When Xu Ning was carrying the basket back, he met Aunt Dashuan who was walking back with her little grandson in her arms. She was also holding a big basket in her hands, so she must be bringing food to her family.
She got off the bicycle, and Aunt Dashuan saw the basket in her hand and said with a smile, "Xu Zhiqing, I'm going to bring food to your girlfriend and Xiaoan."
Xu Ning… just told his parents last night, how come the villagers knew about the two of them dating today?
She asked embarrassedly, "Auntie, how did you know?"
Aunt Dashuan said with a smile, "Xu Zhiqing, there's nothing to be embarrassed about. Your partner has told us that you two have been engaged since childhood. We didn't tell you because we thought you were too young and were afraid you would be embarrassed."
Xu Ning smiled awkwardly. What a good storyteller. They were engaged since childhood. When he was a baby, she didn’t even know where he was.
Xu Ning smiled and changed the subject, "Aunt, are you free this afternoon? If you're not busy, I'll go to your house and pick up the cabbage seedlings I ordered and bring them back to plant early."
"If you have time, come home with me now and I'll go talk to you, and you can plant it in the afternoon."
When Lu Xiaotang and Xu An came back from work, Xu Ning was washing vegetables. The cabbage seedlings in the field had been planted and watered.
Seeing the two coming back, he said, "I just picked a watermelon and put it on the table. Go cut it up and eat it."
After hearing this, Xu An went to wash her hands and cut the watermelon. Lu Xiaotang didn't move, just stood there looking at her.
Xu Ning glanced at him and asked, "Is there anyone who doesn't know about our relationship?"
Lu Xiaotang coughed lightly and said with a smile, "I happened to meet the village chief's wife today. I was afraid that you would be embarrassed to explain it later, so I just mentioned it casually."
Xu Ning looked at him again without saying anything. He thought to himself, I never realized that this person has the potential to become a gossip girl.
In the county town, Zhao Jianshe said to his wife while eating, "Xiao Ning's case has been sentenced. I will go to Yushu Village tomorrow."
Su Hongmei asked, "How long will the sentence be?"
"The two men were sentenced to ten years, and the female educated youth was sentenced to eight years in a forest farm."
Su Hongmei was surprised and asked, "Why so long? Didn't you say last time that since there was no substantial harm, the maximum sentence would be five or six years?"
Zhao Jianshe finished the porridge in his bowl and said, "Xiao Ning's boyfriend has arrived. He is from the Nanshi Military District. Now Xiao Ning has become a military dependent, so he can't be sentenced as before."
Su Hongmei asked, "Is her boyfriend a soldier? I've never heard her talk about him before. Have you met him? What do you think of him?"
Zhao Jianshe said admiringly, "He is a powerful figure, with outstanding talent and appearance. He has become a battalion commander after only a few years in the army. The head of the Nanshi Military Region even called our director personally and demanded severe punishment for the criminals who persecuted military families."
Su Hongmei asked in surprise, "Is he so powerful? What is his background?"
Zhao Jianshe said, "It's not clear what his background is. It should be that he has strong personal abilities. Judging from his conversation, this person should not be underestimated. Given time, he will definitely be a man of great ability."
After that, he smiled again and said, "Our director knows that I have such a relative, and now he is very polite to me."
Su Hongmei smiled and said, "I didn't expect that you benefited from Xiao Ning."
After the three of them finished dinner, Xu An took the initiative to wash the dishes. Lu Xiaotang said to Xu Ning, "It's not dark yet, let's go out for a walk!"
After saying that, he took Xu Ning's hand and walked out. Xu Ning wanted to pull his hand away, but he held it very tightly. Then he thought, since they had already made it public, he just let him do it.
After Xu An came out from washing the dishes, he saw that there was no one in the house or the yard. He sighed, took a book and sat in the yard to read.
As the two of them walked onto the main road hand in hand, Xu's father, Xu's mother, Lu's father and Lu's mother came back from work. When they saw the two holding hands, the faces of those who were still talking changed.
Mr. and Mrs. Lu were happy, but Mr. Xu had a sour face as he stared at the two people holding hands, and Mrs. Xu also looked unhappy.
Xu Ning quickly pulled his hand out, and Lu Xiaotang did not hold on tightly this time. Just then, a few educated youth came back from work and were chattering.
Father Xu snorted with a dark face and walked towards the cowshed. Father Lu and the others didn't say anything and followed him.
Xu Ning secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and seeing that Lu Xiaotang next to her looked calm, she reached out her hand and twisted his waist hard. Lu Xiaotang's face stiffened, and he reached out his hand again to hold her hand and walked forward.
Chunhua, Jiaohua, Wang Juanjuan and Gu Wenjing all stopped in astonishment when they saw the two people walking hand in hand in front of them.
Wang Juanjuan asked, "Chunhua, didn't you say that was Xu Ning's cousin? Why are they holding hands?"
Chunhua was also shocked, and she came to her senses and said, "Xu Ning told us last time that it was his cousin!"
Wei Lanlan was carrying a basin of water out to pour. When she heard her words, she smiled and said, "That's Xu Ning's boyfriend. They were engaged since childhood. Xu Ning was embarrassed because they were young, so she said that he was her cousin's boyfriend."
After saying that, she poured the water and went in. She used to think Chunhua was quite straightforward, but now she felt that she was very realistic and a bit of a curry favor.
After Wang Juanjuan and Gu Wenjing entered the room, Wang Juanjuan asked casually, "Wenjing, didn't you say that guy was your classmate's cousin?"
Gu Wenjing replied, "Yes! I saw him before, but something happened to his family, so I didn't see him again. It was only two years ago when he came here to look for Xu Ning that I recognized him. I heard that he had joined the army."
"So is your classmate still in Jing City?"
Gu Wenjing shook her head and said, "No, her whole family is in trouble. They seem to be on a farm in the northwest now."
After washing her face, Wang Juanjuan hung up the towel and said with a smile, "I feel like this man should be quite capable. Do you know what his current military rank is?"
Gu Wenjing said, "I haven't asked. This person is very difficult to get along with. Juanjuan, why do you keep asking about him? It's best to stay away from people of this status to avoid being implicated in the future."
Wang Juanjuan smiled and said, "I'm just asking casually because I'm bored."
The two held hands and walked around the stream at the foot of the mountain. Lu Xiaotang said, "I heard from Xiao An today that you get ten work points every day. Don't do that in the future. I can support you now. I can't do anything about the cowshed, but you can work less. When you are tired in the future, don't go to work and rest at home."
Xu Ninghui held his hand, looked at the little fish swimming in the stream, smiled and nodded, and said, "Okay, I see."
Then he remembered that he had gone to the city yesterday, and asked, "Did you go to the city to look for Brother Jianshe yesterday? When will those people be sentenced?"
When Lu Xiaotang heard her mention those people, his face darkened and he said, "The verdict will be announced in the next two days. Ten to eight years is a must. Tomorrow after work, Xiao An and I will go to the mountain to get some thorny tree seedlings, build several walls, and reinforce the gate."
(The thorny tree is a common plant with hard thorns on the mountain, also called iron fence.
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