Chapter 9
The two of them walked one after the other, like strangers, without exchanging a word.
From a distance, they saw He Qiming’s aunt haggling with a vendor, with Auntie Ye chiming in. Catching sight of the two of them out of the corner of her eye, she tugged on the aunt’s arm, and they started walking over.
“Hey, hey! Twenty cents it is, take it!” the stall owner shouted, seeing He Qiming’s aunt was really about to leave.
Auntie Ye glanced at He Qiming. Seeing his gentle expression and the smile in his eyes, she knew there was an eighty percent chance it was a done deal.
“Qingzhi, how did it go?” Auntie Ye asked softly.
“It was alright.” Ye Qingzhi nodded shyly and glanced at He Qiming. “Let’s go look around somewhere else.”
Knowing what she was concerned about, Auntie Ye also didn’t want their relationship to be exposed just yet. After a few words with He Qiming’s aunt, she left with Ye Qingzhi.
Watching her nephew’s gaze follow Ye Qingzhi, He Qiming’s aunt gave his arm a firm pat.
“Well? Wasn’t I right? Isn’t Qingzhi wonderful?” she asked smugly.
Ever since He Qiming’s divorce, she had been worried, constantly trying to find a suitable match for him.
She had looked all around. Among the unmarried girls, they were either too young or unwilling to be a stepmother. The main reason was that He Qiming hadn’t been promoted yet. If they had known he would be eligible to have his family join him at the base, she was sure plenty of women would have been eager to be his children’s stepmother.
He Qiming nodded. Ye Qingzhi’s eyes were clear and her words were frank. So far, his impression of her was very good.
He had one week left. He would try to find opportunities to spend more time with her. If all went well, he would submit a marriage report after the hundred-day mourning period for her ex-husband was over.
“Then you’d better be on your toes. Don’t think that just because Qingzhi is a widow, no one wants to marry her. There aren’t many women who are beautiful, virtuous, and steadfast,” his aunt reminded him.
“I know. I’ve got it under control.” He Qiming accidentally patted his pocket and froze for a moment. Oh no, I forgot to give the milk candies to Ye Qingzhi.
It’s alright, he thought. We’re meeting again tomorrow. I’ll bring some snacks then.
Meanwhile, Auntie Ye was also questioning Ye Qingzhi. “Qingzhi, tell me, what did you two talk about?”
“I asked him if he minded me bringing my children. He said he didn’t mind, and in fact, he thought it showed I was responsible. Then I asked him what his conditions were, and he said he just wanted someone to live a steady life with and be good to his two children,” Ye Qingzhi said with a faint smile.
Auntie Ye nodded repeatedly. “That’s good. You’re both interested. That’s great. What else did you talk about?”
“He asked me if I could read and write, and I… I said I could,” Ye Qingzhi said, feigning guilt.
Auntie Ye slapped her on the back, straightening her posture. “What’s there to feel guilty about? You can read. Come on, let’s go look over there.”
A faint smile touched the corners of Ye Qingzhi’s lips. With Auntie Ye as her witness, her literacy was now a confirmed fact in He Qiming’s eyes.
It was a good thing the original owner didn’t interact much with others, with Auntie Ye being her closest acquaintance. If she married He Qiming and joined him at the base with her children, when she returned a few years later, no one from her hometown would question her ability to read and write.
They walked around for a while, but Ye Qingzhi didn’t buy anything. She couldn’t. In the eyes of others, she was penniless.
Auntie Ye bought two blocks of tofu and gave one to Ye Qingzhi.
“Auntie, I can’t take this,” Ye Qingzhi quickly refused.
“It’s not for you; it’s for the two children. Take it. Look how thin you are. You and the children need to build up your strength.” Seeing Ye Qingzhi was about to refuse again, Auntie Ye unceremoniously put it in her basket. “Take it. And get along well with He Qiming. He has a high salary. After you marry him, you and the children will have a much better life.”
“Thank you, Auntie.” With tears in her eyes, Ye Qingzhi shamelessly accepted the tofu.
Ever since she had arrived in this world, Auntie Ye had helped her in countless ways. She would keep this kindness in her heart and would definitely repay it in the future if she had the chance.
Back at home, Ye Qingzhi saw the two children feeding the chickens. She waved them over, went inside, and closed the door. “Grandma Ye gave us this tofu. We’ll have boiled tofu for lunch.”
Fried tofu would be more delicious, but they didn’t have much oil left at home. She couldn’t bear to use it for frying tofu.
Wei Anjie swallowed, his eyes fixed on the tofu in her hand. “Mama, this tofu looks so white.”
Ye Qingzhi cut off two slices, one for each child. “Here, eat.”
“Mama, you eat,” Wei Anmin said, breaking off half his piece to offer to her.
She turned her head away. “I don’t like it. You eat it.”
Ye Qingzhi genuinely wasn’t a big fan of tofu. She always found it had a beany taste. She could manage a piece or two after it was cooked, but no more than that.
She poured a little soy sauce for them to dip it in, then went to change her clothes and deal with the Motherwort the boys had picked.
“Mama, did you meet the PLA uncle?” Wei Anjie asked, a bit of soy sauce still on the corner of his mouth, which he quickly licked off.
“I did. He’s just like Grandma Ye said, a very good person. He also said that when you go over, he will be good to you,” Ye Qingzhi said, not mentioning the matter of joining him at the base.
She was afraid that if the children let it slip, someone who didn’t want to see her do well would try to sabotage it. She was also worried that someone else might take a fancy to He Qiming and try to compete with her.
A twenty-nine-year-old deputy regimental commander who was also good-looking—setting aside the fact that his appearance was to her liking, his status alone made him the best match she could possibly find right now, perhaps the best she could find in this lifetime.
Don’t call her pragmatic. She had lived to be thirty in her past life, gone on countless blind dates, and with the internet, she had seen a lot. So, she knew very clearly what she wanted.
The next day, Ye Qingzhi woke up early, put on the same clothes she had worn yesterday, and braided her hair. After breakfast, she took the two children up the mountain.
“Qingzhi, going to pick wild vegetables again? You pick so much, can you even finish it all?” Auntie Li asked teasingly when she saw her.
“My family doesn’t earn many work-points. If I don’t stock up on wild vegetables, we won’t have enough to eat,” Ye Qingzhi said with a smile.
As usual, she didn’t take the two children deep into the mountains. Ye Qingzhi glanced at Niutou Ridge. He Qiming had said they would meet there, but he hadn’t specified where. It didn’t matter. She would look for medicinal herbs as she went up the mountain. He would surely be waiting in a conspicuous spot.
After climbing for about twenty minutes, she reached a point she hadn’t dared to go to before. Ye Qingzhi frowned. Could it be that He Qiming didn’t come?
After a short rest, she decided to climb a little further. If she still didn’t see him, she would give up. She didn’t dare go too deep.
After another three or four minutes of climbing, Ye Qingzhi used a wooden stick to tap the grass, making sure there were no snakes before proceeding.
She rounded a bend and saw a small platform ahead. Standing there, one could gaze into the distance, a truly refreshing sight.
Ye Qingzhi couldn’t help but stop to admire the natural scenery. Suddenly, she heard a rustling sound. A little frightened, she turned around and saw He Qiming emerging from a dense thicket, carrying two wild rabbits.
“Comrade Ye,” He Qiming said with some embarrassment. “I was originally waiting for you at the bend, but I saw two rabbits and couldn’t resist chasing after them. Have you been here long?”
Ye Qingzhi shook her head. “No, I just arrived a moment ago.”
With He Qiming here, Ye Qingzhi immediately felt a sense of security. She found a spot to sit down and patted the space next to her. “Sit. Don’t call me Comrade Ye. Just call me Qingzhi.”
“Alright, Qingzhi. You can just call me Qiming.” He Qiming tied the two rabbits together and tossed them into her basket.
“You put them in the wrong one. This is my basket.” Of course, Ye Qingzhi knew he hadn’t made a mistake, but this was only their second meeting. How could she accept such a valuable gift?
“I just went into the mountains the day before yesterday and caught several rabbits and pheasants. My family can’t possibly eat them all. Please do me a favor and help me with some of them,” He Qiming said with a smile.
In these times, no family would complain about having too much meat. Ye Qingzhi was about to refuse again, but meeting He Qiming’s sincere gaze, she changed her mind. “Then I’ll take one. Two is too many.”
Knowing that if he pushed further, she wouldn’t take any, He Qiming had no choice but to take the smaller rabbit and put it in his own basket.
“Have you been to this place before?” He Qiming asked, looking at the slowly rising sun.
Ye Qingzhi shook her head. “First time. I don’t dare come too deep by myself. I’m afraid of running into wild animals.”
He Qiming nodded. “You’re right to be worried. I saw some wild boar droppings just now. Forget a woman like you, even I would be scared if I ran into a full-grown wild boar.”
“We left in a hurry yesterday. I still don’t know how old your two children are,” Ye Qingzhi said, deciding to change the subject.
They were both on their second marriage and both had children. Starting from this angle would give them more to talk about, help them understand each other faster, and deepen their connection.
“Like you, I have two sons. The older one is He Jingyan, eight this year. The younger one is He Jingyang, three this year. What about your two children? What are their names, and how old are they?” He Qiming asked in return.
“My older one is Wei Anmin, seven this year. The younger one is Anjie, six.” Ye Qingzhi silently changed their surnames in her mind. He Anmin, He Anjie. It sounded pretty good.
In the original novel, Wei Jiancheng and Su Mengwan only had one daughter, the female lead Su Nuan. Even so, he had still caused the deaths of the original owner’s two sons. Since he didn’t care about them, then he could have none of them. She would just change the children’s surnames.
But she would have to ask the children first to see if they were willing to take the surname He. If not, they could take her surname, Ye. In any case, they couldn’t keep the surname Wei from Wei Jiancheng. It was disgusting.
“My aunt said your two sons are well-behaved and sensible. My children… the younger one is very good, but the older one doesn’t talk much.” At the mention of He Jingyan, He Qiming felt a bit of a headache.
He Jingyan was his comrade’s son. The comrade had sacrificed his life to save him. His parents had passed away long ago, and his wife had run off with someone else, so he had adopted the child.
At the time, he had many missions and couldn’t take care of the child, so he had sent him back to his hometown to be raised by his ex-wife.
He hadn’t expected that his ex-wife, who was already prone to causing trouble, would secretly abuse the child. That was the main reason for their divorce.
“Doesn’t talk much? It’s alright. Every child has their own personality. Some are lively and outgoing, while others are gentle and introverted. You can’t think he’s a bad child just because he doesn’t talk much. It might also be because you haven’t spent much time with him. Once you’re at the base and get to know each other better, maybe you’ll become a father and son who can talk about anything,” Ye Qingzhi said with a smile.
Looking at her gentle smile, He Qiming’s gaze softened even more. “I’m not very good at taking care of children. This difficult task might require your help.”
Ye Qingzhi felt a flush from his intense gaze. She turned her head away, her cheeks slightly red. “How long is your leave this time? When are you going back to the base?”
“I took half a month’s leave this time, mainly to see my parents and children. I didn’t expect… that coming back this time was the right decision,” He Qiming continued his advance.
Ye Qingzhi shot him a sideways glance. “You know I can’t discuss marriage until after the hundred-day mourning period.”
“My aunt told me that before the blind date. I have one week left before I have to go back to the base. We can write letters in the meantime. After the hundred-day period is over, I’ll submit the marriage report.” He Qiming carefully took her hand. “Qingzhi, are you… willing to be with me?”
Ye Qingzhi didn’t play any games with him. That was for young people. In their situation, they should be direct.
“I think my actions have already made it quite clear.”