Chapter 4: Military Unit Rescue

Lin Baoni didn’t pay much attention to what Grandpa Lin and the others had said. Her mind was filled with too many things that she hadn’t sorted out yet.

She didn’t really care about the gossip from outside. Perhaps she still didn’t fully understand how fast rumors could spread in this era.

Actually, not only in this era, but even decades later, people had died from online bullying.

What Lin Baoni was really curious about now was how strong the original person’s physical abilities were. Just how powerful could they be?

That day, when she pushed with all her strength, Wang Daya flew out. Fortunately, it was by the seaside, with soft sand. Otherwise, it could have become a big problem!

Lin Baoni was in the room, her mind racing with various thoughts. Grandpa Lin lay on the kang, also thinking about whether he could find someone at the Military Unit tomorrow, and what to say.

As the sky began to lighten, people started getting up—some to cook, some to wash up—making the familiar sounds of a farm family’s day beginning.

After breakfast, Father Lin and the others went off to work, leaving Lin Baoni at home to take care of Dabao.

Grandpa Lin walked toward the distant military camp. It wasn’t very far, only about twenty minutes by foot.

The island they lived on was called Haidao, the largest in the province, and ranked among the top three in the country.

There had been human activity on the island for hundreds of years, and the population was large.

The island had mountains, rivers, and hills, and was not far from Qingdao City. There were also many smaller surrounding islands, some inhabited and some deserted.

It was because of these differences that Jiang Jiaojiao had started suspecting she had entered a parallel world, since the island names she knew didn’t match up.

Anyway, Grandpa Lin quickly reached the entrance of the military camp.

The soldier on duty signaled for him to stop, and Grandpa Lin didn’t move forward. Instead, he stood in place, waiting.

“Grandpa, what’s the matter?” A young soldier came running out of the guardroom to ask.

He was dressed in white with blue pants, looking sharp. If only Baoni could wear that outfit, how nice it would look on her!

“Ah, um, I’m looking for someone.” Grandpa Lin snapped back to attention and replied quickly.

“Looking for someone? Which person are you looking for?” The young soldier asked kindly.

Grandpa Lin was also confused. He didn’t even know their name, since he hadn’t been told one before.

After thinking for a moment, Grandpa Lin said: “A few days ago, did one of your soldiers fall into the sea and drown, but was saved by a female comrade? I’m looking for her.”

That was the only information he had. If he couldn’t find her, then there was nothing he could do.

The young soldier seemed to think about it, but his facial expression didn’t change. He smiled and said: “Grandpa, wait here for a moment. We have a lot of people, and I’m not sure about the incident you mentioned. Let me go check.”

“Wait here, I’ll be right back.” After saying that, the soldier ran over to greet the soldier on duty and then entered the guardroom to make a call.

After a while, the soldier ran back to Grandpa Lin and said: “Grandpa, our instructor is coming right over. Please wait a moment.”

“Alright, you go ahead and do what you need to do. I’ll just wait here.” Grandpa Lin quickly replied, signaling that they had found someone, so that was good.

Grandpa Lin found a shady spot, sat down, and began to think about what he should say when the time came.

Meanwhile, Xiao Chaoyang, who had received the call, rushed over. It had been his oversight—he had been so busy with matters related to the Military Unit these past few days that he had neglected the issue of the rescue.

He had just arrived at the gate when the young soldier from the guardroom ran out, standing at attention and saluting. “Instructor, it’s that elderly gentleman in the shady spot over there.” the soldier said, then gestured with his right hand.

“Alright, you go ahead and continue with your duties.” Xiao Chaoyang said, straightening his military uniform and walking toward Grandpa Lin.

Grandpa Lin saw the officer approaching and stood up.

“Hello, fellow villager!” Xiao Chaoyang greeted him with a salute as he reached Grandpa Lin.

“Hello, hello…” Grandpa Lin shook the officer’s hand, a bit excited.

“Fellow villager, I’m Xiao Chaoyang, the instructor of the First Battalion. This matter was our oversight, and we didn’t get in touch with you in time.” Xiao Chaoyang apologized repeatedly.

Seeing the positive attitude of the Military Unit leader, Grandpa Lin also relaxed. “It’s alright. If it hadn’t been for some gossip, we wouldn’t have had to come to the Military Unit. We really had no other choice.”

Xiao Chaoyang could tell that something had happened.

Indeed, although he hadn’t been at the scene at the time, the soldiers who had reported back later mentioned the mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, which was bound to attract gossip.

“Fellow villager, the sun is pretty strong. How about we go inside and talk more?” Xiao Chaoyang invited Grandpa Lin to his office.

“Alright, I’ll listen to the leader.” Grandpa Lin agreed. He was here to resolve the issue, so it didn’t matter where they spoke. He trusted the character of the People’s Liberation Army.

After registering at the guardroom, Xiao Chaoyang led Grandpa Lin to his office.

“Comrade, have some water.” Xiao Chaoyang poured a cup of water from an enamel mug and placed it in front of Grandpa Lin.

“Thank you so much. In that case, I’ll speak frankly.” Grandpa Lin said, thinking he should finish the conversation quickly as he still had to go back to his busy work.

“Go ahead, go ahead…” Xiao Chaoyang could tell that the elderly man was not the type to hesitate.

“I am from Island First Team, and the one who saved the person was my granddaughter, Lin Baoni. At first, saving someone is a good deed, but because of the way she did it, now people on the entire island, and even nearby islands, are gossiping about my Baoni.”

Grandpa Lin became so angry at the thought of those hurtful words that he struggled to keep his composure.

“They are saying my Baoni is acting like a hooligan, and that she kissed someone in broad daylight.”

At this point, Grandpa Lin became even more enraged. The words were too harsh.

“Comrade, calm down, let’s not argue with those ignorant people.” Xiao Chaoyang could feel the old man’s anger. He had done a good deed, yet was being smeared with all sorts of accusations.

Grandpa Lin took a moment to calm down before continuing: “My Baoni is a 19-year-old young woman, and they’ve been cornering her, saying all sorts of nasty things. If it weren’t for Baoni’s strength, those petty criminals wouldn’t have dared come near her. Who knows what could have happened.”

This wasn’t an isolated incident. The daughter of Old Zhao from Team Three was rescued from drowning, and those gossiping women started calling her impure. Some lowlifes then took the opportunity to take advantage of her, which led to that poor girl hanging herself with a rope.

“Comrade, we didn’t do enough. We let Lin Baoni suffer because of those rumors.” Xiao Chaoyang knew that such gossip could be deadly.

“The comrade she saved is still in the hospital and unable to get out of bed. Otherwise, he would have come personally to thank her.” Since the matter involved a male-female relationship, Xiao Chaoyang didn’t feel comfortable making a decision on his own.

“Look, since you’re here, if there’s anything we can do, we will cooperate to the best of our ability.” Xiao Chaoyang didn’t know exactly what the old man had in mind.

“Comrade, could you possibly speak up for us? My Baoni saved someone, not acted like a hooligan. If possible, could you help her join the army, so she can leave here?” Grandpa Lin expressed his thoughts, uncertain whether it would be possible.

Xiao Chaoyang thought the idea was good, but it couldn’t solve the problem.

They had lived here for so long, and this issue wasn’t something that could be resolved with a certificate or by simply leaving.

“Comrade, is this what Lin’s thoughts are? I hope you don’t mind me asking, is Lin married, or does she have someone in her life?” Xiao Chaoyang thought of another possibility and asked cautiously.

“My Baoni doesn’t know I’m here. She’s neither married nor has a partner.” Grandpa Lin responded. He hadn’t communicated with Baoni about this matter and wasn’t sure what she thought about it.

Ah, he should have talked to Baoni first yesterday.

“I see. Comrade, you should head back today. I’ll discuss this with the other leaders and figure out how to do what’s best for Lin.” Xiao Chaoyang said, not trying to evade the matter but feeling that it was important to talk to the person involved.

“Alright, I’ll head back today. Please try to hurry with this, it’s….” Grandpa Lin didn’t know what more to say. He could only place his trust in the military unit.

“No problem, I’ll try to come see you tomorrow. May I ask, how should I address you? Which team in Island First Team should I visit?” Xiao Chaoyang realized after talking for so long, he didn’t even know the old man’s name.

“My son is the captain of Island First Team. You can ask around and they’ll know.” Grandpa Lin replied. The Lin family was well-known on the island, and there was hardly anyone who didn’t recognize them.

Xiao Chaoyang escorted Grandpa Lin out of the military unit. He still needed to talk to the leaders and the person directly involved.

Grandpa Lin, feeling content, returned to the team, eagerly awaiting their response. Maybe, just maybe, Baoni could really wear the white uniform and blue pants after all.

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