At noon, the winter sun shone on his body, dispelling the coldness. Lu Shiyi was holding a bag containing the things he bought for Su Jin in his hand, and carrying a bamboo basket he had just bought from a street stall on his back.
Lu Shiyi led Su Jin out of the supply and marketing cooperative and hurried to the butcher shop, just wanting to buy more to take back.
"Get up early tomorrow and I'll take you winter hunting." Lu Shiyi looked at the crowded meat stall not far away, knowing that the villagers were trying to get more meat. "Let's go back through the back door. I'll prepare the meat and freeze it outside."
The weather in Northeast Province is cold, so the outdoors is a natural refrigerator.
"I don't have many meat tickets, so I can only take advantage of them," Su Jin chuckled. Lu Shiyi was particularly gentle to her. "You pay for the meat tickets, and I'll pay for the money."
Seeing Su Jin's determined expression, Lu Shiyi had no choice but to nod in agreement.
"Xiao Jin, I have dug the trap as early as possible. Let's go and see the results tomorrow." Lu Shiyi whispered, and the two of them went to the butcher shop to line up, one in front of the other.
Even the officers from the armed forces' family compound came to buy New Year's goods. They saw a girl following Lu Shiyi and followed the two of them curiously.
"Minister Lu, are you here to buy winter supplies too? Are you going to the military district for the New Year this year?" Mrs. Qi, the commander of the First Battalion of the Armed Forces, whispered to him, "I heard the art troupe is coming down to perform again this year."
"No, I'm going. I have someone to spend the New Year with me this year." Lu Shiyi just handed the military meat coupons to Su Jin and turned to the military wives alone. "I'll go back to work after the New Year."
The military wives looked at him with smiles, and many of them wanted to introduce their relatives to him. However, Lu Shiyi did not take these people to heart.
"Shi Yi, have you found a partner?" Mrs. Qi asked in a low voice. The smile on Lu Shi Yi's face increased, and everyone was happy for him.
"Sisters-in-law, the time is not right yet," Lu Shiyi looked at Su Jin with a smile in his eyes, to prevent anyone from deliberately bullying her.
"The time is ripe. You should take her to the family compound to show her to the sisters-in-law." Sister-in-law Qi looked Su Jin over and whispered, "Girls need to be carefully cared for and never have a blunt temper, understand?"
"Sisters-in-law, I know what's going on. This year, I'll ask a few of my old partners to help with the duties." Lu Shiyi looked at the sisters-in-law with an apologetic look, "I'll be spending the New Year in the village this year."
Several sisters-in-law laughed and said, "Go ahead and chase him. We have been relying on you to be able to celebrate the New Year together as a family these past few years."
After getting the promise from his sisters-in-law, Lu Shiyi prepared to celebrate the New Year at home with peace of mind. He no longer wanted to go to the military area and return home only to encounter heavy snow and the mountain was blocked.
"Go back and take care of it today, then go back to work after the New Year." Political Commissar Yu asked for leave to accompany his wife to buy New Year's goods. Lu Shiyi listened to Political Commissar Yu's words and quickly agreed. "Hurry up and take care of your lifelong affairs, you little brat. I think that girl is a good one."
Lu Boren, the old man of the Lu family in Beijing, was born in a farming family. He relied on his military achievements to step by step to his current position. The Lu family has no prejudice against family background.
"Political Commissar, don't worry, I will definitely work hard." Lu Shiyi smiled, exchanged a few words with everyone, and then went to Su Jin.
In her right hand, Su Jin held a piece of pork belly, a pork elbow, and four pig's trotters. Because she was using military meat coupons, the meat vendor also gave her a pair of pig intestines and a pair of pig livers.
"These are the pig livers and pig intestines given to me by the stall owner." Su Jin likes to eat these offal. If they are cooked well, they can taste better than pork.
Su Jin knew that flour was needed to clean the pig intestines. Lu Shiyi's family knew that there was flour, so he should use the money to buy flour for shoes.
"I'll wash the pig intestines when we get back, and you can cook them." Lu Shiyi whispered, "Have you bought everything?"
"Well," Su Jin smiled happily, holding the straps of her backpack with both hands, "I've bought everything. Is there anything you're missing?"
Lu Shiyi shook his head, holding a cloth bag in his left hand and a bamboo basket in his right hand. Su Jin followed him and rushed to where the bicycles were parked.
"Lu Shiyi, can we go back quickly?" Su Jin was queuing at the butcher shop, listening to the educated youth behind him talking about Lu Shiyi.
"Go to the Armed Forces Department first and wait for me for two hours before going home." Lu Shiyi instructed Su Jin, "When you enter the Armed Forces Department's office, no matter what you see, don't tell anyone. Take care of it today, and you won't have to go to the office again before the New Year."
Lu Shiyi pushed the cart towards the armed forces department, while Su Jin walked on his left side, talking as they walked.
Near the door of the supply and marketing cooperative, Tao Jing and Huang Li just walked out of the cooperative. Tao Jing stood at the door and saw them.
"Minister Lu, are you going back to the Armed Forces?" Tao Jing seemed not to have noticed Su Jin. She looked at Lu Shiyi with shining eyes. "Will Su Zhiqing come back to the village with me?"
"No need. Su Zhiqing is going to the Armed Forces Headquarters to call home." After hearing Su Jin's story about her family, Lu Shiyi quietly arranged for his comrades in Hangzhou to mail her items or money regularly. "You guys go back to the village first. After I finish the call, I'll take her back myself."
When Su Jin heard Lu Shiyi say that he had called home, she became suspicious and wanted to tell Lu Shiyi the truth because she didn't want him to be deceived by someone with ulterior motives.
"You guys go quickly." Huang Li saw Tao Jing staring at Lu Shiyi, so she quickly spoke up for Tao Jing.
Lu Shiyi and Su Jin just nodded to Huang Li and pushed the car to the armed forces department.
Only after Lu Shiyi and the other man disappeared did Tao Jing come to her senses and glared at Huang Li for acting on her own.
"Why did you just let them leave? I didn't let them go." Tao Jing wanted to say a few more words to Lu Shiyi, but when she heard that Su Jin was going to make a phone call, she became jealous.
"If you don't say anything, it's going to be awkward for both of us. You don't want Lu Shiyi to have a bad impression of you, do you?" Huang Li rolled her eyes at her in dissatisfaction. "If you want to win Lu Shiyi's attention, you should at least follow the rules."
"Who told you to say that? Su Jin is a newly arrived educated youth. Lu Shiyi should be familiar with the Su family. I think he's just looking out for her." Tao Jing said magnanimously, but she was already jealous. "The old educated youth have been in the village for several years and are used to spending the winter there."
This was Su Jin's first time visiting the county's armed forces department. It looked like a military camp, with two sentries standing guard at the door.
The sentries watched Lu Shiyi enter the gate. They reached out to stop Su Jin and prepared to check the snake powder.
"This is the educated youth from Hangzhou from the Fourth Battalion. They want to make a phone call in my office." Lu Shiyi explained with the same excuse as before. The two sentries let Su Jin in together. "Xiao Jin, come with me."
Lu Shiyi spoke softly to Su Jin, and the sentries all stared at Lu Shiyi's back with wide eyes.
"Sergeant, has Minister Lu found a wife? I have never seen Minister Lu be gentle. He looks so strict on the training ground." The young sentry spoke to the sentry opposite him.
"Don't talk nonsense." The squad leader stopped him immediately, "You must not say anything nonsense. Spreading rumors will damage the reputation of Minister Lu and that girl."
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