Back To The 80s-Chapter 147: Responsibility_1

Li Fengmei sighed, "You’ll get used to it over time. When we first got married, I couldn’t sleep whenever they were out on a mission. But slowly, I got used to it. Remember, we have to take good care of the home, so our men can carry out their missions without worries. That’s the only way they won’t be distracted."

Gu Xiaobei nodded. What Li Fengmei said wasn’t profound, but it was genuine. She needed to learn to be mature.

After tidying up the room, considering the cold weather, she decided to finish knitting Lu Zhanguo’s sweater. Now that Ge Chunling had helped to add the stitches, she just needed to keep knitting upwards.

Li Fengmei also came over with her yarn to chat, time passed swiftly when they talked.

"Fengmei, how many years have you been with the army?" Gu Xiaobei asked curiously.

"Not even three years. I used to stay home and care for our children. They brought us here straight from the battlefield, after settling us in. If we didn’t move, my two sons wouldn’t even know what their father looked like." Li Fengmei said, speaking quite quickly.

Gu Xiaobei thought back to when Lu Zhanguo told her about how he was badly wounded during a war. She casually said, "My Lu was also seriously wounded on the battlefield during that time."

"Yes, they sent critical condition notices to Lu five times. In the end, other doctors gave up, but Doctor Jin didn’t rest for two days and two nights. He saved him from King Yama’s grasp." Li Fengmei thought Gu Xiaobei already knew this so she went ahead and mentioned it.

Gu Xiaobei listened silently, bending her head to continue knitting the sweater, even as drops fell onto the yarn.

Li Fengmei didn’t notice anything unusual and kept talking. "Doctor Jin is really skilled, he studied abroad, was jailed, but after being vindicated, he declined offers to work in big cities and chose to stay in his hometown..."

Li Fengmei noticed that despite her talking, Gu Xiaobei hadn’t responded but heard her sniff, she realized that she’d said too much and quickly spoke, "Sister-in-law, don’t be sad. All that’s in the past. Look, isn’t your husband Lu doing well now."

Gu Xiaobei didn’t say anything, she put down the sweater, stood up to wipe her face with a damp cloth. When she sat back down, she spoke with a calm voice, with a hint of nasality, "I’m fine. I just feel a little sad thinking about how he suffered back then."

"My husband, Zhang Lijun, says this is called responsibility. I don’t know much about profound reasoning, all I wish for is for the family to be together, enjoying good food and leisure. Zhang Lijun says I lack awareness. If everyone doesn’t have protection, how can our little family be safe? I guess this makes sense. I told him, just do what you want to. If you sacrifice yourself, I will bring up our two sons by myself. Their father is a hero, they can’t be cowards in the future." Li Fengmei found it hard to continue as she spoke.

Gu Xiaobei was deeply moved by her words, looking at the teary-eyed Li Fengmei she said, "Why are we talking about such things when we’re fine? Let’s go out and take a walk in the vegetable field."

Li Fengmei wiped her eyes and laughed, "Yes, let’s go out for a walk, the weather is really making one feel down."

The rain outside had already stopped, but the sky hadn’t cleared yet, the chill winds of autumn made it feel a bit gloomy.

After Gu Xiaobei opened the door and felt the chill, she went back inside to put on her red sweater. The loose, large lapels of the sweater made her face look even more white and attractive.

Li Fengmei playfully remarked, "Sister-in-law, you look really good in red. It makes your skin look even more radiant." Gu Xiaobei giggled delightedly at the praise.

The two women left the family compound, with no particular destination in mind, they took their time walking towards the vegetable fields.

There was someone walking towards them from afar, Gu Xiaobei squinted to get a better look, it was Cheng Qijia. She hadn’t seen him since the barbeque. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Cheng Qijia’s face always wore a warm smile, making one feel as though they were basking in the warmth of spring. As he saw Gu Xiaobei and Li Fengmei his smile widened, "Sisters, where are you headed?"

"Just going to take a stroll in the vegetable fields. Aren’t you participating in the training, Xiaocheng?" Xiaobei asked curiously.

"I’m not participating in this military exercise, so I didn’t go for training. I’m on duty in the camp." Cheng Qijia explained briefly.

"Xiaocheng, do you have a girlfriend?" Li Fengmei thought highly of Cheng Qijia and asked eagerly.

Cheng Qijia casually glanced at Gu Xiaobei and smiled, "I don’t."

"What kind are you looking for? I can keep an eye out for you." Li Fengmei offered enthusiastically.

Cheng Qijia said somewhat awkwardly, "Thank you for your kindness, sister-in-law." He wanted to ask Gu Xiaobei about Qin Li, but he thought it would be too abrupt.

Gu Xiaobei stood by, smiling and staying silent. She had noticed how Cheng Qijia had looked at Qin Li differently that day. At that moment, she had thought of setting them up together, but then she thought better of it. It was best to not meddle in love matters, especially since Qin Li was still hung up on Jin Cheng. So, she abandoned this idea.

Li Fengmei continued, "I think our Dadong’s teacher is a good match. She’s just a substitute teacher, but she’s quite attractive."

Cheng Qijia realized that she was serious. Trying to play it cool, he said, "Sister-in-law, let’s not rush this, we can talk about this later. I have to go to the communications company to get a document. I should go now." And with that, he bolted.

Li Fengmei, still enthusiastic, said to Gu Xiaobei, "The teacher I mentioned, do you remember her? She’s tall and has a big backside. She looks like she could bear sons."

Gu Xiaobei was taken aback. It seemed Li Fengmei was not just making idle talk; she was serious about matchmaking.

Unfazed by Gu Xiaobei’s silence, Li Fengmei went on, "They’d make a perfect pair. I’ll arrange for them to meet some time."

"Maybe you should let your husband Zhang Lijun ask Xiaocheng first. Otherwise, it could be awkward." Xiaobei suggested.

"That’s right. When they come back from the exercise, remember to remind me about this." Li Fengmei was very serious about this and reminded Gu Xiaobei, who could only nod in agreement.

The two of them reached the vegetable fields, chatting all the way. Due to ample rain this fall and fertilization by Zhang Lijun’s pig manure, the cabbages were growing lush and strong. They could be harvested in half a month.

Gu Xiaobei happily squatted down to examine the row of cabbages. These were the ones she had sown herself, albeit with some minor hiccups.

"Who’s been plucking my radishes!!" Wang Ping arrived at the field to pick some vegetables and upon seeing several holes where the radishes should have been, she got outraged.

Actually, everyone knew why, but Gu Xiaobei wondered why someone would take so many radishes at once. Could they possibly finish eating them all?

"What kind of person does this, acting like a thief every day? It’s just a radish!" Wang Ping muttered as she walked towards Gu Xiaobei’s field.

"Sister-in-law, your vegetables don’t seem to have been touched recently." Wang Ping scanned the vegetable garden and said.

"Indeed, none went missing." Gu Xiaobei noticed that ever since she had offered to provide vegetables to Sun Aiqin, no one had taken any from her plot.

"I only have twenty cabbages left in my field. We were counting on these radishes to get us through the winter." Wang Ping said in annoyance.