1970s: My childhood sweetheart ran away, and I turned around and married the wildest chief.

A basket full of herbs, and a sack containing six wild rabbits and five pheasants. There was no way around it; the spiritual spring water was just too attractive to... wild animals.

Amidst envious and jealous glances, Qiao Wanqing went home. This time, she was genuinely tired and lay down on the sofa as soon as she got home.

When Lu Mingzhou came home from get off work, he saw all these things in the yard, and then looked at his wife lying on the sofa. He exclaimed in surprise, "Honey, did you bring all this back?"

Qiao Wanqing nodded, giving him a bright smile, "Yes, I'm amazing, aren't I!"

Lu Mingzhou: "..."

That much firewood must have been difficult for a man to carry back; his wife must have been exhausted.

Lu Mingzhou sat down next to her and said with concern, "You must be exhausted. We can just buy coal for heating in winter, there's no need to save money on this. Why are you working so hard? Besides, if we really need firewood, I'll get it when I get back, or we can ask the orderly to get it."

Qiao Wanqing wanted to say that she was just bored and looking for something to do for fun, and it wasn't something she did every day.

But after thinking about it, she gave up and decided not to say anything, lest this guy stop caring about her in the future.

She held his hand pitifully, "You're so busy, how can you have time for me!"

Lu Mingzhou thought about it and realized that he had indeed neglected her.

The newlyweds should have been at their sweetest, but he was too busy. He only had a day off on their wedding day; the rest of the time he was at work, and there were even a few times when he didn't come home for dinner.

He said guiltily, "It's my fault. I have tomorrow off, how about I take you out for a walk?"

Qiao Wanqing's eyes lit up. "You're off tomorrow?"

Lu Mingzhou nodded. "Okay, shall I take you to the department store? How about we go see a movie?"

Having witnessed the prosperity of later generations, Qiao Wanqing had no interest in such things. "I don't want to go to the street. We have everything we need at home, so there's nothing to buy. Relatives are coming to visit soon, and we'll definitely need to cook. We don't have enough firewood. Will you come up the mountain with me?"

Lu Mingzhou: "..."

Is she really a rich girl?

Weren't those capitalist ladies of the past always showing off their clothes and jewelry, and always wanting to buy new clothes every day?

Why does the woman he married only know how to run up the mountain?

"Wife? Are you worried that my salary won't be enough to support you?"

Qiao Wanqing: "?"

"You used to be quite the spendthrift, or at least spoiled. How come you're always running off to the mountains to find food after marrying me? I'm not that poor! Did what happened before scare you so much that you're afraid to spend money now?"

Qiao Wanqing: "..."

Qiao Wanqing felt that this matter was probably inexplicable, but there was no need to explain it. How she wanted to explain it was up to her.

So she grabbed Lu Mingzhou's arm and said pitifully, "A little bit. I'm worried that if I live too well, people in the compound will gossip and think that our family only knows how to enjoy life and doesn't do any work. But then I saw that the families of the leaders around us are basically the same. I thought that it's normal for everyone to have high salaries and live comfortably."

"I was thinking that I would perform well for a while and leave everyone with a good impression of being hardworking and resilient. After a while, no one would be watching us anymore."

"Besides that, there is another reason, and that reason is the most important."

"What?" Lu Mingzhou was on high alert, his attitude particularly serious.

Qiao Wanqing smiled and said, "I want to go out for a walk with you alone! I want to get closer to you. Let's go somewhere else, like the street or a department store. We can't even hold hands there. It's better to go to the mountains, just the two of us."

"We can only get close to each other at home normally, since you're always at work and rarely come home. It's different when we go to the mountains. We can take walks together, chat, hold hands, and when we're tired, we can lie down on the grass to rest and look at the blue sky and white clouds. It's so romantic!"

Lu Mingzhou was overjoyed, his mouth practically stretched to his ears. So his wife wanted to be alone with him!

Nowadays, relationships between men and women are strictly regulated. Even married couples are not allowed to hold hands in the street. Getting too close might be considered indecent. If a wife wants to be intimate with her husband, the only options besides staying at home are going to the mountains or some deserted paths.

Lu Mingzhou pulled her into his arms and kissed her on the forehead. "Okay, then let's go up the mountain together tomorrow and I'll take you out for a walk. I won't go anywhere else tomorrow, I'll just stay with you."

The two cuddled together for a while, then Lu Mingzhou went to cook so his wife could rest.

That night, the two naturally had a deep and intensive conversation before going to sleep.

The next day, after breakfast, the two took their tools and went up the mountain. Because people often came to the mountain, and there were also military training exercises, there were many paths in the area. Lu Mingzhou was mainly accompanying his wife today, so he wasn't in a hurry to work. When they got to the top of the mountain, there was no one around, so he naturally took his wife's hand and led her slowly forward along the path.

As the weather warms up, the mountains are becoming increasingly lush and green, and wildflowers are in bloom. A gentle breeze carries the fragrance of earth and flowers. With blue skies, white clouds, and a refreshing spring breeze, it's truly a beautiful scene.

Those who haven't experienced the intense competition of later generations can't understand this love for nature and the land. Even as a pampered young lady, I couldn't escape my grandfather's rigorous training.

Qiao Wanqing affectionately linked arms with Lu Mingzhou, in an extremely good mood. Lu Mingzhou was now truly appreciating the benefits of being on the mountain. In any other place, he and his wife would never be this intimate.

The two wandered around the mountain for a long time, gathering a lot of firewood, as well as some wild fruits, mushrooms, and wood ear fungus. The mountain was still damp, and mushrooms and wood ear fungus could still be found, but there were obviously not as many as before when it had just rained. However, there seemed to be more small animals around. They caught several pheasants and rabbits. When they got back, they would probably have even more to harvest by checking the traps they had made.

It was almost noon, so Qiao Wanqing found a familiar stream to rest by.

Qiao Wanqing brought a lot of food, and even prepared a tarpaulin to lay on the ground, making it almost like a picnic.

The mountain stream was crystal clear. Lu Mingzhou washed his face and turned around to see his wife spreading a tarpaulin on the ground, then taking out food, seasonings, and even a clay pot and lunchbox...

"Go find some hay," Qiao Wanqing said to Lu Mingzhou as she tidied up.

Lu Mingzhou obediently went, and when he returned with hay and firewood, he saw that Qiao Wanqing had already built a simple stove with stones, with a clay pot on it, and a similar stone stove next to it. At this time, Qiao Wanqing was washing stone slabs by the water.

When he returned, she had just finished washing up. She brought the stone slab back and placed it on the stove, then lit a fire to heat it up. This was a stone slab she had specially prepared; it was flat and not thick, just right for grilling meat.

The lunchbox contained rice, as well as sliced ​​pork belly and mutton. She took them out and put them on a stone slab to grill, and soon the aroma filled the air.