A domineering country girl flirts with her son, and Commander Huo can't resist.

Chapter 56 Commander Huo Under Immense Pressure

Huo Chen and Huo Ning were both wearing thermal underwear, but Huo Fang was still only wearing a thin layer of clothing. How could she not catch a cold and get a fever?

To prevent Huo Fang from moving and scratching herself in pain, Qiao An gave her an ibuprofen pill.

Qiao An placed a pillow under Huo Fang's head and covered her with a blanket.

He only left the room after seeing her furrowed brows slowly smooth out.

When the results came out, Huo Jiyun, Huo Ning, and Huo Chen were sitting face to face, staring at each other.

When Huo Jiyun saw Qiao An, it was as if he had seen a savior.

"How is Huo Fang?"

"I've already bandaged the wound. Her fever is probably from the recent drop in temperature, and she caught a cold because she wasn't dressed warmly enough. I'll observe her for a few more days to see if the wound gets infected."

What does Joan even know about infection?

Huo Jiyun became even more curious about her.

"Why haven't you eaten yet? Are you waiting for me?" Qiao An noticed that the food on the table hadn't been touched.

"Okay, Mom, let's eat together." Huo Ning pulled Qiao An to sit down.

Mom and Dad are both here!

A family of four!

Huo Chen and Huo Ning felt the thing in their chests thumping violently.

They finally met their father today.

"Eat quickly, it'll get cold if you don't eat soon." Qiao An picked up her chopsticks and served food to Huo Jiyun.

Huo Jiyun felt a warmth in his heart.

Over the years while he was in the army, he saw other families enjoying happy times at home, and it was impossible not to feel envious.

But his own wife always asked for money in her letters, and after a while, he got annoyed.

It wasn't until he saw the letters Qiao An wrote in her own hand that Huo Jiyun realized that all these years, he seemed to have never understood Qiao An, and he hadn't even noticed that none of the words in those letters were spoken by her.

He had originally intended to give his family visit leave to someone else, but he hesitated after receiving Joan's telegram.

After reading Joanne's letter, he became even more determined to go home and visit.

As soon as he got home, he encountered his sister-in-law beating Huo Fang. Just as he was about to rush into the house to stop her, Qiao An kicked the Huo family's front door open.

Then he heard the whole conversation.

"How have you been all these years?" Huo Jiyun asked after a long silence.

Although they are husband and wife, they haven't spent much time together and are not familiar with each other at all.

"It's alright, passable."

Joanne suddenly laughed, "But things have been pretty good since the family split up."

Huo Jiyun looked down. On the table were two dishes and a soup: chicken stew with shiitake mushrooms, yam and wood ear fungus soup, and tomato and egg drop soup.

This food is even better than the special meals for officers in the army.

"Since we moved here, we've been able to eat meat every day!" Huo Ning clenched her little fist, very happy.

"Really? So happy?" Huo Jiyun couldn't help but soften his voice when speaking to Huo Ning.

"Mom buys us toys and new clothes, and we can eat two White Rabbit candies every day."

Huo Chen added that he hoped Huo Jiyun would know how good Qiao An was, so that perhaps he wouldn't abandon his mother and them and leave this place.

"Whenever you mention this, Mom has to find a carpenter to make some furniture. We have so many clothes and blankets that we don't have any room to put them."

"And with winter approaching, I need to buy some charcoal, otherwise I'll just have to stay on the kang (heated brick bed) when I get home."

Qiao An spoke as if it were a casual conversation, treating Huo Jiyun as if she were an outsider.

"Mom, how is my eldest sister's health?" Huo Ning looked towards the side room.

Mentioning Huo Fang, Qiao An's eyes instantly darkened. "Your aunt is a real scoundrel. Just because I gave Fangfang her tuition for next year, she beat her up like this. Today, Mom announced at the old house that Fangfang will live with us from now on, and Mom will support her schooling."

These days, having more people in the family doesn't just mean having more chopsticks.

Who doesn't carefully manage their food intake? Occasional assistance is one thing, but to directly threaten to take someone away requires immense courage.

Huo Jiyun considered for a moment whether it would be enough to support the four of them if he sent them thirty yuan of his allowance every month.

Ordinary families would have no problem with that, but if they had to eat meat every day...

Huo Jiyun began to think about how to get hostages from the brigade commander and political commissar.

"I like my eldest sister, so let her live with us." Huo Ning raised both hands in agreement.

Huo Chen, however, acted like a little adult, saying, "Mom, when my older sister comes to our house, will Auntie and the others cause trouble? You have to go to work in town during the day, and my sister and I can't beat them."

Qiao An gently tapped Huo Chen's head with the tip of her chopsticks.

"Silly girl, Daddy's back now, what are you afraid of?"

"If anyone dares to cause trouble, your father will kick them out!"

Only then did Huo Chen remember Huo Jiyun. He turned his head, his eyes shining, and asked, "Is Dad better at fighting than Mom?"

"Dad, have you ever attacked someone with a knife?"

"Dad, do you slap people across the face too?"

Huo Jiyun was stumped by the question.

What does "也" mean?

Could it be that Joan...?

He had just witnessed someone slap someone across the face; it was incredibly swift and decisive.

But isn't it a bit too arrogant to use a knife to attack someone?

"Ahem..." Joan said somewhat awkwardly.

After all, it was the first time the couple had met, and he was such a handsome guy; she had her pride too.

The women in the shelter had told her that men liked weak women who needed protection.

A commander as powerful as her is destined to never find a partner.

Now she has finally transmigrated to a world without war, zombies, or catastrophe, and there aren't many people who need her protection.

Shouldn't I be able to play the victim now?

Thinking of this, Qiao An began to defend herself, "It's all a misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding, I'm powerless."

Are you so weak that you can't even kill a chicken?

Huo Jiyun looked down at her with a half-smile, "I saw you kick down our front door."

Joanne pouted, "I never said I was so weak I couldn't even kill a chicken."

Huo Jiyun finally couldn't help but chuckle softly.

Joan ignored him and continued eating her chicken.

Seeing that she didn't speak, Huo Jiyun also started to eat.

Jiang Zhaozhao's cooking is really delicious, even better than the chefs in the army.

The chicken is stewed to perfection and so flavorful! And these shiitake mushrooms are so delicious they'll make your eyebrows fall off!

There were also yams and wood ear mushrooms. He had never known that yams could be stir-fried and eaten, and that they could be so crisp and delicious.

But it's already the end of November, where did Qiao An get all these vegetables?

Huo Jiyun had too many questions, but he didn't speak.

After all, we've only just met, so asking so many questions seems rather impolite.

After lunch, just as everyone put down their chopsticks, Huo Jiyun took the plates and bowls to the kitchen.

Qiao An followed him over and saw that he was actually rolling up his sleeves to wash the dishes.

She was wondering whether she should go up and pretend to be a virtuous wife and loving mother or something.

Huo Jiyun turned his head and saw Qiao An's face scrunched up in a frown. "What are you thinking about?"

"Um... use this to wash, it cleans well."

Joanne handed him a bar of soap.

In the novel, dish soap was only available in big cities during that era; villagers used alkaline flour, and very wealthy families used soap.

Huo Jiyun stared wide-eyed at the soap in his hand; this was far too extravagant.

They actually need to use soap to wash the dishes.

Thirty yuan a month probably isn't enough...

Commander Huo is under immense pressure.