Their superiors had already arranged things, so the two of them would go with their men under the pretense of an exchange and sparring session.

After discussing their work, the two rested and ate some rations.

Chen Yanming said, “I got word that the money order has been sent, and the package is on the way. I think your wife will definitely write me a thank-you letter.”

Lu Shaotang leaned quietly against the tree trunk, his gaze returning from the distance.

She wouldn’t write, but her parents might.

Lu Shaotang barely remembered his wife.

Back then, he had the chance to stay in the capital’s military district and get promoted quickly, but he refused.

He didn’t like being a political officer, didn’t like handling ideological work, and disliked scheming.

He preferred the thrill of the front line.

His mother had found him a wife whom she and his father approved of.

He asked his mother if she had told the girl that he would be away in the army most of the time.

His mother said the girl didn’t mind.

So he agreed to go home and get married.

He had rushed back from a thousand miles away for the wedding.

He had expected to see a cheerful, optimistic, strong woman.

After all, any woman willing to marry a man who was seldom home had to be optimistic and strong, right?

But when he saw his bride for the first time, he didn’t even notice her face, just her black hair, as she buried her head in her chest like a flamingo.

Then came the wedding procession and toasts. He remembered being made to drink a lot of wine.

In the bridal chamber, emboldened by alcohol, he tried to get a good look at her.

Her face was so red it seemed like she was about to bleed. Later, she acted like he was a villain trying to violate her.

He did see what she looked like, but she was too delicate—not his type at all.

Since she resisted him so much and clearly disliked him, they ended up sleeping separately for the next two nights.

If he hadn’t been afraid of his mother’s wrath, he really would have…

He didn’t want to sleep in the same bed with her because she always made him feel like he was a villain.

Whenever she saw him, she would tremble all over, making him wonder if he had somehow violently beaten her without realizing it—and beaten her so badly that it left her with a huge psychological scar.

Otherwise, it was hard to explain why she was so afraid of him.

In the end, he concluded that it might be because he looked too fierce.

Having grown up in the army, he had developed a rugged, ferocious aura.

Even the wildest horses on the grasslands would instinctively back away when they saw him.

It was understandable that she would be afraid of him.

After waking up from the recent danger, he thought about giving her freedom. If she ever expressed a desire to remarry, he would grant her wish.

He needed to think carefully about how to bring this up with his mother.

Of course, there was no way he could let Chen Yanming know.

Chen Yanming had always envied him for having such a beautiful wife and two lovely children.

If he knew the truth, wouldn’t it be a huge embarrassment for him?

He didn’t care what others thought, but he couldn’t afford to lose face in front of Chen Yanming and those brothers.

After all, these were the people he wanted to call him “Dad!”

There was absolutely no way he would ask Chen Yanming to help him write a letter.

Or maybe, he could write a letter to the family himself, using Chen Yanming’s name?

That was a good idea!

Lu Shaotang felt quite clever for coming up with it.

…..

Time passed quickly, and soon all the peaches at home were ripe.

After several days of rain, they were washed clean and glistening.

The rain had made the ground muddy, so they couldn’t work in the fields.

Instead, they organized the members to repair farm tools and houses, and reminded those with health issues to see the doctor—whether they needed to apply ointment or get acupuncture—so they wouldn’t be bedridden during the busy autumn harvest, missing out on earning work points.

These days, since there was no farm work, the Lu family members, except for Old Man Lu, had some free time.

Lin Shu helped her father-in-law transcribe medical books, and the second brother, Lu, made straw shoes.

Fang Dihua and her family picked all the ripe peaches, leaving only a few smaller ones for the children to pick and enjoy gradually.

These mature peach trees, if well taken care of, could yield a large harvest.

Even after accounting for fallen fruit and those damaged by insects, they could still produce around 200 pounds of peaches a year.

Of course, this was because Old Man Lu knew how to care for the trees and had invested a lot of effort into them.

Those without experience or time to manage their trees might get at most a hundred peaches from one tree, and end up with only about fifty edible ones.

Today, Fang Dihua first distributed some peaches to good neighbors in the village.

Then she sent Lu An and his brother to deliver peaches to the families of Lu Hehuan and Lin Aidi in the back village, as well as to the commune’s eldest daughter and granddaughter.

She also sent some to her maternal family, Old Man Lu’s sister’s family, and her daughter-in-law’s family, and took the opportunity to have her daughter-in-law visit her parents.

Normally…

When it’s time to work, there isn’t much opportunity for visiting relatives.

Usually, if there’s something important, they would make a quick trip after finishing work in the evening and then hurry back.

Proper visits to relatives would only happen after the wheat harvest, during the New Year, or for significant events like an elder’s birthday.

Of course, families with more money and free time were exceptions to this rule.

The old man had to go to work, and Fang Dihua needed to stay home to cook, so she asked Brother Lu to deliver goods to her mother’s family and Second Brother Lu to deliver to their aunt’s house.

For Lu Shaocai, they let Lu Shaocai handle it himself.

Lu Shaocai, in turn, asked for a basket from his uncle’s family since the peaches were ripe and would go bad if not eaten.

Fang Dihua, not being stingy, gave it to him.

As for the wives’ maternal families, they let the wives handle it themselves.

Both Sister-in-law Lu and Second Sister-in-law Lu had no problems with this, but Lin Shu, carrying a basket of peaches and leading two children, found it difficult.

Sister-in-law Lu Da said, “Sister, you don’t need to worry. I’ll carry a load for you to your mother’s house, then go to my mother’s house. When I’m coming back, I’ll pick you up.”

Since Lin Shu was praised and received an award, Sister-in-law Lu Da’s attitude towards her had shifted from looking down on her to looking up to her, without even a period of treating her as an equal.

Calling her “sister” was a sign of respect, no longer calling her by her old nickname.

Lin Shu said, “Thank you very much, Sister-in-law.”

Originally, Lu Shaotang’s death would mean Lin Shu had to observe a mourning period of a hundred days and not visit relatives.

But Fang Dihua never made Lin Shu and the two children wear mourning clothes, and the villagers didn’t mind, assuming that the families of martyrs didn’t need to follow this custom.

As for Lin Shu’s maternal family, Grandma Lin wasn’t particular about these things.

She had said before that a daughter-in-law should not wear mourning clothes for her parents, nor should a daughter wear them for her parents-in-law.

As long as Lin Shu didn’t wear mourning clothes, it didn’t matter to her.

The next morning, after breakfast, Sister-in-law Lu Da got ready, rolling up her pants and walking barefoot. “Let’s go, Tiantian and Panpan,” she called.

The rain had stopped, but after five or six days of continuous rain, the ground was muddy, so they walked barefoot.

The road was mostly dirt, with no glass or sharp objects, so walking barefoot wasn’t too dangerous.

However, Lin Shu’s skin was tender, and she was afraid of stepping on stones, so she wore straw sandals.

Sister-in-law Lu Da carried the load, with a basket of peaches on one end and Panpan and Tiantian on the other.

The two children had eaten enough peaches.

Lin Shu gave each of them a cucumber to munch on.

Panpan asked his aunt to put the peaches on one end and him and Tiantian on the other so they could chat.

The two sisters-in-law set off, becoming a moving sight along the road, attracting the attention of passersby who kept looking their way, saying, “Look at those two children, they’re so handsome!” and “Look at the Lu family’s sisters-in-law, they get along so well, unlike some families who are always fighting.”

When passing through a particularly muddy section of the road, Sister-in-law Lu Da carried the load steadily on her shoulders, while Lin Shu almost slipped and fell into the mud just walking on her own.

Sister-in-law Lu Da carried the load and the child across, then turned back to carry Lin Shu over.

Lin Shu was genuinely grateful and envious. “Eldest Sister-in-law, you’re really… amazing.”

Just look at her big feet, almost twice as wide as her own; no wonder she could keep her footing so well.

Sister-in-law Lu Da smiled shyly, “Find a chance and praise me to your big brother.”

Lin Shu replied, “Don’t worry, Sister-in-law, I’ll definitely praise you.”

As they entered the village, they encountered a man in his forties walking behind them.

He was shirtless, with his pants hanging sloppily so low they were almost falling off, and he was carrying a basket of green grass on his arm.

When he saw Lin Shu, he grinned, revealing his black and yellow teeth. “Hey, the white girl is back, huh?”

Seeing him made Lin Shu’s blood boil with anger.

Wasn’t this the same scoundrel, Zhao Lao, who used to sneak around when the original owner was young, showing a lecherous grin and calling her “white girl” while demanding a kiss?

He would even drop his pants in front of timid little girls!

After the original owner got married and returned to her parents’ home, this scumbag would still block her way and say lewd things!

Lin Shu shouted to Sister-in-law Lu Da, “Sister-in-law, hit him!”

Although Sister-in-law Lu Da was tall and strong like her mother-in-law, Fang Dihua, she wasn’t as fierce.

But when she heard Lin Shu’s command, she reflexively put down the load, swung the carrying pole, and smacked the man to the ground.

The man let out a scream as if he had been castrated.

Lin Shu snorted coldly, “Zhao Lao, I’ll definitely find a chance to break your leg!”

Trash like him would never change and would always cause trouble whenever they had the chance.

Zhao Lao was so terrified that he scrambled away, forgetting even to pick up his basket.

He only knew how to bully little girls but didn’t dare stand up to a fierce woman.