Compared to cooking, what Qiao Yu was more curious about now was:
“Why are you taking a shower so early in the morning?”
Gu Shaoyuan paused at her question. Of course, he couldn’t say that he’d been thinking about her all night, which was why he’d taken a cold shower.
He came up with a more decent excuse. “It was too hot. I woke up covered in sweat, so I went to wash up.”
Qiao Yu nodded understandingly and turned her gaze toward the stove.
“I don’t know how to light the fire. Can you teach me?”
Gu Shaoyuan had initially wanted to say that he’d handle the cooking from now on. His wife was a delicate young lady, and her jade-like hands were too beautiful to be used in the kitchen.
But then he thought, if he went on missions in the future, there’d be no one to cook for Qiao Yu.
He couldn’t let his wife go hungry waiting for him to return, could he? It was better to teach her these skills.
“Put the firewood inside…”
Qiao Yu crouched down, watching his movements intently, trying to memorize every step he taught her.
After demonstrating once, Gu Shaoyuan wanted to ask if she’d learned it. As he turned his face slightly, he met Qiao Yu’s fair, translucent face.
Their faces were only a few centimeters apart, close enough to clearly see the fine hairs on each other’s skin.
The faint, fresh scent from Qiao Yu kept drifting into Gu Shaoyuan’s nostrils.
He lowered his gaze, staring at her delicate, rosy lips, and his Adam’s apple moved involuntarily.
Qiao Yu had been watching intently when he suddenly turned his face toward her, leaving her momentarily stunned.
Sensing the tension lingering in the air, Qiao Yu quickly took a step back to create some distance.
“I… I’ve learned it.”
Gu Shaoyuan nodded and withdrew his gaze. “Let’s have noodles for breakfast this morning. I still need to return to the base later.”
Qiao Yu: “Okay.”
Since someone was cooking for her, she’d eat whatever was made.
Gu Shaoyuan added an egg to the noodles he cooked for Qiao Yu. Last night, when he held her, he felt his wife was still too thin.
He needed to fatten her up a bit.
The two of them finished breakfast quietly. Before leaving, Gu Shaoyuan took out the ladies’ watch from the betrothal gifts and asked Qiao Yu to wear it.
“I should be back around noon.”
He also noticed that Qiao Yu wore a crystal-clear jade bracelet on her left wrist.
The quality of the jade bracelet was clearly expensive.
The pale green, translucent jade bracelet suited his wife’s temperament perfectly.
As Qiao Yu watched him lower his head and carefully help her put on the watch, a strange feeling welled up in her heart.
This man in front of her was a regiment commander, yet he helped her change her shoes, cooked for her, and gave her a watch.
She had never been cared for like this by a man before.
Qiao Yu averted her gaze from him and said, “I understand. You should go and get busy.”
Gu Shaoyuan gave her a few more reminders before turning to leave.
After he left, Qiao Yu frowned slightly. The book had described Regimental Commander Gu as ruthless and cold-blooded, but the current Regimental Commander Gu was completely different from what she’d imagined.
Now, Qiao Yu was the only one left at home.
With nothing else to do, she looked at the empty plots of land dug up in the yard and decided to go out to buy some seeds.
…
Just as Qiao Yu reached the entrance of the residential compound, she ran into Wang Guilan and Zhao Jinhua.
They spotted her too and were surprised.
“Sister Yu, why are you up so early as a newlywed?”
As she spoke, Wang Guilan hesitated for a moment before subtly asking Qiao Yu, “Is Regimental Commander Gu… not quite capable?”
Back when they first became brides, their husbands had kept them up until late into the night, and they didn’t get up until noon the next day.
Qiao Yu was at a loss for words. She hadn’t even shared a bed with Gu Shaoyuan yet, so how would she know whether he was capable or not?
Seeing Qiao Yu fall silent, Wang Guilan and Zhao Jinhua both assumed their guess was correct.
“Earlier, there were rumors on the island that Battalion Commander Gu kept his distance from women because he wasn’t capable. Now it seems like it might be true…”
Before they could finish, Qiao Yu cut them off.
“What do you mean not capable? He’s more than capable!”
A husband’s dignity is a wife’s honor.
She and Gu Shaoyuan were already married, and as husband and wife, they were one. She couldn’t let others speak ill of him.
Seeing Qiao Yu’s face tense up, Wang Guilan and Zhao Jinhua thought she was angry.
Matters between a young couple weren’t something they should pry into too much.
Wang Guilan quickly changed the subject.
“We’re going to the county by boat with the procurement team. Yu girl, are you coming?”
“Yes!”
Qiao Yu didn’t hesitate at all.
She had originally planned to buy seeds anyway, so this was a perfect opportunity to go to the county market with them and see if there were any piglets for sale.
This procurement team was specifically for military wives, making trips to the county every five days.
A few unfamiliar young military wives were also on the boat. Qiao Yu glanced at them carefully, confirming she didn’t know them.
Those military wives were also sizing up Qiao Yu. They had heard that Battalion Commander Gu got married yesterday, and his wife was a young lady from Shanghai.
Qiao Yu was dressed so fashionably and was sitting with Wang Guilan—she must be Battalion Commander Gu’s wife.
One of the military wives was hesitating whether to approach and build a rapport when Zhao Jinhua promptly blocked her way.
“Yu girl, you must be bored at home, right? I’ll take you to our cultural troupe another day.”
Qiao Yu smiled and said, “Sure.”
She had never seen a cultural troupe performance before, and she heard they were quite spectacular.
Zhao Jinhua was actually quite good-looking with a nice figure, otherwise she wouldn’t have been selected for the cultural troupe.
Today, she was taking advantage of the cultural troupe’s day off to go to the county with Wang Guilan and buy some skincare products.
“Yu girl, how is your skin so good?”
Zhao Jinhua looked at Qiao Yu with envy in her eyes.
In the sunlight, Qiao Yu’s skin was as white as fine mutton-fat jade, without a single flaw. Even the tips of her ears, exposed to the breeze, had a faint pink glow.
Having lived on the island for so long, their skin had tanned quite a bit. In contrast, Qiao Yu stood out in the crowd, glowing with fairness.
“I use snow cream.”
As Qiao Yu spoke, she noticed their envious looks and smiled. “I brought quite a bit of snow cream from Shanghai. I’ll give you each a jar later.”
Wang Guilan and Zhao Jinhua were instantly thrilled. What woman doesn’t love beauty?
“Thank you, Yu girl.”
Qiao Yu was a young lady from a wealthy family, so the skincare products she used were all branded.
Snow cream from Shanghai was nothing like the kind sold in their small local shops—it was definitely much more effective.
The other military wives nearby listened to their conversation, feeling a pang of envy.
Battalion Commander Gu’s wife was truly generous. Snow cream they couldn’t even afford, she was giving away just like that.
After more than two hours on the boat, they finally arrived at the pier in Ganquan County.
Looking at the pier, Qiao Yu couldn’t help but sigh. The last time she stood here, she was still an unmarried girl.
Now, she was already a married woman.
As soon as they disembarked, Wang Guilan and Zhao Jinhua headed straight for the supply and marketing cooperative, wanting to bring Qiao Yu along.
Qiao Yu made up an excuse, “I want to look around elsewhere. Sisters-in-law, you go ahead first. I’ll catch up in a bit.”
Wang Guilan replied, “Alright, don’t get lost.”
They were worried that Qiao Yu, being unfamiliar with the area, might wander off.
After all, she was Battalion Commander Gu’s wife. If she got lost, Gu Shaoyuan would be frantic with worry.