RPAGF Chapter 311 Era: XCMG's Simple-minded Wife 15
Chapter 311 Era: XCMG's Simple-minded Wife 15
"I boiled water."
Xu Weidong pointed to the corner of the wall, where two thermos flasks of hot water were placed next to the tin bathtub, and there was even a new bar of soap next to it.
Beside the steaming bathtub, Ji Xiaosong discovered that Xu Weidong had prepared brand new underwear for her. It wasn't the coarse cloth commonly seen these days, but soft cotton yarn with stitches as fine as a work of art.
As she was touching her clothes in a daze, she heard Xu Weidong's deliberately heavy footsteps outside the door, followed by the sound of a washbasin being placed on the ground.
"I'm going to get some water." His voice sounded muffled through the door. "I'll be back in twenty minutes."
This gives her enough time to tidy up.
Ji Xiaosong buried her face in her new clothes, smelling the sunshine.
When Xu Weidong returned, covered in sweat, the small house had changed.
A red silk cloth was laid on the pillow, the kerosene lamp was dimmed to its lowest setting, and Ji Xiaosong was wearing that cotton gauze nightgown, her hair half-wet and draped over her shoulders.
Xu Weidong stood at the door, seemingly hesitant to enter, his military uniform buttoned up to the top.
Ji Xiaosong chuckled: "Xu Gong wants to sleep in his work clothes?"
The man's ears were bright red, but he turned around and turned off the light with a swift motion.
In the darkness, the bed creaked, followed by the rustling of clothes.
Ji Xiaosong touched a patch of burning hot skin covered with bumpy scars.
She instinctively touched the longest scar, running from her right shoulder down her back: "This is..."
"Zhenbao Island." Xu Weidong grabbed her flailing hand, his voice hoarse. "The time we saved Lao Zhao."
Moonlight streamed through the gaps in the curtains, and Ji Xiaosong saw the undercurrents surging in his eyes.
She suddenly sat up and pulled open his tightly closed collar: "Xu Weidong, consummating the marriage is not about completing a mission."
The man froze.
Ji Xiaosong leaned down, her breath hitting his Adam's apple: "I want you to look at me."
This sentence was like flipping a switch.
Xu Weidong flipped her over and pinned her down, the bed frame shaking with his haste, but his kiss landed on her ear: "...I was afraid of hurting you."
Ji Xiaosong touched the cold sweat on his back, and her heart suddenly softened.
This man, who used to move freely in the enemy camp, was now as nervous as a new recruit.
She guided his hands to unbutton her clothes: "Just be gentle..."
As night deepened, moonlight filtered through the blue curtains, casting dappled patterns of light on the bed sheets.
Xu Weidong's fingertips gently brushed against Ji Xiaosong's hair, as if touching a fragile dream.
Their shadows overlapped on the wall, swaying gently with the flame of the kerosene lamp.
Ji Xiaosong felt the warmth emanating from her husband's palm, hotter than the fire in the stove.
Her slightly trembling fingers unbuttoned his military uniform, touching the scars hidden beneath the fabric. Each scar told a story she had never been a part of.
Xu Weidong suddenly grabbed her wrist and pressed her hand against his chest, where his heart was pounding fast and hard.
"This time... is different."
His voice was so low it was almost inaudible, yet it made Ji Xiaosong's ears burn.
The usually concise sentences now became fragmented, as if they were passing through some invisible barrier.
The bed frame creaked slightly. Ji Xiaosong counted Xu Weidong's breathing, from rapid to restrained, and then to disordered.
When his lips finally landed on her brow, she smelled the distinctive rusty scent of a steel mill, mixed with the fresh fragrance of soap.
This meticulous man still had dampness in his hair.
The pain came on suddenly and was brief.
Ji Xiaosong gripped the red silk bed sheet tightly, and Xu Weidong immediately froze, beads of sweat dripping from his chin like falling stars in the moonlight.
Through her blurry, tear-filled eyes, she saw the restraint and pity surging within them.
"It's fine."
Ji Xiaosong said softly, her fingers stroking his tense back.
These words were like a shackle being broken. Xu Weidong lowered his head, his nose brushing against the crook of her neck, the movement incredibly gentle.
Time becomes blurred.
The occasional murmurs of a neighbor's child or the distant whistle of a train outside became background noise in this private space.
As the moonlight moved to the foot of the bed, Ji Xiaosong found herself snugly wrapped in the quilt, with Xu Weidong wiping her fingers with a warm towel, his expression as focused as if he were debugging a precision instrument.
“Tomorrow…” His voice was hoarse from the aftermath, and he tucked a stray strand of her hair behind her ear with his fingers, “I’m being transferred to the steel mill.”
Ji Xiaosong smiled drowsily.
This taciturn man finally transformed "us" into a connection that was even deeper than physical intimacy.
She rubbed the red silk on the pillow, which still bore the warmth of their shared warmth, like a small mark that belonged only to the two of them.
Ji Xiaosong hummed in agreement and snuggled into his arms. Xu Weidong immediately tightened his arms around her, and the two were pressed tightly together, like two swords finally sheathed.
The sound of bicycle bells from the night shift workers could be heard outside the window.
Half-asleep, Ji Xiaosong thought that she had to wash and dry the red silk cloth tomorrow, as it was a testament to their wedding night, even though it was three months late.
*
The incandescent light bulb in the steel plant's conference room hummed.
Xu Weidong sat in the corner, his notebook spread out in front of him, covered with densely packed formulas.
He has just been officially appointed as the leader of the special steel research team, and the burden on his shoulders is heavier than that of the steelmaking furnace.
"Comrades, have you all seen it clearly?"
Old Li, the head of the technical department, tapped on the glaring data on the blackboard, chalk dust falling in a flurry. "The latest special steel from Country M has a tensile strength of 980 MPa, corrosion resistance that is 20 times that of our best steel, but its weight is only two-thirds."
Sighs echoed throughout the conference room.
The old fitter, Master Zhang, banged his pipe against the corner of the table, exclaiming, "Damn it, this isn't just a difference, it's an insurmountable chasm!"
“What’s even scarier is this.”
Old Li then posted another chart: "According to intelligence, they will begin mass production of the M-7 next year, with a 30% performance improvement."
A loud bang startled everyone.
Xu Weidong smashed his enamel mug on the table, splashing tea onto the data sheet.
The usually silent man now had bloodshot eyes, and his voice was hoarse, like sandpaper scraping: "So?"
The meeting room fell silent instantly. Old Li adjusted his glasses: "Mr. Xu, you mean..."
"I'm asking..." Xu Weidong said, emphasizing each word, "So we should just kneel down and admit defeat?"
He suddenly stood up, the hem of his military uniform flipping over a chair. "Twenty years ago, they said we couldn't build cars, fifteen years ago the JF brand rolled off the production line; thirteen years ago, they said we couldn't develop atomic bombs, six years ago they exploded in the desert!"
He grabbed a piece of chalk and scribbled it across the blackboard with a harsh sound: "There's something wrong with this data!"
Three huge question marks almost pierced the blackboard: "980 MPa of strength with this density? Why don't they just say they've forged diamond!"
The old factory manager frowned: "XCMG, we must respect science..."
"I only noticed the problem because I respect science too much!"
Xu Weidong pulled open his collar, revealing an old scar below his collarbone, left during the Zhenbao Island incident while rescuing technical data.
He grabbed his slide rule and quickly calculated: "According to the basic formulas of mechanics of materials, this tensile strength requires at least..."