Chapter 24 Chapter 24...

Chapter Twenty-Four

July 10, 1970, the eighth day of the sixth lunar month, is an auspicious day for marriage.

Three months ago today, Yao Anhui came here, changing from Fang Anhui to Yao Anhui. Today, she will become Lu Yuanqing's wife, have a home, and may have one or two children in the future, living the life she wants.

There were no lavish weddings at this time; it was just a simple meal with relatives and friends. It wasn't exactly lively, but it was still quite lively, though it couldn't compare to the grand weddings of the past.

The wedding was held at a training ground that Lu Yuanqing's regiment had found. At that time, frugality was encouraged, and no one dared to be extravagant. Holding a large banquet in the canteen was out of the question.

However, since it was a wedding, Lu Yuanqing didn't want to make Yao Anhui feel uncomfortable, and he also took the opportunity to let the soldiers of his regiment have an extra meal, so he asked the logistics department to help buy some meat.

Normally, one company is assigned one cook squad, but today Lu Yuanqing gathered all the companies together to give everyone an extra meal.

To provide extra food for the soldiers of the First Regiment, Lu Yuanqing specially led a team into the mountains for training, and they also brought back a lot of game. The First Regiment had a lively and delicious day.

In the evening, Yao Anhui and Lu Yuanqing went to the cafeteria surrounded by everyone; the scene was warm and lively.

"Today is a joyous day, and as your witness, I feel extremely honored... I hope that you will respect and love each other in your future family life and build a warm and happy home together... Finally, I wish you a blissful marriage and a happy family!"

Finally, Guan Kangde, speaking as a member of the bride's family, told Lu Yuanqing that he hoped Lu Yuanqing would treat Yao Anhui well. He told Yao Anhui that after marriage, the Guan family would be her family, and if Lu Yuanqing treated her badly, the Guan family would support her.

To be honest, Yao Anhui didn't expect Guan Kangde to go this far, because this was putting his care for Yao Anhui in the open.

Before this, the XX Military Region knew that Yao Anhui's father had saved Guan Kangde's life. After Yao Anhui's father and daughter passed away, they were worried and specially took them over to take care of them. These words were deliberately spread by Xiang Jinghe before Yao Anhui came. At that time, Xiang Jinghe was worried that Yao Anhui was a person who could not make sense, so she made preparations in advance.

In reality, everyone just listened to these words and didn't really take them to heart. Just as Xiang Jinghe thought, everyone believed that Guan Kangde was only repaying Yao Ruifeng's life-saving grace.

However, once Guan Kangde said these words, it meant that he had actively gotten involved with Yao Anhui, especially in this chaotic era where being reported could lead to further repercussions.

Especially after Lu Yuanqing became the regimental commander two months ago, and people secretly spread rumors that it was because of Yao Anhui's connections.

Here's what happened: Lu Yuanqing had already made great contributions on the battlefield a few years ago, but because of his age and the lack of available positions, he was only given the treatment of a junior regimental commander at the time.

Not long ago, a regimental commander named Li was transferred from the army for some reason. At that time, the leaders planned to promote Lu Yuanqing, but it was temporarily put on hold because Lu Yuanqing had to participate in the army-wide competition.

After Lu Yuanqing returned to the army, his appointment as regimental commander was quickly approved. However, Yao Anhui acted too quickly. Before Lu Yuanqing could even return to work the next day, and before the appointment was officially approved, Yao Anhui had already removed him from his post.

Jiao Jingming, a 20-year-old battalion commander, was already quite remarkable, but Lu Yuanqing was even more impressive, becoming a regimental commander at the age of 25. Lu Yuanqing not only surpassed Jiao Jingming but also Wu Chengan, becoming the most prominent figure of his time.

It's said that mediocre people don't attract envy. Lu Yuanqing became a regimental commander at the young age of 25. How could those who were still company commanders in their thirties not be envious? Even though they knew that Lu Yuanqing was exceptionally capable and that he earned his regimental commandership through hard-earned military achievements, knowing it didn't stop them from feeling sour inside.

Well, in this era, most soldiers are simple-minded, no, it should be said that most people in this era are honest and kind-hearted, but that doesn't mean there aren't bad people.

Among them are a few people who believe that their abilities are no less than others, but they lack a bit of luck, making it difficult for them to advance in their careers.

Some people do possess genuine talent, but they lack a bit of luck. Others are simply overconfident and think they are underappreciated.

Therefore, after Lu Yuanqing was promoted to regimental commander, some people spread rumors that Lu Yuanqing was promoted because of his relationship with Guan Kangde. Otherwise, why would so many experienced battalion commanders in their thirties and forties not be promoted, but instead be overshadowed by Lu Yuanqing, a young man of 25?

As mentioned in the previous chapters, military dependents are generally of high quality, and they are very careful about their words and actions in order to avoid affecting their husbands' future prospects.

As for things that happen in the military, there are some things that cannot be told to the military dependents. Therefore, most military dependents do not know how many merits Lu Yuanqing has made on the battlefield, let alone that he has long been treated as a quasi-regimental commander. Some military dependents who do not know this are misled by the information on the surface.

In their view, this was abnormal. Why could Lu Yuanqing become a regimental commander at the age of 25, while others were still battalion or company commanders at the age of 30 or 40? Some people who did not understand believed it to be true.

At first, only a few military families were talking about it, but gradually a considerable number of the families of battalion and company commanders heard about it.

Because the military families were afraid that speaking carelessly would affect the future of the men in their families, almost a month had passed before the matter reached the higher-ups.

Later, in order to quell the rumor, Guan Kangde solemnly called all the military families together for a clarification meeting, and afterwards even had the Women's Federation staff do ideological work for everyone.

All of this was simply because Yao Anhui happened to start dating Lu Yuanqing before his appointment as regimental commander was officially announced.

Yao Anhui said she was completely innocent and had no idea she would encounter such a thing.

But it was precisely because so many things had happened that Yao Anhui was surprised by Guan Kangde's behavior.

But the surprise only lasted a short while; after that, she should just let things take their course. Guan Kangde was good to her, so she should reciprocate with the same feelings.

However, the previous rumor did have some benefits, at least it helped Yao Anhui understand the character of most of the military families.

Returning to the wedding scene, after Guan Kangde gave his speech, everyone started teasing the newlyweds. Lu Yuanqing was teased into singing a military song, "The Eighth Route Army March." Later, all the soldiers in the room sang "There is a Red Sun in My Heart" together.

Yao Anhui didn't escape either, but she wasn't very familiar with the songs of that era, so she didn't dare to sing them. Other songs couldn't be sung in that era, but everyone was familiar with and loved the revolutionary songs. If she couldn't sing them or wasn't familiar with the lyrics, she would probably be arrested as a spy.

Fortunately, Yao Anhui was prepared. She had inquired in advance about the procedures for getting married at this time, so she prepared a bamboo flute and planned to play a famous revolutionary song from the original owner's hometown, "Ten Red Army Soldiers Sent Off".

To be honest, Yao Anhui wasn't very good at any of the four arts: music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. She only learned these arts after becoming a "favored concubine" to pass the time. Among the four arts, she was completely clueless about chess, but at least her calligraphy was neat and readable thanks to hard work. Her painting was so-so, all of it was just craftsmanship. She was a little better at the zither, but she couldn't find one here. The only thing she could still use was the flute, which she had practiced on for a few years.

Most importantly, the original owner's father was a skilled flute player, which allowed Yao Anhui to make sense of the situation.

Yao Anhui had a better talent for learning the flute, and since she was able to teach the "favored concubine," her skills were all excellent. In addition, she had practiced for several years, so she sounded very impressive to people who didn't know much about the flute.

While everyone was stunned by Yao Anhui, she also got a job because of it. Just then, the head of the cultural troupe heard about it, and just as coincidentally, the member of the troupe who played the flute solo was promoted.

Therefore, this day can be described as a double celebration.

But let's put those things aside for now; there are more important things to do tonight.