Chapter 22 p2
Before long, the bed was made. He Qiming told Ye Qingzhi to lie down and rest. But she had been traveling all day and was covered in dust. How could she lie down?
Fortunately, the weather was good today and not too cold. So He Qiming went to get two thermoses of water for Ye Qingzhi to take a bath first, change into clean clothes, and then go to sleep.
“Then I’ll lie down for a while. Wake me up in an hour,” Ye Qingzhi said. She really couldn’t hold on any longer. After telling He Qiming, she lay down in the fragrant and warm quilt.
The few children, however, were full of energy. After eating the apples, they helped He Qiming pack up, then went to take a bath and change their clothes.
“You play in the yard by yourselves. I’m going to get dinner,” He Qiming said, taking the lunchboxes and going out.
Although the kitchen had been cleaned, they were still missing some things. They would eat at the canteen today and start cooking tomorrow.
Not long after He Qiming left, Li Jinfeng and Li Hanxing came to visit.
“Jingyan, where are your parents and your younger brothers?” Li Jinfeng asked, only seeing He Jingyan when she entered.
“Dad went to the canteen to get dinner. My younger brothers are in the backyard counting apples…” He hesitated for a moment, then continued, “Mama is carsick and is resting in the room.”
“Counting apples? What apples?” Li Jinfeng immediately focused on the key point.
Li Hanxing pulled Li Jinfeng aside and whispered in her ear, “Regiment Commander He’s yard has two apple trees in the backyard. If you like, we can also plant two in our yard.”
This yard has fruit trees? Li Jinfeng had wanted to ask Li Hanxing why he hadn’t chosen this yard, but then she remembered that He Qiming’s rank was higher than Li Hanxing’s. She could only say “alright” dejectedly.
The apples on their apple trees were already hanging full on the branches. If her family planted them this year, they would have to wait at least until the year after next to bear fruit.
“I told you to come earlier, but you didn’t. Otherwise, this yard would be ours,” Li Hanxing shot Li Jinfeng a sideways glance.
He had asked Li Jinfeng to join him at the base a long time ago, but she had been reluctant to part with the few work points back home and had dragged it out until this year. The good yards had already been taken.
Li Jinfeng glared back defiantly. If it weren’t for having a son, she wouldn’t have bothered to come here. How could this place be as comfortable as back home?
“Uncle Li, Auntie Li, please sit down for a while. I’ll go call my ma,” He Jingyan said. This “ma” was obviously much more natural than the last time.
“No need. Let your ma rest. I just wanted to thank Regiment Commander He and his wife for taking care of my wife and children,” Li Hanxing said, putting down a bag of things, which contained pastries and brown sugar.
Ye Qingzhi had already woken up when Li Jinfeng called out. She was a little dazed at first, and it took her a while to realize that she was now in the Northwest.
Hearing them talk, Ye Qingzhi quickly got up and got dressed. She simply tied her hair up and lifted the curtain to go out.
“Sister Jinfeng,” Ye Qingzhi said with an embarrassed smile. “I’m not good with cars. I was planning to just lie down for a bit, but I didn’t expect it to be almost dark. This must be your husband, right? Please sit down for a while. We just arrived today, and the house is still a mess. We don’t even have a teacup.”
“My house is the same. That’s why I said I would come to visit tomorrow, but my husband insisted on coming to thank you for taking care of me on the way,” Li Jinfeng said with a quick smile.
Ye Qingzhi looked at Li Hanxing. He was a little over 1.7 meters tall, with dark skin, thick eyebrows, and big eyes. He looked like a very proper person.
“It wasn’t us who took care of Sister Jinfeng. On the train, it was thanks to Sister Jinfeng’s righteous help. And later, we just helped each other,” Ye Qingzhi said. Seeing the things on the table, she pretended to be displeased. “You should take these things back. Isn’t this a slap in our face?”
Since they had brought the things, they certainly couldn’t take them back. Li Jinfeng also invited Ye Qingzhi’s family to her house for dinner the next day.
After going back and forth for a while, Ye Qingzhi really couldn’t refuse Li Jinfeng and could only accept the things. She would just prepare a return gift later.
After seeing them to the door, she saw He Qiming coming back with dinner.
“Old Li, what are you doing here? Have you eaten? Let’s eat together,” He Qiming said, lifting the lunchboxes in his hand.
“No, we’ve already eaten. Our Jinfeng said that it was thanks to your care on the way here. I came specially to say thank you. The two children are still at home, so we’ll go back first and not disturb your dinner,” Li Hanxing said, then very astutely took Li Jinfeng and left.
When He Qiming entered the house and saw the things on the table, he frowned. “This Old Li… It’s fine. Keep them. We’ll just return a similar gift later.”
“That’s what I was thinking too,” Ye Qingzhi said, going to get chopsticks and bowls. “Why didn’t you call me? Did you pack up everything by yourself?”
“No, the few children helped a lot. Jingyan, why are you the only one? Where are your younger brothers? Call them for dinner,” He Qiming said, looking around and not seeing the little ones.
“They’re all in the backyard counting apples. I’ll go call them,” He Jingyan said, glancing at Ye Qingzhi. He wondered if she had heard him call her “Ma” in the living room.
This place was different from their hometown. The staple food back home was rice, while here it was wheat-based food. But it wasn’t that Ye Qingzhi and the others couldn’t eat wheat-based food.
Looking at the steamed buns, which were as big as a bowl, Ye Qingzhi was quite craving them.
“Mm, these steamed buns are more delicious than the ones back home,” Ye Qingzhi said, taking a bite, her eyes lighting up.
“The variety of wheat is different, and the way they’re made is also different. If you like them, eat more,” He Qiming said with a smile, seeing that Ye Qingzhi liked them.
“Mama, what’s for dinner?” Ye Anjie rushed in from the back door.
“Mama, what’s for dinner?” Yangyang was purely a parrot.
He now liked Anjie brother the most. Wherever he went, Yangyang would go too, and he would copy whatever he said and did.
The two older ones were much more mature, especially He Jingyan, who was becoming more and more like a big brother.
“We’re having big steamed buns, and meat, and cabbage,” Ye Qingzhi said. Worried that there wouldn’t be enough food, she scooped out some more chili sauce and mushroom sauce.
During the meal, seeing that He Jingyan wasn’t eating any meat, Ye Qingzhi gave him two pieces. She didn’t say things like “don’t be polite” or “make yourself at home.” Instead, she just lectured him like her own son, “Jingyan, you’re still growing. Eat more meat. Don’t always let your younger brothers have it.”
Seeing the other three looking at her, Ye Qingzhi shot them a sideways glance. “What are you doing? Hurry up and eat. Don’t bully your older brother just because he doesn’t talk much. Especially you, Anjie.”
Don’t think she didn’t know. Anjie had put some of the things from his basket into He Jingyan’s and Ye Anmin’s baskets. He was also the laziest at work. He wouldn’t do the work assigned to him properly, and in the end, it was He Jingyan and Ye Anmin who helped him.
“He didn’t bully me,” He Jingyan quickly explained, seeing Ye Anjie’s wrinkled face.
He actually quite liked it when Ye Anjie came to him for help. It made him feel that Anjie really treated him as a big brother.
Ye Qingzhi frowned. Could He Jingyan have that Stockholm syndrome?
If there was nothing else to do, she would have to pay more attention to He Jingyan. Although he wasn’t her biological son, he was now her son. She had just heard him call her “Ma.” She had to care for him and couldn’t just ignore him.
“Hurry up and eat. After you’ve eaten, go to bed. We’ll go shopping tomorrow morning,” Ye Qingzhi said, giving each of them another piece of meat, including He Qiming. Of course, she also ate some herself.
After eating, Ye Qingzhi sent the few children to wash up. She and He Qiming packed up together.
“Sister Jinfeng’s husband is a battalion commander. How can he apply for his family to join him?” If Ye Qingzhi remembered correctly, He Qiming had said that he could only apply for his family to join him this year when he reached the right rank.
He Qiming had thought Ye Qingzhi wouldn’t ask, but she had held it in until now.
He chuckled lightly. “This is considered a remote area. Company-level cadres can apply for their families to join them. The reason I said I couldn’t was because I didn’t want to bring Xu Baoli over.”
One, Xu Baoli’s temper was too bad. He Qiming was worried she would argue or even fight with the other military wives.
Second, and most importantly, Xu Baoli had someone she liked in her heart.
When they first got married, He Qiming had thought that their relationship was not good because they were living apart and didn’t see each other often, which was understandable. But her various actions after she got pregnant showed that she didn’t like him at all and even disliked the child in her belly.
Xu Baoli thought she was hiding it well, but He Qiming was not a fool. On the contrary, he was a very perceptive person. So he had silently torn up the application and had told people that he was not qualified to apply.
He Qiming waited for a while, but Ye Qingzhi didn’t continue to ask. He was a little confused.
He hadn’t wanted to talk about these things at first, but he and Ye Qingzhi were already married and liked each other. If she asked, he would tell her everything without reservation.
Seeing his confused look, Ye Qingzhi smiled and pinched his cheek with her wet index finger. “Are you surprised why I’m not asking?”
He Qiming nodded.
Ye Qingzhi chuckled lightly. “We’re not blank slates. We all have a past. Let the past be the past. Why dig into it? Qiming, I only know that we’re together now, and I only want to create a beautiful future with you.”
“That’s right. Now and in the future, it will be us together.” Hearing these words, He Qiming felt a rush of hot blood, his heart pounding like a drum.
After washing the dishes, Ye Qingzhi washed up and lay down on the bed again. She had taken a nap in the afternoon and was actually fine, but the biological clock she had developed these past few months was kicking in, and she was a little sleepy at this hour.
In a daze, she felt someone get into the quilt. The coldness of his body made her shiver, and she became a little more awake.
Ye Qingzhi turned her head and saw He Qiming lying next to her. She looked around but didn’t see the children.
“Where are the children?” Ye Qingzhi asked.
“They’re sleeping in the other room,” He Qiming said, hugging Ye Qingzhi, his breathing gradually becoming heavier.
Ye Qingzhi turned to her side. “Yangyang is still young. He should sleep with us.”
“No need. Yangyang used to sleep with Jingyan back home. With three older brothers looking after him, you don’t have to worry about him. Wife, you took a nap in the afternoon. Are you feeling better?” He Qiming asked gently.
Ye Qingzhi’s mind was a little muddled. She didn’t react and just nodded. “Much better. But you, you’ve been traveling and busy all day. You must be exhausted. You should get some rest. You have to work tomorrow.”
“As long as you’re not tired.” He Qiming’s hands slowly started to get restless.
“Ah, you…” Ye Qingzhi’s bottom was pinched. She quickly reached out to grab He Qiming’s wrist, but then the upper part of her body was unguarded. Her face flushed. “You, mm…”
Ye Qingzhi herself was a virgin. Although she had the original host’s memories, this was her first time in practice.
He Qiming was actually a little confused. Qingzhi was already a mother of two. Why was her reaction as shy as a young girl’s? In the end, he attributed it to Qingzhi having been alone for too long.
In any case, the two of them had a wonderful night.
The next day, when Ye Qingzhi opened her eyes, the sky outside was bright. She propped herself up and sat up. The spot next to her was cold, which meant He Qiming had been gone for a long time.
As she was in a daze, she saw He Qiming come in, wearing his training uniform.
“Wife, you’re awake? I brought back breakfast. Hurry up and eat while it’s hot,” He Qiming said, his eyes full of a tenderness that could melt.
Ye Qingzhi shot him a glare. “You go out first. I need to get dressed.”
He Qiming didn’t leave. He came over and hugged Ye Qingzhi, kissing her. “What part of you haven’t I seen? What’s there to be shy about? Do you want me to help you get dressed?”
“Get lost.” Ye Qingzhi pinched his waist. “How did you become so shameless?”
He Qiming nibbled on Ye Qingzhi’s earlobe. “Why should I be shy with my own wife? I won’t tease you anymore. I’ll go check on the few children. You hurry up and get dressed.”
The few children didn’t know why, but they felt that after one night, the atmosphere between their father and mother had become very strange. How to describe it? Right, clingy.
Especially their father. He would follow their mother wherever she went. He was so clingy, even more so than Yangyang.