Yu Yao stopped what she was doing: "What kind of old courtyard is it? Is it big?"
Rather than competing with others for a small apartment of only a few dozen square meters, Yu Yao prefers a spacious yard with a garden.
Lu Ze nodded: "That courtyard is old. It was left behind by the island's fishing tyrants. There is open space in front and behind. If there are not enough rooms, you can build houses in front, behind, left and right."
"That sounds good. Where is that courtyard? Has the division commander said when a decision will be made? I'd like to go and take a look first."
"There's no rush. I'll take you to see it in a couple of days." Compared to the old courtyard, the military families prefer to live in the new building.
Previously, when Lu Ze was alone, he gave up the opportunity to live in an apartment building to other comrades who had brought their families. This time, the division commander said that if they wanted the old compound, it could be allocated to them first.
Upon hearing this, Yu Yao had already leaned towards the courtyard. Wasn't this detached courtyard with its spacious layout better than the cramped and cramped tenement building where one couldn't even move around?
So what if there's no tap water? According to Lu Ze, there's an old well near the old courtyard with a spring underneath. The water that comes out is clear, sweet, and refreshing, which is healthier than the water from the waterworks that has bleach added.
Then we can move these fruit trees from our house to our own yard, so we don't have to worry about not being able to plant them after moving to an apartment building.
Thinking about it this way, Yu Yao appreciated the old courtyard even more.
I had agreed with Lu Ze that after paying New Year's respects at the Lu family's old house, I would go and take a look.
After pasting the newspapers, there was still an hour before the meeting time. Only the Spring Festival couplets and the character "福" (good fortune) hadn't been pasted up yet.
Lu Ze had already bought the red paper. In previous years, he lived alone in the barracks dormitory, and he was the one who wrote the Spring Festival couplets for the barracks. This year, he was the one who wrote the Spring Festival couplets for his own family.
“I’ll grind the ink for you,” Yu Yao volunteered.
Lu Ze picked up the brush, looked at Yu Yao, thought for a moment, and then wrote down two sentences.
As Yu Yao ground the grain, she recited: "Wealth fills the universe, spring fills the courtyard, blessings descend upon the small courtyard, and joy arrives at the door."
Afterwards, he wrote the four characters "Spring fills the universe" as the horizontal inscription.
“This would be perfect for hanging at the entrance of the courtyard,” Yu Yao remarked, admiring the calligraphy.
Lu Ze, how come he can do everything? Not only does he write beautifully with a fountain pen, but he can also write beautifully with a brush.
"You learned this beautiful calligraphy when you were bored at military school, didn't you?" If that's the case, your talent is amazing. Even a casual stroke is no less than some of the great calligraphers she saw in later generations.
"No, Dad taught me this." Seeing her curiosity, Lu Ze invited, "Want to try it?"
Yu Yao glanced at Lu Ze's notes and shook her head. "Never mind, I don't know how to write, it would be a waste of red paper."
Lu Ze pulled her over, saying, "I bought extra red paper, so don't worry about wasting it."
Yu Yao had never written calligraphy before, and she was a little curious. "I don't know how to write, can you teach me?"
Lu Ze hummed in agreement, walked behind Yu Yao, half-embraced her, and held her right hand. "What do you want to write?"
Yu Yao thought for a moment and said, "Let's write 'Peace'. I hope that in the new year, you will be safe and sound on every mission."
Lu Ze gently said "okay".
"Write it smaller." Yu Yao cut a small red strip of paper with scissors.
"Um."
Yu Yao felt a pair of large, slightly calloused hands enveloping hers, gently moving across the red paper to write the word "peace".
After writing it down, Yu Yao took the long red strip, blew on it to dry the ink, and then folded the rectangular red paper into a heart shape before handing it to Lu Ze.
"Here you go, this is a New Year's amulet for peace and safety. If you accept my amulet, may the new year bring you peace and safety."
1973 was destined to be an extraordinary year for the island.
Starting in January, the South Vietnamese government seized strategic points in the southern waters, drove away, rammed, and threatened our fishermen, and created incidents.
In June of that year, Saigon invaded the southern islands, and in the same month, the Philippines invaded the southern islands.
Since January, Lu Ze has been patrolling at sea much more often than last year. He has never told Yu Yao about this, but Yu Yao can sense it from the increasingly tense atmosphere on the island recently.
That's why Dan, the women's director, wanted to make the New Year's Eve dinner more grand this year to reward these most lovable people.
Although Lu Ze lived a peaceful and successful life until the end of the book, Yu Yao couldn't be sure whether her arrival would have a butterfly effect and affect Lu Ze's fate.
All I can do is pour all my heartfelt blessings into this peace charm.
Lu Ze carefully placed the heart-shaped amulet into the pocket of his military uniform. Seeing the worry in Yu Yao's eyes, he hugged her and comforted her, "Don't worry, I will definitely come back safely."
He has people he loves and things he wants to protect on this island, and he can't bear to leave.
Yu Yao hugged Lu Ze tightly: "I believe you."
Yu Yao didn't know how to cut out the character "福" (fortune), so Aunt Meihua offered to help her. Since no one in the Lei family knew how to write Spring Festival couplets, they asked Lu Ze for help.
Speak of Cao Cao, and Cao Cao appears.
Su Meihua's voice rang out in the courtyard, "Yu Yao, Commander Lu, I've finished cutting the paper for your family's fortune."
Yu Yao took the "Fu" character, opened it, and couldn't help but be amazed.
Su Meihua's paper-cut "Fu" characters are not the simple kind where you just cut out a single "Fu" character; they are intricate and exquisite paper-cut "Fu" characters shaped like window decorations.
The character "福" (Fu, meaning good fortune) is surrounded by a circle symbolizing happiness and fulfillment. Inside the circle, there is not only the character "福" but also various decorations representing joy and celebration, such as magpies and peonies.
"This 'Fu' character is cut so beautifully, Sister Meihua is truly skillful." Yu Yao happily handed it to Lu Ze: "Lu Ze, look how beautiful this 'Fu' character is."
Lu Ze glanced at the character "福" (fortune/blessing), "It is indeed beautiful."
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