Because of a down vest shared by a regiment leader, Lou Luhui, the entire family quarters was filled with a downy wind for several days.
In the past, people disliked the smell of dirty things used for burning firewood, but now they have become everyone's favorite.
There is no way, after all, everyone has seen how light a down vest is.
The men in the family, in particular, have personally experienced the warmth-retaining function of that vest.
While the men envied Lou Luhui for marrying a beautiful and virtuous wife, they also wanted to have one.
But when you really need those shabby things that you once discarded, you can’t get them, and you don’t even have a place to buy them with money.
The quartermaster has had a headache these days when he sees the military families in the family compound, because the number of people coming to him to buy geese and ducks has far exceeded the number in previous years.
The farm's supply of poultry meat is limited. Now there is a sudden increase of a hundred heads. How can he get them? It would be strange if he didn't have a headache.
Tian Mi and her elder sister did not get involved. First, Lou Luhui had collected two full snakeskin bags of wool from the village last time, and he had also ordered more than a dozen geese from the quartermaster a few days ago.
Although the accumulation of these down is far from enough for everyone to own a down jacket, it is still possible to make three or four ready-made garments.
The rest can be done slowly, there is no need to rush to compete with everyone for the limelight.
Besides, there is only one week left until the Chinese New Year, and preparing the ingredients is enough to keep the two sisters busy.
Tian Mi went to the sea again two days ago.
This time is also the last time I go to the sea before the New Year. In addition to catching food for myself, I also have to prepare food to give to others.
So, Tian Mi spent half a day digging at the bottom of the sea, picking and choosing, and finally fished out 12 sacks.
After dark, Lou Luhui picked it up twice before taking it back.
Of course, even though it took two days to clean up, the young couple were exhausted.
But what makes people happy is that this time, the variety of fish caught is more abundant, including octopus, sea cucumber, sea urchin, abalone, lobster, swimming crab and so on.
Add some meat and fill the small snow house made of snow in front of the door.
Tian Mi calculated that even if she treated them to meals every day, it would be enough for them to eat for half a month.
Nowadays, the only thing missing from the various foods needed for the New Year is some dry goods like melon seeds and peanuts.
It's cloudy again today.
A light breeze was blowing, making the already sparse snowflakes even more withered.
After lunch, Tian Mi wrapped herself tightly and went to her eldest sister's house.
As soon as you enter the door, you will be greeted by the warm temperature and the rich aroma of fried peanuts.
"Second Aunt!" In the living room, Guoguo was playing with the sandbag her mother made for her. When she saw someone, she immediately threw the sandbag aside, then stood up and ran towards the person.
Seeing that the little fat girl was about to pounce on him, Tian Mi quickly took off his military coat that was wrapped in cold air.
As soon as I hung it up, a fat baby fell on my legs.
Thinking that the little girl was thinking of her, Tian Mi bent down with emotion. Before she hugged the little girl, she heard the little girl excitedly shouting, "Aunt, Feifei, Guoguo wants to fly."
Hearing this, Tian Mi's outstretched hand froze. Well, she was just being too sentimental. It turned out that in the eyes of the little guy, she was just a tool at this moment.
But what can she do? She just needs to be called upon to act like a spoiled brat.
By the time she reacted, he had already held the person in his arms, and was throwing him into the air as she wished.
The body flew into the air again, and the little fat girl was immediately amused and started to laugh crazily.
Tian Yu, who was cooking in the kitchen, heard the noise and came out to take a look. He scolded her with a smile, "Don't spoil the little girl. She is a crazy person."
"It's okay, just throw it a few times." Tian Mi said and threw the little fat girl into the air again.
"Hey, if you have that much energy, why not let Third Sister take over? She's been frying the peanuts all the time, and her hands must be sore now. I wanted to take over but she refused to let me. It's a rare day off, but she's more tired than working." Tian Yu invited people into the kitchen and started mumbling out of habit.
Tian Xin, who was busy in the kitchen, smiled and said, "Big sister, I'm really not tired, so I don't need you to change me."
"How come you're not tired? Your forehead is sweating." After saying that, he sat back behind the stove.
Tian Mi handed the little fat girl to the eldest sister, reached out and took the spatula from the third sister, pointed to the small stool next to her, and said with a smile: "Go, sit over there and rest for a while."
"Second sister, I'm really not tired." In Tian Xin's mind, her life is now so good that it is about to take off. As a soldier, she not only gets a salary but also learns skills. She eats and lives well at her sister's house. She has only been here for more than half a month and she has gained five or six kilograms. It's a rare day off. How can she be considered tired just by frying peanuts
This girl... I don't know when she will be a little more cunning. Tian Mi said firmly: "If I tell you to sit down, just sit down and rest for a few minutes before you take my place."
"Third girl, listen to your second sister. If you don't want to sit, come and watch Guoguo for me."
Hearing this, Tian Xin stopped talking, bent down, picked up the little fat girl and sat her in a corner where she would not be in the way, then took out some wool from her pocket and started playing with her.
"Has the snow stopped outside?"
Tian Mi was quite strong, and frying the peanuts was very easy for her. When she heard her elder sister's question, she didn't even raise her head and said, "No, it's still snowing. I don't know what's wrong with this snow. It's been half a day and it still won't snow. It doesn't look like real snow to me."
Tian Yu was amused by his second sister's words: "Is there anything wrong with snow? If you let it fall seriously, like a heavy downpour, your 50 kilograms of pork will be gone."
Hearing this, Tian Mi also laughed. She originally wanted to say that it didn't look like it was going to snow seriously, but she didn't expect that after a few words, the tone of her words changed completely: "No, it's better not to snow. At least we can wait until three days later and win back the 50 kilograms of pork. Then it can snow at will, and we can just sleep in at home."
“.”
"By the way, considering the time, the New Year gifts for your parents-in-law and elder sister-in-law should have arrived." The two sisters were chatting casually, one making the fire and the other stir-frying. When they were preparing to serve the peanuts, Tian Yu patted his head and asked, as if he had thought of something.
Tian Mi frowned and calculated the time: "Well, it should be here by now."
It has indeed arrived.
Lou Zhan, who was far away in Beijing, received a call from his son a few days ago.
He thought he was here to ask for something again, but he didn't expect the brat to say that his daughter-in-law personally prepared a New Year gift for him and asked her comrades-in-arms who returned to Beijing to bring it back. She also told him not to forget to send someone to pick it up at the train station.
Lou Zhan has heard countless compliments about his daughter-in-law from his wife.
He and his wife have the same stance. Apart from anything else, the fact that his daughter-in-law risked her life and went into the ice hole to save their son is enough for the whole family to worship her.
What's more, the wife has said countless times that her daughter-in-law is an exceptionally outstanding girl, and even if she hadn't saved her son's life, she would still be likable enough.
As a father-in-law, although Lou Zhan couldn't pay too much attention to his daughter-in-law's situation, the information he extracted from the words of his wife and son had already made him satisfied enough.
Now, when he heard his son tell him in a boastful tone that his daughter-in-law had personally prepared the holiday gift, he felt happy but also a little emotional.
The eldest daughter's marriage is not going well, but fortunately the youngest son's marriage is happy.
Of course, no matter what, being remembered by the children, even Lou Zhan, who is a powerful man, is happy in his heart.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but think of the incident when his son's rescue rope broke. Suddenly, his eyes, which were exactly the same as his son's but more majestic, narrowed.
There were too many coincidences when it happened.
But he never believed in coincidences.
But the person behind the scenes was hiding too deeply. Even though he used a lot of connections, he couldn't find out who was behind it.
"Commander, Xiao Zhang is back." Just as Lou Zhan was taking a break from his busy schedule and thinking over a cup of tea, the guard Xiao Li at the door knocked and walked in.
"You're back?" Lou Zhan blinked, hiding the anger in his eyes, looked at the watch on his wrist, stood up and said, "It's just lunch time, don't bring the things up, just go home."
"yes!"
As the commander of the military region, Lou Zhan lived in a two-story house at the innermost part of the family quarters.
The car drove all the way to the door, and after getting out, he strode into the house.
Although Lou Zhan is already 58 years old, he has been exercising all the year round and has a very tall figure. Apart from the gray hair on his temples and the wrinkles between his eyebrows, he does not look old.
Seeing her eldest daughter sitting on the sofa reading a newspaper, she asked unexpectedly, "How come you have time to come? Isn't the hospital busy?"
Lou Yannan looks somewhat similar to his younger brother Lou Luhui, but because she is a woman, her facial features are much softer. But overall, she is a cold and icy beauty.
However, no matter how cold and beautiful she is, she can't be cold in front of her parents. At this moment, she is relaxed with a faint smile on her face: "I'll take a rest today and come back to see my parents."
"It's time to come back. Spend more time with your mother when you have time." Lou Zhan put his hat and gloves on the coffee table, took the tea handed to him by his daughter, and said in a gentle tone.
Growing up, Lou Yanan has become accustomed to the deep affection between his parents.
She used to be happy, and she still is.
But when she thought of herself, her eyes inevitably dimmed, but it only lasted for a few seconds, and she quickly responded with a smile as if nothing had happened: "Come back when you have time."
Lou Zhan was a man who knew what kind of person he was. He saw it all even though his daughter was in a trance for just a few seconds.
Thinking of his equally arrogant and outstanding eldest son-in-law, he felt a headache: "Yannan, if you have any misunderstandings with your son-in-law, sit down and talk it out. If you are really unhappy, then divorce. You are my daughter, you don't need to care about other people's opinions."
Hearing this, Lou Yannan smiled calmly: "Dad, don't worry, I'm on good terms with your son-in-law. If she's really wronged, I'm not that hard to let go of your daughter."
The Lou family has a long history of producing romantic people. The daughter said it frankly, but she knew what she was thinking in her heart.
But this girl has been stubborn since she was young, and she keeps everything to herself. Even as a father, Lou Zhan can't interfere too much.
Looking at his daughter who only reported good news but not bad news, he sighed inwardly and shut up at the right time. He pointed at the things that Xiao Li and Xiao Zhang brought back and said, "Go and see what they are. They are the New Year gifts that your sister-in-law asked someone to bring back. Your brother, that brat, even asked me to give you one of them, saying that his wife prepared it for you."
Hearing this, Lou Yanan was really surprised.
Like her parents, she had genuine love and gratitude for this sister-in-law whom she had never met.
Anyway, she never heard her mother say a single bad word about her brother and sister-in-law.
Later, out of curiosity, she found time to call her brother. Then, she heard the same endless boasting from her brother, who became more and more taciturn as he grew older.
As an elder sister, she is naturally happy and wishes her younger brother well that he can know and stay with the person he loves.
So after chatting with my sister-in-law for a few minutes, I prepared a lot of food, daily necessities and clothes and sent them out.
Logically, the two big packages should not have arrived yet, but unexpectedly, my brother-in-law's return gift arrived first.
No, Dad just said it was a New Year’s gift
Thinking of this, Lou Yanan became curious and went to the kitchen to get a pair of scissors.
Also coming out with her was Zhong Yuxiu, who was in the kitchen learning cooking.
She was wearing an apron and her face was full of joy: "Has the gift from my daughter-in-law arrived?"
Seeing his wife's outfit clearly, Lou Zhan asked with a helpless smile, "Are you still struggling with those cookies? If you ask me, why bother? Wouldn't it be better to go to the Friendship Store and buy ready-made ones?"
Zhong Yuxiu stood beside her daughter and watched her unpack. She didn't even turn her head and said, "What do you know? This is to be sent to my daughter-in-law. How can the one I bought be the same as the one I made myself?"
Hearing this, Lou Zhan picked up his tea and said nothing more. He just decided to remind his son privately that if he received any strange food, he should never eat it, as he was afraid that it would make others sick.
"Wow! Why is the abalone so big? Is it abalone? And there are sea cucumbers?" After the package was opened, the neatly stacked abalone were revealed.
Tian Mi had seen all kinds of exquisite packaging in later generations, so even though the conditions here did not allow it, she used oilcloth to make layers.
A package is divided into four layers. Except for the second layer which is sea cucumber, the other three layers are abalone.
Counting the two packages, there are six layers of abalone and two layers of sea cucumber.
Even though the three of them had seen a lot of good things, they were still shocked by the generosity of their daughter-in-law and brother-in-law.
Lou Zhan reached out and took the letter wrapped in oilcloth from another package.
Unfold the letter.
The unfamiliar, strong and relaxed pen strokes appear on the paper.
The handwriting reveals the person. This is actually not like the beautiful handwriting of girls as people imagine. The words on the letter paper look more like they were written by a man.
From this point, it is not difficult to see that the person who wrote the letter has courage and determination that is no less than that of men in some aspects.
This realization made Lou Zhan, who was already satisfied with his daughter-in-law, admire her even more.
But before he could take a closer look at what was written in the letter, his wife took the letter away.
Lou Zhan was not angry, but moved closer to his wife and watched with her.
"Oh, she is my daughter-in-law after all. She didn't spend any money on all these good things. She fished them out of the sea herself. Look, my daughter-in-law wrote in the letter that she can hold her breath in the water for more than ten minutes. How could my Tiantian be so capable? No wonder she could fish our son out of the sea. Hey, look at how filial our daughter-in-law is. It also said in the letter that we can eat as much as we want and she will take some more for us after we finish eating."
Lou Yanan has become accustomed to his mother talking endlessly whenever his younger brother and sister-in-law are mentioned.
She took another object wrapped in oil paper from her mother's hand with amusement.
The touch was a little hard. Lou Yannan was stunned. Could it be that she thought of a possibility? Her hands moved faster.
Sure enough, after opening the oil paper, three photos were pulled out from the envelope.
In the photo, a handsome man and a beautiful woman sat side by side, with bright smiles on their faces. The happiness between lovers softened Lou Yannan's eyes.
They are a perfect match.
so good!
"Ah! The two kids sent photos? No need to ask, it must be my daughter-in-law who asked me to send them. How could that brat Huihui be so considerate? Nan Nan, come and show them to me and your dad."
The family members far away in Beijing were delighted to receive the gifts carefully prepared by their loved ones, and they showed them off everywhere.
The annual winter swimming competition organized by the 836th Army finally kicked off amid everyone's anticipation.
The weather was good on the day of the competition. The snow that had been falling sporadically for several days finally stopped its mischief.
Tian Mi and her husband were both contestants, so when they set out, they followed the main group of the contestants and walked to the central lake a few miles away.
The entire army, except for the soldiers who had to stay behind to be on duty, the remaining 8,000 soldiers all followed the contestants in a mighty manner.
The scene was spectacular with all the green military uniforms.
Those who fell at the end of the team were the military dependents in the family area.
They were all wrapped up tightly, walking in groups of three or four, holding hands, laughing and making noises from time to time, walking leisurely and leisurely.
Obviously, the winter swimming competition is a carnival for the entire army!
Ah! That can’t be said, it should be said that it was a carnival for the 836th Army and the nearby farms and villages.
The competition is scheduled to officially start at 2 pm.
At 1:20, when Tian Mi and his large group arrived at their destination, a lot of people had already gathered around the central lake.
Because it is a friendly match and is mainly for entertainment, there is not much tension between the contestants.
What surprised Tian Mi even more was that there were more than 20 female athletes participating in the winter swimming competition, which was seven or eight more than she had known in previous years.
Although there are about 400 people in total, more than 20 people are still pitifully few.
"Tiantian, wait here for a while. I'll go put the package away."
Although there was not a strong competitive atmosphere, everyone's face was filled with bright smiles.
But the soldiers and the contestants from the farm and the village subconsciously drew a line between themselves and gathered together.
In the crowd, Lou Luhui carried the packages for both of them and walked towards Zhou Jianshe who was not far away. After taking a few steps, he turned back and greeted him out of concern.
Hearing this, Tian Mi waved her hand: "I understand, you go ahead."
Zhao Qin has been swimming in winter with Tian Mi almost every day recently, and she has seen how good the relationship between the couple is.
Seeing that Lou Tuan had only been away for a few minutes, he looked worried and couldn't help but tease, "Look, look, the newlyweds are so clingy, their relationship is so enviable."
Tian Mi didn't know how to respond to this, so she modestly said that her relationship with Huihui was just average. She was unwilling to do so, but she joked back that Sister Qin was a generation older than her, so it would definitely be even less suitable for her.
In addition, the other party had no ill intentions, so Tian Mi finally chose to react as a young wife should.
She pretended to be shy and turned away.
Seeing her like this, Zhao Qin laughed out loud, but as Tian Mi expected, she didn't continue joking.
Although I had heard a lot about the scale and rules of previous years' competitions from my husband before.
But at this moment, being in the present moment, Tian Mi couldn't help but look around with curiosity.
When her eyes met a group of people dressed relatively decently, she looked at them a few more times out of curiosity.
Hmm. These should be the educated youth on the farm, right
It is what was recorded in books of later generations, that in the 1960s and 1970s, together with those retired soldiers, they were a great existence that transformed this desolate land.
I heard from Huihui that the farm would also be closed at the end of the year. Some educated youth with better financial conditions would choose to go home for the New Year, but most people would stay on the farm.
Tian Mi looked at the educated youths curiously for a few more times before turning his attention to the judges' panel.
Yes, although it is a friendly match.
But the necessary scale is still there, with six judges alone.
The judges of the troops were Wei Guoqing, the political commissar of the Second Regiment, and Tang Dahai, the commander of the Third Regiment.
The other four are two farm managers and the village branch secretary.
In addition to the necessary judges, there are also medical staff waiting on the side to deal with emergencies.
There were also young soldiers from the Propaganda Department holding cameras, ready to take photos of materials for newspaper advertisements.
In addition, perhaps in order to boost everyone's morale and enthusiasm, the prizes were placed directly on the table.
The table was covered with pork tied with big red flowers, in ten sizes, including 30 jin, 20 jin, 10 jin, etc.
Although he didn't understand why red flowers had to be tied on the pork, there were more than a hundred pounds of pork on the table. Even Tian Mi, who had seen a lot of good things, was greatly inspired.
Tian Mi, who once called herself a little fairy, never imagined that one day she would drool over 30 kilograms of pork and swim in winter for it.
It's just... outrageous and sour.
"Tiantian, come here and warm up." After putting away the luggage, Lou Luhui found a relatively open space and waved to his wife who was looking around.
Hearing this, Tian Mi immediately withdrew her curious gaze and walked to her husband.
What she didn't know was that while she was curiously observing others, many people were also staring at her.
There was no way. There were few women participating in the winter swimming competition, and even fewer young people. Especially since Tian Mi was so beautiful that she was eye-catching.
Even though most people have already figured out that the man who has always been with the beautiful lesbian should be her husband, people still can't help but admire beautiful women.
Some even gathered in groups of three or four, discussing the matter in low voices.
There are only two topics. One is that lesbians are too young and beautiful.
Another is that such a pretty and delicate girl is probably just here to make up the numbers, and she might not even dare to go into the water in the end.
(End of this chapter)