Chapter 27

Chu An’an rested his cheek on one hand, sitting boredly in the pavilion as he waited for someone.

He noticed quite a few gazes falling on him.

He lifted his eyelids and swept his sharp, bright eyes toward them.

A few young soldiers were lying behind the wall in a ridiculous human pyramid, with a whole row of heads poking out as they secretly watched him.

“Didn’t they say his brain wasn’t right? Then how come he came here by himself?”

“Look how fair he is. So apparently you don’t need brains to marry a good-looking one?”

“That’s because you’re ignorant. I heard he’s already recovered, and he even opened a food stall that’s doing insanely well.”

“His eyes have quite a presence. Yeah, he really does look like he’s recovered.”

“Then that Qianhu from the Ninth Battalion really hit the jackpot, didn’t he?”

“Tsk, don’t you know it. He got all the good stuff.”

“I’m jealous.”

Liang Dashu came rushing over and drove all of them away.

Once he’d finished chasing them off, he entered the pavilion and greeted him.

“Sister-in-law, Brother Zhao is still busy, so I came over to see you first.”

He gave a silly grin and sat down.

Chu An’an already knew how much Liang Dashu loved to eat, so he assumed he’d rushed over because he wanted to beg for some food.

Instead, Liang Dashu lowered his voice and spoke mysteriously.

“Sister-in-law, do you know what everyone in our camp says about you?”

He rushed all the way here just to tell me this?

Apparently, there really was something to talk about.

“What do they say?”

Liang Dashu immediately dragged out that wicked Wu Shan and started cursing him.

“That bastard was the one who went around saying you were stupid. He even made fun of Brother Zhao. There were quite a few people who joined in and said nasty things back then.”

Chu An’an listened with a frown throughout.

When Liang Dashu finished, his eyes narrowed slightly.

“I understand.”

Seeing that he’d understood, Liang Dashu crossed his arms and stared smugly toward the entrance.

Just wait.

My sister-in-law isn’t stupid anymore!

Before long, Zhao Junyi appeared at the entrance.

Following behind him was a tall, robust-looking older man.

He was already quite old, yet apparently held a high position.

Chu An’an immediately guessed who he was.

Besides Battalion Commander Hu, there were more than ten soldiers behind him.

They were physically stronger and more imposing than ordinary soldiers, and most were older men rather than young recruits.

They were probably some of the hundred-commanders and thousand-commanders.

Zhao Junyi reached him in the blink of an eye.

He couldn’t hide his happiness.

“Why did you suddenly come here?”

Chu An’an’s eyes sparkled as he looked at him.

“To see you.”

Those crescent-shaped eyes seemed to hide a thousand words.

I love you.

I missed you.

Because he was too embarrassed to say them aloud, he had hidden them all in his eyes.

Everyone present felt their hearts seize.

Life in the military camp was dull and monotonous.

When they had nothing to do, the soldiers liked talking about women and ge’er.

If it came to having children, women were obviously more likely to get pregnant.

But when it came to that sort of thing, ge’er were supposedly much more enticing.

Zhao Junyi never participated in those conversations.

Everyone had therefore decided that he was cold and completely hopeless when it came to romance.

And yet this man who supposedly didn’t understand romance had such a beautiful husband.

His husband had come all the way here just to see him, looking at him with such obvious affection.

If it were any of them, they’d probably have floated straight into the heavens.

But Zhao Junyi seemed completely oblivious.

And he’s still pretending to be all serious.

Why is that so infuriating?

At that moment, Battalion Commander Hu coughed.

“Is this Boss Chu?”

Chu An’an withdrew his gaze and greeted him gracefully.

“Battalion Commander Hu.”

Hu froze.

“It’s your first time at the military camp. How did you know who I was?”

“Brother Zhao has mentioned you to me. He had a whole basketful of praise for you.”

“I didn’t understand it at the time, but after seeing your presence today, I finally understand what he meant by commanding authority without even needing to show anger.”

“Hmph. Zhao Junyi knows how to flatter people too?”

The moment he said that, the air went completely silent.

Hu was the highest-ranking official present.

Everyone thought the same thing:

He stepped right on the landmine.

This husband is way too clever for his own good.

Looks like marrying someone pretty isn’t enough. He still needs a brain.

Hu clearly looked like a military officer who had climbed his way up from the bottom.

Years of training had left him with an intimidating aura.

If his mood turned even slightly sour, a timid person might have burst into tears.

But Chu An’an didn’t panic.

His mind quickly analyzed the situation.

From Hu’s tone, the remark was a mixture of teasing and mockery.

That meant he didn’t actually dislike being praised.

In fact, he probably felt a little sour because Zhao Junyi never flattered him directly.

So Chu An’an immediately replied,

“How could that be flattery?”

“Brother Zhao isn’t good with words. He keeps serious things in his heart.”

“Everything he said was sincere.”

“Think about it. If he didn’t truly think that way, how would I have known?”

Hu chuckled twice and rubbed the back of his head.

He had always valued this young man, Zhao Junyi.

Otherwise, considering Zhao Junyi’s poor family background, he wouldn’t once have considered marrying his youngest daughter to him.

So Zhao Junyi wasn’t interested in flattering him on the surface, but secretly remembered all the good he’d done for him?

Yes.

That was exactly how Zhao Junyi was.

Cold on the outside, warm on the inside.

Nothing like those smooth-talking flatterers.

He was dependable and precious.

Thinking back on all the obstacles he’d deliberately put in Zhao Junyi’s way, Hu even felt somewhat guilty.

He hadn’t actually harmed him, but he had made him do quite a few pointless and unpleasant tasks.

With that thought, Hu smiled and praised Zhao Junyi several times.

The others immediately realized what had happened.

He really hit the commander’s soft spot.

If Zhao Junyi starts flattering him the way his husband does, we’ll have no chance at all.

Who said his husband was stupid?

If this counted as stupid, then there weren’t any smart people left in the world.

Chu An’an hadn’t even paused to think.

To the battalion commander, his words sounded completely sincere.

To the others, however, he had simply demonstrated an astonishing ability to flatter someone quickly and intelligently.

The men behind Hu hurriedly joined in, praising Zhao Junyi as well.

Some of them had once been his hundred-commanders or thousand-commanders.

They began reminiscing about what Zhao Junyi had been like when he’d first entered the military camp.

Even among a group of ordinary-looking recruits, he’d stood out particularly well.

Seeing that the gathering was about to turn into a full-blown flattery convention, Hu quickly stopped them.

“All right, enough of this empty praise.”

“I came here to get the pork jerky.”

“Boss Chu, you brought it, didn’t you?”

Chu An’an thought:

This Battalion Commander Hu is surprisingly impatient.

Fortunately, he’d brought it.

The others were even more curious.

What good thing hasn’t the commander seen before?

Why is he so eagerly waiting for this?

Chu An’an handed a large bundle to Hu.

Then he opened the other large bundle.

“This one is for Brother Zhao.”

As he opened it, he revealed dozens of palm-sized paper packets.

He glanced at the soldiers and handed each person one small packet.

One soldier brought his packet close and sniffed.

A faint honeyed meaty aroma drifted out.

It smelled surprisingly good.

Hu laughed from the side.

“What are you standing there for? Pay him. I already paid for mine. You’re not getting yours for free.”

Chu An’an politely waved his hands.

“No, no, there’s no need—”

At the same time, he gave Liang Dashu a meaningful glance.

Liang Dashu immediately jumped out like a loyal lackey.

“I’ll help my big brother collect the money!”

Some of the more impatient soldiers had already opened their packets.

Inside were several thin slices of meat.

They were reddish in color, with a glossy sheen of oil on the surface.

One soldier eagerly took a bite.

First came sweetness.

Then saltiness.

And finally, the rich fragrance of meat.

The more he chewed, the more flavorful it became.

It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that it made his mouth water.

“What is this? It’s so fragrant.”

“I heard the commander call it pork jerky.”

The soldiers chattered as they ate.

One of the quicker-thinking ones immediately asked,

“Do you have more? I’ll buy some.”

They weren’t merely satisfied with the flavor.

They were even more impressed by how dry and convenient it was to carry in a pocket.

It was practically the perfect food for missions in the wilderness or along the border.

Just imagine being out on a mission, starving, unable to conveniently light a fire, and then reaching into your pocket and pulling out a piece of this.

How blissful would that be?

They absolutely had to buy some.

Chu An’an placed the remaining large bundle into Zhao Junyi’s arms.

Then he smiled innocently.

“No more. The rest is all for my husband.”

Everyone stared at the bundle in Zhao Junyi’s arms.

Their eyes practically turned green.

“Then where is Boss Chu’s stall? I’ll have my family come buy some.”

“I’m preparing to open a shop soon. I’ll be closing the stall.”

“Once the shop is open, I’ll have Brother Zhao tell everyone where it is.”

The men were truly desperate.

“Then we’ll just buy some separately!”

“Make it for us and have Qianhu Zhao bring it over.”

Chu An’an didn’t want to do that.

He casually came up with an excuse.

“It takes a lot of work to make this, so I don’t have time before the shop opens.”

“I only made this much today because I was coming to visit my husband.”

Of course, those weren’t his exact words.

He had phrased it more subtly.

But the meaning was the same.

The soldiers looked at Zhao Junyi with even more resentment.

Wasn’t his husband supposed to be stupid?

Maybe the stupid ones are actually us.

They were practically about to be driven crazy with jealousy.

Beside them, Battalion Commander Hu stood even straighter.

So he was the only one who had managed to get pork jerky early because of Zhao Junyi?

So Zhao Junyi really hadn’t been taking credit for himself.

As expected of the young man he’d always valued.

Hu thought about it.

His daughter had already found a good marriage.

Zhao Junyi now had a husband he was happy with.

There was no reason to keep dwelling on the past and making things difficult for him.

To demonstrate his attitude, Hu spoke first.

“You all take your time. I have things to attend to.”

He turned and left.

He deliberately gave the young couple plenty of time alone.

The others didn’t want to leave.

They had originally come to watch the spectacle—to see Qianhu Zhao’s supposedly stupid husband.

Instead, they’d ended up looking like the stupid ones themselves.

Now that they were eating pork jerky, they didn’t want to leave at all.

But their superior had already gone.

They didn’t really have a reason to stay.

Besides, Liang Dashu had already started chasing them out.

So they could only leave with one final request.

“Boss Chu, once your shop opens, make sure Qianhu Zhao tells us!”

Then they left.

Liang Dashu was the last to go.

He handed the money he’d collected to Chu An’an.

Chu An’an gave him three extra packets of pork jerky.

Liang Dashu was so delighted that he practically bounced away.

A moment later, a commotion broke out outside.

Apparently, those three packets of meat had already become the subject of another dispute.

After a while, the pavilion finally became quiet.

Only the two of them remained.

Zhao Junyi spoke first.

“You didn’t have to sacrifice your profits just to make me look good.”

He knew that making pork jerky wasn’t particularly difficult.

He also knew that Chu An’an had deliberately refused to make more for individual buyers solely so that he could say:

I only made this much today because I came to see my husband.

Everyone else could wait.

Who wouldn’t feel flattered hearing that?

Even so, Zhao Junyi felt bad that An’an hadn’t made more money.

Chu An’an crossed his arms.

His voice rose slightly.

“I helped you save face, and the first thing you do is criticize me?”

Zhao Junyi panicked.

He couldn’t even tell whether An’an was being coquettish or genuinely angry.

“No. I just think you didn’t need to sacrifice so much for me.”

I don’t deserve that.

The moment Chu An’an saw this handsome, intimidating man speaking to him with such a wronged expression, his anger disappeared.

He explained,

“It wasn’t entirely for you.”

He was also deliberately raising the value of the pork jerky.

It was essentially a form of scarcity marketing.

The harder something was to obtain, the more precious it seemed.

The easier something was to buy, the less exciting it became.

Just look at Battalion Commander Hu.

The moment he’d heard how difficult it was to obtain, he discovered that he was one of the few people who actually had some.

How happy must he have been?

After Chu An’an explained this, Zhao Junyi finally understood.

What Chu An’an didn’t say was that he really had chosen not to sell it individually partly because of Zhao Junyi.

After all, Zhao Junyi was a Qianhu.

If he turned into some kind of delivery boy, carrying huge bundles of goods to the military camp every time just to collect money from his subordinates and fellow officers, what would people think of him?

Chu An’an lowered his head and thought about it.

There was no need to tell Zhao Junyi that.

It would only make him feel guilty.

“What are you thinking about?”

Zhao Junyi moved closer.

His voice was very soft.

Chu An’an looked up at him.

Actually, he’d been wanting to say this for a while.

Zhao Junyi was really handsome.

When the whole group had walked in earlier, every one of them had been over thirty and not particularly good-looking.

Only Zhao Junyi was eighteen.

His cool, pale complexion made him look especially young.

And today, he was wearing armor.

Not the shiny, brand-new kind.

His armor had clearly been worn for a long time.

The edges showed signs of wear.

A leather belt cinched tightly around his waist, making his waistline look even narrower.

His entire appearance was neat, sharp, and incredibly handsome.

Was this the Great Xia version of a limited-edition “uniform temptation”?

Chu An’an suddenly smiled sweetly.

“Want to know what I’m thinking about?”

Zhao Junyi’s throat bobbed nervously.

Whenever An’an suddenly smiled this sweetly, it usually meant one of two things:

Either he was angry.

Or he had come up with some mischievous idea.

Even so, Zhao Junyi couldn’t help nodding.

“I want to know.”

Chu An’an curled his finger, beckoning him closer.

Zhao Junyi obediently lowered his head toward him.

Chu An’an raised his chin and kissed him.

He had originally only intended to kiss his cheek.

But he was too nervous.

And accidentally kissed the corner of his lips instead.