"Come inside, why are you still sitting in the yard?"
Ding Qiunan came out of the house and called out to her husband who was sitting there alone.
"You've already finished showering?" Li Chu turned around and saw his wife wearing pajamas, holding a towel and drying her hair.
"Hmm, I saw you talking to Wenhui and Xiaoyi just now, so I went to wash up first."
"Oh," Li Chu responded sullenly, then stood up, walked over, and picked his wife up in his arms.
What are you doing?
Before even entering the house, Ding Qiunan could only ask in a low voice.
"Come with me to take a shower one more time."
"I've already washed it, you can wash it yourself."
"Could you rub my back?"
"The child is sleeping alone in bed."
"It's alright, there are dogs watching over us."
Having said that, he carried Ding Qiunan into the bathroom and then gently closed the door with a flick of his foot.
...
Monday
"Director, the Women and Children's Hospital has sent a consultation request; they need your assistance."
Li Chu had just entered the office when Zhao Zhijun followed him in.
"when?"
"Tomorrow morning at nine o'clock!"
I don't have any plans for tomorrow, do I?
"No, I've already postponed two meetings for you these past two days because of the situation at the special needs building."
"That's fine. Please reply to the maternal and child health hospital. I will be there on time tomorrow."
"yes"
"By the way, Zhijun, the time at the Women and Children's Hospital might be a bit long tomorrow. I'll make arrangements for the special needs building. If there are any other emergencies, send someone over to notify me."
"Okay, Director. If there's nothing else, I'll head out now."
"Okay, go ahead!"
Just a few minutes after Zhao Zhijun left, a report came from the doorway.
Hearing the familiar voice, Li Chu put down the newspaper in his hand.
Sure enough, the office door opened and Tian Jun walked in, immediately giving a salute.
"Director, this is Tian Jun reporting to you."
"Pour your own water. There's no need to be so formal in the office. When did you get back?"
"Director, I returned last night and just reported here from headquarters."
"Haven't you reported to the cadre section of the institute yet?"
"I don't need to go to the cadre section of our institute."
"Oh? Where did headquarters assign you?" Li Chu was a little surprised. Normally, after completing the training for promotion, one would return to where they came from.
"I've spoken to headquarters and we'd like to drive you around some more."
Li Chu was stunned for a moment after hearing this. Driving is a job that requires serving others, and generally, apart from the drivers of high-ranking officials, not many people are willing to continue doing this job after being promoted.
"Tian Jun, following me will affect your future."
"Director, I'm not very educated. I joined the army before graduating from junior high school. I was able to become a volunteer soldier back then thanks to you, and this promotion is even more significant. I don't have any grand ambitions. I just want to drive for you. I heard that you sent Dazhuang back home, and you don't have anyone to help you with errands. So let me drive for you."
Whether or not someone was around to help him run errands didn't really matter to Li Chu. He wasn't without hands and feet; why would he need someone else's help to do anything?
He understood what Tian Jun meant: without a solid foundation and without education, it would be extremely difficult to climb the social ladder in the future.
This time, he was promoted to deputy company commander rank based on his years of service. If he is assigned to a department and there are no special opportunities, he will only have three years left before he is demobilized.
But if he could continue driving, things would be different. As long as his boss didn't fire him, he could get promoted every three years, barring any unforeseen circumstances. He's still young, so he could work for another ten or eight years without wasting any time. When the right opportunity came, he could transfer to a better unit, and his life would be settled.
Li Chu smiled and nodded. It wasn't a bad thing that his subordinates were cunning; it would be a real headache if they were truly great saints.
"Alright, since you're still willing to come and drive for me, then come with me."
"Yes, thank you, Director."
...
Summer has passed and autumn has come, autumn has passed and winter has come; time has slowly moved to the end of October.
In the living room, Ding Qiunan was adjusting her husband's hat, epaulets, and collar insignia, and then fastening his top button.
It's been almost half a month since the conferment of ranks, but every time she sees the two golden beads on her husband's military uniform, she still feels a little dazed.
"Alright, go on, Xiaotian must have been waiting for ages."
"Okay," Li Chu leaned over and kissed his wife's forehead.
"You can take Yueyue's car to the hospital later. Didn't she take a day off specifically to pick up Wenxuan?"
"I know, I already told you last night. Why are you getting more and more nagging?"
Ding Qiunan gave her man a push, somewhat disgusted, signaling him to leave quickly.
"Dad Chu, no, I can't hold your grandson anymore, he wants you to hold him."
Just as Li Chu was about to leave, he heard Wang Yueyue shouting outside, and then the curtain was lifted.
"Grandpa, hug me!"
My little stinky baby is already one year and one month old, and he can call people very well now.
"Come here, let Grandpa give you a hug."
"Walk"
"What? You want to go with Grandpa? No, not today. Grandpa has to go to a meeting. You can go with Mom to pick up Dad later."
"dad?"
Little Stinky Baby repeated it with some confusion.
When Wenxuan left in April, the child was only seven months old. He was gone for half a year, and the child had no memory of him at all, just like a stranger.
"Yes, your dad is coming back today. How about Mom takes you to pick him up later?"
The little boy turned his head to look at his mother, then at his grandmother, and after a long moment of hesitation, he finally said, "Okay."
He was quite obedient; after he finished speaking, he opened his arms for Ding Qiunan to hug him.
"Little stinky baby, be good, say goodbye to grandpa."
"Bye-Bye……"
"Yueyue, when we get to the hospital, please take the child and wait in my office first."
"Okay, Father Chu. What time will Brother Xuan and the others arrive?"
"If nothing unexpected happens, we should arrive around 10 o'clock. We already rested in the suburbs last night. Okay, I'll go first. You guys pack up and get ready to leave too."
At the gate, Tian Jun was already waiting under the car. When he saw Li Chu come out, he quickly opened the car door.
Originally, Tian Jun thought that the director would only be awarded one gold bean at most, but he didn't expect that he would be awarded two this time. This made Tian Jun even more glad that his choice was really correct.
His conferment of rank this time was normal, one bar and two stars, the same as Wen Hui and Wen Xuan who was about to return. Ding Qiunan, on the other hand, was given a rank of two bars and four stars due to a change in his position, one step away from the gold rank, but this step was like an insurmountable chasm.
"Tian Jun, go to headquarters."
...
"Mom, when will I ever get to wear your epaulettes?"
In Wang Yueyue's car, Li Wenhui turned her head to look at her mother who was holding the little stinky baby.
"Tch, you should set your goals higher and look up to your father."
The reinstatement of the military rank system after a 20-year hiatus is undoubtedly the hottest topic of the moment.
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