Chapter 23 Chapter 23 (3, 4 more) She can’t enjoy…
"As long as you're in this compound, if you need to go out, you can go out. There's no need to worry about children at home. The children here are all looked after by everyone. The military wives help each other, and there are comrades from the logistics team. There's a guard at the door, so ordinary people can't get in. As long as the children don't jump over the wall and run outside, they won't be in much danger. Even if it's a baby in your arms, if there's an emergency, you can just throw it to someone's house and they can help take care of it."
After leaving the cabbage at home, Lu Qinghe and Mrs. Han walked all the way to the kindergarten.
On the way, we happened to meet some propaganda team members painting propaganda posters on the wall. In addition to the original heroes and model figures, there were also posters about literacy, as well as those encouraging soldiers to accompany their troops and praising the greatness of military wives.
Lu Qinghe took a closer look and chatted with Sister Han: "I understand. Next time I go out, I won't lock the door. Let the children run around and make friends."
When they arrived, Han's wife nodded as she helped pass in the household registration certificates for both families. "That's right. Let me be a bit cunning. This is all about connections, and it never hurts to make more friends. Your husband is the deputy head of the group, so no one from other families will bully your children."
"Captain Zhao's two children are six years old. Sister-in-law, why don't you consider sending them directly to elementary school?" asked the staff at the window.
Lu Qinghe: "They haven't had many classes before, so I thought I'd take preschool classes with my son Zhao Zirui first to lay a solid foundation."
The staff member smiled and said, "That's good. Then bring Director Ding's grandson along. The four children will go to preschool together today, so he can keep them company."
Thinking of the propaganda posters he had seen on the way here, Lu Qinghe had an idea. "Comrade, let me ask if there are any literacy classes in our military dependents' home?"
"Yes, there was a meeting a few days ago. The national literacy campaign has become a regular activity. Our military family home has two literacy classes every week. If you two sisters-in-law are interested, you can attend the classes every Wednesday or Friday."
"Okay, thank you, comrade."
"You're welcome."
After leaving the kindergarten, there is another row of propaganda slogans in front.
[The medal of honor is half mine and half yours.]
[Sacrificing their own families for the sake of the greater good, the revolutionary army's families are the greatest.]
Accompanying the slogan was a picture of military wives queuing up to buy vegetables and attending a study class together.
"I don't want to go to class. Knowing a few everyday words is enough. Why do I need to be so cultured? Do you want to go to class?"
Lu Qinghe hummed, "There's still a lot of time to come, and learning some knowledge will always be useful. Besides, my children don't have any basic knowledge, so I can teach them if I learn it."
"That's a good point."
After leaving the school, a woman who had just come out of the gate followed me. "Hello, my name is Wang Ningyu. My husband is the head of the security department. He just arrived here yesterday. Who of you said you had to go to class? Let's meet up later."
"It's me. My name is Lu Qinghe."
Just introduce each other and you'll know each other.
Wang Ningyu's family is also from the countryside. He can't read or write, but he is very hardworking.
"My husband doesn't hold a high position. If it weren't for our remote location, I wouldn't have been able to join the army. There are so many people in the military family compound, and I wouldn't have been able to get a good job. I have many children at home, and life is very tight with his salary. If I could learn to read, I would be able to take on more jobs, and earning more money would make things more comfortable for me."
Sister-in-law Han was curious: "There are quite a few children here. Qinghe and I both have four children. How many do you have?"
"Take this one from my belly, it's the fifth one."
"Pregnant? How many months?"
"Five months."
"Why don't you show your pregnancy?"
"Don't mention it. They say if you don't show it's a girl, you're pregnant. I already have four daughters. If I have another one, I won't be able to live like this."
Mrs. Han smiled and said, "I have two daughters and two sons, but now it doesn't matter whether you have a boy or a girl."
"They say it's the same, but how can it be the same? If there's a girl in my belly, the mother-in-law's words will be even more unpleasant."
"Is your mother-in-law here too?"
"It's already been six months. It saves me some energy when she comes here. Well, I have to look after her when I go home." Wang Ningyu glanced at Lu Qinghe again and said, "What about your family, Qinghe? You look so young, how come you already have four children?"
Sister-in-law Han rushed to speak: "She is so lucky, a pair of twins, a boy and a girl."
"Really?!"
Wang Ningyu widened his eyes, looked at Lu Qinghe and nodded, then grabbed Lu Qinghe's arm and said, "You must let me share this good fortune. Let's go to your house tomorrow, Wednesday."
Lu Qinghe agreed. The three families lived close to each other. After hearing what they said, Mrs. Han also agreed to go to class together tomorrow.
After Zhao Zhanming returned home in the evening, Lu Qinghe talked to him about this. Zhao Zhanming was very supportive and then talked about winter vegetable storage.
Zhao Zhanming: "In previous years, it was just Zimo and I, and the logistics team helped transport the vegetables home. There weren't many vegetables, only about 100 kilograms of cabbage. This year, we have more people, so we need at least 300 kilograms of cabbage. If we want to transport it home, although there is a logistics team to help the military wives, we don't have much manpower after all. Tomorrow afternoon, when the time comes, I'll call Xiao Li to help."
"Okay, then I'll go line up early this afternoon."
"Don't tire yourself out. If you need anything, call Xiao Li and the others. Don't worry about owing favors. The orderlies are very strict these days and won't assign us any more positions, but Xiao Li and the others are soldiers I trained myself, so we have a good relationship with them."
"Got it. I'll go clean up the dishes then."
"I'll do it." Zhao Zhanming stood up and watched the children go to the side. His eyes were a little burning. "I see the new mattress has been delivered. Go take a look and make the bed."
“…”
Lu Qinghe didn't dare to look him in the eye. She lowered her head and groaned. She only breathed a sigh of relief after the people left.
Because of this, there was a strange atmosphere in the house after dinner. It was not until the children fell asleep that the house became completely quiet.
There was a small table lamp left on in the bedroom, and the dim light barely illuminated the corner of the bed.
After Lu Qinghe washed up, she curled up in the quilt wearing her autumn clothes. Before she could figure out how to confess politely to Zhao Zhanming later, she heard the sound of a man's footsteps coming from outside.
The door was closed, and the bed on the other side was opened by him. His low breathing mixed with a hint of soap lingered at Lu Qinghe's nose.
"Did I turn off the lights?"
"……good."
The lights soon went out and the room became completely dark.
Lu Qinghe also turned sideways, facing the other side and closed his eyes.
It was clearly a single quilt, but both of them seemed to be sleeping on their sides, and the distance between them was enough for two more children to sleep.
Just when Lu Qinghe thought that she would just muddle through tonight, she heard the rustling sound of a man taking off his clothes.
Zhao Zhanming usually wore an old white shirt at home. He was tall and his movements were big, so he could clearly hear the sound of the shirt being thrown on the chair next to him.
"Is it cold?"
The man's voice sounded, deeper than usual.
"……good."
Although it wasn't cold, the cold air from the north continued to enter Lu Qinghe's nasal cavity. But ever since the man started talking, she always felt that the cold air had become much thicker.
"Let's go to sleep." Lu Qinghe took a deep breath and said, "I didn't sleep well yesterday, so I need to get a good rest today."
This step is really good, Lu Qinghe applauded himself in his heart after saying this.
Zhao Zhanming hesitated for half a second and responded.
Silence followed again, and the only sound in the quiet room was the mixed breathing of the two people.
Lu Qinghe had no recollection of when she fell asleep, but after waking up she felt that she had slept very well, and all the fatigue of the past two days was swept away. It was not until she opened her eyes and saw the man standing so close to her that she was startled and sat up subconsciously.
Zhao Zhanming had just woken up, and his quilt was lifted up by Lu Qinghe. He rubbed his eyebrows and sat up.
"Are you awake?"
"Yeah." Lu Qinghe responded softly, but her eyes unconsciously fell under the open quilt.
This man... has a really good figure!
He has broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and abdominal muscles. Every muscle is firm and solid. You can tell at a glance that he is a trained athlete. Even down there...
etc!
Why is he so stubborn?
Didn’t they say he was not capable?
“…”
Even if a man is not capable, he will still have the morning erection?
Single office worker Lu Qinghe looked at it for two more seconds out of curiosity, looking confused.
After Zhao Zhanming realized her gaze, he cleared his throat. Only then did she look away anxiously with a flushed face.
"How did you sleep last night?" Zhao Zhanming coughed twice and asked again.
"……fine."
"Hmm." Zhao Zhanming paused, his voice low and hoarse. "Then wait for me tonight."
Waiting for him...what?
Lu Qinghe was a little confused, and subconsciously looked over. Who knew that Zhao Zhanming still didn't cover the quilt. Her face became hot again, and she knew without thinking that it must be very red.
Zhao Zhanming seemed to be waiting for her, with a hint of smile on his face. He waited patiently until she turned her head away in panic and chuckled.
"Why don't you look at it anymore?"
Lu Qinghe stammered, "I've seen it."
"What do you think? I remember you said you liked nice looking ones."
Lu Qinghe: “…”
How could he still remember something that happened so long ago?
Lu Qinghe gritted her teeth and said, "I think it's good. You have a good figure."
Zhao Zhanming laughed again, his voice becoming even hoarseer and mingled with his heavy breathing. "Then why are you hiding? I'm very generous. I'll let you see as you please."
“…”
This guy seems calm and self-possessed on the surface, but why is it that the more she gets along with him, the more she feels that he is a bit stuffy?
Who is afraid of whom?
Lu Qinghe's heart hardened, and he turned his head to stare over, "Ahem, who's hiding? I'm afraid you'll catch a cold, so I'm waiting for you to put on your clothes. It's getting late, aren't you going out?"
"It's only half past five." Zhao Zhanming looked at her with a smile in his eyes. "I'll make breakfast."
After saying that, he turned over and got off the bed. Even through the cloth, a certain part of his body was very obvious and abrupt standing there.
Lu Qinghe's face became even hotter, but she didn't want to appear cowardly, so she watched Zhao Zhanming put on his clothes before she stood up and put on her sweater.
When opening the door, Lu Qinghe's hand just touched the door handle when Zhao Zhanming pressed the back of his hand.
Zhao Zhanming's palm was very broad, and he used very light force, but one could still clearly feel the thick calluses on his rough fingertips.
Zhao Zhanming: "I don't have any tasks today. I'll be back early. Wait for me in the evening."
The two of them were very close, and his breath fell on Lu Qinghe's earlobe, neither too far nor too close.
Even though she had never been in a relationship, Lu Qinghe knew exactly what the man meant when he said it twice.
"Um."
She nodded with a hot face, and Zhao Zhanming moved his hand away.
After walking out, the cool air blew on Lu Qinghe's neck. Not sure if it was because of the wind or the heat left by the man's breath beside her ear, Lu Qinghe trembled slightly. After several breaths, her mood calmed down.
Looking at Zhao Zhanming's tall back, Lu Qinghe felt confused.
Could it be that the sister-in-law’s information was wrong and the rumor was false?
Otherwise, if he was really in trouble, how could he be so positive about this matter?
How about trying it yourself tonight?
Thinking of this, Lu Qinghe's face became hot again while washing it.
What's there to be afraid of? We're all adults now, so why not give it a try? If it works, she'll enjoy it. She's already here, so shouldn't she enjoy herself?!
"Qinghe, I'll drop the kids off on their first day of school."
"Oh, okay."
After dinner, Lu Qinghe had just watched Zhao Zhanming leave when Wang Ningyu came over and took Lu Qinghe to buy notebooks and pencils and went to the literacy class for military wives.
There were quite a lot of people in the class, about thirty or so. After meeting each other and saying hello, everyone got to know each other. During this class, Lu Qinghe didn't pay much attention, but he did get to know quite a few people.
The teacher was a political clerk from the military district, and he taught the most basic pinyin and Chinese characters.
She chose a seat in the back row and sat down. She did some writing and drawing in her spare time. The morning passed quickly. In the afternoon, after calculating the time, Lu Qinghe went out early with the food book.
Lu Qinghe arrived early, and there were already more than a dozen people queuing up when he arrived.
After asking around, I found out that this person lived far away and came half an hour early because he was afraid that he would not be able to get the food.
After a while, the pickup truck carrying vegetables arrived.
"Everyone line up first, two lines. There are two trucks weighing one thousand pounds today, so they can all be lined up. Don't worry, don't worry."
"And whoever pre-ordered 500 kilograms of pumpkins two days ago, come pick them up after you call your name."
The people who came to deliver the vegetables were two fellow villagers and a female comrade from the Military Family Committee. The two fellow villagers were responsible for unloading and bagging the food, while the female comrade was standing by to sign the food book and call out the names.
As more and more people came, the comrade was obviously overwhelmed.
When it was Lu Qinghe's turn, she glanced at the pumpkins and dried beans and peanuts in the other cart and asked, "Can I buy these?"
"The amount allocated this year is small. These are all obtained by the Military Families Committee through contacting the families of nearby villagers. I'm afraid we won't be able to get them these days. How about next time?"
"When will the next time be?"
"Tomorrow, come and ask again tomorrow." The comrade who was taking notes was so busy that he said a few perfunctory words, turned around and looked at the non-staple food book in his hand, and found that he had made a mistake.
"Change it back for me right now, and don't let it affect my purchase of other things this year. You're not doing your job carefully, little comrade!"
"Hurry up, there are people waiting behind..."
Seeing that the team was getting chaotic, Lu Qinghe asked for 100 kilograms of cabbage and helped Xiao Li load it onto the cart, feeling a little reluctant.
"Girl, how about I help you?"
The round-faced female comrade hurriedly raised her head, took a look at Lu Qinghe, and was stunned for a moment: "Sister-in-law?"
Lu Qinghe recognized her now. Wasn't this Xiaohua, the salesperson from the supply and marketing cooperative that day?
"Do you need help?" Lu Qinghe nodded and asked again.
"Sister-in-law, can you write or read?"
"Anything is fine."
"Then you take attendance here, and I'll go over there and record the food." After saying that, Xiaohua hesitated for a moment, a little worried, "We still have to calculate and weigh it. Is that okay, sister-in-law? If not, call me."
"Yes, you can go ahead."
It is so easy to call out names, but the difficult part is to calculate the weight after each person comes. Many people want to buy more, and I have to explain to them that there is a quota for distribution. After all the arguing, although it is not difficult, it is a waste of time.
By the time Lu Qinghe finished his work, Xiaohua was almost done.
The two looked at each other and laughed.
Xiaohua came over and thanked her: "Sister-in-law, it's all thanks to you."
"Why did you come here alone? Where is the supply and marketing cooperative?"
"The supply and marketing cooperative operates on a rotational basis. We've recently caught up with the autumn harvest and planting season, and we also have to prepare winter vegetables for everyone, and update our cultural posters. Everything's been so overwhelming, and the Military Families Association really needed more talent, so they called me over. I didn't expect you to be so capable, able to read and call out names, and even calculate weights without making any mistakes."
"This is not a normalized literacy campaign. I am also learning at home." Lu Qinghe said without hesitation.
"Sister-in-law, tomorrow... do you still have time?"
Lu Qinghe nodded: "Do you still need my help?"
Xiao Hua scratched his head and smiled. "It's so straightforward to talk to my sister-in-law. Sister-in-law, if you have nothing to do tomorrow, come over. I won't let you help me in vain. I'll tell you in advance if there's any news about vegetables in the future. There's also some left over every day for the Military Families Association. If you want to come, just ask for anything."
“That’s a good feeling.”
Anyway, there was nothing else to do recently except drying vegetables, so Lu Qinghe agreed directly. Then he followed Xiaohua to the yard of the supply and marketing cooperative and picked dozens of kilograms of vegetables such as pumpkin, potatoes, dried beans, etc., and then called Xiaoli to take them to the cellar together.
For safety reasons, the cellars in the family compound are public and are guarded by someone. All you have to do is write your name on the sack.
Before leaving, Lu Qinghe stuffed two pumpkins and a bag of dried dates into Xiao Li's pockets before returning home.
When Zhao Zhanming came back in the evening, he laughed when he heard about it and said, "This job is not easy."
"Why?"
"Xiaohua is on secondment and doesn't know many people here. You've gotten to know quite a few people in the past two days. If someone familiar asks you to buy more, it'll be hard to get away with it. If you buy too much or too little, you'll probably get complaints later."
"That's true." Lu Qinghe frowned. "But I've already accepted the call. It's not good not to go tomorrow. Besides, it's not impossible to solve it."
"Do you have a solution?"
"It should be possible."
"If you want to make things difficult, just set the rules. No one will be stupid enough to directly contradict you."
"Don't worry, I'm not stupid. Everything will work out when the time comes."
In fact, when Lu Qinghe answered the call, he also thought about this issue, but when he thought that if he could buy more vegetables from Xiaohua, it would make the winter easier for his family, he agreed without hesitation.
"Mom, is this a picture of a cabbage?"
After dinner, the children saw Lu Qinghe flipping through the notebook he used during the day, and they all liked the pictures on it very much.
"Yeah, the scene of people queuing up to buy cabbage."
After thinking about it, Lu Qinghe walked over again and asked a few children what words they had learned during the day. Then he drew two or three small cartoon pictures for them to learn to read.
Pinyin is a difficult problem for children. Taking advantage of the inspiration, Lu Qinghe drew all 26 pronunciations.
"If your mouth is wide open, it's pronounced 'a'. If you pout your mouth in a circle, it's pronounced 'o'. If your mouth is flat, it's pronounced 'e'. If your teeth are aligned, it's pronounced 'i'..."
Lu Qinghe recalled the alphabet song she had read when she worked at a children's magazine. She drew cartoons of each pinyin and wrote the alphabet song next to it.
"Mom is so smart!"
"I studied this for a long time today but couldn't remember it. After seeing what mom drew, I remembered it right away. Mom is amazing!"
"Mom is a painter!"
"This is really fun." Lu Yao kissed Lu Qinghe: "Mom, can we take this to school?"
When they were in the mountains, Lu Qinghe later stopped them from taking it out.
But it’s different now. She can say that she has attended literacy classes, and no one will really go to Dagu Village to ask about her class anyway.
"Sure, Mom is also learning like you guys. If you don't understand something, you can ask me."
"Yeah, mom is the greatest!!" Lu Yang cheered, and several children followed suit.
When Zhao Zhanming came back after cleaning up the dishes and saw this scene, a hint of softness appeared between his brows. But when he saw Zhao Zimo, who was silent and entered the room alone, his brows unconsciously frowned again.
"Take your time. This child already has some emotional issues. It's impossible for him to accept it so quickly. He's not the same age as Zirui and has his own ideas."
Lu Qinghe comforted him from the side.
"Yeah, I know." Zhao Zhanming replied, "Then I'll go dry the cabbages in the yard. You go take a shower first?"
Lu Qinghe's face flushed, "Why are you in such a hurry? Isn't it still early?"
Zhao Zhanming's voice deepened: "Okay, then I'll wash first."
“…”
Isn’t this still urgent?
Lu Qinghe read pinyin with the children for a while. After seeing Zhao Zhanming spread out the cabbages in the yard, she took the children to wash up and took a shower herself.
She thought Zhao Zhanming would stay for a while, but as soon as she lay down, she heard the sound of flushing. After a while, Zhao Zhanming walked in with a cool breeze.
Lu Qinghe huddled in the quilt, waiting for the person to get into bed, and then quickly said, "Turn off the lights."
Zhao Zhanming laughed: "It's okay if you don't turn off the lights."
"It's better to close it."
It's kind of embarrassing to drive it.
The air was soon filled with the heavy and long breathing of a man. Lu Qinghe grabbed the quilt nervously. Sure enough, Zhao Zhanming did not wait long. Soon, she felt her fingertips being grasped in his broad palm.
Zhao Zhanming used a little strength, making it easier to feel the rough calluses on his palms rubbing against his skin.
Perhaps the air was too cold, which made his palms seem particularly hot, so hot that Lu Qinghe's heart beat faster.
No one spoke, and it seemed as if the only sounds left in the world were the two people's intertwined breathing.
In the end, it was Zhao Zhanming's strong arms that used some strength to pull the man towards him. Lu Qinghe used the force to turn around, but happened to bump into his hard chest. When he raised his head, he bumped into the man's chin.
"Does it hurt?"
Zhao Zhanming placed his palm directly on Lu Qinghe's forehead and rubbed it gently.
"Oh, it's okay, but..."
Lu Qinghe reached out and poked the man's chest muscles curiously, "Zhao Zhanming, this is actually soft?"
“…”
As expected, Zhao Zhanming was silent for a moment before he sighed helplessly: "What else?"
"It looks pretty solid, but I didn't expect it to feel like this."
After Lu Qinghe finished speaking, she couldn't help but poke him again. The man who was poked by her fingertips groaned and pulled her in further.
"Feel?"
"yes."
"You're even tasting it." Zhao Zhanming's voice was frighteningly low, and his breathing became even more disordered when he spoke. His burning palm fell from between her arms.
Although it was gentle enough, it still caused Lu Qinghe to snort softly, "You...what are you doing!"
"I also want to try the feel you mentioned."
"……rogue!"
"What about you, female hooligan?"
“…Um, don’t.”
Lu Qinghe hummed twice and tried to push the man's hand away, but Zhao Zhanming changed his usual reserved style at this moment, waved away the troublesome autumn coat with his big hand, and lowered his head to greet him.
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