Chapter 31
Ye Qingzhi had thought Yang Xiaorou would be a long time, but she returned just as she was preparing to cook.
“I’m so sorry. I had originally arranged with Bai Xue to have her help watch him, but she wasn’t feeling well and went to the hospital today,” Yang Xiaorou said, beckoning to Shen Jiahao. “Haohao, were you a good boy at Auntie’s house?”
“I was very good. If you don’t believe me, you can ask Auntie,” Shen Jiahao said confidently.
“Haohao was indeed very good today,” Ye Qingzhi said, still holding the vegetables. “I was just about to cook. If you don’t mind, why don’t you have a simple meal with us?”
Yang Xiaorou hesitated for a moment. “Then I’ll have to trouble you, Sister-in-law.”
Ye Qingzhi was taken aback for a moment. She had only been polite. She hadn’t expected Yang Xiaorou to actually agree.
But it was just one meal. Ye Qingzhi wasn’t so stingy as to be unwilling. It was just that Yang Xiaorou’s change in attitude was a bit strange.
She was very sensitive to other people’s emotions. When Yang Xiaorou had found out she could read, she had obviously become much more enthusiastic. But when she had refused to let the children study at her house, she had suddenly become cold. Yet now, she seemed to want to befriend her. It was really confusing.
Ye Qingzhi found a random excuse to go to the study and asked He Qiming the reason in a low voice.
“Shen Qingyuan’s reaction is really fast,” He Qiming said. He knew what was going on with a little thought.
Seeing Ye Qingzhi’s confused look, He Qiming smiled. “The root of it should be that set of cosmetics. His observation has always been very meticulous. He probably found out last night. He wants to separate Yang Xiaorou from Bai Xue.”
“Use me to separate them?” Ye Qingzhi was speechless.
On second thought, it was not hard to understand. She was a country wife whose ancestors had been poor peasants for eight generations. Her family background was clean. So, befriending her could dilute the influence of Bai Xue.
“Shen Qingyuan has always been a cautious person. It’s normal for him to make this move,” He Qiming said, getting up to hug Ye Qingzhi. He kissed her fair and tender cheek, his hand gently stroking her back. “The Shen and Yang families are not having an easy time now. If they’re not careful, they might implicate the whole family. Yang Xiaorou is not a very malicious person. You can treat her as an ordinary friend.”
Knowing the reason for Yang Xiaorou’s change in attitude, Ye Qingzhi had a better understanding.
“Qingzhi, it’s not that I’m boasting, but Jingyan and Anmin are too smart. It’s only been a few days, and they’ve already memorized all the pinyin. I believe it won’t be long before they catch up with their studies,” Yang Xiaorou said, patting Shen Jiahao on the back of the head. “Not like this one of mine. No matter how I teach him, he just can’t learn. I’m so worried my hair is about to turn white.”
“Haohao is also very smart. He wrote a page of characters with Jingyan and the others this morning. I think it’s quite good,” Ye Qingzhi said, bringing out the food. “We can eat now. Are you sure you don’t want to call Chief of Staff Shen?”
“No need. He has something to do today and won’t be home for lunch,” Yang Xiaorou said, taking a bite of the dried winter melon. She asked in surprise, “What is this? It’s so delicious.”
“It’s dried winter melon. If you like it, you can take some with you later. Just soak it in warm water for a while and stir-fry it to your own taste,” Ye Qingzhi said, being habitually polite.
Besides dried cabbage, Ye Qingzhi had dried the most of winter melon. After all, these two had the highest yield.
She had also made pickled winter melon, which was best with porridge. Unfortunately, she had only brought a small jar. The rest had been given to Auntie Ye.
“Then I won’t be polite,” Yang Xiaorou said, not refusing. She took another large chopstickful and said with a smile, “I heard you want to order goat’s milk. My family has a long-term order with a herdsman. She still has some left. Do you want me to introduce you?”
“That would be great.” Ye Qingzhi hadn’t expected Yang Xiaorou to be able to order fresh goat’s milk.
Not only herself, but the few children’s nutrition was also not keeping up. Especially He Jingyan. He was the same age as Shen Jiahao, but he was a head shorter.
Anmin and Anjie were also skinny, all bones. The youngest, Yangyang, looked to have a chubby face, but in reality, he didn’t have much flesh on his body.
“Alright then. I’ll talk to the logistics people in the afternoon. They usually help bring it back. Besides goat’s milk, is there anything else you want?” Yang Xiaorou was very happy with Ye Qingzhi’s lack of politeness.
Relationships needed to be cultivated through such troubles and mutual gift-giving.
“What else can we get?” Ye Qingzhi asked curiously.
They had just started a new family, and with so many children, they were really lacking everything.
“Like yarn, sheepskin, and so on. We’re close to the Tibetan area here, so in some ways, it’s more convenient,” Yang Xiaorou said, glancing at He Qiming. Seeing that he didn’t seem to object, she spoke more boldly. “The person I’m on good terms with is named Meiduo. Her family is going to slaughter a yak in a couple of days. Do you want some? If you do, I’ll have her save some for you.”
“I do. How many catties can I get?” Ye Qingzhi asked with some excitement.
This was a planned economy. It was considered a luxury for ordinary people to eat meat once a week. The army had a meat dish three times a week, but it was actually just a few thin slices of meat in cabbage or radish. It was considered good if one could get two slices.
They only had a big meat dish, like braised pork or stewed mutton, once or twice a month.
So now that she had the opportunity to buy meat, Ye Qingzhi was of course happy.
“I’m not sure about the exact amount, but at least ten catties should be no problem,” Yang Xiaorou said, taking a bite of the mushroom sauce. Her eyes instantly lit up. “Did you make this yourself too? Qingzhi, your cooking skills are really amazing.”
“I made it myself. There’s not much left. If you like it, I can give you a small bowl,” Ye Qingzhi said. He Qiming and the few children all loved it, so she could give her a small bowl.
The mushroom sauce was fragrant and delicious. Yang Xiaorou really liked it, but she had already had lunch at the He family’s house today and had also taken some dried winter melon. She was too embarrassed to ask for the mushroom sauce as well.
Her eyes darted around. It was not good to take it for free. If she provided the ingredients herself, she could ask Ye Qingzhi to help her make some, right?
“Qingzhi, what kind of mushrooms did you use? I’ll ask someone to look for them. When I’ve gathered the ingredients, can you help me make some?” Yang Xiaorou asked, looking at her with anticipation.
“I picked the wild mushrooms myself. If you can get the ingredients, I’ll definitely help you make it,” Ye Qingzhi agreed.
After eating, Yang Xiaorou insisted on cleaning up with Ye Qingzhi and couldn’t be stopped. She also introduced the situation in the family compound to Ye Qingzhi.
It was about the same as Ye Qingzhi had guessed. The city wives and the country wives in the family compound were competing with each other. But the representative of the city wives was not Bai Xue, but Political Commissar Wang’s wife, Zhang Shuhua.
She had gone back to her parents’ home to visit her parents and would be back in a few days.
As for the country wives, there was no representative at the moment. It could be said that no one was willing to submit to anyone else.
Besides these two factions, there was also a third faction, the neutral faction. They were not on good terms with either side, nor did they offend either side. They just lived their lives peacefully behind closed doors. Ye Qingzhi could be considered to belong to the neutral faction.
From what Yang Xiaorou said, the other military wives were all fine. Only Zhao Lan was the most scheming. She thought she was hiding it well, but in fact, many people had already seen through her, they just didn’t say anything.
Ye Qingzhi agreed. She had only interacted with Zhao Lan twice and had already discovered that she was constantly trying to stir up trouble. She believed that Yang Xiaorou and the others must have also discovered it long ago.
No, Bai Xue couldn’t see it.
Speaking of which, Yang Xiaorou apologized to Ye Qingzhi.
Gossiping behind people’s backs was not something one could do alone. The one with Bai Xue that day was Yang Xiaorou. Although Bai Xue had said most of it, she had also agreed.
“It’s fine. It’s in the past,” Ye Qingzhi said. She really thought so.
“I heard that you went to see Old Wang for a check-up and also got some medicine to condition your body to have a child with Regiment Commander He. Is that true?” Yang Xiaorou had been too embarrassed to ask before.
“It’s true that I’m conditioning my body, but it’s not to have a child. We already have four children, and Yangyang is still young. We have no plans to have a child for now,” Ye Qingzhi said, not hiding it.
Why was everyone so concerned about her having a child? If she remembered correctly, Yang Xiaorou only had one son, Shen Jiahao.
“Qingzhi,” Yang Xiaorou said, hesitating for a long time before saying with some conflict, “Bai Xue is actually not a bad person. She used to have a very good temper. It’s just that she hasn’t been pregnant for five years of marriage, and the pressure is a bit high. She’s also become irritable and impatient.”
Ye Qingzhi had not expected Yang Xiaorou to explain for Bai Xue.
“I understand, but that’s not a reason for her to maliciously speculate about me,” Ye Qingzhi said, not asking too much about Bai Xue’s situation and directly changing the subject. “If I want to send a letter, do I have to go to the town?”
She had said she would write to Auntie Ye as soon as she arrived at the base, but one thing had happened after another, and she still hadn’t sent a letter to Auntie Ye.
“No need. There’s a mailbox in the army. Are you writing to someone back home?” Yang Xiaorou asked curiously.
Ye Qingzhi nodded. She didn’t know how Auntie Ye was doing now.
The Auntie Ye she was thinking of was doing very well. On the contrary, Wei Youliang had been having a string of bad luck recently. When he got up at night, he had accidentally fallen and broken his right leg. It wasn’t until someone got up in the morning and heard his cries for help that he was sent to the hospital.
He had already been discharged, but he was now without children and a wife. He could only use his coffin money to ask Wei Fifth Aunt to help with his laundry and meals.
“Oh my, oh my…” Wei Youliang lay on the bed and cried for a long time. Unfortunately, there was no one at home, so no one paid him any attention. Gradually, he stopped crying and just stared at the ceiling with a desolate expression.
When Wei Fifth Aunt brought him his meal, he called out to her and asked her to go to Auntie Ye’s to ask for Ye Qingzhi’s address. He wanted to write to Ye Qingzhi.
“Why are you writing to Qingzhi? She’s already remarried. She’s not your daughter-in-law anymore,” Wei Fifth Aunt pouted. Could her second brother-in-law be thinking of having Ye Qingzhi come back to serve him?
Wei Youliang had indeed thought of that, but he also knew that it was impossible now.
“No, I know Qingzhi has already remarried and become a glorious military wife. But Anmin and Anjie are still my grandsons. Fifth Sister-in-law, please do me a favor and help me. I just miss my two grandsons,” Wei Youliang said, sounding very pitiful.
Wei Fifth Aunt snorted lightly. “You know you want your grandsons now. What were you doing before? I think you should just save your breath. Auntie Ye doesn’t know Qingzhi’s address either.”
She was just worried about not having a chance to get closer to Ye Qingzhi. Look, isn’t this it?
“Fifth Sister-in-law, please help me. I really just want to ask how the two children are doing now,” Wei Youliang said with a solemn promise.