Chapter 116

Li Guodong is only in his sixties this year, not so old that he is unrecognizable.

What's more, he doesn't look like his brother Li Chengxi, so he shouldn't make a mistake.

Chen Shuifen said, "I don't know. The doctor said that the problem last time was almost cured. The main thing is to pay attention to blood pressure. He has been taking antihypertensive drugs recently. The blood pressure has dropped. It's nothing serious. It's just that he has a bad memory recently. Sometimes he can't remember what I said to him. Maybe it's because he's old."

Li Mingcheng said: "My father is only in his sixties. His comrades are all fine. How could he be like this?"

"Your father was injured in the head during the war when he was young. It might be because of that." Zhang Sufen served rice to Li Mingcheng and Li Guodong and said, "Guodong, come and eat. Today I cooked your favorite salted pork and scrambled eggs."

Li Guodong stood up from his chair, sat at the dining table, and said, "My favorite is pickled fresh vegetables, not salted meat and eggs."

"When did you start liking pickled fresh vegetables again... I cooked something you never ate before. OK, if you like it, I'll cook it for you tomorrow. Okay, let's eat soon." Zhang Sufen said, and gave Li Guodong a piece of celery fried tofu. "Have some of this. The doctor said that eating celery can lower blood pressure."

"Dad." Li Mingcheng called out, "Who is the person who picked up the food for you?"

Li Guodong glanced at Li Mingcheng and said, "Your mother."

Li Mingcheng asked again: "What is my mother's name?"

"Zhang Sufen." Li Guodong's face darkened. "You even forgot your mother's name when you went out to serve in the army, right?"

Zhang Sufen glared at him and said, "What the hell are you thinking, you're just back and you're already talking nonsense. Why don't you just come back?"

Li Mingcheng smiled and said, "I am just testing whether Dad has Alzheimer's disease and doesn't know who you are. All right, as long as he knows who you are, that's fine."

She took another piece of braised pork with chopsticks and took a bite: "Mom, is this the braised pork braised by my aunt?"

"Yes, your aunt prepared the sauce and sent it over specially. She also gave you a duck with sauce. It's so delicious. I'll roast it for you on New Year's Eve." Zhang Sufen said.

Li Mingcheng said: "My aunt's cooking skills are really good, but the bad thing is that she is too talkative and not very popular."

Zhang Sufen gritted her teeth and said, "You deserve to be scolded on New Year's Day, don't you?"

Li Mingcheng: "Just like you, you two are really from the same family."

Zhang Sufen: "Li Mingcheng!"

Li Mingcheng: "I'm eating, don't talk to me, or I'll choke you."

Zhang Sufen glared at Li Mingcheng. This damn boy, she thought so badly of him when he was not back, but when he came back, he could make her angry to death with just a few words. She really couldn't do anything about him.

After dinner, Zhang Sufen went to wash the dishes, and Li Mingcheng helped to wash the dishes. Zhang Sufen said, "I finally came back to accompany your father. Last year, your brother and his family returned to Shanghai for the New Year. I personally asked them to bring the children home to see your father, but they disagreed. Your father misses Yueyue so much. After all, they are biological father and son, and your brother really did it."

Li Mingcheng sighed and said, "You and my dad forced me to do this. You were the ones who were unkind first. You can't blame my brother for this. If it were me, I wouldn't come either."

Zhang Sufen: "Li Mingcheng, just cheer me up. You were so happy when you made me so angry that day. But I'm telling you, doctors say that middle-aged and elderly people of our age are most likely to get high blood pressure. If you make me sick one day, I'll see what you'll do."

Li Mingcheng: "No, then shall we go to the hospital tomorrow?"

"Why go to the hospital? Did you take what I told you in the letter seriously? Let me tell you, I don't agree with what you told me about that Lin Man. Your sister-in-law is such a powerful person. She even dares to scold your father. If you marry her sister, our family will not be able to live." Zhang Sufen refused to agree.

Then he said, "I have already contacted your cousin and asked her to introduce you to a girl from their unit named Meijuan. You can see when you are free and go meet her. Or how about tomorrow? Your vacation is so short. The sooner you meet her, the more at ease you will be."

"Meijuan? This name is so vulgar." Li Mingcheng said, "I'm busy tomorrow. I have to go to the hospital."

"Why are you going to the hospital?" Zhang Sufen asked.

Li Mingcheng: "Something's going on. As for what it is, you'll know when you come with me tomorrow."

The next morning, Li Mingcheng and Zhang Sufen went to the hospital together. The guard drove them to the hospital gate. As soon as Zhang Sufen got out of the car, she said, "Xiao Zhao, when you go back, remind Lao Li to take his medicine on time."

After entering the hospital, Li Mingcheng asked, "Mom, didn't you say yesterday that you have high blood pressure? Do you have any other problems? Let's check it out together."

Zhang Sufen was puzzled: "Why would you ask me to have a physical examination for no reason?"

But she thought that her son cared about her, so she was very happy. This brat has been very unforgiving with his mouth since he was young. He was only a little well-behaved in front of his brother. When he was in front of others, he could make people angry to death with just one word. Even her own mother was useless.

"There's nothing wrong with her. I came for a checkup last year." Zhang Sufen said, "Don't worry, Mom is still young. It's not that easy for her to get sick."

Li Mingcheng suggested: "Then go measure your blood pressure."

Li Mingcheng took Zhang Sufen to have her blood pressure measured. The nurse who measured her blood pressure said, "Auntie, your high and low blood pressure are both normal. There is nothing wrong with you. Are you feeling unwell somewhere?"

Zhang Sufen smiled brightly and said, "I'm fine. It's just that my son is concerned about my health and insisted that I come and take the measurement."

"Your son is very filial," the nurse praised.

Since nothing happened, Zhang Sufen planned to leave, saying as she walked: "I told you everything is fine, are you relieved now? Go home."

Li Mingcheng said, "Wait, I still have some tests to do."

Li Mingcheng took Zhang Sufen to the urology department. He was not in a hurry to register. Instead, he found a place with a chair and asked Zhang Sufen to sit down. He said, "Mom, since there is nothing wrong with your body, I will tell you directly. I brought you to the hospital today mainly to tell you one thing. I like Lin Manman and want to be with her and marry her. I have told you everything I should say in the letter, so I won't say anything else. If you don't agree with me being with Manman, I will get a vasectomy now. If you want me to meet that Mei Juan, that's fine, but I have to get a vasectomy first. If you force me to marry someone else, that's fine, but you won't have grandchildren in your life. That's what I said. Think about it yourself."

Before Li Mingcheng finished speaking, Zhang Sufen felt dizzy. If she hadn't been sitting, she would have fallen down.

Looking at Li Mingcheng, Zhang Sufen's face turned red with anger. She pointed at him and said, "Are you threatening me? Did I give birth to you just to let you threaten me? I have raised you for nothing."

"I never asked you to give birth to me. If I could make a choice, I would..." Li Mingcheng stopped talking about words that were too hurtful. "Mom, I can assure you that Manman is a very good girl. She has a very good personality, not as sharp-tongued as my sister-in-law. But the premise is that you have to respect her. If you respect her, she will respect you too."

Zhang Sufen understood what Li Mingcheng had not finished saying.

Because she married Li Guodong and Lu Xiangchun came back, some people thought she was the third party, the one who interfered. Although when she met Li Guodong, Lu Xiangchun had not been heard from for more than five years, she did not know that Lu Xiangchun was still alive.

When she gave birth to Li Mingcheng, she had a difficult labor and Lu Xiangchun died at that time.

Some people also suspected that she did it on purpose. She actually didn't have a difficult delivery at all. She deliberately wanted to keep Li Guodong, so she teamed up with the doctor to play a trick. Because she used to be a nurse in that hospital, because she knew the doctor.

But she was bleeding heavily at the time, and she was in excruciating pain during childbirth, so how could she have the time to do these things? Even if we take a step back, Li Chengxi came after she entered the delivery room, so how could she know that Lu Xiangchun was dying at that time? She was not a god.

Could she have predicted this in advance and staged this drama on purpose?

Over the years, Zhang Sufen has regretted countless times. She should have let Li Guodong go to see Lu Xiangchun. If he had seen Lu Xiangchun for the last time, he wouldn't have been brooding over it all these years...

Because of these things, not only she was hurt by some words, but also Li Mingcheng. Even when he went to school, there were people who deliberately isolated him.

Zhang Sufen sat in the chair blankly, burying her face between her knees. She knew that her son was a very stubborn person. He would do what he said. Zhang Sufen did not doubt what Li Mingcheng said.

After a long while, Zhang Sufen raised her head, wiped her face, and said, "Okay, I agree to your request."

"Thank you, Mom." Li Mingcheng also breathed a sigh of relief.

He also didn't want to get a vasectomy at such a young age. Yueyue was so cute, and he wanted to have a daughter as cute as Yueyue with Lin Manman.

In fact, before using this trick, he had written a letter to his family, in which he clearly stated that he liked Lin Manman and wanted to marry her. However, after receiving the letter, his mother, Comrade Zhang Sufen, directly rejected the marriage in a reply, and even asked Zhang Meiling, the big mouth, to introduce him to a partner.

Then he had no choice but to cut off the source of the problem.

Looking at Zhang Sufen who was so angry, Li Mingcheng decided that he would not make her angry this year.

The family of three celebrated the Chinese New Year, and on the second day of the New Year, Li Mingcheng bought a ticket to Xiangcheng, which made Zhang Sufen very angry.

Zhang Sufen: "You just arrived on the 27th and you have to leave on the second day of the Chinese New Year. You have only stayed at home for five days and it is still half a day short. Do you call this a family visit leave? Your army only gives you a few days off?"

Li Mingcheng said as he packed his luggage, "Our troops were on leave for 20 days. I took the train to Shanghai on the 25th. Today is already the 11th day. It will take me dozens of hours to get to Xiangcheng by train, and I will have to spend a lot of time on the road. It will be the same when I go from Xiangcheng to Hainan. The time is just right."

Zhang Sufen muttered: "What are you doing in Xiangcheng on the second day of the Chinese New Year..."

Li Mingcheng: "Isn't the second day of the Chinese New Year the day when sons-in-law go to their mother-in-law's house? Am I remembering it wrong?"

Zhang Sufen: "You haven't gotten married yet."

Li Mingcheng: "We will get married sooner or later, Comrade Zhang Sufen, I have already made plans. In another year I will be promoted to a higher rank, and my family can follow the army then. But Manman is a pharmacist, so she can be transferred with the army, and can actually go to Hainan now. But I can't get a wedding house now, so if she goes to Hainan, she can only live in the dormitory like me. I think she can live more comfortably when she comes after the house is allocated."

Besides, they are both young. Lin Manman is only 20 years old this year. There is still one year left, so they can wait.

Zhang Sufen: "Why haven't I seen you plan for me so carefully before?"

"Do you still need me to make plans for you? You should ask Comrade Li Guodong for help." Li Mingcheng said, "Or do you also want to go to Hainan and help take care of our children? I have no objection."

Zhang Sufen was so angry that she hit Li Mingcheng with something: "You wish, I won't go."

"You're not going, right? That's what you said. It's just right that you're not going. I'll let my mother-in-law take care of the children then." Li Mingcheng said with a smile.

Zhang Sufen felt that even if she didn't have high blood pressure, she would be irritated by Li Mingcheng and said angrily, "Leave, leave quickly."

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

When Lin Manman came back, the villagers who usually never spoke a word to her, or who started chatting with her or her mother in the past, were all enthusiastic and proactive in talking to her when they saw her back this time.

There were some people Lin Manman didn't even know and couldn't call out their names, so she just called people by their age. Those who were a few years older she called "sister", and those who were about the same age as her mother she called "auntie".

"Manman, are you back for the New Year? It's good that you're back. You didn't come back last year and your mom missed you."

"Is this a military uniform? Why is it white? I think military uniforms are all green."

"Big Boss, you are really ignorant. The uniform that Manman is wearing is a navy uniform, of course it is white. The green one is the army uniform. When Lin Tao got married before, her husband came to pick her up wearing a military uniform like this. He was so handsome."

"At that time, the girl from the big head family hadn't married yet, so I didn't see her."

"Then you are unlucky. Let me tell you, Lin Tao's wedding was the most lively one in our commune, and the dishes at the banquet were also..."

It was precisely because of the enthusiasm of these people that Lin Manman re-understood the term "returning home in glory".

Not only that, there are people who envy Aunt Fang.

She was really good at judging. Lin Tao was not welcomed in the village at first. Everyone thought she was unlucky and a disaster star. They all thought she was unlucky, but she was not afraid and treated Lin Tao as her own daughter. She didn't expect Lin Tao to marry so well, and even Lin Manman could join the army.

Everyone was naturally envious, thinking how great it would be if the people who were nice to Lin Tao in the past could get the money themselves. Wouldn't they be able to enjoy the happiness with Lin Tao now? Would the children at home be able to wear military uniforms?

On the second day of the Lunar New Year, Uncle Shen's daughter and her family of three came to visit. She gave birth to a son, who is three years old this year. Boys are much more naughty than girls. When he got home, he clamored to set off firecrackers, and accidentally blew his hand.

After crying for a while, Lin Manman coaxed her into crying with some White Rabbit milk candy. When she left, she was still reluctant to leave her aunt Lin Manman.

Aunt Fang wanted to laugh when she saw this, so she gave the child a red envelope and asked him to come back to his grandmother's house to play with his aunt in a few days.

"Manman, how's that matter going?" Aunt Fang asked.

After Lin Manman sent the letter, Li Mingcheng quickly replied to her, saying that he would deal with the matter as soon as possible. She never asked again afterwards.

Lin Manman said: "Mingcheng said he would solve it, and I didn't ask him later."

Aunt Fang was anxious: "How can I not ask? You will be 21 after the Chinese New Year, and it is almost time for you to get married. I won't rush you about this, but I can't just ignore everything and waste time like this."

Uncle Shen brought some charcoal over and added some to the stove, saying, "Don't worry too much about the children's affairs. Let them solve them themselves. Twenty-one is not too old. Dali got married at the age of twenty-two, which was also good."

"Manman, don't be anxious. Let's wait and see. Isn't it Chinese New Year? Xiao Li will probably go back to visit his relatives. Who knows, maybe he will go there to solve this problem. Let's wait a little longer."

There are no kangs in Xiangcheng, so people burn charcoal in winter. This charcoal is collected by Aunt Fang and Uncle Shen when they go to the mountains in autumn. They choose larger firewood and dig a small kiln to burn it into charcoal, which can be kept for warming in winter.

This winter seems to be particularly cold. Lin Manman put on a new cotton jacket made by Aunt Fang over her military uniform, which made her feel much warmer. The cotton inside the jacket was all new cotton, which was very warm.

When Lin Manman saw it, she said that she always wore military uniforms when she was in the army, so there was no need to make new clothes for her. She could just make a few more for Aunt Fang and Uncle Shen.

Aunt Fang said, "Your uncle Shen's factory issued cloth coupons, and you sent us cloth coupons. Now that Mom has the coupons, it's no big deal to make a piece of clothing."

The fourth day of the Lunar New Year.

Li Mingcheng was brought to the entrance of Taohua Village by his comrades, carrying two boxes of snacks, two bottles of good wine, and a pig's trotter. This time when Li Mingcheng came to Xiangcheng, he had already contacted his comrades, and when he was brought here, his comrades patted him on the shoulder and said, "Okay, brother, you are going to see your father-in-law during the New Year, so I won't join in the fun. I'm going back first. Contact me when the time comes, and we'll take the train back to Hainan together."

"Okay, thank you for your hard work. I'll treat everyone to dinner when we get back," said Li Mingcheng.

Comrade: "What's the point of just eating? You better hold on tight, we all want to have your wedding candy as soon as possible."

Li Mingcheng watched his comrade-in-arms riding away on his bike, and walked into Taohua Village carrying his things. He was very sweet-mouthed, and whenever he saw someone he would call her "Auntie" and ask her where Lin Manman lived.

The person looked at Li Mingcheng, who was wearing the same military uniform as Lin Manman and holding so many things in his hands. She had never seen such a snack box before. There was also this wine, which looked very expensive. He was also holding a pig's trotter. This young man must be from a well-off family.

The most important thing is that this guy is handsome and speaks well. He is so satisfying no matter how you look at him! Even an outsider like her is very satisfied with him.

After showing Li Mingcheng the way, he immediately went to tell people about it.

"It seems that Lin Manman, like Lin Tao, is also going to marry a good man. You didn't see how handsome that young man is. He seems to be no less handsome than Lin Tao's man. He has so many things in his hands, including a pig's trotter. He must be here to propose marriage!"

"I can't believe it. One of them is a coffin-dweller, and the other lost her father when she was young. Everyone thought they were unlucky, but now they both found good partners. How can their lives be so good? If I take some gifts to Fang Min's house and ask Manman to introduce a soldier to my daughter, do you think it will work?"

"I think you are dreaming. Who would be interested in your daughter if she looks like that?"

"How do you talk?"

………………………………

Then Li Mingcheng followed the directions given by the lady and arrived at the door of a house.

It started snowing two days ago, and the road in front of the house was covered with snow. In the morning, Aunt Fang said she wanted to go to the front of the house to sweep the snow, otherwise it would be slippery when the snow melted and turned into water, and then frozen into ice. Uncle Shen asked her to warm up by the fire in the house, and he went out with a broom to sweep the snow.

At this moment, when I saw Li Mingcheng carrying so many things to the door of my house, and then I looked at the military uniform he was wearing, I suddenly realized that he was the person Lin Manman was talking about!

Li Mingcheng was about to call someone when Uncle Shen took the initiative to greet him, "You are Xiao Li, right? Are you here to look for Manman? Come on, come in quickly, I'll call Manman for you."

Li Mingcheng didn't expect Uncle Shen to be so enthusiastic. He immediately smiled and followed Uncle Shen into the yard.

Uncle Shen: "Manman, come on, Xiao Li is here to see you!"

Lin Manman was warming herself by the fire. When she heard the voice, she looked at Aunt Fang and smiled unconsciously. She quickly stood up, opened the door and walked out. She saw Li Mingcheng holding snacks and wine, as well as a pig's trotter, and smiling at her.

Lin Manman felt relieved. She smiled and said, "Why did you come without telling me? You must be cold. Come in and warm yourself by the fire."

The road was not easy to walk on, but fortunately Li Mingcheng was wearing boots so they would not get wet by the snow.

"Uncle, aunt." Li Mingcheng took the initiative to call people.

Uncle Shen and Aunt Fang were also very satisfied when they met Li Mingcheng. This young man was very handsome and looked quite good. Moreover, he came all the way to see Manman, which was a thoughtful gesture.

Aunt Fang: "Come and sit down. You must be hungry. I'll go cook with your uncle Shen and we'll be ready to eat. Manman, talk to Mingcheng."

Lin Manman glanced at her mother. She used to call her Xiao Li, but now she just called her Ming Cheng.

Lin Manman brought a stool over to Li Mingcheng, and the two of them sat by the fire. The firelight reflected on their faces, and Lin Manman didn't know whether she was irritated by the fire or embarrassed, her face was a little hot.

She glanced at Li Mingcheng and whispered, "Why are you holding a pig's trotter?"

Although the two had been communicating for a year, they had not seen each other for a long time. When Li Mingcheng came in, he stared at Lin Manman, as if he couldn't see enough. When he heard Lin Manman ask this, he was also a little confused.

Li Mingcheng: "Shouldn't we give pig's trotters? A comrade-in-arms from Xiangcheng told me that we must give pig's trotters to our son-in-law."

Lin Manman bit her lip and said, "…Who said that? Your comrade-in-arms is just talking nonsense. In our place, only engaged sons-in-law…will give pig's trotters to their fathers-in-law. When did I get engaged to you…"

Li Mingcheng said, "Why don't we take this opportunity to settle the marriage? Manman, I've already told my mom and her family about it after I got back, and she agrees that we can be together. I should be able to be promoted to company commander by the end of this year, and then we can get a wedding house."

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Lin Manman felt her face getting even hotter.

Li Mingcheng said seriously, "I'm not talking nonsense. I'm serious. But I respect your idea more. If you don't want to get engaged so soon, it's okay to wait a little longer."

While the two were talking here, Uncle Shen just came out to get his pony. He heard what they were saying and went into the kitchen. Then he said to Aunt Fang, "I just heard from Xiao Li that his family agrees that he and Man Man can be together, and they are both discussing the engagement."

"Engagement? So soon?" Aunt Fang was surprised.

Uncle Shen was helpless: "Look at you, you were saying before that Manman is almost 21 years old and it's time for her to get married, but now you hear that she's going to get engaged, and you think it's too soon. I think it's okay, you see, they can get engaged first, and then come back to hold the wedding banquet during the Chinese New Year next year, isn't that perfect?"

In Xiangcheng, engagement does not mean direct marriage, but it means that the two families have decided and can wait one or two years before getting married.

Aunt Fang thought about it for a while, and then she said, "If Manman is willing, I have no objection."

She had a very good impression of Li Mingcheng. When the young man first met them, he enthusiastically showed them the way. Even in Lin Tao's letter, she said that he was a very nice person and his character was definitely impeccable.

Now that the only problem of Li Mingcheng's mother has been solved, it seems that she has no reason to disagree?