Chapter 45

Even though Li Daoming and Lu Yuanzheng always quarreled when they met, it seems that when he got angry, his intelligence was not much better than Dongsheng's.

He is still quite reliable when it comes to getting things done.

Lu Yuanzheng's discharge from the hospital was quickly arranged.

They even got a stretcher and had people carry Lu Yuanzheng onto the bus.

At first, Lu Yuanzheng was reluctant to do it because he thought it was not decent. Li Daoming did not try to persuade him. He got a camera from somewhere and said to Lu Yuanzheng, "Okay, go ahead! Go ahead! I will do nothing today. I will just follow you and take some photos. I will develop them and send one photo of your "great" heroic figure to each of your comrades."

Lu Yuanzheng's eyes were threatening, but Li Daoming shrugged his shoulders, not afraid of him, and said, "Come and grab it if you have the guts!"

Now he would win in the 500-meter race or the 1,000-meter race.

Xu Wen didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and advised Lu Yuanzheng: "Don't bother yourself. If you keep on bothering, it will be the first day of the new year. You can't leave even if you don't need a stretcher. Why bother yourself? A real man can bend and stretch, right?"

Lu Yuanzheng glanced at Xu Wen and said to Li Daoming, "Okay! Listen to my wife."

Li Daoming: “…”

Do you know what it means to follow doctor's instructions?

Li Daoming finally couldn't help but utter a word in dialect: "henpecked!"

"Ha!" Lu Yuanzheng said proudly as he was carried into the ambulance: "If you want to be a henpecked man, you have to have a wife first. Do you have one?"

Li Daoming: “…”

Although he was poor, Li Daoming still stopped Xu Wen who was about to get in the car and gave him some detailed instructions.

"Take and change medicines on time."

"Don't let him drink."

"Keep him in bed as much as possible."

"We have to come back after the first day of the Chinese New Year."

“…”

Xu Wen wrote down all the information and thanked him: "Thank you, Doctor Li."

The car first drove to the agency and picked up Dongsheng.

Xu Wen also went back to the guesthouse to get some things.

She originally wanted to take all the luggage, but Lu Yuanzheng said not necessary because he had to go back to the hospital on the second day of the Chinese New Year, and Xu Wen had to stay in the guesthouse.

Xu Wen only took a few pieces of clothes for himself and Dongsheng.

Dongsheng was very happy when he heard that he was going back. He got on the bus and sat on the bench next to him, twisting and turning.

Xu Wen touched Dongsheng's head and asked, "Do you want to go back so much?"

Dongsheng nodded vigorously: "I miss Uncle Lian, Uncle Gu, Uncle Li, Brother Xue, Uncle Wang..."

Xu Wen looked towards the distant expedition.

Every time Dongsheng called out a name, Lu Yuanzheng's expression became a little unhappy. By the end, Xu Wen could no longer think of a suitable adjective to describe that expression.

It took more than half an hour to drive to the destination.

The place where Lu Yuanzheng was stationed was a bit remote. To say it was remote was an understatement. In reality, there was no village in sight and no shop nearby.

The guard checked my ID and opened the door to let me in.

On New Year’s Eve, the troops also have a holiday.

Everyone was busy pasting window flowers, Spring Festival couplets, and making lace, and the atmosphere was full of joy.

After a while, at the end of the road, a group of people swarmed in.

Xu Wen heard them shouting, "Lu Lian is back!"

She looked out of the window and saw a group of soldiers in sailor shirts surrounding her.

The ambulance stopped in front of the family's building and the door opened from the back. Xu Wenming obviously noticed that the air was quiet for a moment.

Then the first person laughed, "Hey! Lu Lian, you are dressed very uniquely!"

"Yes, save clothes."

"It's just a little bit of gauze."

“…”

Lu Yuanzheng only replied with one word: "Get lost!"

"Uncle Li, Uncle Song, Uncle Zhou, Uncle Zhang..." Dongsheng called people one by one.

Xu Wen let go of Dongsheng, and Dongsheng ran to the car door and was picked up by the gang.

"Hey! I haven't seen you for half a year. You've gained a lot of weight! Are you feeling especially comfortable back home?"

The others carried the stretcher down swiftly.

"Lu Lian, are you going back to your room or to the family building?"

"The family building, my wife is following behind!"

"Ah!" Everyone turned around and looked at Xu Wen at the same time, as if they had practiced it before, and said in unison, "Hello, sister-in-law!"

"Hello." Xu Wen was very reserved.

The person holding Dongsheng sighed, "So this is my sister-in-law! I thought it was the nurse from the hospital who came to see you off. No wonder you were so happy to take a vacation and refused to come back unless called."

Lu Yuanzheng raised his head in a sly manner: "So what? Look at your jealous face!"

"Ha! I am quite jealous. I am jealous that you can't take care of yourself and need someone to carry you upstairs."

Xu asked: "..."

I still can't get used to the way they get along with each other.

There were still many empty rooms in the family building, so for their convenience Lu Yuanzheng found them a room on the first floor.

"The first floor is a little damp, so just bear with it for the day. I'll take Dongsheng away first, you and sister-in-law can take a rest, I'll have someone bring food over later. Follow the usual rules in the evening."

Lu Yuanzheng took the key from Bao Dongsheng and nodded.

It is also a small one-bedroom and one-living room apartment, but there is an additional kitchen next to the bathroom.

The overall conditions are slightly worse than those of the agency's guesthouse.

Seeing Xu Wen looking around the room, Lu Yuanzheng said, "I'm sorry that you have to live here with me."

Xu Wen hurriedly shook his head: "It's pretty good here."

It's really good.

If he had just come here, he might have disliked it, but now Xu Wen has lived in poorer times and is used to it.

Besides, except for the snacks, this place is really nice and has everything.

From the time I was discharged from the hospital to the time I came back and settled down, it took me until noon to finish reading.

The soldiers who had gone on a long journey brought them food from the canteen.

Four dishes and one soup.

"You guys have a pretty good meal."

"Today is the New Year, and life has improved. Normally it's a little worse than this."

Xu asked himself what he had eaten before feeding Lu Yuanzheng.

She wanted to feed Lu Yuanzheng first, but he disagreed.

After dinner, I was obviously not in good spirits after a long journey.

He had just woken up, and must be very tired after working hard for half a day.

"Why don't you take a nap first?" Xu Wen put the pillow in place for him.

Lu Yuanzheng patted the spot beside him and asked, "Together?"

"Ah?" Xu Wen's face suddenly turned red, and he was at a loss as to what to do.

"Don't worry, I won't take advantage of you."

Xu Wen said nothing but his face got even redder.

Lu Yuanzheng is in such a difficult situation now that it is difficult for him to turn things around, so Xu Wen is not afraid that he will take advantage of him.

Lu Yuanzheng is different from Dongsheng. With Dongsheng around, Xu Wen can sleep without being disturbed.

But Lu Yuanzheng was such a grown man that even if they did nothing, it would be difficult for Xu Wen to be casual with the two of them lying in the same bed.

They are a couple that are not even plastic.

The sudden knock on the door relieved Xu Wen's embarrassment just in time.

"I'll go open the door first." Xu Wen said, turned around and ran away.

Lu Yuanzheng raised his eyebrows and smiled.

The person who came was a military doctor from the camp’s health room. He came to give Lu Yuanzheng an infusion and change his dressings.

As soon as the gauze on Lu Yuanzheng's chest was removed, Xu Wen's face turned pale and he turned his head away abruptly, not daring to look.

According to them, Lu Yuanzheng had been in a coma for more than half a month, and most of the minor wounds on his body had actually healed.

But some of the more serious injuries or the severe injuries from the 23 operations mentioned by Li Daoming have not yet healed.

After the surgical stitches were added, the wound was tightened and wrinkled together, making the half-healed appearance particularly hideous and scary.

Xu Wen was not afraid, but the wound was too close to death.

I'm afraid what Li Daoming said was not an exaggeration.

Seeing that Xu Wen looked unhappy, Lu Yuanzheng asked, "Can you pour me a glass of water?"

Xu Wen nodded and went to the living room. His hands were shaking a little when he poured water.

The room was not very soundproof, and I could still vaguely hear the deliberately suppressed conversation of two men in the room.

"Gentle up! Your skills are even worse than that quack Li Daoming. Are you a veterinarian?"

"Tsk! Are you still afraid of pain? I deal with you guys every day. Aren't I a veterinarian?"

"What do you know? I'm afraid my wife will be sad. Didn't you see that my face turned pale just now?"

“…”

Xu Wen's eyes became sore when he heard this.

Only after the doctor left did Xu Wen return to his bedroom.

Anyway, the journey is long and you don’t really need to drink water.

Lu Yuanzheng's face was pale and bloodless, and his head was covered with beads of sweat.

Okay, I guess I really want to drink water this time.

Xu Wen handed the cup of water to his mouth and let him drink some water, then he got a wet towel and wiped Lu Yuanzheng's face.

Just when Xu Wen thought Lu Yuanzheng was asleep, he suddenly spoke: "Xu Wen."

"exist."

"I promised you would come back alive."

"Hmm!" Xu Wen spoke with a nasal tone.

Because of his casual words, I couldn't help but shed tears.

"Don't cry." Lu Yuanzheng opened his eyes, raised his movable left hand, and wiped away Xu Wen's tears with his fingertips, "You won't look pretty if you cry any more."

Lu Yuanzheng tried to threaten her weakly.

"It's okay. She's already married."

Lu Yuanzheng: "..."

For a moment I didn't know how to refute it.

After a while, he smiled and said, "Yeah. It's my blessing."

"Go to sleep! Stop talking."

"Okay, you should take a rest too. They may ask you for help later."

"Ah? Me? What can I do?"

"Dumplings."

"Ah! But I can't!"

"It's okay. We northerners are better than them even if we just fool around."

"All right."

Lu Yuanzheng lowered his voice as he spoke.

Xu Wen thought about it, took off his shoes, climbed onto the bed from the end of the bed, and lay down against the wall.

I didn't sleep well last night because I was a bit attached to my bed. I woke up early in the morning and I'm a bit sleepy now.

In addition, Lu Yuanzheng's aggression was not that strong when he was asleep, so Xu Wen also fell asleep with his body pressed against the wall.

Lu Yuanzheng's camp was right next to the family building, separated only by a main corridor.

Each company has a single row of two-story buildings. From the north gate to the end of the road in the south is their camp’s territory. A little further to the left at the end of the road is the territory of other camps.

Xu Wen listened carefully to Dongsheng's introduction, thinking that if allowed, he would definitely take a good look around this place.

When she arrived, she saw that there was no fence in the southeast corner of the yard, and the sea was below.

It is a sea that is particularly clear and spectacular.

The mother and son went to the company's cafeteria while talking.

There was a crowd of people at the door of the kitchen, all of whom came to help.

There were soldiers on leave and some sisters-in-law who looked like they were military family members.

They were working together to make dumplings around a makeshift chopping board made from two long tables.

There were also some children playing in the small square in front of the company.

Dongsheng led Xu Wen to the crowd and whispered to Xu Wen: "Mom, make dumplings and mark them secretly, so I won't eat the wrong ones."

Xu Wen laughed, "Why? Aren't all dumplings the same? Why do you have to eat the ones I made?"

Dongsheng shook his head, "The dumplings you make are better than those made by my uncles."

Xu Wen, who was forced by Dongsheng to help, felt that it was just Dongsheng's subjective evaluation, but his confidence increased greatly. He nodded and promised: "Okay."

It was Xu Wen's first time in such a special environment, and he didn't know what to do. He was just thinking whether he should say hello and introduce himself or get down to work. Then he heard Dongsheng pinching his waist and shouting, "Make way, my mom is here! My mom makes the most delicious dumplings."

Xu asked: "..."

She took a deep breath and prepared herself for a massive social death.

Everyone turned around to look at Xu Wen. No one minded Dong Sheng's provocative boasting. They greeted her with a smile, "Hello, sister-in-law."

There was no teasing as Xu Wen had imagined. Everyone was very familiar with her and called her sister-in-law in a very friendly tone.

Xu Wen breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hello, is there anything I can do for you?" Xu Wen took the initiative to speak, paused, and added, "I can also make dumplings, but I'm not as good as Dongsheng said."

"That's great! Come and save me." A sister-in-law handed the rolling pin to Xu Wen very naturally, "This thing is too difficult!"

Xu Wen lowered his head. The dumpling skin rolled by the sister-in-law was indeed a bit horrible. Judging from her accent, she should be from the Yangtze River Basin.

Looking at the dumplings they had just made, Xu Wen straightened his back and felt inexplicably more confident.

At home, she is not as good as Sang Xiaoqing or Zhu Meizhen at making dumplings. She is truly a novice.

But judging by the quality of the finished dumplings made on site, Xu Wen feels that his dumpling-making skills are among the best here.

Sure enough, after Xu Wen rolled out a few dumpling wrappers, he received a lot of praise.

"Sister-in-law, you are amazing! The dumpling skins you rolled are actually round."

"Nonsense! Dumpling wrappers are originally round, and only the ones you roll look weird. However, the wrappers rolled by my sister-in-law are indeed very good, and they are especially easy to wrap."

The sister-in-law who gave Xu Wen the rolling pin was about 30 years old and had a cheerful personality. She took the initiative to talk to Xu Wen: "Sister-in-law, you are amazing. I have been making dumplings with them for four or five years and still haven't learned it. Is this your first time in the compound?"

Xu Wen nodded.

"No wonder you are so shameless. Just come more often and you'll be fine. I'm with the army and have been living here. Usually, you don't see many women except us. They are almost going crazy staying in the yard all day. It's only during the New Year when there are many people visiting relatives that the yard becomes lively. Sister-in-law, you are here to visit relatives too, right? Where are you from?"

Xu Wen nodded, hummed again, and gave the name of a province.

"Oh, you're from the north! No wonder you're so good at making dumplings. But the north is quite far from here, right? Sister-in-law, did you come alone? In fact, there are fewer people this year, and it's not as lively as in previous years. This time, seventeen or eighteen people from their company alone died... Alas!" Sister-in-law said, shaking her head.

"Ah?" Xu Wen exclaimed.

"Tsk." The sister-in-law raised her index finger to her lips to signal Xu Wen to speak in a low voice. She raised her chin to signal the soldiers who were also busy making dumplings. "Don't look at them smiling. They are actually very sad! It's just that no one wants to talk about this matter during the New Year. This is all thanks to their Lu Lian! If Lu Lian hadn't sacrificed himself to protect them, their company would have been wiped out."

My sister-in-law also sighed as she spoke, "Their company commander has suffered a lot. I heard that he is still lying unconscious in the hospital. You probably won't see him. Although he doesn't look very friendly, he is really a good person. I hope God blesses him to wake up soon."

Xu Wen was about to say that Lu Yuanzheng had woken up, but his sister-in-law waved her hand again, "Let's not talk about this during the New Year. By the way, I haven't asked you yet, who is your husband?"