"Sister, have you made a decision?" Han Shouzhen asked when she came over to find Lin Xiaoguai.
During this time, Han Shouzhen and Xu Ji had really stirred up a storm; the mother and son who always shared a close bond had seemed to make up for decades of quarrels in just this one instance, with arguments and cold wars intermittently causing headaches not only for Wan Quan but also for Lin Xiaoguai and other close friends and family who were watching.
"How could I make any decision?" Han Shouzhen said irritably, "That damn boy won’t listen to reason, so I can only think of other methods."
"Other methods?" Lin Xiaoguai raised an eyebrow.
She was probably the person who most hoped that the mother and son would come to an agreement. If Han Shouzhen continued to "abandon her duties" , the management of the farm would all fall on her shoulders.
Han Shouzhen nodded, moved close to her, and whispered, "Ask Shoulu, can he find a way to extend the reprieve of that volunteer’s death sentence? Even six months or a few months would do. That way, if I can find another volunteer, Ping’an wouldn’t be so stubborn."
"Why don’t you go ask Big Brother?" Lin Xiaoguai thought her method was not bad, as it didn’t hurt feelings and was effective.
"That won’t work," Han Shouzhen shook her head, "He is very rigid; he definitely wouldn’t agree to use his position for personal matters. Shoulu is better; he knows how to be more flexible."
Over the past few years, Han Shouzhen had found that, compared to her older brother, her younger brother was much more unconventional.
"I’ll wait for Shen Chi to come back tonight and ask him then," Lin Xiaoguai said.
But when Shen Chi returned and heard what she said, he immediately shook his head, "No, I can’t agree to this."
Seeing her confusion, he explained, "This might seem like a minor issue, and I could indeed handle it, but my direct superiors are all very upright and old-fashioned. I’ve finally managed to gain their good opinion by arranging employment for military families. If they get a bad impression over something , I’d have nowhere to cry." The key was that he was at a critical juncture in his career advancement; if he hadn’t guessed wrong, he was one of the few Lieutenant Generals considered for an upcoming assignment. If he could secure it, it would undeniably add a great deal to his capital for promotion. With another scheme, he could get his General rank in five years at most.
Unaware of his thoughts, Lin Xiaoguai said, "Then I’ll tell Sister, and she will probably understand."
Han Shouzhen indeed understood, knowing it concerned her brother’s future in the army; she wouldn’t lose something big over something small, only...
"How can we get Ping’an to give up his original idea then?" she said, troubled.
"Why don’t we go meet that volunteer?" Lin Xiaoguai suggested, "He probably made that request because he wants someone to look after his sister; getting married isn’t crucial. If we can convince him to give up the idea of having Ping’an marry his sister, even supporting that girl for a lifetime, as long as Ping’an can recover, it wouldn’t be unacceptable."
"Yes!" Han Shouzhen suddenly realized, "That kid got me so confused, I didn’t think of that."
Lin Xiaoguai shook her head secretly, her sister wasn’t confused, it was a case of caring too much.
"But Wanwan, come with me," Han Shouzhen hesitated and then asked, "I have some bad memories of that place."
Lin Xiaoguai was startled. Bad memories? Could it be Sister had been in prison?
"What are you thinking?" Seeing her expression, Han Shouzhen knew she was misunderstanding and explained in a low voice, "During the Cultural Revolution, our father was also imprisoned, and we siblings had visited the prison; we saw many tragic scenes, including that Marshal who was starved to death."
"Then let’s have Shen Chi pull some strings with the prison to make it easier for us to visit," Lin Xiaoguai thought for a moment and added, "Today is Sunday, remember sister-in-law said she was off today, let’s call her to come along, and have Nuonuo watch the store, she already said she wanted to try being the boss."
Remembering the way that young girl had pleaded with her, she couldn’t help but laugh.
"Just make sure she doesn’t run the store at a loss," Han Shouzhen joked.
"I’d accept it even if she did," Lin Xiaoguai laughed.
The two went to Zheng Cuicui’s house, and once Lin Xiaoguai brought up the store, Han Xinyu immediately agreed, though she also felt a bit unsure and decided to bring Shen Yinian and Xu Ji along.
Lin Xiaoguai certainly didn’t mind; Xu Ji had been feeling somewhat down lately, and it might be good for his cousins to cheer him up a bit.
Today, the driver was Zheng Cuicui, and seeing her, Lin Xiaoguai asked, "Do you think I should also get a driver’s license?"