Chapter 21 Chapter 21 (3, 4 updates) How to sleep at night...
The car body made a rattling sound as it rubbed against the rails, and outside the window, houses and factory chimneys began to appear, which were much more densely populated than those in the county town.
Several children were leaning against the windows, staring without blinking. These children, who had been accustomed to the mountains since childhood, found everything new, surprising and interesting when they came out.
When the train came to a complete stop, half of the carriage was occupied by people wanting to get off.
While packing up and waiting in line to get off the bus, Lu Qinghe found a scarf and put it around her neck and the necks of her three children.
All three children's clothes were knitted with wool. The one for Lu Qinghe was made of cashmere and was specially bought for her by Zhao Zhanming before they got their marriage certificate.
The elder sister from before was right next to us. When she was putting a scarf on her grandson, she took a look at it and liked it very much.
"Oh, your scarf is really pretty. It must be quite expensive."
"My wife bought it before we came here. I don't know how much it cost."
"Look at the quality, it's not cheap, and the color is bright and beautiful. But this thing definitely needs an industrial ticket, otherwise I'll buy one too..."
The elder sister muttered to herself and turned around to continue queuing.
Later, Liu Yanru looked at Lu Qinghe's scarf with some envy. "Old Wei, I've been with you for so many years, and I haven't bought you any decent clothes. It's cold in Hua City, and a scarf is useful. Why don't you buy me one later?"
"Didn't I hear you need industrial tickets? Where can we get so many? Besides, we're new here, so let's be frugal and buy them later when times get easier."
"It's time to wait for later. I don't know how many laters I have waited for you." Liu Yanru felt a little aggrieved.
"Then you want someone else to wait?"
“…That’s all I said.”
As they talked and chatted, the group getting off the bus slowly moved forward, and after a while everyone had gotten off the bus.
Feeling the biting northwest wind, Lu Qinghe shrank his neck.
"Mom, look—"
Lu Yao carefully tugged at Lu Qinghe's clothes. It turned out that after almost everyone had gone down, the police who had been prepared in advance also took action against the thief. At this moment, the thief had been tied up.
"Serves you right." Liu Yanru cursed beside her, and glared at Wei Yue who was following behind her. "Why don't you leave quickly? I still have to take care of you, a burden, along the way. I should have left you with grandma."
Wei Yue put on her bag with a feeling of grievance and followed behind with her head down.
"I'll carry it for you!" Lu Yao ran over happily.
Liu Yanru then smiled and pushed Lu Yao away, "You have your own small bag, she can carry it herself, and besides, it won't be on the way back."
"Ah?" Wei Yue suddenly raised her head, feeling even more upset than if her mother had scolded her. "Why? Can't we go with Aunt Qinghe? But I still want to play with Lu Yao and the others."
"You think about playing all day long. It's really not worth giving birth to a girl like you. Come here quickly."
Lu Qinghe watched from the side, frowned, and pulled Lu Yao to his side. "Wei Yue is quite well behaved. Besides, aren't you a woman too? Don't always talk about her like that. Lu Yao is listening too."
Liu Yanru curled her lips indifferently, "Wei Yue is different from your Lu Yao."
"What's the difference? They're all six-year-olds."
"Harmful……"
Liu Yanru smiled perfunctorily and said goodbye to Lu Qinghe. The Third Line Factory was closer than the military family compound, so they decided to rent a mule cart to save some money.
"Qinghe, after you've settled down, I'll talk to you. But don't forget me. I've given you my contact information."
"good."
After agreeing a few words, Lu Qinghe followed Zhao Zhanming to the square to take the bus. As expected, she met her elder sister on the train.
Seeing that there were not many people in the car and they were all going to the military families' home, the eldest sister no longer hid her feelings and chatted openly with Lu Qinghe for a while.
Zhao Zhanming is from the 115th Regiment of the Northern Theater Command Border Defense Army. No wonder the elder sister thought he looked familiar just now. The elder sister's name is Han Xueqin. Her husband is also in the 115th Regiment and is the director of the logistics department of the regiment. She used to live with her husband in Hua City. In the past few years, she went to take care of her son who was teaching in another place, so she didn't come back often.
The reason I came this time is because my grandson is of school age, and the military family compound can arrange for the child to go to school for free, and all the facilities are more convenient, so I plan to stay for a long time.
From chatting with Sister Han, Lu Qinghe also learned a lot about the military compound.
It was an almost independent community with walls and guard posts, and was usually guarded by security guards. It was built not far from the military area.
There are several residential areas inside, as well as schools, hospitals, department stores, auditoriums, offices and other areas for family use. Together, they cover an area of nearly 10,000 square meters, making it a small town.
The border environment is inherently harsh, so the organization takes great care of the families of the soldiers. However, there are also many rules to follow in daily life. For example, whether going out or having visitors, strict records need to be kept. If you come into contact with someone who is judged to be dangerous, you must report to your superiors separately.
But basically everyone is an ordinary person, and as long as they don't act out of line, they are usually very free.
The bus took about two hours to finally arrive at the destination.
As soon as they got off the car, they saw someone in front waving and greeting Zhao Zhanming and the others, and there was a very luxurious military jeep parked behind them.
"Captain! Political Commissar Ouyang told me the time to pick you and your sister-in-law up. Luckily, we made it in time."
Zhao Zhanming walked over to Lu Qinghe and introduced the visitor as Xiao Li, a car soldier from their regiment. After Lu Qinghe and the children greeted him, they got in the car and thanked Xiao Li.
When Xiao Li saw Lu Qinghe, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes. He smiled and said a few polite words, but did not dare to say anything more in front of his leader.
I waited until I had sent everyone off before returning to the army, and then I excitedly shared what I had seen and heard today with my comrades.
It turned out that many people knew that Zhao Zhanming had been divorced for many years and the organization had urged him to remarry several times. This time he finally agreed and went home to go on a blind date and remarry.
Captain Zhao is usually a stern man, never smiling, rarely interacting with the opposite sex, and only devoting himself to training. I heard that his ex-wife was scared away because he was too cold and fierce. Anyway... no matter how you look at it, Captain Zhao doesn't seem like a man who would choose to marry for a woman.
Therefore, many people speculated that Captain Zhao compromised and remarried for the sake of his children at home. It was estimated that he would most likely go home to find someone with similar conditions to guard the rear for him and take care of the family and the children.
In addition, some people found out that the new sister-in-law was also a woman who took care of children, so more people speculated that the new sister-in-law might be an old woman with plain appearance.
But no one guessed it clearly after all the guessing!
"Great news! Who said our Captain Zhao found a young woman to take home? I went to see my sister-in-law today, and she's so pretty!"
"Are you bragging? Didn't you say you had a child with you? You must be quite old!"
"Am I bragging? I've already arrived at the military dependents' compound, why would I brag? If you don't believe me, go and see for yourself. But I'm young now, and I don't want to take care of the child at all!"
"Is this true?"
"Of course it's true. I'm lying to you, this is it!" Xiao Li said, raising his little finger.
Once these words were spoken, many people became even more curious.
So in the evening, after Lu Qinghe followed Zhao Zhanming to their new house, while waiting outside for Zhao Zhanming to get the key, she met many friends and family members who happened to "pass by".
Some came forward to say hello and left with eyes full of amazement.
Some would take a cautious look and then run away.
When Zhao Zhanming came back, there happened to be another auntie passing by 'accidentally', and she was about to bump into the electric pole. Lu Qinghe quickly and kindly reminded her, and the auntie blushed and ran away embarrassedly.
"Look, I've become a part of the scenery in just a short while." Lu Qinghe felt a little helpless.
Zhao Zhanming opened the door and apologized to her: "I forgot to remind Xiao Li to bring the key. Sorry to have kept you waiting for so long."
"I'm just joking with you. I'm not angry, and it seems like everyone is actually quite funny."
Zhao Zhanming looked up and said, "I'm glad you like it here."
Lu Qinghe: "That's for sure. This will be our home from now on. If we want to live here for a long time, we have to like it. Otherwise, it will be very troublesome. Besides, the environment here is really good."
Especially after the door was opened——
Lu Qinghe looked at the yard which must be at least 10 square meters and liked the house from the bottom of her heart. In fact, in just one or two glances at it, she had already thought about how to plan her future life.
"Be careful with the mud. There are several empty houses in this residential area. Because I applied in advance, the yard has been renovated. Walk slowly and don't step on empty space. I'll find time to have someone come and lay red bricks in the next few days."
"Okay, then we can still free up a space for a small vegetable garden, and here we can grow a few pots of flowers, mint leaves, etc."
"I'll do as you say. The leader will make the arrangements and I'll do the work."
Lu Qinghe smiled: "I like to hear that."
Zhao Zhanming didn't take it seriously. "To be honest, there are men at home, so we can't ask women to do hard labor."
“There are actually four rooms?”
Lu Qinghe exclaimed after entering, "I thought it would be great to have three rooms."
"We have a large group of people, so I'm thinking four rooms would be more convenient, but the area of each room would be much smaller."
Lu Qinghe looked around and said, "It's not small, it's definitely enough."
The kitchen is separated and located behind the yard. The living room is not big, but it is big enough to fit a dining table, a coffee table and chairs. There are two larger bedrooms next to each other. On both sides of the wall is a smaller bedroom and an even smaller partition.
These conditions are ten thousand times better than those in the mountains, not to mention those in the county towns.
She even saw the lightbulb above her head.
Oh my god, there’s electricity!
Thinking about his nose being blackened by the kerosene lamp every day for more than half a month, Lu Qinghe was filled with emotion.
It’s great, I finally don’t have to have black nose every day.
Several children were also stunned. Lu Yao took them around in the yard, asking this and touching that.
"I've already asked someone to help me. I'll move all my belongings from the cubicle here later. But it's definitely not enough for now. It's a bit late today, so we'll go out together tomorrow and get everything ready."
"OK."
The house had been cleaned in advance. After they put their luggage away and waited for the household items to be delivered, they helped put them in place. It was already dark.
After seeing off the several logistics comrades who came to help, Lu Qinghe and the others came back to put their luggage and belongings in order, and the work was temporarily done.
Zhao Zhanming had fetched some water in advance. Lu Yang found cups on the table, poured water for the two adults, and brought them over.
Lu Qinghe was used to using the same cup as his son, but Zhao Zhanming was a little surprised. After taking the cup, he hesitated for a long time and reached out to touch Lu Yang's head.
But before his hand could reach out, Lu Yang dodged it.
Lu Qinghe chuckled and quickly explained on her son's behalf: "There's dust on your hands. This kid is cleaner than me."
Zhao Zhanming: “…”
After putting down the cup and washing his hands, Zhao Zhanming went to look at Lu Yang again. Lu Yang had already run to the yard to play again.
"Children's energy comes and goes quickly."
Zhao Zhanming hummed, turned around and drank the glass of water in one gulp.
"I'm going to see Zhao Zimo. I've sent him to live with Uncle Feng in the apartment building at the back these days. I have to tell him about it when I come back today." Zhao Zhanming said.
"Oh, by the way, I see there's no kang in the house. How are we going to sleep at night with only two beds?"
Zhao Zhanming: "Hua City gets cold quickly. For safety reasons, the military family compound uses central heating in winter, so there's no need to heat the kang. I thought I'd let Zimo rest at Uncle Feng's place tonight, and then we can each take care of the child separately, and then go out and buy a new bed tomorrow."
Hearing this, Lu Qinghe frowned, "This is not appropriate."
"What's wrong?"
"Now that we're all back, why leave Zimo outside to sleep? People outside are bound to talk about it. Even if we ignore outsiders, a child of his age tends to overthink things. I remember you said he still has a bit of a temper. Don't let it make our first meeting unpleasant."
"What you said makes sense." Zhao Zhanming thought for a moment and nodded.
They reunited as a family and gathered together on the first day, so it would be inappropriate for anyone to sleep alone.
Lu Qinghe: "If you can squeeze in, how about you and Zhao Zimo sleeping together at night, and I'll take the three children to the other room?"
"There's only one big bed, and there's no room for the other one."
Zhao Zhanming thought for a moment and said, "Let Zhao Zimo sleep with Zirui, and you take care of Lu Yao and Lu Yang."
"And you?"
"Sleep on the floor."
"Is this... too hard for you?"
"Usually when I'm on a mission, the situation is urgent and even the deep mountains and old forests are asleep. It's okay, I'll go."
"Hey, don't be anxious." Lu Qinghe called him again.
"Where's the food allowance at home? We need to sort out dinner for dinner. Also, you need to take a pound of the lantern fruit I brought from home to Mr. Feng. On the way, you should buy some peach cakes. After all, the child has lived there for so long. Consider this a thank you gift. After all, it's not your own home, but someone else's. This way, the child can save face."
From her words, she showed that she treated Zhao Zirui as her own child and even took care of the gifts.
Zhao Zhanming paused slightly, and his eyes softened as he looked over. "Thank you for reminding me. I was too busy to take care of these things."
"It's just a small thing, what's there to thank me for?"
"Yes, we are one family and we don't have different opinions."
After Zhao Zhanming left, Lu Qinghe took the food order book, went to the kitchen to see what else was left, locked the door, and turned to go to the supply and marketing cooperative.
"This female comrade looks unfamiliar. How come she hasn't seen you before?" The salesperson at the supply and marketing cooperative looked at Lu Qinghe curiously while checking out.
Before Lu Qinghe could say anything, Han Xueqin, who was also buying groceries, came over and said, "Hey! Sister Qinghe is here to buy groceries too! This is Captain Zhao's lover. She just arrived today. No wonder you haven't seen her before."
"Captain Zhao? Which Captain Zhao?"
"Captain Zhao Zhanming of the 115th Regiment."
"Ah? Isn't it rumored that he found an old... Bah! Oh, sister-in-law, just forget what I said. Excuse me, consider these two pieces of rock candy as a gift to you."
Lu Qinghe pursed her lips and smiled, pretending she hadn't heard the first half of the sentence. She still counted out two cents and handed it over. "From now on, we're all neighbors. Who cares about those gossips? It's the amount I deserve. Don't let people accuse me of taking advantage of others."
The young salesperson took the money awkwardly, his smile becoming more genuine as he deftly wrapped the rock sugar in rough paper and handed it over. "Sister-in-law, you're such a down-to-earth person. My name is Xiaohua. Come over and talk when you have time."
“Hey.”
After buying the vegetables, Han Xueqin also came out. She glanced at the lean meat and some vegetables in Lu Qinghe's box, and smiled with her eyes narrowed.
"That's right. Now that we're here, I won't say anything else. Just don't be reluctant to eat. It's freezing cold and you won't get enough nutrition if you don't eat well. Then the whole family will get sick easily. Some wives from the countryside like us don't understand these things. They are so stingy that they raise their children to be as ugly as chickens."
Lu Qinghe nodded. "That's right. By the way, Sister Han, why didn't I see you when I got off the car? I was thinking if you had a lot of stuff, I could help bring it back for you."
"Oh, my old Ding also called a car to pick someone up, but he didn't tell you."
Han Xueqin said, looking around, "Sister, we came at a perfect time. We should be stocking up on cabbage in a couple of days. When the delivery guy comes, you should get in line early. If you're late, there won't be enough to sell."
Lu Qinghe looked over with some confusion: "Only coming once?"
"Several times, but that's not enough for so many people in our military family compound. Anyway, you should hurry up and go there early."
"Thank you, Sister Han, for reminding me. I understand."
"Hey, there were so many people on the bus that I didn't have time to talk to you. Green vegetables are in short supply this winter, and it's hard to even get a few kilograms of them. I see your husband has more industrial tickets. If you want to switch things up and get some other vegetables, can I swap with you? Cabbage is definitely not enough, and mixing it with other vegetables will make it more nutritious."
Only then did Lu Qinghe remember that Sister Han really liked her scarf at that time.
"Sister-in-law, where can you get other vegetables?"
"Have you forgotten that my old Ding works in logistics?"
Lu Qinghe suddenly realized, "Sister-in-law, it's not that I don't agree with you, it's just that I just got here and there are a lot of things I don't understand. You're right, I want to get some more vegetables to store, but about the industrial tickets, I'll go back and ask my old Zhao and give you a reply, okay?"
Han Xueqin covered her mouth and laughed, "Okay, okay, why not? Sister-in-law sees that you are a down-to-earth person, so I want to be your friend. Don't be polite to me in the future. I live in the residential building behind your bungalow. If you have any problems, just shout and I'll hear you."
“Hey.”
After saying goodbye to Han Xueqin at the intersection, Lu Qinghe continued walking home.
Opposite their door was an identical house, except that it was overgrown with dead grass and was empty and uninhabited.
The bungalow on the right looks similar. The family has returned now. When passing by, you can see white smoke rising from the yard.
Further to the left is a smaller house against the wall, and a young man is opening the door.
Hearing the footsteps, the young man turned around and looked at Lu Qinghe.
"Hello, comrade." The man took the initiative to speak.
Lu Qinghe paused and nodded, "Hello, we will be neighbors from now on. I am Captain Zhao's family member."
"I heard about it." The young man pushed up his glasses. "Hello, sister-in-law. My name is Yu Xuexi, and I'm from the Communications Section of the Regimental Headquarters. When Captain Zhao comes back, please give him a shout-out for me."
“Hey.”
After saying that, the man walked into the yard. Lu Qinghe looked at him doubtfully for a few more times and then went into the kitchen. She first cooked the noodle soup and then prepared the dishes to be cooked in the evening. After a while, Zhao Zhanming also came home with Zhao Zimo.
"I'm back."
"Um."
Lu Qinghe walked out wearing an apron and looked at the tall and thin Zhao Zimo behind Zhao Zhanming.
"Hello, Zhao Zimo, my name is Lu Qinghe. We're family from now on."
Lu Yao and Lu Yang ran over and followed their mother. Zhao Zirui hesitated for a moment, then walked over carefully.
Zhao Zirui had actually only met this brother once or twice. He was unwilling to follow Zhao Zhanming back to his hometown, so the two of them were actually strangers to each other.
But Zhao Zirui's personality has obviously become much more cheerful these days, and after he passed by, he also took the initiative to speak.
"Hello, brother. I'm Zirui. Do you remember me? These two are my children. Their names are Lu Yao and Lu Yang."
“…”
Zhao Zirui's response was Zhao Zimo's long silence.
Zhao Zhanming frowned, turned his head, and said in a low and stern voice, "Where are the manners?"
“…”
The tall and thin boy had a few freckles on his face. He pursed his lips and hesitated for a moment before speaking stiffly, "Hello, I'm Zhao Zimo."
"Then can I call you brother?" Lu Yao asked heartlessly, then turned to look at Lu Yang, "Lu Yang, even though we will have such an older brother in the future, I am still the eldest sister."
Lu Yang snorted, but just held Lu Qinghe's fingers tightly again without saying anything.
"You can shout as much as you want, I'll go into the house first." Zhao Zimo said in a cold tone, turned and walked into the room.
Zhao Zhanming's face grew increasingly gloomy as he watched from the side, but Lu Qinghe found it somewhat amusing and burst out laughing.
"This adolescent kid is really interesting."
Zhao Zhanming looked over, sighed, rolled up his sleeves and went into the kitchen to help. "I'll educate him tonight. This child still needs to be disciplined."
"As an adult, it would be childish of me to argue with an immature child. Besides, education is our business. It's not the norm for a family to have a male chauvinist take on all the responsibilities these days."
"Well, it's just that this child had a family tragedy a few years ago, and he's a bit withdrawn. After following me, although he obeys me, he doesn't talk much. If he's too stubborn and you can't teach him, I'll have to use some tough measures on him."
"We'll talk about it later as we live our lives. Okay, the child is still outside. Let's not talk about this for now. I just met Sister Han."
Lu Qinghe told Zhao Zhanming what had happened.
Zhao Zhanming: "This is normal. His family has a way to get vegetables, so it's definitely not just a deal with you. Private transactions often happen. It's not considered a violation of discipline if it's not made public. Even if it is made public, as long as it's not stolen public property, it will be vaguely covered. Just ask clearly tomorrow what the channel is."
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