Jiang Baizhou’s attempt at teasing had backfired, and his mind was consumed with how to avoid the whole “getting measured” business.
It wasn’t that he was self-conscious.
He was afraid his Little Jiangjiang wouldn’t know how to behave.
Wen Yan nudged the distracted Jiang Baizhou.
“What are you thinking about?
Time to eat.”
Jiang Baizhou replied, “Nothing.
Let’s eat, let’s eat.”
On the kang, they sat facing each other at the new, 80-centimeter-square kang table.
There was steamed salted fish, watery rice made from sorghum and corn, and salted soybeans.
The only two things that stood out were the white rice porridge and a small, clean bundle of little white “twigs.”
Wen Yan picked one up between two fingers and tilted her head.
“What’s this?”
“Cogongrass root.
It’s sweet.
I found some while clearing land and brought it back.
Something to chew on tonight.”
With a CRUNCH CRUNCH, Wen Yan licked the tip of her tongue and said in pleasant surprise, “It really is a little sweet.”
Jiang Baizhou watched Wen Yan.
‘She’s so easy to please.’
She was clearly a pampered young lady, yet in the two days she’d been here, not only had she not complained once, but she had also gotten a lot done.
She always seemed to be full of energy.
Wen Yan only tried one.
“It’s good.
I’ll have more after dinner.”
“Okay.”
Jiang Baizhou pushed the white rice porridge toward Wen Yan.
When Wen Yan saw that Jiang Baizhou had also taken some for himself, she didn’t bother with unnecessary pleasantries.
The two of them started to chat.
Wen Yan mentioned she had spent a lot of money and ration coupons, but Jiang Baizhou only reminded her, “Remember to give me my fifty cents of pocket money.”
Wen Yan asked, “Isn’t fifty cents too little?”
Jiang Baizhou declared righteously, “It’s not.
I can’t let pocket money corrupt my principles.”
Wen Yan let out a laugh, her smile bright and radiant.
Jiang Baizhou’s eyes held a hidden doting affection.
When Wen Yan learned that Jiang Baizhou had already arranged for people to test the frostbite lotion, her gaze toward him filled with admiration.
It was time for “sweet talk” again.
“Jiang Baizhou, you’ve been a huge help!
You’re amazing.
I didn’t even have to say anything, and you already guessed I needed to find people to test the lotion.”
“And not only are you capable, you’re also incredibly handsome!”
Jiang Baizhou wanted to act cool and say it was nothing, but the corners of his mouth, which refused to stay down, betrayed him.
They finished their meal in a pleasant atmosphere.
Afterward, Wen Yan proactively offered to wash the dishes.
“You made 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 Wen Yan finished the dishes, she sorted and put away all the things she had bought.
Finally, she stood in front of the three-shelf cabinet Jiang Baizhou had brought back and showered him with praise.
“Jiang Baizhou, this cabinet you brought back today is the perfect height, the size is just right, and it’s exactly what we needed.
It’s so useful.”
Wen Yan provided more than enough emotional validation, and the smile on Jiang Baizhou’s face never left.
Once everything was put away, Wen Yan picked up a notebook and pen, ready to start Jiang Baizhou’s lesson.
Jiang Baizhou sighed inwardly.
‘The trials of having a wife who’s so serious and efficient.’
He didn’t resist, however.
‘Maybe if they studied for a while, Wen Yan would forget about making him underwear.’
This time, they had the kang table, so they didn’t have to bend over and hunch their backs.
Before they started, Jiang Baizhou suddenly spoke up.
“I have a mission the day after tomorrow.
It’s expected to last a month.”
For the first time, he felt a little reluctant to leave.
Wen Yan looked up, instantly recalling the matter of the land reclamation advance party.
She had already seen the 3D map provided by her system and knew that to the southwest, there was a large, hard-to-detect swamp five or six meters deep.
If someone were to accidentally fall in, survival would be nearly impossible.
To stop this from happening, the best way would be to go with them, but after a moment’s thought, Wen Yan dismissed the idea.
‘A person has to know their own limits.’
As someone who could barely stand the cold just by stepping outside, surviving in the wild in the middle of a frozen wasteland was something she was completely incapable of.
She’d probably just end up holding them back.
“What kind of mission is it?
Am I allowed to know?”
Wen Yan asked, and Jiang Baizhou didn’t hide it from her, as it wasn’t a secret.
“I’m going to scout uncultivated areas.
An agricultural specialist will check if the terrain and environment are suitable for planting and see where we can clear a larger area.
I’m in charge of the team’s safety.
That’s the gist of it.”
Wen Yan nodded thoughtfully.
Then, she pulled over the notebook and began writing and drawing in it with a pencil.
“Today, we’re having a geography lesson.
We’ll learn about the general geography of the Northeast and the characteristics of swamps.”
For the entire evening, Jiang Baizhou was drilled with five hours of geography knowledge.
Not only that, but Wen Yan also changed her slow-paced teaching style.
She made Jiang Baizhou memorize the material as she taught and even quizzed him on it.
Furthermore, she made a very serious demand: “You have to memorize the entire thing.
I’m testing you tomorrow night.”
Jiang Baizhou was dumbfounded.
‘A test?’
‘He didn’t know how other married couples interacted, but he was sure it didn’t involve tests.’
Across from him, Wen Yan was yawning repeatedly, her eyes so tired they were watering, but she gritted her teeth and pushed on.
She was completely different from the person who had gone to bed at nine o’clock the past two nights.
Jiang Baizhou said, his heart aching for her, “I’ll memorize it.
You should get to sleep.
Your eyes are all red.”
Wen Yan nodded, yawning.
They worked together to clear the table, lay out the bedding, and go to sleep.
After lying down, Wen Yan surprisingly didn’t fall asleep instantly.
Forcing herself to stay awake for another moment, she sleepily reached out a hand and patted Jiang Baizhou.
“You have to memorize it well, okay?
If you do, the teacher has a reward for you!”
Jiang Baizhou caught Wen Yan’s mischievous hand.
He looked at her small face, already sinking back into sleep, and squeezed her soft palm, reluctant to let go.
A flicker of amusement lit up his eyes.
“A reward?”
In the darkness, a soft chuckle sounded, followed by a murmur like an intimate whisper.
‘I’m going to take that seriously.’
*
The next morning, Wen Yan woke up to find Jiang Baizhou already gone.
But the room was already warm, and the newly installed stove was glowing red.
Millet porridge was cooked, and food from the canteen had been brought back as well.
Wen Yan found a note left by Jiang Baizhou under the lunchbox: “Have a mission.
Eat well.”
Below it was another line in small writing: “I’ll memorize everything well.
Waiting for your reward.”
Wen Yan raised an eyebrow.
‘A reward?’
‘Did I say that?’
‘I think I did.’
Wen Yan didn’t think it was a big deal.
All that mattered was that Jiang Baizhou could successfully avoid the swamp.
Although she had been teaching geography yesterday, she had based everything on the 3D map.
To put it bluntly, it was all real.
As long as Jiang Baizhou saw the place, he would definitely notice something was wrong.
After finishing her meal, Wen Yan left the house with her packet of medicinal herbs.
She needed to find Master Niu at the canteen to borrow a large iron pot to brew the lotion.
“Jiang Yingzhang’s wife?”
It took Wen Yan a moment to realize the person was calling her.
She turned around with a polite smile and replied, “Were you calling me?”
“Yes, yes, you’re Jiang Yingzhang’s wife, right?
I’m Zhou Hong, the wife of Zhang Yingzhang from the first battalion.”
Wen Yan obediently greeted her as Sister-in-law Zhou.
Zhou Hong was not tall and had a neat and tidy appearance.
She carried a wicker basket on her back and held a tool that looked like a small rake.
The previous night, Zhang Yingzhang had told her to go talk to Wen Yan, saying that the newcomer didn’t know anyone yet.
“Hey, I live just diagonally across from you.
Come over to my place whenever you’re free.”
Wen Yan had a very accurate sense of people’s goodwill 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 give me a shout, and I’ll take you to gather some.”
Only then did Wen Yan realize what the other woman was planning to do, but she didn’t feel like gathering pine needles at the moment.
“Sister-in-law, I’d actually like to ask you for a favor.”