Chapter 39

The in-laws came to visit.

Hu Xiu, who was the most reasonable, prepared a large table of delicious food.

When the three of them returned home, a sumptuous dinner was already on the table.

Hu Xiu smiled and said, "Go wash your hands, it's time to eat."

My mother-in-law’s cooking skills are excellent. The rich aroma of the food made me sniff and I suddenly felt even hungrier.

She went to the kitchen to fetch water to wash her hands, and said, "Mom, please sit down and I'll serve the rice."

Hearing this, Hu Xiu smiled and went to settle the two children.

After the family sat down and started eating, they inevitably talked about the changes in their hometown during the one or two months of separation.

Most of the time, it was Hu Xiu who asked the questions and Lu Wei who answered them.

After eating and drinking to their heart's content and putting down their bowls and chopsticks, Hu Xiu said with emotion: "It's only been less than two months since I left, and there have been so many changes in my hometown. I feel like a long time has passed."

Hearing this, Ruiting paused in wiping the child's mouth.

Huo Xiao, who was packing up the dishes and preparing to wash them, said, "When Second Brother comes home, do you want to go with him? I'll arrange for someone to take you back later."

Hu Xiu was naturally happy that her son was filial, but she still remembered the hassle of the car ride here, and hurriedly waved her hand: "Forget it, forget it, the ride is too long, that's all I said."

Huo Xiaozheng was at the regimental level.

The housing is allocated in three rooms.

Hu Xiu slept with her two children, so there was always an empty room in the house.

But there are no extra beds.

So after cleaning up the dishes, Huo Xiao went out to borrow a folding bed.

Hu Xiu thought that the brother and sister must have something to say, so she considerately took the twins out to visit.

So, within a few minutes, the brother and sister were the only ones left in the room.

It was also at this time that Ruiting asked about her elder sister's recent situation.

Lu Wei took a sip of tea and said slowly, "There is a labor reform prisoner in the Zhao family. He only jumped for a few days at first. Now he is trying to hide from people and no one will come to harass him again."

Of course, what he didn't say was that the Zhao family's current understanding of current affairs could not have been achieved without his special visit to "reason" with them.

For example, the Zhao family is so up and down, is it because they are dissatisfied with the organization's judgment?

Just one sentence is enough to be threatening to the Zhao family.

After all, the process of Zhao Kai being paraded through the streets, having his hair shaved like a yin-yang head, and then being sent to labor reform was enough to scare the Zhao family.

Originally, Zhe Teng wanted to leave a son for Zhao Kai to take care of him in his old age.

Now that they have been warned like this, they naturally dare not cause trouble again.

How can a son be as important as yourself?

Especially since the Zhao family has more than one son.

But Ruting was not stupid. Even if her second brother didn't say it explicitly, she guessed the key.

But if he didn't say anything, I would just pretend I didn't know. I just couldn't help but remind him: "The world outside is very chaotic, and my eldest sister is so pretty, I'm afraid she will attract attention."

This is also what Li Wei is worried about.

It was fine in the early years, but in the past two years, while traveling around the country, Lu Wei has seen too many incredible things.

There are many beautiful women who attract people's attention, so my eldest sister has been staying at home these days.

But...it won't work for long.

After hearing her second brother's concerns, Ruting did not feel relieved. After all, she knew very well that this catastrophe had just begun.

The reason why it was so easy for him to accept his married status had a lot to do with the fact that Huo Xiao was a soldier.

And fortunately... Huo Xiao is fine.

Thinking of this, she felt helpless and sighed: "If there is anything wrong, please contact me."

Wei Wei curled his peach blossom eyes: "This is natural...By the way, Secretary Wang is already planning to try raising rabbits."

This matter has been on my mind for a long time. Upon hearing this, I immediately asked, "In which brigade was the pilot project carried out?"

Wei: "In Xiangyang Brigade, but we haven't decided on a home yet. We have to wait for the rabbit to be shipped back from Huacheng."

"It's good that it's Xiangyang Brigade..." Li Ting felt relieved, and then said: "I should go to Shengli Brigade in the future. Secretary Wang has agreed with me. If my parents are interested, they can sign up. Dad can read, so he can strive to be a scorekeeper."

Wei smiled: "I know..."

The brother and sister in this room are chatting about family matters.

Hu Xiu, who had just left the room, was also surrounded by military dependents.

The reason why she is so popular is that she is dazzled by handsome men.

It’s not that I haven’t seen handsome men before. Apart from other things, Captain Huo has a rare good-looking appearance.

However, Huo Xiao was very serious in front of outsiders, with a cold look on his face, and seemed difficult to approach.

Luo Wei is different. Not only is his appearance exquisite, his skin is fair, and his peach blossom eyes are always smiling. People who look at him blush and their hearts beat fast. Who wouldn't like to take a few more glances at him?

Seeing Hu Xiu now, naturally I couldn't help but ask him about him.

I want to know what the young man does, how old he is, and whether he has a date...

Hu Xiu was confused by all the questions and finally only gave a few answers. At the end, she was a little amused: "...Xiao Ting is here to see Ting Ting. She will be back in four or five days at most. Do you still want to be a matchmaker?"

A military dependent immediately said nonchalantly, "What's the big deal? Don't we have to go back to our parents' home every few years? How is it different from marrying far away? In my opinion, as long as the man is good, marrying far away is not a big deal."

When this was said, it actually received a lot of response from people.

Hu Xiu...

night.

After taking a bath, Ruiting returned to her room.

I thought I would fall asleep soon, but as soon as I closed my eyes, I would think of my mother-in-law’s sigh during dinner.

When Huo Xiao came in after taking a shower, he saw his wife rolling around on the bed.

He laughed: "What's going on?"

Li Ting's eyes lit up and she immediately sat up with her legs crossed: "Have you finished your shower? You didn't use cold water, did you?" As she spoke, she stretched out her hand, motioning the man to let her feel the temperature.

Huo Xiao good-temperedly stretched out one hand for his wife to hold, and with his other free hand he picked up the thin blanket and wrapped her up.

Although it is already April, the temperature in the morning and evening is not high, and you can catch a cold if you are not careful.

After confirming the temperature, the woman was very satisfied with her husband's obedience and reminded him: "Use hot water to take a bath in the future."

"Okay, I'll listen to you." Huo Xiao took off his shoes and got on the bed. He hugged his wife and kissed her a few times before he lay down with her. "Did my second brother say how many days he can stay?"

Rubbing her head against her husband's neck, she didn't adjust it until the man laughed out loud from the tickle, and then she said, "Four or five days."

Huo Xiao thought for a few seconds and said, "Tomorrow is Sunday. Why don't we take the kids to the city to play? We can also take our second brother to visit Tianjing."

Ruiting was somewhat tempted, but when she thought about the current traffic situation, she was not very happy.

Although his wife didn't say anything, Huo Xiao could still tell from her expression and immediately said with a smile, "Don't worry about the car. You can say hello to the brigade commander and borrow a car to visit more places."

“Will someone report me?”

"No, everyone does this. It's normal to borrow money occasionally, as long as you pay for the gas."

As expected, Li Ting started to laugh: "That's good, it's time to take the kids out for a walk... By the way, let's take a few photos of the dragon and phoenix twins... Hmm..."

Thinking of the grandfather of the twins who had been sent to who knows where, she said, "Why don't we go take two photos every year from now on."

Huo Xiao immediately understood the reason behind his wife's actions. His heart softened immediately. He lowered his head and placed a kiss on her forehead before saying softly, "Okay, buy some gifts for your parents and let your second brother take them back."

"Hey, this is fine. I'll buy it with my salary, and buy one for our mom..." The day before yesterday, Li Ting received her first month's salary. Although she only received 28 yuan because it was not a full month, it was still her first salary. But halfway through her words, she suddenly remembered her mother-in-law's sigh at the dinner table...

"Are you sleepy?" Seeing that his wife suddenly stopped talking, Huo Xiao lowered his head and looked over.

Ruting shook her head, looked at her husband, hesitated for a moment and then said, "What do you think...should we find a job for Mom?"

Huo Xiao raised his eyebrows: "Why do you suddenly say that?"

Tingting: "I just think my mom is only 47 years old. Wouldn't it be too boring for her to stay at home all day?"

Huo Xiao had never thought about this: "...What did Mom say?"

"No, it's just that today I heard her lamenting that time is long, and I wondered if the days are monotonous and boring, so she feels that time is long."

Hearing this, Huo Xiao frowned slightly, but he still comforted his wife: "Don't think too much, I'll ask mom later."

Ruting said "hmm" lightly, and then said: "You said... Mom is so good at delivering babies, can she work in our military hospital?"

Huo Xiao shook his head: "It's unrealistic. There are some cases where barefoot doctors are specially recruited to work in hospitals, but my mother only knows how to deliver babies, and the military health station doesn't receive even one pregnant woman in a year."

Just knowing how to deliver a baby is pretty amazing... Although Ruting was a little depressed, she knew that she was daydreaming.

Huo Xiao smoothed his wife's silky long skirt and coaxed her gently: "Okay, don't let your imagination run wild. Maybe Mom is just like that. Go to sleep."

Feeling comfortable, Ruting couldn't help but arch her body again.

Huo Xiao held his wife down, squinted his eyes and adjusted his breathing before saying, "Not sleepy anymore? Then let's..."

Ting Ting was shocked: "I slept."

Huo Xiao, who was already furious...

The next day.

Know you can go out and play.

The dragon and phoenix tires were broken with joy, but we were still very excited until we got in the jeep and set off.

Not only was he staring out of the car window, but his little mouth never stopped asking a hundred thousand whys.

In the end, Hu Xiu and Lu Ting, whose heads were buzzing from the noise, took action at the same time, each covering one ear, and finally their ears were able to get some peace and quiet.

April 1969.

The Yangtze River Bridge in Tianjing has not yet been officially opened to traffic.

But the long bridge section, which is several kilometers long, has been built.

As the first double-track long bridge designed independently in my country, it not only represents the country's technological innovation achievements, but is also a representative building of the modernization process. ①

Therefore, even though it has not been officially opened, many people still use it as a background for taking photos.

When passing the bridge, Ruiting and his group naturally stopped and took pictures.

By the way, when Huo Xiao went to borrow a car from the Brigade Commander Wei, he also borrowed his precious camera and another roll of film while the other party was glaring at him.

Because you can take 24 photos, it is quite "rich".

So the family walked and stopped, and took the children to the zoo for a tour.

By the time we arrived at the department store in the city center, it was already past one in the afternoon.

This time I mainly bought things for the elders in my hometown and Ms. Hu Xiu.

So after entering the department store, Tingting held her mother-in-law's arm with one hand and held her salary and industrial coupons with the other, and ran straight to the counter selling rain boots.

As expected of a big city, the rain boots come in five colors.

Of course, it cannot be compared with the styles of later generations, but it was rare at that time.

When Ruting was discussing with her mother-in-law what color to buy, she heard an unfamiliar male voice calling her name.

She was a little confused, but still looked in the direction of the voice.

Then I saw a man of medium height, wearing black-framed glasses and looking honest standing next to the counter.

Tingting stared at the man suspiciously for a while, and finally found the other party's information in the corner of her memory: "...Are you Qian Haitao?"

Qian Haitao, who thought he had recognized the wrong person, breathed a sigh of relief and replied with a smile: "Is it really you? You have changed a lot, I almost didn't recognize you."

As he spoke, his eyes wandered over the face of this college classmate again, thinking that after not seeing him for two years, this classmate who was already good-looking before was now even more attractive.

At the same time, it can be seen that she is living a good life, otherwise she would not look so good.

In her memory, her original self had an average relationship with this classmate Qian Haitao, but they were close after all. Li Ting couldn't help but smile: "I'm married now, how could I not have changed? But you, you're pretty much the same as when we were in school."

Then, she turned around and looked at her husband who was holding Miaomiao and followed her, and said with a smile: "This is my love."

My lover... Huo Xiao's eyes darkened, and he stared at his wife for a few seconds before nodding politely: "Hello, Comrade Qian, I am Tingting's lover, Huo Xiao."

People...

Originally, although the word "my love" from Li Ting was intimate, it was also unusual.

But Huo Xiao emphasized it again, and it made people feel strangely tense.

Of course, only Li Ting understood this weirdness; it was actually a man showing off his affection.

She nudged the man with her arm, then looked at her embarrassed classmates and said, "My husband likes to joke, don't mind."

Qian Haitao glanced at the man in military uniform and with a very strong aura, swallowed the complaint that was about to come out of his mouth, and changed the subject: "Are you coming to Tianjing to follow the army?"

Ruiting: "Yes, what about you? I remember you are from Tianjing, right? Are you married?"

Speaking of this, Qian Haitao beamed with joy: "I am indeed a local, and I already have a partner, and we should be getting married soon."

Ruting exchanged a few more pleasantries: "Congratulations, are you coming to the department store to buy something?"

Qian Haitao shook his head: "I work here. By the way, what do you want to buy? I can help you find out if there are any good ones."

Hearing this, Ruting, who had been planning to leave after chatting for a few more words, suddenly perked up and walked over to ask in a low voice, "What good stuff do you have?"

Qian Haitao...my classmate has changed so much that I was really caught off guard.

Finally, with the help of an insider named Comrade Qian, I was able to get a lot of good products with "minor flaws" at extremely low prices, even though they actually had no problems.

So when leaving, Ruiting enthusiastically invited everyone to have a meal together at the state-owned hotel.

Qian Haitao was naturally unwilling, and kept waving his hands and shaking his head, saying that he would do it next time.

However, the old classmates met unexpectedly. Although they were unable to get together, they exchanged addresses and phone numbers.

Just as Li Ting was about to get on the bus, Qian Haitao, who had been in a dilemma for a long time, finally whispered, "I heard that Liu Hao has a limp."

When she was about to leave, she paused and asked, "Your leg is lame? Why?"

Liu Hao was the original body's first love, and his parents were professors at the school.

Later, the two old professors were accused of being traitors. In order to protect himself, Liu Hao immediately published an announcement in the newspaper to sever ties with his parents. Then he quickly hooked up with the daughter of the chairman of the Revolutionary Committee and married her. However, he was still worried and ran to the border as an educated youth.

Come to think of it, it's only been a year and a half, how could he become lame so soon?

But, she had to say, she felt relieved when she heard the news.

Qian Haitao had been paying attention to his old classmate's expression. Seeing that she didn't care at all, he smiled and said, "I don't know the details. I just heard from others that it was a romantic dispute and that she was beaten and crippled by the locals."

The corner of her mouth twitched, she felt that it was as she expected.

Qian Haitao added: "What Liu Hao did was quite nasty at the time, and his classmates didn't think highly of him. Now, whether it's true or not, it's all in the past. I think Comrade Huo cares about you very much, so live a good life."

Only then did Ruting realize that the other party brought up this matter because he probably still remembered the original body's behavior of crying madly after being broken up with.

This is to let myself let go completely.

I'm quite a worrier.

But... he is also a good person.

Thinking of this, Chen Ting thanked him sincerely: "Thank you, Qian Haitao, I am living a good life now, don't worry, I won't think about that person anymore."

Qian Haitao scratched his head a little embarrassedly, and said with a simple smile: "I'm glad you don't think I'm meddling in other people's business. Go back quickly, your lover is waiting for you."

Hearing this, Li Ting turned around, and the man sitting in the driver's seat immediately looked away.

1. The...

Li Ting smiled and said, "I'm leaving now. Today's timing is not right. Let's get together again next time."

This time, Qian Haitao readily agreed: "Okay!"

"What did you talk about?" After getting on the bus, Ruting waved to her old classmate standing at the door. Before she sat up straight, she heard the man ask in a flat tone.

Ruting rolled his eyes and replied seriously, "Let's talk about my lover."

Huo Xiao curled his lips: "Very good."

The handsome man rubbed his arms in disgust...