It’s Not Too Urgent
Lin Chuan suddenly reached out and smacked Chang Yuejin. “Have some backbone.”
Chang Yuejin immediately corrected himself. “It’s not that urgent.”
“…” Su Su still didn’t know what she was supposed to say. These two straight men were far too funny. So funny that she didn’t know whether she should laugh or comfort them.
Unfortunately, her own man even gave a heart-piercing explanation. “Wife, Old Chang is one year older than me. If he says he doesn’t want a wife, that’s fake. He thinks about marrying a wife every day. Whenever he goes home, he goes on blind dates, but he’s never met anyone he likes. Now that he’s finally met one, ask for him when you have time. Whether it works out or not will be their business.”
“Fine, I’ll ask.” But these two rough men probably didn’t know that although the little nurse looked very approachable, her family background was definitely not simple.
Su Su and Bai Lingling could be considered good friends, so from what she said, Su Su knew that the things Bai Lingling normally ate and used were all among the best of this era. She had to come from a good family to receive that kind of treatment.
Moreover, she was clearly very favoured at home. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been able to use connections to transfer her back to X City.
As for Chang Yuejin, his background was similar to Lin Chuan’s. He hadn’t received any higher education and didn’t have much personal wealth.
Fine. Actually, looking at it broadly, the two of them could count as a dual-income couple, so they were still quite suitable.
With Su Su’s nod, Chang Yuejin left with peace of mind. Su Su, meanwhile, thought about how to bring this up with Bai Lingling. Right, first she had to ask whether Bai Lingling had a boyfriend.
In fact, Bai Lingling had mentioned before that her family had recently been arranging blind dates for her, but she didn’t want to go, so she had been hiding in the hospital and unwilling to go home.
She hadn’t come over today. Could she have gone on a blind date?
Just as Su Su was thinking this, Bai Lingling arrived. Lin Chuan immediately said, “I’m going out to smoke.” Perfectly giving the two women space to talk.
Su Su strolled around once and sat on the bed. “Why do you look so gloomy?”
“Don’t even mention it. I went on a blind date because my parents wanted me to. The other person turned out to be the playboy type, very good at coaxing girls. On our first meeting, he wanted to buy me clothes, treat me to a meal, and invite me to watch a film. During the film, he secretly pulled my hand.”
“What?”
In this era, behaving like that meant he was a frivolous man.
“So I shook him off and ran back.” Bai Lingling said dejectedly, “I’ve washed my hands three times.”
“Do you have mysophobia?”
“No. I just don’t like that kind of man. He pulled a girl’s hand after only one meeting. Who knows how many others he’s pulled before?” Bai Lingling was actually quite conservative.
After hearing this, Su Su burst out laughing. Then she said, “Looks like you like more reserved men. What about Chang Yuejin? Is he reserved enough? Let me tell you, their battalion has that kind of tradition. Back then, when my husband was hospitalised, he wouldn’t even let a female nurse touch him for bandaging.”
“Really? I thought he was the only one like that. But he’s too reserved.” Bai Lingling rolled her eyes.
Su Su considered her words for a moment. “Actually, there’s something I originally wanted to tell you in a few days, but if I don’t say it, I’m afraid I won’t complete the task.”
“What task?” Bai Lingling quite liked chatting with Su Su. The two of them could talk together. For example, skincare, medical knowledge, and so on. Other people didn’t understand, but this girl in front of her knew a little about everything.
“Comrade Chang Yuejin wants to date you. He asked me to ask whether you agree.”
“What?” Bai Lingling jumped up as if she had been pricked by a needle. Her face turned completely red. “He… how did he think of that?”
“How would I know? Anyway, my husband said that he has never taken a liking to any girl before, and you’re the first. He told me I must speak to you about it. You also know soldiers—if they say one, it’s one, and if they say two, it’s two. So I could only reluctantly tell you. But how you choose is still up to you.”
“I only saw him as a patient.” Although Bai Lingling had been forced by her family and didn’t really want to go on blind dates, this time was different. This time, the man himself had directly taken a liking to her.
“But from what you just said, I feel that compared with that playboy, Chang Yuejin seems more suitable for you. Alright, he is a bit ugly. No, he isn’t ugly. His features are quite proper. From a genetic perspective, even if your future child looks like him, the child would still be presentable. The main thing is that the scar on his face is a little unpleasant to look at, but that was left behind from a mission. As for personality, outwardly he does look rather stiff. But haha… after marriage, he’ll change shape. Don’t ask how I know. Whoever marries one will understand.”
For example, her own man. When she first met him, he had been so serious it was frightening. But once their romantic relationship was confirmed, he had become as obedient as a little lamb.
But after marriage, he immediately became a big grey wolf.
Cough. She couldn’t tell Bai Lingling about this topic yet. It was a bit early.
Bai Lingling stood to the side and thought for a moment. “I… I’ll discuss it with my parents.”
“Alright, go home and discuss it.” This kind of matter naturally had to be discussed with parents. If Su Su’s own parents were here, she would also discuss it with them. Unfortunately, they were in another world.
Bai Lingling walked away in a daze. When she passed Chang Yuejin’s ward, she saw him standing outside. When he saw her, he immediately stood straight and said, “Comrade Bai Lingling, you didn’t go to work today. Where did you go?”
Look at that. As if he were interrogating a criminal.
Bai Lingling, who had originally been nervous, silently rolled her eyes at the sky. “I asked for leave.”
“Was something wrong at home? Oh, I’m just asking casually. After all, this is your workplace. How can you just leave casually?” Chang Yuejin said awkwardly.
Listen to that. Was that something a man who wanted to pursue her should say? Was he asking to be beaten?
If Bai Lingling hadn’t heard what Su Su said, she really would have argued with him. Even after hearing it, she still wanted to argue.
“I went on a blind date.” Mm. After thinking it over, telling the truth was best.
Then she clearly saw the man in front of her stiffen. He looked somewhat lost and said, “Oh, a blind date. A blind date.” Then he walked back toward the ward on his crutches, only his hand was still clenched tightly.
Bai Lingling raised her brows. Let you be so blunt. Let you ask. Now you’ve been hit, haven’t you?
“Do you have anything else you want to ask?”
“No.”
Chang Yuejin lay on the bed in disappointment. He had finally taken a liking to a girl, but she had gone on a blind date. Such a good girl—surely that man had taken a liking to her. Then she would soon get married, right?
He lightly punched the bed. He was one step too late. He was really very unhappy.
“Comrade Chang, what grudge do you have with the bed? Look, your fist has gone bruised from hitting it.” His ward mate quickly stopped this behaviour, completely unaware that Bai Lingling outside the door had heard it.
She actually felt a little shy. She hadn’t expected Chang Yuejin to like her quite so much. Then maybe she should go discuss it with her parents?
Men and women were sometimes that simple. Sometimes, if there were feelings but they weren’t openly revealed, perhaps they would simply pass. But once the matter was spoken aloud, it could very likely lead to a different ending.
For example, Chang Yuejin. In the book, he had actually been accompanying Lin Chuan on a mission when he suffered very serious burns. His face was truly ruined, and his foot could no longer walk normally. Later, he retired and worked in a unit. Because of his disability, he never married.
As for Bai Lingling, she married a working man through her family’s arrangements. But that person found a mistress after marriage. They parted unhappily. In the end, Bai Lingling remained alone for the rest of her life and never remarried.
But because Su Su had come, they found each other.
Su Su didn’t know any of this yet. She only said to Lin Chuan, “I think there really is a chance with this.”
“Ah?” Lin Chuan also felt the two of them weren’t suitable. But since he himself had married such a beautiful wife, nothing was really certain.
“Bai Lingling likes more reserved men.” Su Su felt that their tastes were probably quite similar, which was why they could chat together.
“Then there will be wedding wine to drink.” Lin Chuan was happy that he had solved the biggest difficult case in the battalion. Another thing was that his wife could finally be discharged from the hospital. He had already completed the procedures, and the army specially sent a car to take Su Su home. They also issued her a certificate of merit.
Then all the teachers in the X East University family residential area came to congratulate her. After all, it was said that Teacher Su had not only done great service by translating for the army, but had also saved army personnel. She was simply the pride of the school.
Principal Guan applied to the higher-ups and also awarded Su Su the title of Best Teacher of the Year, along with a fifty-yuan subsidy.
In this era, receiving this kind of honour was truly very rare. In the blink of an eye, two certificates of merit were hung in Su Su’s home. Lin Chuan proudly hung them on the wall one by one.
“Why don’t we just make this side into a certificate wall? Do you have any? Bring them and hang them together.”
Su Su only thought it was fun, but after Lin Chuan heard this, he really brought back a big pile. As a result, half of their wall was covered. It looked like they were showing off. Su Su felt that at the very least, they should hang them a little artistically, but Lin Chuan had no such thoughts. He simply hung them one after another.
If someone came over and saw this…
Then Lin Hai arrived. As soon as he entered, he saw them and said, “Eldest Brother, you got this many awards? Sister-in-law, you have two too. So impressive.”
Only then did Lin Chuan have time to ask about Lin Hai. Hearing that he was doing well at the clothing factory, he said, “Study properly. Don’t disappoint your sister-in-law’s intentions.”
“I know.” Every time Lin Hai came, he brought gifts for his little niece. This time, unusually, he brought Su Su a maternity dress.
“You spent money to buy this?”
“Mm, I asked one of the aunties to make it. Although I’ve learned quite a lot, I still can’t waste such a large piece of fabric making a dress.” If he didn’t make it well, it would be a pity.
“It’s very pretty. Thank you, Second Brother.” Su Su was very happy, thinking that in a while, when her belly grew bigger, it would happen to be summer. Wearing this dress then would be perfect.
“Right, Sister-in-law, our village has electricity now. Father called me and asked me to ask you whether the back courtyard should be connected to electricity. Apparently, it’s quite expensive.”
“Connect it. It definitely needs electricity. In the future, every household will have electricity. How much money is needed? I’ll send it home.”
“I already sent it. Also, this is the rest. Father said to let Sister-in-law help me save money for marrying a wife.” Lin Hai handed twenty yuan to Su Su. It seemed he trusted her greatly.
Su Su immediately felt the weight of her responsibility. She accepted the money and said, “This… I’ll try my best to save it for you.” In fact, Lin Hai could send money home and still save twenty yuan, which meant he probably had bonuses. This proved that he hadn’t been lazy at the factory.
The men of the old Lin family were all capable. At least with this diligence, they would all become reliable hands in the future.
“Sister-in-law, is there any work? Eldest Brother and you are both injured. I’ll help you do it.” Lin Hai said somewhat embarrassedly.
Before Su Su could say anything, Lin Chuan said, “Move some coal into the house. Then help your sister-in-law wash the bedsheets. After you finish those, cook some noodles, make three poached eggs, and eat here before going back.”
“Got it, Eldest Brother.” Lin Hai went off to work nimbly.
Su Su was a little speechless. Although in the village, he often ordered his younger brothers around like this, this was the city. Besides, Lin Hai finally had a Sunday to rest, yet he was making him do so much work.
“Then what are we doing?” There was only this little bit of work today.
“He needs to learn these chores. They’ll be useful when he marries a wife.”
“…” Marrying a wife was for doing these things? Comrade Lin, could you have a bit more ambition?
But she still asked curiously, “You know how to do everything. Was it also to prepare for marrying a wife?” To marry Qin Yueyue.
“Of course not.” Lin Chuan said halfway, then met Su Su’s sharp gaze. “At first, before meeting her, I did think of letting her suffer less in the future, so I learned to do a bit of everything. But after meeting her… I no longer had that thought.”
Su Su actually understood. Before meeting, any man would hope his wife would be a good one. Lin Chuan was no exception. He had surely thought about Qin Yueyue and hoped they could live well in the future. But after seeing her, he realised Qin Yueyue wasn’t suitable for him, so he was somewhat disappointed.
Usually, although he didn’t speak badly of others, Su Su was still very clear about this.
“Lin Chuan, go move coal with Lin Hai now. Then get me some kindling. Finally, I want to eat pan-fried tofu.” Su Su sat there like a queen issuing orders. In any case, she was pregnant and had great merit.
“Yes, guaranteed to complete the task.”
Lin Chuan immediately went to work, not daring to be an eyesore in front of Su Su, afraid she would bring up old accounts again.
Lin Hai glanced at his elder brother and said, “Looks like having a wife isn’t easy either.”
“Do your work.” Lin Chuan still had to go buy tofu. When he came back, he discovered Bai Lingling at the door asking about Su Su’s home. He said, “Comrade Bai, are you visiting my home?”
“Yes, Battalion Commander Lin. Is Su Su at home?”
“She is.” Lin Chuan didn’t say much else. As for female comrades, he now avoided them as much as possible. Qin Yueyue alone had already made him suffer plenty of unfair grievances for nothing.
Just like that, Bai Lingling arrived at Su Su’s house. She found two men working while Su Su sat there reading and cracking sunflower seeds.
“Su Su, so your home isn’t far from mine.”
“Come sit quickly. Why did you come over without telling me first?”
“I forgot to call you.” There was a phone at the entrance of X East University. Usually, when Su Su gave people contact details, she gave two numbers: one for the school and one for the gate.
“Ah, come in first.” Su Su warmly let her in. Afraid she would feel uncomfortable, she took her into the bedroom, closed the door, and the two women chatted.
Lin Hai asked from the side, “Who is that girl?”
“It has nothing to do with you. Go buy two more dishes. From the looks of it, your sister-in-law is going to keep her for a meal.”
“You can tell that?”
“Mm.”
“Eldest Brother, you’re really amazing. How did you tell?”
“When your sister-in-law came in, she gave me a look.”
“…” Why hadn’t he seen it at all? He only saw Sister-in-law glance at his elder brother once.
This was too impressive. Did one have to train to this level to marry a wife? Then he still had a long way to go.
So Lin Hai went to buy two dishes. Lin Chuan lit the coal stove and quickly cooked them. Although he was injured too, his injury was minor. The reason he had leave was because the higher-ups wanted him to stay home and take care of Su Su, who had been frightened.
Inside the room, Su Su held Bai Lingling’s hand and asked, “Have you thought it through?”
“He… he’s too straightforward. Ever since I said last time that I went on a blind date, he was frightened into staying far away from me. Now whenever he sees me, it’s as if he saw something he shouldn’t have seen. He can’t hide fast enough.” Speaking of it made her angry too. What kind of person chased someone by retreating instead of coming forward?
“Soldiers are quite strict about these kinds of things.”
“I know. I told my parents about it. They think his age is one thing, but the important thing is that they want to meet him.”
“I think this matter might be doomed.” Chang Yuejin really did look quite fierce.
“My parents aren’t the kind of people who only look at someone’s face.” Probably.
“Then what do you think?” First, she had to know the girl’s own opinion. Otherwise, if her parents approved but she didn’t agree, that would be pointless.
“I think we should spend some time together first.” Dating was popular now, and she wanted to date too.
After hearing this, Su Su sighed. “If you’re expecting those romantic kinds of love, then I think forget it. Men like them are already good if they don’t anger you to death. Back then, Lin Chuan and I got married without even dating, and thinking back now, that was really wise.” If she had dated him, she might have been angered to death—or they might have broken up. Just based on the ring he gave her, she felt her life was so difficult.
“Why?” Bai Lingling asked, and Su Su showed her the ring on her hand.
“Is this silver? It doesn’t look like it. It seems…” Just as she said this, Su Su flipped her hand over, revealing the joint where it had been cut with pliers.
“It’s iron. A ring made from iron wire. Back then, I asked for a ring, and Lin Chuan gave me this.”
As soon as Su Su finished speaking, Bai Lingling burst into terrifying laughter, almost laughing herself breathless.
But throughout it all, Su Su kept a stern face. In any case, she couldn’t laugh.
“Then why haven’t you changed it?” She was still wearing it.
But Su Su touched the iron ring and said, “Because this saved his life.” Then she told Bai Lingling about how Lin Chuan’s ring had deflected a bullet. After that, the two of them subconsciously kept these two iron rings and treated them like lucky charms, never changing them.
Bai Lingling looked at Su Su in surprise, then said, “I envy you so much. You have such an iron-willed man as your husband. I’ve decided. I’ll spend some time with him and see. You tell him.”
“Alright.” Su Su nodded, then kept Bai Lingling for dinner. She originally disagreed, but in the end, she still stayed.
At the dinner table, seeing that Lin Chuan could cook such good dishes, Bai Lingling praised him repeatedly. Lin Chuan said stiffly and seriously, “In our battalion, if someone wants to stay long, he must have good cooking skills.”
“So everyone can cook?”
“Everyone can.”
Did that mean even Chang Yuejin could cook?
Bai Lingling, who wasn’t very good at cooking, became even more tempted. In the end, after eating, she returned home in a happy mood.
Su Su saw her to the door and then turned back to ask Lin Chuan, “Can Chang Yuejin really cook?”
“No.” Lin Chuan answered honestly.
Damn. This was marriage fraud.
“I’ll go to the hospital right now and have him go to the cooking squad immediately. He’ll learn two dishes a day. If they date for two months, he’ll become a chef.” Lin Chuan felt he hadn’t really lied. This was something that could be learned afterwards anyway.
Su Su was actually rendered speechless. She stared at Lin Chuan without blinking.
Fine. He was getting darker and darker.
“Cough. I’m also doing this to solve the marriage problem of older soldiers in the army.”
“Oh, oh.” Solved well, solved wonderfully. But who knew what Chang Yuejin would think?
Lin Chuan went back and dragged Lin Hai out. The two brothers, one returned to the factory, while the other went to the hospital. Let’s not mention the one who went to the factory. The one who went to the hospital saw Chang Yuejin, and the two first went outside to smoke.
“I know this matter failed. She went on a blind date.”
“It didn’t fail. Comrade Bai decided to spend some time with you and see.”
“What?” Chang Yuejin felt as if half his injury had healed. He could run a thousand kilometres around the hospital without crutches.
“Don’t get happy too early. There are conditions.”
“What conditions? Please say them.”
“First, you have to meet her parents.”
“Fine. No problem.”
“Second, you need to spend time together for a while. You can’t immediately talk about marriage. Dating. Do you understand?”
Chang Yuejin felt this was a little difficult. He didn’t understand dating. He had never dated before. But he had confidence, because he had Lin Chuan. Their battalion commander had definitely dated before.
“That’s also no problem. When the time comes, you must give me more guidance.”
“Don’t smile at me like that. It looks miserable.” Lin Chuan pushed Chang Yuejin, then said, “Lastly, after you’re discharged and return to the unit, you’ll go to the cooking squad every day to learn two dishes.”
“What does that have to do with dating?” He wasn’t suited to cooking.
Lin Chuan told him about the boasting he had done to Bai Lingling. “If you’re a soldier from our battalion, you can’t embarrass me. You must learn these dishes. This is a mission.”
“Yes. Guaranteed to complete the mission.” For the sake of marrying a wife, learning two dishes was no problem. Even if he had to cook for his wife every day in the future, that was fine.
Yes, their battalion was just that lacking in ambition.
Bai Lingling had no idea she had been tricked. As for arranging a meeting between both sides, that would have to wait until Chang Yuejin was discharged, so the matter was set aside for now. However, dating was still possible.
Ever since Chang Yuejin learned that Comrade Bai was willing to date him, his mood was basically flying. Whenever he saw her, he no longer avoided her. Even when there was nothing going on, he kept moving closer.
He even openly and honestly pursued Bai Lingling.
Of course, Su Su and Lin Chuan didn’t know these things. They were suddenly invited to Leader Guan’s house for dinner, and Principal Guan was the one who came to invite them. According to him, Leader Guan had found the child he had lost at a fellow villager’s home back then and was very happy. Since that child was their relative, he invited them over to meet and share a simple meal.
Lin Chuan asked about the situation and said, “So that’s what happened.” He knew Lin Donghe’s identity, but he hadn’t said anything all these years. After all, Uncle Lin’s family had treated him like their own biological son.
Principal Guan smiled and said, “I didn’t expect our two families to have such fate. Speaking of it, our Guan family really should thank your Lin family.”
Su Su smiled on the surface, but inside, she was thinking about the plot in the book.
The Guan family was indeed grateful, but they thanked Uncle Lin’s family with money, then wanted Lin Donghe to cut ties with them. Of course, now that she was in the story, she found it a little hard to believe that Leader Guan and his wife would do such a thing. After all, the two of them seemed quite reasonable. Instead, it seemed to be the Guan family’s old lady who disliked Lin Donghe and felt that the Lin family would definitely come to take advantage of them.
**Author’s Note:**
Su Su: My life is so hard.
Lin Chuan: What’s wrong?
Su Su: What should I do when I’m surrounded by men anxious to get married?
Lin Chuan: In any case, I’m not anxious.
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