Chapter 49
It was the fifth day after the Propaganda Department official came to inform us.
Huo Xiao, who took the initiative to rest in the last round, came back.
When Li Ting got home from school, he was already lying on the bed snoring loudly.
When she saw her mother-in-law's red eyes when she entered the room, she was actually mentally prepared.
But when she really saw the person, she couldn't help feeling uncomfortable.
In just over half a month, Huo Xiao became skinny and darker...
In those days, supplies were already scarce, and transportation was not smooth, so the dangerous soldiers had difficulty getting enough food or even drinking water.
But no matter how prepared she was, when she saw the man's sunken cheeks and chapped lips, Li Ting's tears still fell silently.
It was at this moment that she suddenly understood that her anxiety a few days ago and her current heartache were all manifestations of her falling in love with Huo Xiao.
She seemed to like this man more than she thought...
"Tingting..."
Ruting wiped her tears and leaned closer. She realized that he was having trouble closing his eyes. She felt funny and distressed at the same time. She knew what he was worried about and said, "I'm fine, and the child is fine too. Don't worry about me. Go to sleep."
Hearing this, Huo Xiao, who had been afraid to let himself fall into a deep sleep, fell asleep almost in an instant. Then, his deafening snoring sounded again.
"Tingting, don't cry now." Hu Xiu was setting the table. Seeing that her daughter-in-law had obviously been crying, she couldn't help but give her some advice.
Ruishuang also said, "My brother-in-law told me when he came back just now that the majority of the troops will be back in a week at most, so don't worry too much."
Of course, what she didn't dare say was that when her brother-in-law came back, he looked much worse than he did now after being cleaned up. He looked more like a refugee than a refugee. Aunt Xiu cried so sadly at that time, but fortunately Tingting didn't see it.
Ruting touched her belly which had not changed much: "Mom, don't worry, I will pay attention."
Hu Xiu nodded with relief: "Come and eat first, Mom has saved a bowl of good meat for you."
But Li Ting shook her head: "Because it's still light outside, I'll go to the health station to get some disinfectant for Huo Xiao."
When she was helping to tuck in the quilt just now, she discovered that the man's hands and arms were covered with wounds of varying sizes, as well as on his legs.
There was no medicine for tetanus at that time, so she could only go and find some disinfectant.
As a midwife, Hu Xiu also understood this and immediately said, "No need, I had a bottle before and kept it at home. When Xiaozi came back, I asked him to handle it."
Hearing this, Li Ting felt slightly relieved.
It was at this time that she finally had time to look at the two children. She found that the little guys were a little depressed, and her expression softened immediately: "What happened to Miaomiao and Guoguo?"
Children are actually very sensitive, so both their grandmother and mother made them feel a little uneasy today.
Seeing that her mother finally looked normal again, Miaomiao immediately hugged her legs dependently but said nothing.
Seeing this, Guoguo also hugged the other side and tentatively said in a baby voice: "Mom, don't be angry, smile, Guoguo was very good today." After saying that, he glanced at his grandmother cautiously.
Tingting's heart softened, and she slowly squatted down, holding the two little guys in her arms and comforting them for a while before letting them go and kissing them on both sides: "I'm sorry, Mom and Grandma are not angry, it's because Dad is very hard-working, and Grandma and I just feel sorry for Dad, so we ignored Miaomiao and Guoguo. Mom will apologize to you, okay?"
Guoguo, who was easy to coax, puffed out her chest, kissed her mother back, and smiled with tiny teeth: "Guoguo forgives you...well, forgives grandma too."
Hu Xiu was amused: "Grandma, thank you."
Guoguo was very generous: "You're welcome."
Miaomiao asked worriedly, "Didn't the teacher say that all the fathers became heroes?"
Ruting patted the lady's head, then took one on each side and walked towards the dining table: "Go and be a hero."
Miaomiao didn't understand: "Is it hard to be a hero?"
Thinking of the man in the room who had obviously committed a serious crime, Li Ting's nose couldn't help but feel sour again: "Yes, heroes have a hard time."
The next day, it was dawn.
I have always had a good sleep quality and I can't be woken up by the wake-up call. When I feel the slightest movement beside me, I immediately open my eyes.
Huo Xiao took his hand off his wife's belly and soothed her, "It's not even five o'clock yet, go back to sleep."
In the past, Ruiting would have definitely continued lying down, but now she immediately sat up and asked, "Are you leaving now?"
Huo Xiao went to the counter and took out a clean military uniform and put it on: "Let's go to the cafeteria and eat and then leave."
"There's still chicken soup in the pot. Drink it before going to the cafeteria."
"It's too late. I have to go to a meeting with the warriors."
"Then I'll take you there."
"No, you go back to sleep."
Ruiting didn't reply, but insisted on getting up.
Huo Xiao had no choice but to bend down and put his wife's slippers at her feet, and then asked, "How are you?"
She stood up, put on her shoes, and put on a long-sleeved shirt before turning around to help her husband button his shirt. "She's doing fine. She can eat and sleep and hasn't vomited. She's already three months pregnant. The fetus is basically fine. Besides, mom is a professional, so you don't have to worry about me. Instead, you..."
At this point, Lu Ting was silent for a while, until she buttoned up her husband's top button, then she continued: "I know you believe in serving the people, and I don't object, but can you please take care of your own health a little bit?"
Huo Xiao looked at his wife, his Adam's apple rolled, and after a long while he said hoarsely: "Okay!"
In fact, both Li Ting and Huo Xiao knew that this promise was impossible. When it was time to save lives, they couldn't care less about so many things.
But in order to reassure the other, one chooses to deceive and the other chooses to believe.
When Huo Xiao finished washing up and was about to go out, Ruting stuffed more candy into his pocket until it was full: "Share it with your comrades." Then she stretched out her hand to them: "Hug."
Huo Xiao laughed, bent down, held his wife in his arms and hugged her, then tilted his head to give her a kiss on the top of her head before turning around and walking away.
Ruting stood there and watched the man's back running away until he could no longer be seen, then she turned around, went into the house and closed the door.
At this moment, she saw the door of her mother-in-law's bedroom move.
My mother-in-law is a light sleeper to begin with, and she was always thinking about Huo Xiao, so she might not have slept well all night.
Thinking of this, Ruiting walked towards the other room.
The soldiers' rotation mechanism soothed the emotions of the military families very well.
Ruting was also one of those who were comforted.
At least now, her mind is no longer filled with anxiety.
Therefore, she was finally able to calm down and think about her elder sister's stay in Tianjing.
So after class that day, Tingting went straight to the communications room to call her second brother.
Unfortunately, someone at the art troupe who claimed to be Lu Wei's comrade-in-arms said that he was not in the troupe but had gone to film a drama with the crew.
This result was not surprising to Lu Ting, so he asked the other party to tell his second brother to call him when he came back.
Then, the next morning, she heard her name called over the loudspeaker in the communications room, informing her to come over and answer the phone.
It happened that Ruiting had just finished a class and walked out of the classroom. She simply went straight to the communications room with her books.
Surprisingly, when she answered the phone, the person on the other end was not her second brother: "...Qian Haitao?"
Qian Haitao on the other end of the phone smiled and said, "It's me. You just called me second brother. Are you waiting for your second brother's call?"
Tingting was a little embarrassed: "I thought it was my second brother. By the way, you came to me today. Are you going to get married?"
Qian Haitao laughed out loud, obviously very happy about his fiancée: "Don't worry, I will definitely let you know when we get married. I have something else to talk to you about today."
"You say." After several contacts, Tingting has discovered that this old classmate is a very down-to-earth person. It is impossible that he called her just for chatting, so she was not surprised.
Qian Haitao: "I remember you said before that you are a junior high school English teacher now, right?"
Although she was a little confused, she still said, "Yes."
Qian Haitao: "How is your English? Can you translate professional materials?"
The reason she dared to teach English openly these days was, firstly, that her family was of good family background and had no connection with foreign countries, and secondly, that she taught in the army, which could be called a paradise compared to the outside world.
But outsiders couldn't tell for sure, so she asked, "Tell me what's going on first."
It turned out that many factories, like more than 20,000 homes, were flooded during this flood. Not only did the goods suffer serious damage, but even the machinery was flooded.
Once the machines were flooded, most of them stopped working.
The maintenance technician only knows the basics, but the situation is different now and it is obviously necessary to perform a major overhaul.
But most of the machines were bought from abroad at high prices, and they are ridiculously expensive.
No one, whether repairmen or factory leaders, dared to open the machine and study it casually: "... the machine is equipped with maintenance information, but it is all in English. Now many leaders of large factories are very worried and want to find people who are proficient in English to help translate it."
Jue Ting understood: "And then I found you?"
Qian Haitao was also at a loss for words: "My uncle is the deputy director of a steel plant. He knew I had studied at a university and thought I was good at English, but I studied Russian."
"...Tianjin is so big, it shouldn't be difficult to find a few people who are proficient in English, right?"
"It's not difficult, but... I have to learn it in Russian."
With just a vague sentence, Ting Ting understood what the old classmate meant. At that time, those who were proficient in English had basically been abroad. Those talented people either had bad circumstances or were avoiding suspicion and did not dare to accept the job.
Even if there are some individuals who are willing, the factory would rather see the machines break down than touch them.
Thinking of this, Li Ting felt a little heavy-hearted. After thinking for a while, he said frankly, "I should be able to translate it."
Qian Haitao was delighted: "Really? I knew you could do it. If you can really translate it... ahem... you know the result, right?"
Li Ting smiled: "I know." If she could translate it, it would mean that most of the factories in Tianjin would owe her a favor.
Although she didn't know how big the favor was, she was still somewhat moved.
Another thing is that after buying the house, the family savings have been greatly reduced, so it would be great if I could take on some extra work.
Qian Haitao: "Then consider whether to accept it."
Tingting was surprised: "Aren't you very anxious?"
Qian Haitao: "It's urgent, but this is a big deal, you have to think it through yourself."
This old classmate is quite nice. Li Ting smiled again and said, "Okay, I'll think about it. I'll give you an answer as soon as possible whether I accept the call or not."
"Then I'll wait..."
After hanging up the phone, on the way to school, Ting Ting kept considering the feasibility.
She was actually very tempted, but was afraid of getting into unnecessary trouble.
The only person she can discuss this with is Huo Xiao, who won't be back for several days, and by then the opportunity may not belong to her...
Suddenly, Ruiting remembered something, turned on his heel and ran straight to the camp.
Huo Xiao once said that the Brigadier General was a revolutionary predecessor who was worthy of admiration and trust.
Perhaps she could bring this matter to light and publicize it in the newspaper under the name of a military wife's help.
If it works, it will be a win-win situation. She can make money and gain favors, and it will also be a great boon to the image of the troops.
Thinking of this, Li Ting walked towards the camp a little faster.