Chapter 42: Really Worried

A couple of days later, the military called, asking him to return a call.

Zhang Tingyuan rode his bike to the town.

The town’s phone couldn’t make long-distance calls directly; he had to call the city first, which took a lot of effort to connect.

This call confirmed the time for his return, which was in two days. He was told to arrange things at home and return as soon as possible.

When Zhang Tingyuan returned with his bike, Lin Bingwei was cooking over the fire.

Hearing the noise, she knew he was back. “What did they say?”

“Mm.” After parking the bike, Zhang Tingyuan walked into the kitchen.

“Weiwei, I have to leave in two days.”

Lin Bingwei was taken aback. “So soon?”

“I’ve been back for three months; it’s time to go.”

Initially, she hadn’t thought much about his return to the military, but suddenly, with it happening so quickly, she felt an unusual sensation rising in her heart.

“When will you be back?”

“Um… I don’t know yet; it depends on the higher-ups’ arrangements. Normally, I get thirty days of leave a year.”

Lin Bingwei thought for a moment and said, “Is it still thirty days after marriage? I remember you all seemed to get a few more days after getting married.”

Zhang Tingyuan was stunned and scratched his head. “I think so.”

Lin Bingwei: “…” You don’t even know this?

“I’ll ask later.”

Zhang Tingyuan smiled and said, “If you miss me, you can come to see me.”

Lin Bingwei waved her hand. “I won’t have time. Once the shop opens, I’ll be very busy. I also have to prepare for exams, and as for things at home…” She thought for a moment and added, “I probably won’t be able to help much. My parents are getting older, and they’re working hard farming all this land.”

In the past, when they were just mixing work points, it was easy to slack off; as long as you had enough time, it was fine.

Now that they were farming their own land, there was no room for laziness.

Lin Bingwei said, “Let’s try to earn more money, and when it’s busy farming season, we can pay someone to help.”

Zhang Tingyuan hadn’t thought of that.

Right, if the work at home was too hard and the elderly and children couldn’t do it, they could spend some money to hire help.

After finishing her work in the kitchen, Lin Bingwei hurried to the sewing machine to make clothes.

Since he was leaving, she needed to get the clothes she was making for him ready so he could take them with him.

Everyone was home today. Zhang Yuanxiu handed the money he earned to Li Yurong.

“Wife, when you have time, go deposit this money.”

Li Yurong said, “Deposit? What for? Tingyuan said he wants to buy an industrial ticket, so we can get a television.”

“Huh?” Zhang Yuanxiu looked at Zhang Tingyuan. “You want to buy a TV?”

Zhang Tingyuan replied, “Yeah, Dad. Don’t you want to watch TV?”

“I do, but that thing isn’t cheap. Do we really need to waste money on that?”

“Dad, having lights and phones upstairs and downstairs is the trend; the sooner we buy it, the sooner we enjoy it.”

Zhang Yuanxiu curled his lip. “You sure know how to enjoy.”

Zhang Tingyuan said, “You say that, but I’m leaving in two days. What am I enjoying? I’m doing this for all of you.”

“Huh? You’re leaving in two days?” Li Yurong lost her appetite and stared at him.

“Yeah, I just called our leader today, and it’s confirmed that I’m leaving in two days.”

Li Yurong looked conflicted, and the terrifying dream came back to her mind.

“Do you really have to go?”

“Of course.”

Li Yurong felt deeply pained.

Zhang Yuanxiu didn’t understand this and said, “Wife, what are you doing? He’s been home long enough; it’s time for him to go.”

Li Yurong shot him a glance. “What do you know? He’s the pillar of our family! If anything happens to him, what will we do?”

“Isn’t there still me? Without him, can’t we still survive?” Zhang Yuanxiu jokingly said this to ease her worries and make her laugh.

Unfortunately, after hearing this, Li Yurong didn’t seem happy at all; instead, she looked at Zhang Yuanxiu with a complicated expression.

Rely on him?

In that nightmare, their son was gone, and this old man had become paralyzed, which would drag Weiwei down terribly.

However, she didn’t say anything and changed the topic to discuss other matters.

“Tingyuan, when you get to the army, make sure to visit the hospital. If you’re not feeling well, don’t just tough it out; you need to tell your superiors. Remember, you’re not alone. You have elders above you, children below, and a wife to support, got it?”

Zhang Tingyuan was eating heartily and mumbled, “Mom, I know.”

Lin Bingwei felt that Li Yurong’s reaction was a bit strange, but since everyone was sitting there eating, she didn’t ask.

After dinner, everyone returned to their own rooms.

Zhang Jianguo always slept with his grandparents; he slept at one end with his grandma, while his grandpa slept at the foot of the bed.

Li Yurong lulled Zhang Jianguo to sleep before kicking Zhang Yuanxiu.

Half-asleep, Zhang Yuanxiu was awakened by the kick.

“What’s wrong?”

“Old man, didn’t you say our ancestors could tell fortunes?”

“Mm, what about it?”

“Why don’t you give Tingyuan a reading to see if it’s good or bad?”

Zhang Yuanxiu: “…”

“You said it yourself, it’s my ancestors who can tell fortunes; I can’t.”

“Then what can you do?”

“I can check the foundation and do rituals and stuff.”

“You… pfft, you’re just a con artist with no real skills.”

Zhang Yuanxiu wasn’t angry and smiled, saying, “If I had real skills, I would have gone in long ago.”

Li Yurong: “…” Fine.

Zhang Yuanxiu then asked, “Are you worried because that brat got into trouble last time?”

“Yeah, my brothers, my dad—all died on the battlefield. I’m afraid Tingyuan will too…” The eldest son died, and the youngest nearly died as well.

She felt it was her bad luck.

The more she thought about it, the worse she felt.

“Hey! Don’t worry too much. Can a person keep having bad luck all the time? I think if he survives a great disaster, he will have good fortune later; he’ll be fine.”

This didn’t comfort Li Yurong. “You can’t tell fortunes; how do you know he won’t have trouble in the future?”

It was surprisingly quiet in the dark. After a long while, Zhang Yuanxiu finally spoke, “So what do you think we should do?”

“I don’t want him to go.”

“Do you want him to be a deserter?”

“Oh, I didn’t mean that.”

“Then stop worrying. He has a strong fate; nothing will happen to him.”

Another long silence followed.

After a while, Zhang Yuanxiu spoke again, “If you’re really worried, I can discuss it with him and let him come back to inherit my teachings and become a Taoist priest.”

Li Yurong: “…”

“Forget it; don’t say that. He joined the army back then to avoid becoming a Taoist priest. If you say that, he’ll be even less willing to come back.”

Zhang Yuanxiu fell silent.

…

The two people in the opposite room couldn’t sleep either. The old wooden bed was of good quality, heavy and sturdy, making no creaking sounds no matter how they moved.

“Hey, isn’t it about time?”

“You’re leaving in a couple of days; what do you think?”

Lin Bingwei: “…”

“Don’t you want to leave?”

“Ah?”

“If you break your bones again, you won’t have to go.”

Zhang Tingyuan instantly froze.

The examination reports had already been sent; only then would the leader call him back to the unit.

If he broke them again, especially in this way, wouldn’t he be the laughingstock?