Cheng Rushan was talking with Fang Chengguang in the west room when he saw Jiang Lin’s worried expression.

He stopped speaking and looked at her with concern. “What’s wrong?”

Jiang Lin explained the situation about Jiang Min to both of them. “I want to call the farm over there to inquire about her.”

The Beidahuang farms are managed by the construction corps, which is part of the military system, so contacting them should be relatively easy.

Cheng Rushan took her hand and said, “Let’s go.”

Fang Chengguang wanted to go with them, but Cheng Rushan said it wasn’t necessary since it was just a phone call.

Cheng Rushan took Jiang Lin to the logistics headquarters, where there was a phone that could make long-distance calls.

Cheng Rushan requested the number for the Beidahuang Construction Corps and was connected to the unit where Jiang Min was stationed.

A young male operator answered the phone, his voice muffled as he was eating noodles, “Hello, who’s calling?”

When he heard it was from the X Province Military District, he quickly swallowed his noodles, stood up straight, and said crisply, “Hello, sir.”

Cheng Rushan replied, “…Comrade, I’m not a sir. Please don’t be nervous. We need to get in touch with Jiang Min. Can you reach her?”

The operator became nervous when he heard Jiang Min’s name. “Who are you to her?”

Cheng Rushan replied, “We’re her family.”

The operator asked, “Is there something specific you need?”

Cheng Rushan covered the phone and briefly discussed with Jiang Lin, then said, “We have an urgent matter at home and need her help. Could you arrange for her to take a call tomorrow around noon?”

The operator agreed, “I’ll send a message to her and have her ready to take the call tomorrow at noon.”

Cheng Rushan confirmed the time for the call, around 12:00 noon, giving them some flexibility.

After hanging up, he put his arm around Jiang Lin’s shoulders and comforted her, “Don’t worry.”

Jiang Lin nodded, “We’ll make the call tomorrow.”

She felt that since her sister had been sending letters regularly, she should be safe.

It might just be that some situation prevented her from starting university.

With the long journey and the distance, there’s no need to guess or worry too much.

They returned home, and Jiang Xinglei had already briefly informed the others about the situation.

Everyone was concerned about Jiang Min.

Jiang Lin said, “We’ll call tomorrow.”

Yan Runzhi advised Jiang Lin not to worry too much, “You must be hungry. Let’s have dinner first. No matter what’s going on, it’s important to fill our stomachs first.”

The fish was coated with flour and egg and then fried until golden and fragrant, while the braised yellow flowers emitted a unique fishy aroma.

The two dishes were steaming hot, and the smell of meat and the fresh scent of winter bamboo shoots filled the room.

These were all dishes Jiang Lin loved, but for some reason, she lost her appetite when she picked up a piece of fish.

She put it in Cheng Rishan’s bowl and said with a smile, “Brother Shan, try the fish, it’s really delicious.”

Cheng Rishan looked at her, noting that she, who usually loved fish, wasn’t eating it. It seemed she was still worried, which was affecting her appetite.

Yan Runzhi asked, “Jiang Lin, why don’t you want to eat?”

Jiang Lin smiled and replied, “I’m in the mood for the bamboo shoots. They’re really fresh.”

Cheng Rishan helped her serve a bowl of bamboo shoot soup, and Jiang Lin enjoyed it with her rice.

Xiao Bao said, “When I’m worried about something, I also lose my appetite, just like you’re worried about Aunt.”

Da Bao added, “Your worries are about hiding a bag of candy and whether Mom will find out.”

Wen Sheng took a piece of yellow flower and said, “Wow, this is so good.”

He looked at Jiang Lin and asked, “Mom, why aren’t you eating the fish?”

Jiang Lin picked up a piece of tender white fish, which was very delicious, and said, “It’s tasty! You all should eat more.”

She also encouraged Lu Hang to eat more, telling him not to be shy.

With so many dishes, why stick to just the leftover dumplings?

After dinner, they chatted for a while, and Lu Hang, along with Jiang Xinglei, took their leave.

It was cold, so Cheng Rishan insisted that Jiang Lin stay inside while he went to see them off.

He then returned and spent some time in Fang Chengguang’s room, reminding Da Bao and Xiao Bao to go to bed early.

The two of them were full of energy and couldn’t stay outside all day during the cold winter, so being cooped up indoors made them restless.

Several nights, they kept up late with He Liang, either playing cards, flicking marbles, or having shooting contests.

Fang Chengguang and the others were threatened not to tell Jiang Lin, or they’d no longer be considered good friends.

Cheng Rushan knew about this but didn’t tell Jiang Lin.

However, he felt the need to give a small warning to his sons.

When he returned to their room, Jiang Lin was already on the kang (bed-stove), sniffing her clothes.

He joked, “Are you planning to be a police dog? What’s with all the sniffing—checking the clothes and blankets? I just washed the blankets and changed the covers two days ago.” He knew Jiang Lin was very clean, so he regularly helped with washing her clothes and bedding.

Jiang Lin came over and smelled his hair, then asked him to smell hers. “Do I smell bad?”

Cheng Rushan reassured her, “Nonsense, you took a shower last night.” Her hair was dried with a small charcoal stove, so there was no way it smelled bad.

But Jiang Lin wasn’t convinced, “I keep thinking I smell something.”

She looked around, “Do you think there might be a dead mouse rotting somewhere?”

Cheng Rushan pulled her into his arms and kissed her, “Don’t worry, we checked the house thoroughly in the fall. There’s nothing like that.”

Jiang Lin enjoyed the pleasant smell of him and snuggled lazily in his arms, “What do you think is going on with my sister?”

Cheng Rushan knew she wasn’t expecting an answer but was just talking to ease her mind and avoid overthinking.

He gently stroked her back, “We’ll find out what she has to say tomorrow.”

Jiang Lin felt very comfortable with his touch and cuddled up to him with her eyes half-closed.

……

The next morning, Jiang Lin still had to attend class, but when Cheng Rushan came back from his morning exercise, she was still asleep.

He warmed his hands by the stove, then reached under the covers to check on her. “Wife, aren’t you going to school?”

Jiang Lin yawned and sleepily opened her eyes, “What time is it?”

Cheng Rishan said, “It’s already past seven.”

Jiang Lin asked, “Why not start classes at nine?”

Seeing his usually early-rising wife now wanting to sleep in, Cheng Rishan kissed her and asked, “Do you want me to ask for a leave for you?”

Jiang Lin got up, “I have a class in the morning. After class, I’ll go to Jiang Xinglei’s school and call later at noon.”

Cheng Rishan offered, “Then I’ll pick you up.”

Jiang Lin replied, “No need, you have work.”

Cheng Rishan said, “My work is quite flexible. I’ve arranged everything, so there’s no need to keep an eye on it.”

The few team leaders below him were familiar to him, and he knew their capabilities.

With things arranged, there shouldn’t be any issues. Even if something urgent came up, Dai Guohua could help cover.

Jiang Lin agreed.

The morning class was on architectural aesthetics, including hand-drawing, which Jiang Lin found quite interesting and easy to learn.

As class was about to end, Su Xingyun wanted to discuss a group sketching activity with her.

Jiang Lin said, “Class representative, I have some matters to attend to these days and won’t be participating in the school activities for now. Please cover for me.”

She packed up her bag and slipped out through the back door as soon as the class ended.

Jiang Lin exited the teaching building and saw Cheng Rishan already waiting for her by a pine tree on the side of the building. “You’re here early.”

Cheng Rishan noticed she had stuffed her woolen hat in her bag and took it out to put on her head, saying, “I just arrived.”

They drove directly to the Financial Academy’s administrative office. Cheng Rishan showed his work ID and approached the teacher in charge of admissions to inquire about Jiang Min’s situation.

The teacher responsible for reception, Mr. Zhou, took out the admission and registration lists for the accounting program for the past two years, including those who hadn’t registered.

Mr. Zhou said, “Jiang Min did not come to register.”

Jiang Lin asked, “Mr. Zhou, my sister might be ill and faced difficulties due to the remote location and unexpected incidents. Is it possible to process a late registration for her?”

School started in September, and now it was already the end of December, meaning nearly a whole semester had been missed.

Jiang Lin thought that if Jiang Min could make it to the final exams, she should be able to catch up.

There was a special situation this year: high school graduates from 1966, 1967, and 1968 were now around thirty, with families and responsibilities, which made it hard for them to focus solely on their studies.

Most of these young people, especially those who went to the countryside or worked as farm laborers, didn’t have paid leave for schooling.

Even if the school provided some subsidies, someone had to take care of the household chores and earn labor points, as their families couldn’t go without income.

As a result, many students, especially the male ones, would take leave to work during the busy seasons of spring planting, summer work, and autumn harvest, returning just a month before the final exams to cram for their exams using classmates’ notes.

As long as they could attend the final exams and didn’t fail too many subjects, they generally managed to pass.

Teachers often turned a blind eye to this, as long as students could take their exams and there were no major issues.

Teacher Zhou looked at Jiang Lin and said, “We need to hold a meeting to discuss this.”

She checked the work schedule and saw that the meeting was planned for the afternoon, when the principal and the academic director would be available to discuss the issue.

Jiang Lin and Cheng Rushan said goodbye to Teacher Zhou and went to find Jiang Xinglei, telling him to pay attention to the afternoon meeting at the school office.

Jiang Xinglei asked, “Sis, do you think it will work?”

Jiang Lin replied, “The central government is currently meeting to focus on economic development. How can they do that without talent? College graduates are valuable assets to the country, so it should work out.”

With the shortage of university graduates at that time, they were usually assigned good positions and enjoyed excellent benefits once they graduated.

Jiang Lin asked him to keep an eye on the situation.

She and Cheng Rushan went home to have a meal before heading to the office to make some calls.

This time it was the same male communicator.

He shouted, “Jiang Min, Jiang Min, it’s your younger sister’s call!”

Jiang Lin could hear the sound of running footsteps over the phone, and even the noise of a chair being knocked over, followed by a loud clang and a man’s rough voice telling her to be careful.

“Hello!”

A breathless and hurried voice came from the other end, “Linlin?”

Hearing Jiang Min’s voice, Jiang Lin felt an unexpected familiarity. “Sister, it’s me. You—”

Before she could finish, Jiang Min anxiously interrupted, “Linlin, is everything okay at home? If there’s anything I can help with, just let me know.”

Seeing her sister’s urgency, Jiang Lin quickly reassured her, “It’s fine, it’s fine. I was worried that you might be too busy at work and that person wasn’t passing on the message properly. Sister, how are you?”

On the other end, a man’s disgruntled grunt could be heard.

Jiang Min let out a sigh of relief, her voice becoming lighter as she said with a smile, “I’m fine, very well. How are you all? Is Dad and Mom okay? How about the elder brother and sister-in-law, the second brother and little brother? Are they all well?” Her voice was clear and rang out like pearls falling onto a jade plate.