Lin Zhilan squatted down, reached out her hand, and made a handshake gesture. "Hello, Chengzhou. My name is Lin Zhilan, and I am your aunt."
Jiang Chengzhou wiped his hand on his clothes before grasping Lin Zhilan's hand. "Hello."
Lin Zhilan then introduced her daughter. "This is my daughter, Lin Lin. You can call her little sister, or you can call her Linlin."
Jiang Chengzhou: "Linlin."
Linlin replied in a milky, childish voice: "Yeah."
"Linlin."
"Yeah."
"Linlin."
"Yeah."
"..."
Amused but helpless, Lin Zhilan spoke up to interrupt their loop.
"Chengzhou, your sister and I would like some water. Could you take me to the kitchen?"
"No need to go to the kitchen," Jiang Chengzhou walked out and turned on the tap in the yard. "You can just drink right here."
Lin Zhilan: "Do you usually drink unboiled water?"
"Yeah."
Jiang Chengzhou didn't think anything of it. A lot of people drank unboiled tap water nowadays, even his uncle.
Right at that moment, there was a knock on the courtyard door.
Jiang Chengzhou ran over to open it.
It was Bai Yang, bringing some people over to deliver the things they had bought earlier in Yangcheng.
"Sister-in-law, the Regiment Commander has some matters to attend to. He asked me to tell you not to cook today. I'll just bring some food back from the cafeteria later."
"Alright, thank you."
Bai Yang scratched his head, "You're welcome."
Once they left, Lin Zhilan took out the pots and pans to wash them. She had originally planned to boil a kettle of water first, only to find that there wasn't a single piece of firewood in the kitchen.
Jiang Chengzhou followed her. "Auntie, Uncle said you don't need to cook, we can just eat from the cafeteria."
"I just wanted to boil some water to drink."
"Why?"
"Because drinking unboiled water often can easily give you an upset stomach."
Jiang Chengzhou thought back for a moment. He didn't really believe her, but if his pretty aunt wanted to drink boiled water, then so be it.
"Auntie, wait here. I'll go borrow some firewood for you."
He dashed out the door like a wisp of smoke before Lin Zhilan even had time to stop him.
Soon, Jiang Chengzhou returned carrying a small bundle of firewood, followed by a woman holding a basket.
"Sister, you just arrived, so you definitely don't have anything yet. I brought you some vegetables. They're all homegrown, nothing expensive."
"You are too kind, Sister-in-law."
"Don't mention it, don't mention it," Liu Chunhua's eyes remained fixed on the beauty in front of her, the corners of her mouth turning up. "My name is Liu Chunhua. I live right across from you. If you need anything, just give a holler."
"Alright, thank you, Sister-in-law."
Liu Chunhua was naturally a carefree and outspoken person, but for some reason, upon seeing Lin Zhilan's face, she felt like there were many things she couldn't bring herself to say.
Seeing her hesitation, Lin Zhilan asked, "Sister-in-law, is there something you want to tell me?"
"Sister, I actually came here to admit a mistake to you."
Lin Zhilan: "?"
"Before, when Regiment Commander Su submitted his marriage report, my Lao Ma was also in the office and heard the gist of it. He doesn't have a filter on his mouth and told me about it, and then I... I also don't have a filter when I speak. But I absolutely didn't exaggerate anything! Those later rumors have nothing to do with me!"
Lin Zhilan frowned slightly. "Are there rumors about me out there?"
"Just some gossip, saying you used some sort of tricks to get Regiment Commander Su to marry you. But there definitely won't be any now. You are so beautiful, it must have been Regiment Commander Su begging to marry you."
Jiang Chengzhou chimed in, "That's for sure!"
Lin Zhilan felt helpless yet amused, and could only say that it was alright.
After she left, Lin Zhilan boiled a kettle of water, filled the thermos, and left the rest in the kettle to cool.
She instructed Jiang Chengzhou, "From now on, we won't drink unboiled water. We'll only drink the boiled water from the kettle, okay?"
They always say that kids around seven or eight are so annoying that even dogs dislike them, but Jiang Chengzhou agreed without a second thought, "Okay."
Lin Zhilan smiled in relief, opened her backpack, and took out the gifts for him.
A tin frog and a wooden pistol!
Holding the toys, Jiang Chengzhou confirmed repeatedly, "Are these really for me? Really?"
"Of course it's true."
"Auntie," Jiang Chengzhou said heavily, his eyes sparkling, "You really are a good aunt!"
Qiangzi had wanted a tin frog for a long time, but no matter how much he begged his mom, she wouldn't buy it for him. He never expected to get one first, and with a wooden pistol to boot.
In the book, Jiang Chengzhou had a gloomy personality, and the only bit of tenderness he had was reserved entirely for his sister.
Lin Zhilan hadn't expected that at this age, he was still just a silly boy who would be overjoyed because of toys.
With the bag open, Linlin also took out the military medal Cheng Qingshan had given her to play with.
Jiang Chengzhou's eyes lit up when he saw it. He swallowed hard and asked, "Auntie, is this military medal yours?"
Lin Zhilan shook her head. "An old chief gave it to Linlin on the train."
"Then can you give one to me?"
"No, this belongs to your sister. You have to ask her yourself."
Jiang Chengzhou wasn't angry that his aunt said no.
"Sister, can you give me a military medal?" He looked at the two toys in his hands and felt that the wooden pistol was more rare. "I'll trade you this for it."
The toy he held out was clearly the wooden pistol he liked more.
Linlin didn't understand any of this; she just thought the shiny military medal was prettier and refused to trade with him.
Jiang Chengzhou was a bit disappointed, but he didn't throw a tantrum, merely letting out a long sigh.
Lin Zhilan smiled, "Why don't you try trading the frog with her?"
Hearing this, Jiang Chengzhou wound up the tin frog and placed it on the ground.
The frog immediately started hopping on the floor, mesmerizing little Linlin, who hadn't seen much of the world.
When he tried to trade with her this time, Linlin gave him both military medals; she only wanted the jumping frog.
Jiang Chengzhou only took one. "One for me, and one for my sister."
Lin Zhilan had seen many videos of bratty children on the internet before, and they truly drove people crazy.
Compared to those brats, the two in front of her were practically angels.
Though, perhaps they just hadn't reached that bratty age yet.
She hugged her daughter, who was holding the frog, and asked Jiang Chengzhou, "Chengzhou, do you know what a military medal represents?"
"I know! Soldiers only get them when they earn merit!"
"That's right," Lin Zhilan said. "This is something soldiers exchange their lives and blood for on the battlefield. We must respect it, right?"
"Right." Jiang Chengzhou clenched his small hands. Was his aunt going to take the military medal back?
Lin Zhilan gently patted his head. "So, can Chengzhou promise me to keep this military medal safely stored away, and not take it out to show off?"
Jiang Chengzhou abruptly looked up, "I can!"
His uncle also frequently patted his head, but it felt completely different from his aunt's pats.
His aunt's hand was light, soft, and carried a fragrant scent. It didn't hurt at all.
Unable to put his mind at ease, Su Lang fetched food for the whole family from the cafeteria right after finishing his training and headed back.
On his way, he ran into quite a few comrades who greeted him, "Regiment Commander Su, I heard your wife has arrived?"
Su Lang couldn't hold back a smile: "Yes."
He walked away happily holding the lunchboxes, leaving a group of men scratching their heads in confusion.
This Su Lang, marrying a second-hand wife, why was he so happy?