Chapter 19 : Mother Zhuang’s Attitude

“What? You’re getting married? To whom?”

Zhuang’s mother was startled when she held the phone, but then she became happy again.

Her son’s marriage had always been a concern for her, but she didn’t expect to hear good news today.

“Mingcheng, is she Commander’s daughter?”

On the other end of the phone, Zhuang Mingcheng had already frowned.

He glanced at the soldier next to him and felt very unhappy. You know, their unit is a confidential one, and his mother’s words today would definitely be recorded.

After taking a deep breath, Zhuang Mingcheng said solemnly, “Mom, Xiao Ting and I are just ordinary comrades-in-arms. I have already been engaged.”

Mother Zhuang had a bad feeling. She clutched the phone and asked hurriedly, “Mingcheng, what do you mean by that?”

“The person I’m going to marry is Lu Fangfang, from the Lu family of the Red Star Brigade. This marriage was arranged by my grandfather, and I am very satisfied.”

When Zhuang’s mother heard this, she became anxious.

She knew that Lu Fangfang was just an ordinary rural woman who hadn’t even attended junior high school and was semi-illiterate. How could she be worthy of her son?

“Mingcheng, don’t be impulsive. Your grandfather is your grandfather, and you are you. I have never agreed to this marriage. Don’t do anything stupid.”

“Mom, I’ve made up my mind. I’m just letting you know today.”

“Zhuang Mingcheng, let me tell you, I don’t agree with this. Your father and I are both high-level intellectuals. I don’t approve of an illiterate rural girl as my daughter-in-law. She can’t enter our Zhuang family.”

Seeing that there was no sound from the other side, Zhuang’s mother hurriedly said:

“Mingcheng, listen to me. I am doing this for your own good. You two have no common language. Commander’s daughter is your perfect match. She…”

Zhuang Mingcheng hung up the phone with a sneer on his face.

He sat there in silence for a while.

After a moment, he said to the soldier beside him in a self-deprecating manner, “I’m sorry to make you laugh.”

“No, Captain Zhuang, if I were you, I would also choose someone I love to spend my life with.”

“A lifetime…” Zhuang Mingcheng murmured to himself.

Yes, the person who wants to spend his whole life with Zhuang Mingcheng must be the one he likes.

No longer feeling annoyed, he smiled at the soldier and went to the cafeteria.

It took him half an hour to make a phone call to Beijing. Fangfang should be hungry by now, so he had to hurry.

—

Family compound.

Lu Fangfang was sitting in the yard, feeling warm in the sun, and almost fell asleep.

In a daze, she seemed to see a familiar person walking in.

“Girl? Girl? Wake up.”

Lu Fangfang rubbed her eyes and quickly stood up. “Sister Shufen, why are you here?”

“I passed by and saw the gate was open, so I wanted to come in and take a look, and I actually saw you.”

Wang Shufen grabbed Lu Fangfang’s hand and patted it vigorously. “Sister, I have heard from the head of the family about your situation. Captain Zhuang is a person you can rely on. From now on, we will be neighbors.”

Wang Shufen was really happy for the girl.

After looking around the yard, she pulled Lu Fangfang out and said, “Sister, you haven’t eaten yet, right? Let’s go to my house and have something to eat.”

Lu Fangfang felt a little embarrassed, and she quickly said, “Sister Shufen, no, no, Mingcheng has gone to get food and will be back soon.”

Wang Shufen didn’t listen and pulled Lu Fangfang out of the yard.

When they reached the gate of the courtyard, she picked up two metal buckets of water in one hand and held her sister with the other.

Lu Fangfang didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Sister Shufen was just too enthusiastic.

Seeing Sister Shufen carrying two metal buckets of water steadily, Lu Fangfang was a little amazed at her strength.

If you want to live in a staff dormitory, you have to exercise quickly, otherwise even just drinking water will be a hassle.

The regiment’s base was really remote. There was electricity in the family compound, but no running water. If you wanted to use water, you had to go to the well in the compound to fetch it.

If you didn’t have enough strength, it would be troublesome.

Wang Shufen’s house was just behind, very close, and soon they arrived at the gate of the courtyard.

Lu Fangfang opened the gate in advance and let Wang Shufen carry the water in.

After entering the yard, Lu Fangfang took a look.

The yard was obviously much cleaner and tidier than before. There was also a circle of fence on the eastern side, showing that it was used for raising chickens.

When they entered the north room, Daya and Tiedan were both there. They were very happy to see Lu Fangfang and called her “Aunt.”

Wang Shufen was cooking while chatting with Lu Fangfang.

She came from the countryside, had little education, and didn’t expect to find a job in the regiment. She was determined to reclaim land and raise livestock to supplement her family.

Wang Shufen was very happy to hear that Lu Fangfang had the same plan.

“Sister, I don’t dare to brag about other things, but I know about farming. If you don’t understand something, just come and ask me.”

Lu Fangfang smiled and nodded.

There was no other way. She was a college student in her previous life, but it was of no use in this era. She could only farm to support her family.

Thinking of the semi-wasteland she saw on the riverbank in the morning, she mentioned it to Wang Shufen.

“The wasteland by the river should be quite fertile, so why is the harvest so poor?”

Wang Shufen was a little confused.

After thinking for a while, she shook her head and said, “I’ll ask the owner tonight. Sister, if no one wants it, I’ll let him grow it for you. Then I’ll open up some wasteland next to it, and we can grow crops together.”

Lu Fangfang agreed with a smile.

After a while, Wang Shufen rolled the noodles and put them into the pot.

Once the pot boiled, she served a bowl to her daughter and son respectively. She also served Lu Fangfang a whole bowl.

While eating, Wang Shufen sat at the table and sighed, “This is good in every way, except that there are few green vegetables in the winter. Sister, wait until summer to dry more vegetables, otherwise there will be nothing to eat in the winter.”

Lu Fangfang nodded in agreement and kept the idea of drying vegetables in mind.

In the Northwest, the winter is cold and long. It would be very hard to endure without vegetables to eat. Not eating vegetables is also bad for the body.

It seems they needed to plant more vegetables on the wasteland by the riverbank.

There happened to be a bus going to the county town the day after tomorrow, so she had to go to the state-owned seed store to buy some vegetable seeds.

The weather would soon be hot, and it was time to plant vegetables.

Thinking of going to the county town, Lu Fangfang talked to Wang Shufen again.

Wang Shufen was very happy after hearing this. She also happened to be going to the county town to buy some things, so the two of them made an appointment to meet the day after tomorrow.

After the meal, Lu Fangfang expressed her gratitude and hurried back home.

She was worried that Zhuang Mingcheng would be anxious if he couldn’t find her.

But when Lu Fangfang went back, she couldn’t see Zhuang Mingcheng anywhere.

No one knew where this man had gone. She had finished lunch and he still hadn’t come back yet.

Shaking her head, she sat down and started basking in the sun in the yard again.

The noodles rolled by Sister Shufen were very chewy. She couldn’t help but eat two bowls. Now that she was full and exposed to the sun, she felt even sleepier.