Lu Fengnian saw that Lu Jin looked frightened. Could it be that Ke Yanan’s divorce had cast a shadow on him?
"Okay, Xiao Min, we'll talk about Xiao Jin's remarriage later. Is Zhen Zhen really getting married?"
"After the Chinese New Year, she will be twenty years old. It's time for her to find a partner and get married."
"Who is she looking for?"
"A soldier from another province, stirring the raw materials in a soap factory."
Su Yan was surprised. Her aunt had told her before that she would not let Qin Zhen find someone from another province, but Qin Zhen still found a soldier from another province. It was something she didn't want to happen.
If that man had been discharged from the army, wouldn't Qin Zhen have to quit her job and go back to her hometown in another province with him? Why did my aunt agree to this marriage? It's really strange!
Lu Fengnian frowned, "Isn't Zhenzhen a kid who's fooling around? Which province is that gay from?"
Hua Min shook her head. "She's from the Northeast, tall and handsome. I fell in love with her the moment she started working at the factory."
Su Yan remembered that she was only fifteen years old when she entered the factory. She had already had thoughts about men before her hair even grew out. She was even more serious than the original owner.
No wonder Qin Zhen rarely came to visit during the years when my aunt was here. It turns out there was someone she liked in the factory.
Su Yan asked, "Has Qin Zhen's salary increased in recent years?"
Lu Ting nodded. "It's increased by five yuan. The soap factory is owned by the military. Aside from a small number of soldiers, most of the employees are military families. Even if they leave, the jobs will be vacant. It's not like other units where jobs can be transferred."
Su Yan understood what Lu Ting meant. If Qin Zhen went back to her hometown with a gay man in the future, she would lose her current job, and Lu Ting would no longer bother to find another job for his aunt's children.
Now all schools are suspended, and Lu Chen and Lu Yu’s college education has been interrupted. The youngest of the children from my aunt’s family has not even graduated from elementary school, and the second oldest has not even finished a year of technical secondary school.
The children in my aunt's family who wanted to study to change their fate were hopeless. Asking Lu Ting to find them jobs was even more impossible. They had helped Qin Zhen get a job at the factory so that they could keep my aunt at home.
They would not do anything reckless during the turbulent times. Work was so intense in those days. When she first married into the Lu family, they didn't find a job for her. Qin Zhen got that job by trading her soap secret recipe.
Su Yanyou asked, "Isn't the man going to host a wedding banquet?"
Hua Min explained, "It's a time of unrest right now, so it's not convenient for the man to hold a wedding banquet. Your aunt is just hosting two tables of simple meals for the family at home, which doesn't count as a wedding banquet."
"If our whole family goes, we'll have to take up their entire table. Mom and Dad, you guys go. Please bring the red envelopes and gifts for us."
She must go to work on the 18th day of the first lunar month, so it is impossible for her to take leave and go back to her hometown to have that meal.
"Okay, your dad and I will go over and bring Yiming and Yilan over to play. By the way, Fengnian, will Zhenzhen's husband be kept in the army?"
"What's his name? How many years has he been in the army?"
"His name is Du Nan. He has been assigned to the soap factory for five years and is now a deputy squad leader."
"Poof, belly?" Upon hearing the name, Lu Jin, who had been silent all this time, couldn't help but puff out his food.
Su Yan thought of Du Ziteng, who grew up in the same compound as her. The two names sounded like brothers.
Lu Fengnian was a little embarrassed. It was indeed a bit difficult to be a small deputy squad leader after five years of military service.
"If he can't get promoted in the next two years, he'll probably have to retire and return home. Don't worry about Zhenzhen's affairs. Whatever they choose is their own business, and it's not our place to interfere."
Although he has some power in the army now, he cannot act recklessly. The leader that Huo Guosheng, the bastard, relies on is in power. He has been keeping an eye on him all these years because of his niece Luo Yanyan's affairs. How could he make a mistake for his sister-in-law's son-in-law?
Hua Min didn't know what to say when she heard her husband say that. Lu Ting would also take the initiative to interfere in Qin Zhen's affairs. Whether Du Nan could stay in the army and love Qin Zhen depended on his performance in the next two years.
The family was eating mutton hotpot and chatting about family matters. Su Yan suddenly remembered that they were going back to the city for the New Year this year. Her parents were going to the countryside to visit her grandparents on the second day of the New Year. If Lu Shu came to visit, who would receive her?
"Mom, Shushu should come over to pay New Year's greetings on the second day of the New Year, right?"
"In previous years, she would come over in the afternoon of the second day of the Lunar New Year, stay at home for one night, and go back the next day. Your father and I would go to the countryside for lunch and then come back."
Lu Fengnian said, "Xiao Min, we're moving to the city for the New Year this year. Xiao Shu might come over this morning. Why don't I take Xiao Jin back to the countryside to celebrate the New Year that day? You stay home to entertain our daughter and son-in-law. I guess they'll bring all three children over."
Hua Min thought that her daughter Shushu might really come over early in the morning for convenience. "Okay, I'll entertain them at home. You guys can come back early after paying your New Year's greetings."
After dinner, Lu Fengnian took out his youngest son Lu Yu's radio. Su Yan was busy helping her mother-in-law clean up the dishes, Lu Ting was cleaning the house, and Lu Jin was chasing after Lu Yilan to feed her. There was no way the little girl could hold a mouthful of rice in her mouth for ten minutes without swallowing it, and it would take her one or two hours to eat a bowl of rice.
After cleaning up, Lu Ting picked up a broken washbasin and found some wood to start a fire in the hall.
Su Yan brought two fruit plates, one with candy and cookies, and the other full of fruit.
This year, no one dared to set off firecrackers during the Chinese New Year. The streets were deserted. The two noisy children, Lu Yu and Lu Chen, were not at home, so the house was indeed quite quiet.
Hua Min suddenly sighed, "Oh, I wonder how Xiaoyu and Xiaochen are doing this New Year. What are they busy with in such a cold weather?"
"Don't worry, the new recruits who stayed in the army for the New Year will definitely celebrate together. They probably just finished their meal and are now attending ideological class."
Su Yan thought that the new recruits who stayed in the army to celebrate the New Year in previous years must have been watching the performances of the art troupe. However, during this major campaign, many people in the art troupe were arrested, and it was impossible to celebrate the New Year like this.
When the art troupe resumes performances, they will probably start by shouting slogans to give everyone an ideological lesson, just like the essential prayer before meals for Christians.
What a sin! Su Yan felt terrible when she thought that she would have to endure this kind of life for another nine years. She had to be extra careful in the next two years.
"Yan Yan, where is the Maojian tea we brought?"
"I'll get it."
Su Yan returned to her room and took out a pack of Xinyang Maojian tea, a pack of homemade fruit tea, and a jar of honey grapefruit jam.
"Lu Ting, you make Maojian tea, and I'll make honey fruit tea for the kids."
Su Yan found two small enamel water cups, put a few slices of fruit in each cup, added a large spoonful of honey grapefruit jam, and brewed it with boiling water.
Lu Yiming came over and said, "Mom, there are so many fruits in this cup."
"Well, these are all your favorite foods."
Lu Yilan asked curiously, "What is this, Auntie? It's so colorful and beautiful."
"This is fruit tea. It contains dried hawthorn, kiwi slices, lychee, lemon, and dried pear slices..."
"Wow, there are so many delicious fruits!"
Su Yan smiled and said, "You two go sit down first. I'll bring it to you when the tea is not so hot."
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