Chapter 303 Fat Winter Melon...you really are a rare find.
With the airing of the TV series "Director Qin," it was spring of 1982. This was an extraordinary year. Most of the college students who took the college entrance examination in 1977, the first cohort after its resumption, would graduate this year, while those who took the exam in the summer of 1978 would also graduate in the same year.
Two batches of students graduated around the same time, which is quite remarkable.
With so many college graduates graduating at the same time, they are highly sought-after by factories and companies. These days, there is a severe shortage of talent! And even fewer people have a college degree.
After "Director Qin" aired, it brought Qin Xiangxiang a lot of trouble. All sorts of onlookers and inquiries annoyed her so much that she simply stayed home and refused to see anyone, focusing on completing her graduation project in peace.
In the same year, Li Jianzhi was transferred to the Shanghai Naval Base as the Deputy Chief of Staff, a position equivalent to a deputy division commander. The base was quite far away, located at Wusongkou, about 20 to 30 kilometers away from the small villa on Fuxing West Road where they now lived.
"It's a bit far!" Qin Xiangxiang could roughly guess which units Li Jianzhi was being transferred to, but when she actually went there, she felt that the distance was a problem. Although it was only twenty or thirty kilometers away, it always felt like a very long distance.
As the deputy chief of staff, he will likely be very busy with work, and the couple will only be able to spend a few days a week together. If he gets busy, Li Jianzhi will probably only be able to return to the city center on weekends to reunite with his family.
Li Jianzhi nodded: "It's alright, about an hour's drive, which is close enough."
From a future perspective, it's quite close to the city center, only 20 or 30 kilometers away. Many people will spend almost four hours commuting to and from get off work in the future, so what difference does this 20 or 30 kilometers make?
Li Jianzhi had longed to visit this base since he was a child and had even been inside before. He never imagined that he would be transferred to work at the base right near his home.
This is already an unexpectedly good thing.
"I should have a car assigned to me, and I can have a driver take me back... It won't be a hassle." Li Jianzhi straightened the buttons on his collar and put on his brand-new military uniform.
He is now nearly forty years old, but he is in good shape and looks no different from when he was in his thirties.
Qin Xiangxiang thought that this guy... was even better at taking care of himself than him. He had to admit that his "easygoing" wife was just someone who didn't put on airs, didn't worry, and would sleep soundly when she had nothing to do.
No matter how big the problem, she just lies down and takes a nap before dealing with it—with such a positive mindset, it's hard for her to grow old.
Qin Xiangxiang said enviously, "You get a car, when will I get one?"
“The military region’s jeeps are available for parking outside our garden.” Li Jianzhi was eager to try out his new unit, even though it was not unfamiliar to him.
Qin Xiangxiang said, "I think you're just not destined to enjoy this life. This house is so big, I'll be living here all by myself from now on."
"Can't sleep alone?"
Qin Xiangxiang snorted: "Do you think that's possible?"
...It is indeed possible.
Their house is so big. Aunt Rong lives on the first floor, the children sleep on the third floor, and if Li Jianzhi doesn't come home, she sleeps alone in the huge master bedroom on the second floor. There is also a study and a large terrace on the second floor.
The couple thoroughly enjoyed their time together in this tranquil paradise.
But if she were left alone, she was afraid that a spy's embroidered shoes would appear before her eyes, clicking and clattering on the empty staircase...
The thought alone is terrifying.
"Afraid to sleep alone? Leave the hallway light on at night. Don't worry about wasting electricity; your comfort is the most important thing."
Qin Xiangxiang hesitated, then said, "...You really are an absolute gem."
“Now everyone is advocating for saving electricity and water, yet you still make me leave the lights on all night.”
"Isn't it more frightening to be alone?"
"I'm going to sleep with my daughter." Qin Xiang felt uneasy and started to worry that the house was too big.
Li Jianzhi held her in his arms, lowered his head to gently kiss her forehead, and sighed, "I really can't bear to part with her."
Although it's only twenty or thirty kilometers apart, it feels like we're in different cities within the same city. And when he gets busy, we can probably only meet on weekends. Qin Xiangxiang is still the factory manager of a textile factory, and she's graduating this year...
"When I, the factory director, get my own car someday, I'll bring my kids to visit you after get off work."
"Was your assigned housing over there?"
Li Jianzhi: "It's a small three-bedroom apartment. If I can get my wife's favor, I will be extremely grateful."
“I’ll go and stay there for a few days occasionally. I really miss my old military life. It’s been a while since I’ve heard the bugle call.”
Li Jianzhi stayed to work at the naval base, so the couple were temporarily "separated." Although they were only 20 or 30 kilometers apart, it was still inconvenient for them to travel back and forth. Qin Xiangxiang still had to go to the textile factory and the textile university. If she moved to the base, the commute would be too difficult, and if she stayed in the small villa, she would only be able to sleep alone.
The couple does talk on the phone every day.
"Have you cleaned your small three-bedroom apartment? I'll take the kids over there tomorrow."
"We'll sweep the table to welcome you."
A jeep arrived to pick up Qin Xiangxiang and her daughters and take them to the naval base. Li Qingfeng sat in the front passenger seat, while Qin Xiangxiang and her three daughters sat in the back.
Li Qingfeng, formerly known as Little Fatty Li, is about sixteen years old. He already looks like a grown man who is 1.8 meters tall. His eyebrows and eyes are somewhat similar to his father, Li Jianzhi.
"Mom, you're graduating from university, and I'm about to take the college entrance exam."
Qin Xiangxiang: "...Heh."
She never intended to go to university in the first place.
Life is unpredictable.
"Comrade Li Xiaopang, when you grow up, you will understand what it means to say that life is mostly unsatisfactory."
"Mom, I've told you, don't call me Fatty Li. How am I fat now? Your son has a reputation to uphold; I'm the best-looking guy in class now—"
Li Qinglan moved closer to her mother and asked curiously, "Mom, just how fat was my brother when he was little?"
Qin Xiangxiang: "Hmm—"
She squinted and thought for a moment, "It's like a fat winter melon."
"Haha, now the chubby winter melon has grown taller."
"Little brat, you need a good beating, buddy. Here's your math homework."
Li Qinglan: "My brother is such a crazy older brother, he actually likes math."
The children chatted and laughed all the way. The 20 or 30 kilometers took only about an hour to drive. Soon, the jeep entered the base gate. After strict registration and inspection, it passed through the gate checkpoint, and the scenery outside the car window suddenly changed.
The two sisters, Li Qinglan and Li Qinghe, were most curious about the military compound. They had come to Shanghai with their parents when they were young and didn't have many memories of their time in the island compound.
The older siblings have many memories, especially of Li Xiaopang and Li Qingfeng, the "fat brother" who grew up in the naval compound, and another one, "Sister Suisui".
The buildings in the military compound are rows of neat and uniform houses, and there are also rows of tall metasequoia trees along the roadside. Looking up into the distance, one can vaguely see a breathtakingly huge structure.
The massive warship's gray-white outline and mast resembled a giant beast lying asleep on the shore. The air was filled with a salty, fishy smell, a scent that Li Qingfeng, who grew up on an island, was very familiar with.
The sight before them was spectacular for the children.
Not far away, clear bugle calls came from a loudspeaker, along with deep, serious male commands, which unconsciously made people feel solemn.
The car finally stopped in front of the family housing building assigned to Li Jianzhi. It was a five-story Soviet-style red brick building. There were two rows of flower beds downstairs, and seven or eight children were playing shuttlecock in the open space below. When they saw the car stop, they all looked at them curiously.
The women from the family compound also poked their heads out from their balconies, curiously observing Qin Xiangxiang and her group.
There's no way around it—Qin Xiangxiang's reputation is just too great!
"Is that Chief of Staff Li's wife? The one from the TV show 'Director Qin'?"
"She looks completely different from Director Qin on TV. She's so beautiful, and her children are all good-looking."
"Chief of Staff Li is handsome; how could his children be bad?"
"Oh my, so many pretty young girls, three beautiful daughters, Chief of Staff Li is so lucky."
...
Under the probing gazes of those around her, Qin Xiangxiang took her child upstairs. The family room newly assigned by Li Jianzhi was on the third floor. Pushing open the door, she saw that it was clean and tidy—as if there was no sign of life inside.
Although it wasn't as large as my family's small villa, it felt very empty because of the limited furniture and overly tidy layout.
When Li Jianzhi learned that the mother and her daughters were coming, he had obviously made some arrangements. The thermos was filled with boiling water, a beautiful white lace cover was laid on the sofa in the living room, and a brand new enamel mug was placed on the table.
Qin Xiangxiang had just sat down when her husband, whom she hadn't seen in a long time, stood outside the door in military uniform.
"The house is quite nice, very quiet, with a good breeze and better lighting than the villa over there. The sycamore trees over there are too tall and block the light."
Li Jianzhi: "Would you like coffee or tea?"
Qin Xiangxiang kicked him in surprise, "We've been married for so many years, why are you being so polite?"
"I don't want to drink anything, I want to sleep!"
Li Jianzhi chuckled: "How about some hot milk?"
"Okay, I want to drink this."
Of all things under the sun, sleep is the most important. Qin Xiangxiang usually avoids coffee and tea in the afternoon, unless she's working the night shift, which is what she hates most in her life.
"You can sleep wherever you want tonight. There's a small night market nearby; I'll take you there tonight."
There was no sign of the family ever living in this small three-bedroom apartment. Li Jianzhi would only come back to sleep at most, so the kitchen was always empty and had never been used.
Qin Xiangxiang: "You have nothing in your kitchen?"
"I eat alone in the cafeteria."
"That's perfect, I'll try your big pot meal tonight."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
