Starting a new chapter in life

"Brother, who can guarantee that the person you marry will always be the same to you for life? If you entrust your whole life to a man, it's better to rely on yourself. If he likes me and treats me well, I will be devoted to him just the same. If one day his feelings change, I can take care of myself. Mountains crumble and people run away. It's better to rely on yourself than on anyone else."

"Right now I'm not capable, so if I want to see other places, I'll have to rely on someone to take me. But believe me, I won't let myself suffer anymore. Your sister isn't one to be bullied."

"If you are satisfied with him, then I won't say anything more. Just remember one thing: no matter what happens, your brother will always be there for you. As long as you come back, you will never go hungry."

After saying this, he looked at Jinghuan and said, "Fourth sister, if Jingyan really gets married to him, the house will be empty. Why don't we ask the Peng family tomorrow? If they don't mind, we don't need to build the house. Otherwise, it would be a pity if the old house is abandoned after you get married and Jingyan leaves."

Jinghuan frowned: "Big brother, Mom said this house was meant for Jingyan, I can't accept it."

“Fourth Sister, even if I don’t leave, this place can actually be shared by us sisters. Three rooms are not enough for one family. If the Peng family doesn’t mind being called a live-in son-in-law, it would be most suitable for them to move in. Eldest Brother and Second Brother are not in the village, so they wouldn’t need it. But I would feel uncomfortable if the house were given to Third Brother. I don’t mind giving it to Fourth Sister.” Jingyan also supported this decision.

"Yes, after you get married next year, you'll live here in the east room. The main room will still be for Jingyan. If she gets together with the man surnamed He, you and your husband will move to the main room after she leaves with the army. If not, Jingyan will live in the main room after she gets married. Later, when your two families have children, the west room will also be big enough. It's good for the children to grow up together from a young age, so they'll have a companion and their relationship will be better." Second brother Jingzhao also agreed.

Jinghuan smiled at her two older brothers and said, "Brothers, stay in my room tonight. I'll sleep with my little sister."

Jing Tian and Jing Zhao exchanged a glance, nodded, and went to Jing Huan's room. Jing Yan looked at Jing Huan and asked, "What does Fourth Sister want to say?"

“Jingyan, your fourth sister doesn’t want you to marry far away. Actually, if it were a young man from the village or nearby, I wouldn’t worry even if he went to live in another place. But we don’t know anything about Comrade He. If he’s a good person, that’s fine. But if he’s not a good person, you’ll suffer in the future. Don’t think that just because someone is in the military, they’re necessarily a good person. Things aren’t always that absolute.” Jinghuan was very worried.

“I don’t actually expect him to be a very good person. The reason I dared to follow the army is more because I trust Sister Liu and Chef Lin in the canteen. As long as I work in the canteen, they will protect me. The fundamental reason I am willing to follow Comrade He is that I want to go to more distant places and do not want to be trapped here for the rest of my life.”

Jingyan didn't know much. In her dream, the farthest she went was Heilongjiang. But she knew that in the future, her third sister's son would stay in Haishi after graduating from university. Her two nephews were really good to her. Given a second chance, she also wanted to be able to help her nephews someday. But she couldn't tell her fourth sister these things. What she could say couldn't be the reason she was willing to marry far away.

"Tell your fourth sister the truth, do you really like Comrade He?" Jing Huan's uncharacteristic stubbornness was on full display at this moment.

Jingyan thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "Fourth Sister, I don't really have any strong feelings about Comrade He, but I do not dislike him. His parents seem to be cultured and reasonable, and a child raised in such a family should not be too bad. Feelings are developed over time, and at least for now, it seems that he likes me quite a bit, which is a good start."

"If you don't have much feeling for him, then why are you considering marrying him? Is it because his family is from Yangzhou?"

Jingyan shook her head: "It's not that bad. If I just wanted to go there, even if I didn't get married, I would eventually have the chance to go and see it. I chose him because I didn't have a better choice than him."

You all say we can look around the neighborhood, but Fourth Sister, you know how many young men around our age we don't know? There are good ones, but they're either already engaged or we have some old grudges. Back in the day, I was always getting into fights. While that didn't necessarily make me an enemy, it was still too difficult to find someone to marry into. Now I've calmed down and stopped causing trouble, but who doesn't know everyone around here?

Jing Huan sighed: "Back then, you got into fights for your second and third sisters. At that time, we were arranging a marriage for your second sister. Those scoundrels were so rude and talkative that she deserved to be beaten. Your third brother refused to stand up for his sisters, and you, the youngest in the family, were the only one who rushed out to protect your sister. Why did they ruin your reputation? If it weren't for your eldest and second brothers coming back to support us sisters, your second sister would have married those scoundrels, and your third sister wouldn't have married someone from the Great Northern Wilderness."

"It's a pity that even if I beat him into submission, my second sister's marriage wasn't very good either. My second sister is soft-hearted and only knows how to cry when something happens. I don't know what kind of person my second sister's husband is, but he's really not good-looking and doesn't deserve my second sister." Jingyan was still somewhat resentful.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re not good-looking, as long as you’re good to your second sister. I heard that your third sister’s husband is a company commander in the Great Northern Wilderness? It’s a pity that it’s too far away. It’s been four years since your third sister got married, and we haven’t heard anything back. If you also marry far away, will you also disappear without a trace like your third sister?”

"Who knows? But as for looks, they don't have to be super good-looking, but they have to be at least presentable. Otherwise, if they're too ugly, they won't even enjoy their food. Fortunately, the Peng family's young master is quite handsome. I hope Fourth Sister will live a happy life in the future," Jingyan joked.

"But Fourth Sister, you don't need to worry about me. I didn't say I'd agree to an engagement or anything like that. I'm not that desperate to get married, so I don't need to be in such a rush. But we can get to know each other first. If things go well, I'll set my wedding date after you get married next year. If things don't go smoothly, we can just call it quits."

Considering these possibilities, there's really no rush to build Peng's house. He can stay with us for now. If I settle down with Comrade He, this old house will go to Fourth Sister. If not, we can build it when I find someone to marry, but I'll have to stay with you for a while.

Jinghuan thought about it for a moment and agreed, saying, "Okay, I'll have my brother talk to Uncle Peng's family tomorrow."

Lunchtime had already passed, but fortunately it was winter, so a little later wouldn't matter. The two sisters cooked, served some food, and took it to the east room. The four siblings ate in the main room. After the meal, Jinghuan said to Jingtian:

"Brother, could you go to the Peng family this afternoon and tell them that I'm worried about Jingyan living here alone and that I want to get married here in the old house. We can find a place to build a house later, before Jingyan gets married. As for Jingyan and Comrade He, let's not mention it for now. If it doesn't work out in the future, it won't damage Jingyan's reputation."

Jing Tian nodded in agreement: "Okay, I'll make another trip." After tidying up, he went to the Peng family. No one knows how he negotiated with the Peng family, but in any case, the deal was done. The Peng family parents also promised that the budget for building the house was two hundred yuan. Since the house would not be built for the time being, they would give a total of three hundred yuan as a betrothal gift, along with six quilts for good luck.

At dinner time, Jing Tian personally went to the east room to invite the He family of three to eat together. After the meal, Jing Tian said, "Uncle and Aunt, my family and I discussed it. My younger sister and Xiao He weren't very familiar with each other before, and Xiao He's interest in my sister came as quite a surprise to us. So I was thinking that rejecting them outright might be too hasty, but agreeing outright wouldn't be appropriate either."

"How about we let them get to know each other first? If they're still interested by the time my fourth sister gets married, my family can take a gamble and agree to the marriage. If either side feels it's not right in the meantime, we'll stop talking about it. What do you think?"

He's parents were naturally satisfied. They came to see what their daughter and her family were like. After all, marriage is a big deal and cannot be decided entirely by the child. After spending time together, although they couldn't say they knew each other well, they were still quite satisfied. The girl was hardworking and capable, her family was reasonable and not overly greedy, and they were clear-headed about relationships. They were a perfect match in every way.

He Zhijun was very happy to be dating with marriage in mind. He had simply liked her. He was actually quite nervous before his parents came, because he knew that marriage wasn't just about liking someone and living together; it involved dealing with both families, and there were many intricacies involved. Like his older brother, who still faced difficulties when visiting his future mother-in-law's house. But Zhang Jingyan's brothers didn't deliberately make things difficult for him; they gave him ample respect. Without the worry from his family, his future path would be much easier.

After having the engagement dinner with the Peng family, Zhang Jingtian and Jingzhao left. They all had their own jobs, families, and lives, and could not stay in their hometown. The sisters saw their brothers off, and He's parents were also leaving. They only had a month-long vacation, which was now coming to an end. Their son's marriage was also settled, and they would just come to attend the wedding when the two boys confirmed their intention to get married.

Jinghuan made dumplings, baked leavened pancakes, and fried some meat sauce for them to take on their journey. He Zhijun personally escorted his parents to the county town to catch the train. Life became more ordinary. Of course, if you ignored He Zhijun, who would come to visit every few days, the winter was still quite comfortable.

During this time, Jingyan learned to knit sweaters and pants. Although there were occasional minor problems such as uneven stitches and missed stitches, and knitting and unraveling took a lot of time, the overall impact was not significant. After three months, a set of sweaters and pants was finally completed. Jingyan breathed a sigh of relief, while Jinghuan almost cried with excitement. Her little sister's comprehension was too poor. In the time it took to teach her to knit something, she could have knitted three sets herself. The task was finally completed. She would never teach her little sister handicrafts again. She was just not cut out for it.

He Zhijun, however, highly praised Jing Yan's progress, saying that where there's a will, there's a way. He added that it's never smooth sailing the first time you do something, and that it's good enough that you can produce a finished product. Jing Yan appreciated his words.

He Zhijun also wrote to his parents to tell them that Jingyan's sweater was finished. Not long after, Cui Hongru sent over a large bag of yarn in the most popular colors at the time: blue, gray, and red.

When Zhang Jingyan held such a large bag of yarn, she was completely stunned. Her knitting journey, which she had finally finished, was now being filled again? Holding the soft yarn, Jingyan was depressed, while Jinghuan was smiling happily, touching the new yarn and liking it very much.

Jingyan wanted Jinghuan to help her with the ghostwriting, but Jinghuan firmly refused: "This is for you to practice on. If you don't use it, it will hurt people's feelings. You knit it, and ask me if you don't understand." So, when the cafeteria officially started work, Jingyan only finished a gray scarf. When she received the news that she could start work, she was overjoyed. Finally, she could be free.

He Zhijun was very pleased to receive the scarf from Jing Yan and wore it around showing it off. Battalion Commander Gao teased him, "Does this mean she agrees? When are you getting married and having wedding candy? Remember to submit a report in advance. Although Comrade Zhang's class background is fine, it still takes time to go through the application process."

He Zhijun shook his head: "We're just dating with marriage in mind. We haven't agreed on anything yet. If we do, I'll definitely treat you to wedding candy. I won't buy the cheap kind; I'll only buy White Rabbit candy."

Battalion Commander Gao chuckled: "You're quite generous in this regard. But you'll have to hand over all your salary and subsidies from now on, so where will you get the money to buy White Rabbit candy?"

“I asked my mom to send the candy over directly. It’s not easy for me to get candy coupons, but it shouldn’t be a problem for my mom to get them. My wife will manage all my money from now on, and she’ll just give me two yuan a month for pocket money.” He Zhijun grinned foolishly.

On the day Jingyan and Peng Chunlai returned to work, they each brought some snacks. Jingyan brought spiced melon seeds made by her fourth sister. Although the taste wasn't as good as those bought outside, they were melon seeds harvested from their own yard, seasoned with a little spice, and cost almost nothing, not even requiring coupons, making them a bargain. Peng Chunlai brought roasted peanuts, which were fragrant and crunchy, perfect for a treat. Sister Liu and the others were also very happy to receive the snacks, and after a while of merriment, they began their work for the new year.

Not long after the canteen started operating, the village began organizing villagers to prepare for spring plowing. Fourth Sister also got busy. When there were leftovers in the canteen, Jingyan would take two portions home. If there were no leftovers, Fourth Sister would cook some noodles, mix them with mutton sauce, and add some chopped green onions—a pretty good meal. The sisters' daily routine was no different from previous years.

The only difference is that Peng, who often comes to help, and He Zhijun, who comes to help whenever he has a holiday. I don't know if the two couples' relationships have progressed, but the relationship between these two men has been advancing by leaps and bounds. Peng only has a junior high school education, which is considered an educated person in the village, but he is completely inferior to He Zhijun.

So he became a big fan, and He Zhijun didn't hold back. His specialty was mechanical drawing, and when he encountered some small farm tools, he would tell Peng Xiaoge some mechanical principles, which made Peng Xiaoge more and more interested in studying farm machinery.