Chapter 43
Qiao Wei carried the bundle of Gengsheng cloth home on her back as if she were carrying a child.
Once home, the two of them each drank a cup of cool mung bean soup.
Wiping his mouth, Yan Xiang picked up his small shovel and went back to digging his sandpit.
Qiao Wei used scissors to cut a series of small slits along the edge of the Gengsheng cloth, then tore it by hand.
The nap of the Gengsheng cloth was short, making it much more fragile than ordinary cloth, so it tore effortlessly.
Qiao Wei tore away happily.
Once finished, she used the scissors to trim the overly long strips of cloth and started stuffing them into the cushion covers.
Soon, the two large cushions were evenly stuffed.
The rattan bed was placed under the eaves against the wall.
Qiao Wei pulled the rattan bed out a few centimeters and placed the two large cushions on it, leaning them against the wall.
She turned around, sat down, and leaned back.
Although not completely satisfied, under the current conditions, it could truly be considered a decent substitute for a sofa.
When the weather got cold, she would move it into the house and lay a small mattress on the rattan bed to keep it nice and warm.
“Xiangxiang, come here!” Qiao Wei called out to Yan Xiang.
Yan Xiang put down his small shovel and bucket, went over to wash his hands, then ran to the eaves and climbed onto the rattan bed, leaning back: “Wow~”
“Is it comfortable?”
“So comfortable!”
“From now on, we’ll read books and tell stories here.”
“Okay!”
Qiao Wei stood up, walked to the middle of the courtyard, turned around, and looked with her hands on her hips.
On the rugged walls, beside the windows, and above the lounge chair hung straw hats, with two straw sandals dangling beneath them.
Yan Lei could never understand this “decoration” of straw hats and straw sandals, but that didn’t hinder the rustic atmosphere Qiao Wei had created.
Now, the rattan bed was equipped with two cushions—two in the original color and one in indigo.
Qiao Wei placed the indigo one on the far left and the two original-colored ones on the right, creating a natural, asymmetrical beauty.
Qiao Wei closed one eye, extended her hands, and used her thumbs and index fingers to frame the view.
Inside the frame were the stone walls, the slightly dilapidated old-fashioned lattice glass windows, the straw hats, the straw sandals, and the bamboo lounge chair.
As soon as the two simple homespun cushions on the rattan bed entered the frame, the “rustic” look upgraded to “pastoral.”
It was exactly what Qiao Wei wanted.
On Monday, as soon as Yan Lei returned home, he saw the new cushions on the rattan bed under the eaves.
“Whoa! You made these so quickly?”
He took off his hat, hung it on the wall, went over, sat down, and leaned back. He paused, then shifted his body.
“Hmm…”
“Dad, tell me, is it comfortable?” Yan Xiang asked from the side.
Yan Lei sighed: “Comfortable~”
Aside from when he was lying in bed leaning against a rolled-up quilt, he had never been this comfortable.
In his memory, whether at home or in the Military Unit, there was almost nothing particularly soft; it was all wooden chairs and brick beds, hard as rock.
There was nothing this soft that made a person want to lounge, lean back, and sprawl out.
“What did you stuff inside here?” He asked curiously, undoing the buttons and reaching in to feel.
Qiao Wei came out of the bathroom and happened to see him pulling out a handful of Gengsheng cloth: “What are you doing? Don’t mess with it, stuff it back in.”
Yan Lei chuckled: “You’re quite clever, using Gengsheng cloth.”
City people really know how to be comfortable.
Qiao Wei washed her hands, came over, and sat down too. She shifted her body and said: “It’s still a bit flat.”
“The old master at the tailor shop suggested I stuff it with more hay. He said hay has good resilience and can make the cushion puff up.”
Yan Lei said: “He’s right. When we were kids, we used to climb on haystacks. Even if they got flattened, once you got off, they would slowly fluff up again on their own after a while.”
Qiao Wei asked: “Where can I get hay?”
Yan Lei said: “I’ll get it for you. How much do you need?”
Qiao Wei actually had no idea, so she spread her hands to gesture: “This much?”
Yan Lei knew from her tone that she didn’t really have a clue: “Alright, don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of it.”
He would get plenty; it didn’t matter if there was too much, as hay was used in every household for starting fires in the stove anyway.
Yan Lei looked up and saw the wire: “Is the light installed?”
He stood up and followed the wire toward the bathroom, wanting to check the lightbulb. Because he was looking up, he tripped over a pit halfway there, but fortunately, his balance was excellent, and he didn’t fall.
“What is this?” He asked, hands on his hips, looking down. “You’ve already started digging a sandpit?”
Why does it look like a dog dug it?
Yan Xiang excitedly came to claim credit: “I dug it! I dug it all by myself!”
With his hands on his hips, chest puffed out, and little belly sticking out, he waited for praise.
Qiao Wei raised her eyebrows at Yan Lei. Yan Lei understood instantly and praised him: “That’s my son. Well done.”
Yan Xiang snapped to attention and saluted: “Serve the people!”
After praising his son, Yan Lei went to the bathroom to look at the light, and Qiao Wei pulled the switch from the doorway to turn it on for him.
Yan Lei: “Not bad.”
Coming out of the bathroom, he saw Qiao Wei leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed, smiling; she was clearly very satisfied with the light as well.
Yan Lei deeply felt that since she was satisfied, the atmosphere of the whole home was different.
Turning his head again, he saw a piece of cloth hanging on the clothesline.
“Huh?” Yan Lei’s eyes lit up instantly, and he asked eagerly, “Did that go away?”
That piece of cloth was the top side of the small mattress. Qiao Wei’s period had ended, so she didn’t need the small mattress anymore. She had used scissors to cut the thread and taken that part off.
As for the dirty cotton inside, she plucked out the dirty parts and threw them away, then plucked some cotton from the edges to fill in the gap in the middle.
Yan Lei said: “Didn’t I tell you to just leave it be?”
He scolded her, but his eyes were bright and burning.
How could Qiao Wei not know what he was thinking? She held back a laugh and said: “It was just a piece of cloth, so I washed it. But I know how to take it apart, not sew it, so I’m counting on you.”
Yan Lei took full responsibility: “I’ll do it, don’t worry.”
Needlework was a required skill for every soldier in the Military Unit, one could say.
While eating, Yan Lei had already heated the water.
After the meal, he didn’t rush to wash the dishes; he first prepared the bathwater for Qiao Wei. He specially picked out the whitest and newest shirt from his own clothes for her.
Qiao Wei gave him a sideways glance and snatched the white shirt from his hands.
By the time Qiao Wei finished her bath, it was already dark. As she came out of the kitchen, she heard the father and son talking on the rattan bed.
Yan Xiang protested: “I’m not sleepy yet.”
“Kids need to go to bed early, otherwise the wolves will come at night, and the big monsters…”
Qiao Wei was furious: “Hey! You are not allowed to scare the child.”
She glared at him fiercely.
Yan Lei looked sheepish.
Dads are really annoying; with just one offhand scare, Qiao Wei had to spend several times as long telling the child: “It’s not true, there are no wolves where there are many people.”
“Wherever people develop, the animals there will decrease; flies, mosquitoes, and ants will all get smaller.”
Having eliminated the damage caused by the unscrupulous father to the child’s young heart, and told a bedtime story, Qiao Wei was still indignant and couldn’t help but ask a very cliché question: “Xiangxiang, do you like Dad or Mom better?”
Yan Xiang lay flat on his back, facing the ceiling: “I like Dad and Mom.”
Qiao Wei acted pretentious: “Who do you like more?”
Yan Xiang: “I like that Mom is pretty, and I like that Dad is tall.”
He’s a master of balancing the scale, that one.
Qiao Wei felt disgruntled.
After coaxing Yan Xiang to sleep, Qiao Wei turned off the light and went back to her side.
The study was lit, and as soon as she entered, she saw Yan Lei sitting sideways on the corner of the desk, his long legs planted on the floor.
Seeing her enter, his eyes lit up and he stood up, reaching the doorway in two steps, holding the doorframe to look outside. He closed the door and asked in a low voice: “Is he finally asleep?”
He had been waiting for so long.
Qiao Wei smiled: “He’s asleep.”
Her eyes were like water, and Yan Lei felt his whole body burning; he pulled her, wanting to head to the bedroom.
But Qiao Wei pulled him back, not following him.
Yan Lei turned back in surprise.
The light from the bulb was yellowish, casting a warm glow on the white walls.
Her face also seemed to have a halo.
Qiao Wei used a little force to pull Yan Lei back.
Yan Lei didn’t resist at all, following her lead and standing in front of her.
He didn’t know what she was going to do. She surely knew what he wanted to do, but Yan Lei felt that what she was doing now was not rejecting him.
Then why didn’t she go into the bedroom with him?
There was a smile in Qiao Wei’s eyes.
She stood on tiptoe, looked up, and kissed Yan Lei’s lips.
It was time to teach this old-fashioned man. Men and women don’t only have to be intimate after turning off the lights and getting into bed.
The couple acted like revolutionary comrades outside; this stale concept had to be broken.
With a thud, Yan Lei pressed his hand against the wall, pinning Qiao Wei against the door panel.
He wasn’t used to being so intimately close with his wife outside the bedroom; he always felt that this was wrong.
But his body had its own will.
His mouth was dry, his blood was boiling.
The two bodies were like two magnetic poles strongly attracting each other. This force was irresistible.
Qiao Wei leaned her head back slightly, the back of her head against the door, looking up at Yan Lei.
Nose to nose, their breathing could be heard. Body against body, the heat could be felt.
Yan Lei lowered his head and captured Qiao Wei’s red lips.
For the first time in his life, he was this reckless, being intimate with his wife outside the bedroom, outside the bed.
Once it started burning, it was uncontrollable, a blazing fire consuming his body.
His large hand lifted the white shirt.
Anxious, rough.
The rough calluses on his palms scratched her skin.
Their breathing grew heavier.
Unable to hold back any longer, he gripped her waist and lifted her up with ease.
Qiao Wei hugged his shoulders, just like a koala.
Yan Lei carried her into the bedroom, kicking the door shut behind him.
The light in the study wasn’t turned off. The curtains on the partition window were illuminated, casting a dim, hazy light into the bedroom.
The man took off his undershirt and leaned down, his muscles undulating in the light and shadow.
Qiao Wei, however, drew her knees together to hold him back and said softly: “That thing.”
The man was a bit unwilling and pleaded in a low voice: “Can we not use it?”
Qiao Wei’s voice was firm: “No.”
These two words sounded a lot like the old her.
Yan Lei reached under the pillow and pulled out an object.
It was wrapped in a handkerchief. Because at this time, this object was different from later generations; the technology was very backward, and it wasn’t disposable.
But only after he used it did Qiao Wei allow him.
The man had been abstinent for too long, and by this moment, he could no longer maintain the civility of the civilized world, instantly regressing to slash-and-burn, primitive savagery.
