Five years of marriage, always separated [1970s]

The train that Ye Fan and Geng Zhiye were riding was a passing train, and many people were getting on and off. Ye Fan was worried that the child in her arms would be taken away if she was not careful, so she did not notice that Geng Zhiye's expression was not right.

The golden sun sets in the west, the sea and the sky become one color, and a family of four arrives on the island on a fishing boat.

The fishermen on the island all knew each other. The boat owner saw that Geng Zhiye looked unfamiliar, and seeing that he was carrying a lot of bags, he guessed that he was a soldier. The boat owner was very disciplined and was very curious. He didn't ask any more questions and directly sent the family of four to the ferry closest to the military family area.

It was time to cook dinner, and smoke was rising up everywhere. Ye Fan frowned slightly, thinking it was just like the countryside.

With this doubt, Ye Fan came to the door of his house. Although the house is only one floor, it is half a floor above the ground. It should be because the seaside is humid, so half a floor was deliberately added when it was built. There is also a half-story tile house on the roof of the bungalow, like a loft for storing sundries. It looks very old, probably about 20 years old. But these are not important. The most important thing is the single-family courtyard. Ye Fan is very satisfied: "Captain Geng, it's spacious."

"Go in first." Geng Zhiye gave her the key and couldn't help but lower his head and smile bitterly.

When Ye Fan opened the door, a strange smell hit her in the face. She thought it was because no one had lived there for more than ten days. She opened the window to get some fresh air, and then she noticed that there was only a small dining table and four benches in the living room. They were brand new, as if Geng Zhiye had bought them recently.

Geng Zhiye had only bought these things three or four months after he was transferred here. Could it be that he really had someone in his heart, as Chen Xiaohui said? Was all his behavior in the capital just to keep her stable or to show off to his family? If that was the case, he was just bored.

Ye Fan saw that there were three doors on the left and right of the living room and a staircase leading to the attic. There was another door on the north side, so she went to the north first. Pushing open the door, Ye Fan exclaimed, "Diguo?"

Geng Zhiye grabbed the two children who wanted to go upstairs to explore: "It was inconvenient to go in and out before. Except for the army canteen, everyone on the island used earthen pots. Even earlier, the army also used firewood to cook."

"If I buy a stove, do I have to find a boat to buy coal briquettes myself?"

Geng Zhiye: "We can ask the kitchen staff to bring a few bags and we can make our own coal briquettes."

Ye Fan had never made coal briquettes in her life, and she saw that the pots and pans were all on the chopping board: "There's no cupboard either?"

"Mom, there's no rolling pin." Dabao was naughty, and Tao Chunlan often swung a rolling pin to beat him, causing him to unconsciously look for the rolling pin first.

Geng Zhiye didn't dare to look at Ye Fan: "I'm working on it, but it's not done yet. It seems that the locals don't know how to use a rolling pin."

"Don't you want to eat noodles?"

Geng Zhiye: "Few people eat wheat flour. They eat fine rice flour or coarse rice flour. For example, they knead the dough until it is soft, put it on a frying pan and turn it around, and a pancake comes out. They also flatten the freshly beaten rice cake with their hands and wrap various vegetables. Rice flour can also be fried and eaten."

The reason why Geng Zhiye knew this so clearly was because he searched the entire island before finding someone who knew how to use a rolling pin. During the search, Geng Zhiye learned that the dining tables of people without wheat were as rich as those of people in the capital.

"No one grows wheat here, so going out to buy some noodles won't delay things." Geng Zhiye said, "But there are beds, quilts, and wardrobes."

Ye Fan opened the window of the room facing south. The bed was new, the wardrobe was new, and there was a smell of new furniture as soon as he entered. Ye Fan opened the window and wardrobe to let in some air: "There must be toilet paper, right?"

Geng Zhiye was stumped by the question.

Ye Fan was glad that there was still toilet paper in his bag. "I'm going to the bathroom first. You take out the things. Dabao and Erbao must be tired."

"Wait." Geng Zhiye hesitated and called Ye Fan.

Ye Fan: "Are you going too?"

"There's no toilet in the yard, you have to go to the public toilet." Geng Zhiye touched his nose, and before she could change her expression, he hurriedly explained: "I bought bricks and tiles. But I just arrived here and the army is busy, so I don't have time to build one."

Ye Fan: "Put the spittoon covered and empty the public toilet in the morning and evening?"

"Isn't it the same for you at home?" Geng Zhiye blurted out.

Dabao covered his eyes with his hands and covered his sister's eyes with his backhand.

Ye Fan punched Geng Zhiye and said, "Is this what you said in your letter: everything is ready except for your wife?"

"Home is where you are."

Ye Fan suddenly lost his temper: "Lead the way!"

Dabao put down his hand: "Mom, I want to pee."

Ye Fan picked up the second child, and Geng Zhiye immediately picked up the first child upon seeing this.

When Ye Fan saw someone carrying water from a distance, he paused. Geng Zhiye ran away, and Dabao was so scared that he hugged his father's neck and shouted, "Slow down, slow down——"

Ye Fan was so angry that smoke came out of his head: "I'll deal with your father later. There's not even a pressurized well in such a big yard."

"Deal with him!" Erbao joined in loudly.

Ye Fan was in a bad mood: "I'll take care of you first!"

Geng Erbao was so scared that he covered his mouth. His mother was furious and scolded everyone she met!

Ye Fan is not crazy, but he is not far from it.

Geng Zhiye meant that the humidity in the south of the Yangtze River is high, and the humidity at the seaside is double that. If the things you buy are not eaten or used for ten days or half a month, they will become moldy, so their family does not have even a grain of rice or a drop of oil.

Fortunately, Ye Fan had gone to the Friendship Store before coming, and bought a few bottles of Coke and a few packs of pastries, and Tao Chunlan gave her a few packs of calcium milk biscuits and two boxes of milk powder. But when Ye Fan came back from the public toilet and wanted to wash her hands, drink Coke and eat biscuits, there was not a drop of water in the kitchen tub.

Geng Zhiye didn't wait for her to get angry, he took the pole and the bucket and ran out. Someone greeted him halfway, but Geng Zhiye didn't dare to stay.

Ye Fan's face was frosty. The two little kids didn't dare to open the Coke to look for bread. They were more obedient than the other and leaned against their mother's legs waiting for their father to come back.

Geng Zhiye came in with two buckets of water and smiled at Ye Fan. Ye Fan glared at him, but he went to the kitchen without paying any attention, cleaned the wash basin, and then filled half of the basin with water and brought it to Ye Fan: "I'll make the bed." He would never ask Ye Fan to scold him. The well water was ice cold, and it was fine for washing your face and hands, but not for taking a bath: "Boil some water first."

"Okay!" Geng Zhiye turned and went to the kitchen to wash the pot and the ladle, poured a bucket of water into the pot, put down the sack and took out the rice straw given by the nearby fishermen to start the fire, and then put the wood blocks in after the rice straw was burning.

The wood blocks were chopped the night before Geng Zhiye returned home. They had been piled next to the kitchen window for more than half a month and were very damp. Geng Zhiye also put in a few handfuls of rice straw to dry the wood before burning it.

There was firewood stuffed in the stove and there was no need to watch it for the time being. Geng Zhiye washed his hands and went to the bedroom.

After making his and Ye Fan’s beds, he went to make the child’s bed across the street.

Ye Fan didn't say a word from beginning to end, just watched Geng Zhiye busying himself in and out.

In his letter, Geng Zhiye praised Ye Fan's new home so much that he thought Ye Fan could just move in with just a bag. However, in the end, there was nothing in it. He was worried that Ye Fan would take the children and leave, so he didn't dare ask Ye Fan to help.

After the water was boiled, Geng Zhiye gave Dabao a bath. Dabao grabbed his mother's arm and said, "I don't want Dad to wash me."

Geng Zhiye's hands were heavy, and he felt that they were very light, but when he scrubbed Dabao's body, Dabao's body was all red, and when he wiped Dabao's face, Dabao's little face was rubbed red. Dabao was so angry that he stamped his feet and complained, and Geng Zhiye thought he was more delicate than Erbao.

Ye Fan glared at Geng Zhiye: "Mom will help you wash."

"I'll go get some water." Geng Zhiye poured the water in the basin out and went to the kitchen to scoop up some hot water.

When Ye Fan was giving Erbao a bath, he used up all the two buckets of water that Geng Zhiye had carried. Before it got completely dark, he went to carry two more buckets of water, poured one bucket into the pot, and kept the other bucket of cold water for use.

Two days and one night, it was hard to bear it alone, not to mention taking care of a child. Ye Fan relied on his willpower to hold on. After washing up and lying on the bed, he relaxed and suddenly felt tired all over and his hands and feet were weak.

Geng Zhiye waited for the two children to eat and drink, and then watched them fall asleep. He covered the quilt for the eldest and second children, locked the door, and climbed onto the bed quietly. The moment he lay down, he saw Ye Fan's body move, and Geng Zhiye stood up: "You haven't slept yet? Are you still angry? You, is it necessary to be angry with me?"

"Is it still my fault?" Ye Fan opened his eyes.

Geng Zhiye nodded repeatedly: "My fault." Reaching out to hold him in his arms, Ye Fan pinched his restless arm. Geng Zhiye gasped in pain but did not dare to let go: "Actually, I can explain. I feel that I don't have as good eyesight as you. Wait for you--"

The flesh on his arm was too hard, and Ye Fan twisted his waist. Geng Zhiye couldn't stand it and held her hand: "Really, really."

"What kind of vision do you need for oil, salt, sauce and vinegar?" Ye Fan let go, and Geng Zhiye took her hand: "You are red, right? You hurt the enemy by a thousand and you hurt yourself by eight hundred. Are you stupid?"

Ye Fan kicked him hard on the leg, and Geng Zhiye was caught off guard and almost kicked off the bed. He immediately stopped talking and said, "If you need anything at home, tell me and I'll buy it for you."

Not wanting to eat dry food and drink cold cola, Ye Fan let him go for the time being: "I said I wanted to get the soap, toothbrush and towel, why didn't you stop me?"

"No one will use your stuff at home."

Ye Fan couldn't help but glare at him again.

Geng Zhiye apologized immediately: "I was wrong. I'm not angry anymore. I promise to prepare everything that's missing at home tomorrow morning."

“Is there a supply and marketing cooperative here?”

Geng Zhiye: "There are so many people, including fishermen and my reinforced regiment, but there is no supply and marketing cooperative. We need a lot of diesel to go out to sea every day to buy things. Although the supply and marketing cooperative existed before, there were not many things in it before we came, just some daily necessities."

"you?"

Geng Zhiye nodded, "There used to be a battalion on the island. A major incident occurred at the end of last year, which was briefly mentioned in the newspapers. You may not know about it. At that time, there were dozens of ships directly participating in the war in the south. We also urgently dispatched troops to the south to provide assistance. Although the war ended quickly, it also scared me a lot." He paused, "For nearly half a month after that incident, I would wake up at the slightest noise at night."

"Didn't you go to the battlefield in the 1960s?"

Geng Zhiye: "I am not afraid of ground combat, as I have plenty of experience. But I am not as well-equipped as others at sea, and I don't have much experience. If I fall, I may die without a burial place." He still feels a little complicated when talking about it now. "In land combat, as long as I don't bleed to death, I may be able to wait for rescue. I will also have a chance to see you again."

"Have you ever thought about changing careers?"

"no!"

Ye Fan was choked by his straightforward answer, but he was not surprised, otherwise he would not come to guard the island at this critical moment, "And then send reinforcements here?"

Geng Zhiye thought for a moment and said, "It's because there are too many people in recent years. Parents who don't want their children to go to the countryside have tried every means to stuff them into the army. This year has reached a new peak in our military strength, and some places in the headquarters are almost full."

"If they were to cut the military, they wouldn't cut you first, would they?"

It was cold at night, so Geng Zhiye wrapped her in a blanket and said, "Now that I've been transferred to a local area, I can work as a criminal police captain at the Ningbo Public Security Bureau. You don't have to worry about not being able to support you and Dabao and Erbao."

"Where are you touching?"

"Measure whether you have lost weight."

Ye Fan squinted at him and asked, "Have you measured it?"

"I have no experience and my hands are not accurate. I'd better take a look."

Ye Fan kicked his legs, but she had no strength left, and they were limp. Geng Zhiye smiled and hugged her legs; "Stop making trouble, go to sleep, I know you are tired."

(End of this chapter)