At the military's group wedding, my best friend and I swapped husbands.

Chapter 95 Rural Performance

"Beautiful!" the children exclaimed in unison, crowding even closer.

As Lin Weiwei drew, she chatted with the children, asking them what fun things happened in the village.

The children chattered about whose sheep had given birth to a lamb, and which sandy area had pretty pebbles.

After hearing this, Lin Weiwei had an idea.

In the corner of the picture, she added two small, running children, one of whom was holding a pretty stone he had found.

It took me about an hour to paint this simple landscape.

During this time, several more villagers were attracted and stood not far away watching, whispering among themselves.

"This little girl is really well drawn."

"Yes, look at that sun, it looks so real, it's even smiling!"

"Is this the military family compound? I think I've seen it there before."

Lin Weiwei finished the last stroke, took a few steps back, and looked at it.

The effect is decent; the colors are vibrant, the composition is simple and clear, and it stands out against the earthy yellow village background.

She washed the brush clean, packed her things, and prepared to move to another place.

"Comrade," a woman in her fifties walked over, holding an enamel mug, "have a drink of water, you've been drawing for ages."

Lin Weiwei thanked her, took the drink, and took a couple of sips: "Thank you, Auntie. How was my drawing?"

"It's beautiful!" the auntie laughed. "Even more vibrant than the pictures on the town's bulletin board. Can you draw anything else?"

"Yes, I will." Lin Weiwei nodded. "What would you like to see, Auntie?"

The woman thought for a moment: "Could you draw... a picture of a bountiful harvest? That's what we farmers look forward to."

"Sure!" Lin Weiwei readily agreed. "If it's convenient for you, Auntie, I'll come over tomorrow to paint it for you!"

"That's great!" the auntie laughed. "My house is just over there, the wall is perfectly smooth!"

On the first day, Lin Weiwei painted three walls in Shazao Village.

In addition to the initial landscape painting, a simple "Abundant Harvest" picture was also painted for a family.

The golden ears of wheat and the plump ears of corn, though depicted with simple strokes, are both festive and rustic.

On another wall, at the children's request, she drew several small animals, including adorable rabbits and lambs.

By the time we got back, it was almost dark.

Lin Weiwei had paint splatters on her trousers and her hands were covered in colorful paint, but she was full of energy.

Su Wanwan had just returned and was about to put down her things to pick up Lin Weiwei when she bumped into her: "Our great painter is back? How did it go?"

Lin Weiwei put down the cloth bag, gulped down a large bowl of water, and then wiped her mouth, saying, "It's alright! The villagers like it quite a bit, and they even made plans to go paint again tomorrow. The key thing is that a few children kept following along, asking all sorts of questions; they seemed quite interested."

"Take it slow, things will be easier once you have a good foundation with the masses." Su Wanwan handed her a towel. "The training intensity in the group increased today. Captain Zhou is scrutinizing the movements very meticulously. My leg is almost not my own anymore."

"What about you? If you can get through this, you'll be a star." Lin Weiwei patted her on the shoulder. "By the way, does your performing arts troupe have any performances planned lately?"

"Nothing for now, just regular training." Su Wanwan shook her head. "But Captain Zhou said we might need to rehearse a new program to prepare for future performances."

As the two sisters were talking, the Bai brothers returned one after the other.

Three days passed in this routine.

Every morning after finishing her housework, Lin Weiwei would take her paint bucket to Shazao Village in the afternoon.

She gradually became a familiar face in the village, and adults and children alike greeted her with smiles.

The content of the paintings has also become richer: there are scenes of soldiers and civilians working together to repair irrigation canals, scenes of soldiers helping villagers repair farm tools, and scenes of children herding sheep and picking jujubes in the countryside.

Her paintings were vivid and the colors were bright. Soon, several bare earthen walls in Shazao Village were transformed and became a scenic spot in the village.

People from neighboring villages heard about it and came to see what was going on.

Su Wanwan's training with the performing arts troupe is also progressing well.

She had a good foundation and was willing to put in the effort. Although Zhou Min was strict with her, she also gave her exceptional guidance.

Over the course of a few days, she became more and more stable in performing some of the more difficult spins and jumps, and her coordination with Zhou Min also improved significantly.

Seeing that she was down-to-earth and not arrogant, the other veteran comrades in the group became much more friendly towards her.

Only Wang Xiuying's foot injury was recovering slowly, and she could only manage some movements with difficulty. Seeing Su Wanwan's obvious progress, her eyes would occasionally turn somewhat sinister.

On the afternoon of the third day, the cultural troupe finished rehearsals and everyone was packing up when Deputy Head Liu strode in.

"Everyone, don't leave yet. I need to give you a heads-up about a temporary mission."

The rehearsal hall fell silent immediately.

Deputy Commander Liu held a piece of paper in his hand: "I just received a notice from higher up that the division's cultural troupe will organize a small team the day after tomorrow to perform for the troops in the Red Star Commune, in coordination with the propaganda work. Our troupe needs to send three people to participate."

She glanced at everyone and said, "This performance is quite urgent, and the journey is long. It might take two or three days to get back. After consideration, the troupe has decided that Zhou Min will lead the team, and Su Wanwan, Wang Xiuying, and the other two will participate."

Su Wanwan was stunned for a moment.

A complex emotion flashed across Wang Xiuying's face, as if she were both happy and nervous.

"This performance is a great opportunity for learning and training," Deputy Commander Liu continued. "Zhou Min, you are experienced, so please mentor the two of them. Su Wanwan and Wang Xiuying, get ready, pack your belongings, and we'll depart with the division headquarters' vehicle early the day after tomorrow."

"Yes!" the three answered in unison.

After the meeting, Su Wanwan walked out of the rehearsal hall, feeling both uneasy and expectant.

This is the first time we've performed in a rural area.

Wang Xiuying caught up from behind, a smile on her face: "Wanwan, I didn't expect us to go together. It'll be good to keep each other company on the way."

Su Wanwan nodded: "Yes, Sister Xiuying, is your foot alright? Will you be able to perform?"

"It's alright, much better. I'm not going to the countryside until the day after tomorrow, my foot will definitely be better by then." Wang Xiuying waved her hand. "It's just some simple jumping, no problem. By the way, have you been to Hongxing Commune? I heard it's even more remote and the conditions are much harsher than here."

"I've never been there," Su Wanwan said honestly.

"I've never been either," Wang Xiuying said in a low voice. "But I've heard that these kinds of rural performances best showcase a soldier's true character. If you perform well, the leaders will remember it."

Her words were loaded with meaning. After she finished speaking, she patted Su Wanwan on the shoulder and said, "Go back and prepare well. Let's not embarrass our group."

After saying that, she limped away first.

Su Wanwan watched her retreating figure and took a soft breath.

Performing in rural areas is an opportunity, but it's probably not that simple.

She needs to go back and tell Weiwei and Bai Rongbei.