Chapter 12: The Magnanimous Lin You

Lin You arrived at the regiment headquarters early, his mind replaying the scene at the door yesterday. He tried to shake it off, but that figure clung to him like glue, impossible to dislodge.

He hesitated for a long while, as if making up his mind.

“Old Jiang, does your battalion have any spare vehicles today?” he asked.

“I think there’s still one without an assignment. Why?” Jiang Weiguo cradled his porcelain mug, gently blowing away the tea leaves floating on top before taking a small sip.

“I need to borrow it. I’m heading into the city.” With that, Lin You dashed home.

He arrived just as An Yan was returning from doing the laundry.

Seeing his hurried demeanor, An Yan grew curious. “Why are you back at this hour?”

“I just need to grab something. I won’t stay long.”

Lin You spoke as he entered the house. An Yan watched as he rummaged through the cabinet for quite some time, finally slipping a red-covered booklet—looking much like a bankbook—into his pocket.

“No need to wait for me for dinner tonight. I’ll probably be back late.”

An Yan acknowledged with a sound, watching his swift departure. “Nuannuan, is your dad always this secretive?”

“???”

Lin Nuannuan tilted her head at An Yan, clearly not understanding what “secretive” meant.

An Yan found her so adorable she couldn’t help but ruffle the little girl’s hair. “Come on, Auntie will make you something delicious.”

“I want steamed egg custard, big sister.”

“Call me Auntie.”

“Big sister…”

An Yan didn’t press the matter further, giving up—this little girl was never going to change how she addressed her.

Just as An Yan suspected, Lin You had returned home to fetch the bankbook. He also took all the loose change in the house—he had a lot to buy today and worried it wouldn’t be enough. Before leaving, he even borrowed a hundred yuan from Jiang Weiguo.

“You rascal, why do you suddenly need so much money? Is it another soldier in need? Now that you’ve married, you should learn to be more frugal—don’t go helping every family in trouble…” Jiang Weiguo chased after Lin You, nagging him as he hurried off.

Leaving the regiment headquarters, Lin You called on two company commanders from his battalion to set out with him. The road down the mountain was all dirt, and it took nearly four and a half hours round-trip to the nearest city. With shopping added in, they’d definitely be back after dark.

In the car, Lin You apologized, “Sorry to trouble you both with a personal errand.”

“Captain, if you say that, it makes me unhappy. Don’t you always look after us? It’s just a trip to the city—I haven’t been in ages. Captain, you should’ve seen how envious the other company commanders were when you called us.”

“Exactly, Captain, now I’m unhappy too. But if you really feel bad, you can buy us a good meal, heh heh.”

Lin You laughed and agreed readily, “You’ll have as much meat as you want today!”

The two cheered, “Thanks, Captain! We’ve scored big today—wait till the others see how jealous they get tonight.”

Before they knew it, the car had passed the county seat and the road improved. By the time they reached the city, it was nearly noon. Lin You didn’t rush to shop, instead finding a state-operated restaurant where they ordered several dishes and enjoyed a proper meal.

After lunch, Lin You went to withdraw all the money from his bankbook.

Li Guoxiang, one of the accompanying company commanders, gaped at the amount. “Captain, how much are you planning to buy with all that cash?”

Lin You pulled out a piece of paper listing everything he’d thought to buy on the way over.

Li Guoxiang glanced at it, smacking his lips. “Captain, you buying wholesale?”

An Guoqing, the other company commander, caught on. “Old Li, you don’t get it. We should congratulate the Captain—buying so much means something good is about to happen. Captain, will there be plenty to drink at your wedding feast?”

Li Guoxiang slapped his forehead. “How could I forget? Sister-in-law’s here, it’s only right to buy these things. Captain, does your wife have any sisters? Maybe she could introduce us.”

“Hey, Old Li, you want to be the Captain’s brother-in-law now? Dream on,” An Guoqing laughed.

Listening to them, Lin You found his thoughts drifting again to that girl.

The two talked non-stop until they entered the department store, where their chatter finally ceased. The first thing Lin You thought of was a wardrobe; after what had happened before, it was a necessity.

The wardrobe was beautiful—three doors, with a large full-length mirror set into the middle door. Bringing this home, it would be one of a kind.

Lin You looked it over from every angle, picturing that girl standing in front of the mirror, and the more he thought about it, the more satisfied he felt. He called over a sales assistant.

The sales assistant, seeing Lin You in military uniform with two soldiers in tow, was all smiles. “Comrade soldier, you have excellent taste. This wardrobe just arrived last week—ours is the only store in the city selling it, and there were only three in total. This is the last one.”

“How much?”

“Fifty-five yuan.”

The two behind him couldn’t help but gasp; that was two months’ salary for them.

Lin You looked it over again and asked quietly, “Could it be a bit cheaper?”

“Comrade, do you have a purchase coupon for wardrobes? If you do, I can give you twenty yuan off.”

In those days, everything required a coupon, and if you didn’t have one, the price was higher or you might not get it at all.

Lin You shook his head—he hadn’t had time to look for coupons. “Never mind, fifty-five it is.”

In addition, Lin You picked out a double bed from the same store. He wanted An Yan and Lin Nuannuan to have more space to sleep, but in the eyes of Li Guoxiang and An Guoqing, it took on a different meaning. An Guoqing even grinned foolishly for quite a while.

Even someone as tough as Lin You couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed.

He shot the two a glare. “You ate all that meat at lunch—now get to work.”

The sales assistant called over several people to help move the furniture onto the truck. When moving the big wardrobe, Lin You reminded them again and again to be careful with the mirror.

Afterwards, Lin You took Li Guoxiang back into the department store to buy enamel basins and other items unavailable at the mountain supply cooperative.

“Captain, seeing how much you’re buying, I’m afraid to get married. How much does all this cost?” Li Guoxiang’s hands were full to bursting.

“Good thing you mentioned it—I just remembered something I forgot. Wait in the truck for me.” Lin You handed all his purchases to Li Guoxiang, who nearly lost his balance under the load.

Lin You headed alone to the third floor, recalling that he’d seen watches for sale there earlier. In those days, weddings required the “three rings and a watch,” and he remembered that the girl didn’t have a watch on her wrist…