Unable to endure the hardships of rural life, she returned home to arrange a marriage with a militar

Shu Yun: "I want to send some things back home. We made quite a lot of crabs this time, so I'll send some back to my aunt, your parents, and my grandfather. We're going to host a dinner party, so I'll go to the city to buy some more things to send back with it. What do you think?"

Gu Jun nodded, "You can decide this." Knowing what Shu Yun was worried about, he took the initiative to comfort her, "Sending things to Grandpa shouldn't be a problem. The main thing is that if you're going to write a letter, let me see it first after you're done writing it. I'll check it and make sure it's okay before I send it out."

Shu Yun was overjoyed. "Gu Jun, you're so kind." With one thing on her mind, Shu Yun lost interest in reading. She turned over, pulled the covers over herself, and went to sleep.

A few days later, Shu Yun felt completely better. Early one morning, she prepared to ride her bicycle to the city to buy groceries and gifts to send home. In addition, she still didn't know the specifics of Wang Yuping and Qian Xinmin's situation and wanted to find out more.

Gu Jun hung the water bottle on the handlebars of his bicycle and instructed, "Ride slowly on the mountain road."

Gu Jun had originally planned to go on this trip with her and had specially arranged his leave, but things didn't go as planned. Yesterday, he was notified of an emergency meeting, and as the deputy leader, Gu Jun could not be absent. So, Shu Yun had to go alone this time.

Shu Yun, carrying the freshly sewn cloth bag that Gu Jun had just made for him on his shoulder, sat on the bicycle with one foot on the ground. "Don't worry."

Gu Jun: "Did you bring enough money?"

Shu Yun patted the large cloth bag. "Everything is put away."

The large gray-blue cloth bag had a hidden compartment inside, making it convenient for Shu Yun to put her wallet and other personal items. At Shu Yun's request, a large flower was sewn on the front of the bag to make the gray color look more playful and lively. Shu Yun's imagination was beautiful, but it was quite different from reality.

When she first received it, Shu Yun pondered it for a long time, and then became confused when Gu Jun asked, "Guess what kind of flower I've embroidered?"

Gu Jun narrowed her eyes, as if she would be finished if she made a mistake the next moment.

Shu Yun stared at the tangled yellow ball of yarn, unable to make out what it was. She could only guess: since it was yellow, what kinds of yellow flowers could it be?

As a soldier who spends all year in the military, how could Gu Jun possibly know the different types of flowers? So let's start by guessing the simplest ones.

Gu Jun urged, "Have you thought it through?" He held the corner of the cloth bag in his hand; if the answer didn't satisfy Gu Jun, the bag would have to be taken back!

Shu Yun: "Don't rush, it's a sunflower, right?"

Gu Jun released his grip, his expression pleased, and said, "You know your stuff."

Shu Yun breathed a sigh of relief. It really was true!

A yellow, unidentified circle without any petals, in Shu Yun's view, its biggest similarity to a sunflower was simply that the color was correct.

Gu Jun said with displeasure, "What kind of look is that? You don't think it's right?"

Shu Yun immediately hugged the cloth bag. "No, I'm just, I'm just surprised that your craftsmanship is so good! I think it's very beautiful, I'll carry it with me when I go out."

Gu Jun was satisfied; it was worth it for him to poke all ten of his fingers until they bled.

"Alright, I'm off then. And don't forget to take the little crabs I packed for you to your comrades," Shu Yun reminded him before leaving.

"understood."

Shu Yun had a lot to buy in the city, so she didn't plan to go back for lunch and just grab something quick in the city. Gu Jun ate lunch at the cafeteria.

Zhao Hui was quite surprised to see you. "What a rare guest! I haven't seen you come out to eat since your wife arrived. Why are you out today? Is your wife annoyed by you?"

Gu Jun rolled his eyes at him. "Do you have any nice things to say?"

Zhao Hui was eating opposite Gu Jun when he noticed a bunch of bright red small crabs in Gu Jun's tableware. He asked curiously, "Does our cafeteria have some new dishes?"

Gu Jun: "My wife made this, want to try it?"

Zhao Hui picked up a crab and exclaimed, "It's so spicy!" He then reached for another one with his chopsticks, eating a bite of crab with a bite of rice until his face turned red.

Gu Jun: "If you can't eat spicy food, then don't eat it."

Zhao Hui took a big gulp of water. "No, it's spicy but delicious."

In the end, Zhao Hui finished off all the small crabs on Gu Jun's plate. Feeling a little embarrassed, he picked up the braised pork from his bowl and gave it to Gu Jun, saying, "Here, this is to make up for it."

Then he added, "Your wife is a good cook. How about this, next time I'll get the ingredients and have your wife cook something for me?"

Gu Jun refused outright, saying, "If you want to eat, go ask your wife."

Zhao Hui wasn't angry. "Hey, you're even feeling sorry for him. No wonder you're a married man."

Gu Jun added, "Are you free tonight? Come over to my house for dinner, and invite your sister-in-law too."

Zhao Hui readily agreed. Gu Jun said, "Come to my office later. Xiaoyun asked me to pack some for you to take back for your sister-in-law to try."

---------

To catch the early market, Shu Yun got up and washed before dawn. When she set off, it was still dark outside. The mountains were shrouded in mist and fog, which moistened the soil and left dewdrops clinging to the tender green branches.

When Shu Yun first went out, she could still feel the chill of the early morning. By the time the orange-red sun slowly rose behind the distant, undulating mountains, her body had warmed up considerably.

The car drove along winding mountain roads until it arrived in the bustling city. Shu Yun stopped the car, wiped the thin layer of sweat from her forehead, and took several gulps of water from the water bottle that was always slung across her side.

Next, Shu Yun headed straight to the bustling vegetable market. A lot of people had already gathered in front of the stalls. Shu Yun first lined up at the meat stall. When it was her turn, she deftly took out her money and tickets and quickly said, "Comrade, I want six catties of pork, three catties of pork tenderloin, and three catties of pork belly."

"If we need so many, will we even have any left?" complained an older woman in line behind her.

"Yes, young lady, please buy less. I've saved up money and tickets for a month, and I'm planning to treat myself to some braised pork."

Shu Yun apologized, "We're having a feast at home today, so we ordered a lot. I'm sorry."

The sales clerk frowned and said, "What's all the noise about? What else do you want? If you keep making noise, I won't buy anything here."

You can't hit someone who's smiling, and besides, the salesperson had already said that, so the people queuing behind didn't dare to cause trouble and all quieted down.

The salesperson picked up a piece of pork, swiftly cut off two pieces, placed them on the scale, and wow! They were exactly the same size.

After wrapping the pork in newspaper, Shu Yun thanked them and left. Then, she bought eggs, tofu, cabbage, radishes, potatoes, and other ingredients from other stalls.

Before leaving, Shu Yun found a temporary stall at the end of the street and alley. It was a rare sight. There were cages of live chickens and ducks on the ground, but the prices were high and not many people were buying them.

Shu Yun went up and asked for a small hen, and also bought a bamboo basket to carry on her back. The cloth bag she was carrying today was not enough, and it was also making her shoulders hurt.

With the bamboo basket in hand, Shu Yun stuffed everything into it. Then she went to the cooperative and bought two small jars, which she usually used to pickle radishes, sauerkraut, and other vegetables.

The only thing in the house was the large vat that Gu Jun had found. It was huge and heavy, almost half a person's height, and she couldn't usually move it. In addition, Shu Yun also bought several pieces of plain-colored fabric, several ready-made clothes, face cream, clam oil, dried fruit, and pastries. These were all things she planned to send home. After buying everything, the bamboo basket and cloth bag were completely full, and Shu Yun was sweating profusely from exhaustion.

She noticed that the breakfast shop next door was doing brisk business. The storefront was neither too big nor too small, but it was already full of diners, and there were even people queuing outside with aluminum lunch boxes.

The chef was busy rolling out dough in front of the stove, and steam was bubbling from the large pot. The master chef deftly opened the pot and used a large ladle to precisely scoop out 12 large wontons and hand them to the diners. Shu Yun sniffed, and the fresh aroma filled the air, making her even hungrier.

Seeing someone finish eating and leave, she immediately put her food down and ordered a bowl of wontons. It wasn't cheap, costing a little over ten cents, but once she tasted it, she knew the filling was very generous; each wonton was plump and full of filling. The wonton wrappers were translucent and smooth to the touch. By the time Shu Yun ate the last few wontons, her stomach was already quite full, but she still finished the soup at the bottom of the bowl.

Suddenly, a sharp, loud voice rang out from the previously harmonious store: "Everyone hurry up! There are soldiers escorting criminals in a parade at the east end of the street."