An Hao and Gu Shuangshuang had planned to set out, but Zhang Yun, while working at home, had an accident and twisted her ankle.
As a daughter-in-law, how could Qin Jian simply ignore her mother-in-law’s pain?
So, she decided to stay at home and take care of her for a few more days before leaving.
Fearing that Qin Jian would worry, she said that there was a small problem with her family’s vegetable plot and that she would come over after dealing with it.
Zhang Yun, anxious about her son waiting too eagerly, urged An Hao to make the trip sooner.
An Hao refused; if she left, who would do the work at home?
Thus, after discussing it with Qin Jian, they pushed back the departure date by a week. Upon her return, Qin Jian would use her family visit leave to accompany her and stay for a while.
Just after Qin Jian had finished the phone call, Lin Jiannan’s security guard came to invite her to dinner, mentioning that the division commander had arrived and was only waiting for her.
It was called a celebration dinner, but in reality, it was a very simple meal.
Unusual for everyday, there was alcohol on the dining table.
The location was the regimental canteen, where several tables were joined to form one large table. The division commander sat in the middle, with various leaders seated orderly on both sides of him.
In this celebration dinner, Lin Jiannan also invited the Blue Army’s regimental commander, the deputy regimental commander in charge of operations, and the chief of staff. From the Red Army’s large to small officers, all down to the platoon leaders were invited, creating a lively atmosphere at the table.
As soon as Qin Jian arrived, the division commander’s gaze fixated on him, "Staff Officer Qin, come sit by me."
"Commander, Sir!" Qin Jian rendered a standard military salute.
"Come, sit down. You are our focus in this competition. Your command was excellent, saving Lin Jiannan a month’s supply of Moutai."
"Yes! It’s because of him that I lost a month’s supply of Moutai to Lin Jiannan. There goes my year’s salary," joked Commander Xu.
Qin Jian’s lips rarely curved into a smile, "I apologize, Commander Lin! If I hadn’t put my all into winning this case of Moutai, I’m afraid I would’ve lost my family visit leave this month!"
"That’s right! Staff Officer Qin was transferred here less than three months after getting married. If he had lost, his vacation would have been canceled," Commander Lin said with a laugh.
"What? You old fox, you actually bet with your own subordinate to win my liquor!" Commander Xu said with a wry smile and a shake of his head, "Commander, I must get this old fox drunk tonight, and you must not stop me."
"Good," said the division commander with a slight smile, and with a grand wave of his hand, he ordered, "Everyone has worked hard these past few days, eat up!"
After saying this, he didn’t forget to instruct the canteen to add two more dishes for the warriors.
Qin Jian ate in frustration, having thought that by this time tomorrow, he would be able to hold his beloved wife. It seemed to be wishful thinking.
Tian Niu also had a tasteless meal.
His big foot had been caught in a trap for an instant, still throbbed with pain. The medic Xiaotian told him to abstain from meat and alcohol for a while, lest his toes fester.
After the first day’s celebration dinner, the commendation assembly from the division headquarters arrived quickly.
Almost overnight, Qin Jian and Tian Niu became well-known figures, especially among the young female soldiers, who all began to swoon.
Previously, they only knew that a new staff officer had arrived, but they were unaware of the details; some didn’t even know what Qin Jian looked like. But now, through the regimental report, the female soldiers began to learn about the existence of Qin Jian and Tian Niu.