In a flash, Jiang Lizhu was completely awake.
After three months of nursing a baby, her initial embarrassment, discomfort, and distress had turned into a habit and instinct: now, when she heard the baby cry, she simply unbuttoned her clothes.
Jiang Lizhu quickly sat up straight. Glancing down, the faint embarrassment and annoyance that had begun to rise on her face instantly gave way to a touch of speechlessness.
She hadn’t even exposed her collarbone yet. Was Gu Mingyan’s shy, tense reaction really necessary?
As these thoughts flitted through her mind, Jiang Lizhu swiftly attributed the slight awkwardness she felt to him, then calmed down completely. Deftly, she pulled the side-fastening collar of her top back together and reached out her hands. “Give me the child. Can you help lower the mosquito net?”
“Okay,” Gu Mingyan replied, his voice still steady. Keeping his eyes lowered, careful not to look or think too much, he handed the baby over securely and immediately did as Jiang Lizhu asked, letting down the mosquito net.
But this gauze net, meant only to keep out insects, obviously didn’t block much. A flash of snowy white caught his eye, and Gu Mingyan immediately turned his back again. A moment later, he felt an incredible heat creeping up his ears. His heart fluttered with confusion; he really didn’t seem like someone who had been married for over a year.
But in truth, he and Jiang Lizhu had only been intimate once – on the day they got their marriage certificate. Jiang Lizhu had initiated it, and Gu Mingyan, wanting to reassure her and show he was serious about the marriage, had gone along with it. The process wasn’t smooth, but they had managed to consummate the marriage.
However, after that night, Jiang Lizhu’s physical and mental state deteriorated further, and he hadn’t dared to touch her again.
Before he could investigate the reason for Jiang Lizhu’s obvious change, he was urgently dispatched on a mission to a neighboring city. After finishing that phase of the mission, he only had enough time passing through Su City to introduce Jiang Lizhu to a comrade at the Su City police station before taking the train back to his unit.
From then on, their communication was mainly through telegrams and letters. Their already lukewarm relationship completely cooled down.
Or perhaps, the progress in their relationship over the past year was less than what they had made that morning.
With the child as a bond, they had more to talk about. After this past year, Jiang Lizhu’s thoughts had clearly matured, and she was willing to share some of her true feelings with him.
Gu Mingyan wasn’t the type to be rebellious or unconventional. If he could have a life with a wife, children, and a warm home, why would he be unwilling?
In that brief moment, Gu Mingyan realized with profound clarity that his wife, Jiang Lizhu, was truly very beautiful, very attractive, very tempting, and a serious test of his willpower as a soldier.
Watching Gu Mingyan’s rigid back, Jiang Lizhu felt both speechless and amused. It seemed Gu Mingyan also needed time to adjust to having a legally bound partner by his side.
And with the child so young, she didn’t plan to handle all the parenting work herself. After this, moments like these would be unavoidable.
After a few more times, both she and Gu Mingyan would get used to it quickly. Just like her – she had already mastered the skill of breastfeeding, hadn’t she?
“Gu Ming… Mingyan, did you buy lunch?” Jiang Lizhu broke the silence proactively. Not just the baby, she was feeling hungry too.
“Lunch is bought. I also went to the police station and called the military base. We just need to wait for news,” Gu Mingyan said, no longer standing rigidly. As he spoke, he walked over, tidied and wiped the desk a little, then arranged the stacked lunchboxes.
After about ten minutes, Jiang Lizhu finished feeding the baby and tidied her clothes. Only then did she part the mosquito net and get out of bed.
“Why haven’t you eaten yet? You need to eat first so you can take over watching the baby. He’s awake now and won’t stay put – someone has to keep an eye on him.”
Talking as she moved, Jiang Lizhu ran her fingers through her loose hair, quickly braided it into a simple side plait, then leaned down to pick up the baby, patting his back rhythmically to burp him.
“I’ll hold the baby. You eat first,” Gu Mingyan said with a slight smile, walking quickly to sit on the edge of the bed and extending his hands towards Jiang Lizhu.
“Hold on, I’m burping him. If I don’t get the burp out, he might easily spit up,” Jiang Lizhu said. Only after successfully coaxing out a burp did she transfer her warm, soft son into Gu Mingyan’s arms.
Seeing that Gu Mingyan was holding him without any major issues, she quickly went to the chair at the desk and sat down, opening the food containers one by one. The staples were rice and steamed buns, with braised pork, chicken stewed with taro, and scrambled eggs with tomatoes as the side dishes.
“Wow, all my favorites,” Jiang Lizhu said, glancing back at Gu Mingyan holding the baby, not stinting on praise. “You really know how to pick them! You got these from the East Street State Restaurant, right?”
“That’s right. The fish head and tofu soup is in the enamel pot,” Gu Mingyan said. Before buying the food, he had specifically sought out Aunt Mei, who lived in the western side courtyard – a person Jiang Lizhu had mentioned once. From her, he learned about Jiang Lizhu’s preferences and what dishes were suitable for a nursing mother.
However, after that conversation, his good impression of Aunt Mei had plummeted. Besides telling him Jiang Lizhu’s preferences, Aunt Mei had also hinted with her words that Jiang Lizhu was extravagant, lazy, and a spendthrift… It wasn’t until he firmly, though politely, pushed back that she laughed awkwardly and dared not say more.
Gu Mingyan didn’t bring this up. Jiang Lizhu and the child would soon be joining him at the military base; there was no need to worry further about the people and matters here. Getting angry or feeling disheartened over it was unnecessary.
Jiang Lizhu was naturally well aware of Aunt Mei’s character. Aunt Mei not only loved gossiping about other families but also about Jiang Lizhu.
However, when it came to matters involving money, she wouldn’t be indiscreet and blabber. Aunt Mei, and formerly various advisors like Granny Li, probably thought from the bottom of their hearts that their words were for Jiang Lizhu’s own good, and for Gu Mingyan’s benefit.
After all, not many men or in-laws could tolerate Jiang Lizhu’s perceived laziness and free-spending ways.
Jiang Lizhu understood this perfectly well. She simply cared more that Aunt Mei did her job properly for the pay; she didn’t pay much attention to the rest.
Jiang Lizhu’s face lit up with a smile. “The braised pork from the master chef at the East Street State Restaurant is the most famous. It’s sweet but not greasy, perfectly tender, and has a faint, delightful fragrance of apple and hawthorn. It’s so delicious.”
After popping a piece of meat into her own mouth, Jiang Lizhu switched chopsticks, picked up three pieces, placed them on the lid of one food container, and walked over to the bed. “Open wide. Say ah.”
Gu Mingyan turned his head. After a moment’s hesitation, he did as Jiang Lizhu said, opening his mouth and taking the large piece of braised pork. Meat was a rare and precious commodity in this era anyway, and this was exceptionally well-cooked.
“Good, right?” Jiang Lizhu asked. Seeing Gu Mingyan nod, she pursed her lips in a smile and explained, “This meat is best eaten hot. It’s just the right temperature now. If it cools down more, it’ll get greasy.”
Gu Mingyan nodded in agreement. “Delicious.”
Before Gu Mingyan could say more, Jiang Lizhu picked up another piece and fed it to him. After he swallowed, she fed him the last piece, not worrying whether he might find it too rich.
Jiang Lizhu turned and went back to the desk to continue her meal. She wasn’t interested in the steamed buns, eating most of the rice instead. She also ate a good portion of each of the three side dishes and drank as much of the fish head soup from the enamel pot as she could.
She had to nurse every two or three hours, so she needed plenty of fluids and had to eat well for all three meals and even have a bedtime snack.
Jiang Lizhu went to the bathroom to brush her teeth, rinse her mouth, and wipe her face before returning to the bedside to relieve Gu Mingyan. Without needing any instruction, he had already learned how to respond to the baby’s “goo goo ga ga” sounds.
The baby wasn’t yet at the age of stranger anxiety, or perhaps there was a natural father-son bond, but so far, he was being very cooperative with his new father.
“Put him down. I’ll stay with him. You go eat quickly.” Jiang Lizhu gently pushed Gu Mingyan’s shoulder, snapping him out of his absorption with the baby.
Gu Mingyan didn’t waste words. He carefully put the baby down, got up, and made way. When he came to the desk to eat, he noticed Jiang Lizhu’s eating habits were very good. The remaining rice and side dishes, though less in quantity, were neatly arranged, as if untouched.
Gu Mingyan hadn’t felt any aversion in the first place, but now he was even more aware of the difference between Jiang Lizhu and most of the rural women and army wives in the countryside or the military family quarters.
Soon, Gu Mingyan finished off all the remaining food in the lunchboxes, even using the steamed buns to wipe clean the delicious sauces from the braised pork and the taro chicken.
“Wah wah wah…”
Just as Gu Mingyan finished washing the lunchboxes and returned, he heard his son crying. He quickly walked over. “What’s wrong with him?”
“He’s tired again, fighting sleep. A little more coaxing and he’ll fall asleep,” Jiang Lizhu said, glancing at Gu Mingyan before asking tentatively, “You want to try soothing him?”
“Okay,” Gu Mingyan agreed readily. Then, following Jiang Lizhu’s guidance, he lay down on the outside of the bed, reached out, and began gently patting and coaxing the little one.
Satisfied that Gu Mingyan’s patting pressure was right, Jiang Lizhu got off the bed and paced the room to aid digestion. About twenty minutes later, the baby was back asleep, and Jiang Lizhu climbed back onto the inner side of the bed.
Well, both she and the baby were used to napping after lunch, even though they hadn’t been up for long.
“You must not have rested well after several days on the train. You should take a nap too,” Jiang Lizhu said, her voice already sounding sleepy. For the past three months, she had followed the baby’s schedule; when he slept, she slept too, making night feedings much more bearable.
In broad daylight, Jiang Lizhu wasn’t worried about Gu Mingyan doing anything, but she couldn’t help worrying that Gu Mingyan, inexperienced with babies, might roll over and crush their son in his sleep. After a moment’s thought, she decisively picked up the baby and swapped places with him, positioning herself in the middle.
“The baby’s used to sleeping in the very middle. You sleep soundly, don’t worry about crushing him,” Jiang Lizhu said. When she herself had been a new mother, she had been utterly overwhelmed, anxious, and constantly startled, often terrified that she might accidentally hurt the baby.
“Mm, okay,” Gu Mingyan met Jiang Lizhu’s clear gaze, made an effort not to overthink things, nodded, and accepted her thoughtful gesture.
Having sat for two days and three nights straight in a hard-seat train carriage, even giving up his seat for someone else at one point, Gu Mingyan was inevitably exhausted. Now, lying on the same bed with his wife and son, there was really no need for further concern.
Besides, for the sake of his son, he should be more proactive with Jiang Lizhu. Moreover… now that she had let go of her reservations, everything Jiang Lizhu did exuded an unconscious, captivating charm.
Gu Mingyan was drawn in, yet unable to fully comprehend this feeling for the time being, which manifested in his noticeable nervousness and stiffness.
Jiang Lizhu was naturally aware of this. His nervousness, however, put her more at ease, and she visibly relaxed.
Settling back down, Jiang Lizhu initiated conversation. “Once it’s cooler this evening, come with me to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy some things. We can also have dinner there. There’s another state-run restaurant nearby with very distinctive dishes.”
“Okay. What are the special dishes?” Gu Mingyan followed her lead in the conversation, his body relaxing. The faint but pervasive scent of milk filled his senses, and before long, he was asleep.