The second watch has arrived.
It was a coincidence that Chuxia, dragging Zhao Yulan and Lin Baohe away, still ran into Jiang Yuesheng, who was carrying a net bag filled with canned white sugar and pastries.
Jiang Yuesheng hadn’t expected to meet Zhao Yulan here, and awkwardly raised the items in his hand, "I’m here to see how the National Army comrades are doing."
"Didn’t you just visit?" Chuxia asked indifferently, harboring no good impression of this government official after the last incident.
"I bought some more stuff and thought I’d drop it by during lunch," Jiang Yuesheng said as he handed the items to Zhao Yulan, "I have another meeting; I won’t come in."
Zhao Yulan stepped back and dodged: "Second sister, we have a visitor."
Zhao Yucui had actually heard Jiang Yuesheng’s voice long ago but hadn’t decided how to face him, so she hadn’t come over. Called out by Zhao Yulan, she had no choice but to step forward and smiled at Jiang Yuesheng, "Thank you for the kind gesture, Secretary Jiang, but we really can’t accept."
Zhao Yulan, who had been staring at the ground in a daze, looked at Zhao Yucui in surprise. Her second sister, who had been conflicted for so many years, could actually speak to Jiang Yuesheng in this manner?
The smile on Jiang Yuesheng’s face remained unchanged: "Yucui, as a leader of the National Army, it pains me to see him hurt . The life of a grassroots cadre is truly difficult. This is a small token of my sympathy; you must accept it."
Before Zhao Yucui could finish speaking, Jiang Yuesheng set down the net bag and turned to leave: "I almost forgot the time. I’ll come to see the National Army comrade another day."
Unable to help herself, Chuxia whispered to Zhao Yulan, "Mom, don’t you find his constant reference to ’National Army comrade’ really awkward?" Zhao Yulan reflexively glanced around and, seeing no one else nearby, heaved a sigh of relief and glared at her daughter as a sign to stop causing trouble.
It’s like walking on eggshells! Chuxia stuck out her tongue and looked toward Zhao Qiliang, meaning, the thing you were worried about has already happened; are we still leaving?
"Aunt, Uncle, Instructor Zhou and the others will come later; why don’t you wait a bit longer and ride back with them?" Zhao Qiliang suggested.
"We came on bicycles, so I’m afraid we can’t take the car, but since we’re here, let’s stay a little longer. Chuxia, is that okay?" Lin Baohe, though usually taciturn, was not foolish. He had realized that his daughter had earlier been unreasonable in insisting on returning home in order to spare her mother from encountering Jiang Yuesheng. Now that they had met, there was no need to avoid him any longer.
Chuxia nodded readily: "Sure, then we’ll stay a bit longer."
At this point, how could Zhao Yulan not understand? She reached out to caress her daughter’s head, her eyes full of relief; her girl was finally considering her mother’s feelings!
Watching the tacit understanding between the family of three, Zhao Yucui was full of doubt: "Is there something I don’t know about?"
"Second sister..." Zhao Yulan didn’t hide it from her and recounted the incident from days before when she had gone to seek help from Jiang Yuesheng only to be beaten by Jiang’s wife without reason or warning.
"Yulan, I’m sorry." Zhao Yucui felt even more remorseful.
"It’s okay, second sister. Don’t apologize. From now on, let’s get along well. Dad and Mom would definitely be happy."
"Yes, Dad and Mom would definitely be happy..." Zhao Yucui glanced at her son, who was beside Zhang Guoqing’s bed wiping his hands, and then at Chuxia, and proposed, "Why don’t we become in-laws?"
Chuxia and Zhang Xiaoqing rejected the idea in unison.
"Why not?" Zhao Yucui asked her son, amused, "You’re always praising Chuxia in front of me, complaining that I don’t treat her well. Now if I let you marry her, why is it not okay?"
Zhang Xiaoqing pouted, "I praised Chuxia to make you treat Auntie’s family better, not because I wanted to marry her. Marrying cousins can lead to idiot children, and you know that. Are you planning to deprive Grandpa and Grandma of descendants?"
"Even if it doesn’t result in idiot children, Chuxia still wouldn’t fancy you." Zhao Guoliang said teasingly, "You’re as thin as a stick; there’s no sense of security having you around."
"Big brother, don’t get too smug. Wait until I graduate from high school and join the army. I’ll apply to the military academy once I’m in the forces. By then, I’ll be in better shape and ranked higher than you. Believe it or not?"
"That’s the spirit; I’ll be waiting!"
The light banter somehow made the sorrow much less heavy...
Frightened by Zhou Hanliang and Zeng Meili, Lin Xiaohua and Zhao Qiyan confessed everything. The person who first found them and suggested that Zhao Qiyan go for the military physical was Xue Ligang.
Of course, Xue Ligang did not guarantee that Zhao Qiyan would definitely pass the test, but he promised if they followed his instructions for this task, there would be benefits for the mother and daughter.