Fortunately, the chestnuts were delicious on their own. Given that they had absorbed the energy from the jade pendant, they emitted a tempting aroma not long after they were steamed in the pot for a while.
The pair of grandfather and granddaughter finished their meal in satisfaction. Qiao Mei then filled a big bowl with chestnuts and placed it in the basket, preparing to go out.
"Where are you going?" Qiao Qiang asked curiously.
"Sending it to Auntie Dong at the end of the village. We can exchange for some rice with her family," Qiao Mei replied.
Qiao Qiang was stunned and looked at Qiao Mei in disbelief.
His Mei Mei had really changed. Not only had she learned how to do household chores and cook well, but she had also become tactful in handling matters. It was as if she had been blessed by Buddha.
No, perhaps she had been encouraged by that kid, Xia Zhe… I don't even know when that kid would return.
…
At this moment, Xia Zhe frowned as he thought about his next mission. This mission was a little complicated and did not seem to be able to be completed within a month.
He thought for a while and ran to his office to make a call.
"Commissar, I have something to report!"
"What is it?" A voice came from the other end of the phone.
"Please help me put up a report on my marriage plans!" Xia Zhe said immediately. Soldiers had to put in an application if they had plans to get married.
"…" The other end of the phone went silent.
"Please help me to put up a report on my marriage plans!" Xia Zhe repeated in a louder voice.
"Okay, okay, okay. I got it." The man on the other end of the phone covered his ears before he continued to ask, "Which girl are you going to get married to? Is she from Zhang Lao Da's family or Commissar Ma's family? Or is it the English teacher from the university that your father introduced to you?"
Xia Zhe was handsome, had a good family background and a good character. Ever since he became an adult, people had almost knocked down his family door trying to introduce girlfriends to him one after another.
Especially in the early few years, there were so many people who came round.
In the past few years though, there were not many people because the earlier group did not succeed. Everyone felt that the Xia family had very high standards, so it dissuaded those ladies who were from modest families.
It was also precisely because of this that two ladies with good family backgrounds had set their sights on this good catch, Xia Zhe. The two families were currently fighting fiercely over him, and it was said that the two ladies had even physically fought several times over this matter.
The people around them were all caught up in the drama to see which family would manage to win Xia Zhe over, Commissar Qin included. He did not expect that the choice of the winning marriage candidate was being made now.
"Quick, tell me, which family is she from?!" The commissar asked curiously.
Xia Zhe stopped for a moment and said, "It's the granddaughter of my grandfather's old comrade. The comrade had saved his life back then. Her name is Qiao Mei."
"What?" The commissar thought that the phone signal was not good so he had not heard it clearly.
"Grandfather's old comrade's granddaughter, her name is Qiao Mei!" Xia Zhe repeated loudly again, "Take down the address now, her home is at… Don't go to the wrong place."
He was not very formal with his words. After all, this commissar was his uncle who had watched him grow up. Hence, he had informed this uncle first without regard for family hierarchy.
"Ah? Oh, oh, oh… I'll take it down…" Qin Dong immediately took out a pen and paper and started to write down the address. He paused for a while and suddenly asked," What's going on? What about the ladies from the two families? "
Xia Zhe was silent for a moment before he continued, "I don't think the Zhang and Ma families have a good way of doing things. We're not on the same side, so it's better not to be involved with each other in the future."
His words were a little vague, but in reality, what he was thinking was that those two families would be finished sooner or later because of their way of doing things.