Chapter 103

Li Mingcheng applied for sick leave and stayed on the island for only two nights as he would soon return to his unit.

The night before he left, Lin Tao prepared a table full of delicious dishes to entertain him. Lin Changhai also killed a rabbit, and Lin Tao fried some spicy rabbit cubes.

The sand in the half bucket of hairy clams at home had long been spit out, and Lin Tao used it to stir-fry some hairy clams.

Wakame is good for making soup, but it tastes better if you stir-fry it before cooking. Wakame soup has recently become Lin Tao's new favorite. We have been drinking it for several days in a row. However, Lin Tao's cooking skills are good, so it is not easy for everyone to get tired of it.

The weather is getting colder, and drinking a bowl of hot soup after dinner is a very good choice.

Yueyue also likes to drink wakame soup, but to be more precise, she likes to drink all kinds of soup and eat all kinds of food. After her first birthday, the little one seemed to have grown up a lot, but in fact, it was only two days.

So children grow up very quickly; they grow up in the blink of an eye.

For this purpose, Xu Yuting specially drew two pictures for Yueyue and Xiao Qingming. Originally, she only drew one picture, but it was difficult to divide the two families, so Xu Yuting drew another one. Now, each family got one, and the one in Lin Tao's house was kept well by Lin Tao.

Lin Tao had only seen Xu Yuting draw clothes before, and this was the first time she saw her draw something else.

Although Xu Yuting seems to be in a hurry at other times, she is a slow and meticulous worker when it comes to painting. She devotes her whole heart to painting and looks particularly charming.

Xu Yuting is a great painter. She drew Yueyue and Xiao Qingming vividly on paper. The two kids put on new clothes. Yueyue held the doll Li Mingcheng gave her, and Xiao Qingming sat on Yueyue's little wooden horse. The two of them played by themselves.

At the beginning, Lin Changhai was organizing the discipline, asking the two kids not to move around and to wait until they finished their painting.

But how can painting be done so quickly? It's not like taking a photo, where you just need to cooperate. Children are really hard to control. But Xu Yuting said it was okay, just let them play by themselves, she could still draw well.

After drawing the two children, Xu Yuting said that she would find time next time to draw a picture for Lin Tao as well.

Speaking of today, Lin Tao had just finished cooking when Li Mingcheng arrived.

He took the medicine and slept for two hours in the guesthouse in the afternoon. Now he feels that his headache is gone. He didn't expect that the medicine is so effective.

After arriving, the first thing I did was to play with Yueyue for a while, and coaxed Yueyue to call me uncle. Unexpectedly, after teaching her a few times, Yueyue really learned to call me uncle.

Li Mingcheng was so happy that he held Yueyue in his arms and lifted her up. Yueyue loved this the most and danced with joy. Li Mingcheng praised her, "Yueyue is so smart."

Li Chengxi, who was helping Lin Tao, was not very happy at this. He thought about how much effort he had put in to get Yueyue to call him dad. But Li Mingcheng was so good. Yueyue already called him uncle after only two days.

Seeing him like this, Lin Tao said with a smile: "Children change every day. This shows that our Yueyue has grown up a little. Didn't you notice that Yueyue can say 'mama' today?"

Yueyue's language development is good and she will be able to speak long sentences in a few months.

Lin Manman didn't come to dinner tonight, so Li Mingcheng asked Lin Tao, "Sister-in-law, isn't Manman coming to dinner today?"

Lin Tao brought out the dishes and said, "Well, one of her friends has a birthday today, so she said she won't be coming home for dinner. What's the matter?"

Li Mingcheng scratched his head and said with a smile, "Isn't it because my sister-in-law made so many delicious dishes today, and it would be a loss if she didn't come to eat?"

Lin Tao said, "She is on the island. She can come and eat whenever she wants. But you are so far away. If you eat it this time, you may not know when you can eat it next time. Eat more today."

"Okay, sister-in-law, don't worry. If I eat two bowls of the food you cooked, it would be considered a poor performance." Li Mingcheng said.

Li Chengxi brought out the soup and said, "You are already a platoon leader, but you are still so smooth-talking. How can you manage the soldiers under you?"

Li Mingcheng was not afraid of anyone except his brother Li Chengxi. As soon as Li Chengxi spoke, he immediately stopped smiling and saluted Li Chengxi: "Yes, I will listen to the instructions of the regiment commander! No, it should be the deputy brigade commander, right? Brother, isn't it time for you to be promoted to deputy brigade commander?"

Lin Changhai and Lin Tao didn't know much about Li Chengxi's affairs. Lin Tao only knew that according to Li Chengxi, he was about to be promoted, but she didn't expect it to happen recently.

Lin Changhai knew that his son-in-law had a promising future and was capable, but he never expected that he, at such a young age, in his early thirties, could be promoted to deputy brigadier general.

When he was discharged from the army, he had just been promoted to company commander. He originally applied for family leave to visit his wife who was about to give birth. He also wanted to bring his wife and daughter to the army when the child was older. Because only family members of company-level officers could accompany the army, he worked hard in the army and wanted to be promoted to company level as soon as possible so that he could bring his wife to live with him.

Unexpectedly, his wife met with such an incident before he even got home, leaving behind only a daughter. If he wanted to continue to stay in the army, he could only marry another woman, but he only had his first wife in his heart and was unwilling to marry again.

At that time, Lin Tao was still too young and could not be left alone, and his home visit leave was only a short month, so at that time, he had no choice but to retire.

But as a soldier, he has always been yearning for the army.

Now that his daughter has found a military son-in-law for him, and he's the most outstanding one in the entire garrison division, Lin Changhai is very pleased.

Li Chengxi knew in his mind that at most he would be promoted next year, because Commander Yan had already expressed this several times.

But he did not say these words explicitly to Lin Tao and Lin Changhai. He was not the kind of person who liked to show off everywhere just because he had achieved a little.

He was quite pragmatic, and apart from mentioning it to Lin Tao last time, he never mentioned it again afterwards.

When Li Mingcheng brought up the matter, Lin Changhai poured them all a glass of wine and said, "Then we should drink more to make ourselves happy."

In addition, when Lin Tao served porridge to Yueyue, she smiled at him with a proud expression on her face, which made Li Chengxi feel quite accomplished...

This time, he did not criticize Li Mingcheng for being too talkative.

In addition to cooking, Lin Tao also cooked a pot of seafood porridge. She put shelled shrimps, clam meat, and some chopped celery and carrots in it. This is because Yueyue doesn't like to eat vegetables, and Lin Tao made it this way, so Yueyue can eat vegetables while eating porridge.

The carrot cubes were cut into small pieces and cooked until crispy, melting in your mouth.

People who love celery will find celery in porridge very fragrant. Coincidentally, everyone in their family loves celery, so everyone loves this pot of thick, fragrant and smooth seafood porridge.

It was the first time for Li Mingcheng to eat the rabbit meat from Lin Tao Shao. Unlike Li Chengxi, he was not educated in Chuancheng and could accept rabbit meat. When he first saw the plate of rabbit meat, he didn't know how to pick up his chopsticks.

But out of trust in my sister-in-law, I still took a bite. Unexpectedly, as soon as I took a bite, I felt that the taste was really delicious.

This dinner was a farewell to Li Mingcheng. Lin Changhai had already taken out the wine, and because of the good news that Li Chengxi was about to be promoted, he had to drink one anyway.

Lin Tao just served Yueyue a bowl of seafood porridge, and as if remembering something, she reminded him, "Dad, Mingcheng is not feeling well today. He took medicine and can't drink. You and Chengxi can drink alone."

This is what Lin Manman told her when she went to find Lin Manman in the evening and asked her to come home for dinner.

When Lin Changhai heard this, he quickly poured the wine that was poured for Li Mingcheng into his own glass and said, "That's really not drinkable. How about this, Mingcheng, you drink tea instead of wine, and we drink one."

Only Li Mingcheng understood the meaning and knew that the only people who needed to take medicine were him and Lin Manman.

Men drink slowly. After Lin Tao finished her meal, she fed Yueyue. They had just finished drinking and were about to eat. Lin Tao was not willing to sit by and listen to their chat, so she carried Yueyue to sit next door at Chen Shuifen's house.

But just as she reached the door, she heard Chen Shuifen wanting to beat Zheng Hongxing. Upon asking, she found out that Zheng Hongxing had failed two subjects in the midterm exam, which made Chen Shuifen very angry.

In fact, Zheng Hongxing is not stupid at all. Not only is he not stupid, he is very smart. He just doesn't want to spend his time on studying.

Lin Tao persuaded and criticized Zheng Hongxing, then came back with Yueyue in her arms.

By now they had finished their meal and drinks. The two brothers Li Chengxi and Li Mingcheng went together to clear the table and wash the dishes.

Li Mingcheng smiled and said, "Brother, when I get married in the future, will I be like you and listen to my wife in everything?"

Li Chengxi asked: "Do you want to get married?"

"Just asking, it's not that fast. Didn't you say that I'm still a platoon leader now, and it will take at least two or three years for me to be promoted to the rank of company commander. If I get married too early, my family won't be able to follow the army, which doesn't make sense." Li Mingcheng said.

In fact, he is now a deputy company commander. Military academy students are considered military seniors while they are in school, and they are deputy company commanders when they enter the army. But because they were all in school before and have never been in the army, they can only be platoon leaders at most at the beginning. After they get familiar with the situation, they can be promoted to company commanders after two or three years.

"Okay, then hold on tight." Li Chengxi said.

Li Mingcheng is 23 years old this year, and it is indeed time for him to find a partner and consider starting a family.

The two brothers chatted for a while. Li Chengxi asked about things in Li Mingcheng's troops. Although they were far apart, Li Chengxi was not worried about Li Mingcheng. This kid has been smart since he was young. The fact that he was able to follow their political commissar on a mission this time was enough to show that he was doing pretty well there.

"After we go back, let's continue to work hard." Li Chengxi patted Li Mingcheng on the shoulder.

"I promise to complete the task!" Li Mingcheng said with a smile, "Brother, do you remember? You used to like warship models very much and said you wanted to be a navy when you grew up. I said I wanted to be a navy too and went swimming, and I almost drowned."

When he was a child, Li Mingcheng was Li Chengxi's follower, and Li Chengxi's ideals were his ideals.

The two brothers chatted for a while, and then Lin Tao came back with Yueyue in her arms. Li Mingcheng held Yueyue and teased her again. The time they spent together was always short, and he would leave tomorrow.

When Li Mingcheng left the next day, Lin Tao prepared a lot of pickled vegetables for him. It was difficult to store other things, so he could only take these.

"Okay, sister-in-law, brother, you can go back. I will come to see you when I have time in the future." Li Mingcheng waved his hand.

He went to see Lin Manman last night. He originally thought that since Lin Manman had celebrated her roommate's birthday, the two of them might be able to go to the movies together.

But unfortunately, the cinema had no movies showing today and was closed.

The two of them walked together casually without saying anything. Lin Manman asked him if he went back to Hainan now, would it still be very hot there and would he need to wear short sleeves? Li Mingcheng said yes.

Lin Manman smiled and said it was really magical.

Li Mingcheng said, I will send you the sun from Hainan when the time comes.

Lin Manman was surprised: How do you send the sun?

Li Mingcheng said: You will know when the time comes.

Lin Manman did not come to see Li Mingcheng off, but the two of them made an appointment for the sun.

**********************************

Xu Yuting always said that there is no autumn on Shengshan Island. October is the watershed. Before October it is summer, and after October the temperature drops very quickly. It is late autumn all of a sudden, and winter is about to come.

The cotton coat that Lin Tao made for Yueyue last year was too big, so Yueyue can still wear it this year, but Yueyue is growing very fast and she probably won’t be able to wear it next year.

Even so, Chen Shuifen said it was a pity that such good fabric could only be worn for two years.

However, Lin Tao thought that two years was enough. If it was too big, the child would not be able to wear clothes that fit him every year. Of course, it was mainly because she and Li Chengxi were both paid salaries, and she controlled the financial power of the family. She knew the conditions of her family.

In winter, at most, we can buy two cotton-padded clothes for our children, so we still have enough money. We should save where we can, but we should not save where we shouldn't.

Moreover, the clothes that Yueyue can no longer wear do not have to be thrown away. They can be taken apart and the outer cloth can be used to make something else. The cotton inside can be taken out and continued to be used.

At this time, Chen Shuifen and Xu Yuting came to Lin Tao's house. The three of them sat together, and Lin Tao took out the freshly fried soybeans at home for them to eat.

After being fried, the soybeans taste even more fragrant than pumpkin seeds, and Chen Shuifen ate a lot of them.

Looking at Lin Tao's flat belly, Chen Shuifen said with a smile: "Teacher Lin, Yueyue is so big now, when are you planning to have another child?"

While sewing the vest, Lin Tao said, "Yueyue is still young, we can talk about having a baby later."

She really hasn't considered having another child yet. Yueyue is only a little over one year old. If she gets pregnant now, Yueyue will only be two years old when she has another child. She is afraid that her father won't be able to take care of two children.

Although everyone said that it is better to have two children of similar age, it is the same to take care of one child or two children, but it is always more tiring. She wanted to wait until Yueyue was a little older before considering having another child.

"What about Teacher Xu?" Chen Shuifen said.

Xu Yuting said, "Big sister, why don't you consider having another daughter first? My children and A Tao's are both young, and your children Hong Xing and Xiang Yang have grown up. It's just right to have another one now."

When Zheng Hongxing heard that she was going to have a little sister, she ran over and said, "Mom, I want a little sister, I want a little sister."

Chen Shuifen's face turned serious: "Having you two brothers at home is enough for me, how dare I give birth to another ancestor!"

Lin Tao and Xu Yuting looked at each other and couldn't help laughing.

Chen Shuifen is a very nice person, but everyone has their own little flaws. Chen Shuifen's flaw is that she starts to care about Lin Tao and Xu Yuting having children. However, every time this happens, Xu Yuting will leave her speechless.

So they changed the topic. Chen Shuifen said, "You two are going back to your hometown to celebrate the New Year this time. I will be alone then. It's not fun. It was more lively last year. Our three families got together to celebrate the New Year. It was so exciting. Let's celebrate the New Year together again someday."

"This time it's mainly because the old man wants to see the child. Yueyue's wife is old and can't take a long journey to come here. Since Yueyue gave birth, she has never seen the child except for a photo, so we must go back to see the old man." Lin Tao said.

"As for celebrating the New Year together, there will always be a chance. We are all on this island, and we don't get family leave every year. We can celebrate the New Year together then. Don't mention it, big sister, the goose stewed in the iron pot you brought back was really delicious. I'm still thinking about it now."

"Look at what you said. If you want to eat it, just tell me. You don't have to wait until the New Year to cook it. It just so happens that we have a goose at home, and it's almost grown. Before you and Teacher Xu leave, I will kill it and stew it in an iron pot." Chen Shuifen waved her hand and said generously.

"That's embarrassing." Lin Tao said.

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about. You guys are still polite to me." Chen Shuifen said.

Since Chen Shuifen said so, Lin Tao and Xu Yuting had no choice but to listen to her. However, it was agreed that the three families would get together for a meal that day, and each family would prepare some dishes.

Xu Yuting said: "We are the same. My mother-in-law's back is not very good. She hasn't been to the island since the last time she left. She wants to go back for the Qingming Festival, so she asked us to go back this year to celebrate the New Year."

But honestly, according to Xu Yuting's idea, she would definitely like to stay on the island for the New Year. After all, there are only her and Wang Yuanliang on the island, so she can do whatever she wants. If she goes back to Wang Yuanliang's hometown in Suzhou, where there will be more relatives, she will inevitably have to put on an act.

But her personality is not the type that likes to put on airs.

"Sister, if you really find it boring, why don't you go back to your hometown to celebrate the New Year." Xu Yuting suggested.

Chen Shuifen shook her head and waved her hands, saying, "No, I'm not like you and Teacher Lin. My in-laws are nice. My mother-in-law is very cunning. If I go back to celebrate the New Year, we will definitely have a fight. This New Year will not be a New Year."

Yes, Chen Shuifen talked about those things about her mother-in-law.

After chatting for a while, they saw that it was almost time and prepared to go home.

When Chen Shuifen left, she touched her butt and said, "It's getting cold. Next time, why don't you just sit on our kang? Teacher Lin's house doesn't have a kang, and it'll freeze your butt."

Chen Shuifen's words made Lin Tao and Xu Yuting laugh out loud. However, Lin Tao did plan to build a kang at home, but she postponed the plan after hearing Li Chengxi say that he was about to be promoted.

If we build a kang in this house now, we won't be able to move it when we move, which will be too troublesome. So we might as well wait and do it next year.

They planned to go to Shanghai for the New Year this year, and Lin Tao started preparing things early. They couldn't go empty-handed, so Lin Tao took advantage of the holidays to go to the fishing village with Chen Shuifen and Xu Yuting from time to time to see if they could pick up some good things.

There are really too few dry goods in the grocery store, and there is nothing good to pick out.

Chen Shuifen had a wide network of contacts and knew many people, so Lin Tao and Xu Yuting did exchange some good things. Lin Tao exchanged a lot of dried sea cucumbers, which she took back to give to the old man for nourishment, and they were very good for his health.

When Lin Tao told Lin Changhai that they were going to Shanghai for the New Year this year, Lin Changhai said, "Then you and Chengxi will go to Shanghai for the New Year this year, and I will go back to Xiangcheng for the New Year, which will also be a good opportunity for me to accompany your mother."

Although he said this, Lin Tao understood that her father was embarrassed to go there.

"Dad, I know what you're thinking, but grandma and the others said in the letter that you must go with them. Haven't you ever been to Shanghai? Then let Cheng Xi take us around Shanghai and see the world. Grandma and the others are very nice people, you've met them before." Lin Tao said.

Li Chengxi came back and personally persuaded Lin Changhai again, and only then did Lin Changhai agree to go to Shanghai with them to celebrate the New Year.

In the room, Yueyue had already fallen asleep, still holding the rag doll that Li Mingcheng bought for her. Yueyue was already over one year old, and now she didn't need Lin Tao to coax her to sleep. She would fall asleep quickly when she was tired from playing.

Li Chengxi walked in and saw Yueyue was asleep, so he carried her into the crib.

They lifted the quilt and got into bed. Lin Tao was afraid of the cold, so as it was just November, she had already changed into a thick quilt. Li Chengxi was not afraid of the cold, so he still covered himself with a thinner quilt. They each had a quilt, and at this moment, Li Chengxi lifted Lin Tao's quilt.

Lin Tao found it funny and knew what he was going to do. However, it was still early and the lights were not even off, so he would not dare to do anything rash.

"How is it? What did Dad say?" Lin Tao asked.

Li Chengxi said, "Dad agreed to go to Shanghai with us to celebrate the New Year. In fact, when we got married, the elders of our two families should have met each other, but our two families were too far apart and we were in a hurry, so some things were not well prepared."

"Don't say that. Grandma came all the way here just for our marriage. You have no idea how touched I was. My uncle, aunt, and aunt were also very nice. Although we didn't stay in Shanghai for long, I could feel that they really liked me and treated me as a family member." Lin Tao smiled as she thought of those relatives.

"Because you are nice, they all like you." Li Chengxi said.

Lin Tao leaned in Li Chengxi's arms, and the two discussed some things to bring back to Shanghai. Li Chengxi went out for a while, and when he came back, he hugged Lin Tao and began to kiss her.

Lin Tao understood that her father must have fallen asleep.

The closer it gets to the end of the year, the busier the troops are. Recently, there has been movement on the other side. Li Chengxi went out on a mission before and only came back after more than ten days.

Lin Tao was worried, but luckily her father and Yueyue were at home with her, otherwise Lin Tao would probably be worried as much as last time.

Fortunately, Li Chengxi came back without any problems, saying that this is what happens every year at the end of the year, so there is no need to be nervous. The main reason is that our country's navy equipment is getting more and more powerful, and it is not so easy to underestimate it. The other side is not so brave.

If you really dare to come over, then I will fight you.

Li Chengxi must have been thinking about Lin Tao after not touching her for such a long time. As he hugged his wife's soft body, his body began to react.

Lin Tao hummed: "Chengxi, let's have another child when the time comes. It doesn't matter whether it's a brother or a sister for Yueyue, it's all good."

Li Chengxi paused as he held the condom in his hand. He had just come out of a long period of confinement. He had just enjoyed a year of comfort and didn't want to go into confinement again so soon.

Then Lin Tao dragged out her voice and said, "I'm not saying now—"

Li Chengxi smiled and kissed Lin Tao's snow-white neck, saying, "Then just tell me when you want it. It's any time."

With the mentality of cherishing the opportunity while Lin Tao was still pregnant, Li Chengxi gave Lin Tao a good beating. In the end, Lin Tao begged for mercy, and Li Chengxi let her go.

The next day, Lin Tao indeed found red marks on her body. Taking advantage of the fact that she woke up early while Li Chengxi was still sleeping, she reached out her hand to touch Li Chengxi's waist and pinched him hard several times.

But this man was not afraid of pain. He didn't even react. He just held Lin Tao in his arms with his big hands. When he woke up in the morning, he spoke with a nasal tone: "Why did you wake up so early? Sleep a little longer."

So, Lin Tao slept in his arms for more than an hour, and when the time was almost up, he got up.

*********************************

Li Chengxi applied for a leave to visit his family, which lasted for about half a month.

As the New Year was approaching, Lin Tao asked Lin Changhai to kill two rabbits, a chicken and a duck, and take them to Shanghai when the time came.

As soon as they left, Chen Shuifen would have to trouble herself with the chickens, ducks, sheep, rabbits and other animals at home.

Chen Shuifen took the keys to Lin Tao and Xu Yuting's house and said, "You can go back without worrying about this place. I will help you look after it."

Zheng Hongxing, on the other hand, was quite reluctant to let his sister go. He was a little unhappy when he knew that his sister was going back to Shanghai for the New Year. He packed two pieces of his clothes the day before and said that he wanted to go to Shanghai with Aunt Lin. But Chen Shuifen caught him and beat him up. He was still a little unhappy now.

In order to coax him, Lin Tao made another basket of little rabbit buns, and finally he was coaxed into submission. When Lin Tao and the others left, they asked them to come back earlier.

Yueyue was also reluctant to leave brother Hongxing, but this sadness only lasted for ten minutes. After walking from home to the pier and getting on the boat, Yueyue forgot about her brother Hongxing and had a great time playing with Xiao Qingming.

Lin Tao and her family bought train tickets for the same day as Xu Yuting's family, which was the 26th.

So they took the boat to the train station together, but they didn't take the same train. Lin Tao and his train arrived more than an hour earlier.

Li Chengxi and Lin Changhai carried the luggage, so Lin Tao just held Yueyue in her arms. There were too many people in the train station, so the child had to be kept under close watch.