Reborn in the 70s: Pampered by Regiment Commander
Chapter 225 - 172 Worry

Chapter 225: Chapter 172 Worry

It was the first watch of the night.

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Upon entering the hospital lobby, Luo Xiaoqiong tugged Zhao Yulan’s arm, looking at her with earnest eyes, "Auntie, I want to go see Uncle. I won’t wake him, just a quick look and then I’ll leave."

Zhao Yulan smiled helplessly, "You child, sigh..."

"Hehe..." Realizing her thoughts were seen through, Luo Xiaoqiong laughed sheepishly, "It’s not that I don’t believe what Auntie told me, it’s just that I’ll feel at ease after seeing Uncle."

Zhao Yulan affectionately tousled her hair, "If your Uncle heard what you just said, who knows how happy he would be."

"Uncle and Auntie are just like my own parents..." Luo Xiaoqiong said as she clung tightly to Zhao Yulan’s arm, "When I was a child, I often mooched meals at Auntie’s house. Even if my mother beat me for it, I insisted on staying to eat because I thought the food Auntie made was tastier than my mother’s cooking, hehe..."

A tender smile quickly filled Zhao Yulan’s eyes, "Chuxia also frequented your house to mooch meals. That’s how kids are. Don’t mention just you, Auntie also used to think others’ cooking tasted better when I was a child."

"Really?" Luo Xiaoqiong’s eyes shined brightly as she looked at Zhao Yulan, "Auntie, when you were young, you must’ve had some really close sisters, right? Just like Chuxia and me, did you?"

Zhao Yulan nodded, "Mmm, I also had a sister I grew up with whom I was very close. We were so close that we might as well have been wearing the same pants. Back then, she felt closer to me than my eldest sister and even my mother."

"And then?"

"After we each got married, we gradually lost contact," Zhao Yulan sighed deeply, "It’s like this for women. No matter how close the relationship is, once you get married, it just fades with time."

"Chuxia and I won’t be like that, we’ll be best friends for life. We definitely won’t lose touch," Luo Xiaoqiong declared firmly.

Zhao Yulan chuckled and ruffled her hair, "Silly child."

"I’m serious," Luo Xiaoqiong insisted earnestly, looking at Zhao Yulan, "Auntie, don’t you believe what I’m saying? I can make a bet with you that we’ll remain close for a lifetime."

"After you get married, you’ll be Chuxia’s sister-in-law, and even if you wanted to, you couldn’t break off contact, you silly child."

"Oh right..." Luo Xiaoqiong laughed sheepishly, "I hadn’t thought of that, hehe..."

"The two of you won’t just stay in touch, you’ll be each other’s lifelong support. Chuxia will surely settle down here after she gets married. Considering your situation with Qiliang, you’re likely to stay here too. Your folks and your Uncle and I live too far away to be of much help, so in the future, it’ll be up to you kids to look out for each other."

Luo Xiaoqiong nodded solemnly, "Auntie, we will. Don’t worry. If Chuxia ever faces any hardship, I’d risk my life to get her justice."

Zhao Yulan suddenly regretted what she’d just said.

She knew marriage was not easy, but what did these young girls understand? If Luo Xiaoqiong really took her advice to heart and went to defend Chuxia in a fit of pique, then... wouldn’t that complicate things further?

Yet, what’s said cannot be unsaid and what’s done cannot be undone. She couldn’t afford to break the heart of Xiao Yatou. Deep down, she felt it was a blessing for a daughter to have such a friend and she couldn’t spoil that.

Noticing that Zhao Yulan’s face was alternating between cloudy and sunny, Luo Xiaoqiong guessed the sentiment and quickly reassured her with a smile, "Auntie, don’t worry. I’d only step in if Chuxia was truly wronged or bullied. If she has minor marital spats, I’ll certainly be advising them to reconcile, not to separate."

"Hehe..." Zhao Yulan laughed, feeling a bit embarrassed, "Xiaoqiong, you’ve really grown up."

"Of course, I’m already 19, of course I’ve grown up, haven’t I?"

Zhao Yulan praised her, "You’re more sensible than your brother."

Luo Xiaoqiong sighed softly, "Auntie, I’m actually worried about my brother right now. Everyone’s busy studying for the military academy exams, but he’s only concerned with writing letters to Zhong Hongying. When you go back, talk to my mom about it. If necessary, let her and my dad come here to have a serious talk with him. Otherwise, I’m afraid his life might be ruined by Zhong Hongying."

"With your brother’s stubborn temperament, who can persuade him?" Zhao Yulan thought for a moment, then said, "You don’t need to worry about this now. Let’s wait until Zhong Hongying’s military selection is over. Then we can find a solution."

"That’s true. If Zhong Hongying gets selected, she’ll surely stop paying attention to my brother. By then, after all his one-sided enthusiasm, I reckon he won’t be able to hold on for long. Once he gets over Zhong Hongying, we’ll have my mom arrange a wife for him, to settle down and live a stable life. That’ll be far better than anything else."

"You..." Zhao Yulan shook her head with amusement, "You’re young, but you’ve got plans all figured out. However, if your brother finds out you’re talking about him like this, he won’t talk to you for a month."

"Auntie, you know how petty my brother can be, right?" Luo Xiaoqiong’s eyes twirled, and she lowered her voice, "Tell me honestly, when you all agreed to arrange my brother’s engagement with Chuxia, you weren’t really happy about it, were you? But there was no other choice, right?"

Zhao Yulan, who had her thoughts read aloud, wore a helpless expression: "This child..."

"Aunty, it’s nothing. With my brother’s temper, let alone others, even I think he’s not good enough for Chuxia. If you don’t believe me, ask Chuxia herself. I’ve been advising her to think it through.

My brother, you know, he looks rough and tough, but his sensibility, it just doesn’t match his appearance, right?" Luo Xiaoqiong suddenly slapped her forehead. "Saying this, if Zhong Hongying marries my brother, it seems my brother is not at a loss, right, Aunty?"

Zhao Yulan sighed lightly: "Hongqi is just so stubborn. Once he sets his mind on something, it’s hard for him to change course. Hongying is a capable and smart girl, but she’s a bit too clever. If the two of them end up together, I reckon they’ll both have a hard time being content."

Luo Xiaoqiong nodded in agreement: "My brother can’t compete with what she wants, let alone provide the life she aspires to. If she fails to stay in the military and marries my brother, it’s hard to say what their future would be like.

"Ah, if it weren’t for how much I pity our parents, I couldn’t be bothered with my brother’s messed-up affairs. Never mind, it’s not something that can be settled in a short time anyway. I’ll think about it some more. If it doesn’t work out, I might as well ask Regimental Commander Zhou to send my brother back. That way, Zhong Hongying would give up, and everyone could stop worrying about it."

"Xiaoqiong, we shouldn’t do that," Zhao Yulan said seriously. "No matter how ill-suited your brother and Zhong Hongying are, you can’t just mess up your brother’s military career.

Have you considered, if your brother goes back now, what would people say about him? Yes, you wouldn’t have to worry about Zhong Hongying anymore, but your parents would probably be even more worried than they are now. Which girl would want to marry a man who was sent back home after just a few months in the military?"

"How did I not think of that!" Luo Xiaoqiong smacked her forehead in vexation. "Forget about his screwed-up affairs for now. But Aunty, you must remember to tell my parents about everyone applying to military academies when you go back."

"Okay, I’ll talk to your parents about it," Zhao Yulan checked the time. "I still have to stay here for several more days. We can discuss this another day. For now, go see your uncle, then hurry back to sleep."

Luo Xiaoqiong knew this matter couldn’t be settled in a short conversation and obediently took Zhao Yulan’s arm to head towards the hospital ward.

...

After morning exercises, Zeng Meili announced that they would train in the morning and have self-study in the afternoon. As soon as she finished speaking, someone loudly inquired if Jing Zhe was going to be transferred back to unit 401, after all, as medical soldiers, they were more concerned about cultural lessons than training.

"Teacher Jing will stay in division A for about a month and won’t be leaving for now."

Hearing Zeng Meili’s response, many felt relieved. According to the original plan, Jing Zhe would teach for a month, and the next month’s lessons would be taken over by another doctor.

Once it was confirmed that Jing Zhe wouldn’t be leaving, everyone was also glad they didn’t have to face the results of exams that day—ostrich policy; to delay was to win another day, as if there was always a chance. Awkward!

Zeng Meili looked around and shouted loudly, "Wu Jingbo, step out!"

"Yes!"

Following the crisp response, a female soldier with a fair and calm face stepped out of the formation, saluted Zeng Meili, then turned and saluted everyone else.

"Hello, everyone. I am Wu Jingbo, who has just been selected to join the women’s medical team. I’m nineteen years old, and in the days to come, I will train and learn together with everyone. I ask for your assistance!"

After a very official introduction came equally official applause.

"I need to add," Zeng Meili continued, "that Wu Jingbo comes from a family of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners, unlike the rest of you with no background, she has considerable expertise in Chinese medicine. Those interested can ask her for advice in private."

As Zeng Meili’s words ended, Wu Jingbo smiled at everyone: "Before coming here, I received my grandfather’s permission to exchange ideas with comrades who are interested in Chinese medicine."

Some couldn’t help but snicker and then raised a hand: "Captain Zeng, Chinese medicine is feudal superstition. I refuse to learn feudal superstition!"

Wu Jingbo’s fair little face turned slightly red.

"No one’s forcing you to learn if you don’t want to!" Zeng Meili shouted irritably, waving her hand dismissively, "Dismissed! Everyone hurry up and eat. We gather for training in one hour."

Chuxia didn’t quite understand her annoyance, but it also wasn’t the right moment to ask, so with a head full of officialdom, she headed to the cafeteria with Liu Meijun.

Before the two had even started eating, two eggs rapidly appeared in front of them. Before they could react, the figure who had brought the eggs had already swiftly left the cafeteria.

Chuxia wanted to call out to him, but thinking about what might be said about her in this era if she really did, she sighed and stared at the two eggs, worried.

The one who had brought over the eggs was Wang Chuang, whom she had coincidentally saved before. Recently, whenever she appeared in the cafeteria, he would definitely bring her something nice to eat. Now, rumors about her and Wang Chuang were everywhere.

Of course, it wasn’t too scandalous—just that she had saved him and that he had taken a liking to her.

What would Regimental Commander Tongzi think if he heard the rumors? With his temper, who knows what sort of fuss he’d kick up about her! (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation votes and monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)