Chapter 9

Lu Weiguo moved quickly. That evening, he submitted his marriage report upon returning home.

The next morning, he promptly submitted the report to the organization, along with an application for family quarters.

Within just a morning, the leaders in the camp were all informed.

One by one, they approached him curiously, which made the soldiers on the training ground tense.

The sudden appearance of so many leaders today made them nervous.

At the end of the day’s training, Lu Weiguo was summoned by the leaders.

Captain Zhao’s office.

Captain Zhao, in his forties this year, had a serious expression on his face. It only softened slightly when he saw Lu Weiguo enter the room.

Lu Weiguo immediately noticed the marriage report lying on his desk.

Captain Zhao pointed to a chair beside him and said, “Sit.”

Lu Weiguo saluted respectfully and sat down straight-backed.

Picking up the marriage report from the desk, Captain Zhao asked, “Have you made up your mind? You should know something about the situation at home.”

“Yes, I’ve considered it,” Lu Weiguo replied.

Captain Zhao sighed. Lu Weiguo was one of his most outstanding soldiers. If he had known about his successful match-making earlier, as long as there were no issues with his background, he would have approved his marriage report immediately. So why now with the Shi family?

“The Shi family isn’t a good match for marriage,” Captain Zhao said frankly.

Lu Weiguo lowered his eyes, his tone revealing neither joy nor anger. “I know.”

Seeing him somewhat angry, Captain Zhao continued, “You know? You know nothing! Do you know I’m about to be promoted? Do you know this position was meant for you?”

“Now you’re putting me in this situation. Do you still want the chair under my butt?” Lu Weiguo’s fingers couldn’t help but move, but he eventually suppressed them.

“Captain Zhao, I’m not suitable for further promotion at the moment,” he said.

Captain Zhao frowned but didn’t continue to reprimand him.

Lu Weiguo continued, “In this special period, with my military achievements, advancing further would attract too much attention.”

He planned to lie low for the next couple of years. There were already rumors circulating above about settling scores with the Konishi Group. Once these cleared, it wouldn’t be too late for him to advance.

Captain Zhao looked puzzled. “Could it be that you’re marrying into the Shi family just to avoid promotion this time?”

Lu Weiguo’s mouth twitched. “I’m not that free. It’s a suitable match.”

With that said, Captain Zhao stopped pressing him.

As Lu Weiguo rose to leave, Captain Zhao lowered his voice, “Since you’re marrying into the Shi family, let me give you some inside information.”

“What is it?” Lu Weiguo also lowered his voice.

It’s best not to let anyone know about the Shi family’s situation, Captain Zhao said seriously.

Lu Weiguo understood. He had found it strange that despite hearing about the Shi family being reported, they could still work as usual without anyone coming to verify, which was unreasonable.

It turned out the report had been suppressed.

Captain Zhao sighed, “But it probably won’t be suppressed for long. It could be a month or two weeks at most before the Red Committee starts moving.”

“In that case, please help me urge them to speed up the marriage application,” Lu Weiguo calculated the time. He had to marry Shi Tingyu within two weeks.

Captain Zhao wanted to pat him on the shoulder, but he was too tall. He could only retract his hand after patting his arm. “Don’t worry, I’ll do it. Professor Shi has done us soldiers a favor. Without the firearms he improved, our mission would have been much harder and cost many more lives.”

This is also why their battalion commander wanted to keep people safe.

Lu Weiguo sincerely expressed his thanks and left when there was nothing else to attend to.

On the side of the Shi family, upon hearing the news brought by Lu Weiguo, Shi’s parents couldn’t sit still. Within two weeks, they had to settle all matters that needed handling.

Apart from sending five hundred yuan in emergency funds to their eldest son, they transferred the remaining household money to Shi Tingyu’s hands.

It’s not that Shi’s parents were overly biased, but every month their eldest son received a salary, and having a large sum of money with him could attract scrutiny.

After all, he is Shi’s parents’ son, and moreover, he hasn’t married and separated from the family.

The total monthly salary of the three workers in the Shi family is 642 yuan, and for the year it adds up to more than 38,000. After deducting daily expenses, there’s more than 28,500 yuan left in the bankbook, along with a pile of various tickets.

Shi Tingyu carefully kept more than 300 yuan with her parents, not daring to give them too much for fear that if discovered, it would not only fail to secure the money but also bring trouble.

She also took out more than 200 yuan and some tickets that were about to expire and left them at home.

The remaining 28,000 yuan was all stored in the space.

As for the more than 200 yuan left at home, it was also to silence the people from the Red Committee. If they came to search, without getting any benefits, who knows how unpleasant they would be.

The military district acted quickly. Lu Weiguo’s marriage application and family housing application were approved together a week later.

After the marriage application was approved, Lu Weiguo asked for help to clean up the family courtyard, then took leave, and with the necessary documents went to register with Shi Tingyu.

Shi’s parents anxiously waited at home. Until they saw the marriage certificate, they couldn’t relax, fearing something might go wrong.

At ten-thirty in the morning, Shi Tingyu and Lu Weiguo’s figures appeared in the family courtyard.

Shi Tingyu showed the marriage certificate to her parents, who instantly teared up.

“Good, good, now we can rest assured.”

Shi’s father looked at Lu Weiguo and cautiously said, “Weiguo, my daughter has been pampered since childhood. If she does anything wrong, talk to her properly. She’s reasonable and will listen. Never lay a hand on her, understand?”

Lu Weiguo nodded, “Don’t worry, I will treat Comrade Shi well.”

Shi’s father turned away, discreetly wiping his eyes.

Shi’s mother said in a choked voice, “Arrange the wedding as you see fit, but don’t make it too ostentatious. It might not be good for you both.”

Lu Weiguo hesitated slightly. He didn’t mind either way, but he was afraid of causing discomfort to Shi Tingyu.

Meeting Lu Weiguo’s gaze, Shi Tingyu nodded at him, “Getting the marriage certificate is what matters, the rest isn’t important.”

That noon, the whole family had a meal together.

Shi Tingyu still cooked the food, with Lu Weiguo helping out.

He was tall and imposing, making a strong presence.

While he couldn’t cook, he handled ingredients effortlessly.

Shi’s mother also wanted Lu Weiguo to taste her daughter’s cooking and see her strengths.

Thinking of this, Shi’s mother couldn’t help but feel a bit bitter. If not for their burdens, relying on her daughter’s character and appearance, they could have found someone much better, without needing to strive so hard now.

Today, Shi Tingyu made Chinese-style soup, sweet and sour spare ribs, braised eggplant with oil, spicy chicken, mapo tofu, plus a tomato and egg soup.

These were all home-cooked dishes. The sweet and sour spare ribs were deliciously tangy and tender, falling off the bone with each bite. The braised eggplant was soft and tender from being pre-fried, perfect with rice, making one wish they could swallow their tongue.

The spicy chicken had a reddish-brown color, was soft in texture, with a strong spicy taste, slightly sweet and salty, and tasted very satisfying.

The mapo tofu was also soft in texture, with a strong spicy taste and rich flavor.

According to Lu Weiguo’s idea, this meal was much better than that of a state-owned restaurant.

He ate more than usual.

This amount of food made the Shi family couple open their eyes wide.

They thought, in general, not every family can afford to feed so much.

Shi Tingyu became calmer, with Lu Weiguo’s physical stature and years of training, naturally having a bigger appetite than ordinary people.

After lunch, Shi’s father and mother went back to work, having only taken half a day off.

Shi Tingyu looked at Lu Weiguo and said, “Do you want to see my room?”

Lu Weiguo looked up at her.

At this moment, sitting down, she standing, she wasn’t much taller than him.

His gaze was focused, the first time since getting the marriage certificate that Lu Weiguo had looked at her so seriously up close.

Her skin was smooth and white, like fine white jade, with crescent-shaped eyebrows and eyes, lips lightly curved like a pear blossom, sweet as honey.

In Shi Tingyu’s questioning gaze, he heard himself say, “Okay.”

Then he followed Shi Tingyu into the room.