When Li Daxiang went to the military hospital, Gu Qinglan was still busy. It was early winter and many people had colds and fevers. She didn't even have time to go to the cafeteria to eat.
Just after taking the temperature of a patient, Gu Qinglan saw Li Daxiang walking towards her with a lunch box in his hand.
Gu Qinglan was so busy that she almost felt dizzy. When she saw Li Daxiang coming over, she thought he was sick, so she asked, "Daxiang, are you feeling unwell?"
Li Daxiang used to come to the military hospital often in the summer, but recently he said he was going to rely on pilots. Gu Qinglan hasn't seen him for a while.
Li Daxiang glanced at the emergency room. Apart from Gu Qinglan, there was only a doctor in the office waiting for consultation. No one at the nurses' station was there. They must have gone to eat.
Li Daxiang looked at Gu Qinglan, who was obviously sleep deprived, and asked, "I'm not feeling unwell. My sister-in-law asked me to bring you some soup."
Then he picked up the lunch box and waved it in front of Gu Qinglan, asking, "Have you not eaten yet?"
"Sister-in-law brought me some soup?" Gu Qinglan's eyes lit up and she smiled, "That's perfect. I haven't had time to eat yet. What kind of soup is it?"
Gu Qinglan did not go to the cafeteria to eat these days. She asked her colleagues at the nurses' station to help pack a few steamed buns for her, which she ate with rice porridge as a meal.
If Li Daxiang hadn't come over, she would have forgotten that she hadn't eaten yet, because now she was the only one busy, and she had to wait for her colleagues to come back before she could eat.
After hearing what Gu Qinglan said, Li Daxiang tightened his grip on the lunch box and replied, "It's mutton soup. Do you want to drink it while it's hot? Otherwise, it will get cold later."
The temperature has been relatively low these days, and Li Daxiang was afraid that the soup would get cold, so he ran over just to let Gu Qinglan drink some hot mutton soup.
Gu Qinglan glanced at the patients still waiting in line, and whispered, "Maybe we have to wait a while. I'll wait for other colleagues to come back and take over before eating."
Gu Qinglan was about to go over to give someone an IV drip, so she turned around and asked Li Daxiang: "Daxiang, just give me the food. You probably haven't eaten yet, right? Go back and eat quickly."
Gu Qinglan had noticed that Li Daxiang had three lunch boxes in his hands, and she guessed that one of them was his own lunch. Thinking that he had been so busy recently, she might as well eat quickly and go back to the dormitory to have a rest.
Li Daxiang smiled and said directly: "Don't worry, I'll wait for you in the office over there. Come over to eat when you're done."
Gu Qinglan wanted to say no, but Li Daxiang took the lunch box and walked to the office where he usually ate, as if he knew the place well.
She didn't think too much about it and continued to take the temperature of several patients in line. She waited until someone came back to take over the shift before washing her hands and preparing to eat.
The colleague looked towards the lounge, then asked Gu Qinglan with a smile: "Qinglan, is this Captain Li coming to see you again?"
Gu Qinglan nodded and said, "Yes, my sister-in-law asked him to bring me some food."
My colleague smiled ambiguously and said, "Then he's waiting for you to eat together?"
Gu Qinglan asked back: "Is there any problem with this? I won't tell you anymore, I'm almost starving to death!"
Colleagues at the nurse station looked at Gu Qinglan's back and smiled: "I think Qinglan must be dating Captain Li!"
"I think so too. These two people look very different."
"Not necessarily. If Qinglan was in a relationship, she wouldn't have been harassed by that Ding Guoli before."
"Doesn't that mean I still have a chance? I think Captain Li is pretty good."
"Forget it, even though they haven't gotten along yet, it's obvious that Captain Li likes our Qinglan..."
Everyone watched Gu Qinglan walk into the lounge and the discussion became more excited. No one noticed a thin figure flashing past the door of the emergency room.
…
Over there, Li Daxiang was holding a few lunch boxes and putting them inside his coat. When he saw Gu Qinglan finally came over, he took out the lunch boxes and put them on the table next to him.
"You must be hungry, right?" Li Daxiang opened the net bag and took out the lunch boxes one by one. Then he said, "Come and eat quickly. The soup is still hot. Drink some first."
Gu Qinglan took off her nurse's uniform and cap, and hung them on the hook on the wall. Then she walked over and said, "Ah, Daxiang, you haven't eaten yet? Are you still waiting for me?"
"I'm not hungry. I'll wait for you to eat together." Li Daxiang said as he opened the lid of the lunch box. A rich aroma of mutton soup wafted out instantly, so fragrant that people's stomachs could not help but rumble.
Gu Qinglan took the chopsticks handed to her by Li Daxiang and said with a smile: "Oh my God, it has to be my sister-in-law, it smells so good!"
Gu Qinglan thought about it, then stood up, walked to a chest of drawers by the wall, took out the enamel cup she usually used, and then divided the mutton soup in the lunch box into two halves.
She handed the lunch box to Li Daxiang and said, "Let's drink together."
Li Daxiang took a look at the lunch box full of mutton offal and mutton, because Gu Qinglan had just poured it out directly, the other half was soup without meat.
He took the enamel cup from Gu Qinglan's hand, poured half of the soup in the cup back into the lunch box, and said, "You eat this, I'll just drink a little."
Gu Qinglan looked at the large amount of meat in the lunch box and said cheerfully, "Let's just eat it together, and stop dividing it."
Li Daxiang smiled and there were two lunch boxes left, one with roujiamo and the other with rice, and they each shared them in half.
Li Daxiang was afraid that Gu Qinglan would not have enough, so he gave her some more rice.
"No need to give me so much. How can I finish it? I'll give you some." Gu Qinglan looked at the extra rice in her lunch box and wanted to pour some back for him.
The two looked at each other, and Li Daxiang hurriedly took the lunch box back to himself and nodded: "You should be hungry, eat first."
After drinking the hot soup, Gu Qinglan felt alive again, and even the white rice tasted fragrant.
After eating most of the meal, Gu Qinglan, who was full and satisfied, asked, "Daxiang, did your pilot assessment go well?"
Li Daxiang had been eating his meal, not daring to look at the other person. When he heard Gu Qinglan ask this, he raised his head and met her eyes, nodding subconsciously: "It's going pretty well."
Gu Qinglan said excitedly: "That's good, I hope you can pass the exam smoothly, and I can see you flying a fighter jet in the future!"
Li Daxiang heard this and nodded confidently: "Well, I will try my best."
"Then I'll wait for your good news." Gu Qinglan smiled and slowly drank the remaining mutton soup.
Gu Qinglan remembered that Ding Guoli seemed to have signed up to be a pilot, so she asked, "Didn't Ding Guoli pass the first assessment?"
Li Daxiang: "No, I was eliminated."
Gu Qinglan breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good!"
If that scumbag also passed the test, it would really make people vomit blood!
Li Daxiang looked at her lazy, relaxed and somewhat satisfied expression, and suddenly felt that she was cuter than ever at this moment.
Li Daxiang cleared his throat and suddenly spoke as if possessed by a ghost, "Qinglan, after the list of pilots is announced, I have something to tell you."
Gu Qinglan put down the lunch box, picked up a piece of mutton with chopsticks, and then looked at Li Daxiang.
She smiled and then asked, "Can't you tell me now?"
Li Daxiang's face flushed instantly when he met Gu Qinglan's clear eyes. Then he turned his head to look at the clock on the wall and changed the subject: "No, no hurry. I should go back for lunch. I have a physical fitness test in the afternoon."
Gu Qinglan saw him busy cleaning up the lunch boxes on the table, so she smiled and said, "It's up to you. Just leave some of these and let me collect them. I'll take them back to my sister-in-law when I get off work this afternoon."
Li Daxiang stopped packing and said, "Oh, okay, then... then I'll go back?"
"Well, go back and rest."
When Li Daxiang left the military hospital, he happened to meet Ding Guoli at the emergency door, but the other party looked at him, turned around and ran away.
Li Daxiang frowned, remembering that Ding Guoli had caused trouble in the hospital before. Before returning to the dormitory, he went to the administrative building first.
*
Ding Guoli saw Li Daxiang coming out of the hospital, holding a net bag and a lunch box in his hand. It was obvious that he was not there to see a doctor.
It seems that the person who had just had dinner with Gu Qinglan was him.
Ding Guoli has not been doing well since he was eliminated by Gu Qinghan. He was originally a temporary worker in the post office, but because of his mood affected by that elimination, he delivered two wrong letters, and as a result, his superiors directly fired him.
Now he is an unemployed vagrant, and his brother is very disappointed in him and wants to send him back to his hometown.
But Ding Guoli had finally persuaded his elder brother and sister-in-law to join the army, so naturally he didn't want to go home just like that. How would others look at him when he returned to his hometown
Before, I thought that He Manqing was the granddaughter of some commander, but it turned out that she was an impostor. Because he accompanied her to the hospital, he was beaten up by Yang Xiaomei and Gu Qinglan. Although he was not seriously injured, his reputation was ruined.
Not to mention wanting to find a wife in the army, even finding a family member who is also a military dependent is difficult.
When Ding Guoli recalled the humiliation he suffered in the flight team, he felt angry. Why could Gu Qinghan eliminate him with just a few words
He is just a deputy group leader, why was he eliminated
Now it seems that Gu Qinghan might have abused his power for personal gain? !
Gu Qinghan must know that his sister is dating Li Daxiang, so he will definitely keep Li Daxiang in the flight team!
No wonder Gu Qinglan ignored him when he tried to show his affection to her before. It turned out that she had been secretly having an affair with Li Daxiang for a long time. Maybe they didn't tell anyone else that they were in a relationship because Li Daxiang was preparing to take the pilot exam.
Ding Guoli bit his back teeth and glanced at the military hospital in the distance. Now he was just waiting for the list of pilots to be announced to see if Gu Qinghan had abused his power for personal gain.
If Li Daxiang is really selected as the pilot, it must be because Gu Qinghan has selfish motives.
Ding Guoli thought about it and decided that if he wanted to pass the pilot exam, he had to get rid of Gu Qinghan, the thorn in his side, first, otherwise he would never be able to pass the exam in his lifetime!
Thinking of this, Ding Guoli returned home in excitement. When his brother Ding Guocheng saw him coming back, his face was also very bad: "Guoli, if you have nothing to do, you should go back to your hometown."
When Ding Guoli heard his brother say this, he gritted his teeth and said, "Brother, I want to be a soldier. Even if I can't pass the test to become a pilot, I can join the army as a logistics soldier."
Ding Guocheng was relieved to hear his brother say this, and said, "I told you not to be so ambitious. It's not that easy to pass the pilot exam. Look at you, you were eliminated in the first round. It's impossible for you to pass. If you want to join the army, sign up for the spring round next year. You'd better hurry up. If you delay any longer, you will be over the age limit."
Ding Guoli: "Got it."
Ding Guoli felt very indignant when he heard what his brother said.
Because his elder brother studied a few years longer than him and is now a mechanic. Although he is not as good as a pilot, he is also a very important ground crew member, so his parents often compare them.
His brother is an excellent ground crew member, while he is a useless loser who has accomplished nothing.
Thinking of this, Ding Guoli became more determined to become a pilot.
He thought about it, then turned around and walked out of the house.
*
Wen Nuan gave Li Daxiang the lunch box she had prepared in advance, and then returned to the canteen of the flight crew kitchen.
She had to go back and finish the remaining things, and try to send the things to the research institute within the next two days, otherwise the arrival of the cold air would make transportation more difficult.
The comrades in the flight crew kitchen were still drinking the warm mutton offal soup. They sat in a circle, each holding a bowl, enjoying the rare delicacy with relish.
Wen Nuan didn't eat much, and she was always thinking about the supplies for the research institute, so she didn't want to waste time and sliced the remaining mutton.
The comrades in the flight crew kitchen saw that Wen Nuan had just put down the bowl in her hand and started to get busy again. They couldn't stay any longer, so they quickly drank the last mouthful of mutton soup and went over to help.
By the time all the mutton was processed, it was already dark.
Everyone in their kitchen team has been working overtime these days. Wen Nuan went to check on Lao Zhong's progress and saw that they had also sorted out the lamb chops, so she went to find the quartermaster.
The quartermaster had just finished counting the cabbages, radishes and potatoes. When he saw Wen Nuan coming over, he said, "The vegetables are ready. Have Lao Zhong and the others prepared the sheep?"
Wen Nuan came over to talk to the quartermaster about this. "We have almost everything ready. We can load the truck tonight and deliver the goods tomorrow morning."
The quartermaster nodded and said, "Okay, I'll call Deputy Commander Gu and ask him to arrange a few people to help load the truck. We can set out early tomorrow morning to deliver this batch of supplies."
After nearly two weeks of hard work, I can finally send the stuff out. The people at the research institute must have been waiting for a long time.
The quartermaster arranged for people to load the truck. Wen Nuan was not in a hurry to go home. She planned to wait for Gu Qinghan to come and take a look, and then go home together later.
While everyone was busy loading the truck, Wen Nuan went to the kitchen to study the semi-finished products. She planned to make some pickled fish buns, prepare the ingredients directly, and then cook and eat them directly after opening.
But Wen Nuan is now facing a problem, that is, they have made semi-finished products, but they do not have the equipment for packaging.
Plastic packaging was not yet popular in that era. If we wanted to make frozen semi-finished products, we had to find a plastic sealing machine. The army had this machine before, but it had been scrapped and was no longer usable.
Wen Nuan temporarily gave up on the pickled fish and just sent a few jars of pickled cabbage that she had pickled in early winter to the research institute.
Although sauerkraut is not a healthy dish, it is appetizing and convenient. It is also good to eat it with porridge in the morning.
When Lao Zhong saw the jars of Wen Nuan's secret pickled cabbage being sent to the military truck, he said with regret, "I love pickled cabbage the most. I should have made a few more jars."
Because fish is the dish he eats most often, Lao Zhong's favorites are the sauerkraut fish and boiled fish made by Wen Nuan, and a few slices of sauerkraut are indispensable to enhance the flavor. Now even the sauerkraut is being sent over, and he feels a little reluctant to do so.
The quartermaster snorted, "Old Zhong, you can't do that. It's an honor to be a comrade in our institute. Whenever you can't eat pickled cabbage, I can pickle a few jars for you."
Old Zhong looked at him with disdain and said, "Oh," "Then bring me two jars of pickled mustard greens tomorrow."
The quartermaster patted his arm and said, "Where can I find mustard greens for you in this cold weather? Please don't embarrass me!"
Lao Zhong: "If it's not mustard greens, I won't eat it!"
The quartermaster: "Hey, you piece of shit, it's good enough that I pickled it for you, why did you pick it up!"
Old Zhong sighed: "You have no requirements for food, are you still a member of the kitchen team?"
Chief Steward: “…”
Why was I expelled from the kitchen team
Just when the two were arguing, Gu Qinghan came over with Li Daxiang and Erhu. These were all subordinates that Gu Qinghan trusted the most.
Gu Qinghan told Wen Nuan that he planned to take one person with him and take turns driving. Although this place is about 100 kilometers away from the institute, Commander Xu meant that it is not safe enough for one person to travel, so he has to bring one more person.
It just so happened that Li Daxiang could drive, and Wen Nuan thought that Gu Qinghan probably took him with them.
Wen Nuan saw them coming over, so she went up to them and said, "You guys are here? Have you all had dinner?"
Because there are a lot of supplies, I may have to work until later tonight, and I don’t know if everyone has eaten.
Erhu and Li Daxiang both smiled and said, "Don't worry, sister-in-law, we have already eaten."
Gu Qinghan saw that Wen Nuan seemed to have been busy all day and looked a little tired, so he said to her: "Leave the rest to us, why don't you go and take a rest first."
After thinking for a while, Gu Qinghan saw that everyone had gone over to help Lao Zhong and the others, so he said to Wen Nuan: "Why don't you be a supervisor and give us orders directly if there is anything we need to do."
Wen Nuan took out a chestnut, stuffed it into Gu Qinghan's pocket, and said, "It's not very tiring, don't worry, once this batch of supplies is ready, the quartermaster said I can take a day off."
Moreover, she didn't have to do much physical work, and her colleagues in the kitchen didn't need her to do anything, so Wen Nuan just sorted out the dumplings and seasoning packets that had been wrapped earlier.
Because the weather is not very good now and time is not enough, we did not prepare too many seasoning packets, but it should be enough to eat until the New Year. We will see if the weather will be better during the New Year and then send another batch over.
Gu Qinghan took out two candies from his pocket and handed them to her: "Le Le asked me to bring them to you. She said that mom must be very tired from work, so she asked you to eat some candies to replenish your energy."
Gu Qinghan went back home before coming to the kitchen. Lele wanted to come with him, but he was afraid that it would snow again later, so he did not bring anyone with him and asked Gu Qinglan to help look after them.
Wen Nuan took the candy that Lele gave her, tore open the package directly, and ate one first. The sweet taste immediately filled her mouth.
"Did Lele have a bad temper?" Wen Nuan has been busy recently. Although her colleagues in the kitchen have taken good care of her, she sometimes goes home at around 8 or 9 in the evening. Every time she goes home, Lele hugs her tightly and won't let go, asking her why she goes home so late.
Gu Qinghan knew Wen Nuan was worried about the child, so he said, "Don't worry, Qinglan is with her. When they came out, the two of them were listening to the radio. I don't think they will look for you for a while."
Wen Nuan smiled and said, "Fortunately, Grandpa gave us a radio, so Lele doesn't have to be so bored anymore."
Since there was a radio at home, Lele basically played with it whenever he had free time. He would find programs he liked to listen to. Sometimes, if he didn't like the CCTV news, he would find some singing programs and dance along with the music.
Gu Qinghan reached out to help her tidy up her bangs and said, "Well, I'll go over and help first. Once these things are packed, we'll go home early."
Wen Nuan smiled at him and said, "I will help you pack a change of clothes when I go back later. I think Comrade Liu will definitely let you stay overnight this time."
But even if you don't stay overnight, it's necessary to bring more clothes when going out in such cold weather.
*
After everyone loaded all the stuff into the car, they sat in the canteen of the flight crew kitchen to rest for a while.
The quartermaster looked at the time and saw that it was already 10 o'clock in the evening, so he said, "Everyone go back and rest first. Deputy Head Gu will be responsible for delivering the things tomorrow morning. Everyone can rest now."
Gu Qinghan and Erhu checked the car locks, and after seeing that they were locked, they said a few words to Li Daxiang.
Li Daxiang nodded as he listened: "Got it, Deputy Head Gu."
Gu Qinghan patted the other person's shoulder and said, "Okay, thank you for your hard work."
Then he took the military coat beside him, put it directly on Wen Nuan's shoulders, and said, "Wife, let's go back first."
Gu Qinghan ignored the gazes of others and walked out of the cafeteria holding Wen Nuan's hand, his steps a little fast.
Wen Nuan pulled the military coat over her shoulders and used the collar to cover her slightly red face. She said "good night" to everyone, then followed Gu Qinghan and left the cafeteria.
On an early winter night in the north city, the wind was biting and it felt a bit cold even though Weng was wearing a coat.
Then she remembered the goose feathers she had collected in the kitchen this year, and it seemed that they might come in handy.
Gu Qinghan squeezed her hand and asked, "Wife, I'm talking to you, what are you thinking about?"
"It's nothing. You just asked me if I would go to my grandfather's house to celebrate the New Year this year?" Wen Nuan heard what he said but didn't respond for a moment.
"I don't know yet. Let's see what's convenient for Grandpa." Wen Nuan knew that Commander Lu would be very busy during the New Year. In addition to having dinner and meetings with various leaders from Beijing, he also had to visit various divisions to comfort his subordinates.
"Okay, I'll listen to you." Gu Qinghan looked at the stars in the sky and suddenly said, "Wife, haven't I looked at the stars with you?"
Gu Qinghan suddenly remembered that time in the summer when he had to do night training and often flew at night. Wen Nuan asked him if the stars would be brighter when viewed from the plane.
Gu Qinghan seemed to answer at that time that he didn't know either, because he had never paid attention to the stars above his head.
Thinking about it tonight, Gu Qinghan suddenly had an urge to take her for a flight.
Wen Nuan looked up at the shining stars between the clouds and said with a smile, "I can see them now."
"But there are more in the summer. Then you can take me to a higher place to see the stars."
Gu Qinghan nodded and kept these warm words in his heart.
When they returned home, Gu Qinglan and Lele fell asleep on the kang. They slept in a crooked position, and the kang, which was more than two meters long, was not enough for them.
Wen Nuan was thinking about discussing with Gu Qinghan and asking him to spend the night in the small room, but Gu Qinghan said, "You sleep with me."
Wen Nuan glared at him and said, "You should sleep alone. There is not enough space in that small bed!"
Gu Qinghan smiled and held her hand: "I'm afraid of the cold."
Wen Nuan looked at the man's coquettish expression, and thought that the winter in the north city was indeed a bit cold, so her heart began to soften.
Who asked the man to warm her bed for so long last winter? Wen Nuan smiled and said, "Well... OK."
The next second, Gu Qinghan picked her up by the waist and walked to the small room.