It was already past nine o'clock when the movie ended.
Zhuang Mingcheng, holding a flashlight, helped his wife walk towards the family compound.
It was late at night and a bit chilly, so he reached out and wrapped a scarf around his wife's neck.
Lu Fangfang was still somewhat engrossed in the movie. She turned to look at her husband and asked, "Comrade Zhuang Mingcheng, what kind of person do you think Lenin was?"
Zhuang Mingcheng smiled knowingly and said, mimicking a line from a movie, "An ordinary person."
"An ordinary person."
Lu Fangfang repeated it again, saying she thought the line from the movie was really good.
"Yes, he was an ordinary person, just like his people!"
Xiuxiu turned to look at her sister and brother-in-law, and suddenly felt a pang of envy. This must be the kind of love described in books.
As soon as I arrived at my doorstep, the little flower and the little Tibetan fox in the yard started barking.
Xiuxiu quickened her pace, opened the courtyard gate, and the two little ones immediately rushed out.
Lu Fangfang snapped out of her daze, smiled, and bent down to touch them.
After working hard for more than half a year, she not only had bread and milk, but also two adorable little ones.
She stood up, leading Xiao Hua and the little Tibetan fox, and was about to enter the yard when a dark donkey head suddenly poked out of the doorway, startling her.
"Oh...ah..."
The little wild donkey lowered its voice and brayed in dissatisfaction.
The group returned so late; it must have been starving.
"Smack."
"You stubborn little donkey, you scared me to death."
Lu Fangfang pushed the donkey's head away and couldn't help but roll her eyes.
Back inside, Xiuxiu prepared food for the donkey, while Zhuang Mingcheng gathered some firewood to warm the two heated brick beds in the room.
It was getting late, so after they finished their work, they quickly went to sleep.
...
The next morning, Lu Fangfang was busy at the farm when she heard Xiuxiu say that the cultural troupe had arrived.
She went out to take a look and found that the person who came was Sister-in-law Shuhua.
She strode forward and smiled as she grasped Chen Shuhua's hand. "Sister-in-law Shuhua, what brings you here? Your troupe's performance yesterday was wonderful."
"I've come over to take a look."
Looking at the breeding farm, Chen Shuhua sighed, "Xiao Lu, I didn't expect that you would achieve such great results in the troupe after not seeing you for more than half a year. Lao Gao has been praising you to me."
Lu Fangfang smiled shyly, then led her sister-in-law Shuhua into the house.
Knowing that Sister-in-law Shuhua had come for the breeding farm, she specially took Sister-in-law Shuhua to see the breeding area.
"Are these all quail eggs laid today?"
"Um."
Chen Shuhua picked up a quail egg from the egg collector, looked at it, and then carefully put it back down.
After looking around the breeding area, she was even more amazed to see so many quail eggs on the egg collector.
"Xiao Lu, as the eldest sister, I'm really no match for you. From now on, you'll have to take on more responsibility for things in the family compound. Your farm is doing a great job, providing employment for the wives who come to accompany the soldiers..."
Lu Fangfang was a little confused.
However, she felt a little embarrassed when she heard her sister-in-law Shuhua praising her.
"Sister-in-law Shuhua, it's almost Chinese New Year. You're not leaving again this time, are you?"
Chen Shuhua shook her head with a wry smile, "I have to leave soon, I have to take the troupe to perform with other teams."
"The end of the year is the busiest time for our cultural troupe. We can only come back on New Year's Eve."
"Xiao Lu, you did a great job, much better than this old lady who's never home."
Chen Shuhua held Lu Fangfang's hand and talked about some things related to the family compound.
Lu Fangfang gradually understood that Sister-in-law Shuhua was asking her to keep an eye on the family compound, which was somewhat like making her the political commissar of the compound.
"Sister-in-law Shuhua, I can't do that. At my age, those other women wouldn't be convinced."
She quickly waved her hand. More than half a year had passed, and she had endured some gossip in the family compound, but she had no right to interfere with others, and she didn't want to take on this troublesome matter.
Chen Shuhua smiled and patted Lu Fangfang on the shoulder, but didn't say anything more.
She glanced at the farm again and then prepared to leave; she was still busy with the cultural troupe.
Lu Fangfang led Xiuxiu and saw Sister-in-law Shuhua out the door.
After a while, the two stood by the roadside and waved, watching the Liberation truck carrying the cultural troupe drive away.
Looking at the performing arts troupe that didn't even have a holiday during the Spring Festival, she suddenly felt a little fortunate.
If she went to work in the performing arts troupe, she would be just as busy as Sister-in-law Shuhua, and wouldn't be able to return to the troupe more than a few times a year.
Turning to look at Xiuxiu, Lu Fangfang asked with a smile, "Xiuxiu, aren't the ladies in the performing arts troupe pretty?"
"nice."
Xiuxiu nodded quickly.
She admired the heroic and spirited women in the performing arts troupe.
Lu Fangfang then asked with a smile, "Would you like to work in the performing arts troupe?"
Xiuxiu will be fifteen in a few days, and she needs to start thinking about Xiuxiu's future.
Since there's a good opportunity, if Xiuxiu wants to go, she'll recommend it; it's better than going back to her hometown.
Xiuxiu frowned, looking very conflicted.
Lu Fangfang didn't ask any further questions and just waited quietly.
The Jiefang truck in the distance quickly disappeared from sight. Working in a cultural troupe in those days was also very hard.
In this freezing weather, we still have to sit in a car and shuttle between different queues.
"Sis, I can't dance or sing, so I guess I won't go."
Xiuxiu thought for a long time, and finally shook her head.
"You can learn if you don't know how, otherwise what do you want to be when you grow up?"
“I…I want to be a veterinarian.”
Lu Fangfang looked at Xiuxiu with considerable surprise.
Seeing that Xiuxiu's eyes were firm and she didn't seem to be joking, she became even more puzzled.
Even when she joined the army, she never imagined that Xiuxiu would become a veterinarian.
"You really want to learn? Being a veterinarian is very hard work. Don't think it's easy just because you're with animals."
"I want to learn, sister. I'll go to your farm as a veterinary technician in the future."
Xiuxiu hugged her sister's arm with a grin.
"Look at you, so ambitious. If you really want to study veterinary medicine, you'll have to become a technical expert in the future."
"But if you really want to study veterinary medicine, next time we go to the county, I'll buy some veterinary books for you to read first. When we get back, I'll ask your brother-in-law if you can go to the regiment to study under the military doctors. Our regiment has warhorses, so there are veterinarians there."
"Thank you, sister."
Xiuxiu was very happy. She quickly peeled a piece of fruit candy and presented it to her sister like a treasure.
"Alright, you can eat it."
Lu Fangfang smiled and shook her head, then led Xiuxiu toward the breeding farm.
She glanced at the west side of the main road and thought she vaguely saw the regimental commander.
Thinking that Sister-in-law Shuhua was busy during the Spring Festival and could only return to the troupe a few times a year, she suddenly felt a little sorry for the troupe leader.
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