Gu Yan nodded slightly. "How did you all get here?"
Qitong sat on a folding stool, blinking her eyes. "Great-great-grandmother said that Mom bringing the dowry to marry you was her only way to escape the sea of misery that was her family. She told us to listen to Mom, so we followed her here."
Gu Yan frowned and sighed, but he changed the subject. "Did you run into any trouble on the way? Is Zhou Mingzhu... treating you well?"
Qitong shook her head. "We ran into some trouble, but Mom is treating us very well."
Lujun nodded. "Mom shouted as soon as she saw the gang of thieves. Then, those people started fighting with some good guys. There were even gunshots! Mom has been really good to us. When the shooting started, she pushed us down and shielded us with her body."
Gu Yan’s eyes widened. "Only military personnel are allowed to carry firearms. How did this involve gunshots?"
Lujun nodded and described in detail how they had left the village and encountered a young man at the station who demanded money from Zhou Mingzhu. He explained how they had evaded the man, and how, when Zhou Mingzhu suddenly shouted about catching a criminal gang, a fight broke out in the train carriage. Because he and Qitong had been pushed under a table by Zhou Mingzhu, they hadn't seen exactly what happened.
While they were in the ward chatting animatedly about their experiences on the train, Zhou Mingzhu had found a nearby state-run restaurant. She bought steamed buns, rice porridge, shredded potatoes, and shredded pork with green peppers.
Finding a quiet corner, Zhou Mingzhu hugged the three lunchboxes and added a dash of Spirit Spring Water to the rice porridge. She also filled her newly purchased military canteen to the brim with Spirit Spring Water before exiting the Spirit Spring Dimension.
When Zhou Mingzhu returned to the military hospital, she happened to see a bandit with a broken brow being carried in on a stretcher.
"Move! Make way! Clear the way!"
The man on the stretcher had his neck crudely bandaged with a cloth, but blood had already seeped through. His cotton-padded jacket was torn in several places, revealing stuffing stained gray-black by the fabric. There was blood on his yellow-green leather boots, though it was impossible to tell if it was his own or someone else's.
"Register this! Comrade Lu Haichuan from the 43rd Army. He fought with thugs on a train while on his way to a new post. He’s suffering from severe bleeding in the neck—send him to the emergency room immediately!"
After saying this, the man hurried off, following the stretcher toward the emergency room.
Zhou Mingzhu raised an eyebrow. No wonder he was so handsome! Lu Haichuan! Wasn't he the second male lead in the novel—the one who helped the original owner but later turned against her, scolding her for abusing the children?
Steadying the rice porridge, Zhou Mingzhu headed upstairs toward Gu Yan’s ward.
Zhao Xiulan stopped her. "Comrade Zhou, is this lunch you’ve bought?"
Zhou Mingzhu didn't have a watch, so she glanced at the clock on the hospital wall. The hour hand was at twelve; it was indeed lunchtime. She nodded. "Yes."
Zhao Xiulan asked quickly, "Does it contain any beef, lamb, fish, or things like scallions, ginger, or garlic? These are irritants, and since Company Commander Gu just finished surgery, he cannot eat those."
Zhou Mingzhu shook her head. "None of those. There is a dish of shredded pork with green peppers, but that’s for the children. They need some meat."
Zhao Xiulan nodded. "Good, then there’s no problem. I’m just worried about his wound getting infected; it hasn't healed yet."
Zhou Mingzhu nodded. She didn't sense any disdain from Zhao Xiulan; she was simply giving a normal warning to a patient's family member. In the novel, however, the original owner had perceived Zhao Xiulan's concern as looking down on her for being from a small town.
Zhao Xiulan turned back to add, "Company Commander Gu still has two IV drips to finish this afternoon. When you buy dinner later, try to stick to something light. The drips he’s getting this afternoon are quite hard on the stomach."
Zhou Mingzhu thanked her and carried the aluminum lunchboxes into the ward.
The soldier in the bed on the far left had woken up. His head was wrapped in bandages, and the entire left side of his face and eye were covered in gauze. Zhou Mingzhu pursed her lips and continued inside.
Gu Yan was sitting in the bed by the window. He turned his head. Zhou Mingzhu paused for a moment when she saw his face.
The sunlight filtered through the frosted glass of the military-green wooden window frame, its intensity softened. The light falling on Gu Yan made his sharp, angular features appear even more three-dimensional. Under his thick, sword-like brows lay a pair of long, narrow phoenix eyes. In the interplay of light and shadow, they looked slightly sharp and intimidating. The slight hump on his straight nose made his brow and eyes appear deeper and more piercing. His lips were full and of moderate thickness, though they were currently drained of all color.
Zhou Mingzhu could suddenly understand why the original owner, upon seeing Gu Yan and hearing him offer her money to leave, had felt such burning shame and resentment, believing he looked down on her.
Gu Yan’s Adam’s apple bobbed, and he blinked, unsure of what to say.
Zhou Mingzhu looked at his prominent Adam’s apple, his distinct collarbones, the shoulder exposed on his right side, his firm, toned biceps, and his well-defined muscles... She couldn't help but swallow hard.
In her past life, the only time she’d seen an undressed beauty like this at such close range was on social media apps. She hadn't expected to see a live one!
Zhou Mingzhu didn't dare to smile. She kept her face straight and walked over with the lunchboxes. She was afraid that if she smiled too broadly, it wouldn't look right, especially with the children present.
"Hello, I am Gu Yan..." Gu Yan’s voice was low and melodic, though it lacked strength and sounded incredibly weak.
Zhou Mingzhu nodded. "I know. I’m your fiancée, Zhou Mingzhu."
"It’s like this, I..."
Zhou Mingzhu raised a hand, cutting him off. "Hurry up and eat first. The children and I traveled here straight from the train; they haven't had a hot meal since this morning."
"I bought this at a state-run restaurant. I kept it tucked against me to keep it warm, but it’s starting to cool down."
"Whatever you have to say, say it after you eat!"
Zhou Mingzhu beckoned Lujun and Qitong over. The two little ones hurried to her side.
Lujun reached out to grab something, but Zhou Mingzhu slapped his small hand away. "You were wiping your nose and touching the bus handrails—you’re filthy! Take your sister and go wash your hands!"
Gu Yan frowned. "The children haven't touched anything dirty, and the water in the ward’s utility room is cold..."
Zhou Mingzhu’s face darkened as she looked at Gu Yan. "I wasn't talking to you. You can't get out of bed right now, so I'll go fetch you water to wash your hands, but from now on, you must remember to wash your hands before every meal!"
Although "wash your hands before meals and after using the restroom" had started to be promoted in the late fifties and early sixties, many people in the seventies still hadn't changed their habits much. It wasn't until the eighties, when living conditions gradually improved, that people began to pay attention to such things. But Zhou Mingzhu couldn't stand it. Washing her hands before a meal was a habit she had been raised with since childhood.
Especially when she saw the black dirt under Lujun’s fingernails—if she didn't make him wash them clean, she felt she might just explode on the spot.