The jeep was quite fast. At this time, Lianyungang was still very poor, and the warehouses at the port had not yet been built.
However, ships arrived at the port every day to transport supplies. Medicines were delivered to various ports, and finished products from many factories were also shipped out by sea.
About half an hour later, the jeep entered the military family compound. Ye Qinglan registered her information, and from then on, she would be able to enter and leave freely.
The family compound was located between mountains and the sea. The houses were built halfway up the mountain, and all of them were brick-and-tile houses. Because typhoons came every year, thatched houses could not withstand the storms and had to be rebuilt almost every year.
Therefore, all the houses in the family compound had been replaced with brick houses. With the mountains behind them, life here was still fairly comfortable.
People cooked with firewood collected from the mountains. The women in the families often went to the seaside to collect seafood. There were also small vegetable gardens around the houses. Usually, they did not need to spend much money, except for occasionally buying some meat each month.
The guard drove the jeep to their house, took out the key, handed it to Zhou Beihan, and helped carry their belongings inside.
“Wife, I’m going to the army to help transfer your household registration. Turn left when you leave our house, and that’s the regiment commander’s home. The commander’s wife is called Song Jiani. She has a straightforward personality and is easy to get along with. If you need anything, you can ask her for help,” Zhou Beihan explained carefully.
“Go take care of your work. I’ll clean up the house first. When I have time, I’ll go visit sister-in-law,” Ye Qinglan replied. She did not want to go out yet.
After hearing this, Zhou Beihan got back into the jeep and left.
Ye Qinglan closed the courtyard gate and began looking around the house. The house was quite new and had a well, so getting water in the future would be convenient.
There were two south-facing rooms, a main room, and a kitchen. The bathroom and toilet were together. It was very clean, with a squat toilet that could also be rinsed after taking a bath.
The house had electricity, which was very convenient. There was a power station not far away. Compared to the Northeast, this place was much better.
After looking around, Ye Qinglan took a basin of water and wiped down all the furniture. The floor had already been swept and was quite clean, but she still sprinkled some water and swept again to reduce the dust inside the house.
After the wardrobe dried, Ye Qinglan put their clothes inside and also took out a four-piece bedding set for their bed.
In Jiang Province, most families slept on beds, and very few people built large heated brick beds like those in the Northeast.
Ye Qinglan took out beige curtains. She hammered two nails above the window, threaded a piece of wire through the curtain, and wrapped the wire around the nails to hang it up.
The room still needed a desk, a shoe rack, and a rack for wash basins. She placed several pairs of leather shoes on the floor. Two pairs belonged to Zhou Beihan and were supplies she had stored in her space before. They would definitely look good on him.
Ye Qinglan also took out two pairs of sandals. Plastic sandals like these were already sold at the time, but hers were slightly better quality.
Suddenly remembering that they would go collecting seafood at the seaside, she quickly took out two pairs of long rubber boots. One pair for each of them was perfect.
She also prepared the tools needed for collecting seafood, including clips, gloves, and a large metal bucket. Everything would come in handy later.
After that, Ye Qinglan went to fetch water and cleaned the kitchen. First, she wiped the cabinets inside and out.
Then she cleaned the stove and arranged the oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar. She put the salt and sugar into jars and filled a small oil container with rapeseed oil.
Finally, she washed the two iron pots several more times, waiting for Zhou Beihan to install them when he returned.
There was no place in the yard to hang clothes, so Ye Qinglan took out a clothesline and tied both ends securely to tree trunks.
After finishing all the work, Ye Qinglan entered her space, took a hot shower, then ate a meal from KFC and drank two large cups of iced cola.
“Wife, I’m back. Come open the door quickly,” Zhou Beihan called from outside the courtyard.
“Coming, I’ll be right there.” Ye Qinglan put on a T-shirt, came out of her space, and ran over to open the door.
When Zhou Beihan saw what his wife was wearing, he immediately closed the courtyard gate. He was also carrying his luggage, which he had just brought over from the bachelor dormitory.
“Beihan, install the two iron pots. Then we can cook dinner tonight,” Ye Qinglan said as she walked into the house.
“Okay, wife.” He followed her inside while carrying his luggage.
Looking at the completely refreshed room and the two pairs of leather shoes on the floor, Zhou Beihan felt extremely happy.
After putting away his luggage, which mainly consisted of military uniforms issued by the army, he went outside to mix mud and install the two iron pots.
Ye Qinglan entered her space to find clothes for him. She took out two white shirts, two pairs of black trousers, and five pairs of men’s underwear. She cut off the labels and put them into the washing machine along with her own changed clothes.
After quickly washing them, she brought them out of the space and hung them outside. The sun was strong today, so they would dry quickly.
“Wife, the two iron pots are installed. We can cook dinner once evening comes.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Ye Qinglan hanging clothes.
“Okay. Go take a shower first, then take a nap,” Ye Qinglan said.
After saying that, she finished hanging all the clothes.
Looking at the shirts, trousers, and several pairs of men’s underwear, Zhou Beihan could no longer hide the smile on his face.
He went back to the room to get clean clothes, then took a cold shower. He washed the clothes he had changed out of, hung them up, and returned to the room to take a nap.
“Wife, this is our household registration booklet. I’ll put it inside the wardrobe,” Zhou Beihan said before getting into bed and hugging his wife for their afternoon nap.
“Go to sleep. I’m exhausted,” Ye Qinglan murmured softly while hugging him.
The couple closed their eyes and fell asleep. They slept until evening before waking up and going to the kitchen together to prepare dinner.
“Wife, I’ll go collect some firewood. Wash the vegetables, and I’ll be back soon.” After saying that, Zhou Beihan ran up the mountain to gather branches.
Ye Qinglan took out a coal stove, lit the fire, and placed a kettle on it to boil water. Then she washed the vegetables, took out a kitchen knife and cutting board, cleaned them, and cut all the vegetables.
After thinking for a moment, she took out two jin of pork belly, washed it, and cut it into small pieces. Once the water boiled, she would stew braised pork.
When Zhou Beihan returned, Ye Qinglan had just filled the thermos with hot water. The branches he collected were dry, so they quickly heated the iron pot.
The couple cooked dinner together. When Zhou Beihan tasted the fragrant braised pork, his eyes immediately lit up.
“Wife, today’s braised pork is so delicious!” Zhou Beihan said as he continued eating.
“I added some spices to the meat today, so it tastes more fragrant,” Ye Qinglan replied. She also ate quite a lot.
Zhou Beihan even mixed the meat sauce with rice and finished all the food. Only after cleaning up the dishes did he return to the room.
Ye Qinglan was folding clothes inside the room. The clothes she washed in the afternoon had already dried.
Zhou Beihan hugged his wife and kissed her. The two of them soon became immersed in their affection.
Because he had just started experiencing married life, Zhou Beihan was especially enthusiastic. Ye Qinglan eventually became tired and fell asleep.
It was not really Zhou Beihan’s fault. A man who had just started enjoying married life was full of energy and would only stop after being satisfied.
Zhou Beihan helped his wife clean up and used the hot water from the stove to wash himself as well. Having his wife by his side made him feel that life was wonderful, and both his body and mind felt fulfilled.
In his dreams, Zhou Beihan held his wife tightly, unwilling to let go.