Chapter 5: Arriving on the Island

The weather was perfect today—clear skies stretched endlessly, and the sea was calm.

At the dock of Nanya Island, the first ferry of the day arrived and anchored. As the cabin doors opened, a one-meter-wide wooden plank was lowered to connect the ferry to the pier, allowing passengers to disembark.

“I want to walk by myself.”

Xia Qinqin saw others stepping onto the wooden plank to get off the boat and was eager to try. But her mother firmly held her hand.

“No, it’s too dangerous.”

Meng Yufei refused without hesitation.

Xia Junshan scooped his daughter up in his arms. “Be good, Daddy will carry you down.” Saying that, he took steady strides across the plank and onto the dock.

After setting down their luggage, he turned to Meng Yufei and extended his hand. “The wind is strong—let me hold your hand and help you down.”

Meng Yufei slowly placed her delicate hand into his palm. Her smooth skin brushed against his rough fingertips, hardened by years of handling weapons, sending a slight tingling sensation through her.

The golden morning sunlight shone against her from behind, casting a soft glow over her fair face. The sea breeze tousled her silky strands of hair. She smiled slightly at Xia Junshan, making his heart momentarily lose its rhythm.

Communications Officer Zhao had arrived at the dock early in the morning. As soon as he spotted the ferry in the distance, he fixed his gaze on it, and when he recognized a familiar figure, he quickly ran over.

“Regiment Commander Xia, you’re back!”

A loud voice rang out from behind them. Meng Yufei instinctively withdrew her hand, leaving Xia Junshan with a faint sense of disappointment.

Turning around, he saw that it was Staff Officer Zhao, the adjutant of the Division Commander. He asked, “Why are you here?”

Zhao grinned. “The Division Commander heard that you were bringing your family to the island today, so he specially sent me to drive his car over and help with your luggage.” Then he turned to Meng Yufei and greeted her, “Hello, sister-in-law.”

Meng Yufei smiled and nodded. “Hello.”

Xia Junshan said, “Did this really need to trouble the Division Commander? We don’t have that much luggage.”

Being quick-witted, Zhao immediately stepped forward and picked up the two suitcases. “Regiment Commander Xia, let’s get in the car.”

The jeep was clearly much more comfortable than the one from yesterday. Even while driving over the dirt roads of the island, the ride wasn’t too bumpy.

Xia Qinqin was in high spirits today. She leaned close to the window, curiously taking in the island’s scenery. The jeep drove along the coastline, offering a broad view of the island’s landscape.

“Daddy, what are they carrying?” Xia Qinqin pointed at a group of people.

Xia Junshan followed her line of sight and explained, “Those are fishing nets—they use them to catch fish.”

Meng Yufei asked, “Can people here just fish freely?”

In the era of collectivism, the trees on the mountains and the fish in the water all belonged to the state.

Xia Junshan replied, “They’re fishermen from the island. The commune members here don’t farm, they catch fish and turn them over to the commune in exchange for work points.”

“Oh.” Meng Yufei nodded in understanding. “So the island’s grain supply must all come from outside then.”

Xia Junshan said, “Yes, supply ships come to the island every day, and our unit also sends a truck to the dock every morning to collect supplies. I originally planned to hitch a ride back to the family compounds, but who knew the Division Commander would send a car for us?”

Other than the Division Commander’s vehicle, the only other cars on the island belonged to the logistics department.

From the driver’s seat, Zhao grinned. “The Division Commander personally selected you for his unit, Regiment Commander Xia. And since your wife is from a big city, he insisted on making sure she received a proper welcome.”

Meng Yufei smiled and said, “That’s very thoughtful of him.”

Through the rearview mirror, Zhao glanced at the family of three in the backseat and thought to himself that Regiment Commander Xia’s wife had an impressive presence—definitely someone from a big city.

Just last month, another officer’s wife, Mrs. Chen, had arrived at the family compounds. She was also from the city, and word had it that she had stirred up quite a bit of “liveliness” there. Now, with an even more refined city woman joining the community, the family compounds were bound to become even more interesting.

Although the family compounds weren’t densely populated, in such a closed environment, secrets never stayed hidden for long.

The military families came from all over the country, each with different lifestyles, ages, and professions. Naturally, friction and conflicts were inevitable, and once gossip started, it quickly spread across the entire island.

After about ten minutes of driving, white stone houses began appearing outside the window. Most of the houses had fishing nets hanging on the walls, and in front of them were rows of long bamboo racks, strung with dried fish and seaweed.

Xia Junshan patiently introduced the place to his wife and daughter. “This is the residential area. Most of the island’s inhabitants live here in a concentrated cluster. That two-story building up ahead is the town government office, and the post office is inside as well.”

“This is the clinic, but for military families like us, we go directly to the army hospital if we get sick.”

“That’s the elementary school. Both the island’s residents and the children from the family compounds attend school here. There’s also a middle school on the north side of the island—we can visit it together next time.”

“The place where all those people are lined up is the supply and marketing cooperative. I’ve checked it out before, and they carry a good variety of goods. But if you ever need something that’s not available here, we can take a boat to the city to buy it.”

—

As Xia Junshan introduced everything along the way, they soon arrived at the military family compounds.

Rows of neatly arranged townhouses, also built from stone, stood in contrast to the more scattered residential area they had just passed. The difference in organization was obvious.

“Are we here?” Meng Yufei asked.

Zhao, up front, responded, “These townhouses are for the families of company and battalion commanders. The quarters for the regiment commanders’ families are further back.”

The jeep drove past the townhouses and arrived at an area with individual stone houses, each with a small yard. Although they were called yards, they were simply enclosed by waist-high bamboo fences, allowing a clear view inside from the outside.

The car stopped in front of the innermost house. Zhao quickly got out and retrieved the suitcases from the trunk.

“Regiment Commander Xia, ma’am, I’ll be heading back now.”

Meng Yufei quickly said, “Why don’t you come inside and have a drink of water first?”

Zhao waved his hands repeatedly. “No, no, I won’t intrude. I still need to return and report back to the Division Commander.”

Xia Junshan nodded. “Please pass my thanks to the Division Commander. Once I’m settled in, I’ll report to his office in person.”

“Understood.” Zhao nodded, saluted, and then turned to drive away.

Pushing open the courtyard gate, the family of three stepped into the home where they would be living in the future.

Xia Qinqin ran through the gate, hopping along the stone path toward the center of the yard. On either side of the path was bare soil, with a few scattered wild grasses growing here and there, making it clear that the place had been unoccupied for quite some time.

“There’s a little flower!”

She stepped into the dirt, squatted down, and plucked the small flower with her tiny hands. Then, holding it carefully, she ran in small quick steps to Meng Yufei and held it up. “Mommy, this is for you!”

Meng Yufei’s gaze fell on her daughter’s white shoes, now visibly smeared with mud. Her eyebrows twitched.

Xia Junshan, quick to react, scooped up their daughter and praised, “Qinqin is such a good girl, giving Mommy such a beautiful flower!”

Father and daughter both beamed at Meng Yufei with matching smiles. Looking at their similar features, Meng Yufei took a deep breath and accepted the flower. “Thank you, Qinqin. Mommy loves it.”

Satisfied, Xia Qinqin flashed a bright, toothy grin. “Then I’ll pick more for Mommy! There are so many!”

Xia Junshan quickly carried her into the house. “Come on, let’s check out our new home first!”

As they entered, the kitchen was immediately to the left, while a wooden cabinet stood on the right, looking quite new. A few steps ahead, against the wall, was a dining table, and to the right was a wooden sofa set—clearly older furniture.

“The cabinet by the door is something I bought for storing shoes. The sofa and dining table came with the house,” Xia Junshan explained when he noticed her gaze lingering on the sofa. He still remembered how the Xia family home had a large shoe cabinet at the entrance, so he bought a smaller one for their new place.

On the south side of the house, there were two rooms. The larger one served as the master bedroom, furnished with a double bed, a row of wardrobes along the wall, and a dressing table with a mirror by the window.

“This cabinet is also something you bought, isn’t it?” Meng Yufei immediately recognized that the dressing table was made from the same material as the shoe cabinet by the door, and the paint looked just as fresh.

“I happened to see it, so I had them deliver it along with the other one,” Xia Junshan said lightly, smiling.

The smaller south-side room was naturally for Xia Qinqin. Inside, there was a single bed, a small wardrobe, and a desk positioned by the window.

In addition, there was another room on the north side, currently unfurnished.

After taking a full tour of the house, Xia Junshan hesitated before saying, “The conditions here are a bit simple. I hope it’s not too much of a hardship for you both.”

But Meng Yufei replied, “Everything we need is here. We can slowly add the smaller things later.”

She walked to the living room window, opened it, and looked out at the yard. “Not many people in Haishi get to live in a house with such a big yard. We can plant a few flowers here, maybe set up a grape trellis, and in the evenings, we can sit under it and watch the stars.”

Xia Junshan stepped up beside her, pointing to an empty patch of land to the east. “We can put the grape trellis there. I’ll find someone to transplant some grapevines, build a wooden frame, and by autumn, we’ll have grapes to eat.”

Xia Qinqin squeezed between her parents, tugging at her father’s shirt. “I want to eat grapes too!”

Xia Junshan bent down and lifted her into his arms, smiling. “Alright, Daddy will take you to pick grapes when they’re ready. We can also plant some peach trees and pomegranates in the yard…”

“And oranges! Qinqin loves oranges the most!”

“Alright, we’ll plant orange trees too.”

—

Standing by the window, the family of three gazed out at the yard, excitedly planning as if they were about to create their very own orchard.

As soon as the jeep entered the family compounds, it immediately drew many curious gazes. Everyone recognized it as the commander’s vehicle.

At Battalion Commander Cao’s house, five or six women were sitting in the courtyard, weaving bamboo baskets while chatting.

“Why is the commander’s car coming back at this hour?”

“My husband said the commander called him in for a meeting today, so he won’t be home for lunch. He better not be lying to me.”

“I think I saw Regiment Commander Xia sitting in the back,” a sharp-eyed woman remarked.

“I heard he went to pick up his family. That must be them in the car.”

“No wonder they say Regiment Commander Xia is the most valued by the commander among all the regiment commanders. Who else in our family compounds has ever ridden in the commander’s car to move in?”

Hearing this, one of the women, who was folding paper boxes, suddenly paused. She looked young, around fifteen or sixteen, with neatly braided pigtails and delicate features—though her skin was slightly tanned.

“Jianhong, what are you daydreaming about?”

Han Jianhong snapped back to reality. “Oh, I just remembered—someone mentioned before that Regiment Commander Xia’s wife is also from the city.”

“Oh? That’s just like Deputy Regiment Commander Chen’s wife next door. Tsk tsk, don’t tell me we’ve got another pampered city girl moving in.”

“Oh my, you mean that woman who thinks she’s better than everyone else? What was her name again…?”

“Qi Huiying.”

“Yes, yes, that’s her!”

At the mention of this name, Han Jianhong’s fingers trembled slightly. Her lowered gaze darkened, filled with deep resentment.