Sweet Nostalgia of the 80s

"Commander, are you really that disgusted with me? This isn’t my fault..." Tian Niu felt truly wronged.

But even if he felt wronged, he just had to put up with it.

"No more nonsense, we have to go now." Qin Jian’s words dropped as he pressed the gas pedal and drove off.

Tian Niu waved goodbye to them from behind. Watching the vehicle disappear from sight, he was just about to head back when, unexpectedly, the military truck sped back in reverse at lightning speed.

"Huh? Commander? Why are you back again?"

Just as Tian Niu finished speaking, he saw the window lower, revealing Qin Jian’s handsome face. Without so much as a glance at Tian Niu, Qin Jian stretched out his large hand. "Pay up."

"Pay what?"

"The money for the roses!"

Only then did Tian Niu remember that An Hao had bought the gift for him.

"I... I don’t have money on me." Tian Niu patted his shorts. "Look, I didn’t even change clothes! Commander, do you really have to be so stingy? I’ll pay you back later!"

"I’ll hold you to that! Tomorrow!" Qin Jian said, then drove off in a flash.

This time, they were really gone!

Watching as Qin Jian disappeared without a trace, Tian Niu muttered to himself, "The Commander is getting stingier and stingier! He’s even chasing me down over a bouquet of flowers. Doesn’t he remember how us brothers pooled money for him back in the day when he was getting married?"

Little did he know, it wasn’t the money Qin Jian cared about.

What Qin Jian minded was the bouquet of roses that An Hao had bought!

Upstairs, the aroma from every household wafted into the air. Rubbing his rumbling stomach, Tian Niu headed upstairs.

..................

The next day, Tian Niu went to the regiment headquarters bright and early to pay back Qin Jian.

He wanted to put an end to the Commander obsessing over the matter.

Coming out of the headquarters, he ran into the Battalion Commander.

"Hey, Old Third, your wife’s due soon, right?" The Battalion Commander stopped Tian Niu in his tracks and wouldn’t let him leave, prying into his personal affairs with relentless chatter.

"Yeah! Old First, you’ve asked me this a hundred times already. Tell me, what’s on your mind?" Tian Niu stopped impatiently and bantered back with him.

Not far away, two female soldiers, each holding a clipboard, were walking toward the office building of the regiment headquarters, chatting and laughing as they went.

"Tiantian, isn’t your throat acting up again? Why don’t you ask the Squad Leader for leave? Why torture yourself like this? If I were you, I definitely wouldn’t come to work like this."

"I’m almost fully recovered now. Besides, you know our squad is short-staffed. If I take leave, the workload falls onto all of you! Imagine taking over 1,000 calls a day—how tiring and overwhelming that would be!"

"You silly girl! No wonder the Squad Leader likes you so much! No wonder so many male soldiers write love letters to you!"

"Ah, Miaomiao, stop making fun of me!" The female soldier blushed and lowered her head, quickening her pace.

"Oh, now you’re embarrassed?" Lin Miao teased Tiantian even more when she saw her shy reaction. "No need to be so reserved, right? What young girl doesn’t have romantic dreams? Come on, tell me—who’s caught your eye? Xiaozhou from First Company, Third Platoon, Fifth Squad? Or Xiao Li from the Reconnaissance Company, Third Squad?"

"Aren’t those the ones *you* like?" Tiantian retorted with a smile.

"You little rascal, what nonsense are you spouting? Watch out, or your Sister Miaomiao will tear your cheeky little mouth off!" Lin Miao joked as she lunged at her.

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The two female soldiers giggled and chased each other down the pathway lined with spruce trees on both sides. Lin Miao gave Tiantian a playful shove, and as Tiantian stumbled on a loose pebble, she tripped and tumbled toward the end of the path.