Chapter 80 Reunion

In the yard, the man's footsteps stopped completely. Inside the room, Lin Qiao had not noticed anything happening outside.

She kept Lin Wei mainly because Lin Wei had no household registration and letter of introduction.

He couldn't stay in a regular hotel, and irregular accommodation was not safe enough, so it would be better for him to stay with her so that he could go to school to find Yan Maoshan conveniently.

It just so happened that she had a vacant room, and Ji Ling had stayed here before when she was on vacation.

"That's fine." Since she was his own sister, Lin Wei was not polite.

"I'll go find you a bed sheet." Lin Qiao stood up and looked up, only to find a man outside the door.

It was not cold yet, and the door to her inner room was not closed. It was dark, and the other person was half hidden in the darkness of the main room, revealing only a pair of dark and deep eyes, which scared her at the time.

Lin Qiao subconsciously took a half step back, and even Lin Wei stood up cautiously, "Who are you?"

The man's sharp eyes first swept over Lin Wei's face, seemed to pause, and then took a step forward. His tall figure in military uniform was completely exposed under the light.

Lin Qiao was stunned. "Ji Duo?"

More than two years and more than eight hundred days and nights later, when she saw this face again, she realized how deeply he had left her memory.

It was so profound that at a glance she noticed that he had lost weight, looked more imposing, and his facial features were not only strong but also revealed a murderous sharpness.

As for Ji Duo, his eyes have never moved away from Lin Qiao since the moment they landed on her.

After not seeing her for two years, compared to the youthful look when we first met, her features are now relaxed and her eyes are confident. She has completely blossomed into her most brilliant and generous look.

He could not help but trace her face for a moment, carefully, seriously, just as he had traced her face repeatedly on his photographs during those eight hundred days and nights on the battlefield when he could not sleep at night.

The couple looked at each other, and after a long while he said "um" softly, "It's me." Then he said nothing more.

This made Lin Wei seem redundant, and he was left aside. It was not right for him to say hello, nor was it right for him to not say hello. What's more, he was also left alone.

Finally, it was Lin Qiao who looked away first. "Why are you standing at the door without saying a word? It's scary."

Ji Duo was stunned by the question. Fortunately, he had a good mental state and didn't even look at Lin Wei.

But Lin Qiao was not stupid. Even if he didn't look at it now, he still looked at it before entering the door and immediately raised his eyebrows.

Ji Duo had recovered as usual and greeted Lin Wei, "Brother is here."

"Ah? Well, I came to Tsinghua University for something, and I just happened to run into Qiao Qiao."

The last time Lin Wei saw Ji Duo in his hometown, he was a little scared. He thought that his parents felt guilty about letting Qiao Qiao down. Why did he feel that his aura was even stronger when he saw him this time?

Ji Duo had already stepped into the house and put down the things in his hands. "Since you are here, stay for two more days."

"Um."

In fact, Lin Wei suddenly didn't want to live there anymore. His sister was very nice, pretty and generous, but his brother-in-law was a bit scary.

But Lin Qiao had already gone to get the sheets for him and said to Ji Duo, "I'll go make the bed for you first."

The man nodded, sat down at the table and poured himself a glass of water. Lin Wei had no choice but to follow his sister to the next room.

Since no one lives here permanently, things here are much simpler, there isn't even a wardrobe.

Lin Wei looked at his sister and found that she looked normal. Except for the first few seconds when they looked at each other, she didn't seem very excited to see Ji Duo come back.

Ji Duo was the same, as if he did not go to the front line, but just went to work.

Lin Wei was a little confused. How could everyone be so calm after meeting again after such a long separation?

However, after Lin Qiao helped him spread the sheets, she suddenly realized, "I forgot to get you the pillowcase."

She turned around and went back to her room. "I'll find one for you."

As soon as someone walked in, the tall and handsome man on the chair raised his head and his eyes met hers.

It's not that peaceful at all, they are just very good at controlling their emotions.

Lin Qiao retracted his gaze, walked behind the door, and raised his hand to open the cabinet door.

Just as I opened the door a little, someone suddenly approached from behind.

Lin Qiao didn't even have time to react before someone grabbed her waist. The next second, she flipped over and leaned against the cabinet door.

She heard the door close with a soft "bang" and could see that the door next to her was half open.

However, the man's cold breath was already between his lips and teeth. He put one hand on his waist and the other hand had already grasped the back of her head accurately. He prevented her from hitting the cabinet door, but also blocked all her escape routes.

Lin Qiao's eyes widened. This old cadre, who would frown even when watching a romance movie, actually kissed her with the door open and with someone else at home!

But Jiduo is a relative

In the quiet room, there was even a faint and ambiguous sound of water.

Lin Wei didn't even need to come in. He could hear and see what they were doing just by being within two meters of the door...

Lin Qiao couldn't help but punch the man's chest, and the tip of her tongue felt increasingly numb and sour in response.

The big hand that was on her waist even pulled out her shirt, and moved up along her distinct spine, instantly draining all her strength.

A light snort escaped from Lin Qiao's lips. He wanted to find support somewhere, but in the process he accidentally hit his elbow against the cabinet door with a loud bang.

Because it was a bit loud, Lin Wei in the next room heard it and asked, "What happened?"

"No, nothing." Lin Qiao quickly pushed the man away, and then realized that her voice was wrong, and hissed softly, "It was just a knee bump."

She glared at Ji Duo fiercely, then quickly reopened the cabinet and found a clean pillowcase.

Just as she was about to hand it over, Ji Duo took it and said, "I'll go." He looked at her lips intently.

Lin Qiao felt something was wrong at first glance, so she quickly took the mirror and saw that her lips were indeed swollen, red and bright, like a ripe cherry.

The corners of the eyes are also watery, and even an unsophisticated person can notice it.

How can she get out?

No wonder the man offered to help her deliver it. Isn't this veteran cadre usually calm and composed? Why is he so anxious today?

Lin Qiao put the mirror down and straightened his shirt. Ji Duo's voice came from the other side, which was completely incomprehensible, "What else do you need?"

"That's enough." Lin Wei was like a little soldier accepting the leader's consolation. "You just came back today, you should go to bed early."

"Well, you should go to bed early too."

This time when he came in, the man locked the door behind him and his eyes fell deeply and directly on Lin Qiao.

Lin Qiao found that after being on the battlefield, this man became more aggressive when looking at people. He used to be reserved, but now he is completely undisguised.

If looks could eat people, she would have been torn apart and eaten by him by now. Lin Qiao glared at her again, and not only glared, but also kicked her.

Ji Duo didn't move at all, letting her finish kicking him, then he stepped forward to hug her, "Have you been okay these past two years?"

He said this with his chin resting on top of Lin Qiao's head. His voice was low and contained a rare hint of warmth.

Lin Qiao leaned her head on his chest and said, "Fortunately, the project is going smoothly and will soon produce results."

The man hummed, his chest vibrating, and a clear heartbeat could be heard near his heart.

A strong, alive heartbeat returning to her.

Lin Qiao took a breath of the familiar scent on the other person, "How about you? Did you get hurt this time?"

"No." The man said calmly. After a moment's silence, he suddenly lowered his voice and said, "Several of my soldiers died."

Even if there is no large-scale war, even if it is just a small conflict, there are still young lives left on that land.

Lin Qiao was silent for a long time, "What about their families..."

"Five hundred yuan in pensions per person and per family." Ji Duo lowered his voice and stopped talking completely.

When Lin Qiao raised her eyes, she could see his tightened jaw and straight lips.

Five hundred yuan, the price of half a cow. In that era, a cow was worth one thousand, but a human life was only worth five hundred.

But the country now has no money and no ability to arrange the funeral affairs for these brave men who risked their lives for the country.

Ji Duo let go of Lin Qiao in silence, picked up something he had placed on the table earlier, opened it, and found a small military medal inside.

Below the military medal was a long list of names that Ji Duo remembered, the names of every soldier who had sacrificed their lives.

He handed the military medal to Lin Qiao and said, "There are several soldiers here whose families are in great difficulty. Qiao Qiao, I want to use part of my salary to subsidize them."

The man's tone was sincere and his eyes were serious, and it could be heard that he was discussing something with her in a serious manner.

Lin Qiao paused and said, "Let me go out."

She stroked the cold and hard surface of the military medal, and her voice became more determined, "I will pay for this money, just consider it as accumulating blessings for you and myself."

With 40% of the profits from Muzi Chemical Factory, she now earns tens of thousands of yuan a month. Money is no longer that important to her. Her ability is limited, and she cannot take care of everyone, but it is not a problem for her to take care of Ji Duo's subordinates.

The young girl had gentle features and a sad expression, but her words were extremely powerful and hit Ji Duo's heart hard.

Ji Duo couldn't help but hold her tightly in his arms, as if he was holding some rare treasure.

Su Zheng was right, he didn't just marry a wife, he clearly married a baby.

A baby who understands him, understands him and supports him.

However, when it was time to go to bed at night, Baby brought him a bed blanket.

Ji Duo looked at the quilt calmly, then at the people, without saying a word.

Lin Qiao let him watch, "You're not going to show it now that you're back?"

She didn't even make a big quilt here.

As he said this, he thought of something and raised his eyebrows again, "Why did you look at my cousin when you came in today?"

Ji Duo was stumped by the question and remained silent as he pondered over how to put it.

But even if he didn't say it, Lin Qiao could guess about 70% of it, "You don't think I'm hiding someone at home, do you?"

"No." This time Ji Duo recognized it very quickly.

He knew Lin Qiao's personality very well. She was smart, rational, and decisive. She had many things to do and would not indulge in love affairs. She would not betray her marriage or break the law.

You know, destroying a military marriage is illegal and the offender will go to jail. He also trusts Lin Qiao's character.

But he understood it intellectually and believed it emotionally, so when the time came, he subconsciously confirmed it.

It seems that when he meets Lin Qiao, there are always times when he is not so rational and calm.

Lin Qiao didn't know whether he believed it or not, so he just looked at him with a half-smile, "Do you think I should deduct one point from you?"

Ji Duo said nothing, raised his hand and unbuttoned the first button of his military uniform. When he saw her glance and looked at him consciously, he turned off the light and kissed her directly.

The next morning, Lin Wei got up early, but he didn't expect Ji Duo to get up earlier than him and even bought breakfast.

After not seeing him for a night, the man looked more lively. He was no longer as cold as a hard rifle as he was when he came back last night.

After putting the things he bought on the table, he asked Lin Wei, "Do you want to eat anything?"

Lin Wei thought he was going to treat him to a meal, "No, no, Qiao Qiao already arranged it yesterday, I'll just eat something casually."

"Is it okay to eat shrimps?" Ji Duo still asked, and at the same time pushed the braised pork in the lunch box to Lin Qiao.

Lin Qiao ate it up immediately and asked, "Did you buy it from the uncle near the old house?"

The brine there tastes great. During the two years of studying, Lin Qiao has also bought brine from other stores, but always felt that something was missing.

Speaking of which, the first time the man took her to this restaurant was when they had just decided to get married. The boss had poor eyesight and almost mistook her for his niece.

But if there was no exchange of marriage, she should indeed call him uncle, regardless of their generational division or relationship.

She couldn't help but look at the man and found that the man responded and was looking at her. She wondered if he was also thinking of what happened at that time.

Lin Wei, on the other hand, didn't pay much attention to that. When Ji Duo asked, he said embarrassedly, "I can eat anything."

"Then let's eat shrimps." Ji Duo made the final decision. After dinner, he sent the two of them to school.

After the others left, Lin Wei breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Lin Qiao, wanting to say something but stopping himself.

"He's just like that, even in front of his parents." Lin Qiao explained to him, "He was better before. He must have just returned from the battlefield yesterday."

Captain Ji, who had just returned from the battlefield, asked where the nearest market was and bought a lot of vegetables as soon as he saw his men off.

When I returned to the courtyard with the things in my hand, I saw two elderly figures standing at the gate of the courtyard.

"Dad, Mom?" He was a little surprised.

Seeing what he had in his hand, the old couple were even more surprised. Grandpa Ji even turned around and asked Xu Li: "That's the second child. Am I right?"

He obviously suspected that his eyesight was blurry and he couldn't even see people clearly.

Xu Li laughed, with a hint of sarcasm, "Is it possible for me to call you dad after I admit my mistake?"

The old man thought so too and turned his gaze back, "You didn't go home after you came back, so your mother and I had to come to find you."

"I'm not making a phone call." Ji Duo showed no expression on his face and took out the key to open the door as usual.

"Yes, I called and just said 'I'm back'. Then I disappeared after I hit someone again."

Grandpa

The son snorted coldly and followed his son and his old wife into the house.

He was so happy to hear that his son was back that he didn't sleep for half the night. But this boy, on the other hand, has been quiet since he went to his wife's place and even went to buy vegetables by himself.

It turned out that they didn't just buy vegetables. As soon as they entered the door, Ji Duo rolled up his military sleeves and started picking and washing vegetables.

Seeing that he was quite skilled in the movements, the old man couldn't help but ask Xu Li: "When did he learn to do these? Why didn't I know about it?"

"Do I need to tell you everything?" Xu Li glanced at him, "Stop interfering in the affairs of this young couple."

"I didn't want to care." The old man muttered. After all, he hadn't seen his son for more than two years. He couldn't help but look at his son, as if he couldn't see enough.

Then he saw his son wash the grapes and peaches, put them on a plate and put them in front of the old couple, "Eat here for lunch." He also looked at him again, frowned, "Dad, are you wearing no teeth?"

The old man stopped talking immediately. After a long while, he sighed and said to Xu Li: "You are right. It is better to marry a wife."

After getting married, he at least showed more humanity, unlike before when he would spend all day in the army, as if he was planning to spend his whole life with his soldiers.

In the past, he thought that men should focus on their careers and ignore their families, but in the past two years, he has probably gotten older and suddenly feels that it is good for men to take care of their families more. This is because Qiao Qiao is independent and has no children, otherwise, without the second child, she would have had a hard time in the past two years.

In the end, the old couple did not eat the meal here. They missed their son so much that they came over to take a look and found that he was indeed not wearing his dentures.

However, when he heard that Lin Wei was coming, he asked Ji Duo to tell Lin Qiao and Lin Wei and invite them to his house for dinner.

So when Lin Wei came back at noon, he first saw a table full of food and Ji Duo wearing an apron. He suddenly realized that Ji Duo was not inviting him to dinner, but was going to cook for him.

Seeing the man waving the wok with an expressionless face, he stood at the door for two seconds before he stepped inside.

When I looked at Ji Duo again afterwards, he suddenly became much friendlier. No matter how cold and taciturn he was, he was willing to cook for his wife, and he was a person who wanted to live a good life.

On the day of visiting the Ji family, Lin Wei specially went to buy some snacks and tea before visiting with Ji Duo and Lin Qiao.

As a result, the old man was stunned when he saw him, "It really looks like him."

"You mean like my grandpa?" Lin Wei said with a smile, "My grandma also said I look like him."

"Yes, when I first met Lao Lin, he was your age." The old man was a little confused.

The older we get, the worse our memory becomes. We can’t remember clearly what happened yesterday, but the scenes from our youth are still vivid in our minds.

People who had never met before quickly became familiar with each other because of this resemblance. Lin Wei was older than Lin Qiao and remembered more about his grandfather. The two talked about Lin Chang and the old stories on the battlefield, and the more they talked, the more they got along.

"Our dad hasn't been this happy in a long time." Ji Duo was sitting on the other side and shook Lin Qiao's hand when no one was paying attention.

Lin Qiao turned around and found that he looked serious, his eyes still looking at the old man and the child, and it was impossible to tell what he had just done.

It seemed that since that day when he came by with the door open, this old cadre had learned some things on his own. Sometimes he did it under the table, sometimes behind the door, and there were always some little moves that were not noticed by others.

But his expression was serious, and if she moved too much, it would seem like she was doing something.

Lin Qiao pinched the back of his hand, but he was able to hold it in. No matter how she pinched, his eyebrows and eyes did not move at all.

But soon Ji Ze arrived, dressed in a sexy outfit, which immediately attracted the man's attention.

"What are you wearing?" Ji Duo's eyes moved from his shiny hair to his high-heeled leather shoes, his brows furrowed.

Unable to bear it any longer, the man stood up and said, "Come out with me."

Ji Ze was startled for a moment, then he straightened his back and followed him out. Because he was wearing high-heeled leather shoes, his height was the same as Ji Duo for the first time.

The two entered Ji Duo's room in the old house, and as soon as they stood still, Ji Duo noticed this subtle change.

"Uncle, don't get me wrong. I don't mean anything bad. I just have a serious disease. Every day I wear it means I have one less day."

Before he could say anything, Ji Ze said calmly, which made him frown, "A serious illness? What kind of illness?"

"It's a brain disease," Ji Ze said. "More than two years ago, I started having a dream. I couldn't remember it very well at first, but in the past six months, it has become clearer and clearer. The dream feels like it's real."

"The same dream?"

"Yeah." Ji Ze nodded, his eyes sad, "I dreamed that I didn't refuse and married my aunt. But the aunt in my dream didn't look like my aunt..."

Before he could finish his words, he was kicked hard on the buttocks. "Do you really think I won't beat you up?"