Xiang Lihua paused, boasting with great enthusiasm, and carefully glanced at his mother's face: "Well, it's a ten-day vacation. I came here and spent one day, so I will be back in eight days."

He was not afraid of Zhang Jidi getting angry, but he was afraid of this kind of forbearing tone. In the past, this would usually lead to a beating.

Zhang Jidi couldn't bear to hit him because she felt sorry for her son.

She tried hard to hold back the tears in her eyes and only felt relieved after she had looked at every visible part of the body.

With five of his six children by his side, Zhang Jidi was even more worried about Xiang Lihua who was far away in the army, fearing that something might happen to him. Now he finally saw that he was safe and sound.

Tears welled up in her eyes, and her voice trembled: "Okay, then ask your little sister to buy you a ticket. She's on vacation and has time, so you can have fun at home."

Xiang Lihua noticed the white hair on his mother's head, and his firm belief in joining the army was mixed with some regret.

Zhang Jidi is only 38 years old.

He has been in the army for more than a year, and his mother's dark hair has now turned gray at the temples. He is truly an unfilial son and has made his mother worry about him.

But he knew that he was only suitable for the army. He felt like a fish in water when he joined the army. There was no boredom like in the factory day after day. The army had strict discipline but was also novel and interesting.

He saw so many things that he had never seen in real life, such as majestic weapons, various equipment, and even the training was full of fun.

There are also all kinds of bizarre competition content, excellent and tough opponents, and comrades who help each other...

Everything fascinated Xiang Lihua.

Xiang Lihua could only avoid the topic and say, "I brought you some goodies, take a look~"

He took out a dozen bullet shell bracelets and necklaces tied with red ropes from his backpack.

"During shooting training, I picked up some bullet casings and gave them to you to play with. They're hard to get, but luckily I was quick enough to put a handful in my pocket. The company commander caught me several times, and I managed to secretly hide a little each time, hehe."

After saying that, he divided it among his family members.

Even the baby in An You's belly was not left out.

An You stared at the bullet casing curiously, squinting to read the small words on the bottom: "Fourth brother, what do the small words 601 and 59 engraved on it mean?"

The bullet shell she picked up was shorter than her thumb and thicker than a chopstick. It was narrow at one end and wide at the other. The wide end had a circle of grooves and the words 601 and 59 were engraved on the bottom.

The red rope is tied right in the groove, just right.

Xiang Lihua touched his head and reminded her, "This was made in 1959 by Factory 601. Sister-in-law, don't touch the narrow end of it. It's too sharp and can cut your hand."

His experience and training as a soldier made his skin thick and tough, so it's okay to touch it. His sister-in-law is an ordinary person, and her hands are tender from work, so be careful not to get cut.

This was the lesson he learned from the company commander's wife. He heard about this from the company commander.

Everyone was surprised and put it away.

In addition to the bullet shell, Xiang Lihua also brought some local specialties from the military camp, which are rarely seen in the county town.

Everyone was very supportive, exclaiming wows constantly, and was very receptive to new and interesting things.

The family had a good reunion dinner. We hadn't seen each other for more than a year and there was so much to talk about.

Although the two sides communicate monthly, the feeling of cold text is different from face-to-face communication.

We chatted until around eight or nine o'clock, when everyone usually goes to bed.

At night, everyone went back to their own homes. Xiang Lili shared a room with Xiang Mianmian, while Xiang Lihua lived in a room by himself.

He was soaking his feet when Zhang Jidi came into the room.

"Lihua, you bought so many things. Is your allowance enough?"

Zhang Jidi patted his son's shoulder.

Xiang Lihua, who was soaking his feet, quickly covered his instep with a towel and said, "It's enough, don't worry, the team has everything. I don't have to spend any money at all."

He was telling the truth, there was nothing to lose in the army, and if he hadn't gone home, he would have had no place to spend money.

Zhang Jidi sighed: "You kid, you have everything, then give me a daughter-in-law."

"Um... I really don't have that, Mom. Even mosquitoes are male where we live. I'm still young, why are you in such a hurry?"

Zhang Jidi rolled his eyes at him and said, "You idiot! Your third sister-in-law is pregnant, and now I haven't even seen the shadow of your wife. How can I not be anxious?"

Anyou found out she was pregnant two months after getting married, so she naturally became anxious about Lihua's marriage.

Xiang Lihua's eyes wandered: "Mom, we all got married in our twenties. What's the point of having a squad leader now? I have to let her join the army, right?"

The requirements for joining the army at that time were company rank or 15 years of military service, so Xiang Lihua did not tell his mother.

Zhang Jidi didn't quite understand the requirements for joining the army, but he knew it wasn't that easy. Otherwise, why didn't so many soldiers bring their wives and children with them? Didn't they want to?

She could only poke her son's head and say, "Just accept your own stubbornness. When can I wait for you to get married and start a family?"

"There's still Lili, who's only three minutes younger than me. Mom, go and see her. I'm not in a hurry. But you have to wait until I get back to see my brother-in-law before you decide. I want to see if he can take a beating."

As Xiang Lihua spoke, he waved his fists, as if his brother-in-law was already in front of him.

The calluses on the hands are very noticeable.

Zhang Jidi saw this and could only sigh: "You only know how to change the subject. Lili doesn't need me to worry about her. You should just take care of yourself."

Xiang Lihua smiled foolishly.

Zhang Jidi was helpless with his silly son: "Mianmian will also take the graduation exam at the end of the year. If she is admitted to a technical secondary school, I will give you the good news. You don't have to worry about these two sisters. I'll keep an eye on them."

Xiang Lihua nodded and comforted her: "Mom, I know. There are female soldiers, doctors, and arts soldiers in the team. Don't worry, your son will definitely find a partner~"

Zhang Jidi grew angrier as he thought about it. "You three have never let me down since you were little. You too, you've gone to the army to dig up your household registration, and I haven't even said anything to you yet!"

This kid has only ever done big things, and I don't know where he learned how to pick locks.

Xiang Lihua shrugged and said, "Mom, why are you still bringing up the past? It's all in the past, isn't it? I came back to visit my family and I'm fine, so why don't you just let it go?"

Zhang Jidi watched her son pretending to tease her, but she couldn't get angry anymore. She poked his forehead with her hand and said, "You only know how to pretend to be good. This is the only trick you use when you get into trouble."

Xiang Lihua's pupils shrank as his forehead was poked. He relaxed his muscles after realizing that he was safe and smiled foolishly, "My mother loves me, so this trick is useful~"

The mother and son exchanged some heartfelt words. Zhang Jidi stood up to leave. When she opened the door, she turned sideways and exposed Xiang Lihua's cover-up:

"Wring up your towel. The water's cold, and you're still soaking your feet. Are you ignoring the calluses on your feet?"

Xiang Lihua didn't say anything else and wrung out the towel awkwardly.

He has been trying hard to show the benefits and advantages of the army, but the pain of the training is difficult to conceal and traces of it can be seen in every aspect.

The training was too hard and there were times when he couldn't hold on any longer. It was his comrades who encouraged him again and again. He also thought about how his family would despise him for being a deserter and how people around him would point fingers at him.

Thinking about the honor he had earned through his hard work, Xiang Lihua could only grit his teeth and persevere, and gradually got used to it.