After Gu Qinghan left, Wen Nuan didn't feel sleepy at all. She lay in bed waiting for a long time. Later, she didn't know how she fell asleep.
When I got up, I realized that Gu Qinghan had not come back all night, and the seat beside the bed was cold.
I remembered that Li Daxiang said last night that Gu Qinghan's sister came and was outside the gate of the family compound, but he didn't explain clearly what happened.
The military family compound does not allow outsiders to enter at will, and various approval procedures are required. Gu Qinghan had no choice but to go out to pick someone up, but he didn't expect that the person had not been brought back even after an entire night.
Wen Nuan couldn't help but feel a little worried. Thinking of the sister-in-law whom she had never met, she felt very strange.
Gu Qinglan was an educated youth who went to the countryside. She hadn't been home for three or four years. Wen Nuan hadn't seen her come back since she married Gu Qinghan.
Even Zhao Wuzhu seldom mentioned her, and all Wen Nuan knew about her was what she heard from her former neighbors in the housing estate.
However, Wen Nuan knew that Gu Qinglan had fallen out with Zhao Wuzhu over the issue of going to the countryside, and the reason she hadn't gone home in the past few years was because Zhao Wuzhu had changed the list of people who were supposed to go to the countryside, including Gu Qingsong, to include her.
Wen Nuan felt that anyone would be angry if encountering such a thing, not to mention that Gu Qinglan was just a little girl in her teens. It was good enough that she didn't become upset when her own mother exchanged her for someone else to go to the countryside.
After she finished washing, she heard the footsteps of a man outside the yard. Wen Nuan immediately opened the door and went out to greet him: "You're back? Where's your sister?"
Wen Nuan looked behind the man, but there was no one there. He came back alone, with a tired look on his face.
Gu Qinghan looked a little serious, and his voice was a little tired: "She is in the hospital."
"What?" Wen Nuan took the military coat that the man took off and patted the ice off it.
Gu Qinghan scooped up a bucket of water and washed his hands while saying, "This matter is a bit complicated. After seeing Qinglan last night, she kept crying, and I couldn't hear clearly what she said."
While the man was washing his hands, Wen Nuan poured him a cup of hot tea and handed it to him, her hands shaking a little: "She...did she encounter something bad in the village when she went to the countryside?"
At this point, some fragments suddenly popped up in Wen Nuan's mind, about what happened to Gu Qinglan after she went to the countryside. Because she was pretty, she was spotted by a scumbag who was brought back to the city by the village party committee. He lied to the girl that if she got together with him, he would let Gu Qinglan return to the city.
Gu Qinglan was fooled by the man's sweet words, but unfortunately, after the man got Gu Qinglan, he turned around and deceived other female educated youth.
Gu Qinglan was already pregnant at that time. For a lesbian to get pregnant before marriage was a very serious matter in that era.
Gu Qinglan originally wanted to report the scum who cheated her, but the scum falsely accused her of having improper relationships with many men in the village. Gu Qinglan, who was pregnant, was unable to defend herself and jumped into the river to commit suicide in front of a group of people, but was later rescued.
Gu Qinghan in the book learned about this and went to the village to bring the person back to his hometown. However, Gu Qinglan became infertile for life due to an improper abortion, and she never remarried. She helped Gu Qingsong and Lin Meizhi raise their four children, as well as the daughter of Gu Qinghan who had been disabled since childhood in the book.
In order to take good care of her child, Gu Qinglan even went to study pediatrics.
From this perspective, throughout the book, Lin Meizhi is actually responsible for providing emotional value, while the one who actually raises the child is Gu Qinglan.
Thinking of this, Wen Nuan felt that no matter what happened to Gu Qinglan, she would help her.
Gu Qinghan took the enamel cup and held the woman's slightly trembling hand in his palm: "It's not what you think. I saw Qinglan's letter of introduction. She came from our hometown. I guess she went home because Qingsong got married."
After hearing this, Wen Nuan breathed a sigh of relief, but Gu Qinghan added: "But she has some injuries on her body and a wound on her head. I have arranged for her to be hospitalized and take an X-ray. We will see how she is later."
Wen Nuan frowned: "How could this happen?"
Gu Qinghan sighed slightly, "I didn't ask her, she fainted outside the family compound after she finished crying, and then Daxiang and I took her to the military hospital."
He took a sip of hot tea and said, "I'll lie down for a while. I'll go to the hospital to see her later."
Wen Nuan nodded, and then asked worriedly, "Do you want me to go to the hospital to take care of her now?"
"No need. Daxiang can help watch over there. You stay with me and sleep for a while." Gu Qinghan picked the person up and walked towards the big room.
After Wen Nuan lay down with the man, she reached out and hugged him. Gu Qinghan had been up all night, and the stubble on his chin was a little blue, and his eyes were a little bloodshot.
Wen Nuan raised her hand, touched his full forehead and thick eyebrows, and said softly, "Go to sleep, I'll call you later."
The man grabbed her wandering hands, kissed her slightly cool fingertips, and curled the corners of his lips.
Said: "I can't sleep again, I want to see you."
Wen Nuan took her hand back and turned her back: "Then I won't do anything to you. Go to sleep for a while. We'll go to the hospital to see your sister later!"
Wen Nuan was also very curious about what had happened and why she had injuries after returning from her hometown.
There were so many questions in her mind that she didn't feel sleepy at all, but the man had been up all night and had to take a nap.
Gu Qinghan took the opportunity to hold her in his arms, put his chin on her shoulder, said "hmm", and then closed his eyes.
*
Wen Nuan somehow ended up taking a nap with Gu Qinghan. She was awakened by Lele, who was sitting in the innermost room, waking up and pulling her hair.
The little guy made Wen Nuan's hair look like a bird's nest, and it was stained with a lot of her saliva. When Lele saw Wen Nuan woke up, he hid his little head in the quilt and laughed.
That little expression seemed to be saying, it wasn't me who did it.
Gu Qinghan also woke up, stretched out his long arms, and hugged the little guy hiding in the quilt: "You are making trouble again, look at what you have done to your mother's hair?"
Wen Nuan scratched her hair and couldn't help but tickle the child's belly. The little guy laughed even louder and screamed "Ahhh".
Wen Nuan played with her for a while, thinking about Gu Qinglan, and said, "Okay, I won't make trouble with you anymore. We still have to go to the hospital to see your aunt later."
Thinking that it was almost noon, Wen Nuan quickly got up and stewed a pork rib and yam soup, and cooked a few dumplings, and took them over as well.
The military hospital is right next to the family quarters, and it takes less than ten minutes to walk there.
Before going to the ward, Gu Qinghan first asked the doctor about the results of Gu Qinglan's X-rays. Fortunately, there was nothing serious wrong with her brain, just a lump from a bump.
The reason why he fainted was because he hadn't eaten for a few days, and the malnutrition and poor physical condition affected him, so he fainted.
However, the doctor said that she still had other bruises on her body. It would take some time, but it was nothing serious. She would be healed soon after taking some trauma medicine.
Wen Nuan glanced at the medical record. Gu Qinglan was 20 years old this year, one year younger than her. How come she was injured after a trip home
Gu Qinghan saw her doubts and frown, and held her hand: "I'll take you to the bedside to see him."
Wen Nuan looked up at him and nodded: "Don't force her to ask later, just wait and see when she is willing to talk."
"Well, let's go up."
The ward was on the third floor. Because it was the Spring Festival, most of the patients in the hospital were children with fever and colds, so there were only a few patients admitted.
As soon as she pushed open the door, Wen Nuan saw a pretty girl half lying on the bed. There was a medical patch on her forehead, her left cheek was slightly swollen, there were a few purple and blue streaks on her face, her hair was messy, her face was pale, and she was staring blankly at the white sheets.
Li Daxiang over there heard the noise, and immediately sat up from the bedside, giving Gu Qinghan a military salute: "Deputy Commander Gu, sister-in-law, Comrade Gu just woke up, but she didn't answer me when I asked her a question."
Gu Qinghan nodded: "Daxiang, you've worked hard, you should go back and have a rest first."
Li Daxiang turned around and glanced at Gu Qinglan, then nodded: "I won't be in the way, I'll just sit here for a while, you guys chat first."
Li Daxiang originally wanted to follow Gu Qinghan to the hospital to watch over this comrade last night, but later he had to hand over his shift, so he returned to the dormitory first.
When he came over this morning, he found that Gu Qinghan was still in the hospital, so he volunteered to stay and look after Gu Qinglan.
Hearing someone's voice, Gu Qinglan raised her head and called softly, "Brother."
Then he looked curiously at the girl behind Gu Qinghan, and the delicate little baby.
When Gu Qinglan was stunned, Gu Qinghan introduced her: "This is your sister-in-law, call her sister-in-law. And this is our daughter, her name is Lele."
Gu Qinglan looked at Wen Nuan's porcelain-like face, her eyes full of water, her long black hair braided into a five-finger braid, and the pink cotton-padded jacket on her body made her look very young and beautiful.
It was hard to associate this fairy-like beautiful girl in front of him with the lazy, rude and aggressive sister-in-law mentioned by Zhao Wuzhu.
And the little ball in his eldest brother's arms looked so adorable, with his big black eyes looking at her, blinking, as if the stars in the sky could talk.
Meeting Lele's eyes, Gu Qinglan's mind reappeared some scenes from her hometown, and she thought of the baby in Lin Meizhi's belly who had not yet been born.
Gu Qinglan suddenly burst into tears and cried, "I really didn't mean to do that. I don't know why she fell. I didn't mean to do that..."
Wen Nuan and Gu Qinghan looked at each other. They were totally unprepared for such a situation, but Wen Nuan still put down the lunch box in her hand, walked over to the bedside, hugged the crying Gu Qinglan, and comforted her with a few words.
"It's okay, it's okay. Speak slowly and see if your brother and sister-in-law can help you. It's okay. Your brother and I are here."
Gu Qinglan seemed to have grabbed a life-saving driftwood, buried her head in the warm shoulder, and choked up: "Second, second sister-in-law had a miscarriage, and lost a lot of blood, but I really didn't mean to..."
"Second sister-in-law?" Wen Nuan frowned, and then thought of Gu Qingsong's wife. Does that mean Lin Meizhi had a miscarriage
Why did the plot not change even after she left
Instead, the person who caused her miscarriage became Gu Qinglan
Wen Nuan patted Gu Qinglan on the back and felt that she was trembling all over: "Speak slowly, don't be afraid."
Gu Qinglan cried for a long time, and then she spoke intermittently about what happened in her hometown.
Gu Qinglan thought that she hadn't been home for several years. Her eldest brother and second brother were both married, and Gu Qingsong wrote her a letter before he got married, asking her to go home this year.
Although Zhao Wuzhu changed the list of people going to the countryside that year, Gu Qinglan and Gu Qingsong used to have a good relationship. After several years, Gu Qinglan let it go and decided to go home to see her two new sisters-in-law and see if there were any policies that could allow her to return to the city earlier.
Who knew that after returning home, she found that her eldest brother and his wife had taken the children to the north city, and that although her second brother and his wife were newly married, their relationship was not as good as she had imagined.
Lin Meizhi and Gu Qingsong had a quarrel that day, and Lin Meizhi almost had to go back to her parents' home. The atmosphere at home was very depressing.
Later, Gu Qingsong kept speaking well of Lin Meizhi in front of Gu Qinglan, and even gave her ten yuan, asking her to take Lin Meizhi to the department store in the city to buy her new clothes for the New Year.
Gu Qinglan was just thinking about helping her brother and sister-in-law do something, but when they turned the corner of the stairs in the department store, two children rushed down. Gu Qinglan thought that Lin Meizhi was pregnant, so she wanted to push her to the corner to avoid being hit by the children, and then something happened suddenly.
Lin Meizhi rolled down the stairs and started bleeding. When Gu Qingsong rushed to the hospital, he slapped her in the face without asking any questions. She then hit the wall and her forehead started bleeding.
After Lin Meizhi woke up, she kept crying and said that someone pushed her down and that her child was gone.
After hearing this, Zhao Wuzhu thought that Gu Qinglan still held a grudge against her for going to the countryside that year, and was seeking revenge on her precious son for causing her to lose her precious grandson, so she also beat her with a bamboo stick.
Gu Qinglan returned to the city where she had been sent to work with wounds all over her body. However, when she got off the train, she saw her disheveled appearance in the mirror, which made her hesitate, as she did not want her comrades in the educated youth dormitory to see her like this.
Somehow, she thought of her older brother Gu Qinghan.
Beicheng was right next to the city where she had been sent to work, so she took several buses and came here, but the troops were heavily guarded and she was stopped outside the compound and not allowed in.
Wen Nuan's expression became increasingly grim after hearing this. She always felt that something was not right, but she had no way to confront the person now. What exactly happened now depended entirely on Lin Meizhi's words.
Wen Nuan took out a handkerchief, wiped Gu Qinglan's tears, and said seriously: "Sister-in-law believes you, you didn't mean it."
Gu Qinglan listened to Wen Nuan's words, and for some reason, her eyes became even more sore.
"Sister-in-law, do you really believe me?"
Thinking of her second brother and her mother, they started fighting without even asking any questions and didn't even listen to her explanation.
Gu Qinglan wanted to die at that time, but Lin Meizhi's emotions were also very unstable. Everyone was comforting her, and she didn't even have a chance to defend herself.
She suspected that if she didn't leave, Zhao Wuzhu and Gu Qingsong might beat her to death.
Wen Nuan nodded firmly and tidied up her messy hair: "Really, I believe you."
It feels so good to be trusted. At this moment, Gu Qinglan felt the warmth like the winter sun, giving her a touch of warmth.
"I really don't mean to push her, but the child is gone..."
Wen Nuan rubbed her back and said, "It's not your fault. Don't think too much about it. I'll ask your eldest brother to call back and ask about the current situation."
Wen Nuan saw that she was calmer, so she asked Gu Qinghan to bring the lunch box over. She looked at her and said, "Are you hungry? I made some soup and dumplings for you. Eat something first."
As he said that, he opened the lunch box for her and handed her the chopsticks.
Gu Qinglan came back in a hurry, so she had no food to eat along the way. It took her a whole day to get from the train station to the Beicheng Army without eating anything. Now, when she smelled the aroma of meat, she felt hungry.
She looked at Wen Nuan's pretty face, took the chopsticks, and whispered, "Thank you, sister-in-law."
Gu Qinghan stood aside and listened to the whole process in silence. When he saw that Gu Qinglan had eaten half of the food, he suddenly came over and asked, "You said that the wound on your forehead was caused by Qingsong?"
Gu Qinglan shook her head: "No, my second brother slapped me and I hit the wall directly."
Gu Qinghan cursed in a low voice, a little angry: "If he hits a woman, is he still a man?"
She pulled Gu Qinghan's sleeve and whispered, "Qinghan, go call home and see how Comrade Lin is doing now."
She calculated the months. They came to North City at the end of November, and it was already February. The fetus must be more than three months old, and should be stable. However, it was hard to say for sure. In any case, she should call back to show her concern.
Gu Qinghan met her warm eyes and slowly calmed down. He squeezed her palm and said, "Okay, I'll go later."
Gu Qinghan was indeed a little scary when he got angry. Wen Nuan subconsciously glanced at the child. When Gu Qinglan was crying just now, the child had been taken away by Li Daxiang and was now learning to walk in the corridor.
When the little guy saw Wen Nuan figured it out, he started to clamor to come back to her side, opening his arms towards her and crying "Ma... Ma".
Wen Nuan simply took the child back and let Da Xiang have a rest.
Lele finally returned to Wen Nuan and immediately hugged her neck. He rubbed his furry head against her neck and started giggling.
Wen Nuan kissed her on the forehead and said to her with a smile: "Le Le, this is your aunt, haven't you seen her yet? This is your father's sister."
The little guy looked at Gu Qinglan, smiled, then hid his head in the warm shoulder, secretly looking at her with his big eyes.
Gu Qinglan was so moved by the little girl that she wanted to hug her, but she hadn't changed her clothes for many days, and she had squeezed into trains and buses, and even rode in someone's ox cart along the way.
My body was a little dirty at the moment, so I withdrew my hand embarrassedly.
Wen Nuan stood by the bed and looked at Gu Qinglan. Seeing that she had eaten half of the dumplings and drank some soup, she said to her, "Qinglan, you stay in the hospital first. I will call your eldest brother later to see how the situation is back home. I will bring you dinner later. Don't worry, they won't hurt you now."
Gu Qinglan looked at her sister-in-law whom she had just met for the first time. Somehow, she felt a rare maternal love from her.
His nose felt sore, and he suddenly hugged her waist, crying, "Sister-in-law, you are so gentle."
"How can you be so nice? My mom is a liar. You are obviously the best sister-in-law I have ever seen!"
Zhao Wuzhu said that Wen Nuan was lazy and greedy, and that she was vicious and would do anything to marry her eldest brother. But Wen Nuan was very gentle and even made soup for her. That soup was the best soup she had ever tasted...
She had been home for such a long time, and not only had her mother not cooked for her yet, but she was asked to cook as soon as she got home, and she didn't even have time to put down her luggage.
Sometimes when she saw Gu Qingsong, she would think, it would be nice if she was a boy too.
Her mother might not treat her like this.
But now she saw from Wen Nuan that gender is not a prerequisite for a mother to be good to her child.
Love is.
Wen Nuan was amused by Gu Qinglan's words and couldn't help but touch her head: "Okay, you take a rest first. After the hospital approves it, we will take you to the family compound."
*
After leaving the hospital, Wen Nuan and Gu Qinghan went to make a phone call, but long-distance calls were not so easy to make these days. After waiting for almost two hours and still no one answered, they went home again.
After Wen Nuan returned home, she prepared dinner for Gu Qinglan. The half chicken that was saved from New Year's Eve came in handy again. In order to save time, she simply made her a chicken with mushrooms and steamed it over rice.
Gu Qinghan went to deliver dinner, and when he came back he said that Gu Qinglan was in much better spirits after taking a nap, and could eat and drink.
After dinner, Wen Nuan coaxed Le Le to sleep early. The little guy had gone out with them today and didn’t take a nap, so he fell asleep quickly.
While the child was asleep, Wen Nuan went to the small room and tidied up the clutter inside.
After washing the diapers, Gu Qinghan leaned against the door frame of the small room, quietly watching Wen Nuan's back as she tidied up.
Originally, he didn't know whether Wen Nuan would dislike Qing Lan coming over to stay for a few days, but during the meal, Wen Nuan had already told him to call Qing Lan's place in the countryside and ask for half a month's leave for her.
Wen Nuan said, "The girl might be worried. Qinglan's injuries this time are all on her face. She probably doesn't want to go back to the village for the time being, fearing that people will ask her questions. She probably doesn't know how to explain to others, so she came to us."
Gu Qinglan was his sister. Although they were a few years apart in age, Gu Qinglan was just a little girl when he joined the army, and their brother-sister relationship was not as deep as that between her and Gu Qingsong.
But after all, she is his biological sister, and Gu Qinghan definitely can't just ignore her.
Wen Nuan over there had already noticed that Gu Qinghan was standing at the door looking at her. She put down the jar in her hand and turned to look at him: "You didn't sleep last night, go back to bed early tonight."
Gu Qinghan crossed his arms and met the woman's gaze. His heart softened. He walked over and hugged her from behind, whispering in her ear, "Wu Nuan, thank you."
Wen Nuan thought what he was going to do, wasn't it just to tidy up the room, "Do we have to be so polite to each other?"
Moreover, this room had actually been tidied when we moved in, but Wen Nuan later put some miscellaneous items in, so it looked a bit messy, so we just tidied it up.
The man behind her didn't say anything. He leaned close to her earlobe and kissed her gently: "Thank you."
"Qinglan is right, you are the best person I have ever met."
So good that he wanted to monopolize all her beauty and not let others see it.
He doesn't know what love is, nor does he know how to love.
But since Wen Nuan and the child followed him to North City, he felt that there was a soft spot in his life, but also a shield.
He suddenly wanted to walk with her to the end of their lives together; he also wanted to protect her and prevent her from getting hurt.
He thought, this might be love.
Wen Nuan burst out laughing, knowing what he was talking about, and teased, "That's because you haven't met many people. No one is the best. No one is perfect, you fool."
Then Wen Nuan added: "Besides, your family is my family. Qinglan is a good child, and we must help her if we can."
"No, you are the best." Gu Qinghan turned her body around, and the two stood face to face. The man's deep dark eyes flickered with tiny rays of light, "Wen Nuan, don't leave me in this life."
Wen Nuan raised her head slightly, met Gu Qinghan's serious and solemn eyes, then hugged him and said jokingly: "Well, I'll think about it..."
"See if you're worth it."
Then, she buried her head in his chest again, hugged his waist, and listened to his steady heartbeat.
I could smell the faint scent of soap on his body and couldn't help but sniff it twice more.
Gu Qinghan suddenly picked her up and carried her sideways, then walked to the crib and gently put her on the bed.
“You can watch it now.”
Wen Nuan felt the man's tenseness and suddenly blushed. She put her hand on his shoulder and said, "You rascal, I don't want to see it!"
Gu Qinghan smiled softly, held her hand, and then raised it to his head: "We are a legal couple, how can we be gangsters?"
"Besides, you clearly wanted to see it last night."
"No way! I I I..."
Okay, she admitted.
Before she could finish, Gu Qinghan lowered his head and kissed the woman's sweet lips.
The wind was whistling outside the window, as if it was going to snow again. My warm hands were pressed on my head, and I couldn't move. I could only respond to his kiss tentatively.
The man was ready to go, his whole body was hot like a stove, the minty breath sprayed over, and his warm head seemed to be stuck with paste. He couldn't think at all, and could only reach out and climb onto his shoulders.
"Warm, call my name."
In a daze, Wen Nuan heard Gu Qinghan's hoarse voice. He raised his voice a little, and now Wen Nuan could clearly see his deep facial features. His tall nose and dark and deep eyes were like the night sky full of stars, bewitching her heart.
Wen Nuan called out woodenly: "Qing, Qinghan."
Gu Qinghan looked at Wen Nuan and saw her focused and tender eyes. His heart tightened and he lowered his head impatiently.
Snowflakes floated down from the night sky, landed on the window sill, and dotted on the glass like blooming flowers.
Wen Nuan's heart was in a mess. She stretched out her pale arms and climbed onto Gu Qinghan's back. Together with him, she fell into the rolling snowstorm, floating up and down.
The first time ended in chaos.
Wen Nuan asked him curiously, "Where did you get that thing just now?"
Gu Qinghan looked at the blush on Wen Nuan's face and kissed her on the cheek with a feeling of unsatisfied feeling: "I got it at the hospital last night."
Wen Nuan reached out and pinched his arm, blushing and cursing, "You rascal, you still have time to think about that!"
Then, he explained: "I feel sorry for you. Lele is still too young. We should be careful."
After hearing this, Wen Nuan felt a lot better. The child was indeed too young and it was not appropriate to have a child now.
Otherwise, there were actually plenty of opportunities in the past, and Gu Qinghan wouldn't have to wait until now.
But before she could recover, the man turned over again and turned on the light in a madman manner.
Wen Nuan no longer believed his words, saying that he felt sorry for her, bah!
*
The next morning, Wen Nuan slept late as expected, but Gu Qinghan had already gotten up.
She looked at Lele who was playing with a walnut bracelet beside her. She didn't know when the child had sat up and was playing by himself.
Seeing Wen Nuan wake up, she rushed over and cried out "Ma... Ma".
Wen Nuan wanted to hold the child in her arms, but her waist hurt a little and she didn't want to move.
Fortunately, the child likes to follow her when he wakes up, so he crawled over by himself. The little guy crawls very fast now, and his reaction becomes faster and faster every month.
The two of them made a fuss in the bathroom for a while, and then Gu Qinghan came in with an enamel basin, "Are you awake? If you are, wash up and you can have breakfast."
Then he walked straight to the bed and picked up the crying little one: "Come, let me change your diaper first."
Looking at Gu Qinghan's back, Wen Nuan's face was still a little hot, so she turned over, walked out of the room, and went to the small room to see if she had packed up her things from last night.
Gu Qinghan was reliable in his work. It looked as if no one had ever lived in the small room. The quilt was folded as neatly as a block of tofu.
Gu Qinghan came over at some point and said, "They have been changed. These are new quilts and beddings I got from the Quarters' Office."
Wen Nuan turned her face away, "Who said the quilt?"
Then I found that there was a crack in the room for ventilation. Now the whole room was a bit cold. I guess it was opened last night.
She closed the window and went to wash.
After she washed up, the little one had been dressed up neatly by Gu Qinghan, who also pinned a small red clip on her head. She looked very cute.
After breakfast, Gu Qinghan made another phone call, and Wen Nuan took the children to deliver food to Gu Qinglan first.
Gu Qinglan was no longer as depressed as she was yesterday. When she saw Wen Nuan carrying Le Le in, she raised her voice and called out, "Sister-in-law."
Wen Nuan walked over with a smile and looked him up and down: "You look much more energetic today. After you have breakfast, I will help you with the discharge procedures."
The family compound has also approved Gu Qinglan's application. She can live there and wait and see how things go after her injuries are healed.
"Okay, thank you sister-in-law." Gu Qinglan took the lunch box handed to her by Wen Nuan and ate two buns with relish.
Gu Qinglan ate a little, and Wen Nuan finished the formalities. Thinking that it would still be a bit cold to walk back to the family compound, she prepared a coat for Gu Qinglan in advance.
But Gu Qinglan was unwilling to wear it: "My clothes are too dirty. It's only a few steps away, so I won't wear them."
Gu Qinglan didn't have much luggage, just two bags, which probably contained some clothes for changing and some daily necessities.
Wen Nuan glanced at the gloomy sky outside and put it on her anyway: "Just wash it if it gets dirty. It's better than being cold."
Gu Qinglan looked at the brand new cotton-padded jacket on her body, and her nose began to ache again. She was obviously not a crybaby: "Thank you, sister-in-law."
"Why be polite? My sister-in-law is not a stranger." Wen Nuan smiled.
Gu Qinglan paused, looked at Wen Nuan's profile, and suddenly asked in a low voice: "Sister-in-law, why don't you dislike me? Aren't you afraid that I will rely on you and my brother?"
In fact, Gu Qinglan knew that Lin Meizhi disliked her. On the first night when she returned to her hometown, she covered her nose the first time she saw her because she had been sitting on the train for several days.
Later, when he learned that she was inquiring about returning to the city, he deliberately said a lot of glorious quotations about going to the countryside to work, for fear that she would go back to the city.
When Wen Nuan heard Gu Qinglan's words, she didn't know how to respond for a moment.
Gu Qinglan would think of Gu Qinghan, and she must have felt that Gu Qinghan was reliable, which was why she came all the way to find him.
But if she were to ask Gu Qinglan if she would rely on Gu Qinghan because of this, she could be sure that Gu Qinglan would not.
During the years that Gu Qinglan had been working in the countryside, she had never asked Gu Qinghan for a penny. On the contrary, Gu Qingsong, a grown man who had a job in the city, had the nerve to ask her man for money. He was so shameless.
She smiled at Gu Qinglan and said, "Why should I dislike you? You are our family member and a glorious educated youth who went to the countryside. You are our pride."
"Really?"
"certainly."
Gu Qinglan breathed a sigh of relief and continued, "When I recover from my injuries, I will go back to the village where I was sent to work. Don't worry, sister-in-law. The villagers and educated youth there are all very kind to me."
Wen Nuan thought that Gu Qinglan would not have an easy life in the village where she went back to work, but the child was unwilling to say it.
But for the time being, I couldn't think of any way to help her, and my warm heart suddenly felt uncomfortable.
So he said, "Don't worry, heal your wound first."
I had just packed up Gu Qinglan's things when Gu Qinghan came over, but he looked a little unhappy.
Wen Nuan guessed that the call was connected, but she couldn't reach an agreement with Gu Qingsong and Zhao Wuzhu, and they might even have had a quarrel.
However, since Gu Qinglan was there, Wen Nuan did not ask any questions and directly took the person back to the family quarters.
Everyone in the family compound was curious about who Wen Nuan and Gu Qinghan brought back to the compound. Because Gu Qinglan had a wound on her face, she put on the hat Gu Qinghan gave her and lowered her head to follow Wen Nuan's steps.
Li Daxiang also followed behind and helped carry things.
After returning to their home, Gu Qinglan raised her head and said, "What a clean yard."
Apart from some snow and no debris outside, it looks neat and clean.
After entering the house, Gu Qinglan realized that not only the yard was clean, but the house was also tidy and clean. There was a small flower decoration on the round table in the middle of the living room, and there was no coal slag even next to the stove. Although the house was not big, every corner was just right.
It was unlike the educated youth dormitories where they had either enamel basins or chamber pots under their feet, and even the kang was piled with all kinds of books and clothes.
Every time I clean up, it becomes messy again soon and I have to clean up again.
Li Daxiang helped Gu Qinglan put the luggage into the small room. He had originally planned to go back to the group, but Wen Nuan saw that he had been busy helping out in the past two days, so she let him stay at home for dinner.
After returning home, Gu Qinglan became more talkative. After changing out of her dirty clothes, she hugged Lele and played with her.
Lele was not afraid of strangers and was laughing when looking at Gu Qinglan.
Li Daxiang originally wanted to go into the kitchen to help, but when he saw the beautiful backs of Wen Nuan and Gu Qinghan standing next to each other, he didn't want to disturb them, so he had to go back to the living room.
Gu Qinglan watched Li Daxiang walk in and out, and asked, "Are you so idle?"
Li Daxiang recalled the girl who was crying yesterday and now spoke rudely. He was a little confused for a moment: "I wanted to help my sister-in-law, but she was talking to Deputy Head Gu."
Then Gu Qinglan came over with a head wrapped in gauze on the forehead and asked in a low voice: "By the way, comrade, are my elder brother and sister-in-law in good relationship? They..."
Li Daxiang nodded sharply: "I can say responsibly that Deputy Head Gu and his wife are the most loving couple I have ever seen."
Gu Qinglan smiled, and the purple bruises on her face became more obvious, and she felt a slight pain: "It seems that what others say may not be true."
When she went back this time, she heard Gu Qingsong and Zhao Wuzhu say a lot of bad things about Wen Nuan and Gu Qinghan.
Gu Qingsong said that he and Lin Meizhi had a very good relationship, but after she went back for just a few days, the two of them had quarreled three or four times.
Before she decided to come to North City, she was very nervous, fearing that her sister-in-law would not like it. But when she thought about going back to the educated youth dormitory with injuries all over her body, she became even more unwilling.
Although Gu Qinglan had only been with Wen Nuan for less than two days, she felt that she was not a bad person. Instead, she was so good that she felt like she was dreaming and could not believe it was real.
Li Daxiang frowned, thinking of the rumors in the family compound before: "Who said that our sister-in-law is not good?"
"Why? Do you still want to settle accounts with someone?" Gu Qinglan glanced at him, then said, "It's my mother and my second brother."
Li Daxiang: “…”
You really dare to say that.
Wen Nuan was stewing meat over there. She glanced at Gu Qinglan who was chatting with Li Daxiang outside, and asked the man who was lighting the fire, "Did you get through on the phone?"
Gu Qinghan said, "Qingsong admitted that he hit Qinglan, but he said he was not wrong. Lin Meizhi insisted that it was Qinglan who pushed her."
Wen Nuan frowned, wishing she could go back with a spatula in hand, "Where's the child? Is he really gone?"
Gu Qinghan raised his head and said calmly, "It's still there, it's saved."
Wen Nuan breathed a sigh of relief, "Really?"
"Qingsong said he saved it, but he had to stay in bed to recuperate." Gu Qinghan threw a handful of firewood into the stove and said, "From what he said, it may have cost a lot of money."
Wen Nuan curled her lips. Could it be that he wanted to borrow money again
Gu Qinghan smiled, as if he saw Wen Nuan's thoughts, "But the call was disconnected later. You can tell Qinglan later that the child is still there, so she doesn't have to blame herself too much."
Wen Nuan smiled and nodded: "Okay, got it."
Then, she thought for a moment and asked again, "By the way, can Qinglan join the army?"
She didn't understand the policies of that era, but she also wanted to help Gu Qinglan escape from that place.
Gu Qinghan raised his head to look at her, and then said, "It's probably difficult. Every year, each production brigade has only one quota for workers, peasants and soldiers. Those who can go to university will not come to join the army."
"Why? Qinglan said she wanted to join the army?"
Wen Nuan shook her head: "No, I just thought Qinglan is quite tall and has a lively personality. If she can join the army, it would be a good choice."
Gu Qinghan didn't ask any more questions, "It's up to her."
Wen Nuan glanced at the pork belly stewing in the pot, then picked up a fat piece with a spatula and brought it to the man: "Come on, Deputy Captain Gu, try this braised pork."
Every time Gu Qinghan was lighting a fire, Wen Nuan would always pick out some vegetables for him to taste, and every time they were large chunks of meat. He then realized that the woman did it on purpose, wanting him to eat more meat.
He took a look at the meat, then curled his lips and said, "Try it."
He also wanted to leave the meat for her.
Wen Nuan then picked up the meat with her fingers and brought it to the man's mouth, smiling and saying, "Come on Qinghan, open your mouth."
"Is it tasty?"
Gu Qinghan couldn't taste anything, just sweetness.
"All the dishes my wife cooks are delicious."
Gu Qinglan, who wanted to come in to get chopsticks and bowls, saw this scene and hurriedly retreated to the living room.
It turns out that her elder brother and sister-in-law are so annoying...