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Her brothers weren’t short.
Although Jiang Qian was a girl, she was 1.65 meters tall, and with shoes on, she was almost 1.67 meters. Among girls of her time, she was considered tall and graceful.
However, when standing next to Han Shiguo, the difference became quite obvious.
Because even barefoot, he was already 1.85 meters tall—this was just her estimate, but now, looking at him, it seemed like he might be even taller.
“How tall are you?” Jiang Qian asked directly, eager to get the answer.
“1.87 meters,” Han Shiguo answered.
As expected, it wasn’t just 1.85 meters.
Jiang Qian couldn’t help but silently sigh, but outwardly, she complimented, “Wow, that’s really tall! Is the air up there a bit fresher?”
Hearing the girl’s cute words, Han Shiguo smiled and replied, “I wasn’t this tall originally. Before I joined the army, I was just under 1.8 meters. I grew taller after joining.”
“How old were you when you joined the army?”
“Seventeen,” Han Shiguo answered without hesitation.
Jiang Qian was genuinely surprised. “You joined the army at such a young age?”
Han Shiguo chuckled, “Seventeen isn’t that young.”
Jiang Qian understood what he meant. In the countryside, boys at seventeen were already considered old enough to get married.
“At seventeen, there were still opportunities, so I seized them. After joining the army, I realized I was like a frog in a well,” Han Shiguo said with a sense of reflection.
He went on to share his experiences from when he first joined the army.
Jiang Qian couldn’t help but admire him. “You’re really amazing. Your willpower and self-discipline are truly rare.”
A boy from a poor farming family, who was noticed by the top officials and brought under their wing—although she hadn’t seen his efforts firsthand, she could still feel how much he had given.
There was no such thing as a free meal in this world.
Without the necessary skills, even the freshest, most delicious pie would burn your hands if you tried to grab it.
To put it bluntly, without the effort and ability, you can’t seize the opportunities that come your way!
Han Shiguo listened to the girl’s words, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “You’re pretty impressive too. I’ve heard that many people applied for the school recruitment exam, but only two spots were available, and you were one of them.”
Having shared quite a bit about his own experiences, he was now eager to hear more about hers.
Jiang Qian was rather modest and replied, “It’s just good luck.”
“No strength, no luck. Strength is the foundation for luck,” Han Shiguo said knowingly, as someone who had been through it.
Jiang Qian smiled. “It’s okay. At least I didn’t bring shame to my parents.”
“How could you bring shame? You’ve brought honor to uncle and aunt,” Han Shiguo said. He could tell that the Jiang family’s values were strong, even better than his own family’s.
Because his sister-in-law wasn’t exactly a good person—she had already thrown a tantrum the day before, making remarks about how when she got married, she only had twenty yuan and thirty-six legs.
But Han Shiguo didn’t feel the least bit ashamed about it.
Over ninety percent of the savings in the Han family were earned by him. Now that he was getting married, what was wrong with giving his wife he much deserve dowries and a wedding gift?
What was the big deal? Why was she throwing a tantrum? Han Shiguo had no intention of indulging her!
He also brought this up to Jiang Qian. “My parents’ plan is that after I marry, they’ll divide the family’s property between me and my younger brother. But since I’ve been away from home for so long, I’ve been sending back a hundred yuan every year as support for them.”
A hundred yuan a year, less than ten yuan a month, wasn’t much for Han Shiguo, whose monthly salary was only seventy yuan.
Of course, it wasn’t exactly a small amount either.
“Supporting one’s parents is a duty every child should fulfill. It’s the right thing to do.” Jiang Qian understood that Han Shiguo was giving her a heads-up, so she naturally expressed her agreement.
Han Shiguo smiled. “In the future, when it comes to our family’s matters, we’ll discuss them together, okay?”
It was all part of the plan, a smooth line.
Jiang Qian wasn’t so easily fooled. Although she was satisfied with him, jumping straight into “our family” so soon wasn’t something she could accept just yet.
She wasn’t just playing with him; as a young woman, she couldn’t be easily tricked.
She didn’t respond to that question and instead changed the subject. “I wonder if my fourth brother is at work today. Let’s go over to his place later.”
“How did your fourth brother end up staying in the city to work?” Han Shiguo’s attempt at steering the conversation had missed the mark, but he wasn’t in a hurry. He continued leisurely pedaling the bike while chatting with her.
“My fourth brother’s lucky,” Jiang Qian said with a smile when talking about her twin brother, Jiang Shouchuan.
She felt that the cleverest in the family was definitely her fourth brother.
The two of them had gone to high school together, but Jiang Shouchuan, her fourth brother, was especially crafty. While she followed the rules and graduated in due time, he had managed to get his graduation certificate early and secured a temporary job even before officially finishing school.
In just one year, her fourth brother had gone from being a temporary worker to securing a permanent, well-paid position as a procurement officer. He was doing exceptionally well, really impressive.
Han Shiguo smiled as he listened to her, “You’re lucky, and your fourth brother is lucky too. You just keep attributing everything to luck.”
The girl was really modest.
Jiang Qian smiled and replied, “I’m just telling the truth. While we did put in effort, it’s really luck that made everything fall into place.”
Having the ability is the foundation for good luck, but there are also many talented people who don’t get the chance they deserve. Luck really does play a huge role.
The two of them continued chatting as they made their way into the county town.
The journey wasn’t short, and since Han Shiguo wasn’t riding fast, it took them a little over two hours to reach the county town. However, because they had been chatting the whole way, the time seemed to pass without them even realizing it.
“Are you tired? Do you want to rest somewhere first?” Jiang Qian finally realized and asked him.
“We’ve just arrived, I’m not tired,” Han Shiguo replied, looking at her.
She was so thoughtful and caring toward him. He thought to himself that if he could marry such a good girl, he would surely have a blessed life.
But even though he was carrying Jiang Qian on the bike, it felt like no burden at all to Han Shiguo. He didn’t even break a sweat. She had no idea how strong his stamina really was.
She would find out eventually.
Jiang Qian knew that soldiers were usually fit, but she hadn’t expected him to be this strong. After riding the bike with her for such a long time, he didn’t even seem out of breath.
With that kind of stamina, she feared she might be in for a rough time in the future…
Thoughts of words she had seen in the past, like “everlasting engine” or “pile driver” came to mind…
No, she couldn’t think about it any longer!
Quickly, Jiang Qian shook off those embarrassing thoughts in the back of her mind and decided to temporarily lock away that naughty, inappropriate idea.
“Shall we head to the office and see if my fourth brother is there? If he is, we can invite him out for a meal,” Han Shiguo asked.
“Sure,” Jiang Qian replied. Of course, she would introduce her future spouse to her fourth brother.
Han Shiguo asked her for directions, and she guided him to Jiang Shouchuan’s workplace.
It didn’t take long before they arrived at her fourth brother’s office.
Jiang Qian had visited him before, so the security guard immediately recognized her. Jiang Shouchuan was good at socializing and often gave the security guard little gifts like cabbage or some carrots.
Seeing Jiang Qian, the security guard smiled and asked, “Are you here to see your fourth brother?”