The white rose I picked up cried and said she liked me.

Zhang Feng went back into the house, took out two bottles of mineral water, and tossed one to Xu Nian.

The two stood outside the courtyard and began warming up.

While stretching his legs, Zhang Feng muttered to himself, "Starting today, I'm going to lose weight, get rid of fat, and stop being lazy."

After a quick warm-up, at Zhang Feng's call, the two started jogging side by side at a steady pace.

In no time at all, the two left the sanatorium and ran down the mountain.

Xu Nian followed behind Zhang Feng, feeling extremely puzzled. After all, if it was about exercise, there shouldn't be any place more suitable than a sanatorium.

The sanatorium is lush with greenery, has fresh air, little traffic, and a quiet environment, making it an excellent place for exercise.

But Zhang Feng led him all the way out of the sanatorium and ran towards the bustling city at the foot of the mountain. Why was that?

But he soon understood Zhang Feng's intention.

Half an hour later, at a roadside stall in the night market, Zhang Feng rubbed his hands together with a smile and spoke to the stall owner as if reciting a familiar story.

"No scallions, no cilantro, no chili..."

Xu Nian looked at the various snacks piled up in front of Zhang Feng and her lips twitched: "Dad, weren't you trying to lose weight?"

Zhang Feng turned around, chuckled, and said matter-of-factly, "Isn't the point of living this life to eat something good?"

"Besides, how can you have the energy to lose weight if you don't eat your fill?"

Hearing these nonsensical words, Xu Nian immediately felt embarrassed.

"Oh, right." Zhang Feng suddenly remembered something, leaned close to Xu Nian's ear, and whispered, "Whatever you do, don't let our daughter know about this."

Xu Nian nodded, both amused and exasperated.

The two carried their snacks and sat down at the simple table and chairs next to the stall.

Zhang Feng separated the two pairs of chopsticks, handed one pair to Xu Nian, and then eagerly started eating.

"Oh my, it smells so good!"

He quickly devoured a bowl of grilled cold noodles, his lips smeared with sauce, and muttered, "The food in our country is still the best. These past few years of treatment abroad have made me crave it so much. Those foreign meals are simply inedible, expensive and awful."

Xu Nian nodded vigorously, expressing her strong agreement.

The two ate and chatted. When they were having a good time, Zhang Feng raised his hand to call the stall owner, wanting him to get a pitcher of beer so he and Xu Nian could have a couple of drinks, but Xu Nian stopped him.

Xu Nian considered that Xu Xi had a very sensitive nose, especially for the smell of alcohol.

If you secretly drink alcohol, you'll be caught smelling it when you get home, and you'll be exposed.

Furthermore, given Zhang Feng's current physical condition, it's indeed best for him to drink less alcohol. He's already eaten quite a bit of oily and salty food, and drinking alcohol will only worsen his condition; it's really not advisable for him to overindulge.

Seeing this, Zhang Feng had no choice but to reluctantly withdraw his hand and give up.

After finishing their snacks, the two strolled along the river for an hour, making sure there was no lingering food smell on their clothes before slowly returning to the sanatorium.

Dusk was falling, and the evening breeze was weary.

In a pavilion at the sanatorium, Xu Xi sat beside two elderly people with white hair, her eyes crinkling as she chatted and laughed with them.

"Grandpa Deng, Grandpa Liu, could you tell me more about your experiences fighting the Japanese invaders back then?"

"Haha, there are plenty of stories like that."

One of the elderly men said.

"One year, the Japanese devils launched a massive sweep of our base area. At that time, I was a platoon leader, and Lao Liu was one of my squad leaders. We were separated from the main force and trapped in a village. The Japanese devils were on three sides, and there was a cliff behind us."

"Old Liu, that hothead, was about to rush out and fight the Japanese devils to the death."

"I said that won't do, stop them immediately! We only have less than 30 men left in our platoon, but there are at least 300 Japanese soldiers outside. Charging out would just be throwing our lives away!"

"We won't do a losing business. We can't let our brothers die in vain. Even if we die, we should take a few more down with us."

"After we finished, I had my brothers lie in ambush on the main road into the village. As soon as the Japanese attacked, we fired all our bullets, leaving none behind."

"When the Japanese saw how strong our firepower was, they thought there was a whole regiment in the village, and they were too scared to charge. They retreated to the outskirts of the village and set up camp, waiting for other Japanese troops to come and support them."

"As a result, while they were asleep that night, our brothers broke up into smaller groups and slipped away from their encirclement under the cover of darkness."

"By the time they realized what was happening and entered the village, they were blown up by the mines we had planted beforehand, so badly that they wouldn't even recognize their own mothers."

"Come on, old Deng, you're just bragging about yourself."

Another elderly man said indignantly.

"If it weren't for my excellent marksmanship, taking down Japanese soldiers with every shot, your pathetic fighting style would have already led to you being captured and fed to horses by the Japanese."

As soon as he finished speaking, the two old men burst into laughter, and a young girl's clear, cheerful laughter echoed from inside the pavilion.

The joyful atmosphere was interrupted by the arrival of Xu Nian and Zhang Feng.

The moment Xu Nian saw the two elderly people in the pavilion, she stopped abruptly, her eyes filled with unexpected surprise and emotion.

These two were the two elderly people who had the best relationship with him and Xu Xi in the No. 5 compound: Grandpa Deng and Grandpa Liu.

He strode into the pavilion and hurriedly went up to greet them.

"Grandpa Liu, Grandpa Deng, it's been a long time."

After his release from prison, he visited Compound No. 5, hoping to pay his respects to the two elderly people, but the military family compound had already been demolished and the site was deserted.

Looking at the empty courtyard, and considering the advanced age of the two old men, he thought he would never see Grandpa Liu and Grandpa Deng again.

Unexpectedly, Xu Xi also brought them to this sanatorium to live out their old age.

Judging from their complexions, they are extremely healthy and robust, showing none of the signs of old age that one would expect from someone in their eighties.

I imagine they must be living quite well here.

Grandpa Deng squinted, his aged eyes scrutinizing Xu Nian for a while, then suddenly slapped his thigh and shouted loudly.

"Oh my, isn't this Xiao Xu? After studying abroad for so many years, you've finally decided to come back and see us old folks?"

Grandpa Liu glanced up at him, then immediately became so angry that he puffed out his beard and glared at him. He stood up, leaning on his cane, and said angrily, "You little Xu, you still know to come see us? You're not as sensible as your sister. At least she knows to come and keep us company every now and then. I'm afraid you've been captivated by the capitalist world abroad."

Upon hearing this, Xu Nian paused slightly and was immediately stunned.

When did he go abroad to study?

Xu Nian was puzzled, but then he caught a glimpse of Xu Xi beside him, who was winking and giving him hints, and then he suddenly understood.

It seems that during the years he was in prison, Xu Xi lied to the two old men, saying that he had gone abroad to study, which is how he managed to deceive them.