Chapter 55
Ye Qingzhi didn’t go to the hospital. It wasn’t until He Qiming came back from work that she learned about Li Hanxing’s condition.
It wasn’t serious, just a superficial wound. He would be fine after a couple of days of rest.
“It’s good that he’s fine. Was the wolf pack large this time? How did he get injured?” Ye Qingzhi couldn’t help but feel a lingering fear, thinking of how the children often played there.
“There were about thirty of them. Old Li was worried the wolf pack would run down the mountain and hurt the families, so he was a bit hesitant. He was just scratched a little. It looks serious, but it’s not a big problem,” she said. To them, Li Hanxing’s injury was really nothing.
But Li Jinfeng was terrified. She didn’t go to work the next day and took leave to stay at home and take care of Li Hanxing. When Ye Qingzhi, Gu Yao, and the others went to visit, her eyes were red and swollen. She had clearly been crying.
“Jinfeng, you’re pregnant. Don’t be too sad,” Gu Yao said, holding Li Jinfeng’s hand and comforting her in a low voice.
“I heard from Qiming that it’s not very serious. Where is he hurt?” Ye Qingzhi asked, putting down two cans of yellow peaches and pulling a chair to sit down.
“He has a few scratches on his right arm, and a piece of flesh was bitten off his left leg. Fortunately, the bone wasn’t injured,” Li Jinfeng said. Seeing the things they had brought, she pretended to be displeased. “You came, but why did you bring things?”
“They’re not valuable, just some food for Battalion Commander Li to recuperate. You should also eat some. Why do you look so thin again?” Yang Xiaorou asked, seeing Li Jinfeng’s pale face and couldn’t help but nag.
Li Jinfeng hadn’t expected to have so many things happen during this pregnancy. First, she herself was injured. Then, just as she had recovered, Li Hanxing was injured like this.
And because she was getting older, this pregnancy was more tiring than the previous four. Before, she had been working in the fields until she was almost due and had been fine. This time, she was just sitting in an office, and she felt uncomfortable all over after a day’s work.
“You should ask for leave from the cotton factory and have the baby at home first. Your family is not short of your little bit of salary. The child is the most important thing now,” Gu Yao said, looking at Li Jinfeng’s slightly bulging belly and persuading her.
Li Jinfeng was not someone who didn’t listen to reason. Everyone was doing it for her own good. And Li Hanxing also did not approve of her going to work now.
After thinking it over and over, she decided to follow everyone’s advice and ask for a long leave from the cotton factory. She would go back to work after the child was born.
It just so happened that Li Yang’s job had not been arranged yet. She might as well take Li Jinfeng’s position first. When Li Jinfeng went back to work, they could arrange a job for Li Yang then.
Two days later, He Qiming and Shen Qingyuan went on a mission together. They said it was to deliver something. The specifics could not be said, and Ye Qingzhi would not ask. She only knew that this mission was not dangerous, and that was enough.
“Qingzhi, you don’t seem very worried this time. You’ve grown up so fast!” Li Jinfeng teased.
“I’m still a little worried. By the way, is your Old Li on patrol in the mountains again?” Ye Qingzhi asked, her hands still knitting a sweater.
A wolf pack had appeared in the back mountain, and the army was taking it very seriously. They would send people to patrol every few days, afraid that wild animals would hurt the military dependents.
“Yes. The children love to play there. We were really lucky last time. Wenshu and the others ran into wolf cubs. If they had run into a wolf pack, who knows what would have happened to the children. Oh my, I’m scared just thinking about it,” Li Jinfeng said with lingering fear.
Not to mention, Ye Qingzhi was also scared when she thought about it. That was a wolf pack in the Northwest. Even an ordinary adult man would not be able to escape if he ran into one, let alone a few children.
“They’re sending people to patrol every few days now. It should be safe,” Yang Xiaorou said, putting down her yarn and rubbing her arms to stretch. “I wonder when Old Shen and the others will be back.”
“Qiming said ten days to half a month. They’ll be back soon,” Ye Qingzhi said, putting away her needles and letting out a long sigh of relief. After knitting for more than a month, this sweater was finally finished.
“Is it finished?” Yang Xiaorou asked, taking the sweater, shaking it out, and comparing it. “It’s so beautiful. You should hurry up and try it on.”
It was a pink cable-knit pullover sweater, loose and lazy, soft and glutinous. Ye Qingzhi’s skin was already fair. After putting on this sweater, she looked a degree brighter and also very gentle, stunningly beautiful.
“It’s so beautiful. Qingzhi, will mine be this beautiful after it’s knitted?” Yang Xiaorou suddenly felt full of energy.
“Of course. Yours is also very beautiful,” Ye Qingzhi nodded with certainty.
Beside her, Li Jinfeng looked at Ye Qingzhi, then at Yang Xiaorou. She really wanted to say that the clothes being beautiful was one thing, but the most important thing was the person wearing them. Ye Qingzhi was good-looking. Even a piece of sackcloth would look good on her.
But Yang Xiaorou was not bad-looking either. A pink sweater might not be as stunning on her as on Ye Qingzhi, but it would not be ugly.
Gu Yao, on the other hand, thought of Li Yang. It had been more than a year since Qi Aiguo had died. Li Yang was still young. She should find someone new and start a new life, just like Ye Qingzhi. Look at how enjoyable her life was.
“Qingzhi, what color and style do you think is suitable for Yangyang? I’ll knit one for her. She can wear new clothes to go on a blind date later. If you have any suitable matches, you should also help introduce them,” Gu Yao said with a smile.
“You’re such a good sister-in-law. But have you asked Yangyang about introducing a match?” Yang Xiaorou asked. She felt that Li Yang was not very keen on remarrying.
“She said I could decide,” Gu Yao said with a worried look.
Yang Xiaorou nodded in understanding. Gu Yao must have mentioned it several times, so Li Yang had simply told her to decide. In reality, she still didn’t want to find someone. Otherwise, Li Yang would not be so perfunctory.
“You can’t rush this kind of thing. Yangyang is working at the cotton factory now. Maybe she’ll meet someone suitable herself sometime,” Ye Qingzhi said, comforting her.
She could also see that Li Yang had no intention of finding a partner now. It would be useless even if they introduced someone.
Ten days later, He Qiming had not yet returned, but there was no bad news, which was the greatest good news.
“Sister-in-law, there’s a letter for you here,” Little Liu said, handing the letter to Ye Qingzhi.
“Thank you. Have you eaten? You can just have something at my place for lunch,” Ye Qingzhi said, stuffing a handful of melon seeds into his pocket.
“No need. I’ll just eat at the canteen. Sister-in-law, if there’s nothing else, I’ll be going now,” Little Liu said, waving his hands repeatedly. After confirming that Ye Qingzhi had no other instructions, he saluted her, turned, and ran off.
Ye Anmin peeked his head over. “Is it a letter from Grandpa and Grandma?”
“Yes,” Ye Qingzhi said, opening the letter. She couldn’t help but sneer after reading just a few lines.
He Dali and Yang Fuzhen were really interesting. Never mind imagining that she was abusing Yangyang, they even said that she was stopping He Qiming from being filial to his parents. It seemed that next time, she really had to stop him. For example, the extra five yuan for the New Year, she should have stopped him from giving it.
He Qigao and Li Hehua were also interesting. They actually had their eye on their house. They said it was to borrow it, but she was afraid that after borrowing it for a while, it would become theirs, and she would never be able to get it back.
“Mama, what’s wrong?” Ye Anjie asked curiously.
Ye Qingzhi closed the letter and shook her head with a laugh. “It’s nothing. Why aren’t you out playing today?”
He Jingyan and Ye Anmin were better. Ye Anjie couldn’t sit still at all. Usually at this time, who knew where he had gone crazy.
“We’ve arranged to go and catch field mice with some people. We’re going out in a bit,” Ye Anjie said with a grin.
She knew he couldn’t stay put. It turned out he had an appointment.
“You shouldn’t run too far, and you certainly can’t go into the mountains, understand?” Ye Qingzhi said, still worried.
She went to the study, read the letter from the He family again, and shook her head, speechless. She put it away in a drawer and would let He Qiming decide how to deal with it when he came back.
Another week passed, and He Qiming had not yet returned. This time, not only Ye Qingzhi, but even Yang Xiaorou couldn’t help but start to worry.
“Did Old He tell you that this mission was to deliver something?” Yang Xiaorou asked. She felt it couldn’t be that simple.
“That’s what he said,” Ye Qingzhi said with a frown. Now that she thought about it, what kind of thing would require a deputy regiment commander and a chief of staff to escort?
Obviously, Yang Xiaorou also had this doubt. The two of them exchanged a look and did not continue to talk about the mission. They just hoped that they would return safely soon.
People really shouldn’t be talked about. Just as she and Yang Xiaorou were wondering when they would be back, that very night, Ye Qingzhi saw the travel-worn He Qiming.
“You’re back? Are you hurt?” Ye Qingzhi quickly got up to pour him some water. “Are you hungry? I’ll go and make you some dumplings, or do you want noodles?”
“Dumplings,” He Qiming said. He was indeed tired and hungry.
He ate sixty or seventy dumplings in one go, took a shower, and then got into the quilt to sleep with Ye Qingzhi.
The next morning, Ye Qingzhi was woken up by He Qiming. She groggily held down He Qiming’s hand. “Aren’t you tired? You should rest well. Don’t make a fuss.”
“I’m not tired. Wife, we’ve been apart for more than twenty days. Don’t you miss me?” He Qiming asked, burying his head in Ye Qingzhi’s neck, his voice muffled.
“Of course I do. But I was more worried. Mm~ Qiming, you just got back from a mission. You should rest and recuperate first,” Ye Qingzhi said, pushing He Qiming’s head away.
“No need,” He Qiming said, directly kissing her, stopping the words Ye Qingzhi was about to say.
He had only been assisting in this mission. It was not even as tiring as his usual training in the army.
After the clouds and rain, Ye Qingzhi lay lazily in He Qiming’s arms. “How many days can you rest this time?”
“I can rest for three days. Wife, has anything happened at home while I was away?” He Qiming asked, kissing Ye Qingzhi’s forehead.
“Everything at home is fine,” Ye Qingzhi said. She suddenly thought of the letter from the He family and patted her head. “Your parents sent you a letter. I was worried it was urgent, so I opened it.”
“It’s fine. It’s just a letter. You can read it if you want,” He Qiming said, going over to get the letter and coming back to bed to read it. The more he read, the more his brow furrowed. “Wife, don’t take my parents’ words to heart. I know best how you treat Yangyang.”
Ye Qingzhi treated Yangyang as if he were her own. Otherwise, how could Yangyang be so attached to her?
Had he been too easy-going recently, so those people back home were trying to cause trouble again?
Especially his older brother and sister-in-law. He knew very well what they were up to. They wanted to live in the house and then take it for themselves?
“Wife, don’t worry. I won’t lend the house. It’s not like they have nowhere to live. Besides, we’ve already split the family,” He Qiming said, casually throwing the letter on the quilt. “Wife, don’t mind them. Let’s do it again.”
Before Ye Qingzhi could react, she was pulled into another affair by him.