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The stalwart man couldn’t help but get emotional as he held his elderly mother, tears streaming down. Being alive was truly a blessing. He vowed to carry on living not just for himself but also for those fallen comrades, fulfilling their unaccomplished wishes.
Bai Jianing stepped forward to support the old lady. “Auntie, Weiguo has recovered quite well. There shouldn’t be any issues in the future.”
Lost in her tears, Geng Lianhua heard Bai Jianing’s words and realized that this young lady must have been brought back by her son. Could she be the new girlfriend mentioned in the letter?
“Weiguo, is this the young lady you mentioned?” the old lady asked.
Quickly wiping her tears, the old lady, without waiting for an introduction from Zhang Weiguo, took the initiative to introduce herself. Upon learning that the lady before her was the future daughter-in-law, the old lady, who had just been filled with concern, now found herself pleasantly surprised. Her son was getting older, and with no settled partner in sight, she had shared his anxiety. Now that this prospective daughter-in-law had been brought home, it seemed like things were progressing well, almost to the point of introducing her to the family.
With a smile, the old lady held Bai Jianing’s hand and inspected her, “What a good girl. I’m entrusting this young rascal Weiguo to you. Please take care of him and make sure he doesn’t get hurt again. Look at his body, there isn’t a single spot that’s not injured.”
Handing over this responsibility to Bai Jianing made her feel an immense sense of duty.
“Auntie, rest assured. Weiguo will be fine in the future,” Bai Jianing assured.
Before Bai Jianing arrived, she had some concerns, fearing that her future mother-in-law might be difficult to get along with. Bai Qingyuan had repeatedly advised her daughter before her departure to observe carefully. If she encountered a formidable and unreasonable mother-in-law, he would reconsider the marriage. Despite how well-suited the future son-in-law might be, marriage involved more than just the couple; there was also the matter of serving and caring for the parents-in-law, and he didn’t want his beloved daughter to suffer under such circumstances.
Seeing Geng Lianhua’s loving expression and hearing her words, Bai Jianing felt a weight lifted off her shoulders. However, she knew she needed to observe carefully, as some people’s true nature only becomes evident after spending a long time with them.
“Dear, let’s go inside and have a seat. I’ll bring you some fruits to eat,” Geng Lianhua, delighted to see her daughter-in-law, was so happy she was a bit disoriented, quickly preparing some delicious treats for her.
Zhang Lan went over to help, as the old lady seemed a bit scattered, attending to tasks in all directions.
“Auntie, don’t worry about it. Let me watch the shop for you. You go back and help Big Sis cook. Weiguo always praises your cooking,” Bai Jianing suggested, knowing how much the old lady valued her son’s appreciation for her food.
The old lady was pleased to hear Bai Jianing’s words. “Dear, we’ll close the shop in a bit. I’ll go back and cook for you. Just let me know what you’d like to eat. Don’t be shy.”
Zhang Lan sat with Geng Lianhua in the shop, engaging with customers as they came to buy groceries. Everyone was familiar with the old lady, exchanging jokes and ensuring they got all the items they needed.
Bai Jianing observed and listened attentively as the old lady interacted with customers, not missing a single word. It seemed her future mother-in-law had a good rapport with people and was genuinely kind-hearted.
After seeing off the customers, the old lady eagerly started packing up to head back, preparing the remaining seafood that hadn’t been sold.
“Dear, let’s go home. I’ll cook for you all. We’re having guests over tonight to celebrate Qianqian and Mingyuan getting into university,” the old lady announced.
Bai Jianing was delighted, “Auntie, we are looking forward to tasting your cooking. Weiguo always praised your food when he was injured, saying he missed your dishes and found the food in our kitchen not to his liking.”
With smiles exchanged between the mother-in-law and the future daughter-in-law, Zhang Lan and Zhang Weiguo led the way out of the shop.
During dinner, everyone from the Cong and Yang families was present. Geng Lianhua was overjoyed, experiencing a double delight as her son returned with his soon-to-be daughter-in-law and her two precious grandsons got into university. All the glory she had hoped for in her lifetime seemed to come to fruition on this day. She was already daydreaming about the moment she would have a grandson to hold in her arms; she would be delighted even if she closed her eyes right then.
Upon learning about the relationship between Bai Jianing and Zhang Weiguo, Ge Yun and Zhao Ru each took turns congratulating the old lady. They also met Zhang Weiguo in person that day and found him to be a talented young man. They believed he wouldn’t have trouble finding a wife even if he went back home.
Seeing Yang Mingxuan, Bai Jianing’s eyes widened in astonishment. “Are you… the former security officer from back then?”
Yang Mingxuan never expected someone here to recognize him. Although the girl before him had grown up and changed, he could still faintly see the little girl who used to follow him around.
“Hehe, Jianing? You’re Bai Jianing, Commander Bai’s youngest daughter. Ha-ha, I knew it! You looked so familiar. It turns out we’re old acquaintances. Ge Yun, come over and take a look. Do you recognize this girl?” Yang Mingxuan exclaimed.
Yang Mingyuan called his wife over. Their relationship had started with a matchmaker, Old Wu. Ge Yun had seen Bai Jianing when she was younger.
Ge Yun, stepping out of the kitchen, approached her husband. Pointing at Bai Jianing, Yang Mingxuan asked, “Dear, do you know who she is?”
Ge Yun couldn’t help but chuckle at her husband. “You’re already talking nonsense before even having a drink. She’s Weiguo’s girlfriend. Don’t you remember that?”
Laughing, Yang Mingxuan said, “Comrade Ge Yun, take a closer look. She’s an old acquaintance of ours. You’ve seen her when she was young.”
Ge Yun, who hadn’t paid much attention to Bai Jianing at first, carefully examined her at her husband’s prompting. Suddenly, a memory seemed to flash in her mind, causing her to open her mouth wide and point at Bai Jianing, exclaiming, “You’re the little girl from back then, the one who used to play at Uncle Wu’s house?”
Bai Jianing nodded with a smile, “Yes, sister-in-law, you finally recognized me! It’s amazing that we’ve met here. What a small world.” Bai Jianing walked over and tightly held Ge Yun’s hand, expressing her amazement.
Wang Qian observed the interconnected relationships among the people in the courtyard and couldn’t help but sigh at how small the world truly was.
At that moment, Cong Yu remembered she wanted to listen to the radio. “Sister, I want to listen to stories. Where’s the radio?”
Wang Qian had a radio in the house for the siblings to listen to English lessons. Since it also had a radio function, she brought it to the courtyard for Cong Yu to listen. They happened to tune in to Cao Can telling the story of “The Bell Princess,” and the children gathered around the radio to listen.
Bai Jianing couldn’t help but feel envious of the children nowadays. “Sister-in-law, they are truly fortunate. We never had the chance to listen to stories like this when we were young.”
Ge Yun chuckled and patted Bai Jianing’s hand, “Little sister, when you have children, you’ll probably be even happier than them. Everyone will dote on the child, and then your family will have to figure out how to take turns caring for them.”
Playfully teased by Ge Yun, Bai Jianing blushed. Marriage hadn’t even been discussed yet, and now they were already talking about children.
Zhang Lan and her mother were almost done working in the kitchen. Mingyuan started bringing the dining table out, and Cong Tao and the others helped with serving the dishes, making the courtyard lively.
The dinner that evening was truly lavish, with even matsutake mushrooms prepared by Wang Qian. The soil they had collected in the south contained mycelium, allowing them to harvest these mushrooms in their space.
Bai Jianing finally tasted the old lady’s cooking, and it was incredibly delicious. It was no wonder Zhang Weiguo praised his mother’s cooking; it was indeed exceptional. The variety and quality of the dishes that the Wang family had prepared were unmatched, with a wide selection of seafood.
Seeing their future daughter-in-law enjoying the meal so much made Geng Lianhua joyous. She was diligent in serving Bai Jianing, making sure to fill her plate with various delicacies, worried that the young lady might feel hesitant to help herself.
“Auntie, that’s enough. You should eat too. I won’t feel embarrassed about eating. We all ate at the canteen in the military. If I felt shy, I’d end up going hungry,” Bai Jianing reassured Geng Lianhua.
Ge Yun nodded in agreement, “Well said. In the military, it’s all about quickly dealing with battles. Who has time to pay attention to how others eat? Little Bai, feel at home here and eat as you please.”
Wang Xuan chimed in, “Exactly. That’s how it is in the canteen. Everyone just focuses on finishing their own meal and then heads back to their rooms.”
As Wang Xuan finished speaking, Yang Nuo at the nearby table chimed in, “Xuan, remember who used to struggle to finish their food back then? I had to help you with your meal.”
Upon hearing this, Wang Xuan blushed and glared at Yang Nuo, “And you’re talking about me? You ended up eating most of my food anyway.”
Yang Nuo chuckled, “Sis, I was just eating your leftovers. I always saved the best parts for you.”
Yang Mingxuan and Ge Yun laughed at this, “Yang Nuo, you better keep eating leftovers and save the best for your sister.”
Ge Yun added, “Xuan, if Yang Nuo ever dares to mistreat you, tell Auntie. I’ll use a big stick on him.”
Wang Xuan blushed slightly. She understood the care Yang Nuo showed her at school was more than just friendship. She could sense the underlying affection in his gestures.
She was aware of her feelings for Yang Nuo but felt they were both still young, so she hadn’t been explicit about them. His confession in this setting left her feeling a bit embarrassed.
Zhang Lan jokingly told Ge Yun, “Sister-in-law, in the future, our Xuan will still rely on Yang Nuo for care. I’d be more than happy if he could eat Xuan’s leftovers for a lifetime.”
Having a good son-in-law who takes care of their daughter so well is hard to find. Both families knew each other well, which was better than having strangers involved. As long as the two children are happy together, everything else falls into place.
On the other hand, Wang Zhenhe was feeling uneasy. He couldn’t shake off the feeling that this troublesome kid was always hanging around his house for no good reason, and now he feared his precious daughter might be swayed by him.