Chapter 4 : I want to establish a revolutionary friendship with you

Lu Changzheng took a long stride and sat directly on the bicycle, then motioned for Su Mo to sit on the back seat.

“Comrade Su, get in the car. I’ll take you back.”

Su Mo responded and jumped on.

Lu Changzheng kicked the bicycle with his long legs, and it took off with a “whoosh.”

Su Mo was so scared that she quickly grabbed the back frame of the bicycle. After sitting down, she realized that, in this era, it seemed that only those who were in a romantic relationship could sit on the back seat of a man’s bicycle.

Well…

Is it too late for her to jump off now?

However, she was still a patient, so it shouldn’t be a big problem…

After all, in this era, reputation is very important for women.

Once your reputation is ruined, you not only have to face gossip but also harassment from all kinds of undesirable people. People won’t sympathize with you; they will just say that “flies don’t bite seamless eggs.”

No matter the era, life is always particularly difficult for women.

“When I rescued you, I took some emergency measures. There may be some rumors in the village,” Lu Changzheng said, his voice faint against the wind. “If you’re willing, we can get married.”

“Ah?” Su Mo was so scared she almost jumped off the bicycle.

“The countryside is different from the city. The villagers here are relatively backward in thinking. You were no longer breathing, so I could only perform CPR and artificial respiration on you. In the eyes of the villagers, I touched and kissed you, and your innocence is considered lost,” Lu Changzheng explained.

Lu Changzheng was not someone who followed convention. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for him to rise from being a rural boy with no background to his current position as deputy battalion commander in just seven years.

He would not marry a woman simply because of a few rumors in the countryside. If he didn’t want to, no one could force him, even if they pointed a gun at him.

Although he had returned to check on her, before entering the ward, he had no intention of marrying Su Mo.

Lu Changzheng was 24 years old and not in a rush to marry. However, his grandfather was old, and his health had been deteriorating over the past two years. In his last letter, the old man expressed a wish to see him married before he died.

There were few people Lu Changzheng admired, and his grandfather was one of them. The old man had participated in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and retired due to disability. It was under his influence that Lu Changzheng joined the army.

Since it was the old man’s wish, Lu Changzheng was willing to fulfill it, so he returned home. His family had also found a candidate for him, and they just had to meet and be satisfied before they could get the marriage certificate.

He knew the woman was from the art troupe, and he had seen her several times in the army. She seemed interested in him, but he had no special feelings for her. However, they were considered a good match in the eyes of their families.

He had initially thought he would marry the woman from the art troupe, but his thoughts changed the moment he opened the door of the ward.

What he saw was the beautiful woman sitting on the hospital bed, with a lively, mischievous look on her face. When she saw them come in, she opened her eyes slightly in surprise.

At that moment, Lu Changzheng’s heartstrings were moved.

That woman was definitely not as delicate as she looked. Beneath her pretty appearance was a lively spirit.

He suddenly felt it would be interesting to have someone like her accompany him in the future.

After careful consideration, Lu Changzheng asked her.

Although he wanted to marry her, he also respected her decision. If she didn’t want to, he wouldn’t force her.

But if she declined, staying in Lujia Village might not be possible for her. The rumors in the village could drive her crazy.

If that were the case, he might have to use his connections to get her transferred to another brigade or find her a job elsewhere. This would also be his first crush.

Seeing that Su Mo had not responded, Lu Changzheng asked again, “What do you think?”

“Ah? I need to think about it. I don’t know you very well, so I can’t make such an impulsive decision,” Su Mo replied.

Su Mo was not from this era, and she didn’t have the same natural filter toward the People’s Liberation Army that people of this time had.

Hearing this, Lu Changzheng suddenly braked and stopped, saying to Su Mo, “Comrade Su, you get off first.”

Su Mo: …

Is it because she didn’t agree that he wouldn’t let her ride the bike?

After Su Mo got off, Lu Changzheng also dismounted. After parking his bicycle, he stood at attention and saluted Su Mo.

“Comrade Su Mo, my name is Lu Changzheng. I am 24 years old this year. I have a high school education. I joined the army at 17, and now I am the deputy battalion commander of the 11th Regiment of the 4th Garrison Division of the Shenyang Military Region.”

“My grandfather and parents are all alive. I have four siblings: two older brothers and one younger sister. They are all married.”

“I’m not asking you to marry me impulsively, but after careful thought. If we get married, we can stop the rumors in the village, and you’ll have someone to rely on.”

No one else knew Su Mo’s background, but his father, Lu Qing’an, the brigade secretary, knew a little. He was aware that Su Mo had come to the countryside to seek refuge due to a family accident. When rumors began to spread in the village these past few days, Lu Qing’an had briefly mentioned it to Lu Changzheng.

However, Lu Changzheng didn’t care about these things. Since Su Mo could go to the countryside, it meant her family affairs didn’t involve her. Moreover, he always believed this situation wouldn’t last long. The country needed to develop, and the leaders would not allow the chaos to continue for too long.

“The most important thing is that I fell in love with Comrade Su at first sight. I hope Comrade Su can agree to my request and establish a revolutionary friendship with me.”

Su Mo looked at Lu Changzheng’s serious expression and went from being stunned to bursting out laughing.

“Don’t you need to get to know me first?” Su Mo asked with a smile.

I thought he was a cool and handsome guy, but I didn’t expect him to be such a fool.

Seeing Su Mo smile, Lu Changzheng felt relieved and smiled as well. “After we get married, there will be plenty of opportunities for us to get to know each other.”

“But I don’t want to get married so early. I’m only 18.”

“18 is not too young. You can get the marriage certificate,” Lu Changzheng added. Suddenly, he caught a loophole in her words. “Comrade Su means that you agree to be with me, but you don’t want to get married so soon?”

Su Mo thought for a moment, then nodded.

She had nothing against Lu Changzheng, and he looked like her type, so they could be together.

During the apocalypse, she had stayed at home in the base and read a lot of novels. She had always dreamed of sweet love but never found someone who caught her eye. Now that she was here, it was rare to find someone who did, so she decided to have a relationship with him.

The most important thing, however, was the issue of reputation. She had read too many novels where women were driven to despair by rumors, and she didn’t want to be troubled by them herself.

Seeing Su Mo nod, Lu Changzheng felt elated.

“Then from now on, we are a couple.”

Happy emotions are contagious. Seeing Lu Changzheng so happy, Su Mo couldn’t help but curl the corners of her lips.

Lu Changzheng picked up Su Mo again and rode quickly toward the team.

“Then we can date for a few days. After that, I’ll ask my mother to go to the educated youth camp to propose marriage.”

Su Mo: …

How is this different from getting married directly?

“I think we shouldn’t be too anxious…”

“The Chairman has already said that dating without the purpose of marriage is hooliganism. Since we are both aiming for marriage, it doesn’t matter whether we marry early or late. Or does Comrade Su want to be a hooligan to me?”

Su Mo: …

“Don’t talk nonsense. It’s just that we’ve just met, and I don’t know your family yet…”

After all, I’m not a local, so I still find it hard to accept the idea of getting married so quickly.

Lu Changzheng suddenly had an idea. Thinking of his team leader, who often stayed at his place due to problems with his mother-in-law, he understood.

“Are you worried that it will be inconvenient to live with my family? Don’t worry about that. My family built a separate house for me to get married, so you won’t have to live with them. Besides, after we get married, my family will separate, and we’ll just have to take care of our own little family.”

Su Mo’s heart paused. She had been thinking about how to move out of the educated youth camp. It would be perfect if she could marry Lu Changzheng to avoid living with his family.

But she had just arrived. Does she have to get married just for a house?

Wait, that’s not right. A house was built specially for this purpose… So, Lu Changzheng came back to get married?

“Is there something you haven’t told me?” Su Mo’s expression turned cold. She didn’t want to be a third party.

Lu Changzheng stopped again, turned around, and looked at Su Mo seriously.

“Comrade Su Mo, I did hide something from you. I came back this time to find someone and get married if they are suitable. My grandfather is old and in poor health, and he wants to see me married before he passes away, so I’m in a hurry.”

“Of course, I sincerely want to establish a revolutionary friendship with you. If it weren’t for my grandfather’s situation, I would’ve definitely spent more time getting to know you before asking you to marry me.”

“When you came back, did your family already find a partner for you?”

“I have a candidate, but I haven’t met her yet. Now that I have you, I will naturally not go to see her.”

“If I don’t want to get married soon, are you going to find someone else?” Su Mo continued to probe.

“How could that be? You are my partner. If you don’t marry me, who should I marry? If you don’t want to get married soon, I’ll talk to my grandfather and ask him to wait a little longer for his granddaughter-in-law.” Lu Changzheng said confidently.

As a scout, he had already noticed that Su Mo was a little hesitant, and he believed that with a little more effort, he could win her over.

By then, not only would his grandfather’s wish be fulfilled, but he would also get to marry the beauty.