After stepping out of the door, Feng Qingxue remembered Xibao needs to be constantly hydrated, "Ajiang, wait a moment, I’ll get the water bottle."
She went back to the room to fill the army water bottle with boiling water, the water was stored in the space, Xibao’s little quilt was densely wrapped around the outside of the water bottle, to prevent it from cooling too quickly when going out, then packed it into a net pocket together with the enamel bowl, and also brought a net pocket full of potatoes.
Xibao, who had been eagerly gazing at the fires in and outside the camp, was already impatient, "Mom, mom, hurry, hurry!"
"We’re coming right now, what’s the hurry!"
"Coming, coming! Goodness, I don’t know who spoiled him to become so impatient."
Bonfires blazed up the night sky, and groups of soldiers gathered around the bonfires, with the art troupe members shuttling among them, singing and dancing.
Unlike the stage performances, where one program would end before another begins, now all the members of the cultural troupe are deployed, scattered among the bonfires, singing and dancing for the group of soldiers closest to them.
In the army at that time, the scale increased sequentially: squad, platoon, company, battalion, regiment, brigade, division, and army.
Each platoon would gather around a bonfire, and even if some soldiers were on guard duty, there were still thousands of bonfires on the vast land. Cooks were busy roasting food, and the red flames illuminated everyone’s faces, revealing their rough skin.
Xibao always attracted much attention. As soon as Lu Jiang and Feng Qingxue appeared with their son, the commander patted the seat next to him, "Come here, Xiaolu, bring your wife and Xibao over here!"
The cook was roasting a leg of lamb, the oil was dripping, and the fragrance was tantalizing.
Xibao started drooling immediately and yelled while pointing at the roast lamb, "Meat! Meat!"
As he spoke, he leaned toward the fire impatiently.
"Xibao, no touching! The meat is still raw, when it’s cooked, dad will ask the cook to cut a big piece for you." After greeting the leaders present, Lu Jiang tightly embraced his son and sat down on a lower seat, placing him between his legs. Feng Qingxue sat down next to him, and put their belongings beside her foot.
"Big meat!" said Xibao.
"Yes, a big piece of meat."
Xibao stood obediently, staring at the roasting leg of lamb. He wanted to put his fingers into his mouth but remembered he was wearing gloves. Annoyed, he reached out toward Feng Qingxue, "No! No!"
Feng Qingxue had to remove his gloves for him and put them in her coat pocket so he would not throw them into the fire.
Ye Zhengjun and the commander coincidentally said, "Xibao, come to grandpa, grandpa will give you delicious food."
After saying it, the two men looked at each other, their glaring gazes seemed to say ’why did you say the same thing as me?’. But before they could fully express the meaning in their eyes, they quickly turned their heads to look at Xibao, reaching out their hands to him.
Xibao made a sound, looked at Ye Zhengjun, glanced at the commander, then turned and threw himself into Lu Jiang’s arms, shouting loudly, "Daddy!"
He yelled warmly for a few times, and puckered his small mouth to kiss Lu Jiang’s chin several times. Then, he turned around, pointing at Lu Jiang to Ye Zhengjun and the commander, "Daddy, daddy, my daddy!"
The generals sitting around the bonfire burst into laughter.
"Clever little devil, such a clever little devil!"
"He’s so smart even when he’s so little, what about when he grows up?"
"So clever! Truly remarkable!"