Chapter 740: Chapter 491: Amusing Interrogation
Before dawn arrived.
—————————
“Look… look at what?” Luan Dajiang felt a little uneasy under Chuxia’s gaze, so he reached up to touch his cheek, “There… There are no flowers on my face.”
Chuxia clicked her tongue twice, “Dajiang, I didn’t realize, but you’re quite the charmer. Even on a train ride, a young girl can take fancy to you. Nope, I must write to my sister and tell her so she can rest easy. This matter of finding a wife for you, it’s definitely not an issue.”
“Nonsen… there’s nothing like that.” Luan Dajiang intended to say nonsense, but as the words reached his lips, he realized that times had changed, and he couldn’t behave as carelessly and unrestrainedly as he used to.
Luo Xiaoqiong deliberately teased him, “What’s this nonexistent thing you speak of? Could it be that their kettle ran out of oil and you helped to fetch some? But that can’t be right, there are no places to buy oil on a train, right?” As she spoke, she looked earnestly at Chuxia, “Chuxia, there aren’t any places to sell oil on a train, right?”
“I don’t know, I’ve never bought any.” Chuxia shook her head, “That kind of thing Dajiang would know better about, you should ask Dajiang.”
Knowing the two were just teasing him, Luan Dajiang simply closed his mouth and kept silent. Luo Xiaoqiong clicked her tongue twice more, “Chuxia, see that, now that he’s got someone in his heart, he’s not willing to pay us any attention.”
Chuxia looked at Luan Dajiang as if examining him seriously, then nodded, “Hmm, I can see that.”
Luo Xiaoqiong wore a face of lament, “Ah, preference over friends!”
Chuxia quickly corrected, “That’s preference over sisters, we are his sisters!”
After thinking it over, Luo Xiaoqiong nodded, “True, if he can’t even see his sisters anymore, friends are even less likely to be seen.”
“Sigh, once he’s really married, I guess he won’t even recognize us anymore.” Chuxia clutched her head, acting distressed, “It’s okay if he doesn’t recognize us, just as long as he still recognizes his sister-in-law and brother-in-law.”
“That shouldn’t happen, right?”
“Who knows?”
“…”
Distracted by the back and forth banter of the two, Luan Dajiang sighed, “There’s really nothing between me and Li Zhenzhen. I just helped her and her grandmother carry their stuff up, and then, along with my second uncle, we helped them put it on the luggage rack.
Throughout the journey, I hardly spoke to her. Later, when it was time to get off, she said something to me, and her grandma got upset and pinched her quite hard.
After getting off the train, when she saw that we had a lot of things, she volunteered to help, but her grandma was not happy, and neither was her brother, so we left. After that, you know the rest.”
“That just proves Dajiang’s irresistible charm, being liked just for helping with the luggage…” Chuxia looked him up and down, admiringly saying, “I never would’ve thought Dajiang could be so attractive. I never noticed before, especially when you smile, with those shining white teeth, quite eye-catching indeed. No wonder you’ve got someone head over heels for you.”
“Indeed, Dajiang is really good-looking now…” Luo Xiaoqiong patted Luan Dajiang on the shoulder, “Dajiang, let me remind you, don’t be too hasty in settling down.
With your looks, you’re definitely in demand. Once you’ve been a soldier for a while, perhaps your leaders, your comrades, will start introducing their daughters, nieces, and sisters to you.
Then, you can choose whoever you prefer, someone the most beautiful, the most capable, the most obedient, the most helpful. You could marry, bring your sister and brother-in-law over, and never suffer at the hands of your grandma again.”
“Xiaoqiong!” Luo Hongqi disapprovingly glared at his sister, “You shouldn’t corrupt Dajiang like that. When looking for a wife, you need to find someone you truly like, someone you can talk to, someone considerate. Being attractive isn’t sustenance, capable ones might look down on you, but if they’re to your liking, they would naturally be obedient. Whether they can help or not, that’s uncertain.”
In modern terms, Luo Hongqi was a man with a touch of idealism. Once he worked his way out of his stubborn ways, he became much more insightful than before, swiftly turning into someone people enjoyed being around.
“Brother Hongqi is right, I’ll listen to him.” Eager to have the support of another man, Luan Dajiang quickly expressed his agreement. When it came down to it, his personality was somewhat similar to Luo Hongqi’s, both being men of few words. Yet, he was more gentle and affable than Luo Hongqi.
As for the ideal husband material, it was hard to say who was more suitable. Luo Hongqi, the type of man who, once he committed to someone, would never stray as long as you treated him well. As for Luan Dajiang, it was still early to tell, but he seemed rather similar to Luo Hongqi, though gentler in nature, probably more tender towards girls. However, when it came to rejecting someone, he wouldn’t be as firm as Luo Hongqi.
Listening to the chatter from the group seated behind him, Jing Zhe couldn’t keep the smile off his face. Being in the company of such characters made him feel younger too.
Chuxia felt both happy and conflicted about Luan Dajiang’s arrival. She knew that in that timeline, the war would break out in a year and a half, which meant that if Luan Dajiang enlisted in the army now, there was a very high chance he would be sent to the battlefield.
Of course, protecting the country was a soldier’s duty, and it was an obligation that every active serviceman had to fulfill, but why was there still such anxiety in her heart?
“Dajiang, you really do want to enlist, don’t you?” Chuxia asked seriously as she looked at Luan Dajiang.
“Of course, but is it…” Luan Dajiang looked at Chuxia with some concern, “does it mean I won’t be able to become a soldier? If I can’t, it’s okay, I’ll wait for next year’s recruitment.”
Chuxia shook her head, “No, I just want to ask you, hypothetically, I mean hypothetically, if you knew that by becoming a soldier, you might have to go to the frontlines to fight, would you be willing?”
“Are we going to war?” Luan Dajiang’s voice unconsciously rose considerably.
“Keep your voice down!” Luo Xiaoqiong poked him, “What Chuxia means is for you to imagine it. You see, it was Regimental Commander Zhou who arranged for you to enlist, so if you don’t do well, whose reputation do you think you’ll tarnish? Chuxia is just testing you in advance to see if you’re sincerely determined to enlist, unafraid of life and death, without regrets. She’ll let you go if that’s the case. But if you’re enlisting just to have enough to eat and find a comfortable place to live, then you’d better go back home.”
“Of course, I want to enlist to protect our country, and I’m not afraid of dying,” Luan Dajiang said, looking at Luo Hongqi, “Hongqi, you feel the same, right?”
“Yes,” Luo Hongqi sighed, “I want to be a soldier to protect our national security, to protect the people’s safety. Otherwise, why would I enlist?”
Luan Dajiang looked at him, puzzled, “Then why are you sighing?”
“I’ve hurt my foot. Otherwise, I would have been able to join this mission,” Luo Hongqi said with a look of regret, shaking his head, “It’s a pity, it’s no use thinking about it now.”
“You look fine when you walk,” Luan Dajiang said, moving to take off Luo Hongqi’s sock, “You can’t tell this way.” Luo Hongqi quickly drew his foot back, “The exterior is all healed, but the bone inside had a fracture. It’s mostly healed now, but at the time, I couldn’t move.”
Luan Dajiang sighed with relief, “So that’s what it was. I was worried Brother Hongqi wouldn’t be able to be a soldier in the future. I was looking forward to serving with you. By the way, brother, have you seen Zhang Dongzi? I heard he also enlisted here.”
“I haven’t seen him,” Luo Hongqi shook his head, “With so many people in the army, it’s hard to meet unless you’re assigned to the same company. Besides, we barely go to the area where the new recruits are. Don’t worry, if you enlist now, you should be able to be in the same company as him, and then you’ll be able to meet him.”
“I don’t want to be in the same company as him,” Luan Dajiang said, pouting, “After he passed the recruitment, he stopped talking to me and Wang Lin, as if knowing us was something to be ashamed of.
Wang Lin was pretty envious when I came here, but I told him that if I do well, I’ll definitely look out for him. Not like Zhang Dongzi, he’s too opportunistic!”
“You will end up in the same company,” Chuxia intentionally dampened his spirits, “Because the slot you had was originally in the same batch as his, and there will be no more recruitment this year. So, if you enlist now, you can only end up in the same company as him, and you might even be in the same squad.”
After a moment of silence, Luan Dajiang muttered, “Good, I can compare with him to see who’s better, and find out who looks down on whom.”
“What if he starts being nice to you again because you’ve enlisted? Then what will you do?” Luo Xiaoqiong asked a very likely question.
“Then I won’t pay any attention to him. Wang Lin and I agreed not to pay attention to him; that means not paying attention to him, no matter what he says, we won’t bother with him,” Chuxia realized after a tongue-twisting explanation that the youth, Dajiang, was quite similar to Hongqi – one with the person he liked, the other with his brother.
The car stopped in front of the Zhou family’s home. Old Madam Zhou, Zhou Shanping, Zhou Gangping, Zhou Xikang, Liang Xiaohong, Yu Tao, and others, hearing the announcement, hurried out to greet them with warm pleasantries before entering the Zhou family’s house.
Chuxia and Luo Xiaoqiong, on the other hand, headed straight for Elder Wan’s place. They were going to have dinner at the Zhou family’s home, so they needed to invite Elder Wan over.
Having forgotten the keys, Chuxia had no choice but to ring the doorbell. After quite a while, Sister-in-law Yin came to open the door, her eyes noticeably red and swollen. When she saw Chuxia and Luo Xiaoqiong, she tried to squeeze out a smile, but it just made her expression even more dreadful.
“Sister-in-law Yin, what happened to you?” Chuxia asked.
“Miss is inside,” Sister-in-law Yin said, tears welling up in her eyes, “Miss Yeye, if one day Elder Wan is all alone, you must help take care of him.”
Chuxia caught the implication in her words, her brow furrowing, “What, are you thinking of leaving?”
“It’s not that I want to leave, but the missus said I’m only by Elder Wan’s side to marry him and take over his property. I have no such intentions. She said if I truly didn’t mean it, I should leave right away…” With a heavy sigh and a bitter smile, Sister-in-law Yin added, “It just so happens, my nephew back at my uncle’s home also hopes that I return to help look after the child. So, I’ll go. When I’m old, I’ll have to rely on him.” (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it with recommendation tickets and monthly tickets at Qidian (). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at .)