The next day, Lin Yuan went to the city to mail a letter.
Taojia Village belongs to Hongguang Commune, which is located in Hongguang Town, which in turn belongs to Shanglin City.
It takes half an hour to ride a bicycle from the village to the commune, and an hour to go to the city.
To expedite the mailing, Lin Yuan went directly to the city post office and sent an express letter.
At normal speeds, it would take about a week to reach the military base, but with expedited service, it would typically arrive in three days.
Because it was an urgent letter, it was delivered through the counter. When the recipient saw that it was an urgent letter destined for the military, they naturally paid more attention to it and said, "Don't worry, comrade, it will be sent out today."
Lin Yuan thanked the post office staff, left the post office, and went to the train station to buy a ticket.
The provincial capital is called Yuancheng, an old town that has existed for hundreds of years. The full name of the province is Shangxi Province.
This area belongs to North China, while the place where Lin Yuan served as a soldier belongs to Northwest China.
It takes about three hours to get from Shanglin City to Yuancheng by train.
Lin Yuan queued for half an hour to buy a train ticket to Yuancheng. The tickets for tomorrow morning were sold out, and the only one available was for 5 pm tomorrow.
I arrived there at 5 o'clock, which was around 8 o'clock in the evening.
If her home is far from the station, she will have to find a guesthouse to stay in first.
However, before leaving tomorrow, we need to go to the brigade to get them both identity certificates.
After buying the ticket, Lin Yuan pondered as she walked out.
"Lin Yuan?" Suddenly, a woman who had just passed by him stopped, turned around, and looked at the man in military uniform with a puzzled expression.
At this time, the military uniform had no shoulder boards or rank insignia; it was just a military green uniform with a red collar tab on each side.
There was only one red five-pointed star on the front of the hat.
You can't tell a soldier's identity or rank in the military just by their clothing. The only thing that might distinguish between a new recruit and a veteran is the difference between having two pockets and having four pockets.
Lin Yuan stopped, turned around, and looked at the girl wearing a white shirt and carrying a military green backpack with a puzzled expression, curiously examining herself.
He thought about it carefully, "Zhao Fang?"
"Oh my, it really is you, old classmate!" Zhao Fang walked towards Lin Yuan with a delighted smile on her face.
Zhao Fang was Lin Yuan's classmate and even deskmate in junior high school.
Lin Yuan smiled and nodded, and the two shook hands. "It's me. What are you doing here? Didn't I hear you went to Kyoto?"
Zhao Fang was wearing makeup at the time, and looked somewhat different from before, so Lin Yuan didn't recognize her at first.
Zhao Fang nodded, "Yes, I work over there. I came back to see my parents. My dad was sick, but he's feeling better now, so I'm going back now."
Lin Yuan took a few steps back, smiled and nodded, "Oh, that's good!"
"Are you still in the army? I heard you went to the Northwest to serve!" Zhao Fang looked him up and down and asked with a smile.
"Yes, I'm still here. I'm back on leave to visit family this time," Lin Yuan nodded.
"Just got back?" Zhao Fang asked.
"No, I've been back for two days. I'm here today to buy train tickets!" Lin Yuan explained.
"Going out?" Zhao Fang glanced around.
"Okay, I'll go home with my boyfriend!" Lin Yuan nodded.
Zhao Fang's eyes, which were looking around, paused. She turned back and looked at him in disbelief. "You have a boyfriend?"
Lin Yuan chuckled, "Otherwise, we're both twenty-four or twenty-five, it's normal to have partners, right? You should be married by now, shouldn't you?"
Zhao Fang paused, forced a smile, nodded, and hummed in agreement. She raised her wrist to look at her watch and said to Lin Yuan, "My ticket check-in time is almost up, so I'll be going now. Let's get together again next time we meet."
Lin Yuan nodded, "Okay!"
After Zhao Fang turned and left, Lin Yuan also turned and walked outside.
Zhao Fang took a few steps and stopped, turning her head to look at Lin Yuan who was striding out. She silently pursed her lips. Did he have a girlfriend?
Yesterday she also met their old squad leader Hu Ping, who said that Lin Yuan was still in the army and had not yet gotten married or had a partner. How come he already has a partner?
Thinking of this, she lowered her eyes and turned to walk towards the ticket gate.
She originally thought that once she got a complete divorce and left Kyoto, she would go find Lin Yuan, whom she had liked since their school days.
Unfortunately, he joined the army right after graduation, and she was taken to Kyoto by her aunt, where she encountered such a terrible marriage.
The more unsuccessful her marriage plans became, the more she thought that if she had married Lin Yuan, her life would definitely not be like this now!
Lin Yuan was unaware of Zhao Fang's situation. After serving three years in the army, he returned on leave and reunited with his old classmates. They talked about the situation of the other classmates.
At that time, he heard that Zhao Fang had gone to Kyoto. He only heard about it briefly because she was his old deskmate, but he didn't pay special attention to Zhao Fang. She wasn't his type either.
When he came back last year, he met up with a few classmates and had a get-together once. But this year, as soon as he came back, he encountered the Zhao Huanhuan incident, and he hasn't gone to see his old classmates these past two days.
Therefore, Lin Yuan didn't know Zhao Fang very well, and today's encounter was just a fleeting moment for him.
After leaving the train station, Lin Yuan went to the farmers' market and bought two fish to go home.
Passing by the city's supply and marketing cooperative, he thought for a moment, locked his bicycle, and went inside with the fish, wondering what gift he could buy for Zhao Huanhuan.
He wandered around inside and saw a pair of red butterfly hair clips that he thought were quite pretty. He remembered the first time he met Zhao Huanhuan, she was wearing a red shirt that day, and he thought the hair clips matched her shirt very well, so he bought them without hesitation.
However, this pair of hair clips was quite expensive, costing one yuan.
At that time, a dollar was considered very valuable by others. People would think it was expensive to buy hair ties or clips for their children, even if it was only a few cents or a couple of dimes, since a meal in the cafeteria could be eaten for just a few cents or a couple of dimes.
The saleswoman didn't expect this PLA soldier to be so generous. Because of its high price, they hadn't been able to sell this pair of hair clips for a long time.
It's not that people can't afford it, it's that they're unwilling to spend the money, thinking that a pair of hair clips isn't worth the price.
"Comrade, is this for your partner?" The saleswoman, an experienced woman, noticed that Lin Yuan had stared at the hair clip for a long time before deciding to buy it, and asked with a smile.
Lin Yuan smiled shyly and nodded when asked the question.
"You have excellent taste! This hair clip is made of red plastic, so it won't break if you drop it, and it won't fade in the sun. It's also washable. It's great! Although it's a bit pricey, it's worth it to give it to someone who deserves it." The saleswoman smiled and helped Lin Yuan put the hair clip in a pretty little cloth bag before handing it to her.
Lin Yuan paid the money and said thank you.
On the way back to the village, he kept the small cloth bag in the upper pocket of his clothes. Along the way, he unconsciously reached out and touched the upper left pocket several times, and each time he couldn't help but smile. He couldn't help but imagine Zhao Huanhuan's expression when she received the hair clip.
But he was also a little worried, as this was the first time he had given a gift to a girl, and he wondered if she would dislike it.
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