After a while, Wu Shuang was seen running down from upstairs with sweat on his forehead, holding a rolled handkerchief in his hand.
She looked around to make sure there was no one around before she stuffed the handkerchief into Shao Jingque's hand:
"Here, Sister Jingque, take this. It's not much, but I saved it bit by bit. Don't despise it."
Shao Jingque opened it with some confusion, only to find that the handkerchief was filled with a thick stack of one-cent and two-cent banknotes.
She quickly wrapped up the handkerchief and handed it back:
"Sister Wu, what are you doing? I can't take your money. You have a big family and many other places to spend money!" Wu Shuang was particularly stubborn this time and refused to accept it no matter what.
"No, no, if you don't accept it, I'll be restless and unable to sleep at night."
As the two were arguing, they heard Liu Fen's hearty laughter coming from behind:
"Xiao Shao, let's go. I'll take you to see the house first. I have to go to school to pick up Tingting after school."
Shao Jingque quickly agreed, but in a hurry he could only stuff the handkerchief into his trouser pocket.
Following Liu Fen, she went to see her relative's house. The location and position were good, right on the main street of Sanyuan Street. However, the house was on the second floor of a storefront facing the street. It was just a single room, and there was a public toilet shared by all floors. There were men, women, young and old living here, and Shao Jingque felt that it would be somewhat inconvenient for two girls to live there.
Shao Jingque tactfully expressed his concerns. Liu Fen and her relatives were very open-minded and told him that there were many rental houses in the area and he could look around.
After saying goodbye to Liu Fen who was rushing to pick up her child, Shao Jingque started strolling around the block alone.
Her ideal house was a two-bedroom, one-living room apartment with its own kitchen and toilet. However, in the 1970s, the only houses that could meet this standard were the cadre buildings of a few units and small courtyards with separate entrances and exits.
The unit’s cadre building definitely cannot be rented out, so Shao Jingque focused on the small courtyard.
She had just stood in front of the notice board covered with small notes for a while when many people came up to talk to her. Many of them were their children who had started working and were allocated new houses. After the elderly moved in with them, they wanted to rent out the old house to supplement the family income.
As a result, after hearing her conditions, those who came to chat her up couldn't help shaking their heads. Not to mention how big a two-bedroom, one-living-room house is, most of the kitchens and toilets nowadays are shared. How much area would it take up if each family had one?
Just when Shao Jingque was asking this question with a feeling of discouragement, a fat woman with a simple and honest appearance suddenly came over and said:
"Sister, my brother's family has a yard for rent, which just meets the conditions you mentioned. Do you want to go and take a look?"
Shao Jingque was delighted, but still asked cautiously:
"Is that yard occupied now? Is it far away?"
The fat woman smiled kindly:
"It's not far, just over the back street. They're living there with their family of three and are moving out of town in a couple of days. They asked me to help them rent out the house, and that's how I happened to meet you, didn't I?"
Hearing that it was not far away, Shao Jingque hesitated for a moment and then nodded. Before renting a house, one had to see it with one's own eyes to know whether it was suitable.
The fat woman immediately smiled and led Shao Jingque forward. As they walked, she enthusiastically introduced the surrounding environment to her, including where the morning market was and where the supply and marketing cooperative was, with a warm-hearted look.
After the two of them walked away, someone from the crowd gathered near the notice board asked:
"Whose family is that fat woman from? Why don't I remember her?"
The people who have lived here have been old neighbors for more than ten years. Even if you can't call out their names, you will see each other every day and they are familiar with each other. But the fat woman who suddenly appeared just now looked very unfamiliar.
Everyone shook their heads and realized that no one knew the fat woman.
…
In the political commissar's office, Political Commissar Liu stared at Lu Zhan with a smile.
Lu Zhan felt uncomfortable being stared at. He had already put Hua back in the dormitory. At this moment, he thought about all the missions he had carried out during this period in his mind, but he couldn't figure out what Political Commissar Liu wanted to call him for.
Seeing his puzzled expression, Political Commissar Liu thought he was pretending quite well, so he smiled and said:
"Don't you have anything to report to the organization?"
Lu Zhan said seriously:
"Reporting to the commander, all the mission reports for this period have been submitted. There is nothing new to report."
Political Commissar Liu waved his hand:
"Apart from work, don't you have anything personal to report?"
Lu Zhan was stunned for a moment. The first thing that flashed through his mind was the figure of Shao Jingque. He then came to his senses and shook his head.
"Report to the chief, no."
Political Commissar Liu pointed at him, looking as if he knew everything:
"I'm still keeping it a secret. I heard your fiancée has moved into the military guesthouse? Didn't you say you were here to file a marriage registration? When do you plan to do that?"
Lu Zhan didn't expect that the news would reach Political Commissar Liu's ears so quickly. His ears turned red immediately and he didn't know how to respond for a moment.
Political Commissar Liu, however, interpreted his reaction as shyness and cheerfully encouraged him:
"You're not a child anymore. Starting a family and building a career is a good thing. Why should you be embarrassed? First, tell me, where is your fiancée from?"
Lu Zhan is the most outstanding and youngest battalion commander in their entire regiment, and even in the entire division. He has a bright future. Many people have always been concerned about his personal issues. Several retired old leaders want to introduce the younger generations of their family to him, but Lu Zhan always puts work first and refuses whenever possible. If he really can't refuse, even if they meet, there will be no follow-up.
Without exception, all the reviews that came out said that Lu Zhan had a bad temper and was difficult to get along with.
Political Commissar Liu, as his direct superior, also worried about him.
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