Before Principal Jiang made a decision, Children's Day was approaching.

Because He Dongchuan specially changed his shift, he was able to go to the party with Su Ting that day.

But to be honest, he regretted switching shifts.

On the Sunday before the party, which was also the day of the singing competition held by Class 2, Grade 1, He Yan received unanimous praise and completely secured the lead singing position in the chorus program. As soon as he returned home, Su Ting asked him to be a cheering sign.

At that time, He Dongchuan didn't understand what the cheering board was, but after Su Ting's explanation, he knew.

It turned out that she had agreed with He Yan that they would hold up a sign to cheer him on on the day of the party. Su Ting said, "Actually, I wanted to hang a banner, but then I thought about the fabric needed to make a banner, so it would be more convenient to find a piece of wood to write a sign on."

He Dongchuan: “…”

I really want to ask someone to transfer my shift back.

Although He Dongchuan was extremely reluctant to do such a stupid thing, facing his wife's excitement and his son's expectations, he finally chose to compromise. He found a piece of wood and used a brush to write the cheering words according to what Su Ting said.

On Children's Day, the whole family compound was bustling with activity. When people met on the street, they would ask whether they were going to the party, and the answer they got was basically yes.

However, today is Saturday, and there are few officers on leave, so most of those who have made appointments to attend the party are military wives.

Therefore, as soon as Su Ting and He Dongchuan walked out, they became the focus of the crowd, not to mention that they were holding up a sign. The military wives they met came over one after another and asked them what they were doing.

Su Ting smiled and said, "This is not the first time for the child to perform on stage. I thought that as parents we would definitely support him, so I asked Lao He to write a sign, and we held it up when Xiao Yan was performing. This way, no matter how many people were there, he would definitely be able to see us at a glance."

He Dongchuan felt that doing so was a bit too high-profile and would attract attention, but the military wives thought differently. They preferred to join in the fun, and it was a party after all, so wouldn't it be better if it attracted attention?

Moreover, some of them have children performing on stage, and if they put themselves in the shoes of their own children, they would definitely be happy if they saw their parents holding signs to cheer for them.

Everyone thought this was a good idea and asked Su Ting how she came up with it. Someone even joked, "You had such a good idea but you didn't tell us. My son/daughter will be so sad when they see you holding up the sign and I don't."

Su Ting did not expect the response to be so enthusiastic.

Although she said it in a high-sounding manner, in reality, she did it just to amuse the children and to play a prank on He Yan. If she had known that everyone would accept this way of cheering, she would have announced it earlier.

The party is about to start, it's too late to say anything.

Of course, everyone was just joking and didn't really blame Su Ting. The group chatted and laughed as they headed towards the Military District Primary School.

The military primary school occupies a large area of ​​land. After all, land was worthless at that time, so after the application to build the school was submitted, it was approved quickly.

Walking into the gate of the Military Area Primary School, what comes into view is a spacious playground. Because students often step on it when playing, the ground looks very flat and the green grass is sparse.

At this time, there was an extra platform at the end of the playground near the classroom than usual.

The stage was not high, only reaching an adult's knees. The background cloth was black with a banner hanging on it with the words "Local Primary School June 1st Children's Party" written in large letters.

On the right side of the stage, there were two tables with audio equipment on them. These were valuable items, and Principal Jiang had borrowed them with great difficulty through his connections, so he could not afford to be careless and specially arranged for a teacher to guard them.

In addition to the teacher guarding the sound system, there was a group of children who were about to go on stage and were making final preparations. In front of them, Teacher Wang was talking to them.

There were also busy people below the stage. Half a meter away from the stage, a teacher was ordering senior students to move seats for the troop leaders.

Behind the leaders' seats, the class teachers were organizing the children holding benches to take their seats.

The parents who came to watch the party were at the end of the line and had to find their own seats. Those who brought their own children found a place to sit, and those who didn't find a place to stand.

The parent team was also divided into two groups. Those sitting or standing on the left were members of the island's agricultural and fishery brigade, and those sitting or standing on the right were military dependents in the family compound.

No matter which side, most of the people who came were women. There were only about 20 to 30 men on both sides, and they were scattered among the women.

He Dongchuan felt very uncomfortable, so after sitting for a while he said to Su Ting: "I'm going to get some fresh air."

Su Ting, who was talking to Yu Xiaofang, said without turning her head: "Then you should come back early. Xiaoyan and his friends' show is the first one. Don't be late."

"I know." He Dongchuan said, then squeezed out of the crowd and stood at the back of the team to get some fresh air.

He stood at the back for a while, and then two more officers came out from the crowd. The shorter officer took out a cigarette from his pocket and shared it with the two women while saying, "Finally they came out. These women are so talkative. They haven't stopped talking since they sat down."

The tall officer who had quit smoking agreed, "Yeah, well, I didn't plan to come, but my family member insisted that I come because it was the first time for the child to perform on stage. If I had known this, I might as well have switched shifts and stayed in the camp today."

For the same reason, He Dongchuan, who specially changed his shift to watch, said: "...No, I don't smoke."

After smoking a cigarette, the party was about to begin, and each of their wives started calling people. Several people put out their cigarettes, waved their hands, and dispersed.

He Dongchuan walked over to Su Ting and just sat down when he heard her ask, "Why do you smell like cigarettes? Did you go out to smoke just now?"

"No, it must be the smell from their smoking," said He Dongchuan.

Su Ting thought that inhaling second-hand smoke was not a big deal, but she changed her mind and thought that there were many old smokers in the army, and they would smoke two cigarettes at any time, and they would puff even more during meetings. It was fine for He Dongchuan not to smoke, but it was obviously unrealistic to stop others from smoking. It didn't matter for a while, so she swallowed her words and just said "hmm".

The couple whispered to each other when they heard movement behind the team. Su Ting turned her head and saw several officers wearing the new white naval officer uniforms issued this year walking towards them.

Su Ting has been here for two months. She basically knows the names of the army leaders, but she can't recognize many of them. First, the leaders live at the other end of the family compound, which is a bit far from their home. Second, the leaders are busy and will not hang around in the compound unless they have something to do. In addition, they always go by car, so she has not seen them very often.

Although I didn't recognize their faces, I could guess from their ages that they were of high rank. Moreover, Principal Jiang was walking with them, and it was obvious that he had just gone there to pick someone up.

I just don’t know what kind of leader is coming.

Su Ting was thinking about it when she heard He Dongchuan say, "I'll go say hello."

"Ah?" Su Ting was stunned for a moment, and then she saw that the other officers who came to watch the party also moved, and then she reacted and said, "Then you go."

He Dongchuan nodded slightly, pushed through the crowd again and walked out of the team. He lined up with seven or eight other officers to salute and shout "Hello, Chief."

In the army, the title of "chief" is not limited to a certain position. If you are an ordinary soldier, you can call him "Hello, Chief" when you meet the regiment commander, and you can also call him "Hello, Chief" when you meet the division commander.

But the seven or eight military officers including He Dongchuan were obviously not from the same regiment, and they all shouted "Hello, Chief". The person leading them should be at least the deputy commander-in-chief, or even the commander or political commissar.

Although they were of high rank, the leader had a very friendly attitude. After returning the salute, he smiled and said a few words to them, then let them return to their seats.

But when the crowd dispersed, the leader stopped He Dongchuan and asked, "Are you here alone today?"

"With my wife." He Dongchuan said.

The chief asked, "Where is your wife?"

He Dongchuan pointed at Su Ting. The leader looked over and his eyes stayed on Su Ting's face for two seconds. Then he looked down and saw the sign she was holding and the eight big characters written on it. He narrowed his eyes and asked, "What's that sign?"

He Dongchuan said honestly: "My wife said that it was the first time for the child to perform on stage, so we should cheer for him."

The chief was slightly stunned when he heard this, but soon he burst into laughter, said hello twice, and stopped greeting He Dongchuan. He waved his hand and followed Principal Jiang to sit in the front row.

Although they were talking behind the parents' line, not far from Su Ting, it was too noisy. Su Ting could only guess from He Dongchuan's actions that they might have talked about her, but she didn't know what they talked about specifically.

So when He Dongchuan came back, Su Ting couldn't help asking, "What did you just say?"

He Dongchuan replied: "Commander Lu asked what the sign in your hand is for."

Su Ting was startled, and looked down at the cheering card in her hand. She had a bad feeling in her heart and asked quickly, "How did you answer?"

"Tell me the truth."

Su Ting: “…”

Seeing Su Ting's look of despair, He Dongchuan asked in confusion: "Didn't you know that the leader was coming, and were you planning to cheer for Xiao Yan?" Why are you scared now?

He Dongchuan did not ask the second half of the sentence because he was afraid that his wife would get angry and embarrassed after hearing it.

Su Ting glanced at He Dongchuan with resentment and said, "I thought the most important leader here was the logistics director."

Although this was the first time that the military district primary school held a party, it was not a big event for the entire base.

The commander is in charge of the affairs of the entire base. Not to mention that he has a lot of things to do every day, he must be very busy. Su Ting thinks it is unrealistic to ask him to take two and a half hours to watch the elementary school students' cultural performance.

Considering that all the large and small units around the family compound were actually under the management of logistics, Su Ting naturally thought that the highest-ranking leader that Principal Jiang could invite should be the director of logistics.

The logistics director is a high-ranking position, and he happens to be in charge of the school, so he can be considered a leader.

Who knew that Principal Jiang was so powerful and actually invited the commander. Thinking of what He Dongchuan said she was going to do in front of the commander, Su Ting was so embarrassed that she couldn't help digging her toes into the ground.

He Dongchuan saw this and tried to hold back his laughter to comfort him: "Don't worry too much. The commander was very happy to hear what I said and even said two good words. It's obvious that he supports you very much."

Su Ting felt better, but she was still a little hesitant. All the big leaders stationed there were there, so should she hold up a sign or lay down a sign?

Before she could figure out what to do, the host of the party came on stage.

After a brief opening speech, the host announced the first program, a chorus song "The East is Red" performed by students from Class 2, Grade 1.

As the host finished speaking, a dozen children wearing white shirts, black pants, red scarves and red moles on their foreheads walked onto the stage.

Among this group of children, He Yan is not very tall, but he stands alone in the first row and can be seen at a glance.

After seeing him, everyone's eyes will light up. This child is so handsome.

He Yan not only has fair skin, but also outstanding facial features, thick eyebrows, big eyes, red lips, white teeth, especially the red mole between his eyebrows, which is simply the finishing touch.

So cute!

This is how Su Ting felt. She threw the sign to He Dongchuan, and after he raised it, she grabbed his elbow and yelled, "Xiao Yan looks so handsome today! Who drew the red mole between his eyebrows? It's really well drawn!"

He Dongchuan, the sign-holder, thought expressionlessly, isn't he more handsome than his son? Why didn't he see his wife yelling at him?

It's just a red mole between his eyebrows. If she wants to see it, it's not impossible for him to... Well, he can't, he can't imagine what he would look like with a red mole between his eyebrows.

Just as I was thinking about it, the show started.

The first sentence was sung solo by He Yan. As he opened his mouth, his clear voice spread throughout the school: "The east is red, the sun is rising..."

Su Ting was immediately excited, raised her hands and clapped, attracting everyone's attention. She explained with a flushed face, "My son, the one leading the singing!"

The wives of soldiers were all around, and of course they knew that He Yan was Su Ting's son. However, after hearing her explanation, no one found it too strange. It was the opening solo, and if it was their child, they would definitely be more excited than Su Ting.

And with Su Ting taking the lead, others were no longer stingy with their applause, especially the parents of the children on the stage, many of whom applauded louder than Su Ting.

Commander Lu, who was sitting in the front, heard the applause, turned his head and looked back, then whispered, "Everyone's response is very enthusiastic."

Principal Jiang did not take all the credit for himself. He just smiled and said, "It's rare to have such an event in the garrison."

Commander Lu nodded after hearing this. Pingchuan Island is far away from the city and entertainment activities have always been scarce. No wonder everyone is so excited.

Considering that the last time the General Headquarters sent a cultural troupe to perform was a year ago, perhaps we can contact them again and ask them to arrange for the cultural troupe to perform again to enrich the soldiers' entertainment life.

There is also the suggestion made by some of our subordinates a while ago about building a basketball court, which can also be brought up for further discussion.

Of course, whether it was inviting the art troupe to perform or building a basketball court, that was a matter for the future. At this time, he was still sitting in the audience of the Children's Day party held by the military district primary school.

Commander Lu looked towards the stage, and his eyes were quickly drawn to He Yan who was standing at the front.

This child is really angry.

No matter how brave a six or seven-year-old child is, or how well prepared he is, he will inevitably feel scared when he sees so many people on the stage.

Just like the group of children on the stage, many of them looked around while singing, not daring to look down. Those who were in a better situation basically didn't dare to make big expressions, and were visibly nervous.

But the child leading the singing was different. His eyes were lively and in high spirits, especially when he looked at a certain place, his eyes were particularly bright.

Commander Lu looked back in the direction of He Yan's sight and saw He Dongchuan holding up the sign, and the young woman next to him also stretched out her arms, swaying left and right.

Commander Lu chuckled, turned his head to the right and asked in a low voice: "Is the child leading the singing Xiao He's son?"

"It's him, his name is He Yan." Principal Jiang said with a smile.

"Three Flames?"

"You know?"

Commander Lu chuckled and said, "It's written on the sign at Xiao Heju, it's hard for me not to know it."

Principal Jiang was stunned for a moment when he heard this, then turned his head and looked back.

Seeing this, she couldn't help laughing: "No doubt, the idea of ​​holding up the sign must have been proposed by Comrade Su."

Commander Lu: "I don't think this is Xiao He's idea either."

As we were talking, the chorus performance came to an end, and thunderous applause rang out again on the playground, mixed with the faint shouts of women: "Three fires, three fires, it will definitely be a hit!"

He Yan on the stage also heard his mother's voice, and at the end of the song he imitated Su Ting by raising his hands and swaying them left and right.

This movement looks ordinary, but it is extremely contagious. When the audience saw He Yan's movement, they also raised their hands, swayed their bodies left and right, and sang along.

The other children on the stage were confused when they saw He Yan waving his hands with the audience. Why were they doing this? Was this part of the program? Also, since everyone was waving, should they also do the same?

But before they could figure it out, the song ended with the whole audience singing along.

They could only walk off the stage with confusion in their heads, and asked each other as they walked back: "What happened just now? Why did you wave your hands?"

Not only the students were puzzled, but Teacher Wang was also puzzled. She knew that He Yan was the second person to wave, so she asked him directly.

He Yan was also confused when asked. He hesitated and said, "I saw my mother waving at me, so I waved back. Is that not allowed?"

Classmates: “…”

Teacher Wang raised her forehead. She really didn't expect that He Yan would lead the whole audience in waving his hands, just to say hello to his parents.

Although it was an unintentional act, it can be considered a helpful move.

…

After the opening chorus, the atmosphere at the party gradually cooled down. There were some good programs during the party that received rounds of applause, but no other song could stir everyone's emotions like the opening chorus, making all the audience wave their hands and sing along.

Therefore, after the party came to a successful conclusion, the chorus of "The East is Red" unsurprisingly became the most popular program of the whole party, and He Yan also became the most outstanding performer at the party!

So much so that after the party, when people met the family of three on the way back home, they did not greet Su Ting and her husband first, but looked at He Yan and asked, "Sanhuo, are you back?"

"Sanhuo, you sang really well today!"

"Three Fires..."

He Yan was flattered by the praise, but of course, he did not forget to correct them: "My name is He Yan, not Sanhuo!"

Everyone smiled and replied, "Okay, got it, Sanhuo."

He Yan: “…”

…

After the party, the exchange of the sewn plane tickets was finally settled.

The person who was willing to exchange tickets with them was a military wife who lived in the same family compound. Before joining the army, she worked in a garment factory and was very good at needlework.

When they got married, they also bought a sewing machine, which they used for many years until they sold it because they could not bring it with them when they followed the army. After arriving on the island, she also wanted to buy a sewing machine, but she did not have a ticket and could not collect enough industrial coupons, so the matter was put on hold.

It was her husband who knew He Dongchuan. When he heard that He Dongchuan wanted to exchange the sewing ticket, he took the initiative to find him. The two compared the tickets in their hands, and finally exchanged two industrial coupons and a fan ticket for the sewing ticket.

After getting the fan ticket, He Dongchuan came back and discussed with Su Ting about going to the city.

After entering June, the temperature rises gradually. He Yan can't stand the heat at night and always wants to go to the cool master bedroom. If we don't bring the electric fan back quickly, he will develop the habit of sleeping with his parents, and life will be unbearable.

Therefore, He Dongchuan said, "It's better to go early than late. Let's go on Sunday. I have a day off that day. And the comic strip you submitted earlier is going to be published, isn't it?"

Su Ting almost forgot about this, and slapped her forehead and said, "It's true. The publisher said that it will start serialization from this issue at the beginning of the month."

"That's great. Let's go to Xinhua Bookstore again on Sunday and buy a few more illustrated magazines."

Su Ting said, "Buying one book is enough. I'm not giving it away as a gift." She didn't intend to tell anyone about this.

"Then buy four, one for collection, and the other three for our family to read." He Dongchuan said, and then pretended to ask casually, "Do you think I need to buy more clothes?"

Su Ting wanted to buy one copy for her collection and pass one around, but her attention was instantly diverted when she heard He Dongchuan's question: "Aren't you wearing the new military uniform?"

"I'm not talking about military uniforms."

"You want to buy some clothes for daily wear? Sure," Su Ting calculated the current industrial tickets in her mind and estimated that they were enough to buy He Dongchuan two sets of clothes, so she asked very generously, "What kind of clothes do you want to buy? Do you want a coat? Probably not, it will be summer soon."

"No need for a coat, just a shirt and a pair of pants will do."

"Shirt? Didn't you wear a shirt every day before?" Spring and autumn military uniforms are all three-piece suits, a shirt, military pants, and a jacket. He Dongchuan has been wearing a shirt almost semi-permanently, so why does he still need to buy a shirt?

"No military-style shirts, white ones, and black pants."

After hearing this, Su Ting finally realized that He Dongchuan had already decided what clothes to buy, but...she asked sideways, "Why do you suddenly want to buy other clothes?"

When they were shopping in the department store before, she had mentioned buying him clothes, but every time he said no, he had enough clothes to wear. She thought he didn't like wearing clothes other than military uniforms.

Just as she was thinking about it, she saw He Dongchuan turn around, look directly into her eyes and say quietly: "Don't you like to see other people wearing white shirts?"

Su Ting's eyebrows jumped, and she laughed and said, "When did I like to watch other people wear clothes?"

He Dongchuan didn't answer, but just stared at her.

His gaze was not scorching, but it seemed to penetrate people's hearts. Su Ting felt more and more guilty. She stretched out her finger and gestured, saying, "Okay, I like it a little, but really just a little."

The boy who wore a white shirt and had a warm smile was indeed her type, and she had been moved by him, but facts have proved that men cannot be judged by appearance alone, and she has been calm for many years.

And when He Dongchuan wears a white shirt, I guess, maybe... well, he should still be handsome.

Su Ting had to admit that although she had made some mistakes before, her nature of being a beauty lover had not changed much over the years. She was just more picky beyond just looks.

But this also indirectly shows that He Dongchuan is very good-looking. In terms of his usual dressing style, he is tall and has long legs, so anything he wears looks good. Plus, because of his professional status, she also likes him very much.

Thinking of this, Su Ting emphasized: "I also like the way you look in military uniform."

He Dongchuan glanced at her and asked calmly, "Really?"

Seeing the expression on his face, Su Ting finally realized that something was wrong. Why did he look... so jealous?

But that's not right. All the men in the family compound have wives, and she has never peeked at anyone. Besides, these officers are all rough men in military uniforms. It's better to look at He Dongchuan himself than at them. Why would he be jealous?

Su Ting was confused, but she said, "Of course, why would I lie to you?"

"Why didn't you compliment me when I was in uniform?"

"Didn't I praise anyone?" Su Ting asked back, her mind racing. Who had she praised recently?

There shouldn’t be… No, there really is.

Su Ting widened her eyes and looked at He Dongchuan speechlessly: "You are not jealous of your son?"

He Dongchuansi was not ashamed at all and said calmly: "The problem is not who is being complimented, but that you have never complimented me like that."

Su Ting was stunned for a long time, and said in disgust: "...You are so childish."