Inside the house, the Lin couple looked at their son with loving expressions as he told them about the events of the past year.

He's mostly just training hard and seems to be doing well. As for specific details about his unit, those can't be revealed, not even to his family.

"It's good that everything is alright, Yuan'er. How long is this vacation?" Aunt Chu asked.

“One month. I left the army on the first day of April and had to go back before the first day of May,” Lin Yuan said.

"Will you only be able to come back a year from now?" Aunt Chu asked again.

Lin Yuan pursed her lips and nodded helplessly, "Yes, Mom, new recruits are arriving in winter, and we have to train them. We can only take leave to visit our families after the new recruits have finished training."

Aunt Chu nodded silently. Now that her son had joined the army, he had handed himself over to the Party and the country.

Uncle Lin patted Aunt Chu on the shoulder, "Don't be sad. We knew when our son left to join the army, didn't we? It's been five or six years now, you know that, right? It's already good that he can come back once a year now. When he first left, he didn't come back for three years, but we got used to it."

Aunt Chu nodded, her eyes not showing any disappointment, but rather looking intently at Lin Yuan, "Son, you're twenty-four this year, and twenty-five after the New Year. The elders say you shouldn't get married in your birth year, so why don't we find a wife this time and get married before we leave!"

"Or, do you have a girl you like in the army?" Lin's mother asked Lin Yuan in a mysterious low voice.

Lin Yuan was both amused and exasperated. "No, Mom, the army is full of men. Where am I supposed to find a girlfriend?"

"Besides, Mom, our marriage isn't something that can be done casually. We need to submit a report and apply to our superiors first, and a month probably won't be enough time."

Lin Yuan was both amused and exasperated. Her mother hadn't mentioned these things when she came back last year, so why was she suddenly bringing them up this year? There were still some of her comrades in the army who were twenty-eight or twenty-nine and still unmarried!

"Then go ahead and send a telegram tomorrow, just saying you're getting married," Aunt Chu urged her son with a smile.

Lin Yuan covered her forehead. "Mom, I don't even have a girlfriend. How am I supposed to write the report? It needs to clearly state the woman's identity and name. The military also needs to conduct a background check on the family members."

"Oh, I see. Then I'll ask around tomorrow and see if anyone is willing to marry you. Tell me what kind of person you like." Aunt Chu said excitedly.

Lin Yuan shook her head. "Mom, I'm in the army all year round. Housing is tight in our unit right now, so it's not convenient for me to bring my family. It wouldn't be good to leave my spouse at home after I get married."

"It's alright, your parents are here. They will definitely take good care of your wife," Aunt Chu said, adding encouragingly.

Lin Yuan looked helplessly at her mother.

Seeing that his son seemed to be upset, Uncle Lin quickly stepped in to smooth things over, "Alright, our son just got back, let's not talk about this anymore. Go and tidy up his room."

Aunt Chu slapped her forehead. "Look at me, I actually forgot about that."

She quickly stood up and went to tidy up Lin Yuan's room.

The house is always clean, and Aunt Chu will clean it when she has free time.

She opened the window, wiped the lacquered cloth on the kang (a heated brick bed) twice with a wet towel, and took out the wool felt that she had been saving and was reluctant to use from the cabinet and spread it on the back of the kang.

They then took out new mattresses and sheets and spread them on the felt mat. They also took out quilts and pillows from the cabinet, folded them neatly, and placed them in the corner of the kang (a heated brick bed).

He went down to the ground and washed it again, then went out and took down the bamboo curtain that had been hanging on his son's door last year.

Just as Aunt Chu was about to hang up, Lin Yuan, who had finished talking to her father, came out and quickly took the phone.

"Mom, I'll hang the curtains myself in a bit." Lin Yuan put his bag inside and found that his mother had already tidied up the room for him.

Aunt Chu didn't argue with her son. She followed him into the house and asked, "I moved the small table that was originally in your room to the two educated youth comrades. Do you want me to prepare another one for you?"

Lin Yuan waved her hand, "No need, Mom, I'm only staying for a month. Let them use it. My things can be put on top of this cabinet!"

There was also a low cabinet in his room.

"By the way, Mom, when I came back I saw Hao Qiang stopping one of the educated youths in red to talk to him, but the educated youth seemed very afraid of him. What's going on?" Lin Yuan asked his mother in a low voice.

Aunt Chu sighed softly, "What else could it be? You know what kind of person Hao Qiang is. That educated youth girl is named Zhao Huanhuan. She came to the village last month and was assigned to Hao Qiang's family."

"However, she said that she could hear footsteps walking back and forth outside the door every night in the middle of the night. She was scared, so every time she went back, she would lock the door from the inside. She was so frightened that she had nightmares every night and was too scared to stay any longer. That's when she asked the brigade leader to let her move to another place."

At this point, Aunt Chu said in a low voice, "Sigh, if the girls are ugly, they have a hard time finding a partner; if they're pretty, they always attract men's attention. Don't you think so, son?"

Lin Yuan thought of Zhao Huanhuan's appearance; she was indeed very beautiful, especially her eyes, which seemed capable of stealing a man's soul with just one glance.

He nodded subconsciously and hummed in agreement.

Meeting his mother's gaze, he coughed lightly, "What's wrong, Mom?"

Aunt Chu chuckled, "It's nothing. It's not good to let those two young girls cook. Mom's going to help. You can hang up the bamboo curtain first!"

Seeing his mother's smiling face as she left, Lin Yuan smiled helplessly. He wondered if his mother was trying to match him with the educated youth. Why did his mother look at him like that when she talked about Zhao Huanhuan?

When Aunt Chu went to the kitchen, Zhao Huanhuan had already started cooking.

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