Xia Lan pursed her lips and turned her head away.
"Hmph, anyway, no one can look down on you."
Seeing Xia Lan acting delicate yet standing up for Qin Yu, Yang Ziye felt awkward.
"Sister-in-law, I'm sorry, it was my fault. I shouldn't have underestimated Brother Qin." Yang Ziye obediently admitted his mistake and never dared to look down on others again.
Seeing that Yang Ziye's apology was genuine, Xia Lan stopped pressing the matter.
"Don't underestimate people anymore! The scars all over his body are his honors. No one has the right to say that he hasn't served his country, understand?"
"Understand."
Yang Ziye nodded seriously.
"Brother, want a cigarette?" Yang Ziye took out a cigarette from his pocket and enthusiastically introduced it to Qin Yu.
"This is Zhonghua cigarettes, you can't buy them even if you have money, want to try some?"
"Thank you." Qin Yu glanced at Xia Lan, who rolled her eyes and snorted.
"I'm going to watch my master play chess."
Xia Lan turned and went to Du Lao's side, watching Du Lao fight with others on the chessboard.
Yang Ziye and Qin Yu walked outside the pavilion. Qin Yu looked at Xia Lan in the pavilion and smiled slightly.
Yang Ziye stepped forward and lit a cigarette for Qin Yu, who took a deep drag.
"Brother, can I ask you the truth?" Yang Ziye lit a cigarette for himself and asked.
"Ask away." Qin Yu leaned lazily against the tree, a cigarette dangling from his lips. He took a leisurely drag and exhaled a smoke ring.
"I want to join the army."
Yang Ziye opened his mouth, but after a long time, he could only utter this one sentence.
Qin Yu glanced at Yang Ziye.
Do you want to hear the truth or a lie?
Yang Ziye paused.
"The truth."
"Your family doesn't want you to go, right?"
Qin Yu said calmly.
“My grandma and my mom are making a fuss about not letting me go, otherwise I would have gone two years ago.”
Yang Ziye's words were filled with resentment. He wanted to join the army, but his family's refusal made him very upset.
"Then going to the army won't be of any use to you."
Qin Yu lazily flicked the ash from his cigarette and looked at Yang Ziye.
"Why?" Yang Ziye asked, puzzled.
"Even if you get in, you'll only get basic training. After two years, you'll be exiled back."
Qin Yu's words stunned Yang Ziye, because his childhood friend had said the same thing.
"Your children won't get ahead in the army unless you're really willing to risk your life. But even if you dare, your family won't agree. Do you understand what I mean?"
Qin Yu said calmly, his eyes sweeping over Yang Ziye. He was clearly a spoiled child; even a bump or bruise was a crime.
Even if such a person joins the army, he will not be given important responsibilities, let alone go to the battlefield. At most, he will be thrown aside and sent home after two years.
Wasting time won't produce any results.
Yang Ziye was speechless.
He knew that what Qin Yu said was true, and he had no way to refute it, nor could he refute it.
Thinking of his grandmother and mother's hysteria, if he really made up his mind to join the army, there was no guarantee that his grandmother would use every connection she could to ensure that he would never have a chance to "get ahead".
So, what was the point of him joining the army...?
Seeing that Yang Ziye understood, Qin Yu stopped talking.
"Brother, what's it like being a soldier?"
Yang Ziye was still unwilling to give up and wanted to know if his dream of joining the army was the same as Qin Yu's.
Qin Yu glanced at Yang Ziye and said slowly.
"Wake up at 5:30 in the morning, do morning exercises at 6:00, wash up and tidy up your personal belongings at 6:40, eat breakfast at 7:00, do morning exercises from 7:30 to 11:30..."
Listening to Qin Yu's words, Yang Ziye's eyes grew increasingly blank.
"When will we go to the battlefield?"
"When the country needs you, be ready to go whenever there is a mission."
Qin Yu answered all of Yang Ziye's questions without reservation, sharing everything he could.
When Yang Ziye learned that the troops would not be able to go to the battlefield immediately, and that it was not as he had imagined, he found that he had to do arduous drills every day and was not given important responsibilities.
Yang Ziye took a deep drag, and the strong smoke slid down his throat and into his lungs, causing a wave of discomfort.
"Cough cough cough cough..." Yang Ziye coughed incessantly with red eyes.
Xia Lan heard a violent cough and raised an eyebrow.
How could you choke on a cigarette?
"Old Yang, is your wife still not willing to let your grandson go to the army?" Old Wang turned around and saw Yang Ziye coughing violently, and asked Old Yang, who was thinking about his next move.
"Old woman, long hair but short brains." Old Yang said with a helpless expression when he mentioned his wife.
For my grandson, joining the army is the best path.
But the man at home absolutely refused, and even dragged his daughter-in-law around making a scene, what a mess he made!
He was also angry; as the grandfather, he would definitely support his grandson's idea.
There are two clueless people in his family that he can't control, and he has no way to control.
Seeing his grandson so depressed, he was anxious, but what good did it do?
"It's good to keep them by my side, at least we won't go a whole year without seeing each other."
The old man, who had been silent all along, slowly spoke.
"Old Chen, still no news about your grandson?"
Old Wang looked at Old Chen beside him, whose eyes dimmed and who shook his head.
The grandfather is naturally happy that his grandson is capable, but it's not so good to not see him all year round.
"Your child will definitely be fine!"
Old Yang also offered his advice.
"Children and grandchildren have their own blessings." Old Du calmly put down a chess piece, having come to terms with it all.
"So you're not going to acknowledge your daughter and son-in-law anymore?" Another elderly man glanced at Xia Lan and asked Old Du.
"What's the point of acknowledging her? You all know how she treated me back then, why do you have to rub salt into my wounds?"
Old Du glanced at the four people, then turned to look at Xia Lan.
"Girl, help me scold them. They're all just laughing at me."
Xia Lan patted Old Du on the shoulder, met the curious gazes of the four people, and slowly spoke.
"Pigs eat rice husks and ducks eat grains—each person enjoys their own happiness."
The four were taken aback, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
"Hahahahahaha..."
Old Du knew that Xia Lan wouldn't let him down.
"Don't advise others to do good if you haven't experienced their suffering."
Xia Lan continued.
Old Du's eyes reddened with laughter, while Old Yang and the others gave Xia Lan a serious look.
"When Qin Yu and I first saw Old Du, he was lying on a wooden plank in a dilapidated house in our village that didn't even have a roof. He had a high fever and was unconscious..."
Xia Lan glanced at the four people and saw a cup on the table, so she poured a cup of water for Old Du and made him drink it.
"If we hadn't found some fever reducers that day, covered him with a blanket, and Qin Yu hadn't gone home and made him some hot soup, he might have died."
Xia Lan's tone was very calm, as if it were a very ordinary matter, but from an outsider's perspective, the listener's heart trembled.
"Can you say that on his deathbed, he still wanted to talk about being exonerated or returning to the capital to enjoy a life of luxury?"
cannot.
Everyone had the same thought in their hearts.
Everyone fell silent.
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