Chronicle of the 70s
Chapter 80 - 078 Wants to join the army

Chapter 80: 078 Wants to join the army

Author’s Note: Apologies, my stomach was upset and I didn’t sleep well last night. I’ve just gotten up. There’s another Chapter coming soon.

Dinner consisted of a pot with sheep meat soup base, a large bowl of greens, seven or eight peeled and chopped loofahs, a bowl of soaked vermicelli noodles, more than four jin of thinly sliced sheep meat, and a homemade sausage by Li Xianglu, sliced up. Nowadays, there really isn’t much in the way of good dishes, and it’s not wise to take things out of the Storage Ring.

The broth was already boiling, and Qin Zhen was so anxious he had peeked out the door four or five times with no one showing up.

Li Xianglu said with some regret, "Let’s eat, I’m afraid he’s not coming."

Qin Zhen, seeing Li Xianglu’s disappointed look, pushed open the door and left, and soon enough, dragged someone back with him.

The person was indeed Li Jianqing, who had been squatting at Lower Ridge for a long while. Seeing his honest smile, everyone burst into laughter.

Li Xianglu scolded, "Didn’t I tell you to come?"

Li Jianqing scratched his head and sheepishly said, "I was thinking of waiting a bit longer before coming in, but then Brother Qin caught me."

Mr. Li sighed and said, "You child, hurry up and wash your hands, Qin Zhen’s drool is all over the floor."

Everyone burst into laughter, which made Li Jianqing’s embarrassment fade away, and they gathered in the yard to start eating in high spirits.

Qin Zhen watched in dismay as the last piece of meat was picked up by his brother and swished it in the pot a few times before putting it into Li Xianglu’s bowl, and he complained with his mouth wide open, "Brother, are you still my real brother? How come you’re nicer to this stinky girl than you are to me!"

Qin Xi reached out his long arm and smacked his brother on the head, saying, "It’s just you who talks too much. Who are you calling ’stinky girl’? Are you asking for a beating? Xiao Xiang worked so hard to cook, what’s wrong with her eating more? Besides, have you seen how much you’ve eaten? Four jin of meat, and you’ve eaten at least two by yourself."

Qin Zhen pouted, scooped up a large chunk of bean sprouts, dipped it in the chili bowl, and swallowed it viciously, clearly feeling indignant.

Li Jianqing laughed and gave him a piece of loofah, saying, "Hey, for such a grown man, you sure are petty."

Qin Zhen, seeing everyone picking on him, laughed embarrassingly. Indeed, ever since his father left, he had been quite worried, but it was the various delicious meals at Grandpa Li’s house that allowed him to relax. He quickly picked a piece of loofah for his brother to flatter him and said, "Brother, have some loofah, don’t you think Xiao Xiang really knows her stuff? How come it’s so tasty just after a quick blanch?"

Qin Xi glanced at the person who was earnestly eating vermicelli and hadn’t noticed that someone started a quarrel to defend her.

With a bit of displeasure, Qin Xi quietly continued eating.

Midway through the meal, everyone was very happy, and Mr. Li cheerfully brought out his own liquor to pour half a cup for each of the boys. It’s appropriate for boys to drink a bit, but Li Xianglu, who had a history, got flatly refused by Mr. Li without any courtesy.

After finishing his drink, Li Jianqing’s cheeks were flushed red, and he stuttered, "I want to join the army next April!"

That sentence made everyone stop in their tracks.

Li Xianglu frowned and asked, "Aren’t you planning to go to high school?"

Regardless, one should at least finish high school. After high school, go to college, then you can be assigned a good job. There are plenty of such cases. Now it’s 1974, almost ’75, and as far as I remember, college entrance exams will start in ’77, it won’t be long now.

Li Jianqing wiped away a sudden tear and said firmly, "I want to go join the army."

Qin Xi saw both of them frozen in place and interrupted: "Jianqing, you’re not old enough, you’re only sixteen this year, and you’ll only be seventeen in March next year. You have to be at least eighteen to enlist."

Li Jianjun laughed and said: "Daddy told me that he’s going to finalize the divorce procedures with Mom, then separate our household registrations. I can just change my age then."

Alright, even the solution has been thought out.

Mr. Li put down his chopsticks, picked up his glass of wine, and took a sip: "Since you want to go, then prepare well. When you have time, run around the drying yard. This will benefit you entering the new recruit camp."

Li Jianqing heard Grandpa Li support him and suddenly stood up, excited and at a loss for what to do.

Mr. Li waved his hand: "Sit down quickly, and eat properly."

No matter how glum Li Xianglu was, she had to wait until after the meal to have a proper talk with her brother.

After the meal, Qin Xi directly took Qin Zhen with her to take on the task of washing dishes, giving Li Xianglu and Li Jianqing time to talk.

They entered the western cave dwelling, and both siblings climbed up on the kang bed. Li Jianqing, looking at the white paper pasted neatly on the ceiling of the cave dwelling, smiled and said: "Xiangxiang, Uncle Grandpa treats you so well, cleaning up an entire cave dwelling to make it look like a city house."

Li Xianglu sighed and earnestly asked: "Third Brother, do you really not plan to attend high school?"

Li Jianqing slowly lowered his head, looking at his rough fingers for a long time before saying: "I want to, how could I not? I heard the teacher say, the country will one day develop the economy, and opening universities is a trend of the times."

Li Xianglu was surprised: who was that teacher, to be able to grasp the course of the era so precisely?

Li Jianqing continued: "It’s just that I don’t know how long it will take, and I can’t wait. I want to enlist, earn money earlier, and change the place I live. I feel too suffocated at home."

Li Xianglu looked at the downcast and somber boy, her heart aching. The pressure at home was too great, and with Ge Sanmei’s biased nature, she probably found something to blame on Li Jianqing.

With this in mind, Li Xianglu asked: "Did she say something to you?"

Li Jianqing sighed: "Nothing can be hidden from you. It’s not just because of Mom’s reasons, I just feel too suffocated. I don’t want to stay at home, worrying about food every week and having to watch faces; I’m tired of it."

Li Xianglu looked at the boy with red-rimmed eyes and didn’t know how to comfort him for a long time. After all, everyone has their own choices, and enlisting in the military isn’t necessarily a bad thing. After enlisting, one can still take the college entrance examination, and with the Li Family’s good background, applying should also be easy.

After whispering back and forth for a while, Li Jianqing said that his break for the autumn harvest would be over next week, and then he would be going to school. He planned to bring more grain and not return for a month.

Li Xianglu frowned slightly but did not stop him, and said gently: "Okay, good. I’ll come to see you halfway and bring you some meat-stuffed buns."

Li Jianqing felt warmed by his sister’s support, and he said with a smile: "Then, I’ll be waiting."

Li Xianglu couldn’t smile; her heart was filled with bitterness. In her previous life, she was a child raised in the lap of luxury, never having suffered. Her intelligence was sufficient, and schooling had been a smooth ride. The saddest thing in her previous life was the passing of her parents.

In this life, she had seen much hardship, but she remained optimistic. She believed that as long as one lived, there was nothing that couldn’t be solved.

Yet the current state of her Third Brother pained her deeply. Since coming to this world, no one had been kinder to her than Third Brother. When she faced any issues, he was always the most worried. Now, the best she could do for him was to support his decision.

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