AYLS – Chapter 90

Previously, Zhang Tuo had mentioned raising chickens to Li Yan, and she had immediately and strongly refused.

Later, Zhang Tuo didn’t bring it up again, thinking that even if Li Yan didn’t go to work, he could manage to raise the chickens himself. Besides, there was no suitable job at the moment.

But now he felt that raising chickens wasn’t such a bad idea after all—at the very least, it didn’t restrict the choice of work.

Since coming here, Zhang Tuo had seen many military families facing hardships and had witnessed military wives working tirelessly in the fields.

Naturally, his perspective had been somewhat stirred and changed, and he realized his previous thoughts weren’t very reasonable.

This time, he had made up his mind: he had to get Li Yan out of the house.

After picking up food from the canteen, the two sat at the table, quietly eating one bite at a time.

Zhang Tuo looked at her pale, weary face—like a flower about to wither… cough, he shouldn’t be so sentimental—anyway, just her very worn-out face, and he sighed.

“Do you remember Comrade Su Weizhen? The one who had dinner with us at Shitou’s place? She works at the county coal workers’ union.”

Li Yan nodded. “I remember.”

She always kept herself fairly neat.

“I heard today that she returned from the county to work at the army, at a chicken farm.”

Li Yan, for the first time, reacted, widening her eyes.

Zhang Tuo looked at her. “I thought, if she can give up a government job to come back and raise chickens, that shows this job is important. It’s not as terrifying as you imagine. Look, Comrade Lin Qiao is doing just fine, isn’t she?”

Li Yan understood his meaning immediately. She couldn’t even eat anymore, put her chopsticks aside, and with a cold expression said, “I’m not going.”

Zhang Tuo had expected this reaction, but this time he wasn’t going to indulge her. “If you don’t go, then you need to have a job. You’ve been here all these days and haven’t stepped outside even once.”

Li Yan’s eyes filled with tears. “I don’t want to go out. If I go out, all I’ll see is the barrenness here. If I stay in, I can at least keep a little illusion in this room.” She looked around the room, her expression sorrowful.

Zhang Tuo used to be swayed by this kind of sentiment, thinking she was different from the other female comrades he had met. But after accepting reality’s baptism, he couldn’t handle it anymore.

“Li Yan, this time you have to go out. Not a single military family in this compound stays at home. Do you know how much pressure I’m under if you stay home? Last time, when you stayed home and refused to eat, people thought I was mistreating you. The leaders even came to talk to me. Now it’s the busy season, everyone is rushing to work, and if you stay in, what will everyone think of us?”

“I don’t care,” Li Yan said, her eyes red.

“I care, and you must go!” Zhang Tuo gritted his teeth, resolute.

Shitou was right—sometimes you have to be harsh, or it’s bad for both yourself and Li Yan.

He truly realized now that Li Yan’s mindset was becoming increasingly unhealthy.

“This time, you must go out and work—whether it’s in the fields, raising chickens, or finding another job, you have to go out. No more staying at home. If you refuse, from now on, our meals will be like those in the big canteen—I won’t prepare anything extra for you.”

“…” Li Yan looked at him in disbelief. “Zhang Tuo…”

“Don’t call me that.”

He looked toward the door. “I miss my family and friends too. But because of you, I can’t even meet Shitou properly here; I feel guilty.

I’ve alienated everyone for you; I really can’t handle it anymore. Li Yan, I don’t have the strength to help you get out this time.”

After this conversation, Li Yan started refusing to eat again.

But unlike last time, Zhang Tuo had truly steeled himself. He insisted on forcing her to go out. If he said no extra meals, then no extra meals. If the canteen served coarse grains, he would buy coarse grain porridge; if they served black cornbread, he would buy black cornbread.

It wasn’t just Li Yan—it was hard for Zhang Tuo himself for several days, but he gritted his teeth and endured.

Gu Huayuan still came by to check on him, knowing he hadn’t been eating well, and invited him to eat.

Zhang Tuo didn’t go. “No reason to eat separately when she can eat. I’ll eat the good stuff myself.”

Seeing this, Gu Huayuan thought for a moment and asked, “Can you really be this harsh? I thought you wouldn’t last more than a few days and would give up. Anyway, I’m used to it over these years, don’t feel embarrassed.”

“I can. I can be harsh,” Zhang Tuo said. “Shitou, don’t worry about me this time. I’ve made up my mind.”

“Alright then, continue as you are. Once things settle here, I’ll come check on you.”

Zhang Tuo: “…” Brothers don’t really try to persuade, huh? So easy to give up.

He felt a little frustrated inside.

In truth, he was also close to giving up, thinking maybe he should just stop arguing with Li Yan. But there was no one to encourage him. Before, his parents would advise him—but now they weren’t around.

Even Shitou, his brother, didn’t intervene.

Gu Huayuan knew him too well—he could tell Zhang Tuo was forcing himself to endure.

Would he try to persuade Zhang Tuo? He was dreaming.

Just not making things worse was already a blessing. The couple’s life these past few years had been chaotic; they needed an adjustment. Otherwise, people around them couldn’t bear it.

Gu Huayuan’s encouragement pushed Zhang Tuo to grit his teeth and continue to insist with Li Yan.

Especially after some good news came from the chicken farm, he persisted even more.

With Su Weizhen’s help, Lin Qiao successfully hatched forty chicks this time.

A 100% hatching rate gave the logistics department more confidence in the farm, and they decided to expand the breeding operation. Construction of the new farm began immediately, led by Xu Yuanzheng’s engineering company.

The selected site was relatively large, so the new compound was expanded indefinitely, allowing space for running circles inside.

Lin Qiao personally went to inspect the construction site of the new chicken farm, walking around every corner with proper attention. She imagined the chickens running around here in the future and felt extremely happy.

Su Weizhen also brought her little notebook to do some calculations. “By now, we probably have about a hundred chickens at the farm, right?”

“No, including the chicks, it’s only a bit over eighty.”

“Are we going to expand it further?”

“Of course we have to expand. Sister Zhang encouraged me to hatch more this time. Zhenzhen, why don’t you take over this batch? Show off your abilities a bit.”

Since Su Weizhen was already helping at the farm, Lin Qiao didn’t want to take all the credit herself.

She felt that the future hatching of chicks could be left to Su Weizhen, while she focused on raising the chickens.

Su Weizhen said, “I’m still a beginner. Aren’t you worried I might mess it up?”

“I trust you. Look how many times you’ve helped me already. It’s about time everyone sees your abilities. Once you produce results, people will truly respect you. Sister Zhang said that after the new chicken farm is completed, the other sisters will gradually be assigned to work there. At first, they won’t be paid in money, only work points. Slowly, they’ll transition into full-time poultry workers. With more people, competition will increase, so we need to show results to gain recognition.”

Seeing Lin Qiao speak so earnestly and rationally, Su Weizhen couldn’t help but smile. She really treated little Qiao like a younger sister. After all, she was younger and looked delicate, like a little crystal doll.

Now, seeing her reason with people like such a little adult was adorably contrasting. She laughed and said, “Master Lin Qiao, what if I end up doing better than you?”

“Doing well is fine. How could you bully me?” Lin Qiao wasn’t worried at all.

Hearing this, Su Weizhen felt both trusted and motivated. She said seriously, “Lin Qiao, since you trust me so much, I’ll work hard. Leave the chicks to me—I promise I’ll do this job well.”

“Of course, I trust you.”

With the chicken farm under construction, Lin Qiao became even busier. She had one group of chickens still growing and another just hatched, all needing proper care.

On top of that, she had to go to the new farm to supervise, since she would be working there in the future and needed to provide guidance.

She was so busy that she left early and returned late, so often that Gu Huayuan barely saw her.

For this, Gu Huayuan was teased by the unit’s instructor. He said, “Wasn’t your wife always too clingy before? Why is it now that you hardly see her?”

Gu Huayuan rolled his eyes and felt a bit puzzled. It wasn’t that he was upset about Lin Qiao being busy, but he was confused about her true feelings toward him.

She seemed not overly attentive, yet she always said things that warmed the heart… If she cared a lot, she would ignore him entirely while working, giving not even a glance.

At noon, he finally waited for Lin Qiao to come back for lunch. She washed up, changed clothes, and immediately started eating in a rush.

She no longer cared about eating gracefully, as long as she ate quickly. Her cheeks puffed out as she chewed, eyes wide open, looking like she was putting in effort just to eat.

Gu Huayuan, on the other hand, slowed down his usual fast-eating pace, taking a bite at a time, and said to Lin Qiao, “Comrade Lin Qiao, didn’t you say we should work on building our relationship? We haven’t talked properly recently. I wonder if I’ve been neglecting you.”

Lin Qiao swallowed her food and said, “No, no, don’t overthink. I’m busy. There’s no need to talk to you now.”

“…Then I guess we don’t need to cultivate this relationship.”

Lin Qiao kept eating, adding, “Not for now. I’ll deal with it once I’m done with my work.” She couldn’t focus properly if she left her tasks unfinished.

Since that was the case, she decided to prioritize work first and complete it well. The progress so far wasn’t impressive to her. Luckily, things had improved slightly recently, which made her start realizing that maybe working hard was better than dating.

Gu Huayuan smiled slightly and focused on his own meal.

After finishing lunch, Lin Qiao prepared to leave. She no longer had to clear the dishes at home, which made her even happier to throw herself fully into work.

Seeing her rush off, Gu Huayuan started cleaning up the dishes.

Just then, Zhang Tuo arrived. “Shitou, Li Yan has made up her mind…”

As he entered, he noticed Gu Huayuan tidying the dishes and paused, surprised. He hadn’t expected this domestic side of Gu Huayuan.

Gu Huayuan remained calm. “What are you looking at? Aren’t you the same at home?” He didn’t believe Zhang Tuo’s wife could actually work efficiently.

Zhang Tuo cleared his throat. “I didn’t expect you to…”

“What? Just because you treasure your wife, I can’t treasure mine? My Lin Qiao is focused on work. Doing these things would just waste her time.”

Zhang Tuo: “…Comrade Lin Qiao is remarkable.”

Gu Huayuan then asked, “What about your wife? Is she willing to work?”

“Yes, she’s willing, but she feels she lacks the skills for raising chickens, so she’s planning to work in the fields instead.” In truth, she thought chicken farming was too dirty, but she didn’t want to admit it in front of Shitou, fearing it would ruin their brotherly bond.

Gu Huayuan could guess, but he decided not to argue. Pretending to be surprised, he examined Zhang Tuo and said, “You did well this time.”

A smile appeared on Zhang Tuo’s face. “I didn’t expect it either.” He hadn’t imagined Li Yan would change so easily—just worsening the meals a bit was enough. Of course, he truly cared for her; she had lost some weight. Fortunately, the outcome was good and could be made up later.

Gu Huayuan said, “There’s nothing unexpected. People grow through adversity. When life is too smooth, one’s thinking tends to lag. Living too well makes one look down on the poor majority.”

Zhang Tuo nodded in agreement. “Yes, I’ve realized that too. After coming here, I’ve seen and learned a lot. I’m glad Li Yan is willing to change. Although she’s still not keen on talking to me now.”

Gu Huayuan comforted him, “Don’t be too upset. Anyway, she didn’t really pay much attention to you before.”

“……” Zhang Tuo was frustrated. “Couldn’t you just not crush me like that?”

“We’re brothers. I’m just telling you the truth. Look, your wife has already taken the first step. You need to keep up this momentum and keep pushing forward. I’m not exaggerating—when Lin Qiao first came here, she got sick from the change in climate and environment, but after resting just two days, she was back working in the fields. And that was during the hot season, even tougher than now. I wasn’t good at taking care of people either; I just gave her the canteen food every day. She didn’t fuss; she ate whatever she was given.”

“Look at her now. Her health is great, and she’s full of ambition and ideals. Whether dealing with intellectuals or farmers, she can work well with anyone. That’s the level she’s at. She’s truly a role model worth learning from.”

Zhang Tuo: “…Shitou, well, I’ll go talk to Sister Zhang about Li Yan going to work. You just keep busy for now.”

Gu Huayuan nodded and waved, returning to his work.

Zhang Tuo went straight to Sister Zhang’s house to discuss Li Yan’s work situation.

Sister Zhang asked, “Li Yan didn’t come herself?”

“She hasn’t adjusted yet,” Zhang Tuo admitted, feeling a bit awkward. He knew it would be best if Li Yan handled it herself, but she was still reluctant to come forward.

Hearing this, Sister Zhang wasn’t too pleased, so she didn’t assign Li Yan any clerical work. If she were exceptionally outstanding, she might have squeezed her in, since intellectuals were scarce. But Li Yan’s mindset wasn’t right, so Sister Zhang didn’t want her in a critical position, fearing she might cause a bad influence. It was better for her to start with labor first; her temperament needed tempering.

“Then let her start with fieldwork. Let her put in effort. Later, when the farm expands, we’ll need to transfer a group of people into the farm. If she performs well, I can consider her more seriously. Intellectuals pick up skills faster—Lin Qiao and Su Weizhen, for example, learned faster than Ermie.”

Zhang Tuo: “…Thanks, Sister.”

Since it was decided she would start working, the work had to begin that very afternoon. There was no “we’ll start tomorrow” excuse—once decided, it had to be done immediately.

Zhang Tuo went back and informed Li Yan. She needed to change into clothes suitable for work—no more cotton pants, no more small leather shoes, and definitely no loose hair.

Li Yan, her eyes red, tied her hair up. “I’ve surrendered to fate. Are you satisfied now? Zhang Tuo, you really have a heart of iron!”

Seeing her like this, Zhang Tuo didn’t mention that doing well could lead her to help with the chicken farm. He was afraid she would outright refuse if she knew.