Chapter 17

Seeing that it was a handful of White Rabbit candies, He Hongxiu quickly refused, “Sister, this is too expensive. You should keep this precious thing for yourself to nourish your body.”

Jiang Yan grabbed He Hongxiu’s hand, not letting her return the candy, and pretended to be angry and said, “Sister-in-law, I just arrived and don’t know anyone. I’ll have to trouble you to introduce me to everyone and our family compound in the future.”

As she spoke, Jiang Yan deliberately said in a somewhat sarcastic tone: “If you are so polite, then I won’t ask you for help. You are the wife of the political commissar, how dare I trouble you.”

He Hongxiu was not angry at all. Instead, she smiled brightly. “What you said is not a problem at all.”

“I see there are picture books in your basket. You must have children at home. Consider it a gift from your new aunt.”

“Okay, then sister-in-law, I will take advantage of you this time and make our three little ones happy for once.”

He Hongxiu hesitated for a moment, but finally accepted the candy.

First, I didn’t want to disappoint Jiang Yan. She had just arrived and was unfamiliar with the place, so she must be worried about various things. If I refused, she would probably think a lot.

Second, although the man was a political commissar and had a good salary, he had to support two adults and three children, so life was not very affluent, and things like milk candy were never within his consideration.

In order to make He Hongxiu feel better, Jiang Yan asked, “Sister-in-law, I don’t know much about our situation. What vegetables can we grow at this time of year? I’ll go to the supply and marketing cooperative with Yunsheng tomorrow and buy some seeds.”

He Hongxiu felt that she had lost money after receiving the gift. When she heard Jiang Yan’s request, she said generously, “Hey, why waste that money? I collected a lot of seeds last year. I’ll give you some when the time comes. It’s enough to plant in your yard.”

“That’s great, sister-in-law, you’ve helped me a lot. Please think of me when you do good things like this in the future.”

As she spoke, Jiang Yan grabbed another handful and put it into He Hongxiu’s bamboo basket.

“No problem. If there is something good in the future, sister-in-law will definitely be the first to tell you.”

He Hongxiu agreed readily. Seeing Jiang Yan grab another handful of candy, she hurriedly said, “That’s enough. This White Rabbit candy is not cheap. One handful is enough. If there are a few more, the little guy might not be able to finish it.”

“This isn’t for you. It’s for my lovely nephews and nieces. You have no right to make decisions for them.”

Without waiting for He Hongxiu to speak, Jiang Yan continued, “Okay, it’s decided. Sister-in-law, go back and cook. The political commissar is waiting for your hot meal.”

“Oh,” He Hongxiu slapped her forehead and said hurriedly, “I have to go back to cook. Sister Jiang, when you are free in a few days, sister-in-law will take you to the sea.”

“Okay, okay, sister-in-law, just come and call me when the time comes.”

“Okay, go back.”

He Hongxiu hurried home, humming a little tune along the way.

Before I even reached the front door, three radish heads, big and small, ran out from the yard one after another.

These are He Hongxiu’s three children, two boys and one girl. The eldest and third are boys, and the second is a girl.

“Mom, what took you so long? I’m hungry.”

“Mom, what did you buy?”

“Candy, mom bought candy.”

He Hongxiu tapped the foreheads of the three little ones and said lovingly, “You guys only know how to eat. This is not bought by mother. How could mother be willing to buy such an expensive thing?”

“This is from Aunt Jiang Yan, the newcomer to Uncle Lu’s house next door. She said it’s a gift for you. Remember to thank Aunt Jiang Yan next time you see her, okay?”

“Know.”

“I know.”

“good.”

The three little guys nodded one by one, their eyes fixed on the bamboo basket.

Hong Xiulan smiled and took out three and shared them among the little ones.

Put away all the rest. This is such a good thing that you can’t eat it all in one day. Just give it a sweet treat once in a while.

“Okay, mom is going to cook. Don’t be naughty, okay?”

The three of them said in unison: “Okay.”

After getting the candy, the three little guys quickly opened the packaging and put the candy into their mouths but did not chew it. Instead, they slowly melted the candy with saliva so that they could eat it for longer.

“sweet.”

“It smells so good.”

“Aunt Jiang Yan is so nice.”

The three little ones sat in a row on the stone slabs near the gate, from tall to short, their young faces full of childish innocence.

In the distance, at the end of the road in the military family compound, two figures in military uniforms, one tall and one short, slowly walked over.

“Since the girl doesn’t mind, don’t take it to heart. Just live a good life with her in the future. It’s not easy to find such a cultured and sensible girl.”

Sheng Pinghua spoke earnestly to Lu Yunsheng, who was a head taller than him.

Just as he was about to get off work, he saw Lu Yunsheng running over. He thought it was some urgent matter, but this guy actually said he wanted to file a marriage report.

Sheng Pinghua’s expression at that time was exactly the same as that of his wife He Hongxiu.

Not many people in the regiment knew that Lu Yunsheng was infertile, only him, the regiment commander, and several leaders.

After all, it was not a glorious thing, so no one made it public. Otherwise, he would have introduced several of his sisters and nieces to Lu Yunsheng long ago.

“I know.”

Of course Lu Yunsheng would treat Jiang Yan well. Where else could he find such a good daughter-in-law? Thinking that Jiang Yan had just arrived, he said, “Political Commissar, Jiang Yan is new here and she is not from the south. She may not be able to adapt to the new environment. Please take care of her more.”

“Don’t worry about this, I will tell your sister-in-law.”

As the two were talking, they saw three little guys at the door, and the little guys also saw Sheng Pinghua and the others.

“father.”

The three little guys rushed over at the same time. Sheng Pinghua was overjoyed. He hugged them one by one in the order in which they ran over, and then said, “What did your mother buy for you? Why does it smell so good?”

The eldest son Sheng Anhe explained: “It was not bought by mother, but a gift from Aunt Jiang Yan of Uncle Lu’s family.”

The second girl, Sheng Anning, added: “It’s White Rabbit Milk Candy.”

The third brother Sheng Anjun murmured, “It’s delicious.”

“You guys! Three little greedy cats, have you thanked Aunt Jiang Yan?” Seeing the children happy, Sheng Pinghua was also happy.

The three little ones all shook their heads.

The eldest said, “We haven’t seen Aunt Jiang Yan. Mother brought her back. We’ll thank Aunt Jiang Yan next time we see her.”

“Um.”

Sheng Pinghua nodded with satisfaction and turned to thank Lu Yunsheng.

“Thank Jiang Yan for me. You should go back as well. I must be tired after sitting on the train for several days.”

“I think your marriage application will be approved the day after tomorrow. Take your new bride to do some shopping tomorrow. Don’t be stingy. The girl came from far away and will spend her whole life with you. Don’t let her down.”

“yes.”

After giving a military salute, Lu Yunsheng turned and walked towards another road.

Sheng Pinghua also took the children into his own yard. When he heard the children say how fragrant and delicious the milk candy was, he couldn’t help feeling a little guilty for not being able to give them a better life.

“I’m back. The food will be ready soon. Please sit down for a while.”

Letting the children play by themselves, Sheng Pinghua walked into the kitchen, came to the stove to light the fire, and helped his wife, “Have you met Lu Yunsheng’s wife?”

“Yes, I have.”

He Hongxiu was generous with her praise.

“She’s a good girl, very pretty, but with a surprisingly good personality. She doesn’t speak arrogantly or impatiently, and her way of dealing with people is also comfortable. Most importantly, she doesn’t mind Lu Yunsheng’s situation, which I think is good.”

Sheng Pinghua joked: “Such a high evaluation, Comrade He Hongxiu, you must have been bribed by Naitang.”

He Hongxiu smiled and rolled her eyes at him, then turned to check the steamed buns on the stove, “Go to hell, am I that kind of person?”

Then, she continued, “But Jiang Yan was really generous. She gave us two handfuls of White Rabbit candies. They were very solid. I estimate there were about 200 to 300 grams. The three kids can eat them for a while.”

Sheng Pinghua was indeed a little surprised. “Since he is a good person, you should pay more attention to him during this period. It is not easy for Lu Yunsheng to get married. Don’t let this wife run away.”

“I know.”

After lifting the lid of the pot, the hot multi-grain steamed buns came out of the pot. He Hongxiu invited the little ones in the yard to the living room to eat.

The family is having a great time.