After leaving Commander Li's house, Regiment Commander Jiang and the political commissar asked Regiment Commander Jiang, "What do you think the commander really meant by saying he wanted to change partners?"

Commander Jiang was a cunning old fox; he had actually picked up on something from what he was saying earlier.

"I think that's what you mean."

The regimental political commissar smiled and asked, "Do you think this can be accomplished?"

Commander Jiang shook his head: "It's hard to say."

Both of them knew exactly what the outcome would be, but they kept it to themselves. Who would dare to speak ill of their superior behind their back?

The human heart is unpredictable. The person who is calling you brother and confiding in you one moment may become the one who stabs you in the back and pushes you into the abyss the next second.

Commander Jiang sighed, "Forced melons are never sweet. If we can't control it, then we'll just let nature take its course."

"There's no other way but to go along with it."

The next day, Luo Jingyan made a large blue cotton-padded coat for Grandma Xue.

"Grandma, try it on quickly, it will definitely keep you warm."

"Okay, I'll give it a try."

Grandma Xue took off her coat and put on her new cotton-padded jacket.

The new cotton-padded coat is made with new cotton and is very thick, making it very warm to wear.

"Jingyan, your handiwork is really good. It fits perfectly and is quite warm."

Suddenly, someone outside called Luo Jingyan's name: "Comrade Luo Jingyan, there is a telegram for you."

"telegraph."

Luo Jingyan and Old Madam Xue both guessed that it was sent by Xue Yanchen, and Luo Jingyan quickly got off the kang (a heated brick bed) and went out to get it.

She opened it in the yard and only saw nine words: "Return home to get your marriage certificate after seven days of military service."

Luo Jingyan learned the final outcome from these few words: Xue Yanchen still had to make a sacrifice.

Although getting married and registering her marriage in a few days would be a good thing, and although she had long expected this outcome, at this moment her heart felt as heavy as if a large stone was pressing down on it.

She stood in the yard for a long time, holding the telegram in her hand, before finally going back inside.

"What did you write?" the old lady asked as soon as she saw her.

Luo Jingyan tried to use a calm tone to tell the old lady the contents of the telegram.

"Grandma, the result is the same as we expected, and it's the worst possible outcome. In seven days, your grandson will be able to leave that place completely, and when he comes back, we'll go get our marriage certificate."

Grandma Xue was taken aback when she heard this, but quickly smiled and said, "This is a good result, not bad. It's good that he's back, it's good that he's back. My grandson no longer has to work so hard, and we no longer have to worry about him all the time. I'm so happy that he can spend time with me."

"After you two get married, you'll spend more time together. Jingyan, if you don't mind Grandma, when Yanchen comes back, we can live here. We can work in the fields every day, chat with the villagers, and have a lively time. Wouldn't that be nice? I quite like that kind of life."

"Grandma, thank you for comforting me."

She knew that Old Mrs. Xue certainly didn't want to see this outcome either, but she tried her best not to show any sadness.

Grandma Xue hugged her and stroked her head: "Child, Grandma isn't just comforting you, Grandma is speaking from the heart. No matter how you live, it's still just one day. Just be happy."

"Grandma, I understand. Let's just wait for him to come back at home."

"Well, you can get your marriage certificate when he comes back. After that, you can have a banquet here. You've been here for quite a while now and you get along well with the villagers. On your big day, invite everyone you can to celebrate. When you get back to Beijing, invite the people from there too. Oh dear, it's time to start preparing for your wedding. Look, we haven't even made any preparations yet."

"Grandma, don't rush. We can wait until he comes back and we know the final result before we start preparing."

"Yes, yes." If we don't prepare now, you'll have to wait a few more days. How about this: we can prepare your wedding clothes first. We'll have someone make a red wedding dress for you. As for Yanchen's clothes, he's not here; we'll buy one in the county when he gets back."

“Grandma, your idea is good. However, I don’t need to find someone else to make my wedding dress. I can prepare it myself. I know Yanchen’s measurements, so I can have it made at the same time.”

"Alright, alright. Let's go to the county town to buy fabric tomorrow."

"Grandma, I have some cloth here."

I still have a lot of fabric left from Zhuang Feifei last year.

She took out a piece of red cotton cloth and a piece of black polyester fabric from the wooden box, or rather, from her spatial storage.

People dressed simply at this time, and even when they got married, their wedding dresses were not too elaborate.

The bride usually wears a red top and black or blue trousers, while the groom can wear a Zhongshan suit.

She showed the two pieces of fabric to Grandma Xue: "Grandma, this is enough. As for Yanchen's, I still have fabric in my trunk. I bought the fabric last year when we agreed to get married this year."

Of course, this was a lie to the old lady. She quickly nodded and said, "Okay, okay, let's start now. When he comes back, the clothes will be finished, and we'll have time to do other things."

The two got right to work. Luo Jingyan was in charge of drawing the pattern on the fabric, cutting it together with Grandma Xue, and then Luo Jingyan used a sewing machine to sew the fabric scraps together.

That evening, she made a special trip to the cowshed. Such a big event as marriage must be discussed with her parents first.

"Dad, Mom. My marriage application with Yanchen was not approved. Your son-in-law will be back in a few days. As soon as he comes back, we will get our marriage certificate, and you will become his parents-in-law in the true sense."

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!