Cannon Fodder Husband Ch.131-132

Chapter 131 – Holding Hands

Upon hearing her words, Jiang Junmo was deeply touched. “Lu Xia, thank you.”

Hearing him call her name so formally, Lu Xia still felt a bit uncomfortable.

Jiang Junmo was the same, so he hesitated and asked, “Do you have a nickname?”

Lu Xia shook her head. “There’s no formal one. My family used to call me ‘second child’ or ‘Xiao Xia.'”

Jiang Junmo paused and said, “Then from now on, I’ll call you Xia Xia.”

“Huh? Sure, okay!”

Lu Xia smiled and nodded. “What should I call you then?”

“Weren’t you just calling me Junmo?”

“Isn’t calling each other by names a bit unfamiliar? Do you have a nickname?”

Jiang Junmo didn’t hide it and said directly, “Xiao Mo.”

Lu Xia smiled and nodded. “Alright, then I’ll call you Mo Mo from now on.”

Jiang Junmo: “…” Hearing her call him Mo Mo, for some reason, he felt a bit like how his grandfather used to call the big black dog he raised.

However, he still agreed, “Okay.”

After saying that, he took her hand and said, “The road is not good, let me hold your hand.”

Lu Xia looked at him speechlessly and said, “It’s cold outside, my hands are freezing.”

Jiang Junmo responded by putting her hand, along with his own, into the pocket of his military coat.

“This way, it won’t be cold anymore.”

In the darkness, Lu Xia rolled her eyes silently and muttered to herself, ‘Turns out he’s a mènsāo!’

However, she didn’t refuse and walked back home with him, her lips curved into a smile.

That night before going to bed, as she looked at the snow still falling outside, Lu Xia breathed a sigh of relief. Well, good, by tomorrow morning, the footprints should be gone…

The next day, when she woke up, the snow was still falling, and the thickness of it had reached almost knee-level. The door almost couldn’t be opened.

She breathed another sigh of relief; it seemed that the footprints from last night should be completely covered.

After both of them got up and had a simple breakfast, Jiang Junmo took the initiative to grab a broom and went outside to sweep the snow.

Lu Xia looked at the still falling snow and figured that it might be futile to sweep it, so she shouted at him, “Just clear a path to the door; take it easy, and if you feel cold, come back quickly!”

“Okay!” Jiang Junmo obediently replied.

However, when Lu Xia finished tidying up the house and looked outside again, she found that he had already cleared the path and was now sweeping the snow in other areas.

Lu Xia hurriedly put on her clothes and went outside. “Didn’t I tell you to just clear a path? Why are you still sweeping?”

Jiang Junmo looked up at her with a smile. “The snow in other places needs to be cleared eventually, so I’ll do that first. Otherwise, it will be even harder to handle if it accumulates more.”

Though he said so, can his body handle it?

So Lu Xia took the initiative and said, “You’ve been sweeping for so long; take a rest now. I’ll take care of the rest.”

Jiang Junmo knew she was worried about him, but he didn’t put down the broom. “Don’t worry; I’m fine. This exercise has actually made me feel warmer!”

Lu Xia carefully looked at him. Indeed, his face was red now, as if he was indeed feeling warm.

“Okay then, if you get tired, rest quickly. Hey, once the snow stops, we’ll have to buy another broom from the village and sweep together.”

“Sure!”

In the end, Jiang Junmo insisted on clearing the snow in the yard completely before coming back.

As he said, he didn’t get cold; instead, his body felt warmer due to the physical activity. When he returned, steam was rising from his body as he took off the military coat.

Lu Xia was surprised, realizing that his body had indeed improved quite a bit.

She secretly felt happy for him.

Jiang Junmo also seemed to realize this and spent the whole day with a smile on his face.

*

Chapter 132 – Sending Cotton-Padded Jackets

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On snowy days, the two of them didn’t go out; instead, they stayed at home sewing clothes.

Lu Xia didn’t know how to sew, so she helped Jiang Junmo with the work.

Although they had quite a bit of cotton from dismantling a quilt, making three sets of clothes was still a bit challenging.

So in the end, Jiang Junmo decided to make only jackets, three thick cotton-padded jackets for the two adults and one child.

Lu Xia helped with stuffing the cotton, cutting the fabric, and even joined in on the sewing. Although her stitches were not as good as Jiang Junmo’s, they were still passable.

Watching Jiang Junmo skillfully cut and sew, even estimating the sizes himself, Lu Xia couldn’t help but feel envious. How could he, a man, be so good at this?

In comparison, she felt like a clumsy person!

They worked like this for three days until the cotton-padded jackets were finally done. Following Lu Xia’s suggestion, they also sewed several patches on them, making them look more worn-out and less eye-catching, which was finally satisfying.

Then, under the cover of darkness, they delivered the jackets to Senior Brother Xu.

Seeing the three thick cotton-padded jackets, Senior Brother Xu couldn’t help but shed tears. He managed to hide it since it was dark, but Lu Xia could still hear the choked voice.

This was exactly what they needed the most at the moment, and Senior Brother Xu couldn’t refuse. Especially when he thought of how his wife and son shivered from the cold every day, it broke his heart.

In the end, he reluctantly accepted the jackets and said, “Junior Brother, sister in law, I will remember this favor. Right now, I can’t promise you anything, but I’ll keep it in my heart. I’ll never forget this.”

Jiang Junmo quickly replied, “Senior Brother, don’t say that. This is nothing. It’s my fault for not thinking of this earlier and preparing them for you.”

“It’s alright now. It’s alright.”

After a brief exchange, Jiang Junmo and Lu Xia didn’t stay longer and said their goodbyes before leaving.

On the way back, Jiang Junmo seemed to still be blaming himself. Lu Xia took the initiative to hold his hand and comforted him, “Don’t overthink it. You’re not a saint; you can’t think of everything.”

Jiang Junmo sighed, “But I knew that the conditions there weren’t good, yet I never expected that they wouldn’t even have thick cotton-padded jackets. They’ve suffered so much.”

Lu Xia knew that he was blaming himself for this and said, “This isn’t your fault. If you hadn’t come, they would still have to go through this. Now that you know, just help them more in the future.”

Jiang Junmo sighed again, seeming to have come to a realization. “I guess that’s all I can do.”

Saying this, he looked at Lu Xia and said, “Xia Xia, thank you.”

Lu Xia rolled her eyes at him. “Alright, enough with the emotional stuff. Let’s hurry back; it’s late, and you shouldn’t be exposed to the cold…”

“Okay.”

Then, hand in hand, they returned to their home in the pitch-dark night, with the snow swirling and the cold wind raging, supporting each other along the way.

The next day, the snow finally stopped.

The snow had fallen for several days, covering the village in a white blanket.

In the morning, every household started clearing the accumulated snow.

Lu Xia went to the village and bought another broom. Together with Jiang Junmo, they spent the whole morning cleaning the yard and even cleared a path in front of the house.

After the snow stopped, the outside temperature dropped significantly. After working all morning, although their bodies felt warm, their faces were stinging from the cold wind.

Lu Xia thought she would need to use some snow cream later to soothe her skin; otherwise, it would become rough. Oh well, Jiang Junmo would probably need some too—after all, he had to take care of that handsome face of his.

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**TN

“mènsāo” is a Chinese buzzword, it kind of means someone who suppresses their emotions and appears quiet, cold or dull on the outside, while inside they’re not.