The village head's wife smiled and said to Xu Ning, "Xu Zhizhi, this is your cousin. He is a very handsome young man."
Lu Xiaotang and Xu Ning were about to stand up and greet them, but the village chief and his wife held them down and said, "Sit down, sit down, don't be polite."
After the people finished their pleasantries, Chen Sen put the cups on the table, took the kettle from his mother's hand and poured water for them, saying, "Comrade Lu, Xu Zhiqing, drink some hot water to warm yourself up." The two took the cups and thanked him.
The village chief also introduced Lu Xiaotang as his eldest son Chen Sen. The two greeted each other and Chen Sen sat down next to his father.
Lu Xiaotang sat there and looked at him calmly, his posture upright and his eyes clear.
Xu Ning said to the village head's wife, "Auntie, why don't we see Dalin?"
"That brat went to Jianmin's house to play after dinner and won't come back until bedtime. Your Xiaoan is sensible."
Xu Ning smiled and said, "Aunt, that's because we live far from the village, and it's inconvenient for him to go back and forth. If he lived closer, he could run to your house ten times a day."
The two of them were chatting about family matters, and the village chief was listening happily on the side.
Lu Xiaotang retracted his gaze and asked, "Is Brother Chen still in school now?"
Chen Sen touched his head and smiled, "I wasn't very good at studying. I didn't pass the high school entrance exam, so I stopped going to high school. Now I'm at home doing farm work with my dad."
Lu Xiaotang continued, "I never thought about doing anything else."
The village chief was moved when he heard this and said, "We are farmers and don't have any connections. What can we do?"
Lu Xiaotang picked up the teacup in front of him and took a sip, then said, "Will Uncle Village Chief be willing to let Brother Chen join the army to defend his country?"
The family of three's eyes lit up when they heard his words. The village chief asked excitedly, "Comrade Lu, do you have a way?"
The village head's wife and Chen Sen also looked at him expectantly.
Lu Xiaotang thought for a moment and said, "Being a soldier is very hard and dangerous. If uncle and aunt agree that Brother Chen should go, and Brother Chen is willing to go, I can recommend him."
Chen Sen immediately expressed his opinion and said, "Comrade Lu, I am not afraid of hardship. Please recommend me."
The village chief also echoed, "Now what is not hard to do, please trouble Comrade Lu to recommend one!"
The village head's wife also nodded.
Lu Xiaotang said, "Since uncle and aunt both agree that Brother Chen can go, I will go back and ask when the conscription will start, and then let Xiaoning notify you."
The whole family thanked Lu Xiaotang and Xu Ning happily.
When the two men left, the village chief's wife insisted that they take the things they brought back with them.
Xu Ning was grabbed by her hand and smiled helplessly, "Aunt, what are you doing? It's not much. This is a little gift from me and my cousin. You asked us to take it back. Then should I also return the large kidney beans that you asked Dalin to give me last time?"
The village chief's wife said, "Those vegetables are all grown by ourselves, and they are not worth much. Dalin is still eating at your house?"
Xu Ning saw that this was not a solution, so he said, "Okay, Auntie, I'll take it back."
After saying that, she winked at Lu Xiaotang, and the village head's wife let go of her hand. Just as she was about to give the bag to her, she saw the two of them running away. The village head's wife held the bag and opened her mouth for a long time without reacting.
After they left the village, Lu Xiaotang smiled and said, "The village chief's wife is really enthusiastic."
Xu Ning couldn't help but laugh and said, "In fact, most of the people in the village are very nice. What do you think of Chen Sen?"
"His eyes are clear, he's not a wicked person, but we only met once, so it's hard to say."
Xu Ning nodded and said, "If he makes a mistake, will it affect you?"
Lu Xiaotang smiled and said, "Of course not. I just recommended him so that he would not be replaced by others. As for whether he can be enlisted and which unit he will be assigned to, that is the matter of the Armed Forces Department. What happens in the future depends on his own ability."
Xu Ning said, "That's good."
Lu Xiaotang held her hand and walked slowly forward, saying, "With you guys behind me, how could I let myself stand under the dangerous wall?"
Xu Ning asked, "Do you know when the conscription will start?"
"The last time I went to the county town to buy coal, I found my uncle's comrade-in-arms. He also helped me get the coal ticket. He told me that he would recruit soldiers in the spring of next year, so I just need to say hello to him then."
When the two returned home, Xu An quickly got down from the kang and told them to get on the kang quickly. He then went to the kitchen to get a bowl and made a bowl of brown sugar water for each of them.
After the two of them finished drinking, he pushed a plate of peeled pine nuts on the kang table between them for them to eat.
Xu Ning ate some pine nuts and asked, "Xiao Mo isn't coming over today?"
Xu An took the bowl from his sister and said, "I just asked him, he said he wants to sleep with Grandpa Qi today."
"Brother Lu, sister, what are you doing at the village chief's house?"
Xu Ning said, "Nothing, it's just that Brother Lu has been here for a long time. I heard that the village chief takes good care of us, so I went to his house today to sit and chat."
Lu Xiaotang stayed at home for two days and then planned to go up the mountain again. He would be going back in a few days and wanted to save some more meat for them.
Xu An hasn't had his holiday yet, and Xu Ning wants to go with him.
Seeing that the sky was gloomy and the snow was thick, Lu Xiaotang did not let her follow him. He went up the mountain by himself, carrying a backpack, a machete and a rope.
Xu Ning and Xu Mo watched him walk away, looked at each other, and sighed.
Xu Ning looked at the venison and rabbit that had been pickled two days ago, and asked Xu Mo to help light the fire. She would smoke them in the pot and then let Lu Xiaotang take them to Beijing.
When Lu Xiaotang came back, he was carrying a silly roe deer in one hand, and a few pheasants and rabbits in his backpack.
Xu Ning quickly took it, poured him a bowl of brown sugar ginger water that was warm on the stove, and sat on the kang.
After dinner, when they were talking on the kang, Xu An asked, "Brother Lu, are we going to the mountain on Sunday?"
"Go and see if you can catch some bigger prey."
Xu Ning hurriedly said, "Brother Lu, there is enough meat to eat, don't go up the mountain anymore."
Lu Xiaotang handed her the peeled pine nuts and said, "It's okay, just go again. Xu Yang and my sister will come next month, and with so many people, we will have to spend a lot of food."
Xu Ning said, "That's enough to eat. Look at all the food and meat at home."
Lu Xiaotang smiled and said, "I promised him last time, so I'll just take him around the periphery and not go inside."
Xu An also said, "Sister, let's go! Brother Lu and I will be back after we catch some pheasants and rabbits."
Xu Mo sat on the side eating pine nuts, watching the people talking to each other. Finally, he concluded that Big Brother Lu and Second Brother won this round. ”
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