Witty Wife, Better Life-Chapter 871 - 861: 7 Years Later

Another seven years later...

Li Hongjun, the forty-six-year-old young leader, finally got transferred to the Capital Military Region with his wife, fulfilling the first promise he had made to her earlier than expected.

"Wife, you’ve worked hard," Li Hongjun said sincerely.

When they initially moved to Q Province, the area was a desolate wilderness that the soldiers had developed little by little. One could imagine what the conditions of the family housing area were like back then.

Shen Yunfang had no complaints. She packed up her things and moved directly into the temporary quarters. As conditions at the military region improved bit by bit, she moved house continuously until she finally lived in a higher-grade farmhouse courtyard, which allowed her to enjoy a few more years of a rural life, raising chickens and ducks.

What moved Li Hongjun was that his wife never once complained, no matter the conditions; she would follow him without a word. Besides not causing him any concern at home, she also provided significant support in his work.

In order to help stabilize the home front for this leader, Shen Yunfang went to the new military region and, after observing for six months, began to reengage in her old profession by organizing interested military wives to start reclaiming land for agriculture.

Since the military region was located in the mountains with inconvenient transportation, Shen Yunfang chose to plant potatoes and sweet potatoes. Later, seeing enough labor was available, she also organized people to cultivate mushrooms and wood ear fungus, which resulted in bountiful harvests.

Each harvest season, Shen Yunfang, the leader’s wife, would personally go to the military region’s logistics department with a few representatives of military wives to seek support and policies. They would arrange for vehicles from the military region to transport the mushrooms or other agricultural products out of the mountains, and then directly export them to foreign countries using Feiyang’s channels.

Within a few years, most of the families in the housing area reached the subsistence line and were sprinting towards a more prosperous life.

It is said that military people are selfless, but how many can truly be selfless? Shen Yunfang’s actions as the leader’s wife won the support of all the military wives. Even Li Hongjun felt that his soldiers were much easier to lead, and everyone looked at him with admiration and respect.

As the highest leader, Li Hongjun was pleased and proud, but on the surface, he had to maintain a cool demeanor for his subordinates to see.

Over these many years, with the leadership of Shen Yunfang, the family compound of his military region was harmonious. Little spats became insignificant. Everyone was busy making money, leaving no room for gossip, which reduced friction and created stability and unity at home.

This tranquility and unity at home directly affected the performance of the soldiers at the front. With no worries behind them, the soldiers trained even harder and completed their missions more satisfactorily. Thus, Li Hongjun’s second ten-year plan was accomplished in just seven years.

"It’s not hard work, it’s serving the people," Shen Yunfang replied, the same as she had seven years before.

These seven years also brought considerable change to Shen Yunfang. Due to the inconvenient transportation and despite having a car, she rarely left the mountains to go to the city. Plus, with the children away at school, she spent her days busy with the house and the fields, which over the years, refined her presence to be more subdued and inward, making her appear more intellectual and gentle.

Many might find it unbelievable—how could someone tending the soil day in and day out become more intellectual? Don’t doubt it; even in the deep mountains, Shen Yunfang never let herself look haggard. This old lady, having lived so many years, understood one thing well: Besides being tough on herself, a woman must also be kind to herself.

She wasn’t short on money. Tilling the land was part hobby and part desire to help her husband. By doing so, she unintentionally helped those rosy-cheeked, calloused-handed military wives, which made her very happy.

But despite everything, she always remained the one above it all, the boss, who could occasionally join in the fun with others, but most of the time, she was just the one offering lip service.

After several years of comfortable living, hadn’t Yunfang become more reserved and graceful?

With her stature, if she were to stand among the ladies of the Capital, she would certainly stand out as one of the few exceptional ones.

"You, you’re still so mischievous," Li Hongjun said with indulgent affection as he kissed his wife’s forehead.

Since the children had gone off to school, it was just the two old folks at home, and they had become even more affectionate than when they were younger. Without any ’light bulbs’ at home, and with both bodies made robust by years of taking Essence of Life, one could imagine the heat between the two when they were alone.

Because of his status, Li Hongjun had long since stopped going on missions, so for these past years, the couple had been inseparable, very much in love.

Shen Yunfang blushed slightly when he kissed her, feeling a bit embarrassed. At their age, to have the children see them being so affectionate really seemed a bit improper, "Be careful, the kids have come back."

"Mom, you can ignore me, I didn’t see anything," Manman said with wide eyes, watching her parents amorously, full of cheek.

Li Hongjun turned back, speechless, looking at his eldest daughter who was brazenly lying through her teeth. But having not seen her for so long and not wanting to speak harshly, he could only helplessly say, "Look, our daughter has gotten all your mischievously playful spirit. Manman, stop squatting there, hurry up and get inside, put away your things. Your mom has prepared a table full of delicious food waiting for you."

Pangpang and Manman had only lived in Q Province for a year before packing their bags and going to the Capital for school, after all, the educational resources in Q Province were lagging and couldn’t delay the children’s learning.

So many years had passed, and both children were in university now, but in the eyes of their mother Shen Yunfang, they were still as boisterous as ever.

"Ah, I’m so happy, I can eat Mom’s cooking again," Manman exclaimed dramatically, pumping her arms into the air. She always knew, in this household, Mom was the boss, and making Mom happy was the only way to have good days, so she never minded putting on an act to make her mom laugh.

"You keep on being cheeky, you’re even more mischievous than your brother," Shen Yunfang tapped her daughter’s little head, still unable to stop herself from smiling at her daughter’s flattery.

Manman showed her displeasure with a snarl, "Mom, I’m not happy with what you said. Please don’t compare me, a beautiful young lady, with that big block of ice."

When the siblings first came to the Capital for school, they both had excellent grades. When it came time to apply for universities, they called home to ask for their parents’ opinion. Shen Yunfang had no particular preference, as long as the children were happy, the choice of university or major didn’t matter to her. However, Li Hongjun had different ideas. For his daughter, he agreed with his wife; as long as their treasure was happy, that was good enough. But for his son, he expected him to shoulder the responsibilities of a man, insisting that Pangpang must apply to a military academy.

Luckily, Pangpang had already passed his rebellious phase, and without any specific plans for his own future, he felt the path his father suggested was not unappealing. Thus, he became the obedient child, and from then on, he was stuck on a ’pirate ship’ with no way off.

"You, you only have the guts behind your brother’s back," Shen Yunfang shook her head helplessly, her daughter was the typical rebel at home, "Alright, let’s eat. After dinner, Mom has something she wants to talk to you about."