Su Yuyao also wanted to become a brigade commander's wife sooner, but being a woman, she still needed to maintain a certain level of modesty. "This isn't appropriate. We've only just met."
"What's inappropriate about this?" Kou Zhenbang said boldly. "I'm a soldier, and soldiers need to make quick decisions."
"This... I've just divorced Tao Wenrui. If I start seeing you so soon, people will talk."
"Let them talk. Our conduct is upright, so we have no fear of crooked shadows."
With Kou Zhenbang's aggressive pursuit, the two of them were soon married.
Xiao Yanyan was playing in the mud with the other children in the family quarters when Chunhua suddenly hurried over. The moment Chunhua reached her, she picked Xiao Yanyan up. "Come on, let's go home."
"Huh? I've only finished building half of my mud house."
"You can build it later."
"Alright." Xiao Yanyan looked at the other children and said, "Don't knock my house down, okay? I'll be right back."
The other children chimed in to say they understood.
As soon as Chunhua stepped through the door, she said, "Your father has no chance to regret it now. That vixen married Brigade Commander Kou. I have to get back to work. When your father comes back, urge him to hurry and bring your mother, older brother, and older sister here, so no other woman swoops in and steals the opportunity."
"I know. You hurry back to work."
"Right, remember to nag your father about it."
"Got it."
After Chunhua left, Xiao Yanyan went right back to playing in the mud. Even if a celestial fairy were offered to her father right now, he would remain as steadfast as a statue. As for that woman marrying Brigade Commander Kou, she couldn't tell whether that woman had a special fondness for soldiers or if she wanted to keep her father under close control.
The reason the two of them had divorced was because her father couldn't perform, and her father felt guilty about it. Coupled with the fact that that woman happened to be her father's preferred type, if that woman wanted her father's help, he would likely provide it.
At noon, after finishing his shift, Tao Wenrui went to the cafeteria for lunch. But no sooner had he stepped inside than he noticed everyone in the cafeteria secretly glancing at him.
Tao Wenrui thought there might be something on his face, so he rubbed it for a long time, but felt nothing.
After a moment's thought, Tao Wenrui headed over to the serving window managed by Chunhua. "Busy? Why does everyone in the cafeteria acting so strange today?"
As Chunhua served Tao Wenrui his food, she said, "Strange? Brigade Commander Kou and Comrade Su are getting married today, and Brigade Commander Kou sent someone to the cafeteria to order two banquet tables."
Tao Wenrui wanted to ask which Comrade Su, but everyone's reactions had already given him the answer.
With a desolate expression, Tao Wenrui left the cafeteria.
Seeing her father return with his lunchbox, Xiao Yanyan ran over clutching her masterpiece. "Daddy, look at what I built! Isn't it great?"
Tao Wenrui pulled himself together. "Great." Yuyao had found a good home, so he ought to be happy. "Daddy bought you some braised pork. Do you want some?"
"I want some! Daddy, you're so good to me."
"Hahahaha... Come on, Daddy will take you home to eat meat."
"Yay!" Yanyan felt that her father's booming laughs sounded entirely like an attempt to cover up the truth.
As soon as the father and daughter left, the crowd started gossiping.
"Say, do you think Deputy Regiment Commander Tao regrets it?"
"He definitely regrets it. I bet Deputy Regiment Commander Tao figured Comrade Su couldn't find anyone better once she left him, which is why he dared to divorce her. But look at her—she turns right around and marries Brigade Commander Kou. Sure, Brigade Commander Kou is older, doesn't stand as tall, and isn't as handsome, but he outranks him."
"I think he regrets it too. The laugh he gave just now looked so fake."
"You thought his laugh was fake too?"
"Yeah. Good thing he and Brigade Commander Kou aren't in the same brigade, otherwise we'd be in for a good show."
"Even if they aren't in the same brigade, it's still pretty awkward."
"True. I wonder if Brigade Commander Kou will give Deputy Regiment Commander Wei a hard time. Deputy Regiment Commander Wei's wife is Deputy Regiment Commander Tao's ex-wife's niece. The whole reason Deputy Regiment Commander Tao and Comrade Su divorced was because of his ex-wife."
"How could it be because of his ex-wife? His ex-wife has always been in the countryside."
"His ex-wife was in the countryside, but she sent the kids over, didn't she? If it weren't for that little girl crying and making a fuss for her mother, older brother, and older sister, could the two of them have gotten a divorce? I bet Comrade Su will definitely instigate Brigade Commander Kou to give Deputy Regiment Commander Wei a hard time."
"Brigade Commander Kou doesn't seem like that kind of person."
"You can't be sure about that. I think Brigade Commander Kou is quite fond of Comrade Su."
"What makes you say that?"
"You can tell by how urgently he rushed to marry Comrade Su."
"When you put it that way, that's true. If Brigade Commander Kou weren't known for being upright, I'd almost suspect the two of them had something going on long ago."
"I suspected it too. My old Zhang chewed me out for it. He said if I started spreading rumors again, he'd ship me back to our hometown."
"My other half also said Brigade Commander Kou is a man of honor."
"My other half said the same thing."
"Comrade Su has such good luck."
"Yeah. Do you think Deputy Regiment Commander Tao will still send for his ex-wife?"
"Probably not, right? If it weren't for his ex-wife, he and Comrade Su wouldn't have gotten a divorce."
"I think he will."
"Why?"
"Because no other woman would dare marry him."
"That's true. Who would dare marry a man who wants to bring his ex-wife back to live under the same roof?"
"Exactly. Deputy Regiment Commander Tao's brain must have been caught in a door."
"What brain caught in a door? He probably thought Comrade Su marrying him was her marrying up, which is why he felt emboldened to treat her so poorly."
"Still, Comrade Su has quite a bit of nerve, actually daring to get a divorce."
"She's not like us; she's a modern woman."
...
While the crowd here chatted animatedly, over on the other side, Tao Wenrui was washing Xiao Yanyan's hands while discussing the matter of going back to fetch her mother, older brother, and older sister. "Daddy is going to ask for leave this afternoon. If I can get it, how about you go stay at your oldest cousin's house? That way Daddy won't have to drag you back and forth with him."
"Okay." Wasn't he just trying to keep her here as a hostage? "Oldest cousin's cooking keeps getting better and better."
Tao Wenrui smiled. "If it's good, eat a bit more. Try to eat enough to get nice and chubby."
After the afternoon shift started, Tao Wenrui went to find their regiment commander to ask for leave. Their regiment commander's surname was Ji, and his given name was Changhou.
Ji Changhou had looked out for Tao Wenrui ever since he joined the army.
When Ji Changhou saw him approach, he glared at him. "Has your brain been kicked by a donkey?"
Tao Wenrui's eyes instantly turned red. "Brother."
Ji Changhou froze for a moment. "Why are you crying? Isn't she just a woman? Brother will introduce you to another one, but you can't be foolish this time."
Tao Wenrui wiped his face. "I'm not being foolish. I can't... do that with women anymore."
"What?" Hearing this, Ji Changhou felt a mix of heartache and shock. "You didn't even injure that part of your body."
"It must have been affected by something else. I've seen over a dozen doctors, and none of them can figure out why this happened. I was afraid people would laugh at me, so I just made up the excuse that Yanyan was throwing a tantrum and demanding to have her mother, older brother, and older sister brought here."
"And here I thought you were just being foolish! Don't you lose heart. Back in the day, we didn't even have enough to eat or wear, and we had to risk our lives fighting the enemy; our bodies were all battered beyond recognition. Now that we're liberated and times are better, after a few years of rest, who knows, maybe you'll be able to work again. What's that word called again? Ah... I remember now, it's called self-healing. Right, that's the word."
Tao Wenrui gave a bitter smile. "I hope so."
Ji Changhou punched Tao Wenrui lightly. "Head up! Chest out! Don't look like a frost-bitten eggplant. What kind of people are we? We're people that even the enemy's airplanes and artillery couldn't knock down!"
"Yes!" Tao Wenrui saluted Ji Changhou. "Regiment Commander, I'd like to request leave to return to my hometown and bring back my ex-wife, my eldest daughter, and my eldest son."
"Granted. But you'd better think it through—if you bring them here now, even if you become 'able' again later on, you won't be allowed to divorce her."