1330 Wait for Me to Come Back
Li Gui already treated Qian’e like her own daughter and she trusted that whatever Qian’e said would always make sense. Why could Qian’e want to harm her?

She had always been bullied in the past because she was too soft-hearted. One could not always just let things be and she must change her habit of being too kind-hearted.

Although it was a good thing for Qiao Mei and her team to have settled the issue with Zhao Fei, it did not bring her any happiness. It was almost time for Xia Zhe to return to the army. The days had flown by unknowingly and it was already more than a month since he came back.

“Do you really have to go back? Then I’ll have to take care of the children on my own…” Qiao Mei looked at Xia Zhe aggrievedly.

“Be good. I’ll be back soon after this mission. If everything goes well, I’ll try my best to come back within a month, is that alright?” Xia Zhe said as he hugged Qiao Mei.

Qiao Mei did not believe what Xia Zhe said! He had never managed to come back within a month. He only said that to pacify her every time! Qiao Mei was actually just throwing a tantrum so that Xia Zhe would dote on her more for now. She knew that she had to look at the bigger picture and should not delay Xia Zhe from going back to work.

As usual, she packed Xia Zhe’s luggage this time round. The medicinal wine she gave him the last time had been too eye-catching and attracted envious looks too easily. This time, Qiao Mei had bought two small metal bottles from the antique market. They were each about the size of a thumb and Xia Zhe could carry them around conveniently.

The liquid inside was also different from the previous batches. Recently, Qiao Mei had accidentally discovered that she could extract red-colored juice from the ginsengs, which looked like fresh blood. However, she was not sure how old the ginseng needed to be for this kind of juice to be extracted and she also did not succeed every time she tried. Sometimes, it was still the same golden color as before. She had to try around 20 times before she managed to get one or two drops of red liquid.

However, she was sure that this red ginseng juice was definitely more effective than the golden ginseng juice. Xia Zhe already knew that the ginseng juice could even bring people back from the dead, so Qiao Mei did not hide anything from him.

“I used an extraction method that I found from studying ancient books. The medicinal effect is better than the previous types. You have to keep it well in case of emergencies. You can’t take it out unless you’re in danger, do you understand?” Qiao Mei said as she stared into Xia Zhe’s eyes.

She simply came up with a random reason as a form of explanation. If she really could not convince him, she would just say that it was a method passed down from her ancestors and that Xia Zhe could check with Qiao Qiang if he wished. She believed that Xia Zhe would not really go to Qiao Qiang to refute it.

“Alright, whatever you say. I’ll definitely carry it next to me,” Xia Zhe said.

“You can’t give it to others, not even if they’re in danger. This is only for you, do you remember! If you let others use it, I’ll be very annoyed with you!” Qiao Mei said.

“Yes, yes, yes. I know. I’ll definitely listen to my wife and won’t do anything that you disallow,” Xia Zhe agreed.

“That’s good. If I find out that you lied to me, you can forget about coming home from now on!” Qiao Mei pouted and said with a furious look.

Qiao Mei was not such a heartless person for sure. How could Xia Zhe watch his brothers-in-arms die of their injuries? Qiao Mei had also prepared a big bottle of diluted 100-year-old ginseng juice for him. She knew that Xia Zhe would definitely not be able to hold himself back from saving other people, so she might as well prepare a share for those people as well!
Xia Zhe hugged Qiao Mei tightly in his arms. This was the first time he had stayed by Qiao Mei’s side for so long, and also the first time he felt the warmth of home. Furthermore, it was not the home he shared with his parents, but his own home.

It was such a blissful thing to have his wife and children by his side. He really could not bear to leave this place.

“Once my mission is over, should I come back to the capital and work here?” Xia Zhe asked.

“Are you willing to give up your title of ‘top army warrior’? If you return to the capital, won’t you have to take up a civilian position and end up like Second Uncle? Are you willing to do that?” Qiao Mei asked curiously.

He was actually unwilling.

However, he would make this choice for his family. If he was still the old him, he would definitely want to perform well on the battlefield and be like Xia Jun, fighting bravely at the front line until the end.

Yet he knew the kind of trauma that would bring to his family and children. He also did not want Xia Fan and Xia Xing to go through what he had experienced when he was young.

“Who says that I can only take up a civilian position when I come back? Don’t worry, I’ll be back when the mission is over,” Xia Zhe said with a smile.

The two of them hugged each other in the courtyard as they looked at the stars in the sky. This was actually the first time they spent such a quiet moment together.