Chapter 5
Leaving Yan Xiang to play by himself, Qiao Wei did not find Yan Lei in the main room.
She stepped out of the central room and saw an aluminum kettle on the coal briquette stove under the eaves at the entrance, boiling water.
Accustomed to various small appliances and personal items, Qiao Wei looked at the aluminum kettle and felt it was just huge.
She looked left and right and heard movement in the west side room.
She went over to take a look; the doors and windows were wide open, and a figure flashed past the window.
Walking inside, the side room was the kitchen, which contained a square stove. It was a very traditional wood-burning stove with a bellows, a seven-inch iron pot on top, and many jars and cans.
Yan Lei had already taken off his green military uniform and was wearing only a white tank top. He was holding a galvanized iron bucket and pouring water into a large iron basin in the room.
As soon as Qiao Wei walked in, she saw the muscles on the man’s arms bulging, feeling exceptionally powerful. The muscles on his body stretched the tank top tight; his shoulders were broad, and his belt cinched his strong waist.
She couldn’t see his front, but it was easy to imagine he had at least six, if not eight, abdominal muscles. His legs were also very long.
With a physique like this, if he were in the future posting semi-revealing videos, he could make money just based on his muscles.
Qiao Wei asked, “What are you doing?”
She took a look; the bucket was big, and the basin was big too.
In this era, all household items were prepared for a “whole family,” unlike the future where many things were for one person to use alone, so everything looked big.
Especially that basin on the floor; Qiao Wei knew it was a bathtub.
Her mind was filled with many memories of bathing Yan Xiang in this basin.
Yan Lei turned back to look at her; he had been surprised by Qiao Wei again and again today.
In the past, his wife was very cold toward him, and in the last year, she had barely spoken to him at all. But today, it wasn’t the first time she had taken the initiative to speak; she had even proactively reminded him to give cigarettes to the driver.
After experiencing the incident with The Technician, her personality had changed drastically, as if she were a different person.
Yan Lei withdrew his gaze, poured all the water from the iron bucket, turned around, and started walking out. “I’ve already started heating the water for you.”
He was holding the bucket and about to leave, but Qiao Wei did not move out of his way.
Yan Lei frowned at her. Qiao Wei looked back at him.
The two were very close, close enough to hear each other’s breathing. If Yan Lei were to move half a step forward, their bodies would touch.
Familiar strangers.
To Yan Lei, this was his wife who shared his bed but not his dreams, and who treated him with cold indifference.
To Qiao Wei, she even had memories of their intimate life together, yet it felt unreal.
The two just looked at each other like that.
What did she want to do? She was already home, did she still want to argue? Did she still want to keep causing a scene about divorce?
Yan Lei did not flinch. In this matter, he was not the one at fault. He had nothing to be afraid of.
But after staring at each other for a moment, Yan Lei felt that although her gaze was strange, she didn’t seem to want to continue making a scene about divorce. Besides, back at the hospital, she had taken the initiative to say “going home.”
Yan Lei decided to take a step back. He said, “The bathhouse isn’t open today. If you really want to wash, go tomorrow. Today, you’ll just have to wash at home.”
A basin bath was ultimately not as good as a shower.
The new Residential Compound had running water and a public bathhouse with a boiler. Military family members could use bath tickets to wash for free.
But it was a long walk from the old family quarters. If they lived in the new Residential Compound, it wouldn’t be such a hassle. Once you stepped out of the house, the bathhouse was right there, along with a small square where they showed outdoor movies every month; it was very lively.
The new Residential Compound was full of red brick and tile houses, which looked very impressive. Unlike the old area, which was just old rural houses from the past that had been renovated, it was far inferior.
He had always been brooding over the matter of his wife giving up her spot in the new district for him.
She was blocking him; if she wasn’t going to keep making a scene about divorce, was she angry about this matter again?
His saying this also activated Qiao Wei’s memory of these specific events. But these weren’t what she cared about.
She looked at Yan Lei, so close; this was the man she would be living with in the future. But in reality, the information in her mind about him was very scarce, and it all seemed to be covered by a cold, gray filter.
Those subjective pieces of information meant nothing to her; she had to get to know Yan Lei as a person herself.
The male lead.
The male lead is worthy of being the male lead. Looking at him from this close, those thick eyebrows, that nose bridge, this physique, these muscles—everything was impeccable.
Qiao Wei raised her hand and pressed against Yan Lei’s chest; it was very hard. She touched his arm again; it was also very hard.
Yan Lei looked at her with a strange expression, slightly suspecting that she had been too traumatized and had become mentally unstable.
Qiao Wei withdrew her hand and sighed, “How healthy.”
She said, “I really envy you.”
Yan Lei suspected she was mocking him. She had always looked down on him for having no education. So, when she said these inexplicable things now, he suspected she was scolding him in some way he couldn’t understand.
Just like those letters The Technician wrote to her, which were all full of inexplicable nonsense that he couldn’t understand at all.
Thinking of this, his anger flared up again. He snorted, “You’re sick.”
He squeezed past her forcefully.
Currently, only the new district had running water; the old area did not. The town didn’t even have hand-pump wells, and the people in the town all drew water from ponds. Those who were a bit more diligent would go to the river further away; the river water had less of a taste than the pond water and tasted better. Some families also had traditional windlass wells.
As for the old family quarters, they used Military Unit equipment to drill hand-pump wells in each family’s yard.
Every time the man pumped the handle, one could see the muscles on his back and arms bulging; it was a pleasing sight.
Qiao Wei just leaned against the kitchen doorway and watched.
Yan Lei brought over another bucket of water.
She tugged at her collar and sniffed, then asked, “Do I smell?”
Yan Lei stopped and countered, “Did you wash in the provincial capital?”
He stared at her with a sharp gaze.
Qiao Wei looked him straight in the eye without flinching and said, “I haven’t even changed my clothes.”
The atmosphere seemed to have changed slightly.
Yan Lei’s expression was a little different from just now. He didn’t say anything else and walked into the kitchen.
This time, Qiao Wei moved aside and didn’t let him squeeze past her again.
The sound of water being poured came from the kitchen.
The male lead is worthy of being the male lead. He might be set up to have a poor background and no education, but he certainly wouldn’t be unintelligent.
So, your wife didn’t have an improper relationship with another man; you can rest easy now.
The kettle on the coal stove was bubbling and emitting steam.
Qiao Wei walked over. There was information in her memory on how to use these things, but it was just like watching a movie or video; in reality, only her eyes had learned.
When actually facing it, she was still a bit at a loss.
Yan Lei suddenly reached over from behind, picked up a cloth folded several times from the windowsill, used it to pad his hand on the handle, lifted the kettle, and then used an iron hook to cover the stove.
He also carried the hot water to the kitchen.
Qiao Wei went to the bedroom to get clean underwear and outer clothes, took a towel, and went to the kitchen.
In summer, the water didn’t need to be too hot, as long as it wasn’t cold, it would do.
Although the large iron bathing basin was custom-made, it really couldn’t compare to the bathtubs of the future. Sitting in the basin, the water could only reach her waist.
Shampoo and body wash were definitely non-existent. The soap dish contained a slice of cut-up soap.
The Military Unit issued a bar of Lighthouse brand soap every month. It was a very large bar, only slightly smaller than a brick. For convenience, it was cut into slices for use when issued to homes.
In this era, it was considered a good item; many families were reluctant to use it for bathing or washing hair. But for Qiao Wei, it was a terrible experience.
Soap is not good for the skin.
Halfway through her bath, Yan Lei suddenly came in again.
Qiao Wei subconsciously covered her chest with her arms, turning her head to look at him with her back to him.
But Yan Lei didn’t look at her at all; he placed the pot of freshly boiled hot water on the floor next to the bathtub. “If it gets cold, mix it yourself.”
After saying that, he went out, not even sparing her a glance.
Well, Qiao Wei went from a lonely terminal patient to instantly becoming a painless mother, and now she had also acquired the status of a long-married couple, where the left hand touches the right hand.
Qiao Wei shook her head with a smile.
After washing, she came out. Yan Xiang was using a galvanized iron ladle to scoop water by the hand-pump well to rinse his feet. The little boy’s feet were white and tender, looking just adorable.
Qiao Wei asked, “Do you want to take a bath?”
Yan Xiang said, “No need, Sister Lin helped me wash yesterday.”
Qiao Wei gave an “Oh” and asked, “Where is your dad?”
Yan Xiang said, “He went to get food.”
“Where to? The Residential Compound?”
The Battalion Headquarters had a Military Unit Cafeteria. The Residential Compound also had a Residential Compound Cafeteria.
“No, Aunt Yang’s place. Sister Lin is cooking for us.”
“Oh.”
After Qiao Wei finished her “Oh,” just as she was about to enter the main room, something suddenly flashed through her mind, and she backed out again. “Sister Lin?”
She asked, “Who is Sister Lin?”
“I don’t know. Aunt Yang told me to call her Sister.” Yan Xiang finished and added, “Sister Lin calls Uncle Zhao ‘Uncle’ and Aunt Yang ‘Aunt’.”
Qiao Wei was surprised by Yan Xiang’s intelligence. Since he couldn’t confirm the identity of “Sister Lin,” he provided all the information he knew to Qiao Wei.
Through the information he provided, Qiao Wei already knew who “Sister Lin” was.
How could the female lead have a surname like Niu or Ma? Of course, it had to be a romantic novel surname like Lin, Su, Shen, or Gu.
Lin Xixi, the reborn female lead of this story, Yan Lei’s future wife, and Yan Xiang’s famous good stepmother.
So she had already appeared this early.
Qiao Wei thought again, oh, so the male lead went to meet the female lead?
Just as she thought this, there was movement at the gate of the courtyard. Yan Lei walked in carrying two lunch boxes, followed by a young girl.
The girl was holding an enamel basin, her eyes darting around, looking at Qiao Wei with surprise and uncertainty: “Sister-in-law is really back?”
