Chapter 27: Arriving at the Army

“That’s better.”

“Wow, Brother, you look like a spotted cat.”

“No, a very majestic spotted cat,” Lu Siyuan corrected seriously.

Their cheerful conversation was a refreshing breeze, calming Su Yuanyuan’s anxieties.

Infected by their joy, Su Yuanyuan couldn’t help but smile. “You two are such little rascals.”

Su Yuanyuan agreed. They’d been clean in the [spatial storage], even though they wore their old clothes from the village.

They looked like they were struggling, but not enough to immediately convey their hardships to Lu Zhengan.

They needed to look dirty and disheveled, reflecting their actual life with the Lu family.

Su Yuanyuan dirtied her clothes, adding a touch of dust to her already sun-kissed face; she didn’t want it to look too contrived.  Then, they slowly approached the base gate.

Their slow pace wasn’t due to nervousness but to convey their exhaustion from the journey.

It was lunchtime; the gate was quiet, with two soldiers standing at attention.

Su Yuanyuan and her children were stopped.

“Comrades, this is a restricted area.  Unauthorized personnel are prohibited. If you’re here to see someone or are family members, please show identification or a letter of introduction.”

The soldier’s voice was loud and clear, but he spoke gently to Su Yuanyuan.

Su Yuanyuan took out her marriage certificate and Lu Zhengan’s military service record, handing them to the soldier with a tight lip.

She lowered her head, her long braid hanging down, her pale face thin.

“I’m a military family member. I’m here to find my husband, Lu Zhengan. He’s the battalion commander here.”

The soldier took the documents, his expression mirroring the police officer’s confusion.

Battalion commanders weren’t uncommon in Beijing, but it was still a significant position.

Other commanders’ wives, visiting or joining their husbands, were always well-dressed, often met by someone.  Su Yuanyuan and her children looked like refugees.

Su Yuanyuan knew this was hard to believe, so she explained, wiping away tears.

“We got married a few days before he was urgently called away. He’s been busy and hasn’t been home. I stayed in the village with the children, but my in-laws disliked me because I was sick and had two children. They said we were burdens and kicked us out.”

Many people struggled then, working in the fields.

A woman with two children, unable to work, would starve.

But a battalion commander’s monthly salary was substantial; even sending some home would provide a comfortable life.

Yet, they were emaciated.

“My family didn’t accept me either. I was homeless and came to find my husband. It was difficult to find this place.”

Su Yuanyuan wiped her tears; her children also started to cry.

“Grandma and Grandpa were mean to Mommy. They called us debt collectors.  When Mommy was sick, they didn’t give her money for medicine. They wrote to Daddy saying Mommy was sick, asking for more money.”

The children were adorable, speaking softly, like sweet little dumplings, evoking sympathy.

“Grandma and Grandpa said it would be better if Mommy just died… that she was just hanging on…”

Lu Mingzhu, attempting to appear pitiful, started crying at these words.

Large tears fell, leaving rain-like marks in the dust.

The guards were shocked, disbelieving that the battalion commander’s wife and children had suffered so much.

They couldn’t imagine the hardship a frail woman faced raising two children while enduring her in-laws’ cruelty.

Their sympathy grew; it was rare to see a commander’s family living in such poverty.

Su Yuanyuan was about to continue, but Lu Mingzhu clung to her, crying loudly.

“I was so scared then.  I was so scared Mommy would die.”

Her crying stunned everyone.

Su Yuanyuan, having recently arrived, hadn’t truly experienced the hardship of barely having enough to eat.

With her [spatial storage], she’d had plenty.  Her understanding of the original Su Yuanyuan’s suffering came from a few cold sentences in the book.

Lu Mingzhu’s words were a blow, revealing the original Su Yuanyuan’s anxieties and struggles just a glimpse of her suffering.

Lu Mingzhu learned to speak at two and to understand at two and a half.

That was when the family most disliked them; a growing child meant more food.

To feed her children, Su Yuanyuan often forced herself to work in the fields, leading to frequent illness.

Lu Mingzhu had been terrified when her mother was sick.

Even more terrified of her grandparents and aunts and uncles scolding her mother, fearing their words would come true, that she’d wake up to find her mother gone.

“Don’t cry, sweetheart.  Mommy’s fine now,” Su Yuanyuan wanted to say that mothers don’t die easily, but remembering the original Su Yuanyuan’s death, she swallowed the rest.

Su Yuanyuan hugged Lu Mingzhu tightly, patting her back to comfort her.

Lu Siyuan’s eyes were red, but he held back his tears.

The village head had said that boys should be strong and grow up quickly so their mother and sister wouldn’t suffer.

The guards exchanged glances.  Su Yuanyuan and her children were thin, looking like three sticks.  After checking their documents, they led them to the nearby rest room.

Lu Mingzhu sobbed in Su Yuanyuan’s arms.  The guards, feeling sorry for them, offered them water.

“The documents seem fine, but we need to verify. Please rest here for a while.”

The soldier made a call; a soldier arrived, glanced at the rest room, took the documents, and went to verify the information.

Lu Zhengan’s unit was large; they needed to check the records and then locate him.

The operator learned that Lu Zhengan was on a mission.

Han Xiao was overseeing training when he saw someone running towards them.  He stopped a soldier about to leave.

“What’s wrong? Who are you looking for?” Han Xiao remembered Lu Zhengan’s instructions and questioned them.

Previous inquiries had been about other matters, but this time…

“Reporting to the platoon leader, I’m looking for Commander Lu.  I just heard he’s on a mission. I need to return to the gate.”