Starting a new chapter in life

As they were talking, He Zhijun came out of the army. He greeted his parents and sister-in-law first, and was then hugged tightly by his older brother. He Zhijun, who was not short, looked like a child in He Zhicheng's arms. He was a head shorter than him and not as strong. All that could be seen was him struggling in his brother's arms but unable to break free.

Everyone else was used to it; the two had been fighting since they were little, and they were all used to it. Only Jing Yan stared wide-eyed and opened her mouth, looking utterly shocked.

Cui Hongru smiled and said to her, "Don't worry, these two boys have been like this since they were little. His older brother has a very good physique and has been trained by his father since he was a child. Xiao Jun was a bit weak when he was born and almost didn't survive several times. It was a lot of effort to raise him, but his physique is not suitable for high-intensity training."

I was afraid his father wouldn't think things through. At that time, Xiao Cheng was about twelve or thirteen years old, and he took on the task of helping his younger brother exercise. Xiao Jun was raised by Xiao Cheng. Later, when Xiao Jun wanted to become an engineer, it was Xiao Cheng's strong support that enabled him to pass the exam and join the army. Otherwise, given his father's temperament, he would have just sent Xiao Jun to work in a factory.

Jing Yan shut her mouth and swallowed hard: "The two brothers have quite a big difference in size."

Cui Hongru nodded with a smile: "It's probably because you want what you lack. Xiaojun himself is rather slender, and he especially envies his older brother's physique, so I think there must be something to it about him when he took a liking to you at first sight."

Jingyan looked down at her large hands and feet and began to question her life.

Seeing her stunned expression, Cui Hongru burst into laughter, and Zhou Jie also smiled faintly.

He Zhijun struggled to pull himself out of He Zhicheng's arms, tidying his messy hair as he complained, "Big brother, you've gone too far! How old am I? You're still playing these tricks on me. Haven't you grown up yet? I'm about to get married. I'm an adult now. Why are you still bullying me like when I was a kid?"

“Even when you’re eighty, you’ll still be my brother. I can bully you however I want. If you’re so capable, go ahead and bully him back.” He Zhicheng’s serious demeanor vanished, replaced by a roguish retort.

"When you're eighty and can't run anymore, I'll be younger than you, and I'll definitely get my revenge then, hmph!"

"Alright, you're both so old, yet you're still acting like children. We came to let you know we've arrived and are staying at the county guesthouse. Isn't your wedding the day after tomorrow? If you need anything prepared, just tell me and your mother, and we'll help you with the preparations. When the time comes, you two can just attend." He Jiaoxu interrupted his brothers' bickering, exercising his authority as the head of the family.

He Zhijun scratched his head: "Well, our clothes are ready. Jingyan's were made by her fourth sister. I have a new military uniform. We need to buy the meat for the banquet at the market tomorrow, and also some snacks and pastries."

“We have sunflower seeds at home, and my sister made some spiced ones a few days ago, as well as peanuts. That’s enough for snacks. We’ll need to buy some candy, but it’s hot now, so we didn’t prepare any in advance in case it melts. We have vegetables in our yard, so we don’t need to spend money on that. That should be enough,” Jingyan added.

Cui Hongru nodded: "Is five catties of candy enough, and thirty catties of pork enough?"

Jing Yan waved her hands repeatedly: "We don't need to spend so much on weddings in the village. Two catties of candy is enough, and ten catties of pork is about right. If we have big bones, we can buy another ten catties. We have leftover sauerkraut from last year, so we can stew the sauerkraut with big bones. This will not only use up the sauerkraut, but it will also be a hearty dish."

"Isn't this too little?" He Jiaoxu felt that such a small amount of meat was not enough to eat.

"That's enough. This is already quite generous. We're planning six tables for the wedding banquet. There won't be any dishes made purely of meat; they'll all be stews and stir-fries with other vegetables. Ten pounds of pork bones, chopped into smaller pieces, can make a big pot of sauerkraut stew. We'll kill two chickens from our farm and make a small chicken stew with mushrooms. Add some extra glass noodles, and that's another big pot. We'll also add some slices of pork belly to the potato and green bean stew to give it a meaty flavor, and that's another dish."

"Braised eggplant with soy sauce, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, cucumber salad, mapo tofu, spicy and sour cabbage, and rice rolls. My fourth sister will just fill in whatever vegetables are left in the yard, making it ten dishes in total. This wedding banquet will be lavish enough and won't seem stingy at all." Jingyan recited the menu she had discussed with her fourth sister.

Cui Hongru chimed in, "We've got it. We'll buy everything we need in the county tomorrow and come straight to your house. Your situation is special, so we won't make any compromises. We'll arrange the wedding house at your house. Once you return to Yangzhou, we'll definitely prepare a new house for you."

"Auntie, don't worry. We have many customs and traditions here, but we don't really care about material things. Wherever he works, that's home. You don't need to worry about me not being able to adapt," Jingyan said sincerely.

The more Cui Hongru looked at her daughter-in-law, the more satisfied she became. She took out a red envelope wrapped in red cloth from her pocket and handed it to Jingyan: "This is the betrothal money from my family, six hundred yuan. Please keep it safe." Jingyan took it and put it directly into the inside pocket of her coat. After putting it away, she patted the corner of her coat at Cui Hongru and said with a smile, "Okay, I'll keep it safe. Thank you, Auntie."

Cui Hongru took out another box from her pocket. Inside, it was also wrapped in red cloth. She unwrapped the red cloth and handed it to Jingyan: "This bracelet was originally a pair. It was a gift from my mother-in-law when we first met. I gave one to your sister-in-law, and this one is for you. This bracelet has good quality, but it's not convenient to wear it now, as it's easy to be criticized. It's better to keep it and wear it later when you have the chance."

Jing Yan was somewhat at a loss. She knew that a jade bracelet of this quality was very expensive, but as a family member, she knew her own situation. Such a precious and fragile item would easily break if she handled it herself. With a heavy heart, she closed the jade bracelet box and handed it back to Cui Hongru.

"Auntie, I really like this bracelet, but it's really too valuable, more like a family heirloom. Zhijun and I are going to be traveling around for a few years with no fixed abode, and it's really not suitable to keep such a valuable item with us. Could you keep it for me? And after we settle down, you can give it to me to keep as a treasure."

Cui Hongru looked at her expression seriously and saw that she was indeed very sincere, so she didn't insist: "Okay, then I'll keep it for you for now, and I'll give it to you when you return to Yangzhou."

My mother-in-law gave me a box of jewelry years ago; it's all nice stuff that I can't show off now. When you two come back, you and your sister-in-law can go to my place and choose some more. I don't have a daughter, so these nice things will eventually be divided between you two.”

Zhou Jie laughed and said, "That's great! When my sister-in-law comes back, I'll go with her to your place to choose something."

While the women chatted, the three men, watching their wives, also talked about their own topics. "Xiaojun, I asked my comrades, and the military has a three-year support period for you in the Great Northern Wilderness. After three years, do you need me and Dad to help you pull some strings to transfer back to Yangzhou? If that doesn't work, nearby Suzhou or Haikou are fine too. People with your expertise are needed everywhere," He Zhicheng asked his younger brother.

He Jiaoxu also agreed with his eldest son's idea: "Your older brother is right. Back then, you were rebellious and complained that your mother was always nagging you to find a partner. You also complained that I always made you compete with your older brother in physical fitness. You quietly applied to be transferred to the army to support the construction of remote areas and didn't come home for several years."

None of that matters. After all, boys are rebellious at some point. But things are different for you now. You'll be married and have children, so you need to consider your own family. I'll give you three more years to gain experience, then go back home, find a job related to your major, and settle down.

He Zhijun was a little embarrassed: "Okay, I'll listen to you. Um, I didn't apply for a transfer because I was rebellious and wanted to leave home. Dad, you should know that I've always wanted to travel around and see the world, but now you need a letter of introduction to go anywhere. So when I heard that the Construction Corps was going to support remote areas, I was tempted. At that time, my mom was also urging me to find a partner and get married, so the opportunity was just right."

You have no idea how attractive the Production and Construction Corps was. If I hadn't loved taking apart and repairing parts since I was a child, my battalion commander might not have even noticed me. He just felt that I had a certain talent for machinery, which is why he put me by his side to teach me mechanical drawing. That's how I got the title of technician. Otherwise, I would have just been a construction soldier at most. If I hadn't joined the technical department back then, I probably would have given up long ago and run back to beg you guys to pull some strings for me.

"Once my mission in the Great Northern Wilderness is complete, I should have accumulated enough experience. When I return to Yangzhou, I should be able to at least reach the rank of company commander. At my age, reaching that rank is certainly not bad, but it's not bad either."

He Jiaoxu really had to look at this "spoiled" son in a new light. An irrepressible smile spread across his eyes as he patted his shoulder: "You've grown up. You have goals and a sense of responsibility now."

After chatting for a while, they figured the canteen was about to get busy, so they decided not to stay there and delay their work. The He family went back to the county guesthouse first. These days, most people walk back and forth. It takes about half an hour to walk back from the army base, and it's quite tiring to go back and forth.

The next day, Jingyan and He Zhijun asked their supervisors for leave. Since it was a happy occasion, the leave was approved smoothly. Jingyan also invited her colleagues from the cafeteria to attend the wedding the following evening, and Chef Lin agreed.

When Jingyan got home from get off work, she saw two large burlap sacks under the porch. She went over and untied the ropes. Wow, they were full of melons! She pulled the melons out of the sacks. Each sack contained four or five large watermelons, each weighing ten or twenty pounds. The gaps were filled with cantaloupes, making perfect use of the space.

Jingyan was surprised: "Fourth Sister, where did all this gossip come from?"

The people inside came out. Not only Jinghuan and his wife, but the entire He family had also arrived. He Zhicheng said with a smile, "On our way back today with candy, pork and pork bones, we saw an old farmer selling melons from an oxcart. We asked about the price and it was pretty good, so we bought two sacks. We'll add some fruit to the wedding banquet tomorrow. It's so hot today, melons are perfect for cooling down."

He Zhijun asked Jing Yan with a smile, "Is there enough melon for tomorrow?"

Jingyan looked at the two piles of watermelons on the ground and replied with a smile, "Three watermelons are enough for six tables at most. We can save the rest for later. We'll bring up some cold water later, soak the watermelons for a while to cool them down, and then we'll cut them up and eat them after dinner."

After dinner, everyone sat in the courtyard to cool off and eat watermelon. They built a fire with mugwort nearby to repel mosquitoes. After finishing the watermelon, it was still light outside. The He family wanted to go back to the county town to stay. Jingyan and Jinghuan tried to persuade them to stay, but to no avail. They could only watch them leave. He Zhijun also left with them to rest at the guesthouse.

The next morning, Jingyan had a really good night's sleep when she heard Jinghuan's voice: "Jingyan, get up! The sun's already high in the sky. Today's a big day, why are you still sleeping?"

She could have slept a little longer, but now that little bit of sleepiness was woken up. She got up, slipped on her shoes, and scratched her messy hair as she opened the door: "Fourth Sister, the wedding is tonight, you don't need to get up so early."

"Even if it doesn't start until tonight, you still have a lot of work to do today. Hurry up and get up, wash up, have breakfast, and then let some water sit in the sun. When the sun is shining at noon, wash your hair and take a bath. In the afternoon, put on your new clothes, and we need to ask Aunt Gan to come over and comb your hair. If we delay like this, it will be evening soon. Hurry up, get up quickly, and put away the bedding. Otherwise, it won't look good if the neighbor aunties and grandmas come over and see us." Jinghuan scolded her while pushing her into the house.

After being lectured like that, Jingyan was fully sober and said helplessly, "Okay, Fourth Sister, I'll get ready right away. You know, you weren't this busy even when you got married. Don't rush, don't rush, there's still plenty of time!"

Jinghuan ignored her. Seeing that she had gotten up, she turned around and went to the east room to bring her breakfast: a few thin pancakes, a plate of shredded green peppers and potatoes, and a bowl of thin porridge. Jingyan folded the quilt and put it in the cupboard before washing up. After washing up, she sat down at the table and happily started rolling pancakes. "Fourth Sister, what time did you get up? The pancakes are all ready. Have you eaten?"

“I’ve eaten. Your brother-in-law has to go to work in the fields today. I couldn’t sleep either, so I got up to make some dry food. Eating steamed buns all the time is too monotonous. I thought you like potato pancakes, so I made some.”

"Fourth Sister is so kind," Jingyan said coquettishly.

After breakfast, Jingyan filled all the water tanks in the house. The banquet was to be held in the afternoon, and a lot of water would be needed for washing and cleaning, so she had to make sure there was enough. After filling the water tanks, there wasn't much else to do. Fourth Sister was efficient and organized, handling everything inside and out.

Looking at the basket of green beans on the kitchen floor, she found an aluminum basin and placed it next to the basket. She took a small stool and sat down by the basket to pick the green beans. Jinghuan looked at her but didn't say anything. He then took a steel spoon and started scraping potato skins. The potato skins were very thin and could be easily scraped off with the edge of the spoon. This way, the inside wouldn't be scraped off, so nothing would be wasted.

After tidying up the potatoes and green beans, Jinghuan said to her, "Go to the backyard and pick some eggplants and cucumbers. I'll go to the front yard and pick some peppers."