Lu Ze looked in the direction Song Yiming pointed.
Yu Yao was smiling as she took the stove from a man. She said something to him, and the man blushed slightly, scratching the back of his head. His eyes were full of amusement and...
A vague affection.
Lu Ze narrowed his phoenix eyes slightly and walked over without making a sound. "A Yao."
Yu Yao turned around and saw him, somewhat surprised: "Lu Ze, what are you doing here?"
Lu Ze glanced at Zhu Xinmin, reached out and tucked a strand of hair that had fallen beside Yu Yao's ear behind her ear, and said softly, "I just happened to be nearby after finishing my mission. This is a gift I bought for you."
Yu Yao opened the wooden box with great joy, "It's a jade hairpin, it's so beautiful!"
Lu Ze smiled gently and said, "I'm glad you like it."
Zhu Xinmin looked at the two's intimate behavior with a forlorn expression.
Seeing this, Song Yiming greeted Yu Yao, "Sister-in-law, you only have eyes for Commander Lu, and no one else."
Yu Yao smiled shyly, "Hello, Company Commander Song."
Lu Ze seemed to only just notice Zhu Xinmin, "And who is this?"
Yu Yao pulled Lu Ze closer to her. "Comrade Zhu, let me introduce you. This is my husband, Lu Ze. Lu Ze, this is Comrade Zhu Xinmin, the team leader of the Machinery Department of Yangcheng Food Factory."
“So it’s Comrade Zhu,” Lu Ze said, extending his hand. “A Yao told me about you before. Hello, I’m A Yao’s husband, Lu Ze.”
Zhu Xinmin's smile was stiff. "Hello, Comrade Lu!"
Yu Yao glanced at her watch, then shook the stove in her hand. "Comrade Zhu has helped me a lot, and I'd like to invite him to dinner at the state-run restaurant. Would you like to come along?"
Lu Ze took the stove from Yu Yao's hand. "No need to go to the state-run restaurant, let's go back to the old house. Mom and my sister-in-law found some fresh cudweed and mugwort in the suburbs today, so they're making qingtuan (green rice dumplings) at home. Let's invite Comrade Zhu along."
Yu Yao turned to Zhu Xinmin and said, "Comrade Zhu, why don't you come to our house for lunch? We can try out the smokeless stove for lunch."
Zhu Xinmin glanced at Lu Ze and Yu Yao, about to refuse, when Song Yiming leaned over and said, "Comrade Zhu, come along. It would be awkward if I went alone. Just help me out, come along."
Zhu Xinmin glanced at Yu Yao's expectant gaze and nodded.
Military jeeps were parked nearby.
The four of them went together.
Yu Yao and Lu Ze walked ahead, chatting and laughing.
Zhu Xinmin and Song Yiming were behind.
Zhu Yiming's gaze followed Yu Yao, and as he looked at her radiant smile, his heart grew increasingly bitter.
Even though I know it's impossible, seeing them being so affectionate still makes me feel sad.
Found the jeep.
Lu Ze helped Yu Yao put the smokeless stove in the trunk, opened the car door, and let Yu Yao sit in the back.
Zhu Xinmin instinctively tried to sit in the back, but Song Yiming stopped him. "Comrade Zhu, you sit in the passenger seat. I don't know how to get to that intersection ahead. You're from around here, so you can give me directions."
Zhu Xinmin had no choice but to sit in the passenger seat.
Song Yiming winked at his team leader, got into the driver's seat, and closed the car door.
The jeep drove forward, passing through streets, and entered the No. 1 compound of the Guangdong Provincial Army, finally stopping in front of a two-story cadre building.
"Commander, sister-in-law, we've arrived."
The four people got out of the car and went into the house.
Hu Lingyu and her sister-in-law Xiao Hong were busy in the kitchen, while Grandpa Lu was teaching Tianya to read and write in the living room.
Seeing that Yu Yao and the others had brought guests back, he smiled and invited them in, while also calling out to the kitchen, "Old woman, Xiao Hong, Yu Yao and Lu Ze have brought guests back."
"Coming, coming," Hu Lingyu said to the outside, then said to Xiao Hong, "Eldest daughter-in-law, you go ahead with your work, I'll go out and take a look."
Xiao Hong nodded, "Mom, you go and greet the guests, I'll take care of the kitchen."
Hu Lingyu washed her hands, wiped them on her apron, and went to the living room.
After exchanging pleasantries, Hu Lingyu said, "Lu Ze, Yu Yatou, you two keep Comrade Zhu and Company Commander Song company for a chat. I'm going to the kitchen to get busy."
Yu Yao stood up. "Mom, I'll go help you."
Hu Lingyu pushed her away, saying, "No need. Your sister-in-law and I are enough in the kitchen. You should entertain the guests."
"Okay, Mom, if you're too busy, remember to call me."
"I understand. By the way, the partridge tea you gave me last time was quite good. It's in the drawer under the coffee table. You can brew some for the guests to try."
Yu Yao went over, opened the drawer, took out partridge tea, and brewed a whole enamel mug for everyone.
"Comrade Zhu, Company Commander Song, this is some partridge tea I made myself. It tastes pretty good. You should try it."
Sweetie opened her eyes wide with curiosity and snuggled in Yu Yao's arms, "Auntie, Sweetie wants to drink too."
Yu Yao ruffled her fluffy head and stuffed a White Rabbit candy into her hand. "You're still too young to drink tea, so eat candy instead."
Grandpa Lu looked at the handsome Zhu Xinmin and Song Yiming with a smile on his face, and sat on the sofa to inquire about their work.
The old man served as a leader his entire life and had a particular fondness for outstanding young comrades.
This conversation actually yielded some interesting results. It turned out that the old man and Zhu Xinmin's maternal grandfather knew each other and were even comrades-in-arms who had fought in the same trench.
Grandpa Lu said loudly, "The day before yesterday, when I was playing chess with Old Zhu, I utterly defeated him. He also mentioned that he has a grandson who is exceptionally good at chess and works as a maintenance engineer at a food factory. He must be talking about you."
"Grandpa, it's me." Zhu Xinmin was also a little surprised.
"Comrade Zhu, you've come at the right time. I've heard from your grandfather that you're good at chess. Play a couple of games with Grandpa Lu later. And Xiao Song, you won't be running away either."
When it came to playing chess, the old man showed no signs of fatigue and was in excellent spirits, instructing Lu Ze:
"Lu Ze, go to my study and bring me my chess set. I'd like to play a game with Comrade Zhu and Comrade Song."
After Lu Ze took down the chess set, the old man asked Zhu Xinmin and Song Yiming to play chess with him.
Zhu Xinmin hasn't played chess in a long time either. "I used to play with my maternal grandfather all the time. I'll play with Grandpa Lu first."
Master Lu was overjoyed. "Good, good, little Zhu, don't hold back. Let Grandpa Lu see your skills."
"good."
Zhu Xinmin and Grandpa Lu were playing chess, while Lu Ze and Song Yiming watched from the sidelines.
Yu Yao wasn't very interested in chess, so she took Tian Ya to the kitchen to see if there was anything she could help with.
In the kitchen, Xiao Hong and Hu Lingyu were making qingtuan (a type of glutinous rice dumpling). "Zhizhi, why did you come in? Where are they?"
Yu Yao said, "Dad and Comrade Zhu are playing chess, and Company Commander Lu Zesong is watching. I wasn't very interested, so I came over to take a look."
Yu Yao also told the two about the conversation they had just had. When Hu Lingyu heard that Zhu Xinmin was actually Old Zhu's grandson, she suddenly realized.
"I was wondering why Xiao Zhu looked so familiar when I saw him earlier. Turns out he's Old Zhu's son. You know, Guangdong is really small; you can run into acquaintances all the time."
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