That day, Aunt Wang went out to buy groceries, and when she came back, she brought back three unexpected people, who were none other than Li Guifang and her two children.

Li Guifang was still the same as when she met him on the ferry. She smiled at everyone she met and said, "I wanted to come and visit you a few days ago, but I don't know anyone here and I didn't dare to come in." She was a little scared of the soldiers standing guard with guns in the sentry box.

Su Ting smiled and asked, "Then why did you come in today?"

"When I was walking downstairs with my two children, I ran into Aunt Wang, and I shamelessly followed her in." Li Guifang smiled embarrassedly.

In fact, Li Guifang is not such a sociable person. She has been on the island for some time and doesn't know anyone except the staff in the guesthouse.

But Su Ting was different because they met on the ferry and she hadn’t been to the island yet. She was not so timid and had a pleasant chat with Su Ting and treated her as a friend.

As for Aunt Wang, although she hadn't talked much with Aunt Wang when they met before, Aunt Wang was Su Ting's family member. When she met her on the road, she thought she was an acquaintance. Without thinking much, she went over to say hello and followed Aunt Wang into the family compound.

She felt more at ease when she was with her acquaintances, and she no longer felt scared when she saw the big gun in the guard post's hand. It was as if she had gained confidence.

Su Ting listened to what Li Guifang said, and stood up to make a drink for the three of them, mother and son.

Although Aunt Wang always said that it was best not to get out of bed during the confinement period, Su Ting was very sure that this was a bad habit, so she didn't listen much and would get out of bed and walk around for a while every day.

Aunt Wang became numb after seeing it so many times and was too lazy to talk to her anymore.

However, Li Guifang, seeing Su Ting, a woman in labor, stood up to help pour drinks, quickly said it was not necessary.

But it was their first time at home, and Su Ting couldn't bear to not let them drink a sip of water. She smiled and said it was okay. She asked about their tastes, made a cup of sugar water for Li Guifang, and malted milk for the two children.

Because He Yan likes to drink it, maltose is always available at home. When the children come home, Su Ting will watch them make a cup. Children of this generation basically cannot resist maltose.

Li Guifang's two children did the same, standing side by side holding enamel cups, drinking with satisfied looks on their faces.

Li Guifang also thinks the sugar water tastes good.

Although her husband is a deputy battalion commander and has a high salary, he is too far away from home. The tickets that can be used here are basically not used at home, so he only sends money back home every month.

She was a rural hukou, and unlike the city, she might not get two sugar tickets in a year, let alone precious white sugar tickets. There was a black market in the city, she had heard about it and had been there twice, but the things there were so expensive that she couldn't bear to buy them, so she only had brown sugar at home.

The constant supply here does not mean that she would buy new brown sugar immediately after finishing it, but that she would buy a pack occasionally and drink it sparingly. In other words, she would only make a cup of brown sugar water when there were important guests at home or when her two children were not feeling well. In this way, a small pack of brown sugar could last at least half a year.

She hasn't had sugar water this sweet in years.

When she was in the countryside, she really didn't think her life was hard.

Why is it so hard? Her husband is a military officer and sends a lot of money home every month. When her parents-in-law were alive, she just had to take care of them. Now that they are gone, she has less to do and only has to take care of the two children. She hasn't worked the land for many years. Anyway, if there is not enough at the end of the year, she can just spend money to buy food. There is enough food.

When the people in the brigade talked about her, they all looked envious, saying that she had married a good man and that her husband had a promising future.

But when she came to Pingchuan Island, she realized that her past life had been bitter.

This kind of suffering did not come from a single family, but from the gap between the city and the countryside. Although Pingchuan Island did not belong to the town, the military wives were registered in the collective household registration and could still eat commercial grains, and various coupons were issued every month.

Li Guifang was jealous and wanted to stay.

But she didn't know how to stay. Every time she mentioned this, her husband would remain silent and ask her if she wasn't living well in her hometown.

Her hometown was certainly not a bad place to live in, although there was no wealthy man in the family, but her husband was serving in the army and was not dead. As a military dependent, the officers in the brigade were too busy to take care of her, so naturally no one dared to bully the three of them.

But besides being a mother, she is also a wife. She wants to be reunited with her husband, and her children also need a father.

But she didn't know how to tell her man.

Although she could feel that the man had become increasingly silent over the past few years, she always thought it was due to the successive deaths of her parents-in-law and the great pressure he was under in the army.

Because of this, he was unable to return home for the New Year last year, so she thought of bringing her two children to Pingchuan Island to visit him.

But this visit was not what she had imagined. She thought he would be happy when she and the children came, but he was not. Moreover, he was always absent-minded when she talked to him. She hoped that he could take a few days off and take her and the children out for a walk, but he always refused.

Li Guifang felt that he had become a stranger.

So he showed his impatience, and she didn't know what to say next.

Last night he reminded her that it had been a while since she came to Pingchuan Island and it was time to go back. She wanted to say something to stay, but she swallowed it back and just said "OK".

She almost didn't sleep last night, and kept thinking, should she take the child back like this?

Because she was feeling depressed, Li Guifang left the guesthouse today and wandered around outside.

Normally she was reluctant to go out because when the military wives saw her, they would always look at her in an undisguised way. This kind of scrutiny made her feel very uncomfortable, so she would rather stay in the small room in the guesthouse.

But today, she didn't want to be trapped in the room. She was about to go back, but she hadn't had a good look at the island yet.

Then she met Aunt Wang, and then came to the He family and met Su Ting.

Li Guifang held the glass, seeming to want to say something but stopping herself.

Su Ting could see that she had something tangled up, but she didn't know whether she should ask. The main reason was that they had only met once and were not very familiar with each other. If Li Guifang's hesitation was something personal, she might not be able to give her any advice.

But she always remembered the scene that she was about to forget, the one where Li Guifang chased Qi Shenggang. After hesitating for a while, she chose to speak: "How have you been doing during this period?"

Li Guifang smiled bitterly: "To be honest, I have been staying in the guesthouse all this time and have hardly gone out."

Su Ting looked surprised: "Why..."

Although the military has strict discipline, it does not mean that it is ruthless. As long as you are willing, it should not be difficult to ask for two days off when your wife and children come to visit. Rongcheng is not far from Pingchuan Island. You can visit many places in two days by going back and forth on the same day. There is no need to stay in the guesthouse all the time.

Li Guifang explained: "He is too busy."

In fact, she knew in her heart how strong this explanation was, but she had been in the Qi family since she was seven or eight years old, and they were a young couple. Even though they were together less and less after he joined the army, she still had deep feelings for him.

In just ten days, even though she knew he had changed, she couldn't help but hold on to some hope in her heart and couldn't give up completely, so she would help him make amends.

Su Ting could only agree, "They are quite busy. For example, my husband, He, always leaves early and comes back late."

Li Guifang breathed a sigh of relief, and was very grateful for Su Ting's understanding. She also had the courage to speak up: "Actually, I came here to ask you about the issue of military wives accompanying the troops."

"You intend to follow the army?"

"I did have this idea. I heard that when you reach the deputy battalion commander level, your family members can follow the army. But I'm not sure about the procedures and I'm afraid it will be too troublesome," Li Guifang said with her head down.

In fact, she could also ask the staff in the guesthouse, as they were also military wives, but she knew in her heart that it would be easier to ask Qi Shenggang about these things. If she asked others instead of her own man, it would inevitably cause speculation. She still had expectations for Qi Shenggang in her heart and didn't want people to speculate about him casually.

But she trusted Su Ting. Maybe it was because of the chick mentality, or maybe it was because they had a pleasant chat on the ferry before. In her heart, Su Ting was different from the people in the guesthouse.

She could tell these things to Su Ting.

"I'm actually not sure what specific procedures are required to accompany the troops and what materials need to be prepared." Su Ting said hesitantly. The original procedures for her to accompany the troops were handled by He Dongchuan, and she herself was confused.

Seeing Li Guifang's disappointment, Su Ting paused and said, "But the most important information should be the marriage certificate and household registration booklet. If you want to know, I'll ask Lao He when he comes back tonight. As for whether it's troublesome or not, I think it shouldn't be troublesome. I was with the army at that time, and it seemed that the procedures were completed in less than a week."

Li Guifang's eyes lit up, but she asked hesitantly, "Is it really that fast? When we got married, it took two or three months for the application to be approved."

"How can getting married and accompanying the troops be the same? Before you submit your marriage application, your personal information is blank to the troops. They have to arrange for someone to check your location, which takes a lot of time, so it certainly won't be fast." Su Ting explained with a smile, "When you go through the procedures for accompanying the troops, you are already a military wife. All they need to review is whether your documents are complete and whether you meet the qualifications for accompanying the troops. A week is enough time to go through the process."

"So." Li Guifang thought.

"That should be the case," Su Ting thought for a moment, and then said, "If you are in a hurry, you can go to the Military Dependents Placement Office to ask about the situation. They are responsible for the settlement of military wives, and they should be more familiar with the procedures for accompanying the troops."

Li Guifang asked: "Where is the Military Dependents Placement Office?"

"Isn't there an open space at the entrance of the compound? On one side there are two swings for children to play. On the other side is a two-story red brick and tile house. The Military Dependents Resettlement Office is in the brick and tile house, on the second floor. You can go over and ask someone and you will know."

"Okay, I'll go ask later."

At this point, Li Guifang finally felt relieved and expressed her gratitude to Su Ting, "Thank you so much. If it weren't for you, I would really be... completely in the dark about these things."

Su Ting waved her hands and said, "It's nothing. Once you get everything done, we can be neighbors in the future."

Li Guifang smiled and said, "Hey, I also hope that we can be neighbors in the future."

With a plan in place, Li Guifang felt more relaxed and was in the mood to chat with Su Ting. After looking at the baby for a while, she said, "This baby is really good-looking. What's her name? Is it a boy or a girl?"

"It's a girl. Her nickname is Man Man. She hasn't chosen a full name yet."

Speaking of naming, Su Ting really admired He Dongchuan. He usually seemed to be quite decisive, but when it came to naming his daughter, he was indecisive and hadn't even decided on any alternative options.

Not only was he a bit fussy, he was also very picky. On the day when He's father learned that his granddaughter was born, he looked up a few names in the dictionary and let him choose.

As a result, after He Dongchuan got the names provided by He's father, he rejected this name as not nice, and that name as too gentle. He directly crossed out names like "rou" and "wan".

Afterwards, he complained to Su Ting, saying that his father was a progressive person after all, but why was he so conservative in naming his granddaughter, either gentle or graceful. He didn't want his daughter to have a gentle and docile personality in the future.

Although Su Ting also doesn't want her daughter to be too weak, she thinks that He Dongchuan's conclusion that He's father is conservative is quite critical. In fact, many people don't think too much when choosing a name, as long as it sounds nice.

For example, her father named her Ting, not because he thought his daughter was the prettiest, but because when she was born it was popular to give children names like Ting, Yuan, and Hui, and her father just picked one that he liked the most.

This also led to the situation that there were five Tings in Su Ting's class during her school years. So when she was in junior high school, she once wanted to change her name because she felt that her name was too common.

But after that stage, she felt that the name was okay. At least her surname was unique and the rate of having the same name as her was not high.

Su Ting felt that maybe He's father was the same type of person as her father, being rough in this respect, while He Dongchuan was more concerned about the child's name, so after choosing again and again, he always felt that it was not suitable.

Su Ting thought, let him be. Anyway, she had given her daughter a nickname, so it didn't matter if she called her by that name even after she registered her household registration.

Li Guifang asked: "Which manly word?"

"Fast and slow."

"Manman." Li Guifang suddenly realized and smiled, "This name is quite unique."

"Because when I gave birth to her, I checked into the hospital a week in advance, but she didn't move when the time came. One day, I thought this child was taking too long to come, and she wasn't anxious at all, so I gave her this nickname. Guess what happened?"

Li Guifang asked flatteringly, "What happened next?"

"That night, I started it." Su Ting looked down at the lady with a gentle smile on her lips.

Li Guifang smiled and said, "It shows that this child has a connection with this name."

“Yeah, so the name was decided.”

…

Before leaving, Li Guifang said she would come to talk to Su Ting the next day, but she did not come the next day. It was not until three days later that she heard about her from Yu Xiaofang.

"I heard that it was about accompanying the troops. The two quarreled fiercely. Xiao Zhou heard the noise downstairs."

Xiao Zhou was a military wife working in the guesthouse. When she was on duty at night, she heard Li Guifang and her husband arguing. The next day, she told the other military wives in the compound about it.

Life in the compound is like this. It’s not so bad for the wives of soldiers who have jobs, as work and family can occupy most of their time in a day. The wives of soldiers who don’t have jobs can only get together and gossip to kill time after finishing their housework.

The guesthouse was a place where people came and went and new things happened easily. The military families who came to visit often became the topic of conversation.

Not to mention that Li Guifang and his wife were arguing about following the army. This was simply breaking news, and the news spread throughout the family compound like wings.

Like most of the military wives in the compound, Yu Xiaofang didn't know Li Guifang, but that didn't stop her from describing the incident vividly: "It seems that Deputy Battalion Commander Qi's wife was determined to follow the army, but Deputy Battalion Commander Qi was not happy about it, saying that if she followed the army, what would happen to her family? But I heard from Xiao Zhou that Deputy Battalion Commander Qi's parents seemed to be gone, and there seemed to be no one at home."

At the end, Yu Xiaofang deliberately lowered her voice, her eyes full of meaning.

Although Su Ting knew Li Guifang, she was not clear about her family situation. However, she felt that the death of a person's parents was a big deal and Xiao Zhou would not talk nonsense.

So the question is, since there is no one at home and Li Guifang is qualified to accompany the army, why doesn't Deputy Battalion Commander Qi want her to come?

Yu Xiaofang could understand what Su Ting thought of, so after waiting for a while, she continued to talk about Qi Shenggang: "But I heard that Deputy Battalion Commander Qi rarely leaves the camp. He only goes to the city every now and then to send a letter home. Sometimes, he even asks someone to bring the letter to the city."

There were no female soldiers or art troupes stationed on Pingchuan Island. The barracks were full of big bosses. Qi Shenggang rarely went out of the barracks. In other words, there was nothing wrong with him and he lived a decent life.

So Yu Xiaofang couldn't understand: "You say that this deputy battalion commander Qi is really something, he is not low-ranking, and his family doesn't have any burdens. If his wife wants to join the army, let her come. Why is he making such a fuss? What do you think he wants?"

Su Ting shook her head: "I guess only he knows the answer."

"That's true," Yu Xiaofang sighed, "but do you think that the wife of the deputy battalion commander Qi can stay with the army?"

Su Ting recalled what Li Guifang said the last time she came and guessed, "Maybe."

Yu Xiaofang held a different opinion from Su Ting: "Deputy Battalion Commander Qi is so unhappy about this. I think this matter is in suspense."

…

Because she had a good impression of Li Guifang, Su Ting hoped that she could get what she wanted. When He Dongchuan came home that night, she talked about this matter and asked, "Do you think she can stay?"

He Dongchuan thought for a moment and said, "It depends on whether she can be ruthless enough."

"What do you mean?"

"If the two elders of the Qi family really passed away, she could be so cruel that she could go to leader Qi Shenggang to cry, or even ask the troops to resolve the matter. As long as Qi Shenggang cares about his future, it is impossible for him not to compromise."

To be honest, accompanying the army is a personal matter and it is not appropriate for the army to interfere.

But the Qi family's situation was special. Qi Shenggang's parents had both passed away, and Li Guifang had no elders to take care of in her hometown. She was also willing to join the army. If he still insisted on letting Li Guifang stay in her hometown after the commotion, it would seem that he was cold and indifferent, as if he had no feelings for his wife and children.

This will inevitably affect his leaders' evaluation of him. In addition to personal ability, the military will also consider personal ideology and morality when promoting people. If he really does this, his character will be flawed.

If he doesn't want his future to be affected by family affairs, he can only give in and choose to compromise.

But if it came to this, there would inevitably be a rift between them as a couple, so He Dongchuan made her so cruel.

Su Ting asked: "What if you can't bear to do it?"

"If you can't bear to be ruthless, you can threaten him verbally. If the future is Qi Shenggang's weak spot, you can make him compromise. But if he is ruthless enough, it's easy to scare him." He Dongchuan said.

"What happens if you startle a snake?"

"It depends on how much he doesn't want Li Guifang to join the army, and how cruel he is."

Su Ting followed up by asking, "What if he really doesn't want Li Guifang to join the army, and he is very cruel, what do you think he will do?"

"First, I used the information that had been submitted to stabilize Li Guifang, and then I used the excuse that the things at home were not packed up to let Li Guifang take her children back to her hometown, bribed the brigade cadres and asked them not to issue the letter of introduction, so that she could be trapped in her hometown..." He Dongchuan felt that Su Ting's expression was not right, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Su Ting said solemnly: "I just suddenly felt that you men are so scary~"

He Dongchuan: "Is it not appropriate to use you? It was Qi Shenggang who didn't want Li Guifang to join the army. I never thought of not letting you join the army."

"That's true," Su Ting deliberately nitpicked and said slowly, "but to think of these things, Comrade He, you are not simple!"

"…You asked me, so I analyzed it for you." He Dongchuan felt that he was too wronged, he was simply the modern Dou E.

Su Ting was very unreasonable: "Why can you think of these things, but I can't? Doesn't this mean that you are not simple? What if you change your mind one day... well!"

Su Ting's eyes widened, and she quickly pushed He Dongchuan away, saying in a low voice, "The door is still open!"

He Dongchuan pretended not to hear, frowned, looked at Su Ting seriously, and said solemnly: "First of all, I will not change my mind, and secondly, I will never, never play these thoughts on you."

He raised his hands and said, "If I change one day, I will die a miserable death!"

Su Ting's face changed, and she quickly held He Dongchuan's hand: "I was just joking with you, why did you swear?" Thinking of his ending in the original book, she said, "Hurry up and say 'Pah' twice, what you just said doesn't count."

He Dongchuan said stubbornly: "No, what I just said will always count."

Emotionally, Su Ting was very moved, but her attitude towards love has never been optimistic.

It was really hard for her to be optimistic. She had been in love during college. They were a campus couple, a talented man and a beautiful woman. They were once an enviable existence.

When they graduated from college, each of their future plans included each other, and she thought she would spend her whole life with this man until her father died in a car accident.

Although the company was doing well before her father's accident, small companies do not pay much attention to accounting. When there is money in the account, they transfer public funds to private funds. When the company's business becomes slow and the cash flow in the account is not enough to support business transactions, it is common to transfer private funds to public funds. When the company needs to expand, the money that is not enough is often borrowed from private individuals rather than loans in the name of the company.

When Su Ting's father passed away, it was a critical period for the company to expand. He borrowed money from someone in his personal name. If nothing had happened to him, the monthly revenue would have been able to cover the monthly repayments, but something happened to him.

Everything fell apart.

Because they didn't trust a young girl like her, the creditors waited at her door every day to collect the debts. Upstream customers would not pay until they saw the goods, and downstream suppliers would not ship the goods until they saw the money. Other shareholders were eyeing the money covetously and refused to recognize that the money her father borrowed in his private name and transferred to the public account was a loan.

She was unable to support herself and had no choice but to sell off her company and all her properties to pay off her debts.

She was under a lot of pressure during that time. Her father passed away and the elders around her had changed. She could only call her boyfriend to confide in him.

At first, he would comfort her in a gentle voice, but gradually, her calls were delayed, from ten minutes to half an hour, and finally to one or two days.

On the day when she had dealt with all her debts and officially became a "three-no" employee, she received a call from her boyfriend, asking for a breakup.

The reason he gave was very official, saying that their feelings had faded and they no longer loved each other. He said sorry to her in a painful tone.

But Su Ting knew that his apology was real, but his statement that their feelings had faded was fake. If he really didn't love her anymore, why didn't he say it earlier or later, but said it at this juncture when her father was in trouble and she had nothing.

At that moment, Su Ting suddenly recognized this person.

People's trust is limited. After breaking up with her ex-boyfriend, Su Ting found it difficult to trust men again. When someone showed her affection, she would wonder what the other person saw in her. When she lost these, would his love disappear?

Plus, she was busy making a living at the time and had no intention of falling in love, so she rejected them all.

Later, her financial situation improved and she got over the shadow of her previous relationship, but when people reach a certain age, they see things differently.

When she was in school, she saw love as passionate, everlasting, and lasting for a lifetime with only one couple.

But when she turned 25, people around her started getting married one after another, and she began to see the trivialities of marriage, saw love go from intense to lonely, saw infidelity, and saw divorce.

If she hadn't traveled through time, Su Ting felt that she might never get married in her life.

If she had not traveled through time and space and become married, and if He Dongchuan happened to meet her aesthetic standards and have a personality that suited her taste, she felt that she might never fall in love with someone again in her life.

But even though she loved He Dongchuan, she didn't dare to have too high expectations for love. She always told herself that if they were compatible, they should stay together, and if not, they should break up as soon as possible.

She believed that what He Dongchuan said at this moment was sincere, but she didn't dare to believe that he would never change and would always love her so much.

In fact, if she had not traveled through time, if this world was not a novel, if He Dongchuan had not died young in the original work...if these unscientific things had not happened, she would not have minded his oath. For people in love, swearing to love each other forever is also a kind of pleasure.

But there are no ifs.

Because of the above reasons, Su Ting could not continue to be a materialist. In addition, she had a pessimistic attitude towards love, so when she heard He Dongchuan's oath, her first reaction was worry.

She felt that even if their future did not continue to be as good as they expected now, she still hoped that he would live a long life.

Looking at Su Ting's tense face, He Dongchuan finally chose to compromise. He lowered his head and kissed Su Ting, pretending to sigh helplessly: "Alas, it seems that couples can't say everything. It was obviously you who asked me, and I was kind enough to help you analyze it, but you turned the tables and didn't trust me at all."

Su Ting's expression relaxed, she looked up at him, and said coldly, "So, you plan to not tell me anything in the future?"

"That's definitely not possible. When my wife asks me questions, I know exactly what to say. I won't lie," He Dongchuan said solemnly, "Just like the oath I just made, it is also the most sincere words at this moment."

"I believe you," Su Ting said softly, "I just think there is no need to swear so solemnly."

"But I just want to swear such a solemn oath," He Dongchuan held Su Ting's hand and said firmly, "I also believe that I will not break my oath."

Su Ting turned her head and snorted, "Life is so long, who knows what will happen in the future."

He Dongchuan approached Su Ting, his nose touching hers, he lowered his eyes to look at her lowered eyes, and said in a low voice: "Then wait until we are gray-haired, and then I will show off to you, look, I have done what I said before, am I amazing?"

Listening to his narration, Su Ting seemed to really see two white-haired people sitting very close to each other, talking about their youth.

A smile appeared in her eyes unconsciously: "Yes, yes, you are the best."

"Now, can you give me, the most powerful person, a kiss?" He Dongchuan looked at her with a smile, his voice deep and mellow.

Su Ting glanced sideways at the open door.

He Dongchuan understood, went over to lock the door, then returned to the bed, closed his eyes, and put his face in front of Su Ting.

However, the expected kiss did not come, and he closed his eyes and urged: "Hmm?"

Su Ting stretched out her finger, pressed it on his lips, and said with a smile, "No."

He Dongchuan opened his eyes and bit her fingertips with dissatisfaction.

The movement was not heavy, but the itchy feeling went through his fingers and penetrated into Su Ting's heart, making half of her body go soft and she hastily withdrew her hand.

He Dongchuan looked at her solemnly and asked, "Why?"

Su Ting raised her chin and said proudly, "You haven't grown gray hair yet, and you haven't proved your oath, so of course there is no reward."

He Dongchuan frowned and fell into deep thought.

"When we are both gray-haired and still together, I will give you a kiss." Su Ting said, her heart softening.

In this relationship, she has always told herself that as long as she has it now, she doesn't need to think about how long it will last. But at this moment, looking at the man so close, she can't help but make a promise to him for the rest of her life.

She thought it would be romantic if she could give him a kiss like this when they were old.

"I will always remember this, and if you forget, I will ask you for it."

He Dongchuan was very confident in himself, but now, looking at Su Ting's plump lips, he lowered his head and bit them gently: "But now, I also want to kiss you."

The future is the future, the present is the present, and we must make it clear early on.

So that she won’t owe you money in the future.