As night fell, Qu Chuning boiled water and waited for Xi Muzhou to enter the room. She handed him a wrung-dry towel, all the while carefully observing his expression.
Xi Muzhou had actually been watching Qu Chuning all along—her cautiousness, her attentiveness to moods—all of it registered with him. He couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache. After a long silence, he finally said, "From now on, we'll be able to cook at home."
It took Qu Chuning a moment to understand what he meant. Was he telling her that he planned to build a kitchen?
"Really? That's wonderful! When it rains, we won't have to brave the weather to cook anymore." Qu Chuning's voice carried a hint of excitement. But as she finished speaking, she suddenly remembered her original plan to do laundry. Where were her clothes?
"Ah!" Qu Chuning couldn't help but cry out, "My basin and clothes!"
With that, she dashed outside, and Xi Muzhou, without hesitation, chased after her.
Qu Chuning quickly found her basin and clothes. Just as she breathed a sigh of relief, Xi Muzhou took the basin from her.
The couple walked back home along the path. The night had fully descended—some households had already retired for the night, while older children still playing outside were being called back by their parents. Autumn didn't seem very pronounced here; the temperature remained quite warm, and the trees stayed lush and green. Only the evening breeze, carrying a hint of coolness within its warmth, dispelled the restlessness in people's hearts.
The atmosphere grew somewhat ambiguous. Qu Chuning walked beside Xi Muzhou, occasional insect chirps drifting through the air. Xi Muzhou walked slowly, mindful of Qu Chuning beside him, making sure they stayed side by side.
"Xi Muzhou, you've seen the situation with the Lin Family. As for my maternal family…"
"Qu Chuning." Xi Muzhou's voice wasn't loud, but each word was crystal clear: "I married you. It has nothing to do with your family, nothing to do with anyone else. You are my wife, Xi Muzhou's lawful wife!"
Qu Chuning was stunned. Xi Muzhou said no more—he had always been a man of few words, and today had been unusually talkative for him. He took great pleasure in tidying the house, always arranging everything neatly. He would spread towels out evenly, align toothbrush cups and brushes with their patterns facing outward, and line up chopsticks uniformly…
Qu Chuning simply attributed it to military habits and didn't think much of it.
That night, the couple lay in bed, each under their own quilt. Qu Chuning tossed and turned, unable to sleep, her mind filled with the day's events. As she shifted restlessly, her hand accidentally brushed against Xi Muzhou.
In the darkness, Xi Muzhou sighed silently. He reached out and grasped Qu Chuning's hand.
Qu Chuning trembled, then felt her cheeks burn. She wanted to burrow under the covers but didn't dare move, so she let Xi Muzhou hold her hand.
Three days later, Qu Chuning finally received the justice she deserved. Lin Dongguo had been procrastinating—originally required to issue a clarification in the local municipal newspaper, an additional requirement was now imposed: he must publish the clarification in the newspaper of their Garrison area.
Moreover, because of the Duan Chunping incident, Lin Dongguo faced further criticism and re-education, sparking a wave of efforts to enhance ideological awareness among military families.
Qu Chuning felt much more relieved in her heart. Thanks to Lin Dongguo's clarification, the number of people pointing fingers at her gradually decreased, and at least she no longer heard any gossip.
She had thought that once this matter was resolved, Duan Chunping would return to her hometown. Unexpectedly, Duan Chunping didn't leave but stayed. Not only that, Lin Dongguo's family was also rushing to build an additional room, indicating Duan Chunping's intention to settle here long-term.
The newspaper in her hometown had published the statement Qu Chuning wrote, and they sent her a copy. Holding the newspaper, Qu Chuning felt as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. This time, she and Lin Dongguo were completely unrelated.
One day, as soon as Qu Chuning arrived at the factory, Lan Xia pulled her aside to talk.
"Chuning, come here quickly!"
Seeing Lan Xia's mysterious demeanor, Qu Chuning grew curious and walked over.
"Look over there." Lan Xia quickly tugged Qu Chuning to look outside. In the distance, Shi Zhenzhen was talking to Director Hou. They were too far away to hear what was being said. Lan Xia lowered her voice and whispered into Qu Chuning's ear, "What do you think she's discussing with Director Hou? I heard she's always wanted to work at the newspaper office and become an intellectual. Do you think she might be transferring there?"
Qu Chuning shook her head. She hadn't been here long—how would she know such things?
But Shi Zhenzhen going to the newspaper office? If she remembered correctly, the newspaper office was in the county town, dozens of kilometers away from here. Given how deeply in love she and Lin Dongguo were, would she really be willing to leave him?
Qu Chuning focused on her work. She and Lan Xia placed the printed papers under the cutting machine, trimming them sheet by sheet. Once cut, they pushed them aside for other colleagues to bind.
Once familiar with each step of the process, everyone worked quickly.
Just as Qu Chuning was about to make a cut, she suddenly noticed a typo in one of the articles. Without hesitation, she immediately picked up a newspaper and went to find Director Hou.
"Director!"
Director Hou set down his newspaper and nodded at Qu Chuning.
"Director, there's a typo here. The character '练' in '百练成钢' should be the '炼' with the fire radical."
Director Hou took it and confirmed it was indeed wrong. He nodded and said, "Alright, hold off on cutting this batch. I'll go to their department and have them proofread it again!"
As soon as Qu Chuning returned to the factory and sat down, she explained the situation to Lan Xia. Not far away, Shi Zhenzhen couldn't resist sneering, "Look at you, acting all capable. Someone who only attended a few months of junior high school really thinks she's something, huh?"
Faced with Shi Zhenzhen's sarcasm, Qu Chuning didn't hold back. She retorted immediately, "Comrade Shi Zhenzhen, how are you getting along with your mother-in-law? I heard you arguing the other day. You should stop fighting. No matter what, she is Lin Dongguo's mother, right? She's an elder, and as a younger generation, you should be more tolerant!"
Shi Zhenzhen's face turned pale, and she pointed at Qu Chuning, unable to speak for a long time.
Currently, Shi Zhenzhen was indeed having a hard time. Duan Chunping was inherently harsh, and now that Lin Dongguo had invited her here, it was easier to invite her than to send her away. Duan Chunping had no intention of leaving now. Moreover, she was even planning to bring her younger son and several daughters here as well.
Many people around were suppressing smiles. Shi Zhenzhen, furious, pointed at Qu Chuning and said, "Qu Chuning, don’t you act so smug! Do you really think you married into a good family?"
Whether she married into a good family or not was unclear, but Qu Chuning knew she had married a good man!
Due to the typos, there wasn’t much work to do in the afternoon. Lan Xia gathered with a few female comrades to chat, while Qu Chuning immersed herself in reading books and newspapers—finishing one book after another, one newspaper after another.
The next day, when Qu Chuning returned to work, she received praise from Director Hou. Accompanying Director Hou was the head of the proofreading department.
"You’re Comrade Qu Chuning, right? Thanks to you yesterday—I came specifically to thank you!"
Qu Chuning was flattered and quickly waved her hand. "It was nothing, just a small effort."
The leader, however, smiled and patted her shoulder. "But you helped us tremendously! From now on, I’ll have to be stricter! Xiao Qu, how many years of schooling have you had? What did you study?"
Hearing this, Director Hou’s expression shifted slightly. Was this an attempt to poach his staff right in front of him?