Chapter 4: Family Reunion

“Attention, passengers: The train bound for Qiongzhou is about to arrive at the station. Passengers who need to disembark, please prepare in advance.”

The train’s announcement echoed through the carriage in crisp and clear Mandarin.

Meng Yufei let out a sigh of relief—finally, they had arrived.

Originally scheduled to reach its destination at 10 o’clock this morning, the train had been delayed due to track issues and had been stuck for quite some time. Now, it was already close to 2 o’clock in the afternoon.

“Qinqin, wake up, we’ve arrived,” Meng Yufei gently shook her daughter, who had just woken up from a nap.

Xia Qinqin rubbed her eyes. The normally energetic little girl, after enduring over twenty hours of travel, now looked as wilted as a frostbitten eggplant.

“Mom, I’m so sleepy~” she whined softly, her big watery eyes brimming with unshed tears, as if she were about to cry at any moment.

Meng Yufei picked her up and patted her gently, coaxing her in a soft voice. “Be good, Qinqin. You can sleep again after we get off the train. Daddy is waiting for us outside—let’s go find him together, okay?”

“Mm… okay.” Hearing her mother’s voice, Xia Qinqin obediently nodded.

As the train pulled into the station, passengers crowded near the exit, pushing their way toward the doors. Meng Yufei glanced at the two suitcases and frowned—there was no way she could let go of her child in such a crowd.

Suddenly, she heard a knocking sound on the window.

Looking up, she was both surprised and delighted. She quickly moved to open it.

“You’re here!”

Outside the window stood Xia Junshan, dressed in a green military uniform. With sharp brows, bright eyes, and an air of confidence, he looked strikingly heroic.

Seeing Meng Yufei’s gaze land on him, he grinned, revealing a set of bright white teeth. “Just pass the luggage through the window to me.”

“Oh, okay.” Meng Yufei hurriedly handed the two suitcases through the window.

After a moment’s hesitation, she picked up Xia Qinqin, intending to pass her through as well.

But Xia Qinqin clung tightly to her mother’s neck, refusing to let go. “Ah! Mom, no, no! I want to stay with Mom!”

Meng Yufei coaxed her, “Qinqin, this is Daddy. You’ve seen his picture before, don’t you remember? Let’s go through the window first, okay? There are too many people at the door—it’s too crowded.”

Xia Qinqin, however, buried her head in her mother’s arms and twisted her little body in protest. “No! No!”

Seeing no other choice, Meng Yufei sighed helplessly. “Alright, alright, we won’t go through the window. Mom will carry you down.” She then looked up at Xia Junshan and said, “Wait for us here. I’ll carry Qinqin and get off the train.”

With that, she turned and made her way toward the exit.

Xia Junshan had already raised his hands, ready to catch his daughter, but seeing how resistant she was, a trace of disappointment flashed in his eyes. Still, he reminded himself that he had barely been around as she grew up—it was only natural for her to be unfamiliar with him. The thought filled him with guilt and sadness.

But then, he reassured himself that now their family was finally reunited, and there would be plenty of time to bond. The thought brought an uncontrollable surge of joy to his heart.

Qiongzhou, as a provincial capital, was bustling with people. The train station was packed, the platform crowded with passengers moving in all directions.

The young couple—one carrying the luggage up front, the other holding the child behind—had no time to talk as they focused on making their way through the crowd.

The moment they stepped out of the station, the air instantly felt fresher.

Xia Junshan said, “I borrowed a car from a comrade. He transferred to the local Public Security Bureau last year after leaving the military. We had a good relationship back when we were stationed at the border, so I asked him for a favor this time.”

“We’ll take the car to the pier first. We won’t be able to catch the last ferry today, so we’ll stay at the pier’s guesthouse for the night and take the ferry to the island early tomorrow morning.”

With that, he led the mother and daughter toward a jeep parked by the roadside. The man in the driver’s seat saw Xia Junshan approaching with a woman and immediately knew he had picked up his family.

He opened the door and stepped out with a smile. “Old Xia, so you’ve picked up your wife.”

Xia Junshan introduced them, “Brother Sun, this is my wife, Meng Yufei.” Then he turned to Meng Yufei and said, “This is my comrade, Sun Dahai.”

Sun Dahai took one look at Meng Yufei—her appearance, her demeanor—and thought to himself, No wonder Old Xia is known for being completely under his wife’s thumb. Then he noticed the delicate little girl in her arms, who bore a striking resemblance to Xia Junshan.

With a grin, he greeted them, “Hello, sister-in-law. And this must be Qinqin, right? She’s grown so much! I still remember how Old Xia used to show off his daughter’s one-month-old baby photo to us all the time.”

Meng Yufei smiled. “Hello, Brother Sun. Thank you for coming to pick us up.” Then she turned to her daughter. “Qinqin, greet Uncle Sun.”

Xia Qinqin obediently said, “Hello, Uncle Sun.”

“Hey, good girl. It’s getting late, let’s get in the car.”

The jeep started moving. The roads in the city were smooth at first, but once they left the urban area, the ride became increasingly bumpy, causing the passengers to sway with the vehicle.

As soon as they got into the car, Xia Qinqin fell asleep. Meng Yufei, having gone more than twenty hours without rest, finally relaxed and started nodding off, her head bobbing lower and lower.

Just as her head was about to hit the window, a large hand gently caught it and slowly guided it to rest on a shoulder. The man looked down at her, heart aching at the faint dark circles under her eyes.

When Xia Qinqin opened her eyes again, she found herself lying on an unfamiliar bed. She sat up abruptly, looked around, and only relaxed when she spotted her mother sitting at a nearby table.

Hearing the movement, Meng Yufei, who was sorting through their luggage, turned to look at her daughter and smiled. “You’re awake. Are you hungry?”

Xia Qinqin curiously asked, “Mom, where are we?”

The room’s lighting was dim, and the wooden furniture looked old, with most of the paint peeling off. The floor tiles were stained and worn.

Xia Qinqin had never stayed in a place like this before.

“This is a guesthouse. We’ll rest here for the night, and tomorrow, we’ll take the boat to our new home on the island,” Meng Yufei gently explained.

Xia Qinqin asked, “What’s a guesthouse?”

Meng Yufei replied, “Hmm… It’s a place where people like us, who are traveling to a new place, can stay for the night.”

Xia Qinqin thought for a moment, then asked, “So tomorrow when we go to the island, are we going to Daddy’s house for a visit?”

Meng Yufei paused while folding clothes, then turned to her daughter and explained, “It’s not just Daddy’s house. It’s our home too. We’re a family.”

Xia Qinqin tilted her head and asked, “Then… is it also Grandpa and Grandma’s home? And Uncle’s too?”

“…”

Before Meng Yufei could figure out how to answer, the door suddenly opened.

Xia Junshan walked in carrying three meal boxes. Seeing his daughter sitting on the bed, he smiled and said, “Qinqin, you’re awake. Are you hungry? Daddy just got some food from the state-run restaurant. Their head chef happened to cook his specialty today.”

As he spoke, he placed the meal boxes on the table. He had jogged all the way back, so the food was still steaming hot.

He turned to Meng Yufei and said, “Leave the unpacking for later. Come eat first.”

Meng Yufei took out the pajamas they would wear at night and set them aside. “I didn’t expect it to be so hot here. Back in Haishi, we were still wearing winter clothes. Who knew we wouldn’t even need jackets here?”

Xia Junshan swiftly set out bowls and chopsticks for the three of them. “I heard it gets even hotter in the summer. We should buy a fan for the house in a while.”

He walked to the bed, bent down, and said, “Qinqin, let Daddy carry you to eat, okay?”

Xia Qinqin looked at the unfamiliar yet familiar face in front of her, blinked, and nodded lightly. “Okay.”

Xia Junshan was delighted. He picked up his daughter, and the sharp, rugged features of his face softened. Turning around, he gently placed her on a chair.

“Thank you, Daddy.”

It was the first time Xia Qinqin had called him “Daddy” since they reunited. And it was also the first time Xia Junshan had ever heard his daughter call him that in person.

After years of braving life-and-death situations, at this moment, Xia Junshan felt a stinging sensation in his eyes.

Lowering his voice, he softly replied, “You’re welcome.”

Looking at his wife sitting across from him and his daughter beside him, Xia Junshan felt a kind of fulfillment he had never experienced before.

Meng Yufei smiled and said, “Today is the first time the three of us are having a meal together. Let’s celebrate.”

She raised her hand as if holding an invisible cup. Xia Qinqin immediately followed suit, raising her small hand and excitedly cheering, “Cheers!”

Then she turned to Xia Junshan and urged, “Daddy, hurry, join us!”

Xia Junshan chuckled, raised his hand, and the three of them clinked hands together. “Cheers!”

—

The next morning.

The family of three packed up their luggage and checked out early.

The guesthouse was right across from the pier, just a short walk away from the waiting hall. Xia Junshan went ahead and bought tickets for the earliest ferry to the island.

Meng Yufei wore a blue button-up shirt with black wide-leg pants and white canvas sneakers. Her smooth hair was casually tied into a low ponytail, giving her a simple yet stylish look.

Xia Qinqin wore a white blouse with small yellow floral prints, paired with blue denim overalls and white children’s sneakers.

Xia Junshan carried his daughter in one arm while holding two leather suitcases in his other hand. Meng Yufei carried a crossbody bag slung across her shoulder.

The family stood out in the waiting hall. Xia Junshan’s military uniform was eye-catching, though people here were used to seeing soldiers due to the stationed troops. What truly drew attention was his tall and striking appearance.

More notably, the mother and daughter beside him stood out even more. In a crowd mostly dressed in black, white, and gray, their outfits looked fresh and fashionable.

On top of that, the entire family was attractive, making it hard for people not to steal a few extra glances—after all, beauty always catches the eye.

Sitting on the ferry, feeling the comfortable sea breeze, Xia Junshan pointed toward a faintly visible island in the distance and introduced, “That up ahead is Nanya Island.”

Xia Qinqin tried hard to open her eyes wide. Seeing just the tip of a mountain peak emerging in the distance, she said disappointedly, “It’s so small.”

Xia Junshan chuckled, patted her head, and explained, “It looks small now because we’re still far away. Once we get closer, you’ll see how big it really is. There are nearly twenty thousand people living on the island.”

Xia Qinqin didn’t yet understand what twenty thousand meant, so she had no reaction to the number. But Meng Yufei was a bit surprised. “That many people?”

Xia Junshan said, “There are over ten thousand people in our division alone, plus the families who moved here with them. And then there are the native islanders—about a thousand households in total. Do the math, and you’ll see how many people that adds up to.”

Meng Yufei said, “That really is quite a lot. I originally thought only soldiers and military families lived on the island. But with local residents too, life must be much more convenient.”

Xia Junshan nodded. “Exactly. The island is actually quite well-equipped. There’s a supply and marketing cooperative, schools, and a hospital. Oh, and many types of fruit and seafood here don’t require ration coupons.”

Meng Yufei’s eyes lit up. In a planned economy, everything from food to clothing required ration coupons. The Meng family had never lacked money, and Meng Yufei had never worried about it, but dealing with ration coupons was always a headache.

Now, finding things she could buy without needing coupons was even more exciting than getting a discount—especially when it was seafood and fruit, which were rare treats back in Haishi.

Looking at Nanya Island growing closer and closer, Meng Yufei felt a new sense of anticipation.