From childhood to adulthood, she has never been with her brother for such a long time.
Han Shuo's heart softened when he heard this, and no matter how angry he was with Han Rou, he almost lost it.
"Okay, I'll come to see you at the family compound after I'm done with my work."
"Brother, I'll wait for you."
Han Rou hung up the phone happily, walked out of the broadcasting room, turned around and went to the nearby grocery store to buy a pound of pork belly, and went home to stew braised pork.
Her cooking skills were only mediocre. She could only cook the dishes well enough without any taste. She even learned how to light a fire before marrying Xiong Xiangzhong.
When she first got married to Xiong Xiangzhong, her family ate in the cafeteria. Later, at Xiong Xiangzhong's subtle suggestion, she found someone to teach her how to cook and spent money to learn a few specialties. Now, after more than half a year of marriage, she has made some progress.
Braised pork is one of them.
But because it was too troublesome, Han Rou would only buy meat and stew it when she was happy.
After being married to Han Rou for more than half a year, Xiong Xiangzhong has almost figured out some of her personality traits.
As soon as I entered the house, I smelled the rich aroma of braised pork and immediately laughed: "What good thing happened today? I actually stewed braised pork for dinner?"
"I'll tell you later." Han Rou gave him a delicate look and said, "Take Qingqing to wash her hands. We can eat soon."
"Okay." Xiong Xiangzhong laughed.
He rolled up his sleeves, picked up Xiong Qingqing from the ground, and put his bearded face against her delicate little face: "Qingqing, I haven't seen you all morning. Did you miss your dad at home?"
Xiong Qingqing frowned, her face almost wrinkled into a ball: "Dad, your beard is prickly."
"Hahaha." Xiong Xiangzhong laughed with his head tilted back, his heroic voice had a strong penetrating power.
The father and daughter were quarreling. Han Rou came out of the kitchen carrying a casserole pot and interrupted their interaction with a smile: "Okay, stop quarreling with Qingqing. Go wash your hands and eat."
Xiong Xiangzhong then took Xiong Qingqing out to wash their hands. After washing their hands, the father and daughter sat together at the dining table. Han Rou placed rice and bowls and chopsticks in front of them, and then sat down.
Xiong Qingqing can eat by herself and doesn't need to be fed by adults, which makes Han Rou less worried.
The Xiong family does not have the habit of not talking while eating or sleeping. While eating, Xiong Xiangzhong asked Han Rou what the good news was.
Han Rou smiled but said nothing. When asked again, she said, "I'll tell you after dinner."
As she spoke, Han Rou also picked up a piece of braised pork for Xiong Qingqing, "Qingqing, eat meat and grow taller."
She was also very considerate and used a spoon to help Xiong Qingqing crush the large pieces of braised pork and mix them into the rice.
Xiong Xiangzhong was very satisfied with the happy atmosphere at home. After dinner, he took the initiative to help Han Rou clear the dishes and wipe the table. However, Han Rou washed the pots and pans herself.
After dinner, Han Rou coaxed Xiong Qingqing to take a nap. Xiong Xiangzhong then asked her, "Can you tell me now? What's the good news?"
Han Rou took his hand, gently placed it on her belly, and said, "Brother Xiangzhong, I'm pregnant."
Xiong Xiangzhong was stunned for a moment when he heard this: "Are you pregnant?"
"Yeah." Han Rou nodded and glanced at him shyly, "It's been two months."
"How could that be?" Xiong Xiangzhong said, "Haven't we been using contraception together? We also agreed not to have children for three years and wait until Qingqing is older before having another."
"I was surprised too. I asked the doctor the other day, and he said that contraception isn't 100% effective. Accidents can happen occasionally." Han Rou blushed, and her voice got lower and lower as she spoke. "Besides, that time we... you were drinking, and we didn't use a condom, and we all went in..."
After being reminded by Han Rou, Xiong Xiangzhong also remembered it.
"It's my fault, my fault." He slapped his forehead in frustration and said, "Since you're already pregnant, don't worry about whether it's three years or not, just give birth to the baby."
As soon as the words fell, Han Rou took the initiative to bump into his arms and hugged his waist, "Thank you, Brother Xiangzhong."
Xiong Xiangzhong's body froze and his heartbeat seemed to slow down.
He calmed down for a while before raising his hand. His big palm fell on her back and gently stroked her back.
"Why thank me? I've let you down in the first place. You're a good young girl, but you married an old widower like me..."
"Don't say that."
Han Rou covered his mouth and said, "Brother Xiangzhong, you are the deputy commander and have fought in countless battles. I am just a small educated youth who went to the countryside. I am marrying you, which is beyond my reach."
Xiong Xiangzhong was not used to being flattered so bluntly, especially by his wife who was more than ten years younger than him.
He tried hard to suppress the corners of his mouth that curled up, and said, "You are pregnant now, can you still take care of Qingqing by yourself? If not, find someone to help you."
"No, I don't feel anything right now, so taking care of Qingqing is no big deal. It won't be too late to hire someone later when she's older and has trouble moving around."
Xiong Xiangzhong nodded: "Okay, I'll listen to you."
*****
The soil was soft and moist after the rain. After a rain, white and tender mushrooms grew all over the long hillside behind the camp.
Feng Juan went out early and came back late for two days, picking up a lot of mushrooms. She blanched the leftover mushrooms, dried them in the sun, and added some salt to the water. This way, the mushrooms would not go bad even in the winter, increasing their edibility during the winter when vegetables were scarce.
By the third day, it was no longer possible. Almost all the mushrooms on the mountain had been picked. Feng Juan went out for a whole morning and only brought back half a basket.
As the sun rose higher and the temperature began to rise, Feng Juan said goodbye to the others and went down the mountain with her vegetable basket. As she was walking, she heard someone calling her from behind, "Aunt Feng, Aunt Feng, wait for me."
The voice was familiar. Feng Juan turned around and found it was Sun Lan.
“…”
Feng Juan didn't really want to pay attention to her.
Sun Lan also knew that Feng Juan hated her, but even if they couldn't become in-laws, they couldn't break off their relationship. After all, her stepson and son-in-law were both successful, and she would have to rely on them in the future.
So even though Sun Lan knew that Feng Juan hated her, she still approached her.
"Auntie, why did you go home so early yesterday? Can you pick up some more trash for a while?"
Feng Juan shook her head. "No more picking. The mushrooms on the mountain have been picked for two days now, and there aren't many left. I won't be able to pick up many more, so I won't waste my time."
Sun Lan said, "That's what I thought. Anyway, what we picked up the past two days is enough to last us for a while."
Feng Juan nodded and said nothing more.
The two of them went down the mountain together, and Sun Lan racked her brains to find topics to talk about.
After chatting about several topics, Feng Juan was not very interested in any of them. Sun Lan had nothing to say and simply started talking about the gossip she had just learned that morning.
"Aunt, do you know that Cui Xuezhi's uterus is damaged and she will never be able to have children again?"
Feng Juan said "hmm" lightly.
Sun Lan didn't mind her indifference and continued, "She only gave birth to a daughter and can't have any more children. I'm afraid the Dong family won't be happy. One morning when I was out picking mushrooms, I passed by the army guesthouse and saw Battalion Commander Dong coming out with a child. The child was no more than two or three years old and looked about six or seven years like him."
Feng Juan became interested when she heard this and asked curiously, "Who is that child?"
Sun Lan said, "I was curious too, so I went over to say hello to Captain Dong and asked him, 'Guess what he said?'"
"What did he say?" Feng Juan asked.
Sun Lan said, "He said it was his nephew. His brother's child. He was with his brother last night and had just arrived at the army."
"so what?"
"Think about it! Cui Xuezhi asked Captain Dong to send his mother away, but his mother didn't know the way, so she asked his younger brother to pick her up. And his younger brother brought his nephew along too. What does this mean?" Sun Lan speculated, "This means the Dong family isn't happy with the daughter Cui Xuezhi gave birth to! They're afraid Dong Dingbang won't have an heir, so they brought their nephew here, probably intending to adopt him as his own."
Sun Lan became more and more excited as she spoke, and she even stopped calling him Captain Dong and continued calling him by his name, Dong Dingbang.
Feng Juan felt that Sun Lan's guess was unreliable and shook her head, saying, "Impossible. The Dong family wouldn't be so stupid."
Feng Juan estimated that the feelings between the young couple had long been worn out and there was nothing left. The reason why they did not divorce was probably the result of weighing the pros and cons for both parties.
Dong Dingbang came from a poor family and married Cui Xuezhi not because of Cui Xuezhi as a person, but because of her uncle, Commander Liang, who stood behind her, and the identity of Commander Liang's nephew-in-law.
He climbed to the position of battalion commander at such a young age. He is definitely not stupid. Even if he wanted a son, he would not divorce Cui Xuezhi at this time and perform estrangement with Cui Liang and his two families. This would not benefit him in any way. He might even be labeled as a man who abandoned his wife and daughter, and his future would end here.
To be honest, he is only 28 years old and still very young. If he wants a son in the future, he can divorce and have another one even if he is 38 or 48 years old.
What good would it do him to adopt his younger brother's son at this time, other than angering Cui Xuezhi and causing further uncertainty in this already precarious marriage?
Where is Cui Xuezhi?
Marrying Dong Dingbang was originally a second-best choice. Dong Dingbang was already the best man she could marry at her current stage.
Although Dong Dingbang did not come from a good family, he was a battalion commander at a young age. With the support of Commander Liang, he had a bright future.
The key is that he has a good temper and can tolerate all of Cui Xuezhi's bad temper. This is also the reason why Cui Xuezhi finally decided to marry him after delaying for half a year.
Although she found that this was not the case after marriage, Dong Dingbang was still the best choice she could get.
What's more, she has now lost her fertility.
If she divorces and remarries, she will definitely not find a better person to marry than Dong Dingbang.
So even though she said she wanted a divorce, after being persuaded by her family and Dong Dingbang kneeling before her to surrender, she began to waver in her heart. She just agreed to it immediately because it was embarrassing, so she made a fuss for a few days to vent her emotions, and then she finally backed down.
The two families had already reached a consensus and would not create any more trouble.
As for why Dong Dingbang’s younger brother brought a young child here?
Feng Juan guessed that it might be an accident.
䀴At this moment, Dong Mancang, the culprit who caused the "accident", had just been slapped by Wang Yue.
Wang Yue slapped Dong Mancang hard, using all her strength. Not only did she twist Dong Mancang's face to the side, but she also made her palm numb from the shock.
She glared at Dong Mancang with a sullen face and spoke in an extremely cold tone: "Kneel down."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
