Chapter 96

After the guard left, Jiang Nian walked up to Lu Yu and asked softly, "Who is looking for you at this time?"

Lu Yu frowned slightly, his expression was a little complicated: "I don't know."

He put on his cotton coat and walked out. Jiang Nian followed him closely, grabbing his sleeve: "I'll go with you."

She really wanted to see who it was.

Lu Yu smoothed her messy hair and said with a low smile: "Put on some thick clothes, it's cold outside."

"Okay."

Jiang Nian went back to the house, put on a cotton coat and followed Lu Yu to the outside of the army. On the way, they met Tian Mai and Kuang Xiu who were going out together. After half a year, Kuang Xiu no longer kept her head down and dared to ask people when she saw them. Especially when she saw Jiang Nian, she smiled and called out: "Auntie Jiang."

Jiang Nian touched Kuang Xiu's head and said with a smile: "Are you going to see Teacher Ji?"

Kuang Xiu nodded: "Teacher Ji came yesterday."

Tian Mai said: "He didn't even have breakfast this morning and he was yelling to see Teacher Ji. It's snowing now. While the snow is not too heavy, Send it to her first.

Jiang Nian asked Kuang Xiu: "How is your painting now?"

Kuang Xiu said: "Teacher Ji praised me last time, saying that my painting is very good."

Kuang Xiu has changed a lot in the past six months. Her talent is in painting, while Kuang Qian is very good at studying. I heard from Tian Mai that Kuang Qian has made great progress in school in the past six months, catching up with some students. She studies very hard and often sits at the desk until twelve o'clock after school.

The two sisters are developing in their own areas of expertise, which is a relief to Tian Mai and Deputy Head Kuang.

When they arrived outside the troops, Tian Mai and Kuang Xiu left first. The snow was not heavy, but several people had snow on their shoulders and heads. Jiang Nian held Lu Yu's hand tightly, raised her smiling face and looked at him with squinting eyes: "Do you think we both have gray hair now?"

After saying that, she grabbed Lu Yu's hand and lifted it up to let him see their interlocked hands.

Lu Yu smiled and said, "We will truly grow old together."

"Captain Lu, this is the man who is looking for you."

The voice of the guard came from not far away. Lu Yu looked up, and Jiang Nian also looked over there. There stood a middle-aged man wearing a thick cotton jacket and a cotton hat to protect his ears. He had a beard around his mouth, as if he hadn't taken care of it for several days. The man saw them and waved to them with a smile.

Jiang Nian remembered this man.

He was the middle-aged man who had met them once on the train half a year ago.

He didn't expect him to come to Lu Yu.

Jiang Nian could feel Lu Yu's momentary tension at this moment, and her intuition told her that Lu Yu definitely knew who this man was.

But he didn't want to say it and she wouldn't force him.

"Let's go over there."

Lu Yu led her over, and the snow fell on the middle-aged man's hat, covering it with a layer of white.

The man smiled at them and said, "Long time no see."

Jiang Nian pursed her lips and said nothing. Lu Yu asked coldly, "What do you want to talk to me about?"

The middle-aged man smiled and said, "Do you remember me?"

Lu Yu nodded, "Yeah, I saw you on the train."

"You have a good memory."

The middle-aged man subconsciously touched his pocket, as if looking for a cigarette, and smiled when he didn't find it.

Lu Yu didn't say anything, waiting for him to continue.

After a while, the middle-aged man took off his hat and patted the snow on it. He lowered his head slightly, as if he was considering how to start the conversation. After hesitating for a while,

he tentatively said, "Do you know Shen Ai?" After he finished speaking, he raised his head to see Lu Yu's reaction. The man's face was calm, his brows were dark, and he was so cold that no one could see the slightest flaw. Only Jiang Nian, whose hand was held by Lu Yu, could feel his obvious changes from his body movements.

When the middle-aged man said the name "Shen Ai", Lu Yu's finger joints suddenly exerted force, and Jiang Nian felt a slight pain. Her intuition told her that "Shen Ai" might be Lu Yu's biological mother. The plot of this book did not mention the name of Lu Yu's mother, but when she went back to her hometown last time, Aunt Zhao mentioned that Lu Yu's biological mother's surname was Shen.

Jiang Nian pursed her lips and looked up at Lu Yu.

The man lowered his eyebrows, and his eyelashes covered the surging emotions in his eyes. After knowing each other for three years, she had never seen through Lu Yu, just like now, she couldn't tell what he was thinking at all.

The snow was getting heavier.

Lu Yu raised his eyes to look at the middle-aged man, opened his thin lips, and said two words very coldly: "Remember."

The middle-aged man shook the snow off his hat again, and then put it on his head. Looking at Lu Yu's extremely indifferent attitude, the smile on his face remained unchanged, showing a bit of friendliness: "My name is Du Jiang, and I am a native of Xinjiang. You can call me Du Jiang, or you can call me Uncle Du. I came here for two things this time."

Then he picked up the large snakeskin bag next to him and put it at Lu Yu's feet: "This is the specialty I brought you from Xinjiang. There is a fox vest made by Xiaoyou Ai in it. I made one for you and your wife, and there are also food that you can't buy here. You can try it. If you think it tastes good, I will send you some when I go back."

"That's the first thing."

Du Jiang smacked his lips, as if he was craving for a cigarette.

Jiang Nian found it hard to imagine that the elegant middle-aged uncle whom she had met on the train looked a little haggard now.

She didn't know what he had been through in the past six months.

Lu Yu's voice interrupted Jiang Nian's thoughts, and he asked Du Jiang: "What about the second thing?"

Du Jiang said: "Shen Ai wants to see you. She has bad legs and feet, and her body is weak. She can't stand the four-day and four-night train journey. I was reluctant to let her come. I came here in person and wanted to tell you in person that if you are willing to see her, take your wife to Xinjiang to see her."

He lowered his head and smiled: "That's the second thing I said."

"Your mother had a hard life. She was wrong to leave you behind. I am not in a position to apologize to you for her wrongdoing. Of course, I am not qualified to do so."

Du Jiang coughed twice, told Lu Yu the address in Xinjiang, then smiled and said, "You two are busy, I won't bother you. If you come, please send a telegram in advance so that I can be prepared. If--" He paused, then continued, "No more talking. It's snowing heavily. You should go back."

Jiang Nian looked at Du Jiang's back. His back was a little hunched, and he was gradually walking away in the heavy snow.

She looked at Lu Yu beside her and saw him looking down at the snakeskin bag at his feet. She pinched his fingers, and Lu Yu turned to look at her. His deep voice became a little hoarse: "Are you cold?"

Jiang Nian hesitated and nodded softly: "A little cold."

"Let's go back."

Lu Yu picked up the snakeskin bag and led Jiang Nian back. The two of them didn't say a word along the way. When they got home, Lu Yu put the snakeskin bag in another room and went to the kitchen to cook. Jiang Nian hesitated for a moment and never stepped into that room.

She didn't know what to say about Lu Yu's mother.

In Lu Yu's heart, his mother abandoned him when he was ten years old. Who would have thought that more than ten years later, a strange man told him that his mother wanted to see him.

This matter would not be easy for anyone.

Lu Yu went to the group after dinner. At noon, Jiang Nian received a telegram from Feng Mei, which was short and simple: Come to visit during the New Year.

Jiang Nian went out in the afternoon and sent a telegram to Feng Mei, saying: I will go when I have time.

Lu Yu came back very late at night. Jiang Nian was half asleep. She felt the edge of the bed sink down a little, and then her waist tightened. The next moment, she fell into Lu Yu's warm arms. She poked Lu Yu's tense arm muscles and rubbed his neck: "Why are you so hot?"

Normally, she would be cold after coming back from outside.

Lu Yu looked at Jiang Nian's rosy cheeks, grabbed her restless hand, and kissed her on the lips: "I wiped it with a hot towel, afraid that you would get cold."

Jiang Nian smiled, her mind was still a little confused, but the next second, Lu Yu picked her up and sat firmly on him.

Jiang Nian: ...

Lu Yu's Adam's apple moved twice, and a dark valley appeared in his eyes: "Nian Nian"

Jiang Nian's heart trembled, listening to the low and magnetic voice, she felt her bones were soft.

She didn't know what happened to Lu Yu tonight. This battle was very long. Jiang Nian grabbed Lu Yu's arm tightly, leaving several marks on his back.

In the end, he let her go after Jiang Nian begged for mercy.

Lu Yu helped her clean up, then he lay down in the quilt and hugged Jiang Nian tightly, kissing her on the ear. Jiang Nian was so tired that she didn't even want to lift her eyelids, and muttered, "Sister Feng sent a telegram, saying that we should go to Dongshi for the New Year, and I didn't give her an accurate reply."

Lu Yu stroked the top of Jiang Nian's head with his chin, looking at the faint light coming in from the window without saying a word.

It snowed for two days, and Jiang Nian's embroidery was almost finished. After the snow stopped, she sent the embroidery to the city and told Ge Mei that she would not accept embroidery this year. She had a vague feeling that Lu Yu might go to Xinjiang.

Soon it was the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, the day when Chen Yao and Shu Xue got married.

Chen Yao applied for marriage two months in advance and also applied for a family building. He lived in the same building with Tian Saozi and her family. The weather was quite warm on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month. Chen Yao went to the wedding with Deputy Regiment Commander Kuang, Battalion Commander Ren, Battalion Commander Fang, and Battalion Commander Lei.

Lu Yu and Gu Shizhou supported Chen Yao in the army. Chen Yao was an orphan. On the wedding day, only his aunt came. It was Regiment Commander He and Lan Saozi who helped with everything, big or small.

Yue Qiao did not go to Shu Xue's wedding, and she also pulled Guan Lu to prevent her from going.

Guan Lu didn't know, but Yue Qiao was more particular, saying that pregnant women couldn't meet the bride, as it would be offensive to the bride. At lunchtime, He Yue brought three dishes from the banquet to Guan Lu and Yue Qiao's house, letting them eat first.

When it was getting dark, Chen Yao's family building was particularly lively, especially at night when the bridal chamber was in chaos, and a group of people did not bother Chen Yao a lot.

Jiang Nian went home to rest first. She washed up and lay on the bed. At about one o'clock, she heard the sound of a door opening outside. After a while, Lu Yu came in. Although he had washed up, Jiang Nian could still smell the faint smell of alcohol on him.

Lu Yu threw back the quilt and lay down. He reached out to hug Jiang Nian and kissed her on the neck: "Did I wake you up?"

Jiang Nian said: "Did you drink?"

Lu Yu: "Yeah, they forced me to drink some wine."

"Niannian,"

he said in a hoarse voice. He hugged Jiang Nian tightly and said after a moment's silence: "Let's go to Xinjiang for the New Year. Song Bai and Tang Ze are both there. We can visit them on our way there."