About Early Love

  Mr. Du was shot in the arm, his bones were shattered, and his left hand became disabled. After resting for over a decade, he held a grand family banquet at his mansion, inviting the assault team to thank them for saving his daughter's life twice. He Jichun, as someone related to both incidents and an officer of a certain rank in the military, was naturally also invited. Mr. Du had always attached great importance to high-level relationships.

  "Come, Luo Zi, I'll be the first to represent my whole family, let's toast you a cup, thank you for saving Xin Yu on the Yangtze River and saving me in Minhang." Mr. Du raised his wine glass to Luo Yi, Mrs. Du and Xin Yu were also seated at this table, hearing the sound they all stood up and toasted Luo Yi.

  "Du Shu, Tai Tai, Xin Yu, thank you for the two words, I dare not accept them. These things are what we should do. Since it's a family dinner, this cup of wine is to celebrate our good fortune in meeting each other." Luo Yi said as he raised his glass, and those sitting at the same table, Yuan Jing, Zeng Shan, Su Xiao Feng and Le Jia Lin also quickly stood up with their glasses.

  He Jichun saw that everyone on both sides had stood up, and he also stood up with a smile: "Everyone is standing, it's not suitable for me to sit alone. I'm a witness to what's going on between you, so let me join in and have a cup of wine."

  Mr. Du hastily said, "Mr. He's words are too polite, I just toasted Luo Zi with this cup of wine because of the battle in Minhang, he led by example and fought against the Japanese with bayonets, it was very dangerous, making me feel guilty. Originally, the next cup of wine should have been for Mr. He. My daughter's rescue is half thanks to Mr. He's efforts. This time in Minhang, if Mr. He hadn't negotiated with the Japanese, we would have had trouble too. So, Mr. He's great kindness and virtue, Du cannot forget either."

  The order of toasting was indeed a troublesome matter. According to the rules of the occasion, He Jichun was a government official with a high rank, so the first cup should be toasted to him. But from Du Lao's point of view, Luo Yi had risked his life to save him, and if he were placed second in order, it would be unreasonable.

  He Jichun said, "Where's the need for that? Luo Laoxiong is intelligent and brave, with a strong sense of justice and loyalty. Even I, He, have great admiration for him. However, since he has already addressed himself as 'Du Shu', it seems he is willing to be considered Du Xian's junior. So let's just forget about the formalities of offering wine. I agree with Luo Laoxiong, let's just consider this a cup of fate-bringing wine."

  He Jichun said that Luo Yi was willing to be Du Lao's junior, his eyes winked at Du Xinyu, and Du Xinyu's face turned red, hurriedly lowering her head. Some words can only be understood by those who have a guilty conscience.

  "Alright, let's get to know each other, cheers." Mr. Du didn't mind the specifics and followed everyone's lead, downing his cup in one gulp. After a few encounters, he had a very good impression of Luo Yi, convinced that this young man was more excellent than others he knew, and already had some intentions of roping him in. In this situation, saying too many thanks would be out of place.

  "Where is Mr. Luo from?" asked Mrs. Du elegantly after drinking her wine.

  I am from Tongzhou, Jiangxi.

  "Who else is at home?"

  "Alas, family matters are hard to explain." Luo Yi brought out his old excuse again, "I only remember that when I was young, my family was quite well-off, but later we suffered a great disaster and everyone in the family died. I myself also suffered from amnesia and wandered around the countryside. Fortunately, a kind-hearted person took me in for a few years. Later, I unexpectedly recovered my memory, and with some lucky coincidences, I became the head of a town's security team and made some money mining in the mountains. After struggling for several years like this, I managed to accumulate a bit of foundation. Otherwise, I wouldn't have had the capital to come to Shanghai to broaden my horizons."

  "Mr. Luo is indeed a man of rich experience. As the ancients said, 'The fragrance of plum blossoms comes from their bitter coldness.' Mr. Luo has gone through these hardships, no wonder he's mature beyond his years and has a deeper understanding than others. Especially this chivalrous spirit, it's already rare to see among young people in Shanghai." Mrs. Du exclaimed.

  During the conversation between Mrs. Du and Luo Yi, Du Xinyu held her hand all along, occasionally glancing at Luo Yi with a slightly shy expression on her face. In recent days, Mr. Du had already talked to his wife about it, saying that their daughter seemed to have some good feelings towards Luo Yi. Mrs. Du asked Du Xinyu several times in a roundabout way, and although Du Xinyu repeatedly denied it, a young girl's thoughts couldn't be hidden from her mother, so Mrs. Du had already considered the idea of taking Luo Yi as her son-in-law.

  "Madam, you're overpraising me. I'm just doing my duty as a junior official. The people of Tongzhou are simple and honest, when faced with such situations, any ordinary villager would come to assist with their swords drawn. As for me, having read a few books, I should know some basic moral principles, how could I possibly stand by and watch?"

  "Luozige has always been a man of his word." Zeng Shan chimed in from the side, hearing Du Furen's praise for Luo Yi, her heart bloomed with joy, and she couldn't help but add another sentence.

  "Xan'er, don't talk nonsense and make people laugh." Luo Yi turned his head to say to Zeng Shan, with a hint of closeness in his words.

  "These two girls are..." Madam Du looked at Luo Yi and asked. In fact, she had already learned from Du Xinyu's mouth that Yuan Jing and Zeng Shan were both following Luo Yi to Shanghai, with a very ambiguous relationship. However, Du Xinyu himself couldn't clearly say what the true relationship was between Luo Yi and them. Luo Yi had once said at the Seamen's Club that Zeng Shan was his fiancée, but Du Xinyu didn't believe it and didn't want to believe it, so he couldn't say their specific titles either. Madam Du looked at these two girls who were as beautiful as flowers, compared to her own daughter, although they lacked a few points of elegance, but had more innocence. She didn't know what type of girl Luo Yi liked, in short, on the issue of competing for Luo Yi's affection, they should be her daughter's strong rivals, right?

  "This is Shan Er, her full name is Zeng Shan. She's the daughter of my benefactor, we grew up together. Now that my benefactor has passed away, she's been following me, just like a younger sister." Luo Yi introduced, stroking Zeng Shan's shoulder, who was beaming with happiness and gazed at Luo Yi with affection. Everyone at the table felt embarrassed.

  "Intimate sister?" Madam Du turned her head to glance at Du Xinyu. This scale was too complicated, in Shanghai, "dry sisters" and "romantic sisters" were basically the same thing, but saying "intimate sisters" actually implied some distance. Looking at their expressions, it was really hard to tell what was going on.

  "This is Xiao Jing, her full name is Yuan Jing. She's a girl I picked up from the road." Luo Yi continued to introduce. Yuan Jing sat on Zeng Shan's other side, not close to Luo Yi, so Luo Yi also had no chance to touch her shoulder.

  "What's going on?" Mrs. Du asked in surprise.

  "She was kidnapped by human traffickers, escaped on the way, and was rescued by my subordinate. Since then, she has been doing some things in my town. As for her current identity, she is my secretary." Luo Yi said casually. Yuan Jing glared at him fiercely, this Luo Zi, actually dared to say that he was kidnapped, such a big person, would be kidnapped, isn't it very stupid?

  "Oh dear, they're also poor kids. These two girls are so pretty, aren't there many young men chasing after them?" Mrs. Du seemed determined to get to the bottom of the gossip.

  "This... " Luo Yi hesitated and said: "There are many people chasing after them, of course. Gentlemen love beauty, don't they? However, as their guardian, I currently prohibit them from talking about romance. They're all high school students, they should prioritize learning, this... early love will affect their studies."

  Luo Yi can be said to have made a shocking statement, and as soon as he spoke, the whole room burst into laughter. Le Jia Lin and Su Xiao Feng exchanged a knowing glance. Early love? You're something else, you bring two girls to live in the same house, who knows if it's not too early for marriage, let alone giving birth, and now you're saying don't have an early romance.

  "Come on, Lele, let's have a drink. I'm fed up with some people pretending to be something they're not." Su Xiaofeng picked up his glass and said quietly to Le Jialin, referencing the idiom "big tail wolf", which Luo Yi had taught him.

  "Have a drink." Liao Lin also said gloomily, "Xiaofeng, it seems like your wife is only one year older than Yuan Jing, do you guys count as having an early love?"

  "Damn it, if my mom hadn't gotten pregnant early, I wouldn't be born yet."

  Without mentioning Su Xiaofeng and Le Jialin's whispers, the wine table continued with two more rounds of drinks. Mr. Du interrupted Mrs. Du's gossip and brought the conversation back to the men's topic, starting to discuss current events. He Jichun introduced the government's strategy, which was to trade space for time, making limited concessions to the Japanese to gain time for the government to prepare for war.

  "Luó Zǐ, what's your view on the current situation between China and Japan?" asked Mr. Du. This was also a question he had been concerned about. Although Luó Yì had just come out of the mountains, perhaps he would have some unique insights.

  Luo Yi smiled and said: "Brother He is a government official, in my opinion, if I say it out loud, I'm afraid I'll offend Brother He."

  He Jichun said: "This is Mr. Du's family banquet, there are no government officials here, you can speak freely."

  Luo Yi said: "I have three views: First, there must be a war between China and Japan, and the time is very close, at most within three years. Second, relying solely on government troops can not withstand the Japanese military's attack. Third, only when all sectors of society participate together can we achieve victory in the War of Resistance. Moreover, as long as there is participation from all of society, we will definitely be able to achieve victory in the War of Resistance, and China will not perish!"

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