Chapter 1 : Under the Qilian Mountains

Early spring of nineteen sixty-six.

In the northwest, at the foot of the Qilian Mountains.

A military green Liberation truck, carrying three women and two children, was heading northwest.

“A-choo!”

The weather was very cold. Lu Fangfang in the car raised her arm and wiped her nose.

Glancing at the shiny floral sleeves on her arms, her little face flushed. It’s not that I’m embarrassed, it’s that I’m cold!

Not only her face, but her nose was also burning with pain after being rubbed for a long time.

“It’s really cold in the Northwest.”

Lu Fangfang put her hands in her pockets and curled up in the corner of the car.

Looking up at the snow-capped mountains in the distance, she was in a good mood.

She had lived by the sea in her previous life, and this was her first time to come to the Northwest and see the white snow-capped mountains.

Yes, Lu Fangfang is a time traveler!

She traveled from the 21st century to the 1960s, into the body of a person with the same name.

Speaking of the original owner “Lu Fangfang”, she also had a miserable life. There was a famine in her hometown and there was really nothing to eat in the countryside.

Her family could only go to the brigade to get a letter of introduction so that she could go to Qilian Mountains, 2,000 kilometers away, to join her fiancé who she had been engaged to since childhood.

The original owner ignorantly took a horse carriage to the county town, and then took a bus to Zeng City.

She originally wanted to take a train from Zeng City to Gansu Province, but as soon as she arrived at the train station, the handkerchief containing her money and food coupons was lost.

The original owner was so angry and anxious that she died.

Lu Fangfang, who traveled through time, was confused for a long time. After thinking about it all night, she decided to continue to go to Qilian Mountains.

Now that the “movement” has just begun, it is better to stay in the team than in the countryside.

But she had no money or ticket, and was afraid of being deported, so she didn’t dare to go to the government and had to beg along the way.

They dug wild vegetables, drank river water, and slept in the wilderness at night. Fortunately, Lu Fangfang had experience in hiking and adventure. After walking for a month, she finally reached the border of Gansu Province.

Gansu Province is too big. If we continue to go west, the road will be too desolate and there will even be wolves in the wild.

At this point, Lu Fangfang didn’t dare to continue walking alone, so she ran to the Wei County Armed Forces Department and begged for a train ticket with a photo of her fiancé in military uniform and a letter of introduction.

Yesterday she took the train and finally arrived in Minle County.

Her fiancé’s military base was at the foot of the Qilian Mountains, not far from Minle County.

After skillfully finding the Minle County Armed Forces Department, Lu Fangfang was arranged to stay in a guesthouse for one night.

The next day, she and two other military wives got on a car to the military base.

Thinking about the experiences over the past month, Lu Fangfang felt like crying and laughing at the same time.

From the eastern coast of the motherland to the northwest, Lu Fangfang finally arrived after going through untold hardships.

“I don’t know what kind of person he is. Now that I’m here, I can only take it one step at a time.”

Pursing her cracked lips, Lu Fangfang took out a black-and-white photo from her bag. She rubbed it gently and looked at it intently.

In the photo, the man is riding on a horse with a cold and determined look in his eyes. Behind him are vast grasslands and towering snow-capped mountains.

This photo of her in military uniform helped Lu Fangfang a lot along the way.

To exaggerate a little, it would be easier for her to beg for food with this photo of her in military uniform.

This photo of her in military uniform saved her life!

—

“Girl, it’s so cold, you’re wearing too little. I have a thick coat here, you can put it on to keep out the wind.”

Lu Fangfang came back to her senses and subconsciously waved her hand, “No, sister, don’t bother.”

Sitting opposite was a middle-aged woman in her thirties or forties, who was currently untying the bag in her arms.

Hearing what Lu Fangfang said, she smiled and said, “It’s no trouble. Just don’t mind that my coat is old.”

As she spoke, she took out a blue gown from her bag and handed it over.

“…”

Lu Fangfang was somewhat touched and took it with both hands.

The wind blowing down from the snowy mountains was so cold that she spread out her coat and put it on herself.

Rubbing her hands, Lu Fangfang said sincerely, “Thank you, elder sister.”

“It’s okay. When I look at you, I feel like you are my little sister.”

“By the way, my name is Wang Shufen. This time I am bringing my child to join my man. Sister, are you also going with the army?”

Wang Shufen looked at her curiously.

To be honest, the girl opposite looked like someone who had fled famine, and didn’t look like a military dependent.

“Sister, my name is Lu Fangfang, you can just call me Fangfang.”

Lu Fangfang hesitated for a moment, not knowing whether she was considered to be following the army.

After a while, she shook her head and said, “I’m going to find my fiancé.”

Wang Shufen’s eyes lit up, and she pointed at another woman in the carriage, “Oh, what a coincidence, Fangfang, you and Haimei are both looking for your fiancé, what a fate.”

“Um?”

Hearing Wang Shufen’s words, Zhu Haimei next to her opened her eyes.

She looked at Lu Fangfang from head to toe.

A yellow old-fashioned headscarf, a tattered red cotton jacket, patched black pants, and cloth shoes with exposed toes.

You can tell at a glance that she’s from the countryside by the way she’s dressed.

Zhu Haimei shook her head and looked at her face again. Hmm…

With her sallow face, skinny body, and tall stature, she looked just like a bamboo pole.

Tsk, she’s just a yellow-haired girl, not worth mentioning.

But her little hands are very white, which is strange.

Lu Fangfang felt uneasy under her stare.

Looking down at herself, she quickly retracted her exposed big toe.

“Lu Fangfang, right? There are policies for women to accompany the army. The man must be at least a battalion officer. The family members of soldiers cannot accompany the army. Were you deceived by the man?”

Lu Fangfang’s face froze. These words, full of a sense of superiority, were really annoying.

Looking down at the photo in her hand, she didn’t know what the man’s position was in the team. But it doesn’t matter. She wasn’t a soldier in the first place. As long as she can survive, it’s fine.

“Haimei, why are you talking like that? What’s wrong with being a private? My man was a private and is now the political commissar of the regiment.”

“Sister, I didn’t say anything about you. I was just worried that the little girl was deceived.”

Zhu Haimei raised her eyebrows and looked at Wang Shufen. She suddenly thought of something.

“By the way, sister, my fiancé is the commander of a battalion in a regiment.”

“He’s 1.8 meters tall, looks… quite handsome, and is a war hero. Have you heard your brother-in-law mention him?”

As she spoke, Zhu Haimei’s face suddenly turned red with embarrassment.

She saw the photos sent by her fiancé and fell in love with him at first sight.

Her house was smashed and looted every day, and she could no longer stay there, so she packed up her things and headed straight from Shanghai to the Northwest, intending to join the man.

“Haimei, your man is a battalion commander?” Wang Shufen slapped her thigh and asked excitedly.

“Yeah.” Zhu Haimei nodded.

“Oh, sister, we are really destined to be together. My man once told me that the battalion commander is the most handsome in the regiment. He must be right. Haimei, you are so lucky.”

Zhu Haimei’s face turned even redder, and she glanced at the opposite side with pride.

“Qi!”

Lu Fangfang rolled her eyes. A handsome man can’t be eaten.

Glancing down at the photo in her hand, she suddenly realized that her fiancé was quite handsome.

“What are you complaining about?”

Zhu Haimei’s face darkened.

After a while, she suddenly smiled and said, “Oh, Comrade Lu Fangfang, let me check for you to see if you have been deceived by a man.”

As she spoke, she loosened her grip on the suitcase and snatched the photo from Lu Fangfang’s hand.

Looking down, Zhu Haimei was suddenly stunned.

Why does the man in the photo look so familiar?

“Bah.”

She quickly opened the suitcase and found a photo of her fiancé.

Holding it in her hand and looking around, Zhu Haimei discovered that the man in the photo was actually the same man, just taken in different places and at different times.

Angry and anxious, she stood up and said, “Lu Fangfang! Why do you have a photo of my fiancé?!”