Chapter 33: Letter from Captain Lu

Three days later, Ma Jidong at the guard post was sorting through the letters and parcels the mailman had just delivered. Suddenly, he spotted a letter addressed to Regiment Commander Lu Huaijin of the 3rd Regiment. The sender was someone named Jiang Peiyu—clearly a woman.

He was overjoyed. For over half a month now, the commander had been asking him every single day if there was a letter for him. This must be the one he was waiting for. That woman must be his fiancée. Thank heavens—he was finally saved! No more having to face the commander’s dark, thunderous face like some kind of avenging deity.

Grabbing the letter, Ma Jidong rushed off toward the training ground.

Lu Huaijin and Zhao Yipeng were in the middle of drilling new recruits, correcting their movements one by one, when they suddenly heard Ma Jidong shouting something while running toward them with a letter in hand.

No doubt—it had to be another love letter for Zhao Yipeng. Every time that guy read a letter from his girlfriend, he’d get all smug and grinning like a fool. It drove Lu Huaijin nuts. He wanted to kick him every time. Just wait. If he so much as smirks today, I swear he’s not going home to sleep tonight. I’ll beat the cockiness out of him.

Zhao Yipeng glanced at Lu Huaijin beside him and suddenly felt uneasy. Something wasn’t right. His gut told him this might not go well. Was it getting colder, or was that just his spine tingling?

Dear god, he thought, please let it not be a letter for me. If it is, and Lu sees it, I’m doomed.
He kept chanting in his mind: Not mine, not mine, not mine…

As Ma Jidong got closer and closer, Zhao was sure he was heading straight for him. Panic set in. He had to find a way to escape before Lu got his hands on him.

So he quickly jogged over to meet Ma Jidong halfway.

“What are you running over here for? Don’t tell me it’s another one of my letters?”

“No… it’s not. It’s for Regiment Commander Lu… from the 3rd Regiment,” Ma Jidong said, panting.

Zhao Yipeng let out a huge sigh of relief. Thank God! I live another day.

“Great. Hand it here. I’ll give it to him. You can head back.”

“Okay.”
Ma Jidong handed over the letter without a second thought, completely unaware that this small act was about to spark a “disaster.”

Without even thinking, Zhao Yipeng opened the letter—completely forgetting the pain of the 30-kilometer run he was forced to do last time for doing exactly this.

As he walked back, he shouted aloud, “Everyone, listen up! Our regiment commander’s fiancée finally wrote him a letter!”

“Should I read it out loud for everyone to hear?!”

The soldiers all perked up in excitement. Some rushed over to grab and restrain Lu Huaijin, holding his legs and arms. One even jumped on his back, locking his arms around his neck.

“Captain Zhao, read it!!”

“Hurry, we can barely hold him!”

“Alright, alright, I’ll read it,” Zhao said, clearing his throat dramatically with two exaggerated hums.

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“Huaijin-ge,

I’m so happy to receive your letter. I’m not mad at you, so you don’t need to apologize!

I got all your previous letters. I’ve just been really busy lately because I opened a fruit shop in the city with my two brothers. That’s why I haven’t been back to the village much, and I didn’t get your letters in time. It wasn’t because I was mad or ignoring you on purpose.

Next time you write, just send your letters directly to the fruit shop. It’s called Fruit Paradise—I came up with the name myself. Isn’t it cute?

I’m there every day, so I won’t miss your letters anymore.

Huaijin-ge, take good care of yourself in the army. Don’t worry about me—I’m doing just fine. I understand that being a soldier means carrying sacred responsibilities and duties. I know that uniform you wear represents not only honor but also a heavy burden.

Even though we’re far apart, my heart is always with you. Every time I think of you sweating on the training field or standing guard, I’m filled with pride and admiration.

I know your job is tough, and that sometimes you don’t have much freedom. But I was prepared for that even before we got engaged. I knew that, in the future, I’d have to face many things on my own.

I know it won’t be easy—but I’ve never felt scared or thought of backing out.

You’re serving your country and protecting the people. And I’ll stay home, live well, work hard, and earn money—so that when the time comes, we’ll have a strong foundation for our future home.

So please, charge ahead with peace of mind. No matter what happens in the future—good or bad—I’ll be right here behind you, supporting you.

As long as we stand together and keep working hard, I believe we can build a wonderful future for ourselves.

I miss you! I can’t wait for you to come home.
Yours,
A-Yu
December 12, 1980”

After hearing Zhao read the letter aloud, Lu Huaijin felt like he had swallowed the sweetest candy in the world. His heart melted, bursting with happiness. Just as he was struggling madly to break free from the others and charge over to snatch the letter, a familiar and authoritative voice suddenly cut through the air:

“Is that a letter from Huaijin’s fiancée?”

Commander Jiang Yide had somehow appeared on the training ground without anyone noticing. He stood before the soldiers, his sharp gaze fixed on the letter.

“Yes, Commander, sir!” Zhao Yipeng immediately responded with a respectful salute, hurriedly handing over the letter.

All the others straightened up and saluted as well, greeting the commander in unison.

The commander gave a slight nod and took the letter, studying it carefully. After a moment, a look of admiration spread across his face.

“Well now, to have such a strong sense of awareness, and to be so understanding of our duties and the hardships of being a soldier… that is truly rare and commendable!”

As he spoke, he turned to look at Lu Huaijin, who was standing tall and straight, his eyes filled with approval.

“Huaijin, this young lady is a good one. You’d better treat her well.”

“Yes, Commander!” Lu Huaijin replied at once, giving a perfect military salute, a happy smile appearing on his face.

His A-Yu—she really was different from other girls. He was lucky—so lucky—to have met her.

The commander then handed the letter back to Lu Huaijin and, with his hands behind his back, turned and walked off the training field with his guards.

Once he had gone, Lu Huaijin tucked the letter away carefully, then turned around with a stern expression on his face, staring down everyone on the training field.

“Had fun, did you?”

“Was it exciting?”

“Enjoyed yourselves?”

“Regimental Commander, we’re sorry—we won’t dare do it again…”

“Commander, we were forced to listen! It was all Captain Zhao’s idea…”

“Yeah! It was all Captain Zhao’s fault!”

Hearing this, Zhao Yipeng nearly exploded with rage. “You ungrateful traitors! No sense of loyalty at all…”

“You don’t deserve to be called comrades…”

“All units, assemble immediately!” Lu Huaijin barked.

Everyone instantly stood to attention, not daring to delay for even a second.

“Looks like the last lesson wasn’t enough for you…”

“In that case…” Lu Huaijin paused deliberately, scanning them with a grim look. Everyone held their breath.