Chapter 40 Inquiring about a potential partner...
When the two returned home, looking at the vegetables that were beginning to ripen, their faces were filled with the satisfaction of farmers.
Cui Dani walked to the wall, casually tore open the layers of husks on an ear of corn, and looked at the plump kernels inside.
"You look so good! Honey, let's boil corn for lunch today."
"How about we get some more eggplant and chili peppers to make a cold salad?"
Miya has never actually tasted fresh corn, but just thinking about how everyone says corn is sweet makes her mouth water.
With a main course, add two tangy and spicy cold dishes—it's refreshing, appetizing, and you can't go wrong.
Cui Dani nodded and quickly began to act.
The mother and daughter searched through the vegetable garden for a while and finally managed to gather enough food for lunch.
Ren Qingsong hadn't even arrived home when he smelled a familiar fragrance.
Before the figure arrived, the voices preceded it.
"Mom, is it ready to eat the corn at home?"
"I dug one out in the yard today and it was so plump and tender. You should come and have a taste."
Upon hearing the sound, Cui Dani immediately scooped out an ear of corn and placed it in Ren Qingsong's usual spot.
The golden corn exuded a sweet aroma, and Ren Qingsong couldn't help but drool at the sight of it.
He quickly found his place, waiting for his mother to make a move before grabbing the corn and taking a big bite.
In an instant, the sweet juice bursts between your lips and teeth.
"It smells so good!"
Miya nodded in agreement. Compared to old corn, tender corn was just so much tastier.
Although cornbread pancakes are not bad, they can hardly compare to the tender corn in front of you.
"If you like it, that's fine. We also have two acres of corn planted at home, so you can eat as much as you want."
Cui Dani was enjoying the sweet and slightly sticky corn.
"Not greasy at all," Miya said, shaking her head with a straight face.
When Cui Dani and Ren Qingsong saw this, they couldn't help but shake their heads and laugh.
After the meal, it was still Ren Qingsong's tutoring time.
The longer Miya was tutored by Ren Qingsong, the more she realized the significant differences between the two.
Although she harbored a vague affection for him, she couldn't hold him back, so she could only keep her feelings to herself.
Ren Qingsong also discovered through long-term tutoring that Miya was truly intelligent.
If she hadn't missed school as a child for various reasons, she would definitely be a knowledgeable young woman now.
Every day during the tutoring sessions, Miya showed visible progress.
Ren Qingsong was both delighted and felt a sense of satisfaction as a teacher.
Thinking about his upcoming mission, he couldn't help but ask, "Miya, is your literacy class about to end soon?"
"Yes, Third Brother. The literacy class ends at the end of this month, and the teachers will go on summer vacation to prepare for the second half of the year's primary school. However, Teacher Cui said that she can lend me primary school textbooks, and I can ask her anything I don't understand."
When this was mentioned, Miya's eyes lit up.
Ren Qingsong originally planned to teach on his own, but now that someone is helping him, he has mixed feelings.
“With Comrade Cui’s help, you will definitely continue to improve. When I come back from my mission, your third brother will give you more guidance.”
"Third Brother, are you going on a mission?"
The sudden news left both Miya and Cui Dani somewhat bewildered.
Why are you only bringing this up now? It's such a big deal.
Seeing their worries, Ren Qingsong gently tugged at the corners of his mouth, "Mother, don't worry, it's just a normal patrol mission."
"This is the border, how can I feel at ease!" Cui Dani said angrily, and began packing her luggage in a huff.
No matter what Ren Qingsong said, the two of them put down what they were doing and prepared some easy-to-carry dry food and canned chicken mushroom chili oil that they had worked so hard to make, and gave it all to Ren Qingsong to take with him.
When she woke up the next day, only the mother and daughter were left in the house.
Many crops have recently begun to bear fruit, and Miya went to the fields with her mother to weed.
The two had only been in the field for a short while when other families arrived one after another, ready to get the work done while the weather was still a bit cooler.
"Da Ni, Er Ni, Da Wa, you're all here!"
Miya casually tossed the weeds in her hand onto the hillside and looked on with delight at the scene of the whole family coming out together.
"Yes! The weeds in the field are sprouting up, and we also have to suppress the sweet potato seedlings. The whole family has to work together to keep up."
Da Ni raised the basket in her hand, indicating that her family was not going back today.
Miya looked down at the sweet potatoes in the field below and nodded knowingly.
Sweet potato cultivation mainly utilizes the stems and leaves of sprouted sweet potatoes for transplantation, so initially, not many were planted.
The stems and leaves have grown long enough; it's time to start transplanting.
"With so many of you, you'll definitely get the work done faster!"
Erni pursed her lips in disapproval of Miya's words. She didn't expect her playful younger brother to do anything; it would be good enough if he didn't cause trouble.
Without further ado, everyone got to work.
Miya has always been a top-notch worker, both in the past and present.
Moreover, the tools here are more convenient, allowing for non-stop operation.
In just one hour, she had pulled all the weeds out of half an acre of land, which made Liu Limei quite envious.
She turned and glanced at Da Ni and Er Ni, who were also busy in the field, and a relieved smile appeared on her face.
But when he caught sight of his son catching crickets, he immediately roared in anger.
Upon suddenly hearing his own name, Da Wa didn't react at first, and looked around blankly while holding the cricket by the leg.
Only when he met his mother's fiery eyes did he nervously drop what he was holding and begin fiercely pulling weeds.
Liu Limei took a deep breath and stopped looking in her son's direction.
Seeing the lawsuit in the fields below, Cui Dani shook her head helplessly. "He's so unpredictable; he can't do anything right."
Two women who had been mothers, working on their tasks, slowly walked to the closest point between the two plots of land.
Looking at Cui Dani in the field above, and then glancing at her eldest daughter who was working hard, Liu Limei suddenly had an idea.
"Auntie, I have something I'd like to ask you."
"Limei, you say it." Cui Dani stopped what she was doing, plopped down on the edge of the field, and met Liu Limei's somewhat evasive gaze.
Liu Limei glanced around nervously and realized that there were only the two of them around. If she kept her voice down, no one else would be able to hear her.
"Auntie, Qingsong is not young anymore, shouldn't he be settling down soon?"
Just now, Cui Dani was wondering why Liu Limei was so nervous.
Upon hearing that it was her own son's wedding, she instantly forgot everything else and sighed helplessly.
"I also want to decide on it for him, but young people these days all have their own ideas, why would they listen to us old folks?"
“Auntie, you’re being too modest. As the saying goes, ‘The parents’ orders and the matchmaker’s words are the final decision.’ The marriage of one’s children should be decided by the elders in the family.”
Liu Limei disagreed with expressing her own thoughts; her true intentions weren't about to be revealed so quickly.
Cui Dani looked at the other person carefully and realized that the other person had something to say, so she immediately asked what the purpose of the visit was.
"What? Do you have some nice girl you want to introduce to our Qingsong?"
Cui Dani originally wanted to take action, but she knew very few people in the family compound.
Adding to the previous elementary school teacher recruitment, she realized that there weren't many educated girls in the residential compound, and she had really been stuck there for a while. Now that someone is willing to introduce her to someone, she's overjoyed.
Looking at the smile on Cui Dani's face, Liu Limei couldn't help but smile back, nodding excitedly.
She glanced around again to make sure no one was eavesdropping, then moved closer to the edge of the field and whispered:
"Auntie, what do you think of our Dani?"
Liu Limei had been mentally prepared for a long time before saying these words.
The team has a rare pool of young talents, especially those who are young and hold high positions.
Liu Limei was reluctant to let her whole family join the army after her daughter got married, as she was unwilling to lose the right to do so.
The first thing she checked was her own man's subordinates.
Ren Qingsong, being the most outstanding, immediately became one of her selection targets.
He was only 7 years older than his daughter, which was a bit much, but at that age he was a battalion commander, only two ranks lower than his own husband.
It's simply impossible to find someone with the same qualifications in the entire army.
Cui Dani never expected that Liu Limei actually wanted to marry Dani off to her son.
In her opinion, both Miya and Dani were top-notch girls, hardworking and capable both at home and outside, and they could marry anyone.
It's hateful that her third son is so picky.
As she pondered, a bitter expression involuntarily crept onto Cui Dani's face.
Liu Limei kept staring at the other woman and immediately saw through Cui Dani's thoughts. She couldn't help but ask anxiously, "Auntie, could it be that Qingsong already has a girl he likes?"
The words had barely left her mouth when her eyes couldn't miss a single change in Cui Dani's expression.
Cui Dani sighed helplessly, her tone full of resignation towards Ren Qingsong.
"This boy's marriage is really a major worry for me. Da Ni is very good, but my Qing Song is really useless."
"He said that his future wife must have at least a primary school education, and junior high or high school would be even better. Most importantly, she must be able to communicate with him and be able to keep improving."
Cui Dani got angrier and angrier as she spoke, "Tell me, what are young people thinking these days? Marriage, isn't it just about being able to live together?"
Upon hearing the first part of the conditions, Liu Limei's brow twitched, and upon hearing the second part, she began to consider backing down.
It's not that it's hard to find a job after graduating from primary school; at least there are standard requirements.
The idea of sharing a common language and making progress together is simply making things difficult for people.
Although family members don't talk about their own embarrassing things, Da Ni really doesn't have much enthusiasm for studying.
It would be good if they could finish the literacy class normally, let alone graduate from primary school.
Erni is quite enthusiastic about studying, but the two are too far apart in age.
It seems that Liu Limei has no chance of finding a son-in-law like Ren Qingsong who suits her taste.
Without her son-in-law, Liu Limei no longer speaks cautiously.
“Auntie, you’re right. I don’t know what young people are thinking these days. Didn’t we specifically teach about the Marriage Law in our literacy classes? It says that marriage is a matter of freedom. Let the children with their own ideas decide for themselves. Children and grandchildren have their own blessings.”
The only men she has who are of marriageable age right now are Miya and Ren Qingsong.
Miya is alright; she'll turn 18 in a few months, so there's no need to rush. But for Ren Qingsong, an older man, it'll be too late if he doesn't find a partner soon.
Realizing she didn't have many people at her disposal, Cui Dani couldn't help but seek advice from Liu Limei.
“Auntie, if you ask me, Qingsong is a handsome man. He could marry any girl he wanted, even the daughter of a division commander. You should mainly look at city girls. Country girls are the head of their households, but their education level is too low to meet Qingsong’s standards.”
“Limei, I know about you, but you're the only people I know in the family compound. You're all farmers who make a living from the land. I really have no clue how to help you find a daughter-in-law.”
Cui Dani's words were truly from the bottom of her heart, and Liu Limei also felt they made sense.
After thinking it over, a good idea suddenly popped into her head.
“Auntie! You can go to Director Qin! She’s the women’s director of our family compound. She might be able to organize social events with the military. Plus, she’s from the city, so she’s sure to have some suitable girls.”
Upon hearing this, Cui Dani's eyes lit up instantly, and she clapped her hands excitedly.
"Limei, thank you so much, Auntie. When we get back, I'll ask Director Qin for advice."
"You're too kind, Auntie. I was just thinking of helping my daughter find someone. If there's a matchmaking event, it'll be a good opportunity, won't it?"
"Alright, bring the Miya seeds from home with you too."
"They're companions now," Liu Limei said with a smile.
The two roughly agreed on going back to find Director Qin and continued with their work.
As the sun rose higher and higher, its heat burning their backs, Miya and her mother stopped what they were doing, picked some corn and sweet potato tips, and prepared to go home to cook.
Sweet potato tips are simply stir-fried with chili peppers, minced garlic, and oil, resulting in a tender and crisp texture.
With the addition of sweet and juicy corn, Miya ate until her belly was bulging.
She had no idea how much food was served here before, and was worried that she would be disliked if she ate too much.
But as I stayed longer and my appetite increased, my worries completely disappeared.
Not only was she satisfied, but Cui Dani was also very satisfied.
"It's good if the tender corn can last for half a month. We can eat as much as we can; we don't need any more at home."
Cui Dani waved her hand and decided to pick more tender corn in the afternoon; it really tasted delicious.
"Mother, I wonder how Father and the others are doing at home? Are they able to eat delicious corn like we are?"
“Your dad is an old hand at this. At least there’s some water in the village this year, so we’ll definitely have something to eat.”
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