Long before the holiday, Su Ting had written to the Su family's elders to tell them that she would go back to visit them. Now that there have been temporary changes, she must write to inform them.

So He Dongchuan took a day off on Sunday, and the two of them took the children to the city.

But they did not go directly to the post office. Instead, they went to a department store first. Su Ting bought clothes for each of the two elders, and also bought some special products such as tea, and sent them back together with the letters.

After sending the letter, they went to queue again and called He Dongchuan's parents. Unfortunately, Cheng Xiaoman was at work today, and only Aunt Wang and He's father were at home.

When He's father learned that He Dongchuan had won two first places in a row in the competition, he was very happy for him, but he mostly warned him to be less arrogant and not to get too complacent.

He Dongchuan agreed to all of them and also mentioned a possible job transfer.

He's father asked in confusion, "You were doing well there, so why were you transferred again?"

Nowadays, people have iron rice bowls. No matter what industry they are in, there is little turnover, and most people work for one unit for their entire lives. The same is true for soldiers. It is common for people to stay in one place for more than ten years.

Although He Dongchuan had been transferred to Pingchuan Island for several years, this period of time was neither short nor long. It was no wonder that he asked one more question when there was a sudden change.

Because the call was made at the post office, there were people on both sides of the partition, so He Dongchuan didn't explain the situation clearly. He just said, "I performed well this time. The leaders in Shanghai wanted me to go there. They mentioned this to our commander. After comprehensive consideration, I decided to transfer there."

He's father asked: "What factors did you consider in making this decision?"

"Family, and future development."

Hearing his son put family first, He's father understood and thought for a long time before saying, "This is your own life. Make your own decision and don't regret it later."

He Dongchuan said: "I won't regret it."

"Okay, let's do this." He's father said and then remembered, "Didn't you and Xiao Su agree to go back to her home during the summer vacation? Can you adjust the time now?"

"I can't go back during the summer vacation. I guess I'll have to wait until the winter vacation. Then I'll decide whether to go to her house for the New Year."

"That's fine."

After the father and son finished talking about business, the phone was passed to He Yan. Although he was a talkative person, he was a little scared in front of his grandfather and handed the phone over without saying a word.

As I grew older, I no longer remembered much and had forgotten about going back to the capital for the Chinese New Year. I have no impression of greeting my father.

Because of this, she was not afraid of He's father at all and chattered a lot. However, because she spoke unclearly, He's father on the other end of the phone was confused the whole time. He either responded vaguely or asked "What did you just say?"

Although the two parties were not on the same channel, she slowly showed that she was very happy chatting. After five minutes, she handed the microphone to her father.

Time is money in exchange, and He Dongchuan had already said what he wanted to say, so there was no need to waste time. He said, "If you have nothing else to say, I'll hang up now."

Facing his granddaughter and son, He's father had a completely different attitude. He said in a serious tone, "Hang up."

So the call ended.

…

Su Ting chose express delivery when sending the package because she was afraid that the two elders of the Su family would be anxious waiting.

However, once the package was delivered to units below the county level, no matter how urgent the item was, it could not be delivered quickly, so it was not until mid-August that the Su family received the pick-up note and retrieved the package from the commune post office.

Just as Su Ting thought, Su's father and mother had indeed been looking forward to their daughter and son-in-law coming back to visit. Not only them, but also her brother, sister-in-law, nephews and nieces, and even everyone in the team were looking forward to it.

But not all of these people wish them well. Many of them are there just to watch the fun. That's how it is in the countryside, especially where people share the same clan name and surname. Every household is related and the interactions between people are very close.

This has its advantages. You don't have to worry about being bullied when you go out. If anything happens, you can go back to the team and call for help, and they will get as much help as you need.

But there are also many disadvantages. There are many bad habits within the clan. For example, the Sujia Brigade still maintains the custom that men have to pay a surrogate fee when they marry a wife or have a son.

Then there is the trend of comparison. Whether one has a son, whether one's son is successful, and whether one's daughter marries well can all become reasons for comparison.

And Su Ting is the best married girl among the girls of the same age. Even if you go back a few years, you can't find anyone who married better than her.

Therefore, her marriage became the focus of everyone's attention in the team.

Su's father and mother are also a bit vain. They often show off the things that Su Ting sent back. They have to be vain. If they don't show off, those people in the team might say something nasty about them.

Even if Su's mother didn't care about her own face, she couldn't bear to see her daughter become a poor thing in people's eyes.

Therefore, after receiving the letter from her daughter and learning that they planned to bring their children back to visit her during the summer vacation, Su's mother announced the matter within half a day.

When the people in the team heard the news, some were envious while others were pessimistic.

It was simple to be jealous. Just based on the husband Su Ting married, she could be considered the most promising girl in the team.

Nowadays, life in the city and in the country is not as different as heaven and earth, but the gap is indeed quite large. City people eat commercial grains and have various supplies every month, while rural people have no supplies at all. If they want to eat meat, they can only wait until the end of the year to slaughter pigs. If they want to buy needles and thread at other times, they have to rack their brains. What makes them difficult is not money, but tickets.

In the ticket era, having a ticket was extremely important.

Whether a person has a ticket depends on whether he/she has a city hukou.

As the old saying goes, you should look up when marrying a daughter and look down when marrying a wife. If a girl has good personal conditions, it should be easy for her to marry into a wealthy family. But these days, even if a girl from the countryside has outstanding personal conditions, she is not as good as an ordinary girl with a city hukou.

Because household registration cannot be obtained through marriage, and even because the child's household registration follows the mother, marrying a woman who does not have urban household registration means that there will be several more children without urban household registration in the family.

The burden is too heavy.

Therefore, for the girls in the brigade, it was considered a good marriage if they could marry into the commune. If they could move to the city, everyone would praise them as having a promising future. And those like Su Ting who married directly to the capital were the most promising, weren't they?

What? Su Ting's husband is not currently serving in the army in the capital?

Oh, you can't calculate it like that. Can a soldier be a soldier for a lifetime? He will have to be demobilized sooner or later. Demobilization means returning to the place where the household registration was before joining the army. Su Ting's parents-in-law are both in the capital, so of course her husband's household registration is also in the capital.

What? What if Su Ting's husband becomes a soldier for life?

That would be even more promising. Just look at Eunuch Su Ting and you will know that those who can serve as soldiers for their entire lives are all capable people!

No matter how you think about it, Su Ting has lived a pretty good life. How can they not be jealous of her?

There are people who are envious and jealous. Otherwise, after Su Ting left, the rumors in the team would not have become more and more outrageous. At one point, some people said that she was going to be abandoned, divorced and return to her hometown.

Because of these rumors, Su's mother had been fighting with others for the past two years. Otherwise, she wouldn't have shown off every time her daughter sent something back.

All to let people know that she is living a good life!

Su's mother's bragging was indeed effective. At least now no one said that Su Ting was having a bad life. But new voices emerged, saying that she married so well, how could she still look down on her parents' home. She had not returned home for more than two years after her marriage and probably would not return in the future. The old Su family had raised this daughter in vain.

Some people also said honestly: "Su Ting has not returned for more than two years because she married far away. If she really looked down on her parents' home and was unfilial, why would she send things home every now and then? If this can be considered unfilial, then I hope my daughter is not so filial."

As a result, those people were still very confident: "What do you know? The things Su Ting bought are very expensive for us, but they are nothing to her. After all, they are our biological parents. If she doesn't show any expression, it will be very embarrassing to tell others. If it gets out of hand, it may even affect the man's future. It's worth it to exchange a small amount of money for a good reputation!"

"It's different if she comes back. It's not only expensive, but also time-consuming. Especially since her husband is so high-ranking, he must be very busy. How can he take such a long leave to accompany her back to her parents' home? Besides, she has seen the world, so how can she look down on our poor and remote place? Just wait, she will definitely not come back."

Su's mother was very angry about these words, but she couldn't argue with others, so as soon as she got the news that her daughter and son-in-law were coming back, she announced it to others, just to slap those people in the face.

The slap in the face was very successful. Those people looked unhappy after hearing it. Some of them changed their statements immediately, but there were also some who remained stubborn and firmly believed that Su Ting would not be able to come back during the summer vacation.

In May, I received a letter from Su Ting and learned that He Dongchuan was going to participate in a competition and would not be back until August. Those people laughed at me, but Su's mother knew that it was an honor and she felt calm.

But by August, it was almost mid-August and her daughter-in-law and son-in-law had not returned with the children, and Su's mother began to get impatient.

If it weren't for the need to save face, she would have certainly been unable to hold back and would have stood guard at the village entrance every day.

When she received the delivery note from the postman and saw that the package was sent by her daughter, Su's mother was not happy at all and sighed at home for most of the day.

Because she knew that if the daughter-in-law and son-in-law could come back, they would definitely bring the things back directly without wasting money on mailing. If they sent a package, it meant that they would not be back in the short term.

But August is almost over, and the children will have to go to school after the semester starts, so they definitely won’t have time to come back. The end of the semester will be the Chinese New Year, and it is still unknown whether they can come back by then.

Finally, it was the second oldest, Su Guoping, who persuaded her: "No matter when or whether our sister will come back, we must first go and get the package back. There might be a letter inside..."

Upon hearing the letter, Su's mother immediately became excited: "Yes, yes, go pick up the package first." She stood up and went back to the house to find the delivery note, stuffed it into her son's pocket and said, "Hurry up and go to the commune to pick up the package."

Su Guoping looked at the sky outside and wailed, "What's the point of me hurrying? It's getting dark outside. I can't catch up even if I run!"

Following her son's instructions, Su's mother looked outside and saw that it was indeed getting late, so she changed her words and said, "Then you should get up earlier tomorrow and go earlier."

Su Guoping thought to himself, what's the point of getting up early since the post office is closed? But he was really exhausted from the recent rush to harvest and sow seeds. If he could be at home at this time, he would find an excuse to sneak back. When his father found out he was missing, he might even get a beating.

He was very happy to have an excuse to go out for a stroll and secretly slack off, so he said in a slow voice: "I can get up earlier, but my dad..."

"I'll go talk to your dad."

"I feel relieved when you say that," he said as he folded up the delivery note and put it in his pocket. "Do you have anything else to do? Can I go back to work in the fields?"

Since he could take a break tomorrow, he decided not to stay at home any longer, so as to avoid getting beaten.

"Nothing," Su's mother shook her head, and when she saw him walking out, she hurriedly asked, "Are you going to pick it up with the delivery note?"

"I'm going back to work." Su Guoping looked at his mother eagerly, hoping that she would say, "Why are you going back now? It's time for dinner at home soon."

But to his disappointment, Su Mu Yagen didn't want to keep him. She held out her hand and said, "Then give me the pickup slip so that it won't get dirty while you're working. I'll wake you up tomorrow morning and give it to you then."

Su Guoping lost his temper, took out the delivery note from his pocket and slapped it to his mother: "You are really my dear mother!"

"Nonsense!"

Su Guoping: "..."

…

During the double-season, Su's mother didn't need to wake Su Guoping up. Before 4:30, Su's father started knocking on the door and calling for help.

There are more than ten people in the Su family. The oldest ones include Su's father and mother, and the youngest one is Su Guoping's five-year-old daughter. Among so many people, Su Guoping is the laziest. Every day, his father has to knock on the door three or four times before he gets up.

But today, before Su's father knocked on Su Guoping and his wife's room, he took the initiative to open the door. Su's father was very puzzled when he saw this. Was this still his lazy son?

The next second, he heard Su Guoping say, "I'm not going to work this morning."

Confirmed, yes!

Father Su got angry all of a sudden: "Why are you going to work if you don't want to?"

"Go to the commune to pick up the package. The postman came yesterday and gave me a pick-up slip. It was sent by Tingting. Mom asked me to go to the commune early today to pick it up."

"Aren't Tingting and her husband coming back soon? Why are they sending a package back?"

Su Guoping felt that with his father's intelligence, he was able to become the secretary of their brigade only because he was born early. There were too many illiterate people of his age, so he, who had attended a private school for a few years, was able to stand out.

Noticing that his son's eyes looked strange, Su's father asked, "What do you mean by that?"

"What kind of look could that be? It's just the look of a son looking at his father. You said it yourself, Tingting and the others are coming back soon, so why send a package? If you send a package, it means they won't be coming back."

Father Su was stunned: "You're not coming back?"

Seeing his father's disappointment, Su Guoping changed the subject and said, "It's not certain that he won't come back. This is just my guess. The specific situation will be known after I get the package back."

But Mr. Su was not really stupid. He just didn't understand it for a moment. Now he understood the situation and knew that if there really was a pick-up order, his daughter and son-in-law would most likely not come back this summer.

Father Su said, "I'll go back to the house and ask your mother."

Su Guoping rolled his eyes, turned around and said to his wife who had just come out of the house: "The old man still doesn't believe me."

His wife glanced at him and said, "What a normal thing." She thought he was being overly surprised.

Su Guoping: “…” Is he that unreliable?

Father Su returned to his room and came out soon after, still holding the delivery note in his hand. He handed it to Su Guoping and said, "Go earlier and come back earlier. Don't waste time."

"I know." Su Guoping agreed, but in his heart he thought it was impossible not to waste time. It was such a good opportunity, so he didn't want to go back to work.

Before five o'clock, the Su family members went out one after another. Su Guoping was not in a hurry. He waited for his mother to make breakfast, and then went out after he ate and drank his fill and watched the sky light outside.

Their brigade was not far from the commune, only seven or eight miles away, but there were few cars, so they could only walk there.

Su Guoping was considered tall in the brigade, at over 1.7 meters, and his legs were quite long. Normally, he could reach this distance in about an hour, but he wanted to buy time, so he walked and stopped along the way, and only arrived in town at 8 o'clock when the post office opened.

At this time of year, the villagers were busy with work in the fields and seldom came to the commune. Su Guoping had only one feeling all the way to the post office: it was deserted.

It was quiet, as there was hardly anyone queuing outside the post office, and he went in and got his package.

After receiving the package, I rested for a while in the post office, then went to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy some snacks, and then walked back slowly while carrying the package.

The way back was even slower. He left the post office at 8:30 and got home at almost 11 o'clock. When he entered the house, his mother scolded him: "Why are you so slow to pick up a package?"

"I want to go fast too. There are so many people queuing at the post office." Su Guoping lied with his eyes closed.

Su's mother was not quite convinced: "Why are there so many people at the post office at this time of year?"

"Does picking up and sending mail depend on the season?" Su Guoping asked, changing the subject, "Please unpack the package quickly. It's a big package. I was exhausted carrying it all the way back."

Su's mother's attention was instantly diverted. She found a pair of scissors and opened the package. On the top was indeed a letter.

She couldn't read, so she opened the letter and handed it directly to Su Guoping: "Read it to me quickly."

Su Guoping took the letter but did not read it directly. Instead, he scanned it first. After scanning it, a smile appeared on his face: "Mother, is my brother-in-law going to be in the limelight this time?"

"What big deal?"

"In their competition, he won two first places. Oh, I said at first that he looked talented. Now that I think about it, it's true."

Su's mother also showed joy on her face, but she didn't quite understand what was going on, so she asked, "Is it difficult to win first place in their competition?"

"You are talking nonsense! Those who participate in this competition are the elite among the elites!"

Although she was scolded, Su's mother was very happy and continued to ask, "And then?"

"Then..." Su Guoping lowered his head to read the letter, "Leaders from other units have invited my brother-in-law, and they have decided to accept after consideration, so there will be changes in my brother-in-law's job?" He said the last few words according to his belief, with a slightly rising tone and a questioning tone.

Su's mother was quite happy to hear this and guessed, "He must be getting promoted. Then what?"

Su Guoping nodded in agreement and continued reading the letter. When he spoke again, his voice became cautious: "Because my brother-in-law's job has changed, they may have to move, so they won't be back this summer."

"Not coming back?" Su's mother was stunned.

"Well, Tingting said that she would come back after her brother-in-law gets to work at his new company and gets things sorted out, and if she can get some leave during the winter break."

Although she was a little disappointed, Su's mother was not a person who could not understand what was going on. She nodded and said, "They are right to do this. I can go home anytime. Work is the most important thing. Please read the letter to me from beginning to end." She was very dissatisfied with her son's behavior of taking shortcuts.

As long as he could avoid going to work, everything would be fine. Su Guoping read the letter from beginning to end to his mother.

"well."

After listening to the letter, Su's mother took it and stroked it gently with her fingers: "I wonder if your sister has changed in the past few years. She should have grown up slowly."

“There are definitely changes, and they are good changes.”

Although Su Guoping loved his sister, he couldn't say a good word about Su Ting's character. But in recent years, judging from the letters his sister wrote back, she has become more organized in her words and deeds.

Even the handwriting is much better than it was a few years ago.

Su Guoping felt that his sister had made great progress after getting married.

As for his niece... he thought for a moment and said, "My sister and brother-in-law are both good-looking. She will definitely be pretty when she grows up."

Su's mother raised her chin and boasted, "Of course I was a famous beauty in the village back then."

"Who is prettier, you or Aunt Cheng?" Su Guoping asked provocatively.

"I am not as pretty as your Aunt Cheng," Su's mother would not be fooled by this, and then she turned her face and said, "You have finished reading the letter, why don't you go to work?"

"Oh my goodness! I got up before dawn and walked to the commune to get your package. What's wrong with me resting a little longer when I came back? You are not the kind of person who would destroy the bridge after crossing the river!"

"Bullshit! You're not ashamed of walking seven or eight miles for four or five hours! Hurry up and get to work! Otherwise, I'll let your dad beat you, do you believe it?"

"Then let me see what my sister sent back."

Su's mother waved her hands and said with a look of disdain: "What are you looking at when it's given to me? Hurry up and get to work. You are almost thirty years old, and you are still thinking about slacking off when you have to do some work. You are really shameless."

Su Guoping: "...I'm only twenty-seven."

"What's wrong with twenty-seven? When your brother-in-law was your age, he was already a battalion commander. Look at you now. It's really true that people get killed when compared to others and things get thrown away when compared to others!"

On the way to the fields, Su Guoping felt that his mother was too realistic. When she needed him, she called him a good son, but when she didn't, she just said "you are so shameless".

Oh, life is so hard.

…

After the news that Su Ting and He Dongchuan would not be coming back for the summer vacation spread, the Su family was in an uproar again, especially those who were sure that Su Ting would look down on her hometown as soon as she left. They were so angry that they said to Su's mother, "What did I say at the beginning? Your daughter-in-law and son-in-law would definitely not come back. You didn't believe it at the time. What's the matter now? They really won't come back, right?"

Su's mother was furious, but she pretended to be calm and asked her good friend, "How do you like my clothes?"

The other person had a good relationship with her, so he naturally showed his support and said with a smile, "It looks good. Is this Dacron? New clothes? I've never seen you wear it before."

"My daughter-in-law bought it for me. Not only do I have it, she also bought a new set of clothes for our old Su. She was supposed to bring it back to us, but Dongchuan, my son-in-law, had a job change and couldn't come back during the summer vacation, so she sent it back, and it was an expedited delivery."

"Express delivery? The postage will cost a lot more, right?"

"Yes, I was saying it when I received the package. This kid really doesn't know how to live. Expedited shipping is so expensive. But do you know what she said when I opened the letter?"

"What did you say?"

"The child said that this time they couldn't come back because of a change in their work in Dongchuan. Since the brigade doesn't have a phone, they were afraid that we would get anxious waiting, so they sent an expedited letter. They hope that we can receive the letter earlier and feel at ease sooner."

"Your daughter Tingting has become more and more sensible in recent years."

"Yes, this time she not only bought clothes and shoes for me and Lao Su, but also a bunch of other things, including local tea, dried seafood, and a box of malted milk. She said she wanted to buy some candy for her nephews and nieces, but the weather has been too hot recently, and she was afraid the candy would melt on the way, so she didn't send it. But she said that if Dongchuan can take a leave during the winter vacation, they will come back to celebrate the New Year and bring it to us then."

Listening to Su's mother's boasting, the people with their tails flying in the sky were unhappy: "What's the point of buying more things? If the people don't come back, it's all in vain."

"Yes, she is nothing like your daughter-in-law, who runs to her parents' home every day and gets things done again and again," Su's mother asked with a smile, "Did you quarrel with your daughter-in-law again yesterday?"

The man looked unhappy: "My daughter came back because she missed me, and she doesn't always take things away."

Su's mother chuckled but didn't say anything. She just stretched out her hand and tugged at the hem of her clothes: "Don't mention it, this dacron material is really cool to wear."

At this time, Su's mother was still restrained. But when she received a letter from her daughter in early September, she learned that her son-in-law had been promoted to deputy regiment commander. She was no longer so low-key. She took a bench and sat at the entrance of the village for three days just to publicize this matter.

It also lets those who think that her daughter’s excuse that she couldn’t come back because of her son-in-law’s job change see whether her daughter is telling the truth!

…

Although the waiting process was very agonizing, He Dongchuan's transfer was handled smoothly. The transfer order came down before the end of August, and He Dongchuan's promotion to deputy regiment commander was also implemented.

After getting the news, the couple took their child to inform both sets of parents of the good news, but they used different methods: one contacted by phone, and the other sent an expedited letter.

Therefore, it was nearly ten days after He's father and mother received the news that Su's father and mother received the letter and learned the good news.

While Su's mother was showing off everywhere, Su Ting was worrying about how to deal with the letters from readers.

There were so many letters that it would take several boxes to pack them in old-fashioned wooden boxes. The postage was secondary to shipping so many letters to Shanghai. The most difficult part was how to transport them to the post office.

But this was difficult, as the tricycle could not hold so many letters. He Dongchuan could apply to borrow a small military truck from the army, but the military truck could not get on the ferry, so the matter fell into a vicious circle.

Therefore, after careful consideration, Su Ting decided to burn the letter.

During the process of burning the letter, Su Ting became more determined to buy a house. She had made up her mind that as soon as the reform and opening-up policy came out next year, she would inquire about houses. If there were villas, she would buy one, and if not, a bungalow would also be fine.

Anyway, land in Shanghai is very expensive now, so no matter how shabby the house is, as long as she can buy it, she will not lose money.

Thinking of the reform and opening up, Su Ting remembered something again. She remembered that the great man seemed to have passed away in this year, but she couldn't remember the exact day of his death... She only vaguely remembered that it was before National Day.

That night, when He Dongchuan returned home, he found that Su Ting seemed to be in a bad mood. He took off his hat and military jacket, came out of the room and asked, "Are you upset by the children?"

"No, why do you ask?" Su Ting asked puzzledly.

"I see you're not in a good mood."

"No, I just..." Su Ting lowered her head and licked her lips unconsciously, "I was just thinking about something."

In fact, Su Ting didn’t know what was the point of thinking clearly about which day it would be. She was just an ordinary person, far away from it, and couldn’t stop it from happening.

Even if she figured it out, all she could do was wait.

But she just felt that she had to think about something, otherwise she would not feel at ease.

He Dongchuan misunderstood Su Ting's words and thought she was worried about life after moving to Shanghai. He reached out and pulled her into his arms, patted her shoulder and said, "Don't be afraid, the children and I will be here."

Although there was a misunderstanding, He Dongchuan's words somehow comforted Su Ting. She leaned into his arms and nodded gently: "Yeah."

However, the warm scene did not last for a few minutes before it was broken by He Yan's voice: "Slowly, you can't watch!"

Su Ting turned her head and saw He Yan and Man Man standing at the gate. Seeing them hugging, He Yan pretended to cover his and his sister's eyes with his hands, and kept saying: "Dad, Mom, are you guys done hugging?"

Su Ting's lips twitched slightly, and she stepped out of He Dongchuan's arms and said, "Okay."

He Yan heard this and took his own hand away first. Seeing that his father and mother had separated their hands, he took his hand away from covering his sister's eyes and said, "You can watch now."

"Yeah." Manman responded obediently, opened his eyes and called, "Dad."

"Dad is here." He Dongchuan said with a smile, walked to the two children, bent down to pick up the girl, and gave his son a slap on the face.

He Yan was hit so hard that he covered his head: "Dad, what are you doing!"

He Dongchuan said calmly: "It's nothing, I just thought your head might be a little itchy."

He Yan muttered unhappily, "My head isn't itchy."

He Dongchuan glanced at him and thought, my head isn't itchy, but my skin is itchy.