Chapter 8

Cheng Zheng was stunned when he heard this. He didn't expect that the Chief of Staff, who was always eloquent, would belittle him like this. "Who do you think everyone is like you, so superficial?"

Xu Lang bit his cheek, thinking that this man was really stubborn! Suddenly, a smug look of watching a good show appeared on his dark face.

"You're so arrogant! When we get back, the brigade commander will arrange a blind date for you. Our brigade and the art troupe are organizing a dance, so go!"

"Old Xu, you knew about the dance with the female soldiers from the art troupe? How can a married man still care about these things? Be careful to kneel on the washboard when you get home." Cheng Zheng glanced at Xu Lang and teased him with a smile on his face.

Everyone in the regiment knew that Xu Lang, who was very domineering in front of the soldiers, was strictly controlled by his wife.

"Bullshit, am I thinking about this for myself? I'm not asking for your help! No, I'm not afraid of my wife!" Xu Lang put his hands on his waist, and was very angry with his old partner. "I'll wait and see if anyone can come to deal with you in the future!"

"Then you dream."

At this moment, Xu Lang missed the regiment political commissar Liang Haisheng very much. The three of them were old acquaintances. They had been on the battlefield together before. In the past two years, they came to the island to serve one after another. Cheng Zheng was the regiment commander, Liang Haisheng was the political commissar, and Xu Lang was the chief of staff.

Every time Xu Lang was pissed off by Cheng Zheng, he had to rely on Liang Haisheng to turn the situation around.

"When will Lao Liang come back?" Looking at the calm sea, Xu Lang tried to calm down, thinking that he couldn't bother with this guy.

Cheng Zheng is just like his nickname, Stone, smelly and hard! But Captain Cheng doesn't allow people to call him that, at most his mother can call him twice.

"It will take more than half a month."

Cheng Zheng felt at peace as he looked at the calm sea. He had been on the island for more than a year. The weather here was windy and sandy, and the sun was scorching. The conditions were harsh, but soldiers were naturally not afraid of hardship.

Political Commissar Liang Haisheng went back to his hometown to visit his relatives. None of them had been home for many years and could only go back once when they had their turn to take the family visit leave.

"I remember you lived close to Lao Liang's family, right?"

Cheng Zheng was silent. "The two production teams are next to each other. It only takes half a day to walk there."

"That's great. He has to go back and see your mother for you."

"I'll ask him to go for me when he has time." Cheng Zheng has been on missions all year round, especially in the past few years when he clashed with the G Party's navy, and was even injured. Soldiers protect their country, but sometimes they really can't go home. Now that he thinks about it, he hasn't been home for four years.

I don’t know what his mother and brother are like. Every letter his mother sends him is very simple, with just two words: “OK”, and the rest is urging him to get married.

Cheng Zheng is indeed an anomaly as he is still unmarried at this age. No wonder Aunt Wang is pushing him so hard.

Unfortunately, her son was away from home and Aunt Wang had no control over him, so no matter how many letters he received, they became decorations in Cheng Zheng's drawer.

Aunt Wang's real name is Wang Xia. She married to Xingmin Village, which was not called Xingmin Industrial Brigade yet, more than 30 years ago. She and Cheng Fuxing had three children. Unfortunately, Cheng Fuxing fell to his death while hunting in the mountains, so Wang Xia raised the three children alone.

The eldest son, Cheng Zheng, is 27 years old this year and is serving on the island as a regiment commander; the second son, Cheng Liang, is 24 years old this year and is a temporary worker at the county grain station. This job was arranged by Cheng Zheng through his retired comrade-in-arms who is a cadre in the commune. Later, Cheng Liang married the daughter of the grain station accountant and now has a son and a daughter; the youngest son, Cheng Jun, is 22 years old this year and has also joined the army, but he went to a frontier unit and is now a deputy battalion commander.

Even though the third son is the youngest and is already married, Wang Xia is quite satisfied with her youngest son and often lets the eldest son learn from the second son and has some ideological awareness.

When Cheng Jun got married last year, Cheng Zheng had planned to go there, but he was assigned to carry out a mission and could not go at all. He only sent fifty yuan and a radio to his brother.

Now Wang Xia's only worry is her eldest son Cheng Zheng, who joined the army at the age of 15, went to military school at the age of 22, and was promoted to regiment commander at the age of 27 due to his outstanding military exploits. Once her eldest son gets married, she will feel at ease.

——

While Wang Xia was worrying about her son's marriage, Jian Xin's wedding was on the way.

After the wedding dress was made, a week passed in a flash, and in the blink of an eye it was Jian Xin's wedding day.

The atmosphere is more relaxed now than in the previous two years. Although it is not popular to hold a grand ceremony, we can still put some wine in our production team.

Four eight-person tables were set up in the yard of Meng Fan, Jian Xin's boyfriend. Neighbors from nearby communities came to watch the fun and brought some brown sugar and white sugar eggs as gifts.

It was Jian Lu’s first time to attend a “wedding” in the 1970s. Although it was called a wedding, it was very different from later ones due to the characteristics of the era.

The newlyweds stood and listened to the team leader preaching revolutionary friendship and encouraging unity and progress. Before everyone started eating, they also recited a few quotations from great men.

Jian Lu followed to help, hanging around Jian Xin, helping her get clothes, and secretly feeding her a few red dates or peanuts to fill her stomach from time to time.

"Are you tired?" Jian Lu secretly gave her third sister a massage. She had participated in many weddings in her previous life, and it was indeed very tiring.

"Not tired!" This was the 1970s, and it seemed that people at that time had a natural drive to work hard. Jian Xin's face was filled with a happy smile, and she didn't feel tired at all. "Hurry up and eat, the food will be gone soon."

The members were not polite. It was a rare opportunity to have a good meal, so who would refuse? Of course, they hurried to eat.

The Jian family sat at one table, including the eldest sister and her husband's family, the second sister and her husband's family who also came from the neighboring production team, and Jian Lu, who was not married yet.

Naturally, Jian Lu, who had the best looks and was not as good as many other girls, became a hot commodity in everyone's eyes.

"Lulu, your third sister is married, so it's your turn now, right?"

"What kind of person are your parents going to show you?"

Several middle-aged women were eager to make a move when they thought of their own sons.

Jian Lu was eating her first meal of meat since she traveled through time. It was wild boar that was not very tasty. Because people nowadays are reluctant to use oil when cooking, the dish tasted very ordinary. But it was meat after all!

Eating is the main thing, let gossips go aside!

What's more, it would be boring if I were the subject of gossip.

She smiled sweetly at the ladies at the next table and said, "I don't know either. It depends on what my parents think."

She had to look for it. If Jian Hualin made arrangements, there would be no good results. But she had to let him relax his guard.

Everyone in the yard was wolfing down their food, while inside the house, the newlyweds were looking at each other lovingly.

The ceremony was completed. Although the two had not yet obtained a marriage certificate, in the commune, a wedding banquet was a more convincing proof of marriage than a marriage certificate.

"Xinxin, you look so beautiful today!" Meng Fan's family was well-off, and he was still a junior high school student, looking quite gentlemanly. He felt a little jealous when he saw Jian Xin, who was wearing a red wedding dress today.

The two were in a free love relationship, and thanks to the fact that he was the captain's cousin, his family conditions caught Jian Hualin's eye and he was able to offer a betrothal gift of 30 yuan.

"Stop slandering me!" Jian Xin's face flushed as she faced Meng Fan, who was already married to her. She stroked her two black braids with her hands, and shame crept up her cheeks.

After the wedding banquet, the women helped to wash the dishes, and the men moved the borrowed round table and benches away. Before long, the Meng family courtyard was back to normal.

The afternoon was much more casual, and everyone was teasing the newlyweds. The Jian family was Jian Xin's maternal family, so they didn't leave either, and stayed in the Meng family's room to talk.

Jian Lu was cracking melon seeds while listening to the chatter of the lords and aunts in the room, from gossiping about the neighbors to talking about a couple fighting...

While I was enjoying the melon, my second sister Jian Meng suddenly came over.

"Lulu, stop caring about others and take care of your own business."

Jian Meng looks a lot like Jian Hualin, with a shrewd and heroic look, and her facial features are not soft. This is the first time that Jian Lu has seen her second sister since she traveled through time.

She married far away and indeed escaped from Jian Hualin's control.

"Second sister, I know."

Jian Mengbai glanced at her fourth sister. This person used to be dull, but now she has grown up and become more cheerful. However, she probably still can't see the powerful relationship clearly.

Seeing that there were many people in the house, she pulled her fourth sister out. Braving the howling cold wind outside, the two of them stood at the back wall of the main house.

"What do you know?" Jian Meng knew that the fourth sister was the dumbest one. "Do you remember what I said to you when I got married and left?"

This...how would Jian Lu know! It wouldn't be written in such detail in the book.

She blinked her innocent eyes and looked at her second sister. Her eyes were clearly upturned peach blossom eyes, with a charming and delicate look, but her clear eyes made people reluctant to blame her.

"You are such a fool!" Jian Meng pushed Jian Lu's forehead with her index finger, feeling that her sister was not living up to expectations. "Xinxin knows about free love, but you don't do anything?"

Before Jian Meng got married, she had talked about this with her fourth sister, but her fourth sister was too young to understand it at that time and didn't take it to heart.

This person looks different now. At least he is not too shy to talk about finding a partner.

"Listen to me! It's better to marry far away, find someone who can give you a dowry but whose family is not too rich, otherwise Dad will definitely always be thinking about you. You are good-looking, maybe you can find someone in the city. I will also help your brother-in-law's production team to make arrangements, and we can meet each other then."

"I know." Jian Lu smiled sweetly at her second sister.

——

After Jian Xin got married, Jian Lu felt lonely lying on the empty kang. Thinking of Jian Hualin's recent busyness, she knew she had to work harder, lest she be sold out by him in the end.

In the following days, while Jian Hualin was out, Jian Lu went to He Hongmei's house again.

However, she didn't know that the matchmaker He Hongmei's room was bustling with activity at this time. She hurried to the He family compound. The sky was filled with sunset glow. She walked hurriedly against the cold wind, and her whole body curled up in her cotton quilt.

The winter in the north is really too hard to bear. She misses the sunshine and the beach. It would be best if it could be spring all year round.

Two days ago, her second sister Jian Meng gave her some advice and she also felt that she should try expanding the scope. She heard that Aunt Hongmei even knew people in the county town!

It would be better to find a marriage in the city, but now city people look down on country people. Country people will not have food and oil supply when they marry into the city. That means there will be one more mouth to feed, but they don't have a job and no food to eat.

But she always had to try her luck.

Just as I reached the door of the He family, I saw a familiar figure walking out of the yard. It was Aunt Wang.

"Auntie Wang, have you eaten?" Auntie Wang was kind, and Jian Lu felt a sense of familiarity. Jian Lu, who had been an orphan since childhood, felt that Auntie Wang was like a kind mother.

"Lulu, I've eaten." Aunt Wang had just finished talking to He Hongmei. Her son's marriage was still unsettled. Families that were well-off in all aspects were unwilling to settle down easily because of the rumors that Cheng Zheng was injured and that he had not returned for many years. Anyone who was willing to get married immediately either had a problem with his character or had bad intentions. Wang Xia couldn't find such a partner for her son.

She was in a dilemma now. She could only hide all her emotions in front of Jian Lu and forced a smile. "Your third sister got married a few days ago. Are you used to living alone now?"

“I am a little uncomfortable with this.”

The two exchanged a few pleasantries. Aunt Wang was still holding her son's photo in her hand. Thinking about her son's unhappy marriage and looking at the beautiful and kind-hearted girl in front of her, she opened her mouth and spoke with great effort, "Lulu, have you arranged your marriage yet?"

Jian Lu didn't know why people asked this, but the fewer people who knew about her secret search for a partner, the better. Otherwise, if Jian Hualin got wind of it, he would probably tie her up and marry her off.

"No, I always listen to my dad." She said this very smoothly.

"Oh oh." Aunt Wang sighed. She knew Jian Hualin. He was quite disgusted with daughters-in-law and just wanted a live-in son-in-law. What a pity. "Well, I'll leave first then."

Perhaps because she had been standing outside for too long and was frozen, Aunt Wang, who was just about to leave, almost tripped and fell. Fortunately, Jian Lu was quick to catch her, holding her arm with one hand and supporting Aunt Wang with the other.

An inconspicuous old photo slipped from the wrinkled fingers and fell to the snow-white ground. Jian Lu helped the person stand steadily, then bent down to pick up things for Aunt Wang.

She didn't see clearly what had fallen at all. When she got closer, she saw a yellowed photo lying on the pure white snow. It was a full-length photo of a tall man wearing a navy uniform and a white navy cap. He had handsome eyebrows and sharp features. His thick eyebrows slanted into his temples, his dark eyes were deep and energetic, and his nose was high and straight, like a mountain range, supporting his handsome eyebrows. His thin lips were slightly pursed, and his expression was solemn.

Through the photos, Jian Lu seemed to be able to see the azure sea. The blue sea was the most beautiful background, like a sacred and majestic painting.