As Hong Zhanjun welcomed Wan Xinguo into his home, he asked him to sit down and poured him some water.
"Old comrade, don’t trouble yourself for me!" Wan Xinguo stood up, taking the chipped enamel basin with both hands, feeling the warmth of the hot water, "I’ve taken the liberty of visiting the old comrade because I was hoping to stay here for a few days."
"No problem at all!" Hong Zhanjun agreed without even asking why he needed to stay, "I’m just an old man living alone, it’s quite lonely. Having you for company would keep me cheerful. Besides, this means someone is here to carry water for my home."
Usually, it was the young lads from the neighboring houses who helped, or the water vendor would deliver directly to his doorstep.
The elderly man didn’t mention a word about the cost for the stay.
Wan Xinguo was deeply grateful, hurriedly handing over the package he had brought from Lu Jiang and Feng Qingxue, and explained the situation to him.
Hong Zhanjun’s eyes immediately moistened, repeating in quick succession, "You’re too kind, too kind, far too kind. This house belongs to the state; they were staying in the state’s house when they left they left me a hundred yuan and several pieces of furniture. They didn’t use much of anything else in the house, and now they’ve made me clothes and shoes and brought them over. I really don’t know what to say."
Although he felt undeserving of that hundred yuan, whether he returned it to Wang Xinsheng or ended up giving it to someone in need, the fact that the Lu Family observed such formalities made him feel particularly content inside.
"Comrade Lu Jiang and Qingxue have always been very generous people," Wan Xinguo said sincerely.
"You can tell, you can feel it!" said Hong Zhanjun. He had no wife or children and no family, living alone. He could only keep in touch with former comrades-in-arms or chat with neighbors. Suddenly seeing the clothes and shoes that Qingxue had made especially for him, the wave of emotion he felt was truly indescribable, his hands, rough with callouses, touching the new garments and shoes.
Being an old soldier, he was particularly warm towards Wan Xinguo, preparing a meal for him both morning and evening.
Wan Xinguo stayed there at night, and during the day he would roam around the vicinity of where Chen Chen and others from his unit were, without showing himself or directly looking for Chen Chen.
The Gregorian calendar still denotes January as winter; the harsh weather made it easy for him to be fully equipped.
After wandering for two days, he was almost detained by sentries as a suspicious character.
"What are you doing?" The sentry had been watching him for a long time, even though he was wearing a military uniform just like his own.
Wan Xinguo saluted and presented his identity documents to prove he was not a bad person, "Comrade, there’s something I need to ask you, I hope it’s not an inconvenience."
"What is it? We have our rules in the military district." This means that they can’t talk about things whether they are supposed to or not.
Seeing his attitude, Wan Xinguo swallowed the thousands of questions he had, "I’m here to see Zhao Hanzhi. I wonder if this comrade is in the military district? If he is, could you please let him know I’ve come from the Tibetan Military Area, I am a soldier under Division Commander Zhao Yong. If Commander Zhao is not here, then I would like to see Jiang Yun." This was what Lu Jiang had instructed him before he came.
Upon hearing Wan Xinguo’s background, the sentry dared not neglect him any further.
Of course, they had to warmly receive an officer from the border defense forces who came for a visit.
Zhao Hanzhi was not in the military district, but Jiang Yun was, and because of his daughter’s situation, he was very well aware of Chen Chen’s case, wondering when Wan Xinguo would arrive. Such a matter couldn’t be endured by any man.
When he heard that Wan Xinguo had arrived, Jiang Yun sent someone to bring him in, "Old Zhao is not here, you can talk to me about anything."
... Even the title of the last Chapter was censored; I am speechless.