Yang Xiaomei and Wei Lanlan were sewing together when they saw Xu Ning carrying a basin inside.

Yang Xiaomei set down her needlework, took the basin, and popped a piece of spicy pickled cabbage into her mouth.

Seeing that Yang Xiaomei hadn’t even washed her hands and was eagerly putting it in her mouth, Xu Ning exclaimed in surprise, “Is my spicy pickled cabbage that delicious?”

With her mouth full of spicy pickled cabbage, Yang Xiaomei nodded vigorously.

Wei Lanlan laughed and said, “It really is quite tasty! I don’t know how you’re so skillful; what we make doesn’t taste the same as yours.”

Xu Ning sat down on the kang and asked, “That’s simple! Just tell me when you want to eat, and I’ll help you make it. Where’s your little fatty?”

“Chen Xiangdong ran off with him to the male dormitory to play. How come you’re willing to come out today? Where’s your man?”

Xu Ning shot her a glare and said, “Why do you speak so vulgarly?”

Yang Xiaomei laughed and replied, “You’re already married; what’s wrong with saying ‘your man’? You can’t still call him your cousin, can you?”

After saying that, she and Wei Lanlan exchanged knowing glances.

Xu Ning snatched the basin from her hands and said, “It seems like this spicy pickled cabbage doesn’t suit your taste. I’ll just take it back!”

Yang Xiaomei quickly stopped her, laughing, “No, no, no! It’s fine, it’s fine!”

The three of them sat on the kang chatting when Wei Lanlan whispered, “Lin Qiuhua is getting married. The matchmaker introduced her to a distant cousin from her mother’s side.

He’s just average-looking, but he’s quite capable. Lin Qiuhua went to meet him a few days ago and agreed to it. They’ll get married during the New Year.”

Yang Xiaomei also said, “Lin Qiuhua isn’t young anymore. Is she twenty-four or twenty-five this year? If she doesn’t get married soon, it’ll be even harder to find someone in a couple of years.”

Xu Ning, having come from another time, didn’t think twenty-four or twenty-five was old. In her time, it was quite normal for people to be unmarried at thirty.

But in this era, whether it was a man or a woman, if they were still unmarried at twenty-four or twenty-five, people would start to gossip.

After chatting with the two of them for a while, she went home.

Lu Xiaotang was going back to the army in a few days, so she planned to make more jerky for him to take along, and she would send some to Xu Yang as well.

Just as she had finished cutting and marinating the wolf meat and was preparing to cook, Lu Xiaotang returned.

He brought the things he had bought and set them down in the room. Seeing Xu Ning busy in the kitchen, he went over to help with the fire.

Xu Ning asked, “Why are you back so soon?”

Lu Xiaotang smiled and said, “I just dropped off the things and came back. Brother Jianshe said that Wang Juanjuan’s parents spent a lot of money and pulled a lot of strings from the capital. In a few days, she’ll be coming out. Her mother even gave up her job to get her back to the city.”

Xu Ning remarked, “I really don’t know what to say about that person. Instead of enjoying a good life, she insists on going to the countryside. If she came, she should just work hard.

Instead, she causes trouble and ends up in this situation, harming both herself and others.”

Lu Xiaotang scoffed, “She doesn’t care about harming herself; she just wants to harm others. This time, she really got off easy. I don’t know why Cao Bo suddenly changed his tune, but people like her won’t settle down even if they go back to the city.”

Xu Ning agreed, saying, “I’ve heard that her two sisters-in-law are also not easy to deal with. With her being the type who can’t stand anyone doing better than her, it’ll be chaos at home once she returns.”

After they finished eating, they sat on the kang chatting. Lu Xiaotang noticed that she was struggling to weave the shoe soles, so he took them from her and said, “My hands are stronger; let me give it a try.”

He continued, “If it’s that much trouble, you might as well stop making shoes. Just have the village women help you make a few pairs and give them some money for it.”

Xu Ning looked at him and smiled, “It’s not that much trouble; I was just bored and wanted to do something.”

Lu Xiaotang teased her, “Last night I told you to get some rest, and you said you wanted to work overtime to make shoes.”

Xu Ning shot him a glare, thinking, Don’t you know why I have to work overtime to make shoes?

“Xu Ning! Xu Ning! You have a telegram from your home!” Sun Hao shouted from outside the courtyard wall.

The two exchanged glances, and she immediately jumped off the kang and said, “I’ll go see who sent it.”

Lu Xiaotang followed her out, saying, “I’ll go with you.”

The postman saw the two of them and hurriedly said, “Xu Zhiqing, this is an urgent telegram from the Southern City Military District, and the recipient is Lu Xiaotang. I asked the village head, and he said he’s your partner.”

Lu Xiaotang quickly stepped forward to take the telegram. After glancing at it, he turned to Xu Ning and said, “Xiaoning, I have to return to the army immediately.”

Xu Ning’s eyes immediately turned red. Without even bothering to greet the people from the youth commune, she said to him, “I’ll go home and pack your things.”

Once they returned home, Lu Xiaotang saw her getting a large bag ready to fill with food. He quickly stopped her and said, “Xiaoning, I’m not going back to the Southern City Military District this time; I’m going to another place to carry out a mission. I have to hurry to Qishi to catch a train, so I won’t be taking these things with me.”

Xu Ning, with red-rimmed eyes, replied, “You’ll need something to eat on the way, right? I’ll go grab you some biscuits and snacks.”

With that, she vanished from the spot.

Lu Xiaotang sighed as he watched her go. With this treasure of hers, if anyone found out, it would really be a case of having a gem in hand and being punished for it.

He knew he had to work harder; at the very least, he wanted to be able to protect her when she was in danger.

Xu Ning came out with some snacks and biscuits, along with some medicine. She said to him, “These are anti-inflammatory pills; they work really well. This is the same kind I gave you last time. Take these with you.”

Lu Xiaotang hugged her tightly and said, “Xiaoning, you must never let anyone know about this space and the things inside it. Try not to take anything out except for what you need for yourself. If someone with bad intentions finds out, it’ll be hard to explain where these things came from.”

Xu Ning nodded in his embrace and said, “I understand. Don’t worry. Be careful while you’re out on your mission. We’ll all be waiting for you to come back at home.”

Lu Xiaotang glanced at his watch and said, “I have to leave now. You should tell Mom and Dad tonight.”

Xu Ning nodded and said, “You can ride the bike. When you get to the city, leave it at Sister Hongying’s place or at Brother Jianshe’s. I’ll take the ox cart tomorrow to ride it back.”

Lu Xiaotang nodded, secured his belongings to the bicycle, and turned to embrace her once more. He said, “Xiaoning, it’s cold outside, so don’t go out. I’ll write to you from the field. Take care of yourself at home, and don’t worry about saving money. I’ll earn it.”

Xu Ning stood on the main road, watching him ride further and further away until he was out of sight. She could no longer hold back her tears, which began to flow freely.

When Xu Mo returned from school, he saw Xu Ning fetching water and found it quite strange. Ever since his brother-in-law had come back, his sister hadn’t needed to fetch water.

Since she was over here today, she must have come to look for him. Xu Mo walked up to the well and asked, “Sister, what do you need? Are you missing your little brother?”

Xu Ning smiled at him and said, “Yes, Xiao Mo, your sister misses you. I was hoping you could come over to sleep at my place tonight. How about that?”

Xu Mo’s eyes lit up, and he replied, “Sister, make sure to leave the door open for me and brother-in-law. I’ll come over once it gets dark.”

Xu Ning said, “Your brother-in-law had to return to the army because of an urgent matter. He received a telegram today and didn’t have time to tell you all. Please let Mom and Dad know.”

Xu Mo looked disappointed and said, “Oh, brother-in-law left already? I still have so many things I wanted to tell him.”

Xu Ning patted his head and smiled, “You can share whatever you want to say with me tonight. I love hearing your thoughts too.”