It's 1972 now, and the college entrance exam is in 1977. There are still 5 years left. By then, my older brothers and sisters will all be young enough to take the exam.

"The books are still here, don't worry, little sister, we won't forget."

Although it's unclear why Ruan Ruan instructed them to read more books after their trip to the capital, reading more books certainly can't hurt.

After the siblings finished distributing their gifts, they went to the kitchen to help set the table.

After several rounds of drinks, seeing that everyone had almost finished eating, Ruan Chuanji stood up, poured a glass of wine for Old Master Huo, and then picked up his own glass, saying, "Uncle Huo, first of all, I want to thank you for taking care of my daughter Ruan Ruan all these years. This glass is for you."

The Ruan family all knew that if it weren't for Old Master Huo's decisiveness, even if Huo Songhuai and his wife had brought Ruan Ruan back, the Huo family wouldn't have taken her in. Therefore, it was only right that Ruan Chuanji toasted him first.

Seeing Ruan Chuanji's actions, Huo Haocheng automatically dipped the other elders' glasses in the wine.

"Let's not talk about that. It's just that this little girl is destined to come into our family," Old Master Huo said, downing his drink.

"Brother Songhuai, I want to thank you both for being willing to pay for the child's medical treatment and for taking her home." If it weren't for them, Ruan Ruan might have truly frozen to death that cold winter day.

With so many people coming and going at the train station, not a single person went to check on the child abandoned in the corner. Did they not hear the crying? No, it's just that in this day and age, no one wants to meddle, and no one wants to raise a child who is not related to them by blood, especially a sick girl.

“Brother Ruan, I also want to apologize to you. From the moment we saw Ruan Ruan, we felt a special connection. She was such a young child, and she was sick. We knew who would be good to her. We just took her to the hospital and reported her to the police. When she saw us leaving, she kept crying. Neither the police officers nor the doctors and nurses could comfort her. She stopped crying as soon as we held her. In the end, we could only leave our information with the police and bring her back. So, if the child had stayed at the police station, maybe you would have found her. I hope you don't blame us.”

In fact, Huo Songhuai began to feel guilty when he saw Ruan Chuanyan drive to pick up Ruan Ruan. He kept thinking that if he hadn't brought Ruan Ruan back with him, they would have been reunited as a family long ago and wouldn't have been separated for seventeen years. The Ruan family is so well-off, they would definitely have given Ruan Ruan a better life.

“Brother Songhuai, that’s not how it works. Ruan Ruan is very fortunate to have been brought home by you. Otherwise, I don’t know what would have happened. After that battle, your sister-in-law and I were both seriously injured. At that time, the Ruan family was in chaos, and no one cared about the child.”

Two months later, after everything was settled and our injuries had mostly healed, we went to pick up our children only to find they were missing. Later, due to our enemy's final, devastating counterattack, we had no time to look for our children, and all the children in our family were sent to their maternal relatives for several years to be cared for.

So, Songhuai brothers, we are truly grateful to you for bringing the child back. You can let Ruanruan grow up carefree. Rest assured, you will both be Ruanruan's parents from now on.”

Ruan Chuanji truly felt guilty towards Ruan Ruan. They had failed in their duties as parents, and now they had no right to blame those who had been good to her.

"Alright, let's not talk about that anymore. It's all in the past, it's all in the past."

Old Master Huo also retired from the battlefield, and he knew very well how powerless he was back then, how many families were torn apart by life and death, and how many families were separated from their spouses.

"Uncle Huo is right, let's put this matter behind us. Today, besides this, we'll discuss Hao Cheng and Ruan Ruan's marriage with Brother Huo and Sister-in-law Huo."

From the moment Ruan Chuanji entered the Huo family's gate, he had been observing every member of the family. Although the Huo family wasn't a prominent family in the capital, their manners and family traditions were excellent, and he was very satisfied with this in-law.

Seeing that Sister-in-law Huo seemed to want to speak but hesitated, he knew she was unsure whether their visit was simply out of gratitude or something else... So Ruan Chuanji simply brought it up himself.

When the Huo family heard that he agreed to the marriage, their worries about Huo Haocheng were relieved. Since ancient times, what father-in-law wouldn't make things difficult for his son-in-law, especially a military region commander-in-chief?

"Father-in-law, we've prepared the betrothal gifts. Our family has prepared 666 yuan for the children, since they will be going to their military posts after the wedding. They can make up for any missing items themselves. In addition, Haocheng is also buying Ruan Ruan a watch. Is this acceptable?"

Originally, the Huo family only prepared a dowry of 99 yuan, and Huo Haocheng paid for the rest himself. The Huo family also stated that for the marriages of his brothers in the future, the family would only provide a dowry of 99 yuan. If they felt it was not enough, they would pay for it themselves.

“Mother-in-law, that’s fine. We’ll give Ruan Ruan a dowry of 666 yuan, plus a bicycle. They can take all the betrothal gifts with them.”

"Then, mother-in-law, what do you think about the wedding date...?"

Ruan Ruan had just been brought back to the Ruan family, and now she was getting married. She was afraid that the Ruan family would not agree. However, her son had waited for Ruan Ruan for so many years, and now he had taken a wedding leave to come back. Logically, they shouldn't be in a hurry, but they couldn't handle their eldest son. This made Zhao Hongmei want to slap Huo Haocheng a couple of times.

"Regarding the wedding date of the two children, here's what we're thinking. Haocheng only has two months of vacation, so we'd like to trouble Uncle Huo to see if there are any auspicious days recently. We'll hold their wedding here first, and then Haocheng can come back to Beijing with us to meet Ruan Ruan's grandparents."

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