Xu Mingxuan, having walked such a long mountain path, was already tired and thirsty. He didn't stand on ceremony with his mother-in-law. After thanking her, he held Shimei with one hand and took the cup with the other, drinking it down in one go.
While her mother was talking with Xu Mingxuan, Chen Lan patted the dust off her clothes, quickly washed her hands and face in the bathroom, and then went to the kitchen to make a large bowl of egg and shredded pork noodles for Xu Mingxuan.
Just as Chen Lan carried the noodles out of the kitchen, she saw Erzhuang also arrive at the house, talking with her mother. It turned out he had just returned home, but no one was there. Most of the people in the valley were busy in the threshing ground.
So Chen Lan went back to the kitchen and got another set of bowls and chopsticks, letting Xu Mingxuan and Erzhuang share the first meal. She then went back to the kitchen to continue making noodles for them.
Having walked such a long mountain path, the two men were indeed hungry. Erzhuang didn't stand on ceremony either, and he and Xu Mingxuan began to eat heartily. By the time Chen Lan had finished cooking the second pot of noodles, Xu Mingxuan had eaten another large bowl, and Erzhuang had eaten one and a half bowls. Finally, the two men were full.
Chen Lan tidied up the kitchen and came out, only to see Xu Mingxuan and Erzhuang sitting on the sofa, chatting with her mother. The triplets continued to play house by the window. Before Chen Lan could get close, she heard Shimei say in a milky voice, "I'll be the mother again, and second brother will be the father this time, and eldest brother will be the child."
The eldest, Xu Jiahui, immediately objected, saying in a milky voice, "I haven't even been a father yet! I want to be the father, let second brother be the child."
The second eldest, like a small cannonball, rushed to his elder brother's front and retorted in a milky voice, "Hmph! Big brother, you're cheating. You were already a father just now. It's my turn to be the father now, and you be the child."
The eldest also objected, shouting back, "That doesn't count. I was only a father for a little while before Dad came back. I want to be the father."
Chen Lan ignored the three of them. Such things happened several times a day, and they would be fine again in no time. Sudancheng.com
So Chen Lan walked over to the sofa and sat down next to her mother, just as she heard Xu Mingxuan asking her mother, "Mother-in-law, why weren't the triplets sent to kindergarten today?"
Her mother replied with a smile, "Lan'er just gave the triplets the vaccine for meningitis yesterday. She was worried about any adverse reactions, so she's keeping them at home for observation for these two days. They haven't been sent to kindergarten for the past couple of days, letting them play at home."
Erzhuang asked curiously, "Sister-in-law, do all the children in the valley get vaccinated? Has our little Ping'an also been vaccinated?"
Chen Lan nodded and replied, "We've been here in the valley for over thirteen years. I can say that all children under sixteen in the valley have been vaccinated."
Her mother said with a smile, "The effect of these vaccines is really good. Erzhuang, you don't know, but so many children have been born in the valley over the past decade, and they've all grown up plump, fair, and healthy. None of them have been lost due to illness. It's hard to achieve this even in the imperial capital. Our street in the imperial capital loses one or two children every year, doesn't it?"
Erzhuang said with deep emotion, "The things from our father-in-law's side are all very good. I never imagined that our country would be so developed decades later."
Chen Lan didn't know how to respond to this and just nodded, remaining silent.
So Chen Lan immediately changed the subject, asking curiously, "Mingxuan, Erzhuang, how is it that you both got leave to visit relatives at the same time?"
When Erzhuang heard Chen Lan's question, his expression was a little off as he lowered his head. This made Chen Lan even more curious, so she turned to look at Xu Mingxuan.
Xu Mingxuan coughed lightly and explained, "Lan'er, after we go home to visit our families this time, we won't be returning to the army. We have already been demobilized and transferred to civilian work."
Chen Lan had felt something was off earlier, and now, looking closely at the clothes they were wearing, she realized what was wrong. Their collars were bare, with nothing on them, which was why she felt something was amiss.
The reason Xu Mingxuan and Erzhuang had traveled together to the valley to visit their families this time was that they had both been demobilized. They were now going home to visit, and then report to their new units. The Northeast Reclamation Bureau had been established this year, and the state had called for an expansion of agricultural production. The entire officers and soldiers of Xu Mingxuan's battalion had responded to the national call to consolidate and build the border. Moreover, their battalion had years of experience in land reclamation and cultivation. Therefore, all the officers and soldiers of their battalion were now either demobilized or retired and were collectively assigned to Sanjiang Farm, reclaiming the border to strengthen and expand the farm's construction forces.
Chen Lan asked curiously, "Why is it sometimes called demobilization and sometimes retirement? Aren't they both leaving the army? Is there a difference?"
Xu Mingxuan replied with a chuckle, "Of course there's a difference. Military personnel above the rank of platoon leader are called demobilized when they leave the army. The state will uniformly assign the work and positions of demobilized soldiers to the local party committee and government. Retired soldiers return to the place they enlisted, which is their hometown. The state does not guarantee employment."
Chen Lan thought for a moment and then said, "Mingxuan, Erzhuang, you two should be mentally prepared. I heard that the Sanjiang Plain is the first place to greet the sun, and that land has never been cultivated before. Therefore, people call that place 'Beidahuang' (Great Northern Wilderness). This shows how desolate that place is, with basically no human habitation. Of course, the living conditions there must be very harsh. That place is a vast plain, so vast that you can't see the end of it. There's a saying that goes: 'The sun bakes your chest, the wind chills your back; birds and beasts are seen everywhere, and blind mosquitoes are busy.'"
Xu Mingxuan said with great spirit, "Lan'er, no matter how hard it is, we are not afraid. Reclamation is much easier than fighting wars, isn't it? We don't have to worry about being sacrificed at any moment and leaving our wives and children to live. Besides, when you first came to the valley, wasn't the valley just as desolate and uninhabited? You managed to build the valley into what it is today with just a few men and a group of the old, weak, women, and children. How can we, a group of grown men, not build the Sanjiang Plain? Our mission this time is to work with the vast numbers of retired soldiers who are reclaiming the border to turn the Sanjiang Plain into the northern frontier's Shangri-La, the northeast's land of fish and rice."