The train journey from Shangdu to Beijing took only about ten hours.

Yet the package Xia Xiaolan sent to Beijing through the post office took a full nine days to reach Zhou Cheng’s hands.

If this were modern-day express delivery, complaint calls would flood in after just three days of delay. They were fortunate that both Shangdu and Beijing were cities with developed railway networks. Packages sent to remote, poverty-stricken areas might take one or two months to arrive.

“Report!” someone called out to Zhou Cheng, “There’s a package for you.”

During training break, all eyes turned toward him.

It was indeed a large and heavy package; Zhou Cheng felt the weight as soon as he held it. Since King Yama Zhou’s temperament had notably improved after returning from leave, someone boldly teased: “Squad Leader Zhou, got some more goodies from home?”

Zhou Cheng was a generous person. His subordinates all suspected he came from a well-off family, and his relatives cared for him as he frequently received various packages. He was never stingy, sharing whatever food or items he received. The unit’s meal standards varied depending on circumstances – Zhou Cheng’s unit’s food was neither good nor bad, with occasional pieces of fatty meat in their dishes. Their intensive training made them hungry very quickly.

Zhou Cheng’s mother worried about him and sent food to his unit every ten to fifteen days. His father had repeatedly forbidden such special treatment, but his mother persisted. When Zhou Cheng received packages, he usually shared everything with his subordinates.

Though he had considerable private funds, he couldn’t bring luxurious habits into the unit.

However others lived, Zhou Cheng lived the same way, trying not to stand out in terms of food and clothing.

This package wasn’t from his mother – seeing the Yunan Province address, Zhou Cheng knew it was from Xia Xiaolan.

They say a man forgets his mother once he has a wife – when his mother sent him so many things, Zhou Cheng would casually give them away without a second thought. But with Xia Xiaolan’s first package to him, he couldn’t bear to open it in front of others!

He hugged the package and walked away, saying, “This is from my wife, can’t share it with you all.”

Haha, Squad Leader Zhou was joking again, being such a generous person… wait, Squad Leader Zhou had a wife?

Zhou Cheng had a girlfriend.

This news spread rapidly through the unit. Old Fang, who had always envied Zhou Cheng, nearly crushed his fist in frustration.

“He’s only 20, why does he need a girlfriend?”

Here he was at 30, still single.

Having a wife would be distracting – wouldn’t spend too much time on women hinder career advancement?

Old Fang secretly clenched his fists. If 20-year-old Zhou Cheng could find a partner, perhaps he shouldn’t have rejected those blind dates. Hadn’t the leader recently offered to introduce him to a female comrade? Old Fang had refused then, but now he wanted to slap himself.

Old Fang suddenly realized that if he didn’t find a wife soon, his future son would fall behind Zhou Cheng’s kid too.

“Leader, about that female comrade you mentioned…”

“Get out! She’s been married for a year and is about to have a baby!”

The leader drove Old Fang away, but Old Fang remained dissatisfied.

It was still Zhou Cheng’s fault – why find a girlfriend at just 20?

Zhou Cheng carried the heavy package back to his dormitory.

While subordinates shared collective dormitories, officers had single rooms. Zhou Cheng’s rank qualified him for this – he couldn’t possibly share rooms with others anymore.

He opened the package and found quite a lot of items from Xia Xiaolan.

The wool vest could be worn under formal clothes, keeping the chest and back warm. This was written in Xia Xiaolan’s letter, though Zhou Cheng wasn’t most concerned about the items – his priority was finding her letter.

In her letter, Xia Xiaolan listed what she had sent, mentioning that she went to Yangcheng with her mother to source goods and found lightweight, warm-down jackets. Unsure if Zhou Cheng could wear them during breaks, she sent one anyway.

The down jacket was navy blue – Xia Xiaolan wasn’t sure if Zhou Cheng would have a chance to wear it, so she avoided flashy bright colors.

Besides the two pieces of clothing, the package contained many dried Xinzheng dates and several tin cans of Xinyang Maojian tea. Xia Xiaolan especially regretted that postal delivery took too long – she had wanted to send some braised beef but was worried about spoilage, so she needed to think of another solution to this problem.

“Someday, thousand-kilometer distances will take just a few hours to cover, and sending cooked food or even fresh ingredients between cities won’t be a problem.”

Xia Xiaolan was very confident about this in her letter.

Zhou Cheng wondered how many years it would take – to send things by airplane.

Even the most developed America wasn’t that wasteful.

She told Zhou Cheng to eat well and stay warm, and not to neglect his health just because he was young and strong. She also mentioned wanting to start a business with Bai Zhenzhu and asked if this girl was reliable.

Bai Zhenzhu?

That was Bai Zhiyong’s sister.

Bai Zhiyong had been in the unit for several years before being promoted, and his rank was still below Zhou Cheng’s.

Though his personal qualities were outstanding, his personality was impulsive. He’d had promotion opportunities before but his temperament ruined them… Such a person couldn’t become a high-ranking officer, and Zhou Cheng didn’t want to fight alongside him, fearing his heroic individualism might surface and ruin plans at crucial moments. But as a friend, Zhou Cheng still trusted him – Bai Zhiyong was clear about gratitude and grudges, and Zhou Cheng had done him favors.

His sister should be trustworthy, right?

Zhou Cheng read the letter twice thoroughly, reluctantly put it down, and tried on the wool vest after removing his jacket.

When he put on the down jacket, he was sweating profusely in no time.

There really weren’t many opportunities to wear down jackets in Zhou Cheng’s unit. He carefully took off the jacket and hung it up. This was his wife’s thoughtful gift – it couldn’t be wrinkled or dirtied. The wool vest could be worn under formal clothes though, being thin and form-fitting. Zhou Cheng moved around and found it didn’t restrict movement.

Xia Xiaolan had sent a large package of dates and several cans of Xinyang Maojian tea. Zhou Cheng put one date in his mouth – it was sweet and soft, with an especially small pit. After eating one, he couldn’t help eating several more before stopping – Zhou Cheng had a secret he couldn’t tell others: he loved sweets!

How serious was his sweet tooth? He could eat a whole plate of fresh steamed buns slathered with a thick layer of sesame paste and sprinkled with powdered sugar. As a child, he used to dip his finger in sugar to eat it, getting scolded by his family. His father said he was cowardly and effeminate, so Zhou Cheng gradually changed – or rather, hid – his sweet-loving habit.

How did Xiaolan figure out he liked sweets?

Was it because he stared too long at the dates when buying them for her at the train station?

Zhou Cheng put another date in his mouth.

Regardless of how she knew, even if it was a coincidence, it proved Xiaolan was meant to be his wife.

Zhou Cheng didn’t particularly like tea – how long would it take him to drink these cans of Xinyang Maojian? Wasting Xiaolan’s thoughtful gift wouldn’t do, so after dark, he took one can to his leader.

The leader teased him, “Heard you have a girlfriend?”

“Yes, from Yunan. This tea is from her, try it.”

Like the dates, Xia Xiaolan had prepared extra tea so Zhou Cheng could share with others. Eating alone wasn’t good behavior, and relationships were needed everywhere… Of course, depending on your rank, you might only share local specialties with your immediate superior, not skip ranks to give gifts. Zhou Cheng hadn’t mentioned his rank to Xia Xiaolan; she thought he was just a newcomer – at 20, even if promoted, he’d just be a junior officer at most.

Zhou Cheng was no junior officer!

He didn’t need to curry favor with many people in the unit. Even with his leader, it was because of the leader’s capability and good treatment of Zhou Cheng that he respected him.

Besides his leader, Zhou Cheng didn’t get along with neighboring Old Fang, but his relationships with others were fine, so he shared a can of tea with officers he was friendly with.

What about the remaining three cans?

Zhou Cheng couldn’t give them to subordinates, or the disliked Old Fang.

After some thought, he packaged two cans of tea and, painfully, half the dates to send back home – a man might forget his mother after getting a wife, but a good wife also helps one mature. While Zhou Cheng often gave money directly, he rarely brought goods home. Though sharing dates and tea with others was painful, his parents should at least get to taste them.

Where could you find such a son? If his parents hadn’t acted quickly, how could they enjoy their daughter-in-law’s filial respect so early?

Look at neighboring Old Fang – he didn’t even have a girlfriend, and his parents’ hair must have turned white from worry!