A domineering country girl flirts with her son, and Commander Huo can't resist.

Of course, the person we should thank the most is the author of the novel, who created a completely fictional country and society.

The development of the Northwest is also completely different from that of the world in the 1970s.

Soon the convoy drove into the military compound.

As noon approached, every household was cooking.

Joan smelled the mixed fragrances.

The Northwest is a vast and resource-rich region, and all cadres were assigned single-story houses with separate courtyards.

The three cars had just come to a stop.

People in the courtyards around the house heard the noise and came out of the gate to look this way.

"Is that Commander Huo's house?"

"Yes, I heard his wife is going to join him in the military. This must be where she moved in, right?"

"Wow, what a big commotion! Oh my! Look, there are even bicycles!"

The young soldiers unloaded the goods from the truck and carried them into the yard.

The women, who had initially come out of curiosity, all came over one by one.

I want to see how much treasure Joan has in that truck.

"A sewing machine! Look! That's a sewing machine!" someone said, pointing to a black corner on the vehicle.

"Look at you all, making such a fuss about someone moving!"

Li Shaoyun glanced at them, then stepped forward.

"sister in law."

"sister in law."

Huo Jiyun and Huang Minsheng called out at the same time.

"Hello, sister-in-law," Qiao An greeted sweetly.

Li Shaoyun is Qi Yunsheng's wife and also the women's director of the compound.

Whenever there's a quarrel in someone's home, they all ask her to mediate.

Therefore, she was highly respected in the compound, and everyone respected her.

Wang Baohua took a liking to Qiao An the moment she saw her; she was quiet, gentle, and lovely.

She was accompanied by four children, each dressed smartly and neatly, standing there clean and tidy, a delightful sight to behold.

Looking at the other children in the compound, they were all covered in dust and dirt.

Her face is never clean.

This shows that Joanne is a good mother.

"Ji Yun, you are so lucky to have such a wife. No wonder you were looking forward to coming to join the army."

As he spoke, Li Shaoyun pulled Qiao An aside.

"I'm the women's director here. Just call me Sister Shaoyun from now on. There are a lot of people and opinions in this compound."

"You're new here, so it's inevitable that people will gossip about you. If you suffer any injustice, come to me, and I'll stand up for you."

After Li Shaoyun finished speaking, his gaze fell on Qiao An's protruding belly.

She was dressed loosely, and she had been standing in the shadows, so I hadn't really noticed her.

"How many months has it been?" Li Shaoyun asked casually.

"It's been almost four months," Joanne said with a smile.

"Your belly is so big in less than four months? That's quite rare."

Just as Qiao An was about to explain that they were twins, before she could even speak, Huo Jiyun called her away.

"An'an, take a look at how you want to arrange these things around the house."

Those nearby could hear Li Shaoyun and Qiao An's conversation clearly.

People were already whispering about it.

"That can't be right. I've had four children, and my belly wasn't this big at four months in any of them!"

"You're right, her belly is definitely quite big."

Lin Wan also stood in the crowd, her gaze dark as she looked at Qiao An, who was heavily pregnant.

She had been back for a few months when, to her surprise, Joan was pregnant.

But this month doesn't seem right, does it?

There are no secrets in the military compound. When Huo Jiyun was drunk, he mentioned his relationship with Qiao An to Huang Minsheng.

His wife, Wang Baohua, was also there at the time, and the story spread during their casual conversation.

Therefore, everyone in the compound knew the date Qiao An was pregnant.

Lin Wan said in a sinister tone, "Look at that belly, it looks like she's more than six months pregnant."

"Could it be that she did something shady while Commander Huo was on a mission?"

Many people looked surprised upon hearing Lin Wan's words.

These days, they've heard Lin Wan mention Commander Huo's wife quite often.

She said that the woman dressed extravagantly every day and never shied away from talking to men.

She also frequently went to machine tool factories, places full of men. Why would a woman living in the countryside go to a machine tool factory? What could she possibly do there?

Lin Wan deliberately chose to say things that could lead to misunderstandings.

Before Qiao An even arrived, her reputation was already half ruined.

Li Shaoyun noticed the commotion and came over to shoo people away.

"Alright, alright! Go home, everyone. It's so late, why aren't you cooking? The men will be back soon."

The crowd slowly dispersed after she spoke.

Under Joan's arrangement, the young soldiers moved the sewing machine to the inner room, put the bicycle in the storage room, and placed the electric fan in the living room.

Pots and pans were piled up in the side room.

A dozen or so elmwood chests were placed in part of the side room and part of the main bedroom.

It took more than an hour of work to get everything settled at home.

The young soldier was covered in sweat, standing in the courtyard, his face glistening in the sun.

"Honey, please make these young soldiers wait a moment."

After saying that, Qiao An picked up her backpack and rushed into the kitchen.

She pretended to be busy inside, but actually she was taking out the pies and buns she had prepared in advance from the space.

These were all taken from the canteen of the machine tool factory when we went with the army, and we put them in our storage space for emergency use.

Qiao An made some "clinking" noises in the kitchen, and about ten minutes later, she came out carrying a small basket woven from bamboo strips.

The aroma wafted with her footsteps, and the young soldiers, smelling it, felt their mouths water and were too tempted to move.

"Everyone helped us move all morning. At this time, we might not be able to get any food at the canteen. These are pies and buns that my sister-in-law made herself and brought from Sichuan Province."

"I just warmed it up, please don't mind."

No one dared to make a move unless Huo Jiyun gave the order.

But every single one of the young soldiers in the courtyard had their eyes glued to the steamed buns and pies.

Pure white steamed buns!

And those pies, with their golden-yellow crusts and slightly charred edges, looked incredibly juicy.

Huo Jiyun took the small basket from Qiao An's hand.

"Come on, your sister-in-law is letting you eat, so eat as much as you like."

"Yes, Commander!"

The young soldiers swarmed around, reaching into the small basket to grab the food.

After they took a bite, their eyes lit up even more, their expressions as if they had tasted some rare delicacy.

"So delicious! Mmm! It smells amazing!"

"My sister-in-law is such a great cook! I've never seen such delicious pies before."

"Meat filling! There's actually meat inside!"

Looking at his subordinates' useless behavior, Huo Jiyun couldn't help but chuckle.

In less than a minute, the small basket was empty.

Joanne turned and went back into the kitchen. When she came out again, the basket was full.

"I knew you guys had big appetites. Luckily, it's still quite hot. Take all of this and eat it slowly so you don't choke."

"Thank you, sister-in-law!"

"My sister-in-law is so kind!"

"The commander is so lucky!"

"Alright, alright! Even eating can't shut you up. Take your food and get out of here." Huo Jiyun pretended to be angry.

The young soldiers weren't afraid at all. Each of them carried a few pies and buns and ran out of the yard with smiles on their faces.

"You must be tired from the journey?"

After the crowd dispersed, Huo Jiyun was finally able to spend some time alone with his wife.

The children were exhausted, and as soon as the bed was made, they fell asleep immediately.

The main house has two bedrooms. Huo Jiyun put his arm around Qiao An and led her to the east room.

He gently helped Joan take off her shoes.

"Why are your feet still swollen? Did you sit on the train for too long? I'll go find a doctor to take a look at you."

Huo Jiyun looked at Qiao An's swollen feet with heartache.