Chapter 51, Approval
Lin Qingqing didn't dare to be too enthusiastic towards Xie Wei, since the walls of the guesthouse room were thin and not soundproof, so the two of them slept very quietly at night.
The next day, before dawn, Lin Qingqing vaguely heard bugle calls. She initially thought it was a dream and turned over to hug Xie Wei, continuing to sleep. But before she could move, she felt the person in her arms quietly back away. He half-opened his eyes and asked in a muffled voice, "What's wrong?"
Xie Wei didn't want to wake Lin Qingqing, so he deliberately moved back slowly, but he still woke her up. He had no choice but to say, "I have to go back to the barracks. You can continue sleeping."
Lin Qingqing wanted to continue sleeping, but hearing what he said woke her up abruptly. She opened her eyes and asked, "So early? What time is it?"
The bugle calls were always on time, so Xie Wei didn't even need to look at his watch; he simply said, "5:30."
"So early? I think I heard something just now." Lin Qingqing said, leaning against the headboard, as she reached out and turned on the light in the room after hearing him say that he was going back to his unit.
"It's reveille." Xie Wei said as he put on his military trousers and buttoned his shirt. "It's still early, you can sleep a little longer."
Lin Qingqing hummed in agreement: "I'll sleep after you leave."
Xie Wei tucked his shirt into his pants, bent down, kissed Lin Qingqing's lips, and said, "Then I'll go brush my teeth and wash my face."
Lin Qingqing nodded, and Xie Wei left with the basin, towel, toothbrush, and enamel mug, leaving the room quiet. Lin Qingqing was mostly awake now, and thinking she could sleep anytime, she got out of bed, walked to the bedside, and drew back the curtains.
Summer days are early. By 5:30 in the morning, the darkness has faded, the sky is deep blue, and there is a sliver of light on the horizon, but it has not yet spread out.
Lin Qingqing took a deep breath, inhaling the fresh air, and felt refreshed.
As she stood by the window looking at the sky, Xie Wei returned after washing up. Seeing her get up, he walked up behind her, hugged her, and asked in a low voice, "Why are you up?"
"My body is a bit stiff from sleeping, so I thought I'd get up and move around." The aftereffects of two days of traveling were finally showing today. Lin Qingqing turned to lean against the window, hugged Xie Wei, and asked, "Weren't you going back to the army?"
“We can go later,” Xie Wei said.
Lin Qingqing asked, "Do you want to go eat? Does the cafeteria serve breakfast?"
"supply."
"Let's go have breakfast."
Xie Wei asked in a low voice, "Us? Are you going to eat now too?"
"Anyway, we're already up." Lin Qingqing said, drawing the curtains, walking to the bedside, turning her back to Xie Wei, taking off her pajamas, and picking up her underwear hanging at the foot of the bed to put on.
Her neck was slender and long, her shoulders and back were straight and smooth, tapering slightly towards her waist.
She has shallow dimples at the waist. When she gets dressed, she fastens the buttons behind her back with her hands, straining her shoulders and back, her shoulder blades fluttering like butterfly wings about to take flight.
Xie Wei's throat tightened slightly as he looked at the shirt hanging on the shelf at the foot of the bed.
Lin Qingqing buttoned up her clothes and reached for them, but her hand missed. She turned around in surprise: "What...?"
Before she could finish speaking, the clothes were draped over her shoulders. Xie Wei pulled her hand and tucked it into the sleeve, then whispered, "The other side."
Surprised, Lin Qingqing was manipulated by him to put on her clothes like a puppet on strings. She looked down at him as he buttoned her shirt from behind, her whole body burning up. Her voice was soft as she asked, "What are you doing?"
"I'll help you get dressed." Xie Wei's breath fell on her ear as he spoke.
Lin Qingqing's lips were tight and didn't curl upwards, but her eyebrows and eyes relaxed, and there was a hint of laughter in her voice: "Even your clothes aren't like this."
Xie Wei paused as he buttoned Lin Qingqing's shirt, asking, "What does it look like?"
Lin Qingqing wanted to say it was too suggestive, but then felt that the word wasn't quite right for the times, so she changed her question to, "Is it ready yet?"
After buttoning the top button, Xie Wei let go and said, "All done." Then she reached for her skirt.
Lin Qingqing quickly pressed Xie Wei's hand, took the dress and said, "I can put it on myself." She quickly put it on, adjusted the height and said, "Okay, I'm going to brush my teeth and wash my face. Wait here for me for a while."
After saying that, Lin Qingqing left the room with her washbasin, toothbrush, and other items.
Xie Wei sat on the bed, thinking about how she had looked just now, and a smile crept onto his lips.
...
The cafeteria's breakfast mainly consists of wheat-based foods, including steamed buns and noodles. The noodles are made with Jianshe flour and come in clear broth and shredded pork broth; noodles with added meat are significantly more expensive. The steamed buns are the large, northern-style buns, available with white flour, wheat flour, and cornmeal; the white flour buns are the more expensive.
Besides steamed buns and noodles, breakfast also included porridge and sweet potatoes. The sweet potatoes were washed whole and steamed, resulting in a fragrant, soft, sweet, and glutinous texture. There were three types of porridge: millet and mung bean porridge, corn porridge, and sorghum porridge, with sorghum porridge being the cheapest.
Lin Qingqing noticed that everyone else was using large bowls from home to serve their noodles. Although her appetite had increased considerably since she transmigrated to this world, she still couldn't eat that much. So, she discussed with Xie Wei and ordered a bowl of shredded pork noodles, along with two steamed buns. The noodles were then divided into two lunchboxes.
The woman serving the food glanced at them and said, "You two are eating so little?"
“One bowl of noodles is enough for me, this is his,” Lin Qingqing explained.
The older sister's gaze towards Xie Wei immediately changed. She didn't think much of the four pockets on his military uniform, but her hand trembled and half of the noodles she was going to give him were gone. She then scooped out another ladleful and gave it all to Lin Qingqing.
Lin Qingqing saw that the lunchbox was almost full of noodles, and her older sister was going to add more for her, so she quickly said, "I don't need this much, give it to him."
The older sister looked at Lin Qingqing and then at Xie Wei, and still gave the noodles to Lin Qingqing, saying, "Little sister, listen to your older sister, you can't spoil a man. Isn't it enough for him to eat two steamed buns and half a bowl of noodles? You should also take care of yourself."
Xie Wei's lips tightened upon hearing this, while Lin Qingqing suppressed a laugh and explained, "Big sister, you misunderstood. It's not that he didn't want me to eat, it's just that I can't eat that much, so I asked him to eat half for me."
The older sister was stunned when she heard this. Looking at Lin Qingqing's thin face with hardly any flesh, she muttered, "Then your appetite is too small. You should eat more."
Lin Qingqing: "..."
Lin Qingqing thought that one serving of noodles was too much. Xie Wei was helping her eat today, but it would be a waste if she ate so much by herself when he returned to the army.
Although she was a little taken aback by the older sister's words, she still brazenly asked, "I'm so full that I can't eat anymore. I'd like to ask if you can give me noodles in half portions? My husband helped me eat today, and it was just right. I'm afraid it would be a waste if I ate a whole portion by myself later."
"You're here to join the army, right?" the older sister asked, sensing her meaning.
"Oh! I just arrived yesterday," Lin Qingqing said with a smile.
The older woman saw that she looked young and not much older than her own daughter, and smiled sweetly, so she said, "Okay, if you want noodles in the future, come to my window and I'll give you half a portion."
Do you work at this window every day?
"That's not necessarily true. Anyway, there are only a few windows. If I'm not at any of them, I'm taking a break," the older woman said.
Lin Qingqing thanked her older sister repeatedly. Anyway, she didn't eat noodles every day, so she could just ask her older sister for help when she was around.
With a weight lifted from her shoulders, Lin Qingqing and Xie Wei carried their food and found seats. Once seated, she saw Xie Wei across from her and couldn't help but smile again, remembering her older sister's words.
Xie Wei couldn't help but laugh at her, so he broke off half a steamed bun and gave it to Lin Qingqing.
"Why are you giving me steamed buns?" Lin Qingqing asked, puzzled.
Xie Wei said with a stiff face, "I'll give you more to eat, so that people won't think I'm mistreating you."
Lin Qingqing laughed even harder, and after she finished laughing, she looked at him with bright eyes: "Are you angry?"
"No," Xie Wei denied.
Lin Qingqing knew him all too well, but she didn't follow his advice. Holding the steamed bun, she pretended to be troubled and said, "But my older sister filled it to the brim..."
A lunchbox of noodles, and I really can't eat this steamed bun. What if I force myself to eat it and then feel sick in my stomach?
Her eyes were full of pleading, and her voice was soft, which softened Xie Wei's heart. He said, "If you can't eat, I'll eat."
Lin Qingqing's face lit up with joy, and she said, "My husband, you're the best!"
Xie Wei was stunned when he heard her address, a hint of joy quickly rising in his eyes, but he pretended to be nonchalant: "What did you just call me?"
But Lin Qingqing didn't repeat what he had just said as he expected. Instead, she asked, "What's wrong?"
"It's nothing," Xie Wei coughed, feeling somewhat resentful, and said lightly, "I just didn't hear clearly."
The cafeteria serves hand-pulled noodles, thick and long. Lin Qingqing slurped one into her mouth, chewed and swallowed, and laughed, "Didn't you hear me clearly, or do you want me to call you that?"
Xie Wei looked at the girl opposite him with deep eyes, his mind inappropriately recalling what happened that morning, and his voice was slightly hoarse: "I want to hear you call me that."
Lin Qingqing's smile widened, but she didn't call out to him as he had said.
Xie Wei was a little disappointed when she didn't speak, but considering the crowd in the cafeteria, he didn't continue the conversation and focused on eating.
...
A whole lunchbox of noodles plus half a steamed bun was indeed too much; Xie Wei ate the rest of the noodles.
There were no taps outside the canteen, so they had to take their lunchboxes to the guesthouse's water room to wash them. But it was already late when they got back to the guesthouse, and Lin Qingqing was worried that Xie Wei wouldn't have enough time, so she put the lunchboxes on the table and told him to leave early.
Knowing the priorities, Xie Wei picked up his military jacket, put it on, and buttoned it up before saying to Lin Qingqing, "I'm going back to the army now. Will you be alright by yourself?"
"Don't worry, I'll definitely take good care of myself," Lin Qingqing said as she saw Xie Wei out.
He escorted her all the way to the gate of the family compound. Xie Wei stopped, put on his hat, and said, "I'm leaving. You can go back now."
Lin Qingqing hummed in agreement, but instead of turning around, she stepped forward and hugged Xie Wei, tilting her head back and blinking her eyes as she whispered, "Honey, you have to come back soon."
Xie Wei was stunned when she called him that at this moment, and then his chest swelled.
The hug didn't last long. Lin Qingqing quickly withdrew from his embrace and looked at him, who was standing still, saying, "You should go now."
Xie Wei didn't turn around. He looked down at her for a long time before saying, "I'll be back tomorrow night."
"Mm." Lin Qingqing nodded with a smile, and only turned to go home to her family compound after watching him leave.
There was a little incident on her way back; Lin Qingqing passed by a taxi guarding the gate.
When Bing Shi saw that the other person's already not-so-fair face was completely red, and when she met his gaze, his eyes were somewhat evasive.
Faced with the soldier's shyness, Lin Qingqing, who hadn't felt embarrassed at all before, also felt a little ashamed and hurried towards the family compound.
...
In addition to the original household registration documents, marriage certificate, and brigade certificate, transferring household registration also requires documents such as the approval letter for the cadre's family members to accompany the cadre, the cadre's application form for family members to accompany the cadre, and the officer's certificate. Housing will only be allocated after the application for accompanying the cadre to the military is approved.
So after Xie Wei returned to the team, Lin Qingqing had a lot of free time.
Although she had met two people while wandering around the family compound during the day, life was indeed somewhat boring compared to her previous busy schedule. So when Xie Wei returned the next evening, Lin Qingqing was more emotionally expressive than before.
When Xie Wei returned, his comrades teased him, saying that he spent all his time in the military camp before his wedding without getting tired of it, but after only two days apart from his wife, he couldn't bear to be apart from her.
Another comrade said after hearing this, "What do you know? This is called absence makes the heart grow fonder. He can't help but miss you!"
Xie Wei slapped her back then, thinking what she was saying, but now, looking at his wife's joyful expression, he suddenly realized that her words made a lot of sense.
Thinking of this, Xie Wei felt even more joyful. He picked Lin Qingqing up and put her on the bed, then leaned down and kissed her, asking, "Did you miss me that much?"
"Yes, I miss you so much," Lin Qingqing said with a smile.
After getting married, the two had always been inseparable, and now that they were suddenly separated, Lin Qingqing was indeed a little unaccustomed to it. To be honest, she herself found it strange. Before getting married, she and Xie Wei had been separated for much longer, but back then she didn't feel this way, missing him as soon as they were apart for only two days.
After much thought, the only explanation I can come up with is that it was done before and after marriage.
Hearing her words warmed Xie Wei's heart. He, who was not usually good at expressing himself, couldn't help but say, "I miss you too. I miss you when I eat, I miss you when I sleep, and I even think about you when I train."
A simpler girl would be overjoyed to hear this, but Lin Qingqing's first reaction was: "It's okay if you think about me while you're eating and sleeping, but don't think about me during training, or you'll get injured."
Xie Wei was taken aback at first, then burst into laughter.
Lin Qingqing said seriously, "I'm talking to you about something important, so don't laugh."
"How could you be so..." Xie Wei was at a loss for words, not knowing how to express his thoughts. He couldn't help but kiss Lin Qingqing again and said firmly, "Even during training, I don't think you'll get into any trouble."
"us
"We can't take any chances," Lin Qingqing said, oblivious to the romantic implications.
Xie Wei said helplessly, "Okay, I'll try not to think about you during training in the future."
“That’s right,” Lin Qingqing smiled and returned his kiss, saying, “This is your reward for being obedient.”
Xie Wei's heart stirred slightly. He turned his head and kissed Lin Qingqing's lips as she retreated. With one hand holding her and the other unbuttoning her military uniform, he asked in a low voice, "Have you taken a shower?"
"not yet."
"Then I'll wash it later."
Xie Wei took off his military uniform and went to unbutton his shirt, but the shirt had many buttons and was difficult to unbutton, so he simply pulled hard, took off his clothes, and pressed Lin Qingqing onto the bed, her long black hair spreading out.
"Wait a minute." Lin Qingqing hugged Xie Wei's neck with one hand and put her other hand on his shoulder, saying, "The soundproofing isn't good."
"Then keep your voice down," Xie Wei said in a low voice.
Lin Qingqing pressed down on the straw mat beneath her again. Xie Wei frowned and stared at her for a long time before realizing what she meant. He said, "Are you doing this on purpose?" Resignedly, he took his shirt and placed it under his body, asking in a suppressed voice, "Is this okay now?"
Lin Qingqing kept laughing and nodded, saying, "Okay."
...
After showering, Lin Qingqing lay on the wiped-down bamboo mat, recalling the embarrassing experience of going to the shower earlier. She felt that it was best for her and her husband to be more restrained before the house was allocated. Their legs were sore from exercise, and being carried to the shower room and caught by someone was just too embarrassing!
Lin Qingqing covered her face. Hearing a sound from the door, she turned around and saw Xie Wei coming in with the washed clothes.
He walked to the window, took down the clothes rack hanging from the bamboo pole at the top of the window, and hung the clothes up one by one. Afterwards, he put the basin down, sat down by the window, and reached out to rub her lower back, asking, "Are you still feeling unwell?"
His massage was neither too light nor too heavy, and it felt quite comfortable. Lin Qingqing simply turned over and lay face down, replying, "It's okay." Her legs had been a little weak before she went to take a shower, but they had recovered now.
Xie Wei hummed in response, but his hands didn't stop moving. Lin Qingqing was so sleepy from being pressed down that she forgot what she was going to say.
It wasn't until the next morning, while having breakfast, that Lin Qingqing remembered to ask, "Has the application been submitted?"
"It's been submitted." The first thing Xie Wei did after returning to the team was to submit the application. When asked about it, she said, "I'll ask today when it will be approved."
Lin Qingqing nodded.
"Does a person feel bored?" Xie Wei asked.
"It's good to take a break for a while," Lin Qingqing said with a smile.
Xie Wei was silent for a moment, then finished the noodles in his lunchbox and said, "I'll be back tonight."
"It's not closed"
"Is it true?" Lin Qingqing asked.
Xie Wei shook his head: "It's good that there are people in the troupe. I'll discuss it with Lao Sun."
Hearing him say that, Lin Qingqing stopped trying to stop him and said, "If it doesn't work out, then forget it. I've been wandering around the family compound these past two days and I've gotten to know a few people. It's not so boring if I have someone to talk to."
Xie Wei agreed.
Xie Wei had already put on his military uniform before leaving, so after finishing his meal, he went straight back to his unit, while Lin Qingqing took her lunchbox back to the guesthouse by herself.
...
Xie Wei returned that evening with good news: "The application for military dependents has been approved, and the house will be ready tomorrow. It's Saturday the day after tomorrow, so I'll take leave and come back to help you tidy up the house and buy the necessary items."
Lin Qingqing smiled as she looked at the documents Xie Wei had brought back. Then she remembered to ask, "If I take these two documents, your military officer's ID, and the certificate issued by the brigade to the police station, can I process the household registration transfer?"
"That's what I found out from someone, but the transfer of household registration requires approval, and it will probably take a few days to process."
"Then I'll go to the police station tomorrow and ask if anything is missing so I can get it done as soon as possible," Lin Qingqing said. She wasn't worried that the transfer of household registration wouldn't be approved anytime soon, because as long as the documents were complete, things would eventually be settled.
Xie Wei nodded and instructed, "The bus to the city passes by the police station. When you board the bus tomorrow, tell the ticket seller to remind you when it arrives."
The family came to the residential compound from the city by shuttle bus, which stopped wherever there were no designated stops along the way. Lin Qingqing then remembered that she hadn't seen a police station on the roadside when she came, so she nodded and said, "Then I'll ask on the bus tomorrow."
After discussing the household registration issue, Lin Qingqing took a shower and lay in bed with Xie Wei. She couldn't help but ask, "What kind of house do you think we'll be allocated?"
"I asked around today, and there are no vacant houses in the detached houses for the time being. We'll have to wait until someone is transferred or reassigned to see if there are any houses available," Xie Wei told Lin Qingqing the information he had gathered. He added, "This time, we should be assigned to row houses. Would you like to live in the middle or on one of the sides?"
Having already prepared herself mentally, Lin Qingqing wasn't disappointed when she heard she could only stay in a row house; in fact, she was mostly happy.
Having transmigrated to this world for over half a year, she moved from the Lin family home to a guesthouse, and then from the guesthouse to a youth settlement. She wasn't exactly homeless, but it was never truly her own. Even after marrying Xie Wei and moving into the Xie family home, Lin Qingqing still felt like a rootless duckweed, drifting aimlessly.
Only now, hearing that the houses will be allocated soon, has Lin Qingqing finally felt a sense of security.
The feeling of the earth.
Although the houses allocated by the military do not belong to them, in the next few years, it will be a home that she can decorate as she pleases and that she can make her own decisions about.
Thinking about Xie Wei's question, Lin Qingqing said, "Both sides, but... can we choose where the military unit allocates housing?"
Xie Wei explained, "There are many empty houses in the row houses. Usually, you'll be given a few rooms to choose from. Would you like to stay in one near the main entrance or one further inside?"
It's convenient to be near the main gate, but it's quieter inside.
But Lin Qingqing felt that in this day and age there were no bustling streets or elderly people dancing in the square, so even if it was noisy, it wouldn't be that noisy. So she said, "Let's live closer to the gate, it will be more convenient."
"Then I'll choose according to your requirements tomorrow."
Author's Note: First update.
The documents required for transferring household registration are based on information found online regarding the transfer of household registration for military dependents, combined with the circumstances at the time. Any discrepancies are considered fabrications.
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