Lu Jiang gave it some thought and said, self-righteously, "Then I suppose I will have to muster up some fatherly authority. I can’t let a bloody brat walk all over me!"
Zhao Anbang rolled his eyes at him, "Wait until you see your child, all your so-called authority will be tossed out of the window. Children are our hopes and the backbone of our country’s future. You’d love for him to play around you every day. You already feel guilty when you can’t be with him. How could you possibly look at him with a cold face? If you don’t believe me, let’s make a bet!"
"A bet that you can’t bear to hit or scold your child!"
Lu Jiang coughed twice, "Nonsense, I won’t bet with you, gambling is strictly prohibited in our army!"
Zhao Anbang smirked, "You mean you’re scared, right? Because you already know clearly that you can’t lay a hand on your child. This isn’t the era where a filial son was born under a cane anymore."
Lu Jiang looked up at the sky, not uttering a sound.
That’s right, he just couldn’t do it.
How could he bear to hit or scold his long-awaited child since he learned his wife was pregnant?
As a soldier, he had been fair to his country and the people, but he could not be fair to his wife and his family. He was absent when they needed him.
If he had the chance to see his child after surviving this war and stepping down from the battlefield, he would definitely hug and kiss him.
Zhao Anbang nudged his injured arm and laughed while Lu Jiang winced in pain, "I just found out we’re actually from the same hometown. So, my fellow townsmen, you went home last year, how are things back there?"
"How many years has it been since you last went home?" Lu Jiang asked.
"I can’t remember, don’t know if it’s been five years or three, but since I joined the army, I’ve only been home three times. I heard my old man got into trouble a couple of years ago – I don’t know where they’ve relocated him to out in the sticks," Zhao Anbang said with a sense of melancholy.
"Haven’t you communicated with your family by letter?"
Zhao Anbang shook his head, "I don’t know if they’ve been intercepted, or what. I haven’t received a letter from home for years. All the letters I sent seemed to have vanished into thin air. I don’t know if my family moved or if they just lost contact. I’ve moved around a lot in recent years. Ever since I came to your place, I’ve settled down somewhat, but with the war going on, life is unpredictable, I can’t get in touch with my family."
"Same here," Lu Jiang said, "So we can fully focus on the war, we both can’t keep in contact with our families. We need to stay alive, strive to survive, and then we can write to our families when we return to the army!"
Zhao Anbang nodded, "Old Lu, we agreed, if I’m out of luck, you are responsible for bringing my personal items to my family, and have your child call me godfather! I’ve already written my will. It’s with my clothes marked with my name. You won’t mess it up then!"
Lu Jiang gave his shoulder a pat, "Don’t be so pessimistic, old Zhao. You’re good with your hands, and you’re experienced, if we help each other out, we both can fight for that glimmer of hope! We aim to make our wills null and void! You said it yourself, we’re from the same hometown, after the war, I hope we both can return to our hometown together, to visit my child. You should at least let him see his godfather’s face, right? Otherwise, if we bump into each other on the street and he doesn’t recognize you, what would we do?"
"Tell me about our hometown first. I miss our homeland’s mountains and rivers."