A woman in her 70s marries a rough-looking man; her plump wife is too delicate and alluring.

He Weiye's words took a turn, and his tone became much weaker than before.

"My back has been bothering me these past few days, so I can't lift heavy things..."

Sheng Yuze stood in front of He Zhaoyang and glanced at He Weiye.

"Even if you can't move anything, you can still come and take a look. It's inappropriate for your in-laws to move and you not to be there, is it?"

He Weiye's face twitched twice.

He stopped smoking, threw the cigarette butt on the ground, and raised his voice a little higher than before, as if trying to regain his confidence.

"You're deliberately trying to embarrass me!"

He Zhaoyang walked out from behind Sheng Yuze and stood in front of him.

"All you ever do is try to take advantage, even from the Sheng family's in-laws. And now you feel embarrassed just because I asked you to help move a couple of things?"

He Weiye didn't say anything. Looking at the laughing eyes of everyone, he felt extremely embarrassed.

He said, "I'm not going to argue with you," and then turned and left.

He walked very fast, but he could still hear the people mocking him.

*

Upon arriving in the city, the car stopped at the entrance of the military district compound.

Upon seeing the license plate number, the gatekeeper immediately opened the iron gate and saluted.

As the car drove in, sycamore trees lined both sides of the road.

Several green brick office buildings on the left.

Further in is the family quarters, with several rows of neat red brick buildings.

The car came to a stop in front of a small building.

Sheng Huaimin got out of the car, stood at the bottom of the steps, and looked up for a while.

Qin Meng stood next to him. "I miss it so much."

Sheng Huaimin sighed, "Yes, it's been four years since I've been back."

The first thing Old Mrs. Sheng, Li Yuzhen, did was go to the vegetable garden to check on the vegetables she had planted before. They were all dead, but the old lady was not discouraged and had already decided what to plant next.

He Zhaoyang and Nuannuan stared at the small building in shock, their mouths agape.

Sheng Yuze laughed and said, "Shut your mouths, they're about to fall to the ground."

He Zhaoyang quickly closed her mouth, but her eyes were still wide open. This building was far more magnificent than she had imagined.

Li Xuanxue took Nuannuan from the house. "It's Zhaoyang's first time in this house, so don't tease him."

Sheng Kaiyuan chimed in from the side.

After cleaning up in the evening, the family gathered around the round table in the main room for dinner.

On the table were a few simple dishes cooked by Qin Meng.

Sheng Huaimin sat in the main seat, with Old Madam Sheng and Qin Meng sitting next to him. Sheng Yuze and He Zhaoyang sat on one side, and Sheng Kaiyuan and Li Xuanxue sat on the other side, holding Nuannuan and feeding her porridge at a small table next to them.

Halfway through the meal, there was a knock on the courtyard gate.

Qin Meng put down her chopsticks, stood up, and went to open the door. As soon as the door opened...

Standing outside was a middle-aged man in military uniform, around fifty years old, not very tall, but with his back ramrod straight.

Chen Huanzhu and a young man followed behind.

He saw Qin Meng, smiled, and spoke in a loud voice.

"Sister-in-law, I heard that Brother Huaimin is back, so I came to see him."

Qin Meng was stunned for a moment, then quickly stepped aside from the doorway.

"Old Chen? Come in, come in quickly!" She turned and called out towards the main room, "Huaimin! Old Chen is here!"

Sheng Huaimin had already put down his chopsticks, stood up, walked to the door, and saw the person who came in. His face was full of joy.

The two stood at the door for two seconds, as if for a moment neither knew what to say first.

Then Chen Jiangong reached out and patted Sheng Huaimin on the shoulder, not hard, and his voice was a little lower than before.

"Finally back."

Sheng Huaimin said nothing, but simply stepped aside to let him in: "Come in and eat."

Sheng Yuze had already taken the initiative to bring three pairs of chopsticks and a stool.

Chen Jiangong sat down at the table, his gaze sweeping across the table before landing on He Zhaoyang. He paused for a moment, not looking away immediately.

"Who is this?"

Sheng Huaimin smiled. "Yuze's wife!"

Chen Jiangong exclaimed in surprise, "So this is Yuze's wife! I'd heard she was beautiful, but I didn't expect her to be this beautiful."

He Zhaoyang smiled politely.

The young man behind him also sat down; he was in his early twenties and must be his son.

Chen Huanzhu stood at the door without coming in. He glanced into the room, his gaze lingered on Sheng Yuze's face for a moment, then moved away and landed on He Zhaoyang.

Qin Meng had already greeted her.

"Welcome, please come in and have a seat."

Chen Huanzhu paused for a moment, then walked in and sat down at the table, right across from He Zhaoyang.

Sheng Yuze poured wine for Chen Jiangong and also poured a glass for the young man.

Chen Jiangong picked up his wine glass, but didn't drink it. He first glanced at Sheng Huaimin.

"Brother Huaimin, this glass of wine is for you."

Sheng Huaimin also picked up his wine glass, and the two clinked glasses and each took a sip.

Chen Jiangong began to talk to Sheng Huaimin about matters concerning the military region.

He Zhaoyang lowered his head and ate.

Chen Huanzhu sat opposite her, barely touching his chopsticks. Occasionally, he would pick up a piece of food, chew it a couple of times, and then put it down.

Qin Meng urged her to eat, and she smiled and responded. She then picked up her chopsticks, took a small piece of fish, and ate it slowly with her head down.

The young man is Chen Kaizhen, Chen Jiangong's adopted son.

He listened quietly to the two talking, his eyes occasionally glancing at He Zhaoyang.

Sheng Yuze served He Zhaoyang some food.

After everyone finished eating, they all went back to their rooms, leaving only Sheng Huaimin and Chen Jiangong still drinking.

Chen Jiangong suddenly said, "Brother Huaimin, do you remember? Huanzhu was engaged to Yuze before. Tell me, what a pity now."

Sheng Huaimin sighed, "Yes, we almost became in-laws."

Chen Jiangong leaned close to Sheng Huaimin and whispered, "I've found out about Yuze's wife. She's from the countryside. Now that you've been reinstated as commander, Yuze will definitely be promoted as well. Do you think she's good enough for Yuze?"

Before Sheng Huaimin could speak, Chen Jiangong added, "What Yuze needs now is a woman who can help him and encourage him in his career. If all else fails, how about letting the two children rekindle their relationship?"

Sheng Huaimin lowered his hand from the wine glass.

He didn't reply immediately. He put the cup on the table, tapping it absently with his fingers, and only spoke after a while.

"Old Chen, I'm glad you came today. But we shouldn't be talking about this over this meal."

Chen Jiangong's smile faltered for a moment. He looked down and turned the cup in his hand, then looked up at Sheng Huaimin.

"Brother Huaimin, I'm not trying to break up any families. I just feel that your son Yuze has a long road ahead of him, and as his father, you should think more about him."

He continued, "Besides, Huanzhu has been single for so many years, and she still has feelings for Yuze. Wouldn't it be wonderful if they got married?"

Sheng Huaimin pushed his wine glass to the side.

"Who he marries and what kind of life he lives are his own business. I, as his father, am not capable of making that decision; let him make it up to himself."

Chen Jiangong did not continue speaking.

He sat for a few seconds and put down his glass.

He stood up, patted Sheng Huaimin on the shoulder, and his tone was more relaxed than before.

"Okay, it's getting late, I'll head back now."

He turned and walked out, but when he reached the door of the main room, he didn't look back; he just waved.