Chapter 69: First Update

"Mom, don't worry, I'll think of a way." Qin Yao made a phone call to her mother, Shen Guixiang. Her mother, on the other end of the line, asked her daughter, Yaoyao, to find a way to matchmake their third brother.

"Pick someone who is capable and good at managing the household, someone like Wang Xifeng would be perfect."

The third Qin brother had an honest and straightforward personality, never competing with others. He was gentle, kind-hearted, and always yielding, never complaining even when life was tough. When someone in the family had to go to the countryside, he volunteered, enduring hardships without complaint.

This simple-minded boy... Shen Guixiang sighed. She was most worried about this son and wanted to find him a smart and capable wife so that outsiders wouldn't take advantage of him.

"Mom, it still has to be someone our third brother likes." Qin Yao said, half amused and half embarrassed. Her mother indeed understood her son's personality better. According to her mom's criteria, the match would indeed be complementary.

But when it came to choosing partners, things didn't always go as planned.

Once the third Qin brother arrived, Qin Yao planned to ask Head Nurse Ge for help. After all, Head Nurse Ge was the most professional matchmaker.

Wang Xifeng, now that was a shrewd and ruthless woman. Hmph, only her mother could come up with such an idea.

The weather on the island was getting hotter. During the day, fans were necessary indoors, but at night, the breeze made things pleasantly cool. The daytime sun was bright, and temperatures had already exceeded thirty degrees, a humid heat characteristic of summer.

The flowers and plants in the yard were growing rapidly. The green leaves were as vibrant as jade, as if someone had applied a layer of oil to them. The flowers in Qin Yao's garden had bloomed, and the green leaves were even more striking than the flowers themselves.

Qin Yao cut two clusters of pink hydrangeas and returned to the house. She found a glass vase, filled it with water, and placed it on the dining table.

Hydrangeas bloomed red in alkaline soil, blue in acidic soil, and purple in neutral soil.

By next year, when the hydrangeas bloomed again, Qin Yao wanted to try turning them blue. Even if the attempt didn't succeed, she was looking forward to seeing the purple hydrangeas.

With the hot weather, Qin Yao went to bed early and woke up early, without needing an alarm. Before dawn, she rose, and ignoring her husband beside her, headed downstairs to check on the garden, a routine she followed daily.

Every day, the sun was bright, and the plants grew rapidly, changing every day. Perhaps because Qin Yao had used too much phosphate and potash fertilizer, despite their small size, the flower seedlings were branching out and producing numerous buds.

Especially the dwarf petunias, which bloomed in clusters of small trumpets in the early morning.

Gu Cheng stood at the door in his military uniform, unbuttoned, his eyes squinting slightly, feeling a bit jealous. His wife, who was supposed to be a cultural and propaganda advocate, was now pretending to be a plant research expert every day.

The couple brushed their teeth by the tap in the yard. Gu Cheng watered the vegetable garden, while Qin Yao darted into the kitchen like a monkey, saying she would prepare breakfast for the two of them.

Gu Cheng usually ate breakfast in the canteen after morning training, saying he wouldn't eat at home. But Qin Yao insisted on having a small bite first, something not even ten thousand horses could stop her from doing.

Captain Gu supported the newly built cucumber trellis at home, feeling melancholic. It all began when he inadvertently brought home a bag of oatmeal. This was a popular item abroad, but not in their country. They ate oat groats, not this coarse, paper-like oatmeal.

For sailors like them, it was common to come across foreign goods. There were many cash crops on the island, and sea transport was the most cost-effective way to exchange them for foreign currency.

This large bag of oatmeal was given to Captain Gu by an old friend he met on the island. His friend worked at an export company and wanted to introduce this oatmeal production line... However, this oatmeal was really hard to eat, no matter how you prepared it.

After trying it once, Gu Cheng wholeheartedly agreed. Why eat this coarse oatmeal that irritated your throat when you could have good rice and steamed white bread? It was truly suffering unnecessarily.

Unfortunately, after bringing the bag of oatmeal home, his wife, Qin Yao, enthusiastically tried various ways to prepare it. She even planned to mix it with the detestable milk. Just thinking about it made his stomach churn, like a ship in a hurricane.

In the kitchen, Qin Yao picked up a small pot, heated the milk on low heat, and added the oatmeal to cook. Soon, the milk boiled, and she didn't add sugar but instead put in a little salt and pepper.

She tasted it. Milk with pepper, at first glance, seemed like a bizarre dish, but the flavor was truly amazing, very delicious.

"Captain Gu, come and have breakfast. Your wife has added some fuel for you." Two bowls of milk oatmeal porridge, with crushed peanuts and walnuts in the middle and a boiled egg on the side, were nutritious and tasty.

Gu Cheng stood by the dining table, pinching his nose, reluctant to sit down. Less than half a year into marriage, he had discovered that such a wife was truly terrifying.

"Why would anyone like to drink milk? And why use it to cook?"

He pushed the bowl away, "You eat it, I’m not hungry."

"Try it, it’s really good." Holding the bowl, she scooped a spoonful of porridge, Qin Yao blew on it and offered it to Gu Cheng’s mouth.

Gu Cheng leaned back, "I’m not eating it."

"Just try it."

"Not eating it." Captain Gu, who never backed down at work, retreated completely at home. Qin Yao chased him with the bowl and spoon, but Gu Cheng hurriedly ran out of the family compound.

At the same time, Neighbor Sister Zaohua was chasing her youngest son with a bowl, "Are you going to eat it or not? Are you going to eat it or not?"

"No, no."

"Oh, when your father and I were young, we wished we could have such food, but now that life is better, you don’t want to eat it..." Sister Zaohua chased her son into the courtyard, only to see Qin Yao coming out with a bowl. Her son had already slipped under the luffa vines.

Gu Cheng ran away.

"Uncle Gu!" Little comrade Zhou Guagua called out. Neighbor Uncle Gu could run, but he couldn’t. It was too sad, waaaaah!

Zhou Guagua, whose full name was Zhou Xiaojun and nicknamed Guagua, was called Guagua by everyone else. His older sister is Jiajia. He was picky about food, disliking this and that, and had become as thin as a monkey.

Because of his picky eating, he was shorter than other boys his age. Sister Zaohua couldn't stand it anymore and was determined to fatten up her son. She forced him to eat an egg in the morning, but he refused to eat the yolk.

"Aunt Qin, Mom is trying to poison me!" Zhou Guagua cried with tears in his eyes, seeking help from Qin Yao.

"Hey, you’re making me so mad!" Sister Zaohua grabbed a broom, "Are you going to eat it?"

Zhou Guagua shouted, "Uncle Gu isn’t eating his!"

Sister Zaohua: ‘...’

Qin Yao: ‘...’

Sister Zaohua smiled bitterly. Qin Yao came over with a bowl of oatmeal porridge and offered, "Guagua, eat this. Sister Zaohua, this bowl is untouched, cooked with milk. It’s rich in protein and helps you grow taller, perfect for children."

Sister Zaohua quickly said, "Yes, yes, eat this and grow tall like Uncle Gu."

Zhou Guagua, suspicious, took a bite of the oatmeal porridge, then wrinkled his eyes and nose. "I’m not eating it, I’m not eating it!"

Qin Yao felt awkward. Was it really that bad? It tasted really good to her.

Sister Zaohua took the bowl from Qin Yao’s hand. She was angry, "Eat it. You have to eat both the yolk and the porridge. No wasting."

With tears and snot, Zhou Guagua ate the egg yolk, milk, and oatmeal porridge in the courtyard.

Qin Yao ate in the neighboring yard, receiving pitiful little glances from Zhou Guagua as she ate.

It really tasted good, but it did get a bit too rich after a while.

After finishing, Qin Yao froze the leftover milk in the "refrigerator." Recently, she had managed to get a small green refrigerator from Gu Cheng, a two-layer, very small one costing several hundred yuan, exchanged with a medical unit for a discarded refrigerator.

She knew there was freezer technology available at the time. On ships, the freezer would store a lot of fresh vegetables and meat. For the first few days at sea, they would have fresh vegetables, but after that, they would have to sprout beans.

This refrigerator wasn’t very good at freezing and couldn’t keep things cold for long, so Qin Yao only used it with electricity for a short time to store things.

There were freezers in the hospital. Sometimes people would freeze some ice water, wrap it in a quilt, and take it home to preserve items, which could last a whole day.

Qin Yao bought some milk, but this time she bought a lot. Since the weather was hot, she decided to make some small snacks. Using milk, cornstarch, and coconut flakes, she made milk squares and refrigerated them.

In the evening, Miao Cuiye brought some people to her house, and Qin Yao brought out the milk squares to entertain her guests.

"These are delicious, how did you make them?" The sweet milk squares caught Miao Cuiye's attention, though she was a carefree girl, her taste was no different from ordinary girls.

"Xiao Qin, this is Chen Jialan, Lanlan. This is Qin Yao, Comrade Qin, who will become a writer." Miao Cuiye knew that Qin Yao wanted to write stories about female soldiers and was very supportive. Last time, she shared a lot of information verbally with Qin Yao, and this time she also brought some materials and photos and found a female militia member, Chen Jialan, to share their experiences together.

"Lanlan, share your story."

Chen Jialan told her story in a few sentences and spoke little afterward. In fact, since meeting Qin Yao, she had been disappointed and thought that Qin Yao was just playing around.

A young and beautiful female comrade, what good article could she possibly write? She probably wouldn't be able to write a single word after gathering information for half a day. Only Miao Cuiye believed in her.

"Lanlan, tell us more, go into detail."

Chen Jialan replied curtly, "I don't have much to say."

Qin Yao noticed the hostility in her tone and didn't push her. Instead, she turned to chat enthusiastically with Miao Cuiye. She already had an idea to write a story about a female militia captain inspired by Miao Cuiye.

"You want to write my story... ah, I'm so excited!"

Chen Jialan, feeling awkward, glared resentfully.

"Lanlan, you'll appear as a character in the story too!"

Chen Jialan immediately refused, "Don't write about me; I don't want to appear."

Miao Cuiye hesitated and looked at Qin Yao.

Qin Yao smiled slightly, "It's okay, Sister Cuiye; I'll focus on the stories around you."

"Alright, we're all willing to appear in your story. Lanlan has more intense experiences than me, so it's fine if she doesn't want to."

Miao Cuiye and Chen Jialan spent the night in the bedroom. Gu Cheng didn't come home. Chen Jialan lay in bed, regretful.

She had come this time mainly to see Captain Gu, but she ended up missing him.

"Miao Cuiye, do you really trust this Comrade Qin? I don't think she can write a good article. Don't get too carried away."

Miao Cuiye said expectantly, "I believe she will write it."

Writing a story about her made Miao Cuiye very much look forward to it.

"If she writes poorly and people see it, she'll be the one embarrassed, not you." Chen Jialan said with schadenfreude.

"I'm not afraid of being embarrassed." Miao Cuiye covered herself with a blanket. "I'm very curious about Xiao Qin's brother. I heard he's very tall. I want to find a tall guy to be my partner."

Chen Jialan tugged at her wrist, amused by Miao Cuiye's lack of taste, but curious about how tall Qin Yao's brother really was.