Chapter 45: Returning to the Military District

There weren’t many tourists here. It seemed like people in this era were quite wary of such places, and few people came here.

They reached the Hall of Supreme Harmony. Xia Ning’an explained the huge Jiangshan Sheji map to her second brother. This map showed the vastness of the Qing Dynasty’s territory. In the Hall of Mental Cultivation, they saw the dilapidated dragon throne. The royal grandeur was no longer felt here. There were no jade, porcelain, gold, or silver wares on display like in the future.

There were 114 ancient buildings and over 500 rooms here, all open to the public. The two of them spent an afternoon exploring before they finally finished admiring it.

On their way back, they had dinner at the state-owned restaurant. Xia Ninghao didn’t want to go back to the guest house so early. Xia Ning’an thought that she hadn’t used the many foreign exchange certificates she had exchanged last time she came to the provincial capital, so she asked her second brother to go shopping at the Friendship Store.

They arrived at the Friendship Store and showed their foreign exchange certificates to the guard, who let them in.

“Little Sister, what did you show the guard just now?” Xia Ninghao asked curiously.

Xia Ning’an took out a foreign exchange certificate and showed it to him. “This is called a foreign exchange certificate. You need this to buy things here.”

Xia Ninghao took it and looked it over and over again.

They walked around and looked at things, enjoying the pleasure of shopping. It wasn’t as crowded as the department store.

They reached the snack counter, and Xia Ning’an bought some chocolate and “Never-aging Forest” candy.

They reached the cosmetics counter and bought two sets of skincare products, spending 70 yuan. One set was for Xia Mu, and one was for herself. Then, they took Xia Ninghao to the camera counter.

Finally, she chose a Seagull brand camera, spending 600 yuan, and bought 5 rolls of film.

They walked to the children’s toy counter and saw many imported children’s toys. There were very few domestic toy manufacturers at this time. Xia Ninghao was curious about these things he had never seen before, so Xia Ning’an didn’t rush him.

At this time, they heard an argument coming from the counter next to them.

The voice belonged to a man who spoke English with a regional accent.

“How did you become a translator? You only know ‘Yes, yes’? Is this how Chinese people work? No wonder your country is so broken. It’s not without reason. Such a big mall doesn’t even have anyone who can speak English. With this kind of work ability, it’s no wonder you can’t develop. “

The man’s voice showed his disdain for China.

Xia Ning’an couldn’t refute the issue of the translation not being accurate.

After all, China’s cultural education had been stagnant for eight years. Few people could understand English, let alone English-speaking clerks.

But she remembered that it wasn’t easy for foreigners to come to China at this time, and they always had translators with them. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs would arrange for translators to accompany them when foreigners entered the country. Now, they had left their translators behind and traveled privately. They were still complaining about the store staff. It was really annoying.

The clerk kept apologizing, but the two men were relentless.

“Look at them. They’re like dogs. They just know how to wag their tails and beg for mercy. They’re spineless cowards.”

“Their country is meant to be at our mercy. If it weren’t for the fact that they’re so poor, I wouldn’t invest in them. They’re just a bunch of yellow pigs.”

“Hahaha~~~”

The two men cursed without restraint.

Originally, Xia Ning’an didn’t want to cause trouble, but these people had such foul mouths that it was unbearable.

She walked quickly over.

She pushed through the crowd and interrupted their foul language in fluent English.

“Our country is indeed in a temporary low point now, but who can guarantee that they will always be at the top? Thirty years in the east, thirty years in the west. Think about what your country was like a hundred years ago?”

The people around didn’t know what Xia Ning’an said, but they saw the two men become even angrier than before.

The manager of the store didn’t know what Xia Ning’an said either, but seeing her fluent English, he walked over.

“Comrade, hello. I’m the manager of the Friendship Store. Did the two foreign guests have any requests just now?”

Xia Ning’an translated what the two men had said. When the people around heard it, they all looked at the two men with indignation.

The manager of the store was furious. He asked Xia Ning’an to wait a moment and made a phone call to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He told them what the two men had said. Soon, two people from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs arrived.

The two foreigners saw that people from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had arrived. They apologized to the clerk and left in a huff.

Xia Ninghao was stunned when Xia Ning’an started speaking English. When did his little sister become so good at English? Her English was even more beautiful than the foreigners’.

“Little Sister, when did you learn English? You’re so amazing.”

Xia Ning’an quietly told him, “I learned from the people in the cowshed. They were all very cultured.”

“Ah? Aren’t they all bad elements?”

“Not all of them are bad. I think the few people in our village are pretty good.”

“That’s true. Little Sister, you’re so amazing. Your teacher must be really amazing.”

“Of course. Second Brother, you should study more too. You should study the book that Teacher Kong gave you. Study hard and ask him for guidance. He’s a very capable person.”

“Little Sister, don’t worry. I’ll study hard. And my memory is really good now. I only need to read the book Teacher Kong gave me twice, and I remember it.”

“Then you should learn even more. You have such good conditions.”

The siblings left the Friendship Store, chatting as they went.

While Xia Ning’an and her brother were exploring the Forbidden City, Lu Zecheng arrived at the army.

He entered the military district. Lei Ziqi, who had received the message, was already waiting at the gate. Zhang Kai and Zhao Dayong were also there. They had heard that Lu Zecheng was coming back and had stopped training. They insisted on waiting at the gate, no matter what.

“Squad Leader, it’s really the Squad Leader coming back.” Zhang Kai shouted loudly when he saw the figure. He excitedly tugged at Zhao Dayong’s sleeve.

Lei Ziqi and Zhao Dayong looked closely. It was indeed him.

They shouted Lu Zecheng’s name, each louder than the last, waving their hands in his direction.

Lu Zecheng saw them from afar and heard their shouts. He was carrying things in his hands, but he strode towards them. He was tall and lanky. There was no sign of his injury. Before, everyone had been hesitant to believe that he had fully recovered. Even before he came this time, they were worried that his injury wouldn’t recover to its previous state. After all, it was his eyes, which were so fragile.

At that time, the most authoritative experts in the military district had all shaken their heads. But he had only been back for a month, and he had recovered so quickly. How could they not be surprised? Even now, seeing him, they felt it wasn’t real.

But when the three of them saw that Lu Zecheng walked and his eyes were no different from usual, they couldn’t help but believe that he was truly healed. They were so happy.

Zhao Dayong rushed forward and hugged Lu Zecheng, crying again. “Wuwuwu~~~ Squad Leader, you’re finally back. We missed you so much~~~”

The other two weren’t as unrestrained as him, but they were also silently shedding tears.

Those who knew Lu Zecheng came forward to congratulate him. There were also some family members at the gate who knew him and came over to greet him. They helped him carry his packages and went directly to the battalion commander’s office.