About a month later, Uncle Fu sent a letter with three photos of the Chen family's young master and a short note in English. After struggling to read the note, Ashan's father said to Ashan's mother, "The English handwriting is quite nice, but there's not much content, just a greeting. This boy has an English name, Johnson, which is quite similar to his Chinese name, Junsheng."
Ashan's mother, eager to see the photos, remarked, "Hmm, he looks quite decent, but why is his hair curly, and his skin a bit dark?"
In Uncle Fu's letter, he mentioned that Chen Junsheng's parents were very fond of Ashan's elder sister, especially pleased to know that she came from a general's family. Overseas Chinese in the South Ocean admired military leaders greatly, as there are very few generals in the South Ocean newly independent countries and held significant power and status, which naturally led to such admiration.
Ashan's father smiled shyly and said, "I am an old, retired general now, with hardly any soldiers left under me. What's there to admire?" Uncle Fu's letter also mentioned that if Ashan's father didn't mind, he could allow Junsheng and his daughter to start corresponding. Mr. Chen would send a letter to show his sincerity and gratitude. Ashan's father, unsure of what to do, decided to leave the matter aside for now.
A few weeks later, Uncle Fu sent an international telegram urging a response. He also briefly stated that Mr. Chen sincerely wished to find a well-educated and virtuous Chinese daughter-in-law and hoped for a prompt reply. At this point, Ashan's mother couldn't help but say, "Ashan's father, do you really need Uncle Fu to keep asking for your approval? This isn't the military. Just agree to let the young people start writing to each other." Reluctantly, Ashan's father wrote back to Uncle Fu, agreeing to the correspondence.
In truth, both Ashan's parents knew that their daughter had feelings for Ma Yingding. They tried to persuade her to start corresponding with Junsheng, even if it was just to practice her English. So, Ashan's sister unwillingly began writing to Junsheng, though she continued meeting Ma Yingding often.
Ma Yingding started sensing that something was amiss and couldn't help but press Ashan's sister for an explanation. She had no choice but to tell him the truth, explaining that she couldn't disobey her father's orders and mentioning Aunt Hu's warning, "Marrying an Air Force officer is like becoming a widow," as Ma Yingding was a pilot.
Ma Yingding, feeling indignant, responded, "A soldier's duty is to protect the country, always ready to sacrifice their life. Didn't your father serve as a soldier his entire life? Why can't you marry a soldier too?"
Poor young woman, torn between her beloved and her parents who raised her, was left speechless.
過了約一個月，符叔寄來了一封信，信中附了三張陳家少爺的相片，及一封英文短箋。阿三爸吃力的看完這封短箋後，向一旁的阿三媽說道：「英文字寫得還蠻漂亮，不過沒有什麼內容，只是問好而已。這小子還有個英文名字叫 Johnson，倒和中文名字『俊生』差不多。」阿三媽倒是急著看照片，然後一面說道：「嗯，人倒是還長得不錯，不過頭髮怎麼長得卷卷的，皮膚又有點黑黑的。」
符叔的信中，提及陳俊生的父母非常中意阿三大姐，尤其很高興知道大姐是將門之後。南洋華僑對軍方將領非常的崇拜。因為當年在南洋新獨立自主的國家中，將軍是鳳毛麟角，權大位重，難免有如此想法。
阿三爸靦腆地笑道：「我已是個過氣的將軍。現在幾乎沒有一兵一卒，有什麼值得欽羡的？」符叔信中又提到，如果阿三爸不嫌棄，且願意讓俊生與大姐先書信來往，陳老先生當修書以表誠意並致謝意。阿三爸一時也不知如何是好，只好暫時擱下來了。
隔了數週，符叔居然打了國際電報來催問。除此還簡短表示，陳老先生真的希望找一位有良好教養，及傳統美德的中國媳婦，希望阿三爸儘速回音。這時阿三媽忍不住說了：「阿三爸，難道你真的要符叔一再請示才批准嗎？這又不是軍隊。你就同意讓他們年輕人先通信好了。」阿三爸無奈地只得回信給符叔，表示同意了。
其實阿三爸媽都知道，阿三大姐心中念著的是馬英鼎。只得好好地勸告大姐，不妨先與俊生通信，就算是練習英文好了。於是大姐老大不願意的開始與俊生有了書信來往，不過仍然還是常與馬大哥見面。
馬大哥也漸漸地感到事情有點不對勁，忍不住向大姐逼問是怎麼一回事。大姐也只得據實以告父命難違，也向馬大哥提及胡大媽說過「嫁給空軍是守死寡的命」，誰叫馬大哥是飛行員呢？
馬大哥聽了非常不服地說道：「軍人的天職就是保衛國家，隨時都準備犧牲生命。妳爸不也是幹了一輩子的軍人嗎？為什麼妳就不可以嫁給軍人呢？」
可憐的大姐，一邊是心愛的情人，一邊是養育自己長大的父母，她能怎麼回答呢？
