Chapter 45.2

Today was the end of the month, and Jiang Nian remembered that Lu Yu and Zhu Jun were supposed to come by in the afternoon. She lingered in bed for a while. Soon, there was a knock on the door, and an elderly lady outside the dormitory called, “Jiang Nian, someone’s looking for you. That young man who brought meat buns to your dormitory last time.”

Jiang Nian: ???

Why was Lu Yu coming so early in the morning?!

“Coming!”

She quickly got out of bed, put on her cotton coat, realizing there was no time to braid her hair. Instead, she tied it into a bun. She was wearing the light orange cotton coat and light brown pants she had brought over this time. Peeking through the window, she lifted a corner of the curtain to see outside.

Outside the dormitory door, Lu Yu and Zhu Jun were talking about something. Zhu Jun scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

As a military man, Lu Yu’s sharp senses almost made him turn towards her as she looked out.

Startled, Jiang Nian let go of the curtain, sat on the edge of the bed, and breathed a sigh of relief. Why was she hiding when she had nothing to hide?

Jiang Nian carried an enamel basin out of the room and waved at the people outside, “Wait a moment, I’ll be right there.”

“No rush,” Lu Yu said.

Zhu Jun glanced at Lu Yu and didn’t dare say anything back.

Deputy Commander Lu said he was not in a hurry, but he went to the dormitory to wake him up in the middle of the night, borrowed a car from the military and took him to the city? It took four hours to drive to the city and they arrived at dawn. They first went to the state-run embroidery shop, where there was only an older female comrade. After asking, they found out that sister-in-law was still sleeping in the dormitory.

After washing up, Jiang Nian ran downstairs, saw Zhu Jun next to Lu Yu, and smiled, “Have you guys had breakfast?”

“Not yet,” Zhu Jun shook his head.

Lu Yu looked at Jiang Nian’s hair bun, couldn’t help but glance a few more times, and saw her in the same hair style as on their first trip to the city. Her hair was tied behind her head, revealing her slender, pale neck, and her face looked even thinner than two months ago.

Song Bai had returned from the city the other day, saying that when he went to send gifts to his sister-in-law, he felt she had lost weight.

Lu Yu had noticed it earlier.

He cleared his throat, his dark gaze resting on Jiang Nian’s bright eyes for a few seconds. “What do you want to eat?”

Jiang Nian said, “Meat buns and milk.”

She smiled and added, “My treat.”

Seeing her sunny smile, Lu Yu smiled back. “Okay.”

As the three walked past the state-run embroidery shop, Jiang Nian asked them to wait for a moment. She went inside, where Lu Xiaoqing and Zhang Xiao had just arrived at the embroidery shop. Both of them had seen Lu Yu and Zhu Jun outside. Lu Xiaoqing raised her eyebrows at Zhang Xiao, “Your blind date is here.”

Zhang Xiao didn’t dare to look up, embarrassedly telling Lu Xiaoqing not to say anything.

Jiang Nian smiled, “Let’s have breakfast together.”

Zhang Xiao instinctively shook her head, “I just ate at the cafeteria.”

Lu Xiaoqing exclaimed, pushing her outside, “Stop being so awkward. It’s not easy to meet a soldier who looks pretty good. If he runs away, you’ll have nowhere to cry.”

Zhang Xiao: …

Jiang Nian and Zhang Xiao walked out of the embroidery shop. Zhu Jun saw Zhang Xiao and generously introduced himself, “Comrade Zhang, hello, I’m Zhu Jun.”

Jiang Nian: …

Wow, he’s going straight for it?

Zhang Xiao’s face blushed slightly. She whispered, “Hello, I’m Zhang Xiao.”

Lu Yu glanced at them, then his deep black eyes lingered on Jiang Nian for a few seconds. “Let’s go.”

Jiang Nian nodded. “Okay.”

Zhai Peipei also ran out. Together with Lu Xiaoqing, they leaned on the window to watch the four figures gradually recede into the distance. Lu Xiaoqing clicked her tongue, “Sister Zhai, look, look, these two pairs are so well-matched.”

Zhai Peipei was stunned for a moment, turned her head, and poked Lu Xiaoqing’s forehead, “Tsk tsk tsk, you can say that the guy matches Zhang Xiao, but you can’t say that Deputy Commander Lu matches Jiang Nian. They are brother-in-law and sister-in-law.”

Lu Xiaoqing: ???

No one told her about this.

Surprised, she asked, “Sister Zhai, when did you find out?”

Zhai Peipei said, “I found out that day when I came out of the Police Station. Deputy Commander Lu and Director Ge were eating at the state-run restaurant.”

If Zhang Xiao hadn’t mentioned it, she wouldn’t have known.

So, Deputy Commander Lu and Jiang Nian were brother-in-law and sister-in-law.

Lu Xiaoqing shook her head regretfully. No wonder Deputy Commander Lu was so good to Jiang Nian, buying meat buns and snacks. There was only one widow left in the family after the older brother died, so shouldn’t they take care of her?

At the state-run restaurant, Jiang Nian and Zhang Xiao sat in one row, while Lu Yu and Zhu Jun sat in another.

Zhang Xiao had already eaten for breakfast so she wasn’t very hungry. But when she saw the meat buns and milk, she still ate some despite her full stomach. She took a sip of the milk and looked up at Zhu Jun embarrassedly. She saw that he was eating the buns and drinking the milk in big gulps and eating very quickly.

Deputy Commander Lu beside him was the same, eating fast and skillfully.

Jiang Nian seemed to be used to their eating speed. Back in the family quarters, Lu Yu always finished eating before her.

Zhu Jun noticed Zhang Xiao watching him and almost choked on the milk. He turned his head and coughed twice, his face and neck red. After hesitating for a moment, Zhang Xiao finally said, “Slow down.”

Zhu Jun quickly nodded, “Hmm.”

Jiang Nian lowered her head, barely able to contain her smile.

It was clearly Zhu Jun and Zhang Xiao who were meeting each other, but she, an outsider, was extremely excited.

“Sister-in-law.”

Lu Yu’s voice came from across the table.

Jiang Nian instinctively looked up, a bit of milk stain on her lips and the smile still lingering.

The man’s gaze swept over the milk stain at the corner of her mouth, cleared his throat, and looked away, “Focus on eating, don’t choke.”

Jiang Nian: …

Zhu Jun: …

This meal was paid for by Jiang Nian, who had insisted on treating them.

After breakfast, Jiang Nian said, “Zhang Xiao, I’ll go back to the embroidery shop to check on yesterday’s embroidered fabric. You two go for a walk.”

Lu Yu also added, “I’ll go with you.”

After saying that, the two of them left.

Zhang Xiao didn’t have time to call out to Jiang Nian. Zhu Jun scratched the back of his head awkwardly and asked Zhang Xiao, “Are you full?”

Zhang Xiao nodded gently, “I’m full.”

The two walked along the roadside, keeping a distance that could fit two people side by side. Zhu Jun glanced at Zhang Xiao’s slightly blushing face and tried to move two steps closer to her side but still maintain a certain distance. Zhang Xiao tensed up, nervously rubbing her fingers, trying not to look at Zhu Jun beside her.

But even so, she could feel her heart beating fast.

From childhood to adulthood, this was the first time she had walked side by side with a man she had only met once. If it weren’t for him being introduced by Sister Jiang and Deputy Commander Lu, she wouldn’t have had the courage to come out.

Zhang Xiao was nervous, and so was Zhu Jun. He felt like he couldn’t even walk properly.

And he felt a bit clumsy.

Having worked at the state-run embroidery shop for a year and a half, although her powers of observation weren’t as sharp as Ge Mei’s, Zhang Xiao had learned a bit. She noticed something off about Zhu Jun’s walking posture, so she subtly turned her head and saw that Zhu Jun was indeed walking a bit awkwardly.

Zhang Xiao couldn’t help but laugh.

Zhu Jun: …

His face instantly turned red. Afraid that Zhang Xiao would have a bad first impression of him, he quickly explained, “I’m just nervous. I usually walk perfectly fine.”

Zhang Xiao nodded with pursed lips, “Mm.”

After this little episode, both of them relaxed a lot. Although Zhu Jun wasn’t as nervous anymore, he still felt a bit restrained. This was the first time he had walked and talked with a girl, and he wouldn’t have dared to imagine it before.

The two walked quite a distance and finally stopped by the river.

Zhu Jun pointed at the water, “Look, the ice has melted.”

Zhang Xiao suppressed her smile and nodded, “Mm, it’s spring.”

Zhu Jun scratched the back of his head, took a deep breath, encouraged himself again, and asked in one breath, “What do you think of me?”

He turned to look at Zhang Xiao, standing straight as a rod. He didn’t seem like someone on a blind date, but more like he was waiting for instructions from a leader.

Zhang Xiao was a bit caught off guard. Blushing, she glanced at Zhu Jun and then shyly looked down at the river, nodding slightly.

Zhu Jun suddenly burst into laughter and said, “Then let me introduce my family first. I’m from the Fourth Brigade of Hongqi Commune, Yongkang County, Linfeng City. My parents are still there, I have two older sisters who are married, so now it’s just me at home.”

After finishing, he asked Zhang Xiao, “How about you?”

Zhang Xiao hadn’t expected Zhu Jun to be so straightforward.

She hesitated for a moment, introduced where she was from, and continued, “My parents are both alive, I have an older brother and a younger brother. I’m the second child in the family. My older brother is married, and my younger brother just turned thirteen this year.”

….

Jiang Nian packed up everything from the embroidery shop and put it into the large backpack that Lu Yu had brought. She asked, “How did you guys come over?”

Lu Yu replied, “We borrowed a military vehicle.”

After saying that, he lifted the heavy embroidery frame and walked out. Jiang Nian looked at him in surprise. After Lu Yu left, Lu Xiaoqing smacked her lips, “Deputy Commander Lu is really strong.”

When she kicked the embroidery frame that day, her foot was a bit sore.

Zhai Peipei also said, “This embroidery frame is really heavy, but it’s good that it’s heavy. When you’re stitching, you don’t have to worry about it moving.”

Lu Xiaoqing followed Jiang Nian out of the embroidery shop, looking at the green military vehicle with admiration. Even the people passing by couldn’t help but glance at it a few more times. In this era, not to mention cars, even bicycles were rare on the streets. If a family had a bicycle, they would want the whole neighborhood to know.

Let alone a military vehicle parked conspicuously.

You could tell it was from the military, and its presence commanded respect and envy.

After everything was packed up, Ge Mei happened to return from the textile factory. Zhu Jun and Zhang Xiao also returned from the opposite direction.

With more people, the embroidery shop became lively.

But most of the topics were still about not wanting Jiang Nian to leave. Zhai Peipei and Lu Xiaoqing talked to Jiang Nian for a while, and Ge Mei also told Jiang Nian some things. Zhang Xiao came over and took Jiang Nian’s hand, her eyes a little red: “Sister Jiang, if you are free when you go back, please give us a call.”

Jiang Nian smiled, “Sure.”

In these two months here, she and Zhang Xiao had grown close. Although they had only known each other for two months, they felt like they were already good friends who could talk about anything.

She leaned close to Zhang Xiao and asked quietly while others were talking, “What do you think of Zhu Jun?”

Zhang Xiao blushed, glanced at Zhu Jun standing outside the embroidery shop with Deputy Commander Lu, and unexpectedly met Zhu Jun’s gaze. After their eyes met, Zhu Jun smiled and Zhang Xiao shyly looked away, saying to Jiang Nian, “I think he’s nice.”

Jiang Nian suddenly felt a sense of accomplishment.

Growing up, this was her first time playing matchmaker, and it seemed successful.

After saying goodbye to the people in the embroidery shop, Jiang Nian felt a little sad.

Lu Yu opened the passenger door for her to sit in, while Zhu Jun sat in the back corner, holding the heavy embroidery frame. Through the car window, he waved to Zhang Xiao with a big grin.

As the car drove down the street, Jiang Nian turned her head to look at the rapidly retreating street and suddenly felt that time passed by so quickly.

In the blink of an eye, two months had passed.

As the car drove out of the city, Jiang Nian finally gathered her thoughts and turned to look at Lu Yu, who was driving. His hand rested on the gear lever, his other hand on the steering wheel—his fingers long and well-proportioned, quite attractive. Lu Yu glanced at his own hand and couldn’t understand why Jiang Nian kept staring at it.

It was then that Jiang Nian realized she had been staring at Lu Yu for quite a while. Zhu Jun, sitting in the backseat, couldn’t help but chuckle, “Sister-in-law, why are you staring at the Deputy Commander’s hands?”

Jiang Nian looked out the windshield, shaking her head, “I was just lost in thought.”

She stubbornly refused to admit that she had been fascinated by Lu Yu’s hands just now.

The car fell silent for a moment. Jiang Nian watched the car speeding away and thought of her own car in the new century. She had passed the driving test with great difficulty, but she had only driven the car for a year before she was reinstated. She still remembered her collapse when she took the second test.

She had stalled on a slope for the first time because she was too nervous. The second chance, she failed during reverse parking. It was only after waiting another month and calming herself down that she finally passed.

Thinking about it now still made her nervous.

Lu Yu’s voice broke the silence in the car, “So, how did today’s blind date go?”

Jiang Nian also perked up to listen.

Zhu Jun smiled, “We both seem quite satisfied with each other.”

Lu Yu glanced at Zhu Jun through the rearview mirror, “What are your plans next? If you like the girl, don’t drag it out.”

Zhu Jun nodded, “I plan to write a letter to my parents as soon as I get back, telling them about Zhang Xiao. I’ll take a few days off to go to the city and find out more about her situation. If Zhang Xiao feels it’s too fast, I’ll patiently wait.”

Jiang Nian casually remarked, “What if she asks you to wait two or three years?”

Zhu Jun hesitated for a moment. He hadn’t thought that far ahead. After a moment, he said, “As long as she genuinely thinks I’m good and is willing to be with me, I can wait two or three, even three or four years.”

Lu Yu tapped the steering wheel with his finger and glanced subtly at Jiang Nian sitting in the passenger seat.

Jiang Nian was completely focused on teasing Zhu Jun and didn’t notice Lu Yu’s glance. She turned her head to look at the scenery outside the window and suppressed a smile.

By the time they returned to the military compound, it was already afternoon.

Zhu Jun was the first to open the car door and lift out the embroidery frame. He asked Lu Yu, “Deputy Commander, where should I put this?”

Lu Yu replied, “Give it to me.”

He took the embroidery frame and went straight to Jiang Nian’s room, placing it on the floor.

Zhu Jun went to pick up Jiang Nian’s bedding, but Lu Yu, who had just walked out, took it from him.

Zhu Jun: …

Was the Deputy Commander not going to let him do any work at all?

Just as Jiang Nian got out of the car, Feng Mei rushed over, immediately starting to chatter away upon seeing her. She seemed eager to catch up on two months’ worth of conversations in one go. Jiang Nian held a small cloth bag and listened to Feng Mei’s thirst-quenching chatter, smiling, “Has Song Xiangdong started school?”

Feng Mei replied eagerly, “He started school a long time ago, and this time, the teacher even praised Song Xiangdong, saying he studies well and listens.”

When it came to Song Xiangdong, Feng Mei felt a glow on her face.

Her son being praised for his studies made her feel superior as she walked around the family quarters.

Jiang Nian smiled and patted the small cloth bag in her hand, “Sister Feng, I received the chili sauce and pickles that Song Bai brought. There was also a small bag of chocolates.”

“Chocolates?”

Feng Mei was taken aback, “I only packed a jar of pickles and chili sauce for you. I didn’t buy any chocolates, those things are too expensive, where would I get…”

Her words trailed off as Feng Mei suddenly realized, and she burst into laughter, “It must have been Song Bai who bought them for you!”

Lu Yu, who had just walked out of the courtyard, furrowed his brow and looked at the chocolates in Jiang Nian’s hand!