At that moment, Su Li was crying pitifully, pleading with Song Jing to save her.
“Captain Song, please help me. I don’t want to leave the cultural troupe or the army. Please, I’m begging you.”
Song Jing’s face darkened completely, and his voice turned cold and firm.
“Comrade, I don’t know you. If you have any issues, please take them directly to the political commissar. This is not something under my authority.”
“You can help me; I know you can,” Su Li insisted, her tearful eyes brimming with a mixture of sorrow and faint admiration.
Most men might have softened their tone in the face of such a pitiful woman.
But Song Jing, having been cheated before, was even more alert.
“Captain Song, we’ve met before. From the first time I saw you, I liked you. I thought you were a great soldier, and I—”
“What are you doing here, Brother?”
Song Wei’s voice interrupted Su Li just as she was about to finish her sentence.
Seeing his sister, Song Jing breathed a sigh of relief and immediately stepped away from Su Li to stand beside her.
“Nothing much. I don’t even know this comrade.”
“Comrade, you should take your concerns to the political commissar,” he repeated firmly.
Su Li’s expression twisted with suppressed rage, but she forced a strained smile.
“Oh, it’s Sister Song Wei. I was just talking to your brother about something.”
Thick-skinned as ever, she walked closer and, in a familiar tone, added, “Where are you two going? Let me join you. I’ve regretted not being able to go clam digging with you last time.”
Song Jing blinked in surprise. “You know each other?”
Before Song Wei could answer, Su Li quickly chimed in, speaking rapidly,
“Of course! We’re the same age, after all. Sister Song Wei occasionally comes to the family housing compound, where my sister also lives, so we’ve talked a bit.”
Song Wei smiled faintly, her tone polite yet distant.
“We’ve only spoken a few words.”
Her implication was clear: they were not close.
Su Li pretended not to hear the implied meaning and tried to cozy up further.
Song Wei suddenly said, “Speaking of which, I saw you the other day when I visited Aunt Lian. It seemed like your parents and younger brother were with you too, right?”
At this, Su Li’s face turned pale.
But she quickly forced a defiant expression and let her tears fall again.
“Yes, I have such parents and a younger brother. What else can I do?”
Her voice quivered as she continued, “They demanded that I find a job for my brother. But as someone in the cultural troupe, where could I possibly get him one? When I couldn’t, they threatened to cause trouble at the troupe, and now I’m being forced out because of them. With such a family, I feel helpless and lost. But what can I do? It’s the family I was born into!”
Song Wei: …Well, she’s really leaning into this performance, isn’t she?
Without hesitation, Song Wei retorted,
“That does sound unfortunate. Just like your sister and brother-in-law, right? Didn’t your brother-in-law lose his chance to become a battalion commander because of them? Come to think of it, anyone who marries into your family must have terrible luck.”
Su Li’s expression froze completely.
“It’s… it’s not like that…”
Song Wei continued, unrelenting,
“When was the last time your brother-in-law even went back to the family housing compound? The ladies there all think your sister and her husband are on the verge of divorce.”
“With such greedy and inconsiderate parents, anyone marrying into your family is bound to suffer. A perfectly good home gets torn apart. Brother, you’d better remember this—when you look for a sister-in-law in the future, you should check her family’s background. Even if the woman herself is a good person, dealing with such a troublesome family will inevitably lead to fights.”
Hearing his sister’s teasing tone, Song Jing couldn’t help but tap her lightly on the head.
“Stop talking nonsense. I’m not even considering marriage right now.”
Su Li had no face left to stay any longer. Her face twisted in anger and humiliation, tears streaming down as she ran off.
At that moment, Song Wei couldn’t help but feel like the villain in this situation.
Well, if being the bad guy got the job done, so be it. Being nice wasn’t always practical.
“Brother, do you think I meddled too much and ruined your chances at love?”
“What nonsense are you talking about?” Song Jing replied, exasperated.
“Good thing you showed up. I didn’t know how to get away from her.”
He had been fed up for a while now. The moment Su Li saw him, she would start crying and calling him out in front of his comrades, making things awkward.
Even his teammates had started giving him strange looks. He had been close to losing his temper, but he didn’t want to create a scene in front of so many people.
As for being flattered by the attention from women, Song Jing felt nothing but endless frustration.
Once his mood had calmed down, Song Wei told him about the fishing trip plans.
“Going out to sea? When?”
“Maybe in the next couple of days. Brother, can you row a boat?”
“I can. We trained for it. Just let me know when you’re going, and I’ll join you. We don’t have any missions right now, just training.”
“Got it.”
After sorting out the details with her brother, Song Wei went back to update Aunt Lian, and they finalized plans for the trip.
Soon, the perfect opportunity arose. On the third day, the weather, though still cold, was clear with no wind or clouds—a great day to set sail.
Everyone donned their gear. This time, Heidan and the two wolf pups were sent to the military base, where Song Jing’s roommate looked after them. Heidan even got to join the children’s militia training group for the day.
Once the arrangements were made, Song Wei, Lin Zhen, and Song Jing headed to Aunt Lian’s family’s fishing village.
Unlike the first time, their arrival immediately attracted an enthusiastic crowd of onlookers.
It was obvious that many were hoping for Song Wei to take their photos.
The photos Aunt Lian had brought back had been distributed—to her father’s house, the village chief’s house, and the uncle’s family who had lent their boat.
The pictures had been proudly flaunted by Old Lian, who had shown them off to every household in the village, sparking a wave of envy.
Though Song Wei had brought film, it was limited, and she couldn’t take individual photos for everyone.
“How about this,” Lin Zhen suggested. “Let’s take a big group photo of everyone together. We can develop multiple copies, but it won’t be free. A large photo like this will cost about one yuan each.”
He gestured to indicate the size of the group photo and continued,
“This kind of photo isn’t cheap, but we can help you get them developed if you pay upfront. I used to be a soldier, and although I’m retired now, my credibility is still intact. I won’t take your money and run.”
Song Jing added,
“I’m also a soldier. Aunt Lian can vouch for us, and we’re stationed right here on the island.”
The villagers, initially hesitant, quickly warmed up and began placing orders.
“That’s great! I want one!”
“My family wants one too!”
“We’ll take two!”
While fishermen had money from selling their catches, grain coupons were harder to come by on the island since they couldn’t grow crops. Still, they could afford the photos.
Once everyone had gathered their families and tidied up their appearances, they stood together with the vast sea and docked fishing boats as the backdrop.
With a click, a beautiful group photo of the fishermen was taken.
Afterward, filled with anticipation for their photos, the villagers set out to sea.
Song Jing’s rowing skills were put to the test, though he couldn’t manage everything on his own.
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