Xia Liang took a week's leave to go home and attend her brother's wedding with Zhou Xiaohui. After the leave was approved, she went home to pack her things. After packing, she ate a bowl of noodles at a state-run restaurant and bought a box of chicken cakes at a pastry shop before setting off. After all, the train journey would take nearly ten hours, and it would be inconvenient not to prepare something to eat on the way. The food sold on the train was expensive and unpalatable.
Carrying her luggage, Xia Liang headed straight to the train station. After buying her ticket, she sat in the waiting room. Unlike later generations, when train tickets were usually bought in advance and even harder to get during holidays, fewer people traveled these days. It was mostly business leaders who took the train on business trips. Ordinary people would only take the train to visit relatives or something similar, and even then, it was rare. After all, train tickets weren't cheap, and it was better to send money over the top. As for people in rural areas, it was even less of a concern. Take Xia Dahe and Zhao Danxiang, for example. They had never traveled far in their entire lives, let alone taken the train. In the past, the money they earned in a year in the countryside might not even buy a single train ticket.
After the train arrived at the station, Xia Liang carried her luggage to her seat, put it down, and then took out her books to read. She had already asked Zhao Weiting for clarification on any questions she had, so now she was just reviewing to reinforce her memory. As she read, she couldn't help but think of Gu Yanxiao. She wondered if he had received the beef sauce. She had packed it in glass jars after making it and sent it the next day. This time, all the tickets his comrade had sent had been used up; he had made over ten kilograms, enough to last them for a while.
At this moment, in a military unit in Heilongjiang Province, Gu Yanxiao had just returned from a mission. Seeing his roommate examining a large package, he went over and asked, "What are you doing, you guys?" His comrade sleeping in the bunk opposite him replied, "This is a package your sister-in-law sent you. We received it the day before yesterday, but since you were on a mission, we haven't opened it." Gu Yanxiao stepped forward to open the package, saying as he did so, "It should be something sent to you. Didn't you ask me to send you tickets before?" Before he finished speaking, the package was already open, and everyone saw several large glass bottles containing... The jar was filled with chunks of meat, coated with chili peppers and sesame seeds. Just looking at it made one's mouth water. Gu Yanxiao opened the lid of a jar, and the aroma instantly filled the air. Someone grabbed a piece and stuffed it into their mouth. Seeing him eat with relish, several others followed suit, grabbing pieces without saying a word, stuffing one after another into their mouths, afraid of being slower or eating less than others. Until the entire jar was finished, the first soldier exclaimed, "Truly a delicacy, unforgettable!" Everyone nodded in agreement. Gu Yanxiao was so smug he was practically wagging his tail in the air when a young soldier spoke up, "Brother Gu, even if your wife isn't pretty, you shouldn't let her down." Gu Yanxiao looked puzzled, "What are you talking about? Who said my wife isn't pretty?" The young soldier said, "Before, when the older brothers wanted to see your wife's picture, you stubbornly covered it up and wouldn't let us see it. Third Brother said it must be because your wife isn't pretty, and you felt it wasn't presentable, so you wouldn't show it to us." The "Third Brother" he mentioned was their ranking in the dormitory. There were sixteen people in the dormitory, and the three he mentioned were ranked third, Gu Yanxiao was ranked ninth, and the young soldier was the youngest, ranked sixteenth. Gu Yanxiao was speechless: "I didn't show it to you because I was afraid you'd be jealous. After all, there are very few people as beautiful and a good cook as my wife. I was afraid you wouldn't be able to find a partner after seeing her." Everyone scoffed. Lao Ba said, "I don't believe it. If your wife is beautiful and a good cook, why would she be interested in you?" The others chimed in, "That's right, unless you show us the picture." Gu Yanxiao laughed: "The reverse psychology won't work. No means no." Then, as if remembering something, he said, "My wife mentioned in a letter that my brother-in-law is getting married..." "I'm getting married, can you guys give me some advice on what to give as a gift?" Several roommates started offering suggestions, some saying bicycles, some radios, and others watches, all of which Gu Yanxiao rejected. "My brother-in-law seems to have all those things, and as for watches, I think he definitely wants his future wife to give him one, since seeing a watch will remind him of his wife. Like me, as soon as I confirmed my relationship with my wife, I took her to buy a watch, so that whenever she sees the time, she'll think of me." His blissful expression was almost unbearable for everyone to watch.
It was almost dark when Xia Liang arrived home. Before coming, she had told Xia Rong that she would be back today. As soon as she got off the bus, she saw her brother waiting for her outside. Xia Rong saw his sister come out and went to help her with her luggage. Xia Liang took the luggage and sat on the back of the bicycle. Xia Rong said, "You must be exhausted. You've been sitting for almost ten hours. Are you hungry? Mom is cooking for you at home." Xia Liang said, "I'm almost dead from exhaustion, but I'm not hungry. I ate a bowl of noodles on the way here and also brought some steamed egg custard to eat on the way." Then, as if she remembered something, she asked, "How are the preparations for your wedding going? Is there anything I can do?" Xia Rong said, "You don't need to worry about it. I've already prepared everything. You just need to help me entertain the guests." Xia Liang nodded. As they talked, the siblings arrived home. Xia Rong opened the door and carried the bicycle inside, while Xia Liang followed behind carrying the luggage. Xia's mother was overjoyed to see her daughter return, saying, "You must be starving! Come inside quickly, I've prepared the food." It turned out that the whole family had been waiting for Xia Liang to come home for dinner. Xia Liang was a little touched. After the family finished eating, Xia's mother wasn't in a hurry to clear the dishes and asked her daughter, "How are you doing? Are you adjusting well in the provincial capital? I heard you were staying in a dormitory. Are your roommates getting along well?" Xia Liang felt a mother's care for her children, something she had never experienced in her previous life. Her eyes welled up a little, but she was very happy and said, "Don't worry, Mom, I'm doing very well there. My roommates are also very nice. On my first day, they showed me around, and we get along very well." Seeing Xia Liang like this, Xia's mother was relieved. Although her daughter was smart and capable, in her heart she would always be a child, especially since Xia Liang was only eighteen years old. Xia's father, standing nearby, inquired about Xia Liang's work. Hearing from her that she now earned over eighty yuan a month, Xia Dahe's mouth dropped open in astonishment. He had originally wanted to share the good news of his own promotion to a permanent position with his daughter, but compared to her, he felt utterly inferior. Normally, most factories take one or two years to promote employees, with exceptions, like Xia Liang who got promoted for winning a competition, Xia Rong for mitigating factory losses, and Xia Dahe, who was lucky and somewhat capable. That day, while he was at work as usual, several veteran workers in his workshop would deliberately ruin perfectly good materials. The factory wasn't very strict about scrapping materials, so these sly workers would take the deliberately damaged materials home, process them into stools, assemble them into small tables, and sell them. That day, a leader happened to be making an unannounced visit, and they were caught red-handed right under his nose. The men deliberately damaged the timber. The manager, who had worked his way up from the bottom, immediately saw through their deliberate actions. Xia Dahe, on the other hand, worked diligently. He was an honest man and felt honored to have the job, so he dared not slack off. He even used the leftover materials to repair broken cabinets and boxes in the factory. Seeing how conscientious he was, and looking at the other men who were just getting away with it, the manager didn't say anything on the spot. But once in the office, he unleashed his fury, saying he would thoroughly investigate the matter and correct this corrupt practice. The other men were fired, while Xia Dahe was praised and promoted to a permanent position.
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