Chapter 33: Second Update

Chapter 33: Second Update

Qin Yao had embroidered a small penguin handkerchief for Chen Baozhen, a cross-stitched penguin with a round, big belly, looking delicately cute.

"So cute! Yaoyao, you're really skilled!" Chen Baozhen had never seen a real penguin, only learning about Antarctica and some of its species in *One Hundred Thousand Whys*.

Thinking cross-stitch was simple, Chen Baozhen exclaimed that she wanted to try it too. "Yaoyao, teach me. I'll embroider a small penguin for you too."

Qin Yao and Chen Baozhen sat in the courtyard, enjoying their cross-stitching.

Cross-stitching had been all the rage for a while in the early 2000s. There were many cross-stitch shops in malls, and there were even rumors that a piece of cross-stitch could sell for tens of thousands of yuan.

Some of the aunts Qin Yao knew had done cross-stitching, and she had learned a bit herself. At that moment, slowly recalling from memory, she remembered several stitching techniques and taught them to Chen Baozhen.

The two best friends were in the courtyard, while Gu Cheng and Gao Jianguo stayed inside the house, the two men staring at each other.

"Captain Gu, I really have it tough," Gao Jianguo said, sitting on a low stool with a basket by his side and a piece of clothing in his hands. He was threading a needle to mend his clothes.

He deliberately sighed, "Baozhen doesn't know how to do anything. She can't even mend clothes when they tear. I have to do it."

With no outsiders around, Gao Jianguo felt no shame. He didn't find it embarrassing at all. Before he had a wife, didn't he mend his own clothes? Which man hasn't mended clothes before?

"Your Xiao Qin is excellent with needlework, famous in the courtyard. I don't have your good fortune."

Gao Jianguo shook his head and subtly showed off, "But Baozhen said she feels very happy marrying me because I mend her clothes with my own hands... Tsk, this kind of thought, Captain Gu, you probably wouldn't understand."

Gu Cheng tidied his sleeves. "..."

He understood.

Gao Jianguo hummed a war song softly, having come to terms with many things. As a man, it was okay to endure some grievances at home, as long as his wife, Chen Baozhen, remained emotionally stable.

Compared to Qin Yao, Baozhen should be thankful she married a good husband!

Other than having a good face, a good family background, and excellent work abilities, what other advantages did Gu Cheng have with women? He always had a cold face, never said sweet words, and wasn't considerate.

If Yaoyao had chosen Doctor He, would he still have a good life?

Before, Baozhen would either praise Doctor He or Zhao Mingjin. Now it was Captain Gu she praised, though she had rarely said anything good about Gu Cheng.

What man would want to hear his wife praise other men?

The more Gao Jianguo looked at Gu Cheng, the more he liked him, wishing they could become sworn brothers.

Qin Yao yawned. Too much needlework hurt her eyes, so she nudged Chen Baozhen. "Stand up and rest for a while."

Chen Baozhen put down her needlework and nodded with a smile.

The two stood in the courtyard. Chen Baozhen's courtyard was very different from before. The flowers and plants were blooming, and the loofah and tomato vines had grown extremely lush. What made Chen Baozhen most proud was the bitter melon in the courtyard.

"I haven't put much effort into these bitter melons, but they've grown the best."

After planting vegetables and flowers for some time, Chen Baozhen had to admit that some seedlings naturally grew strong. No matter how they were raised, they were better than others, resistant to pests and diseases.

"Next time you come to my house, I'll treat you to bitter melon." Chen Baozhen said with a gratified expression looking at the bitter melon vines.

Qin Yao: "..."

At first, it was bug-eaten bok choy, and now it was bitter melon.

"Teacher Chen—" A timid voice called out from outside the courtyard, afraid they might not hear, the voice called again, "Teacher Chen, are you home?"

Qin Yao looked outside. A young woman in a floral blouse and blue pants stood there, a bamboo basket on her arm, her hands clasped in front of her abdomen, her chin slightly tucked, her face a delicate melon-seed shape, her chest protruding.

The woman had a good figure and a pleasing appearance. Standing there shyly, she had an air of vulnerability.

"It's Sister Wang," Chen Baozhen said, her expression becoming strange, neither happy nor angry.

Wang Chunlan's husband had accidentally fallen into the sea and passed away, leaving her as a widow with three children. Besides the bereavement compensation, some comrades-in-arms had also given her some money.

Wang Chunlan didn't take her children back to her hometown. The house assigned to her family continued to be her residence, and her children attended school there.

Her family was in a difficult situation. It was said that her husband's mother had been sick and spent a lot of money, her brother-in-law's wedding required money, and her family had suffered misfortune. She had to support three children alone, making her life quite hard.

Gao Jianguo was very generous and, knowing her family's difficulties, had lent them over a hundred yuan before, giving her several months of his allowance, equivalent to a month's salary.

Gao Jianguo hadn't thought much of it at the time. He and Chen Baozhen had just gotten married, both working and earning wages. Unlike other officers who had to support several children, their burden from their hometown wasn't heavy. Chen Baozhen's parents often sent her subsidies.

Compared to other families, their life was much better, so spending one or two hundred yuan didn't hurt them financially.

Chen Baozhen, a city girl, knew about Sister Wang's situation and that her husband had lent a hundred yuan. Unlike some petty women, she didn't complain but instead didn't take it to heart.

After that, Sister Wang often came by, expressing her gratitude in her words.

At first, Chen Baozhen felt a sense of pride from doing a good deed, but gradually, she began to feel uncomfortable, though she couldn't argue with a widow.

Today, Sister Wang had come again. She entered the courtyard and took out two pairs of shoe pads from her basket. "Teacher Chen, is Jianguo home?"

"He is," Chen Baozhen said, her expression sour, introducing to Qin Yao, "This is Sister Wang. Her husband passed away."

"Sister Wang, hello. I'm Qin Yao."

Sister Wang nodded. "Comrade Xiao Qin, hello. You two are outside, and Jianguo is in the house? I heard he's home today."

Qin Yao sized her up. This Sister Wang certainly didn't hold back, not even "Jianguo, Jianguo" in front of Chen Baozhen, who only called him "Lao Gao" or "Comrade Gao."

"It's good that Jianguo is home. I made these two pairs of shoe pads and wanted to give them to him. Men wear out shoe pads the most. I also made soles and wanted to make a couple of pairs of shoes for Jianguo."

Chen Baozhen's face immediately fell. Her anger flared. If not for the remaining rationality in her body, she would have spit in Wang Chunlan's face. What was wrong with this woman, coming to make shoe pads and soles for her husband?

"We don't need these in my house, take them back. I bought Lao Gao a new pair of leather shoes, he won't have any use for the shoes you made." Chen Baozhen, with her arms crossed, looked disgusted and spoke bluntly.

Wang Chunlan, as if startled, pulled her hand back as if she had heard something terrifying. "Teacher Chen, please don't misunderstand. I didn't mean anything else. Jianguo and my Lao Xu are both from the village, they miss these cloth shoes with thousand-layer soles. I was originally making them for Lao Xu, but after I finished, I remembered... now they're done, let Jianguo wear them, Lao Xu would be very happy to know."

"Please help me. These men's shoe soles left at my house make me uncomfortable."

Chen Baozhen silently sneered. These worn-out shoe soles could be thrown away or buried, but seeing them at home made her uneasy. Burn them and send them to your husband, let Gao Jianguo wear them, and you're comforted? Isn't your husband going to crawl out of the sea and strangle you to death?!

Is this woman shameless or what?!

The more Chen Baozhen thought about it, the angrier she became, and she blurted out, "You're uncomfortable seeing them, I'm even more disgusted!"

She had a bad temper, easily irritated, and at this moment, she couldn't hold back anymore, snatching the shoe soles from Wang Chunlan's hand and throwing them on the ground.

Chen Baozhen thought she was justified. A widow coming to deliver shoe soles to a married man, how shameless!

Wang Chunlan's eyes flickered, and she stepped back, looking humiliated.

"Zhenzhen, apologize to Sister Wang." Qin Yao picked up the two pairs of shoe soles from the ground. "The shoe soles have been delivered, just accept them."

Chen Baozhen looked at her incredulously.

Qin Yao continued, "Sister Wang, you should stay. Later, we'll burn these for your husband together."

Chen Baozhen was stunned. Burn?

Wang Chunhua was also dumbfounded.

Qin Yao smiled. "These are made with your heartfelt intention, Sister Wang. We should let your husband know about it in the afterlife. We'll all bear witness as we burn them, letting your husband know. Brother Xu will be very happy and will want to be your husband in the next life too."

Wang Chunlan's face turned pale. "This... this won't do... it's against the new socialist values—"

"No, no, this isn't superstition, nor is it against the new values. This is a collective remembrance of a good comrade who has passed away."

"We're not burning paper money, nor do we believe in the underworld or King Yama. These shoe soles represent your love and remembrance of your husband."

"Some people, even though they're gone, still live in your heart. So, when you eat, sleep, or go anywhere, you'll always remember them."

"Zhenzhen, you need to understand Sister Wang's situation."

Wang Chunlan, looking flustered, stared at Qin Yao in horror. Qin Yao's constant references to "him" made Lao Xu's face flash before her eyes, as if a pair of hands were choking her neck.

"Yes, yes, Sister Wang, I apologize. Yaoyao is right; I misunderstood. You came here for us to remember your husband together."

Wang Chunlan's face was devoid of color. "No, it's not that."

At this moment, Gu Cheng and Gao Jianguo walked out of the house. They had heard the commotion in the yard and came out to see what was happening.

Both Gu Cheng and Gao Jianguo knew Wang Chunlan.

"Sister Wang, what brings you here?"

Wang Chunlan stammered, "I came to deliver shoe soles."

Chen Baozhen immediately interjected, "She wants us to help her commemorate her deceased husband. These shoe soles were made for Lao Xu, and now no one will wear them. Later, we'll burn them so Lao Xu knows her intentions."

Upon hearing this, Gu Cheng and Gao Jianguo both bowed their heads in silence for three minutes.

Wang Chunlan was left speechless.

"Burning them... might not be a good idea?"

Gao Jianguo, understanding, said, "Burn them, Sister Wang. This is your gesture of goodwill."

Qin Yao glanced at the bamboo basket covered with a white cloth in Wang Chunlan's hand and said, "Sister Wang, is there anything else you'd like to burn?"

She then stepped forward, making a feint to check Wang Chunlan's basket.

Wang Chunlan was extremely startled. "No, nothing else—"

Qin Yao found her reaction suspicious and secretly used her "X-ray vision" skill. To her surprise, there was a whopping 300 yuan in the basket, wrapped in scraps of fabric.

Three hundred yuan was a huge sum, Wang Chunhua was very rich! At least richer than her.