Military hospital.
It was the end of the workday, and several nurses who were about to leave didn't rush to change their clothes. Instead, they huddled together in the changing room and chatted.
"My sister-in-law just came to pick up her medicine and told me some exciting news: Commander Lu is back." The nurse paused deliberately, then excitedly asked, "Do you know what he took leave to go back for this time?"
Other colleagues shook their heads. "Since I came to the army, I've never heard Regiment Commander Lu ask for leave. There must be something important this time."
"You guessed right, it really is something important, a major life event." She peeked around and then asked with some unease, "Is Dr. Mo not here?"
"Dr. Mo went to support healthcare development in the townships below and hasn't returned yet."
"That's good." The older nurse breathed a sigh of relief and whispered, "Commander Lu went back to get married this time. I heard that his new bride also came to the island this time."
The other nurses didn't believe it. "That can't be right. Isn't Commander Lu and Dr. Mo a couple? I saw Dr. Mo bringing food to Commander Lu last time, and I haven't heard anything about them breaking up."
She was about to say something when someone nudged her, gesturing for her to look at the door.
The older nurse's expression changed. "Dr. Mo, Dr. Mo."
Mo Ruqing stood at the door, having listened for an unknown amount of time, her smile both fragile and strong. "Is it true that Lu Ze got married?"
The older nurse felt a pang of pity seeing her trying so hard to be strong, but ultimately didn't want to deceive her; she would find out sooner or later anyway.
So he nodded. "It's true."
Mo Ruqing swayed and almost fell, prompting the nurses to rush over to help her. "Dr. Mo, are you alright?"
Mo Ruqing steadied herself and smiled weakly, "I'm fine. I probably just had a bit of heatstroke from running around all day. I'll head back now."
The older nurse sighed as she watched her retreating figure. "Dr. Mo likes Commander Lu so much, she must be heartbroken right now."
"Oh, what a pity. Dr. Mo comes from a good family, has a good personality, and is also good-looking. She and Commander Lu are a perfect match. I was even looking forward to eating their wedding candy. Who would have thought that a Cheng Yaojin would suddenly appear out of nowhere, and who knows what kind of background Commander Lu's lover has?"
"I do know a little about that. I heard that a female comrade from a production team under Qin Province gave the military families a hard time as soon as she arrived, and she's not someone to mess with. Dr. Mo is so gentle, how could she be a match for that kind of woman?"
Mo Ruqing returned to her office with a pale face, closed the door, and the weakness on her face disappeared instantly, replaced by a cold and indifferent expression.
She sat down, opened the bottom drawer, took out a notebook, and opened it.
Several names were written inside.
She found Lu Ze and crossed it out with a pen.
Then, he circled another name with a pen.
There was a knock on the door. "Dr. Mo, a comrade named Wu Huaiqing is calling you."
"Please wait a moment, Brother Wu, I'll be right there."
Mo Ruqing locked the drawer, changed her clothes, and went out.
On the other side, the jeep rumbled toward the newly built family compound and finally stopped in front of a three-story building.
By this time, the sun had already set, and those who had eaten early were sitting on small stools in the courtyard to cool off. In the center of the courtyard, several children were playing in the sand.
Upon seeing the group, the aunts and sisters-in-law greeted Lu Ze and Qin Ye.
"Commander Lu and Political Commissar Qin are back. Aunt Ge is here too."
Aunt Ge had visited before, and this time many of the other women recognized her and stood up to greet her.
After exchanging pleasantries, the aunts and sisters-in-law inevitably turned their attention to another unfamiliar face.
Is this Commander Lu's wife? She's really beautiful.
Before disembarking, Yu Yao changed her clothes: a green floral dress, white socks, and the little leather shoes that Hu Lingyu had bought for her.
She's dressed up from head to toe; she doesn't look particularly striking at first glance, but upon closer inspection, you can see that she's put a lot of thought and effort into her appearance.
First impressions are important, and Yu Yao didn't want to leave everyone with a drab and unsophisticated impression.
Lu Ze took the initiative to introduce her to everyone: "Dear aunties and sisters-in-law, this is my newlywed wife, Yu Yao."
Yu Yao's eyes were gentle as she said, "Hello everyone!"
As she spoke, she pulled out candy from her military satchel and stuffed it into the hands of adults and children, saying, "Please have some wedding candy and share in the joy."
These candies were brought from Qin Province. Some were distributed to the soldiers on the ship, and some were left over.
In the 1970s, there was a shortage of supplies. The cheapest fruit candies at the supply and marketing cooperative cost ten cents each, and those like Yu Yao's were even more expensive. Most of the military dependents came from rural areas and were quite frugal, so they couldn't afford to buy them.
I was pleasantly surprised to receive wedding candy.
"Thank you, Commander Lu and Comrade Yu."
"You're too kind, everyone. I'll be living on the island from now on, so please forgive me if I do anything wrong."
"Not at all, we're all neighbors and fellow villagers, we help each other out."
After handing out the wedding candies, Yu Yao and the others took the gifts and headed to Qin Ye's house.
After they left, the aunties and sisters-in-law in the courtyard started gossiping about it.
"I think Commander Lu's wife is a very good person. She is polite, warm and generous, not at all like the kind of woman that is rumored to be difficult to mess with."
"I think so too. Someone must be unhappy with Commander Lu's wedding and is deliberately spreading bad things about Comrade Yu. That's really malicious."
"Today we all received wedding candy from Comrade Yu. They say that if you accept gifts, you are obligated to help others. So if you hear anyone talking badly about Comrade Yu in the future, you must speak up for him."
"I know, I know, don't worry, Political Commissar's wife."
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