Chapter 71: The Marriage Application Was Rejected

“Xia Xia, this won’t do. To build a proper heated brick bed, you need clay. This soil isn’t right—even if you manage to put it together, once it dries out, it’ll crack, fall off, and the whole bed will collapse.” Summer Yan suddenly understood; she hadn’t expected there to be so much technique involved.

Aunt Wang came closer, scooping up a handful of dirt. “See? This soil is dry and hard, it crumbles at a touch. If you use this on the heated bed, as soon as you light a fire underneath, it’ll drop off immediately. All your hard work will go to waste, and if you’re sitting on it, it could be dangerous.”

Summer Yan nodded, half-understanding, “Aunt Wang, where can I find clay, then?”

“Well, the bed in our house was built by my son. When he gets back, I’ll ask him for you,” Wang Guilan replied, shaking her head.

“All right, I’ll wait until Brother Ruan comes back tonight and ask him.”

Since the soil wasn’t right, Summer Yan decided not to worry about it for now. She’d just wait for Ruan Xiaotian to return and ask him before doing anything more. However, her digging had already turned over part of the undeveloped backyard, so she decided to clear all the land at once.

She moved to where the ground was still untouched, gripped her hoe, and struck down hard, turning up a large clod of earth. As she worked, she pulled out wild grass from the field and tossed it aside. This was even more exhausting than digging for clay earlier.

By the time the sun set, she still hadn’t finished turning over all the ground. Her back ached so much she could barely stand up straight. As she walked into the yard, she saw Ruan Xiaotian coming home.

“Little Xia, you’re home.”

She looked at him, puzzled. “Brother Ruan, were you looking for me?”

“Not me, it’s Lin You. Before I came back, he called the station to ask if you weren’t home today and why you hadn’t called him. From the way he talked, I’d say he sounded a bit... aggrieved.” Ruan Xiaotian laughed. “Honestly, I admire you, Little Xia. You’ve managed to win over that blockhead—impressive.”

Summer Yan gave a small “oh.” She’d been busy all day and really had forgotten to call Lin You. She hadn’t expected him to complain about it.

“I’ve just finished up here. I’ll take Nuan Nuan to the troupe headquarters and call him back with the good news.”

“Good. By the way, there’s a letter from the military district this afternoon for Lin You. I brought it back for you,” Ruan Xiaotian said, taking an envelope from his bag and handing it to her.

“A letter?” Summer Yan gazed at the envelope in her hand. With phones on both sides of the mountain, why send a letter?

“It looks like your marriage application has been approved. Looks like your wedding is set. You’d better start planning—I’m waiting for the celebration feast!” Ruan Xiaotian said with a grin.

At this, Summer Yan smiled too. She remembered Lin You mentioning this a few days ago, and now, finally, there was news. “I’ll tell him the good news when I call him.”

“Hurry up, then. Tonight, you and the child come eat at our house. I’ll ask my wife to cook a few dishes—consider it an early celebration for you two.”

Summer Yan was already at a loss for what to cook that night, so this was perfect. “Thank you so much. I’ll take Nuan Nuan to call Lin You right now.”

“I’ll take care of Nuan Nuan,” Ruan Xiaotian said, crouching down and opening his arms. “Nuan Nuan, come to Uncle.”

Lin Nuannuan seemed to sense her “sister” had something happy to share with her father and obediently ran into Ruan Xiaotian’s arms.

Summer Yan slipped off her sleeves, dusted her hands, and headed to the troupe headquarters.

When Lin You answered the phone, his tone was half-complaint: “Why are you calling so late today?”

“Hey, do you think I’m like you, resting comfortably in the hospital? I have to look after the child and do farm work—where would I find the time? If I don’t call you by six in the future, don’t wait up,” Summer Yan puffed out her cheeks. This man didn’t say a single caring word, just acted like a sulky wife.

“You’ve worked hard. After I come back, I’ll—”

“All right, enough. Don’t say you’ll do all the work when you’re home. This is our home, we have to work together. Lin You, can you guess what I have in my hand?”

She asked mysteriously.

On the other end, Lin You was puzzled. He didn’t have clairvoyance—how could he know what she was holding? “Give me a hint.”

“A letter...”

“A letter? Is it the marriage application approval?” Lin You guessed at once.

Summer Yan tried to sound disappointed. “Can’t you get it wrong at least a couple of times? No fun at all.” But in the next second, she brightened up, “Hehe, I’ll read it to you now.”

Truthfully, she’d wanted to open the envelope and read it on the way here, but she’d restrained herself in order to share the good news with him at the same time. Excitedly, she opened the envelope.

The first thing she saw was the bright red five-pointed star at the top center of the letterhead.

“Ahem, Lin You, listen carefully. After review by the military district…”

Summer Yan’s eyes grew wide. She couldn’t believe what she was reading.

Lin You waited on the other end for a while, but heard nothing more. “What’s wrong? Are you too excited to speak?”

“How could this be…” Summer Yan’s voice was full of disbelief.

Lin You immediately sensed something was wrong, “Summer Yan, what happened?”

“They’ve rejected Captain Lin You’s marriage application…”

“What?! Rejected? Did they give a reason?” Lin You’s voice was urgent.

“No… no reason. Lin You, does this mean we can’t get married?” Summer Yan’s voice was still full of disbelief. She just couldn’t imagine why the application would be denied.

Lin You was just as baffled. “Don’t worry. Tomorrow, I’ll go to the military district and ask about the reason.”

Summer Yan nodded numbly, murmured an “okay,” and after that, neither said much more. Lin You simply told her to wait for his news, then hung up.

After hanging up, Lin You couldn’t sit still. He got dressed and headed straight for the military district.

On the way home, Summer Yan was deflated, her whole spirit wilted. Several soldiers greeted her along the way, but she didn’t notice at all.

“What’s wrong with sister-in-law?”

“She must be missing Captain Lin. I heard he has to stay in the hospital for three weeks this time.”

“I really envy Captain Lin…”

When she got home, Lin Hongzhe was about to take his younger brother next door for dinner. As he opened the door, he ran into Summer Yan.

“Mom, you’re just in time. Uncle Ruan just came to invite us for dinner…” Lin Hongzhe noticed something was off. “Summer Yan, what’s wrong?”