Chapter 58
When He Qiming came out of the shower, the noodles in the pot were just cooked. Ye Qingzhi served him a full bowl, sprinkled some chopped green onions, and peeled two cloves of garlic.
The green onions and garlic were grown by her. Besides the green onions, garlic, and leeks, the front and back yards were now planted with various melons, fruits, and vegetables she had brought, and they were all growing quite well.
“How many days can you rest this time?” Ye Qingzhi asked, watching He Qiming eat the noodles in large mouthfuls. She quickly said, “Slow down, don’t choke.”
She didn’t know where he had gone. His skin was a little darker, and he had lost a lot of weight, but his spirits were good.
He Qiming drank a mouthful of soup and looked up at Ye Qingzhi with a smile. “My wife’s noodles are the best. This is what I’ve been craving.”
“Then you should eat more. I’ll cook dinner tonight and stir-fry some cured meat for you. Don’t you love the cured meat from our hometown? I’ve cured a little,” Ye Qingzhi said, taking a towel to dry his hair.
Although it was already May, the weather in the Northwest was still a bit cold. It was not good to have wet hair.
He Qiming ate very quickly. This was a habit he had developed in the army. Ye Qingzhi had told him several times to no avail, and gradually she stopped telling him.
He must have been hungry today. He ate even faster than usual. Ye Qingzhi pinched his earlobe. “Eat slower. There’s no hurry.”
He Qiming swallowed the food in his mouth. “I’m used to it.”
Especially on missions, eating was a race against time. He only thought of filling his stomach quickly. Who cared if eating too fast would hurt his body? As long as he didn’t starve to death.
After He Qiming finished eating and rinsed his mouth, he picked up the busy Ye Qingzhi.
“Ah~ what are you doing?” Ye Qingzhi asked, patting his chest in fright.
“Wife, I’m not full yet,” He Qiming said, kissing the top of her head and walking steadily towards the room.
Ye Qingzhi understood in a second and said in a low voice, “No, Yangyang will be back in a bit.”
“It’s fine,” he said. It was still early before dinner. That little boy wouldn’t be back so soon.
After the clouds and rain, Ye Qingzhi panted, a little dazed. After a while, she pushed He Qiming away. “Don’t press on me. You’re so heavy.”
“Wife, you don’t miss me,” He Qiming said, holding Ye Qingzhi and not letting go.
“When did I not miss you?” Ye Qingzhi said with a laugh, kissing his cheek, and then urged him to get up. “The children will be back from school in a bit. It’s not proper for the two of us to be lying in bed.”
Seeing that he was still holding her and not moving, Ye Qingzhi could only whisper in his ear, “I’ll listen to you tonight.”
Only then did He Qiming let go with satisfaction. He kissed Ye Qingzhi again, then got up and got dressed.
The two of them tidied up and went out. Not long after, Yangyang came back, his head covered in sweat, holding a half-eaten steamed bun in his hand.
“Who gave it to you?” Ye Qingzhi asked, pouring him some hot water, wiping his sweat, and pinching his flushed little cheek with a puzzled look.
Yangyang washed his hands, then grabbed the steamed bun and took a bite, his mouth bulging. “Auntie Liya gave it to me.”
Cao Liya? She had heard from Li Jinfeng that Cao Liya and Cao Liyan had not yet made up, or rather, Cao Liyan had not yet forgiven Cao Liya.
In fact, Cao Liyan had only been on a blind date with Company Commander Zhang, and she had not even taken a fancy to him. Cao Liya had only gotten together with Company Commander Zhang after she had refused. She really didn’t understand what she was angry about.
“Then did you say thank you to Auntie Liya?” Ye Qingzhi asked, picking vegetables. He Qiming was finally back. Of course, she had to cook a good meal.
Yangyang’s round eyes widened. Seeing He Qiming come in from the back door, his eyes instantly lit up, and he called out happily, “Papa, Papa is back?”
“Yes, I’m back,” He Qiming said, picking up the rushing He Jingyang and weighing him. He was much heavier, and he felt he had also grown a little taller. “Have you been a good boy at home and listened to Mama?”
“Yangyang has been good,” He Jingyang nodded heavily. He thought for a moment, then continued, “I listen to Mama the most, and also to my brothers.”
“Our Yangyang is so obedient. Then shouldn’t Papa reward you?” He Qiming asked, holding Yangyang and sitting next to Ye Qingzhi. Seeing her gentle smile as she looked at them, a beautiful wife and a young son, at this moment, he felt he was bubbling with happiness, especially when the three older children came back with their schoolbags, their faces full of joy at seeing him, which made his heart even warmer. “You’re back from school?”
“Dad, when did you get back?” Ye Anmin asked, putting down his schoolbag, taking a few steps forward, and standing in front of He Qiming, his voice full of joy.
“Dad,” He Jingyan said, his expression a little emotional when he saw He Qiming return safely. Worried that others would see something amiss, he bent down to straighten Ye Anmin’s schoolbag, greeted He Qiming calmly, and then said no more.
“Papa,” Ye Anjie, on the other hand, rushed over and hugged He Qiming, asking with concern if he was injured, if he had to go out again, and so on.
You could tell at a glance that the three brothers had completely different personalities, but you could also see that they all cared very much for their father, He Qiming.
Ye Qingzhi patted Ye Anjie’s bottom. “Have you been rolling on the ground again? You’re all dusty. Don’t get your dad dirty.”
“It’s fine. He’s a boy,” He Qiming said. He really liked it when Ye Anjie was so affectionate with him.
Ye Qingzhi shot He Qiming a look. “It’s not like you’re the one washing the clothes. I’ll go and cook. You can help the children with their homework.”
There wasn’t much homework at this time, and the few children were sensible and didn’t need an adult to watch them. She wasn’t afraid that He Qiming would be angered by the children.
The dinner was very rich. Ye Anjie and Yangyang cheered and sat obediently, waiting for He Qiming to start eating.
“Let’s eat,” He Qiming said, giving Ye Qingzhi a piece of slippery meat. “Wife, thank you for your hard work.”
The hard work he was talking about was not just this meal, but also the fact that he had been away for so long and had left the whole family for Ye Qingzhi to manage alone. He really felt very guilty.
“What’s so hard about being at home?” Ye Qingzhi asked, looking at He Qiming, whose chin had become a little sharper. “You’re the one who’s had it hard. Eat more.”
He Qiming had not been out to play. He had been out on official business, risking his life to defend the country. She had eaten and drunk well at home, and the children had not caused her any trouble. What was there to be tough about?
After dinner, the children helped Ye Qingzhi clean up the kitchen. After washing up, they were unwilling to go back to their rooms and stayed by He Qiming’s side, pestering him to tell them stories.
Ye Qingzhi went to take a shower, then took out the letter from home to show He Qiming later.
“Alright, you should go back to your rooms and sleep. I’ll tell you stories again tomorrow,” he said. He enjoyed the parent-child time, but after Ye Qingzhi had finished her shower, his mind had already wandered off.
After sending the children away, He Qiming quickly took a shower, then got into the quilt like a gust of wind. Before Ye Qingzhi could speak, he directly blocked her red lips with his mouth. “Wife, we’ll talk about whatever it is later.”
This “later” was in the middle of the night. At this time, Ye Qingzhi was exhausted and very sleepy. How could she have the energy to talk? She mumbled something she didn’t even know herself, turned over, and fell asleep.
The next day, as expected, she woke up late again. The children had already gone to school, and the little one had also run off to play somewhere.
“You’re awake. You must be hungry. I’ll get you something to eat,” He Qiming said, kissing Ye Qingzhi.
“No need. I’ll get up and eat,” Ye Qingzhi said, her voice hoarse. She got up and got dressed. “Did you make breakfast yourself, or did you buy it from the canteen?”
“I bought it from the canteen. I think I saw Bai Xue. Was I seeing things?” He Qiming had just come back and did not know that Bai Xue had joined the army here again.
Ye Qingzhi shook her head with a smile. “You weren’t seeing things. It was Bai Xue. Her current husband is the regiment commander of the 351st Regiment, Wu Kaixuan. I heard from Xiaorou that his family background is no worse than the Xu family’s. He has liked Bai Xue since he was a child. To get closer to her, he specially transferred here. But then Bai Xue suddenly got a divorce and went home. He finally got the beauty. Because he had just been transferred, he couldn’t be transferred again for a while, so Bai Xue came back with him.”
He Qiming raised his eyebrows in surprise. No wonder Bai Xue had come back. Otherwise, with her personality, she would never have come here in this lifetime.
Wu Kaixuan, this name was very familiar. That’s right. They had cooperated on a mission once. He seemed careless, but in reality, he was very meticulous and a very capable person.
“Is Old Xu alright?” He Qiming asked casually.
“This is what I admire about them. They’re all acting as if nothing has happened,” Ye Qingzhi said. She clearly remembered how loving Xu Kaisheng and Bai Xue had been. But when the two couples had met, it was as if they had never been married or divorced before. They had just exchanged pleasantries very naturally.
Really, even the best actors and actresses were not as good as them.
After Ye Qingzhi had eaten breakfast, she handed the letter to He Qiming. “Back home, they’re building a reservoir and asking the villagers to donate. Dad made the decision for you and donated a hundred. He said you’re a cadre and have to take the lead. It wouldn’t look good to give less.”
In the final analysis, it was He Dali who wanted to save face, but the price had to be paid by He Qiming.
This was not the first or second time. When the village was building an ancestral hall, repairing roads, and so on, whenever there was a donation drive, He Dali would make the decision for He Qiming to donate money, from five yuan, ten yuan, to a hundred now, using He Qiming’s money to save his own face.
In fact, it was a good deed, but He Qiming was just not happy in his heart.
After reading the letter, he took a deep breath, took out a pen and paper to write a reply to his family. He could not just go along with them in everything.
A hundred yuan, a rural family of six could only save that much in two years. His parents were so generous, to have donated it for him with just one word.
He would only give fifty this time. They could pay the rest themselves. In any case, they were not short of money.
Ye Qingzhi gnawed on a bun and looked at He Qiming’s reply, looking at him in surprise. “Are you really giving fifty? Don’t make your parents angry.”
“If it weren’t for the fact that they are my parents, I wouldn’t even want to give fifty. In my current situation, I should be low-key. Besides, I still have four children to raise. They don’t feel sorry for my money at all,” He Qiming said, rubbing his temples. Thinking of his younger brother He Qiwang’s letter, he had an even bigger headache.
He actually wanted to buy a job, a position as an ordinary worker, and asked to borrow one thousand five hundred yuan from him. Did he think he was a fool?
“Is there any news from your parents’ side?” He Qiming asked, turning to Ye Qingzhi.
“My parents still want to contact me, but they don’t have my contact information, so their thoughts are in vain. As for your younger brother, you’re not really going to lend him money, are you?” Ye Qingzhi was really angered to the point of laughing by He Qiwang’s lion’s mouth.
Could it be that he had seen He Qigao borrow their house, so he was borrowing money from them?
“No, it’s clearly a scam,” He Qiming said, shaking the letter.
In their small county town, what job would cost one thousand five hundred yuan?
“He Qiwang couldn’t have come up with such an idea. It must be Wang Xiuhua. Seeing that my older brother and sister-in-law had borrowed my house, she was trying her luck and borrowing money from us. She’s smarter than my older brother and sister-in-law. She knows to write to me behind their backs,” He Qiming sneered and directly wrote his reply to them in the family letter.
Everyone in the family was treating him like a sucker. Where did they get the illusion that he was easy to bully?
“By the way, there’s another letter here. It’s from your comrade. I didn’t read it,” Ye Qingzhi said, handing an unopened letter to He Qiming.
“My comrade?” Seeing that the letter was from Nanhu Province, He Qiming opened it in confusion. After reading two lines, his face suddenly darkened. “It’s her?”