The last day, dear ones, hurry up and cast your monthly tickets, there are not many chances left, awww.
Although Luo Zhiyong didn’t know about the things in his previous life, he understood that what Fang Pingying said made sense.
He nodded, "Hmm, I’ll talk to her tomorrow. Once she’s at her in-laws’, she really needs to restrain her temper, otherwise the house will be in constant quarrels."
In the following days at home, Luo Zhiyong helped Fang Pingying to roof the newly built house with tiles, and set up several stoves, and nailed some wooden shelves in the house specifically for storing things. He also helped buy all the things needed for making pastries.
He was worried that after he left, Fang Pingying wouldn’t be able to find someone to help her at a moment’s notice.
Once the house was all sorted out, it was almost time for Luo Zhiyong to leave.
The family knew that once Luo Zhiyong went to the military, he wouldn’t have many days to come home, and whenever he did come back, he would only stay for a few days.
It’s not that there were no leaves in the military, but Luo Zhiyong’s sense of responsibility was too strong. He didn’t feel comfortable leaving his duties in the military for too long, and in all these years he had never taken his full leave entitlement.
If it weren’t for his leg injury this time, Luo Zhiyong wouldn’t know when he could have stayed at home for such an extended period.
Therefore, seeing that Luo Zhiyong was about to leave the next day, both Luo Dashan and Zhou Yunmei were extremely reluctant to let him go.
Both pulled Luo Zhiyong aside in their room and talked about family matters.
Zhou Yunmei, who couldn’t bear parting with her son, pleaded repeatedly, "Zhiyong, your sister Cui Lan is getting married in a few days, can’t you wait until after her wedding to leave? It’s just a few more days."
No matter how overbearing his mother was while he was at home, she was, after all, the mother who gave birth to and raised him. It was not easy for Luo Zhiyong to part with her for a long time.
He explained to Zhou Yunmei with a smile, "She’s just getting a marriage certificate, they’re not holding a banquet. You’ll be fine here without me. I’ve been home for several months now, and there must be a lot of things piled up back in the military. It’s better to go back sooner."
"Yes, yes, the military’s work is important. Your mom and I will handle things here at home, don’t worry. Cui Lan’s just getting a marriage certificate this time; it’s not a big deal. She and Jianguo have been together for so many years now; they’ve been through a lot already." Luo Dashan, never wanting to be a burden to his children, immediately held Zhou Yunmei back, urging her not to insist further, lest it make Zhiyong feel awkward.
Zhou Yunmei stopped insisting, but still looked eagerly at Luo Zhiyong, "Can you come back for the New Year? They are going to hold a banquet during the New Year."
Luo Zhiyong, thinking he might not be able to come back for New Year, finally said, "We’ll see. If I can’t make it, Pingying will always be at home. With her helping to make arrangements, it’ll be the same."
"How could it be the same? Your sister has you as her only elder brother, and if you’re not there for her wedding, I’m afraid her in-laws will look down on her, saying you don’t prioritize her as the big brother." Zhou Yunmei thought to herself, a big brother and a sister-in-law are surely not the same; one is family, and the other, after all, is an outsider.
In any case, Fang Pingying would definitely not devote herself to Luo Cuilan as Luo Zhiyong would.
But she didn’t want to upset Luo Zhiyong as he was about to leave, so she held back those words.
Seeing her insistence, Luo Zhiyong placated her for the moment, "I’ll write a letter home around New Year, and I’ll try to take leave to come back."
Zhou Yunmei, happy with Luo Zhiyong’s response, replied eagerly, "Good, good, that’s great, New Year isn’t many months away."
Luo Zhiyong had a chat with Zhou Yunmei and the others in their room, naturally about family matters.
Especially regarding Luo Cuilan, Luo Zhiyong asked Dashan to take advantage of the days she was home to have a good talk with her, as parents have the responsibility to guide their children towards better things.
As for Zhou Yunmei, Luo Zhiyong had no hopes, as she hadn’t even sorted out her own situation, so letting her guide would only lead to mistakes.
After staying in Zhou Yunmei’s room for a while, Luo Zhiyong went back to his own room.
Inside, Fang Pingying was packing his things.
In fact, there weren’t many clothes—aside from a few military uniforms he brought back from the army, there were only two coats that Fang Pingying had just made for him, and since it was cold, there was no need to wear them now. The rest were just old clothes from home, which he didn’t need to take.
However, Fang Pingying had prepared quite a lot of snacks for him: sunflower seeds, peanuts, soybeans, all roasted by Fang Pingying overnight using sand.
There were also some cakes drying on the table, such as jujube cake and red date cake, all made by Fang Pingying herself.
The village’s hawthorn had run out, so Fang Pingying trusted the words of big sister Chen Rong who sold at the market with them and went to check her village.
Seeing many jujube trees in their village, fruiting well and in abundance, thus cheap, Fang Pingying one day while meeting Luo Zhiyong brought back a cartful of jujubes from there.
Fang Pingying tried making them, successfully creating jujube cakes and red date cakes right away, and didn’t allow the family to eat many, keeping them to let Zhiyong take to the army.
As Luo Zhiyong entered, seeing bags big and small on the table, he smiled and walked over, "So much stuff, people might think I’m fleeing somewhere."
"Listen," Fang Pingying glared at him and pointed at the bags on the table, "This cloth bag is filled with sunflower seeds and peanuts, I roasted them myself. Remember to share them with your comrades after you take them, they’ll go bad if kept too long and you don’t handle them."
"These jujube cakes, share some with your comrades, keep some for yourself, sometimes when you’re hungry at night, they can fill your stomach." Fang Pingying thought he wasn’t the type to hog things to himself; he’d probably end up sharing everything with his comrades once at the army base.
So, she added, "But if your comrades like them, you write back to me, I can send some more, these things keep well and won’t spoil right away."
Fang Pingying was talking while Luo Zhiyong didn’t respond, just looked at her with a smiling but non-smiling gaze.
Finally, when she stopped talking, he raised his eyebrows and asked, "Done talking?"
"Yep." Fang Pingying nodded, her mind still on the bags on the table as she stretched her hand to check them, fearful something was left out.
Luo Zhiyong was displeased that Fang Pingying wasn’t paying attention to him, he reached out and pulled Fang Pingying to the side of the bed.
He sat on the bed and then hopped Fang Pingying onto his legs, gazing intensely at her, "Besides these, you have nothing else to say to me?"
Being so close, Fang Pingying could see sparks flickering in his eyes.
Her face turned red, whispering, "What else can I say, you don’t have to worry about home, I’ve got it under control. Plus, it’s not long till New Year, we’ll meet soon."
At this moment, Luo Zhiyong had no interest in talking about home.
He looked at Fang Pingying, smiled softly, then his lips gently touched the area near Fang Pingying’s ear, whispering softly, "Now that my leg is healed, and I have to leave tomorrow, three months is not a short time." (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, feel free to cast your recommendation or monthly ticket at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)