On the second day of the Lunar New Year, Lin Yuan and Zhao Huanhuan, carrying New Year's gifts for the Zhao family, rode their bicycles to Shanglin Railway Station early in the morning.

At 12:30 pm, they returned to the Zhao family home and smelled the aroma of food as soon as they entered.

Zhao Fugui and Zhang Jinhua seemed to have spent the whole morning preparing food, just waiting for their arrival.

Before the Lunar New Year, they received a letter from Zhao Huanhuan informing them that Lin Yuan would be back for the holiday and that they would return on the second day of the Lunar New Year to pay their respects.

"Happy New Year, Mom and Dad!" Lin Yuan put down her things and first wished her parents a Happy New Year.

"Okay, okay, hehe, when did Xiao Lin go back?" Zhao Fugui asked with a smile, inviting his son-in-law to sit down on the sofa and personally pouring him tea.

"Thank you, Dad. I didn't get home until the evening of the 29th." Lin Yuan quickly took the tea with both hands, placed it on the coffee table, and thanked his father-in-law for pouring him tea.

Lin Yuan didn't sit down. Instead, she bent down and took out all the New Year's goods and food that her mother had brought for the Zhao family elders from her bag, and asked Zhang Jinlan to put them in the grain room outside.

I ordered braised pork chunks, fried dough sticks, fried dough twists, meatballs, tofu balls, frozen vermicelli, and a plate of fried ribbonfish. I'll just stir-fry them with sauce and stew them when I get back.

He also gave Zhang Jinhua the cigarettes and alcohol he had brought for them, as well as the two bags of goji berries he had bought for her.

The bag was full of food for the Zhao couple.

The couple were very touched and happy to see that the bag was for their acquaintances. They politely declined Lin Yuan's offer and then took the bag out to put it in a cool place.

These in-laws are nice; they even made New Year's gifts for them. They probably thought the in-laws were too busy with work to make them!

They're a really nice family!

After Zhao Huanhuan helped them put their things out, she came back, took off her coat, and went into her bedroom to hang up her clothes.

Zhang Jinhua followed Zhao Huanhuan inside, looked at the coat she was carrying, and asked with a smile, "This coat, is it the one your aunt sent you? And these pants are really nice, corduroy?"

"Yes, it's the package slip I received on the 22nd. I went to pick it up. This dress must have been expensive. My aunt spent a lot of money on it for me. I'll have to send her some good food next year." Zhao Huanhuan replied, found a hanger, and hung the clothes on the hook on the wall.

When she put on the coat and pants her aunt had bought for her when she went out in the morning, Lin Yuan put his arm around her and kept praising her for being beautiful and looking good in anything, which made Zhao Huanhuan blush.

I never expected this straight-laced guy to use sweet words to compliment people.

"Mom, when do you get a day off? When do you start work?" Zhao Huanhuan asked as she changed her shoes.

"We get a holiday on the 27th, but we have to go back to work on the 4th," Zhang Jinhua said.

"Oh, so whose house should we visit for the New Year? We only have time this afternoon and tomorrow," Zhao Huanhuan asked.

She and Lin Yuan had just gotten married before the Lunar New Year, and since Lin Yuan couldn't attend her parents' homecoming visit, her parents said they would take Lin Yuan to meet some of their immediate relatives during the Lunar New Year.

"Let's eat first and rest for a while. In the afternoon, we'll go to your second uncle's house. Your second uncle said he's booked a van and will take us back to Zhangjiawan to visit your eldest uncle's house for the New Year."

"We'll stay at your eldest uncle's house tonight, and go to your second uncle's place early tomorrow morning. We'll come back tomorrow afternoon." Zhang Jinhua and Zhao Fugui had already made these plans over the past two days and were just waiting for the young couple to return!

“Okay, then Lin Yuan and I will go out to buy New Year’s gifts later,” Zhao Huanhuan agreed.

“No need to go, your dad and I already bought them for you before the New Year, and every household got some,” Zhang Jinhua said, as the mother and daughter went out to the living room.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Huanhuan was even more moved. Her parents were truly wonderful. "Thank you, Mom and Dad. Here's the money. How much did it cost in total?"

Zhang Jinhua rolled her eyes at her, "What are you talking about money? You're our only child. What we earn, isn't it yours?"

Lin Yuan saw Zhao Huanhuan reach out to him, asking him to take off his coat. He stood up obediently, took off his wool coat, handed it to Zhao Huanhuan, and asked in a low voice, "What money? Take it from my wallet."

"No need, don't listen to Huanhuan's nonsense. Come on, Xiaolin, let's eat and talk." Zhao Fugui had already brought the food to the table and quickly beckoned Lin Yuan to walk to the table.

Zhao Huanhuan glanced at them, went inside first to hang up Lin Yuan's clothes, and then came out to sit next to Lin Yuan.

In an instant, three pairs of chopsticks appeared in the bowl in front of her. Her mother put a piece of braised pork on her plate, her father put a piece of spare rib on her plate, and Lin Yuan put a meatball on her plate.

"Hehe, thank you Dad, thank you Mom, thank you..." She wanted to say thank you to her husband, but she stopped herself from saying the word "husband" in time.

If she were to say it, it would probably shock the other three people.

The Zhao couple smiled and said, "Eat up. You like these. After we get our holiday, we'll hurry up and buy meat to make New Year's goods. We'll finish everything on New Year's Day."

Lin Yuan glanced at the meat in Zhao Huanhuan's bowl, chuckled, and lowered her head to eat her own meal.

"Xiao Lin, don't be shy. It's like home here. Eat more. These are all specially made for you two. Do you make these eight-bowl feasts in your unit during the New Year?" Zhao Fugui asked, placing a piece of braised pork on Lin Yuan's plate.

"Yes, it's done. The New Year's meals are the same as what we have at home." Lin Yuan nodded in response.

"That's great!" Zhao Fugui nodded. "Things have been much better these past few years than they were in the 1960s."

"Yes!" Lin Yuan nodded. The food was indeed worse than the previous year when he first joined the army.

They didn't drink alcohol because they had to go out to pay New Year's visits in the afternoon.

"Mom and Dad, I have good news for you. Lin Yuansheng got a spot!" Zhao Huanhuan said to her parents with a smile while eating.

"Oh, really? That's great news! You've been promoted to platoon leader, which means you officially have a military rank!" Zhao Fugui was very happy for Lin Yuan upon hearing this. "Is it because of that mission where you were urgently transferred back last time?"

Lin Yuan nodded, hummed in agreement, smiled shyly, and then looked apologetically at Zhao Huanhuan, saying, "It's a good thing to have a formal military rank, but I can't go home for the time being and can't be with Huanhuan!"

Zhao Fugui waved his hand and chuckled, "A true man's ambition lies in serving his country. When conditions improve in the future, Huanhuan can accompany you in the army, but you cannot let her hinder your future. Otherwise, Huanhuan will become a sinner to your family!"

Lin Yuan quickly waved her hand, "That's not the case. My parents won't say anything about Huanhuan because of me. I have my own considerations for every choice I make. My parents let me make my own choices."

"Well, anyway, now that you're a platoon leader, do your job well. In the Military Intelligence Bureau, a platoon leader is just someone at the bottom of the mountain. If you want to stay in the army, you still have a lot to learn and work hard on," Zhao Fugui said with a sigh.

"Yes, I know!" Lin Yuan replied.

Zhao Huanhuan ate quietly, listening to her father and Lin Yuan chat about things related to the military, and she never interrupted.

As Lin Yuan spoke, sometimes when she saw that there was no food in Zhao Huanhuan's bowl, she would put some food from a plate further away in her bowl, so Zhao Huanhuan didn't have to stand up to get food.

Seeing that Lin Yuan was taking good care of Huanhuan, the Zhao couple stopped serving her food. They were even more satisfied, thinking that their son-in-law was quite thoughtful.

After a cozy lunch, Zhao Huanhuan and Lin Yuan hurriedly cleaned up to wash the dishes, but Zhang Jinhua chased them out of the kitchen.