Gu Qingqing was confused: "...?"

What's wrong with her being like this? Isn't it good? Chu Dai likes her!

While they were chatting, Gu Qinglie and his friends came back with a basket of mushrooms. Zhou Man peeled off the layer of wild shepherd's purse on top, "And ground lettuce? It's sticky and can be fried with meat, but it's troublesome to wash."

"It's okay, grandma," Gu Qinglie grinned, revealing his two little canine teeth, when he heard that there was meat to eat: "I'll wash it."

"Okay, then you can take it outside and wash it. We'll eat this at noon, and save the mushrooms for your grandma's house."

"Okay!"

After he went outside, Zhou Man opened the lid of the pot, scooped up the half-cooked rice with a scoop, and put it in the bamboo steamer: "Qing Lie has a good personality, but he talks too much. However, this kind of energetic and lively boy is very likable. Girl, don't worry too much. Both boys in the family are soldiers. Are you worried about not being able to find a daughter-in-law?"

Zhou Man scooped up the rice soup from the pot again and said, "In our family, Canyang is in the Air Force, Qinglie is in the Army, Adai will be transferred to the Navy soon, and my aunt is the captain of the production team. Tell me, which family doesn't want to marry their daughter into the family? Why are you so worried?"

When Shi Rushuang thought about it, she felt that it was true.

Gu Qingqing listened to what her grandmother said, holding her chin with one hand, staring at the flames in the stove, her mind blank.

Today is the third day of the Chinese New Year, and the wedding will be held the day after tomorrow. This time it won’t be in the Corps or the Military Region. She and Chu Dai agreed last night...

Thinking of this, the area behind her ears turned red, and she quickly changed her hand to support her face, fearing that her mother would find out.

After lunch, the Shi family took all the dry goods they could carry in bags and bags. Shi Lianyun wanted to catch two chickens, but Gu Qinglie held him back and said, "Uncle, we have them at home, no need to bring any."

"You have so many family members, and there won't be enough food. Bring two. You'll have to kill chickens for your wedding."

Gu Qinglie thought for a moment and released the hand that was holding his uncle.

In the end, he carried two chickens, his uncle held two ducks, and his aunt, uncle, and cousin all carried sacks of sweet potato flour and various dried vegetables.

Gu Canyang followed them with a basket of mushrooms in his hand.

They boarded a bus to the next city at around one o'clock in the afternoon.

It was already past six in the evening when they returned to Datunzi Village. Gu Qingqing followed Chu Dai on the path back to the village. Although they didn't see the Gu family, Dami had already run towards them with his tail wagging.

Gu Qingqing clearly felt the man next to her stiffen.

She remembered that he was afraid of dogs, and she wanted to laugh but didn't dare to, for fear that he would feel embarrassed.

Gu Qinglie raised his foot and gently kicked Da Mi's butt: "I know you are here to pick us up, so hurry home and have dinner."

The rice turned in another direction.

It was almost seven o'clock when Gu Qingqing and the others returned to the Gu family's yard. The aroma of food had already wafted out, and there were chattering voices coming from the kitchen -

"Why haven't you arrived yet?"

"It's almost time, A Zhao, why don't you go to the village entrance and take a look?"

Chu Zhao had now taken over Gu Qingqing's task of lighting the fire. He sat next to the firewood pile and took a stick as thick as his arm and put it into the stove: "Okay, I'll go see if they've come back."

As soon as he finished speaking, Gu Qinglie pushed open the door and threw the sack on his shoulder to the ground with a "bang", stirring up fine dust.

"No need to pick it up, we're back."

Gu Cai was still the chef. He stared at the three pots. When he saw Shi Lianyun and Shi Liancai, he smiled and said hello, "My dear brothers, you have worked hard. Come to the main hall and take a rest."

“Aid North Korea?!” Gu Caichao shouted outside, “Hurry up and make some tea!”

"Hey! Here I come."

The main room of the Gu family was brightly lit, and almost all of the people were sitting around the fireplace.

The door to the main room was pushed open and quickly closed again.

"Relatives, come on, come on, sit here." Gu Tiezhu quickly stood up and gave them seats.

The Gu family was really lively today. All the people from the eldest daughter-in-law Shi Rushuang's family came. The second daughter-in-law Han Lianxin's brother and sister-in-law came with their two daughters. The third daughter-in-law Zhang Yuqing came with her parents and a little nephew.

Zhang Cuifen kept saying, "I told you to go back and invite everyone in your family to the wedding, how come only a few of you came?"

Zhang Yuqing smiled and brought out some candies and snacks, including melon seeds and peanuts.

"Mom, there has to be someone at home to look after the pigs. Even the chickens and ducks have to be fed. The pigs in my mother's production team are divided among the pigs, unlike here where the team raises them collectively. The children go to cut grass for the pigs after returning from school."

"Yes, that's right." Zhang's mother also said, "Mother-in-law, I know you really want us to come and share in the good fortune. We must keep someone to feed the pigs at home. We have to deliver qualified pigs by the end of the year."

Han's eldest sister-in-law also echoed, "It's the same over there. To be honest, the production team in Datunzi Village is the best. Collective matters are handled collectively. Now the whole village has electricity, which we can't even imagine."

The TV in the main room was on all the time. The two daughters of Han's eldest sister-in-law and Zhang Yuqing's little nephew were all staring at the TV intently. The candies in their hands were so engrossed that they melted and became sticky.

After Shi Ji and Zhou Man sat down, Zhou Man knew that his young wife was tired from holding her grandson, so she took Shi Chongshan from her hands and let her catch her breath.

"Of course, we don't have electricity where we are. But luckily we only have chickens and ducks to feed at home, so I asked our neighbors to help take care of them." Zhou Man patted the back of her grandson in her arms and pulled up the quilt that was wrapped around him.

Shi Ji sat in front of the iron pillar and took a pair of tongs to add firewood to the stove to make the fire burn more vigorously. "I took a quick look tonight and it seemed that something was planted at the entrance of the village. It was covered with plastic film."

"We planted Angelica dahurica, Gastrodia elata and so on." Gu Xiong threw a few sweet potatoes and corn cobs into the stove and said, "Grandpa, my uncle is now working with the educated youth in the village to plant medicinal herbs. He even sold a crop before the New Year."

"Ah?" Shi Ji was stunned for a moment, then came back to his senses: "That's great. Now, engaging in personal economy is speculation, but now this is a collective economy. We can get rich together, and it can't be considered cutting off the tail of capitalism."

He originally thought that his son-in-law was an honest and simple man who would not stir up such things, but he did not expect that he actually did so many things.

The daughter of a noble family only comes back a few times a year. The last time she went back was to bring her granddaughter back for the Mid-Autumn Festival. Normally, the children in the family would come to bring food every two or three months, but they didn't mention this matter.

Father Zhang looked at the black and white TV on the wooden table in the main room with some envy: "In our village, let alone watching TV, we don't even know how many years it will take to connect a light bulb."

"Who says it's not?" Han's eldest brother continued, "Our place is also very barren. Someone proposed wind power generation, but there is no progress yet. We will see how they do it. Now my two daughters have to cut grass to feed the pigs after school. We are too busy to work in the fields. At night, the two children light kerosene lamps to do their homework, and their nostrils are blackened by the smoke."

"It's all the same." Zhang's father shook his head. "When I came to Datunzi Village two years ago, it was also dark here. Look, it's only been a few months since the electricity was connected. Sometimes, it only takes a moment. We have to trust the government."

They have a natural trust in the Party and the government. When this is mentioned, no one says anything. In their hearts, they just hope that they can live a prosperous life like the Gu family.

Didn’t you see that the kids at home are almost glued to the TV?

Zhang's father and mother, as well as Han's eldest brother and sister-in-law, arrived at Datunzi Village at noon. They walked around the village, visited the fish ponds, the cotton and ramie plantations, the rice mill, the oil mill, and even the generators.

The eldest brother of the Han family asked Gu Jin, who was warming himself by the fire, "Brother Gu, is your Invincible Production Team planning to buy a tractor next?"

Gu Jin rubbed his hands and smiled innocently, "That depends on whether this year's economic crops are sufficient. We will definitely buy them if we can. They can be used for digging canals and digging the ground. The Red Flag Production Team next door has already bought two small tractors. Every year they go to the Food Bureau to pay for the purchase of grain. The members of our production team are also holding their breath and working hard, thinking about making a name for themselves next year."

"You guys are developing too fast." Zhang's father shook his head, thinking of the brick kiln in the back mountain, "My dear nephew, are you planning to make bricks yourself?"

"We have this plan," Gu Jin handed the wine that was warming beside the stove to his father-in-law who had been listening to their conversation quietly. "In addition to making bricks, we also plan to make cement and lime ourselves. Then we can rebuild all the houses in the village. The current thatched roofs are still not very strong. When the wind blows, Lao Xue and I have to carry a ladder to repair the roof. The wind is strong in February and March, and it is easy to blow the roof off."

He has been preparing the blueprints in his mind for some time. By that time, each household will build a two-story building on their own residential land, while the outer yard will remain unchanged.

It is convenient for a family to live together, and more houses can accommodate more people.

Shi Ji couldn't help but pour cold water on his son-in-law, "You production team cadres are really bold and daring. Didn't the commune say anything? Don't act too flamboyantly, or else other production teams will do something behind your back."

Gu Jin scratched his head, "Dad, I know, we don't have to worry about that right now. It all depends on whether the brick kiln is OK. If it's not OK, no matter how much I say, it will be useless."

"It's good that you know it. Don't expect too much now, or you'll be disappointed later."

Chu Yuan took their words in silence. From his grandfather's words, he could tell that he was indeed a cultured man, with a scholarly air in his bones, which was something that cultured people these days could not show and had to hide.

They chatted animatedly. Gu Qingqing and Chu Dai sat next to the firewood pile in the kitchen. Chu Zhao said to Chu Dai, "Your wedding is only two days away. Are you anxious?"

As he said this, he glanced at Gu Qingqing beside him and made a face.

How could Chu Dai not know the evil thoughts in his mind? He bumped his knee with his leg, "It's not my first wedding. Didn't you have a wedding banquet in the military area? You should worry about yourself if you have time. Do you want to go back early or stay with us?"

"I will definitely have to go earlier. The vacation is not that long. Canyang's vacation was bought by not taking a break for the remaining two years. I can't bear that." Chu Zhao pokes at the fire and says, "I will try to find a chance to visit you on the island. There are ships that deliver supplies every month. I'll see if I can make it."

"I think you're quite arrogant." Chu Dai said mercilessly: "Delivering supplies is the Navy's job. You, an Air Force Group Army, can't interfere. Unless the sea is rough and the ships can't come, and the planes fly around the island to avoid the wind and waves, then you might still have a chance."

"Forget it. This way my chances are even smaller. This is their Elite Flying Company's business. But maybe Canyang can still go over to see my sister-in-law."

"Really?" Gu Qingqing tilted her head to look at him: "Brother, can you go to the island to deliver supplies to us?"

"The chance is slim." Chu Zhao was afraid that she would be disappointed, so he told her the truth: "Supply ships go there once every two weeks. The chance of encountering wind and waves is slim. Even if they do encounter wind and waves, they will usually arrive one or two days earlier or later based on weather forecasts. The chance of requesting air support is slim."

"Oh." Gu Qingqing was not interested.

"However," Chu Zhao changed his tone again: "Canyang has four or five air patrol missions in territorial waters every month. It is very likely that you can see the plane he is flying when you look up."

"Wow!" Gu Qingqing's originally dim eyes lit up again. She was very excited and would never forget the day when she went to visit her relatives at the Air Force base and saw the painted fighter planes whizzing through the sky.

Chu Dai picked up a persimmon cake from the stove, broke off half and gave it to her. As she bit into the sweet persimmon cake, she felt the dizziness in her head eased.

Gu Qingqing didn't notice anything unusual about the man beside her. Chu Zhao had been brothers with him for many years and was very sensitive. "Adai?"

"Nothing." Chu Dai finished half a persimmon cake slowly and calmed down. "When will you return to the military area?"

"Wait until you finish your wedding and go back, on the sixth day of the New Year." Chu Zhao stood up, took an enamel cup, poured a glass of water, and handed it to him: "Although I have a leisurely job, I still have a lot of things to do. Moreover, working under my father, I get scolded every other day. I want to run away to Uncle Qin's field army."

"Uncle Chu is holding you back, so you can't go anywhere. Just stay in the Air Force. There are pilot exams every year. Why don't you take a try?"

Chu Zhao nodded and shook his head, "Which man doesn't have a dream of soaring into the blue sky to defend the motherland's airspace? Some can realize it and some can't. There are very few perverts like Canyang."

"Adai, I'm actually worried about you."

"Huh?" Chu Dai held the enamel cup and looked at him with some confusion.

Chu Zhao smiled. "You fought like crazy in the Corps before. Do you think Uncle Guan didn't write to your father and my father? I know almost everything about you. Just last year, you were shot and almost died. At that time, your father said that soldiers are born to fight for the motherland, but he hid in the headquarters and smoked all night. I heard from his guards that he didn't sleep for a few days until Uncle Guan wrote to say that you were out of danger."

Chu Dai placed his white fingers on the wall of the cup. He lowered his eyes to look at the dancing flames in the stove. He didn't ask why Chen Yi didn't come to see him. Such stupid questions as that. A military district commander cannot leave his base without permission. As a soldier, he knew that.

He just couldn't figure it out.