Chapter 178: Don't You Know Who You're Talking To!

It is very cold here in the Northeast Military Region, and everyone has grown accustomed to eating spicy food.

"Dried eggplant." Zhang Qian saw the dish and immediately began to use his chopsticks.

Qin Hao also immediately picked up a mouthful, "Slow down, your sister-in-law hasn't eaten yet."

Zhang Qian only spoke after finishing the dried eggplant, "What do you know? The food An Yinan makes has never had any leftovers."

"What do you mean?" Qin Hao asked.

Chen Xun also looked at his wife with some curiosity.

Zhang Qian put down his chopsticks, took a sip of hot fruit wine, and then said, "When we went down to the countryside, living conditions were very difficult, but Nan Nan could hunt on the mountain and earn Work Points in the fields. Do you know how many Work Points Nan Nan earned in a day?"

"How many?" Qin Hao was extremely curious.

In Zhang Qian's words, An Yinan had clearly become a star figure.

"Eighty Work Points." Zhang Qian gestured with the number eight on his hand.

Upon hearing this, Qin Hao said irritably, "Have you forgotten how to brag? Eighty Work Points? If it were eight, I might believe it. Eighty? What, is the village you went to based on units of ten?"

Zhang Qian snorted and looked at Qin Hao sideways, "That's why I say you're ignorant!"

"Those big burlap sacks—Nan Nan could carry several hundred of them to the edge of the field by herself in a day. Could you?"

"And when it came to digging up frozen soil, a strong young man could dig fifteen ridges in half a day, but Nan Nan could dig fifty."

"The Work Point system in Quanshui Village is different; they don't limit the maximum. You get as many Work Points as you can earn."

"Do you understand?"

Qin Hao was stunned. Several hundred burlap sacks... he really couldn't do that.

Chen Xun did not doubt the truth of Zhang Qian's words; he simply took the girl's hand into his own. He would do all the work from now on; he didn't want his girl to suffer.

An Yinan smiled and rubbed Chen Xun's hand, "It's not that exaggerated. You know I have great strength."

"Besides, I only rush during the autumn harvest and spring planting; I don't earn Work Points at other times."

Chen Xun did not let go of her hand.

Zhang Qian had drunk some wine, and his words became more frequent.

When they were in Quanshui Village, Zhang Qian was always on duty and wouldn't touch a drop of alcohol. He hadn't expected him to be so talkative after drinking...

Qin Hao and Chen Xun listened as Zhang Qian told stories of Quanshui Village; even the plain and simple autumn harvest was told with a lot of human warmth.

An Yinan watched the three of them with a smile. None of the three were young anymore, but they all seemed to have their own goals and burning souls.

"Let me tell you, this is my brother, An Yinan."

Chen Xun, Qin Hao, and An Yinan were all stunned for a moment, and then Zhang Qian slumped over onto the dining table.

"Is his alcohol tolerance that poor?" An Yinan asked in disbelief.

Chen Xun rubbed his brow, "He might have been wound too tight lately."

Qin Hao also nodded, looking at Zhang Qian with a bitter smile. He had known his alcohol tolerance was poor, but he hadn't expected it to be this poor.

It seemed most of what he drank was fruit wine.

"Nan Nan, come eat." Chen Xun went to the kitchen to get chopsticks and a bowl, and served a bowl of rice for An Yinan.

Qin Hao watched the interaction between the two and was truly relieved for Chen Xun.

Among the three brothers in the past, Chen Xun was the most cold-hearted; he didn't seem to care about anything other than training. They were all afraid that if he went on a mission, he would never come back.

They hadn't expected him to have someone he cared about now.

"Doctor Qin, please eat," An Yinan offered.

Chen Xun, however, picked up a mouthful of dried eggplant with meat for her, "Don't mind him, he can eat by himself."

An Yinan nudged him with her arm, "He's a guest."

Chen Xun didn't argue, but just looked at Qin Hao.

Qin Hao immediately understood, "No, no, no, sister-in-law, Brother Chen and I are brothers. I'll treat this like my own home; you don't need to mind me."

Qin Hao wanted to curse right now; the food tasted like dog food.

An Yinan glared at Chen Xun, but Chen Xun ignored her and continued to put food in An Yinan's bowl.

Eventually, the night grew cold, and snow began to fall from the sky again.

"Brother Chen, what should we do with this kid Zhang Qian?" Qin Hao rubbed his stomach. No wonder Zhang Qian said it was impossible for the food sister-in-law made to have leftovers.

They really didn't have any leftovers; it was just too delicious. The head chef at their canteen really ought to learn a thing or two.

It was hard to imagine that those two large basins of stew had all ended up in everyone's stomachs.

He didn't know about the others, but he could feel his own stomach about to burst.

"I'll take him back in a moment," Chen Xun said.

Qin Hao put on his overcoat, "Then I'll head back first. I still have to walk to the dormitory building. Why can't the Military District Hospital be in the same place as the Dayuan?"

After putting on his clothes, Qin Hao complained one last time, "If it were, I could eat the food sister-in-law makes every day. It's delicious."

Chen Xun endured and endured, but finally sent him off with one word: "Scram."

After Qin Hao left, Chen Xun hoisted Zhang Qian up and turned to say to An Yinan, "Don't clean up, wait for me to come back and do it."

He took Zhang Qian back to his courtyard, and to ensure there wouldn't be a news report about someone freezing to death tomorrow, he even stoked the kang for Zhang Qian...

By the time he returned, fifteen minutes had passed. An Yinan had cleaned the table, boiled hot water in the large pot, placed all the tableware inside, and sprinkled in some baking soda.

She was currently scrubbing them with a loofah sponge.

After Chen Xun returned, he quickly took off his military overcoat and pulled An Yinan up, "Didn't I say to wait for me? Go rest for a while. You're already tired from making a whole table of food; I'll handle this."

An Yinan looked at the loofah sponge in her hand, then looked at the stubborn man, and nodded with a smile.

She washed her hands clean, applied some Snow Cream, and then walked back to the living room.

Clam Oil was too greasy for her, so she didn't like using it. She always used Snow Cream for her hands, while for her face, she used a cream she had formulated herself using traditional Chinese medicine; she had liked using her own blended face cream in her past life.

After Chen Xun finished cleaning everything up, he washed his hands and entered the room, then walked behind An Yinan to massage her shoulders.

"You've worked hard," Chen Xun said.

An Yinan narrowed her eyes and relaxed her body comfortably; upon hearing Chen Xun's words, she asked, "Hard work for what?"

"Hard work for making a table full of dishes," Chen Xun said.

An Yinan smiled, "It's not hard work at all. I really like that you can bring friends home, allowing me to get to know them."

Chen Xun raised the corners of his lips slightly, looking at the girl who was like a kitten, his heart filled with immense emotion.

"Chen Xun, things between us are mutual. You don't need to tell me I've worked hard, just like how I've never said you worked hard when you go to work every day," An Yinan tilted her head up to look Chen Xun, who was behind her, in the eye.

Chen Xun lowered his head and kissed her lips; because he had been drinking, the kiss carried a hint of alcohol—not stifling, but a little intoxicating.

An Yinan reached out both hands to hold his head, continuing the kiss.

Nuzzling and lingering, like dry wood meeting a raging fire.