"It can be free, but there is a prerequisite. You have to give me these drawings." Xie Laosan spoke in a broken Mandarin, obviously with some knowledge.

Lu Nong was surprised. Every era has its own aesthetics. The furniture design she brought was in a modern simple wood style, including the sofa and ladder coffee table in the living room; the sideboard storage cabinets, rectangular dining table and chairs in the dining area; the upper and lower tables and wardrobes for Pei Zheng and Gu Huai, as well as other small bits and pieces in the corners.

In terms of both function and design, these solid wood furniture are very different from the furniture favored by rural families in the 1960s.

In this era, people's concepts are rigid and conservative. They appreciate furniture that is dignified, elegant and luxurious. Even if you put furniture with a more stylish feel in front of them, they will still choose the old things. They cannot accept new things well and may even resist them.

The furniture designed by Lu Nong is different from the existing styles. It is too simple and full of design sense.

Lu Nong originally thought that the carpenter would question her, and she was mentally prepared, but she didn't expect him to directly express the highest recognition - he wanted it.

This made Lu Nong feel very fond of Xie Laosan, a carpenter with an open mind and good vision.

"Master Xie, do you want to replicate the furniture on the drawing and then sell it?" Lu Nong asked curiously. Aren't you afraid that no one will want it after you make it?

But Xie Lao San shook his head and said, "These furniture designs are too unique. Even if they are made, most of them cannot be sold. I just like to collect and study them."

Lu Nong nodded. This was the normal answer. It couldn’t be sold. That was the truth.

But then again, Master Xie really has something and a keen eye. Now Lu Nong believes what Director Leng said, that there are many masters among the people. She is full of expectations for Master Xie's craftsmanship.

Seeing that Lu Nong just nodded without saying whether he agreed or not, Xie Lao San thought that Lu Nong was unwilling to give him the blueprint, so he gritted his teeth and said, "I will make the furniture for you for free, and give you an additional 20 yuan."

Director Leng: "..." Is Xie Laosan crazy?!

Lu Nong: “…” That’s not necessary.

Director Leng was enlightened and brought Lu Nong to make furniture. Not only did Lu Nong not spend any money, but Xie Lao San, the old miser, even gave Lu Nong 20 yuan.

Xiao Lu is amazing. She really wants to see what Lu Nong drew on the drawing that Xie Lao San gave her that made Xie Lao San want it even at the cost of money.

Of course Lu Nong couldn't take the money. In her opinion, it was a happy thing that someone had a vision that was ahead of his time. Moreover, Xie Lao San knew that the furniture design on the drawing could not be sold at all, but he still insisted on buying it. This could only be out of love.

In the eyes of others, Xie Lao San is a carpenter, but in Lu Nong's eyes, he has now become a craftsman and is worthy of respect.

"Master Xie, I can give you the drawings, and you don't have to give me extra money. Just now you said you would make furniture for me for free, so how about this, I will only pay you for the wood materials, and use the labor fee to exchange for the drawings, what do you think?" Lu Nong said.

"Really?" Xie Lao San asked in surprise. For a very stingy person, spending money is like cutting flesh. To have to pay money and then not have to pay is like a huge pie falling on the head.

Now, in Xie Laosan's eyes, Lu Nong is, without exaggeration, the best person in the world.

Fearing that Lu Nong might change his mind, Xie Lao San quickly said, "I will make it carefully for you and make sure it is exactly as beautiful as on the drawing. Just wait for me."

"Okay, it's a deal." Lu Nong said.

Finally, Lu Nong and Xie Laosan discussed some details and precautions. After paying half of the deposit, they left Xie's house with the confused Director Leng.

It is worth mentioning that Director Leng originally came to Xie Lao San's house to make desks for his granddaughter and grandson. Because she came with Lu Nong, Xie Lao San, in order to please Lu Nong, saved Director Leng the manual production fee and only charged her for the materials.

After leaving Xie's house, Director Leng still hadn't recovered from his shock. He looked up at the sun hanging high in the sky and said, "Is this really the Third Brother Xie who would never allow anyone to bargain? The sun doesn't rise from the west, does it?"

After coming to his senses, Director Leng did not forget that it was all Lu Nong's contribution. He praised Lu Nong and said, "Little Lu, this is the first time I have taken advantage of Xie Lao San. You are really amazing. Those drawings you drew are all furniture made by Xie Lao San, right? I must take a good look at the furniture when it is made to see what kind of wonderful things it is."

Lu Nong: "It's not a good item, but it's the style I like, and Master Xie happens to like it too."

"Director Leng, thank you for troubling me today. You took me to the market and accompanied me to find a carpenter. I will invite you to my home for dinner some other day."

"Okay, I'll definitely go." Director Leng agreed readily.

Back at the gathering point, the military wives gathered in groups of three or four to talk and discuss what they had bought. Liu Erniu and Xianglan were standing in the shade, and when they saw Director Leng and Lu Nong coming back, they waved to them.

"Are you back? How is it? Is Xie Laosan at home?" Liu Erniu handed the things that Lu Nong asked her to look after to Lu Nong.

"Oh, you don't know..." Director Leng told the story of what happened in Xie Laosan's house as a miracle without waiting for Lu Nong to speak.

Liu Erniu slapped her thigh and said, "We said Comrade Lu looked like a cultured person, who could write and paint, and people paid for his paintings."

Xianglan also looked at Lu Nong like a little fangirl, "Sister Lu is really amazing."

Ever since Xianglan saw Lu Nong's face, she has become Lu Nong's little fan girl. Lu Nong is sweating profusely, but she is not as exaggerated as everyone says, right?

Director Leng's expression changed when he heard Xianglan's words. It was certain that Lu Nong could read. There were not only pictures on those drawings, but also words marked next to them. Besides, Lu Nong's usual speech and behavior did not sound like that of an uneducated person.

I just don't know what her educational background is.

Director Leng thought that since Lu Nong had just arrived and had not been assigned a job yet, as long as Lu Nong had an education above primary school level, it would be very suitable for him to be a primary school teacher.

After a long while, the logistics department's car came back from the city after purchasing, and the military wives got on the car one by one. This time, Lu Nong and Director Leng sat together.

The military wives who had gossiped with Lu Nong when they came here, after knowing her identity, dared not talk to her, let alone look her in the eye. After getting in the car, they kept their mouths shut and acted like quails, for fear of being noticed by Lu Nong.

Lu Nong was both amused and confused.

The car bumped all the way back to the mountains. Old Yu left the wives of the soldiers on the river bank and drove away.

Liu Erniu's two naughty sons actually listened to Liu Erniu and came to pick her up, but judging from the way they stared at the package in Liu Erniu's hand, their intentions were not pure.

Lu Nong unexpectedly saw Pei Ji'an. She turned around and saw that the women around her were looking at her ambiguously. Director Leng even covered her mouth and laughed.

"Why are you here?"

Pei Ji'an walked forward and helped Lu Nong jump out of the car.

"Lunch break." Pei Jinan said concisely.

Hu Mei joked, "I never thought that Deputy Commander Pei was so considerate. He is even more considerate than my old Song."

"It's not just your Old Song. Look at all of us. Apart from Comrade Lu, who had a man to pick him up, which other men came?" Director Leng said.

The female comrades present probably all thought so in their hearts, but no one except Hu Mei and Director Leng dared to say it out loud. After all, the stern-faced Deputy Commander Pei was more terrifying than the commander himself. Who dared to tease him in person?

Besides, Director Leng is the wife of a division commander, so it is understandable for her to tease the deputy division commander. They cannot be compared. The man in her family holds a lower position than the deputy division commander, so they cannot be disrespectful.

So when Hu Mei spoke before Director Leng spoke, Liu Erniu looked at Hu Mei with admiration, while Wang Xiuzhi frowned.

Pei Ji'an remained calm in the face of Director Leng and Hu Mei's teasing. He reached out and took the cloth bag from Lu Nong's hand, "Are you hungry? Come home and have dinner."

Lu Nong was not hungry, but she hadn't even had a sip of water all morning and was dying of thirst. She didn't care about being teased and said, "Okay."

Pei Ji'an nodded to Director Leng, "Director Leng, we'll leave first."

"Let's go, let's go, we want to go home too." Director Leng waved his hand and said with a smile.

After Lu Nong and Pei Ji'an left, a group of women comrades were left walking behind with bags in their hands. They looked enviously at Lu Nong in front of them, who was free and at ease with nothing in his hands. They couldn't help but complain in their hearts that their husbands had not come to pick them up for so many years.

Hu Mei sighed casually, "Look at Deputy Division Commander Pei. He only cares about his wife. Director Leng is still here, but he didn't even bother to find a few soldiers to help move the things back. He just left us and Comrade Lu behind. But who makes him the deputy division commander?"

Director Leng didn't say anything. Liu Erniu was puzzled. "Usually we move back home by ourselves, right?"

Besides, the soldiers are having lunch at this time. It's not like they have more time after the evening drill. If they don't have time to have lunch and come here specially, they won't be able to endure the afternoon training.

After Liu Erniu finished speaking, Hu Mei lowered her eyes and stopped talking. Wang Xiuzhi looked at her meaningfully.

Director Leng acted as if he didn't hear their conversation and walked calmly, holding Xiao Xianglan's hand. Compared with other military wives who were burdened with heavy things, Director Leng only bought some candies and snacks at the market, which he ate with Xiao Xianglan's hands.

Hu Mei, Wang Xiuzhi and Liu Erniu lived close to each other. After they separated from Director Leng and turned into another road, Wang Xiuzhi suddenly said to Hu Mei, "I advised you to give up your little tricks as soon as possible. Do you think Director Leng will not be bothered by your provocation?"

"Don't meddle in a man's affairs. If you continue to interfere, it will be your old Song who will suffer the loss."

Hu Mei was first tricked by Liu Erniu's honest words, and now Wang Xiuzhi exposed her face in front of her. She was angry and her face darkened. "Stop talking nonsense. If your man's opportunity to stand out was not taken away by someone else, you are of course not in a hurry."

After saying this, he walked away without waiting for Wang Xiuzhi and Liu Erniu to say anything else.

"Hey, why are you leaving?" Liu Erniu called Hu Mei several times from behind, but Hu Mei never turned back.

"I didn't provoke her, did I? Why does she ignore me?" Liu Erniu was puzzled.

Wang Xiuzhi: “…”

Liu Erniu realized belatedly what Hu Mei had just said, "What? Was her family's Mr. Song's chance to come to the fore taken away by someone else?"

"Deputy Commander Pei? No way. My old Zhao said that Deputy Commander Pei is very powerful. Even Old Zhao is convinced."

Wang Xiuzhi shook her head. "Listen to her nonsense. Whoever takes the lead is decided by the higher-ups. We should not get involved. She is crazy. Let's have less contact with her in the future."

Liu Erniu pursed her lips and said, "I won't be in touch with her anymore. I'm not without a temper. Why should I go back to her when she gave me the cold shoulder?"

Lu Nong returned home and drank a large glass of water. As soon as he put down the cup, Pei Ji'an pulled him to sit on a stool.

Pei Ji'an squatted down and rolled up Lu Nong's trouser legs. Lu Nong's legs were blue and red. Although the wound had already clotted, blood could still be seen. He frowned and asked, "How did you get hurt?"

"How did you figure that out?" Lu Nong felt quite amazed. Pei Ji'an was so amazing that he could even figure that out.

Mother Wu also saw Lu Nong's injured leg and blamed him for being careless. She went into the house to get medicine for Pei Jinan. The medicine smelled strong. Mother Wu took Xiao Huai and Xiao Xiazi into the inner room to eat, leaving Pei Jinan and Lu Nong in the living room outside.

"One of your feet is light while the other is heavy when you walk. It's obvious." Pei Jinan said calmly while applying medicine to Lu Nong patiently.

As expected, nothing could escape Pei Ji'an's eyes. After thinking about it, she decided to tell him the general process of her injury. Otherwise, when others told Pei Ji'an in the future, the old pervert might take the opportunity to "punish" her again.

After hearing that Lu Nong kicked away the man who pushed her down and refused to apologize, Pei Jinan sighed, rubbed his brows and said, "Don't be impulsive in the future. What if you can't beat him?"

"The troops will be leaving for an exercise in a few days, and they won't be back for ten days or half a month. This is just an exercise. If I go to the battlefield one day, it is very likely that I won't be able to contact my family for a year or two. If you are so impulsive at that time, I won't be able to rest assured."

"Be good and don't make me worry, okay?" Pei Ji'an said seriously.

Lu Nong tilted her head. She didn't think she was impulsive. All the decisions she made were based on her own judgment of her opponent. If she could beat her, she would fight. If she couldn't, she would run away. Lu Nong understood this principle.

Pei Ji'an should understand her and had never expressed any doubts about her in this regard before. But today he said so. Lu Nong always felt that Pei Ji'an's attitude was not right.

Exercises, battlefields...

Smart as Lu Nong, she had some guesses in her mind, and her heart sank. Was it what she thought?

Lu Nong lay in Pei Jinan's arms. Guns and cannons were indiscriminate on the battlefield and he could lose his life at any time. Death treated every soldier fairly. Lu Nong selfishly didn't want Pei Jinan to go to the battlefield at all.

But Pei Ji'an once said that the country comes first and the soldiers have their own mission, and she can't stop them.

She didn't know whether Pei Jianan in the original novel had ever been to the battlefield. She only knew that Pei Jianan in the original novel lived to the end of his life. However, her arrival changed Pei Jianan's fate, and everything became unknown.

The more Lu Nong was looking forward to the future in the past, the more afraid she was now. She couldn't show this fear, so she hugged Pei Ji'an's neck and said, "Okay, I promise you."

Pei Ji'an hugged Lu Nong back and patted her back gently, as if to comfort her and express his silent apology. The two of them were silent for a long time.

After a while, Lu Nong came out of Pei Ji'an's arms, blinked and said, "Didn't you say you were hungry? Let's eat. After dinner, I will design my secret garden. Come and help me."

Pei Ji'an: "Secret garden?"

"Yes, my secret garden. Didn't you say you were leaving? You can only see its final appearance when you come back. It is also a secret to you, right?"

Pei Ji'an laughed. He always knew that his little wife liked all beautiful and romantic things. She would restrain herself a little when they were in Beijing, but when she was in the mountains, she completely let go.

But it's okay this way. His original intention of taking her away from Beijing was to let her live freely and happily.