Lin Wei had always thought that she and Zong Shao had only met twice before they got married, but today she learned from her mother that they might have met once more before. If we add all the times we met before keeping the journal, there might be two, three, four, five, six, seven or eight more times.
It just feels... quite strange.
But Lin Wei also knew that although it was a coincidence, she couldn't conclude that Zong Shao was the man, so she asked, "Mom, do you remember what Zong Shao looked like before?"
"How long ago?" asked Lin's mother.
"About seven or eight years ago," Lin Wei said, not quite sure, and asked, "Did you meet him then?"
"Yes, he came to visit me during the Chinese New Year in Shicheng. I went to see your aunt Lan on the day she was discharged from the hospital, and I saw him then." Mother Lin recalled, "He looks pretty much the same as he does now, not much has changed."
Lin Wei didn't quite believe it: "That's impossible. I've changed a lot since four years ago."
"You've grown up, but your facial features are not the same as they used to be." Mother Lin said as she began to think, "If I must say, Zong Shao has grown up a lot since then. He didn't look as imposing as he does now. He was just a tall and thin boy. By the way, his skin was quite fair then. Later, it may have been due to tanning during training, and it became darker every year."
That's it. Although she couldn't remember what the boy she saw outside the ward that year looked like, she didn't have no impression of him at all. In her memory, he was a tall and thin man with fair skin.
By the time he went on a blind date with her, Zong Shao had already been a soldier for several years. Not only had his skin become darker and his body become stronger, his facial features had grown more mature, and his temperament had become more mature. Naturally, when she saw him, she could not connect him with the vague figure in her memory.
In addition, Lin's mother had never mentioned Chen Xinglan's divorce in front of Lin Wei before. She always thought that Aunt Lan's husband had passed away and she returned to Shicheng to return to her roots.
It was not until the two began discussing marriage that Lin Wei learned that Zong Shao's parents had divorced, and her mother always looked unhappy whenever she mentioned Zong Shao and would not let her ask more questions.
After the marriage, the grandmother never mentioned her ex-husband in front of Lin Wei. Because of her mother-in-law's attitude, she was afraid of upsetting her, so she never asked.
So Lin Wei only learned that Zong Shao’s father was in the capital when she received a letter from the capital a few months ago.
Therefore, even though Lin Wei knew that Zong Shao might have grown up in the capital, went to military school after graduating from high school, and his mother returned to Shicheng alone after his parents divorced, she did not connect her with the boy in her memory who came from the capital, went to military school, and whose mother returned to Shicheng alone after his parents divorced.
After all, too many years have passed since that encounter.
But today, when Lin Wei heard her mother talk about the past, she thought of that young man and then connected him with Zong Shao.
After making this connection, Lin Wei felt that the similarity between the two was not 100%, but at least 98%.
So when having dinner at night, Lin Wei couldn't help but look up at Zong Shao, imagining what he would look like if he was whiter, shorter, and thinner?
Zong Shao was a little overwhelmed by Lin Wei's "hot" eyes.
It's not that he was embarrassed, but because her gaze was too direct, Lin's father and mother who were sitting opposite him noticed it and glanced at them from time to time, so that Zong Shao wanted to discuss with his wife and ask if it was okay, but if they could find a time when no one was around to take a look.
But it was impossible to negotiate, so he could only reach his hand under the table, poke his wife's waist with his fingers, and signal her to look up.
Unexpectedly, Lin Wei didn't understand what he meant at all and asked, "Why are you poking me?"
Lin's father and mother coughed one after another. Zong Shao... could only say that it was a blessing that he had been a soldier for so many years and was in charge of hundreds of people. He could still remain calm at this moment. He coughed and said, "I have something to say."
Everyone at the table looked up: "What's the matter?"
Zong Shao said: "I will start my vacation tomorrow and it will last until the first day of the Lunar New Year."
It sounds like a lot of time off, but: “Isn’t that just two days off?”
Zong Shao nodded and said, "Yes, we work two days on the first and second days of the new year, and we take a day off on the third and fourth days. It will be like this until the ninth day of the new year."
Lin Wei calculated in her mind that although it was two days of work and two days of rest, Zong Shao would still have six days of vacation during the Chinese New Year. Not much, but not too little either. They don’t go anywhere during the New Year anyway.
Lin Wei nodded and said, "Very good."
Mother Lin also smiled and said, "That's good. I was worried that you would go to the camp on New Year's Eve, so I asked Weiwei if we should move the New Year's Eve dinner to the evening. Since you are at home, let's just have lunch at noon."
There is no uniform time for New Year’s Eve dinner in Shicheng. It could be 5 or 6 in the morning, 11 or 12 in the afternoon, or 7 or 8 in the evening. But the Linjiazui Brigade all eat at noon. Before eating the New Year’s Eve dinner, they usually go to the ancestral hall to worship, then go home to eat the New Year’s Eve dinner, and then go to worship their ancestors after eating. After the ancestor worship, the activities on New Year’s Eve are over, and the afternoon and evening are free time.
However, since Mr. and Mrs. Lin are willing to come to their daughter's place to celebrate the New Year, they are not the kind of people who stick to the rules. They think that since they had eaten at noon in previous years, this year cannot be changed.
During the day, because it was uncertain whether Zong Shao would have a holiday on New Year's Eve, Lin's mother discussed with Lin Wei and suggested that if he could not come back, the New Year's Eve dinner should be moved to the evening.
Of course, since Zong Shao is determined to be at home on New Year's Eve, she would still prefer to have the New Year's Eve dinner at noon, as she is used to it.
…
Although Lin Wei's mother felt a headache when she looked at the pig's large intestines washed with flour for a few more seconds, she ate no less after the intestines were served.
Not to mention, those washed with flour are very clean and smell really good too.
I just can't think too deeply. If I do, I can't put my chopsticks down.
You don't have to think about it while eating, but after eating, Lin's mother still pulled Lin's father aside and severely criticized the young couple for their wasteful behavior, and asked Lin's father to have a good talk with the two children.
When Lin's father learned that pig intestines were washed with flour, he also felt that his daughter and son-in-law were being too wasteful. But thinking that he couldn't stop eating and wanted his daughter to make it again, he couldn't say anything too harsh, and only said: "It's really wrong to wash pig intestines with flour."
Mother Lin waited for a long time, but nothing came of it, so she asked, "Is that all?"
"Didn't I say they did something wrong?" Father Lin said with embarrassment, "The main thing is that this pork intestine tastes really good. We both ate a lot just now..."
They are already an old couple, how could Lin's mother not see what Lin's father is planning? He immediately said, "Come on, I think you are just greedy and want your daughter to do it for you again."
Lin Wei immediately said, "Mom and Dad, if you like it, I'll go to the market early tomorrow and buy some back..."
"What are you buying?" Lin's mother interrupted her daughter unhappily. "Such expensive food can be eaten once in a while. If you eat it every day, you have too much money to burn? Before we leave, no, after we leave, you should eat as little as possible. There is so much flour, and it will all be gone after washing. Don't you feel bad?"
"We were too extravagant in the past," Zong Shao took the initiative to admit his mistakes and took the responsibility on himself. "In fact, Weiwei rarely cooks this dish. The few times she cooks it is because I want to eat it. But don't worry, I will definitely control my appetite and live frugally in the future."
Seeing that her son-in-law admitted his fault with a good attitude, Lin's mother stopped talking about the young couple and only said: "I am not saying this to teach you a lesson. I just hope that you can live a good life and don't eat today and forget tomorrow."
Zong Shao took Lin Wei's hand and said, "We all understand what you mean. We will live a good life. Don't you agree, Weiwei?"
Lin Wei immediately stated: "That's right."
Seeing that the two of them took her words to heart, Lin's mother felt relieved and packed her clothes to prepare for a bath.
When there are more people in the family, bathing becomes a problem. Although the temperature is not low and it is easy to sweat, everyone bathes every day. But even if each person takes ten minutes to wash, it will take an hour for six people.
What's more, Lin Wei and her daughter take at least half an hour to bathe. Ruirui likes to play around when taking a bath, so it also takes at least half an hour. Add the time for cleaning the bathroom, and the whole family spends nearly two hours every night just bathing.
They finished eating at around seven, and then talked for a while. When Zong Shao, who was the last one to take a shower, returned to the master bedroom, it was already ten past nine.
He pushed open the door and looked to the right out of habit. He saw Lin Wei closing her storybook and the two children closing their eyes. He asked unnecessarily, "Are the children asleep?"
Lin Wei put her finger to her lips, hushed, and said, "I just fell asleep." She put the storybook on the bedside table.
Zong Shao was not as careful as Lin Wei. The first thing he did after getting into bed was to move Mingming, who was lying on her left, to the right side of his youngest son.
"Don't wake him up!" Lin Wei reminded.
Zong Shao was very confident: "Don't worry, he won't wake up so easily." Except for the time when Ruirui first came to the island and woke up a few times in the middle of the night, now the two brothers basically close their eyes and sleep until dawn, so he is not worried at all.
The seat to the left of his wife was vacant, so Zong Shao naturally lay down there and asked, "Why do you keep staring at me at night?"
Lin Wei didn't react and asked, "When did I stare at you?"
"At dinner time."
"Did I stare at you at that time?" Lin Wei didn't think that she was staring at Zong Shao at all, and said, "Didn't I just look at you a few times?" And it was intermittent.
"You stared at me for a little too long," Zong Shao asked, "Didn't you notice that your parents were looking at you?"
Lin Wei really didn't notice and shook her head.
Zong Shao didn't dwell on this question and continued to ask: "Why did you look at me at that time?"
"I..." Lin Wei was about to answer, but when she saw Zong Shao's smug expression, she stopped and asked, "When was the first time you met me?"
Zong Shao paused and looked down at Lin Wei: "Why are you asking this suddenly?"
Lin Wei smiled and said, "I'm curious, can't I ask?"
In fact, when Lin Wei asked this question, she had some expectations in her heart.
Although their first meeting after growing up was just a chance encounter, her changes were not as great as Zong Shao's. If he still remembered her during the blind date, he should not have been unable to recognize her.
But he never mentioned that they had met before. Was it because he didn't remember her, or was it because there were two people in the world who had the same experience?
Lin Wei didn't know, she looked up, waiting for Zong Shao's answer.
Zong Shao lowered his head and looked directly into Lin Wei's eyes that were filled with expectation, feeling a little itchy in his heart.
Because of the itch, his hand moved unconsciously twice behind Lin Wei's neck, stroking her fair skin. As she moved closer to him involuntarily, he said, "The first time I saw you was in..."
Lin Wei raised her eyes and heard him say, "January 1966."
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