Chapter 24 Chapter 24 Colorblock Pants

Lin Zhengrong cleared his throat and sat down on an unsuitable small wooden stool. His leg muscles were clearly visible and looked like they were about to explode.

His eyes flickered, "Actually, my name is not Lin Dazhu anymore."

"That's it?"

“No, I just… I’m just saying this first.” Lin Zhengrong began to get nervous. “Not long after I joined the army, I changed my name. Now I’m called Lin Zhengrong.”

"Also, before I went home, I was promoted to a higher level, so I applied for housing..."

"Really?"

Hearing that Lin Zhengrong had been promoted, Jiang Qiuyue couldn't help but interrupt happily, "This is indeed worth mentioning. Did the salary and benefits increase? How much?"

"The monthly salary is 75 yuan, the grain coupons are 5 kilograms more, the meat coupons are 1 kilogram more, and the other things have also increased a little bit."

Lin Zhengrong just glanced at it roughly. He didn't take it too seriously. After all, the original salary was already good for him.

"That's great. You are the mainstay of our family. During your time at home, I will make whatever you want to eat for you. I guarantee that you will enjoy your meal!"

Jiang Qiuyue is still very sensible. Lin Zhengrong gives her living expenses, and she is only good at cooking. So she repays Lin Zhengrong with delicious food.

Seeing Jiang Qiuyue so excited, Lin Zhengrong suddenly felt a sense of disappointment. It was so obvious to him, so why couldn't he figure out what he was going to say?

"What I mean is that it won't take too long for me to apply for housing now. You said before that you were familiar with the village, but you see, these few days, after the Lin family came, the Jiang family came again. I want to ask you, why not take the children with you to follow the army?"

After saying this in one breath, Lin Zhengrong felt much more relieved, but he became nervous again.

Follow the army?

Jiang Qiuyue has heard this several times recently. Aunt Niu and Sister Meiru both asked her to join the army, saying that it is better for couples to stay together more often.

But Lin Zhengrong had never mentioned it before, and she had never considered it.

"Are you serious?" Jiang Qiuyue asked.

"If you like someone in the army, you can hang out with them. If you don't like someone, you can ignore them. After all, there is no blood relationship between us, and no one will use morality to pressure you."

Lin Zhengrong carefully analyzed the advantages, "Besides, I may be outside for ten months a year, and I rarely go back to the army, so it won't affect the lives of you and the children." He saw this point, and Jiang Qiuyue didn't think she would be happier with his joining.

"It is more convenient to buy things in the army. Unlike in the village, you have to go to the town or city to buy anything. The military academy has its own supply and marketing cooperative, and there are cars going into the city every day."

In Lin Zhengrong's view, joining the army has all advantages.

"But I can't bear to leave Aunt Niu and the others." Jiang Qiuyue didn't like to move. She was very conflicted about having to move to a new place after building up her interpersonal relationships with them.

But something Lin Zhengrong said made her heart beat. Even if the Lin family quieted down, Jiang Yuanzong would soon stop causing trouble. However, there were still so many people in the Jiang family. It would be really troublesome to deal with them one by one.

Besides, she is raising two children by herself. It’s no problem for her to beat up one or two people, but what about more people?

If I were in the army, at least no one would dare to come and fight me, right?

Jiang Qiuyue frowned and thought hard. The most important thing was that Lin Zhengrong said he was away from home for ten months a year. Isn't this the same as life in the village?

"Let me think about it. I need to think about it carefully." Jiang Qiuyue said.

"Well, don't worry. I still have 20 days of vacation. If you have made up your mind, I will send a telegram to Political Commissar Wang and ask him to help us apply for a house. By the time we go to the army, the house will be almost ready." Lin Zhengrong said with a smile.

Seeing Lin Zhengrong pursing his lips and smiling, Jiang Qiuyue felt that this man was quite happy. When she joined the army, he would have fewer troubles. Was he happy about this?

Whenever she had to make such an important decision, Jiang Qiuyue would give herself some time to calm down. Although she felt that she was gradually settling down in Taohua Village, she really didn't want to see anyone from the Jiang and Lin families again.

When Jiang Qiuyue went to Hu's house to sew clothes in the afternoon, she was worried. Chen Meiru thought she was worried about the Jiang family and sighed, "Every family has its own problems. I don't know how your sisters live."

Jiang Qiuyue's sewing skills are average. She had only made small clothes for dolls before. She would ask Chen Meiru for guidance from time to time. "Yes, life will not be easy with my dad around."

"It's really a headache. We can't just let people disappear without a trace, right?" Chen Meiru shook her head and sighed. She looked outside the house and saw that there was no one else, so she went to Jiang Qiuyue's side. "Chen Ping and Zhou Cuicui had a quarrel. This is the first time Chen Ping and Zhou Cuicui have quarreled since he became lame. Even my family heard it. I really can't understand what Zhou Cuicui is arguing about."

"She's already married to Chen Ping, and she can't change men. How can she live a good life if she suffers like this every day?"

Nowadays, people don’t think about divorce, especially those in rural areas. If someone gets divorced, people in the whole village will talk about it for a long time.

Zhou Cuicui was unhappy about Chen Ping's lame leg and felt unbalanced, but she never thought about divorce.

As soon as he finished speaking, the Chen family next door started quarreling again.

"Zhou Cuicui, if you really don't like us, you can go back to your parents' home and stop giving us the cold shoulder here. I've tolerated you for so many years. I know all your little thoughts. It's just that I'm not as capable as Lin Dazhu, so you're jealous of Jiang Qiuyue. If you have the ability, find another man who can surpass Lin Dazhu!"

Chen Ping protected his son and only got angry when he saw his arm was burned red. He was already a useless man. Zhou Cuicui would not sleep with him, and he would never have other children in the future. Da Xi was his only hope.

"Chen Ping, are you still a human being?" Zhou Cuicui was so angry that she tried to grab Chen Ping's face, but Chen Ping couldn't bear it this time and pushed Zhou Cuicui away.

"If you want to have an affair, go ahead, but you can't hit my son!" Chen Ping pulled his son into the room.

Zhou Cuicui banged on the door like crazy, "Chen Ping, come out here, what do you mean by slut? When have I ever been unfaithful to you? You've become a piece of trash, and you still rely on me for everything at home and outside? Your parents don't care about you anymore, only me! I'm the only one who takes care of the house for you, and you push me, you actually push me?"

There was a constant sound of banging on the door next door. Originally, Chen Meiru didn't want to get involved in the Chen family's affairs, but it would be bad if someone died, after all, her husband was the captain.

Chen Meiru trotted out. Jiang Qiuyue wanted to watch the fun, but when she thought that Zhou Cuicui felt unbalanced because of her, she refrained from going. Anyway, the Hu family would be able to hear it clearly.

After a while, there was a burst of crying from next door. About half an hour later, Chen Meiru came back with an irritable look on her face.

"I will never care about Zhou Cuicui again. Good intentions are not rewarded. I was afraid that they would have a fight, but she said I was a joke. Look at my dirty pants. It was she who pushed me. Now she is like a mad dog. She will bite anyone she sees."

As she spoke, she patted her trouser legs and specifically instructed, "If you see her in the future, stay away from her. Also, Beibei and Nannan, tell them to run away when they see Zhou Cuicui. I think Zhou Cuicui is crazy."

Jiang Qiuyue frowned when she heard this. How could he hide from people all the time?

She thought of Lin Zhengrong's proposal again.

"Hey Qiuyue, I've been gone for so long and you're still sewing pants. Hurry up and get busy. Dazhu must be waiting for you to sew pants to wear." Chen Meiru could tell at a glance that Jiang Qiuyue made it for Lin Zhengrong. After all, among the four people in the Lin family, only Lin Zhengrong could wear such a big pair. "It's your pants that are made. Why did you use four pieces of cloth?"

She knew Jiang Qiuyue had bought the cloth, and then she thought that Jiang Qiuyue was thrifty, so she continued, "Yes, the pants are worn inside, and no one can see it. It's okay to have more colors. But don't use red next time. It's embarrassing for a grown man to use red."

Jiang Qiuyue didn't pay attention when she was sewing the crotch of her pants. She just used whichever piece of cloth was bigger. Now it seems that the most prominent part is the red color. She finds it funny when she thinks of how Lin Zhengrong would look wearing it.

Before going home, Jiang Qiuyue cut the fabric for her top. She couldn't finish a new set of clothes in half a day. After agreeing with Chen Meiru to borrow the sewing machine tomorrow, she went home again with her basket.

When passing by Zhou Cuicui's house, Zhou Cuicui just came out of the house. Their eyes met. Jiang Qiuyue was about to pretend not to see it, but Zhou Cuicui spoke first, "Are you happy now?"

"Happy?"

"Isn't it true? I was laughed at by everyone. People said I was a fool who wanted nothing. I was so delusional that I wanted to marry a soldier, but I married a cripple. Are you very proud? You are so much better than me?"

Zhou Cuicui's eyes were bloodshot, and she looked straight at Jiang Qiuyue, as if she would rush over and tear Jiang Qiuyue apart at any time.

"I don't care whether you are okay or not. Zhou Cuicui, don't think too highly of yourself. I'm very busy and don't have the energy to care whether you are okay or not."

Jiang Qiuyue was not afraid of trouble. "You are narrow-minded and can't stand seeing me doing well. If you really want to get rid of Chen Ping's lameness, you can just get a divorce. No one will stop you from staying in the Chen family. But you don't dare. You didn't dare to resist your family back then, and you don't dare to resist the world now. So you blame me for your unhappy life. This is a manifestation of your cowardice and fear of facing reality."

No one owes anyone anything, and no one has to give in to anyone. Zhou Cuicui's misfortune was not caused by her, so she has no need to save Zhou Cuicui's face.

"You! How dare you say that to me?" Zhou Cuicui's mind was in a mess as she thought of what Jiang Qiuyue said. "Are you saying that I am unreasonable and petty?"

"Isn't it?" Jiang Qiuyue said coldly, turned around and continued to go home.

Not long after, Jiang Qiuyue heard Zhou Cuicui shouting loudly. She turned around and saw Zhou Cuicui stamping her feet in anger. She did not feel any sympathy for Zhou Cuicui.

If Zhou Cuicui wasn't so petty and went to the Jiang family out of jealousy, she would still feel sympathy for Zhou Cuicui's experience. But Zhou Cuicui is a typical person who blames others first when something happens, and doesn't think about whether she is wrong.

After returning home, Jiang Qiuyue gave the finished trousers to Lin Zhengrong and his son to try out, "You try them on. If they don't fit, I'll make some changes tomorrow."

Lin Beibei and Lin Nannan were very happy to see the new pants, and the two children changed into them immediately.

Only Lin Zhengrong looked at his trousers and then at Jiang Qiuyue with an embarrassed look.

"Is this really for me?" Lin Zhengrong asked.

"Well, this is the first time I make pants for someone. I don't know if I did a good job. Do you like it?" Jiang Qiuyue thought of Sister Meiru's words and thought that if Lin Zhengrong didn't like it, she would take it apart tomorrow and use the fabric to make something else.

When Lin Zhengrong heard Jiang Qiuyue say that it was her first time doing this, he looked at the color-blocked pants in his hand and finally said with determination, "I think they're pretty good."

He said he would try it on and left with his pants.

After a while, Lin Zhengrong came over with a red face, "It's a bit tight."

"What's the problem? Tell me about it and I'll change it tomorrow." Jiang Qiuyue asked.

Lin Zhengrong pointed to the red part in the middle. Jiang Qiuyue blushed. Isn't this big enough? How majestic is Lin Zhengrong?