Chapter 36
Ye Qingzhi and He Jingyan’s eyes lit up at the same time, and they looked up in disbelief.
“I heard Jingyan had a high fever, so I rushed back immediately. Is he alright?” He Qiming touched He Jingyan’s forehead. It wasn’t very hot. He breathed a slight sigh of relief, then turned and squatted down. “Get on. Dad will carry you.”
He Jingyan shook his head. His father had just returned from a mission. He must be very tired. He couldn’t be a burden to his father anymore.
“Let me carry him,” Ye Qingzhi said, looking at the travel-worn He Qiming and pulling He Jingyan to her side.
“I’m not tired, really. I rested in the car on the way back.” Seeing his wife and son so concerned about him, He Qiming felt warm inside. He grabbed He Jingyan’s arm and, with a flip of his hand, carried him on his back. “Let’s go. It’s cold outside. Let’s hurry back.”
“Wait a minute.” Ye Qingzhi took out a piece of clothing and covered He Jingyan with it. He had just had an IV drip and had also sweated a little. It was better not to be exposed to the wind.
The two of them walked side by side. Ye Qingzhi couldn’t ask about his mission, so she only asked if he was injured.
“I’m really fine. Don’t worry,” He Qiming said, looking at the dark circles under Ye Qingzhi’s eyes, his heart aching. “I have two days off this time, so I can spend more time with you at home. In a few days, I’ll lead a team into the mountains to hunt. We’ll catch more prey then, so you and the children can eat more and nourish your bodies.”
“We have meat to eat,” Ye Qingzhi said, telling He Qiming about how Yang Xiaorou had helped her buy yak meat. “Fifteen whole catties, and also half a cow’s heart. It’s all frozen in the water vat in the backyard now. I also made beef porridge in the afternoon. There’s still some left at home. You can have a bowl later to fill your stomach.”
He Qiming remembered that Yang Xiaorou had said that a herdsman’s family was going to slaughter a yak. Fifteen catties was not a small amount, but it was definitely not enough to eat freely. So he still had to hunt.
Ye Qingzhi was very content. If it had been when she had just transmigrated, she might have thought that fifteen catties of meat was not much. But she had done farm work in the countryside for more than three months and had only eaten a few meals of meat thanks to He Qiming. So she knew very well how valuable these fifteen catties of yak meat were.
To put it another way, the city dwellers now had a ration of only half a catty of meat per person per month, which was only six catties a year. You could see how precious meat was now.
Back at home, Ye Qingzhi saw that He Jingyan’s complexion was much better. She let him choose whether to lie down or warm himself by the fire in the living room.
“I want to warm myself by the fire with my younger brothers here.” He hadn’t been able to lie down in the afternoon, but he hadn’t gotten up because he was afraid Ye Qingzhi would worry.
“Go on. Anmin, go get some peanuts, sweet potato strips, and chestnuts. Put a grill on top, and you can roast them to fill your stomachs first. I’ll go and cook now.” They had only had porridge in the afternoon. The few children must be hungry.
“I’ll do it,” He Qiming said, chasing Ye Qingzhi to the kitchen.
“No need for you. You go and warm yourself by the fire with the children,” Ye Qingzhi said. Although she didn’t know what He Qiming’s mission was, a secret mission must be dangerous. How could she let him do housework right after he had finished a mission?
Ye Qingzhi first heated up the beef porridge and brought it to He Qiming, then went back to the kitchen to wash the rice and cook. She stir-fried the dried cabbage that He Qiming liked, and also made a chili-fried beef and a leek and bean sprout dish.
The leeks were a gift from Li Guifang. She had planted several pots in her house. The bean sprouts were sprouted from soybeans by Li Jinfeng herself, and she had given Ye Qingzhi a large basin.
Ye Qingzhi had been busy taking care of He Jingyan today and hadn’t returned the favor. It just so happened that He Qiming was back. She would go to the town tomorrow. She had ordered a block of tofu last time and had asked the tofu seller to help her make it into frozen tofu. She would give a bowl to both Li Jinfeng and Li Guifang as a return gift, and also pick up the finished leather coat.
The weather was getting colder and colder recently. A cotton-padded jacket was really not enough to keep out the cold. A leather coat would definitely be able to. In any case, she was not cold at all when she walked outside in her leather boots.
Seeing the leek and bean sprout dish Ye Qingzhi brought out, He Qiming asked in surprise, “Where did this come from?”
In the winter in the Northwest, besides cabbage and radishes, it was not easy to eat other fresh vegetables.
“The leeks were grown by Sister Guifang herself, and the bean sprouts were sprouted by Sister Jinfeng. Didn’t we also bring a dozen or so catties of soybeans? I’ll learn how to sprout bean sprouts from Sister Jinfeng later, so we can have another fresh vegetable,” Ye Qingzhi said, giving each of the few children a chopstickful of bean sprouts and He Qiming two chopstickfuls. There was not much left of the plate of leek and bean sprouts.
“You eat too,” He Qiming said, taking a chopstickful from his own bowl and giving it to Ye Qingzhi. “Don’t always think of me. This mission was not dangerous, nor was it hard.”
Although he said that, when they went back to the room, Ye Qingzhi still made He Qiming take off his clothes to check if he was injured.
“I’m really not injured,” He Qiming said. He didn’t think Ye Qingzhi was being nosy at all. On the contrary, he was very happy. Finally, there was someone who would worry about whether he was injured.
He had been a soldier since he was a teenager and had not been in contact with his family for several years. Later, when he went home to visit, his parents were more concerned about his salary, whether he had been promoted, and whether he could bring benefits to the family.
After he got married, he had thought he would finally have someone who cared about him, but Xu Baoli was cold to him. Later, he found out that she already had someone in her heart and did not like him at all.
It was only now that he finally had a wife who would worry and care about him.
“Wife, I’m really fine. I just missed you. I missed you very much,” He Qiming said, hugging Ye Qingzhi and gently kissing her red lips, whispering.
Ye Qingzhi’s face flushed. She raised her hand to press against his chest. “Hurry up and put your clothes back on. Don’t catch a cold.”
He could stand shirtless in the snow without any problem. To catch a cold just from taking off his clothes at home would be a joke.
But his wife was concerned about him. He certainly would not go against his wife’s wishes. He put on his undershirt and coat and hugged Ye Qingzhi again. “Wait for me on the heated brick bed. I’ll go take a shower. I’ll be back soon.”
Seeing his almost green-glowing eyes, Ye Qingzhi instantly understood. She shot him a look. “Hurry up and go.”
She really didn’t know where He Qiming got his energy. He had just returned from a mission, yet he still fooled around until the middle of the night. If Ye Qingzhi hadn’t said she had to go and see if He Jingyan had a fever, He Qiming would probably have wanted to continue.
After a while, He Qiming changed the bedsheets. Seeing Ye Qingzhi come back, he took the coat she had taken off and covered her feet with it. “Is Jingyan alright?”
“He’s fine. The fever has finally gone down,” Ye Qingzhi said, taking off her coat and lying down in He Qiming’s arms. “I’ll go with you to the town tomorrow to pick up the custom-made leather coat, and also the frozen tofu I ordered. It’s best to put some frozen tofu in a stew. After we get back from the town, we’ll take Jingyan to Dr. Hu for a pulse check. His face is sallow. I hope there are no lingering problems.”
“Alright. It just so happens that you also need a follow-up visit,” He Qiming agreed without a second thought.
The next day, Ye Qingzhi got up, holding her waist, and shot He Qiming an angry glare. He himself didn’t feel it and thought he had been very gentle. In fact, his hands were very heavy. Her waist must be bruised.
“Does it hurt a lot?” He Qiming lifted her clothes to have a look. “Is it bruised? I didn’t use any force.”
“That’s what you think.” At first, he had just been holding her. But later, when he got excited, he had unconsciously used some force. Of course, it was bruised.
He Qiming held down Ye Qingzhi, who was about to get up, and went to get some medicinal wine. “I’ll rub it for you. It’ll be fine in a day or two. Otherwise, it’ll be bruised for a long time.”
“Hiss, be gentle, be gentle,” Ye Qingzhi said, unable to stand He Qiming’s strength.
He Qiming used two-tenths less force. “How about this?”
“This is alright. Hiss, haha, it tickles. It’s too light, it tickles,” Ye Qingzhi said with a laugh, trying to dodge.
“Alright, hurry up and get dressed. I’ll go to the canteen to get food,” He Qiming said, kissing Ye Qingzhi and turning to leave.
It was a coincidence. Yang Xiaorou was also going to the town. She was going to see if there was any pork fat.
“Rapeseed oil and soybean oil are not as fragrant as lard. By the way, have you had lard mixed with rice? It’s so fragrant. My Old Shen loves it the most,” Yang Xiaorou said, pushing He Qiming to the front passenger seat, planning to sit in the back with Ye Qingzhi.
“Wife, is it alright to sit in the back?” He Qiming had originally planned to have Ye Qingzhi sit in the front, but with the addition of Yang Xiaorou, it would be a bit strange for the two of them to sit in the back.
“It’s fine as long as I’m by the window,” Ye Qingzhi said, opening the window a little. The car had just started, and she didn’t feel uncomfortable. “I know about lard mixed with rice. I just never had the chance to eat it.”
The original host was a transparent person in her parents’ home. It was already good enough to be able to eat her fill. Lard mixed with rice was something she wouldn’t dare to think of.
After she got married, she had just gotten pregnant when the family split. When life got a little better, Wei Jiancheng had found a way to go to the Third Front as a temporary worker. It was hard to even eat her fill, let alone lard mixed with rice.
“I’m sorry,” Yang Xiaorou said, thinking of Ye Qingzhi’s family background, and quickly apologized.
Because of Ye Qingzhi’s appearance and temperament, people often forgot that she was from a poor peasant background.
“It’s fine. You can teach me how to make it later. It sounds delicious,” Ye Qingzhi said with a smile. She glanced at Wang Heng and He Qiming and leaned over to whisper in Yang Xiaorou’s ear, “Where can I buy pork fat? The black market?”
“Shh.” Yang Xiaorou also glanced at Wang Heng and He Qiming and whispered, “Do you want some too? If there is, I’ll buy more and give you some.”
Wang Heng and He Qiming in the front row were very helpless. You two can whisper, but can you not keep stealing glances at them?
Besides, their hearing was very good. Although Ye Qingzhi and the others were speaking very softly, they could still hear them.
“Thank you, Xiaorou. I want to ask you something. Do you know Cao Liya and Ye Qiao from the hospital? And there’s another nurse with a melon-seed-shaped face, fair skin, and pretty features. I heard people call her Nurse Cao.” Since she had run into her, she might as well ask.
“You ran into them?” After asking, Yang Xiaorou remembered that He Jingyan had gone to the hospital for a shot because of a fever. It was normal for Ye Qingzhi to run into them. “First, let’s talk about Ye Qiao. She’s a senior nurse with a kind temper. Her husband is an orthopedic doctor. They have two children, who are not in the army. I’m not sure what they do. They should still be in school.”
“What about Cao Liya and Nurse Cao?” Ye Qingzhi pressed.
“The Nurse Cao you’re talking about should be Cao Liyan. From their names, you can tell that she and Cao Liya are sisters. Cao Liyan is the older sister. She has pretty features and also has a job, so she’s a bit arrogant,” Yang Xiaorou said, pouting at the mention of the word “arrogant.”
Two sisters? Then why was one so fond of her, and the other so hostile?
“Do they have any connection with me? Especially Cao Liyan,” Ye Qingzhi asked directly, not hiding anything.
Yang Xiaorou was taken aback for a moment, then stole a glance at He Qiming and whispered in Ye Qingzhi’s ear, “After Regiment Commander He got divorced, many people wanted to introduce him to a match. Bai Xue once wanted to introduce Cao Liyan to Regiment Commander He, but don’t worry, Regiment Commander He refused without even looking.”
So they had been on a blind date. No, they hadn’t even met. It was just that the woman had the intention, and He Qiming had already directly refused.
And Cao Liyan was being sarcastic to her because of this? Is she crazy?
Yang Xiaorou looked at Ye Qingzhi in confusion. “Did that Cao Liyan say something?”
“I’ll tell you slowly when we get home,” Ye Qingzhi said, glancing at the two men in the front row and whispering.
Yang Xiaorou nodded. “Alright. Are you not feeling well? If you’re not feeling well, don’t talk. Just lean back and rest.”
Perhaps because she hadn’t slept well for two consecutive nights, Ye Qingzhi was not very good with cars today. She nodded at Yang Xiaorou, closed her eyes to rest, and did not dare to speak again.
Finally, they arrived at the town. Yang Xiaorou was worried that the pork fat would be snatched up, so she said a word to Ye Qingzhi and then left in a hurry.
He Qiming helped Ye Qingzhi out of the car. The cold wind blew on her, and she instantly sobered up.
“That Cao Liyan, I’ve never even met her,” He Qiming said, holding Ye Qingzhi’s hand tightly, afraid that she would misunderstand.
Ye Qingzhi chuckled lightly. “I know. Let’s go, let’s go get our things.”