Chapter 74: First Update

Third Brother Qin and Xie Hongni were assigned to work in the rubber plantation, though their specific roles were unknown. Qin Yao intended for Third Brother Qin to try for the position of canteen cook. After all, her brothers, though not master chefs, were more than capable of handling kitchen duties.

With Third Brother Qin’s current build, cooking large pots of food was no problem at all.

Qin Yao took a leave of absence and prepared to accompany her brother and sister-in-law to the plantation. There was a convenient ride to the farm, and Miao Cuiye said she would also go for a while since she knew the plantation director and the political commissar.

Qin Yao and Miao Cuiye agreed on a time and decided to depart in the morning after breakfast.

Qin Yao had never been to the rubber plantation before. This trip would be a good opportunity to gain some experience. She knew that the work of tapping rubber was very hard, but like any farm work, it depended on the season. After a period of hard work, there would be a long period of rest. It wasn’t like the 996 work schedule, where the intensity was high all year round. In farming, the hard work was concentrated in specific periods.

After the commotion from the previous night, she had spent a rather perfect evening with “Little Gu.” The next morning, Qin Yao was still lost in her dream, but her body reflexively woke up at the usual time.

Qin Yao didn’t open her eyes, still shocked by the scenes and details of the dream she just had.

Little Tiger Girl, Little Tiger Girl… It was all because someone kept mentioning Little Tiger Girl, leading her to dream about a bicolor ragdoll cat. The cat was giving birth in a basket.

She gave birth to six kittens in one go. Cats really do give birth in litters.

But the kittens had unusual colors: some were rare-colored ragdolls, some calicos, tortoiseshells… and one was black and orange?

So, what kind of cat was the father?

At that moment, the cat mother in the basket lifted her head and saw a large tiger in front of her, its eyes filled with confusion and surprise, seemingly shocked by why her children looked like this.

The scene changed again, this time to a zoo, where a carefree and beautiful ragdoll cat wagged its tail as it walked past the tiger’s cage, followed by a string of spectating kittens…

What a strange dream. In the end, she dreamt of sunbathing on the zoo’s roof, where the sunlight was incredibly comfortable.

…Could this be a sign of pregnancy?

Qin Yao instinctively covered her belly, then opened her eyes to see a calm and handsome face. Gu Cheng was lying next to her, eyes closed.

Qin Yao found it amusing. She knew Gu Cheng was awake but pretending to sleep. She reached out and pinched his nose, and Gu Cheng immediately opened his eyes, laughing as he pulled on Qin Yao’s hair.

Qin Yao’s hair was long, and even on a double bed, her hair was everywhere. “Don’t press on my hair.”

Gu Cheng combed her hair with his fingers, and the couple got out of bed together.

Gu Cheng would go in late today and personally see Qin Yao and the others off. He stayed home for breakfast that morning. Qin Yao prepared a large bowl of vegetable and egg noodles. Gu Cheng approached her and asked why she didn’t cook porridge.

Qin Yao laughed. “Didn’t you say you don’t like eating it?”

“Lao Gao ate it. He finished it all. Of course, I can’t lose to him,” Gu Cheng said. He had run into Gao Jianguo yesterday, who had complained that Xiao Qin had made his life difficult.

Qin Yao, washing vegetables in a basin, commented, “You’re too naive.”

“He must be lying to you,” Qin Yao said with a smile as she patted Gu Cheng on the head. Despite his age, Qin Yao sometimes found him very innocent, easily deceived, and easily comforted. He might be sharp in some areas, but his upbringing was too sheltered, and he hadn’t experienced a complex social environment.

Growing up in such a family, joining the army at fifteen, and spending most of his adult life in the military, Gu Cheng’s environment was much simpler compared to the outside world.

Qin Yao thought of the male colleagues and supervisors she had encountered at work. They were all eccentric and often made crude jokes.

In this era, verbal sexual harassment was less common, but privately… well, just like what Xie Hongni had experienced. Decades later, teaching in the countryside was still incredibly dangerous for women.

“Did Teacher Chen tell you this?” Gu Cheng wasn’t too concerned about this matter. If Gao Jianguo lied to him about this, what would he gain? Just bragging about loving his wife?

Qin Yao started boiling water: "Baozhen made oatmeal porridge, and not only did she put milk in it, but she also added sugar, salt, star anise, cinnamon, and bay leaves—"

"Stop, stop, stop, don't say anymore." I can't even imagine how that would taste, and just hearing the description made his stomach churn.

"Absurd." Gu Cheng clutched his stomach. "I've been on ships for many years, weathered countless storms, and rarely got seasick or threw up all over the place... But your description is worse than a typhoon."

"I know you don't like milk." At that time, the milk had no added water or other ingredients. Fresh milk was delivered in glass bottles, rich and creamy. Those who liked it really enjoyed it, but for someone like Gu Cheng, who couldn't stand it, it was too much.

Each time the fresh milk was delivered, the old glass bottles had to be returned.

"I once met a chief electrician who could vomit a lot. A little storm and he'd be throwing up nonstop—"

Qin Yao raised her hand to cover his mouth, pleading, "We're about to have breakfast, could Captain Gu please say something more pleasant...?" She didn't want to lose her appetite!

"Let's talk about some beautiful scenery, like coral, pearls, and dolphins in the sea."

Gu Cheng leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. "What are you talking about? It all smells like the sea."

"Do you know why people go tide-pooling early in the morning? When the sun gets high, the stranded fish and crabs will die quickly. Under the blazing sun, the smell..."

Qin Yao poked his handsome face with a strand of noodles, saying irritably, "Is this your revenge?"

"Yes, and no."

Gu Cheng laughed softly.

He loved these mornings when they had time to joke around. To him, these playful moments with his wife, like being playfully poked with a noodle, were better than the most beautiful poems and songs.

Comparing her to Chen Baozhen, having Yaoyao as his wife made him feel undeserving. At least his dear Yaoyao wouldn't make such strange concoctions.

His precious wife, whom he feared others might envy.

In the mornings, Qin Yao would sometimes take shortcuts when cooking noodles. Even with just water and salt, no oil needed, the noodles would still be fragrant. After all, they were refined carbohydrates.

For a simple clear broth noodle, she would just boil a pot of water, add the noodles, place a poached egg for each person, blanch some greens, sprinkle scallions, and drizzle a little sesame oil. A simple bowl of noodles was done.

Qin Yao ate her noodles and drank half a cup of milk, not daring to drink more for fear of getting motion sickness on the ride.

Gu Cheng saw them off as they got into the car. Qin Yao would be staying overnight at the rubber plantation and had already packed a change of clothing. Gu Cheng helped her carry the cloth bag and carefully instructed her, "Be careful of snakes, bugs, and rodents outside. Guard against mosquitoes at night, don't stand under big trees during the day, always watch your feet, and don't swat insects if they crawl on you..."

Both the insects and ants in the mountains and rainforests were especially aggressive. Snakes, though scary, rarely harm people. Even if the mountain was full of venomous snakes, few actually bite people. People fear snakes, but snakes also fear people.

Though snakes are long and thin, they can only attack with their fangs. So as long as you avoided the snake's head, its weakness was easy to find.

What was hardest to guard against were the silent ants. They would crawl onto you silently and without fear.

Some people, with their pants rolled up while standing under a tree, would suddenly realize ants had crawled all over their calves. After finally washing the ants off, their legs would be red and swollen.

Rubbing mud on your body when going out was also a form of skin protection.

"Captain Gu, have you taught a wilderness survival course before?" Qin Yao rubbed her ears, unable to bear the man's constant nagging. How could he have so much to say?

She was only staying at the farm overnight; it wasn't wilderness survival. Gu Cheng was worrying and nagging like a new dad sending his daughter to kindergarten.

"I have."

Qin Yao said, "Instructor Gu, please spare me."

"You need to listen to the lessons."

"You're so chatty... you're so chatty..." Qin Yao muttered, pushing him away. Soon, a transport truck arrived, its rear compartment open, with Miao Cuiye poking her head out and waving at her.

The truck stopped, and Chen Jialan got off at this moment. Miao Cuiye asked her, "Are you really not going over?"

This trip to the rubber plantation was considered a routine mission. There were many rubber trees in the plantation, an important cash crop. Over the years, enemy agents had sneaked in, attempting to destroy the rubber trees. Many areas required people to take turns guarding and searching the belongings of inspectors.

The rubber plantation they were heading to this time was a relatively well-managed farm. Currently, there were about 120 rubber farms on the island, with over a hundred thousand educated youths involved. The management level of each farm varied greatly. Rubber is a very delicate tropical plant. Some farms had blindly expanded and tapped rubber, resulting in dead, diseased, and damaged trees, and the quality of rubber produced was also low.

In the past two years, expansion efforts have slowed, focusing on maintaining the current high-quality rubber trees. This year, a large number of rubber trees have reached the tapping standard, and with such a large area, there is a fear of human destruction.

Catching a few enemy agents this time would be a significant achievement.

"No, I haven't been feeling well recently and need to rest," Chen Jialan refused, thinking Miao Cuiye was being overly optimistic. It was unlikely to encounter anything significant while helping tap rubber for free.

"Alright, you rest well."

Chen Jialan nodded. She was going to visit Teacher Chen Baozhen to learn musical instruments from her. She had also brought some coffee to enjoy with Chen Baozhen.

"Yaoyao, be safe," Gu Cheng kept talking. This bewildered Miao Cuiye, who had never seen Gu so talkative before.

"Got it, got it. I'll wait for you to come back."

Gu Cheng smiled and said, "No, I'll wait for you to come back."

The couple lingered affectionately for a while. Third Brother Qin was a bit unsure about his brother-in-law’s true nature. He had thought Gu was gentle and easy to push around before coming, found him cold and quiet on the first day, and heard from others that he was stern, quiet, and proud. From yesterday, he had started acting like a loving and caring husband, and this morning, he had become more talkative than Shen Guixiang.

Various instructions, like regulations, came one by one, without any effort to weave them together, and almost without repetition.

Chen Jialan was equally surprised to see this side of Gu Cheng. How did Gu change so much after marriage?