The 1970s: Military Family Beauty

Zhang Haiyan really went to weigh a small bag of salt.

Coarse-grained sea salt is purely naturally refined, yellowish in color, uneven in size, and similar to sand.

"Who did you learn this method from? Can it really be kept for two days without going bad?" Zhang Haiyan asked while operating.

Jiang Furong thought for a moment: "Myself!"

"You can do it?"

"Don't we always add salt to pickled vegetables in winter?"

"Yeah! It's true!"

"Jiang Furong, you look a little different today!" Zhang Haiyan marinated the tofu and put it aside. She wiped her hands with a towel, leaned over the counter, and tilted her head to look at her old classmate. "But I can't see what's different."

Sister Li, who was knitting nearby, looked up and said, "Yan'er, your classmate doesn't talk as much as you do. She only responds to one of my ten questions."

Zhang Haiyan was stunned, then clapped her hands and laughed. "Oh my, that's what I thought. This is the difference. Sister Li, let me tell you, when Jiang Furong was in school, she couldn't even say ten sentences a day. The teacher didn't even bother to call her name."

Sister Li laughed: "Is this true? I think she's pretty good at talking!"

Zhang Haiyan remembered something and laughed even more happily: "Sister Li, you don't know, our classmates heard that Jiang Furong wanted to join the army, and they all said that it would be the best fit for her. She only needs to answer a few questions in a day."

Jiang Furong herself found it funny: "Really?"

Zhang Haiyan laughed out loud: "I'm talking to you, and you're laughing along!"

Sister Li asked, "Are you still recruiting female soldiers this year? Didn't they just recruit a batch in the spring? Or are you looking for another way for you?"

Jiang Furong really didn't know about this matter, and honestly said, "I don't know."

Sister Li didn't believe it: "Don't you know your own business?"

"Sister Li, she really doesn't know! Her mother has the final say in their family affairs. Last year, when I was arranging my job, I went to ask Aunt Hu, and Aunt Hu said that Jiang Furong had to finish high school first." Zhang Haiyan knew everything and became a mouthpiece.

Sister Li sighed, her tone full of regret: "Oh, finishing high school and then joining the army, and after you're discharged you still have to find a job, which will delay you for several years! Yan'er, it would have been great if your classmate had come to work with you last year. Work quotas are so hard to get."

Jiang Furong was confused: "I think going to school is okay."

This was in 1976. It didn't matter if I had a high school diploma. I could wait another year and take the college entrance examination. Wouldn't it be great to go to college?

Sister Li curled her lips and said, "What's your dream? You're joining the army after graduating from high school. Unless you're a soldier in an office, it's easier. Otherwise, you'll have to work night shifts and wait on people. I can't stand the sight of blood and gore."

Jiang Furong still didn't quite understand: "I think being a medic or a nurse is good, or even a doctor."

It's great to be a medical worker and save lives. She likes watching TV series like "Hearts and ER" the most. Every time she watches them, her blood boils and her love overflows.

Sister Li raised her voice slightly. "Becoming a doctor is fine, but you're dreaming! I've never heard of a medic becoming a doctor. Being a nurse is good enough. Besides, do you think being a doctor is enough? If you're the first one to be sent to the front line when a war breaks out, then all your education will be in vain."

Zhang Haiyan was a little unconvinced: "Sister Li, your awareness is not very high!"

Sister Li's tone immediately changed, and she chuckled twice: "Haha, look at my mouth. Our boss Huang always said that I was missing a door to my mouth. Well, what I mean is, a girl just needs to work cleanly, earn a salary, live close to home, take care of the children and the elderly after work, and live a good life. That's all."

Jiang Furong finally understood that Sister Li was talking about her own survival principle. The best way for a girl is to start work early and get paid early, have an easy job and still earn money to support her family.

Jiang Furong, who had just arrived, didn't know how difficult it was to find a job at that time. She didn't know that starting a year earlier would give her an extra year of seniority subsidy. In this era, prices were low and supplies were scarce, and a small amount of money could do a lot of things and solve many life problems.

"Zhang Haiyan, I'll go back and ask my parents." Jiang Furong felt that they were thinking about her, so she had to express her feelings. "I'll just tell them I don't want to be a soldier anymore and ask them to help me find a job."

However, Jiang Furong immediately thought of the harsh words Hu Xiuqing had said before, saying that he would settle the score with her when he came back in the evening. So whether she was working or serving in the army was her business, so she decided not to ask.

If you really want to ask, you'd better wait for Jiang Dapeng to come back. Regardless of whether your father is in charge or not, it's more reliable to ask your father.

Sister Li had already lowered her head to continue knitting, but upon hearing this, she quickly interrupted and said, "Then don't mention me! Don't let your mother come looking for me later!"

Jiang Furong smiled. This seemed like something Hu Xiuqing could do.

"No." Jiang Furong raised her finger to the sky and promised, "I won't tell you anything about my time at the service center."

Sister Li was amused again: "You went out and did nothing, and you still have to report to your mother? Isn't she tired of worrying about so much every day?"

Jiang Furong thought for a moment and said, "I shouldn't be tired."

Cooking, doing housework, picking up and dropping off her younger brother, helping him with his homework, all the housework was done by her alone. Why was her mother tired? She was just bored to death.

Zhang Haiyan said from the side: "Jiang Furong, you haven't started working yet, so you just stay at home every day? If you have nothing to do, come and play with me. Oh, and come to my house. My mom said she hadn't seen you for a long time during the National Day holiday."

Jiang Furong could feel Zhang Haiyan's sincerity and intimacy, but she couldn't remember when she and Zhang Haiyan became so familiar with each other.

If you can't remember, then forget it. Jiang Furong accepted the invitation immediately without hesitation: "Okay, I'll go when you're home."

Who would reject sincerity?

Zhang Haiyan was very happy. She chatted with Jiang Furong for a while until she said she wanted to go home to make lunch for Jiang Guoqing.

Coming out of the living compound, the sun is shining brightly.

Jiang Furong talked too much, her face turned red, and her head was buzzing. She returned home, poured herself a cup of hot water, went to the kitchen to find some sugar, and drank it all in one breath before she came to her senses.

Zhang Haiyan was really good at talking. A lot of the things she talked about were things she didn't know or had never heard of. There were also some things she knew about but had never participated in. Anyway, one was talking and the other was listening. In the end, she listened so much that her brain began to lack oxygen. She could only see Zhang Haiyan's lips opening and closing.

She still remembers what Zhang Haiyan said, "Her mother has the final say in everything in their family."

This means that if she wanted to do things according to her own ideas, it would be impossible under Hu Xiuqing's authority.

Jiang Furong found a pen and paper and prepared to write a market research report, and then make her own life plan in the new world based on it.