Chapter 42 : Emergency Return

The next day, Su Mo woke up with back pain. The man was no longer on the kang. She heard some noises from the room and assumed he was making breakfast.

Su Mo finally understood why women in later generations said that if they didn’t have some ability, they shouldn’t marry soldiers, because soldiers would leave them to suffer in droughts and floods.

She hadn’t experienced drought yet, but she had certainly felt the flood, and it was more than enough.

Lu Changzheng entered the room and saw that Su Mo had woken up. He quickly got some hot water and asked his wife to wash up.

There was nothing he could do. He had gone a little too far last night, and if he didn’t behave well today, his wife would probably be really angry.

Su Mo ignored him, got up, and went outside to wash up.

Lu Changzheng carefully accompanied her and said, “Wife, it’s cold, don’t use cold water. I’ve boiled some hot water.” After saying this, he poured out the cold water Su Mo had used to brush her teeth and replaced it with the warm water he had prepared.

Su Mo felt both angry and amused when she saw how servile he was.

After brushing her teeth, Lu Changzheng wrung out the towel for Su Mo and handed it to her.

“Come on, wife, wipe your face.”

Su Mo: …

After giving him a glare, Su Mo still took the towel but also said, “You don’t have to do this.”

“It’s okay. I’m happy to serve my wife.”

Seeing Su Mo wipe her face, Lu Changzheng took the towel, washed it once, wrung it out again, and handed it to her. His wife liked to be clean and wiped her face several times.

After washing up, Su Mo went to the bathroom and then to have breakfast.

For breakfast, Lu Changzheng cooked porridge with pickled vegetables, which he probably got from his parents’ house early in the morning. There was also a bowl of chicken soup left over from last night, which Lu Changzheng heated up for Su Mo to drink.

“After dinner, let’s go to the county town. I want to buy some vegetable seeds, some cotton, and some cloth to make a cotton-padded jacket. The weather is getting cold, and I didn’t bring a cotton-padded jacket with me. By the way, I’ll call my uncle,” Su Mo said.

“Okay, I’ll listen to my wife.” Lu Changzheng agreed without hesitation. His job these days was to accompany his wife well, and she could do whatever she wanted.

After dinner, Lu Changzheng washed the dishes, rode his bicycle, and took his wife into the city.

As soon as the couple reached the entrance of the village, they saw a small car rushing toward them. In those days, small cars were extremely rare, and the couple couldn’t help but take a second look at it.

After passing by the young couple, the car suddenly stopped. A young man got out of the car and shouted at them.

“Comrade, are you Comrade Lu Changzheng?”

Lu Changzheng stopped and asked, “Yes, what’s the matter?”

The young man ran over and said, “Great. Comrade Lu Changzheng, I’m from the county armed forces department. We received a call from your unit saying there’s an urgent military matter, and you need to return to the unit immediately. We are here to pick you up at the train station.”

There was no train station in Qingxi County, so they would have to go to the city.

Lu Changzheng was startled and saluted. “Thank you for your hard work, comrade. Please wait for me at our brigade headquarters. I’ll tell my family and will be there in an hour at most.”

“Okay.” The young man ran back to the car and drove to the brigade headquarters in a flash.

Su Mo looked a little confused. Although she knew that Lu Changzheng would be returning to the team in a few days, she was at a loss about what to do when he suddenly had to leave.

“Wife, I can’t go to the county town with you.” Lu Changzheng was reluctant, but as a soldier, this was his mission. Whenever the country needed him, he would go at the first opportunity.

“No, it’s okay, let’s go back, and I’ll help you pack your things.”

“Okay.” Lu Changzheng turned the bike around and rode back toward their home. They didn’t speak along the way, the sadness of separation lingering in their hearts.

After returning home, Lu Changzheng parked the bike and said, “Wife, you pack up first. I’ll go tell my grandfather and parents.”

“Yeah.” Su Mo nodded.

Yesterday’s clothes were washed by Lu Changzheng this morning and were still hanging wet on the clothesline. Fortunately, he had worn casual clothes yesterday, so she wasn’t sure if he needed to bring those clothes with him.

Su Mo returned to the room and took out Lu Changzheng’s luggage bag from the kang. There were only two or three sets of military uniforms in it, nothing else, not even a thick coat.

Su Mo’s eyes suddenly felt a little sour.

Then she thought about how it would take him two or three days to return to the army by car, so he would need food along the way. She quickly lit a fire and boiled the dozen or so eggs from the cupboard.

Then she thought, “A poor family is rich on the road,” and since Lu Changzheng had given her all his money, he probably didn’t have much left. She quickly went back to the kang, counted out ten big unity coupons from the small cabinet, and gave them all to him since he would need coupons to buy food on the train.

After getting the money and notes, Su Mo didn’t know what else to pack. She felt empty inside. She didn’t care if it would be exposed. She took out two cans of Merlin luncheon meat from her space, tore off the labels on the cans, and stuffed them into Lu Changzheng’s luggage bag.

When Lu Changzheng came back, he saw his young wife sitting on the kang with her head down. When she heard his voice, she looked up at him with red eyes.

Lu Changzheng felt a pain in his heart, as if it was being stabbed by needles.

“Wife, I’m back.”

“Oh… oh! I boiled eggs for you, but you’ll have to wait a while. Your clothes are all in the luggage bag. There’s nothing else to pack. Yesterday’s clothes are still wet. Do you want to take them?” Su Mo quickly stood up and said.

“Don’t take it away. Leave it at home.”

“Okay, okay. Well, I got you two cans of luncheon meat for the journey. Also, I put 100 yuan and a few food coupons in your bag. Remember to keep them and don’t lose them.”

“Wife, I have money on me, so you don’t need to bring more. You can keep it for yourself. Also, take the canned luncheon meat back and keep it for yourself.”

“The poor are poor on the road, so take it, just in case you need money along the way. Take some canned food too, in case you can’t eat on the road, you can eat when you get to the team.”

Lu Changzheng looked at his wife, who was trying her best to appear calm but was actually about to cry, so he walked over and hugged her.

“Wife, I’m sorry.” He felt he must get her to join the army as soon as possible.

“Don’t say that. You have to defend your country. This is your mission.”

Su Mo was actually very confused. She knew this when she agreed to marry him. She even thought it was good that Lu Changzheng was not at home because she could do her own things.

But I’ve only lived with him for two days, how could he change so much?

When i heard that he was leaving, I felt particularly reluctant and wanted to cry?

Could it be that I’ve been alone for too long, and after being pampered by Lu Changzheng for a few days, I began to fall into depravity?

The two hugged for a while before Lu Changzheng let go.

“Wife, it’s time for me to go.” If it wasn’t for an extremely urgent matter, the army wouldn’t have sent the county armed forces department to pick him up, even though they knew he had just gotten married.

“Yeah, okay.” Su Mo blinked, trying hard to hold back her tears. He was about to leave home, and she couldn’t let him worry.

The eggs were cooked. Su Mo went out and picked up the eggs. After searching for a long time, she couldn’t find anything to put them in, so she just used the lunch box she had from the educated youth center.

Lu Changzheng looked at the lunch box full of eggs and said, “You don’t need put so many. Just take a few and save the rest for yourself.”

“Take everything with you. I’ll buy some more here. You can keep them in the car for two or three days.” Su Mo insisted. “Take the other things too!”

To reassure his wife, Lu Changzheng also took a step back. “Okay, I’ll take everything, but i really don’t need so much money. 50 is enough for me.”

“Okay.” Su Mo didn’t insist. She wasn’t thinking about this right now.

Lu Changzheng took out the banknotes that Su Mo had put in his bag, counted out five, and gave them back to Su Mo. Then he stuffed the lunch box with eggs into the luggage bag.

“Wife, remember to lock the courtyard gate and the house door when you go to bed at night. If anything happens, go find parents and brother. Don’t worry about firewood in the winter. I told Lu Guoping yesterday. He’ll find someone to help you get it. Just give them some money when the time comes.” Lu Changzheng said worriedly.

“And don’t work too hard. If you want to do farm work, do it. If you don’t want to, don’t do it. We don’t need those work points. As long as you’re well, that’s enough.”

“I’ll write to you when I get to the army. If you need anything, just write me a letter or send me a telegram. You can also call me. I’ve already written the phone number on the table.”

Listening to Lu Changzheng’s endless words of concern, Su Mo finally couldn’t hold back her tears and they fell.

“I… I know. You don’t have to worry about me. I’ll take care of myself. You take care of yourself in the army. You have a wife now.”

Lu Changzheng quickly raised his hand to wipe her tears. “Wife, don’t cry. I’ll be back when I have a day off.”

“Well, I won’t cry.” Su Mo raised her hand to wipe away her tears, pretending to be strong, and smiled. “Let’s go, I’ll take you there.”

Seeing Su Mo like this, Lu Changzheng was so heartbroken that he almost exploded. He hugged her and kissed her hard again. Then he picked up the luggage bag and strode out.

He had to leave quickly. If he stayed any longer, he would be reluctant to leave.

Su Mo hurriedly followed behind.

When they passed by the Lu family, Lu Qing’an and Li Yue’e were already waiting at the door, and Li Yue’e was holding a small bundle in her hand.

“Third brother, mother cooked some eggs and baked some pancakes for you. Take them with you on the road.”

“Mom, my wife also cooked eggs.” Lu Changzheng took the bundle, thinking of giving the eggs back to his parents to eat.

“Take it with you. If you can’t finish it on the way, take it back for your comrades. It’s such a hurry, your family hasn’t prepared anything for you.” Li Yue’e insisted, holding Lu Changzheng’s hand to untie the bundle.

The three of them escorted Lu Changzheng all the way to the brigade headquarters. Lu’s eldest brother, Lu Xingjun, was also at the entrance, chatting with the young man who was driving.

When Lu Changzheng arrived, the young man quickly turned the car around.

“Father, mother, wife, brother, I’m leaving.”

“Well, don’t worry, third brother. I’m at home, and I’ll take care of things.” Lu Xingjun said.

Lu Changzheng waved and then turned around to stride toward the car. After he got in, the car drove away.

Li Yue’e looked at her third daughter-in-law with red eyes and felt a little guilty.

Everyone says it’s good to marry a soldier, but only the families of soldiers can understand the feeling.

She can only stay at home for a few days throughout the year, and always worried that one day she hear bad news.

Now, there is one more person who is worried.