Chapter 31

Jingxian felt unlucky. It was her first time going out at night after arriving here and she encountered such a disgusting thing.

She was about to pretend she didn't hear it when she heard the woman gasp, "You're so impatient. My husband is going back to his hometown to pick up his mother. Can't you just come to our house directly?"

The man said in a vague voice: "No! I like being outside!"

"You're not afraid of the cold, but I am! What if someone catches me? I'm going to be a nobody."

Although the woman said this, there was no sign of worry in her tone. From what I could tell from her voice, this was not the first time, and I didn't know how many times it had happened.

How shameless.

How dare you be an adulterer these days? Do you guys want to die?

The man said, "Take good care of our son. It doesn't matter whether he recognizes me as his father or not. What matters is that you and your mother must live a good life."

"You are so shameless." The woman cursed with a smile.

"Don't you just like me being so shameless?" The man chuckled and pushed harder.

The two people at the back stopped talking and just focused on their work.

Jingxian could be heard from far away.

When she got home, the two children were still awake. When they saw her coming back, they closed their eyes and went to sleep. Jing Xian's unhappiness faded a little. She took off her clothes and lay down in bed, but she still felt that she had been irritated enough by the disgust.

Fortunately, I didn’t eat much at night, otherwise I would have vomited out the leftover rice.

In her previous life, she had seen quite a few of these in the village.

For example, the wife in the next village followed another man. Everyone knew about it, but no one caught her. Her husband was a coward and dared not even fart. It was because the family was poor, they had no food to eat, and they had several children to raise. He was incompetent, so his wife followed another man. He couldn't even tell whose children they were.

You will be raised by the family you are born into.

No one fought over the children.

Women who cheat on men can't even tell the difference. The men outside have families and careers, and it is even more impossible for them to bring back illegitimate children. People with green hats on their heads don't have the courage to make trouble, for fear of embarrassment.

In short, there are quite a few such things happening in the village.

In the first few years, such incidents became less common, and no one knew what was going on behind the scenes.

At least a girl as old as Jingxian doesn’t know.

At this time, deep in the mountains.

Shang Nanchen hid in the cave with a serious look on his face.

He ran a lap before dark and found that some people were not able to keep up. Many people could not hold on. If it were not for the help of their comrades, they would have been eliminated long ago.

Chen Dongping was holding a cigarette in his mouth, looking at the stars in the sky, and wrapped in his military coat, talking to Shang Nanchen: "What do you think is the purpose of this training? Is it to make our soldiers suffer? It's winter, and it's minus 20 degrees Celsius at night. This year is the coldest in history. Look at the heavy snow a while ago, which is comparable to the snow we had in several years. It was fine in previous years, but isn't it intentional to torture people this year?"

"It's even colder over there than here. Sometimes they can't even open the door when they get up in the morning. I've never seen them not training in winter." Shang Nanchen was determined not to change his mind.

He brought a company of soldiers with him just to train a group of elites.

The great military competitions will not be postponed forever.

When the next military competition comes, these soldiers under his command will definitely astonish the entire army when they make their appearance.

"The Russians are the Russians, they eat raw meat. How can we compare with them?" Chen Dongping felt that Shang Nanchen was too stubborn and was just dragging people out to suffer.

Shang Nanchen said in a deep voice: "We are no worse than the Russians!"

"I think a few soldiers are not doing well, and they probably can't hold on to the rear. We agreed on half a month, and only a few days have passed. Those people can't keep up anyway. Notify them tomorrow and tell those who want to withdraw to follow me." Chen Dongping was undermining Shang Nanchen's plan.

Chen Dongping thought Shang Nanchen would object, but unexpectedly Shang Nanchen said: "Think carefully, if you take people back, it means you quit. Once you quit, it will be impossible to come back."

“

Nanchen, I am different from you. My ambition is not here. I have been to the battlefield and I have killed enemies. But now is a peaceful day. What I fought for was to survive until now and live a peaceful life. You have a wife and children, but I don’t even have a wife. "Chen Dongping saw Shang Nanchen frowning and thought he was unhappy, so he said in a firm tone, "Our masters are just a mouthful of spit and a nail. I will take my people away early tomorrow morning and will never come back!"

"OK."

Shang Nanchen answered so straightforwardly that Chen Dongping felt a little uncomfortable.

Chen Dongping felt a little embarrassed, and came over and said with a smile: "Nanchen, I didn't mean to back down, but I just felt that this zipline was not suitable for me. Besides, running to the mountains in the middle of winter, where there are wolves and other things, isn't this asking for trouble?"

"Just make your own decision and don't regret it later." Shang Nanchen thought about it and finally gave him some advice.

"Why would I regret anything? I will never regret anything in my life."

All Chen Dongping could think about was going back to hug his young wife and sleep on the warm kang. It seemed that Shang Nanchen was crazy. He didn't even want his wife and ran away to the mountains to suffer.

I guess the wife Shang Nanchen found is not good-looking enough.

Hehe, he didn’t like the beauty in the art troupe, nor did he like the cold beauty in the hospital. Instead, he found a country girl.

Even though Chen Dongping and Shang Nanchen are comrades-in-arms, he looks down on people like Shang Nanchen from the bottom of his heart.

It's not okay to be a hypocrite.

The next morning.

Shang Nanchen notified everyone that those who didn't want to continue could withdraw, and once they withdrew, they could not return to the team. Many people looked at each other, and some who were not in good health and didn't want to drag down their teammates, nodded with red eyes and wanted to withdraw.

There were a few who were not injured but could not hold on any longer and stood up. There were not many of them, less than ten.

The remaining people, some with facial injuries or minor injuries, did not retreat.

This made Shang Nanchen look much better.

Shang Nanchen looked at the soldiers with red eyes, thought for a moment and said: "You were forced to withdraw. If you have a chance next time, you can still participate in the military selection. If you are selected again, I hope you will learn from it and not make similar mistakes again. As for the others who are not injured, they will not have the opportunity to participate in the selection again in the future. If you have made up your mind, follow Deputy Battalion Commander Chen down the mountain!"

After saying this, two more people went back with gritted teeth.

The others looked at each other, lowered their heads, and didn't want to go through this hardship anymore.

Chen Dongping glanced at the time and said, "It's getting late. Let's go down the mountain now and try to get back before dark."

After Chen Dongping took his men away, Shang Nanchen led the team further into the mountains.

The soldiers caught rabbits with their bare hands and fought wild boars with their bare hands.

After living in the mountains for more than half a month, I felt like a fish in water. I was supposed to train for another half a month, but I was forced to rush back a few days before the New Year.

When Shang Nanchen came down the mountain, he was extremely excited.

He believed that these soldiers under his command would be able to survive easily even if they were thrown into the mountains for a year or two.

After they went down the mountain, they entered the military camp quietly.

Shang Nanchen showed up with 102 soldiers, and everyone was shocked. Those soldiers stood together like an inseparable sword, standing there not only as one, but also completely different from the soldiers in other companies.

Everyone looks thin, but they are like leopards with smooth lines, ready to jump out and deliver a fatal blow at any time.

Commander Wei received the news and came out with the political commissar and three regiment commanders.

After seeing Shang Nanchen and the soldiers behind him, he said only one word after a long while: "Okay!"

Jing Xian is cooking at home now, because it is the New Year, Song Ning and Xu Ning have gone back home, and they will not be back until the first month of the year.

Shang Nanchen originally said he would be back in half a month, but now ten days have passed and he still hasn't come back. Jing Xian feels a little lost. She doesn't want to lose her father right after getting married. Once Shang Nanchen is gone, she will leave the army and return home with her children.

It's not that she hopes Shang Nanchen gets into trouble, but it's all in the past.

It's been so long now that it's impossible not to worry and have wild thoughts.

Jing Xian didn’t sleep well to begin with, and when Shang Nanchen was not at home, she slept less and less.

Children are sensitive. Tiedan and Fusheng haven't gone out to play these days and are always pestering Jingxian.

Fusheng followed Jingxian closely, "Mom, what are we going to eat for the New Year?"

Jingxian received her salary before the New Year, but she didn't dare spend the money recklessly.

Since there was no news from Shang Nanchen yet, I had no mood to prepare anything for the New Year.

She prepared for the worst.

If Shang Nanchen really couldn't come back, she would still have to take care of the two children. Even if she could stay in the army, she would have to live prudently and not spend money without knowing how to count like she did some time ago.

Jing Xian said, "Let's go buy some noodles later. We'll eat dumplings on both the 30th and the first day of the new year. On the night of the 30th, we'll eat dumplings made of white flour, and on the morning of the first day of the new year, we'll eat dumplings made of a mixture of corn flour and white flour."

"Then I'll chop some cabbage stuffing for you!" Tiedan said loudly beside him.

Jing Xian smiled at the two children and said, "Thank you for your hard work!"

"Mom, I'll go get some firewood."

The job of fetching firewood is a blessing.

The little guy is small and can't take much at one time, but he takes it more often.

In winter, it's cold outside.

If children don't go out and run around, fetching firewood can be considered a form of exercise.

Jing Xian didn't hold back either.

As soon as Fusheng walked into the yard, he heard someone talking outside the gate. He pricked up his ears and listened, staring at the gate. After a while, he saw a tall figure appear at the door of his house, and Fusheng turned around and ran home.

Seeing his son still waiting for him to run over, Shang Nanchen said: "..."

"Mom! Mom! Mom! My dad is back!"

Fusheng started shouting excitedly before he even ran to the door.

When Jing Xian heard Fusheng's words, she ran out in disbelief. When she opened the curtain, she saw a familiar figure walking in from outside.

After confirming that Shang Nanchen had finally returned, Jing Xian immediately lowered the curtain.

The corners of his mouth lifted up slightly, then disappeared very quickly.

Shang Nanchen, who was waiting for his wife to come up and ask a few questions, said: "..."

Why is it that after he has been away for such a long time, his son and daughter-in-law have become so cold towards him?

Shang Nanchen was about to take off his military coat when he entered the house, but Jing Xian said, "Don't take it off. Warm it up for a while before taking it off. I won't take care of you if you catch a cold."

Knowing that his wife still cared about him, Shang Nanchen did not take off his clothes. He squatted down and helped to light the fire.

The two children hadn't seen Shang Nanchen for a long time and didn't think anything of it.

At least in the first half of the month, even the child was calm.

In the following ten days, Jing Xian's mood also affected the two children. There were also some gossips outside, which made the two sensitive children realize the importance of Shang Nanchen in this family.

Without Dad, Mom wouldn't have raised them.

By then they will be unwanted children.

Therefore, as soon as he came back, the two children stuck to him.

Shang Nanchen, who didn't know the truth, thought his son was thinking about him, and his mood became very bad. He was a tough guy, and he kept everything to himself and would not say it to others.

Because Shang Nanchen had returned, Jing Xian took out the almond meat that she had made a few days ago when she was refining lard, scooped a large shovel and put it in the pot. She also poured the washed Chinese cabbage into the pot and fried it together.

Almond meat is not a northern dish. Jingxian heard about it from an old man at the end of the world.

A few days ago, she bought some lard to make oil, and a few pounds of meat, and made some meat in a pot. Every day when she cooks, she scoops out some for cooking, which is not only convenient but also delicious.

Sure enough, this dish was not only liked by Shang Nanchen, but also by the two children.

After his father came back, the child finally left Jingxian and went out to play after dinner.

Only Shang Nanchen and Jing Xian were left at home. Shang Nanchen washed the dishes while Jing Xian prepared dinner.

Shang Nanchen's mother is an old Mongolian. It is a custom for old Mongolians to celebrate the New Year one day earlier than the Spring Festival. In previous years, on the 29th day of the 11th lunar month, their family would have a sumptuous New Year's Eve dinner.

noon

It was too hasty and Jingxian didn't prepare much.

This dinner in the evening is also a big meal.

Jing Xian took the pork belly back to the house to thaw it, and when it was no longer so hard, she cut it into square pieces. She also prepared the abalone and placed it in a basin beside it. Apart from anything else, the portion was more than enough.

She also washed the mung bean sprouts and placed them in a basket, and cut the carrots into shreds and placed them aside.

There are pepper seeds at home. If it weren't for the fact that they are not exposed, Jing Xian really wants to give birth to a pepper. Fortunately, there are no fresh peppers, but there are dried peppers.

Jing Xian took advantage of Shang Nanchen's absence and the two children knowing nothing, and produced a lot of dried peppers.

She also specially squeezed a lot of chili oil and put it in a canning bottle, which looks very appetizing when eaten with rice.

"We didn't buy anything at home." Jing Xian spoke, and the atmosphere in the room finally broke the ice.

Shang Nanchen said cautiously: "It's okay, let's go to the grocery store to buy some. If that doesn't work, we can go to the market to buy some."

Before he finished speaking, Shang Nanchen took out his salary and bonus and handed them to Jing Xian, looking at her expression carefully.

Jing Xian saw the money and took it naturally, asking, "It seems like a lot."

"Well, there is a bonus this time. It's not much, just one hundred dollars."

Including wages, it’s one hundred and eighty.

Can.

Jingxian's mood finally turned from cloudy to sunny.

"Let's go buy some pork later and see what's available and buy more." Jing Xian said this, and Shang Nanchen naturally nodded in agreement.

Jing Xian washed her hands, wiped them with Gala oil, and wiped her face with balm. She turned around and saw Shang Nanchen's face, pointed at the washbasin and said, "Go wash your face."

"Is there something on my face?"

Shang Nanchen said this while his body moved.

He washed his face with the water Jingxian used to wash her face, wiped it with a towel twice, and then came in and called Jingxian: "Let's go?"

"Come here."

Jing Xian called him over again, Shang Nanchen didn't understand why, so he had to come in. Jing Xian put the balm on his face, Shang Nanchen was immediately shocked: "Is it appropriate for a grown man like me to use this stuff? I'm going to wash it off now!"

"You go!"

This light and airy tone sounded extremely murderous.

Shang Nanchen turned around and explained to Jing Xian in a friendly manner: "No man would put this on. People would laugh at you if you go out."

"How many years older are you than me?" Jing Xian's calm tone was filled with shock.

"Nine years old."

Jing Xian pretended to be surprised and said, "Only nine years apart? Then when we go back together by car in a few years, people will definitely ask, 'Your daughter is already this old?'"

Shang Nanchen: “…”

Jing Xian smiled: "It's okay if you don't want to use it. In a dozen years, when we go out together, just don't mind what others say."

Killing people is heartbreaking.

"Is it that exaggerated?" Shang Nanchen didn't believe it.

Jing Xian wasn't trying to scare Shang Nanchen.

She has superpowers, which nourish her body, and she ages slower than normal people. Moreover, in the end times, people with superpowers generally live much longer than ordinary people, and a hundred years old is not considered old.

She didn't know how long she could live, but she could guarantee that at least ten years later, she wouldn't be much older than she is now.

"You can try it." Jing Xian said tactfully.

Shang Nanchen didn't dare to try.

Now that he is married to Jing Xian, people say he married a young wife, and they say all kinds of things behind his back. Some say sour things, and some are jealous.

"Is this thing really useful?" Shang Nanchen softened his attitude.

Jing Xian said, "Whether it works or not, you will slowly experience it."

She didn't ask and continued to wipe Shang Nanchen's face. She took out Gala oil and applied it to Shang Nanchen.

Gala oil is stored in the gala, you can just break it apart and use it. This stuff is not expensive and is best used for wiping hands in winter.

Shang Nanchen was very resistant, but he didn't dare to resist.

Appoint Jing Xian on the ground to wipe her face and hands.

The two went out to the grocery store, and Jing Xian remembered something on the way.

"By the way, do you know Chen Dongping?

? "

"Chen Dongping? Why are you asking him?" Shang Nanchen frowned.

Jing Xian heard the disdain in his tone and knew that Shang Nanchen must know this person, so she said, "It's Xu Ning. One of her classmates is on a blind date with Chen Dongping. She wants me to help find out about this person."

"I never say bad things about people behind their backs." Shang Nanchen seemed to have said nothing, but in fact he said everything.

Jing Xian understood and didn't ask any more questions.

The two of them arrived at the grocery store, and Jing Xian was in the mood to buy something. Before Shang Nanchen came back, she always felt uneasy.

This era is too harsh on women.

She was clearly trying hard to break free from the shackles, but there was still an invisible string binding her.

Jing Xian once thought that if she had a child, she would not give birth to a girl. It was not because she favored boys over girls, but because she was afraid that her beloved daughter would be bullied by others, meet the wrong person, or refuse to tell her when she was wronged.

Jingxian is very traditional and rebellious at heart.

She thought that if she had a child in the future, and if she really gave birth to a daughter, she would make sure that her daughter would have enough confidence to face everyone.

Before that, she should prepare the things needed for the New Year.

Grocery stores sell chestnuts, they are very cheap.

They are all raw chestnuts.

Jingxian bought a lot when she saw them.

It was Chinese New Year, and Jing Xian wanted to buy some snacks for the two children. In addition to black dates and chestnuts, there were only canned apples. These things were not expensive, and Jing Xian was willing to buy a lot of them for the children.

Shang Nanchen didn't persuade her. He just helped her get whatever she wanted to buy.

Jing Xian thought about the two little kids at home who had been in a state of panic these days, and they might have been frightened. When she saw the Zhenglanqi fruit candies, she bought a lot of them without hesitation. She planned to comfort the two little kids.

"Why buy so much candy?" Shang Nanchen knew at a glance that Jing Xian didn't want to eat the candy herself.

Jing Xian waited for the others to finish weighing the candies, then took out a piece, peeled it and put it in Shang Nanchen's mouth, and ate one herself.

Although it is called fruit hard candy, it is actually not hard at all. It breaks into pieces with a light bite, and it has a strong milky flavor inside.

Very sweet too.

Jing Xian squinted her eyes as she ate, and continued walking forward with the candy in her hand: "Are you feeling better now?"

"How can eating this affect my mood?" Shang Nanchen's words were sometimes very irritating.

But Jing Xian didn't argue with him: "Anyway, I'm in a good mood."

Jingxian bought some meat again.

Thinking that the pork head at home had been eaten by Song Ning and Xu Ning, she bought another pork head and asked Shang Nanchen to carry it back. She also bought five pounds of meat and carried the meat back.

I met two little guys on the way, and they came over happily.

"You two go grab some candy and play, and come back early for dinner." Jing Xian usually doesn't say breakfast.

Fusheng understood instantly: "Mom, is there anything delicious tonight?"

"you guess."

"I guess that's it." Tiedan gave the candy to his younger brother first, and then ate it himself.

Fusheng nodded with a candy in his mouth.

Jing Xian said, "Okay, go play."

Fusheng and Tiedan ran away quickly. A group of children saw them coming and immediately came over. Tiedan gave candy to the other children, one for each. Fusheng stood next to Tiedan and gave his candy to Tiedan, letting Tiedan share it.

Li Yu was the first to get the candy. After eating it, he found that his pocket felt heavier.

He reached into his pocket and found something inside. He immediately turned to look at Fusheng, who was smiling like a little Maitreya Buddha. He had gained weight recently and became a lot whiter. When he smiled, he even had two dimples, which made him very lovable.

Li Yu reached out and rubbed his head. The brothers understood each other tacitly and no one said anything.

After returning home, Jing Xian continued to cook while Shang Nanchen lit the fire.

"Let's have rice tonight!"

Rice is hard to buy, and they usually have more sorghum rice and relatively less millet. Jing Xian said they wanted to eat rice, so Shang Nanchen made rice porridge.

"I will halve the pig's head after breakfast tomorrow. I halved one before and was planning to wait for you to come back and eat it.

If you took so long to come back, Song Ning and Xu Ning would be here, so let them eat it all."

"Song Ning and Xu Ning?" Shang Nanchen's head was full of question marks.

"You don't know him?" Jing Xian was a little confused. Could she have been cheated?

But I can’t even think about it!

Song Ning and Xu Ning had eaten at her house many times, but they paid for each meal.

She didn't suffer any loss either.

Shang Nanchen: "Why should I know him?"

You really don't know me?

"Then do you know Song Zheng?" Jing Xian asked him.

"know."

Jing Xian breathed a sigh of relief. She was really afraid that Shang Nanchen would say he didn't know her. "Song Ning is Song Zheng's sister. She got a job in our military art troupe. She came here just after you left. Song Zheng even asked her to bring us a lot of things."

"Even if she doesn't bring anything here, we should still take care of her." Shang Nanchen knew the conditions in Song Zheng's family. The fact that the Song family could send their daughter down there meant that things were still very chaotic outside.

"Do you know that Xu Ning likes Song Zheng?"