When Feng Mingshu returned home, he took five or six pounds of cured meat and delivered it to Aunt Huang's house.
Although those tickets could be cleared out internally, she couldn't ignore this favor; reciprocity was the way to get along.
When Aunt Huang got home from get off work, she saw the cured meat and sighed as she said to her daughter, "Xiao Yu is a good daughter; you should learn from her in the future."
Lu Wenli said helplessly, "Mom, have you forgotten that she's leaving Bincheng with the army next week?"
"I haven't forgotten, but she'll definitely come back eventually," Aunt Huang said confidently.
Even if a pampered and spoiled little girl understands all the ways of the world, she can't withstand the ravages of the sea breeze. Aunt Huang was certain that Feng Mingshu wouldn't be able to stay with the army for long.
These days, it's quite normal for military families to live apart from their spouses.
Aunt Huang wasn't the only one who thought this way. When Feng Mingshu told her neighbors that she was leaving, everyone expressed their reluctance, but they all thought that she wouldn't stay long before she came back.
Those coastal defense areas are nowhere near as good as the city, and besides, there's such a beautiful little villa; it's such a waste to leave it empty.
The only ones who didn't expect her to come back were the four senior apprentices at the tailor shop. They were genuinely happy that their junior sister had gone to the army with them, and they even gave her a few small gifts, such as a sewing kit and a measuring tape.
Master Qin remained silent for the next few days. He didn't teach her much, but on the last day, when she said goodbye, he gave her a whole box of things.
"Let's go back and check it out."
Master Qin waved to her, then turned and walked into the dimly lit tailor shop.
Feng Mingshu's eyes welled up with tears. She looked at her master's retreating figure and said, "I will come back to see you." Then she bowed deeply.
Master Qin paused for a moment, then nodded slightly: "Live your life well, don't worry about this old man."
He went into the inner room and closed the door.
Older people don't like giving things away.
Feng Mingshu's eyes welled up with tears, and one tear fell.
"We'll come back when I have a vacation," Zhou Jinshan said, putting his arm around her shoulder.
Feng Mingshu nodded, wiped away her tears, and bent down to move the boxes, but almost strained her back. Zhou Jinshan reached out to support her.
"Junior Sister, the gift Master gave you must be one of his treasured possessions. No wonder it's so heavy." The fourth senior brother couldn't help but lean in, his words tinged with envy.
Zhou Jinshan glanced over indifferently, and the fourth senior brother immediately felt the pressure and retreated to the space between the three senior brothers.
But the three senior brothers didn't even glance at the box, and just smiled and said goodbye to their junior sister and her husband.
Fourth Senior Brother: "..."
The couple politely said goodbye to them, and then Zhou Jinshan easily lifted the box, put it on the back of the bicycle, and tied it with a rope.
Therefore, Feng Mingshu could only sit in the front, while the man held her from behind, which made her feel quite uncomfortable.
Inside the tailor shop.
The fourth senior brother grumbled unhappily, "It's not that I'm greedy for Master's things, but such a big box was given to the junior sister, so it's not wrong for me to be curious and want to take a look, is it?"
The eldest brother glanced at him indifferently: "Do you have the guts to open the box in front of your junior sister's lover?"
"Isn't there a big one here?" Fourth Senior Brother scratched his head sheepishly.
"You're asking for trouble, don't drag us down with you." His second and third senior brothers rolled their eyes at him.
Master Qin sat silently in the inner room. He could hear the sounds outside, but he had no intention of disciplining them.
He put on his reading glasses and unfolded the letter his young apprentice had just given him.
The letter was short, only half a page long, but Master Qin read it for a long time. It took him half an hour for his hands to go from trembling slightly to calming down.
Then, he found a match, lit it, and burned it.
"Master, wasn't it you who set the rule that fire can't be seen in the tailor shop?"
Smelling the smoke, the eldest apprentice pushed open the inner room door and was surprised to see the flames in the basin. He instinctively tried to put them out, but was stopped by Master Qin.
Once the flames had burned out, Master Qin picked up a teacup and poured the tea on the flames. Then he said to his four apprentices who had rushed over, "I'm retiring, so I won't be coming tomorrow."
The four apprentices were immediately taken aback: "Master, are you retiring?"
"Who's going to take over this tailor shop?"
What will happen to my permanent employee position?
Master Qin had anticipated that his four apprentices each had their own agendas. Thinking of the youngest apprentice's letter, he wearily said, "With my retirement, there will be two vacant permanent positions in the shop. One will go to the fourth apprentice; he's been an apprentice for over two years and it's time for him to be promoted to a permanent position. The remaining position will be handed over to the local street committee, who will decide who gets the other permanent position and who will be the shop manager."
The tailor shop was a collectively owned property under the jurisdiction of the neighborhood.
Master Qin's decision pleased only his fourth apprentice, while the other three were filled with anxiety.
"Master, I have an urgent matter at home, I have to go now."
“Master, there’s an emergency at my home too.”
In the blink of an eye, the first three disciples left to go to the street for activities, but the fourth disciple stayed behind to massage his master's shoulders and back.
When Feng Mingshu returned home, she immediately opened the box, which was full of clothing sample books, representing Master Qin's life's work. In addition to the currently popular simple styles, there were many older cheongsam styles, as well as various Western-style dresses.
Master Qin regarded her as his successor, even though she had only been learning from him for three months.
Feng Mingshu's eyes welled up with tears. She looked up at Zhou Jinshan and said, "Let's take this box to our new home."
Actually, these things do carry some risks.
But when he met the girl's moist eyes, Zhou Jinshan couldn't bring himself to refuse. He lowered his head and kissed the corner of her lips, saying, "Okay."
When you arrive at your new home, find a waterproof box, dig a hole, and bury it.
The young girl's period came again. Zhou Jinshan could see it but couldn't eat it, so he could only focus his attention on the relocation.
Everything that could be taken from home was packed and mailed, making the small villa feel much emptier again.
The afternoon before departure, a group of people suddenly arrived.
However, they were classmates who got along well with Zhou Jinshan in military school. The one leading them was Lu Xiangqian, and of course, Zhai Qingping was not left out either.
"Old Zhou, are you surprised? We're here to help you move your things," Lu Xiangqian said with a grin, trying to take credit.
Zhou Jinshan led them into the building and glanced at his friend: "I've already sent what needed to be sent. You don't need the rest."
"Then let us take a tour of this beautiful Western-style building." Lu Xiangqian, like a country bumpkin who had never seen the world, exclaimed loudly at everything he saw.
The others weren't much better off, except for Zhai Qingping.
When Feng Mingshu heard the commotion and came down from the second floor, the frolicking military academy cadets quickly stopped and shouted in unison, "Hello, sister-in-law!"
The sound was loud and echoed throughout the room, stirring the hearts of all who heard it. Feng Mingshu smiled and nodded: "Hello."
"Stay for dinner tonight."
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