Chapter 93 Reading the Letter
When men get into drinking, they can eat a plate of peanuts for two hours straight, not to mention the many dishes Lin Qingqing prepared tonight. Xie Wei and the others still showed no sign of stopping at 8:30, and the beef soup on the coal stove was almost dry.
Shen Yufen went home after dinner because she was worried about her child. Sister Fu and Commander Ding's wife, on the other hand, didn't rush home because their child was older, and sat down to talk to Lin Qingqing.
At this time, many units give employees a holiday on the 29th of the lunar year. Ding's wife was supposed to finish work the next day and then have her holiday, but because she wanted to go back to her hometown, she took a day off and set off early the next morning to catch the bus. This was because their hometown was nearby, only a five or six-hour train ride away. The train departed at eight or nine in the morning and arrived in their county town at two or three in the afternoon. From there, they could take a bus back and arrive home that same evening.
Lin Qingqing listened with a hint of envy: "It's so nice to be close." She almost burst into tears as she said it. In her previous life, she thought places that took more than two hours by car were too far, but now she felt that eight or nine hours was close enough.
Sister Fu suddenly remembered and asked, "You and Commander Xie are from Shicheng, right?"
“Yes, it takes almost a whole day to get here from our hometown,” Lin Qingqing said.
Commander Ding's wife asked, "I've been to Shicheng. Where in Shicheng are you from?"
Lin Qingqing said, "The commune under Xinyang County in Shicheng City is about an hour's drive from the city."
“It’s not far from the city,” said Commander Ding’s wife. It had been many years since she last visited Shicheng, so she didn’t know where Xinyang County was.
Sister Fu then asked, "Why aren't you going back this year?"
"Xie Wei's deputy regimental commander went back to his hometown; he can't leave," Lin Qingqing said. Officers' leave is regulated. For example, since Xie Wei is the regimental commander, he and the deputy commander can only take turns resting; one of them has to stay in the regiment to oversee things. Last year, Xie Wei went back to his hometown for the Spring Festival, and their deputy regimental commander stayed in the unit; this year, the change was made.
"Actually, it's better not to go back. There are plenty of worries there anyway," Sister Fu said, especially since Lin Qingqing has been married for half a year and still isn't pregnant. Going back would definitely lead to her being bombarded with questions from all her relatives. However, this was a rather sensitive topic, so Sister Fu only kept it to herself and didn't say it aloud.
Commander Ding's wife deeply agreed with what Sister Fu said, and lowered her voice to say, "To be honest, if it weren't for Old Ding wanting to go back, I wouldn't have bothered to go back at all."
Her mother died early, and her father remarried a few years later. Otherwise, given her grades and her family's circumstances, she wouldn't have dropped out of school before finishing junior high. In the end, her brother took over the job, being the eldest son, while her father arranged for her younger brother to take it, since both parents were still alive and someone loved him.
She was the only one who, with the help of her aunt, found an apprenticeship, but the pay was low and the work was hard, and there was no prospect of her becoming a permanent employee.
When she got older, her older brother was getting married and could no longer live with her younger brother. Her stepmother, citing her brother's young age, forced her to live in the staff dormitory. She lived there for three years until she grew up and reached marriageable age. Only then did they remember her and start arranging marriages for her. They were rich, but each one of them was incredibly unattractive.
Her father and brother didn't say a word about this, because her younger brother was getting old and needed money to get married, and also needed money to expand the yard and build a new house. Although her brother was her half-brother, he had his own little ideas after getting married. His sister-in-law was pregnant with their second child, so naturally he hoped to live in a more spacious house.
Later, her aunt took pity on her and introduced her to Commander Ding.
Commander Ding was young at the time, tall and imposing, with features that, while not exactly handsome, were at least pleasing to the eye. Plus, wearing his green military uniform, he naturally exuded a better aura than others.
Moreover, Commander Ding was already a platoon leader at that time, earning several tens of yuan a month. Although he was somewhat chauvinistic, everything has its advantages and disadvantages. For example, when it came to money, he was very generous and lavish from the start of their blind date.
Although she was born into a good family and had a city household registration, she didn't actually have a good life in the first half of her life. When her mother was alive, things were alright. She had two children, and even though her mother favored her son, she would still buy her candy and make new clothes. But things changed after her mother died. Her stepmother only cared about her own son, and her biological father was focused on her eldest son. She couldn't rely on either of them. She ate leftovers and wore clothes that her brother had already worn.
When her brother was little, he was always making a ruckus, and his clothes were constantly getting soaked from the cold. By the time it was her turn to wear them, a single shirt had seven or eight patches and still wasn't enough. Not to mention shoes, they never fit properly; her aunt always gave her her cousin's old shoes to wear.
Her aunt felt sorry for her, but with several children in the family and her mother-in-law and sisters-in-law watching over her, she could only be kind to her secretly. Later, when her aunt introduced her to a job, the family was in an uproar, and even her uncle harbored resentment. It was only when her husband became more successful that her uncle, wanting him to help his cousin, became attentive to her aunt again.
Growing up in such a family environment, she especially cherishes the warmth and kindness others give her.
In her mind, being willing to buy her things and spend money on her was considered being good to her.
Fortunately, the man she chose was quite good. Although he was concerned with appearances in public and didn't like doing housework at home, he never yelled at her and always kept his salary for her. When she had disagreements with her mother-in-law, he wouldn't side with her. After she joined her husband's military unit, the conflicts between her and her mother-in-law gradually faded.
However, the conflict may have faded, but it doesn't mean it's gone. In addition, with her sister-in-law adding fuel to the fire, she still gets sarcastic remarks from her mother-in-law every time she goes back to her hometown.
That's why she doesn't like going back to her hometown. Her husband and children are in Jinshi, and apart from her aunt, there aren't many people she misses back home. But Commander Ding is a family man who values family ties. He goes back every year or two and often thinks about bringing his mother to the army base.
Although Commander Ding was drunk, she still had some reservations and only touched on the subject briefly, without going into too much detail.
Lin Qingqing could understand what her older sister and Commander Ding's wife were saying, but she found it hard to empathize. In her previous life, she was an orphan and had never experienced not wanting to go home when she had one. The original owner of this body did have an adoptive mother, older sister, and older brother, but none of them cared for her. After Old Lady Lin was arrested, she lost contact with the Lin family and remained alone in Xingfeng Brigade until she started dating Xie Wei.
Many people are troubled by the relationship between their mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. No matter how well they get along, they still feel that their mother-in-law is not as good as their own mother.
But Lin Qingqing had never met her biological mother, and she felt that since they had abandoned her, they probably didn't have any feelings for her. As for Li Xingfang, even if she didn't treat her like her own daughter, she definitely loved her because of her mother, so she genuinely regarded Li Xingfang as an elder.
Because Li Xingfang was looking forward to their return, and Lin Qingqing didn't want to disappoint her, she had originally planned to go back home for the New Year as well. However, Xie Wei couldn't leave his unit this year, and she couldn't travel easily because the supply and marketing cooperative was in a period of expansion, so she had to give up her plan to go back to her hometown. Therefore, when she wrote back home before, Lin Qingqing mentioned asking Li Xingfang to come over.
...
By the time Xie Wei and the others finished eating, it was already past nine o'clock in the evening. The stir-fried dishes had long been eaten, and not a single peanut was left. The beef in the pot was all gone, and the beef broth had almost boiled away. However, the fire in the coal stove had gone out because the honeycomb briquettes had burned out.
Of the four people eating, only Xie Wei, who had drunk less, was still sober. Jiang Feng was already passed out drunk. Commander Ding stood there, gesturing wildly and talking nonsense. Commander Luo was not so drunk and barely managed to remain somewhat sober.
Seeing that he was walking with a limp and pointing around, Commander Ding's wife quickly went over to support him and said, "Shall we go back now?"
Seeing that Commander Ding was tall and might be too big for his wife to handle, Lin Qingqing said to Xie Wei, "Why don't you see Commander Ding off?"
"No need, no need, I'll help him back," said Commander Ding's wife, waving her hand as she helped him walk out. Fortunately, although Commander Ding couldn't walk properly, his legs weren't too weak, and he could still walk back.
Lin Qingqing watched them walk out of the yard safely before returning to the living room with peace of mind.
Xie Wei and Commander Luo were talking, while Sister Fu was helping to pack things up. Lin Qingqing quickly went over and took the bowl from Sister Fu's hand, saying, "Let me do it."
"It's alright, there's still plenty of time. I'll help you clean up this," said Sister Fu, as she dumped the remaining food from everyone's bowls into the stew pot and then took the pot into the kitchen.
Lin Qingqing piled the bowls together and was about to take them into the kitchen when Xie Wei got up, took the bowls from her, and said, "I'll wash them."
Xie Wei's hands were long and big, so he could carry the bowls that Lin Qingqing had to run twice to get into the kitchen all at once.
When Sister Fu saw him come in, she asked, "Why are you here? Weren't you talking to Lao Luo?"
"I'll wash the dishes. You and Qingqing go and rest," Xie Wei said, scooping a ladle of water into the metal basin and picking up a dishcloth to start washing.
Sister Fu said, "That's so embarrassing!"
"Let him keep busy, let's sit down and rest for a while." Lin Qingqing said, pulling Sister Fu outside, and then said to Xie Wei, "Then I'll go out with Sister Fu?"
Xie Wei hummed in agreement and continued washing the dishes at a leisurely pace.
As Commander Luo rubbed his face, he saw Sister Fu and Lin Qingqing come in. Because he was drunk, his eyes were unfocused and his speech was a bit slurred: "What...what time is it?"
"It's almost 9:30," Sister Fu said, sitting opposite Commander Luo, waving her hand and asking, "What time is it?"
Commander Luo chuckled, reached out and grabbed Sister Fu's hand, saying, "This is my wife."
Sister Fu didn't argue with him. She slapped his hand away and said, "If you're not drunk, get up and come back with me."
Upon hearing this, Lin Qingqing asked, "Won't you sit a little longer?"
"No need to sit anymore, you should all get some rest too," Sister Fu said, shaking her head. Then she pointed at Jiang Feng and asked, "What about Battalion Commander Jiang? Should we send him back?"
Seeing that Commander Luo was quite drunk, Lin Qingqing didn't dare let them say anything. She shook her head and said, "It's alright. Xie Wei will take him back later. You can go back now and don't worry about him."
After seeing Sister Fu and her husband off, Lin Qingqing turned and leaned against the kitchen doorway as she walked back into the house, watching Xie Wei wash the dishes.
"Commander Luo and the others have left?"
"Yes, he's already gone," Lin Qingqing said, glancing back. "Battalion Commander Jiang is still here, but he's very drunk. He probably won't be able to get back on his own."
"I'll take him back later." Xie Wei said, pouring the water from rinsing the dishes into the ditch, then adding clean water to the iron basin and continuing to wash the dishes.
Lin Qingqing nodded: "Then I'll go take a shower first."
Xie Wei hummed in agreement. Lin Qingqing took the kettle to the bathroom, mixed the water, and then went to the main house to find clothes to take a shower.
After washing the dishes one last time and wiping the kitchen countertop clean, Xie Wei took a rag to the living room to wipe the coffee table and chairs, then brought the extinguished coal stove back to the kitchen. After doing all this, Xie Wei washed his hands again before going to the living room to help Jiang Feng up and take him home.
When they arrived at the Jiang family's house, Shen Yufen had already finished showering and was lying in bed. Hearing the knock on the door, she wrapped herself in a cotton-padded coat and came to open it.
As soon as the door opened, the smell of alcohol hit her. Shen Yufen frowned slightly: "Why did you drink so much?" Although she said that, she reached out to help Jiang Feng and, together with Xie Wei, led him into the master bedroom.
After helping Jiang Feng lie down on the bed, Shen Yufen poured Xie Wei a glass of water and asked if he wanted to sit for a while. Xie Wei took the enamel cup, drank some water, shook his head, and said, "It's getting late, I should go back." He put down the cup, told Shen Yufen to go to sleep early, and then left.
When Xie Wei returned home, Lin Qingqing had already taken a shower. She was wearing thin pajama bottoms but wrapped in a thick cotton-padded coat. She was hunching her shoulders and opening the living room window to let the air out and dissipate the smell.
Xie Wei originally wanted to go over and hug her, but then he remembered that he also smelled strongly, so he stopped and asked, "Are you done showering?"
"You're back?" Lin Qingqing turned around and asked, then nodded and asked, "Are you going to take a shower tonight?"
Xie Wei said firmly, "Wash it." The smell of alcohol won't go away if you don't wash it.
"Then hurry up and go, the water should be boiling by now," Lin Qingqing said, heading to the room to find him some clothes.
After finding his clothes, Xie Wei went to the bathroom to take a shower, while Lin Qingqing lay on the bed reading letters. When she returned today, she received several letters at the guard post. In addition to Li Xingfang and Li Juan, who wrote to her regularly, Chen Xiufang, Li Dongmei, and He Xiaoli had also written and sent letters.
After Lin Qingqing joined the army, Chen Xiufang took over her job at the garment factory, while Li Dongmei took over the Women's Federation. Therefore, the letters they sent were like year-end summaries, detailing their work and achievements over the past year. Although Lin Qingqing had long since handed over her work, she felt gratified upon seeing these two letters.
After reading the letter, Lin Qingqing didn't rush back; she also opened He Xiaoli's letter.
He Xiaoli's letter was not as logical as Chen Xiufang's and the others'; it was written as she wrote whatever came to mind.
The letter began by mentioning her recent blind date, arranged by her aunt. The man seemed to have a decent job, but he was short and thin, which she didn't find very appealing. However, before she could reject him, she overheard her mother and father discussing the matter. They said the man was a good catch, just a bit older and eager to get married, but her mother didn't want her to marry too early. She worried that if she got married, her younger brother might be reluctant to return her job to her in-laws' family when he grew up.
He Xiaoli was initially happy, thinking her mother couldn't bear to part with her, but her heart sank when she heard this. In her letter, she defiantly declared that she had decided to date the man, and if he was a decent person, they would get married within the next two years.
When Xie Wei returned to the room, he saw Lin Qingqing frowning as she read the letter. He lifted the covers, sat down next to her, leaned in to take a look, and asked, "What's wrong?"
"He Xiaoli wrote a letter."
"He Xiaoli, who is that?" Xie Wei couldn't remember for a moment.
Lin Qingqing said, "The front desk of the guesthouse in my hometown commune."
Xie Wei thought for a moment, then said, "Oh, it's her. What did she say in the letter?"
Lin Qingqing explained He Xiaoli's situation. Although Xie Wei didn't frown after hearing it, his expression became serious: "Isn't this too impulsive?"
"Yes." Lin Qingqing sighed. She knew that He Xiaoli's parents favored boys over girls, but she didn't expect it to have reached this level. She was even more worried that He Xiaoli would make a mistake in a moment of impulsiveness and ruin her life.
She pondered for a moment and said, "I'll write a letter to persuade her." Although she wasn't sure she could convince her, she would do her best and leave the rest to fate.
Thinking of this, Lin Qingqing continued reading the letter. The rest of the letter described the situation of the other people at the guesthouse. Everyone was living an ordinary life, which was uneventful, but it was not bad news.
At the end of the letter, He Xiaoli also wrote about Zhao Liye's recent situation, saying that after Lin Ying was arrested, he also lost his job and had been taking care of his elderly mother at home. But recently his mother couldn't hold on and passed away, and he was kicked out by his own father, and now he lives in poverty.
If He Xiaoli hadn't mentioned her in her letter, Lin Qingqing would have forgotten about her. But this has brought back her memories, and she feels only pleasure, not sympathy.
After reading He Xiaoli's letter, Lin Qingqing gave Xie Wei the letter written by Li Xingfang, and then opened Li Juan's letter.
Li Juan wrote this letter after Wu Haiyuan returned to his hometown and the two met. Beforehand, Li Juan had been a little apprehensive about the meeting, but once they actually met, she wasn't nervous at all. They were both quite satisfied with each other and arranged a second meeting after their first meeting.
Lin Qingqing glanced at the date the letter was written and thought that the two of them must have met a few times by now, but she wondered how things were going.
After reading Li Juan's letter, Lin Qingqing's expression relaxed considerably. She then chatted with Xie Wei, saying, "I wonder if the two of them can settle their relationship before Wu Haiyuan returns?"
Xie Wei said, "If things can't be settled, it's because Wu Haiyuan is too useless."
“How can you say he’s useless?” Lin Qingqing said.
“They’ve been corresponding for months, and they’re going home for a month this time, but they still can’t make a decision. What else can they be but useless?” Xie Wei said matter-of-factly. He and his wife had known each other for less than a month before they started dating.
Lin Qingqing said, "This only shows that the two people are cautious enough."
Xie Wei didn't like hearing that: "When we were dating, I was very careful, weren't you too?"
To be fair, Lin Qingqing was indeed taking things one step at a time when she was dating Xie Wei. She didn't think about a long-term relationship. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say she was impulsive, but it wasn't exactly a cautious one either.
But could Lin Qingqing answer like that?
Of course not!
So Lin Qingqing said, "How could that be? Of course I decided to date you after careful consideration."
Xie Wei was satisfied and concluded, "That means he's useless."
Lin Qingqing: "...Okay."
After reading the letter, Lin Qingqing asked Xie Wei what the letter from home said, and Xie Wei handed the letter directly to Lin Qingqing to read.
When they wrote back last time, they brought up the matter of bringing Li Xingfang over again. Li Xingfang had been hesitant before, but this time she agreed, saying that she would come to see them after the New Year when things at home were less hectic.
Lin Qingqing smiled broadly and said, "Then I'll prepare a room."
"There's no rush. If you come over, Mother will definitely write first," Xie Wei said.
Lin Qingqing thought, "That's true, but..."
"Um?"
"I'll find someone to make a quilt after the New Year," Lin Qingqing said thoughtfully.
They only brought two quilts with them when they came, and the other quilt they're using now was borrowed from Jiang Feng and his wife. Lin Qingqing has been buying some cotton lately; she can't do much else, but knitting a quilt shouldn't be a problem.
It's cold now, and Li Xingfang is an elderly woman, unlike Xie Baoshan who lives a simple life and can sleep on a thin blanket. If Li Xingfang comes over, the quilt she borrowed from Jiang Feng and his wife might not be returned to them in a short time.
Upon hearing Lin Qingqing mention this, Xie Wei remembered and said, "By the way, could you give me some money tomorrow?"
"Take the money yourself if you want it."
Lin Qingqing didn't deposit her money at the credit union; she kept it in boxes, and the keys were usually kept in a cabinet.
It wasn't that she lacked security awareness, but rather that the atmosphere was good at the time, and it was common to leave doors unlocked at night. Besides, this was a family compound, inhabited entirely by military families, and the gatekeepers were all soldiers; no one would be foolish enough to steal here. It was better to leave the key at home than to take it out and lose it.
Xie Wei knew where the key was hidden, so he would sometimes go and take the money himself, but he would usually tell Lin Qingqing before doing so. As for Lin Qingqing, although she managed the money, Xie Wei generally didn't spend it excessively, and she wouldn't ask too many questions.
So when Xie Wei asked this specifically, Lin Qingqing couldn't help but feel a little puzzled and asked, "How much money do you need? What's it for?"
Xie Wei stated the amount, which wasn't much, but it wasn't little either. As for the purpose, he said, "To buy cabinets."
"Buy a cabinet? Don't we already have cabinets at home? Why do you need to buy a cabinet?" Lin Qingqing said, pointing to the wooden wardrobe placed against the wall near the door.
Xie Wei explained, "It's not for us to use, it's for them to buy. Once I talked to him about the blankets, and he told me that he had extra blankets at home and didn't need to return them. I thought that since he said he didn't need to return them, we couldn't really not return them. We happened to have a voucher for a wardrobe, so we thought of buying them a wardrobe."
"That's possible, but do they want a wardrobe?" Lin Qingqing asked.
“He had told me before that the cabinet at home was broken and he wanted to replace it with a new one, but he probably didn’t say anything because he was afraid we would have to buy a new wardrobe. Now that we’ve moved to a new house, he saw that our wardrobe is about 70% new and started asking me about it.”
"You didn't give it to me back then?"
Xie Wei said, "I was thinking of just buying him a wardrobe, so I didn't. I'm going to the city tomorrow anyway, so I'll just drive there and buy the wardrobe."
With the blankets sorted out and the cotton collected, Lin Qingqing figured she only needed to have someone make one mattress full of cotton blankets before Li Xingfang returned, so she nodded and said, "Okay."
After discussing these matters, it was getting late. Lin Qingqing placed the letters she had finished reading on the dressing table. Since the postman wouldn't be working during the Lunar New Year, the letters definitely wouldn't be mailed anytime soon, so she wasn't in a hurry to write any more. She lay down on the bed and looked at Xie Wei, asking, "Aren't you going to sleep?"
Xie Wei, whose mind was wandering: "...I'm not sleepy."
"Then I'm going to sleep." Lin Qingqing turned over, turned her back to Xie Wei, and closed her eyes under the overhead light.
Before she could fall asleep, she felt delicate kisses fall behind her ear, and Xie Wei's voice rang out: "You're not allowed to sleep either."
His breath tickled her ear as he spoke, making Lin Qingqing cover her ear with her hand. She turned her head and looked at him with a smile: "Why won't you let me sleep?"
Xie Wei didn't speak, but lowered his head and covered her mouth with his.
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