Chapter 59

Inside the photo studio, there was a red cloth hanging on the wall and a bench in front. Lu Yu took Jiang Nian to sit on the bench. The bearded man waved his hand to Jiang Nian: "Ladies, lean closer to your partner's shoulder, and gays, get closer to your partner. Hey, right, that's it."

Jiang Nian's heart was pounding. She didn't know how she ended up taking a photo with Lu Yu.

And the posture was like a wedding photo.

Jiang Nian was still dazed until the photo was taken. Lu Yu talked to the bearded man for a few words and took Jiang Nian out after giving him money. Jiang Nian looked down at their interlocked hands, then glanced at her and Lu Yu's white shirts. The more she looked at them, the more it looked like a wedding photo.

Jiang Nian: ...

She's a little crazy. All she can think about now is marriage.

It was hot in the summer, and their palms were sweating, but neither of them let go. Lu Yu took her to buy soda, and then took her to the station. Jiang Nian didn't come to her senses until they got on the bus. Her palms were cool from the soda, and her other hand was tightly held in Lu Yu's hand.

"Why did you think of taking pictures?"

Jiang Nian took a sip of ice soda.

Lu Yu looked out the window, his eyes full of smiles: "I wanted to take pictures."

During the four hours in the car, Lu Yu held Jiang Nian's hand and never let go.

He saw and heard what happened in Xiuzhuang with his own eyes.

For the first time, Lu Yu's calm heart was panicked. He wanted to hold Jiang Nian tightly, fearing that if he loosened his hand, the person in front of him would disappear.

Jiang Nian asked, "When can I pick up the photos?"

Lu Yu took the empty bottle from her hand and said, "I will go out with the military procurement vehicle at the end of the month to pick up the photos."

It was already seven o'clock in the evening when they returned to the army. Lu Yu went back to the army first. Jiang Nian went to the police station to call Ge Mei and told her what happened today. Ge Mei's laughter came from the phone: "Jiang Nian, I know you are smart and will not let me down."

Jiang Nian smiled and asked, "How are you doing in Yuan City?"

Ge Mei said, "It's okay, Jiang Nian. If you have a chance, come with me to Yuan City."

Jiang Nian did not give Ge Mei an answer until she hung up the phone. When she passed the fork in the road between the regiment headquarters and the family compound, she glanced in the direction of the regiment headquarters.

When Jiang Nian returned to the family compound, Feng Mei stopped him as soon as he passed by her yard: "Jiang Nian, Zhu Jun is getting married?"

Jiang Nian was stunned, a little surprised that Feng Mei knew it so quickly: "Did Captain Song say that?"

Feng Mei said: "Of course, Old Song came back for lunch at noon today and said that Zhu Jun's marriage application report has been received. He is in the group every day. What is going on?" "Is this the daughter-in-law you're going to meet at that time?"

Jiang Nian smiled and said, "

She's from the embroidery shop, her name is Zhang Xiao. When Zhu Jun gets married, Sister Feng will see her." After she went back, she spread the drawing on the table, studied the design carefully, and memorized it in her mind. Then she waited for Peng Yin to bring her the embroidery cloth and silk thread. Jiang Nian waited at home for two days, and finally got the embroidery cloth.

Zhang Xiao and Lu Xiaojing came here together. When Jiang Nian went to the police station to pick them up, he happened to meet Song Bai on the road. Song Bai had just come out of the group, steam coming out of his body and a thin layer of sweat on his forehead. When he saw Jiang Nian, he paused and called out, "Sister-in-law."

Jiang Nian smiled and asked, "Can you help me? My friend from Xiuzhuang is coming over. , please sign for me."

Song Bai nodded: "Okay."

After what happened at Tang's house last time, Song Bai rarely went to Lu Yu's house for meals. He was afraid that people in the family compound would spread rumors and slander Jiang Nian's reputation. Sometimes when he was sleeping at night, he couldn't help thinking about Jiang Nian in his mind. Several times when he was about to reach Jiang Nian's house, he would turn back.

Song Bai looked at Jiang Nian who was walking in front of him. He was petite and only took two steps to reach him.

He rubbed his face and looked away.

"Deputy Captain Song."

The police soldier called out.

Song Bai nodded and walked to the side of the police station to sign. Jiang Nian then led Zhang Xiao and Lu Xiaojing in.

"Sister-in-law."

"Hmm?"

Jiang Nian looked at Song Bai, waiting for him to continue. Song Bai smiled and said, "I'll go home first."

Jiang Nian bent his lips and smiled: "Okay, thank you."

After Song Bai left, Lu Xiaojing approached Jiang Nian: "You see each other all day long, but you don't have any feelings for me?"

Jiang Nian: ...

She said helplessly: "We seldom see each other."

Lu Xiaojing said with a sigh: "You really don't know how to appreciate the blessing you have."

Jiang Nian: ...

Who wants this blessing that is easy to be rumored about?

It was almost lunch time when Zhang Xiao and the others came. Jiang Nian cooked a few more dishes for lunch. Lu Xiaojing and Zhang Xiao helped Jiang Nian in the kitchen. It was the first time they saw Jiang Nian cooking. They didn't know that she was such a good cook!

Zhang Xiao was almost drooling at the smell of the delicious food.

Lu Xiaojing sniffed, wishing to breathe the aroma into her nose: "Jiang Nian, I think you don't need to embroider anymore, you can go to a state-owned hotel to be a chef. With your cooking skills, a chef in a state-owned hotel will definitely be fired."

Jiang Nian: ...

She said a few words to Lu Xiaojing in a funny way, and then asked Zhang Xiao if Peng Yin had squeezed her again in the past few days.

Zhang Xiao shook his head: "After you left, she sent Shi Li away and didn't bother me anymore. Sister Jiang, I don't know how to thank you."

Lu Xiaojing said: "Director Peng not only doesn't bother Zhang Xiao anymore, but he also treats us differently than before. I have to say, I feel very happy about this."

If Peng Yin had any brains, he would not have used his position as director to take advantage of others. After all, they were all in a cooperative relationship, and they all prospered and suffered together.

Jiang Nian didn't say anything more about her and asked Zhang Xiao: "How is your injury?"

Zhang Xiao touched his head: "It's healed a long time ago."

Lunch was prepared early today, and Zhang Xiao came over. Jiang Nian planned to call Zhu Jun over to have lunch together, as well as Song Bai, to thank him for helping her sign just now. Jiang Nian asked Lu Xiaojing and Zhang Xiao to sit at home, and she went outside the regiment headquarters to wait for Lu Yu to come out.

The weather was hot, and Jiang Nian was sweating while cooking. She washed her face and ran outside the regiment to wait for people. At lunch time, people came out one after another. When the soldiers saw Jiang Nian, they all smiled and greeted her: "Sister-in-law."

Jiang Nian nodded and chuckled.

"Hey, are you waiting for Deputy Regiment Lu?" Regiment

Commander Song came out from inside, and Song Bai also came out with him. Jiang Nian said: "Yeah."

Regiment Commander Song said: "He is talking to Chief of Staff Tao, he will come out later."

After that, he left first.

"Sister-in-law."

Song Bai said hello and was about to leave when Jiang Nian called him: "Come to my place for lunch at noon. We'll wait for Lu Yu and Zhu Jun to come out." Song

Bai paused, looked at Jiang Nian's bright and beautiful eyes, and smiled: "Okay."

He walked to Jiang Nian's side, lowered his head to look at Jiang Nian's slightly sweaty forehead, and his eyes stayed on the rosy face for a moment before moving away. Half of the people in the group had left, and Jiang Nian finally saw Zhu Jun: "Zhu Jun, this way."

"Sister-in-law?"

Zhu Jun ran over and said, "Are you looking for Deputy Commander Lu? I'll go get him now."

As he was talking, Lu Yu came out. He saw Jiang Nian outside, with Song Bai and Zhu Jun standing beside her. Lu Yu frowned slightly, strode over, glanced at the thin layer of sweat on her head, and resisted the urge to wipe it off her head: "Why are you here?"

Jiang Nian smiled at Lu Yu: "Lu Xiaojing is here."

After saying that, he looked at When she glanced at Zhu Jun, she saw his eyes light up and asked hurriedly, "Is Zhang Xiao here?"

Jiang Nian smiled and said, "Yes."

On the way back, Lu Yu deliberately walked beside Jiang Nian, using his height advantage to shield her from the harsh sunlight. As soon as they walked to the door, they heard the laughter of Zhang Xiao and Lu Xiaojing. Zhu Jun ran in first. Zhang Xiao, who was sitting in the yard, stood up shyly when he saw Zhu Jun.

The table was not big, and several people squeezed together to eat.

Jiang Nian sat next to Lu Yu, and next to him was Zhang Xiao. The topic of this meal mainly revolved around Zhu Jun and Zhang Xiao. The marriage application report had been issued, and the two would get married in about the next month. Jiang Nian suddenly felt that time had passed so quickly. After dinner, Lu Yu and his friends went to the regiment. After Jiang Nian sent Lu Xiaojing and her friends away from the troops, she returned to the house, looked at the embroidery cloth and silk thread, and then took out the embroidery pattern and began to embroider.

This embroidery pattern also took two months to complete, but it was much more complicated than the previous embroidery patterns.

Jiang Nian has been embroidering these days, wishing she could use her meal time to do so. At the same time, she was also waiting for the news of the transfer from Captain Song. At the end of the month, Lu Yu went to the city and got the photos back.

It was dark in the evening, Feng Mei was lying on the wall and called her, "Jiang Nian."

Jiang Nian was cooking in the kitchen at the time. When she heard the sound, she put down the kitchen knife and came out, "What's wrong?"

Feng Mei glanced outside, as if she was afraid that Captain Song would come back and say something to her, "Guess what I saw on my way to the private plot this afternoon?"

Usually, when Feng Mei said this, there must be something big.

She was thinking: "What did you see?"

Feng Mei waved at her. Jiang Nian glanced at the cooking in the pot, then ran to the wooden block and lay on the wall like Feng Mei. Feng Mei whispered: "I saw Tang Ze's wife and a man flirting outside the army. I have seen that man before. He is a doctor in the county hospital and he has treated Xiangdong. I heard that man keep saying that we are a couple. Oh, how embarrassing."

Jiang Nian: ...

It's Sun Ying again.

But Sun Ying has already married Tang Ze, so it's useless even if Wu Youshan pesters her.

"Mei Zi, why are you leaning on the wall again! You've never changed your bad habits!"

Captain Song's voice suddenly came from the door. Feng Mei was startled: "What are you yelling about? You scared me."

Then she jumped down and ran back to the stove.

Then Captain Song saw Jiang Nian with a big head sticking out of the wall. He was stunned for a moment: "Hey, why are you the same as Mei Zi now?" Captain Song snorted again: "Whose pot is burnt?"

Jiang Nian: !!!

My pot!

She jumped off the wooden block and saw Lu Yu coming in. A smile appeared in the man's eyes: "Run slower."

Jiang Nian blushed and ran into the kitchen with her head down. A burnt smell filled the kitchen. Jiang Nian quickly took out the vegetables, washed the pot and started cooking again. There was a splash of water outside. She turned her head and saw Lu Yu washing his face in the yard, with his sleeves rolled up. The veins on his arms were clearly visible under the warm yellow light.

She retracted her gaze, quickly cooked the dishes and brought them to the yard.

From the next yard came the voice of Captain Song scolding Feng Mei, saying that she was stubborn and always leaning on the wall. The more Jiang Nian listened, the lower her head lowered. Not only was she seen by Captain Song, but she was also caught by Lu Yu.

Although Lu Yu didn't say anything to her, she always felt a little embarrassed.

"Eat more."

There were a few more pieces of meat in the bowl. Jiang Nian bit the chopsticks and said "hmm" lightly.

After dinner, Jiang Nian cleaned up the dishes. Lu Yu stopped her first, and looked at her face with his dark eyes for a while: "Go back to the room and rest. I'll show you something later."

"Okay."

When Jiang Nian returned to the room, the noisy voice from Captain Song also faded.

She sat in front of the embroidery frame, embroidering. After a while, footsteps were heard outside, and Lu Yu appeared in the empty door. The man was tall and had long legs. When he entered, the room seemed even more cramped. Jiang Nian threaded a needle on the embroidery cloth before asking, "What do you want to show me?"

She sat on a bench and had to look up when looking at Lu Yu.

The man half-knelt down, but still taller than her. He handed Jiang Nian a letter bag made of ox-bile paper: "Open it and take a look."

Jiang Nian opened the fold and took out the photo inside. The photo was black and white, and only showed her and Lu Yu's upper body. Both of them were wearing white shirts. Her head leaned against Lu Yu's shoulder, and the man also leaned slightly towards her.

Although the photo was not as colorful as the ones in the new century, Jiang Nian felt that it was the most beautiful one she had ever seen.

"Do you like it?"

The man's voice was low and deep, with a bit of suppressed hoarseness.

Jiang Nian smiled, rubbed the texture of the photo with his fingers, and nodded gently: "I like it."

As soon as she finished speaking, the sky in front of her eyes suddenly darkened. Jiang Nian tightened her fingers holding the photo. She saw her own shocked expression in Lu Yu's dark pupils. Her teeth were opened, and the unique aura of Lu Yu swept in like a storm.

Jiang Nian heard him say, "I like it too."

In

the blink of an eye, it was mid-August, and Zhu Jun and Zhang Xiao's wedding was done.

Jiang Nian had been waiting for news from Captain Song these days, but she didn't wait for Captain Song's promotion and transfer order, but waited for the news that Lu Yu was leaving.

Lu Yu left in a hurry, without even saying a word, just asking Zhu Jun to help him pass on a message.

After being taught a lesson by Kang Xiu's rumor-mongering last time, Zhu Jun stood outside the courtyard gate this time and said, "Sister-in-law, Deputy Regiment Commander Lu was picked up by the people from the military district in the middle of the night. He didn't say anything specific. He just told you to wait at home and he would find time to call you when he comes back."

Hearing this, Jiang Nian smiled and said, "I know."

Since Lu Yu left, Jiang Nian has been staying at home embroidering. She never goes out of the front door or the back door. Only Xu Yan and Feng Mei come to accompany her to talk. After lunch, Jiang Nian went to her private plot and put the grown vegetables into a backpack. She planned to pickle them when she got home, otherwise she would not be able to finish them all by herself.

This time she picked a basket full of vegetables, which made her shoulders and back a little sore.

When she passed the intersection of the regiment headquarters and the family compound, she met Song Bai and Tang Ze who were walking towards her. Song Bai took the basket from her back and held it in his hand, saying, "Sister-in-law, I'll take it back for you."

Jiang Nian wanted to say no, but Song Bai had already carried it away.

Jiang Nian: ...

Tang Ze smiled and said, "Sister-in-law, I'm leaving first."

Jiang Nian nodded and trotted after Song Bai. Song Bai put the backpack into the yard and glanced at Jiang Nian, whose head was covered in sweat: "Just call me if you need help in the future."

Jiang Nian nodded gently: "Thank you."

When Song Bai turned around and left, Jiang Nian called him softly: "Do you know how Lu Yu is doing?"

Song Bai turned around and looked at Jiang Nian. She smiled awkwardly and felt that this question was not easy to answer. Song Bai coughed lightly: "He is fine, I can't say anything else."

Jiang Nian smiled and said: "Thank you."

Just knowing that Lu Yu is fine is enough.

.The

weather turned cooler, and in the blink of an eye it was the end of October. At night the cool air floated up from the ground.

Lu Yu had been gone for more than two months, and he hadn't called her once.

Jiang Nian knew that he was probably on some mission like last year, and that it was military secrets, so all she could do was wait at home. During these two months, Song Bai would occasionally come over to help her with some heavy work that she couldn't do.

The embroidery was also handed over to Deng Ke in mid-September. Now Jiang Nian was working on another embroidery, a portrait of an elderly man. It was the first time for Jiang Nian to do this kind of embroidery. She observed the old man's appearance and expression before she started. Suddenly, a policeman's voice came from outside the courtyard gate: "Comrade Jiang, there's a call from the police station."

Jiang Nian almost put down her needle and ran to the police station to answer the phone. Before she could catch her breath, she heard Lu Yu's low laugh: "You ran all the way here?"

Jiang Nian smiled: "Yeah."

She pursed her lips and whispered: "How are you?"

Lu Yu's voice penetrated the microphone with a unique magnetism: "Very good."

"Lu Yu——"

someone called from the other end of the phone. Lu Yu's tone suddenly became serious and tense: "Jiang Nian, wait for me."

After that, he hung up the phone.

Jiang Nian held the phone in a daze for a long time, until the police called her, she came back to her senses.

On the way back, she met Sun Ying, whom she hadn't seen for a long time. She was walking with Chen Fang. She had gained weight. Although her skin was still fair, her face was obviously much more haggard. You could hardly see the charming and beautiful look on her face. This symptom was a bit like... pregnancy?

She remembered that her cousin seemed to be like this when she just got pregnant. Otherwise, how could a person change so much in two months?

Sun Ying saw the surprise in Jiang Nian's eyes, her face suddenly darkened, she turned away coldly, shook off Chen Fang and left. Chen Fang said hello to Jiang Nian and chased after her. Sun Ying was pregnant with Tang Ze's child, and her mother-in-law was very precious to her, and she also told her to take good care of her.

Jiang Nian: ...

sick.

It was not until mid-November, when the brazier was lit in the house, that the transfer order of Captain Song finally came down.

At noon that day, Feng Mei ran to Jiang Nian with a happy face, and took her to eat at home. She also called Xu Yan and the children over. Feng Mei cooked a table of dishes. The house was not big, and it was a bit crowded to put two tables, but fortunately the house was warm and not so cold.

Feng Mei said to Jiang Nian, "Old Song's transfer order has come down. We will leave at the end of the month, and Old Song has to report in before the New Year."

Jiang Nian was a little surprised: "Leaving in such a hurry?"

Needless to say, knowing that Feng Mei's family would leave at the end of the month, Jiang Nian was reluctant to let them go. Xu Yan was also reluctant. Captain Song was explaining some things to Song Bai. Several children were sitting at a table, saying that they would find each other when they grew up and be good friends for life. Jiang Nian suddenly felt a little disappointed.

Feng Mei saw that she was a little depressed, so she nudged her with her elbow: "What's wrong, can't bear to leave me?"

Jiang Nian looked up at her, and suddenly her eyes were red, which made Feng Mei stunned. She smiled helplessly: "Hey, your crying makes me want to cry too, eat more food and wipe your tears."

Hearing this, Song Bai raised his eyes and glanced at Jiang Nian.

She pursed her lips, her bright and beautiful eyes were full of tears, and she held the chopsticks tightly in her hands, as if Feng Mei said one more word, the tears in her eyes would fall. Song Bai lowered his eyes and didn't look at her again. Although he listened to what Captain Song said, his mind was on Jiang Nian, and he couldn't help but want to look at her.

"Sister Feng, please stop talking."

Jiang Nian sniffed, took a bite of food and tried to hold back tears.

In the end, Jiang Nian's tears did not fall, but Feng Mei cried loudly, as if she was beaten by Captain Song.

Jiang Nian: ...

She also held back her tears.

Captain Song's forehead was throbbing. He looked at Feng Mei without saying a word. He wanted to say something but couldn't bear to. After all, he had been here for a long time and he really couldn't bear to leave suddenly. When Feng Mei cried, several children started crying too. The cramped house was suddenly filled with crying sounds of all sizes.

Captain Song: ...

He was overwhelmed.

Feng Mei left on November 30th. It was snowing heavily that morning. Captain Song mailed all the big things in advance. Now he only brought some clothes that he was wearing. Jiang Nian brought Feng Mei a camel-colored scarf and said with a smile, "This is for you."

"It's so warm."

Feng Mei pinched the wool scarf and rubbed it on her face, "I'm leaving."

"Yeah."

Jiang Nian and Xu Yan took their children to see Captain Song and his family off from the army. Captain Tang and his team also saw them off.

Song Xiangdong waved to Jiang Nian: "Aunt Jiang, I'm leaving." Song Xianghong also waved: "Aunt Jiang, goodbye."

Jiang Nian smiled with curved lips: "Aunt Jiang will come to see you when she has time."

Song Xiangdong and Song Xianghong grinned and said: "Okay!"

Captain Tang and Chen Fang also waved goodbye to them. Zhu Jun drove the family of four away. It was not until the car drove away that everyone gradually dispersed. Xu Yan said to Jiang Nian: "I can't bear to leave Sister Feng."

Liu Jianye's eyes were red: "Mom, I miss Xiangdong and Xianghong too."

Liu Jianwu also wiped his tears: "Mom, I miss them too, I want to play with Xianghong."

It was snowing heavily, and there was a layer of snow on the road. Several people stepped on the snow and made a "crunching" sound.

Captain Song was transferred to Dongshi, and Donggou County was there. The plot did not explain that Captain Song encountered an earthquake while inspecting Donggou County and was crushed to death by the collapsed house. After Captain Song's death, Feng Mei lived alone with her children in misery.

Jiang Nian's heart choked and he couldn't breathe.

The plot of the book says that Captain Song died in the winter of 1973. In two months, it will be 1973. She doesn't know whether it is the beginning of the year or the end of the year.

Xu Yan saw Jiang Nian lowering her head dejectedly and patted her arm: "Don't be sad."

Jiang Nian's eyelashes trembled, and she wanted to laugh but couldn't.

She didn't know when Lu Yu would come back. If he couldn't make it by then, she would go to Dongshi by herself and stop Captain Song from going to Donggou County by any means. There was

a constant sound of "creaking" footsteps. It didn't seem like it was just her, Xu Yan and the child, so she turned around to take a look.

"Song Bai?"

Jiang Nian blinked: "Why are you here?"

Shouldn't he be going to the regiment headquarters?

Song Bai smiled and said, "Go and sweep the snow at my sister-in-law's house."

Jiang Nian understood, turned around and walked forward with Xu Yan. There were messy footprints on the snow. After arriving home, Jiang Nian first added dry firewood to the brazier and roasted a fire for a while. Then he got up and went to the stove to cook. Hearing the sound of sweeping snow outside, he leaned on the window to take a look.

Song Bai was wearing a thin sweater and sweeping snow from the west with a broom. The military green winter uniform was hanging on the branches.

Jiang Nian ran out quickly: "I can sweep the snow by myself."

She didn't expect Song Bai to come over.

Song Bai avoided her hand: "It's okay, I'll finish sweeping in a while, you go back to the room, I'll leave after sweeping."

Jiang Nian:...

What can she say?

She glanced at the gate, which was wide open. The wives of soldiers passing by could see inside. Jiang Nian knew Song Bai's intention. Leaving the gate open was to prevent people from gossiping again.

She hesitated for a moment and

said, "I'll go cook. You can finish your meal before leaving." Then she ran to the kitchen.

Song Bai paused in sweeping the snow, looked up at the figure disappearing at the door of the kitchen, lowered his head and smiled.

Jiang Nian made scallion pancakes, fried two vegetables, and tomato egg soup for lunch. She knew that Song Bai's appetite was the same as Lu Yu's, so she made a little more rice. She poured the tomato egg soup into the bowl and heard the sound of water outside. She turned her head and saw Song Bai washing his face and hands with cold water.

Jiang Nian: ! ! !

She walked outside, her face full of shock: "There is hot water in the thermos!"

Isn't it cold to wash your face and hands with ice water in such a cold weather? !

Song Bai poured the water into the drain, turned around and looked at Jiang Nian with a white face, and smiled: "Not cold."

Jiang Nian: ...

That's right.

She almost forgot about Song Bai and Tang Ze's winter swimming last winter.

After the meal was ready, Song Bai said, "Sister-in-law, help me put the meal into aluminum lunch boxes, I'll take it back to the dormitory to eat."

Jiang Nian understood what he meant and said, "Okay."

She packed two aluminum lunch boxes for Song Bai, one for vegetables and scallion pancakes, and one for tomato egg soup, and walked to the yard with the lunch boxes and handed them to him, "Ready."

Song Bai took the lunch boxes, glanced at Jiang Nian, who was looking down with snowflakes on her hair, and smiled heartily, "Thank you, sister-in-law, I'll go home first."

The footsteps gradually faded away.

Jiang Nian raised her head and saw Song Bai disappearing at the gate of the yard. She looked at the clean yard and was quite grateful to Song Bai in her heart. She was most afraid of sweeping snow in the winter, and her fingers were numb from the cold.

She ate a few bites and went back to her room. In the afternoon, Xu Yan came and talked to her.

Feng Mei had been gone for two days. She was used to her noisy voice, and it was not easy to get used to her sudden departure.

Jiang Nian went to the stove to boil some water, planning to make a quick lunch. Suddenly, she heard a lively conversation coming from the yard next door. The loudest voice seemed to be from Chen Fang. She leaned over the window and listened carefully. In addition to Chen Fang's voice, there were several unfamiliar voices, all coming from Feng Mei's yard.

"Jiang Nian——"

Xu Yan's voice came from the gate.

Jiang Nian ran over to open the gate, and turned to look next door. Tang Ze was carrying bags and walking back and forth, while Chen Fang and three military wives were carrying snakeskin bags. The four of them stood at the door chatting. Chen Fang shouted, "Hurry up, your key is opening the door."

"I'm coming."

Tang Ze put his stuff down, took out the key and opened the door.

When Chen Fang was carrying the snakeskin bag, she saw Xu Yan and Jiang Nian next door, and greeted them with a smile: "Xiao Nian, you and Tang Ze and Sun Ying are neighbors from now on. Come visit us more often when you have nothing to do."

Jiang Nian: ...Oh

my God.

She actually became a neighbor of Sun Ying...

But Jiang Nian still exchanged a few words with Chen Fang. The military wife next to her asked Chen Fang: "Is this the Jiang Nian you mentioned who is good at embroidery?"

Chen Fang said: "That's her." Then she said to Jiang Nian: "Xiao Nian, this is my sister. She just came from the former military district to visit relatives. As soon as she came to my house, she saw the embroidery you made, and she liked it very much."

The woman next to her smiled and said: "Comrade Jiang, my name is Chen Ping, I am older than you, you can just call me Sister Ping."

Jiang Nian felt that these two people were worthy of being sisters, both of them were very friendly.

So she smiled and said: "Sister Ping."

"Sister-in-law, bring the quilt in."

Tang Ze shouted from the house.

Chen Fang said, "I'm here."

The three of them walked into the yard. Chen Ping asked in a low voice, "Fangzi, whose daughter-in-law is Jiang Nian?"

Chen Fang sighed, "She's not a daughter-in-law anymore. She's the sister-in-law of the deputy commander of the second regiment, Lu. Jiang Nian has a miserable life. Her husband's waist was broken during the rescue, and later he died. She followed her brother-in-law to join the army."

Chen Ping heard it and said, "What a pity."

Another army wife said, "What's a pity? She has good skills in embroidery and can make money. Even if she doesn't get married, she can support herself. Let's not worry about it."

"Who are you talking about?"

Tang Ze asked, carrying a table out.

Chen Fang put the snakeskin bag on the ground, asked Chen Ping to spread the quilt, and said to Tang Ze: "Let's talk about Jiang Nian."

Tang Ze: ...

He reminded her twice: "Sister-in-law, don't talk about other people's affairs in the future, so as not to cause misunderstandings like last time."

Chen Fang: ...

"Got it."

Next door, Xu Yan followed Jiang Nian into the house. Xu Yan said: "I only knew this morning that Captain Tang and his team were moving in. I heard from others that the second regiment's family compound had no yard, and Captain Song and his team just moved out, so this yard was vacant and was approved to Captain Tang and his team."

No wonder it was such a coincidence.

Jiang Nian felt a little speechless.

"Jiang Nian," Xu Yan whispered, "Captain Tang's wife is pregnant. She has been pregnant for three months. She seems to have gained weight and is not as pretty as when she first got her period. I have met her several times and she always has a cold face, as if someone owes her money."

Jiang Nian guessed that Sun Ying was pregnant the last time he saw her.

She flicked the sparks from the brazier and didn't continue talking about what Xu Yan said, changing the subject: "It's snowing these two days, is Jianwu still going to school?"

Xu Yan stretched out her hand to warm herself by the fire and rubbed her hands: "I thought about asking him to take a leave, but Jianwu didn't want to."

She paused: "Liu Qiang is coming back."

Jiang Nian paused in flicking the sparks and looked up at Xu Yan: "When will he be back?"

"He'll be back on the 10th. The call came from the police station, and the police soldier asked me to answer the phone. He said he would stay at home for a month and then leave."

Xu Yan smiled: "Jiang Nian, I think I'm doing well now."

Jiang Nian saw the changes in Xu Yan in the past six months. Since Liu Qiang left, not only her, but also Jianwu, smiled more often than before.

When it was getting dark, Jiang Nian heard Sun Ying's voice coming from the next yard, as if she was complaining about Tang Ze, and Tang Ze coaxed her in a gentle voice.

Since Sun Ying moved in, Jiang Nian never approached that wall again.

At the end of December, New Year's Day arrived.

Lu Yu had been gone for several months. He only called once in the middle, and there was no news after that.

On New Year's Day, Jiang Nian sat in the kitchen, making dumplings over a fire. Even if she was alone, she had to have a decent meal. However, while making dumplings, Jiang Nian's eyes turned red with tears. She sniffed her nose to prevent the tears from falling.

She missed Lu Yu. She

missed him so much.

The tightly closed courtyard door was knocked. Jiang Nian paused while making dumplings. She turned her head and saw a figure in military green at the crack of the courtyard door. She took a deep breath, put down the dumpling wrappers and ran out. As soon as she put her hand on the door bolt, she heard Song Bai's voice coming from outside the door.

"Sister-in-law, open the door."

Jiang Nian's excited heart was suddenly splashed with a basin of cold water. She blinked, calmed down, and opened the courtyard door. Outside the door, besides Song Bai, there were also Zhu Jun and Zhang Xiao.

"Jiang Jie!"

Zhang Xiao ran over and hugged Jiang Nian. Zhu Jun was frightened and said, "Go slowly."

It snowed yesterday, and the ground is slippery now. Don't fall. Jiang Nian saw Zhu Jun so nervous about Zhang Xiao, and suddenly thought of something. She let go of Zhang Xiao and looked at her belly, but her belly was still flat. Zhang Xiao hugged Jiang Nian's arm embarrassedly: "It's only two months, and you're not pregnant yet."

Jiang Nian laughed softly: "You're moving pretty fast."

"Jiang Jie."

Zhang Xiao was a little embarrassed.

They were talking, and Song Bai was watching from the side, not missing the tears in Jiang Nian's eyes when she just opened the door.

Did she cry at home just now?

"Why are you here?"

Jiang Nian led them into the house, and Zhang Xiao said, "I'm here to spend New Year's Day with you."

Zhu Jun was carrying a bag of peach cakes and two kilograms of brown sugar, and Song Bai was carrying a small bag of chocolate, milk candy, a can of honey and milk. He looked at Jiang Nian's thin figure, followed her and Zhang Xiao into the house, put the food on the cabinet, and said, "Sister-in-law, we are here to eat again."

Jiang Nian smiled and said, "I'm making dumplings, but I don't have enough noodles and meat. I'll go to the food station to buy some meat, and come back to make some more noodles."

"I'll go with you."

Zhang Xiao wanted to get up, but Song Bai stopped him: "You guys sit down, I'll go buy it."

After saying that, he went out.

Zhu Jun and Song Bai went out together, Jiang Nian went to the stove to knead noodles, and Zhang Xiao sat in front of the stove to light a fire.

Jiang Nian wrapped the remaining dumplings first and kneaded another bowl of dough. Song Bai and the others came back. Seeing Jiang Nian was going to chop meat, Song Bai took the kitchen knife and said, "I'll do it."

There was a brazier burning in the kitchen, and it wasn't cold at all. After Song Bai chopped the meat, Jiang Nian mixed the fillings for the dumplings. She and Zhang Xiao wrapped dumplings in the kitchen. Song Bai and Zhu Jun swept the snow in the yard and brought a few buckets of water to the jar. Since Lu Yu left, Song Bai would come every ten days to help Jiang Nian fetch water and sweep snow, but he would never stay at home for meals.

Song Bai couldn't help wanting to see Jiang Nian, but he was also restraining himself from causing trouble and trouble for her.

He didn't want her to become a topic of discussion in the family yard.

After the dumplings were wrapped, they were put into the pot. Song Bai moved the table to the kitchen. Several people crowded in the kitchen to eat. Zhu Jun picked up dumplings for Zhang Xiao from time to time. Zhang Xiao touched his toes and said a little embarrassedly: "Enough, I can't eat anymore."

"Sister-in-law."

"Hmm?"

Jiang Nian took a bite of the dumpling and raised her head to look at Song Bai.

Song Bai's eyes paused on her thin cheeks for a few seconds: "Eat more, you look thinner. If Lu Yu comes back, he will probably find me again and say that I didn't take good care of my sister-in-law."

Jiang Nian:...

She thought of the bruises on Lu Yu and Song Bai's faces that day, and couldn't help laughing out loud.

Zhang Xiao was puzzled: "Sister Jiang, what are you laughing at?"

Jiang Nian lowered her head: "Nothing."

Song Bai coughed lightly and touched his brow with his thumb. He seemed to think of what happened a few months ago. A smile appeared on his handsome face. Zhu Jun heard it and was almost choked by Dumpling. He joked: "Sister-in-law, you should eat more. You look thinner. If Deputy Regiment Lu sees you when he comes back, he might scold me too."

Jiang Nian: ...

There was laughter at the dinner table, which also diluted Jiang Nian's uncomfortable feeling of being alone.

After dinner, Jiang Nian and Zhang Xiao washed the pots and dishes, and Song Bai moved the table to Lu Yu's room. Jiang Nian hesitated for a moment, turned around and ran into Song Bai who was coming out of the house. The two met face to face, and Song Bai suddenly braked and almost bumped into Jiang Nian. He took a step back and wanted to take another step back, but his leg couldn't move. Jiang Nian was afraid that others would hear her, so she asked in a low voice