Gu Sheng is about to go to a military academy in Guicheng to serve as deputy director of a department, which means that they are preparing to leave Yunnan Province and move.
"Oh, Instructor Gu!" Zhan Aiping looked at him with amusement: "That's a place with beautiful mountains and rivers."
Gu Sheng held his wife's hand and said with a smile, "How about it? Do you want to go?"
Zhan Aiping: "What else can I do? I came here with you."
Gu Sheng said: "It's not that I'm afraid you won't want to leave, I'm afraid you won't want to leave the mushrooms on the mountain."
Zhan Aiping nodded: "Okay then, let's live separately, Deputy Director Gu, hahaha."
"No way. Even if I die, I will tie you to my belt and take you away."
Zhan Aiping said: "Then you have to tie it tightly, don't let me fall."
Gu Sheng smiled. If they were not in the ward, he would really want to hug his wife tightly in his arms, "Wife, your organizational relationship will also be transferred..."
Zhan Aiping sighed and said, "My Dean Zhan is gone."
She is such a senior dean, but her right to have the final say is gone.
Gu Sheng patted her shoulder and said, "I've also become Deputy Gu."
Zhan Aiping: “…”
"Honestly, my wife, you've been the dean for several years, aren't you tired of it? Even I'm tired of being the head of the group."
"Let's change places and start over." Gu Sheng tried hard to calm his wife. As the saying goes, food and fodder must be prepared before troops move. Every time he wanted to transfer work, he had to do a good job of ideological work for the family members first.
"Okay, I'm really tired of being the dean." Zhan Aiping had expected this day to come. There are frequent transfers in the army, and it is unlikely to stay in one place forever.
"Old Gu, do you think I should go to a medical school to be a teacher, or go to a hospital?"
Gu Sheng said: "It depends on you. You can also go to the military hospital."
Zhan Aiping said: "Let me think about it again."
Gu Sheng said softly: "Take your time to think about it. It's still early. You see, I'm a wounded soldier now. I need to recover. It will be next semester before I can report to the new unit..."
Zhan Aiping couldn't help but say, "Then you have half a year of vacation."
Gu Sheng said seriously: "This is a leave for recuperation. Can't you see that I am seriously injured? I also need to take a leave to visit my family..."
"Well, recuperate."
Gu Sheng's job was transferred, and her organizational relationship also had to be transferred. Several children also had to transfer schools. More importantly, they had to move. It wasn't too far, to the next province, so it wasn't that far away, but it was also very troublesome.
However, if Gu Sheng works in the military academy in the next few years, he will have relatively free time, which is a good thing in a sense.
At night, Zhan Aiping boiled some hot water and the children fell asleep. She would stay in the hospital to take care of Gu Sheng for a few days, and the children would follow her and would not go back. They would go back together later.
Not afraid of delaying their studies, Zhan Aiping instructed Guo Bao Rou to teach her two younger sisters well.
Zhan Aiping poured herself a cup of hot water, turned off the light, blew on it, and took two small sips to moisten her throat.
In the dark night, she looked at Gu Sheng lying on the hospital bed and couldn't help but go forward and hug him. She was really worried about him during this period, but she couldn't show it in front of the children. When she saw him injured and haggard in the ward today, her eyes couldn't help but turn red, and she held back her tears.
Holding him and feeling the hot temperature from his body, I felt a little more at ease.
Anyway, I'm in the dark, so I just let my emotions flow and moisture fills my eyes.
"Wife." Gu Sheng called her softly.
Zhan Aiping felt a lump in her throat and didn't say anything.
Then, she felt herself floating in the air, and Gu Sheng picked her up and carried her out of the ward.
I went outside and found a quiet place. The night in the hospital was not very peaceful. The dark place was lit with orange lights. There were people on duty in the office, and others were making rounds.
There have been too many injured patients sent here recently, the hospital is full, and the medical and logistics staff are extremely busy.
Zhan Aiping wiped her eyes and said in a hoarse voice: "If anyone sees you, I'll sue you for hooliganism."
Gu Sheng didn't care and said, "I'm hugging my wife."
Zhan Aiping said, "You are so strong, I should have known not to peel an apple for you."
"I just like to watch my wife peeling fruit and dropping golden beans without anyone seeing."
Zhan Aiping said sullenly, "I know you and the child saw it. You Gu people are all good at pretending."
"Wife, please don't cry." Gu Sheng said softly, "When I joined the army, I was determined to serve my country, even if it meant dying on the battlefield. Now seeing you crying, I'm thinking... I should just try to 'live a miserable life'."
Zhan Aiping was amused by him: "..."
"A general who is afraid of death is not a good general." Zhan Aiping said, "You might as well light three incense sticks and hope that you will have good luck and survive a narrow escape."
Gu Sheng said: "Okay, I'll listen to you. My wife is a powerful person who has snatched people from the hands of the King of Hell. She has rich combat experience."
"Forget it, don't say these things." Zhan Aiping said: "You are just like my mother, you say you are afraid of death, but when it's time to rush forward, you rush forward faster than anyone else."
Gu Sheng said: "You are the same."
"Do you still want to get me pregnant? If something happens to you, I can live with your unborn child."
Gu Sheng sighed: "Actually, I've been feeling a lot of emotions recently. If someone really leaves, I'll only be sad at first, and then as time goes by, I'll become calm. After a few more years, he'll disappear from my memory."
"Those who are still alive should live well."
Zhan Aiping insisted: "There are some people who, even if you haven't seen them for decades, will still remain in your memory and will be indelible."
"She'll take him to her grave."
Gu Sheng laughed: "Wife, how old are you? It's been decades. When you get old, you won't remember anything."
Zhan Aiping touched his head and said, "Perhaps only people like you who have brain damage and sequelae can't remember things."
Gu Sheng said: "Maybe someone like me who has suffered a brain injury and has sequelae will only remember my wife forever?"
Zhan Aiping smiled: "You don't remember your wife, you only remember Zhan Aiping."
"Zhan Aiping is my wife." Gu Sheng glared at her: "Even if I die, you are not allowed to remarry."
"You are so domineering." Zhan Aiping hugged his neck and said firmly: "I will marry you and only you forever."
Gu Sheng hugged her tightly with satisfaction and rubbed her neck: "That's good enough."
"Wife, you are not really pregnant, are you?"
Zhan Aiping laughed at him: "What are you thinking? It's impossible for you to get it right every time. You are not the protagonist of a novel. The male protagonist dies on the front line and always leaves behind a baby."
"Well, we are not the protagonists of novels."
The couple talked for a while, and Zhan Aiping fell asleep in his arms. Gu Sheng carried the person in his arms back to the ward. Zhan Aiping rushed over. Her face did not look good, and her brows were haggard. When she closed her eyes and snuggled in his arms, her eyelids were very thin and looked very soft, which made his heart soften.
Little cotton balls look like their mother, I guess. They look most like her when she closes her eyes and sleeps.
Gu Sheng couldn't help but lower his head and kiss her eyes lovingly.
Gu Sheng slept until dawn. Before he opened his eyes, he felt the dazzling light. It turned out that the window was wide open and there was already sunshine outside. The brilliant sunlight poured down, illuminating the surroundings.
Zhan Aiping had gotten up early with the children. She laughed at him, "Finally I caught you sleeping in."
"What time did you sleep until?"
"Little Tangyuan and Little Cotton, come and tell me that your daddy is a lazy bum."
Gu Sheng looked at her with a smile, his peach blossom eyes full of tenderness. He raised his hand to block the light, and through the gaps between his fingertips he saw Zhan Aiping's beautiful face illuminated by the sunlight, like a blooming rose.
He hadn't had a good night's sleep for a long time. There were always many images flashing through his mind, the roaring sound of artillery fire in his ears, and the fragmented flesh and blood that was sometimes bright and sometimes gray and dark.
But when he saw her, everything disappeared, and his heart became peaceful and warm... He remembered that when it was late at night, she would always light a lamp for him.
*
Zhan Aiping brought her three children to take care of Gu Sheng in the hospital. The three children were particularly diligent in taking care of their father, especially the sisters Xiao Tangyuan and Xiao Mianhua. They were so happy to stay in the hospital without having to go to school or do homework.
Their mother is the hospital director, so they are not afraid of the hospital. The two sisters can be said to have grown up in the hospital and are very familiar with it. They are almost having a lot of fun.
Old Xie, a patient next door, teased the two little girls: "You are in the hospital, you don't have to go to school or do homework, aren't you very happy?"
"Do you want to ask when dad will be hospitalized next time?" Old Xie asked this deliberately when he saw that the two of them were having a great time. Children are innocent and love to play.
It pissed off their dad.
Little Cotton shook her head: "I don't want Dad to be hospitalized. Mom will be sad."
Little Tangyuan: "That's right, I'd rather go home and do my homework... I can't eat the food my dad cooks in the hospital."
Although they don't have to go to school to accompany their children in the hospital, if they had to choose, they would still like to live at home with their parents, even if they are forced to go to school every day.
Old Xie: “…”
Old Xie wanted to apply for a change of ward so that his family could reunite in this ward. However, there were so many injured people and the ward was crowded that there were not enough vacancies, so they had to stay together.
After Zhan Aiping came, there were fewer nurses who deliberately looked for reasons to chat. In the past, there were always some Xiao Liu and Xiao Li who wanted to talk to Gu Sheng, claiming to want to talk more with combat heroes. Gu Sheng didn't talk much, and Old Xie was very happy to joke with these young nurses. Now even this fun is gone, and he can only watch other couples being loving and their children being sensible and obedient.
In comparison, he, a lonely man, is really too pitiful.
Nurse Li, who came to change Gu Sheng's dressing, didn't look very happy because the wife of the handsome Captain Gu had come. She had given birth to three children, but she was still so young and beautiful. They used to say in private that Captain Gu's wife must be a yellow-faced woman, and she even gave birth to two daughters...
People like Nurse Li don't care that Captain Gu has a wife and children. During those special years, fathers and sons severed their ties in the newspapers, not to mention couples. Now that educated youth have returned to the city in large numbers, there are countless cases of them abandoning their wives and children, and their husbands and children. This is the general environment.
Now that everything is over, everyone has the freedom to seek love and love whoever they want. All those wrong marriages in the past can be relieved, and these are all excusable.
Zhan Aiping noticed Nurse Li's expression and hostility. What else could she not understand? She said, "I'll change his dressing."
Nurse Li said arrogantly, "Can you do it?"
She wanted to take advantage of the time to change the dressing to get closer to Captain Gu and annoy his wife. It would be even better if they could have a quarrel.
Zhan Aiping smiled and said, "I have trained at least 100 nurses, if not 80, so don't worry."
"Your hands and feet look too clumsy. I'm worried about my husband, so I'm coming here myself."
Nurse Li looked unhappy: "Then you can do it yourself."
Zhan Aiping carefully checked all the medicines that Gu Sheng used, changed the dressings on his wounds, watched him take the medicine, and took good care of him.
Gu Sheng said, "My wife is taking care of you. We don't need to stay in the hospital anymore. Let's find a ride back."
A few days later, the family took a ride back home from the military. After returning, Director Zhou came to tell Zhan Aiping a good news: "Your math tutorial book is selling very well. We are working overtime to reprint it. The Shanghai Education Press also published elementary school math exercises this year, but I heard that they are not as interesting and useful as ours. Oh, our publishing house is going to be in the limelight this time..."
Director Zhou was grinning from ear to ear, with smiles all over his face, so he came to congratulate her in person. Zhan Aiping's set of elementary school math tutorial books was selling well, which not only brought profits to their publishing house, but more importantly - it made them stand out and they were praised by their superiors, which was better than anything else.
Making money is one thing, but for someone like Director Zhou, who has a good basic condition, he is more interested in fame and likes to be in the spotlight. Their publishing house has become very famous, and parents have spontaneously recognized their set of tutoring books.
Although the performance of another major project was not good, with the success of this series of books, their publishing house will be very proud this year.
Zhan Aiping asked: "How much money can you give me?"
Comrade Xiaozhan is currently concerned about profits.
"Don't worry, our publishing house will give you an extra bonus of three thousand. This time you're praised by the higher-ups!" Director Zhou was very happy. The country has changed a lot recently. It's doing big things, attracting investment, encouraging individual business, encouraging the reform of state-owned enterprises, and increasing autonomy. Those who do well will receive bonuses and political achievements.
The more such things happen, the more we should praise them and set examples for them.
"Really?" Zhan Aiping would not refuse small amounts of money. The more money the better.
"Yes, but you have to cooperate with our publicity work." Director Zhou told Zhan Aiping the details. Zhan Aiping nodded, and the two discussed for most of the day.
Finally, Zhan Aiping did the math and, with the bonus, she really became a low-key millionaire.
Zhan Aiping agreed to advertise in the newspaper, but it was just a small mention among many reports.
There have been a lot of reports on individual economy recently, saying how so-and-so made money and became rich. It seems that overnight, the street stall economy became popular, and there are all kinds of vendors.
This was also caused by too many educated youth returning to the city. Some of them could not find jobs and became idle young people in society, causing many troubles. The authorities began to encourage them to start their own businesses and liberalized individual business operations, and all kinds of things were sold on the streets.
Not only did they encourage individual business, they also encouraged the development of township enterprises. Later, they even began to hold “show-off meetings.”
In the past, the poorer you were, the more glorious you were; now, the richer you were, the more glorious you were. If a county had a millionaire, they would hold a ceremony to show off their wealth, wear a big red flower and parade through the streets, and give out sewing machines and radios as rewards.
Some towns don't have a millionaire, but people try to make one. Banks beg those who are brave enough to apply for loans. As long as someone dares to apply, the bank will lend the money. The approval process is much simpler than it is in the future.
Now is indeed a good time to start a business.
There is also someone running a business in the family compound, a lady named Zhao who makes delicious spicy pickled vegetables. Her spicy pickled vegetables sell particularly well and are in short supply. Her business is getting bigger and bigger, and she is too busy to handle it, so she asked several other military wives to help.
But recently, Zhao's sister-in-law has been feeling uneasy. She is not at ease with making too much money. She came to Zhan Aiping and said, "Another sister-in-law came to me and asked me to do a job. Doctor Zhan, you are educated, but I don't have much education and I don't understand. You have hired so many people. Am I a big capitalist?"
Mrs. Zhao was very worried. Although the individual economy was now liberalized, in the eyes of many people, hiring others to work was still a very sinful act. It was exploitation and oppression. If you hired many people, you would become a big capitalist and you would be sent to jail if you did so.
Zhan Aiping said with a smile: "You are not a big capitalist, but you should also be careful and try not to hire too many people to help. A big tree attracts the wind, and you can't manage them all. Don't hire more than eight people."
"Okay." After hearing what Zhan Aiping said, Mrs. Zhao felt a lot more at ease. She brought Zhan Aiping a bottle of hot sauce.
After seeing off Sister Zhao, Zhan Aiping couldn't help but say to Gu Sheng, "Everyone has more and more money now."
If you have a good skill and are able to endure hardship, you can make money quickly by making food.
Gu Sheng blew on the wooden car model he carved for his son and said calmly, "That's right. The poorer people were, the richer they became."
Zhan Aiping said: "The poorer you are, the more you will burn your boats."
Most of those who are now enjoying the first bite of the cake of the individual economy are those who could not make ends meet before. Because they really can't make ends meet, they dare to work hard instead. They are not afraid of going to jail for doing business and are taking advantage of the present to make a fortune.
However, those who have iron rice bowls and are paid by the government rarely go into business because they already lead a stable life and they cannot afford to give up their iron rice bowls. Instead, they become consumers.
Zhan Aiping said, "Hey, hey, hey, Comrade Gu, you've been bored for so long, do you want to go out and make some money?"
Gu Sheng is recuperating at home, and is waiting to move with a certain unit in August. Otherwise, if he goes alone, their belongings will be in jeopardy, and the children still have to finish their classes this semester.
Gu Sheng carved the model in his hand: "Going into the sea to make money? What should I sell? Sell wood carvings? I will become a chef?..."
"Don't we still have tens of thousands of dollars in our savings account? You've already become a millionaire a long time ago, and you don't spend any money."
Zhan Aiping said, "We have nowhere to spend our money here. Didn't we agree to go to Shanghai to spend it?"
Zhan Aiping is not a person who only takes in and does not spend. It's just that there are not many imported products here, so there is no need for the family to spend money to buy anything, especially big items, because they are moving, and it would be stupid to buy big items before moving. They can wait until they get to the place and buy the big items slowly.
As a result, I am now a miser and have money but cannot spend it.
Gu Sheng said: "You also said that the children were going to the Northeast to visit their second brother during the holidays."
"Yes, yes, that's why I take you to make money. Do you know that the wild ginseng in the mountains will bloom in June and July? It's very conspicuous. Let's go up the mountain to dig ginseng." Zhan Aiping encouraged Gu Sheng to go into the mountains to dig ginseng just like she encouraged him to go up the mountain to pick mushrooms.
Ginseng likes shade and grows under bushes, where it is covered and is usually difficult to find. However, ginseng blooms in June and July with bright red flowers. As long as you find the flowers, you can find ginseng.
It is now 1979, and there are still many wild ginsengs on the mountain. If we wait until later, there will be no place to dig them.
Gu Sheng: "... Do you want to go to the Northeast to visit your second brother and his wife, or do you want to go to the Northeast to dig ginseng?"
Why is this sister-in-law so similar to her younger sister-in-law? When her younger sister-in-law came back to visit relatives, she dug mushrooms, but this sister-in-law is even more amazing. When she went to visit relatives in the Northeast, she wanted to dig ginseng.
Picking mushrooms in the mountains is more reliable, and you can pick them in ordinary mountains. But if you want to dig ginseng, you have to go deep into the mountains and forests, and you can't get out for seven or eight days. There are many dangers in the mountains and wilds over there. Locals dare not go into the mountains casually. Everyone knows that ginseng is expensive? You have to be alive to dig it. Most people still put their lives first and don't go into the mountains easily.
The bears, blind boars and poisonous snakes in the mountains are not just eating for free. Besides... if wild ginseng was really that easy to find, it would have been dug up long ago. It's not the wild radish in the mountains.
"I have all, I have all." Zhan Aiping nudged him with her elbow. As a doctor, Zhan Aiping didn't want to make money by digging wild ginseng. If she really dug up a great treasure, she would prepare it herself and keep it for herself. She would not sell it no matter how high the price was.
If it is just ordinary stuff, then sell it privately or sell it to a Chinese medicine company for money. It would be nice to make a small profit.
Gu Sheng continued with his work. He snorted, "You are even less reliable than Xiangyi."
These aunt and sister-in-law are of the same ilk, just following suit.
Gu Sheng asked her: "Do you really want to dig ginseng?"
Gu Sheng originally thought that Zhan Aiping was joking. If he really wanted to go into the mountains to dig ginseng, he would have to prepare a lot of things, including a hunting rifle. Going into the mountains was no joke.
I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to catch the ginseng and would be chased all over the mountain by wild boars and black bears.
"Really, I've already done my research." Zhan Aiping planned to look for it in places where "big goods" had been sold. If she couldn't find it, it would just be her bad luck.
"Such an opportunity is so rare. I don't dare to go alone. It's better to take you with me. Lao Gu, you must have a lot of experience in going into the woods, right?" The couple went into the mountains together. They had armed forces, medical care, and experience in surviving in the wild. There was absolutely no problem with their safety. The worst that could happen was that they would live as savages for a few days and return empty-handed.
The mountains are full of treasures. Even if we can't dig up the ginseng, we won't return empty-handed, right
They really dug up something good. They are a couple, and they won’t quarrel over uneven distribution. Is there a better couple to dig ginseng than this
Zhan Aiping said: "You should practice more recently... If we really encounter a wild beast, you have to protect me."
I feel safe when I bring my own instructor Gu with me.
Gu Sheng: “…”
"You have really thought of everything. Okay, I will accompany you to the mountains to be a wild man for a few days, but Zhan Dapingping, you have to listen to me. I will go wherever I say, and we can't be separated." Gu Sheng put down the wooden sculpture. He was more worried than worried about the wild beasts: "I am not worried about your safety if you go into the mountains alone. I am just afraid that you will go around in circles."
It is difficult to enter the mountains, and it is also difficult to get out of the mountains. If you accidentally separate, it will be like looking for a needle in a haystack to find someone alone, and it is easy to encounter wild animals. Alas... Who made him have a wife with special skills in getting lost.
Zhan Aiping: “…”
"Isn't it convenient for you to find me if I'm trapped in a wall? If you can't even find your teammates in the mountains, what's the point of being an instructor? Just find a place to shut yourself up."
Gu Sheng: "We are going into the mountains, where are the children?"
Zhan Aiping said, "Aren't we going to visit our second brother? Are you still worried about leaving our second brother's house?"
(End of this chapter)