AYLS – Chapter 104

Before the awards were handed out, the Logistics Department sent out a notice first, officially assigning Li Yan to work at the chicken farm.

When they were writing the certificates, they realized that Li Yan wasn’t technically an official employee of the farm. Under what title were they supposed to issue her award?

Previously, Li Yan hadn’t been given any job assignments. She had volunteered on her own and worked for free for several months. And looking at her performance now, she had done quite well.

Sister-in-law Zhang had originally hoped Li Yan would leave the chicken farm and join the art troupe. Now she no longer held those hopes. Instead, she felt it was better to simply assign her directly to the chicken farm, so she suggested it to Director Jiang.

Director Jiang said, “She’s someone who does practical work. In a revolution, the work isn’t divided by category. Since she has the heart for it, we’ll support her.”

And that settled the matter.

So arrangements were made to officially give Li Yan a position.

Lin Qiao and the others also received this notice, and they were all genuinely happy for Li Yan. Though Comrade Li Yan had been melodramatic and cried easily in the beginning, her work ethic was solid. She never slacked off or tried to play tricks. Even while crying, she still finished her tasks — that deserved recognition.

Li Ermei also said, “From now on, you’re officially one of us.”

Li Yan was happy too. She didn’t care about the benefits; she just felt validated for the work she’d been doing.

The award ceremony that day was quite lively. No one had work; everyone attended the regiment’s award meeting.

Regiment Commander Zhang summarized the achievements of the year’s land reclamation and the results of the autumn harvest.

Hearing how production had increased this year, the crowd erupted into cheers.

Higher yields meant that at the end of the year, more grain would be distributed — everyone would be able to eat a little more.

After talking about these matters, the commander began to formally praise the outstanding battalions, companies, and individuals.

The outstanding battalion was still Battalion One, led by Commander Wang.

The outstanding company was the assault vanguard, Company One, led by Gu Huayuan. The engineering company that provided major support during the land reclamation was also recognized.

Listening from below, Lin Qiao’s eyes sparkled. She leaned toward Sister-in-law Wang and quietly congratulated her.

Sister-in-law Wang’s face was full of joy. “Your little Gu isn’t bad either.”

Lin Qiao, looking proud, said, “He’s alright, I guess.”

She stood on her toes, but still couldn’t spot Gu Huayuan among the group of soldiers in uniform.

Gu Huayuan, on the other hand, spotted her easily. His eyesight was good, plus there weren’t many military family members on that side. Xiao Qiao was standing in the front, and she was always eye-catching to begin with. He saw her the moment he looked. He also saw her tip-toeing to find him.

He couldn’t hold it in and smiled.

The instructor standing next to him, Li Wentian, stared in shock. Since when did Old Gu lose his cool like this? One compliment and he was smiling like a man basking in spring breezes.

After finishing his praise for the soldiers, Commander Zhang then commended the military families in the regiment, praising them as women who were in no way inferior to men. This year, they had all contributed greatly to reclaiming wasteland, planting crops, and harvesting in the autumn.

They had also played an important role in opening up new fields of work.

For example, the chicken farm had only a few dozen chickens last year, but as of now, they had already reached eight hundred and fifty. Among them, two hundred and thirty were laying hens.

This was tremendous progress.

The key point was that, in order to reduce the burden on the logistics department, the chicken farm even opened up land and planted crops themselves, and the yield of the beans they grew was surprisingly good.

“…”

Down below, Lin Qiao and the others listened quietly, their faces full of squinted smiles.

After Commander Zhang finished praising them, he began announcing the outstanding units and individuals.

The very first name he called was Lin Qiao.

Lin Qiao lifted her head and puffed out her chest, bursting with pride.

Fat Cat poured cold water on her. “This is just a game world. It’s all fake. What’s there to be happy about?”

“I’m happy anyway. I’m happy, I’m happy, I’m very happy!” Lin Qiao snorted right back.

So what if it was some kind of world? To her, this was a real world. The people here were alive—people with emotions and thoughts.

When they were called up to receive their certificates, Lin Qiao finally saw Gu Huayuan.

The two exchanged a look. Gu Huayuan wanted to say, It’s all because you’re outstanding. Lin Qiao thought, See? I’m outstanding too.

On the other side, Su Weizhen also spotted Xu Yuanzheng.

The two smiled and exchanged a look of praise.

But it was Li Ermei who was visibly triumphant. As she stood on the stage, she immediately saw Instructor Chen standing below, and her heart bloomed with delight. She raised her eyebrows at him several times in a row. Instructor Chen: “…”

Li Yan, however, was quiet. She didn’t look around. She wasn’t familiar with everyone here, and she didn’t need anyone to look at her. Besides, she felt a little uneasy facing Zhang Tuo.

Zhang Tuo also resisted looking at her. His eyes were pointed elsewhere, only sweeping toward the stage with the corner of his eye.

Once the certificates were handed out, thunderous applause erupted below.

Commander Zhang announced that everyone would go to the cafeteria to eat—tonight’s meal would be made from this year’s fresh harvest.

That made everyone even happier than receiving awards.

The moment the word “dismissed” was spoken, people hurried home to get their bowls.

Su Weizhen suggested that they first get their food from the cafeteria and then go home to make two extra hearty dishes to enjoy together.

Lin Qiao raised her hand immediately. “Zhenzhen’s cooking is the best.”

With her big belly, Li Ermei became hungry just hearing it. “Good, good, good.”

Li Yan also nodded.

Li Ermei said, “Call your man to join us. How long has it been since we’ve seen him? Being busy isn’t an excuse.”

Li Yan: “…”

Lin Qiao could tell that Li Yan felt troubled, though she didn’t know the exact reason—only that things must have been tense between her and Zhang Tuo.

So after Li Ermei left with Instructor Chen, Lin Qiao asked quietly, “Do you want to call him? If you want to, I’ll have Gu Huayuan call him. If you don’t want to, we won’t bother with it.”

Li Yan said, “Maybe… he doesn’t really want to see me.” Last time, she had said those things, and Zhang Tuo was genuinely angry. He hadn’t shown up for so long. This was the only time it had happened.

“Just try. Send a message. See if he’ll come.”

Li Yan thought for a bit. “If he’s willing to come, then… invite him.”

Lin Qiao said, “Don’t worry. I’ll have Gu Huayuan call him, and I won’t say it’s at your request. You won’t lose face.”

After returning home, she immediately sent Gu Huayuan to handle it.

Gu Huayuan said, “No problem.”

Lin Qiao added, “Really no problem? I feel like things between them might be pretty serious. I’m thinking that since I’ll be leaving eventually, I want them to sort things out early so problems don’t blow up later.” Like Li Yan becoming unable to stay here, running back to the capital, walking right into the old path of her original fate.

Gu Huayuan also wanted to give Zhang Tuo a nudge. He would be leaving too, and he worried about his brother. If he kept sinking like this, it would affect his work.

Gu Huayuan said, “Marital issues—if you take them seriously, they can become huge. But if you don’t fuss about them, then they’re nothing at all.”

Lin Qiao perked up. “So what exactly was the issue?”

“No idea. He didn’t talk much. I’m guessing… something like ‘you don’t love me, and I don’t want to love you anymore’? That kind of thing?”

Lin Qiao instantly rubbed her arms. “Speak properly. Forget it, I’m not relying on you. Just go call him.”

When Gu Huayuan went to get food from the cafeteria, he deliberately went looking for Zhang Tuo and invited him to his house for dinner, to get together and catch up.

Zhang Tuo was just about to agree when Gu Huayuan added, “Comrade Li Yan will be there too. Do you dare come?”

“…” Zhang Tuo instantly shrank back. “She didn’t even look at me once on stage today. She looks fine—like she’s doing great. Maybe she really is better off without me.”

Seeing him act like this, Gu Huayuan couldn’t help punching him lightly. “Don’t call yourself my brother. I don’t have such a muddleheaded brother. When you should keep your distance, you stick to her like glue. Now that you should get close, you run for your life.”

Thankfully, he wasn’t as stupid as Zhang Tuo.

Zhang Tuo sighed. “You don’t understand. I’ve really thought it through.”

“Fine, don’t come then. I’m going to get food. My wife is waiting at home.” Gu Huayuan said and walked off.

Zhang Tuo: “… I’ll go congratulate Comrade Xiao Qiao at least.”

Gu Huayuan shot him a disdainful look.

On the way back, the two bumped into Xu Yuanzheng carrying his lunch box, so they all went to Gu Huayuan’s house together.

Xu Yuanzheng asked, “Did you see Old Chen?”

Gu Huayuan shook his head. “Didn’t see him. He must’ve gone home first.”

When they reached Gu Huayuan’s house, Lin Qiao, Su Weizhen, and Li Yan were busy preparing the extra dishes.

Hearing the movement, all three looked up.

Lin Qiao and Su Weizhen immediately turned to look at Li Yan. Li Yan quickly lowered her head and continued working.

Zhang Tuo pretended not to see anything and went straight over to congratulate Lin Qiao, acting as if his wife didn’t exist at all.

That instantly saved everyone from the awkwardness.

At least Lin Qiao felt extremely embarrassed, thinking, What kind of situation is this? Even strangers wouldn’t behave like this. She had no idea what conflict lay between the couple.

Since she didn’t know the truth, she didn’t assume it was Zhang Tuo’s fault. She smiled and greeted him, then subtly signaled with her eyes for him to look toward Li Yan.

But Zhang Tuo simply acted oblivious. “Sorry to bother you again today.”

Lin Qiao: “…No, no, it’s fine. That, um… hey, why hasn’t Ermei’s family come? She just said she was going home to bring me something tasty. Don’t tell me she regretted it?” She looked outside as she spoke, trying to ease the awkward atmosphere.

She didn’t see Ermei, but she did see Li Xiaoming.

The boy was gripping a cornbread bun while running like the wind. Standing in the yard, he shouted, “Auntie Ermei said she’s not coming. There are guests at home, so it’s not convenient.”

“Really? Guests arrived just like that?” Lin Qiao was surprised.

“Really. I saw strangers at her house. Three people. Two elders and a young lady.”

Then he added, “Not as pretty as you,” before running away shyly.

Lin Qiao: “…” This little brat is starting to flirt now?!

Since Ermei’s family wasn’t coming, they could only eat by themselves.

When they sat down, the atmosphere was still a bit awkward. Lin Qiao tried to pick up the conversation, asking who exactly had arrived at Ermei’s house.

Su Weizhen said, “It must be her family from back home.”

Lin Qiao replied, “Ermei’s pregnant now—they should come visit.”

Su Weizhen gave her a look, thinking she was still a little too naïve.

…

At this moment, Li Ermei was sitting at home eating, her expression blank as she stared at her in-laws and a distant cousin whose exact relation was unclear.

Supposedly, the distant cousin had fled to their side of the family during hard times. She even knew how to read, so she escorted the elderly couple on this visit.

They called it a family visit, but they didn’t bring anything—just half a bag of coarse grain.

The three of them were now sitting at the table eating the food Old Chen had brought back.

Fortunately, she had been sharp enough to grab her own portion to eat first. Otherwise, she’d be the one going hungry, not Old Chen.

As for pitying Old Chen—absolutely not. If he didn’t eat, it was his own fault.

Instructor Chen didn’t feel hungry anyway. He was too emotional. With love, even water tastes sweet—right now, looking at his aging parents, his heart was overflowing with joy.

“Dad, Mom, why did you come without telling me? I could’ve gone to pick you up.”

His parents looked just like all elderly people of the time—thin bodies, weathered faces. After traveling, they looked even more worn down.

It made Instructor Chen’s heart ache terribly.

Instructor Chen’s father took a drag from his dry tobacco pipe, glanced at Li Ermei, and said, “We didn’t want to affect your work. Your mother and I would rather suffer ourselves than cause trouble for you.”

Li Ermei sneered inwardly. Saying you don’t want to cause trouble, but didn’t you still come?

Eating, drinking, living here—was that not trouble?

In the past, she would’ve started arguing by now. But after spending so much time with Lin Qiao and the others, she had changed a little. She now understood that sometimes talking back was useless.

Anyway, she no longer depended on Old Chen. She was more confident than ever—she wasn’t going to take losses anymore.

Instructor Chen’s mother said, “We had Qiao’er with us this time. She’s been to school, can read, knows how to take the bus and ask for directions. The trip went quite smoothly.”

Instructor Chen quickly thanked this cousin, Qiao’er.

Sun Qiao was a simple and honest girl. She smiled shyly. “Third Brother, no need to thank me. Uncle and Aunt have shown me great kindness. This is what I should do.”

Instructor Chen’s mother added, “What should or shouldn’t be said? You do so much work at home. All your work points are used to support the family.”

Sun Qiao lowered her head bashfully. “No, don’t say that… If you don’t treat me as an outsider, then don’t keep score. It’s all what I should do.”

Instructor Chen’s mother chattered on with praise again.

Listening to them made Li Ermei’s teeth hurt. Holding her stomach, she said, “Old Chen, why does my stomach feel uncomfortable? I’m going out for a walk.”

Then she stood up and rushed outside.

She needed to find her own Zhuge Liang. (Her strategist.)