The 1970s: Military Family Beauty

Jiang Furong ate breakfast in silence, and Wei Heng asked her what her plans were.

"I want to go out and play now." Jiang Furong didn't want to stay in the room to read and write at all.

Wei Heng laughed: "Where are you going to play after six o'clock? The park isn't open yet."

Jiang Furong quickly thought of a good place: "I want to watch the flag-raising ceremony."

Anyway, just don't stay at home.

She originally wanted to practice standing meditation, but she couldn't concentrate at all.

Forget standing still, she couldn't even sit still.

If the nanny hadn't been cleaning the kitchen nearby and she and Wei Heng were alone, she would have been unable to hold back her giggles.

"Want to watch the flag-raising ceremony? Sure." Wei Heng had to satisfy such a small request:

"I estimate the flag-raising time is around 7:30. It's quite close from here, only ten minutes away, so we can leave at 7 o'clock and still make it. Where else do you want to go after watching the flag-raising ceremony?"

"I'll follow your instructions and go wherever you say!" Jiang Furong's brain wasn't thinking much today.

Wei Heng immediately made arrangements: "Bring your work permit and letter of introduction. After watching the flag-raising ceremony, we'll go to the train station. Most trains have resumed service."

His habit is always to put rationality first. He wants to relax during holidays, but he must not delay work for even a minute.

The day after tomorrow morning Wei Heng has to go back to report for leave. Before returning to school, he has to send Jiang Furong back to Jiangshan.

By this calculation, they don't actually have much time to rest.

The two of them packed up and went out.

Walking side by side on the road, Jiang Furong suddenly felt so dreamy:

"Brother Heng, that time we went to the county bus station it was also early in the morning, before daybreak, and I was terrified."

At that time, she was unfamiliar with the place, completely in the dark, and had nothing in her hands. She was filled with the tension of survival in the wilderness.

Wei Heng was surprised: "What are you afraid of?"

Jiang Furong said: "I was afraid of oversleeping and missing the ride, so I didn't sleep well the whole night."

Wei Heng laughed: "In the end, he fell asleep as soon as he got in the car."

I slept all the way on his shoulder without any taboos.

"Luckily I met you." Jiang Furong said with a smile, "Every step I envisioned that day came true."

If she hadn't found a ride and had to take the bus to the county bus station by herself, all her time would have been wasted if she missed a bus.

When she met Wei Heng, he sent her to the train station and even brought her to the platform.

Looking back now, I still feel so lucky. Life is full of surprises!

Wei Heng asked: "So what are your expectations for today?"

"Ah? Today? I didn't even think about it." Jiang Furong looked up at Wei Heng and said proudly, "When I'm with you, I'll follow your instructions!"

Wei Heng was overjoyed to hear this.

He knew that Jiang Furong had always trusted him, but when she said this, he felt inexplicably happy.

"I will salute when the flag is raised later." Wei Heng looked at the flagpole in the square from a distance and reminded Jiang Furong in advance.

He is a soldier. No matter where he sees the national flag being raised, he will stop, stand at attention and salute.

"Okay." Jiang Furong responded softly and followed Wei Heng obediently.

There were not many people in the square, but not too few either, waiting to watch the flag-raising ceremony in the dim morning light.

Not long after, everyone in the square looked in one direction.

Two soldiers in charge of the flag-raising mission, one leading the way and the other carrying the flag, were seen walking towards Tiananmen Square with powerful steps from the other side of Chang'an Avenue.

Although there was no guard of honor, people in the square held their breath and looked up at the national flag rising with the sun.

Wei Heng saluted and stood straight.

Jiang Furong stood beside him, covering her heart with her right hand to show respect and salute, and looked up at the national flag, her eyes unknowingly filled with tears.

The sun came out and the sky became bright.

The crowd dispersed.

Jiang Furong wiped away the tears from her eyes, sighed happily and said, "I finally saw the flag-raising ceremony. It's so sacred!"

Wei Heng stared at Jiang Furong's face, wanting to say something but stopping himself.

Jiang Furong was puzzled: "What?"

"Once, a deputy company commander in our company got married," Wei Heng said with a smile. "The bride and groom stood side by side on the stage. The groom saluted everyone, and the bride stood beside him, wiping away tears."

Jiang Furong's tears suddenly disappeared.

Humph, are you kidding? Everyone can do that.

Jiang Furong winked at Wei Heng and said mischievously, "Then our wedding is over! We can do it later..."

She held up two fingers and waved them back and forth.

Wei Heng was both angry and amused: "What is it?" He acted as if he was going to deal with you if you didn't speak properly.

Jiang Furong smiled and said, "It's just a puppy."

After saying that, he pulled up his scarf to cover his mouth and laughed out loud.

Wei Heng smiled and nodded: "Okay, we are in public here, I will let you go for now. I remember there seems to be some wine at home, you must drink it when you go back tonight! You must listen to me today!"

"Drink it if you want. I'll challenge you to a duel today!" Jiang Furong was not afraid at all.

It's just a joke anyway, what we're competing for is bragging.

Wei Heng bent over with laughter: "A one-on-one challenge! Do you know what I mean by asking you to drink?"

Jiang Furong was still laughing: "I don't know, I'll ask Aunt Liu when she comes back."

Whether it is true or false, find a backer first.

Wei Heng raised his hand to flick Jiang Furong on the forehead, but in the end he just helped her pull her scarf: "Let's go to the train station."

If he continued, he would want to go home.

It was almost noon when I bought the ticket and came out of the train station.

Wei Heng calculated in his mind that they only had one afternoon and the next morning to move freely, so they had to hurry.

"Is there anything else you want to buy?"

Jiang Furong thought for a moment and said, "I've made an appointment with the editor at the publishing house to go there tomorrow morning. I need to buy some textbooks."

She had a limited budget and if she bought food she couldn't buy books. After making a compromise, she decided to buy some books to take back.

Wei Heng understood and asked, "If we don't go to the department store, why don't we go to Wangfujing Street to eat something and then go ice skating at Shichahai?"

Jiang Furong nodded: "Okay!"

She originally thought that the economy in the 1970s was limited, but the prosperity she saw everywhere she went was far beyond her expectations.

There are restaurants on the main streets, snack bars in the alleys, department stores on the main streets, and small stores in the small streets and alleys. You can find everything you need for food, clothing, and daily necessities.

It is similar to the world of the future, the only difference is that now all stores, regardless of size, are state-owned.

Jiang Furong really likes the atmosphere of life here: "I've been here twice before for meetings, and I don't feel nostalgic at all. Maybe it's because I haven't been here to stroll around the alleys and experience the beauty of Beijing."

In fact, Jiang Furong didn’t realize that she fell in love with a city because she fell in love with a person.

Wei Heng smiled and said, "Come back in the summer and you can go climb the Great Wall. If you have more time off, you can go north along the Great Wall to Inner Mongolia. I can also take you horseback riding. There are so many fun places there."

In winter, there is only skating or skiing.

Of course, people who love to play can also invent many entertainment projects.

When they were ice skating in Shichahai, they saw old men in their sixties and seventies swimming in winter, breaking the ice and rushing into the water.

Jiang Furong pointed at the "No Swimming" sign and angrily said, "They're pretending not to see it! How irresponsible!"

She was stressed.