Forced to go to the countryside, the arrogant young lady got married and became a military wife

Shi Qingqian finally stopped laughing, her eyes sparkling: "This is my first time sitting next to the stove to eat hot pot. I never thought there would be such a novel experience before."

Xu Huaian also laughed after hearing Shi Qingqian's words, with a wide grin on his lips, revealing his neat white teeth. "This is not my first time."

Shi Qingqian's eyes widened slightly, filled with curiosity and inquiry, her eyelashes fluttering like a small fan. She raised her eyes slightly and looked at him inquiringly.

Xu Huaian's eyes became somewhat distant, as if he had traveled back in time, and his voice became low and slow: "When I was young, my family was much poorer than it is now. There was only one room at home, and our family of five squeezed in."

"My parents farmed a few acres of land, but it was still not enough to feed the family. Besides a bed, we only had a stove and a pot at home."

"Each meal was supposed to be a meal, but having two bowls of rice soup was actually a luxury," Xu Huaian's eyes became a little distant. "At that time, the grain harvest was poor, and after paying the public grain tax, there was not much left."

"The whole family was always hungry. Xiaorong wasn't born yet at that time, and I was the youngest. Whenever I was hungry, I would cry and make a fuss, and my eldest and second brothers would leave their share for me."

Xu Huaian continued, "The clothes were passed down from the eldest to the second, and patched up for another three years. All my clothes were worn by my eldest and second brothers in turn. If there was a hole, my mother would patch it up with rags, patch upon patch, but it still wasn't warm enough. In winter, the cold wind would come in through the cracks in the wall, and we would have to huddle together tightly to keep warm."

"I don't even dare to get sick. I don't have money to see a doctor, so I can only rely on folk remedies. Sometimes I recover because I'm lucky, but if I don't, I can only leave it to fate."

"I had a fever once. It was winter and I was so dizzy that I couldn't get it down. My parents tried everything but nothing worked. My mother cried and carried me naked outside. Fortunately, I managed to pull through."

Xu Huaian was recalling the past, and Shi Qingqian was listening quietly, with a trace of heartache flashing in her eyes from time to time.

In the past, she often heard Lao Shi talk about things in the 60s and 70s. At that time, she thought Lao Shi was too long-winded and kept talking about those old things over and over again like pancakes.

But when she came here, she realized that stories always seemed pale and vague compared to personal experiences.

Now that she has personally experienced the difficulties of the times, she truly understands how Lao Shi felt at that time.

Shi Qingqian gently held Xu Huaian's hand. Her hand was very soft and tightly wrapped around Xu Huaian's hand. Her eyes were full of determination: "In the future, our lives will definitely get better and better, and our country will also get better and better."

Xu Huaian held her hand with his backhand. His hand was very strong. He looked at Shi Qingqian firmly, as if there was a burning flame in his eyes: "I will definitely do it."

The two continued to eat hot pot, the ingredients in the pot were rolling and emitting an enticing aroma.

Xu Huaian picked up a piece of cooked beef, coated it in the dipping sauce, and put it in his mouth to chew slowly. "Wife, is this beef? How come it is so tender? With your special dipping sauce, the taste is simply amazing."

Shi Qingqian raised her chin proudly: "Of course not, my mixing skills are first-class."

She has no talent when it comes to cooking, but when it comes to eating she is an expert.

"This lobster meat is pretty good too, you should try it too."

Shi Qingqian put a piece of lobster meat into Xu Huaian's mouth, and his eyes suddenly lit up: "Well, so this is lobster. It tastes different from pork and has a unique flavor." He squinted his eyes in satisfaction.

……

The young couple was enjoying the delicious hot pot at home, unaware that rumors were flying around outside.

A few days ago, because Shi Dawei was ill and hospitalized, Shi Qingqian went to the military hospital to accompany him every day.

She went out early and came back late, and there were two nights when she didn't have time to come back. At that time, she was so focused on her grandfather's illness that she had no time to take care of anything else.

No one knew where the rumor came from. At first, it was just a few gossipy aunties whispering in the corner of the compound.

Aunt Zhou rolled her eyes and said mysteriously to the other ladies beside her, "Look at that woman of Captain Xu. She's been leaving early and coming back late every day lately. I'm afraid she's restless."

"No way! Commander Xu is the youngest commander in the military region. He'd be a fool to leave such a good man behind."

"That's right. I've met Captain Xu's family. They're very beautiful, even prettier than the girls in the art troupe."

Aunt Zhou curled her lips and said, "Don't be fooled by appearances. What's the point of looking good? Can it be eaten? Or can it be worn?"

"For us women, the most important thing is to carry on the family line. Giving birth to a son is much more important than being pretty. Besides, the more beautiful a woman is, the more restless she is. Think about those women who cheat on their husbands. Which one of them is not pretty?"

"Hiss... that makes sense."

"So Captain Xu's wife is really cheating on him. Isn't Captain Xu really miserable?"

"What a pity!" Aunt Zhou snorted. "What kind of man is he if he can't even take care of the women at home? How can he be an officer?"

As these ladies talked, the rumor spread rapidly in the compound like a cancer.

Those ladies are like a group of hardworking "spreading worker bees", spreading the rumor wherever they go.

Soon, the young wives in the compound started talking about this matter when they gathered by the well to wash clothes.

"Have you heard? Captain Xu's wife has someone else outside."

"Ah? Is this true? Captain Xu is so outstanding, how could she bear to let him go?"

"What's true or false? I heard someone saw it with their own eyes. They said Captain Xu's wife was walking with a man, very intimate. If you say it's okay, ghost... Anyway, I don't believe it."

"No wonder the old man said you can't judge a person by his appearance. I'm afraid Captain Xu's future is ruined now."

"If Captain Xu had known this would happen, he might as well have married Bai Youyou. After all, Bai Youyou is the daughter of a martyr. If he had married her, he might have been promoted by his superiors and saved himself a lot of trouble."

"What nonsense are you talking about!" Mrs. Zheng's face suddenly darkened when she heard their conversation.

She took a few quick steps and came in front of the group. With a stern look in her eyes, she raised her voice and scolded them, "You guys, have nothing to do after eating your fill all day? All you do is gossip."

"You're just spreading rumors about something without any basis. Do you have any manners at all? Comrade Shi is such a good girl. How can you have a clear conscience when you slander her like this?"

"You saw what happened to the comrade with your own eyes, and you're just talking nonsense here?"