Her flower-patterned, cotton blouse and blue trousers were filled with patches, and a patched blue scarf was wrapped around her head.
She was dressed like a typical rural woman, about thirty-four or thirty-five years old, and her bronze face was adorned with a pair of clear and spirited eyes. With her double eyelids, large hands, and feet, her slim figure appeared taller than she was.
"Mom, you hit me again!" The older boy jumped up, reaching behind him to rub his back with a pained expression.
"Yes, I hit you!" His mom stood with her hands on her hips, steaming mad, "Little Stone, don’t you want to be a soldier? To be a soldier, you have to care for everyone, not just run off on your own. If it were a real war, you’d be a coward! Have you forgotten your dad was carried out from a pile of corpses by his comrades? If your dad’s comrades only thought about themselves like you, you wouldn’t have the chance to be here, causing trouble!"
Little Stone was very aggrieved, "But now, I’m not a platoon leader, I am a child! He’s not a soldier either, he’s a chubby little boy!" Saying so, he pointed to Xibao, whose crying had stopped, but his face was still covered with tear stains.
"What a chubby little boy! What an ugly way to put it! He’s blessed to be so chubby, what a handsome boy, you heartless brat!"
After she finished, she squatted down in front of Xibao, "What’s your name, cutie? I’ll hit him to take revenge for you."
"Baby!" Xibao pointed at his nose.
"Your name is Baby? That’s such a nice name, and you’re so handsome. If Brother doesn’t want to play with you, should I hit him for you?"
Xibao shook his head fiercely, "No, no!"
At this moment, Feng Qingxue had already come over, laughed, and explained to them, "He said he wants to play with his brother, so please don’t hit his brother. Right, Xibao?"
"Yes!" Xibao’s nodding nearly twisted his little neck, and he looked at Little Stone expectantly.
Little Stone’s mother stood up, "His name is Xibao? He really lives up to his name, so adorable that he brings joy to one’s heart. I’m Little Stone’s mother, Huang Xiuzhi. I’ve only been here a few days, I didn’t feel well so I was in bed for two or three days before I came out. Little Stone’s dad’s name is... Little Stone, what’s your dad’s full name?"
Huang Xiuzhi scratched her head, then turned to ask her son.
Little Stone answered helplessly, "My dad’s name is Wu Lei. How could you forget, it’s Lei as in three stones."
"Everyone in the village calls your dad by his nickname, Penzi, how could I remember his full name?" Huang Xiuzhi murmured, then turned to Feng Qingxue with a smile, "His dad is Wu Lei. Now I’ve got to remember it, so I won’t be at a loss when people in the unit ask me who my husband is. Comrade, what’s your husband’s name? When did you arrive here?"
Feng Qingxue smiled, "Wu Lei, Wu, the staff officer, are you his sister-in-law? I’m sorry for the oversight. My name is Feng Qingxue. I arrived last year. This is my son, Lu Xibao, oh no, his full name is Lu Tianmao, and my husband’s name is Lu Jiang."
Mother and son exclaimed in unison, Huang Xiuzhi quickly stepped forward to Feng Qingxue, seizing her hand and shaking it continuously, "Our benefactor! Benefactor. It was Comrade Lu Jiang who pulled Little Stone’s dad out of the pile of corpses and got him off the battlefield. I’ve remembered it for over a decade! Meeting the family of Comrade Lu Jiang today, I really don’t know what to say."
...I didn’t want to update originally, but I hit publish by mistake when setting up timed releases, so annoying.