Chapter 129: 129: Home from a Previous Life

Chapter 129: Chapter 129: Home from a Previous Life

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The wooden floor was coated with red lacquer, with a vestibule upon entering, the kitchen straight ahead, the living room to the right, and the bedroom to the left.

The space wasn’t too large, just over sixty square meters, which is standard for houses in the Border City Forest District. Any larger and it would be too cold in the winter.

Smaller is better for heating.

Chaoyang’s bedroom was left for Gu Qiaoqiao.

The north-facing bedroom next to the kitchen was where Qin Yize lived.

...

Opposite, there was a small bathroom without a shower, but it had everything else.

The living room was the same as in her previous life, with four chairs lined up on the east side.

In front of the chairs was a large desk.

On the north wall, there was a row of large wardrobes.

And on the west side was the kang, a traditional Northern Chinese heated bed.

A typical residential layout of the Northern border’s forested region.

Gu Qiaoqiao walked through each room, finding the bedrooms on either side of the wall heated by the kang, both featuring newly constructed smaller kangs.

Qin Yize’s bedding was neatly folded like tofu blocks, and the room had an austere air, as if it had been lived in.

Gu Qiaoqiao now stood in front of her own bedroom, realizing it had changed.

On the sunny side, there was a new large desk.

It was empty, but when she bent down to smell it, it seemed to give off the scent of fresh wood.

This was newly made.

If Gu Qiaoqiao wasn’t mistaken, it must have been intended for her carving.

At that moment, the sun unexpectedly came out again, shining through the window into the bedroom, casting shadows that silently shifted shapes.

For a brief period, Gu Qiaoqiao felt a surge of mixed emotions.

To speak frankly, the last year here had been warm with a gentle heat.

While she carved scenes of the Roaring Tiger Forest in the living room, Qin Yize would quietly sit by and read. Sometimes, he’d pour her a cup of tea and then rest his chin on his hand, watching her carve, stroke by stroke.

His gaze was calm, he didn’t speak, yet somehow it was incredibly comforting.

Gu Qiaoqiao blinked, her memories from her past life were not all painful, there was also warmth quietly flowing through them.

But later, she suppressed all the solitary warmth deep inside, daring not to recall it, even the slightest thought would make her punish herself harshly, pinching and hitting herself. Otherwise, how could she face her deceased family members?

Just then, Luh Fei’s voice came from outside, “Sister-in-law, can you open the door for me?”

Apparently, it had unknowingly turned noon.

Luh Fei stood at the door holding two aluminum lunchboxes and a tea jar.

Gu Qiaoqiao quickly took a deep breath, hurriedly opened the door, and took the tea jar from Luh Fei’s hand, placing it on the living room table.

“Sister-in-law, I’ve brought lunch. Eat it while it’s hot,” Luh Fei urged enthusiastically.

“I really can’t thank you enough.”

“Sister-in-law, don’t mention it, I’ve got to go,” Luh Fei said and, like a whirlwind, he left in haste.

Gu Qiaoqiao took off her coat, feeling more at peace, washed up, and sat at the table to open the lunchboxes.

Luh Fei was genuinely considerate.

The lunchbox was filled with rice, one with potato, cabbage and pork, and the tea jar, unexpectedly, contained seaweed egg soup.

This must have been specially prepared by the base’s canteen for Gu Qiaoqiao.

Indeed, Gu Qiaoqiao was hungry.

But, no matter how hungry, after eating half, she felt full. Gu Qiaoqiao stored the remaining food in the kitchen, planning to eat it for dinner.

Gu Qiaoqiao took the pickled vegetables from her travel bag and placed them in the kitchen cabinet.

She hung her clothes in the wardrobe, and in the adjacent one, which was Qin Yize’s, hung a row of his clothes.

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Actually, Qin Yize was someone who cared a lot about the quality of life.

From his clothing, you could tell that his sweaters and shirts were all branded, although they seemed not to be new.

It must have been because he didn’t have a chance to buy new ones in the more than half a year since they got married, as he was always in Diannan.

However, Gu Qiaoqiao soon saw that the drawers of the large wardrobe were filled with new clothes, both hers and Qin Yize’s.

They were all spring and summer attire.

And in another large drawer, Gu Qiaoqiao found unopened daily necessities.

Towels, toothpaste, toothbrushes, soap, and a few bottles of old-brand moisturizer.

It seemed that Grandma Qin had helped prepare these.

Gu Qiaoqiao closed the drawer, thinking to herself that Grandma Qin must be quite sprightly now and probably in good health. She should call her sometime when available to say hello.

She would definitely appreciate the old lady’s intention.

The room was very clean, and as Gu Qiaoqiao walked around, there wasn’t much to tidy up, so she decided not to light the fire for heating the kang at noon and would do so when cooking in the evening.

Gu Qiaoqiao put on a woolen coat and stepped out the door.

After a walk-around in the front and back yard, seeing that the soil was indeed quite fertile, she recalled the vegetable seeds Lian Yuhong had given her and thought that in a few days, it would be good to plant some vegetables. It might not be possible to return for a while, and growing some vegetables was an excellent idea.

After all, Shopping for vegetables was inconvenient here, as one would have to go to Mountain City.

But there wasn’t much to see at the moment, and just as Gu Qiaoqiao was about to push the door to go back inside, she heard a woman’s loud voice rise from next door, near the wooden fence, “Are you Dr. Qin’s wife?”

Gu Qiaoqiao looked back.

It was a woman around twenty-eight or twenty-nine years old, holding a child, who was staring at her with sparkling eyes.

This was Zhang Yali, Engineer Mu’s wife. She had a loud voice and seemingly straightforward personality, but she was fond of taking advantage and was also sharp-tongued.

Memories of her past life during this period were something Gu Qiaoqiao always tried not to think about.

So, some things had really faded from memory.

But now, seeing that vague yet familiar face, a flood of memories came rushing back.

This woman was a typical ingrate.

The very embodiment of that saying, ‘eat the food off someone’s plate and then curse them afterward.’

Take advantage of your hospitality and then join the other families in badmouthing you behind your back.

At this moment, Gu Qiaoqiao really didn’t know where she had offended the woman in the past.

But none of that mattered anymore.

This time around, she wasn’t going to be the fool she was in her past life concerning her.

Gu Qiaoqiao curved her lips in a smile, shallow yet distant, “I am Qin Yize’s wife, my name is Gu Qiaoqiao.”

Zhang Yali was somewhat taken aback.

Wasn’t it said that Qin Yize’s wife seemed to be a rural woman from the countryside, much like her?

How could it be such a spirited and delicate young girl?

Furthermore, she spoke with such clarity and poise that she seemed to have more presence than Li Ya from Jinling City next door.

With her limited education, she couldn’t articulate what she thought about the lovely girl standing tall and elegant in the sunlight.

At that moment, with her older daughter tugging at her clothes and her younger daughter grasping her hair, Zhang Yali, accustomed to managing such a situation, suddenly looked very awkward.

In her heart, Zhang Yali couldn’t describe the mixed feelings she had. She opened her mouth and said dryly, “I… my name is Zhang Yali, I’m Engineer Mu’s wife…”

Her voice inadvertently grew much quieter.

Gu Qiaoqiao smiled faintly, “Sister-in-law Mu, I haven’t been off the train for long. I’m going back to rest in my room.”

With that, she walked a few steps, opened the door, and entered the house.