“This is much better than those educated youth who came and went before.” He then recounted what had happened since Comrade Li Mianmian arrived. At the same time, he remembered what Li Mianmian had mentioned about recruitment, asked about his daughter’s grades, and asked, “Daughter, tell your mother the truth, if I let you take the college entrance exam, are you confident?”

"Mom, what are you thinking? Don't you know your daughter's grades? They're just average, about the middle of the class. How could she possibly get into university? My daughter has already decided that after the college entrance exam, she'll see if there are any job openings in the city and go work in a factory. Why are you asking this, Mom?"

"Do you know about the recent recruitment situation in our county?"

"I know a little. They mostly recruit children of factory workers. What's wrong, Mother?"

"It's nothing. Just finish your last month of classes and get your diploma. If you still can't find a job in the county, you can become a teacher in the commune."

"Okay, that's what I think too."

I only had a brief meeting with Gu Cuicui, so I really can't say what kind of person she is. But no matter what, given that she was raised by Grandpa and Grandma Gu, her character shouldn't be too bad. However, there's a saying that a doting mother spoils her child, so I'd better observe her more carefully before making a decision.

Back home, instead of rushing to do anything else, I found a scale and started wrapping the peaches by weight in oil paper. I also took out dried peaches from my spatial storage and packed them into bags, one pound at a time. Then I found the list of items Uncle Shen and Sister Nan had given me and started packing them into sacks according to the addresses. After packing, I copied the list and wrote separate letters to Uncle Shen and Senior Brother Zhang, placing the list and the letter in separate envelopes with their addresses. I also took out a few nylon bags, cut them in half, sewed them together, and packed them away. Tomorrow, after finishing work, I'll ask Uncle Team Leader for leave to mail these back. A relationship needs to be reciprocated to last, right?

Looking at the remaining wood ear mushrooms and mushrooms, I thought for a moment and packed two pounds of dried peaches and a few pounds of recently dried vegetables into the basket. I planned to visit Uncle Zhou's family in the county town later. Since we were here, regardless of whether we needed their help, as the younger generation, we should pay them a visit.

Meanwhile, Shen Bowen had just received a letter from Li Mianmian today, but he didn't rush to open it. Instead, he waited until his lover came home so they could read it together.

After Zhou Tao finished reading the letter, tears streamed down his face. He cried, "Mianmian has suffered so much."

"You've certainly suffered, but judging from the letter, you seem to be adapting well."

"What do you think about the matter Mianmian mentioned in her letter, about having the Gu family's daughter join the army?"

Not very good.

"Old Shen, what do you mean?"

"Xiao Tao, if it were a boy, enlisting in the army would be easy. It's not that we don't want to arrange it for this girl, but Mianmian hasn't even met him yet. Just hearing that she's a high school student isn't appropriate. That's one reason. Secondly, you know how in the countryside a married daughter is considered 'water spilled from a cup.' How much help can she provide to the Gu family after she gets married? Let alone us, how much help will she give Mianmian? Besides, things are getting increasingly chaotic in the city. What if she broadens her horizons and changes her thinking after moving there? We don't want a good thing to turn into a bad thing, and in the end, it could even affect Mianmian."

"What should we do then, Lao Shen?"

“This girl is still in school, so Mianmian can’t get in touch with her. But Mianmian said in her letter that Gu Zhengrong’s eldest son is also 16 this year and is in the second year of junior high school. Let’s wait and see in a couple of years. Let Mianmian observe him carefully. If he’s suitable, I’ll recommend him to join the army. Besides, he’s a boy. No matter how far he goes, his parents are still there. He will come home one day. That’s a great help.”

"Fine, you can write to Mianmian later, but I'm not writing one."

"Okay, there's nothing we can't say. Besides, Mianmian has been sensible since she was little. If there's anything she can't do or can't think of, we can point it out to her, and she'll accept it."

"That's right, there aren't many people in our military compound as sensible as Mianmian."

"Grandpa Huang, could you please watch over these sacks for me? I'll take them to the post office first."

"Go ahead, I'll keep watch here, don't worry."

"Sigh, I'll be back soon."

"It's alright, no need to rush."

It didn't seem like much at first, but after sorting it out, it turned out to be more than four sacks! Sigh, next time I guess I'll have to ship it in batches, otherwise it'll be too conspicuous. What a miscalculation!

There weren't many people in the post office, so I hurried over and saw Liu Jiahui there. I went over and greeted her, "Sister Jiahui, are you busy?"

"Mianmian, what brings you here? There's no package for you today."

"Sister Jiahui, I'm not here to receive a package, I'm here to send one."

Where to send a package?

"There," he said, pointing to several burlap sacks placed to the side.

"This is too much!" Jia Hui asked in surprise.

Upon hearing this, the other comrades also quickly turned around to look.

Touching her head sheepishly, she said, "Sister Jiahui, I didn't expect there to be so much stuff. It's mostly wood ear mushrooms and mushrooms, as well as dried peaches I made myself." As she spoke, she took out a pound of dried peaches that she had packed in her backpack and handed them to Liu Jiahui.

"Mianmian, what are you doing?"

"Jiahui, don't misunderstand. I dried these peaches myself. Just eat them. To be honest, I didn't do anything illegal with these packages. You know my parents recently sacrificed their lives, and these things are for their comrades. These uncles and aunts took good care of me after their sacrifice, and I can't be ungrateful, right? But you know, I'm just a young girl, and I didn't have much to give them. I heard there were many mountain produce in the countryside, so I traded some with the villagers to share with them. As for the peaches, I picked them myself after work and dried them myself—it's just a token of my appreciation. But who would have thought that when I finished packing them, they would turn out like this?" She lowered her head shyly, and then a sentence was heard...

"Xiao Liu, help this young comrade weigh himself."

"It's the director."

"Hello young comrade, I'm the director of the post office. My surname is Ma, and my name is Ma Dayong. I used to be in the army. Which unit did your parents serve in, and what were their names?"

"My father used to be Comrade Li Zilong of the X Military Region, and my mother was Comrade Liu Linjuan, a surgeon at the X Military Region Hospital."

"You are the daughter of Chief Li and Doctor Liu"

"Director Ma, do you know my parents?"

"I've seen reports about your father, Comrade Li Zilong, in the military newspaper. I do know your mother; she was wounded on the battlefield before, and it was your mother who performed the surgery. If it weren't for your mother, I would have lost my life long ago."

"Oh, I see."