Chapter 75 2/2

Qiao Wei probably couldn’t imagine in the future that a mosquito eradication campaign would make the residents of a small town so enthusiastic, as if they were hosting the Olympics.

But that’s how it was in this era. Collective activities were always lively, exciting, and full of anticipation.

By Thursday, the 26th, two cars arrived at the town committee, one was a jeep, the other a truck.

The old Xu from the communication office didn’t sit inside the room as usual, peering at people through the small window. As soon as he heard the distant sound of the vehicles, he came out of the office to look, seeing the two army-green vehicles approaching, he shouted into the gate, “Xiao Wang, quickly inform them, comrades from the army are here!”

The young clerk at the gate hurriedly went to inform the leaders.

The wheels of the vehicles stopped.

There was no need to find parking spaces. In the town, you could see only two types of vehicles: the town’s public bus and the army’s vehicles. The town committee didn’t have cars.

You could just park anywhere, as long as it didn’t block the roads, it was fine.

Several young soldiers, strong and in uniform, got off the truck. Two of them had white armbands with a red cross on their uniform sleeves.

Both doors of the jeep opened, and three soldiers got off, one could tell they were officers from their age.

Old Xu was about to welcome them, but the passenger door was pushed open, and a long-legged figure stepped out, planting his feet directly on the ground. A military officer emerged from the vehicle, standing tall. His broad shoulders and long legs made him taller than everyone else, stretching the uniform to its limits.

He straightened his hat and lifted his face. The brim of the cap pressed against his long eyebrows, his nose was straight, and his handsome face had sharp features.

But he was just too young.

Young and imposing.

Old Xu didn’t dare to underestimate him. Anyone who exuded such an aura must have seen the battlefield.

The army wasn’t like the local government offices, where you could get by without really doing much. Every cadre in the army had scars on their bodies, they had crossed through the gunfire and traversed mountains of corpses to reach their current ranks.

There were no singing and dancing generals in this era. Military achievements were all based on real hard work.

“Comrades from the army are here! Please, come in.” Old Xu warmly led them inside, “Our leaders have already been informed, so as soon as the comrades from the army arrived, we hurriedly welcomed them.”

Although he was enthusiastic, he didn’t know which one of the four officers was the leader.

At the turn of spring and summer this year, the country abolished the military rank system that had been in place since its founding, and replaced it with a new uniform.

The new uniforms went back to the basics, modeled after the Red Army era, with only a red star on the cap, two red collar tabs, and a green uniform with three red stripes. This was later sung in a song as “A red star on the head, and two red flags hanging on both sides.”

There were no shoulder patches or military ranks.

Everyone in the army wore the same uniform, from the marshal to the private.

So, there was no way to distinguish who was higher or lower in rank from their uniform.

All Old Xu knew was that the probability of the people getting off the truck being soldiers was higher, and those getting out of the car were definitely officers.

In this era, only a very small number of people had seen a car. Ordinary people didn’t even get to see one, let alone touch it. They had no idea how to arrange the seating order in a car based on their ranks.

Old Xu only saw that among the three people who got off from the back of the vehicle, the one with a redder face seemed to be the oldest, so when he spoke, he naturally addressed him. He tacitly assumed he was the leader.

But as the comrades from the army followed him into the town committee courtyard, Old Xu realized he had made a mistake.

It was actually the youngest one who was leading them.

After walking a few steps, the young officer with a strong aura seemed to casually ask, “Is everyone from the broadcasting station here today?”

Old Xu thought it was about work, as the broadcasting station had the task of publicity, which was indeed important in such a big event. He nodded hurriedly, “Yes, they’re all here, everyone is at their posts.”

“Is Qiao Wei here?” The young officer asked.

Old Xu paused for a moment, “Ah?”

“Do you know her?” the young officer asked, turning to him, “Qiao Wei, she’s a broadcaster at the broadcasting station.”

“I do, I do. Who wouldn’t know Qiao Wei?” 

Indeed, who didn’t know Qiao Wei now? Almost everyone in the town knew Qiao Wei.

For the townsfolk, this new broadcaster spoke such standard Mandarin, how could anyone not know her? Otherwise, why would Xie Houlín go to great lengths to gossip about her?

And for the people in the town committee courtyard, who could resist stealing a few more glances at the girl in the white shirt and green army pants, simple and natural yet naturally charming?

“Qiao Wei? She’s definitely here. She’s a broadcaster, so she must be on duty at this time,” Old Xu said.

“Good,” the young officer smiled, revealing a set of white teeth, “Once the official business is done, I’ll go find her.”

“Oh, okay…” Old Xu didn’t know why the officer wanted to find Qiao Wei.

That girl Qiao Wei had a smile on her face every day, radiating happiness. No one could dislike her when they saw her.

It’s just a pity… she married an old man for the sake of her life.

Old Xu stole a glance at the officer again, so young and handsome.

Oh…

“Do you also know Qiao Wei, comrade?”

In the distance, a group of people could already be seen approaching.

The leaders of the town committee came forward to greet them. Leading the group was Secretary Gao, followed closely by Mayor Xie, with others trailing behind.

“She is my wife.”

Old Xu was gazing at the approaching leaders when he suddenly heard this sentence, and for a moment, he didn’t react: “Ah?”

“Qiao Wei,” the young officer adjusted his military cap, his eyes glancing over, “she is my wife.”

“And you probably know Yan Xiang too, he’s my son.”

After saying this, he quickened his pace and approached the people coming towards them.

The soldiers stopped in their tracks, stood at attention, and saluted.

The leader of the town committee at the forefront also stood at attention and returned the salute. His posture was equally upright, indicating that he was a retired military man.

The officer extended his hand, “Secretary Gao?”

“That’s me.” Secretary Gao also extended his hand, “How should I address you, comrade?”

The men shook hands.

“I’m Yan Lei, the commander of the 17th Regiment of the 821st Division.”

“So, it’s you. I’ve heard about you! Welcome, welcome!” Secretary Gao shook his hand warmly, “Thank you so much for the support from the troops, sending us a whole regiment.”

“It’s our duty,” Yan Lei nodded, “Serving the people is our responsibility.”