Chapter 189 Spring Day
Gu Xiao told Nan Zhiyi that the Nan family's assets and subsequent matters were entrusted to Commander Gu for assistance.
Nan Zhiyi was very grateful to Commander Gu. Since she married Gu Xiao, Commander Gu had never made things difficult for her... and had been very caring towards her and Gu Xiao's family.
As the wheels rolled over the snow and turned a corner, she looked back and saw Commander Gu still standing at the gate, gazing at them from afar.
By the time they arrived in the capital, it was already completely dark.
The two-story building in the army compound was lit with warm yellow lights. Sister Zhang knew they were coming back today. The heating in the house was on full blast, and the daffodils on the windowsill were budding.
"Sister-in-law, Deputy Division Commander Gu, you're back!"
Sister Zhang came out to greet her, touching Xiaoman's hand. "Our Xiaoman, your little hands are so cold! There's radish and pork rib soup simmering on the stove. We'll give Xiaoman some soup to warm her up later."
Xiao Liu helped move the local produce Jian'an brought into the kitchen: seven or eight glass jars of cured meat from Aunt Wu, Jinhua ham from Commander Gu, dried food, and other items...
He saluted and prepared to leave.
Nan Zhiyi hurriedly said, "Xiao Liu, it's getting late, please stay for a simple meal."
Gu Xiao also said, "Yes, thank you for your hard work today."
Xiao Liu scratched his head, looking quite embarrassed. "Thank you, Deputy Division Commander. Thank you, Sister-in-law."
"Quickly, let's eat first." Sister Zhang set out the food. "Comrade Liu, please sit down."
"Why."
As soon as Xiao Liu sat down, Sister Zhang served him a large bowl of rice, saying, "If you need more, just ask."
"Thank you for your hard work, Sister Zhang."
"It's no trouble at all. Here, give me Xiaoman, I'll feed her." Sister Zhang took Xiaoman from Gu Xiao. "It's been so long since we've seen her. I've missed our Xiaoman so much."
Gu Xiao sat down next to his wife and first served her a bowl of soup.
"Warm yourself up."
Nan Zhiyi smiled slightly and picked up a piece of meat for him as well, "Hey, it's only fair to reciprocate."
He gently tapped the back of her hand with his fingertip.
On their first night back in their small home in Beijing, the family of three washed up early and went to bed.
Gu Xiao hugged her tightly and said, "After we're done with these few days, I'll take you ice skating."
Nan Zhiyi buried her face in his chest, lazily hummed in agreement, and moved her arms around his waist.
He grabbed her hand, intertwined their fingers, and whispered in her ear, "Will you move again?...?"
Nan Zhiyi became obedient.
Spring is in full bloom.
After the heating was turned off, the room was actually cooler than the outside.
The afternoon sun shone through the glass window, making the outside world bright and beautiful.
Nan Zhiyi carried the newly awakened Xiaoman out of the house, feeling a soft, warm sensation in the air.
In the courtyard, the vegetable patch that Gu Xiao had turned over on his day off last month has already sprouted neat new green shoots.
Spinach sprouts tender tips, scallions line up in neat green rows, and a few tomato plants are planted against the wall, their slender vines just emerging and needing bamboo poles for support.
The grapevines have just awakened from their winter dormancy, with fuzzy buds sprouting from their brown tendrils; they are still a long way from providing shade.
However, the roses and wild roses along the fence by the trellis have formed many buds, and a few impatient ones have already opened their pink and white petals.
Nan Zhiyi carried her heavy son out of the courtyard gate and walked slowly along the clean cement road.
Tall plane trees line both sides of the road, their new leaves just sprouting and hanging sparsely, not yet forming a dense shade.
Sunlight easily pierced through, casting dappled, shimmering spots of light on the road surface.
Various military compounds have planted many sycamore trees, supposedly because these trees grow quickly, provide good shade, and are tolerant of pruning.
She looked up at the layers of leaves and softly recited to her son: "The south wind blows in April, the barley turns yellow, the jujube blossoms have not yet fallen, and the shade of the paulownia tree grows long."
The little guy also started babbling and pointing randomly, trying to catch the light and shadow.
He's almost a year old, and he's getting heavier every day.
Nan Zhiyi carried him for a while, but her arms ached terribly, so she tried to put him on the cement road, hoping to help him learn to walk by supporting him under his armpits.
"Come on, Xiaoman, show your mother."
Xiaoman, wearing soft-soled cloth shoes, lazily took a few steps and then refused to move, stretching out her two round arms and begging to be carried.
Nan Zhiyi pinched the tip of his nose, "You little lazybones."
Xiaoman made a few babbling sounds, and she finally gave in and picked him up again.
After strolling around for a while, she took Xiaoman back to the small building, washed his hands first, and then let him crawl on the sofa with the carpet on it.
Xiaoman had a clear goal. He quickly moved to his little wooden horse, climbed up on his hands and feet, and swayed leisurely.
Sister Zhang brought over a bowl of perfectly steamed egg custard: "Sister-in-law, you go ahead and do your work, I'll feed him."
Nan Zhiyi nodded, watching as Sister Zhang carried Xiaoman into the high chair and tied on his bib before turning around and saying, "Once he's finished eating, just bring him up to me."
She went upstairs and into the study.
On the desk lay a sheet of manuscript paper, next to which was a densely written outline.
Editor Lin said she needed to submit a 200,000-word manuscript within six months, but she scrapped most of her original drafts because she felt the emotions were off and the structure was lacking.
The new outline has been painstakingly crafted, and with less than two months until the June deadline, there are still tens of thousands of words to go.
She dared not slack off, so she sat down at her desk, unscrewed the pen cap, and began to write.
The light outside the window moved slowly, and all that could be heard was the scratching of the pen tip and the faint whispers of Sister Zhang coaxing Xiaoman to eat from downstairs.
After an unknown amount of time, footsteps came from the stairs, steady and powerful; it was Gu Xiao returning.
This is much earlier than his usual time to get off work.
The footsteps stopped at the study door. The door was open, and he leaned against the doorframe, watching her.
Nan Zhiyi was so focused that she didn't notice immediately.
It wasn't until I finished writing a paragraph and stopped writing that I suddenly noticed someone at the door.
She looked up and met his calm gaze.
Why are you up so early today?
Gu Xiao walked in, taking off his military jacket and draping it aside, wearing only a shirt, his posture upright.
"Not much work at the department. Is the writing going smoothly?"
"That's it." She breathed a sigh of relief. "I've finally gotten through the bottleneck, but I'm still writing slowly."
He walked behind her, placed his hands on her shoulders, and massaged them with moderate pressure.
Nan Zhiyi relaxed slightly. "Deputy Division Commander Gu, your massage skills are excellent. Double your allowance."
"Heh." He chuckled lightly, his hands still moving. "Then I have to thank my generous wife."
After a while, once he was sure her neck and shoulders felt better, he let go of her, leaned down to watch her write, and his breath brushed against her ear.
How much is left?
"The last few thousand words." She leaned back into his arms. "Could you help me look at these pages?"
He was her first reader and always managed to find mistakes.
Gu Xiao picked her up, sat down in a chair, and let her sit on his lap.
He then picked up the manuscript and read it word by word.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com