Unexpectedly, both Uncle Xu and Aunt Xu were not at home. Regrettably, Feng Qingxue and Lu Jiang could only leave and head to visit Lu Jiang’s wartime comrade.
The comrade, named Chen Ming, was ten years older than Lu Jiang and was once his former squad leader.
Now, Chen Ming lived in the county town, not far from Widow Zhao’s house.
On the way to visit him, Lu Jiang told Feng Qingxue all about Chen Ming’s exploits.
Eight years ago, a battle had cost Chen Ming an arm. He had to retire. After his transition to civilian life, he was rewarded with a position at a grain distribution center because of his military merits, even becoming the center’s director.
It’s a well-known plum job that earned him respect from villagers near and far.
Chen Ming’s parents had passed away amidst chaos. Chen Ming was brought up by villagers, showing intelligence and acumen from childhood. Chen Ming once caught the eye of Lu Jiang’s father, who provided support for him to go to school. Chen Ming joined the army at the age of 18. A few years later, some people introduced him to potential political partners, but he refused. Instead, when his troops passed his hometown, he took leave, returning home to marry Xiaohong, the granddaughter of the elderly couple who often fed him.
When Chen Ming and Xiaohong got married, Lu Jiang’s father sent them a generous gift.
Soon after the wedding, Chen Ming had to follow the troops again due to the tense situation. Xiaohong waited for him at home for five long years until he was wounded and retired to a peaceful life. Now the couple has two sons, one seven and one three.
Lu Jiang’s father was kind to Chen Ming, and Chen Ming was always grateful in return. Therefore, in these past few years, the Wanglou Brigade always had it easier when delivering the public grain than the other brigades.
After Feng Qingxue had heard the story, she only commented, "Good deeds will always be rewarded."
If the Lu Family had not been generous back then, there wouldn’t be people like Wang Zhengguo and Chen Ming. Without their protection, life for Lu Jiang’s father and his grandsons would have been even more difficult.
Lu Jiang chuckled, "There are many who are grateful and return favors, but there are also plenty who forget and betray."
As their conversation finished, they passed a state-owned restaurant. Lu Jiang walked in, used his grain tickets and cash to buy several pounds of noodles.
The restaurant had just made two batches of pan-fried cakes using a mix of different kinds of flour, available in limited quantity, and Lu Jiang bought ten.
"It’s almost eleven now, and I’m sure the retired squad leader will invite us to stay for lunch. Although he is the director of the grain distribution office and probably won’t find it challenging to entertain us, we should still bring our own food. After all, Chen Ming’s family relies solely on his salary, and they have two kids to feed. Their rations may not be enough to make ends meet, so we shouldn’t force them to share their meager supply with us," Lu Jiang said.
Upon hearing this, Feng Qingxue laughed and said, "That should be the case."
While she said this, she marveled inwardly, surprised to learn that visitors in this era needed to bring their food when visiting!
At this thought, Feng Qingxue felt a surge of relief concerning her habitual carrying of a basket filled with food whenever she went out. Now, she had the army-green canvas bag Lu gave her, which conveniently carried the food, Chen Ming’s house, she took out two apples of poor quality, a bag of five-spiced peanuts, and a bag of broad bean snacks from her bag, in addition to the noodles, buns and pie Lu Jiang was carrying.
The things she took from Lu’s house would only lead people to believe she still had these items.
Lu Jiang raised an eyebrow, finding his wife’s mysteriousness intriguing.
"You rascal, just showing up is enough. What’s the point of bringing so much stuff?" Chen Ming gave Lu Jiang a hearty slap on the shoulder. His square face brimming with a bright smile.
It was clear to see that seeing Lu Jiang made Chen Ming extremely happy, causing his eyes to crinkle into a small slit of joy.