On the other side, Mother Huo, having finished the phone call with her daughter-in-law, still couldn't quite suppress her excitement.
Just as she was thinking of finding something to do to distract herself, there was a sound at the door.
Seeing Father Huo push the door and come in, Mother Huo couldn't help but feel a bit puzzled, "Why are you back so early today?"
Even as she said this, she immediately went over to take his briefcase and the coat draped over his arm.
Father Huo smiled as he changed into slippers, "I had no choice but to come back. I spent the whole morning answering congratulatory calls; there wasn't a moment of peace in the office."
This batch of appointment notices was issued collectively. The Beijing General Military District had over a hundred officers promoted in total.
But most were promoted one or two ranks. Someone like Huo Tingzhou, who jumped three ranks at once, was the first case in the entire military district.
As he spoke, he looked at Mother Huo, "Why are you home at this hour too? Weren't you supposed to be overseeing the rehearsals for the new program at the song and dance ensemble?"
"Rehearse what?"
Mother Huo hung up the briefcase and coat, her face full of helplessness. "This morning, the threshold of our song and dance ensemble was practically worn down by all those colleagues coming over."
Given Father Huo's rank, old colleagues at most called to congratulate him.
It was different for Mother Huo.
She has a straightforward personality and gets along well with everyone.
When people came to offer their congratulations, she couldn't exactly put on a stern face.
"My face was practically cramping from smiling all morning."
Mother Huo pressed the wrinkles at the corner of her eye. "If I didn't leave, the girls couldn't rehearse properly either. So I simply took a day off to come back and hide."
Father Huo glanced at the living room. "What about Mom and Dad? They're not home either?"
"Mom went to catch up with her old sisters. Dad took his chessboard to Old Master Wang's house." Mother Huo gave Father Huo a look that said 'you know how it is.'
Father Huo smiled, a look of understanding on his face. "It's good to be retired, after all."
"Exactly!" Mother Huo said enviously. "Once retired, you don't have to worry about so many things. Not like now, where even for the happiest occasions, you have to act like it's nothing on the surface and be modest about it. It's exhausting."
"It won't be long now," Father Huo comforted her.
Mother Huo is already fifty-four this year. According to the current retirement policy for female cadres,
by next September, she can officially retire.
However, Mother Huo is used to being a key figure at her unit, and her abilities are outstanding. The General Political Department Song and Dance Ensemble will probably be reluctant to let her go easily and might want to rehire her later.
Knowing that Mother Huo has been eagerly waiting for retirement, Father Huo didn't want to upset her by mentioning this possibility.
"By the way, Old Huo, tell me the truth." With no one else at home now, Mother Huo suddenly looked over suspiciously. "You didn't interfere in Old Third's transfer and promotion, did you?"
Although she had mentally prepared for her son's exceptional promotion this time, after seeing the appointment notice, Mother Huo still found it somewhat unbelievable.
Father Huo paused while drinking his tea. "Am I that kind of person?"
Then he continued, both amused and exasperated. "Do you think I have so little principle? Or do you feel Tingzhou fell short in some way, needing his father to pull strings for him?"
"That's not what I meant," Mother Huo said. "I was just afraid you might have... Never mind, let's not talk about this."
Originally, she thought that even if her son was transferred back to Beijing, he would have to gain experience for a few years in one of the lower army groups.
She didn't expect him to reach the position directly in one step: Deputy Chief of Staff.
"I remember you were forty-two or forty-three when you were promoted to that position," Mother Huo remarked with feeling. "They've caught a good era."
If it were according to the previous policies, just the age requirement alone would have held him back for five to eight years.
"He also married a good wife," Father Huo said, taking a sip of tea and hitting the nail on the head regarding the key factor.
This time, Old Third's three-rank jump was partly due to favorable policies and his military merits, but most importantly, he also benefited from his daughter-in-law's achievements.
Mother Huo caught on quickly. "You mean the time Sisi was recognized for her contribution?"
Father Huo nodded. "Yes."
The military and government have always been closely linked. The Public Security Ministry's success in dismantling the enemy spy network was immediately reported to their Military Commission, especially since it involved several high-level figures.
When he saw the commendation back then, he had an inkling about this possibility.
"Old Third's rapid promotion this time owes a great deal to our daughter-in-law."
"Of course!" Mother Huo never misses a chance to affirm her daughter-in-law's contributions to the family. "I've said it all along, our son is fortunate to have married Sisi. It's a blessing for him and for our Huo family."
Father Huo wholeheartedly agreed.
With such a happy event in the family, it should be properly celebrated.
However, they had just held the first birthday banquet for Suisui and Zhaozhao not long ago, followed by the full-month celebration for Little Soymilk.
If they were to make a big fuss about a promotion banquet now, it might not look good.
So, Jiang Si and Huo Tingzhou discussed it and decided not to hold a banquet.
It would be better for the whole family to get together for a lively reunion dinner.
...
Ever since receiving the transfer order, Huo Tingzhou had been leaving early and returning late every day. Transferring from a local post to the capital and parachuting into this new position,
there were many who sincerely wished him well, but equally, there were even more waiting to catch him making a mistake.
Jiang Si felt for him but could also understand.
"What are you doing here?" That day, she had gone to her unit to handle some matters and was a bit surprised to see Huo Tingzhou picking her up after work.
Huo Tingzhou fastened her seatbelt for her before saying, "Taking you somewhere."
His tone was noticeably different from usual, suggesting he had a surprise for her.
Seeing this, Jiang Si didn't ask further.
After getting in the car, they headed west.
Just as Jiang Si thought he was taking her to the Western Hills compound for some time alone, the car turned several corners and finally stopped at the entrance of another quiet, secluded compound.
The license plate had been registered beforehand. The guard at the gate saluted and let them through after seeing it.
Looking at the rows of neat buildings passing by the window, Jiang Si had a feeling. "Has the housing in the family quarters been assigned?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Huo Tingzhou had already parked the car steadily in front of a two-story building with grey bricks and red tiles.
Turning off the engine, he pulled a brass key from his pocket.
The house had been assigned a few days ago. As soon as it was ready, he couldn't wait to bring her to see their new home.
A long time ago, Jiang Si knew the Air Force was famous for its excellent benefits. But seeing this impressive two-story building in front of her, she still couldn't help but feel surprised.
By rough estimate, this house seemed even larger than the one in the Western Hills compound.
Not just seemed—it was larger.
The house in the Western Hills compound was built in the early years after the founding of the nation, when economic conditions were far from what they are now.
Huo Tingzhou is now at the deputy corps level, corresponding to the Class A, Type 2 housing for division-level and above cadres.
Therefore, he was assigned a two-story brick-concrete building with a small front yard of about 25 square meters.
The total area is 150 square meters, with a layout of six rooms, one living room, one kitchen, and two bathrooms.
Huo Tingzhou first gave her a simple tour, upstairs and downstairs.
In this era, there's no concept of shared public area. Frankly, a 150-square-meter house is already very spacious.
Upstairs, there was a 30-square-meter suite, which served as the master bedroom for the couple, complete with a small ensuite bathroom.
The children's rooms were also on the second floor.
Each child had their own room, both of the same size.
Between the master bedroom and the children's rooms was another sun-facing room.
Huo Tingzhou had already planned for it to be Jiang Si's study.
The two rooms downstairs would serve as guest rooms, convenient for when others came to stay.
The utilities in the house—water, electricity, heating, and telephone—had all been installed in advance and were ready for use.
A few days prior, Huo Tingzhou had already taken some orderlies to bring back the allocated furniture.
The furniture was mostly in ninety-percent-new condition and very well-maintained.
The most eye-catching piece was undoubtedly the military-green leather sofa set in the living room; its style was very comfortable to sit on.
Of course, as the house was quite spacious, the allocated furniture was far from enough.
"Darling," Huo Tingzhou said, pulling Jiang Si to sit down after they had finished looking around the house, "In a few days, I need to return to Qiongzhou Island to hand over some work. I probably won't be back until the end of December."
When he had returned to the capital city initially, it was due to a sudden notification, and he had left in a hurry without having time to properly pack up at home.
Jiang Si's clothes and painting supplies were all still there.
Also, Third Uncle and Uncle Zhong had left quite a few of their belongings on the island as well.
"Things like clothes, I'll pack them up and have them sent back via the post office when the time comes."
"For larger furniture items, like beds, wardrobes, and tables, they'll have to be shipped as freight, which might take quite a while." Huo Tingzhou laid out his plans one by one.
"Won't that be too much trouble?" Jiang Si had never mailed such large items before, and considering Qiongzhou Island was so far from the capital, the shipping cost was likely to be significant.
She thought that if it was too troublesome, they could just sell the furniture there at a low price and buy whatever they needed here instead.
"It's no trouble." That furniture held special meaning as he and his wife had picked it out together.
Huo Tingzhou continued, "Old Xiao and his family returned earlier and have already packed and mailed all their things to the capital. I asked about it, and the price was reasonable."
From Qiongzhou Island to the capital, the major cost was the leg from Yancheng to the capital. The freight rate was 0.074 yuan per kilogram per hundred kilometers.
Then there were additional costs for wooden crate packaging and handling.
Old Xiao's family had even more belongings than they did, and all costs combined, they spent nearly a thousand yuan on shipping.
Huo Tingzhou estimated that for their family, around five or six hundred yuan would probably suffice.
Furthermore, the military had a policy: for officers transferred across military regions, thirty percent of the shipping costs could be reimbursed.
After some thought, Jiang Si agreed. Currently, buying new furniture not only required furniture vouchers but individual pieces were also quite expensive.
A double-door wardrobe alone cost sixty or seventy yuan, and with the required vouchers, each piece could easily reach eighty or even a hundred yuan.
She had many clothes and would need a lot of furniture.
Since they could ship it back, it was more economical to do so.
Mentioning Regimental Commander Xiao, Jiang Si casually asked another question, "Did Brother Xiao and Deputy Regiment Commander Lei get promoted this time?"
Huo Tingzhou nodded, "Old Xiao was promoted two ranks. He's now a division commander. Old Lei's family matters did have some impact, but he was also promoted this time and is now a regimental commander."
Hearing about their promotions, Jiang Si felt genuinely happy for both of their wives.
However, that wasn't what made her happiest.
Huo Tingzhou added, "Because Old Xiao was promoted two ranks, his new level qualified him. This time, he was also assigned housing in the Air Force Headquarters compound."
Even though their houses would be a couple of rows apart, the thought of living in the same compound in the future filled Jiang Si with an extra layer of anticipation for the life to come.
