Chapter 376 Benefiting from my daughter-in-law!
On the other side, Huo's mother, after finishing her phone call with her daughter-in-law, was still unable to contain her excitement.
Just as I was thinking of finding something to do to distract myself, I heard a noise outside the door.
Seeing Mr. Huo push the door open and come in, Mrs. Huo couldn't help but wonder, "Why are you back so early today?"
That's what I said, but I still went up immediately and took his briefcase and the coat from his arm.
Mr. Huo smiled and changed into a pair of slippers. "I had no choice but to come back. I've been receiving calls all morning with good news. There hasn't been a moment of peace in the office."
This batch of appointment notices was issued collectively, and more than one hundred officers of all ranks in the Beijing Military Region were promoted.
Most people were promoted by one or two ranks, but Huo Tingzhou was promoted three ranks at once, which was unprecedented in the entire military region.
As he spoke, he looked at Huo's mother and asked, "Why are you home at this hour? Didn't you say you were going to keep an eye on the cultural troupe's rehearsals for the new program?"
"Why are you lining up?"
Mrs. Huo hung up her briefcase and coat, and said with a helpless expression, "This morning, our cultural troupe's doorstep was almost flattened by those colleagues."
Given Mr. Huo's rank, his former colleagues would at most make a phone call to congratulate him.
The situation was different for Huo's mother.
She has a straightforward personality and is well-liked.
People come to congratulate her, she can't just keep a straight face.
"I've been laughing so hard my face is almost cramping up all morning."
Mrs. Huo pressed the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes. "If I don't leave, the girls won't be able to rehearse, so I took a day off and came back to hide."
Mr. Huo glanced at the living room. "Where are Mom and Dad? They're not home either?"
"Mom went to catch up with her old friends, and Dad took the chessboard to Grandpa Wang's house," Huo's mother said, giving Huo's father a knowing look.
Mr. Huo smiled knowingly and said, "It's better to retire."
“That’s right,” Mrs. Huo said enviously. “After retiring, you don’t have to worry about so many things. Unlike now, no matter how happy I am, I have to pretend that nothing happened and say a few humble words. I’m so tired of it.”
"It will be soon," Mr. Huo comforted him.
Mrs. Huo is 54 years old this year, according to the retirement policy for female cadres.
She will be able to officially retire next September.
However, Huo's mother is used to taking on important responsibilities at her workplace and is exceptionally capable, so the General Political Department's Cultural Troupe is unlikely to let her go anytime soon and may even want to rehire her.
Knowing that Mrs. Huo was eagerly awaiting retirement, Mr. Huo didn't want to upset her, so he didn't bring up the matter.
"By the way, Lao Huo, tell me the truth." With no one else home, Huo's mother suddenly looked at him suspiciously. "You didn't interfere with the third son's transfer and promotion, did you?"
Although she was mentally prepared for her son to be promoted beyond his rank, Huo's mother still found it somewhat unbelievable after seeing the appointment notice.
Mr. Huo paused in his tea-drinking motion. "Am I that kind of person?"
After saying that, she was both annoyed and amused, and said, "Do you think I have no principles? Or do you think Tingzhou has done something wrong that requires me, his father, to give him special treatment?"
“That’s not what I meant,” Mrs. Huo said. “I’m not afraid of you… Never mind, let’s not talk about this anymore.”
She originally thought that even if her son was transferred back to Beijing, he would have to spend a few years training in some army group.
Unexpectedly, he was promoted directly to the position of deputy chief of staff.
"I remember you were forty-two or forty-three when you were promoted to this position," Mrs. Huo said with emotion. "They were just lucky to be born at a good time."
Under the previous policy, the age requirement alone would have kept people from leaving for five to eight years.
"It's also because he married a good wife." Mr. Huo took a sip of tea and revealed the key to the matter.
The reason why the third son was able to be promoted three ranks in one go this time was not only due to the policy and his military achievements, but also, most importantly, because of his daughter-in-law.
Mother Huo reacted quickly, "You mean the time when Si Si did something good?"
Mr. Huo nodded. "Yes."
The military and the government have always been closely linked. The Central Military Commission received the news of the Ministry of Public Security's dismantling of the enemy's intelligence network immediately, since it involved many high-ranking officials.
He had suspected this when he first saw the reward.
"My daughter-in-law deserves a lot of credit for the third son's rapid promotion this time."
"Of course!" Mother Huo never forgets to acknowledge her daughter-in-law's contributions to the family. "I've said it before, it's a blessing for my son to marry Si Si, and it's also a blessing for our Huo family."
Mr. Huo wholeheartedly agreed with this.
With such a joyous occasion in the family, we should properly celebrate.
However, we just held a first birthday banquet for Sui Sui and Zhao Zhao a while ago, and then we held a full moon celebration for Xiao Dou Jiang.
If we hold a big promotion banquet, it might have a negative impact.
Therefore, after discussing it, Jiang Si and Huo Tingzhou decided not to hold a banquet.
It's good for the whole family to get together and have a lively reunion dinner.
...
Since receiving the transfer order, Huo Tingzhou has been working long hours every day, from being transferred from the local area to the capital, and now being parachuted into this position.
Many people sincerely wish him well, but just as many are waiting to find fault with him.
Jiang Si felt sorry for him, but she could understand.
"Why are you here?" She was a little surprised to see Huo Tingzhou picking her up when she went to get off work to handle some matters that day.
Huo Tingzhou fastened her seatbelt before saying, "I'll take you somewhere."
The tone of his voice was noticeably different from usual; it seemed he had a surprise for her.
Seeing this, Jiang Si didn't ask any further questions.
After getting on the bus, it headed west.
Just when Jiang Si thought he was going to take her to the Xishan Courtyard for some alone time, the car turned and twisted and finally stopped at the entrance of another quiet courtyard.
The license plate number had been registered long ago, and the guards at the gate saluted and let the car through as soon as they saw it.
Looking at the neat rows of buildings flashing past the window, Jiang Si seemed to sense something, "The apartments for the family compound are ready?"
"Hmm." As soon as he finished speaking, Huo Tingzhou had already parked the car steadily in front of a two-story building with gray bricks and red tiles.
After turning off the engine, he took a brass key out of his pocket.
The house was delivered a few days ago, and as soon as it was settled, he couldn't wait to bring her to see the new home.
Jiang Si had known for a long time that the Air Force was famous for its excellent benefits, but she still couldn't help but be surprised when she saw this impressive two-story building.
Judging by appearances, this house seems to be a bit bigger than the one in Xishan Courtyard.
It's not just a little bit like, it's definitely bigger.
The houses in Xishan Compound were built in the early days of the People's Republic of China, when economic conditions were far worse than they are now.
Huo Tingzhou is currently at the deputy military rank, which corresponds to the Class A, Type 2 housing category for officers at the division level or above.
So what we got was a small two-story brick-and-mortar building with a small courtyard of about 25 square meters in front.
The total area is 150 square meters, and it is a six-bedroom, one-living room, one-kitchen and two-bathroom apartment.
Huo Tingzhou led her on a brief tour of the building, both upstairs and downstairs.
The concept of shared area doesn't exist in this day and age; frankly, a 150-square-meter apartment is already quite large.
Upstairs there is a 30-square-meter suite, which is the master bedroom for the couple, and it has a small bathroom.
The two little ones' room is also on the second floor.
One for each person, and all are the same size.
There is an empty, sunny room between the master bedroom and the two children's room.
Huo Tingzhou has already planned it out; this will be Jiang Si's study.
The two rooms downstairs are used as guest rooms, making it convenient for other people to stay for a while.
The house has all its plumbing, electrical, heating, and telephone systems installed beforehand and is ready to use.
A few days ago, Huo Tingzhou and his orderly brought back the assigned furniture.
The furniture is mostly in excellent condition, about 90% new.
The most eye-catching feature is the military green leather sofa in the living room; it's a very comfortable style to sit on.
Of course, because the house is quite large, the amount of furniture allocated is far from enough.
“Wife,” Huo Tingzhou said, pulling Jiang Si to sit down after they had looked at most of the houses. “I have to go back to Qiongzhou Island in a few days. There is some work to hand over there, and I probably won’t be back until the end of December.”
He received the notice to return to Beijing at the last minute, and left in a hurry, without having time to pack his things properly.
Jiang Si's clothes and painting tools were left there.
Uncle San and Uncle Zhong also left a lot of things on the island.
"I'll pack up the clothes and send them back via the post office."
"Large furniture items, such as beds, wardrobes, and tables, can only be shipped by freight, which may take a long time," Huo Tingzhou explained his plans one by one.
"Wouldn't this be too much trouble?" Jiang Si had never sent such a large item before, and Qiongzhou Island was so far from Beijing, the shipping cost would probably be quite high.
Her idea was that if it was too much trouble, she would just sell the furniture cheaply and then buy whatever she needed.
"No trouble at all." He and his wife picked out these pieces of furniture together; they have a special meaning to them.
Huo Tingzhou said, "Old Xiao and the others went back early, and all the things have already been packed and sent to Beijing. I asked about it, and the price is acceptable."
The bulk of the freight cost from Qiongzhou Island to Beijing is the section from Guangzhou to Beijing. The freight cost is 0.074 yuan per kilogram per 100 kilometers.
Then there are the costs for wooden crates, packaging, and handling.
Old Xiao's family had significantly more stuff than them, and the total shipping cost was nearly a thousand yuan.
Huo Tingzhou estimated that his family could afford it for about five or six hundred yuan.
Moreover, the military has a policy that allows for a 30% reduction in transportation costs for officers transferred across military regions.
Jiang Si thought about it and agreed. Besides needing furniture coupons, the price of each piece of new furniture was not cheap.
A double-door wardrobe costs sixty or seventy yuan, and with the receipt, it'll be around one hundred or eighty yuan.
She has many clothes, and therefore needs a lot of furniture.
Since it can be transported back, it's more appropriate to do so.
Mentioning Commander Xiao, Jiang Si casually asked, "Did Brother Xiao and Deputy Commander Lei get promoted this time?"
Huo Tingzhou nodded. "Old Xiao has been promoted two ranks and is now a division commander. The things that happened with the Lei family did have some impact, but he was promoted this time too. He's now a regimental commander."
Hearing that they had been promoted, Jiang Si was very happy for her two sisters-in-law.
However, this wasn't what made her happiest.
Huo Tingzhou continued, "Because Lao Xiao was promoted two ranks, he was qualified and was assigned to the Air Force General Compound this time."
Although there were two or three rows of houses between them, the thought of living in the same compound in the future gave Jiang Si a renewed sense of anticipation for the future.
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