Mrs. Xue called out to Mr. Luo, "Old Xue, what do you think I'm carrying?"

Mr. Xue looked up from the newspaper at the letter and package in Mrs. Xue's hands and said, "You seem so happy. Your son must have written to you again. Could this package also be from him?"

"You're right. Come on, let's each open one. Will you open the letter or the package?"

Mr. Xue smiled and said, "Of course I'll let you have your turn. You open the letter, and I'll open the package."

After thinking for a moment, Mrs. Xue said, "You open the letter, and I'll open the package. I like opening packages."

"OK."

Mrs. Xue went to get the scissors, and Mr. Xue tore open the envelope. While taking out the letter inside, he also saw a photo. He took out the photo, looked at it, and found that it was a picture of his son with a young girl. He immediately guessed what was going on and called to Mrs. Xue, "Minghui, take a look, who is our son with in this photo?"

Without even looking up, Xue's mother said, "Who else could he be taking a photo with? It's either an old comrade-in-arms or a male educated youth who went to the countryside with him. I'll check who that young man is in a bit."

"Not a young man, but a young woman?"

“That’s with Zhenzhen. It’s nothing wrong with them taking a photo together as cousins. I want to see what Zhenzhen looks like now and whether she has become more beautiful than last year.”

“This photo wasn’t taken with He Zhenzhen. It’s taken with another girl, someone we don’t know.”

"Another girl?" Xue's mother was shocked, then rolled her eyes at Xue's father: "Don't kid me, he would take pictures with other girls? I don't believe it."

"I'm not kidding you, it's true." Mr. Xue said in a serious tone.

Mrs. Xue immediately became interested, "If that's true, what kind of relationship would it be? Our son is aloof and doesn't usually associate with girls. If it weren't for that, we would have a daughter-in-law by now."

"Then guess what their relationship is."

"Let me see the photos first."

When Xue's mother took the photo, she was immediately amazed by the girl's appearance.

"This girl is so beautiful, she's really gorgeous. What, what's her relationship with Yan Chen?" Although she already had a guess in her mind, she didn't dare to make a conclusion.

Mr. Xue nodded at her, his gaze seeming to say, "It should be the kind of relationship you're thinking of."

Mr. Xue said, "We haven't read the letter yet. Perhaps we can get a clear answer from it."

He unfolded the letter, and the two of them read it together. The first thing they saw was a line of small print above the letterhead: "Your future daughter-in-law specially made these snacks for you. Be sure to eat them."

Upon seeing the words "future daughter-in-law," the two immediately burst into laughter.

"So it really is his girlfriend!" they both exclaimed in unison.

“I was just saying, when did our son take such intimate photos with a girl? They look so much like a married couple,” said Mrs. Xue.

Before they could even finish reading, Mr. Xue said, "That brat, he's been so reluctant to find a girlfriend, making us anxious because we can't hold our grandson. I told him he had high standards, that there was no one in the city or the army he could stand. But after going to the countryside, he actually found someone! This is such a pleasant surprise. This package says his future daughter-in-law made us some snacks, is this what's in the package?"

"It should be."

So, Xue's mother quickened her pace in unpacking the package: "I really didn't expect that I would have a daughter-in-law so soon. I was thinking that it would be a few more years before I could have a daughter-in-law and hold my grandson. This is such a pleasant surprise."

After opening the package, Xue's mother saw that there were several neatly stacked oil paper packages inside, a total of eight.

Mr. Xue said, "Why don't you hurry up and open one to see how your daughter-in-law's cooking is?"

“Okay, I’ll open one.” Mrs. Xue opened a bag of walnuts and said with a smile, “They look pretty good. Let’s see how they taste.” She took out a piece and gave it to Mr. Xue first, and then ate one herself.

Mr. Xue doesn't usually eat sweets, but he was completely captivated by this walnut pastry in his hand. He took one bite, then another, until he finished the whole pastry.

Mrs. Xue said, "Old Xue, you don't usually like sweets, and when you do eat them, you only eat a little bit. But today you actually ate a whole piece."

"Minghui, this walnut shortbread is so delicious! It's the best pastry I've ever had."

Mrs. Xue nodded: "I also think it tastes better than the ones I bought at the department store. Those were made by master chefs in Beijing, yet they're not as good as our daughter-in-law's cooking. Our son hasn't been there long, they must have just started dating, and he's already sending us things back. He's such a filial son."

The couple ate walnut pastries and talked about their future daughter-in-law, they couldn't be happier.

"Now that our son has a girlfriend, we'll soon be able to hold our grandson."

Mr. Xue said, "It depends on what the two of them plan to do."

After the two pondered for a while, Mr. Xue said, "Look at us, making plans here without even reading the contents of the letter."

"Yes, yes, let's see what the letter says, whether it explains how they met and how long they've been dating."

They read the letter together, and every time they read a bit, a smile would appear on their lips.

"It turns out this girl was also a sent-down youth, and she came from Beijing. They first met in Beijing, and then officially got to know each other on their way to the countryside... They had just started dating when they told us. Hey, I know this girl's father. He's my old comrade-in-arms from many years ago, Lao Luo. Oh my, I never thought I'd become in-laws with him."

When Xue's mother and father were in the army, they also knew Luo's father. "That's wonderful! It would be a double blessing if we could become in-laws with Lao Luo."

"Yes, Lao Luo is a man of great loyalty and integrity, and his character is impeccable. I imagine his daughter is no less virtuous."

"Isn't that obvious? If it were bad, would our son have chosen it?"

They were all smiling as they read the beginning, but as they read to the end, their relaxed brows gradually furrowed.

"Yanchen said that Lao Luo and his wife were sent to the countryside because of their mistakes, and they are now living in the cowshed in the rural area where they were sent down."

"Huh?" Mrs. Xue was taken aback: "That means their family has a bad class background."

"Hmm." Mr. Xue's voice was heavy, and his expression was also bad: "We were planning to bring our son back and arrange a job for him later, but I wonder if this will affect us?"

Xue's mother also expressed her concerns: "Xiao Luo's parents live in the countryside, so she probably has no hope of returning to the city. If they get married, our son probably won't be able to come back either. What should we do?"

The couple found themselves in a dilemma.

Mr. Xue then looked at the bottom of the letter: "Your son said that he will marry Xiao Luo no matter what, and he will never marry anyone but Xiao Luo in his life."