Chapter 23

The next morning, Wu Xiaoying got up before dawn to start working. Xiang Nuan was woken up and got up to help.

When Yan Fangming woke up and saw the two women busying around for him, he felt particularly happy. It still felt better to be at home.

Wu Xiaoying smiled and said, “Are you up? Go wash your face. I’ve made noodles. Have a bowl for you.”

“good.”

Yan Fangming nodded and went to wash up.

We had breakfast early today, and everyone had noodles together except Shuangxi who stayed in bed.

While Wu Xiaoying was preparing food for Yan Fangming, Xiang Nuan called him out.

“This is for you.”

She took out a one-inch photo of herself from her pocket and put it into Yan Fangming’s hand.

Yan Fangming was very surprised when looking at the small photo in his hand.

“You are so thoughtful. Why didn’t I think of that?”

Xiang Nuan smiled slightly, “I just thought of it too. If you miss me, just look at the photos.”

Yan Fangming smiled and nodded, “Okay, I will definitely miss you every day! Let’s take wedding photos and hang them at home when we get married.”

“good.”

After everything was packed up, it was time for Yan Fangming to leave. Yan Mancang went to the brigade and got a horse-drawn carriage to take him to the commune to take a bus.

“Be careful on the road, and send a telegram home to let them know you’re safe when you get there.”

Wu Xiaoying reminded reluctantly.

“Brother, I will miss you. When will you come back?”

Shuangxi was also reluctant to leave him. The two brother and sister had only known each other for a few days, and now they had to separate again.

Yan Fangming rubbed her head and said, “I’m not sure, but I promise I’ll try to come back more often to accompany you.”

“Okay~”

“Bon voyage, I’ll wait for your letter.”

Both of them had said almost everything they needed to say, and Xiang Nuan just hoped that he would arrive safely.

Yan Fangming nodded, “Well, don’t worry, I will get it done as soon as possible.”

Yan Mancang urged, “Let’s go.”

Yan Fangming got on the carriage and waved goodbye to his family, and did not put it down until he could no longer see the people clearly.

Wu Xiaoying smiled and put her arm around Xiang Nuan’s shoulders to comfort her, “Don’t worry, we will definitely see each other again soon.”

After Yan Fangming left, everyone continued to live their lives as usual. Xiang Nuan worked in the fields every day, helped Wu Xiaoying with cooking, played with Shuangxi and told stories, and thought of Yan Fangming when she had free time.

Busy, fulfilling and normal.

Yan Fangming arrived at the army unit the next afternoon, and after reporting, he could not wait to submit his marriage application.

“Commander, I just submitted my marriage application. Can you help me get it expedited by the Political Department?”

The marriage application needs to be approved at each level, and the spouse of the soldier must also undergo a political investigation. Yan Fangming wanted the results quickly, so he asked his old leader, Deputy Commander Jiang, for help.

Deputy Commander Jiang was surprised, “Are you getting married?”

The iron tree is blooming!

Yan Fangming smiled and nodded, “Well, you’ve been urging me too, right? I found the item.”

Deputy Commander Jiang laughed and said, “You are really fast, are you from your hometown?”

He had introduced her to someone before, but the boy didn’t like her. He didn’t expect that he would get married after returning to his hometown! He was very curious about who the girl was.

“Yes, I went home to find her this time. She is an educated youth from our village, and her hometown is Beijing.”

“Good boy, no wonder you didn’t like the one I introduced to you, you have such high standards!”

He actually found a girl from the capital!

Yan Fangming chuckled and said, “No, we just happened to be attracted to each other.”

Deputy Commander Jiang nodded and said, “Okay, don’t worry, I will tell Jiang Lei about it.”

Jiang Lei is his nephew, who works in the Political Department and is responsible for investigating military marriages.

Yan Fangming quickly saluted, “Thank you, Chief!”

Deputy Division Commander Jiang laughed, “No need to thank me, you’re married, and our military region has one less bachelor, that’s a good thing!”

Yan Fangming coughed lightly and smiled, “Commander, I have something else to report to you.”

“you say.”

“My thing is that she doesn’t come from a good family. Her family is a capitalist. Some time ago, her father and stepmother wanted to abandon her and flee to Hong Kong City, but they were caught and sent to the northwest. She was so sad that she published an announcement in the newspaper to sever ties with her family and signed up to go to the countryside to work in the production team.

This situation won’t affect our marriage, right?”

The Political Department will definitely investigate Xiang Nuan’s situation thoroughly, and Deputy Division Commander Jiang will also know about it by then. He asked about it in advance so that he can have a better idea.

Upon hearing this, Deputy Commander Jiang frowned tightly, “Why did you find a capitalist lady?”

Yan Fangming chuckled, “This is just a coincidence, she lives in my house, and we fell in love with each other after visiting each other for a while.”

“It’s hard for me to say about this. Let me ask first. We still have to wait for the investigation results of the Political Department. This matter is not something I can decide alone.”

Yan Fangming begged, “Commander, you must help me, otherwise I will be single forever!”

Deputy Commander Jiang rolled his eyes speechlessly, “You are always looking for trouble. What kind of magic potion did that girl give you that you have to marry her?”

Yan Fangming nodded. “This is the first time I’ve fallen in love with a girl since I was a child. I’ve already promised her that I would marry her, and I can’t go back on my word. Commander, you can’t bear to break us up, right?”

“Get lost! Why are you blaming me? Is this something I can decide? Is this how you ask for favors?”

Deputy Commander Jiang was so angry that he laughed. This brat deserves to be punished!

Yan Fangming smiled apologetically, “I’m just anxious. My father is still waiting to have a grandson. When we get married, we’ll have to ask you to be the witness. I’ll leave this matter to you!”

Deputy Commander Jiang snorted coldly and said, “Logically speaking, since this girl has severed ties with her family, the organization shouldn’t pursue this too much, but we’re afraid they’ll find out something else, which is too complicated. Let’s wait until they’ve finished their investigation. I’ll say hello to Jiang Lei and get your business done as soon as possible.”

“Okay, thank you, Chief. You are busy now. I will leave first.”

After coming out of Deputy Commander Jiang’s office, he sent a telegram to his family to report his safety, and then threw himself into work.

After a week of hard work, the peanuts in the field were finally harvested, but the fruits still needed to be selected and dried before they could be stored. This was another several days of work, and it was already half a month later when everything was finished.

After these days of hardship, several educated youth became two degrees darker. Xiang Nuan was no exception. She was exposed to the sun in the fields every day. Even though she applied sunscreen and wore a hat, it didn’t seem to be very effective.

The work in the fields was temporarily completed, and the villagers began to prepare accommodation for the educated youth.

In just half a month, there was a lot of friction between the educated youth and the villagers, so living in the villagers’ homes was not a long-term solution.

Yan Mancang had the two dilapidated houses to the east of the cowshed repaired and used them as dormitories for the educated youth.

“It’s so nice to live at home. It would be so crowded if we moved there.”

The youth camp was cleaned up and the village notified the youth that they could move in. Xiang Nuan didn’t want to be treated specially, so she decided to move in and live together.

The main thing was that the female educated youth got along quite well with each other, so she didn’t have to worry about any trouble if she moved there.

“It’s okay, auntie. I went to check out the kang over there. It’s quite big. The four of us female educated youths can live there without being crowded. It’s the male educated youths who are crowded. There are eight of them living together.”

Two days ago, two more male educated youth came, making a total of eight people now, all squeezed on one kang. She felt painful just thinking about it.

Wu Xiaoying smiled and said, “More people will definitely come in the future, and we will have to add more houses, otherwise there will be no room for us to live in.”

“If you’re not happy living there, just move back. Don’t worry about what others think. I’ll ask Shuangxi to call you when I make something delicious. You must come! Don’t be polite to me. I don’t treat you as an outsider. What’s more, when you marry Fang Ming, we will be a family!”

Xiang Nuan smiled and agreed, “Okay, I won’t be polite to you no matter who I am!”

“That’s more like it!”