Lu Fangfang held the letter and read it for a while.

"Mingcheng, are there any single battalion-level officers in the regiment? The kind who can accompany their husbands to the army."

Zhuang Mingcheng glanced at his wife in surprise, then shook his head.

"No, let alone battalion-level officers, I don't know about other battalions, but none of the company-level officers in our battalion are single. Even several platoon leaders have already gotten engaged."

"Then I've really struck gold."

Lu Fangfang looked at her husband and said teasingly.

"Just so you know."

Zhuang Mingcheng, shameless as ever, took his wife's hand and rubbed it in his palm.

He was startled when he heard the door to the incubator rattle, so he quickly let go and took a step back.

Lu Fangfang couldn't help but roll her eyes at him.

She looked at the letter again and shook her head. It seemed that her sister-in-law's efforts had been in vain; finding a cadre was not easy.

That's true, soldiers had a high status in this era.

Let alone company-level officers, even a platoon leader earns fifty-two yuan a month, which is higher than the average worker's salary. They would definitely get married early.

"When I get home, I'll write a letter to my parents and tell them to refuse this red flower offer. We can't let her come over."

As Lu Fangfang spoke, she picked up the letter and continued reading.

She was somewhat surprised to see in the letter that her younger sister also wanted to come and take care of her.

Zhuang Mingcheng stepped forward and looked at it curiously.

This letter must have been written by his father-in-law; the handwriting is quite neat.

"Xiuxiu? Fangfang, is this Xiuxiu your sister? How old is she this year?"

"She's only fourteen years old, but she's not in school anymore. She started working and taking care of her family at a very young age."

Lu Fangfang sighed.

According to her memory, this is her younger sister, Lu Xiuxiu. Like her, she learned some characters in elementary school but stopped going to school. Now she is just waiting to find a husband in a few years.

"I see."

Zhuang Mingcheng seemed to be deep in thought.

This age is just right. He doesn't expect his wife's younger sister to be able to do any work; he just wants another person to look after his wife.

"Fangfang, why don't you ask your sister to come over?"

Lu Fangfang thought for a moment, still quite hesitant, "She's so young, I'm not comfortable with her taking the train."

“It’s alright, I’ll find someone to get her a sleeper ticket and talk to the train conductor. We’ll pick her up in the county town then.”

"Let me think about it some more."

Lu Fangfang folded a piece of paper, put it in her pocket, and then opened the letters from the provincial capital.

This letter wasn't sent to Wen Hui herself, but rather written by her mother, Sun Yafang; it was quite formal.

She unfolded the letter, glanced at it, and then a smile appeared on her face.

Seeing this, Zhuang Mingcheng knew that the comic book project was definitely a success.

"Fangfang, is your comic book going to be published?"

"Yes, President Sun said that their publishing house has agreed to publish a comic book about the Qilian Mountains."

"The final draft is thirty pages long. President Sun ordered sixty-one illustrations from me, including a cover illustration in color."

Lu Fangfang was very happy; this made her happier than being on the front page of the newspaper.

There was still some pressure in my heart; more than sixty sketches were no easy task.

"President Sun said that each drawing is worth three yuan, so once I finish drawing, it will be one hundred and eighty-three yuan."

Being able to publish a children's book is an affirmation of her painting skills, and it makes her happier than the 183 yuan reward.

Of course, she still wants payment for the manuscript.

"Fangfang, congratulations!"

Zhuang Mingcheng smiled broadly, feeling quite pleased with himself.

If you can publish one children's book, then you can publish a second, a third...

In the future, he wants his children to grow up reading his wife's comic books; that would definitely be very interesting.

"Comrade Zhuang Mingcheng, we owe a great deal to your support."

Lu Fangfang took Zhuang Mingcheng's hand and shook it vigorously.

If Zhuang Mingcheng hadn't called her to see the Pallas's cats separate from their family, she wouldn't have been able to draw the story of the Pallas's cats.

...

"Cough cough~"

Zhao Lanying, carrying a basket of quail eggs, walked past the two without glancing at them.

Their faces flushed slightly, and they quickly separated their hands.

Zhuang Mingcheng took the last package and handed it to his wife.

"Fangfang, here you go. The troupe is very busy, so I'll head back now."

"Go quickly."

Lu Fangfang nodded and reached out to take it.

This is drawing paper that President Sun sent to her. The publishing house has specific requirements for the artwork, and having this stack of drawing paper saved her the trouble of buying it herself.

After her husband left, she pulled up a chair, sat in the yard, and carefully looked at the letter again.

The letter contained the stories arranged by the publisher, with each drawing corresponding to a plot point of the story.

The publisher didn't make any changes; they just used her story about the Pallas's cat, only cutting out some content. She seemed quite proud of it.

She is the author of both the text and the illustrations for this children's book; it is entirely her work.

"Xiao Lu, has Commander Zhuang left?"

Zhao Lanying looked outside, a motherly smile on her face.

The relationship between this young couple is truly enviable.

Zhuang Tuan could talk too, making Xiao Lu smile all day long, unlike her man, who was so quiet you couldn't get a word out of him, like a mute.

"He's gone. He's been resting for over a month, and he has a lot of things to do at the troupe, so he has to go back and get busy."

Lu Fangfang was still a little embarrassed.

Seeing Lan Ying's sister-in-law looking at her with a smile, she coughed, and shamelessly picked up the letter to continue reading.

"Xiao Lu, I just heard you mention a publishing house that wants you to draw? To draw pictures of our Qilian Mountains?"

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