Chapter 83

"This is already very good!" Lu Yuanzheng praised sincerely.

He seemed to think that Xu Wen's words were a bit perfunctory, and added: "It's really unimaginable that there is a car that can run without oil and only rely on batteries. Wife, you are amazing!"

Although Xu Wen would occasionally describe to him the high-tech life of the future, hearing is one thing and seeing is another.

Even if this car is just a small glimpse of the future.

Xu Wen knocked on the edge of the car and said, "This will only be at the level of a toy car in a few decades."

It is indeed something you can DIY for your own entertainment.

But now, this has become a particularly cool invention.

Lu Yuanzheng took Xu Wen and his mother to the beach to test drive the car.

After word of mouth spread for a while, everyone realized the uniqueness of this strange car and came forward to see it.

Lu Yuanzheng's driving skills are much better than Xu Wen's.

The family of three became the most eye-catching scenery on the beach.

However, after only a short while, the car stopped working and stopped on the beach. No matter how hard Lu Yuanzheng pedaled, it would not move.

Lu Yuanzheng frowned, "Something wrong?"

Xu Wen pondered for a moment and said, "I think it's most likely out of power."

"Only for a short while?" How much work can it do? Lu Yuanzheng rubbed his chin. This was a bit boring.

"I'll go home and add more battery capacity, and I'll do some more research on batteries."

It was a great sight when the family of three came here, and they left pushing the cart on their way back.

Although it's not that bad, the scenery here is quite different from when we came here.

Of course, this was just Xu Wen's feeling. To others, it was just astonishing.

Xu Wen was very annoyed: "I have to add pedals. And there is no battery indicator. If it runs out of power halfway, I can still pedal a few times. It's better than pushing it!"

Lu Yuanzheng did not object and encouraged her: "It's good enough to achieve this for the first time! We can improve the rest slowly."

"Okay, I'll study it right away when I get back."

"Don't worry, the consolation performance will start soon. Let's watch the performance tomorrow."

Dongsheng said he didn't want to go and wanted to play with other kids instead.

Xu Wen wondered why Dongsheng had no interest in such a rare entertainment activity?

Dongsheng glanced at Lu Yuanzheng, swallowed his saliva and said, "I'll go find the new kids. If they want to see it, I'll take them there."

Lu Yuanzheng looked down at him, his eyes understanding what he was saying, but he didn't say anything, just told him to be careful.

Although Xu Wen didn't know why, he knew that Dongsheng was not telling the truth. It was not that he had no interest in the performance, but he just didn't want to go for some reason.

The two held hands and took the four-wheeler back to the cabin to charge it, then walked hand in hand towards the stage.

Halfway through the journey, I saw a clerk running here in a hurry.

Wenshu saw Lu Yuanzheng standing in a proper position, took a breath and spoke: "Lu Ying, Captain Song is here, the instructor has gone to meet him, do you want to go to meet him or go to the stage first?"

Lu Yuanzheng thought for a moment and replied, "I'll go to the stage to take a look. You can go and pick them up for me."

With so many comrades and students from the art troupe, he and Shi Lei had to leave one to keep an eye on them.

The clerk responded and trotted away.

"Uncle Song, what are you doing here at this hour?"

"He will also have to speak later." Lu Yuanzheng said accustomed to it. "The process is almost the same every year."

The camp is on a mountain, although the mountain is not high at all.

The overall layout is an irregular parallelogram.

The stage is located at the right corner of the parallelogram.

The temporary stage was about one meter high and was covered with a layer of felt to prevent it from getting wet and slippery.

The background is a large military green canvas with a red banner on it that reads: Celebrate National Day with Rainbow Island Cultural Performance.

There are a few lines of small print below to indicate the organizing and co-organizing units.

The audience stands were originally a patch of grass, but were recently cleaned and covered with a thick layer of sand.

When Lu Yuanzheng asked Xu, each company was preparing to lead its troops into the audience seats.

Apart from the daily routine of morning and evening exercises, Xu Wen mostly saw them resting, a bit like school students, in groups of three or five, chatting and laughing as they walked back to the classroom or to the canteen.

Just they won't be unkempt and won't put their arms around each other's shoulders.

They were wearing the same clothes, and from a distance or from behind, it was difficult to tell who was who. They had similar builds, heights, and walked in similar ways.

It's rare to see them lined up since I arrived on the island.

Just like what we often see on TV, rows and rows of people, looking left and right, standing at attention, at ease, walking or running in unison, as neat and tidy as if they were cast from the same mold.

Xu Wen looked a few more times out of curiosity, but unfortunately it was already dark and he couldn't see clearly.

The brightest area is the stage, where two searchlights are used to illuminate the stage.

Lu Yuanzheng asked her to wait for him on the side while he went to the actors' waiting room to check on her and asked her not to run around.

Xu Wen agreed, and before leaving, he took out a handful of fresh mint leaves from his pocket and stuffed them into her hand, "Crush them and apply them on your arms and legs to prevent mosquitoes from biting you."

This should have been picked by Lu Yuanzheng from the flowerpot at home just now, to prevent her from being bitten by mosquitoes like when she was talking to Wang Ying.

In fact, there are not many mosquitoes here. Xu Wen noticed that mugwort leaves were lit around this area to repel mosquitoes.

Xu Wen chose a high ground with a good view and stood there.

Each company had already entered with their troops, and everyone was holding a horse stamp in their hands. They were roughly divided into one row, and they stood in the audience seats from left to right.

Each company has an instructor and a company commander, one in front and one behind. Usually the company commander is closer to the end of the stage and will give the order to sit down after he has spoken.

They moved in unison, opening and putting down the riding reins, sitting down in unison, with their backs straight and their hands on their knees.

Xu Wenxiang didn't know how long this cultural performance would last. It would be uncomfortable to sit like this the whole time, right? !

No wonder Dongsheng refused to come. Lu Yuanzheng often led Dongsheng like a soldier. I guess he had made him sit like this and watch performances many times before.

How can a child sit still? No wonder they don't want to come even though it's so lively.

However, Xu Wen guessed that he would sneak over with the other kids in a while.

As the warriors entered the battlefield, family members also arrived one after another, standing or sitting around Xu Wen.

Everyone greeted each other with smiles and discussed the cultural performance.

In an era when entertainment was extremely scarce and watching movies was a rarity, such a live cultural performance was indeed as lively as the Chinese New Year.

Even though the stage was very simple and lacked decent choreography, the performance costumes of the officers and soldiers of the art troupe were not that fancy.

The military's art performances are not like those in the local areas. In the local areas, if we say 8 o'clock, it will often start at 8:30, but here it is exactly the time we say, not even a second off.

Xu Wen listened to the host's opening remarks and looked around.

The Lu Yuanzheng that she was waiting for has not returned yet.

The stage was bright, but the audience area and surroundings were very dark, especially since they all wore the same clothes and hats, and it was difficult to find someone with poor visibility.

But Xu Wen still saw Lu Yuanzheng at a glance.

He stood on one side of the stage, half of his body in the dark and half in the spotlight, and it looked like he was going to go on stage to give a speech soon.

A lesbian came out of the locker room and approached him.

Lu Yuanzheng turned his head to talk to her, so they must be acquaintances.

Xu Wen didn't think much about it and was about to look away when he saw the girl grab Lu Yuanzheng's arm and seemed a little excited.

She raised her eyebrows and took a few steps towards Lu Yuanzheng. She saw him pull out his arm, take a step back, and then fall back.

After only a few minutes of silence, he began to chat with the sisters-in-law around him.

Most of them were people Xu Wen didn’t know. She wasn’t introverted, but she had been busy with electric cars recently and had rarely gone out.

Normally, he is closest to Mrs. Li, but right now, Mrs. Li has to go to the canteen and can't come.

I looked around and found that most of the people standing around me were my sisters-in-law who had just arrived on the island.

The sisters-in-law who had come to the island before had all lived in the compound with the army. They were probably familiar with the cultural and artistic performances, so they basically arrived at the right time and stood in a relatively back position.

Among the people around him, Xu Wen is probably more familiar with Jiang Yiyi and Wang Lingling.

Whenever these two are together, the contrast is always very clear.

Jiang Yiyi was dressed particularly beautifully today, wearing a white knee-length dress. Under the dim light, you could see that she was wearing makeup, which made her look even more charming.

Xu Wen stepped on her feet and thought, who knows how long this cultural performance will last. Wouldn’t it be tiring to wear such high heels?

Besides, there are no decent roads on this island, and it takes a lot of courage to walk here wearing such thin heels.

Jiang Yiyi didn't notice Xu Wen's gaze. She was busy greeting and chatting with her sisters-in-law with a smile on her face.

She asked them where they were from, who they were targeting, etc., and of course she did not forget to introduce herself and her platoon leader, Li.

In comparison, Wang Lingling was as quiet as a green leaf.

She was wearing a simple floral short-sleeved shirt, blue workman's trousers, and a pair of homemade cloth sandals.

There was a faint greasy sheen on his dusty face.

She lowered her head, glancing at Jiang Yiyi and the others or at the stage from time to time, while at the same time trying to shrink her body.

Curious and self-deprecating.

Xu Wen took the initiative to greet her: "Sister-in-law, you are here too!"

Wang Lingling didn't expect Xu Wen to take the initiative to talk to her. She uttered an "ah" and was a little unresponsive. After a few seconds, she nodded and said, "Yeah."

She looked up at Xu Wen, as if she wanted to say something but didn't.

Jiang Yiyi heard Xu Wen's voice, turned around to look at her, and said with admiration and familiarity: "Wow! Sister-in-law, the car you rode on the beach... was so cool! How did you make it move without pedaling or gas? It's amazing! No wonder Li Mao and the others praised you. I finally know why they admire you so much! Sister-in-law, you are so amazing! From today on, I will also start to admire you!"

Xu Wen thought, this person is really different from others. Compared with Wang Lingling who still maintains the awkwardness of Grandma Liu, Jiang Yiyi has adapted very well. She refused to be called sister-in-law a few days ago, but now she has adapted to the local customs and calls her sister-in-law affectionately.

Thinking back, Xu Wen smiled and said, "It's powered by batteries, which is similar to a motorcycle, one uses oil and the other uses electricity." Then he complimented her, "You look so beautiful today!"

Jiang Yiyi didn't shy away. She lifted the hem of her skirt with both hands and waved it slightly, smiling generously: "Really? I dressed up specially. Thank you sister-in-law for the compliment."

Xu Wen felt that if there weren't so many people around and there wasn't enough space, Jiang Yiyi would be able to turn around twice on the spot for her to see.

I suddenly felt a little emotional. We were both in our twenties, but Jiang Yiyi was lively and energetic, while I seemed too mature and stable. To put it bluntly, I was old.

Jiang Yiyi quickly put her hand down, a little dissatisfied, and snorted: "I dressed up for a long time and stood in front of you, sister-in-law, but I'm still a supporting role."

Xu asked: "..."

This kind of open complaint is more like acting coquettishly, which makes people not angry and just treat it as a joke.

Xu Wen looked down at the slippers on her feet, the plain cotton vest and cropped trousers on her body, and exclaimed, wondering how she looked like Honghua?

It's not that she doesn't care about her image, she was just thinking about how to modify the electric car and forgot about changing clothes.

Halfway through the walk I remembered it, but was too lazy to go back to change, thinking that it was pitch dark and no one could see each other.

Jiang Yiyi looked Xu Wen up and down and praised her: "Don't look at me! You look better in a sack than in our fancy dresses! You are beautiful and have a good temperament. We are just your foils." She sighed and said, "If I had known it was useless, I would not have dressed up."

"How can it be so exaggerated? You are the flower here." Xu Wen shook his head.

Wang Lingling suddenly spoke up: "Ask sister-in-law if she is really pretty."

Xu Wen really didn't expect her to speak, and looked over in surprise. Wang Lingling lowered her head again, as if the words she just said had used up all her courage.

Even though the others didn't know Xu Wen very well, they also followed suit and praised her. The car Xu Wen drove that afternoon successfully made everyone remember her, and of course she was also eye-catching in appearance.

Xu Wen was not as frank as Jiang Yiyi. He felt embarrassed by the compliment and tried to change the subject: "The show is about to begin!"

The performance had not started yet. The next person to go on stage was Lu Yuanzheng. Xu Wen saw the girl stomping her feet when Lu Yuanzheng walked onto the stage.

Xu Wen raised his eyebrows.

It was clear that Lu Yuanzheng had nothing to do with her, but it didn't matter if he made her unhappy.

At this time, several warriors came over with horse whips in their hands, distributed them to everyone, and asked them to sit down.

Xu Wen thanked him and took it.

Lu Yuanzheng only said a few words before handing the microphone to the host.

Xu Wendi noticed that he glanced over here before he left the stage, probably looking for her.

The performance officially began, and the first program was singing and dancing.

The girl who had just joined Lalu Yuanzheng was the lead dancer, so Xu Wen took a closer look at her.

The stage makeup is quite heavy and very gorgeous, and she must be good-looking too.

Everyone quieted down and performed seriously.

Xu Wen was also watching it. It felt like watching a retro movie, which was quite fresh.

Even though the songs are really old and the clothes are really tacky.

After a while, the soldiers who had families came over to spend time with their wives and children.

According to the regulations, this is not allowed, but the family members had just arrived on the island and the officers turned a blind eye.

Not only did he turn a blind eye, he also took the lead, and Lu Yuanzheng also came over.

However, with him here, the other warriors felt uncomfortable and they held their heads high and sat upright again.

Xu Wen thought about it and pulled him away from the crowd, walking far away to a corner.

Lu Yuanzheng reached out to hold her hand, but she slapped it away.

"What's wrong?"

Xu Wen didn't reply, planning to go home and ask him about the girl again.

Before Lu Yuanzheng could ask more questions, Dongsheng and a few little boys about his age came running over.

"Dad! Mommy!" Dongsheng rushed to Xu Wen and hugged her legs, ruthlessly abandoning his little friend.

Lu Yuanzheng pulled him away from Xu Wen by his collar, "Stand still!"

Dongsheng curled his lips and stood straight.

As soon as Lu Yuanzheng let go, he ran behind Xu Wen, poked out half of his head, and retorted: "Dad, you can't even stand properly."

Lu Yuanzheng: "..."

He raised his hand to hit Dongsheng, but Dongsheng shrank back behind Xu Wen.

Xu Wen said: "I think Dongsheng is right! If you want to educate your children, you must set an example yourself first."

Lu Yuanzheng: "..."

Xu Wen seemed to be angry with him?

Why?

After watching only half of the performance, Xu Wen and his family of three returned to the cabin.

Dongsheng was probably tired from running around during the day, and he fell asleep leaning on Xu Wen before watching a few shows.

Lu Yuanzheng picked up Dongsheng and wanted to send him home first. Xu Wen was worried about Dongsheng being alone at home, so he followed him.

"It's finally getting a bit lively, why don't you watch it for a while?"

Xu Wen shook his head, "Children are important."

Lu Yuanzheng glanced at her and said, "Who offended you? You don't look very happy."

"No!"

Lu Yuanzheng asked again: "Did I cause it?"

Xu Wen didn't reply, but just said, "Watch your feet! Don't drop the child."

Lu Yuanzheng asked sadly, "Is it okay if I fall down?"

Xu Wen stopped talking again.

I didn't say a word to him until I got home.

After arriving home, Lu Yuanzheng put Dongsheng on the bed and took off his extra clothes.

Xu Wen came back with a basin of water, washed a towel and wiped Dongsheng's face, hands and feet.

Lu Yuanzheng watched Xu Wen bending over and busying herself beside Dong Sheng's bed, frowned, and called her, "Wife."