Chen Lishu was completely stunned.
Having finally done what she had long yearned for, Gu Xingdong got up, satisfied. "It's still early, you can sleep a little longer."
It was a habit he'd developed during his years in the military. He woke up before dawn. After saying this to Chen Lishu, Gu Xingdong tucked her in and pushed the door open to leave.
Chen Lishu's mind was already in a flutter from that kiss, how could she sleep? Seeing him leave, she also got dressed and got up.
Just as she finished making breakfast, the Gu family members started to stir. Gu Xingdong happened to return from his two laps around the village for a warm-up.
"Hiss."
Chen Lishu lifted the pot lid. As she was about to take out the food basin, her fingertip was burned by the heat, and she couldn't help but let out a soft hiss.
"Are you alright?" Gu Xingdong, who had just come in and saw this, immediately hurried forward and grabbed her finger. He saw a red mark already forming on her fair, bamboo-shoot-like finger. His brow furrowed slightly.
His tall figure loomed over her, creating an immediate sense of pressure.
Chen Lishu shook her head and said softly, "I'm fine."
It was inevitable to get minor bumps and scrapes when doing chores; she was already used to it. She tried to pull her hand back, but it didn't budge. Instead, Gu Xingdong held her hand and took it to the nearby water basin to rinse it carefully with cold water.
"If you don't soak it in cold water, it will hurt more later. Go sit down, I'll do it."
Gu Xingdong instructed, then walked to the side of the stove in a few steps and directly reached out to take out the food basin.
Perhaps from the run, his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows on his military green shirt, revealing a section of his tanned, firm, and tight forearm. The well-fitting shirt subtly outlined his muscles. Unconcerned about the heat, he carried it directly to the table.
"You don't have anything to do today, why not sleep in a little longer."
Li Xiulan sat down at the table and looked at the young couple sitting side-by-side opposite her. The more she looked, the happier she became.
"I'm used to it from the military," Gu Xingdong replied, offering an explanation.
Li Xiulan gave her son a slightly displeased look. "But you have to consider Lishu. I can see she has dark circles under her eyes."
Most of the people at the table were already married, and several gazes subtly swept over. Chen Lishu bit her lip, her face burning, wishing she could disappear into the ground.
Heaven knew, her dark circles were just from having a nightmare all night.
Gu Xingdong belatedly realized the implication and coughed lightly, reaching for his chopsticks and placing a piece of food into Chen Lishu's bowl as if nothing had happened.
Chen Lishu couldn't help but glare at him secretly. He was the one who caused it, after all.
Gu Xingdong sat composedly. "Eat more vegetables, you're too thin."
"Yes, Lishu, what if you're pregnant..." Li Xiulan started to say, but Gu Shoufou kicked her leg under the table.
"Eat."
Gu Shoufou said with his eyes half-closed, and everyone else silently began to eat.
After breakfast, everyone went to the team to start work. Chen Lishu and Gu Xingdong went to town.
Chen Lishu knew Gu Xingdong's pace, but this time he deliberately slowed down, and they walked side-by-side towards town.
"Is there anything you like?" Gu Xingdong deliberately tried to strike up a conversation.
Chen Lishu shook her head.
She truly didn't have anything particularly she wanted. However, afraid of making Gu Xingdong feel awkward, she thought for a moment and said, "How about we go to the department store to look at some fabric?"
The weather was getting warmer, and it was almost time to change clothes. It would be good to buy some fabric, which could be used by her family as well.
Gu Xingdong nodded.
After arriving in town, the two of them went straight to the department store.
"Hello, comrades. What kind of fabric do you need? We have two newly arrived polyester silks, with beautiful patterns and bright colors. They are one yuan and twenty per foot, plus one foot of cloth coupons."
The saleswoman who greeted them was the same one who had looked down on Zhang Qin and Chen Lishu before. Seeing Gu Xingdong, tall and handsome in his military uniform, beside Chen Lishu this time, her attitude was exceptionally enthusiastic.
Following her direction, on the shelves were two bolts of fabric that were even more eye-catching than the others. One was pink with small floral prints, and the other was a plain apricot yellow.
Gu Xingdong turned his head. "Do you like them?"
Chen Lishu thought both colors were fine and nodded after a moment's consideration.
Gu Xingdong looked up at the saleswoman and said, "Two meters of each."
Two meters of each meant four meters of fabric in total. A top would typically require about three feet of fabric. Chen Lishu reached out and subtly tugged his sleeve. "We don't need that much."
Besides, each foot of fabric required a foot of cloth coupon. Even she only had a little over ten feet of cloth coupons.
"Fabric doesn't spoil, you can make more clothes to wear in rotation," Gu Xingdong said dismissively. He then took out money and coupons from his pocket and placed them directly on the counter.
Since he was in the military, he received various coupons along with his salary each month. Relatively speaking, he was quite well-off.
Seeing his insistence, Chen Lishu had no choice but to agree.
After buying the fabric, Gu Xingdong and Chen Lishu went to the second floor.
"I see there's no clock in the room, so it might be inconvenient for you to check the time. Which style do you like? I'll buy you a watch."
Gu Xingdong stood at the watch counter and said to Chen Lishu.
An ordinary watch cost around one hundred and twenty to one hundred and thirty yuan and also required twenty to thirty industrial coupons. At that time, a salary of twenty yuan only earned one industrial coupon.
Due to limited funds and coupons, Chen Lishu had been wanting to wait before buying a watch.
What she didn't expect was that Gu Xingdong had noticed and even proactively offered to buy her a watch. Chen Lishu felt very touched.
Chen Lishu stared at the counter for a while and finally chose a "Peony" brand ladies' watch. It cost one hundred and fifty-six yuan, plus twenty-five industrial coupons.
After leaving the department store, the two went to the photo studio. Taking photos was Gu Xingdong's idea.
"I only have seven days of leave this time. Two days are taken up by travel, so I won't have much time at home. I don't know when we'll see each other next, so if I miss you, I can look at the photos."
Chen Lishu didn't expect him to be so direct. Looking at his earnest eyes, her face couldn't help but flush slightly.
"Okay."
Chen Lishu nodded.
Photo studios at that time didn't have the same technology and props as they do now. Since it was just a county town, they didn't even have color photos.
The staff at the photo studio's eyes lit up when they saw the couple enter. The man was handsome and the woman was beautiful. If they took their photo and displayed it in the window, it would definitely attract a large number of customers.
They first took a photo of the two of them together, and then took a solo photo of Chen Lishu.
"You can pick them up in two days."
After leaving the photo studio, the couple had lunch at the state-run restaurant and then bought a lot of snacks at the non-staple food store. Seeing that the time was approaching, they then headed back home.
For dinner, Chen Lishu made Steamed Pork Belly with Preserved Mustard Greens, Crispy Fried Pork, Lightly Blanched Cabbage, and Scrambled Eggs with Chives.
The family praised the meal. The remaining sauce was even used by the men to mix with rice.
"When are you planning to visit your father-in-law's house?" Li Xiulan asked Gu Xingdong.
Gu Xingdong put down his chopsticks. "I was just about to tell you, Mom. I'll go over shortly."