Jiang Baizhou’s teasing had backfired, and he was now racking his brains on how to avoid the measuring situation.
It wasn’t a matter of insecurity.
He was just worried that his little Jiang might act up at the wrong time.
Wen Yan nudged the distracted Jiang Baizhou: “What are you thinking about? Time to eat.”
Jiang Baizhou: “Nothing much. Let’s eat, let’s eat.”
On the kang, the new kang table was 80 centimeters square, and the two sat facing each other.
There was steamed salted fish, a mixed grain porridge of sorghum and corn, salted beans, and the only two eye-catching items were the rice porridge and a small bundle of clean, white little “tree sticks.”
Wen Yan picked one up with two fingers, tilting her head to ask: “What’s this?”
“Couch grass roots. They’re sweet. I found them while reclaiming land and brought them back. They’re good for munching on at night.”
The sound of crunching filled the air. Wen Yan licked the tip of her tongue and exclaimed in delight: “It really is a little sweet!”
Jiang Baizhou looked at Wen Yan. She was so easily satisfied.
She was clearly a pampered young lady, but in the two days since she arrived, she hadn’t complained once and had even done quite a bit of work.
She always seemed so full of energy.
Wen Yan only tried one: “It’s good. I’ll have more after dinner.”
“Alright.”
Jiang Baizhou pushed the white rice porridge toward Wen Yan. Seeing that Jiang Baizhou had also taken some for himself, Wen Yan didn’t stand on ceremony.
The two chatted idly.
Wen Yan mentioned that she had spent quite a bit of money and ration coupons. Jiang Baizhou only reminded her: “Remember to give me fifty cents for pocket money.”
Wen Yan: “Isn’t fifty cents too little?”
Jiang Baizhou said righteously: “It’s not too little. I can’t let pocket money corrupt my mind.”
Wen Yan burst out laughing, bright and radiant. Jiang Baizhou’s eyes held a hidden tenderness.
When Wen Yan learned that Jiang Baizhou had already arranged for someone to test the frostbite medicine, she looked at him with something akin to admiration. It was time for “sweet talk” again.
“Jiang Baizhou, you’ve been a huge help! You’re amazing. I didn’t even mention it, but you guessed I needed someone to test the medicine.”
“And not only are you capable, you’re also really handsome!”
Jiang Baizhou wanted to pretend it was no big deal, but the corners of his mouth betrayed him: Don’t even try to hide it.
The two enjoyed a pleasant meal together. Afterward, Wen Yan eagerly offered to wash the dishes: “You cooked the porridge today, so I’ll wash the dishes.”
Jiang Baizhou couldn’t win the argument, so he went to install the stove instead.
After washing the dishes, Wen Yan sorted through all the things she had bought.
Finally, she stood in front of the three-tiered cabinet Jiang Baizhou had brought back and praised: “Jiang Baizhou, the cabinet you brought back today is just the right height and size. It’s perfect and really useful.”
Wen Yan provided plenty of emotional validation, and Jiang Baizhou’s smile never faded.
Once everything was tidied up, Wen Yan took out her notebook and pen, ready to give Jiang Baizhou a lesson.
Jiang Baizhou sighed inwardly. Having a diligent and highly motivated wife was something else.
Still, he didn’t resist. Maybe if he studied hard enough, Wen Yan would forget about making underwear.
This time, with the kang table, they didn’t have to hunch over.
Before they began, Jiang Baizhou suddenly spoke up: “I have a mission the day after tomorrow. It’ll probably take about a month.”
For the first time, he felt a little reluctant to leave.
Wen Yan looked up and immediately thought of the reclamation vanguard team.
She had already seen the three-dimensional map provided by the System and knew there was a large, hard-to-spot swamp to the southwest, with depths of five or six meters. If someone accidentally fell in, survival would be nearly impossible.
To prevent this from happening, the best option would be to go along. But Wen Yan only considered it briefly before dismissing the idea.
One must know their limits.
Someone who couldn’t even handle the cold when going outside would never survive in the wilderness amidst ice and snow. It simply wasn’t something she could accomplish.
If anything, she might even hold others back.
“What kind of mission is it? Can I know?”
Wen Yan asked, and Jiang Baizhou didn’t hide it—this wasn’t something that needed to be kept secret.
“I’m going to scout uncharted areas. The agricultural officer will assess whether the terrain and environment are suitable for cultivation and which direction offers more land for reclamation. I’m responsible for leading the team and ensuring safety. That’s pretty much it.”
Wen Yan nodded thoughtfully.
Then, she pulled over a notebook and began writing and drawing with a pencil.
“Today, we’ll have a geography lesson. We’ll learn about the geographical overview of the Northeast and the characteristics of swamps.”
For the entire evening, Jiang Baizhou was bombarded with five hours of geography knowledge.
Not only that, Wen Yan abandoned her usual slow-paced teaching approach. As she taught, she made Jiang Baizhou memorize the material and even quizzed him on it.
Furthermore, she demanded very seriously, “You must memorize the entire text. I’ll test you tomorrow night.”
Jiang Baizhou looked puzzled—there was going to be a test?
Although he didn’t know how other couples interacted, he was certain they didn’t have tests.
Across from him, Wen Yan kept yawning, her eyes welling up with tired tears, but she gritted her teeth and persisted, completely unlike the person who had gone to bed at nine o’clock the previous two days.
Jiang Baizhou said with concern, “I’ll memorize it. You should go to sleep now. Your eyes are red.”
Wen Yan nodded while yawning. The two of them worked together to tidy the table, lay out the bedding, and went to sleep.
Once lying down, Wen Yan didn’t fall asleep instantly. Instead, she stubbornly held onto a thought, drowsily extending a hand to pat Jiang Baizhou.
“Memorize it well. If you do, the teacher has a reward!”
Jiang Baizhou caught Wen Yan’s mischievous hand, looking at her small face that had already fallen back asleep. He gently squeezed her soft palm, reluctant to let go, his eyes gleaming with interest. “A reward?”
In the darkness, a soft laugh sounded, a murmur like an intimate whisper: I’ll take that seriously.
The next morning, when Wen Yan woke up, Jiang Baizhou was already gone.
But the room was warm, and the newly installed stove glowed red.
Millet porridge was cooked, and food from the cafeteria had been brought back.
Under the lunchbox, Wen Yan found a note left by Jiang Baizhou: On a mission. Eat well.
Below it was a line of smaller text: I’ll memorize it well and wait for your reward.
Wen Yan raised an eyebrow: A reward?
Did she say that?
It seemed she did.
Wen Yan didn’t think it was a big deal, as long as Jiang Baizhou could successfully avoid the swamps.
Although what she taught yesterday was geography, it was all based on a three-dimensional map.
To put it plainly, it was all real. As long as Jiang Baizhou saw the area, he would definitely notice something was off.
After finishing her meal, Wen Yan grabbed her medicine bag and headed out.
She needed to borrow a large iron pot from the cafeteria’s Niu to boil medicinal water.
“Commander Jiang’s wife?”
Wen Yan listened for a moment before realizing the person was calling her. She turned around and responded politely with a smile, “Are you calling me?”
“Yes, yes, Commander Jiang’s wife, right? I’m Zhou Hong, Commander Zhang’s wife from the first battalion.”
Wen Yan obediently called her Sister-in-law Zhou.
Zhou Hong was not tall, neat and efficient in appearance, with a willow basket on her back and a small rake-like tool in her hand.
Last night, Commander Zhang had told her to chat with Wen Yan, saying she was new here and didn’t know anyone.
“Oh, I live diagonally across from your house. Feel free to come over and sit sometime.”
Wen Yan had a keen sense of people’s kindness or malice. She smiled and nodded, “Okay, thank you, Sister-in-law.”
“There’s no need to thank me. Do you have enough pine needles for kindling? If not, just let me know, and I’ll take you to gather some together.”
Wen Yan now understood what the other person was planning to do, but she wasn’t in the mood to gather pine needles at the moment.
“Sister-in-law, I’d like to ask you for a favor.”