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

Chen Jin remained silent for a long time. Seeing that Qiao Wanqing really didn't intend to pay attention to him, he said, "Wanwan, I think there are many misunderstandings between us. Since you don't want to see me, then I'll leave. I'll explain everything to you after you've calmed down."

After saying that, he turned and left.

Xu Yanran was dumbfounded.

She specifically asked someone to keep an eye on Chen Jin's whereabouts. As soon as she learned that Chen Jin had returned, she rushed over, thinking that if Chen Jin knew that Qiao Wanqing had gotten married, she could guide him and he would definitely come to cause trouble for Qiao Wanqing.

In this day and age, it's sometimes easy to deal with girls. Although she no longer looks down on Lu Mingzhou, she doesn't want Qiao Wanqing to have an easy time either. So she plans to ruin Qiao Wanqing's reputation and make her a target of hatred in the family compound.

As a result, this is it?

"Brother Jin! Brother Jin..."

Xu Yanran chased after her.

The onlookers looked at this and that. These were the families of high-ranking military officers, and under normal circumstances, they wouldn't dare to offend them, let alone make fun of or gossip about them. Having lived in the family compound for a long time, they were no longer the same as when they first arrived, and they knew a bit about the rules.

A few bolder older women couldn't resist their curiosity, and one of them asked Qiao Wanqing, "Young lady, was that your ex-boyfriend?"

Qiao Wanqing turned her head and gave her a sharp look. "Auntie, you can't just say things like that. You've all heard about it for so long. His mother made a scene here before. I think many people in the compound have heard about it and should know what's going on between him and me."

"I've never been in a relationship before. As for whether some people like me or want to pursue me, I have no idea. After all, I'm outstanding and beautiful, and I have plenty of suitors. How can I possibly care about all that?"

Everyone: "..."

That's incredibly unmodest!

"Ladies and aunties, go back home. A family with a daughter has a hundred suitors. What good girl doesn't have a few suitors? If people are really gossiping about you, then they must be up to no good and want to cause trouble. I'm already married, and this guy still comes over and keeps pestering me. He has no shame at all."

"If he dares to come again, I will not only have my man teach him a lesson, but I will also report him to the military. I am not someone who is easy to bully."

"Go back, everyone. I still need to dig!"

The group had originally wanted to ask a few more questions, but seeing her unpleasant expression, her young age, and her rather intimidatingly cold demeanor, they realized that this girl had a sharp tongue and showed no mercy in her words.

Although Qiao Wanqing had only been in the family compound for a short time, those who had witnessed her antics knew she was not to be trifled with, so they didn't ask any more questions and gradually left.

That's how people are; they bully the weak and fear the strong. The more you care about something, the more people will talk about it and even deliberately come up to you to ask questions, just to see how helpless you look.

But if you don't care, they'll say a few words and you'll find it meaningless, and the matter will pass.

Qiao Wanqing glanced at Sun Xiaoqin, who hadn't left, and raised an eyebrow. "What? Envious seeing so many outstanding men pursuing me?"

Sun Xiaoqin was so angry that her teeth itched. She thought to herself, "How can this woman be so shameless?"

Seeing her expression, Qiao Wanqing laughed and said, "Don't think I'm shameless. You should think carefully about why I have so many suitors, and they're all so outstanding. I could marry any one of them and my future wouldn't be bad, but you don't have any."

"Do you know who Chen Jin is? His dad is also a leader in our unit, even higher in rank than your older brother. He lives in a different family quarters, also in an apartment building. He's a company commander now, and if he performs well, he might be promoted to deputy battalion commander soon, and then he'll get an apartment."

"I don't even fancy such a young and promising man, yet I can find someone even better like Lu Mingzhou. Aren't I amazing? Envious, aren't you? Hehe!"

After saying that, Qiao Wanqing ignored her and turned back to continue digging her own ground.

Sun Xiaoqin fell silent, looking thoughtfully in the direction Chen Jin had left. "Such good conditions?"

Isn't this exactly the person I've been looking for?

Having found her goal, Sun Xiaoqin stopped arguing with Qiao Wanqing and jogged away.

Watching her departing figure, Qiao Wanqing curled the corners of her lips into a smile.

Let them make a fuss, let them make a fuss all they want, but it's best if no one disturbs her peaceful life. She just wants to live her life in peace!

Time flies, spring and summer pass by, autumn and winter arrive, and November is here in the blink of an eye.

As the weather turned cooler, Qiao Wanqing thinned out the radish seedlings she had planted in the yard. She washed and cleaned a batch of tender radish greens, pickled them, and after a few days, they could be stir-fried as pickled vegetables, which tasted excellent.

Many things happened in the second half of that year. Although she was heartbroken, she was powerless to change anything and could only continue living her life as usual.

The good news is that their family is finally safe.

Lu Mingzhou has been gone for more than two months. She doesn't know where he went, or whether he participated in the recent turmoil, or whether it will affect his future. Before he left, she could only give him careful instructions, analyze the situation with him, and tell him to be careful.

Sometimes, choice is more important than effort. He is still so young, and all his military achievements are earned through hard work. She doesn't want his efforts to go to waste.

Fortunately, he was still young and didn't have that much influence, which put Qiao Wanqing at ease.

I took a basket of vegetables I had grown to visit my parents. Now that the house is safe and we no longer have to worry about our family's social status, my parents' smiles have relaxed a lot. The couple is still very happy and living a good life.

Qiao Wanqing stayed here for one night. The next day, after having breakfast, she went to the department store to buy some things before returning home to her family compound. She still loved this compound; the big compound at home was just too nice. She couldn't bear to leave, and she didn't even want to stay at her parents' place any longer.

Not far from the family compound, Qiao Wanqing saw some fellow villagers carrying baskets and looking around. She knew that they had come to the city to sell their goods.

The atmosphere has become increasingly relaxed recently, and the number of farmers' markets is increasing year by year, making the villagers bolder as well.

Qiao Wanqing walked over and saw that the villager had two chickens in his pocket, a rooster and a hen, and about fifty eggs in a small basket. She liked them and bought them.

The villagers could tell from the girl's well-dressed appearance that she must be a wealthy military wife. There were many rich people in the military compound, and the supplies were plentiful, so the wives here had the most ration coupons.

"Girl, do you have any coupons? Cloth coupons, oil coupons, sugar coupons, industrial coupons, anything will do."

The fellow villager spoke Mandarin with a distinct accent, looking at her with expectant eyes.

Looking at the weathered face of the old man, Qiao Wanqing knew how hard the old man had worked, and said with a smile, "Yes, I have."

As he spoke, he took out some coupons from his pocket—cloth coupons, sugar coupons, and industrial coupons—and gave them all to the villagers, who were overjoyed.

Qiao Wanqing had a lot of coupons in her hands. She ate a lot in her space and usually used up some of the coupons in her space, so she saved the coupons at home. She had so many dowry items when she got married, and she had hardly used the cloth coupons for the past few months. She had plenty of coupons in her hand, which were all stored in her space. She could just take them out of her pocket at will.

They paid the money and got the tickets, then carried their things home.

She's pregnant, so it's time to prepare these nutritious foods.

When she arrived at her doorstep, she was taken aback to see the gate to the yard open. She went inside and saw the familiar man standing in the living room with his luggage next to him, indicating that he had just returned.

Qiao Wanqing burst into tears and rushed towards him.

Hearing the sound, Lu Mingzhou turned around and saw Qiao Wanqing running towards him. He quickly went to meet her and caught her, "Wanwan..."

The man held her in his arms, his voice tender and his eyes full of affection.

Seeing him return safely, Qiao Wanqing finally felt relieved. The upper echelons must have been in turmoil during this time, and she was really afraid that he would be dragged into it.

"It's good that you're back! It's good that you're back!"

Qiao Wanqing released him and carefully examined him from head to toe. He wasn't injured at all, which was good!

"You must be exhausted. Are you hungry? I'll make you something to eat. Go wash up."

Lu Mingzhou has been exhausted lately. He hasn't had a good night's sleep in a long time and often stays up late. He is very tired now and has dark circles under his eyes.

"I'm really hungry, make me a bowl of noodles."

"Um!"

Lu Mingzhou went upstairs to wash up, while Qiao Wanqing went to the kitchen to cook noodles. She cooked a large bowl of noodles, added two poached eggs, and took it upstairs.

Not long after, Lu Mingzhou came out looking refreshed.

"Come and eat. Nothing much is going on at home. Eat and then get a good night's sleep. By the way, have you reported to the army yet?"

Lu Mingzhou replied, "I've been there, but I have to go to work tomorrow. I need to summarize what happened this time, which will take about two or three days. Once I've made the arrangements, I can rest for a few days."

Qiao Wanqing was very happy. "That's great! You should eat quickly and then take a nap."

Lu Mingzhou was indeed starving. He ate a whole bowl of noodles, not leaving a drop of soup. Qiao Wanqing told him to lie down, took the bowl to the kitchen, closed the courtyard gate and the main gate, went upstairs, and saw that Lu Mingzhou was already asleep in bed.

Qiao Wanqing walked over gently and looked at his face. She was finally relieved that he had returned safely.

So she took off her coat and lay down next to him. She was a little sleepy because she was pregnant, so she fell asleep soon after leaning against Lu Mingzhou.

When she woke up again, she was kissed awake. She kept her eyes closed, not even opening them, and felt a familiar scent beside her. Qiao Wanqing hummed softly, hugging the person who was pressing down on her, "Be gentle, you're going to be a father!"

"Um……"

Lu Mingzhou, who had just responded, paused and quickly looked up at the person in his arms. "Wanwan, what did you say?"

Qiao Wanqing slightly opened her eyes, smiled at him, and said, "I'm telling you, you're going to be a father."

Lu Mingzhou paused for several seconds, then scrambled up and sat beside her, reaching out to touch her stomach. "Really? We're having a baby?"

"Yes, it's been more than three months!"

Lu Mingzhou touched her still-flat belly, imagining a small life growing there, their child.

Unexpectedly, such a big surprise awaited him upon his return. Lu Mingzhou was overjoyed, hugging his wife and giving her a big kiss. "This is wonderful, honey! I'm going to be a dad! You're amazing!"

Qiao Wanqing wrapped her arms around his neck and asked for a kiss. Lu Mingzhou kissed her for a while, but when he was about to lose control, he quickly let go.

"No, you're pregnant, you can't do this..."

He was breathing heavily, trying to calm himself down.

Qiao Wanqing, however, was unwilling and reached out to touch his neck. "I'm perfectly healthy. It's been over three months already. Be gentle, it's okay. I missed you!"

As she spoke, tears of grievance welled up in her eyes. Lu Mingzhou felt heartbroken. He had been gone for more than two months without a word. His wife was pregnant for the first time, and he was not by her side. He had truly wronged her.

He lowered his head and kissed her gently. Qiao Wanqing enjoyed it immensely, closing her eyes and succumbing to the tenderness.

When she woke up again, it was already dark. The lights were on in the yard. Qiao Wanqing got dressed and got up. She saw that Lu Mingzhou had already killed the old hen she had bought and was plucking its feathers.

She walked over and sat down next to him.

"Honey, you're awake. Are you hungry? I'll stew some chicken for you."

Qiao Wanqing nodded, "Then hurry up, it's getting dark."

Although it was dark, it was still early, not even seven o'clock.

Lu Mingzhou quickly cleaned the hen and started stewing it. By the time it was ready to eat, it was already past seven o'clock.

Qiao Wanqing secretly added a lot of spiritual spring water to the chicken soup and made Lu Mingzhou drink it with her. The chicken soup with spiritual spring water was incredibly delicious. After drinking a bowl, Lu Mingzhou felt all the fatigue he had been feeling lately disappear.

After dinner, we strolled around the yard for a while since we had nothing else to do. When it was almost time, we went upstairs to rest. One of us was pregnant and sleepy, and the other had just returned from a mission. We hugged each other and talked for a while before falling asleep.

Lu Mingzhou worked for three days straight to finish all the matters related to this mission, and he was in a good mood when he returned.

"Wanwan, I might have some time off soon. How about you come back to my hometown with me?"

Qiao Wanqing was taken aback. "Going back to your hometown? Do you have a long vacation?"

Lu Mingzhou nodded, "Yes, I went to the battlefield before, and it's been a long time since I've been able to visit my hometown. I've made a contribution this time, and maybe there will be good news next year. I was thinking of taking a vacation to go back home for the Spring Festival, since it's been a long time since I've spent the Spring Festival with my parents."

"But you are pregnant now. It will be freezing cold during the Lunar New Year. It will be inconvenient for you to travel back and forth with your big belly. After you give birth, it will be inconvenient to take the baby back when it is too small. As a result, you may not be able to go back for the next two or three years."

"So I thought, why not take advantage of the weather not being too cold yet, and your belly not being fully showing, to go back now, so you can come back and focus on your pregnancy later."

"The medical conditions here are much better than in our hometown, so it's better for you to give birth here. Your parents-in-law are here, so it will be convenient for them to take care of you. I can also apply to the military for domestic help, so I can spend time with you and the baby when I get off work."

He was always very efficient. Seeing that he had everything arranged, Qiao Wanqing nodded and said, "Alright, I'll get ready. When are we leaving?"

"I'll take these two days off to buy some local specialties, and then I'll arrange my work when I get back. I'd better hurry and leave before it snows."