After more than an hour, they finally arrived at the troop station (camp).
Su Yue was observing carefully along the way. She found that Han Aiguo’s troop station was really remote. There was only one trail leading to Wenxiang where they just got off the bus, and there was only one small village in the middle. From then on, the closer they got to the station, the more sparsely populated they became. After arriving at the destination, Su Yue looked around. Apart from the mountains and rivers, not a single village could be seen here. It seemed a bit isolated from the world.
Su Yue couldn’t help but secretly worry about her future life. It seemed that it would be inconvenient to go out and buy something in the future.
As if he knew Su Yue’s worries, Zhu Zhu took the initiative to say to Su Yue: “Sister-in-law, our place is a bit remote, but for the convenience of family members, our army has specially arranged a shuttle bus that runs from the army camp to the commune twice a day, one in the morning and one in the evening, so that family members can go shopping. Some sisters-in-law work in the commune, so they take the shuttle bus back and forth every day.”
Su Yue’s eyes lit up after hearing this. There was a shuttle bus, which was great. At least she didn’t have to walk to buy something.
Zhu Zhu drove the car directly to the family building of the army. The family building is a small five-story building. The surface of the building is plastered with cement. Although it is not beautiful at all, in this era it is already very good; there are two households on each floor, the doors are all uniform red wooden doors, and the rooms are separated by stairs.
There is also a small courtyard built with cement on the first floor. There are many ropes tied in the yard, and a lot of quilts and clothes are dried on it. It seems that the residents in the building can dry their clothes and quilts in the yard below.
Judging from the number of clothes and quilts hanging out, it seems that a lot of people live here.
Zhu Zhu helped Han Aiguo carry his luggage upstairs. He went up to the third floor, took them to a door on the left, took out a door key from his pocket and handed it to Han Aiguo. “Battalion Commander, this is the house assigned to your family, and here is the key. The commander asked you to clean up the house before returning to work.”
Han Aiguo nodded, “Thank you for your hard work. ”
Zhu Zhu scratched his head and said, “Battal Commander, if you need to go to the town to buy something or move something, don’t be polite to the brothers. The brothers will come to help you. You know we can help with the heavy things.”
Han Aiguo smiled and patted his shoulder, “I won’t be polite to you.”
Using the key to open the door. Su Yue looked at the situation in the house. It had a simple layout of two rooms and one living room, and the walls were plastered with white ash. It looked very bright, but there was nothing in the room, not even a bench for people to sit on.
Su Yue originally planned to invite Zhu Zhu to come in for a rest, but now she could only say apologetically to Zhu Zhu: “Zhu Zhu, we haven’t bought anything at home, not even hot water. I can’t invite you to come in for a drink. We’ll invite you to meal after we’ve tidied up the house.”
People come to the house to have a lively meal, which is considered a celebration.
Zhuzhu grinned honestly and said politely, “Okay, sister-in-law, let’s have a meal when the time comes. If you need help in the future, just call me.”
Su Yue couldn’t help but sigh, the soldiers in the army are so honest. Such people are worthy of being the cutest people. It’s really comfortable to get along with such people. No wonder Han Aiguo loves the army so much.
Zhuzhu had to go back and report the situation to the group leader. When he saw that everything was fine here, he left first.
Han Aiguo looked at the bare home. There was no place to sit and rest, let alone drink water, and there was nothing to do while staying in the house, so he said: “I’m going to borrow a car from the logistics department. Let’s go to the town to buy some things at home. In the evening you can cook. ”
Su Yue couldn’t help but asked worriedly: “Where should we buy the furniture? We need to buy a bed, wardrobe, table, etc. Can I buy it?”
These days, you can’t just go out and buy whatever you want like in later generations, and you can’t just buy furniture if you want.
Han Aiguo: “Remember the little village we saw on the way here?”
Su Yue nodded, “Yeah, we passed that village along the way. What’s wrong? ”
“That is Xiaowang Village. There is an old carpenter in the village who is very good at his craftsmanship. Most of the people who moved here from the army go to him to make furniture. ”
Su Yue was surprised when she heard this, “Then we can also ask him to make furniture for our house? ”
Han Aiguo smiled, “I sent a telegram back to the army months ago and asked Zhuzi to go to Xiaowang Village to find an old carpenter. It is estimated that it has been made now and is waiting for us to recieve it.”
(T/N :- Zhuzhu is the nickname and Zhuzi is his real name )
Su Yue stayed for a moment, then jumped up and jumped on him, hugged his neck and gave him a big kiss, “Comrade Han Aiguo, why are you so powerful? You are well prepared. ”
Han Aiguo hurriedly looked outside the big open door. Fortunately, there was no one outside, otherwise he would have been laughed at. Then he held her buttocks and patted her buttocks gently. He paused and said, “The door is not closed, it would be bad if someone saw it. ”
Su Yue smiled, took a bite on his nose, and asked deliberately coquettishly: ” why can’t I do it when door is open. ”
Han Aiguo pursed his lips and smiled, kissing her lips hard twice, “You can ride on my neck even if the door is open. ”
Su Yue couldn’t help but secretly murmured.
After the two had a laugh, they went to the logistics department to borrow a car. The logistics department knew that Han Aiguo wanted to borrow a car and want to pull the furniture so they happily gave him a big truck that usually transports supplies.
Su Yue was startled when she saw the truck, thinking who could drive it away, but Unexpectedly, Han Aiguo could drive a truck. After climbing into the driver’s seat, he drove away neatly.
Su Yue was surprised again, “Comrade Han Aiguo, you can actually drive a Truck? ”
“After being in the army for so many years, I have learned all kinds of vehicles. When I first joined the army, I worked in the logistics department. At that time, I learned to drive a truck to pull supplies. ”
“Then you can also drive an ordinary car? ”
Han Aiguo nodded, ” Yeah everything is similar. ”
Su Yue: “Then what else can you drive? ”
Han Aiguo thought for a while and asked, “Do tanks count?” ”
Su Yue couldn’t help but stare blankly, “Comrade Han Aiguo, I didn’t expect you to be so versatile. Please accept my knees. ”
(T/N :- Please accept my knees :- It is a Chinese idiom meaning ‘Allow me to be of service to you.)
Han Aiguo laughed and touched her head, She said something he couldn’t understand again.
Su Yue chuckled.
After driving for two hours, they arrived at Wenxiang Supply and Marketing Cooperative. Su Yue had saved a lot of tickets before leaving.
Mrs. Han also gave them all the usable tickets she had saved, and also gave Su Yue a thousand yuan, saying that they would need to buy everything when they got here, fearing that they would be short of money. The old lady insisted on giving it even if Su Yue said that she was not short of money.
So now, Su Yue didn’t waste any time and bought everything the family lacked, from firewood, rice, oil and salt to daily necessities. They bought almost everything from the supply and marketing cooperative, and they also bought a stove for a good price. There are no earthen stoves in rural areas here, so they have to rely on the stove to cook food and water.
On the way back, he happened to pass by Xiaowang Village. Han Aiguo drove the car to the door of the old carpenter’s house. When the children in the village saw such a big car, it was an green truck. Curiously , they walked around the car, touching it from time to time.
Han Aiguo didn’t care, just let the children play, and took Su Yue into the yard. He saw that the huge yard was filled with wood and ready-made furniture. There is only a small path in the middle that is large enough for one person to pass through.
Han Aiguo called into the room: “Is Carpenter Wang here?”
“Hey, it’s me !” The person in the room responded, a man about fifty years old came out of the house with a plane in his hand. He was obviously doing carpentry work in the house.
“Are you here to make furniture?”
Han Aiguo: “My name is Han Aiguo. I asked you to make a batch of furniture for me months ago. Is it done? I’ll take it back now.”
When Wang Carpenter heard this, he suddenly said: “oh yeah , you are in the army, right? A young soldier came over to make an appointment with me. I have already made it, you can just take it away.”
As he spoke, Carpenter Wang pointed to the furniture in the row on the left in the yard, “This row is all yours.”
VSu Yue glanced at the furniture, there were quite a lot of them.
The old carpenter said: “Look at the quantity, there are two beds, two bedside tables, a dining table, eight chairs, a writing desk, two wardrobes, a Cabinet, and a large bathtub.”
Han Aiguo nodded, “Yes. Thank you Carpenter Wang, how much does it cost?”
Carpenter Wang talked in detail about how much each piece of furniture cost, and the two of them went off to count the money.
Su Yue looked at the other furniture in the yard, and then she discovered that the furniture of this era were all similar, just a few, and they were all of the same style.
At least none of the furniture she wanted was available here.
After all, the military family building is her and Han Aiguo’s first home, a small home that belongs to them alone, so she wants to decorate this home well and make it beautiful and warm. She actually wanted to decorate it in a modern 21st century style.
First of all, the living room should not just have a few chairs, but at least a sofa and a coffee table. I wonder if a carpenter can make it.
Su Yue asked the old carpenter, “Master, can you make a sofa here?”
When Carpenter Wang heard this, he was surprised that she actually wanted to make a sofa, that thing is only used by rich people in the city. Most people will not use it at all, because it is too waste of money. Most people only put a few chairs in the living room with a small table between the chairs.
He has been doing carpentry work here for so many years, and no one has ever asked him to make a sofa.
But just because he hasn’t done it, it doesn’t mean he hasn’t seen it before.
After all, carpenters have to keep pace with the times. He has seen the sofa in other places.
Carpenter Wang said: “I have seen a sofa in the city, which is a set of wooden benches, one long with two short ones on both sides, with cotton on top. It’s not difficult to make it. It can still be made. It just requires wood and will be very expensive. Do you really want to make it?”
Su Yue thought about the old carpenter. The sofa in he said is the kind of Chinese-style daybed sofa. Although it is different from the modern sponge sofa, it is very good to have a daybed sofa in this era. It will probably take a few years before a sponge sofa will appear.
Su Yue said: “That would be great. If you can do it, Master Wang, then please build us a set of sofa and a coffee table.”
Carpenter Wang is actually interested. He has never made a sofa before, but if he finishes it this time and puts it there and others see it, maybe others will be interested. Isn’t this another innovative piece of furniture?
So he said: “Since you want it, then I will move the other work to the back and give it to you first. You can come and get it in five days.”
” Then thank you, Master Wang.”
————
Carrying the furniture and driving back to the family building, Han Aiguo called a few young soldiers to come over and help, everyone carried the furniture into the house together.
There was probably too much movement, and the door next door suddenly opened. A very fashionable-looking woman who looked to be in her mid-twenties, with curly hair, was wearing a coat, a pair of high-heeled leather shoes, and wearing a red scarf around her neck came out of the house and looked at them curiously.
Su Yue guessed that this was the hostess next door. Based on the idea that we will be neighbors from now on and need to have a good relationship, she took the initiative to say hello with a smile, “Hello sister, we are new here, we just moved in today, my name is Su Yue.”
The woman looked at Su Yue and around her twice calmly. She saw that the clothes she was wearing were all new and the style is quite fashionable, and it looks different from those ignorant women from the countryside.
Then she smiled and said: “Hello Comrade Su Yue, my name is Fang Xiaoli. I wonder who your husband is?”
Su Yue smiled and replied: “My husband is Han Aiguo.”
Fang Xiaoli thought about it in her mind, as if she had vaguely heard her man mention his subordinates last year. There was a battalion commander named Han who went back to his hometown because his leg was injured and disabled.
Fang Xiaoli asked with a smile: “I think I heard my husband say it. I would like to ask, is your husband the Han Aiguo who injured his leg before?”
But isn’t it said that the legs are useless? And didn’t Han Aiguo say he was from the countryside? Why didn’t his wife look like she was from the countryside? Is it possible that this is Han Aiguo is different from that her husband told.
Su Yue nodded, “But now his leg is healed.”
It turns out that it is really Han Aiguo.
Fang Xiaoli asked calmly: “Sister, I think you are so beautiful. Battalion Commander Han is so lucky to marry you. How did you and your husband know each other?”
Su Yue didn’t care and said, “We are from the same village.”
At first she thought she was from the city.
“That’s really good.” Fang Xiaoli nodded, suddenly she didn’t have any intention of being warm with the other person, so she made an excuse, “I still have to make dinner, so I’m going back first, you guys can get busy. ”
After saying that, she turned around and entered the house, closing the door with a bang in front of Su Yue.
Su Yue frowned slightly, feeling that this sister suddenly became cold, not sure if it was her imagination.
But this was the first time they met, so there should be no grudges, and she had no reason to be cold to her. It was probably because this sister had such a personality.
Su Yue didn’t think much, turned around and went into the house to continue working.
The little soldiers moved very quickly and soon they moved the furniture into the house and placed it in the designated position as required. Su Yue didn’t even have to instruct them.
As soon as they finished their work, the little soldiers were ready to leave. Seeing this, Su Yue quickly took out the candies she had brought with her from her luggage and gave a handful to each of them, “Thank you, everyone has worked hard, there is nothing else to eat at home for the time being, just this little candy so I you won’t dislike it.”
Some of the little soldiers are only teenagers, and their faces are still very immature. Their face turned red when Su Yue handed them candy and he quickly waved his hand and said, “Sister-in-law, you’re welcome, we don’t want this candy, you can keep it for yourself.”
Candy is a good thing these days, and nobody can bear to part with it easily. Some people would only take it out to entertain when there is a happy event or important guests coming to the house but my sister-in-law gave them so much that the little warriors were too embarrassed to ask for it.
Su Yue forced it on them, “Take it, we still have it at home. We haven’t started the fire yet, but when the arrangements are in place, we will invite you for dinner.”
Han Aiguo also said: “Don’t be polite to your sister-in-law, just take it and eat it.”
The little soldiers accepted it and felt in their hearts that this sister-in-law is really nice. Not only is she kind, but she is also generous. They had also moved things for other families who had moved here before. After the work was done, they could only go inside to drink water. Some families didn’t even have water. No one was willing to entertain them with anything.
Although they are not helping others for personal gain, the feeling of being sincerely thanked makes people feel comfortable.
The little soldiers left happily with candies in their arms. Su Yue and Han Aiguo packed the luggage together and put the things where they should be put. Su Yue asked Han while working Aiguo: “Who is the person next door to us? I just talked to the sister next door, and the sister didn’t say who her man is.”
Han Aiguo knew, and replied: ” Next door is the home of group Commander Feng Junwei, who happens to be the group commander of my group. When we finish packing, we can go to visit and say hello, as we will be neighbors from now on.”
She didn’t expect it to be Han Aiguo’s direct superior and he seems to wants to build a good relationship.
Su Yue nodded, “When I make some snacks tomorrow, I will say hello and give them some.”
Although it felt like just now that sister is not very warm, maybe her personality is like that. It is always better to say hello and recognize someone when you move here for the first time.
When everything was packed up, it was already past eight o’clock in the evening. After a busy day, both of them were tired, so Su Yue simply made some fried noodles with flour, and the two of them sat at the table and had my first meal here. Although it was very simple, it felt unusually warm.
This is their small home.
Han Aiguo said while eating delicious noodles: “Tomorrow I will return to the army and resume my duties. You will be alone at home. If you feel bored, you can go downstairs and chat with the other sisters-in-law. There are people living upstairs and downstairs of the house.”
Su Yue imagined a group of women sitting together, knitting sweaters, picking up insoles, mending clothes, and gossiping about the family.
Isn’t it weird?
At this age, she has never participated in such a women’s team activity, so she smiled and said: “When I get to know the other sisters-in-law, and we have something to talk about, I will invite them to our house for a chat. These days at home I still have a lot of work to do. I have to clean up the house, pickle some side dishes and bacon, and make some snacks. Aren’t we going to entertain your comrades in a few days? We have to have something to entertain them.”
Han Aiguo: “Okay, then I will think about the people I want to invite in the next few days and tell them.”
Su Yue thought for a while and said, “In a few days, we’re going to get a sofa from the old carpenter’s place. Then we’ll go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy the missing things and some meat. It just so happens that we invite your comrades to come over that day and have a lot of fun.”
Han Aiguo nodded, “As long as you don’t feel bored. If you want to buy something, you can go buy it with the shuttle bus to the commune in the morning. The shuttle bus is at the gate of our building, and it runs at six o’clock every morning.”
