"I have four hundred yuan in my savings account. I'll give it to you after I withdraw it."

"I don't want to."

Lu Fangfang shook her head; she didn't want to take too much money from Zhuang Mingcheng.

The fifty yuan in her hand was enough for her to raise quails.

Then she'll buy two more hens, and in about six months, she'll be able to make money.

"Fangfang, don't overthink it. You know about Li Dajun's situation. I've been busy these days and haven't been able to take care of things in the family compound. Once the housing application is approved, you'll have to help with the furnishing. We can't do it without money."

Lu Fangfang shook her head again, "I'll talk to you when I need the money."

Upon hearing this, Zhuang Mingcheng said nothing more.

He put the passbook back into the drawer and then went to exchange it for grain coupons.

Lu Fangfang was alone in the room, looking around curiously.

Seeing paper and pen on the table, she simply sat down and began to write a letter.

I've been away from home for over a month now; my family must be getting worried.

She didn't write anything else, just that she had arrived at the army base and settled in smoothly, which put her family at ease, and she also mentioned the matter of money.

After a while, when the paper was completely filled with writing, Lu Fangfang finally stopped writing.

With nothing else to do, she tidied up the house again.

Seeing some unwashed dirty clothes nearby, she threw them into an enamel basin, intending to wash them together with her own clothes later.

Just as I finished my work, someone outside called out, "Battalion Commander Zhuang? Battalion Commander Zhuang?"

A man in military uniform and wearing glasses walked into the house.

Upon seeing Lu Fangfang, he paused for a moment, then excitedly said, "You must be Zhuang Mingcheng's wife? That's wonderful, that's wonderful! Hello, sister-in-law, my surname is Xu, my name is Xu Jinbu, and I'm a friend of Battalion Commander Zhuang."

"Comrade Lu, hello."

Looking at the excited Xu Jinbu, Lu Fangfang felt a little embarrassed.

She was a little puzzled by his reaction, but she didn't think much of it, assuming he was just happy for Zhuang Mingcheng.

"Comrade Xu, please have a seat. Mingcheng has gone out, he should be back in a little while."

"It's alright, it's alright."

Xu Jinbu was beaming. He paced back and forth a couple of times, then suddenly remembered something.

No, he had to tell Dr. Xiao about this good news.

"Sister-in-law, since Battalion Commander Zhuang isn't here, I'll be leaving now. Goodbye, sister-in-law."

Goodbye...

As soon as Lu Fangfang finished speaking, she saw that the person had already walked out of the house.

She hurried to the door, intending to see him off.

"Battalion Commander Xu, Battalion Commander Xu, the political commissar is calling for you."

Lu Fangfang looked around curiously and saw that the soldier surnamed Liu who had followed Xiao Aiguo yesterday was running over.

"Xiao Liu, what does the political commissar want with me?"

"Great news, very great news, Battalion Commander Xu, you're still single, right? The political commissar wants to introduce you to someone."

...

Lu Fangfang strained her ears, listening curiously.

She subconsciously thought of Zhu Haiming.

It seems that Political Commissar Xiao is going to introduce her to Battalion Commander Xu.

Seeing Xu Jinbu leave with the soldier surnamed Liu, Lu Fangfang shook her head, somewhat pessimistic about their chances.

"Xu Jinbu, Xu Jinbu, people have written their progressive ideas into their names, but that doesn't necessarily mean they can accept a capitalist's woman."

"Fangfang, what are you looking at?"

As soon as Zhuang Mingcheng returned, he saw Lu Fangfang sticking her head out.

He looked over there but didn't see anyone.

Lu Fangfang came to her senses.

She mentioned Xu Jinbu briefly, but didn't talk about the blind date.

Zhuang Mingcheng didn't pay any attention.

He took out the grain coupons he had just exchanged from his pocket and handed them to Lu Fangfang. "There aren't many grain coupons in the regiment, so I only exchanged forty jin. I thought I'd send them over first, and that should be enough."

"That's enough, that's enough."

Lu Fangfang held the food coupons, feeling somewhat reluctant to part with them.

Forty jin of grain coupons can buy forty jin of flour. How many white steamed buns can that make?

Moreover, these are national grain coupons; as long as you have them, you can buy grain anywhere, which is extremely valuable.

Zhuang Mingcheng must have had to do a lot of favors to get these grain coupons.

With a sigh, Lu Fangfang felt she owed him even more, and didn't know when she would be able to repay him.

After thinking for a moment, she silently encouraged herself.

It's just forty catties of grain coupons. She'll repay it with forty catties of quail eggs. She'll definitely raise Zhuang Mingcheng to be plump and healthy.

Thinking of this, Lu Fangfang felt much better. "Mingcheng, can we send letters from the troupe?"

Zhuang Mingcheng looked at her and almost burst out laughing.

He coughed, nodded quickly, and said, "Give it to me, I'll mail it to you."

There happened to be some useless envelopes and stamps in the drawer.

Zhuang Mingcheng gave it to Lu Fangfang, and after she wrote down the address, he put the money and tickets inside the letter.

After checking it over, Zhuang Mingcheng took the letter and strode away; he had to mail it out quickly.

This is the most difficult time for the Lu family. The sooner this money arrives, the less suffering the Lu family will endure. We cannot afford to delay.

Lu Fangfang was free again.

She looked around the room and found a bar of soap used for washing clothes.

She went out and asked a soldier where to wash clothes, then carried the enamel basin back to the guesthouse.

After walking for a month, Lu Fangfang's clothes were so dirty they were stiff.

She rummaged through them and threw them all into the enamel basin.

Carrying a basin of dirty clothes, Lu Fangfang walked several dozen meters east of the family compound as instructed by the soldier, and saw a small river.

At that moment, several women were washing clothes by the river.

Lu Fangfang carried the basin over, found a spot, and squatted down.

The water in the stream was very cold, and she wasn't used to it when she first touched it.

After washing the clothes for a while, Lu Fangfang's hands were already ice-cold, so she quickly brought them to her mouth and breathed on them to warm them up.

A woman standing nearby, noticing her actions, smiled and said:

"Comrade, the water in this river flows down from the snow-capped mountains. It's icy cold all year round. If you find it too cold, you can carry it back and dry it in the sun before using it to wash clothes."

"Thank you, sister-in-law. It's nothing. I'm just not used to it yet."

Lu Fangfang glanced at the person who spoke; it was a short-haired, round-faced woman who seemed easy to get along with.

After thinking about it, she realized that she must have seen this sister-in-law yesterday afternoon.

"Hey girl, aren't you from Political Commissar Xiao's family? Why are you doing laundry as soon as you get here?"

Lu Fangfang shook her head. "No, she is... she is Comrade Zhuang Mingcheng's fiancée."

"What? Battalion Commander Zhuang's fiancée?"

Several women washing clothes nearby had already pricked up their ears.

Upon hearing Lu Fangfang's words, the group began to discuss excitedly.

"Wow! When did Battalion Commander Zhuang get a fiancée? That's so sudden!"

"Hey, someone's going to be sad."

...