Chapter 67.1

“Wen Nuan, I’m your grandfather.”

Seeing that Wen Nuan hadn’t reacted, General Lu repeated himself.

Wen Nuan looked at him in shock, then suddenly laughed. “General Lu, you must be joking, right? My grandfather passed away many years ago. I never even met him.”

General Lu hadn’t expected this response, and his face flushed with excitement. “I’m not joking; I really am your grandfather!”

Wen Nuan looked at him with a hint of doubt, clearly not convinced. Instead, she asked, “General Lu, where is your assistant?”

“What? Do you think I’m crazy or something?” General Lu pulled a photograph out of his pocket and handed it to her. “Take a look. These are your biological mother and father. Their names were Wen Xuerou and Lu Tengjun. You don’t need to doubt it—I am your grandfather, no question about it.”

Just then, Lele, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly shouted, “Grandpa!”

Hearing Lele call him “Grandpa,” General Lu felt an immense sense of satisfaction. However, he quickly corrected her, “No, little one, you should call me Great-Grandpa!”

Who could truly understand this feeling?

Not only had he found his own granddaughter, but he now had a great-granddaughter as well!

This double dose of happiness made his heart race with excitement.

Wen Nuan’s eyes widened as she looked at the photograph General Lu handed her—she was completely stunned. “General Lu, what’s going on here? Are you serious?”

It wasn’t that Wen Nuan was unwilling to believe him, but she had gone over her background many times. As far as she knew, there had never been any hidden truths about her family history. Whether from what the Wen family had told her or from the details she’d picked up over time, there were no clues to suggest otherwise.

“Just take a look first, and let me hold the child for a bit.” General Lu said, his eyes bright with anticipation. He’d long wanted to hug this sweet little one. Who would have thought that the first person to call him “Grandpa” would be this adorable doll?

This made him even fonder of her.

Wen Nuan accepted the photo and reluctantly handed the child over to him. Little Lele, who was never shy, heard that General Lu wanted to hold her and immediately extended her arms, smiling as she said, “Hug, hug.”

General Lu took her in his arms right away, beaming as he said, “Ah, let Great-Grandpa give our little baby a hug.”

Upon hearing this, Lele said in her sweet, soft voice, “I’m Lele.”

“Alright, alright, Lele, it is.” General Lu, holding Lele, began walking into the house. He couldn’t help himself and encouraged her again, “Come on, say ‘Great-Grandpa’ one more time.”

Lele looked up at him with her round, sparkling eyes, then cheerfully called out, “Big Grandpa.”

“No, it’s Great Grandpa.”

“Big Grandpa.”

General Lu chuckled as he looked at Lele, deciding not to correct her any further. Instead, he said, “Alright, it seems our Lele is still a bit young. But that’s okay—no matter what you call me, Great-Grandpa loves you just the same!”

Lele giggled and wriggled to get down, wanting to walk by herself. General Lu had no choice but to set her on the floor, watching as she dashed into one of the rooms.

He took a moment to look around the modest house. It wasn’t large, with only two rooms. As soon as you walked in, you were in the living room, where there was a small wooden sofa set with a coffee table, an octagonal table, and two cabinets.

Beside the sofa, a small heater was warming the room, and two pieces of children’s clothing were hung nearby to dry.

Though simple and compact, the place had everything it needed. There were quite a few things packed into the space, but everything was arranged neatly.

In the small kitchen next to the living room, steam was rising from an iron pot on the stove, filling the home with a cozy, comforting warmth.

Just then, Lele came running back out of the room, hurrying over to General Lu. She stopped right in front of him, holding her tiny hand open and extending her palm toward him. “Big Grandpa, here, have a candy.”

General Lu looked at the small piece of candy she held out, and though he hadn’t even tasted it yet, he felt a wave of sweetness spread through his chest.

Seeing that he hadn’t taken it, Lele leaned forward and placed the candy directly in his hand. Lele insisted: “Eat the candy.”

As he felt the candy’s crinkly wrapper pressing into his palm, he felt his eyes start to sting. He closed his hand around the treat, smiling warmly at her, and said, “Alright then, Great-Grandpa will keep it. Thank you.”

Lele tilted her head and looked at him, then broke into a smile. “You’re welcome!”

General Lu nodded with satisfaction. “Such a good girl.”

Meanwhile, Wen Nuan had been staring at the photograph for quite some time, stunned by what she saw. She had to admit her own appearance did indeed bear a striking resemblance to the woman in the photo. And the child in the woman’s arms looked so much like Lele did when she was a baby.

Wen Nuan remembered Gu Qinghan once telling her that both of General Lu’s sons had sacrificed their lives, though he never mentioned that either of them had left behind a child. Could it really be true that she was the daughter of one of General Lu’s fallen sons?

The sudden realization of having a grandfather was hard to digest—even if that grandfather was a general.

Just as she tucked the photograph away, Xiao Zhang stepped out from the Jeep parked outside, carrying a brand-new radio in his arms.

Standing in the courtyard with the radio, Xiao Zhang glanced at Wen Nuan, then peered into the house before finally asking her, “Comrade Wen, where would you like me to put this radio?”

“What’s this?” she asked, surprised.

Xiao Zhang smiled and replied, “This is a radio our commander bought for you.”

Wen Nuan hesitated for a moment, realizing she couldn’t let Xiao Zhang stand there holding the heavy radio any longer. She pointed inside. “Please, just put it in the living room for now.”

General Lu must have heard Wen Nuan speaking because he led Lele to the doorway and called, “Xiao Zhang, bring it inside over here.”

Wen Nuan followed them into the house, eyeing the radio on the coffee table. “General Lu, what is this for?”

Unbothered by the fact that she hadn’t yet changed how she addressed him, General Lu chuckled. “It’s a gift for you all, a little something to mark our first meeting.”

After returning to Beijing from the south, he made a stop at Wen Xuerou’s hometown, where he asked her family for some photographs. Before heading up to Northern City, he hadn’t wanted to arrive empty-handed, so he thought he should bring along a little something.

He had wandered through the department store, unsure of what to buy, not knowing what Wen Nuan and her family might need. In the end, it was Xiao Zhang who suggested he buy a radio. Xiao Zhang had mentioned that the area didn’t get television signals, or he would have considered bringing a television instead.

After decades in the military, General Lu had accumulated a good amount of monthly allowances, subsidies, and various ration tickets that he hardly ever used. When Xiao Zhang helped organize them, they discovered plenty of unused tickets, more than enough to buy a radio!

Seeing that Wen Nuan hadn’t asked him to take the radio back, General Lu nodded with satisfaction. He then gestured to Xiao Zhang to bring out a new Shanghai-brand wristwatch he had also bought.

“Here’s a watch. It’s all for you.”

When Wen Nuan saw it, she felt a little embarrassed to accept more. She replied, “General Lu, are you really going to conclude that I’m your granddaughter based solely on a photograph? Isn’t that a bit too hasty?”

Even if she did bear some resemblance to the person in the photo, was it really enough to claim her as his granddaughter? It all seemed a little reckless.

General Lu chuckled, then began to recount the story of how Wen Nuan’s mother had disappeared with her. He explained how, some time ago, he had even visited her family to confirm a few things about these matters.

A proud smile crossed General Lu’s face as he declared firmly, “That’s exactly how it is. I can be certain that you are indeed the child of our Tengjun, which makes you my granddaughter, Lu Mingfei’s granddaughter.”

From the first moment he saw Wen Nuan, he had felt a strong premonition.

When he initially reviewed the Wen family’s background, he was skeptical. Recognizing a family member was no small matter, and he was wary that the Wen family might attempt to deceive him. However, upon seeing the small bellyband, he was nearly certain.

After all, that little garment had been hand-sewn by his late wife. They even had an identical one left at home, which she had made in hopes of gifting it to their eldest son’s future child. But fate had robbed them of that chance.

So, after confirming that Wen Nuan was indeed his biological granddaughter, General Lu had wasted no time. He had gathered a meeting gift and hurried over to see her.

After hearing his story, Wen Nuan felt a touch of emotion stirring inside. She was struck by the coincidence, yet there was a sense of sadness as well.

It turned out that she was, in fact, an orphan with no parents. Her biological mother had died tragically, and she even trusted the wrong person with her care. Now, Wen Nuan understood why Father Wen and Mother Wen had always treated her with such coldness and indifference—she wasn’t really a child of the Wen family, after all.

For a moment, Wen Nuan didn’t know what to say. Just then, Gu Qinglan arrived with a chicken she had bought.

Before she even entered the house, Gu Qinglan called out loudly, “Sister-in-law, I managed to buy a big, fat chicken! Should we go ahead and butcher it today?”

When she stepped inside, carrying the still-clucking chicken, she saw an older man in a military uniform and a younger, unfamiliar man. For a moment, she thought she had entered the wrong house.

Gu Qinglan stood there in stunned silence for a couple of seconds before quickly recovering. She hurried over to Wen Nuan and whispered, “Sister-in-law, who are they?”

For some reason, Gu Qinglan’s mind flashed to the incident where someone had filed a report accusing Wen Nuan of stealing food from the kitchen staff. Could these two men have come to arrest her sister-in-law?

Without a second thought, Gu Qinglan stepped in front of Wen Nuan, spreading her arms protectively.

Holding the chicken in one hand and shielding Wen Nuan with the other, she addressed General Lu in a nervous tone, “Comrades, my sister-in-law really hasn’t taken anything from the Kitchen Team! Everything here at home was bought with our own money. Someone must’ve wronged her. You can’t take her away!”

“My big brother will be back soon, and if you don’t believe me, you can ask him. But please, don’t take my sister-in-law! My niece is still so young…!” Her voice trailed off in a desperate plea.

Wen Nuan couldn’t help but laugh at the unexpected turn of events. She reached out to reassure Gu Qinglan, saying, “Qinglan, you’ve misunderstood. This is General Lu, the General of our Air Force.”

“And this is General Lu’s assistant, Comrade Zhang. They’re here from the capital, and they’re not here to arrest anyone.”

General Lu spoke directly, “I’m Wen Nuan’s grandfather. You must be Gu Qinghan’s sister, right?”

On the National Day cultural performance, General Xu specifically mentioned to him how Wen Nuan saved Gu Qinghan and used a job to change Gu Qinglan’s military status. The girl protecting Wen Nuan before him must be Gu Qinghan’s sister.

Seeing Gu Qinglan standing up for Wen Nuan made General Lu think well of her.

Gu Qinglan was stunned. “Grandfather?”

Her expression was one of shock, her mouth agape as if she could fit an egg in it. She asked again, “General Lu… is he your grandfather, sister-in-law?”

General Lu ignored her incredulous look and frowned instead, asking, “What do you mean when you said Wen Nuan took something from the Kitchen Team? Is someone trying to arrest her?”

As General Lu spoke, Wen Nuan finally recognized the authority and sharpness that emanated from him. It was clear that he was already a bit angry.

Wen Nuan hadn’t told anyone about the situation. She had only intended to caution Gu Qinglan to be more careful in the future when shopping so she wouldn’t attract unwanted attention again.

As for who had reported her, she could make an educated guess but simply hadn’t had the time to verify it yet.

Over there, Gu Qinglan, who had been questioned by General Lu, seemed to have finally found her savior. Her eyes lit up, and she immediately began to report to her superior. “Reporting to the General! My sister-in-law has been diligent and hardworking in the kitchen, but someone clueless actually wrote a complaint to the sergeant major, saying my sister-in-law has been enjoying lavish meals every day and must have stolen from the Kitchen Team! This got my sister-in-law questioned!”

Gu Qinglan continued, “My sister-in-law has been wronged! We don’t have any lavish meals; it’s just that Lele needs to grow, and my sister-in-law makes her different kinds of tasty food every day!”

The more General Lu listened, the tighter his brows furrowed. He looked at Wen Nuan and asked, “Is that true?”

Wen Nuan met General Lu’s eyes, which were filled with concern and rising anger. Not wanting to hide anything, she nodded. “Yes, the sergeant major did talk to me. But don’t worry; he knows my character and didn’t make things difficult for me.”

Upon hearing this, General Lu turned to Zhang and said, “Xiao Zhang, go over to the sergeant major’s office and find out what’s going on.”

“Yes, General!”

Xiao Zhang accepted the order and ran out the door. However, Wen Nuan raised her voice and said, “Xiao Zhang, this matter is just the sergeant major following standard procedure, so don’t make things difficult for him.”

General Lu reassured her, “Don’t worry; Xiao Zhang knows how to handle things appropriately.”

Wen Nuan was not overly concerned; she just feared that the sergeant major might get caught in the crossfire. After all, he had been quite good to her.

—o—o—o—