As noon drew near, Baoshan also came home from school.
Before he had even made it home, he heard that his dad’s comrade had come to their house, and immediately abandoned the group of little friends who were walking back with him, running as fast as his legs could carry him.
“Baoshan, wait for us!”
The little friends behind him were all calling him, but Baoshan pretended not to hear them and ran all the way home in one burst.
When he got home, Baoshan was already covered in sweat, but it did not affect his good mood.
He pushed open the courtyard gate, which had not been fully shut, and as soon as he went in, he saw a tall, cold-looking strange man sitting in the main room, and knew that this person was his father’s comrade.
Baoshan looked at him with sparkling eyes.
Because his dad was a soldier, Baoshan had great admiration for soldiers and was full of longing for them. He had decided that when he grew up, he would also enlist and become a great and glorious People’s Liberation Army soldier.
This uncle looked very young, but the aura around him was very strong. He was not afraid at all, and instead a feeling of trembling rose from the bottom of his heart.
When Gu Yijia saw him run in all sweaty, she waved at him. “Baoshan, come here.”
Baoshan obediently walked over, and then was helped to wipe his sweat by his little aunt, immediately turning red all over. He hurriedly said, “Little Aunt, I’ll do it myself.”
He took the towel, wiped himself haphazardly, and then glanced at Feng Ling.
Gu Yijia knew that boys at this age were more sensitive, and could not be treated like children. Instead, one had to interact with them in a way one would treat adults.
She smiled and said, “This is Comrade Feng Ling, your dad’s comrade. You can call him Uncle Feng.”
Baoshan said loudly, “Uncle Feng.”
Feng Ling gave an mm-hm, looking over the boy and discovering that he looked very much like Old Gu. At a glance, he was a good seed for becoming a soldier, and that upward, spirited energy of his was likable.
After his joy, Baoshan quickly restrained the expression on his face.
Because he was the only other man in the family, as he thought of it, and had a relatively steady personality, he was like a little adult taking care of the women in the family. Unlike Baohua, he was not as lively, and even though he very much wanted to ask Feng Ling about his dad, he was embarrassed to ask directly.
He went to wash his hands, then turned to the kitchen to help his mom with work, replacing his little sister, who had been tending the fire.
Baohua was helping her mom tend the fire in the kitchen, and was so hot that she was drenched in sweat.
Gu Yijia pulled her in front of her, wiped her sweat for her, then took her to wash the black ash off her face before holding her hand and taking her back to the room to change into a dry set of clothes.
The weather in summer was hot, and tending the fire in the kitchen was hard work. If it were not for her poor health and inability to withstand the heat, this job should never have fallen on a five-year-old child.
Chen Aifang was quick-handed and soon had a full table of dishes ready.
Baoshan and Baohua were still childlike in temperament, and when they saw the fragrant dishes on the table, with even meat among them, their eyes lit up.
There were so many dishes that they could only be eaten at New Year or on festivals. Today, because Uncle Feng had come to visit, they also got to enjoy the good fortune, and they secretly hoped that Uncle Feng would come to their house more often in the future.
After lunch, Feng Ling was ready to leave.
Chen Aifang wanted to see him off, but he said, “The sun outside is strong. Sister-in-law, no need to see me off.”
When he left, Feng Ling looked at Gu Yijia, who was standing together with Chen Aifang, and left without looking back.
That glance seemed casual, and no one thought much of it.
Chen Aifang stood at the doorway watching him go far away. Just as she was about to bring her younger sister-in-law and the two children back inside, she saw neighbor Aunt Cuihua from next door open the door and poke her head out to look.
“Aifang, the army comrade has left?”
Chen Aifang let Gu Yijia and the two children go back first, and stood at the doorway herself, saying to Aunt Cuihua, “Yes, Comrade Feng had something to do and could not stay long.”
Aunt Cuihua walked over and said, “Oh dear, why did he leave so quickly? I was thinking, if he wasn’t married, should I introduce my niece from my hometown to him? By the way, is this Comrade Feng married?”
Chen Aifang said, “He probably isn’t…”
“That’s wonderful!” Aunt Cuihua grabbed Chen Aifang and said hopefully, “Aifang, what do you think if I introduce my niece from my hometown to him?”
Chen Aifang: “…” Not very wonderful at all.
Although Feng Ling had not said much, Chen Aifang knew in her heart that Feng Ling’s position in the army was definitely not low. On top of that, with that face of his being so handsome, there were probably quite a few people in the army keeping an eye on his marriage. How could it轮到 a country girl?
It was not that she looked down on country people, but most country girls had to do farm work, and in the end they were not as fair and delicate as city girls. Although there were also pretty and delicate girls who did not have to do much farm work because they were spoiled by their families, the niece from Aunt Cuihua’s hometown, she had seen her before. She was not the delicate type. Instead, she was broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, full of strength, and especially nimble at farm work.
A capable girl like that was the type of daughter-in-law many country mothers-in-law would like, but not the type of wife most men would like.
Aunt Cuihua was still saying, “My niece from my hometown may not be as pretty as your Jiajia, but she’s healthy, and with a big backside she can have children…”
Chen Aifang did not like hearing that. If you want to praise your niece, then praise her. Why specifically bring up ‘healthy’? Was that not mocking their Jiajia for being unhealthy and having no male comrades willing to marry her?
She said expressionlessly, “Aunt Cuihua, Comrade Feng only stopped by to deliver things on his way, and he will leave tomorrow.”
“Really?” Aunt Cuihua looked disappointed.
Chen Aifang said firmly, “That’s what he said just now. Otherwise I would have wanted to ask him to stay for another meal at our house tomorrow. He is my Old Gu’s comrade, and he specially came to deliver things, and also saved Jiajia. We are all very grateful to him.”
Whether Feng Ling was leaving or not, in any case she simply did not like these people who always said behind people’s backs that Jiajia was in poor health and that no male comrade dared to marry her.
It was not that they had any bad intentions, it was just that they habitually used Gu Yijia as the comparison example. Who had made Gu Yijia the prettiest girl in all the surrounding villages and hamlets, so that everyone knew who she was whenever she was mentioned?
Every time they brought up some family’s daughter being looked over for marriage, they had to say she was not as pretty as their Jiajia, but healthy and able to have children, and so on.
Chen Aifang had heard it too many times, and could not help feeling irritated.
After hearing this, Aunt Cuihua looked regretful.
Very quickly, she told everyone that the army comrade had just passed through here to deliver things and had no intention of going on a blind date.
Those aunts and matrons who had wanted to act as matchmakers for the army comrade were all disappointed. They had thought they might be able to find another soldier son-in-law like Gu Mingcheng.
Quite a few people remembered the matter of Gu Mingyue running over earlier to question Gu Yijia. Many people had heard it clearly at the time, and were very surprised.
Leaving aside the matter of that Director Jiang trying to sexually harass Gu Yijia, Gu Mingyue had actually run over for him and asked Gu Yijia to go to the public security bureau to explain that he had not sexually harassed her.
Just this alone was enough to shock many people.
When Chen Aifang took her son to school in the afternoon, people on the road were still asking her about it, whether it was true.
Chen Aifang said decisively, “That Director Jiang really did want to sexually harass our Jiajia. Luckily, Comrade Feng, my Old Gu’s comrade, passed by and saved Jiajia!”
“So that’s how it is!” The person who came understood at once. “Then why did Mingyue run to Jiajia and ask her to clear this up?”
Chen Aifang snorted coldly and said in a sardonic tone, “I also don’t know what Mingyue is thinking. No matter how you put it, that Director Jiang is an outsider. She doesn’t help her own sister, but instead helps a man…”
She did not say the rest, but it was already enough for everyone to imagine it themselves.
Country gossip always spread fast. Very quickly, the whole production brigade knew about Gu Mingyue fighting with her younger sister over a man, and that man might not even necessarily like her.
When Yu Xiaolan heard about this matter, she was almost furious to death.
“It’s all slander! My Mingyue did not fight with that sickly wretch over a man! My Mingyue is beautiful, and she has a job in the city, eats state ration grain, wears dacron, and is healthy. Is she not better than a sickly wretch? As long as he is a normal man, he would choose my Mingyue. Why would he marry a sickly wretch who cannot bear children?”
The old lady beside her who did not get along with Yu Xiaolan deliberately said after hearing this, “But, the one Director Jiang originally wanted to marry was Jiajia, not your Mingyue. Isn’t your Mingyue just throwing herself at him? Too bad even if a woman throws herself at a man, no one wants her. Tsk, tsk, tsk!”
Yu Xiaolan was like a duck being pinched by the neck, unable to say a word.
In the end, she lunged at that old lady with her teeth bared and claws out. “Nonsense! Say that again if you dare, and I’ll tear your mouth apart!”
That old lady had not expected Yu Xiaolan to be so unreasonable. She had only said the truth, and Yu Xiaolan actually wanted to hit her. She was not easy to bully either, and immediately fought back, and just like that, she and Yu Xiaolan started brawling in the field.
In the end, it was the brigade leader who called people over to pull them apart, while criticizing them and deducting their work points for today as punishment.
The old lady regretted it to no end. She had known better than to fight in the field. Wouldn’t it have been much more convenient to wait until the walk home and fight then?
Yu Xiaolan went home covered in scratches, seething with anger.
She had originally thought that after returning home, she would see Gu Mingyue, but unexpectedly, Gu Mingyue was not there at all. She heard that in the morning she had rushed back to the commune in a hurry, and then left in a hurry again, passing by the house without even coming in to take a look.
Yu Xiaolan was almost angered to death.
She also resented her daughter for doing such a thing, throwing herself at a man without even doing it cleverly. But in the end she was still a daughter on whom she had pinned high hopes, so she still hoped that her daughter could be争气.
Originally, when she came back, she wanted to talk to Gu Mingyue properly about this matter, to make her quickly clear things up with that Director Jiang. At the very least, before Jiang Jinwang had married her, she should not act so obviously, otherwise it would really become, as the rumors said, her fighting her half-sister over a man.
Yu Xiaolan herself did not care about reputation, but she did care very much about Gu Mingyue’s reputation.
She also wanted her daughter to marry a city person in the future, eat state ration grain, and bring her and her son into the city, so naturally she hoped that her daughter’s reputation would be intact.
With Gu Mingyue not there, Yu Xiaolan vented her anger on Old Gu.
“It’s all because of your sickly daughter. If it weren’t for her, would Mingyue have done something so crazy? I don’t care, you make that sickly wretch come out and clear this up. Mingyue did not fight with her over a man!”
She did not care that the fault originally lay with Gu Mingyue, that it was Gu Mingyue who had first gone looking for Gu Yijia, which was why the rumor spread that she was snatching her half-sister’s man. She only wanted Gu Yijia to come out and clear this up, and not let there be even a trace of bad rumor around Gu Mingyue.
Old Gu silently smoked his dry tobacco, not making a sound. No matter how she talked or cursed, there was no reaction.
The more Yu Xiaolan spoke, the angrier she became. In the end, unable to hold it in any longer, she pointed at him and cursed at the top of her lungs.
When Gu Minghui came back from school, he saw his mother pointing at his father’s nose and cursing loudly, and asked in confusion, “Mom, what’s wrong now? Why are you always cursing my dad?”
Yu Xiaolan angrily told him about the rumors regarding Gu Mingyue in the commune.
Gu Minghui, upon hearing it, did not care at all and said carelessly, “What’s the big deal? Anyway, sis doesn’t live in the production brigade, so she can’t hear it. Isn’t it fine as long as she doesn’t come back?”
Yu Xiaolan angrily slapped him once. “What do you know? If her reputation is bad, how will she get married in the future?”
Gu Minghui said offhandedly, “Your reputation is bad, and didn’t you still get married?”
Yu Xiaolan was almost so angry she fell over backward. If this were not her own son, she would have beaten him to death.
On the old house side, it was chaos, while things here with Gu Yijia were peaceful and quiet.
This time Gu Mingcheng had Feng Ling send back a lot of things. After Chen Aifang and Gu Yijia sorted them out with the two children, they took out some biscuits, nuts, malted milk, and the like, and sent them over to Granny Huang.
Granny Huang took very good care of them, just like a real grandmother.
Every time Gu Mingcheng sent things back, he would send a little extra, to send to Granny Huang, showing filial respect to the old lady.
Feng Ling drove back to the county town and first made a trip to the county committee compound to return the car.
When Bureau Chief Wei heard that he had returned, he specially went to find him, looking him over while asking, “Delivered the things?”
Feng Ling gave an mm-hm, his expression cold and sharp, with no intention of engaging him.
But who was Bureau Chief Wei? He did not miss even the slightest stir in the wind.
He stroked his chin and sized up Feng Ling, always feeling that something was off about him, and could not help asking, “Why did you suddenly want to help Old Gu deliver things this time?”
Feng Ling said, “I had time!”
Bureau Chief Wei’s mouth twitched. What a good reason! But he just had a hunch that Feng Ling helping to deliver things this time was not that simple.
Facing Bureau Chief Wei’s suspicious gaze, Feng Ling remained composed, without the slightest change.
He instead asked, “Old Gu’s rank had already been reached long ago. Why has sister-in-law never followed the army?”
Hearing this, Bureau Chief Wei did not think further and said, “How could Old Gu not want his wife to follow the army? But you also saw Old Gu’s younger sister. I heard that his younger sister’s health cannot handle long-distance travel, and Old Gu used to be stationed in the Northwest. That kind of place is fine for us to stay in, but those delicate girls would not be able to endure it. How could Old Gu bear to let his wife and sister go to such a place?”
Gu Mingcheng had only been transferred to his current unit two years ago. Before that, he had always been in border regions with harsh conditions.
Bureau Chief Wei continued, “You don’t know the situation in Old Gu’s family. I heard that when his mom was pregnant with his younger sister back then, she accidentally fell, which caused the child to be born prematurely, and the adult also died. Later his dad brought back a stepmother. At first that stepmother did quite well, but she also had her own children. How could she really take good care of a frail little child? Once, that stepmother was careless and caused his younger sister to become seriously ill. She nearly did not make it. Old Gu was very angry about this and had a huge argument with his dad…”
“Later, Old Gu kept taking care of his younger sister himself. In order to support his weak and sickly sister, he worked hard to earn money…”
It’s just that these days, there were not many ways to earn money. In the end, Gu Mingcheng could only go join the army.
Luckily, Gu Mingcheng had good conditions, so he was easily selected.
Bureau Chief Wei knew a thing or two about the Gu family.
Two years ago, when Gu Mingcheng came back to visit relatives and brought his wife and sister to the house, he also learned from Gu Mingcheng about his family situation.
When Gu Mingcheng went to join the army, he was only seventeen, and his younger sister was seven. He had no choice but to leave his seven-year-old younger sister at home. He thought that although there was a stepmother at home, his dad was his biological dad, so no matter what, he would take care of his own biological daughter, right?
In order to let the stepmother properly take care of his younger sister, he even sent all of his military allowance back home without keeping a single cent, giving it to the stepmother to hold.
Who would have known that Gu Mingcheng had thought too well of things at the time? After being in the army for two years, when he finally had a home leave to visit his family, he discovered that his younger sister at home had not been properly treated.
The stepmother was biased toward the children she had given birth to, and his biological dad was the kind of person who did not take care of things. Even if he protected the child, he did not protect her completely. He also felt sorry for the son Yu Xiaolan had given birth to for him, so he prioritized the young son in everything, and thus did not put much thought into his own biological daughter.
His younger sister was mistreated by the stepmother. Even though her body was already not good, she was still forced to work. If she did not work, she would not get food.
Gu Yijia’s body had not originally been this weak. At the very least, when Gu Mingcheng was around, he had always worked hard to nourish his younger sister, adjust her health, and find ways to get her nutritional supplements to eat, so that although she did not look healthy, she at least did not fall sick often.
However, in those two years when he was not there, his younger sister was raised into a sickly person and almost did not make it.
Gu Mingcheng was furious at the time, and this time he finally had a complete falling-out with his biological dad and stepmother, and took his younger sister with him when they split the family.
After the split, he still could not rest easy, so he brought back a capable wife.
At that time Gu Mingcheng was only nineteen. He had his eye on Chen Aifang from the neighboring commune, and Chen Aifang was indeed very good, helping Gu Mingcheng raise his younger sister, giving birth to children, all the way until now.
Feng Ling listened silently to the Gu family matters without making a sound.
Only when he heard that the stepmother, Yu Xiaolan, had mistreated Gu Yijia back then did his eyes turn cold and dark, making him look like someone not to be trifled with.
“Old Gu protects that younger sister very closely. Even if he wants his wife to follow the army, he has to bring his younger sister along too.” Bureau Chief Wei said this and sighed. “It’s a pity that his younger sister’s health is really bad. She has one major illness after another, and simply cannot go on a long journey… If he were to let his wife and children follow the army while leaving his younger sister in the commune… not to mention that Old Gu would not agree, his wife would not agree either.”
After hearing this, Feng Ling said as if casually, “Why doesn’t Old Gu take his younger sister to a big-city hospital to have a look? If there is any illness, it would be good to treat it as soon as possible.”
The hospital in the county town not only had no doctors with very good medical skills, it also did not have many machines. It was probably not possible to check anything out there.
Bureau Chief Wei sighed again. “How could he not? Two years ago, when Old Gu finally came back, he wanted to take his younger sister to a big hospital in the provincial capital for a checkup, but at that time Gu’s younger sister just happened to be sick again. A common cold with a fever made her so sick she could not get up… Old Gu’s leave was limited, so there was no way to take her.”
There was no choice but to wait until there was time in the future to take her.
Actually, it would also have been fine for Chen Aifang to take Gu Yijia to the provincial capital for medical treatment, except that not only was the child still young, Gu Yijia’s body also seemed to have been poor these years, with serious illnesses from time to time, lying in bed unable to get up, making it impossible to find an opportunity to take her to the provincial hospital for a checkup.
So it had dragged on until now.
Feng Ling thought about it and said, “I heard that in the military hospital over by our station, there is an old doctor with very high medical skill. He combines Chinese and Western medicine and has treated many difficult and complicated illnesses. Many people specially go to find him for treatment. Maybe he could have a look.”
Bureau Chief Wei was delighted after hearing this. “Then that would depend on the Gu family younger sister following the army to the station.”
Feng Ling said, “I think her body is still pretty good. Maybe it won’t be long before she can follow the army.”
Bureau Chief Wei looked at him strangely. “You think her body is pretty good?”
Feng Ling nodded. “She didn’t faint yesterday.”
She looked as if she was about to faint, but in fact she had no intention of fainting, which showed she was not as fragile as glass. If she were to follow the army, being careful and making some preparations, she should be able to endure a few days on the road, right?
Bureau Chief Wei wanted to laugh after hearing that, and pointed at Feng Ling. “She didn’t faint, and you think her body is good? You brat don’t know medicine, and your eyes are not accurate.”
Then he sighed again. “If she could follow her sister-in-law to the army and go to a big hospital to have her body checked and treat the illness according to the symptoms, maybe her body would improve, and Old Gu and his wife wouldn’t have to worry about her all the time.”
Having a patient in the family is the most heartbreaking thing.
A little later, Feng Ling called Gu Mingcheng.
Gu Mingcheng, who received the call, was at a loss. “Feng Ling, what do you need me for by calling?”
Feng Ling said in a rule-bound manner, “I went to your house today to deliver things and saw sister-in-law, your younger sister, and the two nephews and nieces.”
Gu Mingcheng’s eyes lit up. “Thanks, brother.”
He had only asked him to send the things to the county town and hand them over to Bureau Chief Wei, so that Bureau Chief Wei could send someone to bring them to his home. He had not expected Feng Ling to be so loyal that he personally delivered them.
Hearing his gratitude, Feng Ling, whose mind had always only held the army and combat, rarely had some private emotions rise within him.
If Old Gu knew that he might be coveting his younger sister, he did not know whether he would throw a punch at him.
Feng Ling thought silently, recalling the scene from their first meeting yesterday.
At that time, he had simply been used to observing his surroundings, and when he saw a graceful figure walking along the street, it was only a fleeting glimpse, and he had not taken it too much to heart. It was only after he noticed that some ruffian men on the street were staring at that young lady with ill intent that he could not help but look a few more times.
Later, because of Jiang Jinwang pestering her, he stepped in to stop it.
Only, when he made his move, he also noticed that although she seemed afraid, in reality her eyes were clear and bright, with not a trace of fear at all. In an instant, he understood what she wanted to do.
Feng Ling did not think there was anything wrong with that, and instead found it quite admirable.
He was not a person who cared much about appearance, but he had to admit that she was exceedingly beautiful, no wonder some men who valued their status would set their eyes on her. She was merely using her own way to protect herself and resolve the crisis, and she had not violated any principles. That behavior did not count as anything.
This made him rare enough to look at her a second time.
It was exactly that second look that, when his gaze met hers, suddenly caused his heartbeat to go out of control, and his mind went blank.
Feng Ling did not know what this counted as, but there was no doubt that for the first time in his life, he felt out of control, with certain thoughts no longer under control.
The body is often more honest than one’s own heart. Before Feng Ling even knew what he was thinking, his body had already reacted.
Decisively and cleanly, it struck.
He wanted to marry her, wanted to make her his wife!
The next evening, Gu Mingyue came again.
This time she looked even more anxious, her face was pale and worn out beyond concealment. She looked pleadingly at Gu Yijia, still bringing up the same old matter, wanting Gu Yijia to come forward and prove that Jiang Jinwang had not sexually harassed her, so that Jiang Jinwang could be released.
Chen Aifang was also there. Hearing this, her expression immediately turned bad, and she directly chased her out. “That’s impossible. He sexually harassed Jiajia and still has the nerve to ask for reason?”
“He really didn’t…” Gu Mingyue said excitedly.
Chen Aifang ignored her and said sternly, “Gu Mingyue, if you say one more word, get out right now!”
Gu Mingyue choked up, looking very wronged.
Originally she had not wanted to come looking for Gu Yijia at this time. It would have been best to avoid Chen Aifang during the daytime, but she had to work during the day and could not ask for leave again, so she could only come after getting off work.
After getting off work, she had not even eaten dinner before she hurriedly rode her bicycle back to the commune to look for Gu Yijia.
At this moment she was hungry, tired, and worried about Jiang Jinwang, which made her feel so wronged that she was almost about to cry.
In the end, Gu Mingyue left with a face full of grievance.
Chen Aifang’s expression was very bad. Turning to Gu Yijia, she said, “Jiajia, judging by Gu Mingyue’s attitude, she does not seem willing to give up. As long as Jiang Jinwang is not released for a day, she will come harass you.”
Gu Yijia softly mm-hmed, and more or less understood how deep and earnest the female lead’s feelings for the male lead were. No wonder in the end the clouds parted and the moon appeared, and she married Jiang Jinwang.
“Actually, I’m not worried about Gu Mingyue.” Chen Aifang said seriously, “What I’m worried about are the Jiang family.”
Hearing her say that, Gu Yijia understood.
Chen Aifang continued, “There hasn’t been any movement from the Jiang family for now, but that does not mean they won’t come looking for you. If something really happens to Jiang Jinwang, I’m afraid the Jiang family will take it out on you…”
Speaking to here, her brows knitted, and she was extremely displeased.
Gu Yijia naturally understood.
Actually, in the original plot, the Jiang family, because they did not want Jiang Jinwang to marry the original host, sent people out one after another, with Jiang Jinwang’s mother coming most often, and every time she faced the original host, it was with cold ridicule and sarcasm.
And they also knew that Chen Aifang was a tough one, so they only came when Chen Aifang was not around.
That made it even more hateful. They knew full well that the original host was in poor health, and still came knocking on the door like that.
Because of this, the original host was suppressed by their words and under enormous pressure, and also feared telling her sister-in-law, afraid that her sister-in-law would get angry and go to the Jiang family to make trouble, affecting her brother and sister-in-law.
The original host felt that her body had already burdened her brother and sister-in-law, and if this matter caused her sister-in-law and brother to worry as well, she would feel even more guilty and uneasy.
So in the end, she listened to Gu Mingyue’s suggestion and went to her maternal aunt’s place to avoid it for a while.
Now, because of her disruption, before Jiang Jinwang formally had someone come to propose marriage, and before she had confronted the Jiang family, she had already gotten Jiang Jinwang locked up.
The Jiang family would not let it go.
Once the Jiang family reacted, they would probably make a move against them.
Chen Aifang thought about it and said, “The day after tomorrow is Sunday. Let’s go visit Bureau Chief Wei and take the chance to thank him for stepping in yesterday to help.”
Although this was originally the duty of the public security officers, since Jiang Jinwang had been kept locked up all this time, it was probably also because Bureau Chief Wei had done something.
No matter what, they should go thank Bureau Chief Wei.