Chapter 8 : “Brother, do you think the woman Dad just married will be good to us?”

Song Zhiyong also nodded.  

“Yes, Mother, no matter what, Weiwei is still your granddaughter. You… you can’t be so biased!”  

He was an honest man, but not a fool. How could he not know that his mother was so partial that it was almost absurd?  

But now that his eldest daughter had finally found a partner, how could he possibly agree with Old Lady Song’s suggestion?  

Besides, Captain Zhou was a real person, not some object that could be handed over to someone else. If the Song family actually went through with such a ridiculous plan, they would only embarrass themselves.  

Throughout the conversation, Song Zhiguo remained silent, but Song Shiwei knew her uncle was not an entirely heartless man. His silence at this moment meant he agreed.  

Feng Chunmei had always been the one stirring up trouble in the Song family, but she couldn’t have done it without his support.  

Otherwise, how could it be that over the years, all four of their children had secured jobs, yet Song Shiwei’s eldest brother had been sent to the countryside as an educated youth?  

Their family was just that calculating.  

If she hadn’t still been in school, she probably would have been sent to the countryside too.  

“Grandma, I really don’t understand, how can I just give away my fiancé? If that’s how it works, then my uncle’s third son should give up his fiancée to my brother. My brother was sent to the countryside right after graduation for this family! Now he’s in his twenties and still hasn’t started a family! Meanwhile, Uncle’s eldest and second sons are already married with children, and the third son even has a fiancée. I feel bad for my brother!”  

As soon as she said this, Feng Chunmei and Song Zhiguo’s faces changed instantly.  

“How can that be? That’s our San’er’s girlfriend, how could we give her to your brother? Besides, your brother is an educated youth in the countryside. What city girl would be interested in him?”  

Her words had truly stirred up a hornet’s nest.  

Zhao Huili immediately became furious.  

“What do you mean by ‘looking down on him’?! Feng Chunmei, don’t you know how my son ended up in the countryside? He sacrificed himself for this family, and now you dare to look down on him?”  

As she spoke, she seemed to think of her eldest son, Song Wenlin, and couldn’t help but wipe her tears in heartbreak.  

“Let’s be real here, I only have this one son. Eldest Brother, what about your three sons? There’s no way it should’ve been Wenlin who was sent to the countryside!”  

But who could blame them for being so calculating? They had immediately arranged marriages for their two eldest sons. The third son was still in school. And as for Old Lady Song, being as biased as she was, she had secretly gone behind their backs and enrolled Wenlin’s name for relocation that very night.  

By the time the local office came with the official notice, Zhao Huili and Song Zhiyong had only just found out that it was Wenlin who had been chosen to go to the countryside! Meanwhile, Song Zhiwei had been sent to the Construction Corps!  

No one from the old house had stepped in to stop it.  

Not only that, but Old Lady Song had even used her own money to help buy jobs for her eldest son’s family!  

No matter how much Zhao Huili protested back then, there was nothing she could do, as the authorities claimed the final list had already been submitted and couldn’t be changed.  

Song Wenlin’s personality was very similar to his father, Song Zhiyong. He was an honest and warmhearted man.  

When he learned that he was going to be sent to the countryside as an educated youth, he had even tried to comfort Zhao Huili.  

“Mom, don’t be sad. It’s just the countryside, I’m willing to go. I also want to contribute to the construction of our motherland! A real man should do his part for the country! Mom, just let me go!”  

Since her own son had said this, what else could Zhao Huili do? She could only shed a few tears in private and reluctantly help him pack his bags.  

That was precisely why Song Shiwei had brought up this matter now.  

Firstly, she wanted to change the subject. Secondly, she wanted to remind her parents of how the eldest wife had schemed against them. Now that they were trying to do the same thing for their daughter, there was no way Zhao Huili would allow it to happen.  

Sure enough, both Feng Chunmei and Song Zhiguo along with even Old Lady Song, looked somewhat guilty at the mention of the past.  

After some perfunctory remarks, the topic was quickly changed.  

Song Shiwei smirked slightly, shook her head helplessly, quickly ate a few more bites of food, and then went back to her room.  

In the following days, although Feng Chunmei and Song Yingying still wanted to bring up the matter again, Old Lady Song remained somewhat guilty and refused to respond. Additionally, Zhao Huili continuously used Song Wenlin’s situation to shut them down. So even though Feng Chunmei was furious, she didn’t dare bring it up again.  

On the other hand, Song Yingying became increasingly smug and made sarcastic remarks whenever she saw Song Shiwei.  

“Elder sister, you didn’t just make up this person to save face, did you? Do you really think a regiment commander is as common as a cabbage in a field? You think you can just meet one whenever you want?”  

Song Shiwei sneered and rolled her eyes.  

“I think you’re just jealous because you can’t have what I have! But isn’t it amazing that I got so lucky? Isn’t it infuriating?”  

“You—!” Song Yingying was so angry that she stomped her feet.  

“You’re just being stubborn! It’s been three days, and there’s still no sign of this so-called fiancé. I wonder how long you plan to keep up the act!”  

After saying that, she turned around and ran off.  

To be honest, Song Shiwei had been feeling a bit uncertain these past few days. After all, she and Zhou Tingyue had only met once. Although they had agreed to be together and he had promised to visit her family soon to propose, they still didn’t know each other well. She couldn’t be 100% sure he would come.  

It wasn’t that she doubted his character.  

She was just afraid he might think things were moving too fast or that he might see her as just a young girl talking nonsense.  

While she was lost in her thoughts, Zhou Tingyue was at the East China Sea garrison, busy handling his leave request.  

He was a man of his word. Since he had said he would go find her, he would definitely go!  

And didn’t she want them to get married as soon as possible?  

So, he also submitted an official marriage report.  

When the higher-ups heard that he was getting married, everyone was shocked even the commander took notice.  

Commander Gu looked over the application and personally called Zhou Tingyue in for a conversation.  

When he heard that the couple had confirmed their relationship on their very first meeting, and that the girl was only 20 years old, 9 years younger than Zhou Tingyue he was visibly surprised.  

He spoke to Zhou Tingyue in a serious tone, “Tingyue, it’s a good thing you’re getting married. Political Commissar Liu and I are happy for you! But marriage is a serious matter. You and your partner need to think it through carefully. After all, she’s still very young, and your situation is… unique. You must communicate well with her to avoid any issues later on.”  

Zhou Tingyue chuckled.  

“Commander, don’t worry. I’ve already told her everything about my situation, but she said she didn’t mind. She was the one who pushed for marriage!”  

Hearing this, Commander Gu nodded in relief.  

“That’s good, that’s good! Haha, Xiao Zhou, then let me congratulate you in advance!”  

Since he and Song Shiwei were so far apart, Zhou Tingyue knew that once they married, she would likely have to follow him to the army base. So, he needed to make arrangements in advance.  

Because he was raising four children, the military had already assigned him housing in the family quarters.  

However, the space was small just a single room. He usually slept on a large bunk bed with the four children.  

The kids were all growing up now, especially the eldest and second eldest, who were already twelve or thirteen years old.  

The eldest was about thirteen, the second child was around twelve, and the third was slightly younger. The fourth was a little girl, only seven years old.  

She had only been a few months old when their parents passed away.  

He had raised them with great difficulty all on his own.  

It had been manageable while he was single, but now that he was getting married and with three growing boys in the house it was only right for them to have separate sleeping arrangements.  

So, he submitted a request to change rooms.  

Housing on the island was extremely limited, and there were no empty rooms available.  

His only option was to swap with someone else.  

Fortunately, there was a young couple who had gotten married a few years ago and had been assigned a house with partitioned rooms. Since their child was only three years old, they didn’t really need separate rooms.  

Zhou Tingyue approached them to discuss a swap.  

The husband was a battalion commander, but he wasn’t under Zhou Tingyue’s command he belonged to the Second Regiment. Fortunately, he admired Zhou Tingyue and immediately agreed to the exchange.  

However, his wife wasn’t happy about it. Their house was spacious and had great natural lighting. The sunlight streamed in directly, so they never even had to take their quilts outside to dry.  

But since her husband had already agreed, she couldn’t say much.  

She just held in her frustration.  

Meanwhile, when the children heard that their father was getting married, they all acted happy in front of him.  

But the moment he turned his back, the eldest son led his three younger siblings to the small riverbank behind the family quarters.  

The second brother hesitated before asking, “Big brother, do you think the woman Dad’s marrying will treat us well?”  

The eldest brother, looking frustrated, picked up a rock and threw it into the water.  

“How good could she be? Haven’t you heard people say, ‘If you get a stepmother, you get a stepfather too’? Our father has always been good to us, but… he’s not our real father, after all.”