He was afraid this question might offend Comrade Qiao.
Xie Zhongming politely added, “Comrade Qiao, I don’t mean anything by it. If your husband also wants to find a job in the city, I can help ask around and see if there’s any suitable work for him.”
The Military Region Cafeteria was sometimes short a cook, and the Logistics Department would also need an odd-job man or something of the sort.
If Comrade Qiao was purely here to be a nanny, helping her husband find a job would allow the couple to see each other often, and also let the two children see their father frequently.
For him, it was a trivial matter.
Besides, if Comrade Qiao’s identity was truly suspicious, he could probe for more information from her.
After all, he couldn’t just conclude that Comrade Qiao was a spy based on the information he had.
His calm, somewhat piercing gaze fell upon Qiao Xingyue, carefully observing her subtle reactions.
Beside them, Huang Guilan wondered why her fourth son was being so enthusiastic today.
She had just been about to ask Comrade Qiao what her husband did and whether she needed help finding him a job in the city too, so the young couple could see each other more often.
It was as if her fourth son could read her mind.
Huang Guilan couldn’t help but chime in, “That’s right, Comrade Qiao, what does your husband do? Would he like to come work in the Compound with you?”
Qiao Xingyue answered crisply, “Thank you for your kindness, Aunt Lan and Comrade Xie, but there’s no need. My husband sacrificed his life for the country not long after we got married.”
Mentioning her husband, Qiao Xingyue couldn’t help but find the situation somewhat absurd.
That man was an unlucky fellow.
He was just on a mission in Chadian Village when he was tricked by Pang Ya’s Mother. A bowl of Sweet Potato Porridge led to her and that Platoon Leader sleeping together, forcing the man to marry her against his will.
And not long after, the man sacrificed his life for the country.
Truly a terrible fate!
This news weighed heavily on Huang Guilan’s heart. Looking at Comrade Qiao and her two children, she felt an even deeper pang of sympathy.
No wonder these two kids looked so pitiful; it turned out they had lost their father long ago.
It seemed she would have to take even better care of this Comrade Qiao and her two children from now on.
Hearing this, regardless of whether she was telling the truth, Xie Zhongming felt a little apologetic. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked.”
“It’s alright. I’ve long gotten used to raising two children on my own.” She said it lightly, never mentioning the hardships and difficulties to others.
Seeing the faint, almost imperceptible, bitter smile on her lips, Xie Zhongming, for some reason, regretted asking such a blunt question.
After dusk, Qiao Xingyue washed Grandma Xie’s face, soaked her feet, then gave her a full-body massage, and finally took her pulse.
Grandma Xie’s hemiplegia wasn’t due to muscle atrophy, but rather to poor circulation of qi and blood. She was fairly confident she could help nurse Grandma Xie back to health.
But she couldn’t make such a bold promise.
“Division Commander, Aunt Lan, I’ll start by massaging Grandma’s body for a few days. If you trust me, I’ll give her Acupuncture in a few days.”
In private, Xie Jiang went to Xie Zhongming’s room. “Fourth Brother, Comrade Qiao performed surgery on you in Shantang Village. What do you think of her medical skills? Can she perform Acupuncture on Grandma?”
Xie Zhongming pursed his thin lips.
His mind automatically flashed back to when he was refusing to let anyone take off his pants for surgery. The way Comrade Qiao had stuck the needle into his arm was fast, precise, and ruthless.
With one jab, his arm had gone numb and limp, unable to move.
This Comrade Qiao must have some real skill.
“Let Comrade Qiao try.”
“She’s so young. What if she injures your grandma with the needles?”
“I don’t think she will.”
Xie Jiang was a filial son; he didn’t dare gamble with his mother’s well-being.
“I think Comrade Qiao is still quite young. It’s fine to have her do daily care and massages for Grandma. But let’s forget about the Acupuncture. If Comrade Qiao brings it up again, help me politely decline.”
“Dad, we can really let Comrade Qiao try.”
“It’s not that I don’t trust Comrade Qiao’s medical skills. It’s that your grandma is old and can’t withstand being experimented on.”
With that, Division Commander Xie jumped to another topic. “Fourth Brother, is your injury serious? Does it affect… that aspect?”
“I got dozens of stitches.”
“Ah, how is it so serious?”
“…”
“Fourth Brother, you can’t let our family line end with you. You and Pang Ya haven’t had a child yet.”
At the mention of Pang Ya, Xie Zhongming’s expression darkened.
“Dad, I will never have a child with Pang Ya in this lifetime.”
He wouldn’t let Pang Ya come to the Compound to live with him as a military spouse, and it didn’t seem like Pang Ya wanted to come anyway.
Perhaps Pang Ya’s Mother was only interested in the living expenses he sent back every month.
As long as he sent the money on time, Pang Ya and Pang Ya’s Mother never mentioned coming to live with the army.
In this lifetime, he would never have that kind of relationship with Pang Ya again.
He would just mail money to Chadian Village every month and compensate Pang Ya that way for the rest of her life.
If Pang Ya couldn’t stand the long-distance separation and asked for a divorce, he would agree to her request at any time and would also compensate her with a sum of money.
But he would absolutely not have a child with her!
…
In Grandma’s room, Qiao Xingyue had already been massaging her for half an hour.
As she massaged Grandma’s left leg, An An and Ningning copied her, massaging their great-grandmother’s right leg.
Qiao Xingyue’s hands didn’t stop as she took the opportunity to ask Aunt Lan for some basic information.
“Aunt Lan, how long has Grandma been paralyzed?”
“About half a year.”
“What caused the paralysis? Did she have a stroke, encephalitis, or any other external injuries?”
“None of those.”
“Does Grandma have any other underlying conditions?”
“Comrade Qiao, what are underlying conditions?”
“Things like high blood pressure, diabetes, or heart disease.”
“No.” Huang Guilan shook her head.
Qiao Xingyue nodded thoughtfully. “Alright, I’ll help nurse Grandma back to health.”
Grandma’s hemiplegia and facial paralysis seemed quite severe, but since it wasn’t caused by a stroke or encephalitis, it was only temporary. Plus, Grandma had no underlying conditions. With Acupuncture treatment, there was a high hope for recovery.
She tucked the blanket in for Grandma.
“My, my girl, th-thank you.” Grandma’s mouth was crooked, and her speech was slurred, but her face was full of a kind smile.
Then she looked at An An and Ningning.
How could these two little girls be so beautiful!
Grandma Xie, seventy-six years old and named Chen Suying, had participated in the revolution in her early years. Like Huang Guilan, she had always hoped for a daughter, but she had given birth to seven sons.
And all her great-grandchildren below them were boys, without a single girl.
The old lady looked at An An and Ningning with growing fondness. If only these two girls were her great-granddaughters, how wonderful that would be!
“An An, Ningning, you two stay here and chat with Great-Grandma for a bit. Mama is going out to tidy up.”
As soon as Qiao Xingyue left, Great-Grandma looked at the two children and called out to Huang Guilan, “Ah Lan, look… the two kids’ eyes, eyes, don’t they look, look like Zhong, Zhongming, when he was, was little?”
Great-Grandma’s face was paralyzed, her mouth was crooked, and she spoke with some difficulty.
But Huang Guilan understood her completely. “Mom, these two kids clearly look exactly like Comrade Qiao. How could they look like our Zhongming? You just want a great-granddaughter too much. If our family really had such well-behaved little girls, I’d wake up laughing from my dreams.”
However, as Huang Guilan took a closer look, she noticed that between the two children, An An’s spirited eyes did indeed bear some resemblance to her fourth son when he was little.
And what’s more, the more she looked, the more familiar and dear they seemed.
After leaving Grandma’s room, Qiao Xingyue saw Xie Zhongming fetching a basin of water and placing it on the washstand in the main room to wash his face and neck.
He was strong and scrubbed diligently.
After scrubbing, he fetched another basin of clean water and splashed it on his face.
Droplets clung to his coarse hair and brow bones, then trickled down his chiseled cheeks, making him look more refreshed and sharp than ever.
Only after he had wrung out his towel did Qiao Xingyue call out, “Comrade Xie.”
Xie Zhongming looked up. “Comrade Qiao, you all should get some sleep soon too.”
With that, Xie Zhongming carried the enamel basin to the toilet to pour the water into the storage bucket, saving it to flush the toilet.
In the Compound, soldiers whose ranks weren’t high enough were only allocated single-room dormitories without private kitchens or toilets. They had to go to the communal kitchen to cook, the utility room to do laundry, the public bathhouse to shower, and the public dry latrine to relieve themselves.
But a family like Division Commander Xie’s was different. They had a two-story small courtyard house with five rooms upstairs and downstairs, as well as a kitchen and bathroom. There was a yard outside the main room where they could grow flowers and vegetables, which was very convenient.
When Xie Zhongming returned after pouring out the water, Qiao Xingyue asked straightforwardly, “Comrade Xie, how is your injury? Do you need me to take another look?”
The moment she finished speaking, Qiao Xingyue saw a faint blush creep up the rim of Xie Zhongming’s ear.
This male comrade was still as conservative and shy as ever.
“Thank you, but there’s no need.” His hand, holding the enamel basin, tightened.
Qiao Xingyue knew he was thin-skinned and didn’t insist, only offering a kind reminder:
“Comrade Xie, I remember today is the eighth day since your surgery. You can go get your stitches removed tomorrow. At the latest, get them out in the next two days. Don’t delay too long.”
“Okay, thank you, Comrade Qiao. I’ll go to the Hygiene Section tomorrow.”
Even if he went to the Hygiene Section tomorrow, Xie Zhongming would find a male doctor.
Qiao Xingyue asked one more question, “Comrade Xie, the wound hasn’t gotten infected again these past few days, has it?”
In fact, Xie Zhongming’s wound was already infected.
After it split open a second time in Shantang Village, he had rested for less than four days before participating in the final stages of the mine disaster relief work. He had exerted himself quite a bit, and the sanitary conditions in the village were poor to begin with, so it was normal for that area to get infected.
If he told Comrade Qiao that it was infected, wouldn’t she have to take off his pants again?
The thought of having to take off his pants in front of her made Xie Zhongming’s palms sweat.
At that moment, the tungsten filament lamp overhead flickered a few times.
The light brightened and dimmed.
Other than the tips of his ears burning, Xie Zhongming’s expression remained unchanged as he replied in a deep voice, “No infection. Comrade Qiao, I’m going back to my room. You all should rest early too.”
…
After finishing her work, Qiao Xingyue led An An and Ningning back to their room.
Aunt Lan had said that Comrade Xie had helped change the sheets and quilt covers on the bunk beds.
They were all military green.
The quilts were folded into neat, tofu-like squares, and the bedsheets were spread without a single wrinkle.
An An and Ningning slept on the bottom bunk, each with a small pillow. The cotton filling in the pillows had also been stuffed by Xie Zhongming; they were soft and warm.
An An’s nose suddenly tingled. She poked her little head out and looked up at Qiao Xingyue on the top bunk. “Mama, Papa was a soldier too. Does that mean he served here before?”
“Papa was in the Kuncheng Military Region, not in Jin Cheng.”
“I thought Papa used to be a soldier here too.”
An An gazed at the moonlit, sparsely clouded night sky outside the window, and her soft, sweet voice suddenly dropped.
Even the night seemed to be tinged with a thick layer of sadness by An An’s low spirits. She had thought her father had stayed here before he died, thought she could look at the same moon in the same sky as her father once did!
Qiao Xingyue poked her head out from the top bunk, looking down at An An and Ningning on the bottom bunk. “No matter where Papa served before he died, he will always be watching over An An and Ningning from heaven, always protecting An An and Ningning.”
She just didn’t know what that man’s name was.
Otherwise, she could ask the Division Commander Xie’s family about him. Perhaps with Division Commander Xie’s wide network, he might even know how An An and Ningning’s father had sacrificed his life.
Maybe she could even ask the army for more pension money or secure some benefits for the two children as martyrs’ orphans.
Unfortunately, she really didn’t know what their father’s name was.
She only knew he was a Platoon Leader.
After An An and Ningning fell asleep, Qiao Xingyue stopped thinking about their father.
Right now, she had to hold on to this job to support her two children and to have a chance to get Ningning treated.
But then she thought of the look in Comrade Xie’s eyes when he saw her arrive at the Xie family’s home as a nanny—a gaze that was seemingly calm yet filled with vigilance and suspicion.
What exactly was he suspicious of?
Whatever Comrade Xie was suspicious of, she hoped it wouldn’t cause her to lose her job.
The next day, in order to get the hang of her job as the Xie family’s nanny more quickly, Qiao Xingyue got up early to make breakfast. She steamed buns with shredded potato filling and pickled vegetable filling, and also cooked a pot of congee.
As Qiao Xingyue was making a cold pickled vegetable salad, Huang Guilan walked into the kitchen. “Comrade Qiao, you’re up so early.”
Qiao Xingyue looked back. “Aunt Lan, perfect timing. There are some things about the household I wanted to ask you about.”
Yesterday, she had learned that Division Commander Xie’s hometown was in the Sichuan-Chongqing area, while Aunt Lan was from the south. One ate spicy food, the other didn’t.
She put down the pickled vegetable salad and asked, “Aunt Lan, what are the usual habits of you, the Division Commander, Grandma, and Comrade Xie? And are there any preferences or things to avoid? I’ll pay more attention in the future.”
As she spoke, she took out a small notebook from her pocket, which she had made by cutting paper into small squares and binding them with thread, ready to take notes as she listened.
Huang Guilan thought for a moment. “There’s nothing particularly special to note, just that your Uncle Xie likes spicy food, and I can’t eat it. Also, Zhongming and I are both allergic to peanuts, so just don’t use peanuts in the future.”
Qiao Xingyue’s hand, which was taking notes, paused.
She was stunned for a moment.
How could it be such a coincidence?
Aunt Lan and Comrade Xie were both allergic to peanuts?
Her elder daughter, An An, was also allergic to peanuts.
Thinking about her and her fourth son’s peanut allergy, Huang Guilan couldn’t help but sigh. “Ai! Comrade Qiao, you have no idea, a peanut allergy is really a terrible thing. The symptoms are terrifying.”
How could Qiao Xingyue not know how severe a peanut allergy could be?
If it was serious and not treated in time, it could be fatal.
That one time when An An was just over two years old, she had turned her back for a second and someone had given An An a peanut. An allergic reaction started within five minutes. By the time they got to the hospital, her whole body was swollen, and her throat had swollen shut, causing her to suffocate. She almost didn’t make it.
That incident had scared Qiao Xingyue to death.
She said to Huang Guilan, “Aunt Lan, what a coincidence. My An An…”