Chapter 33

Jiang Nian's heart skipped a beat.

She blinked and said, "What are you doing out here?"

Lu Yu turned around and closed the door: "The road to the food station is a bit far, and it's cold on the road. You go back to the house and stay. I'll be back soon."

Jiang Nian pursed her lips and felt warm in her heart when she saw Lu Yu's persistence.

She didn't expect that Lu Yu would take care of her when he was sick and had a fever, so that she wouldn't get cold. Seeing that she couldn't persuade him, Jiang Nian said, "I'll go with you."

She was worried about letting him, a patient, go to the food station in the cold weather, and she felt guilty.

Lu Yu was silent, which was considered as tacit consent.

He glanced at Jiang Nian, who was wearing a red scarf that covered half of her face, leaving only her nose bone and eyebrows exposed. Her eyelashes were very long and curled, and because of the cold weather, there was some moisture on her eyelashes, which made her eyes look moist and beautiful.

Lu Yu looked away and his eyes fell on the snowman in the yard. He looked at the red pepper stuck on the snowman's nose and the two branches on its head, and smiled: "Sister-in-law made a snowman by herself?"

Jiang Nian pursed her lips, and a little bit of arrogance appeared in her eyes: "Yeah, I made it by myself because I was bored."

Lu Yu said: "Very cute."

Jiang Nian blushed inexplicably, and she turned back to her room: "Wait for me."

After a while, Jiang Nian came out of the room, holding a lavender scarf in her hand and handed it to Lu Yu: "I knitted a scarf for you, You try it on."

Lu Yu looked at the scarf in Jiang Nian's hand, his Adam's apple rolled a few times, and

he said in a hoarse voice: "Thank you, sister-in-law." He took the scarf and wrapped it around his neck. The warm wool stuck to his skin and blocked the invasion of the cold wind. When Jiang Nian asked him if he was warm, he smiled and said, "Warm." As soon as

the two walked out of the house, they heard Gu Xia and Xu Yan quarreling from next door. After a while, Liu Qiang came out and shouted "What are you arguing about? Isn't it messy enough that you complain about the house everyday? And Er Niang, take care of your son. How old is your son and how old is my son? Is a 10-year-old boy beating up a 5-year-old boy considered a man?"

Gu Xia didn't dare to challenge Liu Qiang, fearing that Liu Qiang would send them back. They could eat hot cornmeal cakes here and sleep in a warmer house, which was much better than the drafty house in the countryside.

It was like heaven and earth.

Xu Yan said angrily: "Liu Qiang, you should send them away later!"

Gu Xia said: "We won't leave. Our house is in ruins now. Are you trying to freeze us to death by sending us back?"

Xu Yan scolded: "Don't be shameless and stay in my house. This is the family compound. Liu Qiang's application to the higher authorities is about to expire. You have to leave!"

Liu Erzhu and Liu Li hid in the house. They looked at each other and took the initiative to pack their cloth bags, intending to have another lunch before leaving. If Gu Xia didn't leave, they, the father and daughter, would have to leave too.

Gu Xia saw the father and daughter packing their cloth bags from the open door, and her eyes hurt immediately with anger.

Xu Yan snorted coldly, not showing any good face to Gu Xia and Gu Shan. After they left, she would have a good talk with Liu Qiang. If there was another snowstorm, she would not let them come over no matter what. They were a shameless family.

Especially Gu Xia and Gu Shan, mother and son, they were simply shameless.

Jiang Nian and Lu Yu walked away, and could no longer hear the quarrel in Xu Yan's yard.

But they should be leaving soon. The soldiers have all returned from the rescue, and there is no problem in Lecheng County. If they stay any longer, not only will Xu Yan not agree, but the regiment will not allow it either. After all, Liu Qiang applied for them to stay for one month. If it exceeds this time, either they leave, or Liu Qiang has to apply again.

But it is impossible to ask Liu Qiang to apply again.

I went to the food station to buy two kilograms of meat, and went to the vegetable station to buy some vegetables. Lu Yu carried all the things. It was almost time for lunch when I arrived at the army. I had just entered the army and had not walked for long when I heard the voice of a police soldier behind me: "Comrade Jiang, someone is looking for you outside."

Jiang Nian didn't expect who would come to see her at this time.

She glanced at Lu Yu, and Lu Yu said, "Let's go out and take a look."

The two of them walked out of the troop and saw Ge Mei waiting outside in a thick coat, with a scarf around her neck and a hat on. She was stamping her feet in the cold. Jiang Nian was a little surprised that it was her.

Since the last time Lu Yu sent the embroidery picture, he hadn't contacted her for several months.

She thought the first cooperation had failed.

When Ge Mei saw Jiang Nian, a smile appeared on her face: "Long time no see, ah, I come to see you again."

Jiang Nian smiled and said, "Let's go inside and talk, it's cold outside."

Lu Yu went to the guard room to sign, and the police soldier let Ge Mei in. On the way back, Ge Mei told her about what had happened in the past few months. She had previously received an embroidery sent by Deputy Colonel Lu. Ge Mei was very amazed when she saw it, and when she handed it to the boss of Gangcheng, the boss also praised it highly.

Originally, she was planning to look for Jiang Nian again, but Ge Mei's health had some problems again. She stayed in the city hospital for a month and stayed at home to recuperate after returning. If it weren't for the foundation she had laid in the state-owned embroidery farm in recent years and her ability to dominate, the director of the state-owned embroidery farm would have been snatched away by someone else.

Jiang Nian listened to her talk about the past few months and thought of Feng Mei who also met Ge Mei in the hospital. She asked with concern: "How is your health now?"

Ge Mei smiled bitterly and touched her belly: "I had my uterus removed, and my stomach doesn't hurt anymore, but..."

She sighed: "I just feel like something is missing all of a sudden."

Fortunately, she already has a son and a daughter, and she is older and doesn't plan to have another child.

Lu Yu felt that these words were not suitable for him to hear, so he walked faster and soon distanced himself from them.

Jiang Nian didn't know what to say to comfort her. She had never given birth to a child and had never been married in reality. She didn't feel as deeply about this as Ge Mei, but she still felt sorry for her. There were

many military wives on the road at this point. People coming and going saw Jiang Nian walking with a woman who was dressed like a city dweller. Ge Mei was wrapped tightly, and many people couldn't see her face, and they were all guessing who she was.

When they arrived at the door of the house, they saw Gu Xia standing at the door and talking to two aunts in the family yard. Jiang Nian ignored her and walked into the yard with Ge Mei.

Gu Xia glanced sideways. When she came last year, the house next door was still empty. This year, someone moved in. And it seemed that Xu Yan had a good relationship with her, so she asked the old lady who was talking to her, "Who is she?" The old lady

said, "The sister-in-law of Deputy Regiment Lu. She is a widow, and her husband is also a soldier."

Gu Xia said, "Uncle and sister-in-law living together? Aren't you afraid of being gossiped about?"

As soon as she said this, the two aunts looked at Gu Xia with a strange look in their eyes. What kind of family is Deputy Regiment Lu? The military wives in the courtyard know a little bit, and those who have been here for a long time also know that Jiang Nian's deceased husband was Battalion Commander Xu, who is friendly and easy to talk to. Every time they meet someone older than him, they either call him sister-in-law or aunt.

To be honest, the older generation of aunts didn't spread rumors about Jiang Nian at first.

"Let's go to the vegetable market to buy some vegetables."

The two old ladies left together without paying any attention to Gu Xia.

Gu Xia snorted, glanced at Jiang Nian's yard, turned around and went back home, and bumped into Xu Yan who was splashing water in the yard. The mud splashed on her legs, and Gu Xia was immediately unhappy: "Are you blind?"

Xu Yan rolled her eyes: "Can't you see the road?"

Gu Xia wanted to say something, but when she saw Liu Qiang coming out of the house, she suddenly stopped talking, turned around and went back to the house, scolded Xu Yan in front of Liu Erzhu and Gu Shan, and then talked about seeing Jiang Nian at the door just now: "I don't know how she, a widow, has the nerve to live with her brother-in-law. She must have some bad intentions in her heart. Her husband is dead, and she wants to get close to someone else's brother-in-law."

She kept talking about her brother-in-law.

Liu Erzhu frowned: "What does it have to do with you? You are always the one who is causing trouble."

He turned his back and lay on the bed. Yu Guxia's words went in one ear and out the other. Liu Li didn't say anything either, sitting quietly at the foot of the bed. Gu Shan ran over curiously: "Mom, is that woman the widow Yu from our village?"

Gu Xia said: "Yes, she is the same vixen who seduces men as the widow Yu."

Liu Erzhu covered his ears, too lazy to listen to her chatter.

.

Back home, after entering the house, Ge Mei took off her scarf and hat. Jiang Nian saw that she had lost weight and her eye sockets were a little sunken. This illness tortured her a lot.

Ge Mei took out a piece of high-quality cloth from her bag and held it in a cloth bag. In another paper bag were drawings and silk threads. She took out the drawings and spread them out, saying to Jiang Nian, "This time it's this embroidery. Although it's not big, it's much more difficult than the last time. I found out that this person is also from Hong Kong City, and his status and background are higher than the previous boss. He also said that if this embroidery is perfect, he will buy it for you." It is a long-term cooperation with the state-owned embroidery house, Jiang Nian, this is a good opportunity."

Jiang Nian suddenly felt that the cloth in her hand was a little heavy. She pursed her lips and nodded: "I will try my best."

Everyone has different preferences. She is not 100% confident in her embroidery skills, but she is 80% sure. Even so, she is still worried about meeting customers who don't like her embroidery.

Ge Mei saw her concern and said with a smile: "I saw your embroidery last time. It was very good and there was no problem. I think there will be no problem this time."

Jiang Nian smiled: "Yeah."

She put the embroidery away and put it in the cabinet, and asked: "Did you say when to pick it up?"

Ge Mei said: "Can it be finished before the end of the year?"

She knew that the embroidery this time was a bit complicated. There were still twenty days before the Chinese New Year, which was a bit embarrassing for Jiang Nian. So she thought for a while and said: "No, I'll talk to the boss in Gangcheng and see if it can be delayed until after the Chinese New Year."

Jiang Nian said: "I should be able to embroider it in twenty days. Sister Ge, don't talk to the boss in Gangcheng yet. After all, this is the first time we work together. It won't be a good impression if the delivery date is postponed for the first business. . "

Ge Mei didn't expect Jiang Nian to care so much about her. She felt better about her and was more convinced that she had not chosen the wrong person. But she still felt a little sorry and said, "I was in too much of a hurry this time. I'm sorry for the trouble."

She took out a pack of biscuits and a bottle of milk from her bag and said, "These biscuits and milk are brought back by my daughter-in-law. I'll give you one too." "I've got a little bit of it, try it."

Jiang Nian took the milk and biscuits, and thanked Ge Mei politely. She lowered her head and glanced at them. The biscuits were the old style, with white cream sandwiched between two slices of biscuits. The milk was in a glass bottle, and she didn't know what brand it was. To be able to afford such biscuits in this era, it was obvious that Ge Mei's daughter-in-law's job must be very difficult.

She put the things in the cupboard, closed the cupboard door, and said, "Sister Ge, please sit down first. I'll go cook."

Ge Mei said, "I've been cooking all the way, and I can't sit still. It's just right for me to help you."

Seeing that she had rolled up her sleeves, Jiang Nian didn't stop her. The two of them went into the kitchen and saw that Lu Yu had already kneaded the dough and lit the stove. Jiang Nian was a little surprised at his physique. He had a high fever in the morning, but now he was like nothing happened. She said, "Let me do it. You go back to your room and rest."

"Yeah."

Lu Yu washed his hands and looked back when he was about to leave the kitchen. He saw his sister-in-law talking to Ge Mei. He felt that his sister-in-law had changed a lot compared to before, especially when it came to interacting with people. She was less timid than before.

Jiang Nian made noodles with mixed sauce at noon. Lu Yu kneaded the noodles and she was mainly making the sauce. Ge Mei asked her what dishes she wanted to make and took the initiative to help. She watched Jiang Nian cut the meat into cubes and cut the side dishes. Before she could see clearly, she saw that she was almost done with the sauce. Smelling the delicious aroma, Ge Mei exclaimed: "I didn't expect you to be so good at embroidery and have such great skills. I think it's a pity if you don't go to a state-owned hotel to be a chef with your skills."

Jiang Nian smiled and said a few humble words.

After she washed the pot and added water, she was preparing to cook the following when she heard Ge Mei ask, "Is that your brother-in-law?"

Jiang Nian said, "Yes."

Ge Mei smiled. She had lived for most of her life and knew countless people. She was also a businessman and was good at judging people. She knew that this deputy regiment commander Lu was a person of importance at first sight. Thinking that he and Jiang Nian were uncle and sister-in-law, she did not ask any more questions.

The aroma of the noodles with mixed sauce floated in the yard, and the rich aroma of meat floated far away. Feng Mei's family and Xu Yan's family could smell it.

Feng Mei snorted, sat cross-legged on the bed, and said to Old Song: "Oh my god, her family is eating meat again. I think Deputy Colonel Lu spends all his salary on food. How can he get money to marry a wife?"

Colonel Song drank water from an enamel pot and glanced at Feng Mei: "What's it to you?"

Besides, Deputy Colonel Lu is willing to buy meat for his sister-in-law, who cares? Moreover, he went out for two months a few months ago and made great contributions. He has a lot of subsidies, so even if his sister-in-law eats meat every now and then, she can afford it.

Xu Yan also smelled it.

Liu Qiang was eating cornmeal cakes, and saw Jianwu drooling, then looked at Jianye, and finally at Xu Yan. Xu Yan's face was not good, and it could be said that she had not been happy since his second uncle's family came.

He also knew what kind of person Er Niang was, but after all, it was hard to say since they were relatives. The table was not big, and the two families were sitting close together. Jianye and Jianwu's arms were about to fight. Liu Qiang looked at Er Niang grunting and eating fried potatoes vigorously, while eating, she picked up vegetables for Gu Shan. The two families only ate this plate of potatoes and a dish of pickled vegetables, which were basically eaten by the Gu family.

Xu Yan threw her chopsticks in anger. Liu Qiang glared at her, then said to Liu Erzhu, "The snow over there has been cleared, there's nothing to worry about. You should leave early tomorrow and walk fast so you can be home in the evening."

Liu Erzhu said, "Okay, we'll leave tomorrow."

Gu Xia glanced at Liu Qiang's face and was always a little afraid of him. Gu Shan cried and said, "I don't want to go back, I want to stay here!"

"Shut up!"

Liu Erzhu glared at Gu Shan. Gu Xia was unwilling, and the two began to quarrel.

Liu Qiang was too lazy to care and got up to go back to the house. Gu Shan grabbed Gu Xia's sleeve and said, "Mom, I want to eat meat. Do you smell the meat next door? It smells so good. I want to eat meat."

Not only Gu Xia smelled it, but Liu Erzhu and Liu Li also smelled it. Their family had not had meat scraps to eat all year round and had forgotten what meat tasted like. Gu Xia sniffed it hard and her tone was sour and jealous, "Spendthrift woman."

Jiang

Nian made a lot of lunch and she thought there would be some leftovers, but she didn't expect that it would be eaten up.

Ge Mei put down her bowl and chopsticks, helped Jiang Nian clean up, and said with a smile: "I'm not exaggerating, the food in the state-owned hotel is really not as delicious as yours. If you go to work as a chef in a state-owned hotel, your business will definitely be better, and there will be a long line of customers every day."

Jiang Nian couldn't help laughing at what she said. She added water to the fire, and washed the dishes when the water was hot.

In fact, it's not that the chefs in the state-owned hotel are not good at cooking. There are chefs in every era. She doesn't dare to claim that the food she cooks is unique, but she is willing to use less oil and seasonings when cooking, so the sauce is more fragrant than that of the state-owned hotel. And the mixed sauce noodles she makes are fragrant because of one thing, this sauce is their family's ancestral inheritance.

She still remembers her father saying that the signature of our hotel is the mixed sauce noodles, and no one can imitate it and make that taste.

Because they had to catch the afternoon bus, Ge Mei left after lunch. Jiang Nian sent her to the outside of the army and then came back. On the way back, it started snowing again.

Lu Yu stayed in the house. Jiang Nian walked outside and saw Lu Yu sitting on the bed reading a newspaper. The man lowered his head, as if he heard footsteps, raised his head and looked at her, his voice low and hoarse: "What's wrong?"

Jiang Nian said: "I boiled hot water, it's time to take the lunch medicine."

"Yeah."

Lu Yu put down the newspaper, took the enamel cup and pills handed to him by Jiang Nian, swallowed the pills in one gulp and drank water to wash them down. His movements were crisp and neat, and he didn't feel the bitterness of the pills at all. He handed the enamel cup to Jiang Nian, looking at Jiang Nian who was almost at eye level with him: "Sister-in-law, do you like embroidery very much?"

He didn't want his sister-in-law to do things she didn't want to do just to supplement the family expenses. Even if she did nothing, he could afford to support her.

Jiang Nian said, "I like it."

She took the enamel cup and held it in her hand. Afraid that Lu Yu didn't believe it, she explained, "I didn't have the opportunity to touch these when I was at home. Now I have the opportunity to try it. I don't want to give up."

Lu Yu said, "As long as you like it."

He stood up, and his tall and slender figure suddenly brought Jiang Nian a strange sense of oppression. Jiang Nian was stunned for a moment, and then saw Lu Yu brushing her shoulder and walking out of the house, saying, "I'll go to the group to have a look."

"Oh."

Jiang Nian came back to her senses and walked out of the house, only to see Lu Yu's back leaving the house.

She felt that the gap between people was too big.

She had a fever and a cold before, and was hospitalized for three days with intravenous drips. Lu Yu had a fever and a cold, and he took a dose of medicine and was like nothing happened.

Jiang Nian tidied up the kitchen, went back to the house and took out the embroidery pattern from the cupboard. She spread out the drawing paper and looked at it carefully, then took out the best cloth material, studied the drawing paper first, and finally threaded the needle to start embroidering.

The deadline this time was a bit tight, and it had to be completed within 20 days.

She sat at the end of the bed, leaning against the window, and with the bright light, she embroidered according to the pattern on the drawing paper stitch by stitch until it was slightly dark. She pulled the light cord and continued embroidering. Because she had been keeping her head down for the whole afternoon, her neck was a little stiff and sore.

As dusk fell, a thin layer of snow fell in the yard, and the cold air at night also rose.

Jiang Nian rubbed her neck, put the embroidery on the bed, and prepared to go to the kitchen to cook. As soon as she walked out of the room, she remembered that Lu Yu had not come back at this time. Thinking that he had a fever and a cold today, she was worried that he might faint in the regiment and be sent to the hospital.

She glanced at the half-open gate, and it was still the same as when Lu Yu left.

Jiang Nian hesitated for a moment, but still walked out of the gate. She locked the gate and went to the regiment. Although she couldn't get into the team, at least she could meet a soldier outside and ask about Lu Yu's situation.

If he was in good health, she wouldn't worry, but the main thing was that he was still sick.

Meeting Xu Yan on the road, Jiang Nian was stunned for a moment, then chased after her and asked, "What's wrong with you?"

Xu Yan sneezed coldly: "I'm going to find Liu Qiang and ask him to come back to take care of his shameless second mother. I'm almost annoyed to death. Only when Liu Qiang is at home can they behave themselves."

After that, she asked, "Where are you going?"

Jiang Nian said, "I'm looking for Lu Yu."

The two walked to the team together and happened to meet soldiers coming out one after another. Most of the soldiers in the second regiment knew Jiang Nian and Xu Yan, so they all called out, "Sister-in-law Jiang, Sister-in-law Xu."

Jiang Nian was a little uncomfortable with it, so he pursed his lips and nodded as a response.

After six months, Xu Yan has completely changed, and her personality is almost the same as it was two years ago. She smiled at the soldiers: "Let's go to the cafeteria to eat?"

"Yes."

Other soldiers also echoed, but many people's eyes paused on Jiang Nian for a few seconds, and finally left with a smile. After a while, Liu Qiang came out.

As soon as he came out, Xu Yan began to complain to Liu Qiang about his stepmother. Liu Qiang frowned and sounded a little annoyed: "They will leave tomorrow, you have to bear it for another night."

Seeing Jiang Nian was also outside: "Vice Colonel Lu's sister-in-law, why are you here too?"

Xu Yan said: "I came to see Vice Colonel Lu."

"He's talking to the Chief of Staff. I'll go find him."

Liu Qiang was about to turn around and go in, but Jiang Nian hurriedly stopped him: "Captain Liu, don't bother."

Seeing Liu Qiang looking at her, Jiang Nian said: "I don't have anything to do either. You and Xu Yan should go home first. I'll just stay here for a while. Maybe Lu Yu and the Chief of Staff are talking about serious matters."

Liu Qiang paused for a moment, thinking that the Chief of Staff called Deputy Commander Lu with a heavy face, so he stopped thinking and went home with Xu Yan first.

After a while, there were no people outside. Jiang Nian hugged her arms and stomped her feet. The wind blew on her face like a knife, stinging and hurting.

She blew a breath of hot air into her palms, patted her frozen stiff face, and vaguely heard voices coming from inside. She turned her head and saw Lu Yu and Captain Song, as well as a man of similar age to Captain Song. She guessed that he should be the Chief of Staff mentioned by Liu Qiang.

"Hey, is that your sister-in-law?"

Captain Song touched Lu Yu's arm. Lu Yu raised his eyebrows slightly and turned to look at the woman standing at the door. She had two braids and a red scarf around her. Her face was a little red from the cold, her eyes were slightly squinted by the wind, and there was some snow on her hair and shoulders.

Lu Yu's heart hit his chest, and he said to Tao Ming and Captain Song: "I'll go back first." Captain Song said:

"Go ahead, go ahead. By the way, tell your sister-in-law Feng that I'll be back later." Lu

Yu said: "Okay."

Tao Ming glanced at Jiang Nian outside the door, and then at Lu Yu's figure running out in a hurry: "Is that Xu Cheng's wife?"

Captain Song nodded: "Yes."

When mentioning Xu Cheng, Tao Ming sighed: "It's a pity for such a good soldier, and it's also hard for his wife. She is so young..."

He didn't say the rest, but Captain Song knew what he wanted to say.

It was windy and cold at night.

Jiang Nian saw Lu Yu running out quickly and shivered: "Are you okay?"

"Why are you here?"

The two asked at the same time, and then they were stunned.

Jiang Nian pursed her lips, looked at Lu Yu's still pale face, and whispered: "I saw you didn't come back until dark, and I was worried that you had a fever again and that you would faint."

Lu Yu smiled: "I'm not that weak."

Thinking that Jiang Nian came here in the dark and cold weather because she was worried about him, Lu Yu felt like a warm current rushed into his heart, flowing through his limbs, and he didn't feel cold. Seeing Jiang Nian shivering from the cold, he unbuttoned his clothes.

"Wait a minute!"

Jiang Nian was startled and looked up at him: "What are you going to do?"

Lu Yu's face looked a little unnatural: "Let me put on more clothes for you. I'm not resistant to cold."

Jiang Nian shook her head repeatedly, turned around and walked back, saying as she walked: "You'd better put on your clothes, don't take them off. What if your cold gets worse? I'm wearing very thick clothes, and I can keep warm by walking."

She walked very fast, as if she was afraid of walking too slowly. Lu Yu really took off his coat and put it on her.

Lu Yu had long legs and caught up with Jiang Nian in just a few steps. Looking at Jiang Nian who was trying to jog with her scarf covering her face, with a smile on her lips, he followed Jiang Nian's pace easily, looked at the moon in the sky, and asked, "Sister-

in-law, do you want to go home for the New Year?" Jiang Nian was surprised that he would ask this. She thought about it carefully and realized that there was no need to go home, but she remembered that a few months ago, Jiang's mother wrote to her in a letter, in which she mentioned that she wanted to marry her to an older widower. The original owner had been married to the Xu family for four years. In the first two years when her father-in-law was still alive, the money given to the original owner was sometimes snatched away by Jiang's mother and Jiang Guo.

After her father-in-law died, Jiang's mother and Jiang Guo became even more aggressive and took away all the money Lu Yu sent back. Since the original owner had reached the point of death, Jiang's mother and Jiang Guo were more responsible. She didn't know what Lu Yu was thinking, after all, her salary over the years had been given to others, but she was still angry. She

had thought that she would have a chance to go back to the Jiang family and get back the money that the Jiang family had taken from the original owner over the years. Now the opportunity has come.

Jiang Nian said, "I want to go back home and make some money for my father and Xu Cheng."

Lu Yu glanced at Jiang Nian who was looking down and said, "I'll go back with you."

The two walked all the way home, leaving long footprints on the road. Some snow also fell on their shoulders and heads. Jiang Nian walked under the eaves and patted the snow on her shoulders and hair. Just as she was about to ask Lu Yu what to eat in the evening, she looked up and saw that he was staring at the left front with a cold look.

Jiang Nian frowned in confusion and followed his gaze. She saw a few snow footprints on the earth wall separating her and Xu Yan's house. Her heart skipped a beat, and her first reaction was to go into the house to see if there was any money or bills. The one

who dared to climb over the wall was Gu Xia's family. They didn't run away.

But Jiang Nian didn't expect that Gu Xia's family would be so bold as to do such a theft in the army.

She pulled the light cord and saw the snowy footprints on the ground at first sight. She was furious and quickly opened the cabinet to search. She kept her money very secret. The big money was sewn in a pair of worn-out patched pants. Most people would not think that the iron box was hidden in the corner of the cabinet. It contained some bills for daily use and the seven yuan she had left last time. She originally had twelve yuan, five of which were her living expenses during this period. She also cut a pound of meat for Feng Mei to express her gratitude.

Finally, Jiang Nian found that the money in the patched pants was not lost, but the bills and money in the iron box were missing.

"Sister-in-law, is anything lost?"

Jiang Nian's face was a little cold, and she said angrily, "I lost seven yuan and some bills."

She took the iron box and was about to go to Xu Yan's house. Seeing Lu Yu walking straight to the window, Jiang Nian suddenly remembered her embroidery. The silk threads on the bed were crumpled into a pile and could not be torn apart. The best fabric was there, but the thread she used to embroider the pattern was pulled and twisted, and the fabric was torn into a tiny tear.

Jiang Nian had never been so angry as she was now. She clutched the iron box tightly, turned around and ran out of the house. She was in no mood to check whether there was a shortage of food in the kitchen.

She was completely focused on embroidering. This was the job security she had finally gotten in this era. The goods were to be delivered in 20 days, but they were destroyed by the Gu family next door!

She walked very fast and angrily opened the gate of the yard. Lu Yu reached out and held her arm. Looking at Jiang Nian's angry face, it was the first time he saw her lose her temper so directly: "I'm going to find the people from the security department. You wait for me at home."

Jiang Nian was full of anger at the moment. She didn't care about pretending to be so cool. She said in a cold tone: "You go to your security department, I'll settle accounts with them!"

After saying that, she waved Lu Yu away and was about to walk out. Lu Yu held her shoulders. Only at this moment did she realize that her shoulders under the cotton-padded jacket were thin and weak.

It seemed that he could hurt her bones with just a little force.

Lu Yu loosened his grip and said, "Leave these things to me. If you go over there now, they won't admit it and might even hurt you. I'll ask the security department to search their things. Only by finding both the stolen and the stolen can we solve the problem. The tickets issued by the army are stamped, so it's useless even if they hide them."

Jiang Nian calmed down at this time, thinking of the quarrel between the Tiangu family and Xu Yan, and the unreasonable and tangled nature of the family, so she relaxed, looked at Lu Yu's dark eyes, and nodded, "Then I'll wait for you."

Lu Yu said, "You go back to the house first, it's cold outside."

"Yeah."

Jiang Nian's mind was full of embroidery. She turned back to the room and sat on the bed. She smoothed out the embroidery and looked at the tangled silk threads. She suppressed her anger and temper and carefully untied the threads bit by bit. After untying half of them, she heard Gu Xia's noise from next door and Xu Yan's scolding. She scolded Gu Xia's family for being thieves and shameless robbers.

In addition to Gu Xia's scolding, there was also the sound of Liu Erzhu scolding Gu Shan.

Jiang Nian heard Gu Shan crying loudly, and her anger rose again. She smoothed out the silk threads and put them away. She took the iron box and ran to Xu Yan's house with a cold face.

The door of Xu Yan's house was wide open, and a bunch of people of all ages were standing in the yard. Because of the commotion at Xu Yan's house, the wives of soldiers from the surrounding areas came out to see what was going on. Even Feng Mei came. Captain Song had just returned home when he heard that the child from Liu Qiang's second uncle's family had climbed over the wall into Deputy Captain Lu's house, and not only had they stolen Deputy Captain Lu's money and bills, they had also destroyed the embroidery and silk thread of Deputy Captain Lu's sister-in-law.

The impact of this incident is very bad. Gu Shan is only a ten-year-old child, but his parents have to receive an education, and they have to compensate for the money and tickets lost by Deputy Tuan's family, as well as the lost property. Moreover, Liu Qiang will be implicated. It is estimated that after this incident, Liu Qiang's future promotion will be difficult, and their group's subsidies and rewards this year will be gone!

Captain Song was so angry that his eyebrows felt like they were burning!

What kind of crap is this family!

In Xu Yan's yard, Liu Qiang was so angry that his face turned ashen. In front of everyone, he beat Gu Shan. Gu Shan lay on the ground and cried hard. Xu Yan and Gu Xia fought together, but they were pulled apart by the security department.

Xu Yan pointed at Liu Qiang's nose and cursed, "I told you to send them away early but you insisted on delaying. Now that you've delayed and something bad has happened, it's no use regretting!"

Gu Xia's hair was pulled into a mess. She sat on the ground, patted her legs with her hands and began to cry, "My son is innocent. He just climbed over the wall to see what their house looked like. He just accidentally tore the woman's cloth and thread. He didn't take the ticket and money. My son is innocent, innocent..."

Liu Erzhu thought of Gu Shan running into the room today, holding a white flour bun and a piece of meat in his arms, and he and Gu Xia crawled to the end of the bed and didn't know what they were talking about. He only heard Gu Xia say that we will leave early tomorrow, and then said something about never admitting it.

At first, he thought that it was Gu Shan who took the steamed buns from Xu Yan's house, so he didn't say much. He didn't expect that he climbed over the wall and ran into the deputy head's house next door. Not only did he take the steamed buns and meat, he also stole the money and bills. What's more, he tore up the embroidery of the deputy head's sister-in-law!

He heard Xu Yan tell Liu Qiang that the embroidery was worth a lot of money, and their family couldn't afford it!

Lu Yu glanced coldly at Gu Xia who was sitting on the ground and scattering tears, and protected Jiang Nian behind him. He looked at the guard who came out of the house where Gu Xia and them were living now, holding a small paper bag in his hand. Gu Xia seemed to be crazy and rushed up to snatch the small paper bag back, but was held down by the other two guards.

Lu Yu said coldly, "Whether it was you who took it, we'll know once the evidence is out."

Jiang Nian looked cold, and seeing Gu Xia's cheating, he wanted to beat her up.

The guard put the things in the small paper package on the table in the yard. There was a roll of money, and he counted it and found that there were exactly seven yuan, and there were also tickets tied with red wool. There were sugar tickets, meat tickets, cotton tickets, and several other kinds of tickets, all of which were stamped with the army's seal.

In those days, the tickets issued by the army were stamped, and in the countryside, the captains of each brigade in the commune distributed food and tickets to farmers every year, and there were also the handwriting of each brigade on them.

When Captain Song saw all this, he glared at Gu Xia with angry eyes: "You are still crying in injustice with the evidence right in front of you? You said these were not stolen by your son, so what? Did they fly into your cloth bag by themselves?!"

Hearing Captain Song's words, the crowd burst into laughter.

Gu Xia didn't expect the security guard to really turn out the small paper bag. She had clearly pressed the small paper bag under the innermost corner of the wall and deliberately put all their cloth bags and snakeskin bags in the open. She didn't expect that they would crawl under the bed and find such a small thing under the foot of the bed during the sweep.

Gu Shan could only cry and call for his mother while crying.

Feng Mei was so angry that she started to scold Gu Xia: "Our family hospital kindly took you in and helped you. The people's soldiers rescued you when they were cold and hungry. How could you be so shameless to steal other people's things? At first you cried and shouted that others wronged your son. I think it was you who instigated your son to steal things. You are all bad people!"

She scolded again.

Besides Xu Yan and Jiang Nian, the third most angry person at the scene was Feng Mei.

She was counting on the bonus and subsidy from Old Song at the end of the year to buy a fish and a few pounds of pork to have a good New Year. Now it's all gone.

Seeing that Feng Mei was still scolding Gu Xia, who was talking like a machine gun, Captain Song shouted, "That's enough!"

Liu Erzhu and Liu Li stood next to each other, both of them were so embarrassed that they wanted to crawl into a hole.

Gu Xia said, "Is it okay if I return your things to you? There is not a single missing money or banknote. Don't lie to me."

Jiang Nian was so angry that she wanted to talk about the embroidery, but she didn't expect Lu Yu to speak for her, "Gu Shan damaged the high-quality fabrics and precious silk threads that the State-owned Embroidery House gave to my sister-in-law to make embroidery. This bill should also be included.

" Feng Mei snorted, "The State-owned Embroidery House is not worth mentioning." The fabric is not cheap, not to mention the silk thread, it is very expensive."

Gu Xia started to complain as soon as she heard it: "Even if you kill me, I have no money to pay. Besides, what's the value of those few threads? They are sold in the supply and marketing cooperative. The widow is so rich, why don't you let her buy them? Why make things difficult for us?"

These shameless words simply refreshed Jiang Nian's three views.

Lu Yu's face was dark and stern. He looked at Gu Xia who was playing tricks and said in a cold and hard voice: "Gu Shan destroyed the property of Guoyingxiu Manor and also committed theft. Although he is a child, you parents are responsible for what he did. It is not something you can just say you don't want to pay."

After that, he looked at the security guard and said: "We will report this matter to the police and let the public security comrades handle it."

Hearing that they would call the police, Gu Xia became anxious and clamored for Liu Qiang's help. Liu Qiang simply ignored her and ignored her cursing. Liu Erzhu was also frightened. He whispered to Liu Qiang, "Please beg for mercy. Let's go home and gather some money to see if we can pay for Xiu Tu. We can't let your second mother and Gu Shan be taken away by the police." Liu

Qiang was implicated by them and was now in a difficult situation: "Don't look for me. You have to bear the consequences of your mistakes."

After that, he went back to his room.

Such a big incident tonight caused the whole troupe to have no subsidies and bonuses at the end of the year, and it also made it difficult for him to get promoted in the future. He managed not to curse at his second uncle and second aunt, but he couldn't bow his head and beg for help.

After this incident, it is estimated that everyone in the troupe has opinions about him. After all, everyone is counting on this batch of subsidies to have a good year.

In the end, Gu Xia's family was sent to the Public Security Bureau by security guards, and Jiang Nian will be given an estimate and compensation for the loss of her embroidery in the next few days.

This farce is over, and Feng Mei feels sorry for Jiang Nian's embroidery and silk thread.

Jiang Nian returned home, looked at the damaged cloth and silk threads, and sat on the edge of the bed dejectedly. Footsteps were heard outside the door. Lu Yu walked to the bed, looked at the sorted silk threads, then half-knelt beside the bed, picked up another messy ball of silk threads and slowly sorted them out, and said to Jiang Nian: "Let me sort out these threads. Do you think the cloth can be used? If not, I will go to the market tomorrow morning to buy a piece of the same cloth."

The room was not big, especially with the tall and strong man half-kneeling beside the bed, it seemed even more cramped.

Jiang Nian clenched the fabric in her hand, turned to look at Lu Yu who was carefully arranging the silk threads, and said in a hoarse voice: "Thank you."

Lu Yu did not raise his head: "You don't need to say these to me."

Jiang Nian temporarily forgot the unpleasantness just now, checked the fabric again, cut the embroidered silk threads with scissors, and looked carefully at the tear marks on the fabric. It was not particularly damaged. "I will make up for it when I embroider tomorrow. It shouldn't be a big problem. I'm just afraid that there won't be enough silk thread."

Lu Yu put the small amount of silk thread he sorted out aside: "If it's not enough

, I'll go to the market to buy more tomorrow." Jiang Nian felt warm in her heart. If she could negotiate a long-term cooperation with the boss of Hong Kong City for this embroidery, she would definitely return the wages she earned to Lu Yu.

Lu Yu sorted the silk thread in the house. Jiang Nian went to the stove to cook. She heard another quarrel from Xu Yan's house next door. This time the quarrel was because of Gu Xia's family. Jiang Nian was too lazy to listen to it.

She made dumpling soup for dinner and baked a few pancakes. She heard Lu Yu coughing occasionally in the room. After the meal was ready, Jiang Nian called Lu Yu, and Lu Yu said, "You eat first, I'll be done soon."

The next morning.

Jiang Nian got up and made breakfast and started to repair the embroidery. It took her a whole morning to finally embroider the previous place again, and there was no trace at all. Three days later, the public security comrades came to the news that Gu Xia was jointly responsible for condoning Gu Shan's theft. Because Gu Shan was a child, Liu Erzhu temporarily took him back and handed him over to the brigade for custody. Gu Xia was temporarily detained and might be sentenced to three years in prison.

Xu Yan also knew about the Gu family's affairs. She brought ten eggs the next day to apologize to Jiang Nian.

Jiang Nian knew that this matter had nothing to do with Xu Yan, and she was also implicated, so she didn't show any displeasure to Xu Yan. The two chatted for a while and Xu Yan went home.

As Jiang Nian guessed, there were not enough colors of silk threads. The next day, Lu Yu took the military district's shopping car to the city to buy the colors of silk threads that Jiang Nian needed, and returned in the evening. With

the New Year's Day approaching three days, Jiang Nian finally finished the embroidery.

As if she had calculated the time well, Ge Mei came to the army the day after Jiang Nian finished the embroidery. When she saw the embroidery Jiang Nian had finished, she exclaimed, "You really finished it just as I expected!"

She picked up the embroidery and looked at it left, right, and the more she looked at it, the more satisfied she became.

But Jiang Nian had something hidden in her heart, so she told Ge Mei everything about the flaws on the embroidery. Hearing this, Ge Mei carefully stroked the flaws on the embroidery with her fingers, looked at it carefully, and said with a smile, "I wouldn't know if you didn't tell me."

She turned the embroidery over and said, "But I can't see it even if you told me. I can only say that your embroidery skills are really amazing."

She was the director of a state-owned embroidery shop, so naturally she could embroider, but the flaws that even she couldn't see, the boss of Gangcheng couldn't see either.

When Ge Mei left, she said, "I will also explain the matter on the embroidery to the boss of Gangcheng truthfully. Honesty is what we value in business. I will go back first. When things settle down, I will talk to you about the reward. What do you think?"

Jiang Nian was relieved and said with a smile, "Sister Ge, please take care of the important things first. I'm not in a hurry."

Ge Mei left after lunch. Jiang Nian sent her to the outside of the army. When he was about to go back, he heard Feng Mei's voice.

"Jiang Nian——"

Jiang Nian turned around and saw Feng Mei holding vegetables and cornmeal, a fish and a couplet in her hands: "Sister Feng, are you preparing New Year's goods?"

Feng Mei smiled and said, "Isn't it? But someone from the family is coming to visit at the beginning of the year, and Old Song asked me to buy some pickled vegetables to cook tomorrow night."

Jiang Nian asked curiously, "Are the parents of Captain Song coming?"

"No." Feng Mei's hand was a little painful, and she gave the couplet to Jiang Nian: "Help me hold it."

Jiang Nian just took the couplet when she heard Feng Mei say, "Old Song's cousin Song Bai is coming the day after tomorrow. He is the Song Bai that I wanted to match you with before."