Chapter 16 (1)

"Oh!" Lu Yuanzheng nodded, then looked at Xu Wen in surprise.

After Xu Wen finished speaking, he turned around and ran towards the tent, not intending to give him any time to react.

Lu Yuanzheng stood there in a daze.

Joy rose from the bottom of my heart, gradually occupying my chest, and curving my eyebrows and lips.

Thinking of something, the corners of his lips straightened a little, and restraint and forbearance surged in his eyes, and finally returned to calm, like the sea after a storm.

He lowered his eyes to look at Dongsheng in his arms, turned around and walked towards his tent step by step.

His back remained straight and his steps were firm.

At daybreak, the students heard the clear whistle again.

Their brains haven't even woken up yet, but their bodies have already sat up.

But in just four days, the whistle has already trained his body to remember it.

Xu Wen rubbed his eyes and got up. His whole body ached, especially his legs.

The amount of activity and labor yesterday was quite intense, and my body felt a bit overwhelmed.

Not only her, but other female classmates were not in a good condition either.

Everyone had tears in their eyes, and it was unclear whether it was because of yawning or pain.

After everyone gathered with grins on their faces, Lu Yuanzheng announced that they would start morning exercises, which consisted of running around the new school site.

After everyone finished running and stood in military posture for a while, they announced that it was time to eat.

The students who had watches looked at their watches and saw that it was only six o'clock.

"Everyone has a lot of study to do today, so you don't need to cook for yourselves. The school cafeteria will still provide you with food. Now dismiss, go back and wash up, then come eat."

The students were visibly relieved.

Lu Yuanzheng raised his eyebrows and said, "Friendly reminder, it's best to eat more. Today may not be an easy day for all of you students."

His eyes focused on Xu Wen's face.

Xu Wen lowered her head to avoid his gaze. Besides being shy, she was also worried.

Her original living budget was ten cents a day. She ate noodles she brought with her in the morning and had rice and salted vegetables for lunch.

Judging from the current situation, the budget will inevitably be exceeded.

Xu Wen didn't expect to have a meeting in the middle of the night and never come back. She didn't bring any cooked noodles or pickled vegetables.

You can't skip any meal of the day. If you don't, you won't have the energy to work or train.

She didn't want to faint again like she did yesterday.

The Lin Daiyu character is not popular these days.

After returning to the tent and washing up, Xu Wen still hadn't figured out how to arrange to have a full meal a day on just one dime.

She touched the few thin pieces of paper money in her pocket, and was struggling with whether to go for dinner or not.

Shao Yueyue saw Xu Wen sitting on the bed worriedly, so she put down the washbasin and came over to sit next to her, "Wenwen, did you forget to bring enough meal tickets? I have some here, you can use them first."

Xu Wen shook his head, "Thank you! But I don't need it for now. I'll borrow it from you when I need it."

It's easy to borrow, but what can she use to pay back?

Shao Yueyue wanted to say something else, but Li Yun shook her head at her.

She was a little older than all of them and could understand Xu Wen's difficulties and his thoughts.

Shao Yueyue bit her lip and was about to continue persuading them when she heard Dongsheng's childish voice outside the tent: "Sisters, can I come in?"

"Come in!"

Everyone laughed at him for being so gentlemanly at such a young age.

The young gentleman Dongsheng walked up to Xu Wen and saluted like a gentleman: "Excuse me, comrade, can I invite you to have breakfast with me?"

Everyone burst into laughter at his amusement.

Xu Wen also smiled and asked him, "Does your father agree to you having dinner with me?"

"Dad asked for leave and asked me to follow you."

"Really? Where did he go? Will your father come back in the morning?" Shao Yue was a little excited. It was great that the big devil had taken a leave.

"Dad didn't say anything." Dongsheng shook his head. "Dad just said that you wouldn't be able to do anything without him."

Shao Yue: “…”

Big devils are hated, and little devils are not lovable either.

Since Lu Yuanzheng was not there, Xu Wen had to have dinner with Dongsheng.

Not only do you have to eat, you also have to eat well, Xu Wen thought, this time I really have to borrow meal tickets from Sister Li Yun.

Master Dongsheng was particularly generous and ordered steamed buns, fried dough sticks, stuffing, soy milk and millet porridge in one go.

Xu asked: "..."

bankruptcy is inevitable.

It was my first time having dinner with Dongsheng, and I wasn’t sure how much he would eat, but Xu Wen didn’t want to refuse to buy food for him.

As soon as she reached into her pocket, Dongsheng had already taken out a handful of meal tickets with the word "Yi Zhong" printed on them and handed them out on tiptoe.

The aunt in charge of collecting money in the cafeteria: "..."

Xu asked: "..."

She took the meal ticket, picked out the exact amount and handed it to the aunt, and kept the rest.

These meal tickets look like they're worth at least ten dollars.

She wouldn't be able to explain if Dongsheng got lost.

Dongsheng ordered so much, but he didn't eat much himself. He just had a bun and a bowl of millet porridge, and pushed the rest to Xu Wen.

"Don't waste food! You can't finish it. Don't order so much next time."

Dongsheng nodded, "I remember it."

Xu Wen didn't want to take advantage of Dongsheng or Lu Yuanzheng, and now that she had touched the food she couldn't return it, she could only eat it.

Dongsheng ordered a lot of food and she almost couldn't finish it.

After breakfast, the first thing to do is work.

While the sun was not too strong and the weather was not too hot, the instructors and teachers led everyone to clean up the new school.

The girls were responsible for weeding.

The male students were responsible for leveling the ground, which meant shoveling up the high places and pushing them to fill up the potholes.

Just like yesterday morning, the teenagers who had just woken up swept away yesterday's fatigue and were full of vigor and energy.

There were people shouting slogans, singing, chatting and joking, it was very lively.

In the heated atmosphere, Xu Wen felt particularly motivated.

Xu Wen also had to work, so he let Dongsheng play with him.

Dongsheng asked for a sickle and said he wanted to help her. Xu Wen thought he was just doing it for fun, but she didn't expect that he could really cut the grass like a real person.

Xu Wen was both moved and emotional.

Dongsheng was moved and felt sorry for her.

I feel sad that children of this age can do farm work.

The other students were not too surprised to see everyone praising Dongsheng.

In the production team, many children who were no older than Dongsheng started to earn work points.

They were incapable of doing heavy work, and at most they could collect firewood and scavenger manure, but their work points were not high.

Children from poor families have to grow up early.

Xu Wen pursed his lips, took the sickle from Dongsheng, lowered his head and spread his hand. After just a few cuts, the tender palm was already rubbed red. Suddenly, he felt distressed, blew gently on Dongsheng's palm a few times, and rubbed his head, "Dongsheng, thank you for helping me! But children should do what children should do. Go play over there!"

Dongsheng's eyes suddenly turned red. He looked at Li Yun and Shao Yue who were not far away, but he didn't dare to cry. He whispered in Xu Wen's ear with tears in his eyes, "Mom, you are so good to me."

At nine o'clock, everyone took a break and started class.

The teachers who had classes that day came early on their bikes and waited.

Each class found a small area, scattered under trees or other places that could provide shade.

The students sat or squatted, with their textbooks on their knees or placed directly on the ground with some grass, and listened to the teacher's lecture.

The harder the study, the higher the students' enthusiasm for learning.

Take Xu Wen’s class monitor, for example. He started teaching himself college calculus when he was just in the first year of high school and he knows a lot.

He can play all kinds of musical instruments, including the trumpet and horn, and can even sing a little.

He enjoys a very high reputation among his classmates and is highly regarded by his teachers.

In the eyes of his classmates, the class monitor is a genius. The strange thing is that even though he is so talented, he can never pass Xu Wen in the exams.

In Xu Wen's opinion, the current courses are quite simple.

No matter how simple it is, she has to hide her shortcomings.

So much so that classmates all believed that no matter how great a genius is, he would bite off more than he can chew.

Otherwise, how could he fail the exam and be inferior to Xu Wen, who was obviously not as good as the class monitor?

When Xu Wen was teaching, Dongsheng stayed quietly by the side, not making any noise or disturbance.

Xu Wen asked him quietly when the teacher wasn't paying attention: "Will you be bored? Do you want to go out and play?"

Gao Jiankai came before class and wanted to take Dongsheng away because he was afraid that Dongsheng would disturb his studies. Dongsheng refused and insisted on staying with Xu Wen, and then promised not to disturb Xu Wen.

Dongsheng shook his head and imitated her in lowering his voice: "It's not boring to be with mom."

Xu Wen touched his head and heard him say, "It's more comfortable than studying with Dad."

When dad is in a meeting or studying, he also has to sit up straight, which is boring.

Xu Wen laughed and was a little curious. Where did Lu Yuanzheng go?

Lu Yuanzheng had not returned for lunch, so Xu Wen took Dongsheng to have lunch together.

The canteen quickly came with a bullock cart pulling a few large basins, unloaded the bullock and led it aside to eat grass, and then started selling rice using the bullock cart.

After working for most of the day, everyone was already hungry and unconsciously formed a long queue in front of the ox cart.

It happened to be Thursday, which was meat-addition day. The cafeteria had an extra dish of tender braised pork than usual.

40 cents a copy.

It's a lot cheaper than restaurants outside, but the taste is also a lot worse.

Xu Wen used to buy meat only once a month to satisfy his hunger. Today, Guang Dongsheng ordered two servings in one go. He also ordered a portion of vegetables and rice.

Xu Wen hesitated for a moment and finally took out the meal ticket.

Meat is a rare commodity, and a serving of braised pork actually only has a few pieces of meat. What if Dongsheng can really eat it all?

Vegetables are for supplementing vitamins, and rice is for satisfying hunger, so you must buy them.

Xu Wen used his own ticket to buy rice. He gave half to Dongsheng and put the other half in his own lunch box.

The foursome found a shady place to sit down.

The four people are Xu Wen, Dongsheng, Li Yun and Shao Yue.

Liu Rulan dislikes Lu Yuanzheng and also dislikes Dongsheng, and is unwilling to go with them.

Besides, she is not popular among her female classmates and prefers to play with male classmates.

But she didn't think it was her fault. She thought her female classmates were jealous of her and that was why they didn't like to play with her.

Without Liu Rulan, the foursome were happier. They sat together and pushed their aluminum lunch boxes to the middle space to share.

Dongsheng followed suit and pushed Lu Yuanzheng's lunch box to the middle.

But as adults, they don't have the nerve to eat winter vegetables.

Xu Wen took his lunch box back to him and said, "You are small and your arms are not that long. You can't reach it. Just eat it yourself."

Dongsheng took a few bites and pushed the lunch box to Xu Wen, "Sister Wenwen, help me eat, I can't eat anymore."

Xu Wen looked at the lunch box, which still had most of the meat, vegetables, and rice left, and frowned.

"Dongsheng, I told you this morning that you can't waste it." Xu Wen frowned, his tone a little stern, "Let's not talk about how hard it is for farmers to grow crops. Your father's allowance was earned with his life! It's wrong for you to waste his hard-earned money like this!"

Ever since she discovered Lu Yuanzheng's true intention of taking a vacation, she has been feeling some indescribable emotions in her heart.

Seeing Dongsheng wasting money again and again, I couldn't help but feel a little angry.

It brings about the energy of winter, and also the energy of a long journey.

He doesn't look like a well-behaved kid, how could he be so lavish in raising Dongsheng? !

Drowning a child is like harming him.

It was the first time that Dongsheng saw Xu Wen angry, and he was a little anxious, "Mom, don't be angry! I didn't mean it. Dad said you were hungry because you didn't eat enough, so I wanted you to eat more."

Dad also said that if he just gave Xu Wen the meal ticket, he wouldn't want it, so he came up with this idea.

Xu Wen froze.

Shao Yue and Li Yun were also stunned.

Shao Yue almost choked, swallowed the rice with difficulty, and asked Li Yun, "What did Dongsheng want to ask you?"

Li Yun hesitated for a moment, "I saw Wenwen was angry and scared, so I got nervous and called out the wrong name, right?"

Shao Yue thought about it and felt it was very likely.

They all rarely saw Xu Wen get angry.

Besides, this is the only explanation.

Xu Wen is only 19 years old and it is impossible for him and Instructor Lu to have a child this old.

Xu Wen didn't care what Shao Yue and Li Yun thought. He put down his chopsticks, hugged Dong Sheng, and apologized to him: "I'm sorry, I blamed you wrongly."

Dongsheng hugged her back, not daring to call her mommy anymore, and whispered, "Then don't leave me."

Xu Wen's heart ached, he nodded, let go of him and said seriously: "Dongsheng, no matter what, you can't do this again next time. Because if you order so much, I won't be able to finish it and it will be a waste."

Dongsheng nodded obediently and admitted his mistake, "I'm sorry, I won't do it again next time."

After a short lunch break, I attended two classes first, and then gathered to work at four o'clock in the afternoon when the sun was not so hot.

In the afternoon, we are still clearing weeds and leveling the land.

It was evening when we returned from our long journey.

We still have to take care of our own dinner, with each class going out to hunt for game and pick wild vegetables and fruits.

And it was even more ruthless than yesterday, not allowing the cafeteria to provide any support.

In other words, there was no pot, no seasoning, and not even any matches.

The students wailed again, but it was useless.

Hundreds of students gathered together like primitive people, making fire by rubbing sticks together.

Of course, there are a few lucky classes that don't have to work so hard because they have matches.

For example, in Xu Wen's class, a classmate put the matches in his pocket after lighting a fire last night, so he had matches to use today.

Some classmates were not happy and clamored that the class with matches was cheating.

To this Lu Yuanzheng simply replied: "You can take out matches now and use them just as well."

The class without matches: "..."

"Opportunities are reserved for those who are prepared. No matter where they got the matches, they just happen to have them when they need them. And you don't. The same is true in marching and fighting. The enemy has guns and you don't. Can you say that the enemy is cheating and let them put down their guns to fight you?"

There is no fool who can go to high school. If you think about it, it seems to be true and you can only agree with it.

Among hundreds of classmates, there is always one who reacts faster. Even if he himself does not have fire, he can start a fire.

One by one they learned, one by one they started the fire, and finally they all lit it.

Without a pot, we can grill meat and it would be difficult to boil water.

Fortunately, the washbasins everyone brought were enamel basins, so it was no problem to boil water on the rack.

The problem of eating and drinking water was barely solved.

Although we did a lot of work today, we also work hard on weekdays, and we had four classes in between to rest, so we were not as tired as yesterday.

I was much more active at dinner than yesterday.

Seeing that they were not particularly tired, Lu Yuanzheng simply gathered all the students together.

Hundreds of people sat on the ground, barbecuing, singing songs and playing games.

Amidst the laughter and joy, everyone forgot the hard work of training.

Lu Yuanzheng also went up to sing two military songs at the urging of the crowd.

When he sang, his voice was clear and melodious, deep and powerful, and very infectious. The male classmates applauded and cheered, and they wished they could give up their studies and join the army immediately.

Some classmates also urged Xu Wen to sing, but Xu Wen refused.

She was afraid that the first thing she would say would be some internet hit.

By the end, everyone had started to spontaneously perform their talents, including singing, dancing, and martial arts.

Xu Wen was watching with great interest when suddenly someone patted his shoulder.

Xu Wen turned around and saw that it was Wen Yiming.

She was very surprised: "How did you find me?" It was pitch dark and there were hundreds of people there!

Wen Yiming pointed outside the crowd and asked, "Can I have a word with you?"

Xu Wen hesitated for a moment, but still nodded, stood up, and followed Wen Yiming to an open space a little further away from everyone else.

Wen Yiming spoke first: "Are you okay?"

"Huh?" Xu Wen was puzzled. "Aren't you the one who came to see me?" What do I want?

"I mean, are you okay? I heard you fainted yesterday."

"Thank you for your concern, I'm fine." Xu Wen was a little puzzled. She fainted in public, and all the teachers and students in the school knew about it. Why did Wen Yiming only find out a day later?

"Sorry, I'm late." Xu Yiming seemed a little guilty.

Xu Wen found it difficult to answer this question, as it was too intimate, yet it didn't express anything directly.

She simply changed the subject: "I don't think I've seen you in the past two days?"

Although there are only a few hundred students in the school, we work and train together every day. Those we know have seen each other, and those we don’t know have also become familiar with each other.

But she had never seen Wen Yiming once.

Wen Yiming hesitated for a moment and nodded: "I've taken a long sick leave. I don't want to participate in such a time-wasting activity."

Xu Wen looked around subconsciously. Wen Yiming seemed to be the kind of child that other people would have. He looked gentle and well-mannered, and spoke and behaved in a gentle and polite manner. How could he be so disrespectful when he first opened his mouth?

Such remarks may be fine in a few decades, but people will be educated if they make them now.

"Labor is the most glorious" is a slogan that everyone says, but in his mouth it became a waste of time. If people heard that he didn't want to work and asked for sick leave, he would at least be warned or expelled.

"You...what are you doing..." Xu Wen didn't know how to complain for a moment.

Wen Yiming didn't seem to realize that he had said something wrong. He took out a wad of money from his pocket and handed it to Xu Wen: "Here."

Xu Wen looked carefully under the moonlight and saw that they were all large lumps of ten yuan. He didn't take them and asked him, "What does this mean?"

"The body is the capital of revolution. I heard that you were hungry yesterday, so use this money to eat." Wen Yiming's tone was particularly natural, as if he was giving Xu Wen a pen.

Xu Wen was stunned for a moment and shook his head, "Thank you for your kindness, but I can't accept it."

"Why?" Wen Yiming frowned in confusion.

Xu Wen laughed: "Should I be the one asking you why? Why did you suddenly give me so much money?"

"I don't want you to be hungry again."

"Thank you for your kindness, but I cannot accept the money. I will not accept it if I have done nothing for it."

"You lent me your notes and helped me before. Is this how I repay you?"

Xu Wen still shook his head: "You can return the notes after you finish reading them. Once you spend the money, it's gone. I don't have the money to return it to you."

"You don't have to pay it back. Consider it a gift from me."

Xu Wen saw that Wen Yiming really liked this kind of ambiguous flirting, so he bluntly said, "Wen Yiming, what is our relationship now? I don't think I have any reason to ask you for money. I thought we had tacitly agreed not to contact each other on the night of the blind date. In fact, you didn't let the matchmaker pass on messages after that day. It's okay to be classmates, but now you are like this... I am troubled."

Wen Yiming was silent for a while, then spoke: "I admit that I like you, but I also feel that we are still students... In short, if we can make you feel at ease by confirming our relationship now, then we are a couple, so can you accept the money?"

Xu asked: “???”

I'm not forcing you to be my boyfriend.

Xu Wen took a deep breath and could only speak more bluntly: "I'm sorry, I don't want to be with you, and I don't want your money. Since you have already taken sick leave, you should stop running around. It will be bad for you if you are seen. I'm going back first, please be safe on the way."

After saying this, he turned around and left without giving Wen Yiming any chance to refuse.

Wen Yiming grabbed Xu Wen's arm and said, "No, you..."

"Let her go!" Lu Yuanzheng shouted in a low voice, quickly ran over from a distance, slapped Wen Yiming's hand away, and protected Xu Wen behind him.

Lu Yuanzheng moved too quickly. When he said the first word, he was still a few meters away, but when he finished the second word, he was already in front of him. His movements were all done in one go. Before Xu Wen and Wen Yiming could react, they were separated.

At the same time, Lu Yuanzheng also saw Wen Yiming's face clearly.

Lu Yuanzheng: "..."

He lowered his head and looked at Xu Wen inquiringly.

Xu asked: "..."

I inexplicably felt guilty about being caught cheating.

Wen Yiming frowned, "Why are you here?"

"Should I be the one asking you this?" Lu Yuanzheng raised his eyebrows. "You don't seem to be on the list of teachers and students participating in the training at No. 1 Middle School."

Xu Wen first explained to Lu Yuanzheng: "Student Wen has asked for sick leave." He then said to Wen Yiming, "Instructor Lu is now in charge of our military training."

Before Wen Yiming could breathe a sigh of relief, Xu Wen added softly, "She's also my crush."

Wen Yiming almost choked up, "You guys..." He pointed at Lu Yuanzheng and then at Xu Wen, "He's not worthy of you. Xu Wen, you'll regret getting married so early!"

"That's my business." Xu Wen didn't like Wen Yiming's aggressive attitude of "I'm doing this for your own good." "Anyway, thank you for making this trip! Please don't come to me again in the future."

Wen Yiming wanted to say something, but after exchanging a glance with Lu Yuanzheng, who was half-smiling, he gave up. He left with one sentence, "Xu Wen, believe me, don't get married so soon, you will really regret it!" and turned away.

After Wen Yiming, before Xu Wen could even breathe a sigh of relief, she saw Lu Yuanzheng grabbing her waist and giving her a slap on the head.

Xu Wen cried out, covered his head, and glared at him, "Are you used to beating Dongsheng? Why do you like beating people so much?"

"Xu asked."

"exist."

"You yourself promised to marry me last night, right?"

"It seems so?" Xu Wen lowered his head, still a little embarrassed.

"You regret it after just one day?"

"?" Xu Wen looked up at him with a puzzled look on his face: "No!"

"No, what happened to that kid just now?"

Xu asked: "..."

This is a long story, and I still don’t know how to say the key point.

Xu Wen blinked and said, "I said it was a misunderstanding, do you believe me?"

Lu Yuanzheng just looked at her without saying a word.

Xu Wen didn't hide either, and looked at him calmly.

Lu Yuanzheng looked away first, not knowing whether he believed it or not, and said calmly, "Go back!"

Xu Wen didn't know how to explain it, and felt a little aggrieved for some reason: "I'm not from Chao Mu Si."

Lu Yuanzheng hummed, "I know."

The two walked back side by side. Xu Wen took out the meal ticket Dongsheng had given him and returned it to him: "Dongsheng is so young, you gave him so many meal tickets, what if he loses them?"

Lu Yuanzheng didn't answer, "It's not for him, it's for you."

Xu Wen shook his head, "Then I can't have it either."

Even if you are a couple, there is no reason for you to ask the man for money.

What day is it today? One gave her meal tickets and the other gave her money.

"I thought I was qualified to spend money on you now." Lu Yuanzheng raised his eyebrows.

Xu Wen opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, Lu Yuanzheng stopped him with a wave of his hand. "Xu Wen, I'm a rough person and I speak bluntly. I feel that we have been husband and wife since the moment you agreed, and it is a husband's duty to support you. Besides, I'm leaving tomorrow, and I will probably be very busy and won't be able to take care of you. If you get hungry again, I may not be able to get here in time."

Xu Wen immediately stopped caring about returning his meal ticket and uttered in surprise, "You're leaving tomorrow? Without us?"

"Originally, I shouldn't have been the one to bring you. I was just asked to join in the fun. Now I have something important to do, so I don't have time to join in the fun." Lu Yuanzheng looked at her meaningfully, "I have to go back and prepare well. I have to ask a matchmaker to propose marriage, and I have to prepare for the wedding."

"So urgent?!"

"I told you that I still have a month of vacation left. No, now I don't even have a month. I need to find someone to make furniture, notify relatives and friends, and prepare a banquet. Time is very tight. Besides, your family hasn't agreed yet. I have to go back and prepare the betrothal gifts so that they can agree as soon as possible?"

Xu asked: "..."

She shook her head: "My family doesn't care about the gift."

Lu Yuanzheng nodded and pretended to be relieved: "Then I feel much more relieved! Judging from his character, I won't be afraid."

Xu Wen burst out laughing.

Lu Yuanzheng took out a brand new ladies' watch from his pocket and handed it to Xu, asking, "Try it on. Does it fit?"

Very beautiful ladies' watch, popular style. It is a rare item. You need industrial coupons to buy a watch, which is harder to get than money.

"Why did you give me this?" Xu asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I asked my comrades last night, and they said that the betrothal gift now needs to be one ring and forty-eight legs. The only thing you can wear now is a watch, so I went to the market to buy one today. I will prepare the other big items before the wedding."

"Zhuan" refers to bicycles, sewing machines, and watches, and "Yi Xiang" refers to radios.

Forty-eight legs refers to the total number of legs of furniture such as double beds, wardrobes, chests of drawers, low cabinets, square tables, chairs, etc.

Xu Wen took the watch, put it on his hand, and liked it more and more the more he looked at it.

These days, owning a watch is considered a luxury.

She admired it for a while and then picked it and handed it to Lu Yuanzheng.

Lu Yuanzheng didn't answer, but looked at him inquiringly.

"It's not appropriate to wear this when you have to work lately. Besides, you don't look like someone who is so particular about formalities. A betrothal gift of some kind will be fine. There's no need to spend so much money!"

"Since it's a betrothal gift, you should keep it. If you can't wear it while working, you can put it in your pocket." Lu Yuanzheng didn't take the watch and teased her, "You're saving money for me before you even get married? Don't worry, even though there's not much money, it's not to the point of injustice to your daughter-in-law."

Xu asked: "..."

"Then you can give it to me! It would be better if I could just give it to you and make you rich."

She put the watch back on her wrist. She strode forward.

This person really doesn't know what's good for him.

Lu Yuanzheng didn't chase her, but stared at her back and chuckled.

He certainly didn't have much money, but he wasn't so poor that he couldn't afford to marry.

Before Dongsheng came into being, he was a spendthrift who used all his allowances to support other soldiers whose families were in financial difficulties.

After adopting Dongsheng, I saved all my money except for raising him. I was afraid that one day I would have to give Dongsheng to someone else to raise, so I had to save enough for his living expenses.

Now is the perfect time to take it out and marry Xu Wen.

As for Dongsheng, he was left in the care of Xu Wen. Don't worry, the allowance in the future would be enough to support the two of them. If even that didn't make much, there would still be... a pension.

Xu Wen returned to sit next to Dongsheng, his heart still pounding.

She patted her hot cheeks and curled her lips.

Dongsheng climbed onto Xu Wen's lap and asked her, "Mom, where have you been?"

"I went to the bathroom." Xu Wen lied without changing his expression. He picked up Dongsheng and made him sit more comfortably.

Dongsheng didn't think much about it. He just said "oh" and handed the water bottle hanging around his neck to Xu Wen, "Mom, drink it."

Xu Wen wasn't very thirsty, but Dongsheng meant well, so she took the pot, opened the lid and took a sip.

"Huh?" Xu Wen looked surprised, then lowered his head, took a sip, and smacked it.

It tastes like orange soda.

This soda is actually very cheap, it is just water mixed with orange powder.

Available in bottles and in bulk.

Xu Wen bought it in bulk for Xu Qie several times, at five cents a piece in an enamel jar.

The ones in glass bottles are a bit more expensive, but taste much better, only a dime a bottle.

This pot of Dongsheng doesn't taste like the loose ones. How many bottles does it take to fill one pot?

It’s such a waste!

"Where did you get it from?"

"My father gave it to you. He said you worked hard to take care of me, so I gave it to you."

Xu Wen shook his head, "Keep it for yourself!"

Dongsheng patted the small water bottle on his waist and said, "I have one too. Dad bought it for us from the market, one for each of us."

Xu Wen was stunned for a moment, then turned around and saw Lu Yuanzheng standing outside the crowd talking to Gao Jiankai.

Maybe he noticed her gaze, but he suddenly looked over too.

The two people's eyes met.

Lu Yuanzheng winked at her.

Xu Wenxian withdrew her gaze. Was this man treating her like a child?

Although...But...

My heart feels as sweet as if it were soaked in orange juice.

On Friday morning, Lu Yuanzheng led the group through morning exercises before leaving.

Although female classmates like Liu Rulan really dislike Lu Yuanzheng, most of the classmates, especially the male classmates, particularly admire Lu Yuanzheng.

They could see in the past few days that Lu Yuanzheng was really capable.

Last night, Lu Yuanzheng talked about some of his experiences on the battlefield, and won the admiration of a group of male classmates.

Even Shao Yue, who saw Lu Yuanzheng as indifferently as a mouse sees a cat, was reluctant to part with him.

Xu Wen couldn't help but be curious: "Don't you always pray that the big devil will leave quickly? Why are your eyes still red when Instructor Lu really left?"

"I'm afraid, but Instructor Lu is really amazing! He knows everything!"

Xu asked: "..."

Dongsheng was also reluctant to leave.

Dongsheng didn't want to separate from Xu Wen at all and cried and refused to leave.

Lu Yuanzheng whispered something in his ear, and Dongsheng asked with sobs, "Really?"

"Have I ever lied to you?"

Dongsheng thought about it and realized that there really wasn't one. He burst into laughter and said, "Okay then!"

But when she really parted with Xu Wen, she couldn't help crying and turned back one step behind Lu Yuanzheng.

The classmates followed Lu Yuanzheng unconsciously for a long distance, shouting for him to come back.

Lu Yuanzheng raised his hands and waved them, leaving everyone with only a dashing back.

"You value women over friendship!" Gao Jiankai said angrily, but with a smile on his face.

It was such a great thing for his comrade-in-arms to come home and propose marriage, so of course he had to let it go.

Lu Yuanzheng left and Gao Jiankai took his place.

In fact, as Lu Yuanzheng said, this job was originally the responsibility of Gao Jiankai.

There was still more than a day left before the holiday, and it was not worth assigning a new comrade to lead the team, so he took over on his own.

Gao Jiankai is more outgoing and talkative than Lu Yuanzheng, so his classmates are not that afraid of him.

But it doesn’t matter whether you are afraid or not. There is still a whole day of Friday left and the process is similar to yesterday.

We do morning exercises in the morning, work when it's cool in the morning and afternoon, and go to class when it's hot.

It rained a little one day, so we studied and tidied our housekeeping in classes.

And so it was Saturday.

We gathered before dawn on Saturday morning.

This time we are breaking camp and returning to school.

There are usually only half-day classes on Saturdays, so you can go home after school in the morning.

They had a hard week and were dismissed from school a little early.

The students all rushed home to earn their afternoon work points.

Xu Wen was also anxious to go home.

Lu Yuanzheng said that he would ask a matchmaker to come to her house on Saturday to propose marriage.

I don't know if we'll get to her house now?

Zhu Meizhen knew that Xu Wen was always frugal, so in order to save money, he would not buy meals in the cafeteria on Saturday mornings or even from Friday night.

Therefore, the Xu family’s Saturday lunch is always a little richer than weekdays.

"Grandma, Dad, Mom, Second Brother, Sister-in-law, Xiaoqie, I'm back!" Xu Wen started shouting as soon as he reached the door out of habit.

Usually at this time Xu Qi would run out excitedly to greet her.

Xu Wen didn’t know whether he missed her or not, but he would definitely miss the hard candy she brought.

Every time she would take out two cents to buy Xu Qie a few pieces of candy and bring them back.

This time, Xu Qi was nowhere to be seen.

Xu Wen opened the curtain in confusion and was stunned.

The food on the table was more abundant than usual, but there were also more people than usual.

Grandma, Xu Qiushi, Zhu Meizhen, Xu Wen, Sang Xiaoqing, and Xu Qie were all sitting around the table, even Xu Wang and his brother-in-law Xie Dechun were there.

They were all dressed up and sitting upright, obviously waiting for someone.

But when Zhu Meizhen saw Xu Wen, she actually asked, "Wen Wen, why are you back?"

Xu asked: “????”

"Today is Saturday!" She blinked, a little puzzled: "Aren't you waiting for me?"

Obviously not, because she wouldn't have to wait until the whole family changed into the clothes that were kept at the bottom of the closet.

It is even more impossible to cook a table full of dishes and a basket of steamed buns made of white flour.

Who are these empty-handed forces planning to entertain?

Is it a long journey?

Zhu Meizhen slapped her forehead and said, "I forgot about this in my haste. Go wash your hands and come eat."

Xu asked: "..."

She pouted in grievance, "Mom, I only went to school for a week, and you all forgot about me? Am I still your baby?"

Xu Qie took Xu Wen's bag unceremoniously, "Sister, let me help you."

Having said that, Xu Qi's eyes never left the bag.

"The candy is not in the bag." Xu Wen saw through his cheap brother's little thoughts at a glance. He took out a few pieces of candy from his pocket, cut one piece for Xu, gave one piece to his little nephew, and put the remaining two pieces back into his own pocket.

Xu Qie protested: "Sister, usually I only give you two pieces of candy."

"You usually go out to greet me!"

Xu Qieli felt guilty and walked into the inner room carrying Xu Wen's bag, muttering, "You don't eat candy."

Xu Wen doesn't eat it, but Dongsheng likes it very much.

She bought four pieces of candy, thinking that Xu Qie and Dongsheng would each have two pieces. But who knew that her sister came with her little nephew, so naturally Xu Qi would be wronged.

After Xu Wen washed her hands, the crowded table made room for her on a bench.

Glancing at his relatives, Xu Wen sat down and asked curiously, "What day is today? Why is it so grand?"

Even if Lu Yuanzheng came to propose marriage, it would be impossible to set up a son-in-law banquet directly. Moreover, it is unclear whether the family would agree or not. How could they possibly set up such a sumptuous banquet to entertain him?

Xu Wen rolled his eyes unhappily: "This is all because of you."

"Ah?" Xu Wen blinked innocently, "What does it have to do with me?"

I just got out of school, okay?

Xu Wang took Xu Wen's arm and said with a smile, "We are already grown up and can marry into Xu's family. It's going so fast!"

Sang Xiaoqing nodded, "Big sister is right. Let's ask for someone who is pretty, good at studying, and has good conditions for finding a husband."

Grandma squinted her eyes and smiled: "I always say that children and grandchildren have their own blessings. When I first saw the child, I felt that he and Wenwen were a good match."

Xu asked: ???

Is it really to entertain Lu Yuanzheng?

They had only not seen each other for one day. What tricks did Lu Yuanzheng use to make the whole family, young and old, so praise their marriage?

Xu Qiushi nodded and said to Zhu Meizhen, "Mother, go and see if anyone has arrived."

Zhu Meizhen had been craning her neck to look outside, and she stood up in response, "It's really urgent!