The five-star red flag flutters in the wind,

How resounding the victory song was!

Singing praises to our beloved motherland

From now on, we will move towards prosperity and strength.

------

Suddenly, a loud singing voice blared from the loudspeakers in the dormitory area.

It's been about four or five years.

As long as it's not Sunday or a public holiday, the loudspeaker plays this old song every day at 6:30 pm without fail.

In summer, it gets light early.

Normally, Jiang Yuping and Qiu Jingwen would get up before the loudspeaker blared and then make breakfast for the children.

Today, they only opened their eyes when they heard the horn.

last night,

The two of them hugged each other and tossed and turned until the early hours of the morning before finally falling asleep.

Jiang Yuping couldn't get anything out of her husband all night.

Jiang Yuping opened her eyes, looked at her husband who also had open eyes, and said nothing.

She stopped asking.

I asked all night but didn't get any results.

She understood that her husband didn't want to tell her what was on his mind.

Jiang Yuping got out of bed, got dressed, left the bedroom, and closed the door behind her.

No matter what, life must go on as usual. Autumn Harvest and Autumn Cicada still need to go to school, and they all need to eat.

Qiuyue works the middle shift and may not get up this early, while Qiushui, who graduated from junior high school, is unemployed at home waiting for a factory to recruit workers, so she probably won't eat breakfast this early either, but we still have to make breakfast for them.

Jiang Yuping decided to put aside her husband's worries for now and make breakfast for the children, as well as for herself and her husband.

She busied herself in the kitchen, first removing the plug from the bottom of the coal stove, then replacing the coal with a new piece.

After replacing the coal stove, Jiang Yuping rinsed rice and put it in the steel pot. Then she poured half-boiled water from a red thermos before placing the steel pot on the coal stove.

After finishing everything, Jiang Yuping hurriedly closed the door. She was going to the dormitory gate to buy some fried dough sticks and sesame cakes.

On her way back after buying fried dough sticks and sesame cakes, Jiang Yuping ran into Wei Hong, who was also buying fried dough sticks and sesame cakes.

After the two greeted each other, Wei Hong asked Jiang Yuping:

"Yu Ping, is something wrong with your husband, Lao Qiu? He's not usually like that. Last night at dinner, it was the first time I'd ever seen him get angry at the kids. He even slapped Qiu Shou!"

"That's right, it's the first time I've ever seen him get so angry at the child."

"Didn't you ask Lao Qiu why?"

“Wei Hong, I have a feeling that Lao Qiu in our family is hiding something big.”

"What? Something big?"

"Wei Hong, I'll stop talking to you now. The porridge is still cooking on the coal stove, and Lao Qiu hasn't gotten up yet. Don't let it boil. I'll talk to you slowly when I get to work later."

"Okay, then."

Wei Hong stopped asking questions, while Jiang Yuping carried the fried dough sticks and sesame cakes home.

She placed the fried dough sticks and sesame seed cakes on the dining table, then went into the kitchen and found that the porridge in the steel pot had already boiled.

It was not yet seven in the morning.

Both Qiu Jingwen and she herself start work at eight o'clock, and normally leave home at seven-forty.

Both Qiushou and Qiuchan arrive at school at 8:00 AM, and their first period starts at 8:30 AM.

In terms of school and class time, the autumn harvest and the cicadas were much happier than the children of later years.

Unlike many years later, when kindergarten children have to arrive at school before eight o'clock, many junior and senior high school students, especially those preparing for the college entrance examination, have to start early morning self-study at six o'clock.

Jiang Yuping moved the lid of the steel pot slightly to prevent the porridge from spraying out.

Then, she took five or six pickled radishes from a glass jar with chopsticks, placed them on a round wooden cutting board, chopped them into radish cubes, put them in a bowl, added a few drops of sesame oil, and then brought them to the dining room and placed them on the table.

Breakfast consisted of congee, fried dough sticks and sesame flatbread, along with pickled radish and other side dishes. In those days, this was considered a very hearty breakfast.

If it weren't for the good benefits at the military factory, they wouldn't be able to afford such a breakfast. Qiu Jingwen, as the workshop director, and Jiang Yuping, a doctor with over twenty years of experience, earned much higher salaries than ordinary workers.

After a flurry of activity, it was just past seven o'clock.

Jiang Yuping pushed open the bedroom door and was startled to find her husband not in bed.

Looking further onto the balcony, one could see Qiu Jingwen with a cigarette dangling from his lips, puffing away furiously.

My husband usually smokes Pegasus cigarettes, which was a common brand in those days.

Normally, Jiang Yuping, as a doctor, would go up to her husband and tell him to smoke less, and would explain all the bad things about smoking.

But,

today,

She stood in the bedroom without saying a word.

Gazing at her husband's tall figure, she suddenly felt that this man was such a stranger!

This feeling surprised Jiang Yuping herself.

After Qiu Jingwen finished smoking a cigarette, he took out another cigarette, flicked it out, and lit it up again.

This unusual behavior gave his wife, Jiang Yuping, a bad feeling.

Jiang Yuping calmed herself down and went out onto the balcony.

"Jingwen, stop smoking, brush your teeth and wash your face, get ready for breakfast, you have to go to work soon."

She stood beside her husband, exuding peace and gentleness.

As a doctor, she knew that she couldn't show her husband a bad attitude at this time. Instead, she should show him more care and love. Only love and tenderness could ease the worries and pressures in his heart.

Qiu Jingwen took a drag of his cigarette and glanced at his wife.

“Yuping, remember what I told you last night. I’m sorry.”

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