The next morning, Jiang Lin naturally didn’t wake up to watch the sunrise.

By the time she got up, the sun was already high in the sky.

As she woke up, the house was quiet.

She heard Cheng Rushan’s voice and leaned on the window sill to look outside.

To her surprise, he was exercising in the yard with just a narrow bench about the width of a palm.

He stood upright with his body straight, arms crossed and pressing on the bench, then his forearms supported and lowered, repeating this motion.

Jiang Lin watched in astonishment.

After a few rounds, Cheng Rushan looked up and smiled at her.

He pushed with his hands and jumped down from the bench.

Jiang Lin immediately applauded loudly. “Well done!”

Cheng Rushan rarely practiced at home; he usually went to the fields early in the morning for exercises that no one else had seen.

Besides playing with the children at home, this was the first time she had seen him like this.

Cheng Rushan came into the main room and brought out breakfast from under the pot, inviting Jiang Lin to eat.

She hurriedly washed up and sat at the table, sipping warm water slowly.

She remembered what Zhu Junjie had mentioned yesterday but hadn’t had time to ask him in the evening, “Do you have any good news?”

Cheng Rushan peeled a boiled egg and placed it in her bowl. “Not much, we’ve formed a transport team. I’m the captain, and Dai Guohua is the vice-captain. It’s under the jurisdiction of the military district, with a fixed salary and benefits.”

“That’s great!” Jiang Lin was delighted. “Does that mean you can get urban household registration in the future?”

If Cheng Rushan had urban household registration, they could take both their children to the city, where they could attend school.

Cheng Rushan replied, “Getting urban registration in the provincial capital is difficult now, but we might be able to get it in the county if we move around a bit.”

“The county?” Jiang Lin thought for a moment.

Going to the county was fine, but she wanted to go to the provincial capital, where there were universities.

Cheng Rushan smiled and gently pinched her chin. “Don’t be disappointed. Let’s aim to go to the provincial capital in a couple of years. Anyway, our transport team is affiliated with the provincial military district, so there’s still a way to handle the household registration.”

For ordinary commune members, achieving what seemed as difficult as reaching the sky was something they could never hope to accomplish in their lifetimes.

But for Cheng Rushan, it didn’t seem so daunting.

Besides, he had never feared difficult tasks.

As long as there was a way, he believed he could achieve anything.

Whatever she wanted, he would provide.

“You’re amazing, Dongsheng!” Jiang Lin smiled and coquettishly praised him.

Cheng Rushan brought over a bowl of porridge for her and another for himself.

After taking a sip, he casually asked, “Who was saying I’m bad last night?”

Jiang Lin burst out laughing, spraying porridge onto the floor beside her.

She scolded, “Cheng Rushan, are you a devil?”

Couldn’t they talk about something serious between husband and wife?

Did he have to flirt at every opportunity?

Cheng Rushan said seriously, “Focus on eating. Don’t choke.”

Jiang Lin thought to herself, Why do I feel like pinching your ear right now!

After Jiang Lin finished her meal, Cheng Rushan asked her, “Any plans for the morning?”

Jiang Lin looked up at the sky and sighed, “It’s almost mid-morning already. What plans could there be? My morning has been stolen away. Oh, time, it waits for no one.”

Cheng Rushan quietly cleared the table, washed the dishes, and said, “Shall I accompany you to the brick kiln factory?”

Jiang Lin asked, “Don’t you have your own plans? Why are you staring at me? I’m actually afraid of you! You just got back, and I’ve been trying to avoid you for days, not mentioning wanting to see you.”

Cheng Rushan said, “If you’re not going to work, then come with me. Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival. Let’s go to the commune, buy some things.”

Jiang Lin thought going out with him wasn’t bad; at least she wouldn’t have to stay at home with him.

She suggested bringing Wensheng and the children along.

Cheng Rushan went to put on his coat. “Mom has taken them. She said they wanted to catch bugs.”

With the recent busy autumn harvest and school holidays, elementary school students were either eager to help with the harvest or reluctant to go.

Originally, when Cheng Rushan returned, Da Bao and the others would definitely stick to him.

However, Yunzhi and her son had an understanding.

Every time, she would take Wensheng and the children out on her own initiative, never letting them disturb the couple’s world, especially creating opportunities for her son.

They went to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative where Cheng Rushan had arranged for the glass before he left, and it was ready for pickup now.

Jiang Lin had wanted to get glass early in the morning but couldn’t find any to buy.

She was pleasantly surprised that Cheng Rushan had already bought it.

Feeling happy, she seized the chance to playfully flirt with him—winking or blowing a kiss when he least expected it.

Cheng Rushan appeared calm on the surface, but inside, he was tickled and looking forward to getting home to her.

The Supply and Marketing Cooperative rarely sold glass to ordinary commune members; it was usually reserved for various units.

Luckily, there were some pre-cut pieces available now.

Cheng Rushan bought enough for two main rooms: six pieces for the large windows and two for the smaller ones at the back.

They planned to purchase more for the other rooms when the opportunity arose.

Many houses in the countryside lacked glass, suffering either from drafts and rain or dim interiors in the afternoon.

Installing glass windows would solve these issues.

Their yard was different from others, who usually had simple windows.

They had windows installed, covering them with screens in summer and paper in winter.

Now with glass, their home would be bright and well-ventilated.

Glass was heavy, so Cheng Rushan borrowed a wheelbarrow from Zhu Junjie to transport it back.

As they passed through the commune’s main courtyard, they were greeted warmly by cadre members.

They knew that Cheng Fugui had been kicked out, and they silently approved of Cheng Rushan’s actions while feeling grateful because without Cheng Fugui gone, things wouldn’t have improved.

Although Cheng Rushan kept a low profile, his reputation was well-known, and the cadre members naturally wanted to make friends with him.

Cheng Rushan exchanged a few words with them, mentioning that they had bought some glass from the Supply and Marketing Cooperative.

The cadre smiled and said, “Do you have some putty for sealing the glass? If not, come and get some here. We just replaced some broken windows a few days ago.”

Cheng Rushan thanked them and went with Jiang Lin to get the putty, also taking the opportunity to visit a few secretaries of the commune.

Secretary Sun chatted with him for a while, discussing the current situation outside and then mentioning Yunye Lake.

Cheng Xinda had completely lost his mind, and Cheng Fugui wasn’t doing well there either; he had been trying to apply for medical parole, but unfortunately, it hadn’t been successful.

When the conversation was about to end, Cheng Rushan took his leave, pushing the glass back home with Jiang Lin.

Jiang Lin could sense that Cheng Rushan wasn’t very keen on interacting with the commune cadres.

Although he was polite and respectful, there was a distance, and he didn’t seem to be intentionally trying to make friends.

As his wife, she didn’t feel excluded from his life; she already understood many of his habits and gestures.

Back home, Yan Runzhi had returned and was preparing lunch.

Da Bao and the others were playing on the seesaw.

Wensheng had placed a board on a stool for them to play with, each child pressing down on their side while Wensheng practiced swordplay nearby.

Jiang Lin watched as he performed a set of Tai Chi sword movements gracefully, as fluid as flowing clouds and water, good enough to perform publicly.

Seeing Jiang Lin watching, Wensheng exerted even more effort, and Jiang Lin applauded him.

After putting away the sword, Wensheng came inside and handed her a few letters. “Mom, here’s some mail.”

Jiang Lin glanced at them—there were letters from her family, one from Lu Hang, another without a signature but addressed from her high school, and one labeled “Cheng Rushan’s household.”

Jiang Lin pondered for a moment.

If it said “Cheng Rushan’s household,” why not just “Cheng Rushan”? Was it meant for their whole family?

She lifted the letter towards Cheng Rushan and asked, “Is this your letter?”

Cheng Rushan, busy with the glass, asked, “Who’s it from?”

Jiang Lin glanced at the unfamiliar sender’s address and read it aloud.

Cheng Rushan said, “I don’t know who it’s from. Take a look.”

Jiang Lin tucked away the other letters and opened this one.

Inside were several thick sheets of paper. As she unfolded them and began reading, she was surprised to see it addressed: “Dear Shan Ge, seeing your words is like seeing your face.”

“Heh heh, Dear Shan Ge.”

Jiang Lin glanced over at the busy Cheng Rushan.

His senses were keen, and he immediately sensed her uneasy gaze.

He turned towards her and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Jiang Lin replied, “Nothing.”

She took the letter and walked to a quiet place to read it.

After a couple of steps, she read another line and stumbled, nearly tripping over.

Anger surged within her as she read on, her eyes darting quickly over the pages.

The more she read, the angrier she became.

Without finishing it, she felt her blood boiling.

Furious, she crumpled the letter and stuffed it into her pocket, storming out to calm herself down.

Watching her walk away, Wensheng said to Cheng Rushan, “Dad, Mom’s angry.”

Cheng Rushan asked, “Angry?”

She seemed fine just now.

Setting down the glass, his hands covered in putty that he couldn’t clean off right away, he said to Wensheng and Da Bao and the others, “Go check on her.”

Wensheng picked up Da Bao and the others with the board and led them to find Jiang Lin.

They searched around but couldn’t find her anywhere.

After shouting a few times and asking passersby, they returned empty-handed.

Da Bao said, “Dongsheng, Linlin’s gone!”

Cheng Rushan rubbed his hands with soil, then washed them with soap. “Gone? It’s almost mealtime; she must be outside.”

They searched around the embroidery workshop, vegetable garden, and nearby areas but still couldn’t find her.

Wensheng said anxiously, “Did she go to the brick kiln factory?”

Da Bao replied, “It’s almost time to eat; she wouldn’t go there.”

Wensheng grew more worried. “Bad people took Mom away!”

He immediately wanted to rush back home to get his sword.

Cheng Rushan quickly grabbed him, saying, “Your mom is playing hide-and-seek with us. You two go home and hide. I’ll go look outside.”

Upon hearing that their mom was playing hide-and-seek, Da Bao and the others perked up and immediately went home with Wensheng to hide.

Cheng Rushan stayed nearby to observe and guessed she might be by the East River.

Sure enough, he spotted Jiang Lin standing on the riverbank, throwing stones to skip them across the water.

She had strength and good technique, making the stones skip beautifully.

Holding a thin flat pebble, she bent her knees, lifted her left hand, and with her right hand pressed down her forearm to throw the stone forcefully, causing it to skip multiple times across the water’s surface.

Cheng Rushan counted silently and found that she managed to hit five skips—not bad at all.

However, Jiang Lin wasn’t satisfied and picked up another stone. “I’m going to make you skip seven times! Just like someone else.”

She adjusted her stance and threw again, this time achieving six skips.

Cheng Rushan watched with his hands in his pockets as she repeated the process, consistently achieving six skips at most.

He remarked, “That’s already very good. Most people can only manage three or four.”

Jiang Lin threw the stone down and started to walk away.

Cheng Rushan caught up to her quickly, grabbing her arm and teasingly asked, “Who are you mad at?”