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Jiang Hu's adoptive father, Yu Chunhua, and adoptive mother, Lin Rufang, were both veteran revolutionaries with high ranks in the military.
Jiang Hu's father had served as the battalion commander of the guard battalion for Jiang Hu's adoptive father. After his death, he adopted Jiang Hu. Although he was an adopted son, he treated Jiang Hu like his own, disciplining him when necessary, which instilled in Jiang Hu a certain respect for his adoptive father.
Su Yu had long been curious about the two of them, and after seeing them in person, she felt that they were indeed worthy of being called "Old Commander" by Li Ping's father. They had a somewhat unassuming and down-to-earth feel to them; if they weren't wearing military uniforms, you wouldn't be able to tell that they had been to the battlefield.
Mr. Song treated the two men to a warm welcome. Although they weren't in the same unit back then, they had some acquaintance. Of course, Mr. Song had been injured quite early in his life, so his rank wasn't as high as Yu Chunhua's.
In front of these veteran revolutionaries, Su Yu had no time for formalities. She treated them like a younger generation daughter-in-law.
Yu Chunhua looked at Song Dongzheng and Su Yu and said with a smile, "Song is a father now. Time flies. He's gotten old in the blink of an eye."
Song's father said, "Who isn't? Chief, you don't know, these past few years, when I close my eyes, I always think about the past, it feels like I was fighting the Japanese yesterday. Sigh, if my leg were okay, maybe I could have joined in the fighting a few years ago."
Yu Chunhua laughed and said, "Don't even think about it. Every cloud has a silver lining. You've retired early, and I don't know how many people will envy you."
"Sigh, I've come to terms with it now. Staying home and taking care of my granddaughter isn't so bad." Mr. Song immediately became smug again.
Jiang Hu's adoptive mother, Lin Rufang, also hugged Song Yuanyuan and patted her gently, saying with a smile, "She's beautiful, more beautiful than ours."
She and Yu Chunhua had a son and a daughter, both of whom are now married with their own children. They've been working in the military and rarely come home. Now, only the Jiang-Hu mission remains unfinished.
Su Yu said with a smile, "This child can eat and sleep well."
"This is a blessing. The child has no worries. You parents are doing a good job," Lin Rufang said with a gentle smile.
He then asked Su Yu, "How are things going in the province? We haven't been out of Beijing for a long time, and we don't even know how people in other places are doing."
Su Yu immediately picked out a few good things from the provincial affairs and told her about them, including the breeding farm that Song Dongzheng was running.
"Things are going well now, and people can eat a few more pounds of meat during the Spring Festival. We also have a greater supply of meat on ordinary days now."
"It seems that things are developing quite well here. That's great. Stay here and work hard to improve the lives of the people. Don't go out for now. Focus on doing a good job here so that you can make steady progress in the future."
Upon hearing this, Su Yu felt that Lin Rufang was probably worried that she and Song Dongzheng were too ambitious and wanted to move to Beijing, so she advised them to develop their careers locally.
She smiled and said, "Comrade Dongzheng and I think so too. We are still young, so there's no rush. Serving the people in a down-to-earth manner is the most important thing."
After dinner, Song's father had planned to have Yu Chunhua and the others squeeze in at home for a proper get-together. But just as he finished cleaning up the dishes, provincial leaders arrived.
Although the two had come privately, once they entered the provincial party committee compound, they couldn't hide it from Secretary Liang and his colleagues, who all came to entertain Yu Chunhua and his wife. However, Yu Chunhua and his wife didn't interact much with these people, exchanging only a few polite words before going to the provincial party committee guesthouse to rest.
That night, after Song Dongzheng and Su Yu had settled into bed and their daughter had fallen asleep, Song Dongzheng said seriously, "I feel like Uncle Yu and the others seem a bit different this time. Is there some news from Beijing?"
Su Yu said, "It seems that Aunt Jin is implying that we should not go to Beijing to develop our careers, but rather stay in our hometown and work steadily."
Both husband and wife had been working at their company for so long that they were no longer greenhorns. Su Yu already knew what the future held, and Song Dongzheng had also gleaned some important insights from these hints. He felt that some changes were indeed about to occur.
On the morning of the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, Yu Chunhua and Lin Rufang took Jiang Hu to a shopping mall in the provincial capital to buy gifts.
Besides some tonics, he also bought some fabrics and ready-made clothes, all as gifts for the rest of the Li family. When it came time to pay, Jiang Hu wanted to pay himself. He knew his adoptive parents were very frugal people; they hadn't saved much money over the years, and most of their salaries were donated to orphanages in Beijing for orphans who had lost their parents in the war.
Yu Chunhua smiled and said, "It's alright, your family still has enough money for your wedding. It's all sent back by your older brother and sister. They're all happy to know you're getting married."
Jiang Hu's eyes welled up with tears, feeling that he could never repay the care his adoptive parents and older siblings had given him in this lifetime.
After buying the gifts, the family went to the Li family's compound in the provincial military district for a formal visit, which was also a way of expressing their high regard for Li Ping.
This thrilled Li Guoliang. He instructed his family to go out of their way to entertain him, and even brought out the wine they themselves were reluctant to drink.
After dinner, Yu Chunhua took out the betrothal gift his family had prepared for Li Ping—a Longines watch. It was a capture from the Japanese army years ago; Lin Rufang was in the telegraph group at the time and needed a watch, so the best one was awarded to her. Many years have passed, and Lin Rufang still cherishes it.
Now that her son is getting married, there's nothing of value in the house, so Lin Rufang thought this watch was still very precious and decided to use it as a betrothal gift.
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