The 1970s: Military Family Beauty

After dinner, Hu Xiuqing went out to visit friends and relatives.

Not long after, a north wind started blowing outside, and the sound of the wind was like the engine belt idling.

Jiang Furong went to the window and stood there for a while, then lifted the curtains and looked out. It was dark at night and she could not see anything clearly. Only the cold wind was blowing into the house through the cracks in the windows and doors.

With such a strong north wind, the temperature at night may drop to minus ten degrees Celsius.

"Are you two cold?" Jiang Furong touched the two little boys' hands and found that their fingers and backs of their hands were cold. She was worried that they would get cold: "Stop playing with building blocks and get up and do some jumping jacks."

Jiang Furong didn't want to dirty the floor, so she drew some grids on the living room floor with her fingers, and asked Jiang Guoqing and Xiao Baoying to play hopping jack-o'-lantern in the living room while she sat aside and watched.

Jiang Guoqing and Xiao Baoying jumped on the ground at first, then accidentally tripped and fell to the ground. Jiang Guoqing took the lead and rolled over, and Xiao Baoying followed suit.

Little boys tend to go crazy when playing, shouting and laughing loudly.

Jiang Furong's ears were buzzing, and she felt that the roof was about to be blown off by the noise of the two children, but she also felt very enjoyable. The children's laughter was crisp and innocent, and it was so beautiful to hear.

This was the most healing moment Jiang Furong felt since she came to this time and space for so many days.

Someone knocked on the door. It was a soldier from the logistics department, who came to inform each household to check whether the faucets on the radiators were closed properly, as they would test the heating at 7:30.

Each family installs two radiators, and the locations are the same in every household, one in the living room and one in the large bedroom.

In order to avoid suspicion, Jiang Furong asked Jiang Guoqing to bring people in to check.

This soldier was responsible for the installation and maintenance of water, electricity, and heating. When he went in, he saw that the faucet was closed, but not tightly. He immediately opened the toolbox and replaced it on the spot.

Jiang Furong stood at the bedroom door and asked, "If you keep checking and changing the clothes in every house, will you be there by 7:30?"

The soldier said, "We're still in time. Everyone in our department has been dispatched, and we've even called in the communications company for help. We had to inspect it. The house was built first, and the heating was installed later. There's a faucet on the radiator, and there's no drainage ditch next to it. If the faucet is left on or broken, the hot water will flood the house. It's so cold today, it'll freeze in no time, and all the radiators in the yard will be useless."

"What if no one is at home and you can't go in to check?" Jiang Furong likes to ask these detailed questions the most.

Seeing Jiang Furong's gentle demeanor, the soldier teased her and said, "What should we do? Just let it go!"

Jiang Furong laughed: "When there is no heating, it is already cold. If you can't complete the task, how can you cold it?"

"You're quite capable!" The soldier glanced at the roster on the ground and found the name of the household head, Jiang Dapeng from the Confidentiality Section. He smiled at Jiang Furong and said, "We definitely have a solution, but how? Keep it secret!"

Jiang Guoqing parroted, "Keep it secret."

Xiao Baoying also followed suit: "Keep it a secret."

Jiang Furong laughed: "Then let's keep it a secret. I'll just wait for 7:30 to warm up."

It’s okay to only give the results without giving the process.

At half past seven, the sound of water flowing could indeed be heard from the radiator.

When Grandma Jiang and her family returned home, the living room was so hot that they couldn't wear cotton clothes.

"Grandma's back!" Jiang Furong greeted her with surprise, "Can I be discharged now?"

Grandma Jiang waved her hand to stop them from touching her: "Hurry up and take Xiao Baoying and Qingqing back. It's snowing outside and we're cold. We don't want to pass the cold on to you."

Jiang Xiaocui was on the porch, swatting the snow off her head and body. "Don't come out, it's snowing so hard, my hair is frozen. Zhaohui, come here and I'll swat it off for you."

Jiang Furong moved the stools and chairs to the radiator: "It's warm here."

Jiang Dapeng came in carrying the luggage he had just brought to the hospital that afternoon: "Go get a washbasin. I'll fill it with hot water for washing. It's all frozen."

No matter how hard they tried, they still encountered heavy snow and strong wind, so they had to walk back pushing their bicycles.

We were freezing all the way in the wind and snow.

Grandma Jiang applied a hot towel to her face and hands. The more comfortable she felt, the more emotional she felt. She sighed, "What a wonderful life this is!"

"That's right!" Jiang Xiaocui quickly took over the conversation: "It's too quiet in the hospital."

Jiang Furong asked with concern: "Grandma, what did the doctor say? Why were you discharged so soon? What exactly is Meniere's disease? What causes it? What should I pay attention to in my daily life? I haven't heard of it before."

Grandma Jiang had never heard of it either, and was terrified by the doctors at the hospital: "I can't explain it. I said I was fine, but they insisted on hospitalizing me."

Jiang Dapeng went to the bedroom and took a look. He didn't see Hu Xiuqing. He couldn't get a word in in the living room, so he rolled up his sleeves and went to the kitchen silently.

"Brother, come sit down and talk while I cook." Jiang Xiaocui saw Jiang Dapeng go to the kitchen and quickly jumped up: "You have a mission and you have to go out. If you have anything to say, just say it quickly."

"When I'm at home, I let my mother eat the food I cook. You guys talk." Jiang Dapeng closed the kitchen door.

Jiang Xiaocui was not idle either. She pulled Xiao Baoying to talk: "Are you hungry? Do you want to sleep?"

She saw little Baoying's rosy face and sparkling eyes, and she loved him so much that if there were no rules against kissing him, she would really want to hold this sweet and well-behaved baby in her arms and kiss him enough.

Grandma Jiang's attention was drawn to her, and she asked quietly, "Her mother hasn't come to pick her up yet?"

Jiang Furong replied in a low voice: "I have a mission. I'll leave it at our house for a few days. I've brought all the food and supplies here."

Grandma Jiang was very happy: "Great, great, this child is blessed. Look, he has heating as soon as he arrived. How great! I don't have to be hospitalized anymore, so you don't have to worry about me. This child is so blessed."

The topic had strayed off topic again, so Jiang Furong had no choice but to ask Jiang Zhaohui: "Why did you take so long this afternoon?"

Jiang Zhaohui finally got her chance to speak and immediately poured out everything she knew: "There was an emergency today. The ward needs to be vacated. Anyone who can walk needs to be discharged. The doctor said that grandma should take medicine at home and be observed."

Although she knew why her grandmother was discharged early, Jiang Furong didn't hear the question she asked, so she had to ask again: "Zhaohui, didn't you say you would go see her this afternoon and then go home?"

Jiang Zhaohui stuck out his tongue and said, "I went to see the wounded soldier, and he even talked to me."

"You said you were going to see your grandma, but ended up going out to play. Were you excited to the point of crying?" Jiang Furong is not a fan, but she understands Jiang Zhaohui's mentality and made a joke.

Some people worship heroes out of admiration, while others worship heroes out of curiosity and admiration.

Jiang Zhaohui hurriedly defended himself: "I wasn't playing around, and I wasn't crying. When the nurse was not around, I even poured him some water to drink."