Suddenly, a loud voice came from outside, “Stop talking nonsense! How could our Xiaoyue possibly run away with Zhuang Daming? She went to her aunt’s house. There’s a prospective partner for her there. Don’t spread rumors.”

“Isn’t that Aunt Jiang’s voice? What’s happening outside?” Meihua’s mother asked.

“I don’t know. Let me check,” Ning Shu put down the straw rope and went to the door.

“Aunt Jiang, don’t get so worked up. I was just speaking casually,” the man outside chuckled.

“Casually speaking? Was that casual? Zhuang Daming has nothing to do with our family’s Xiaoyue. Why would he involve her? He’s messing around with people in the small forest. Don’t drag our family into this. You’re smearing our reputation,” Aunt Jiang’s voice was loud, but she sounded a bit guilty herself.

While she was chatting with the other women inside, she couldn’t help but overhear the men outside gossiping.

They were speculating about Zhuang Daming and their Xiaoyue disappearing together.

They even mentioned the incident where they were caught by the Lin family’s kid spanking each other on the mountain. Could it be Zhuang Daming and their Xiaoyue?

This startled Aunt Jiang.

She carefully recalled that morning; it seemed her daughter really hadn’t gone to work.

But such thoughts were better left unsaid.

She would never admit to them.

So, she went out immediately to scold them. If this wasn’t cleared up soon, it would tarnish their family’s reputation.

However, her daughter still hadn’t returned any news, and she couldn’t help but begin to wonder, could her daughter really have eloped with Zhuang Daming?

Aunt Jiang was a clever woman.

Her niece was married quite far away, and she had mentioned that Xiaoyue had gone to her niece’s house to look at potential suitors.

Even if someone suspected something, it couldn’t be proven. Besides, this was their family’s business, what did it have to do with anyone else?

Seeing Aunt Jiang about to start a fight, the men dared not mention it anymore.

It wasn’t that they were afraid of Aunt Jiang, but mainly because no man liked being nagged.

Moreover, they had just been speaking casually without any evidence, and they didn’t want to falsely accuse Xiaoyue.

So, the man quickly apologized, “I was wrong, I shouldn’t have made this joke. Aunt Jiang, you’re a big-hearted person, please don’t hold it against me.”

“Hmph,” Aunt Jiang snorted coldly. “Now that you know, don’t dare to speak nonsense again. If you do, I’ll come to your doorstep every day to nag at your mother. Our family is just poor commoners; your words could drive us to desperation.”

“Yes, yes, I was wrong, I was wrong.” The man was truly afraid of her.

Aunt Jiang’s mouth was notorious in the village. Once she targeted someone, it would be troublesome.

Looking at him and Mrs. Lin’s, this argument had been going on for five years now.

If it were him, a grown man, he wouldn’t be able to handle it. So, he decided to back down.

He didn’t want Aunt Jiang to scold him for five years.

Seeing him apologize repeatedly, Aunt Jiang didn’t continue scolding.

In fact, she also had something on her mind. If she could let her family be wrongly accused like this, could she rest?

Perhaps the man’s words acted as a trigger, causing Aunt Jiang to rethink things she had been unable to let go of.

Instead of staying at the village committee’s compound, she hurried back home.

After Aunt Jiang returned home, her heart was still pounding.

“Mom, why are you back so early?” Aunt Jiang’s eldest daughter-in-law, Yu Qiuhong, was sewing at home and asked when she saw her.

Aunt Jiang casually replied, “I’m tired, so I came back to rest for a while.” With that, she entered her own room.

As soon as she entered the room, she paced back and forth restlessly.

Zhuang Daming was missing, and her daughter was missing too. Could it be true?

No, no, no… Aunt Jiang felt it was impossible.

Her daughter was beautiful and clever; she wouldn’t have an affair with Zhuang Daming.

But Zhuang Daming hadn’t returned yet, and neither had her daughter.

What was going on?

Aunt Jiang couldn’t sit still. She really wanted to go to the Zhuang family to find out what happened.

But she knew she couldn’t.

She had to stay calm.

She had to keep this to herself, even if she had doubts.

At the same time, if anyone else mentioned it, she had to keep scolding them.

Only then would others stop gossiping.

In the village committee compound, after Aunt Jiang left, those men didn’t mention Zhuang Daming and Jiang Xiaoyue again.

After all, no one would want to tarnish a woman’s reputation without reason. However, they continued to gossip about Zhuang Daming’s disappearance.

Seeing that it was almost time, Xiaoshan’s mother stopped making ropes, rubbed her waist, and stood up. “Meihua, Ning Zhiqing, I’m going back to cook lunch. Why don’t you both come to my house for lunch? Bring your kids too.”

Meihua’s stepmother replied, “I won’t come. There’s no need to prepare food for us.” She wouldn’t go to Xiaoshan’s house given their situation.

Ning Shu also said, “I won’t come either. I still have some leftovers from breakfast, so I plan to eat that for lunch.”

Xiaoshan’s mother insisted, “Leftovers can be eaten for dinner too. You don’t need to refuse.”

Meihua’s stepmother retorted, “Don’t be so polite. If you keep this up, I won’t come to help next time.”

Ning Shu chuckled, “I’m not refusing. I just plan to eat meat at home for lunch.”

The two women burst into laughter.

They didn’t think much of Ning Shu’s remark; instead, they found it humorous. After all, everyone knew it was a joke.

Xiaoshan’s mother went home to cook lunch, and Ning Shu and Meihua’s stepmother also headed home to prepare lunch.

They helped carry the ropes to Xiaoshan’s house.

Lin Guodong and the other two men had already returned from cutting trees and were dealing with the roof problem.

They had replaced all the wood on the roof.

Xiaoshan’s house, being an unclaimed property in the village, had been neglected for years, so the house itself wasn’t in great condition.

Without repairing the entire roof, it wouldn’t be suitable for living for much longer. Since there were no adult men in Xiaoshan’s family, Lin Guodong and the other two men decided to completely renovate the roof of the house after discussing it.

Seeing Lin Guodong busy with the repairs, Ning Shu decided to head back home.

Upon returning, she found the children still playing in the study area, so she went to make lunch. Not knowing if Lin Guodong would come for lunch, Ning Shu deliberated on what to cook.

After some thought, she decided to make noodle soup. If he did come, she could quickly make another bowl in twenty minutes.

By lunchtime, Lin Guodong hadn’t returned, so Ning Shu guessed he must be having lunch at Xiaoshan’s house.

Since Xiaoshan’s house had only one room, they managed to finish repairing it in a day. However, since they had to replace the entire roof, even after the repairs, the inside of the house remained damp, especially with the recent rainy weather. It would need several days to dry properly.

As the rainy days dragged on, Ning Shu grew anxious as the day of her appointment with Director Wang drew nearer.

Finally, when the rain stopped, it was already past the agreed-upon date.

“I’m going to the county town. Stay at home and play. If Grandpa and Grandma ask where your parents are, tell them Dad went to the mountains to dig bamboo shoots, and Mom went to the county town, okay?” On the second day after the rain stopped, Ning Shu couldn’t wait to go to the county town.

The team also had a holiday, so the men didn’t have to go to work.

They either chatted in the village committee courtyard or worked in their own fields or went to the mountains.

“I know,” Yibao obediently said.

Er Bao: “Mom, I want to go to the county town too.”

Ning Shu and Yibao looked at Er Bao together.

Er Bao grinned, “Mom, let me go too, I also want to go to the county town.”

After so much rain, Er Bao stayed at home every day.

Now that the weather was good, he couldn’t stay still.

Ning Shu thought for a moment. It was morning now, and when they came back, it would still be daytime, so it wouldn’t matter.

So she asked Yibao, “Yibao, do you want to go to the county town?”

Yibao also wanted to go with Mom, but he preferred staying at home to the chilly wind.

So he shook his head, “Mom, I don’t want to go, I’ll stay at home and watch Sanbao.”

“Well, okay.” Although she reminded them every time, Ning Shu still reiterated: “The old rules still apply, you and Sanbao can’t play with water or fire. When I come back from the county town, I’ll bring you some delicious snacks.”

It had been a long time since she went out, so she hadn’t taken out the things she bought from the app for a long time.

This time when she came back from the county town, she could bring back more, calling it New Year’s goods.

Although she had to be careful when taking Er Bao to prepare for New Year’s goods, she could still find a reason to do it.

Yibao: “Mom, I got it.”

After reminding Yibao, Ning Shu put on her homemade windproof coat and rode her bike to the county town.

As for Er Bao, he sat on a small stool made by Sanbao for the car, completely covered by Ning Shu’s windproof coat, shielded from the wind.

Ning Shu took Er Bao to the post office first, sending a letter and braised bamboo shoots to He Ling.

It would be New Year’s in about twenty days, and she wasn’t sure if He Ling would receive anything if she waited until later, so she decided to send it early.

After mailing the items at the post office, Ning Shu took Er Bao to the clothing factory.

Director Wang had been waiting for Ning Shu these past few days, but each day passed without her arrival.

He never expected Ning Shu to not come because of the rain. Who would skip collecting money just because of rainy weather nowadays?

As it turned out, Director Wang had overestimated Ning Shu.

“Comrade Ning, you finally came.” When Ning Shu finally arrived, Director Wang couldn’t believe it. “I’ve been waiting for you for days. Why did you only come today?”

Ning Shu smiled as she explained, “It rained for several days in a row, and we don’t have raincoats at home. The journey from the countryside is quite long, so I didn’t rush to come.”

It was true they didn’t have raincoats, but it was also true that she didn’t like coming out on rainy days.

“It makes sense.” Director Wang said, taking out an envelope from the drawer. “Comrade Ning, this is the 1500 yuan prepared according to the agreement. Also, here’s the proof of the job quota we’ve prepared. On behalf of our factory, we’re very grateful to you. Without you, we would have lost tens of thousands of yuan on this batch of fabric, which would have been a loss for the country.” After the success of the camouflage fabric, everyone in their factory was overjoyed.

The fabric’s color was very attractive. Especially after the camouflage fabric was made into finished products according to Ning Shu’s design, many workers in the clothing factory bought them.

The design of the two-piece camouflage cotton clothing was also very clever, allowing it to be worn in two different ways.

The workers buying clothes weren’t just young men and women; there were also adults buying for their children.

Yes, their camouflage designs catered to both adults and children.

Actually, their clothing factory hadn’t made children’s clothes before.

It was mainly because Ning Shu’s three sons gave him a positive perspective.

He thought that maybe they could try the children’s clothing market.

“You don’t need to be polite; this is what I should do.” Ning Shu took the envelope and counted the money in front of Director Wang. “Exactly 1500 yuan. But as for the job quota, I need to transfer it to my younger sister-in-law. She’s a high school student. What do you think?”

Director Wang originally wanted to reward Ning Shu with the job quota not only because she solved the flawed fabric issue but also because he admired her as a person. But if Ning Shu was giving the job quota to someone else, wouldn’t he feel his efforts were wasted?

“What’s the reason for not coming to work?” Before, when Ning Shu said she didn’t want a job, he thought she didn’t want to give up the money for work.

Later, when Ning Shu became a workshop worker and then transferred the position to Director Ning, he thought it was because he had a reward job quota.

But now, not wanting a job again, he didn’t understand. “Comrade Ning, after you come to work, I want to promote you to be my assistant. This is a very rare job opportunity.”

Ning Shu said, “I also cherish the opportunity to learn at the clothing factory, but my husband came back a few days ago, and after the New Year, I’ll be accompanying the army, so I’m really sorry. But rest assured, the job is transferred to my younger sister-in-law, and I’ll also provide design drawings to the factory every quarter. So if the factory needs me, my sister-in-law can contact me.”

She said this politely, but in such a big factory, where would they need her help? Last time, it was just luck that she encountered the issue with the flawed fabric, and it happened to be something she knew about.

Ning Shu didn’t like the typical nine-to-five job.

Whether or not it paid well was one thing, but lacking freedom was another. Someone like her, who had tasted the freedom of being her own boss, wouldn’t want to continue working a regular job.

“So, Comrade Ning, you’re still a military spouse?” Director Wang was somewhat surprised.

All along, he thought Ning Shu was a knowledgeable and visionary educated youth who came from a big city and had broad experience.

But he didn’t expect Ning Shu to be a military spouse. In that case, he certainly couldn’t delay her accompanying the army.

“Yes. My child is at the age to go to school now, and he’s gradually accepting the outside world, so I plan to accompany the army. It can help him understand a broader world,” Ning Shu said, gently looking at Er Bao. He was one of her dearest person to her in both of her lifetimes, and she wanted to protect him well.

“You’re right. Children are the future of our country, and their education and exposure are very important. After all, with each generation’s development, our country will become better and better,” Director Wang, as a factory director and one of the few university-educated individuals of his generation, naturally understood the importance of education and had seen the outside world.

It’s just a pity that the college entrance examination was canceled.

But even though the college entrance examination was canceled, everyone could still continue learning.

So he highly approved of Ning Shu’s words. Leading by example is more important than preaching; parents’ education is crucial for children.

He looked forward to Ning Shu’s children growing up and contributing to the country.

“Although it’s regrettable that we can’t work together, if there’s an opportunity in the future, Comrade Ning, you’re still welcome to join our clothing factory.”

“Wang Director, you’re mistaken. We’ll still be working together in the future. After all, I have to send you design drafts every quarter,” Ning Shu teased.

“Right, right, I’m getting old. I forget things right after saying them. So we can continue to work together for the clothing factory,” Director Wang said, laughing along.

The two of them discussed some future development plans for the clothing factory, and then Ning Shu left with Er Bao.

With the job quota proof in hand, Ning Shu decided to go to the Labor Department first to get the proof needed for household registration.

After getting the necessary documents, she went to the police station to complete the household registration procedures.

Fortunately, there weren’t many people at these departments in this era, so she was able to process the procedures quickly. By the time she came out of the police station, she had already obtained household registration in the county town.

Next, she planned to visit County No. 2 Middle School to find Lin Xiaojing.

Since she had secured a job and resolved her household registration issue, it was time to transfer it to Lin Xiaojing.

Anyway, with the current situation, whether the kids continued their studies didn’t matter.

On the contrary, with the school being so chaotic nowadays, there was a risk of getting involved inadvertently, so it was better to start working sooner.

“Mom, what does ‘accompanying the army’ mean? Are you leaving us?” Seeing that Mom wasn’t busy anymore, Er Bao asked the question he had been wanting to ask for a long time.

As he asked, he held onto his mother’s clothes with his small hand. “Mom, when you leave, can you take me and Brother Yobao and brother Sanbao with you?” He was a bit anxious, afraid that Mom would leave and also afraid that Mom wouldn’t take care of them like before.

He had tasted the bitterness of life and also the sweetness.

When he hadn’t tasted sweetness before, he could still bear the bitterness.

But now that he had tasted sweetness, he didn’t want to endure bitterness anymore.

Ning Shu patted his little head. “Your dad is a soldier. We’ll live with your dad in the army. That’s called accompanying the army. So if Mom leaves to accompany the army, I’ll definitely take you guys with me and live with your dad.”

Hearing Mom’s explanation, Er Bao felt relieved. “Mom, it’s okay if we don’t accompany the army. Brother Yibao, Sanbao, and I will be together forever.”

Ning Shu chuckled. “What about your dad? Don’t you want him?”

If it were before, before his dad came back, Er Bao would definitely not want his dad.

But after spending this month together, Dad would take them to the mountains, lift them up high, and tell them stories.

Er Bao still remembered Comrade Xiao Lin’s stories, so he was reluctant. “Then we’ll take him too!”