Chapter 1 Released
The guesthouse was still the same as before Lin Qingqing left. Aunt Wang even offered to let her stay for a meal when she saw her. However, things were different now than before when she was on the commune's payroll. If she stayed for a meal, she would definitely take up someone else's quota. So, she declined Aunt Wang's offer by mentioning that she was going to have a meal with Xie Wei.
Aunt Wang still remembered Xie Wei. Hearing that they were going to have lunch together, she pulled Lin Qingqing aside and asked in a low voice, "What are you two doing now?"
"We're dating," Lin Qingqing said without hiding anything.
Aunt Wang looked surprised: "Really?"
Lin Qingqing was both amused and exasperated: "Why would I lie to you?"
Seeing her reaction, Aunt Wang thought that if Xie Wei's previous visit to pick up Lin Qingqing and take her to Xingfeng Brigade was justified, then this time, coming to the commune with her, Aunt Wang herself didn't believe that the two had no relationship.
Thinking of Xie Wei's identity, Aunt Wang smiled with relief and sincerely said to Lin Qingqing, "You've finally seen the light at the end of the tunnel!"
Lin Qingqing knew what Aunt Wang meant, and she knew that this would be the reaction of most people when they heard that she and Xie Wei were dating. Although she didn't think that marriage would be a turning point in her life, she didn't deny what Aunt Wang said, and brought up the matter of returning He Xiaoli's book.
Lin Qingqing came to visit the guesthouse not only to see the people there, but also to return the book to He Xiaoli. Unfortunately, she arrived at an inopportune time; He Xiaoli was off work and she couldn't find her, so she had to ask Aunt Wang to return the book for her.
Aunt Wang readily agreed, saying, "Don't worry, I'll personally hand the book to Xiaoli."
...
There was only one state-run restaurant in Yutian Commune, which was not far from the guesthouse, just a five or six-minute walk away.
It was the end of the month, and there were still a few days until payday. The state-run restaurant wasn't crowded, and there was no need to queue to order. Lin Qingqing stood in front of the counter, looking at the menu behind the cashier, and discussed with Xie Wei about ordering a plate of braised fish and a plate of stir-fried rapeseed.
Eating at a state-run restaurant with ration coupons wasn't expensive; a meat dish, a vegetable dish, and eight ounces of rice cost less than a dollar. Lin Qingqing took out her money from her pocket after hearing the cashier's price, but Xie Wei was a little faster, handing over the money and ration coupons to the cashier before she could.
"I'll pay," Lin Qingqing quickly handed over the money.
"No……"
Before Xie Wei could speak, Lin Qingqing said, "You also said that dating requires give and take."
The cashier looked up at this question, her gaze sweeping over the two men, and asked, "Who paid?"
Lin Qingqing looked at Xie Wei. Since she had already said that, what could Xie Wei say? Helplessly, he said, "She'll give it to me." He took the money and food coupons from the cashier.
After paying, the two found a place to sit down, but after a while Xie Wei got up again, went to the cashier to ask for two bowls, poured two glasses of water and came back, handing them to Lin Qingqing and saying, "Have some water."
"Thank you," Lin Qingqing said, taking the bowl.
Xie Wei smiled slightly: "You seem to really like saying thank you."
Lin Qingqing was taken aback by these words. Recalling her memories, it seemed that people from both Linjiazui and Xingfeng Brigade rarely said "thank you." Even in the educated youth team, few people would put "thank you" out loud, but it had become her natural reaction, so no one had mentioned it, and she had never thought there was anything wrong with saying it.
Lin Qingqing felt a little guilty and lowered her eyes, saying, "Is that so?"
Xie Wei didn't dwell too much on Lin Qingqing's difference, or rather, in his heart, the girl in front of him was different, and this difference became less special. He brought it up simply to start a conversation with Lin Qingqing about topics related to himself.
During their conversation, Lin Qingqing learned about Xie Wei's initial motivation for joining the army. When he was young, he had read reports about the Korean War in the newspapers. It was the most brutal war since the founding of the People's Republic of China, in which countless people were buried on the battlefield. After that, he learned a lot about it through various channels. At first, he just wanted to know about that past, but later he only regretted that he was born too late.
Over those years, his initial vague thoughts gradually became clear, and he eventually chose to join the army.
“On the day I enlisted, my mother cried for a long time. She didn’t ask me to be successful in my career, she only hoped that I would live a peaceful life.” Xie Wei paused here and said, “But I couldn’t do that.”
Lin Qingqing gazed intently at Xie Wei, thinking that this was probably the most touching aspect of this era. No matter how scarce the material conditions or how difficult life was, people in this era still had passion and were still full of hope.
Compared to Xie Wei's life, Lin Qingqing's life, apart from the major event of transmigrating into a book, is not much to talk about. But transmigrating into a book is a secret she can't reveal, so she talked to Xie Wei about the progress of the meeting preparations.
“I’ve almost finished writing the story, but it needs some polishing. I’ll revise it again tomorrow, and we might hold a meeting in the brigade in the next few days.” Lin Qingqing thought for a moment and said, “Originally, Director Yang only planned to hold one meeting, but after finishing the story, she realized it might take two days. She said if the results are good this time, we might hold another meeting in about half a month.”
This is also what Lin Qingqing hopes for. If a meeting can be organized every two weeks, she might be able to stay in the Women's Federation office after the New Year.
As they were talking, the food was served.
The chef at the state-run restaurant was very skilled; the braised fish was tender and the sauce was sweet and savory. The vegetable dish was red cabbage, which was soft, sweet, and tender.
While eating, Lin Qingqing suddenly remembered what Aunt Wang had said and began to recount it to Xie Wei with a smile. At first, Xie Wei just listened, but when Lin Qingqing mentioned that she had learned cooking from Aunt Wang, he asked, "How was your learning?"
“They all say I’ve inherited all of Aunt Wang’s skills,” Lin Qingqing said half-jokingly.
Xie Wei raised an eyebrow: "Really?"
"Of course, I'll make it for you to try next time," Lin Qingqing said casually.
Xie Wei took it seriously and looked at him expectantly: "When?"
Lin Qingqing paused, then frowned and said, "Well... I can't say for sure." She lived in the educated youth settlement, so it wasn't really appropriate for her to cook for guests. But where else could she cook if she wasn't at the educated youth settlement?
Xie Wei was also thinking about this problem and concluded that the problem would be solved as long as they got married.
Thinking of this, Xie Wei's gaze towards the girl across from him intensified; he truly had this thought in mind, but he swallowed the words back. Lin Qingqing felt their relationship was progressing too quickly; if he proposed marriage now, it would probably scare her away.
Let's wait a bit... and see after the New Year.
Well, I'll submit the marriage application after I return to my unit after the New Year. If she's willing, they might be able to get married next summer.
...
They arrived in a hurry, but there was no rush to leave. Xie Wei didn't ride his bike; instead, he pushed it and walked alongside Lin Qingqing.
On the way, Xie Wei talked about the situation in the army: "Our unit is stationed in Xuzhou, which is less than an hour's drive from the city. There are shuttle buses to the city every day outside the barracks."
"So close?" Lin Qingqing asked in surprise, as she had assumed that the bases were all quite remote.
Xie Wei smiled and said, "It is relatively close, but Xuzhou is quite far from Shicheng. It takes a day and a night to get there by train."
Lin Qingqing knew that the trains were all old-fashioned green and took a long time to get anywhere, so she nodded and said, "I heard that we also have to take a boat?"
“That’s to the provincial capital. There are two options to get there from here: one is to take the train from the county or town, and the other is to take a ferry across the river. The train requires a transfer to get to the city, and it takes a little longer than the ferry.” Xie Wei finished speaking and asked, “Do you get carsick?”
"I don't get carsick," Lin Qingqing shook her head.
"That's good."
Lin Qingqing glanced at Xie Wei and asked, "What's better?"
Xie Wei looked at him with a smile in his eyes: "If you don't get carsick, you can come with me to the military base in the future, and the journey will be more comfortable."
Lin Qingqing understood the meaning behind his words and scolded him playfully, "Why are you..."
Did you know I would definitely go to the army with you?
"Don't you want to go with the army?" Xie Wei asked.
Lin Qingqing glanced at Xie Wei and said, "It depends on my mood."
Xie Wei wasn't upset at all after hearing this, since she only said that she would go with him to the army depending on her mood, but she didn't say that she didn't want to marry him.
...
Because there were many things, Xie Wei escorted Lin Qingqing all the way to the educated youth settlement.
Most of the educated youth who went to the market in Yangshulin Brigade had returned. Several educated youths were sitting in the courtyard reading newspapers. When they saw the two of them returning together, they all turned to look at them.
Lin Qingqing was stunned for a moment because she didn't expect there to be so many people in the courtyard.
Xie Wei was also slightly taken aback, but reacted faster than Lin Qingqing. He nodded to the educated youth, parked his bicycle on the side of the road, and handed the items on the bicycle to Lin Qingqing one by one.
Seeing them chatting as if no one else was around, the educated youth stopped reading their newspapers and began to whisper among themselves. Several of the female educated youths were more agitated, their eyes filled with venom as they looked at Lin Qingqing. Finally, Zhao Lan couldn't help but ask, "Commander Xie, why did you bring Comrade Lin back? Comrade Lin, I'm not trying to be mean, but it's very inappropriate for you to always trouble others like this!"
Hearing Zhao Lan's words, Xie Wei's face visibly darkened, and he said, "What's wrong with me bringing my girlfriend back?"
The murmurs among the educated youth sitting together grew louder; some were shocked, some were saddened, and some found it unbelievable. Zhao Lan was particularly agitated, her gaze darting between the two men's faces, before finally managing to stammer, "How...how could she possibly be your boyfriend?"
"Why can't I be his girlfriend?" Lin Qingqing retorted. "Do I need your permission, Zhao Zhiqing, to date Comrade Xie?"
Although Lin Qingqing hadn't expected their relationship to be exposed so quickly, she had already promised Xie Wei and wasn't thinking about making amends. However, seeing the reactions of the other female educated youth, she felt she might not be staying there long, and couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.
Zhao Lan didn't mean she needed to approve their relationship; she genuinely felt that Lin Qingqing was not good enough for Xie Wei!
With so many people watching in the courtyard, she couldn't bring herself to say such incorrect things. Her face flushed red, and she reluctantly said, "No need."
Zhao Lan lowered her head. Lin Qingqing didn't dwell on the matter too much. She picked up her things and said goodbye to Xie Wei, telling him to be careful on the road.
...
Although Lin Qingqing and Xie Wei acted nonchalantly, the news was explosive for everyone else. In less than half an afternoon, the news of their relationship spread throughout the entire Xingfeng Brigade.
So, during dinner that evening, the Xie family adopted a three-way interrogation approach.
Li Xingfang said, "When did you start dating? I've never heard of it."
Song Yan said, "What does that girl look like? She's been living in our brigade for so long, and I've never seen her before. You really like her?"
Xie Baoshan said in a cool tone, "Didn't you say before that you just felt sorry for her and wanted to help her to the end? What, in the end you got yourself involved?"
Xie Wei answered each question without changing his expression:
"We've only been dating for a few days, so I haven't had a chance to tell you yet."
"She's...pretty good-looking, um."
"At first, I thought I would help people to the end, but plans can't keep up with changes."
In recent years, Li Xingfang has been writing to Xie Wei, bringing up his important life event every now and then, but he has never been proactive. Because he is far away in the military camp, his family can't really take care of him, so it has been delayed until now and he has become an older single man.
Since Xie Wei came back, Li Xingfang had been talking until her mouth was dry, trying to get him to agree to meet the girl the other person had introduced him to. But he always changed the subject. With half of the two-month vacation already gone, Li Xingfang was so anxious that her hair was almost turning white.
Hearing that he was dating Lin Qingqing, he didn't care about Lin Qingqing's background and only asked, "When are you two getting married?"
Upon hearing this, Xie Baoshan almost spat out the food in his mouth and said, "It's still far from certain. We should invite them to our home first and meet them before making any decisions."
Upon hearing this, Li Xingfang realized what was happening and nodded, saying, "Right, right, look at me, I was so confused. Wei Zi, when are you going to bring someone home for a meal?"
When Xie Baoshan said that nothing was certain yet, Xie Wei's gaze darkened. But when he heard the second half of the sentence, his eyebrows relaxed, and he said thoughtfully, "I'll ask her first."
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