Phi-Fic Chapter 3 Eating Leftovers
Chapter 3 Eating Leftovers
The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Bai Rongbei and Bai Si'an placed two neatly written statements on the political commissar's office desk.
The political commissar was an old revolutionary in his fifties, wearing glasses, and drinking tea from an enamel mug.
He picked it up and glanced at it, his brows furrowing immediately. When he saw the crucial part, he slammed the mug down on the table with a "bang," spilling a few drops of tea.
"Nonsense! This is utter rubbish!" The political commissar pointed at the two brothers, his fingers trembling with anger. "Bai Rongbei! Bai Si'an! You two are veterans, you've never made such a blunder in battle! A wedding! A major life event! And you led the bride to the wrong room?! Where will our regiment put its face if word gets out?!"
Bai Rongbei stood ramrod straight, his eyes lowered: "Political Commissar, the responsibility lies entirely with Bai Si'an and me. We are willing to accept any punishment."
Bai Si'an also dropped his nonchalant attitude and honestly followed up, "Yes, we were wrong. We drank too much, it was dark, and both doors had the exact same 'double happiness' character pasted on them..."
"Is drinking too much an excuse? Huh?" The political commissar stood up, paced around the office a couple of times with his hands behind his back, then turned back, staring sharply at the two of them. "Two female comrades traveled all this way to marry you, to a place where they know no one, and in the end... sigh!"
He sighed heavily, picked up the two documents and read them carefully again, then sat down, his face serious: "So, Bai Si'an and Comrade Lin Weiwei have already... consummated their marriage?"
Bai Si'an's ears burned a little, but he forced a smile and said, "...Yes."
"And what about you and Comrade Su Wanwan?" The political commissar looked at Bai Rongbei.
"Reporting to the political commissar, no," Bai Rongbei replied clearly. "We stopped immediately after realizing something was wrong."
The political commissar pondered for a moment, then tapped his fingers on the table.
"This matter has had a very negative impact. But what's done is done, and we must consider the overall situation and minimize the harm to the two women." He glanced at Bai Rongbei. "Your idea is to submit a report to annul the original engagement and then reapply?"
"Yes. This is the most appropriate solution at present," Bai Rongbei replied.
The political commissar nodded: "That's the only way. You two, go back immediately and write self-criticisms, deeply reflecting on your actions! I'll submit your divorce reports and new marriage applications as soon as possible. Be mindful of the consequences before the approvals are issued! Especially for the two of you."
He specifically looked at Bai Si'an and Lin Weiwei's statement, "Now that you're a de facto couple, you need to behave properly and not cause any more gossip!"
"Yes!" the two replied in unison.
As Bai Si'an stepped out of the political commissar's office, the wind of the Gobi Desert whipped sand against his face, and he subconsciously squinted.
He walks with a slight limp in his right leg; it's not very noticeable, but you can see it if you look closely.
But he walked quickly and kept up with Bai Rongbei's pace.
The two walked in silence for a while. When they were almost at the row of bungalows in the family quarters with faded "double happiness" characters pasted on them, Bai Si'an suddenly spoke, his voice very low: "Brother."
Bai Rong looked at him from the north side.
Bai Si'an pushed up his glasses, cleared his throat, glanced to the side, and then asked, "Last night... you and Su Wanwan really didn't consummate your marriage?"
Bai Rongbei paused for a moment, then continued walking without saying a word.
Bai Si'an followed, his tone tinged with a hint of probing: "Is it... you know, that you can't get it up?"
Before he could finish speaking, Bai Rongbei suddenly stopped and turned around to stare at him.
His gaze was like a knife, making Bai Si'an instinctively take a half step back.
"Bai Si'an," Bai Rongbei replied coldly, "mind your own business."
Bai Si'an rubbed his nose, a little embarrassed: "I was just... concerned about you. If you really can't do it, I have a few medical books in my lab. I'll take a look and see if it helps..."
"No need." Bai Rongbei interrupted him, turned around and continued walking forward, his back ramrod straight. "Now that you and Lin Weiwei are married, even though the formalities aren't complete, the fact is there. Just live your life well from now on. Don't argue and make a fuss just because she dislikes your leg injury. Her parents forced her to come here; it wasn't easy for her."
Bai Si'an followed behind him and, upon hearing this, suddenly laughed. It was impossible to tell whether the laughter was self-deprecating or something else: "Disdain for me? Brother, have you forgotten what their backgrounds are? They're daughters of capitalists, with problematic family backgrounds, which is why they hurriedly shoved their daughters into the hands of 'problematic officers' like us. To put it bluntly, a rotten pot needs a rotten lid, so neither of us should look down on the other."
He paused, his tone softening slightly: "Let's just live like this for now. If it really becomes unbearable, we can get a divorce. Anyway, when we married them, weren't we hoping to save as many as possible? Given the situation of the Su and Lin families, if they were really sent to the countryside, the girls would suffer even more."
Bai Rongbei didn't reply, but he slowed his pace.
He understood everything Bai Si'an said.
The Bai family parents agreed to these two marriages for two reasons: firstly, they couldn't go against the childhood betrothal they had arranged years ago, and secondly, they genuinely wanted to help the Su and Lin families.
As for the two brothers, one was lame and the other was injured in his lower body and unable to have children, making it difficult for them to find a spouse.
Over the years, the military introduced them to many girls, but none of them took a liking to them.
If a girl is willing to marry, her family will naturally urge them to get married as soon as possible.
emotion?
That's too extravagant.
If you can live a respectful and harmonious life together, that's already pretty good.
The two walked to the end of the row of bungalows. The two innermost houses faced each other, and the double happiness characters pasted on the doors were already a bit crooked.
The morning light slanted in, casting a long shadow on the door frame.
Just as Bai Rongbei was about to raise his hand to knock on the door, the door opened from the inside.
Su Wanwan and Lin Weiwei stood at the door, both wearing the same clothes they had come in.
Su Wanwan wore a light blue polyester shirt with black pants, while Lin Weiwei wore a floral short-sleeved shirt and a military green long skirt.
Her hair was a little messy, and her face still looked dazed from just waking up.
They were clearly surprised to see the two brothers standing outside as soon as they opened the door, and they were both stunned for a moment.
Lin Weiwei reacted quickly, her eyes scanning back and forth between Bai Si'an and Bai Rongbei, and she couldn't help but let out a soft "Wow".
Su Wanwan blushed slightly and tugged at Lin Weiwei's sleeve.
It's no wonder Lin Weiwei reacted so dramatically.
Although the Bai brothers are fraternal twins and don't look particularly alike, they are both tall and handsome.
Bai Si'an was rather thin, wore glasses, and had fairer skin than Bai Rongbei. He wore a faded military shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing his clearly defined wrist bones.
He stood there with his right leg slightly bent and his weight on his left leg, but without close inspection, there was nothing particularly unusual about him.
Bai Rongbei, on the other hand, stands tall and upright in a different way.
He was a head taller than Bai Si'an, with broad shoulders, and his military uniform was worn meticulously, with the top button fastened.
His bronze face had strong features, thick black eyebrows, and deep, penetrating eyes that seemed to draw people in.
The two stood there, one refined yet aloof, the other rugged yet composed. The morning light gilded their silhouettes, making them quite striking.
"Are you up?" Bai Rongbei spoke first, his voice gentler than when he spoke to Bai Si'an earlier. "Get ready and go to the canteen for breakfast. We have to take the bus back to the regiment today."
Su Wanwan nodded and whispered, "Okay."
Lin Weiwei asked casually, "Where should we eat? Is it far?"
Bai Si'an replied, "It's just ahead, about a five or six-minute walk."
He glanced at Lin Weiwei's messy hair. "Comb your hair."
Lin Weiwei said "Oh," raised her hand and ruffled her hair a couple of times, then tugged at Su Wanwan: "Come on, let's go eat, I'm starving."
The army canteen is a single-story building made of red bricks, with a chimney on the roof, from which wisps of smoke are rising.
There were already many soldiers coming and going at the entrance, some carrying enamel bowls, some carrying aluminum lunch boxes, all dressed in green military uniforms. Occasionally, a few family members in civilian clothes stood out in the crowd.
As soon as Lin Weiwei and Su Wanwan entered the cafeteria, they couldn't take it all in.
The cafeteria was bigger than they had imagined, with more than a dozen food windows lined up, each with a queue.
The left side is for serving staple foods and vegetables, and the right side is for serving porridge and soup.
The air was filled with the aroma of steamed buns, the scent of stir-fried vegetables, and a faint, indescribable smell unique to the cafeteria.
"My God..." Lin Weiwei whispered, tugging at Su Wanwan's arm, "So many people?"
Su Wanwan was also a little nervous and moved closer to Bai Rongbei.
Bai Rongbei looked down at her: "Follow me. Go get the bowls and chopsticks first."
The bowls and chopsticks are on a wooden shelf to the right of the entrance, with stacks of enamel bowls and a chopstick holder next to them.
Bai Rongbei took two bowls and two pairs of chopsticks, handed one set to Su Wanwan, and then looked at Bai Si'an.
Bai Si'an had already taken his own set and was handing the other set to Lin Weiwei.
Lin Weiwei took the bowl; it was military green with some chipped porcelain at the rim, revealing a black base.
She touched the chipped area with her finger and muttered to herself, "It has a real vintage feel to it."
The four of them lined up at the back of the food queue.
The people in front of them would occasionally turn around to look at them, their eyes filled with curiosity but not much malice.
A young soldier, who seemed to recognize Bai Rongbei, straightened his back and greeted him with "Good morning, Commander." Bai Rongbei nodded.
When it was their turn, the cook, a chubby middle-aged man wearing a white apron, tapped the side of the serving dish with his iron ladle: "Oh, Commander Bai, Technician Bai, is this the new bride?"
Bai Rongbei hummed in agreement and handed the bowl over.
The chef scooped a large spoonful of potato and cabbage stew into a bowl, then added two multigrain steamed buns on top: "Come on, bride, eat more. Our conditions here are tough, so please make do."
Su Wanwan quickly thanked her and accepted the bowl with both hands.
On Lin Weiwei's side, the chef's hands were no longer shaking when serving her food, the dishes were piled high, and he even gave her an extra steamed bun.
Lin Weiwei's eyes lit up: "Thank you, Master!"