's learning.
Xu Yuansheng suggested, "Big sister, if you can't sit still, why don't you go next door and talk to Sister Qiao? Ask her if Chief of Staff Gao has returned, and whether she still needs to go out for disaster relief?"
"No need." Gu Xi looked away, picked up the half-knitted sweater next to her, and urged, "You guys hurry up and do your homework, I'll knit this sweater."
The two sisters looked at the half-knitted gray sweater in her hand, which was for Shen Mingzheng.
Presumably out of pity for the man who was away on disaster relief, she knitted him two sweaters during this time: one was a black turtleneck sweater, which was already finished, and the other was the gray sweater she was knitting now, which was halfway done.
After finally making it to almost noon, the two sisters, having finished their studies, went to make lunch and decided to cook extra today.
Although I don't know if Shen Mingzheng will come back for lunch, I can make extra food in advance.
Shen Mingzheng returned before the meal was even ready.
Almost as soon as the noise came from the front door, Gu Xi peeked out from the kitchen and saw the man coming in. Her eyes lit up, and she flew towards him like a joyful bird.
"Big brother, you're back~~"
Hearing the clear and pleasant "Big Brother" from inside the kitchen, the two sisters could already imagine what was happening outside and wisely refrained from going out to disturb them.
Shen Mingzheng caught the person who rushed towards him, picked her up and lifted her up.
He grunted, "A little thin."
"You're mistaken!" Gu Xi wrapped her arms around his neck and said with a smile, "I've been eating a lot lately, my appetite has increased, there's no way I'm going to lose weight."
Shen Mingzheng lifted her up, then, remembering that he had two younger sisters-in-law at home, he restrained himself and put her down. He then lifted her chin and examined her face.
The skin tone of the injured area on her face looks the same as the surrounding skin tone. Only when you get close can you see a slight difference. It should gradually return to its normal skin tone in the future.
He gently stroked her face with his fingers, feeling quite satisfied.
Gu Xi followed him, chattering on and on: "What time did you get back last night? Why didn't you wake me up? If Yuan Sheng hadn't seen you this morning, we wouldn't have known you were back... Did you eat anything when you got back last night? Are you hungry? You should have woken me up... How are you feeling? Are you alright...?"
Shen Mingzheng patiently replied, "I got back too late last night, and you were all already asleep, so I didn't wake you! I ate dinner, so I'm not hungry..."
The two exchanged questions and answers, which made the two girls in the kitchen roll their eyes.
For some reason, in their eyes, their eldest sister, who had always been quiet and reserved since childhood, was sometimes quite talkative in front of her brother-in-law, with endless things to say, sometimes just rambling nonsense. Luckily, her brother-in-law always answered her patiently...
Perhaps this is what marriage is all about: patiently tolerating each other's shortcomings.
During the meal, Gu Xi piled a lot of food into Shen Mingzheng's bowl and said, "You've lost weight, eat more to make up for it."
Shen Mingzheng paused with his chopsticks, looked at his two sisters-in-law, and found that they were both very sensible, eating their own food and resolutely refusing to look at them, and were unmoved by her behavior of sitting next to him and serving him food.
Perhaps they've gotten used to being stimulated.
Shortly after lunch, Gu Xi went back to her room for a nap.
Although she would squeeze into the guest room with her two younger sisters at night, she would still go back to her own room to sleep during the day.
Not long after I lay down, Shen Mingzheng returned.
When he got into bed, she snuggled into his arms, reached out and touched his face. She noticed that he was much thinner than before he left, and his facial features were more angular. When he pursed his lips and didn't speak, he looked even more fierce and had a very intimidating aura.
She said with concern, "You've really lost a lot of weight. You must have been very tired during this time."
She had seen photos of disaster relief efforts online before and knew how arduous it would be.
Shen Mingzheng said, "It's alright." He didn't go into details about those things, afraid that it would upset her, and changed the subject, "Have you been sleeping with your two younger sisters all this time?"
"Of course! It's too cold to sleep alone in this weather. It's warmer to sleep with them," Gu Xi said matter-of-factly. "I didn't know when you would be back. If I had known you would be back last night, I would have gone back to my room to sleep and wait for you."
She spoke with such confidence that Shen Mingzheng choked for a moment, then asked, "Are you coming back tonight?"
"Of course I'll go back," Gu Xi said. "Whether I sleep with you or with them, it doesn't really matter." Either way, I'll be forced to sleep.
Shen Mingzheng: "..."
He noticed her hand was inside his clothes, so he reached out and stopped her, saying in a hoarse voice, "Stop touching me."
Gu Xi pouted, "I just wanted to check if you were hurt."
He held her hand, kissed it, and said, "Don't worry, you're not hurt."
"Really? I don't believe you unless you take off your clothes and show me."
"..."
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