AYLS – Chapter 85

When Gu Huayuan and the others arrived in the afternoon, Lin Qiao hadn’t finished work yet. Gu Huayuan didn’t go to fetch her; he led Zhang Tuo and his wife to tidy up the house themselves.

Seeing the single-story houses, Li Yan felt completely overwhelmed. Especially when she saw that there was no furniture inside, only earthen beds, and the windows were small. The smell of soil filled the air, and her face turned pale.

It was also Zhang Tuo’s first time seeing such living conditions in a military district compound. He didn’t have any other thoughts, though—after all, he had grown up enduring hardships with his parents, and during their time behind enemy lines, he had also experienced a tough life.

He truly admired Gu Huayuan. Even with better options available, he still chose to come here.

Zhang Tuo patted Gu Huayuan on the shoulder. “Shitou, you really haven’t had it easy these past years.”

Gu Huayuan smiled. “These conditions aren’t bad at all. Compared to ordinary civilians, it’s already very good. You should spend more time experiencing grassroots life yourself.”

Hearing this, Zhang Tuo felt a little embarrassed. Ever since the founding of Huaguo, he had lived in the capital’s compounds with his parents, and he hadn’t really experienced life among ordinary people at the grassroots level.

Over time, his understanding of the lives of ordinary people had become vague, and at one point, he even lacked ambition.

“Shitou, I think coming here this time isn’t a bad thing for me either.”

Gu Huayuan said, “Of course not. This is a place where people can grow. You all settle in first, and tonight come to my place for dinner. We’ll have some fun and I can also introduce you to some new friends.”

Zhang Tuo said with a relaxed smile, “Alright, with you here, it’s perfect. I don’t even need to worry about anything myself as a newcomer.”

After unpacking, doing a simple cleaning of the house, and taking Zhang Tuo to report at the unit, the afternoon quickly passed, and it was soon time to finish work.

Lin Qiao knew there would be guests at home today, so she didn’t linger. After finishing her work, she went home with Ermei.

She also invited Ermei to join them for dinner that evening. “Invite Zhenzhen and her husband too.”

Ermei was delighted, knowing they’d be having a proper meal, and happily agreed.

When Lin Qiao returned home, Gu Huayuan was already preparing the food.

Seeing her come in, he smiled. “Did you make dumplings?”

“Yeah. Since there are guests at home, I thought I’d help out and get things ready.” Lin Qiao’s face was particularly shy.

Gu Huayuan couldn’t help reaching out to pinch her cheek. “Comrade Lin Qiao, you’re really outstanding.”

“Of course,” Lin Qiao said. “Anything else you need me to do?”

Gu Huayuan replied, “No need, no need. You’ve worked hard all day; leave the rest to me. I’ve invited Old Xu and Old Chen over tonight.”

“No need for you to worry. I’ve already told Ermei and Zhenzhen. Oh, and since there’ll be a lot of people tonight, I should take a shower and change first.” She sniffed herself and realized there was still a slight smell.

Gu Huayuan knew she was particular about these things and helped carry the water kettle to the bathroom. “Go ahead. It’s early; you can wash up first.”

Zhang Tuo was also at home preparing gifts. Even though he was close to Shitou, proper manners had to be observed.

While he was getting things ready, Li Yan rushed in from outside, vomiting and pale, looking as if she might faint at any moment.

Zhang Tuo panicked. “What’s wrong?”

“Can we go back to the capital, Zhang Tuo? I can’t stay here a single minute—it’s too terrifying.” Li Yan clutched his sleeve, pleading.

Seeing her in such distress, Zhang Tuo felt a pang of sympathy, but the thought of her wanting to leave again frustrated him. “What’s the matter with you? Didn’t we agree before? You know why we came here. Don’t mention going back again. If others hear, they’ll gossip.”

“This place is too scary. The bathroom… it’s disgusting.”

She covered her mouth again as she spoke.

Zhang Tuo knew what the bathrooms were like. During their time behind enemy lines, conditions were even worse. He understood that Li Yan might not be used to it, so he tried to reassure her, “You’ll get used to it over time. Everyone here has lived like this.”

“I can’t take it. I really can’t. If I stay here any longer, I feel like I’ll suffocate,” Li Yan said painfully.

“….”

At that moment, Zhang Tuo felt utterly helpless.

He could only quietly continue packing, not responding to her.

After all the years of complications, up to this incident, he didn’t even know what he truly felt for Li Yan.

He’d just have to make do. After all, years ago, he proposed right after she broke up with someone else, knowing she didn’t like him, yet still chose to marry her.

He couldn’t blame anyone but himself.

Once everything was packed, Gu Huayuan came to fetch Zhang Tuo and Li Yan, inviting them to his home for dinner, saying everything was ready.

Zhang Tuo could only take the pale-faced Li Yan out, smiling as he said, “Sorry for disturbing you this time.”

Li Yan didn’t even want to leave the house, but she didn’t dare stay alone in the unfamiliar home. She was scared of the dim lighting and the insects that could appear at any moment.

She was afraid of the silence.

Gu Huayuan said, “With our relationship, what’s there to be disturbed? But Lin Qiao really put a lot of thought into this for you. She even made dumplings especially for you tonight.”

Zhang Tuo laughed. “Your wife is amazing.” He gave a thumbs-up, full of admiration and envy.

Who wouldn’t want a marriage life like Shitou’s?

Lin Qiao had no idea that Gu Huayuan had quietly shown off her efforts in front of others, contributing a little to her progress. She was busy admiring the meat and vegetables Su Weizhen had brought back, sniffing the delicious aroma and constantly swallowing.

Ermei said, “Has the chef at the state-run restaurant improved? When we went before, the taste wasn’t this good.”

Su Weizhen thought to herself, of course—it was all prepared in her space beforehand.

She put on a stern face. “As long as there’s food, don’t be picky about the chef.”

Ermei snorted. “Giving compliments isn’t allowed? Anyway, the chef really has improved, much better than you.”

Lin Qiao quickly shoved a piece of meat into her mouth, shutting her up.

Ermei couldn’t say anything further, but kept exclaiming, “Delicious, really delicious.”

Su Weizhen: “….”

Instructor Chen watched his wife enjoying herself with everyone else and compared it to her cold attitude at home. He felt miserable.

He tugged at Xu Yuanzheng. “How is your wife at home?”

“She’s fine,” Xu Yuanzheng replied happily, clearly enjoying a blissful married life.

Instructor Chen was even more bitter. “Why can’t my Ermei be like that?”

No matter whose wife it was—Gu Huayuan’s or Xu Yuanzheng’s—they were living so well. Why did his wife seem unaffected?

He was sure that none of the men in the compound felt more frustrated than him.

As Instructor Chen sulked, Gu Huayuan led Zhang Tuo and Li Yan over.

Xu Yuanzheng and Instructor Chen quickly went to greet them. “Ah, welcome, Comrade Zhang Tuo, to our corps. Our strength has grown even more.”

Instructor Chen smiled. “Does this count as having friends from afar?”

Zhang Tuo also smiled, shaking their hands. “I’ll be counting on both of you for guidance in the future.”

“Not at all, we’re all in this together,” they replied.

Lin Qiao also led Su Weizhen and Ermei to greet Li Yan and welcome her.

Li Yan glanced at them, nodded, and said nothing.

Su Weizhen and Ermei: “….”

Lin Qiao had already expected this outcome, so she didn’t think much of it. Greeting them was just a formality—she had no intention of becoming friends with Li Yan.

She wasn’t about to give anyone the cold shoulder—who wasn’t a little princess, after all?

Zhang Tuo, however, felt a bit awkward and laughed, saying, “Sister-in-law, today Shitou said you’ve been working hard for us. I feel a bit guilty about it.”

“Oh, don’t say that. You helped us a lot back in the capital too,” Lin Qiao replied politely.

“That was only natural. Shitou and I grew up together,” Zhang Tuo said.

Lin Qiao smiled. “That’s exactly it. Since you grew up together, let’s not dwell on these things. Come on, come on, let’s go inside and eat.”

Gu Huayuan also smiled warmly. “Yes, come in. I’ve even prepared some drinks—one small sip per person, nothing excessive.”

Everyone went inside, and Lin Qiao and the others helped set the table, bring out the dishes, and serve the dumplings.

When the dumplings were ready, Lin Qiao took a bowl over to Sister-in-law Wang next door.

She really wanted to invite the Wang family over, but due to the superior-subordinate relationship between Captain Wang and Gu Huayuan, it wasn’t convenient to host. So she could only deliver a bowl under the pretext of feeding little Huzi.

Sister-in-law Wang said, “Why bring food over when you’re having guests at home? What if there isn’t enough?”

“It’s enough. There’s still a bite for little Huzi. If it weren’t for worrying about affecting Captain Wang, I’d invite all of you over. You’ve always taken care of me, and I remember that,” Lin Qiao replied.

Even though she didn’t get to eat the meal, Sister-in-law Wang was touched.

“No need to come over. My husband said we should avoid it,” she added.

Lin Qiao nodded in understanding.

Sister-in-law Wang urged her to hurry back and eat before they finished it all.

Inside, no one had started eating yet. Gu Huayuan had pulled his brothers aside to chat, so the meal hadn’t begun.

Since he hadn’t touched the food, the guests naturally didn’t either.

Anyone with eyes could tell he was waiting for their wife to return.

Li Ermei shot several glares at Instructor Chen, thinking back to when she was the only one busy during family gatherings while everyone else cleaned up the plates.

Su Weizhen felt envious as well. Xu Yuanzheng also had some bad habits. Back home, she would cook with the women while Xu Yuanzheng just sat at the table chatting with the family.

At the time, it had been uncomfortable for her, but she had attributed it to the era. Now, she realized it had little to do with the times.

She made a mental note to teach Xu Yuanzheng some manners later.

Sure enough, when Lin Qiao returned, Gu Huayuan finished his conversation and started eating.

The first dumpling he picked was for Lin Qiao. “Comrade Lin Qiao, you’ve worked hard today.”

Lin Qiao, pleased with his show of affection, replied modestly, “It wasn’t hard at all. Everyone helped a lot.” She then pointed to the meat dishes. “These were brought back by Zhenzhen.”

She pointed to the beautifully made dumplings. “These were made by Ermei.”

Finally, she pointed to the ugly ones. “These are mine.”

Gu Huayuan picked one of her dumplings and said with a smile, “Not ugly at all. It looks quite appetizing to me.”

Everyone else: “…”

The group had good appetites and quickly polished off most of the food and dumplings.

Li Yan, however, ate very little—just a few dumplings and the meat dishes Su Weizhen had prepared. She looked listless.

Even Li Ermei and Su Weizhen noticed her low spirits, but since they weren’t very familiar with her, they didn’t intervene.

After eating, no one was in a rush to leave; they sat around chatting.

They discussed the Northwest Construction Corps’ achievements over the years, development plans for this year, and changes in the area.

Instructor Chen, eager to brag a little, mentioned the chicken farm. “You’re in luck this year. A new farm has been built, so you’ll often get eggs.”

“It’s just a bit small. Right now, only Comrade Lin Qiao and my wife are here,” he added.

Li Ermei, annoyed at his bragging, interrupted, “Lin Qiao is the technician. I’m just a temp, feeding chickens and cleaning the coop. Don’t exaggerate.”

No sooner had she spoken than Li Yan, sitting next to Zhang Tuo, bolted outside and leaned against the wall to vomit.

It happened so suddenly that everyone was stunned and momentarily at a loss.

Zhang Tuo rushed out to check.

Lin Qiao, stunned, said, “What’s wrong? Motion sickness?”

Inside, only Gu Huayuan’s face darkened.

He was highly observant and had noticed that Li Yan had only eaten the dumplings made by Li Ermei.

At first, he thought she had disliked Lin Qiao’s dumplings because they weren’t pretty and had felt a bit uncomfortable. He had only resolved to invite her less in the future.

Now he realized—it wasn’t that she disliked the dumplings’ appearance. She looked down on Lin Qiao because she was a chicken farmer. And the last time they had hotpot in the capital, her not eating much wasn’t because she wasn’t hungry—it was the same disdain.

He called out, “Zhang Tuo, your wife isn’t feeling well. Take her back to rest.”

Zhang Tuo sensed Gu Huayuan’s displeasure. He wanted to clarify things but, with so many people around, he could only help Li Yan leave.

Li Ermei sighed, “She actually vomited. What a waste.”

Lin Qiao: “…”

After Zhang Tuo left, Xu Yuanzheng and Instructor Chen, as accompanying guests, also found it inappropriate to linger.

They helped clean up and went home.

Afterward, Lin Qiao sat on the bed soaking her feet and asked Gu Huayuan, “Are we inviting them again tomorrow?”

“No. They can cook for themselves next time. Inviting them again would be foolish,” he said.

Gu Huayuan took her soft hand and kissed it. “Comrade Lin Qiao, your hands smell amazing.”

Lin Qiao blushed, pressing her lips together in a smile. “Well, of course—they’re coated in snow cream every day.”

Gu Huayuan said, “Then we won’t wash dishes in the future. We can’t ruin such beautiful hands.”

Lin Qiao looked at him curiously. “Why does your mouth feel like it’s coated in honey today?” she teased, trying to flirt. Luckily, she was grounded enough not to be easily swooned.

“It’s just that I feel like I’m putting you through too much. We won’t do the laundry from now on.”

Lin Qiao hummed twice, though inside she was overjoyed.

Who wouldn’t want to avoid work if they could?

“That was your idea. From now on, I really won’t do the laundry. Anyone who makes me do it will be treated like a little puppy.”