In the afternoon, Bai Jiu went to work in the fields, while Gao Zhijun took the three children and Bai Xingguo up the mountain. When they returned, the two men brought back an abundant harvest.
Looking at the wild game piled in the courtyard, Gao Zhijun began dividing it up. "Take these back to nourish your wife. She shouldn’t eat this rabbit, though; give it to Mom, Dad, Xingbang, and Xinghua so they can nourish their bodies."
"You don’t need to give me this much. Keep it for your own kids," Bai Xingguo said, his mouth twitching violently. He knew soldiers were formidable, but someone this capable had to be rare. They had nearly driven the rabbits and pheasants on the mountain to extinction.
"No! Leave it for the baby!" Xiuxiu immediately protested when she saw Uncle Xingguo taking the meat back out of the bag.
Zhengyang was even more direct, simply stuffing the game right back into the sack.
Bai Xingguo wondered if his perspective was just too narrow. He wasn’t even as generous as two little kids. Gouwa was helping from the sidelines, afraid that Zhengyang wasn’t putting enough in. The three children were genuinely trying to help.
"It’s fine, just take it back. Our whole family will be heading back soon anyway," Gao Zhijun said. Leaving only a few for their own home, he packed the rest for Bai Xingguo. Could Bai Xingguo really say no?
"Gouwa, take this rabbit and pheasant back later. Have your mother stir-fry the meat for you," Gao Zhijun said, setting Gouwa’s share aside.
He hadn’t forgotten the others. Aunt Peng’s family and the captain’s family both got a share. It wasn’t as much, though—just one rabbit per household. He kept two extra chickens for his own home, planning to feed them to Bai Jiu. She loved drinking soup.
When Bai Xingguo left, he carried a massive woven sack. Anyone who didn’t know better would think he had come here to mooch off them.
Carrying the items for the other three families in a bamboo basket on his back, Gao Zhijun led the three children out the door. When they ran into villagers now, no one dared to speak ill of Bai Jiu to Gao Zhijun’s face anymore. They all knew this man had married a wife and forgotten his mother. Even those who had previously thought highly of him had begun to distance themselves, feeling he was unworthy of being a son.
Gao Zhijun didn’t bother explaining anything. In his heart, it was time to sever ties with Gaocun Village. He had a long leave, but he mostly just wanted to take his wife away from this place as soon as possible.
"Gouwa, your parents aren’t back yet. Put the things down and come with me," Gao Zhijun said, unwilling to leave Gouwa home alone.
"Okay!" Gouwa agreed. He couldn’t bear to part with Zhengyang, let alone the fact that Zhengyang had such a formidable father. A child’s world was just that simple.
When they arrived at the brigade captain’s house, they happened to run into him just returning. Seeing Gao Zhijun, the captain didn’t offer a pleasant expression. He felt that this couple were both troublemakers.
"Come in and sit down. Do you need a formal invitation?" the captain called out. He had opened the door and walked in, but hearing no movement behind him, he turned back and shouted.
Gao Zhijun felt quite helpless. He hadn’t kept his reporting of Gao Xinggui’s family a secret, so he understood why the captain wasn’t thrilled to see him. After entering the house, Gao Zhijun first brought out the gifts for the captain, then brought up the matter of asking for time off. "I’ve been back for a while, but I haven’t taken Bai Jiu and the kids back to her parents’ house to check in. I’d like to ask for two days off to visit her maiden home. Could you approve the leave for us?"
Lately, Weimin had been kept on a tight leash by the captain, forbidden from hanging around Gao Zhijun, which left him feeling equally helpless. However, since Gao Zhijun planned to take Bai Jiu and the kids to her parents’ house tomorrow, he wanted to invite Weimin and Brother Qingshan over for dinner tonight. He had even prepared the alcohol. As for the captain—forget it. His sour expression would ruin the mood.
"Although we aren’t as busy right now as we are during planting season, there’s still a lot of work in the fields. Getting time off won’t be easy," the captain grumbled with dissatisfaction. He grabbed three fruit candies from the side and went out, sending the three children off to play in the courtyard.
"You brat, nothing good ever comes from your visits," the captain said, dropping the pretense once the children were outside. "You’re just like your wife—stirring up trouble the moment you get back. Couldn’t you have notified me first? Thanks to you, our brigade lost the Advanced Production Team title again this year."
Last year, everything had been going perfectly, but they lost the title because of Bai Jiu. Since it had nearly cost a human life, the captain had accepted the loss. But causing this kind of incident right at the start of the year? Did they think his position as captain was just too secure?
"This really isn’t my fault, Captain," Gao Zhijun replied. "You know as well as I do that anyone who saw such a thing wouldn’t be able to tolerate it. If I had come back and told you first, what if they denied it later?"
He wasn’t stupid. Knowing exactly what the captain’s personality was like, there was no way he would have tipped him off beforehand. The man was too addicted to his bureaucratic authority.
"Hmph! You just don’t have any respect for me. Did you think I would actually let them off the hook?" The captain was furious. How was this man exactly like his wife?
Since Gao Zhijun was adamant about asking for leave, the captain had no choice but to approve it, given his special status. Gao Zhijun also extended an invitation for the captain to come over for dinner, but the captain refused, claiming that just looking at the couple made him lose his appetite. In the end, though, he allowed Weimin to go. The Qingshan family accepted the invitation as well.
Aunt Peng’s family consisted only of her and Aiguo, so she came over early to help out. When Bai Jiu returned, she saw Aunt Peng bustling about.
"Looks like we’re having a feast tonight," Bai Jiu said.
This marked the first real gathering since Comrade Gao Zhijun’s return. The men drank alcohol while the women chatted about gossip. After the gathering ended, Bai Jiu carried the leftover food to the house next door.
At first, she had kept this a secret from Gao Zhijun. Later, she discovered that Gao Zhijun was actually quite close to these people. By pure chance, she had learned that Old Li was very good friends with Gao Zhijun’s former teacher. From then on, she never hid it from Gao Zhijun when giving things to the neighbors. Her generous demeanor made even Gao Zhijun’s mouth twitch; he couldn’t help but feel that his wife was remarkably bold and truly kind-hearted.
"You went next door again?" Gao Zhijun asked, running into Bai Jiu just as she returned, having just stepped out of a bath himself.
"Yeah, the food was great tonight, so I saved some for them," Bai Jiu replied magnanimously. "By the way, don’t give them raw meat next time. It’d be bad if someone found out. It’s better to cook it at home and bring it over to them." Grandma Zhou had mentioned this to her when she went over.
"I’ll be careful next time," Gao Zhijun replied. He hadn’t meant to cause them any trouble; it had been an oversight on his part.
"Let’s not have a next time. Leave their matters to me from now on. Don’t worry about it," she said. This man was simply too careless.
"Alright." He would listen to whatever she said.
"Oh, right. Don’t go to work tomorrow. I already asked the captain for time off for you," Gao Zhijun said, pulling a slip of paper from his discarded clothes. He handed it to Bai Jiu. "It’s only for two days—tomorrow and the day after."
Bai Jiu was absolutely thrilled. "That’s wonderful! I can finally sleep in." She mentally sobbed. As a night owl who frequently stayed up until midnight, waking up early was genuine torture. For the longest time, the hardest things for her to accept had been waking up early and going to bed early.
Seeing her happy made him happy too. However, Bai Jiu’s attention was soon drawn to something else. Namely... he wasn’t wearing any clothes. This man...
His skin was incredibly fair, even paler than hers, but his physique... it was a woman’s ultimate dream. He looked so powerful.
Without realizing it, Bai Jiu reached out and touched him.
"Amazing," she murmured in satisfaction. She didn’t forget to give him a hard pinch after speaking, but unfortunately, his muscles were too firm and tight; she couldn’t grab a hold of anything.