The 1960s: The Story of a Country Girl's Journey to the City

The army commander listened to Division Commander Qin's report with a furrowed brow, his brows furrowing more and more as he listened. It seemed that someone was using him, and he had even come to warn them.

After figuring out the whole story, I couldn't help but blush.

But he quickly recovered, sat up straight, and said to Bao Ya:

"Comrade Xiao Lin, I was rash in this matter. I was only thinking about the friendship I had with Qi Jianjun's father back then, and I almost wronged you. I apologize!"

"Qi Jianjun's father?"

After hearing what he said, Bao Ya was stunned. Did the Qi family know such an important figure as the army commander? How come she had never heard of him?

"Yes, Qi Jianjun's father sacrificed himself to save me back then, so..."

Before he could finish speaking, Bao Ya looked at him in terror, shrinking her body to one side of the sofa, and looked at Commander Qin and Political Commissar Gu for help.

Before the army commander could finish speaking, he saw her make this gesture and thought to himself, "Is this girl crazy? Why does she always do such inexplicable things?"

Bao Ya didn't look at him again, but turned to the other two leaders, pointing to her head and saying:

"Is there something wrong with him? Is he likely to hit someone?"

"Stop fooling around, listen to what the commander has to say!"

Commander Qin quickly reprimanded her, knowing she was disrespectful, but she couldn't treat everyone like that.

Say that again!

The army commander was also anxious. What was going on? Where did this crazy girl come from? She had no manners at all. No wonder she dared to steal chickens in broad daylight.

"Are you out of your mind? Do you have Alzheimer's? Why are you talking nonsense?"

Damn, she actually said that.

Division Commander Qin and Political Commissar Gu could no longer sit still; they felt that Army Commander was about to explode and rush over to beat her up at any moment.

If she said that to me, I would definitely want to hit her too.

"Xiao Lin, what nonsense are you talking about? Apologize to the commander right now!"

Political Commissar Gu scolded her while giving her meaningful glances.

"I'm not talking nonsense. He's mentally unstable. The other person's father is perfectly fine, and he just said something that made him look like he'd died."

As Bao Ya spoke, she rolled her eyes at the army commander, her disdain undisguised.

The room fell silent instantly; you could almost hear a pin drop.

The army commander froze for a moment, then his cloudy eyes welled up with tears, and his lips trembled as he spoke:

"Who did you just say was still alive?"

"Qi Jianjun's father is alive and well. I saw him before I came here."

Bao Ya said irritably that when she went to the Qi family to complain to Lin Chuxue before, Qi Jianjun's father was also there, and he was in good health.

Could it be that he died recently? I haven't seen Qi Jianjun go home for the funeral.

Bao Ya suddenly felt uncertain. People don't just disappear like that; who can say for sure?

Thinking this, he looked at the army commander with a guilty look in his eyes. If he really hadn't been there for the past few days, he really couldn't explain it. He had just scolded the old man.

Oh no, it seems I've messed up again. Who's going to take the blame this time?

Bao Ya looked at Commander Qin and Political Commissar Gu guiltily, wondering if they would kick her while she was down.

After listening to her words, the army commander gradually calmed down. He realized he was getting senile; of course, how could his old comrade-in-arms, whom he had buried himself, still be alive?

I heard he has an older brother, so this girl must be talking about him.

Within a few minutes, the army commander had calmed himself down, then sighed and said:

"You might be talking about my comrade's older brother. I was the one who brought Qi Jianjun and his mother back to your village back then. More than ten years have passed in the blink of an eye. They are an orphan and a widow, and they are all taken care of by his uncle. It's not surprising that he calls him 'Dad'."

Bao Ya became more and more confused as she listened. What orphan and widow? They only had one parent, and her mother wasn't a widow.

"Haven't you heard about his father's deeds? His father was a soldier..."

"Never heard of it. There are no widows in his family. His father, Qi Laonian, is a farmer with four sons. Before Qi Jianjun, no one in the Qi family had served in the military."

Bao Ya rattled off a whole introduction to the Qi family's situation.

Her sixth sense told her that either the old man had misremembered, or there was something wrong with the situation. She had lived in the village for so many years and had never heard of any member of the Qi family having served in the military.

"Four children? Shouldn't it be five? Don't Qi Laonian's younger brother, sister-in-law, and nephew live in your village?"

The army commander calmed down and looked at Lin Baoya with suspicion.

He remembered that his comrade's brother had four sons, and with his nephew, there should be five. There was also his comrade's wife. How come he had never heard of this girl and her son? Wasn't she the captain's daughter?

"I've never heard of those two people you mentioned. Why don't you call Sanmao over and ask him? He's three years older than me. He should know more than I do."

Bao Ya didn't remember the mother and son that the army commander mentioned. Perhaps the original owner was too young to remember much.

But surely she couldn't possibly have no recollection of two living, breathing people?

"Go and call Sanmao here. I have something to ask him."

The army commander was too lazy to ask who Sanmao was, and casually gave the order.

"yes!"

Commander Qin immediately led him to the door and told his guards to go to the camp to find Su Jingrui.

The army commander's face was grave, and his unease reached its peak. After sending the mother and son back home that year, he was transferred elsewhere and hadn't been back to see them since.

Over the years, they occasionally exchanged letters and sent each other money and gifts from time to time. When Qi Jianjun reached the required age, he was given a conscription quota.

The army commander became increasingly alarmed. His family were farmers, and only his comrade's child had been selected to join the army.

Having lived to such an old age, what doesn't he understand? Faced with enormous profits, he dared not gamble with people's conscience.

During the time they waited for Sanmao to arrive, none of the four people in the room spoke, each harboring a rather unpleasant thought.

The deathly silence in the room was broken only when Sanmao shouted "Report!"

Did you know that Qi Jianjun has a second uncle?

As soon as Sanmao entered the door, Baoya couldn't wait to ask, eager to confirm her suspicions.

"I think so."

Sanmao hadn't even recovered from the shock of meeting the top military commander when Baoya bombarded him with this question.

"What do you mean by 'it seems like I've had it before'? Explain yourself clearly."

The army commander regained his composure. He knew he couldn't rush things and had to investigate the matter thoroughly, otherwise he would be letting down his fallen comrades.

Sanmao steadied herself, thought carefully for a moment, and replied:

"I don't remember very clearly. I was only six years old at the time. I remember that there was a woman from another place with a child at his house. She said she was a relative of his second uncle. She stayed for a while and then left."

Is Qi Jianjun that child?

The army commander asked calmly, though he already had a vague answer in his mind.

"How could that be? We grew up together, how could he be that child?"

Sanmao insisted that the children in the village often played together, and Qi Jianjun was two years older than him, both old enough to remember things, so he couldn't be wrong.

"Who would know the answer to this?"

This was said by the army commander to Bao Ya; he had to send someone to investigate.