The 1970s: Military Family Beauty

When talking about finding a job for Jiang Furong in her hometown, Grandma Jiang fell silent.

Those positions were all good, and she believed Furong would be able to do them.

However, my family is a farming family. Whether in the city, town or village, my relationship with the leaders is just a nod and a greeting. Besides, there are many people competing for such good jobs as accountants and teachers.

"The good jobs are reserved for their own people. No one in my family can get close to the commune leaders."

Jiang Xiaocui's idea was much simpler: "After Furong marries Secretary Wang's nephew, Secretary Wang will be considered a relative of ours. I can then ask him to intercede for me!"

Grandma Jiang was even more unsure now: "Xiao Cui, do you think Furong will agree to go back with me? Why does she seem different from what she said in the letter? Sometimes I look at her coldly and think she is more sensible than you."

Jiang Xiaocui rolled her eyes: "You're smarter than me! Then why don't you two just talk it over?"

Grandma Jiang was also unhappy when she heard this: "Look how anxious you are. You're arguing with me before I've even finished what I'm saying. Isn't this a negotiation with you?"

After saying that, he put on a sullen face and threw a piece of firewood into the stove.

Jiang Xiaocui was at her wit's end, pointing towards the house: "Mom, is it okay if I said something wrong? How about tomorrow during the day when my sister-in-law goes to work, I'll measure her clothes and we can test her attitude again."

In Jiang Xiaocui's impression, Jiang Furong has always been the little girl she was when she was three or four years old. Every time she was beaten or scolded, she would hide behind adults and curl up into a small ball.

Thinking of this, Jiang Xiaocui's heart softened: "I'll make clothes for Furong tomorrow. When my sister-in-law comes back, I'll ask her if anyone has a sewing machine and see if I can borrow it."

"Didn't you say you'd wait for your brother to come back and ask for a plane ticket for sewing?"

"Well, I do want to wait, but look at Furong's clothes. They look like the clothes you'd see begging for food in our village during the New Year. I want to make her some small, fitted clothes. Girls need to be more particular when they grow up."

"That's fine. We don't need a sewing machine to make small clothes, right? I can still see clearly. You cut and I'll sew."

"You don't have to sew by hand. It's much faster to use a sewing machine. Just click and it's done in no time. You can't finish one piece by hand in a whole day."

The mother and daughter talked about making clothes, and later they probably felt that there was no need to be so cautious, so their voices became louder and louder.

Jiang Furong was in the living room. After finishing tutoring, she had nothing to do and wanted to help in the kitchen. She stood by the door and heard the conversation between her grandmother and aunt clearly.

Worse than a beggar?

Jiang Furong looked down at her clothes, pants, and cotton shoes. They were indeed not much better than those worn by beggars.

It’s true that close-fitting clothes don’t fit me well, but since cotton clothes are worn out, I don’t feel uncomfortable.

It had been several days since Jiang Furong woke up, and this was the first time she noticed that her clothes were too tattered.

"Auntie," Jiang Furong knocked on the kitchen door, "Is the meal ready? I'll go call Qingqing back for dinner."

Jiang Xiaocui quickly answered loudly: "It's almost done, go ahead, it will be ready when you come back."

Jiang Furong agreed and turned to leave the house.

It was just after get off work, and people were walking on the streets and in the alleys.

People living in the staff housing complex generally have the habit of not closing the door until bedtime. When you pass by someone's door, you can see what's going on in the living room at a glance.

Jiang Furong didn't have the habit of looking at other people's houses, so she just looked up at the sky. Anyway, the brick road under her feet was quite flat, so she didn't need to look to avoid bumping or tripping.

It was not yet six o'clock, but the sky was already getting dark. The afterglow of the setting sun had not yet disappeared, and the green smoke from the firewood was floating in the air, with a strange and desolate beauty.

After turning onto the road and walking a few steps, a group of half-grown boys, each holding a small stool in their hands, passed by Jiang Furong, shouting, "Hurry up, hurry up, I'm the first one, you're the second one," and they were running and jumping around.

Seeing the small stools in their hands and the direction they were running, Jiang Furong suddenly realized that they were going to the playground to watch an open-air movie.

The army often shows open-air movies. If it is a new film, it will be shown once or twice in the auditorium for the officers and soldiers, and then another show will be shown outdoors for everyone.

Basically, those who watch open-air movies are family members, and the ones who watch again and again and never get tired of it are the children.

Jiang Furong couldn't help but quicken her pace.

Needless to say, Jiang Guoqing must be on the playground at this time, and he might be taking up space with the children.

When we arrived at the playground, we saw the projection team's truck parked on the side of the road. Several soldiers were moving large wooden boxes containing projectors and films from the truck to the ground.

Jiang Furong walked to the playground and looked around. She saw Jiang Guoqing among the children. He was standing in a big shape in the so-called best viewing position. She didn't know who he was reserving the seat for.

The movie screen stand had been installed in the middle of the playground. Several children surrounded the projectionist, following behind him to watch him wire the cables and place the speakers on both sides of the screen stand.

Jiang Furong thought of the cut wires at home, and with an idea in mind, she walked over to the projectionist who was wiring the wires and asked, "Excuse me, do you have any insulating tape?"

The projectionist didn't even look up: "What kind of tape do you want from me? Go find the hygienist!"

It was obvious that he didn't understand, so Jiang Furong changed the wording: "Black tape for wrapping wires." She pointed to the bundle of wires in the projectionist's hand. There was a broken connector on it, wrapped in a circle of thick insulating tape: "This is it!"

The projectionist looked up: "What do you want this for?"