Qin Zhihang didn’t want to be this nosy, but he was genuinely curious.
Take the money issue, for example.
Life in the military didn’t really provide many opportunities to spend money. They ate in the mess hall, wore the uniforms issued to them, and only occasionally spent a little when visiting Old Yang’s place or Political Commissar Song’s home during their days off.
Even then, it was usually just bringing along a small gift as a courtesy.
Other than that, there was practically nowhere to spend money.
Besides, Ji Yanchuan’s monthly allowance wasn’t small.
Yet all that money had suddenly disappeared.
Had he run into a female swindler?
Or some kind of enchantress?
“Don’t walk so fast. Tell me what happened already. The way you scolded that girl in the mountains this afternoon was completely unlike you. And then—”
“And then, after cursing her out, you immediately rolled down a hill hugging her…”
Qin Zhihang was talking enthusiastically when the man ahead suddenly stopped.
He nearly crashed into him and was shoved away by Ji Yanchuan pressing a hand against his forehead.
Ji Yanchuan was indeed highly capable.
If his mind hadn’t been in such turmoil, no one would have been able to bump into him so casually.
Still, he disagreed strongly with Qin Zhihang’s description.
“When did I roll down a hill hugging her? If you can’t speak properly, keep your mouth shut.”
Qin Zhihang followed him into the dormitory.
“Still denying it? The four of us saw it with our own eight eyes. You had her held tightly against your chest. If this were ancient times, that would count as private intimacy between a man and woman. If you don’t marry her afterward, it’ll be very hard to explain.”
After finishing his rambling, Qin Zhihang received no response.
Fortunately, he was used to it.
Ji Yanchuan had always been a man of few words.
Sometimes, in an entire week, he didn’t speak as much as Qin Zhihang did in a single day.
To be good friends, it wouldn’t work if both of them were chatterboxes.
Qin Zhihang casually leaned his backside against the desk.
Before he could sit properly, his hand touched something.
Picking it up, he discovered it was a freshly dug ginseng root.
It was extremely fresh and still covered in dirt.
“I didn’t see this before you left. You dug it up in the mountains?”
Ji Yanchuan grunted in acknowledgment.
For some reason, he suddenly remembered the image of the ginseng resting in another pair of slender, pale hands.
Qin Zhihang compared the length of the ginseng against his own hand, then sniffed it.
“How much would this fetch if sold? Three hundred yuan?”
Three hundred?
Ji Yanchuan wasn’t actually sure.
He had never sold ginseng before.
But he knew one thing:
Not long ago, he had practically emptied all the cash he had on hand and given it to Shen Yueliang.
Only a few small notes remained in his possession.
“About that much,” he replied vaguely.
Qin Zhihang casually set the ginseng back down.
“When I got back, I didn’t see Comrade Shen. So she really left after getting angry at you?”
Ji Yanchuan and Qin Zhihang had known each other for many years and shared countless secrets.
But when it came to Shen Yueliang, Ji Yanchuan simply didn’t want to talk.
Not a single word.
Seeing his silence, Qin Zhihang treated it as confirmation.
Truthfully, Qin Zhihang didn’t believe Ji Yanchuan had fallen for her.
This man was already twenty-three years old and had never once shown signs of romantic interest.
Back in the capital, he had seen countless outstanding young women.
Not that Qin Zhihang looked down on Shen Yueliang.
She was indeed a good girl.
But coming from such a remote rural area, her family background was worlds apart from Ji Yanchuan’s.
Besides, she clearly didn’t seem interested either.
Throughout the day, she barely spoke to Ji Yanchuan and even got scolded for no reason.
Thinking about it made Qin Zhihang melancholy.
“Honestly, her personality is really good. And since you don’t eat spicy food, you have no idea how delicious those two fish dishes were. And that chicken chili sauce she mentioned? I bet that’s amazing too.”
Usually they were serious and disciplined during training, but at the end of the day they were still a bunch of young men in their early twenties.
Qin Zhihang swallowed unconsciously.
“You cursed her out so badly. Young girls are thin-skinned. She probably won’t even dare come back anymore.”
And just like that—
His chicken chili sauce was gone.
Qin Zhihang was unwilling to accept it.
In fact, he was convinced Shen Yueliang had many more culinary tricks hidden up her sleeve.
As a result, he shot his friend a meaningful glare.
He had already decided that in the future he’d quietly get closer to Yang Chunjiang.
After all, Yang Chunjiang’s wife was familiar with Shen Yueliang.
If he tagged along, he could probably benefit too.
And he wouldn’t freeload—he could pay with money or ration coupons.
While Qin Zhihang was plotting his little scheme, Ji Yanchuan leaned against the wall.
His long legs were slightly bent.
One hand rested in his trouser pocket and unconsciously clenched.
“You think she really won’t come back?”
“Of course,” Qin Zhihang replied irritably.
“If someone cursed you out like that, would you come back again?”
Ji Yanchuan didn’t know.
But the thought irritated him.
Life in the military remained as monotonous as ever.
Wake up at a fixed time.
Train at a fixed time.
Eat at a fixed time.
Compared to the recruits, they had slightly more freedom, but they still had to obey regulations and couldn’t leave the camp whenever they wanted.
Truthfully, life had always been like this.
Yet for some reason, the past few days felt unusually dull and difficult to endure.
There was evening training scheduled.
After dinner came a brief period of free time.
Qin Zhihang lay sprawled on his bed with his hands behind his head.
His legs swung lazily back and forth.
He was making full use of his rest period.
Yang Chunjiang arrived at that moment.
The family housing compound was very close to the camp.
This military unit had been stationed here for many years in a remote region, and some regulations differed slightly from those of other units, especially regarding military families.
For someone like Yang Chunjiang, as long as his training and duties were arranged properly, he could often return to the family housing area.
“Everyone’s here!”
“What brings you over at this hour?” Ji Yanchuan asked.
Tonight’s training schedule was different.
Yang Chunjiang wasn’t required to participate.
Under normal circumstances, he should have been at home accompanying his wife.
And whenever he had free time, accompanying his wife was always his first priority.
Yang Chunjiang grinned.
Not bothering with small talk, he got straight to the point.
“Qin Zhihang, this is for you!”
Following his words, Ji Yanchuan lowered his gaze and finally noticed the glass jar in Yang Chunjiang’s hand.
The jar wasn’t large and was transparent.
Its contents were immediately visible.
Bright red chili oil.
A suspicion immediately formed in his mind.
“Chicken chili sauce?”
“Shen Yueliang came by?” Qin Zhihang leapt off the bed in excitement.
He had been thinking about it for days.
Yang Chunjiang nodded.
“That’s right. She came this afternoon and delivered the finished clothes. She brought the chicken chili sauce too.”
“Three small jars altogether.”
“One for our family.”
“One for Political Commissar Song’s family.”
“And this one is yours.”
“My wife cooked noodles for dinner. Mixed with this sauce, they were incredibly fragrant.”
Qin Zhihang couldn’t wait any longer.
He opened the jar immediately.
Even before opening it, the aroma was obvious.
He dipped a finger inside and tasted a little.
The flavor of rendered chicken fat blended into the chili oil.
It was indeed extraordinarily fragrant.
“If she came all this way and even brought me a jar, that’s really too thoughtful. When will she come again? I’ll give her some grain coupons and meat coupons.”
Yang Chunjiang shook his head.
“No idea.”
“I’ve delivered the item, so I’ll leave you two to it.”
“See you tomorrow morning.”
He had only come to deliver something.
Now that his task was done, he naturally wanted to hurry home and spend time with his wife.
Qin Zhihang was in excellent spirits after finally obtaining the chicken chili sauce he’d been craving.
He escorted Yang Chunjiang out and returned to the room.
Then he noticed Ji Yanchuan staring at the jar of chili sauce on the table.
Walking over, Qin Zhihang patted his friend on the shoulder.
“See? Everyone got a share except you.”
“That’s what happens when you don’t behave properly and end up scolding a young girl.”
“She definitely doesn’t want to see you.”
“But then again, you don’t eat spicy food anyway. Giving you a jar would’ve been a waste.”
Ji Yanchuan looked at his good friend.
So was it because he didn’t eat spicy food…
Or because…
She disliked him?