"Since that's the case, shouldn't you listen to me more? Call me Rowan, and after we get married, call me husband."
"Okay, Rowan."
"I'll go submit the marriage report first. Be good and wait for me at home, alright?" After saying that, he left.
Sienna watched his back, hesitating whether to follow him. Her programming tells her to always stay close to her master and protect him, and to listen to his words.
Now she should follow him, but her master told her to wait for him to come back.
Sienna is actually Robot 001. She was made specifically to protect her master. In her programming, her master is shown in the form of a photo—Rowan.
Rowan was born during the 10th year of the apocalypse. He had a weak body since birth. His parents were researchers, but they didn't have any special powers, and their son was born weak and sickly.
Because of this, they dedicated themselves to creating a robot that could protect their son after they were gone. After over twenty years of research, they finally succeeded.
Unfortunately, just as the robot was completed, the lab exploded.
The robot's main programming included fighting and medical skills. Its mission was to protect its master. Anything or anyone that tried to harm him had to be eliminated.
Now Sienna only remembers that she is 001. She has turned into a human and needs to find her master and protect him.
She has found him. Now, all she has to do is stay by his side and keep him safe.
Meanwhile, Cuilan went to talk to the family about the wedding.
Once everyone was gathered, Cuilan dropped the big news. "The third son is going to marry Sienna. I called you here to ask for help with the wedding. His leave is short, so the sooner, the better."
"Mom, have you gone crazy? Third brother is an army officer. It's one thing to marry a village girl, but now you want him to marry a fool? How will he hold his head up in the army after this?"
The one speaking was Liwen, the oldest of Rowan's four siblings. He is married to Aira, and they have two sons—Ning, who is 11, and Shen, who is 9.
The second brother is Muwen. His wife is Haidi. They have one daughter and one son—Fareen, age 9, and Yourin, age 7.
Rowan is the third son. The youngest sibling is a sister named Jilan. She married Rowan's army comrade, Shiyan, who is the deputy factory director at the steel plant. They have a son, Yen, 6, and a daughter, Xin, 4.
"Yeah, Mom, you should think about what's best for third brother. This kind of daughter-in-law won't do," said Muwen.
Aira and Haidi also nodded in agreement. However, they didn't say much. After all, it wasn't their place to comment on their brother-in-law's marriage, especially when the parents were still in charge.
Compared to other daughters-in-law in the village, their lives were much better. Right after getting married, they started living separately, didn't have to serve their in-laws, and their mother-in-law rarely interfered unless it was something major. Half of their monthly earnings went to the family pool, and when the time came to divide assets, everything would be calculated fairly. They were just enjoying their own little lives.
Aira ignored what her sons said and asked her husband, "Old man, do you have anything to say?"
"As long as the third one agrees, I won't interfere."
"Alright. I've already asked someone to check, and five days from now is a good day. You all start getting things ready. After the wedding, we'll split the household."
Now they realized she wasn't asking for opinions—she was informing them. They were expected to help, not debate.
"And about the betrothal gift. It's 300 yuan, but no big items. Out of that, 100 will go to the family, and the remaining 200 will be paid by the third one himself."
After saying this, Cuilan looked at her two daughters-in-law. "I know this is more than what you got when you married, but that was more than ten years ago. You know how hard life was back then. Even though you had to contribute part of your income to the family, the rest was yours to manage. I never got involved. The family also paid for the children's education. I hope you don't have any complaints."
"Mom, no complaints. Most of the family's money comes from Rowan's salary. You can give whatever amount for the bride price. We're capable and won't mind," said the eldest daughter-in-law.
The second daughter-in-law added, "That's right, Mom. We're already living well. We have no objections."
They both meant it. They married into the family a year apart when times were tough. Everyone was barely scraping by. Every household in the village struggled. Life only improved when Rowan joined the army and started sending home his monthly allowance.
The children were thin and malnourished too. It was Rowan who asked his comrades to help get milk powder, which saved them.
Seeing no one objected, Cuilan said, "Let's start preparing then. Rowan has already gone to file the marriage request."
County Post Office
"Comrade, I need to make a call."
"Alright, please wait a moment."
The call was quickly connected. "Hello, this is Yao Yun, Commander of the Third Regiment of the Southern Military Region. Who is this?"
"Commander, it's me, Rowan."
"Oh, it's you. What's going on? How's everything at home? Felix and the others already requested leave to visit your home. I approved their leave. Make sure someone picks them up."
Hearing that, Rowan understood the news had likely spread in the unit. He hesitated briefly but then spoke.
"Commander, there's no issue at home. I'm calling to inform you that I'm getting married and would like your help with the formalities. The marriage report was prepared earlier. Please help me add the bride's name."
"Getting married? What happened? Didn't you go back for..."
He didn't finish the sentence, but Rowan already knew what he meant. He explained, "No, my mom said that just to get me to come home for the wedding."
The commander was speechless for a moment. That woman actually cursed herself just to trick her son into coming home to get married.
"As long as everything's fine. Good to hear. That means the others can attend your wedding too. You can all return together."
"Yes."
"Hahaha, everyone else's marriage reports were useless, but you actually used yours. Wu Wen's idea to be prepared really came in handy."
Rowan was glad too. Without that, it would've been impossible to get married so quickly. The political commissar had asked all the older single men to fill out a marriage request just in case they found someone while on leave. If it hadn't been for the commander and the commissar pressuring him, he wouldn't have done it.
After a pause, Commander Yao said, "Don't worry about the paperwork. I'll take care of it from this end."
"Thank you, Commander. Also, I'd like to apply for family housing, preferably a standalone house. It can be old or in a remote area. That doesn't matter."
"No problem. Just bring your wife along to join the military household later."
"Alright. I'll hang up now."
He ended the call, asked how much the call cost, paid, and left the post office.