I was reborn after my cousin stole my life.

Chapter 99: Promotion

"Congratulations, Xiao Jiang—no, I should call you Chief of Staff Jiang!"

Jiang Zhou's promotion document came down; he was promoted from battalion-level officer to deputy regimental-level officer and appointed as regimental chief of staff.

Li Shan and the others kept pestering him to treat them to a meal.

"I've heard for a long time that your wife's cooking is delicious. This time, let's have a good meal!" someone said.

Jiang Zhou: "I can treat you to a meal, but you can skip the one my wife cooks. She's pregnant and can't overwork herself."

"Chief of Staff Jiang really dotes on his wife!" everyone joked.

Most people in the military are rough and uncultured. The best way they show affection to their wives is to let them control the family finances. People like Jiang Zhou, who cook, wash dishes, and do laundry while his wife is pregnant, are extremely rare.

In today's situation, if it were anyone else, they would probably have agreed without hesitation. After all, a wife's good cooking is something that makes a man proud.

"I'm treating everyone to a meal at a restaurant tomorrow night, come on over!"

There was a state-run restaurant near the compound, and the food was pretty good. People would go there to treat themselves when they got tired of the canteen or wanted to eat something different.

As soon as Jiang Zhou opened his mouth, everyone knew where he was talking about.

Li Shan laughed and said, "Okay, it's settled then. I have two bottles of good wine at home, I'll bring them with me."

Jiang Zhou waved his hand: "Keep that wine for yourself. I rarely drink, and I can take the wine from home with me tomorrow."

"What kind of wine is it, Chief of Staff Jiang?"

"Moutai, is that alright?"

"Sure! Just hearing about it makes my mouth water. I have the day off the day after tomorrow, let's drink until we drop!"

As soon as he left the camp, Jiang Zhou rushed to the hospital, appearing before Yuan Xiu just as she stepped out of the hospital gate.

"I have good news for you." As soon as Jiang Zhou finished speaking, Yuan Xiu said with a smile, "You've been promoted, Chief of Staff Jiang."

Jiang Zhou raised an eyebrow: "You're quite well-informed."

Yuan Xiu laughed and said, "You don't even know where I work. There are VIP wards upstairs. Your promotion isn't a secret. Someone told me about it when I was eating lunch in the cafeteria today."

"Okay, I originally wanted to tell you in person." After Yuan Xiu sat on the back of the bicycle and hugged his waist tightly, Jiang Zhou started to set off.

A cotton mat was strapped to the back of the bicycle, so it wasn't uncomfortable at all. Yuan Xiu sat comfortably. "Shall we treat you?"

"Please." Jiang Zhou nodded. "I've already spoken to them; I'll treat everyone to dinner tomorrow night."

Yuan Xiu patted him on the back in a hurry, "I haven't prepared anything yet, and you're asking me in such a rush. I don't even know if I'll be able to buy meat at the market tomorrow."

Jiang Zhou glanced back at her. "What's the rush? You want to do it yourself? Aren't you tired? There are plenty of places to eat outside."

He himself couldn't bear to see her work so hard, let alone let her go through the trouble of cooking for others.

Yuan Xiu understood now; it turned out he was inviting everyone to a restaurant.

"Then I'll go to the restaurant tomorrow at noon and see what dishes I can order."

Jiang Zhou didn't compete with her for this; she was more meticulous than him and more thoughtful when it came to ordering food.

The news of Jiang Zhou's promotion to regimental chief of staff spread rapidly throughout the compound as the men in the army returned home from get off work.

"Chief of Staff Jiang is off work?"

"Chief of Staff Jiang, are you going to pick up your wife from get off work?"

"Congratulations, Chief of Staff Jiang!"

Jiang Zhou and Yuan Xiu's faces were practically frozen with smiles the whole way. They couldn't very well keep a cold face when people greeted them so warmly. If Jiang Zhou hadn't been riding so fast, the two of them probably would have stopped and chatted with everyone for a bit.

By the time we get back from this point, it'll probably be dark.

Just as the two of them took the key and were about to open the door, Guiying, the neighbor's wife, poked her head out and said, "You're back! Congratulations, Chief of Staff Jiang!"

Jiang Zhou said, "Sister-in-law, please just call me Xiao Jiang."

Sister-in-law Guiying laughed and said, "That won't do. Your rank is higher than my husband Lao Liu's now, so it's not appropriate for me to call you Xiao Jiang. By the way, you've been promoted to regimental-level cadre. Are you moving out soon?"

Yuan Xiu was taken aback. Oh right, cadres at the deputy regimental level and above live in the small buildings of the compound. Are they moving?

Jiang Zhou nodded: "We do have to move, but there aren't any suitable houses right now. We'll probably have to wait a while until a vacant house becomes available."

Sister-in-law Guiying breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good. I thought you were going to move soon. I'll really miss you if you move away. I love being neighbors with Xiao Yuan."

Yuan Xiu smiled and said, "I'll miss you too. Once we really move, you'll be coming to visit often, and I'll definitely be coming to your house too."

My master is here; I must seek his guidance and answers. I can't miss a single visit.

"That's for sure."

After exchanging a few jokes, and inviting Sister-in-law Guiying and her family to dinner at the state-run restaurant the following evening, the couple finally entered their home.

Looking at the second batch of vegetable seedlings planted in the yard, Yuan Xiu asked, "Will we be able to eat these vegetables before we move?"

It would be such a shame if we couldn't get a bite.

Jiangzhou couldn't guarantee anything; the move might take a month or two, or it might happen this month, depending on the logistics department's notification.

"This house won't be allocated so soon. It's been empty for quite a while before we moved in. When it's time to move, just tell the logistics staff that you don't have to hand over the keys yet. You can hand them over after the vegetables have grown and been harvested."

"And all these flowers and trees of mine... By the way, how big is our new house?"

"It's about the same size as Political Commissar Wang's house; there's not much difference between houses for regimental-level cadres."

It was a two-story building with front and back gardens; vegetables were planted in the back, and flowers in the front.

Yuan Xiu nodded as she thought about it, her heart filled with anticipation.

……

"Who got promoted?"

Hearing what everyone was talking about, Aunt Yuan went over and asked.

江？

They probably share the same surname.

It's definitely not that brat Yuan Xiu's man.

"Battalion Commander Jiang! No, now we should call him Chief of Staff Jiang!"

The man glanced back at her, recognized her as Yuan Juan's mother, and deliberately said, "You know Jiang Zhou, right? He's the one who got promoted."

Another person glanced at Aunt Yuan and said, "This little Yuan is so lucky. She's ambitious and capable, and her husband is capable too. Chief of Staff Jiang is only twenty-six this year, right? He must be the youngest regimental-level officer in our unit, tsk tsk! I don't even dare to think about his future."

"That's right! Officers at the deputy regimental level and above all live in two-story or higher houses. Their houses are so nice; it's truly enviable!"

"That's true. Young Yuan is already living in a small building at such a young age. We don't know when we'll be able to live in a house like that..."

Aunt Yuan couldn't stand it anymore, so she turned around and left, muttering curses under her breath.

As soon as she entered the house, she went to find Yuan Juan. "Jiang Zhou has been promoted! He's supposed to be a chief of staff, and he's living in a two-story house!"

Yuan Juan paused in folding clothes. She already knew about Jiang Zhou's promotion from Zhou Lei, otherwise the rumors from a while ago wouldn't have happened.

She just didn't expect it to happen so quickly!

She had been busy for a long time, but Jiang Zhou was not affected at all. Instead, she almost got herself sent back to her hometown by Zhou Lei.

Yuan Juan felt a pang of jealousy; she was incredibly envious.

"What are you even thinking about folding clothes for! Jiang Zhou is so young, Zhou Lei is so young, and they've already been promoted, how come he's still just a deputy battalion commander! When you wrote back saying he was a battalion-level officer, your father and I thought he was a full battalion commander! He'll have to be promoted two more ranks to catch up with Jiang Zhou! When will that be? That brat Yuan Xiu's tail will be wagging in the air by now!"

Aunt Yuan was restless. The fact that Yuan Xiu was better than her daughter in every way made her feel like she was being scratched by a cat.

"What a spineless man! He's older than Jiang Zhou, but lower in rank, and he has the nerve to refuse even an eight hundred yuan dowry!"

Yuan Juan found it grating. "Mom, there are many people in this unit who are older than Jiang Zhou and have lower ranks than him."

"I don't care what other people do! You better step up your game and get your man to come up with the dowry money!"

"How am I supposed to get it? Because of this, Zhou Lei hasn't been talking to me for the past few days. I think there's no hope. Otherwise, I'll get a divorce and go back to your hometown with you!" Yuan Juan said defiantly.

Aunt Yuan glared at her, poked her forehead with her finger, and said, "Don't think I don't know what you're thinking. Let me tell you, it's hopeless! Those words were just something I said to deceive your husband and mother-in-law. You finally managed to get a cadre position; you can't let it slip away!"

The mother and daughter were so engrossed in their conversation that they didn't even notice when Aunt Zhou returned.

When they arrived, Sister Zhou was already standing at the door with Xiao Hua'er in her hand.

"...Oh dear, my in-laws are back. When did they come in? I didn't hear a sound." Aunt Yuan immediately changed her expression.

Aunt Zhou snorted coldly, "Do I need to greet you just to go home?"