Zheng Dali nodded in satisfaction. This man was quite good; he had an upright demeanor, a decent appearance, and looked respectable. "Don't just stand here, come in and sit down."

Zheng Dali and Zheng Yang were in the living room talking to Jiang Tao, while Jiang Ruyu and Zheng Xiaoyue were cooking in the kitchen, with Zheng Yang coming in to help from time to time.

Soon, a fairly plentiful meal was served. Braised pork was a must, and the garlic ribs, which were deep-fried and then stir-fried with minced garlic, looked very appetizing. There were also sweet and sour shrimp, old duck soup, winter melon stewed chicken, stir-fried eggs with chives, spinach and egg soup, and a plate of jujubes and oranges for dessert.

Zheng Yang took out two bottles of Moutai: "Good wine goes well with good food. Speaking of which, you and Xiaoyue are quite destined to meet. Let's have a good drink today."

This was to test Jiang Tao's character with alcohol.

Jiang Tao is generally not allowed to drink alcohol in the army, but he will drink a little when his comrades get married or when his brothers get together. He has a decent alcohol tolerance, but he doesn't drink much. He knows that he has to drink on this occasion.

"Big brother is right, I have a special connection with our family, so we have to drink this wine." Jiang Tao didn't care about saving face; he was a year older than his future brother-in-law, so he still had to obediently call him "brother" in order to get married.

Jiang Ruyu was surprised that he was so willing to lower himself. She smiled with satisfaction and then teased her sister-in-law, "This brother-in-law is quite good."

"Sister-in-law, what are you saying?" Zheng Xiaoyue was so amused by her sister-in-law that she looked up at Jiang Tao embarrassedly.

Under Zheng Yang and his father's deliberate influence, Jiang Tao inevitably drank a bit too much. However, Jiang Tao always spoke reasonably and did not say anything inappropriate just because he was drunk. He passed this test of his drinking ability.

After dinner, Jiang Tao rested in Zheng Xiaoyue's room for an hour or so, gradually sobering up. Zheng Xiaoyue sat beside him reading a book. When Jiang Tao woke up, he saw this scene and felt a warm current rise in his heart. This was the other half he wanted.

She doesn't need to have a good family background or be particularly beautiful, but she must be gentle, polite, and quiet enough to be alone. That's his ideal partner.

He seemed to foresee the scene of her patiently teaching the children when they had children in the future.

Zheng Xiaoyue glanced up casually and saw Jiang Tao staring intently at her with a smug smile. She blushed and asked, "What are you looking at?"

"Look at my boyfriend," Jiang Tao said with a sly grin.

Zheng Xiaoyue's face turned bright red again: "You, humph, shameless."

"Am I wrong? Aren't you my boyfriend?"

Zheng Xiaoyue knew that Jiang Tao liked to tease her, so she glared at him and ignored him.

"Let's get engaged?" Jiang Tao didn't want to wait any longer. Such a wonderful girl, and he wouldn't be back for a long time after he left. He was afraid that someone else would steal her away, and then he would have nowhere to cry.

Zheng Xiaoyue didn't expect him to bring this up so directly: "Are you in such a hurry?"

"You're so wonderful, how could I not be anxious? I wish I could marry you tomorrow and bring you to the army so I can see you every day." Jiang Tao truly spoke his mind without any regard for the consequences.

Zheng Xiaoyue blushed at his words: "Pah, you scoundrel."

After the two families had a friendly discussion, a day later, Jiang Tao, along with his parents and the matchmaker's sister-in-law, visited the two families according to the customs of Yanjing. After the two families got to know each other, they discussed the engagement of the two children.

Jiang Ruyu and Zheng Xiaoyue also met Jiang Tao's mother. To be honest, she didn't seem to have any bad qualities. Although she wasn't particularly enthusiastic, she always had a smile on her face, only occasionally glancing at Zheng Xiaoyue with displeasure.

Jiang Tao knew what kind of person his mother was. If it weren't for the fact that the engagement was such a big deal, and his mother not coming would make it seem like she didn't value Zheng Xiaoyue, he wouldn't have let her come.

Seeing the look in his mother's eyes, Jiang Tao understood Zheng Xiaoyue's worries. He also decided that after getting married, he would take her with him to his military post so that she wouldn't have any opportunities to be alone with his mother. He would cherish his own wife; it had finally come to him the person he wanted to marry.

The lunch banquet was held at the State Guesthouse, at Jiang Tao's request. He even argued with his mother about it several times, but in the end, his mother couldn't persuade him otherwise. He did this to tell his family that he valued his future wife, who was not yet married to him, and that they should also be mindful of their own attitudes.

During lunch, Jiang Tao showed his care for Zheng Xiaoyue on the table, and even his father couldn't bear to look at his son's face, which was beaming like a chrysanthemum.

After dinner, Jiang Tao solemnly introduced Zheng Xiaoyue to his parents: "Mom and Dad, this is Xiaoyue. She will be my wife who walks alongside me, my love, and the mother of my future children. I hope you can treat her as you would treat me, and love and respect her."

Jiang Tao's mother almost lost her composure. She knew these words were meant for her, that she had truly wasted her life raising this son.

Finally, for the sake of her own manners and face, Jiang Tao's mother still smiled and said a few polite words, and gave him a red envelope embroidered with flowers and a wooden box. Jiang Tao's father, on the other hand, smiled and said a few heartfelt words.

“My son has always been very independent and has never caused me any trouble with his schooling or work. He’s just too hard on himself. Now, he has someone he wants to cherish, and I’m very happy. I hope you can cherish this relationship and continue to have a good relationship.”

Jiang Tao's father also gave a red envelope, which looked quite bulging, and it also contained a box with something of unknown origin.

The engagement was successfully concluded, and Jiang Tao had to return to his unit early the next morning. This time, for Zheng Xiaoyue's sake, he had delayed his return to the unit twice. If it weren't for the fact that he had hardly taken any leave in the past few years, and this time it was to resolve personal issues, the leaders would not have given him such a long leave.

Zheng Xiaoyue saw Jiang Tao off at the train station with the things she had prepared for him: "Here you bought a jar of beef sauce and a jar of chili sauce, which I learned to make from my sister-in-law. I don't know what you like to eat, so I just made these for you first. If you like them, write to me and I'll send them to you."

Jiang Tao took it, gave her a quick hug, and then quickly pulled away: "I really like it. I like anything you make. I'll write to you, and you should write to me more often too, okay?"

Zheng Xiaoyue felt like crying. For several days in a row, she had gotten used to having this person around, but now he was leaving again: "Be careful at work. I will write to you."

Jiang Tao felt incredibly soft-hearted seeing the tears streaming down her face. He reached out and wiped them away for her. "Don't cry. If you cry, I won't be able to leave. Xiaoyue, I hope that when I come back next time, we can leave together so that we won't have to face separation again."

Zheng Xiaoyue looked into his eyes and nodded: "Okay."

Having just fallen in love, Zheng Xiaoyue was faced with separation. She was depressed for several days, but it was only after seeing her two chubby nieces that she slowly recovered.

Jiang Hui and Han Ling also returned in February to hand over their work and officially started working.