On Sunday, Xu An, Jianmin, Da Lin, and Er Dan, along with two new male educated youths, went to catch fish together. The streamside was bustling with activity, and in the end, all the male youths from the educated youth camp joined in.

Grandpa Qi also brought Xiao Mo to watch from the side. The group carved a hole in the ice, and there were indeed quite a few fish. The two newcomers from the city, as if they’d never seen anything like it, were extremely excited, which earned them some teasing from Da Lin and Jianmin.

Xu An brought back four fish, each weighing around seven or eight taels. Xu Ning kept two of the smaller ones and had Xu An secretly deliver the two larger ones to the cowshed, instructing him to bring Xu Mo over as well.

She braised the two fish and cut up some wild boar meat to stew with sauerkraut, then steamed a pot of rice.

After complimenting her cooking, Xu Mo asked, “Sis, why hasn’t Big Brother Lu written to us recently? I miss him.”

Xu Ning had been enjoying her meal, but upon hearing his words, the braised fish no longer seemed as flavorful.

She placed a piece of wild boar meat into Xu Mo’s bowl and said, “Xiao Mo, Brother Lu is busy with his duties in the army. When he has time, he’ll write to us.”

It had already been over two months since they last heard from Lu Xiaotang, and it seemed unlikely that he would be able to visit this year.

When heavy snow sealed off the mountains, Xu An’s school also had a break. With nothing much to do, he went to the educated youth camp to play with two male youths, and when he returned, he shared the happenings from the dormitory with her.

“Sis, everyone in the camp says that Wang Juanjuan comes from a well-off family and is very pleasant. She receives packages from the capital every month.

She doesn’t keep everything to herself; she shares her food with everyone in the dormitory. Next spring, she plans to build her own house. Right now, she’s on good terms with several of the female educated youths, and everyone has a positive opinion of her.”

Xu Ning perked up at this and asked, “Who is she on good terms with? What about Lin Miao?”

“I saw Lin Miao laughing and chatting with her; it didn’t look like they had a bad relationship,” Xu An replied.

Xu Ning smiled, thinking to herself that this person was quite savvy.

She then said to Xu An, “Xiao An, be careful when talking to people in the commune from now on. Wang Juanjuan might be quite cunning; she’s Gu Wenping’s childhood friend and grew up with Gu Wenjing as well.

Our relationships with Gu Wenping and Gu Wenjing aren’t good. I’ve even hit Gu Wenjing and scolded Gu Wenping before.”

“Even if she doesn’t actively cause trouble, if she gets hold of any leverage against us, she will definitely take the opportunity to stomp on us for their sake,” Xu Ning warned.

Xu An thought for a moment and replied, “Sis, now that you mention it, I remember that she is very friendly with everyone in the camp. When I went over to play, she greeted me too, but it felt different from how she interacted with others.”

Xu Ning walked to the door and gazed toward the educated youth camp, remaining silent for a long time.

Xu An followed her outside and, noticing her silence, asked, “Sis, what’s wrong?”

Xu Ning turned to him with a smile and said, “Xiao An, after the New Year, I plan to ask Uncle Hongjun to help us build a wall around our private plot to completely separate it from the youth commune.

This way, we will have our own yard, and our plot will be right inside our space, so we won’t have to worry about those few thoughtless people coming over to pick our crops.”

Their cucumbers and tomatoes had often gone missing during the summer, and it had only improved after Xu Ning scolded the educated youths a few times.

Xu An’s eyes lit up at this suggestion. “Sis, if we build a wall in the middle, we’ll have our own separate yard! In the future, we won’t have to worry about others seeing what we do. Let’s make sure Uncle Hongjun builds the wall higher so that no one can see in at all!”

The brother and sister exchanged smiles, and Xu Ning planned to speak to Uncle Hongjun soon, wanting to have the wall built before Wang Juanjuan started constructing her house.

Nanshi (Southern City) Military District

Lu Xiaotang looked at Zhang Sheng, who was missing half a leg, and Wang Erquan, who had lost an arm. He glanced at the luggage lying on the ground, and his eyes reddened.

He handed each of them an envelope, saying, “Go home and live well. Write to me every month to report on your family’s situation. If you encounter any difficulties, send me a telegram.”

Zhang Sheng and Wang Erquan opened the envelopes, revealing ten large notes. They hurriedly returned the envelopes to Lu Xiaotang, saying, “Captain, why are you giving us money? The army has already issued us compensation and retirement allowances.” They attempted to return the envelopes to him.

Lu Xiaotang did not take them back. “Keep it. This is an order!”

After he finished speaking, he placed the two men’s luggage in the vehicle and drove them to the train station.

Watching them board the train, Lu Xiaotang walked back with a heavy heart. Although the mission had been successfully completed and the men he led had all returned, the injuries of these two brothers meant they could no longer stay in the army.

Upon returning to the military district, he handed in the vehicle and went back to his dormitory to pack his belongings. He had taken a half-month leave to visit his family and see his girl.

He hadn’t been in contact with them for several months, and his family must have been very worried. His train ticket was for tomorrow, and he was packing his things to go visit his uncle.

“Report to the camp leader, the commander wants you in his office,”

Lu Xiaotang sighed, knowing that he probably wouldn’t be able to take this leave after all.

As soon as he reached the office, the highest commander of the Nanshi Military District said to him, “Xiaotang, you may not be able to take your vacation; there’s a task that needs to be assigned to you.”

“Xu Ning, Xu Ning, come here to get your letter and remittance slip,” Sun Hao called out to her while she was sitting on the kang sewing clothes.

She quickly put on her shoes and prepared to go outside. Xu An had already run out ahead of her.

The two of them ran to the youth commune, where Wang Juanjuan was picking up a package. The postman, seeing the brother and sister, smiled and said, “Xu Zhiqing, today you have two remittance slips and two letters.”

Upon hearing that there were two remittance slips, Xu Ning knew that one of them was sent by Lu Xiaotang. Knowing he was alright, she instantly felt a sense of relief and happily said, “Uncle, it’s from my brother and my cousin.”

Wang Juanjuan, upon hearing that Xu Ning had two remittance slips, looked up at her. Xu Ning’s gaze happened to meet hers, and the two exchanged a nod as a greeting.

Xu Ning and Xu An couldn’t wait to head back after grabbing the letters. Wei Lanlan came out, intending to let Xu Ning stay and chat for a while, but she saw that Xu Ning had already walked over to the garden.

Watching the siblings’ retreating figures, Wang Juanjuan asked, “Sister Lanlan, Xu Zhiqing seems to come from a pretty good family; she gets remittance slips every month.”

Wei Lanlan replied, “She has two older brothers in the army. They know the siblings are struggling here, so they send them some money every month to help out.”

Wang Juanjuan feigned surprise and said, “Wow, both older brothers are in the army! That’s impressive.”

Wei Lanlan paused for a moment and explained, “One is her biological brother, and the other is her cousin. She has a really good relationship with them.”

Looking at her package again, she smiled and said, “Juanjuan, your family is the one that’s well-off. Look at our youth commune; you’re the only one who receives packages every month, making all of us envious!”

After saying that, she stamped her foot and added, “Why is this cursed weather so cold? I’m going inside to warm up. You should hurry in too!”

Once inside, Wei Lanlan shared Wang Juanjuan’s remarks with Chen Xiangdong. “When we got married last time, Wang Juanjuan wasn’t very warm toward Xu Ning, but today she seems so interested in her.”

Chen Xiangdong, having overheard, thought for a moment and said to his wife, “You should go talk to Xu Youth this afternoon and let her know what Wang Juanjuan said. I feel like that girl has too many ulterior motives. You should keep your distance from her.”

Wei Lanlan was a bit surprised that Chen Xiangdong would say such a thing and asked, “I think she’s a nice person; perhaps we’re overthinking this?”

Looking at his oblivious wife, Chen Xiangdong thought to himself that Wang Juanjuan seemed nice to everyone, but that was only because there were no conflicting interests involved. If there were ever an issue between them, that girl wouldn’t be magnanimous at all.

“You should definitely tell Xu Ning about it. Wang Juanjuan is with Gu Wenping and Gu Wenjing; have you forgotten the grudges between them?”

Wei Lanlan pondered this and decided she would visit Xu Ning that afternoon.