Chapter 108

The next day, Lu Yuanzheng got up early and dressed neatly.

Xu Wen also woke up, having been woken up by the noise.

At daybreak, people started beating gongs and drums outside.

It's not an adjective, it really means beating gongs and drums.

The red-waisted leather drum and bronze gong were similar to the ones Xu Wen had seen in the village, the only difference being the suona and the erhu.

Xu Wen yawned, sat up, and glanced out the window, "What's going on outside? It's so busy so early in the morning."

The curtains were not drawn yet, and Bai stuck his head out but saw nothing.

"Did I disturb you?" Lu Yuanzheng looked up at her, put his hands on the bed, bent down and kissed her.

Xu Wen dodged, "I haven't brushed my teeth yet."

Lu Yuanzheng kissed her forehead and said, "Go to bed early tonight! You may not be able to sleep during the day."

"Hmm? Why?"

"Farewell veteran."

Xu asked: "..."

"Didn't you all hug each other and cry last night?"

Lu Yuanzheng: "..."

"I didn't cry." Lu Yuanzheng denied, "Yesterday was a private banquet, today is an official process, they are different."

Xu Wen raised his eyelids, not revealing that his eyes were still red when he came back last night.

If you look closely, it's still a little swollen.

"Huh?" Xu Wen wondered, "Why are you wearing such plain clothes when you are retired?"

"I am also the commander of a battalion. Shouldn't I say a few words when a veteran retires?"

"Oh!" Xu Wen smiled, "Can I go and listen to you talk?"

"Of course. You can watch today."

After the long march, Xu Wen got up, packed himself up, and made some dough for toast before heading to the camp.

As for Dongsheng, the child was unaware and went to look for Doudou early in the morning, without even coming back for breakfast.

When Xu Wen went out, he saw Jiang Yiyi next door walking towards the camp with her head down and looking depressed.

"Sister-in-law, are you here to see the fun too?" Xu Wen took the initiative to greet her.

Jiang Yiyi hummed, lowered her head, and spoke with a strong nasal tone.

Xu asked: "..."

She must have had another quarrel with her husband Li Mao.

Jiang Yiyi is a very interesting girl who dares to love and hate.

Just a little clingy.

What Li Mao lacks most is time, and he is often unable to accompany her.

The two of them had a big fight every three days and a small fight every two days.

At first Xu Wen tried to persuade him, but now he just pretended not to hear him.

Anyway, it won't be long before the two of them make up.

She felt that this was Jiang Yiyi and Li Mao's unique way of getting along.

Lu Yuanzheng didn't think so. He said that Li Mao and Jiang Yiyi could not get married.

Xu asked him the reason.

Lu Yuanzheng said: "The pressure in our profession is already great enough. We know that we can't be good husbands and fathers. We don't have much free time, and we just want to be quiet for a while. It's tiring to coax someone like Jiang Yiyi who makes a fuss every day. If Li Mao explodes and doesn't want to be coaxed one day, their relationship will be over."

Xu Wen was skeptical about this, and during the discussion, the topic escalated to the different attitudes of men and women in relationships. It became so intense that each of them represented the male and female sides in a heated debate, and the atmosphere was extremely tense.

Lu Yuanzheng became a little more sober, and seeing that Xu Wen's attitude was wrong and too arrogant, he immediately raised the white flag and admitted defeat, refusing to discuss the matter with her anymore.

He sealed her mouth with a kiss and used his hands and feet to confuse her mind, thus putting an end to the debate that had no practical relevance to either of them.

Xu Wen hesitated for a moment, should he pretend he didn't know or ask?

Before she could decide whether to speak or not, she saw several sisters-in-law in front of her, one of whom was Wang Lingling.

The island is also a small society.

It is said that birds of a feather flock together.

The sisters-in-law who walked with Wang Lingling were all those simple-looking rural sisters-in-law.

Perhaps, relatively speaking, they have more common language.

Wang Lingling saw Xu Wen and took the initiative to greet him, "Hello, sister-in-law."

"Hello!" Xu Wen waved at them, "Are you also going to see off the veterans? Let's go together?"

Several sisters-in-law greeted each other.

It should be said that someone introduced himself to Xu Wen.

All the sisters-in-law knew Xu Wen, except her who didn't know anyone else.

Xu Wen was in the middle, with Jiang Yiyi on one side and Wang Lingling on the other.

She remembered the reason why Wang Lingling went to the island, and subconsciously looked at Wang Lingling's waist and abdomen.

Wang Lingling blushed and whispered, "Not yet."

"Sorry." Xu asked out of pure curiosity.

Wang Lingling shook her head shyly. "I have discussed this with our squad leader Wang. Even if I am really pregnant, I will not go back home. I want to stay on the island."

"That's great!" Xu Wen was quite happy, "The island is more lively. But, didn't you dislike the island before?"

When Wang Lingling first arrived, she may have had some difficulty acclimatizing to the local climate. She didn't like interacting with people and was not used to the food here.

I always say that I am not as comfortable as I am in my hometown and I want to go home.

"I have learned a lot from you and Teacher Wang. I can even write my own name now. I think I will learn more by staying on the island than by going home."

"That's great! You're welcome to stay with us!" Xu Wen nodded, "As long as it's useful, our teaching will not be in vain."

She was a little surprised that Wang Ying actually insisted on giving the class until now.

And it has been recognized by everyone.

I heard that her relationship with Zhao Gang has also improved a lot.

Xu Wen was quite happy for her when he heard it.

Wang Ying is not a good person. If he were to be released into society, he would be the kind of person who would be severely beaten by society sooner or later.

But she is in the compound.

Especially in such a special environment on an isolated island.

As a result, people are much more tolerant of her.

Moreover, she was able to correct it in time.

People in the 1970s were simple and honest, without the keyboard warriors of the future who always stand on the moral high ground and boss around.

Most people are relatively kind and willing to give her a chance to reform.

After all, in this day and age, you won’t be scolded if you help ten old ladies cross the street.

When Xu Wen and his men arrived at the camp, it was bustling with activity.

Although it was not Monday, we still lined up, played the national anthem, raised the national flag, and raised the party and military flags.

It was rare for the camp's guard of honor to have such a large presence, it was particularly grand.

The company commanders tied big red ribbons on the veterans of their own company who were about to retire.

This means that their days of service in this life are over.

They lined up again, leading the veterans along the familiar road to the camp square, where they lined up for the final time.

Lu Yuanzheng and Shi Lei were waiting there.

All the non-veteran soldiers stood in neat rows according to their companies.

Seeing the veterans marching in formation, they all applauded.

Next, Lu Yuanzheng spoke to Shi Lei, the veteran representative spoke, and the soldier representative spoke.

Finally, a routine checkup.

It is to check the luggage of the veterans leaving the island and make sure they have not taken away anything they should not have.

Then there was the farewell ceremony.

The gong and drum players were in front of the veterans, and all the soldiers who had not yet retired stood in a long line along the road leading to the coast.

The veterans shed tears, saluted, and greeted, hugged, and said goodbye to their comrades one by one.

It was about two or three kilometers from the camp headquarters to the coast. The farewell team lined up in a row, following the veterans all the way to the shore.

When new recruits are accepted into the army, they are given red flowers to wear, and the same is true when they are picked up by special vehicles to leave.

Send them to the ship step by step, and then leave from the central island together.

They all bought their train tickets back home at the same time and set off on time once they reached land.

There were several boats parked on the shore, each with a big red flower tied to it.

The children and sisters-in-law followed far behind and watched them leave.

By the time we got on board, it was already past noon.

Xu Wen discovered that after everyone was brought back, Lu Yuanzheng was left standing alone on the shore for a long time.

After thinking for a while, she walked over and called him softly, "The journey is long."

Lu Yuanzheng looked sideways at her, his eyes red.

"Can't bear to leave them?"

Lu Yuanzheng shook his head, "Why should I be reluctant to part with him? Sending him away alive is a happy thing, not sad."

Although he said so, his expression did not reflect that.

Not to mention the long journey, as an outsider, she felt a little sad watching the farewell scene.

He's just being stubborn.

Xu Wen turned around, hugged him, and whispered, "I'm still here."

Lu Yuanzheng hugged Xu Wen's waist with his back hand and buried his head in her shoulder.

Soon, I felt a warmth on my neck.

Xu Wen raised his hand and patted him on the back.

After the veterans leave, the next step is to arrange a rotation of guards.

For this matter, Lu Yuanzheng and Shi Lei held a two-day meeting on the central island.

The specific plan is mainly voluntary.

First voluntary, then forced.

If more than half of the people voluntarily stay on the island, some will be forced to leave the island. If less than half, some will be forced to stay. If half is enough, then it will be just right.

The voluntary registration period is limited to three days.

Shi Lei, who is in charge of ideological work, is so busy that he has little time to go home.

This time Song Baoying did not complain because she was busy too.

Opening a school is no joke, there are so many things to prepare.

Neither Lu Yuanzheng nor Shi Lei had time to take care of them. The whole camp was busy now and they couldn't rely on anyone, so they had to rely on themselves.

Xu Wen took Song Baoying to the central island to visit the local elementary school.

It's a pity that it's of no use. The primary schools on the island are poorly equipped and have inadequate teaching resources.

Neither Song Baoying, an excellent teacher in the county, nor Xu Wen, a person who had received modern education, could accept a perfunctory primary school.

Xu Wen gritted his teeth and took Song Baoying to the mainland to buy books and find a school to study.

Lu Yuanzheng and Shi Lei were both too busy, and they had to take care of the child.

The journey was long and Zheng was worried, so he sent two soldiers to follow them.

Xu Wen was particularly embarrassed, "Now is the time to sign up to stay on the island or leave the island. If we take them away, won't they lose the right to make their own choices?"

Without waiting for Lu Yuanzheng to speak, the warrior said, "Sister-in-law, don't worry! It's a rotation anyway. Stay this year and leave next year, stay next year and leave this year, it's all the same. I'm willing to protect you... No, I want to go out with you to broaden my horizons."

Xu Wen nodded, "This young man is really good at talking!"

"Sister-in-law, how about you introduce me to someone?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Yuanzheng kicked him and said, "Do you want to run five kilometers with a heavy load?"

Xu Wen was amused and laughed.

The soldier patted the dirt off his buttocks, not caring about it, and chuckled twice, "Forget it! I have to help my sister-in-law move the luggage! See you at the road camp! See you later, sister-in-law!"

He had already run far away while talking.

Lu Yuanzheng shook his head. "I went crazy on the island. I asked for two people to accompany you, and they almost got into a fight."

Xu Wen was unhappy: "How do you know that they just want to leave the island for a stroll? Maybe they are willing to accompany me because I am popular?"

Lu Yuanzheng glanced at Xu Wen and nodded reluctantly: "Yes, yes, my wife is very beautiful! Of course she has good relationships with people."

Xu Wen groaned: "You can brag if you want to, but what's the point of bragging so reluctantly?"

Don't think she can't see his perfunctory attitude.

Lu Yuanzheng: "..."

"I'm not forcing myself, I'm jealous!"

After landing, Xu Wen and Song Baoying still stayed in the compound guesthouse, and the details were arranged by the accompanying soldiers.

In fact, they should have stayed in a guesthouse outside. Lu Yuanzheng was worried about their safety, so he contacted the local resident in Haicheng.

Xu Wen asked them where they were going to settle down and which unit they were going to replace with Lu Yuanzheng.

After a night's rest, the group went straight to the bookstore the next day to pick out teaching materials.

There are quite a lot of textbooks for fifth grade, and I bought dozens of sets for each grade.

When the bookstore saw that they were big customers, they sent a car to take them back to the compound.

Lian Zhenxing happened to come over to inspect the work.

The car delivering books blocked the road, and his official got out of the car to ask the sentry what was going on.

Before the sentry could even open his mouth, Xu Wen and Song Baoying trotted over to take the book.

They couldn't use facial recognition to let the car in, so they had to move the books themselves.

In order to save the effort of moving things, even the two young laborers, Dongsheng and Wenwen, were not spared and were called over.

The sentry saw Xu Wen and them, pointed at them and said to the attendant: "These are the books of the two sisters-in-law."

The attendant whispered, "Why don't you let the car go aside? Are you asking the leaders to wait until they finish moving the books before going in? Is that appropriate?"

The sentry was also worried, "It's too late to give in now."

The main entrance here is not very wide, and the book delivery cars took up most of the space. Even Zhenxing’s car was stuck at the back, so the book delivery cars could not be dumped out.

The attendant also saw it and thought for a moment, "I'll ask the driver to back up and you to make way for the book delivery man."

The sentry responded.

As soon as the attendant got to the car, he saw Lian Zhenxing push the door and get out. "Jun... Commander, why are you getting out?"

Lian Zhenxing signaled Xu Wen and Dongsheng with his eyes, "I saw an acquaintance, so I came over to say hello."

When Xu Wen heard the sentry's words, he, Song Baoying, Wenwen and Dongsheng hurried downstairs to move the books.

This is not an island. This compound is very unfamiliar to Xu Wen and Song Baoying.

They felt particularly embarrassed for causing trouble to the sentry.

But there were so many books that I couldn't move them all in a short time. I was so anxious that sweat broke out on my forehead.

"Xu Wen? Dongsheng?"

Xu Wen and Dongsheng looked up when they heard the voice.

Xu Wen was a little confused. The man looked familiar, but he couldn't place him in the right place for a moment.

Dongsheng was delighted. He stood on the wheelchair, showing his white teeth and smiling at Lian Zhenxing: "Uncle Lian! I haven't seen you for a long time! I missed you so much."

Xu Wen then remembered why he looked familiar. She had once gone to Lian Zhenxing's house with Lu Yuanzheng for dinner!

It was just that she had just arrived at the compound last year and met so many strangers that she couldn’t remember so many faces at once.

Xu Wen followed up with a greeting: "Hello! Sorry, we are blocking the road."

Lian Zhenxing waved his hands, glanced at the elementary school textbooks in the book, and wondered, "Dongsheng is going to elementary school?"

Xu Wen shook his head, "We bought it for the children on the island. We want to open a primary school on Rainbow Island with Sister-in-law Song Baoying."

"Does your family run its own primary school?" Lian Zhenxing raised his eyebrows in surprise.

Xu Wen nodded, "Yes. I know this is a bit against the rules. There is nothing we can do about it. Although our army's new welfare is especially good for the wives of soldiers, everyone is very willing to go to the island.

However, even though the adult problem has been solved, many sisters-in-law still cannot come to join the army unless the problem of children going to school is solved. "