Witty Wife, Better Life-Chapter 51 - 49 Fiancé
Chapter 51: Chapter 49 Fiancé
Chapter 51 -49 Fiancé
The second day of the Chinese New Year had arrived at his home, and early in the morning on the fourth day, Li Hongjun left Taoshu Village, ignoring the scolding of his mother from behind, and quickly walked towards Gaijiatun.
After a thirty-plus li journey, he arrived in two hours at a marching pace, then headed straight for the small courtyard at the foot of the mountain. Seeing that there was no one inside, he panicked for a moment but soon calmed down and went to Uncle Shen’s house.
Once he learned from Uncle Shen where Shen Yunfang was, he didn’t eat or drink, but hurried towards the county town.
In the afternoon, Shen Yunfang was organizing books in the warehouse when she faintly heard it seemed like someone was knocking at the courtyard door. She stopped what she was doing, listened carefully to confirm she wasn’t mistaken, then stood up, patted the dust off her clothes and walked towards the front courtyard.
“Someone has come.” she wondered who it could be at this time.
To her surprise, opening the gate, she saw a tall soldier standing outside, wearing a military coat and with frost on his face.
“You… you… Li… Hongjun…” Shen Yunfang called out, not very certain.
“Hmm.” Li Hongjun acknowledged with a hum, observing the girl in front of him, who had changed a bit since he left last year. She had grown taller, yeah, and seemed more lively; was it because her mother had been gone a while, lightening the sadness in her heart?
“How have you come back?” she asked, surprised. In her memory, this man was supposed to be a soldier who then wouldn’t return for a whole year.
“I’m on family leave.” Li Hongjun answered succinctly.
“Oh, how did you know I was here?” Shen Yunfang remembered another question.
“I went to Gaijiatun to look for you, and your uncle said you were here.” Li Hongjun turned his head to glance around, then looked down at the girl opposite and said, “Are we going to talk at the door?”
“Oh, sorry, I didn’t realize. Please come in quickly.” Shen Yunfang then remembered the two of them were still at the doorstep.
After letting him into the yard, she closed the courtyard door with a clang.
“You walked from Gaijiatun, didn’t you? You must be freezing. Come into this room to warm up.” Shen Yunfang led him to her small room.
A pot of sour cabbage with pork bones was still stewing on the stove since morning, and the aroma filled the room.
The two sat facing each other. Seeing that the person opposite her was not inclined to speak, Shen Yunfang had to try hard to find topics of conversation to avoid the silence.
However, the two hadn’t interacted much. Apart from being betrothed when they were children and having met twice, this was technically only their second formal meeting. She really didn’t know what to talk about with him, so she could only ask Li Hongjun whether it was tough in the army lately, if he had been involved in any military exercises, and so on.
Obviously, Li Hongjun wasn’t much of a conversation partner, as he answered every question with extreme brevity and would shut his mouth about questions relating to military secrets that he couldn’t answer.
It really left Shen Yunfang speechless. She’d racked her brains, and still, he wasn’t cooperating. Could they even have a proper conversation?
Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle…
At last, a topic was found.
“You must be hungry. I’ll make some food for you to eat first.” Shen Yunfang said, half asking.
If the man had been more decorous, he should have excused himself once she said she would make food. If he really didn’t consider himself an outsider, then her making food would give them something to do, definitely better than sitting in silence.
“Hmm, I’ll help you.” This time Li Hongjun was quick to respond.
Since leaving home in the morning, it had now been an afternoon without a single drop of water. At the scent that enticed him upon entering the room, the fact that he could still remain so composed was a testament to his extraordinary willpower.
Shen Yunfang hadn’t expected him to actually agree; talk about not standing on ceremony.
Shen Yunfang didn’t know that Li Hongjun was quite stubborn by nature, with a bit of machismo. When he was younger, his temper got him a decent share of beatings from Old Man Li in the village and had caused him losses as well. After joining the army, having seen much, he shrewdly kept his true personality hidden, which is why his current comrades see him as a steadfast and serious soldier.
Yet, so many years of military life had left Li Hongjun with little interest in women as a species, so the arranged marriage set up by his family now seemed acceptable; after all, weren’t all women the same once you got on the kang bed and turned off the light?
Last year, when the old mother-in-law passed away, he came back for a look, which could be considered their first meeting after growing up. He couldn’t say he was impressed or unimpressed; they all looked the same. But he noticed that Shen Yunfang was quite honest, which wasn’t bad—after all, with him in the army, his wife would be back in his hometown and couldn’t cause any real trouble.
So after returning to the army, he took the political commissar’s advice and started writing a letter to his fiancée each month to keep in touch and foster their relationship, which amounted to officially recognizing the engagement.
He was a responsible man, so he included five yuan in the letter, considering it his contribution to supporting the family.
This time, when he came home on leave and found out what his old mother had done, he was very angry but also worried that Shen Yunfang might feel wronged. That’s why he decided to spend a couple of days with her to offer some comfort.
In the end, Li Hongjun had already accepted this fiancée, so now he felt that whatever Shen Yunfang did for him was completely natural.
Shen Yunfang glanced at the pickles and pork bones in the pot, thinking that she had already stashed the rice and steamed buns in storage. Taking them out now would just be asking for trouble, wouldn’t it? So, what should they eat?
“There are some frozen dumplings outside; I can boil them for you. You can eat them with these pickles. How about that?” Shen Yunfang asked Li Hongjun.
“That’s fine. It’s quicker,” he replied, as simply as that.
Shen Yunfang secretly rolled her eyes; this man really didn’t consider himself an outsider.
“You go outside and get the dumplings. Just turn left when you exit, and you’ll see them,” Shen Yunfang said, not letting him idle around—she was certainly not his little maid.
Li Hongjun said nothing, stood up, and went outside to get the dumplings.
Shen Yunfang took a large plate from the side table, scooped all the food from the pot onto it, poured some lukewarm water from the kettle, and quickly cleaned the iron pot.
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She grabbed the iron poker from the floor, poked at the coal in the stove to make the fire burn brighter, and poured hot water from the thermal flask into the pot.
By that time, Li Hongjun had returned with a bundle of frozen dumplings.
Since the water was already boiling and the fire was strong, the pot of water quickly came to a rolling boil.
Shen Yunfang, assisted by Li Hongjun’s hand, dropped the dumplings from the bundle into the pot.
Now, both of them sat down, and ah, they couldn’t just sit in silence; they had to make conversation.
“How many days of leave do you have?” asked Shen Yunfang, who was sitting close to the stove, her already rosily rural cheeks flushed even redder by the firelight.
Li Hongjun looked up and was momentarily stunned by the sight.
Shen Yunfang, not hearing an answer, looked up inquisitively.
Li Hongjun felt his breathing was a little constricted, the gaze of the girl opposite him seemed like a small hook, making him uncomfortable all over.
“Ahem, seven days,” Li Hongjun coughed, trying to conceal his discomfort.
“When did you get home?” Shen Yunfang, oblivious to his unease, looked down again at the boiling dumplings, pouring a bowl of cold water into the pot.
“The second day of the month,” Li Hongjun steadied his breath before glancing over again.
Certainly, she was still the same bean sprout of a girl, very ordinary and common. How could she possibly be that, that captivating? He must have seen her wrong.
Shen Yunfang was completely unaware of Li Hongjun’s inner turmoil, otherwise, she surely would have taken the spoon in her hand and flung it at him, thinking, “Get lost, I am the beauty, I am the captivating one.”
