Chen Lang was bent over his desk, head down, his pen scratching rapidly across the paper.
Li Guozheng entered the room, stood at attention, and saluted crisply.
“Reporting, Battalion Commander. This afternoon’s schedule includes tactical coordination exercises and a five-kilometer armed cross-country run. The venue, equipment, and safety personnel are all in place. Safety protocols have been confirmed.”
“What about those on sick leave? Will they affect this afternoon’s training?”
“No effect. They all have minor colds. The clinic has already treated them, and they’ll return to duty this afternoon as normal.”
Chen Lang looked up, took off his glasses, and rubbed the bridge of his nose, revealing the faint stubble on his chin.
Li Guozheng remained standing in place, wrestling with himself internally.
“Something else?” Chen Lang put his hand down and looked at him.
“Well, it’s just that, um…”
“Requesting leave?” Chen Lang frowned. “Not possible at this stage.”
Li Guozheng quickly shook his head. “Battalion Commander, actually, I… have a personal matter I’d like to report to you.”
Chen Lang raised an eyebrow and smiled slightly. “Personal matter? Go ahead.”
Only then did Li Guozheng relax a little. “My sister-in-law, she recently came from our hometown to the compound to help look after the kids. She’s honest, capable, and sensible. My wife and I were talking, and since you’re always busy with work and haven’t had time to consider personal matters… I was wondering if you might like to meet her? It’s just that she’s divorced…”
He truly didn’t know where he’d found the courage to say all this.
Chen Lang was taken aback for a moment, then his expression softened slightly.
“Divorced?”
“Yes. Would you like to come over for dinner tonight?”
Adhering to the principle of listening to his wife, Li Guozheng conveyed what needed to be said. As for the outcome, he didn’t hold much hope at all, so he awkwardly added,
“If you think it’s inappropriate, just pretend I never mentioned it.”
“Alright. Dinner won’t be necessary, but I’ll stop by your place later.”
Li Guozheng quickly acknowledged, saluted again, and left the office.
Standing in the corridor, he still felt like he was dreaming.
He agreed?
Just like that?
“Company Commander Seven? What are you standing there for?”
“N-nothing.”
Li Guozheng snapped out of it, thinking he’d rush home the moment he got off work to tell his wife the good news.
Military Family Compound.
Lian Qiao was pulling weeds from a small patch of soil under the eaves and sprinkling some scallion seeds.
Her posture was extremely awkward, surrounded by piles of clutter—none of which belonged to her cousin’s family.
Ever since Niu Aixiang had argued with Lian Qiao that day, she hadn’t had the nerve to come borrow things again these past few days. But she had somehow gathered miscellaneous items and piled them here.
Yang Chunmei only said it was fine as long as she wasn’t coming to borrow things anymore—let her pile them up, even if the already narrow path was left with just a sliver of space.
Lian Qiao wiped the sweat from her forehead, calculated the time, straightened up, and looked out expectantly.
Before long, two compound guards wearing duty armbands happened to patrol by.
Lian Qiao smiled and went up to them. “Comrades, could you please take a look over here?”
The guards were both young men. They had occasionally seen Lian Qiao holding a child before and had heard she was the country sister-in-law of Company Commander Seven from the Third Battalion.
Mainly, Lian Qiao was pretty—it was hard for anyone not to notice.
“What’s the matter?” The slightly younger Jiang Wanli instinctively stopped.
Lian Qiao pointed toward the doorway. “That pile of clutter across the way is stacked right at the entrance. The path is so narrow that if a military vehicle needed to pass, it probably couldn’t get through. It’s also easy to trip while walking, and it’s a fire hazard. It affects the cleanliness and safety of our compound.”
Jiang Wanli followed the direction of her finger and looked over—old wooden boards, broken baskets, and all sorts of miscellaneous items piled up like a mountain.
Lian Qiao sighed. “If there’s an inspection from higher-ups or an emergency assembly at night, having the path blocked like this is really inconvenient. Could you please help remind them? They don’t listen when I say it.”
“Understood, I’ll handle it now.” Jiang Wanli walked straight to that household, while Yuan Ye went to inspect the piled-up items.
Niu Aixiang was nursing her child when she heard knocking at the door. She hastily tied her clothes and opened it.
“Comrade, piling up miscellaneous items in the camp area is prohibited. Blocking the passageway affects movement and safety. Please clear everything away, or we’ll have to handle it according to regulations.”
Jiang Wanli’s tone was serious, and there was no trace of a smile on his face. Niu Aixiang didn’t dare to make a scene and quickly agreed.
“Right away, I’ll clean it up right away.”
In this compound, she wasn’t afraid of anyone, but she was terrified of affecting her husband’s career prospects.
She was illiterate, but she remembered her husband’s words.
Whatever the camp guards say, you listen. If it gets reported to the higher-ups, you’ll have to pack up and leave.
She kept that firmly in mind.
Ignoring the child inside, she hurriedly stuffed the clutter back into the house. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lian Qiao standing right at her doorstep, smiling brightly as she watched her.
So it was her!
No wonder the guard had come knocking specifically.
She shot a fierce glare, but Lian Qiao’s smile didn’t waver.
Only after Niu Aixiang had finally cleaned everything up did the two guards leave.
On the way back, Jiang Wanli kept thinking about Lian Qiao’s face.
Her voice was pleasant to listen to, and she spoke with remarkable clarity—different from the other women in the compound.
Her eyes were large, but her mouth was small, and when she smiled, her cheeks puffed up slightly.
“Taken a liking to her?” Yuan Ye whispered.
Jiang Wanli’s ears grew warm, and he coughed lightly twice. “We’re on duty. What liking or not liking?”
“I think you have. But she really is a pretty girl. I wonder if she’s seeing anyone. I happen to know Company Commander Li. Want me to ask for you?”
Jiang Wanli didn’t say anything, and Yuan Ye understood.
“Wait for my good news.”
Jiang Wanli felt they were well-matched. She was from the countryside, and so was he. There was no harm in getting to know each other.
The end-of-duty whistle sounded again, and the two of them ran into Company Commander Li Guozheng, who was jogging past.
Yuan Ye had intended to greet him, but Li Guozheng was clearly in a hurry to leave, so he quietly explained to Jiang Wanli.
“I’ll find Company Commander Li another day to ask.”
Jiang Wanli whispered, “Thanks.”
Li Guozheng hurried home. Lian Qiao was inside feeding Baozhu powdered milk, while Yang Chunmei was chopping vegetables in the kitchen.
He washed his hands and helped out, whispering in her ear, “I mentioned it today. The battalion commander said he won’t stay for dinner, but he’ll come by later to sit for a while.”
Yang Chunmei’s hand trembled, nearly cutting herself. “Really?”
“Really. Have Lian Qiao change her clothes. After dinner, the two of us will go out for a stroll.”
“Alright, you take over cooking!”
Yang Chunmei washed her hands and, without even drying them, hurried into the main room, gently closing the door behind her.
“Qiao’er, change your clothes. Do you have a dress? If not, I have one.”
Lian Qiao tilted her head to look at her. “What for?”
“Later, the battalion commander is coming to our house. You two can meet and see if you like each other.”
Lian Qiao was startled. “Huh?”
“I’m asking you! Did you bring a dress?”
Lian Qiao thought her cousin’s efficiency was incredibly high. They had only casually mentioned it last night—how had she managed to bring someone over today?
“There is one thing, though—is it really necessary to change into a dress?”
Yang Chunmei took the milk bottle and pointed at her luggage bag. “Change. Change right now.”
In the end, Lian Qiao still put on the dress—the only one she owned.
It was a light blue dress with a small square collar and a thin tie at the waist. She also swapped her cloth shoes for a pair of low-heeled leather flats.
Her hair was braided by Yang Chunmei into a thick plait, woven from the crown all the way to the ends—something she would never have managed on her own.
During the meal, her brother-in-law briefly described the battalion commander’s general situation, which wasn’t much different from what her cousin had said. She listened absentmindedly.
After dinner, the couple took their child out to visit neighbors, clearly planning to return quite late.
She sat quietly in the room, waiting, and suddenly let out a soft laugh.
She felt like a commodity waiting to be priced, sitting there for customers to arrive so she could be sold off.
She grew so drowsy from waiting that she was about to doze off. Just as she thought the lights-out call would sound soon, there came a gentle knock at the door.