Chapter 121

Lu Yuanzheng held Dongsheng and Xu Wen held Doudou and put them on the deck, then they jumped up themselves.

Lu Yuanzheng waded into the sea and pushed the boat to a deeper place, took out his fishing rod, and sat by the boat to fish.

As soon as Dongsheng got on the boat, he excitedly took Doudou to explore the bamboo house.

Xu Wen brought out a plate of fruit, sat down next to Lu Yuanzheng, picked up a piece of mango with the fruit fork he made, and fed it to him.

Lu Yuanzheng opened his mouth and ate.

Xu Wen then spoke: "What's going on? Are you suddenly unhappy? Don't want me to leave?"

Lu Yuanzheng nodded and shook his head, "Xu Wen, I find that I can't leave you anymore!"

"Um?"

"I don't know how to put it." Lu Yuanzheng organized his words, "Just let me be like the year before last when we first met... If I can't come back, I will still go, but I can't be so carefree! I will miss you!"

Xu Wen was stunned. "Why are you talking about this out of the blue? Are you going on another mission?"

Lu Yuanzheng shook his head, "Not yet. Just now you said you might leave the island next year, and I found that I really don't want you to leave."

Without waiting for Xu Wen to speak, he added: "Don't worry! I won't tie you up and keep you here. I'm just expressing my feelings. Do whatever you want!"

The motherland is beautiful and Xu Wen has been to farther places. He cannot be selfish and bear to leave her trapped on the island to accompany him.

In fact, Lu Yuanzheng's words were a bit incoherent, at least not like his usual style of speaking. If someone else were to speak, they probably wouldn't understand whether he wanted her to leave or not. I'm afraid he himself doesn't know now.

But Xu Wen knew that he was confused at the moment.

However, they had only been together for a year and a half, and there had never been the fierce conflicts that other sisters-in-law had with their partners. Xu Wen and Lu Yuanzheng only had a plain and warm life day after day.

But I never thought that one day, when I heard the word "break up", my heart would be so confused as if I had lost the whole world, as if a piece of flesh was cut out from my heart, and it was so painful.

This is only under the premise that it is possible or uncertain that they will separate.

Although he could understand Lu Yuanzheng's confusion and panic at the moment, Xu Wen was still overjoyed, "Little brother, did you suddenly realize how important I am to you? Can't bear to leave me?"

Lu Yuanzheng didn't say anything, the answer was obvious.

Seeing that he was really sad, Xu Wen finally spoke: "I just said that! I may not leave. There are many ways to make money. You know me, I'm lazy and don't have any big ambitions. Besides, I really don't want to break up with you! It's not necessary to break up!"

Xu Wen felt that the biggest reason why he had no high morale was that he had studied hard for more than ten years in his previous life, but now that he had traveled through time, everything was gone and he was hurt.

Subconsciously, I was probably afraid: What if I had to fight alone, start from scratch, and become the richest woman one day, and then die young? Wouldn't that be making things easier for others?

Based on the principle that there will be no second chance for being cheated, Xu Wen is determined to stick to the central idea of ​​living the best life possible.

She would not separate from Lu Yuanzheng unless it was necessary.

Like now, the sky is high and the sea is blue, the man I love most is fishing beside me, I lie on his lap, eating fruit, feeling the gentle sea breeze, and listening to the children playing beside me.

Who would be willing to give up such beauty?

There was an elementary school on the island, and many married soldiers wrote letters home.

So another group of sisters-in-law who no longer needed to take care of the elderly and could bring their children away from home came to the island.

What surprised Xu Wen was that there were quite a few sisters-in-law in this group, even more than the sisters-in-law originally on the island, about seventy or so, so that most of the wooden houses were occupied and there were fewer and fewer empty rooms.

Taking advantage of the weekend, Xu Wen invited Song Baoying and Shi Lei to his home for dinner.

Ever since the last dinner between the two families ended due to Song Baoying's sudden outburst, everyone has been very busy and it was not until today that they had time to get together alone again.

The weather was getting hotter and hotter, and Lu Yuanzheng didn't want Xu Wen to get tired, so he went into the kitchen and cooked a few dishes himself.

"Come, try our specialty, the legendary Shandong cuisine!" Lu Yuanzheng poured Shi Lei half a glass of wine.

"It's my turn to be on duty today." Shi Lei looked at Lu Yuanzheng resentfully, "You can't drink!"

"It's okay. It's only noon. It's just a little while. Go back and take a nap. It won't affect your shift at night."

Shi Lei didn't respond and looked at Song Baoying first.

"What are you looking at me for? It's as if I'm trying to stop you from drinking!" Song Baoying rolled her eyes. "Look, this guy is getting more and more hypocritical! He always ignored my words when I was in charge before, but now that I don't care about him anymore, he's just pretending!"

Xu Wen and Lu Yuanzheng both laughed.

Shi Lei protested: "I'm just afraid you'll get angry!"

Song Baoying snorted, "I don't have time to be angry with you."

Shi Lei: “…”

He raised his glass and clinked it with Lu Yuanzheng's. "This woman! When she was around us all day, we were not lucky enough to enjoy it. We felt that she was pestering us and it was a headache! But when she was busy, she didn't care about her family anymore, which was even more of a headache!"

Song Baoying is a person with cleanliness obsession. Her house is always spotless. She can wear white gloves and touch everywhere without getting dust on it. However, she has another problem. Her cleanliness obsession does not bother others. That is, the places where she often moves must be kept absolutely clean, but if the places where she does not often live are dirty, she can also turn a blind eye.

Shi Lei glanced at Song Baoying with resentment: "You don't know, she can drink water directly if it is spilled on the floor of the office! The books on the desk are arranged neatly as if they were measured with a ruler. But what about our home? Our bedroom is the only one that can be kept this clean."

Song Baoying rolled her eyes. "How dare you say that? What? Aren't you part of the family? Can't you clean? It's not like you don't know how to clean. I see your office is sparkling clean. Why do you act like a master when you get home?"

"I've worked hard all day..."

Before Shi Lei finished speaking, Song Baoying interrupted and said, "Who doesn't work hard all day? I'm free."

Shi Lei admitted defeat: "I was wrong! From tomorrow on I will clean and cook!"

"That's more like it!"

Xu Wen and Lu Yuanzheng just listened quietly to the couple's quarrel.

Compared to their mutual respect when they first met, Shi Lei and Song Baoying are now more like a normal couple.

Quarrels that have nothing to do with itching will only increase the feelings between each other.

Halfway through the meal, Song Baoying raised her glass to Xu Wen, "Sister-in-law, I toast to you! Thank you for persuading me to stay!"

Otherwise, she would never know what a real marriage and a small family should be like!

Xu Wen accepted her thanks calmly, clinked glasses with her, and said modestly: "I persuaded you to stay for selfish reasons! If you stay, it will not only benefit Instructor Shi, but also other children on the island, including our Dongsheng! I thank you on behalf of the children as well."

Shi Lei rubbed his forehead, "Speaking of staying! I want to persuade you to go back home now!"

"Why?" Song Baoying wondered.

"Three women make a play! Thirty women make a TV series! More than a hundred women can act in a series of TV series! We are stationed here! So many sisters-in-law have come..." Shi Lei said with a bitter face, "I am not qualified to be the director of the Women's Department!"

He is good at ideological education for soldiers, but it is too difficult for him to handle the relationships between his sisters-in-law.

In particular, nine out of ten sisters-in-law are resentful of their husbands.

As soon as they opened their mouths, they didn't wait for persuasion. They had to prepare a handkerchief to listen to the sisters-in-law complaining. They couldn't say anything, after all, they were really wronged. What could they do? His soldiers did nothing wrong. Everything was their duty.

So often, if the instructor cannot handle a problem, he will report it to him, and if he cannot handle it...he can only handle it.

Normally if he cannot handle it he can report it again, but special cases require special treatment and it is not convenient for him to report it, so he can only deal with it himself unless necessary.

There are more than a hundred sisters-in-law and more than a hundred families. If there is a conflict in any family, they can come to him. He really can't handle it.

If the situation is not handled properly, there will be chaos on the island.

Song Baoying snorted coldly: "You are so difficult to please! You are worried when there is no sister-in-law coming to the island! You are still worried when there are too many sisters-in-law coming to the island!"

"Who said it wasn't!" Shi Lei sighed, "It would be nice if all the sisters-in-law came to the island and had something to do like you guys!"

"Can you be a little more greedy?" Lu Yuanzheng squeezed Shi Lei.

"Of course!" Shi Lei said seriously, "If it were possible, I think many unmarried girls would come to our island! In this way, our unmarried warriors would have a chance to solve their personal problems!"

Xu Wen wondered, "Why do you still have to worry about personal problems? Isn't it said that you can rotate every year? And you can take two vacations a year to go home and date."

Before Shi Lei could speak, Song Baoying rushed to ask, "Do you really think they are so popular? You can find a partner whenever you want? Being a military wife also requires courage. Ask Shi Lei, how many times did he date before he met me?"

Xu Wen looked at Shi Lei without saying anything.

Shi Lei pretended not to hear and lowered his head to eat his meal.

Seeing Xu Wen's curiosity, Lu Yuanzheng immediately sold him out: "According to him, before he met his sister-in-law, he could stay at home for about 20 days on vacation, except for the ten days he was on the road. He went on a blind date every day, rain or shine!"

Xu asked: "..."

It was quite surprising.

Song Baoying raised her eyebrows and said, "Good for you, Old Shi! Didn't you say you only saw three?"

"I said that I met you once or twice after three blind dates." Shi Lei said this and before Song Baoying could question him, he turned his fire to Lu Yuanzheng, "How dare you criticize me? You don't even dare to go back to your hometown to avoid blind dates! But can you avoid it? Not to mention the boss who has been arranging blind dates for you, even the sister-in-law in the family building has introduced you to many people, right? I go back to meet 20 people a year, can you stop at 20 people a year?"

Lu Yuanzheng: "..."

His first reaction was to look at Xu Wen.

Xu Wen didn't say anything and just looked at him with a smile.

The long journey is over. Shi Lei said, "We are all comrades-in-arms and brothers. Why are we so anxious to fight each other?"

Shi Lei snorted coldly, "You shot me first!"

Lu Yuanzheng did not retort, but only said to Xu Wen, "Wife, I think your idea of ​​opening a primary school is a great idea! Otherwise, why don't you consider opening a middle school? In this way, the needs of married warriors on the island will be met, and more sisters-in-law will be able to come to the island!"

Shi Lei gritted his teeth and scolded Lu Yuanzheng, "You are such a disgrace!"

This is a naked threat!

Although Lu Yuanzheng is on the same level as him, the two have different divisions of labor. Lu Yuanzheng focuses on training officers and soldiers and improving the island's combat effectiveness, while Shi Lei is more inclined to civilian work.

Therefore, the most troublesome thing for Shi Lei rather than Lu Yuanzheng was the series of problems that happened in the soldiers' backyard.

Lu Yuanzheng: “Same here!”

Shi Lei admitted defeat and took the initiative to explain to Xu Wen: "Although the leaders and sisters-in-law all introduced Lu Ying to potential partners, he rarely went. Even if he did go, he would not look well. He would either bring Dongsheng with him or show his scarred profile to the other party. This guy is really a piece of shit. When he met someone on a blind date, the first thing he said was not to introduce himself but Dongsheng, 'This is my son Dongsheng, call me auntie!' With just this one sentence, most of the girls who went on a blind date with him turned pale on the spot."

From ancient times to the present, how many women are willing to be stepmothers?

After all the fuss, Shi Lei finally came to Xu Wen for help, "Sister-in-law, please think of a way to get the sisters-in-law busy again. But not too busy, just enough."

Lu Yuanzheng squinted at him and said, "If you don't want to be the director of the Women's Department, will my wife be the director?"

Shi Lei bowed and said, "I owe you a favor!"

Xu Wen didn't respond: "It's not that I don't want to help, it's mainly because there are too many people and I can't do anything."

The island is so small that the camp is currently self-sufficient and doesn't need the sisters-in-law to help with farming or anything.

Trading is not allowed for the time being.

The private plot is only that big, and it can be taken care of neatly in half an hour every day.

All in all, the situation on the island can basically be considered as a labor surplus.

Shi Lei and Lu Yuanzheng were also aware of this problem and became worried.

Just as Song Baoying said, they are worried when no one goes to the island. They are still worried when someone goes to the island.

Where there are people, there is demand; where there is demand, there is productivity and progress.

Actually, there is some work to do. The island is currently less than 10% developed, and there is still a lot of land reclamation and construction work waiting for people to do it.

But no matter how hard they tried, Lu Yuanzheng and Shi Lei could not bring themselves to make their sisters-in-law do hard labor on the island.

To build a primary school, all the sisters-in-law on the island, except Xu Wen, became at least eight shades darker and two sizes thinner.

Adults at least know to wear a sun hat and long sleeves, but children don’t like to be restrained and will be exposed to the sun even more severely. Their skin color will almost change. If they get darker and say they are yellow, no one will believe them.

However, this island will develop into an island city sooner or later, and someone has to take the first and most difficult step.

Lu Yuanzheng suggested: "Call on the sisters-in-law to plant corals! Plant along the edge of the island towards the high seas."

When he said planting corals, he didn't mean just any corals. They had to be reef-building corals.

For Luyuanzheng, the greatest significance of coral reefs, besides increasing the area of ​​Rainbow Island, is more importantly to expand the area of ​​our country and extend our coastline.

In a natural, damaged environment, the growth rate of coral reefs cannot keep up with their needs, only 2.5 centimeters per year. This is far from enough.

In fact, the cost of artificially cultivating corals to build coral reefs is a bit high.

But there is no better way now.

Xu Wen and Shi Lei immediately understood what Lu Yuanzheng meant.

Only Song Baoying looked confused. "Why grow that? You can't eat or drink it."

"They may be useless in other places, but they are very useful here!"

Song Baoying didn't understand and wasn't very interested, since she was very busy anyway.

Xu Wen seemed to be thinking about something. She remembered that there were artificial coral reefs, but she had only heard about it and didn't know what it meant specifically. She would study it carefully with Magic Mirror when she had time.

After dinner, Shi Lei and his wife left. Lu Yuanzheng was responsible for washing the dishes, and Xu Wen was responsible for clearing the table.

When they returned from the expedition, Xu Wen had already returned to his bedroom, writing and drawing on the table.

Lu Yuanzheng was very familiar with her posture and asked her, "What do you want to study now?"

“Artificial coral reefs.”

"Isn't it just planting corals? What's so good about studying this?" Although planting corals also requires technology.

"It's not the artificial coral reef you're talking about. The artificial coral you're talking about is sinking large pieces of scrap metal, such as cars and ships, into the sea and planting corals in the gaps. This is too slow and expensive!"

Lu Yuanzheng nodded, walked up to her, and looked down at her notebook. There were a bunch of formulas in it, which he couldn't understand. "What do you mean by artificial coral reefs?"

"I just want to mass produce it. I can't explain it in a few words. I don't have any idea exactly. If I can figure it out, that would be great!"

Lu Yuanzheng took the paper and pen from Xu Wen's hand and said, "Don't be too tired! Go to sleep first. This matter is not urgent."

Xu Wen didn't try to grab it, but opened his arms and said to him coquettishly: "Hold me!"

"Are you sure?" Lu Yuanzheng bent down, his thin lips pressed against her earlobe, his hot breath spraying on her earlobe, "I can't hug you for nothing, I have to get some benefits!"

A warm current rushed to her lower abdomen, and a layer of fine goose bumps appeared on her body. She instantly lost all strength and let him do whatever he wanted!

This man really knows what she is afraid of!