Chapter 74

Xu Wen thought so too

She hesitated or did not go forward, afraid that telling the truth would make Wang Ying feel that she was looking at her as a joke, and should cry and make a fuss again

Wang Ying was obviously not dead, pulling the mailman to keep asking questions

Xu Wen shook his head and took the letter back to the cabin before opening it

Everything is fine at home

Xu Wen and Sang Xiaoqing moved into a new house

The family of three finally had their own little nest

Xu Wen was in Beijing when Sang Xiaoqing gave birth

Sang Xiaoqing gave her a little nephew, spring birthday, called Chunsheng

He was named Chunsheng, after his brother Dongsheng

This is the attitude of the Xu family, who treat Lu Yuanzheng and Dongsheng as real members of the Xu family

The letter also asks when Xu will be able to come home

Grandma’s birthday is coming up

At her age, every birthday is a birthday less

Xu Man put pen to paper and wrote back

He wrote about some of the interesting things he had experienced on the island

He wrote that his family was doing well

He said that he might not be able to go back for Grandma’s birthday, but he could go back for New Year’s Eve

Because Xu Man has to go back to Beijing to take the annual final exams

When the time comes, Lu Yuanzheng will take his annual leave and go back with her

Because annual leave only comes once a year and is limited in time, she won’t be able to go back in time for Grandma’s birthday

After she finished answering the letter, she folded it up, dried it, put it in an envelope, sealed it with paste, put a stamp on it, and went out to deliver the letter to the letter carrier

Before she took two steps, she heard Wang Ying crying

Xu Wen turned around and saw Wang Ying pulling Zhao Gang’s sleeve and crying, not knowing what she was saying

Zhao Gang’s simple face was obviously softened, and he finally nodded his head

When Lu Yuanzheng came back in the evening, Xu Man had just put Dongsheng to bed and was rubbing his shoulders as he came out of his room

Seeing this, Lu Yuanzheng went forward and pinched Xu Man’s shoulders, “Did that brat Dongsheng sleep on your arm again?”

“Uh-huh I don’t know if it’s like that for four or five year olds, but I think Dongsheng is becoming more and more dependent on me” Xu Wen slowly moved towards the bedroom, her head slightly tilted back

Lu Yuanzheng followed her, his hand still pressing lightly on her shoulder and neck, “I don’t know I don’t know Maybe it’s because he’s getting closer and closer to you I’ve raised him for more than four years and I haven’t seen him so close to me, so it shouldn’t be because of his age, right?”

It was also his first time to be a father, so he didn’t really understand

As the two of them entered the bedroom, Xu Man lay on her back on the bed, Lu Yuanzheng sat on the edge of the bed and gently pressed his palm on the joint between Xu Man’s neck and back, promising her, “Next time, I will try to come back a little bit earlier It won’t be convenient for you to bathe Dongsheng when he’s older”

“It’s something I’ve thought about for a long time But how can you set that time?” Xu Wen grunted comfortably, “Fortunately, Dongsheng is particularly well-behaved and very self-reliant, now he can bathe by himself and dress himself Usually, I don’t need to worry too much, just have to coax him to sleep at night”

“After coming for half a year, things on the island are basically on track, as long as there are no accidents, in the future I will also be able to live the kind of life you said of going to work at the right time and leaving work at the right time Recently not always on time to go home to accompany you and Dongsheng? Today did not come back because Zhao Gang two mouths of that shit”

“Well Wang Ying went to make trouble with you again?”

“Not really Wang Ying wanted to know her college entrance exam results She begged Zhao Gang After all, they are still husband and wife, Zhao Gang is already soft-hearted, so naturally he went to the instructor, who couldn’t solve the problem, so he went to Shi Lei

Shi Lei is having a hard time recruiting and discharging veterans these days, so he’s not available

I can only take Zhao Gang to Zhongxing Island with the first company instructor, who has a phone Various phone calls around to her to check, indeed fell out of the list To say a word, busy half a day, which came back late

I’m still afraid that you wait for the early run, they are still there with Wang Ying crying it! Looks like Wang Ying was hit pretty hard, are afraid she can’t think straight”

Xu Wen shook his head, his tone especially firm: “No Wang Ying’s mind is quite good now Wang Ying’s current state of mind is quite good, and even if everyone on the island can’t get over it, she can still get over it After all, her selfish character is right there”

After a pause Xu asked and added: “I hope this time can grow some lessons, let her know that the world is not revolving around her Life isn’t whatever she wants it to be”

Lu Yuanzheng lightly raised his eyebrows, “You don’t seem to be surprised that she’ll fall through the ranks?”

“And you didn’t also know this earlier?” Twisting his head, he glanced at Shi Lei, “She has high eyes In terms of family background, she is not the best, in terms of learning, she was only average, and in terms of suffering, she is even worse Her planning is similar to daydreaming She thinks that the college entrance exam is easy, either because she hasn’t thought about it or because she thinks that if a person from the countryside can get into a prestigious university, she must be able to do the same”

Lu Yuanzheng nodded, “I hope she learns a lesson and looks ahead more!”

“I hope so!” Xu Wen wasn’t too optimistic, and remembered something else, “Isn’t it winter to get out of the army? Why are you making plans now?”

“It’s true that we’ll be discharged in the winter, but we’ll have to make the discharge report in advance” Lu Yuanzheng sighed softly, “No wonder Shi Lei has been looking sad lately The discharge report on his desk is so thick”

Lu Yuanzheng pinched his thumb and forefinger together, leaving a gap in the middle to gesture to Xu Man

“Tsk!” Xu Man was surprised, “Why are there so many?”

According to what Lu Yuanzheng had compared, at least one-fifth of the island’s warriors would have to leave

Lu Yuanzheng sighed softly, “Family and country, country For us, sometimes we can only choose one”

Now that the island was gradually stabilizing, although there were occasional unsuspecting people who wanted to get on the island, but, nine times out of ten, they would disguise themselves as lost fishermen There was basically less need for forceful suppression

The main thing is to guard the island

And guarding itself is an extremely boring and exhausting task

Every man who wants to be a soldier wants to kill the enemy on the battlefield

Only to stay on this island, the daily repetition of boring training can be tolerated

But the most time spent on daily chores such as road construction and land clearing, not to mention the merits, even the shadow of the enemy can not see the enthusiasm of young soldiers is very discouraging

You can’t stay in the army until you’re discharged and people ask you what you did as a soldier

I’ve been farming

That’s no different from being at home, and it’s even harder and more tiring

Most importantly, when they reach marriageable age, they can’t find a date on the island

The young soldiers are all around 20 years old, which is the most energetic and restless age

But apart from the few military wives, there are no young girls on the island

During breaks, a few words can stir up a fire and a fight can break out

In the worst case, a little verbal altercation almost led to a group fight between two companies

He was severely punished by Lu Yuanzheng

Later on, Lu Yuanzheng and Shi Lei, the two chief officers increased the amount of training, as much as possible to wear out their excess energy, so that they do not have time to think

But this method is not a cure for the symptoms

Soldiers who have reached their discharge year are preparing to be discharged

Each company commander went to talk to them

Everyone’s reason was surprisingly consistent, to go home and find a date

Only a few gave the reason that they felt suffocated on the island and could not stay

Finding a husband is an objective problem that cannot be solved for the time being

Those who do not want to continue to stay on the island, Xu Man knows that it is not because they are pretentious

This feeling is indeed very difficult

Their daily life is highly repetitive, living in a place as big as the palm of their hand, the more outgoing they are, the more they like to run around, the harder it is to be here

The feeling is similar to a person staying at home and not being allowed to go out If you feel fresh for a day or two, you can tolerate it for a week And then a long time, people will feel particularly depressed in the heart, sometimes suffocated to the heart of the blockage, people will have no reason to be irritable

They could be unafraid of the enemy and unafraid to die, but it might be hard to accept this feeling

Another thing that gives Lu Yuanzheng and Shi Lei, or even Song Xueqin or the military department a headache is that the people on the island want to leave, and the people on land don’t want to come

Of course, all obey orders

Forced to transfer people will definitely have to come, do not let people go also absolutely no one to leave the island

But coercion could not solve the fundamental problem

Xu Wen thought about it and asked Lu Yuanzheng, “Then when we build the island, can we call up some young lesbians to come to the island? Or transfer some female soldiers over?”

“In that case, if everyone settles here, won’t that solve some of the soldiers’ personal problems?”

Lu Yuanzheng smiled bitterly, “Where are there so many female comrades with high awareness like you? Besides, reclaiming the sea and land, clearing land and planting fields are all strength work not suitable for female comrades

If you transfer some female soldiers, theoretically it’s possible It’s just that if male and female soldiers become partners and get married, then they’ll have to have children, won’t they? Who will bring up the children?”

“Or can we bring the old people from home?”

“That’s not easy All the old people who can work are at home earning labor credits! If they can’t work, they’ll have to take care of them, right? That would be too much of a distraction for the soldiers Most importantly, what if their children also become dongsheng?”

Xu Wen stopped talking

Dongsheng’s parents, double martyrs

There were two sides to everything

For everyone to evaluate such parents, they were naturally both heroes who sacrificed their lives for the sake of justice

But for Dongsheng?

Xu Wen thought for a while and opened his mouth, ”Why don’t we arrange more activities? Let everyone’s spiritual life be enriched, so it might be better?”

“Spiritual life?”

“Right! For example, we could build a library on the island? Show a movie every week on time? And buy some volleyballs and basketballs and a ping pong table That way even if we don’t have to increase our training load everyone will have something to do”

Lu Yuanzheng nodded, “It’s not impossible However, daughter-in-law, I think this might not be very effective”

The fundamental problem wasn’t solved

“That’s true” Xu Wen furrowed his brows in contemplation

The biggest reason for wanting to leave the island was the inability to satisfy socialization

Whether it was finding a date or meeting family, it was especially difficult

The difference between the land and the island was the lack of fireworks and the inconvenience of everything, in addition to the material differences

There are no ordinary people here, no shopping malls or supermarkets

Like Lu Yuanzheng, his personal daily consumption is either cigarettes or alcohol

It’s hard to buy a cigarette on the island!

Xu Man once saw a soldier returning from vacation with a big woven bag full of cigarettes and alcohol

Not only for his own use, but also for his comrades

Also, although the cooking class meals are made with care, not the same every day That’s only every day, up to weekly units still have to repeat

Plus, there’s a wide variety of tastes

Some like this dish, some like that

Maybe there isn’t a favorite dish in a particular meal

After a hard day’s work, the meal is not even your favorite, and it’s hard to buy something you like

It’s a small thing that doesn’t hurt when you hear it, but when it accumulates over time, it can be very stifling

Xu asked if there are supermarkets and restaurants on the island, it would be good

Supermarkets are better to get a little, go to the shore to wholesale a boatload of goods back to be able to hold for a while

But a restaurant was not easy to get

The ingredients were not easy to supply

Concentrating on how to solve these problems, Xu Wen didn’t realize that the large hand pressing on her shoulder and neck had slowly moved its position

It followed her spine downward, stopping at her waist

Thumb and forefinger opened up to their maximum distance and gestured on her waist, accompanied by a cry, “So fine!”

Xu Wen didn’t react for a moment and asked, “What’s really fine?”

Lu Yuanzheng let out a light laugh and didn’t answer

He changed his palm into a finger and continued down his spine

Further down was

Xu Wen let out an ah, and wanted to sit up to get away from his large palm, but he was pressed by Lu Yuanzheng

“Lu Yuanzheng!” Xu Man was ashamed and annoyed

“On it!” Lu Yuanzheng’s dark voice carried a touch of light laughter, and then his entire body covered her from behind

One hand retracted, regarding her propped up arm, passing through the arm from beside her ribs, his large hand gripping inward

Xu Wen flopped down in a hurry, but this pressed Lu Yuanzheng’s hand underneath her

Lu Yuanzheng laughed out, his voice growing more and more immodest, “So anxious?”