Chapter 9: The Marriage Application Was Approved

Lin Baoni returned home, and her mother and the others had not yet come back from work.

Baoni opened the door, entered the house, placed the peach crisps on the table, and then went to her bedroom to change clothes before coming out again.

The clothes she had worn needed to be washed. She wasn’t good at much else, but Lin Baoni was quite skilled at housekeeping tasks like doing laundry, a skill she had learned from Old Jiang’s training.

Lin Baoni couldn’t help but mock herself. She had never missed Old Jiang this much in her life. She longed for him to appear before her, shouting: “Jiang Jiaojiao, hurry up! Jiang Jiaojiao, what are you doing? Kick your legs…”

She wiped her eyes. She had to stay strong; it wasn’t a big deal. She could handle it!

After hanging the clothes, she realized her grandmother was nowhere to be found. She couldn’t cook either, so she had no choice but to return to her bedroom.

Oh right, she needed to check how much money was in her little treasury.

Baoni found the metal box where the money was kept. It was quite large and hidden well. She sat cross-legged on the bed, carefully opened the lid, and—oh! There was quite a bit.

Inside the metal box, several bundles of banknotes were wrapped with rubber bands. There were one-yuan bills, five-jiao bills, two-jiao bills, five-fen bills… at least ten bundles.

She moved the money aside, and underneath was the big pile.

She counted the money: there were sixty five-yuan bills, three hundred yuan in total!

Below that, there was a thick stack of Great Unity bills. Baoni’s hands trembled a bit, and it took her several attempts to finally lift the stack of Great Unity bills.

What a state she was in. It wasn’t that she hadn’t seen money before, but she had never felt so excited, as though she had won the lottery.

She took a deep breath, steadied herself, and began counting the money. “One, two, three… forty, forty-one… fifty-nine… seventy-one… eighty-nine.” Goodness, Baoni was really a money magnet, and she even had a box to store it all.

After thinking for a moment, she realized this money was from when she had started diving for crabs, sea cucumbers, and especially large abalones, since she was in her teens.

After catching them, she would sail off the island and head to the city, seeking out rich customers to sell to.

At that time, the country had only just been established, and there were still many red capitalists or wealthy people with some assets. Public-private partnerships were common, and her business was quite profitable.

She would leave early in the morning, bringing the freshest catch, and the prices were good. Over time, she saved up a lot of money.

Seeing how well she was doing, Grandpa Lin decided to let her manage the money herself and told everyone else that it was Baoni’s money, and no one could lay claim to it.

Grandpa Lin’s words carried a lot of authority, and so, Baoni continued selling seafood for several more years. It wasn’t until the past couple of years, as she got older and the outside world grew stricter, that she stopped.

Every time Baoni returned from selling seafood, she would buy some food and necessities for the house. No one could tell her otherwise.

Baoni calculated: without counting the smaller denomination bills, just the five-yuan and Great Unity bills alone totaled 1,190 yuan. In this era, that made her a small-time rich woman!

Feeling reassured, Baoni carefully placed the money back in the box, tightly closed the lid, and put it back in its hiding place.

She felt a sudden sense of security—having money in her pocket gave her peace of mind. Money was the courage of a hero! Moreover, Baoni had other things hidden, things even Grandpa Lin didn’t know about.

That was Baoni’s secret hideout, located in a pile of rocks by the sea. About a meter underwater, there was a natural tunnel. It wasn’t spacious, only wide enough for two people to pass through. The deeper she went, the higher the terrain became, eventually leading to a small cavern that looked like a cave pool. It wasn’t large, just like a small pond.

In the past, whenever Baoni caught too much seafood, she would store it in that hidden spot. Over the past ten years, only she knew about this place.

Sometimes, when she received small trinkets like jewelry—gold, silver, jade—they were never very valuable, mostly gifts given to her when others were happy.

Baoni knew these items couldn’t be seen, so she wrapped them in oil paper and placed them in a box, hiding it in the cave pool.

When the workday was over, the family members returned home, and Baoni snapped out of her excited trance. “Grandpa, Grandma, you’re back.”

Grandpa Lin gave her a thoughtful glance. Seeing his granddaughter lightly nodding, he knew the task was nearly done and he could finally relax a bit.

Days passed, and the family grew used to the gossip from the outside world. They no longer got upset or argued about it.

Baoni also became more familiar with every corner of the house. Every day, she walked in circles around the seaweed house, finding it more and more to her liking.

Thanks to her strength, Baoni began practicing every morning again, following Old Jiang’s methods. Her hands and feet became more agile, and with the added strength, her skills improved significantly, far beyond her previous abilities.

All of this Baoni kept secret, going to the rocky areas by the sea for her basic training. She dared not practice the advanced military tactics from the future that she had learned.

There were many excellent soldiers around, and though her small tricks could be hidden from her parents, they wouldn’t fool battle-hardened soldiers.

As Grandpa Lin had a blister on his lip, Xiao Chaoyang arrived, bringing good news.

“Grandpa Lin, here’s the enlistment notice for Comrade Lin Tao.” Xiao Chaoyang’s words stunned the Lin family, apart from a few people who were already in the know. “What’s going on? Isn’t Baoni supposed to join the military?”

Mother Lin was the first to ask.

Xiao Chaoyang noticed that the family hadn’t reached a consensus, so he decided to stay out of it. “Comrade Lin, may I have a word with you?” Xiao Chaoyang gestured for Lin Baoni to come outside.

“Alright, let’s talk in the courtyard.” Baoni walked out of her bedroom.

“Comrade Lin, here’s the enlistment notice. According to the instructions, report on time. Also, your and Gu Ye’s marriage application has been approved, and you can pick up your certificate anytime.” Xiao Chaoyang said, handing the enlistment notice to Lin Baoni, then turned and left.

Lin Baoni held the enlistment notice as she returned to her room. She still had to explain the entire situation to Grandpa Lin and her parents.

“Baoni, what’s going on? Speak clearly and quickly.” Mother Lin said seriously, fearing that Baoni had once again acted on her own and done something regrettable.

“Mother, Grandpa and Father both know about this.” Baoni began by mentioning her Grandpa and Father, hoping to deflect her mother’s anger.

“Because I saved someone, the Military Unit rewarded me with a slot to enlist. I didn’t want to join the army, so I recommended Second Brother instead. And the best way to deal with the rumors is for me to marry the comrade I saved, so that no one will have anything to say.” Baoni explained briefly.

She handed the enlistment notice to Grandpa, saying: “Instructor Xiao said to report to the army on the date mentioned in the notice. Also, my application to marry Comrade Gu has been approved.”

After saying that, Baoni quickly ran back to her bedroom, leaving Grandpa and Father Lin to explain things to everyone else.

Baoni slipped away, leaving Father Lin and Grandpa Lin surrounded by others, bombarded with questions from all sides.

As for whether her mother would easily forgive Father Lin, that wasn’t something Baoni needed to worry about.

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Inside the house, just as Baoni had expected, things were in chaos!

“Lin Zhiyong, you’d better explain yourself! What is going on? How is it that Baoni is getting married? Who is she marrying? How did this decision come about?” Mother Lin was losing her mind.

What was happening? This had been an issue from who knows when.

Lin Tao was also confused. How was he the one going to enlist?

“Father, Grandfather, what’s going on? Why am I going to join the army? Didn’t Baoni go to join instead? What is going on? Please explain! I’m dying of frustration here!”

Big Brother Lin looked at his father and grandfather with pleading eyes, waiting for them to clarify the situation.

Father Lin glanced at Grandpa Lin, thinking to himself: Father, say something! Everyone’s coming at me now. Didn’t you bring this up first? Didn’t you go to the Military Unit yourself? You’re the one who agreed to Baoni’s marriage! Now I’m the one taking the fall, and you and Baoni are staying out of it. How is this fair?

Grandpa Lin didn’t know how to read minds and couldn’t understand what Father Lin was thinking.

But he knew that he needed to explain things to the family, or else it would cause unresolved tension among them.

“Baoni has decided to marry Colonel Gu, and I agreed to it. Colonel Gu is about the same age as Baoni, he’s capable in his work, has a bright future ahead of him, and he’s the best match Baoni could find at the moment. Baoni has also met with Colonel Gu at the hospital, and they’ve had a serious conversation. They both feel that they are well suited for each other, which is why they decided to get married.”

“We didn’t tell you earlier because we wanted to wait until after meeting Colonel Gu and confirming that they were a good match. We wanted to avoid causing you all to worry unnecessarily. Baoni saw how much you’ve been arguing lately, and it’s been making her feel bad too.”

“As for the army enlistment slot, Baoni fought for it herself, and Colonel Gu helped with the arrangements. Lin Tao wanted to join the army, and this is an opportunity. If he works hard at the Military Unit, he’ll be able to support Baoni in the future.”

Father Lin explained everything clearly, thinking to himself: “It’s clear that learning from someone educated makes a difference. Speaking with the tone of a Political Commissar makes the words sound more refined.”

Mother Lin listened quietly for a long time, finally understanding that this marriage was the best option for Baoni at the moment. However, as a mother, her heart still ached.

Baoni was her only daughter. Since childhood, she and Father Lin had truly spoiled her, protecting her like a precious gem—afraid she’d melt in their mouths or fall if they held her too loosely.

Raising her daughter smoothly, only for things to become so complicated at the most crucial moment of finding a partner—it made her feel trapped. She had to rush to choose a marriage partner, and it left her feeling wronged and frustrated.

Mother Lin had often dreamed of finding a simple, honest young man who lived nearby, someone who was willing to work hard. Baoni didn’t know how to cook or sew, and with her mother and grandmother around, they could help take care of her, so she wouldn’t be criticized by her in-laws.

The sadness and inner turmoil that Mother Lin felt could not be shared with anyone. She could only sit silently to the side, quietly shedding tears.

Lin Tao held the heavy enlistment notice in his hand, his emotions in turmoil. He silently made a resolution in his heart: once he reached the Military Unit, he would work hard, make something of himself, and one day be able to support Baoni.

Baoni didn’t know about the worries and struggles of her mother and others. She was lost in her own thoughts.

The approval of her marriage application had come through, and suddenly, Baoni felt a great sense of relief.

Knowing which direction to go in life is always better than feeling lost and unsure of which step to take next.

“Comrade Gu Ye, I’ll be counting on you from now on.” Baoni silently shouted in her heart!