Chapter 46

Xu Wen was silent for a moment, not knowing what to say.

The sister-in-law thought Xu Wen was too embarrassed to speak up, and encouraged her: "Why should you be embarrassed to say this? I'm telling you, I'm not exaggerating, there's everyone in this compound that I don't know. Let's see who is so lucky to marry a fairy-like girl?"

Xu Wen saw that he could not escape, so he had to answer: "His name is Lu Yuanzheng."

The sister-in-law who had been talking to Xu Wen dropped the dumpling skin with stuffing on the panel with a bang.

She had a loud voice, and the sound attracted the attention of everyone who was chatting.

Xu Wen lowered his head uncomfortably.

"Lu Yuanzheng? Lu Lian? You are Lu Lian's wife? That's not right! He was still single the last time I saw him! When did you get married?"

"In the summer when he goes back on vacation."

"Oh my!" The sister-in-law raised her head and pointed at the soldiers who were equally surprised, "You guys in Lu Lian did a great job keeping the secret! No wonder he refused to agree when I wanted to arrange a marriage for him last year. It turns out he has such a beautiful fiancée at home! Lu Lian was so mean, he got married quietly and didn't even give us a piece of wedding candy."

Xu Wen wanted to say that they got married right after they met this year, but he thought it would be awkward for his sister-in-law, so he swallowed the words and only said, "He was called back right after they got married, so he didn't have time to tell her, right?"

Everyone seemed to be very interested in Lu Yuanzheng's personal affairs and threw questions at Xu Wen one after another.

"Sister-in-law, how did you get to know Lu Lian?"

"Sister-in-law, weren't you scared to tears when you first met our Lu Lian?"

"Sister-in-law, is Lu Lian awake now?"

“…”

Xu Wen had no time to answer.

"Xu asked."

Xu Wen turned around and saw Lu Yuanzheng sitting in a wheelchair being pushed by his signalman. There was a thin bamboo pole tied to the armrest of the wheelchair with an infusion bottle hanging on it.

Xu asked: "..."

Why do you insist on showing off this look?

No matter how much he complained, he still put down the rolling pin, dusted the flour off his hands, and headed off on his journey.

When they got close, Lu Yuanzheng asked Xu Wen in a low voice, "Did they give you any trouble?"

"You usually have a bad relationship with others?"

Lu Yuanzheng raised his eyebrows, "Hmm?"

"So what are you afraid of?"

Lu Yuanzheng chuckled, "I was afraid you were uncomfortable so I came to your rescue out of kindness, but now you are blaming me."

"Okay! Thank you."

"You seem to be adapting well. Then you can play with them for a while. I have a meeting to attend."

"We are still holding a meeting after all this?"

Lu Yuanzheng smiled and said, "Yeah, something happened."

His smile was faint.

Xu Wen guessed that it was probably related to the sacrificed soldiers, so he didn't say much. He just told Lu Yuanzheng to take care of his wounds and ask for leave if he felt unwell.

With strength in numbers, the dumplings were quickly wrapped.

The remaining noodles were made into hand-rolled noodles by my sister-in-law who also came from the north.

By the time they finished their work, the kitchen staff's New Year's Eve dinner was almost ready.

The soldiers moved some tables and chairs and placed them in the square on the side of the road.

Every six wooden square tables were put together and covered with newspapers to form a long table.

Each company had a long table. Except for those who had to stand guard, everyone sat around the table.

Xu Wen sat next to Lu Yuanzheng's wheelchair. She noticed that although there were food and drinks on one of the tables, there was no one there.

Xu Wen whispered to Lu Yuanzheng, "Which company has not arrived yet?"

Lu Yuanzheng followed her line of sight and lowered his eyes, "It's the brothers who couldn't come this year."

Xu Wen just counted and found that there were exactly seventeen sets of bowls and chopsticks on the table. He immediately realized that he was talking about the soldiers who died this time, and apologized quickly: "I'm sorry!"

Lu Yuanzheng shook his head, "What's there to be sorry about? Although sadness is inevitable, their death itself is a source of pride!"

Xu Wen nodded and said nothing more.

The atmosphere at the dinner table was very good. It was Xu Wen's first time to attend such a group New Year's Eve dinner and he found it quite fresh.

After a while, Song Xueqin arrived.

The people in the company hurriedly stood up and gave him their seats.

Song Xueqin waved his hands and took the wine that was handed to him, "Happy New Year, everyone!"

"Happy New Year, Commander!"

"I'm here today to make two announcements. Because it will also affect the families, I'm taking this opportunity to make the announcements. But before I make the announcements, let me first offer a glass of wine to our fallen comrades."

All the warriors stood up.

Many family members also stood up.

"Help me down." Lu Yuanzheng said in a low voice.

Xu Wen and another warrior set up the Lu Yuanzheng bridge.

Lu Yuanzheng had a cast on one leg and the stitches on the other leg had just been removed. Just standing there made him straighten his body and take a deep breath.

Xu Wen heard him groan, sway twice, stop, let go of Xu Wen's hand, and straighten his back.

Song Xueqin waited until Lu Yuanzheng stood still before giving the order: "Salute!"

Hundreds of warriors saluted the empty table in unison.

“Toast!”

Song Xueqin took the lead and poured the wine on the ground.

The same goes for others.

Seeing that Lu Yuanzheng's hands began to tremble, Xu Wen hurriedly helped him sit down.

"Although our soldiers sacrificed their lives to achieve complete victory in the archipelago, I am not here to reward you for your merits today. I mainly want to inform you of two things.

First, Comrade Lu Yuanzheng has made meritorious service many times since he joined the army. He also made outstanding achievements during his tenure. Comrade Lu Yuanzheng made even greater contributions in this island war. Therefore, the organization announced that Comrade Lu Yuanzheng will be promoted to the commander of our first battalion. The appointment notice will be issued after the New Year meeting, and the entire army will also issue a notice at that time. "

There was warm applause at the scene.

Xu Wen turned his head to look at Lu Yuanzheng.

There was no trace of joy in his eyes.

"The second thing has to do with everyone present... including the wives and children of the soldiers. After the New Year, our battalion will be responsible for taking over one of the islands. Not only is it a deserted island, it is also inconvenient to enter and exit, and there is a shortage of supplies. The only thing that can be guaranteed is that there will be no war for some time to come.

Although the conditions here are not good, at least we have a few houses that can shelter us from the wind and rain, and it is close to the village. If something happens, it will only take more than half an hour to get to the city. But on the island, there are no such conditions at all, and everything starts from scratch.

So whether you should continue to accompany the troops or not, whether you are soldiers, officers or their families, you should all go back and discuss it.

Okay, that's all I have to say. You guys eat and drink first! I still have to go to other camps."

After Song Xueqin left, everyone at the long tables fell unusually silent.

Sitting next to Xu Wen was the sister-in-law with whom he had chatted in the afternoon. She sighed and said, "Old Lu is gone, and it's time for me to go too. I didn't expect that after he left, there would be no trace of the place where we lived together. Alas!"

Xu Wen suddenly turned his head and looked at her.

Then I realized that the sister-in-law was sitting next to her holding her child, and next to her was another sister-in-law. Next to that sister-in-law was a soldier, probably the husband of that sister-in-law.

In other words, everyone was sitting together as a family, and there was no one around the sister-in-law.

Generally speaking, if a comrade has family members present, they will not be assigned to stand guard at times like this.

So, the sister-in-law's husband, whom she called Lao Lu, was also at that empty table? !

Xu Wen didn't know what to say, so he just called her, "Sister-in-law..."

The sister-in-law looked at Xu Wen, wiped her eyes, and smiled: "I'm fine. You just got married and became a military wife not long ago, you should not be used to this kind of occasion. I'm used to it. There will be such an empty table every year. I am well prepared every time Lao Lu goes out. When he comes back, I feel like I have picked up money, no, I am several times happier than picking up money. If he can't come back..."

My sister-in-law choked up a little, pursed her lips, and smiled bitterly: "This time he didn't come back! The knife that has been hanging in my heart for several years has finally fallen. I feel at ease."

She said this, but her expression clearly showed otherwise. The tears on her face were like beads that had fallen off a string.

Xu Wen took out a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to his sister-in-law, but he didn't know how to persuade her.

The sister-in-law waved her hands and wiped her face with the back of her hand. "Why can't Lao Lu hold on just one more time? Just one more time and we can get to the island! We won't have to fight anymore! Why doesn't he come back?"

Xu Wen wiped his sister-in-law's tears with a handkerchief and patted her on the back.

Xu Wen had never experienced such a thing before and didn't know what to say, but he could understand his sister-in-law's feelings.

Lu Yuanzheng's Adam's apple rolled over and over, and he bent down and bowed to his sister-in-law, "I'm sorry, it's my incompetence that I failed to bring everyone back safely."

"Lu Lian, aren't you slapping me in the face by saying that?" The sister-in-law shook her head, "You almost couldn't come back! Alas! I don't blame you or Lao Lu. He was a soldier when I married him, and I had to be mentally prepared for this day if I followed him. I just... I just feel a little uncomfortable."

Everyone feels uncomfortable!

Even though it was Xu Wen's first time coming to the compound and spending the New Year like this, he felt a lump in his heart and a blockage in his throat.

She was just a newly married military wife, but because of the long journey, she also experienced the feeling of being a widow for a short time.

She would be sad even though her relationship with Lu Yuanzheng was so shallow, let alone the fact that the Lu family's sister-in-law and her husband seemed to have a very good relationship.

After a while, my sister-in-law calmed down and waved her hands, "Let's not talk about this on New Year's Day! Come on, let's eat and drink."

Still no one started eating.

"It's all my fault!" Sister-in-law laughed at herself, "I just couldn't control myself. Don't learn from me! If they knew about this, they wouldn't want us to cry so much on New Year's Day, right? Besides, this is the last New Year we spend together. After the New Year, I will take Lao Lu back to my hometown. I'm afraid I won't see you again in this life. Many of you will change jobs and may not see each other again. So let's stop crying and spend this New Year happily! Come, I'll lead the way in toasting everyone."

After saying that, my sister-in-law drank it in one gulp.

Others raised their glasses.

These other people also include Lu Yuanzheng.

Xu Wen placed his hand on the back of Lu Yuanzheng's hand, a gesture of disapproval.

Li Daoming said that Lu Yuanzheng couldn't drink alcohol now.

Lu Yuanzheng didn't say anything and didn't resist, he just looked at Xu Wen with pleading eyes.

Xu Wen bit his lip and let go of his hand.

Sometimes, people know they shouldn't do something, but they still can't help but do it.

It's not about right or wrong, it's just the emotion.

Xu Wen was still immersed in sadness, but the others quickly adjusted their mood and started eating, drinking and chatting.

If the empty table had not been there, Xu Wen would have even had the illusion that he was dreaming.

She turned her head and looked at Mrs. Lu.

Her eyes were still a little red, but she had already started to share her parenting experience with her sister-in-law who had just become a mother.

As Xu Wen watched, he began to understand something.

It’s not that they aren’t sad, it’s just that they can quickly gather their sorrow and cherish the present moment.

After all, every time we are together could become our last, and no one wants to think of that day with only tears in their eyes.

So everyone tries hard to bury their sorrow deep in their hearts and pass on their happiness to others.

Lu Yuanzheng's injuries had not yet healed. After toiling for half a day, he stood for a while and drank a glass of wine. It was obvious that his mind and body could no longer hold on.

Xu Wen did not disturb the people who were singing, drinking and chatting, and pushed Lu Yuanzheng back.

There were only two of them, and no one was called Dongsheng.

Lu Yuanzheng said that Xu Wen did not object when Dongsheng slept with the others in the company at night.

There is only one 1.5-meter double bed in the family building. If Dongsheng also comes back, it will be very crowded for three people.

It's okay under normal circumstances, but he is still a serious injury during the main expedition.

Dongsheng is restless when sleeping, it would be bad if he met Lu Yuanzheng.

Back in the room, Xu Wen helped Lu Yuanzheng move from the wheelchair to the bed. Both of them were sweating.

Xu Wen filled a basin with clean water, took the medicine that needed to be changed, and carefully read the instructions written to her by Li Daoming.

Before leaving, Li Daoming took Xu aside and asked him a few more instructions.

He said that Lu Yuanzheng would definitely not follow the doctor's instructions, would definitely get out of bed, would definitely stand up, and would definitely drink. If the wound broke open again, Xu Wen would have to help treat it.

If Xu Wen can't handle it, he should go to the infirmary to see a military doctor.

Xu Wen thought, if you can avoid bothering others during the New Year, then don’t bother others.

She read the instructions carefully and felt that she should be fine.

To be precise, there is no problem technically, but there is still some psychological problem.

Especially since some of the wounds during Lu Yuanzheng's expedition were in more concealed locations, the kind that involve the genders of both men and women.

Xu Wen's face flushed red as he stared at the gauze at the edge of Lu Yuanzheng's thigh, hesitating to take any action.

The journey was not much better.

It was embarrassing enough that he was lying in bed unable to take care of himself. Although Xu Wen was his wife, she was actually not much more familiar to him than the girl next door.

A blush appeared on his face, which was pale from the pain, and he discussed with Xu Wen: "How about you go to the infirmary and call someone for me?"

"It's New Year's Day, can't you let them have a rest? Besides, this doesn't involve professional medical knowledge. Anyone can do it, just changing the medicine or rubbing the body. If I call someone, will they laugh at you or me?"

Lu Yuanzheng stopped talking.

I thought that being laughed at was better than being looked at with scorn by you.

"The sister-in-law just now is named Li, and her husband is named Lu Weipeng." Lu Yuanzheng suddenly spoke. He just wanted to change the subject to divert Xu Wen's attention away from his thighs.

Sure enough, Xu Wen turned his head and looked at him, with an expression of listening attentively.

"How do you think they knew each other?"

Xu Wen shook his head.

"Once we had to conduct an exercise with a brother unit, so we went to Beihai. During the break, we went ashore for a walk. We happened to rescue Mrs. Li who had been abducted and sold to the northeast. Mrs. Li was from the south and was illiterate. She was tortured by traffickers and became a bit crazy. She was frightened and scared and couldn't speak clearly. We couldn't even ask for her home address.

But we couldn’t just throw her out on the street after saving her. We said we were taking a break, but we actually had a mission to accomplish. It was inconvenient to reveal our identities to the local police station, so we had to take Mrs. Li back first.”

With this distraction, Xu Wen forgot about the embarrassment, sat down naturally on the edge of the bed, and began to untie the bandage on Lu Yuanzheng's leg.

"Our unit is special, there are very few female soldiers, even the health company is mostly male soldiers. So you can imagine that if you bring a woman back home, the whole family will be dumbfounded and don't know how to accommodate her. Old Song, that is, Song Xueqin said that whoever rescues the person is responsible.

At that time, I was less than 20 years old, and the others were about the same age, except for Old Lu, that is, Lu Weipeng, who was slightly older, and we voted to take care of Mrs. Li.

They were of similar age, and they fell in love with each other after a while."

Xu Wen squeezed out a towel and wiped the wound clean. He fanned with his hand to make the remaining water droplets dry quickly, and lowered his head to blew gently a few times.

This is actually a common action.

But the location is wrong.

From Lu Yuanzheng's angle, he saw Xu Wen with his head lowered, his long eyelashes half drooped, and he pouting his lips as he whispered into his thigh.

He was a man of great vigor and vitality, so even though he was seriously injured, it didn't mean that he had no physiological reaction. A thin layer of red quickly spread from the tip of Lu Yuanzheng's ear to his neck.

Seeing that Xu Wen was busy and focused, Lu Yuanzheng quietly pulled the thin blanket beside him and covered his waist and abdomen to hide his embarrassment.

Xu Wen suddenly raised his head.

Lu Yuanzheng tensed up instantly and even forgot to breathe for a moment.

It's three times more stressful than having a gun pointed at your head by the enemy.

Xu Wen blinked and asked in confusion, "What happened next?"

Why did this person stop talking halfway?

Lu Yuanzheng: "..."

He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, then continued, "Later, of course, when we went south, we sent Sister Li home."

"Then how did they become husband and wife?"

"Something went wrong when we were sending her home. Don't look at how Sister Li is now, she actually has a good family background. Her fiancé's family is a well-known family in the local area. But the more this is the case, the more trouble there is. As soon as her fiancé heard that Sister Li was abducted by a trafficker, he came to cancel the engagement, saying that if he married Sister Li, people would say something bad about her. Her family was also unwilling to do so, thinking that if the news that Sister Li was abducted by a trafficker got out, her reputation would definitely be damaged. It would also implicate her unmarried brothers and sisters in the family..."

"It's not Mrs. Li's fault!" Xu Wen was angry. "Why is her family like this?"

Lu Yuanzheng's face turned pale, and he couldn't help but speak after trying to hold back: "Wenwen, I'm not a human trafficker, please be gentle."

Xu Wen then realized that he had poked Lu Yuanzheng's wound with the cotton swab in his excitement, and quickly apologized: "I'm sorry! Does it hurt? Let me blow on it for you."

Lu Yuanzheng felt even more miserable and hurriedly stopped her: "No, no, no, no, no need to blow. I'm not born in winter, I'm not afraid of pain."

Afraid that Xu Wen would say something else, he continued, "Mrs. Li is also a hot-tempered person. She untied her belt and tried to hang herself! My brother Lu saved Mrs. Li again and said to the Li family, 'You all despise her, but I treat her like a treasure!'

Not to mention the Li family, we were all stunned at that time.

After some communication, the Li family readily agreed to marry Mrs. Li to Brother Lu.

The Li family didn't even ask for a betrothal gift, nor did they choose an auspicious date. They just hastily arranged for the two of them to get married.

Later, Mrs. Li followed the army and never returned home in all those years. She must have been deeply hurt."

"Ah! No wonder she looked so sad and reluctant to leave here just now."

"Well, this is her home, and it's where she and Lao Lu live together. So if they really have to move away, she will be no less sad than us."

"Military wives are really great!" Xu Wen sighed.

Lu Yuanzheng reminded her: "You are also a military wife now."

Xu Wen didn't say anything.

Lu Yuanzheng thought for a moment and said, "But you still have a chance to regret it."