Military uniforms of that era all had the same design.
Even the commander's clothes were the same as those of ordinary soldiers.
The only way to tell them apart was by looking at their pockets: four pockets meant they were officers, and two pockets meant they were soldiers.
As for the rank and position of cadres, you can't tell just by looking at their clothes.
Lu Fangfang put down what she was holding and looked at the cadre from the military region.
"Comrade Lu Fangfang, I am Liu Wentao from the Political Department of the Military Region."
Lu Fangfang was startled; she was now afraid whenever she heard the word "Political Department."
She glanced at the man again and secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He had a smile on his face, so he probably wasn't there to cause trouble.
"Congratulations to you and Comrade Zhuang Mingcheng for being awarded the Second-Class Combat Hero and the Third-Class Merit Citation."
"According to the regulations above, we need to send a congratulatory message to our relatives. Could you please tell me your home address so I can write it down?"
The video she had seen in her later life immediately flashed into Lu Fangfang's mind.
A group of soldiers, beating drums and gongs, delivered a plaque recognizing him as a third-class meritorious official to his home. What an honor!
"Comrade Liu, will you still send a plaque then?"
"A plaque? There isn't one."
Liu Wentao was taken aback when he heard this. He shook his head and then explained it in more detail.
"Comrade Lu, after you tell us your address, the military region will send a congratulatory letter to the local armed forces department, and they will personally deliver it to your family."
Lu Fangfang understood; this good news must be the award certificate.
Supplies are scarce right now, and there's no signboard yet.
That's fine too. It's an honorable thing, and it will allow people from her hometown to share in her joy.
"Comrade Lu, my hometown is Yangjiazai Commune in Linshui Special District..."
Liu Wentao took out his pen and carefully wrote it down. "Comrade Lu, could you please tell me Comrade Zhuang's address as well?"
"No. 76 Shijia Hutong, Dongcheng District, Beijing".
Lu Fangfang then gave Zhuang Mingcheng's home address.
When the good news of becoming a second-class combat hero arrives at home, Mr. Zhuang will surely be very happy.
The women at the next table all looked on with envy. This was truly bringing honor to their ancestors, and even their families were benefiting from it.
"Comrade Lu, I have noted it all down. The good news will be delivered to your family in about a month."
Liu Wentao put the notebook into his chest pocket.
He opened his military satchel and took out a booklet. "Comrade Lu, according to regulations, you and Comrade Zhuang will receive some material rewards."
Lu Fangfang's eyes lit up.
"I brought some coupons this time. You can choose two types. In addition, the military region will subsidize Comrade Zhuang Mingcheng with 30 jin of grain coupons and Comrade Lu with 20 jin of grain coupons."
Liu Wentao opened a booklet, revealing various tickets inside.
Even the women's wives couldn't sit still anymore and gathered around out of curiosity.
"Is this a bicycle ticket?"
"Oh my, there are even tickets for watches, sewing machines, radios, and even wardrobes."
"There are also meat coupons, grain coupons, and cloth coupons."
This little booklet brought tears to the eyes of my sisters-in-law; it was truly a treasure.
Lu Fangfang looked at the various tickets with some surprise.
After thinking for a moment, she pointed to the sewing ticket.
What her family is missing right now is a sewing machine; having one would make making clothes much easier.
Liu Wentao took out the sewing ticket from the booklet and then looked at her.
"I...I need a bicycle ticket."
"Hey, Xiao Lu, you already have a donkey, why would you need a bicycle?"
"Yeah, yeah, let's quickly get another one, we can't waste it."
Listening to her sisters-in-law's words, Lu Fangfang felt that they made sense.
Just as she was about to think it over, she heard Liu Wentao across from her speak.
"Comrade Lu, for your next vote, you can only choose from this page."
Lu Fangfang looked up and saw that the page he was pointing to contained common industrial products, including fan coupons, clock coupons, and some meat and grain coupons.
She immediately understood: the left page was for second-class combat heroes, and this page was for third-class merit award recipients.
After looking at them carefully, she finally chose a clock ticket.
Among all the items, this was the only relatively rare industrial product, and her family happened to be missing a larger clock.
Liu Wentao carefully took out the clock coupon and fifty catties of grain coupons.
He first had Comrade Lu write a receipt and put her fingerprint on it before carefully handing her a stack of tickets.
"Comrade Liu, thank you so much for your help."
Lu Fangfang happily put the ticket into her pocket; this was an unexpected surprise.
With an extra fifty jin of grain coupons, her family was much better off.
Seeing that Liu Wentao was about to leave, she saw him off one last time.
Back in the auditorium, she looked around and saw that most of the food on the table had been eaten, with hardly anything left.
The canteen staff, along with some soldiers, were cleaning up.
Lu Fangfang was quite grateful.
She had told Zhuang Mingcheng before that she wanted to save a table of food for the cafeteria staff. She was really troubling them today. If she had cooked at home, she wouldn't have been able to finish washing all these dishes.
"Comrade Lu, could you take me to see the breeding farm?"
Liu Wenhui adjusted her glasses, still somewhat curious about the place she was referring to.
"Of course, come with me."
Lu Fangfang called out to Xiao Hua and Xiao Zang Hu, and led her there.
Inside the auditorium, Wang Shufen watched the two of them and quickly followed them.
Today is the girl's big day, but these two are running around everywhere.
Upon arriving at the farm, Lu Fangfang opened the door and led Liu Wenhui to take a look.
Seeing that there was no food in the quail's feeding trough, she picked up the wooden bucket and prepared to put some in.
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