Chapter 60
In a county town in Nanhu Province, Zhang Xianjuan came to the post and telecommunications office again. After confirming that there was no letter for her, her face immediately darkened.
Why won’t he help her? He Qiming only had to say a word.
They all blame her for abandoning her husband and son, but who has seen her difficulties?
Chen Bin was a company commander at that time. He could clearly have let her join the army. Just because of those two old fools, did she have to stay at home with her child and serve them?
She really couldn’t stand such a life with no end in sight. She was still young. She wanted to be loved, to be cared for, and to have someone to stand in front of her when there was trouble at home.
Zhang Xianjuan wiped a tear and prepared to go and find Chen Bin’s other deputy director comrade. No matter what, she had given birth to a son for Chen Bin. For Jingyan’s sake, would these comrades really not help her?
At this moment, He Qiming received a telegram. It was from his deputy director comrade who had been transferred back to Nanhu Province, Lin Xiaohu.
His old comrade had asked him to call back. He Qiming did not hesitate to do so.
“Xiaohu, it’s He Qiming. Is it about Zhang Xianjuan? Tell me, what’s the situation?” He Qiming asked directly.
Lin Xiaohu did not waste any words. The phone bill was expensive. He would be brief.
Zhang Xianjuan’s younger brother-in-law was having an affair with a married woman and had been caught in bed by her husband. He had also fought with the woman’s husband and had seriously injured him. Now, the other party did not agree to a settlement and only wanted Zhang Xianjuan’s younger brother-in-law to go to jail.
There were too many things to complain about. He Qiming did not know what to say for a moment.
He could only say that they were indeed brothers. The older brother had an affair with a married woman, and the younger brother had followed suit.
He had even dared to seriously injure someone. He was so arrogant. For the other party to want him to go to jail was a light punishment. And Zhang Xianjuan had the nerve to ask for help for such a thing, and even came to them. Didn’t she know that they hated this kind of person the most?
“Old He, Zhang Xianjuan must have also looked for you. Don’t agree. That man’s family has some influence. If you step in to help Zhang Xianjuan and he gets involved with you, it will affect your future,” Lin Xiaohu said. He was afraid that He Qiming would agree to help for He Jingyan’s sake.
In fact, he had called more than a month ago and had known that he was on a mission, which was why he had sent a telegram first today.
“You’re right. Zhang Xianjuan did write to me, and she even wrote two letters in a row, asking me to help her younger brother-in-law for Jingyan’s sake,” He Qiming said, his tone flat. He was not as angry as before when he mentioned Zhang Xianjuan.
“Hah, how dare she say that? Back then, when little Jingyan had no one to take care of him, we asked her to help take care of him for a while, but she wouldn’t,” Lin Xiaohu said, furious at the thought of the past. “Birds of a feather flock together. The older brother and sister-in-law had an affair, and the younger brother also had an affair. If Chen Bin hadn’t been unwilling to pursue it, Zhang Xianjuan and her adulterer would have both gone to jail.”
Breaking up a military marriage was a jailable offense, especially since they had done it while Chen Bin was on a mission. If Chen Bin had wanted to pursue it at that time, Zhang Xianjuan and that wild man would have had to rot in jail.
So many years had passed, and Chen Bin had also been dead for many years. They, these old comrades, did not want to pursue anything. But Zhang Xianjuan had the nerve to ask them for help, and it was to plead for her adulterous younger brother-in-law.
“Don’t worry, I didn’t bother with her,” He Qiming said, a hint of disgust in his eyes.
“I heard you’ve remarried. How is it?” Lin Xiaohu asked tactfully.
They, these soldiers, were often separated from their wives at home. Most of them were good, but there were always a few who couldn’t remain faithful and ran off with someone else. It was just that his two brothers were rather unlucky to have met unfaithful wives.
“My wife is very good. Jingyan and Yangyang both like her very much. She’s at the military compound with the children now. You don’t have to worry. But what about you? How is Shitou? Is he any better?” He Qiming’s expression softened when he spoke of Ye Qingzhi.
Shitou was Lin Xiaohu’s son. He was as cute as a jade carving, but he did not like to talk to people. He rarely even called his parents. He was also very prone to tantrums and would shout for no reason. An expert in Beijing had said that he had a mental problem, and there was currently no good treatment.
“Still the same,” Lin Xiaohu’s voice was low at the mention of Shitou.
This child was becoming more and more withdrawn. He would stay in his room and draw all day, not talking to anyone except his mother, including him.
“You and your sister-in-law should also take care of yourselves. Don’t let yourselves collapse before Shitou gets better,” He Qiming sighed softly. Lin Xiaohu and his wife had been worried sick about their child these few years.
Lin Xiaohu took a puff of his cigarette and said in a low voice, “My wife is pregnant again, more than three months. Shitou can’t be left alone. We’ll be old someday. I’m just worried that the second one will be like Shitou.”
Because of Shitou’s illness, his parents had been worried sick. His wife was pregnant now. He was a man. Besides comforting them, he couldn’t say anything. He had been holding these words in for a long time. Today, when he was on the phone with He Qiming, he couldn’t help but say a few more words.
“Is your sister-in-law pregnant?” He Qiming was just about to say a few words of comfort when he heard that Lin Xiaohu had something to do on the other end. He changed his words and said, “You go and get busy first. We’ll talk again when you have time.”
When he got home in the afternoon, Ye Qingzhi had already cooked. He Qiming brought out the food and told her about Zhang Xianjuan.
“Her younger brother-in-law had an affair and even seriously injured the husband. And she still wrote a letter saying that her younger brother-in-law was innocent and had been framed. My god, she’s so thick-skinned,” Ye Qingzhi said, truly stunned.
And Zhang Xianjuan was that thick-skinned. Not only did she look for He Qiming, but she also looked for Lin Xiaohu, as if she would not give up until she achieved her goal.
“That comrade of yours who is a deputy director, is your relationship very good?” Ye Qingzhi asked, seeing the children come over and no longer talking about Zhang Xianjuan.
“We were brothers in the same trench. That mission back then…” He Qiming glanced at He Jingyan. “Old Chen sacrificed himself, and Old Lin was seriously injured. Although he survived, his physical condition did not allow him to continue to stay in the army, so he was transferred back.”
Just from the situation of these two, you could tell how dangerous that mission had been. Ye Qingzhi held He Qiming’s hand. “You must have been injured back then too, right?”
“I’m fine,” he said. Compared to being injured, what hurt him the most was Chen Bin’s sacrifice.
He was so young. He hadn’t died on the battlefield, but had sacrificed himself because of a traitor’s betrayal. How could it not be heartbreaking?
Beside them, He Jingyan heard them mention his biological father, squeezed his chopsticks, and did not ask any questions, but lowered his head and ate silently.
“Old Lin has not had it easy these few years. His child is sick, and there is currently no cure. I’ve seen his son once. He’s fair and tender, very cute. I don’t know why he just doesn’t talk to people,” He Qiming said, unable to help but sigh again at the thought of Shitou.
Doesn’t talk to people? Ye Qingzhi asked curiously, “What do you mean by ‘doesn’t talk to people’?”
If he was just introverted, He Qiming would not say that he was sick.
“He just doesn’t talk to anyone. He’s just immersed in his own world. He used to scream and smash things often. Later, Old Lin and the others took their child to Beijing to find an expert, who said that he had a mental problem, that it was congenital and very difficult to cure, or rather, that there was no cure at all. They suggested that they cultivate an interest or hobby for the child. This child, Shitou, likes to draw. Although he still doesn’t talk to people, his temper is not as bad as before,” He Qiming told Ye Qingzhi what he knew.
The more she heard, the more it sounded like autism. To be able to call his parents and to be able to calm himself by drawing meant that it was not severe.
“Perhaps the child is not sick. He just doesn’t like to talk. Didn’t you say he’s very good at drawing? Aren’t those artists all different from ordinary people? Why don’t you cultivate his drawing? This child is probably a born painter,” Ye Qingzhi said, thinking of some of the geniuses with autism she had seen in her past life. Some were very good at music, and some were very good at drawing.
He Qiming thought it made sense and planned to call Lin Xiaohu tomorrow to talk about it.
And it turned out that Lin Xiaohu also listened. He immediately found an oil painting teacher for Shitou.
This painting teacher had studied abroad, had a beard and long hair, and his behavior was a bit eccentric in the eyes of outsiders.
Unexpectedly, he had exclaimed “genius” when he saw Shitou’s previous paintings, and Shitou was also very happy to learn to paint with him.
When Ye Qingzhi learned of the follow-up, she was happy for Shitou.
“Qingzhi, what have you been busy with recently? I haven’t seen you out,” Li Jinfeng said, coming to her door with her big belly.
“I’ve been planting vegetables at home, cooking, washing clothes, and doing this and that. The day just passes by,” Ye Qingzhi said. She had planted vegetables in both the front and back yards. Watering and weeding every day, and also feeding the chickens, time passed very quickly.
“Oh my, you haven’t had enough of planting in your hometown? Why are you planting so many vegetables?” Li Jinfeng asked, looking at the lush yard with confusion.
To be honest, in the first three months of coming to this world, she had to go to work as soon as she opened her eyes and only came home after dark. It had really made Ye Qingzhi develop a fear of planting.
After arriving at the base, she had hibernated for a winter and had slowly recovered. The main thing was that what she was planting now were all vegetables she liked to eat. Seeing them grow strong gave her a great sense of accomplishment.
“It’s different. Didn’t you also plant a lot of vegetables?” When Ye Qingzhi was raising seedlings, Li Jinfeng had asked her for some. With the seeds she had brought herself, she had planted no less than Ye Qingzhi.
“I’m not as meticulous as you. But your vegetables are indeed growing better than mine. Is it because your little boy pees a lot?” Li Jinfeng asked, picking a cucumber, rubbing off the thorns with her hand, and directly biting into it.
“You should at least wash it,” she said. The wind and sand in the Northwest were strong, and these vegetables were also covered in a layer of dust. How could Li Jinfeng not find it gritty?
“What’s not clean won’t make you sick. You and Xiaorou are just too particular,” Li Jinfeng said. She didn’t understand how a country wife like Ye Qingzhi could also be so particular. “Hey, Cao Liya is pregnant. Do you know?”
“I know now,” she said. If it weren’t for Li Jinfeng and Gu Yao telling her about the big and small matters in the military compound, Ye Qingzhi would be a blind man.
Li Jinfeng waved her hand. “Of course you don’t know. I just found out. Tsk, tsk, now that she’s pregnant, Bai Xue and Zeng Huijun will be under a lot of pressure.”
“They’ve only been married for a short time. There’s no hurry,” Ye Qingzhi said. She felt that the military wives in the military compound were just too idle, which was why they were staring at other people’s bellies all day.
She had already said that she was conditioning her body, but many people were still staring at her belly.
People would often ask her if she was pregnant and also say that she should hurry up and get pregnant and have a child of her and He Qiming’s own. This was also one of the reasons why she rarely went out.
“Of course we’re not in a hurry. It’s Bai Xue and Zeng Huijun who are in a hurry,” Li Jinfeng said, looking around. After confirming that there were no children, she whispered, “According to a reliable source, the noise in Regiment Commander Xu’s room is not small every night. I wonder if Zeng Huijun’s small waist can take it.”
Ye Qingzhi’s eyes widened. “Did someone really go and listen at the wall?”
Li Jinfeng clicked her tongue. “Don’t say it so ugly. It was Regiment Commander Xu himself who was making too much noise. Someone heard it when they passed by.”
Ye Qingzhi thought back to whether she had made a big noise herself. Because there were children, their noise was relatively small. It probably wouldn’t be heard by others. It was good, it was good.
“What are you thinking about? Are you thinking of Regiment Commander He? Qingzhi, with Regiment Commander He’s waist, you two shouldn’t hold back either. Put in some effort. Don’t be outdone by Regiment Commander Xu,” Li Jinfeng teased.
Ye Qingzhi shot her a look. “We’re not going to join in the fun. After you’ve finished your confinement, you and your Battalion Commander Li should work harder.”