The next day, Su Ting slept until around eleven in the morning.

But she hasn't gotten enough sleep yet. She didn't go to bed until after three o'clock last night, so she has only slept for eight hours in total so far.

Normally, eight hours of sleep is not a short time, but she usually goes to bed after eleven o'clock. She suddenly slept so late last night, so she still felt dizzy after opening her eyes.

But her stomach was empty and she was feeling very hungry. She couldn't lie in bed any longer, so after staring blankly for five minutes, she finally turned over and climbed out of bed.

Su Ting slipped on and opened the door. As soon as she looked up, she felt that the house was brand new. The tables, chairs, benches, sofas and coffee tables were all wiped clean. The sunlight shone through the glass windows, adding a filter called "beauty" to everything in front of her.

Su Ting was watching when she suddenly heard a slow voice from outside: "Dad, come on! Brother, come on!"

"You can only cheer for me and my dad, not for both of us!" This was He Yan's voice.

“But, but…” Gradually his vocabulary ran out and after a long while, nothing came out.

Originally Su Ting wanted to brush her teeth, but when she heard how noisy it was outside, she changed her mind and walked straight through the living room, to the front door and looked out.

Outside, a father and son were playing badminton. She sat on a stool to cheer them on. When she walked out, He Dongchuan was about to serve. When his eyes caught sight of her, his attention was diverted. He stopped and asked, "Are you up?"

He Yan was very dissatisfied and shouted, "Dad, you can't do this! I'm ready!"

"It's no use getting ready, you can't beat me." He Dongchuan said, then asked, "Are you hungry? If you are hungry, I'll cook."

"Didn't I just beat you once?" He Yan defended himself and rushed to answer the next question, "We haven't finished playing yet!"

He Dongchuan asked jokingly: "Ten to one is also considered a win?"

"That's because I'm small. When I grow up to be as old as you, I will definitely beat you." He Yan said confidently.

He Dongchuan wanted to say, "Then wait until you grow up to my age," but before he could finish his words, Su Ting said, "Go ahead and fight. I want to see it, too."

Su Ting felt uncomfortable lying in bed, but after getting up, she didn't feel hungry at all.

He Dongchuan changed his tone and said, "Okay, since your mother has spoken, I will play three more games with you, and the winner will be decided in three games, okay?"

"Okay." He Yan rubbed his hands together, even though he hadn't grown up yet, he really wanted to beat his dad.

The one sitting on the stool slowly stood up, raised his hands and clapped, saying, "Come on, Dad! Come on, brother!"

He Yan, who had corrected his sister countless times: "..." Forget it, let her be!

He Dongchuan raised his hand and threw the badminton, then jumped up and hit the ball to the other side of the straight line drawn with chalk. He Yan rushed forward with the racket, and hit it -

He hit it, but because the ball came at a tricky angle, only the edge of his racket touched the ball. Due to the angle and lack of force, the ball did not cross the line.

He Dongchuan raised his eyebrows and looked at Su Ting. Although he didn't say anything, his eyes and eyebrows showed pride.

The half-grown kid was quite proud of his victory.

Su Ting shook her head and cheered for He Yan: "Come on, Xiao Yan!"

Man Man, who was about to shout "Come on, Dad!", was dragged away by a second and started shouting, "Come on, Xiao Yan!"

He Yan, who had just picked up the ball, corrected him seriously: "Call me brother." You can lose in badminton, but you can't call me by random names!

"Oh~Brother, come on!"

He Yan was satisfied and served the ball in the same posture as his father. He was not tall, and because of the downward movement, the badminton was at an even lower angle when it crossed the line.

If there was a net in the middle, the ball would definitely not be able to get through, but the conditions were simple and only a straight line was drawn in the middle, so the badminton flew to the other side while brushing the ground.

Although He Dongchuan's movements were fast, the badminton fell to the ground even faster, so his racket didn't even touch the ball and the game ended.

He Dongchuan bent down, picked up the ball and said, "You are cheating."

He Yan didn't care about that. He twisted his waist proudly and said, "Anyway, I won." After he finished boasting, he reacted, "You can't serve in the third game."

"Why?"

"I can't even receive your serve." He Yan complained. He lost the first game because of this reason.

He Dongchuan laughed angrily: "That's because your technique is not good enough. If I didn't want you to receive the ball, would I have hit the ball downwards? Wouldn't it be enough to hit it up into the sky?" He just wanted to show off his skills, but his opponent's level was too poor, so he couldn't show his strength.

He Yan didn't think he was bad, but he was really not very good at playing badminton. He couldn't argue with his dad, so he could only lie and say, "I don't care, you can't serve like that anyway."

"Okay, I'll send it and I guarantee you'll get it."

After all, he is a father and he always competes with his son. He Dongchuan thought about it and made a standard serve, and He Yan indeed received the ball smoothly.

The two played back and forth for several minutes until He Yan ran out of energy and lost his strength when swinging the racket, failing to hit the badminton over the line.

After the third round, He Dongchuan said: "I won."

"I will definitely beat you in twenty years!" He Yan boasted.

Su Ting immediately thought of Long Aotian's famous saying: "Thirty years in the east, thirty years in the west, don't despise the poor young man!" She couldn't help but burst out laughing.

He Yan turned his head and asked seriously, "Mom, what are you laughing at?"

"I'm happy." said Su Ting.

"Are you not making fun of me?"

"Of course," Su Ting nodded affirmatively and explained, "Twenty years later, you will be twenty-eight years old, in the prime of your life, and your father will be fifty years old, an old man. He will definitely not be able to beat you. What you said is not wrong, so why should I laugh at you?"

He Yan was flattered and challenged his father to a duel, saying, "Let's fight again in 20 years."

He Dongchuan: “Haha.”

He Dongchuan picked up the badminton and took the racket from He Yan. He followed Su Ting into the house and put the racket and badminton on the coffee table. He quickened his pace to catch up with Su Ting, put his arm around her shoulders and whispered, "Twenty years later, I will be an old man?"

"Isn't it? You'll be fifty by then."

"I am 29 this year, and I will be 49 in 20 years."

"It's because of my age."

He Dongchuan really had no way to refute this, so he could only grit his teeth and ask: "I am an old man, so what are you?"

Su Ting did not answer, but blinked her eyes and told him a heart-breaking fact: "Twenty years later, I will not even be fifty years old." She is at most middle-aged.

Seeing He Dongchuan speechless, Su Ting reached out and patted his shoulder: "But don't worry, even though you will be over 50 by then, I won't abandon you."

"It's just my age." He Dongchuan said stubbornly.

"Yes, yes, yes, xisui xisui."

Seeing He Dongchuan stuttering, Su Ting felt refreshed. She couldn't help humming a song while brushing her teeth and even tapping the rhythm with her feet.

After brushing her teeth and washing her face, Su Ting opened the cupboard, took out a box of biscuits, opened it, took out a piece, ate it, and walked into the kitchen and asked, "Did you get up this morning to wash the sheets?"

"Well, slowly I wet the bed in the middle of the night."

"She didn't cry?"

“I cried.”

"Are you crying? Why didn't I hear you?"

"She cried at around 4 o'clock. You were asleep at the time, so you might not have heard it." He Dongchuan asked while cooking, "Are you hungry?"

"A little bit. I'll fill my stomach."

"Don't eat too much, or you won't be able to eat lunch."

"I know." Su Ting nodded, took two bites of the biscuit, raised her head and said, "Let's wash the sheets and quilt covers in our room this afternoon."

Although they put a cloth underneath last night, the size of the cloth was limited, and they rolled around all night and sweated so much that the sheets and quilt covers were soaked.

"Okay," He Dongchuan thought, and then he remembered, "Should we go to the market right after we finish eating, or should we wash the sheets first?"

"Let's go to the market first. I'll go change the sheets and quilt covers." Su Ting clapped her hands, wiped the biscuit crumbs on her hands, and went back to the room to change the sheets and quilt covers.

…

After lunch, the couple went out.

Because she would definitely be back before dinner, Su Ting didn't ask anyone else to help look after Man Man. She just asked He Yan to take good care of her sister and gave him the key to the house: "Remember to lock the door when you go out."

Although the security in the Marine compound was very good and there was no need to worry about people stealing things if the door was not locked, Su Ting always felt empty inside if she did not lock the door. As long as no one was at home, she would definitely lock the door.

Moreover, not only the front door of their house is locked, but also the master bedroom. If she goes out without He Yan, she will lock the door. It’s not because she is on guard against He Yan, but because he sometimes brings his children home to play, and children are unpredictable when they play, and they dare to sneak into any place.

An incident happened a few years ago. A child from a family in the compound took his friends home to play hide-and-seek while the adults were not at home. During the game, one of the children hid in the master bedroom closet. Nothing was stolen, but the child went in with his shoes on, and all the clothes piled under the closet were left with footprints.

When the adult in that family saw the situation when they got home, they were so angry that they started cursing. The child's parents, who had hidden in the closet, were also very unhappy after hearing her cursing, and the two families started arguing.

As for the incidents of children losing things or money when they come home, there are countless such cases. Su Ting thinks the best way to avoid this situation is to solve the problem from the root and lock the door when entering and leaving.

After giving the instructions, Su Ting sat on the back seat of the bicycle and was taken away by He Dongchuan.

After getting off the boat at the city pier, He Dongchuan drove Su Ting and did not rush to the post office. Instead, he slightly turned his head and asked, "Do you want to buy something for your parents?"

"What to buy?"

"Clothes, shoes, food and drinks are all fine. Aren't we going back to see them this month?"

Su Ting knew about this, of course. She had been planning this since the beginning of the year. She had originally agreed to go back during the summer vacation, but later on, because He Dongchuan had to participate in a competition, this matter was delayed again and again. Until now, there is no time set. Su Ting asked, "Did you get the leave?"

"We have mentioned this to our leaders, but they have not approved it yet."

"When did you start inviting people? How long did you do it?"

"I've asked for twenty days. I told my leader that it will be next Friday, but I'm not sure when I can leave." He had just returned and there were a lot of things to deal with in the camp, so he reserved time.

But completing it before Friday is just his personal estimate based on his current work. There may be other things to do after returning to the camp tomorrow, and the leader’s ideas may be different, so the approval of the vacation may be delayed for a few days.

Su Ting thought for a moment and said, "Then let's wait until your vacation is approved. I'll come to the city by myself if I have time. If not, I'll go back a day later."

If He Dongchuan can really get twenty days of leave, then it won't make any difference if he returns a day earlier or later.

The main reason is that I went out too late today and didn't have much time to go shopping in the department store. Also, there were a lot of letters to bring back and I might not even be able to fit them all on my bicycle, so it's better not to waste the effort.

"That's fine."

There were indeed a lot of letters taken out with the two delivery notes. If they hadn't asked the people from the post office for help, Su Ting and He Dongchuan would not have been able to tie so many snakeskin bags onto the car.

After tying it up, He Dongchuan's hands could basically not leave the bicycle. The bicycle would definitely fall down if he didn't hold on to it.

After He Dongchuan sat on the seat, Su Ting looked at the pile of snakeskin bags on the back seat and hesitated to get on the car. She asked, "Can you ride it?"

"I can ride it." He Dongchuan said affirmatively.

"Will the tire burst?"

He Dongchuan couldn't guarantee this, so he looked down at the two wheels and said, "Probably not."

After hearing what he said, Su Ting carefully climbed onto the front bumper, and after nestling into He Dongchuan's arms, she asked, "Do you think we should buy another tricycle?"

"It's OK, but I think it's hard to get a ticket for a tricycle."

These days, tricycles are mostly owned by government agencies, and ordinary people can’t get tickets. However… He Dongchuan said, “When I have time, I’ll go to the flea market to see if I can find a handlebar or wheels. If I can find one, I can modify our bicycle.”

"Can it be changed?"

“It can be changed, but it’s a bit troublesome.”

And although a tricycle can carry a lot of things, it is not as convenient as a bicycle, so no one would convert a bicycle into a tricycle at that time. However, Su Ting wanted a tricycle, so she could modify it.

But Su Ting hadn't made up her mind yet. This bicycle was used by He Dongchuan to go to and from the camp. If it was changed to a tricycle, he could still ride it, but it would make him look less cool.

Su Ting said, "Let me think about it again."

"Okay, take your time to think about it."

When she said this, Su Ting really intended to think about it again, but within two days, she found that she didn't have to consider this issue for the time being because He Dongchuan's job had changed.

It is not actually accurate to say so. To be honest, he should have other options, but whether to transfer or stay is up to him.

This matter is related to the military competition. The military competition is a major event within the navy and has attracted attention from all sides since the early stages of preparation.

He Dongchuan won first place in this event, so the army's internal newspapers naturally reported on him. The reports not only listed his achievements, but also introduced his past experiences and military exploits, which attracted the attention of many leaders.

So after the competition, several leaders called Commander Lu to ask for people.

Although not all of the people who called really wanted someone, and some had a good relationship with Commander Lu and were joking with him, there were indeed some who wanted to meet He Dongchuan and formally sent out an invitation.

Commander Lu admired He Dongchuan very much and naturally wanted to keep him on Pingchuan Island, but he also knew that although Pingchuan Island was a coastal defense fortress facing the Formosa Boulevard, it was only a water police district after all.

As the saying goes, "People go to high places, and water flows to low places." Whether it is other bases or the fleet headquarters, the development opportunities are better than here.

So after careful consideration, Commander Lu did not hide the news from He Dongchuan.

He Dongchuan was a cautious person. After learning about this, he did not make a rash decision, but said that he needed to think about it again.

Before going to bed that night, He Dongchuan told Su Ting about this. It was not that he could not make the decision and needed his wife to make the decision, but whether to transfer or stay would affect not only his personal career, but also the entire family. He wanted to hear Su Ting's opinion.

Before saying these words, he thought Su Ting would also be very conflicted. After all, they had lived on Pingchuan Island for two years and had already adapted to life here.

But in fact, Su Ting's reaction was beyond his expectations.

After hearing his words, Su Ting's eyes lit up little by little, and she even sat up excitedly, and asked expectantly, "Can I really be transferred?"

He Dongchuan did not answer, but asked doubtfully: "Don't you like Pingchuan Island?"

Su Ting was stunned: "No, why do you think so?"

Although he often heard Su Ting complain about the strong sun on Pingchuan Island and the heat every summer, he also heard her thankful more than once in winter: "Fortunately, Pingchuan Island has a low latitude, otherwise we would have to wrap ourselves up like balls."

When eating, she often sighed and said that the island was still the best. Apart from anything else, there was plenty of seafood. If she were in an inland city, she might not be able to eat meat many times a month.

Generally speaking, Su Ting praised Pingchuan Island more than she objected to it, so He Dongchuan always thought that she liked it here very much. He never expected that she would want him to transfer so much, which made him doubt his long-held idea.

He Dongchuan said: "You must be very happy to hear that I have the opportunity to transfer."

"Oh, that's it." Su Ting suddenly realized and shook her head and said, "I'm not happy because I can leave Pingchuan Island. Hmm, it doesn't seem right to say that."

She was indeed happy that she could leave Pingchuan Island, but the subject of this sentence was not them, but He Dongchuan himself.

According to the original novel, something would happen to He Dongchuan at the latest next summer, but the specific time and cause of his death were not mentioned in the book. The only thing that is certain is that he was still serving as a soldier on Pingchuan Island at the time.

Therefore, although Su Ting wanted to save He Dongchuan, she has not come up with a good solution so far. The only strategy she can think of is to hold him back and keep him from going out for the entire summer.

But in fact, Su Ting herself knew that this method was unreliable. Military orders were as heavy as mountains. Unless He Dongchuan retired now, he would still go on the mission if the order came down.

Or maybe he didn't die on the mission at all, but encountered some other accident. All her precautions might be in vain in the end.

The closer it got to the time of He Dongchuan's death in the original novel, the more Su Ting dared not think about it too deeply, because the more she thought about it, the more confused and hopeless she felt.

She didn't know how to save him, or whether she could save him.

She is scared.

She even thought about persuading He Dongchuan to change his career, maybe leaving Pingchuan Island, and the crisis would disappear. Although doing so would make him lose his favorite career, at least he would have a chance to survive.

Being alive is the most important thing, isn't it?

But until now, Su Ting has not made up her mind, especially when she saw him going out early and coming back late every day for the competition, and he was full of energy, she was speechless.

It can only be postponed.

But now, the opportunity came to her.

Transferring is not changing careers. After leaving Pingchuan Island, he can still continue this career. Although the future development may not be as good as staying, his life is about to end. What’s the point of having a good future development?

If he leaves Pingchuan Island, his chances of survival will increase, and she won't have to worry every day.

This is the best way.

"I do want to leave Pingchuan Island, but not because I hate it here. I just..." Su Ting carefully considered her words and asked an irrelevant question at the end, "Do you think there is a chance that you will recover in the college entrance examination?"

Although the question came suddenly, He Dongchuan was very sensitive and quickly understood the meaning behind it. He asked, "Do you want to go to college?"

"I have this idea." Su Ting nodded.

He Dongchuan asked again: "Are you studying for the college entrance examination?"

Su Ting's heart skipped a beat, but she quickly realized that He Dongchuan didn't know that she was a time traveler, so his question might just be an extension of the previous one.

"It's not that exaggerated," Su Ting pursed her lips and said, "At first I just felt that my education level was not enough, so I wanted to make up for it. The idea of ​​taking the college entrance examination came to my mind recently. Aren't there many people who have been delisted this year? The situation has become much more relaxed, so I thought if things continue like this, is it possible to restore the college entrance examination? Once this idea came up, I couldn't suppress it."

He Dongchuan was in the army and knew more about the news than Su Ting. He thought and said, "If there are no major changes in the future, it is indeed very likely that the college entrance examination will be restored. It may only take two or three years."

"Do you have inside information?"

"Not really." He Dongchuan said implicitly, bringing the topic back to the topic, "Which university do you want to apply to?"

“The best ones.”

He Dongchuan raised his eyebrows: "Peking University or National Tsing Hua University?"

"The goal is not set that high, Fudan University is fine."

If she can't get into Fudan University, any school with a lower ranking will do. In fact, she only has two criteria for choosing a school: one, she must be able to get in, and two, it must be close to home.

But she couldn't say everything without saying it, otherwise He Dongchuan might think that Rong City University was not bad. If the college entrance examination was resumed, the score line would definitely be lower than those universities they mentioned, and it was close to home. As long as she was willing to run, she might be able to go home every day. It perfectly met her requirements.

This would meet her conditions, but would completely deviate from her original intention in saying these words.

Hearing Su Ting's bold words, He Dongchuan chuckled, not with a mocking look in his eyes, but simply because he was surprised that Su Ting was so ambitious!

But He Dongchuan thought again, last year when there was no news at all and there was no hope at all, she still studied so hard, so it is not surprising that she wanted to get into the best university.

I have to say that this is a misunderstanding caused by information asymmetry.

If Su Ting had not known that the college entrance examination would be resumed in 1977, she would not have had the perseverance to re-learn the junior high and high school content.

But Su Ting didn't tell him the truth, and he didn't ask any more questions, so the misunderstanding continued.

Having said that, after knowing Su Ting's goal, He Dongchuan began to think about it.

If it were a few years ago, He Dongchuan would most likely not have made a choice that would affect his career for the sake of family reunion.

But during these years of military service, he had been through a lot, not a lot, either. He had experienced separations of life and death, and had even been at the gates of hell.

After this year, he will be thirty years old. At the age of thirty, he no longer has the ambition he had in the past. What he hopes for more now is a wife and children and a warm bed. Even his career is mainly for his family.

Therefore, when he learned that Su Ting wanted to go to college, He Dongchuan began to consider whether he could be transferred to the location of her ideal university.

He estimated that the capital would be a bit difficult.

Although he could ask his father for help, firstly, if he wanted to take a shortcut, he wouldn't have gone through so much trouble along the way. Moreover, he had come this far, and running back to beg his father would be equivalent to negating all his past efforts. Secondly, his father was in that position, and it would be better for him to be outside.

But it is not difficult to transfer to Shanghai, and there is such an opportunity right in front of us now.

As for whether his career would be affected after being transferred to Shanghai, He Dongchuan was not worried. His promotion to deputy regiment commander was a done deal and there would be no changes there. In fact, because the Marine Corps there had just been formed, he would even act as the regiment commander.

As long as the team can be formed, it will be easy for him to remove the title of "deputy" from his position. In other words, as long as he achieves good results there, his chances of promotion will be greater.

There aren't so many twists and turns in the army. As long as you have the ability, you can get ahead anywhere. Moreover, even if you really want to rely on connections, he is no worse than others.

The only problem was that he was afraid that he would be transferred to Shanghai, and after the college entrance examination was resumed, Su Ting would go to the capital, so they would still have to live apart.

However, it only takes half a day to get from Shanghai to the capital by train, so the round trip is definitely easier than starting from Pingchuan Island.

Thinking of this, He Dongchuan said, "I will consider transferring to Shanghai."

"You don't have to limit yourself to Shanghai, you can go anywhere." Su Ting was afraid that He Dongchuan would only focus on this place and end up with nothing and unable to go anywhere.

She didn't ask for much, as long as she could leave Pingchuan Island.

He Dongchuan could not help pinching Su Ting's cheeks after realizing what she meant. He gritted his teeth and said, "Comrade Su Ting, please have more confidence in your husband, okay?"

Su Ting pulled his hand away and faked a smile with the red marks on her face: "How could that be? You are the most powerful He Dongchuan in the world. Of course I have super confidence in you!" After saying that, she gave him a heart and said, "Love you~"

He Dongchuan suddenly didn't want to talk about business anymore. It was such a nice night, it would be a waste to just talk about work. He should do something less serious.

…

Transferring is a big deal, and He Dongchuan cannot make a decision on a whim. Although one night is enough for him to make a decision, he still needs to discuss the matter with his superiors.

The leadership is not limited to their regiment commander, there is also the Army Commander. He was originally invited by the Army Commander, and now that he wants to transfer, he naturally has to talk to others.

In addition to the commendation meeting and a bunch of other things to do in the camp, He Dongchuan hadn't finished his work yet and the week was over.

And if he really had to be transferred, he would definitely have work to hand over, so the matter of returning to Su Ting's hometown was postponed again.

Su Ting was easy to talk to in this regard. After all, it was she who wanted He Dongchuan to be transferred, and as long as he was alive, there was no time when he couldn't go back to see the Su family's elders.

She was afraid that this matter would be dragged on and on, and He Dongchuan would finally decide to stay. If that time really came...if he died, she would definitely not stay with him!

Anyway, she has money, and without him, there are plenty of young hunks she can find!

Su Ting was thinking fiercely, and then she heard He Dongchuan ask: "What are you thinking about? Your expression is so..." Meeting his wife's eyes, he swallowed the cruel words that were about to come out of his mouth, "Unhappy?"

"Nothing," Su Ting said lightly, "I just think it's good that your transfer doesn't work out."

He Dongchuan was puzzled when she heard this. She had been asking about the transfer results three times a day recently, so why did she suddenly change her mind today? She couldn't help but ask, "Where is good?"

"Freedom."

"Oh? How come you are free?"

Su Ting analyzed: "For example, if your job transfer fails and I am admitted to Fudan University, I will definitely not be able to take care of two children by myself. I can only send Xiaoyan and Manman back to the capital, and I may even have to go alone to register."

He Dongchuan nodded: "Yes, that's right."

"Look, although I'm not a great beauty, I'm definitely not bad looking. If I dress up, I'll look pretty young. When I go to register alone, when people ask about my personal situation, I'll tell them that I'm married and have children, but they may not believe it." Su Ting flattered herself without changing her expression, and recalled, "There are so many male classmates in college..."

Before she finished her words, He Dongchuan's face darkened. He put his hands around her waist and led her to sit on him. When she turned her attention back to him, he said, "Don't think about it."

"Why?" Su Ting frowned, looking quite dissatisfied.

He Dongchuan gritted his teeth and said, "If that day comes, I will live in the leader's house and I will also take a leave and take the children to send you to school."

"Then your leaders will kick you out."

"Then I'll hide under their window."

Thinking of the scene where He Dongchuan squatted under the window of the leader's house, Su Ting laughed out loud: "You said it."

"Yes, I did."

He Dongchuan nodded, and while undressing Su Ting, he said, "Now let's talk it out. What do you think of meeting so many male classmates in college?"

Su Ting's laughter stopped abruptly, and her expression changed in an instant. She said righteously: "Of course I keep my distance from them! I am a family man, you have to believe in my perception, Comrade He!"

He Dongchuan: Haha.