Chapter 71: Insomniac Su Zhaozhao

Chapter 71: Insomniac Su Zhaozhao

"These few plants are roses, several varieties, but I'm not familiar with all of them. That one is a rosebush, and there's also a woodland hydrangea. We've got two osmanthus trees over there," Gu Heng said, stopping to point them out to her. "They're all small saplings now; it'll probably be next year before they bloom."

"Not necessarily. People have seen even toothpick-sized rose saplings bloom. These are climbing roses, right?"

Su Zhaozhao had grown roses before. They were beautiful but prone to diseases. Since they weren't ground-planted but kept on the windowsill, the lack of sunlight and poor ventilation made the leaves turn yellow and attract pests. She could tolerate the yellowing leaves, but the pests were too disgusting—dense and crawling.

After seeing the flowers once, she threw away the rose, which had barely any leaves left.

At that time, she envied those who had houses with yards. Unfortunately, she only had enough money to afford a small home for herself.

Now, she had a yard of her own. Su Zhaozhao was delighted and eagerly anticipated the sight of flowers climbing over the walls.

"Yes, they're supposed to climb. I was told to plant them next to the wall. When they grow bigger, I'll need to set up a climbing frame."

Gu Heng dug several pits along the wall and then grabbed a couple of black manure balls from a basket nearby, tossing them into the pits.

"What's this?"

"Sheep manure."

Su Zhaozhao: "..."

Gu Heng said, "They say this is good for planting flowers—it doesn't burn the roots and is nutritious."

"Where did you get it?" Su Zhaozhao knew how valuable manure was these days. Gu Xiang and Gu Nian would hold their bladders until they got home to use the toilet. She hadn't noticed at first, but after seeing them rush to the bathroom as soon as they got home several times, she asked them about it.

That was when she learned the reason.

It wasn't until she said that they wouldn't be farming at home anymore and didn't need this 'fertilizer' that the siblings changed their habit.

Before changing, they even asked, "Can it be sold for money?"

If your dad were to rely on selling poop to raise you, he'd become famous throughout the military district in no time!

The siblings thought it was a pity.

Cow and sheep manure were considered top-quality farm fertilizer. In the countryside, you wouldn't even step on any during a walk. While it was still warm, someone would have already picked it up.

"The unit raises dozens of sheep. I got it from the kitchen squad."

Su Zhaozhao's eyes lit up. "Do we have goat milk?"

Gu Heng looked at her. "Yes, do you like drinking goat milk?"

What kind of habit is this?

That stuff is too gamey, and few people like it. Some military families with newborns, who had insufficient breast milk, would take some back to feed their babies.

Su Zhaozhao thought about the current lack of mature deodorizing technology...

She didn’t even like drinking pure cow's milk.

"I've only heard that goat milk is highly nutritious and good for the body." It's also said to be great for beauty, skin rejuvenation, and anti-aging. Su Zhaozhao was quite obsessed with her skin and wanted to get fair quickly!

After nearly half a month of care and applying pearl cream to her face and snow cream to her hands every day, she noticed when looking in the mirror that her skin had indeed become a bit fairer and better. It wasn't very obvious yet, so she needed to keep at it!

Gu Heng thought of her health. "I'll bring some back every day starting tomorrow."

Su Zhaozhao nodded. By then, she would boil it with some tea leaves to remove the gaminess, and it should be drinkable.

After a while, Gu Xiang and Gu Nian returned. The siblings were on duty today, responsible for cleaning the blackboard and sweeping the floor, so they came back a bit late.

Every time Su Zhaozhao saw the two children, she couldn't help but admire them. Youth was truly wonderful! Their bodily functions were in top shape, and they had changed the most—their faces had filled out, their complexions were fairer, and their little faces were rosy. With daily exercise, they had visibly become stronger.

Su Zhaozhao pinched her own arms and legs, weighing whether to join in or not, and ultimately chose not to.

She was just a lazy person.

The family was having dinner when someone knocked on the front door from outside.

Gu Xiang put down his chopsticks and ran to open the door. The visitor was in military uniform and was looking for Gu Heng.

Gu Heng went out, exchanged a few words, and then hurried back to change into his uniform in the bedroom. "There's a mission, and I need to go out. I might not be back for a few days. Keep the doors locked at home, and if you need anything, ask Sister Wang for help."

After hastily saying these few words, Gu Heng left the house.

The two children stopped eating. "Mom, where did Dad go? Will he be in danger?"

Su Zhaozhao shook her head. In fact, she wasn't sure either. Being called away in such a hurry probably meant something important had come up, right?

It wasn't mentioned in the book.

She went out and headed next door.

"Ah, it's nothing serious."

Political Commissar Zhou had also been called away. Wang Chunhua wasn't worried at all. She waved her hand casually. "You've only been here a short while, so you don't know. This happens often. He's been called away in the middle of the night before. At first, I was anxious too, but I gradually got used to it. When it comes to military matters, if they don't tell us, we don't ask. We just stay home and guard the house."

Su Zhaozhao felt relieved.

Gu Heng was the male lead, after all. In the book, he had smooth sailing for decades without encountering any major obstacles.

It wasn't the decade where being called away in the middle of the night would have been truly worrying.

When she returned home, she told the children, "It's nothing. Uncle Zhou was also called away. Hurry up and eat, then wash up and rest early. I won't be able to join you for exercises in the next few days, so you can sleep in a bit longer in the mornings."

Gu Xiang shook his head. "We'll practice on our own."

Gu Nian nodded, "Yes, we'll practice on our own."

"Alright then, if we have to practice on our own, we will."

After finishing their meal, the siblings diligently cleared the bowls and washed them in the kitchen. Meanwhile, Su Zhaozhao sat at the desk, taking out the price list and some white paper to copy them.

After washing the bowls, the siblings, without being told, used the hot water from the pot to wash their faces and feet. They even made sure to refill the empty pot and put it back on the stove to boil.

Upon entering the house and seeing their mother writing at her desk, the siblings quietly and gently returned to their room.

The house was quiet, with only the soft 'swishing' sound of the fountain pen moving across the white paper. It was unclear how much time had passed before Su Zhaozhao finally finished her work. She put down the pen, stretched luxuriously, and glanced at the clock—it was already past nine.

The light in the west room had been turned off, and the two children were already asleep. Su Zhaozhao quietly went to wash up. There was no need to bother with heating water for a bath; she simply did a quick wipe-down before heading back to the room.

Once in bed, she rolled around for a bit. For the next few days, this bed would be hers!

Since arriving here, this was the first time she had a bed all to herself. It was truly a rare experience!

Ah! The feeling of sleeping alone in a whole bed was so comfortable!

She had thought she would have a good night's sleep, but after lying in bed alone for over an hour, she still couldn't fall asleep.

"Am I experiencing insomnia?" Su Zhaozhao muttered to herself while lying in bed.

She had never suffered from insomnia in her twenty-something years of sleeping alone. Yet after just a few days of sharing a bed with someone, she was now experiencing insomnia while sleeping alone?

Su Zhaozhao felt as if she had been struck by lightning.

She rolled around in bed a few more times with her quilt, then lay still and straight, counting sheep. "One sheep, two sheep, three sheep... two hundred seventy-five sheep..."