Chapter 2 "Shu Ran... 21 years old... Shanghai..."

Chen Yuanjiang held the horse's reins in one hand and carried the camphor wood box in the other. His footsteps trod on the hardened salt flats, each step kicking up a small cloud of dust.

The worn-out leather shoes that Shu Ran wore, which she had brought from Shanghai, had pitifully thin soles. Every time she stepped on a pebble, her feet would ache.

The figure in front showed no sign of stopping, so Shu Ran gritted her teeth and forced herself to keep up.

Her mind was a jumble of thoughts, one moment the jokes of her colleagues in the office, the next the greenery outside the coffee shop window, and then the sallow and fierce face in the freight car.

Go back to Shanghai? The thought popped into her head, only to be cut off by the scene before her. How could she go back? What right did she have to go back? The registration form made it very clear. She belonged here; even if she reached the border, she would be sent back.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, a cluster of buildings finally came into view. They were still low, mud-brick houses, but arranged in a relatively neat manner. Several rows of tall poplar trees stood sparsely around the houses.

This is the regimental headquarters, larger than the divisional transfer point where we just got off the bus, but the harsh conditions remain unchanged. The air is thick with the pungent, primitive smell of animal dung, haystacks, and dust.

Several wooden poles supporting power lines stood between the houses. A few tractors were parked in the open space, with sacks and farm tools piled up beside them. A faded red flag fluttered atop the largest mud-brick house.

Chen Yuanjiang tied the horse to a wooden stake, and the horse immediately began to graze on the dry grass beside it. He carried the suitcase and walked straight to a mud-brick house with a wooden sign that read "Regiment Headquarters Reception Office" hanging on the door.

Shu Ran quickly followed, her legs already aching and feeling weak.

"Wait." He uttered those two words without even glancing at Shu Ran, then lifted the patched coarse cloth curtain and went inside.

Shu Ran leaned against the wall, almost collapsing. Only then did she have time to look around. The regimental headquarters was even more rudimentary than she had imagined. The adobe walls were pitted and uneven from the wind and sand, and some old, useless parts were piled up in the corners.

Several people in faded military uniforms or dark blue overalls hurried past, their faces bearing the marks of long-term exposure to wind, sand, and sun. An old man squatted against the wall, squinting, slowly rolling a cigarette.

The curtain was lifted again, and Chen Yuanjiang came out, followed by a middle-aged man who was also wearing a dark blue uniform, but was slightly overweight and had a kind face, holding a registration book in his hand.

"Comrade Xiao Shu, right? You must be tired from the journey!" The middle-aged man spoke with a heavy Shandong accent, a smile on his face, and extended his hand. "My surname is Zhang, I'm Officer Zhang, in charge of logistics and reception for the regiment."

Shu Ran quickly stood up straight and awkwardly reached out to shake his hand.

"It's rare for Officer Chen to personally pick you up! You must have had a tough time riding all the way here, right?" Officer Zhang turned to Chen Yuanjiang, his tone clearly familiar.

Shu Ran thought to herself: "We didn't ride horses, we walked all the way here."

Chen Yuanjiang simply nodded slightly in response.

Officer Zhang didn't seem to care. He opened the registration book, took out a worn-out calligraphy brush, licked the tip, and dipped it in the inkwell: "Come on, Comrade Xiao Shu, let's register first. Name, age, place of origin, family background..."

Upon hearing the words "family background," Shu Ran's heart sank. Memories belonging to the original owner of this body surged up—the capitalist family that had long been swept away by the tides of time.

Her throat tightened, and her voice became somewhat dry: "Shu Ran... 21 years old... Shanghai... family background... wealth..." She couldn't finish her sentence.

The smile on Zhang's face froze, and his hand holding the calligraphy brush stopped.

Chen Yuanjiang, who had remained silent, seemed to have something flash in the depths of his eyes before regaining his composure. He still didn't speak, but his gaze on Shu Ran held a more scrutinizing quality than before.

The atmosphere froze subtly for a few seconds. Even the old man smoking by the wall glanced in their direction.

Officer Zhang quickly put on a smile again, picked up his pen, and scribbled in the register: "Oh, good, good. It's good that you're educated! We need knowledgeable and educated young people to build up our frontier! The livestock company is short of teachers! By the way..."

As if remembering something, he turned to Shu Ran, lowered his voice, and asked with a hint of mystery and reminder, "Do you know who the clerk Chen who picked you up is?" He gestured towards Chen Yuanjiang with his lip.

Shu Ran shook her head blankly.

Officer Zhang lowered his voice even further, almost whispering, "Officer Chen is from the division's security department! A proper security officer! I heard he was a combat hero who transferred from the division headquarters, a man from an ethnic minority, and he gave himself the Han name Chen Yuanjiang. He's quite capable! He's temporarily in charge of the new recruits' placement and registration, and by the way..."

He paused, then gave Shu Ran a meaningful look. "Just to find out more about the situation."

The words "Security Department" made Shu Ran stiffen. She instantly understood the source of Chen Yuanjiang's unusual coldness. He wasn't an ordinary cadre; he was someone specifically tasked with dealing with... Her mind went blank.

Her cheeks burned, and her palms were sweaty. She instinctively looked up at Chen Yuanjiang.

Chen Yuanjiang seemed not to have heard Zhang's words at all, or rather, he didn't care. He was slightly turned to the side, his gaze fixed on the entrance to the regimental headquarters compound, as if observing something, or perhaps just waiting.

The lines of his profile appeared even more angular under the strong afternoon sun in the Gobi Desert.

The words "division security department," "combat hero," and "understanding the situation" swirled in Shu Ran's mind.

After finishing the registration, Officer Zhang closed the notebook and said to Shu Ran, "Comrade Shu, why don't you go to the canteen and grab something to eat? You've walked so far. Officer Chen, what do you think..."

Chen Yuanjiang finally turned his gaze to Officer Zhang and said succinctly, "The company's tractor broke down."

Officer Zhang slapped his forehead: "Oh dear! Look at my memory! Right, right, Old Li said this morning that the 'Iron Bull' in the livestock company broke down. The crank almost broke and it still wouldn't start. We have to wait for the division's machine repair team to send someone over, which will probably take the next day or two."

He rubbed his hands awkwardly and looked at Chen Yuanjiang, "Officer Chen, what do you think... how about letting Comrade Xiao Shu stay at the regimental headquarters guesthouse for one night? Although the conditions are..."

Chen Yuanjiang interrupted him before he could finish, saying, "No need." His gaze returned to Shu Ran. "I'm going to the livestock company, it's on my way. Pack your things, we'll leave from the gate in half an hour." After saying that, he stopped looking at anyone, turned around, picked up his chestnut horse, and walked straight to a simple shed in the corner of the regimental headquarters courtyard that seemed to be used specifically for tethering livestock.

Shu Ran froze on the spot. She was going to have to walk with him? And judging from the tone, it would be a long journey, and it seemed they would have to ride horses. Looking at the chestnut horse snorting loudly, she felt a wave of dizziness.

Officer Zhang was clearly relieved and his smile returned: "Oh, that's fine! With Officer Chen leading the way, everything's going smoothly! Comrade Xiao Shu, hurry up, let's go to the canteen! It's over there!" He pointed enthusiastically in a direction.

The regimental canteen, also an adobe building, appeared even darker than the outside. The long tables and benches were greasy.

The air was filled with a strong smell—the sweetness of cooked corn porridge, the fermented smell of pickled vegetables, the muttony smell of beef and mutton fat, and the smell of sweat and tobacco mixed together.

Shu Ran was holding a dented enamel bowl, half-filled with a grayish-yellow corn porridge. Next to it was a fist-sized, dark-colored mixed flour bun and a small handful of dark, shredded pickled vegetables.

She found a corner to sit down, barely had any appetite, and stirred the porridge in her bowl with her chopsticks.

The canteen was quite crowded, mostly with male employees in work clothes or old military uniforms, and a few young women, all dressed in green military uniforms or Lenin suits, with dark skin and their hair simply tied up or cut into short bobs. They were talking and laughing loudly, with heavy regional accents.

Shu Ran's slightly worn but well-fitting Lenin suit, made of a distinctly different material, her fair complexion, and even her quiet posture sitting in the corner all seemed out of place in this environment.

Soon, several pairs of eyes fell on her, accompanied by whispered discussions.

"See her? The new one? So delicate and fair-skinned..."

"I heard she's a Shanghai prostitute? Her family background isn't exactly prestigious..."

"Tsk tsk, times have changed."

"You're dressed quite nicely; the fabric of those clothes doesn't look cheap..."

"Will she be able to handle it? What if she's a spoiled brat who starts crying after just two days of work..."

Shu Ran lowered her head, pretending to be focused on the porridge in the bowl, but her cheeks were burning uncontrollably. She could feel those gazes lingering on her, lingering on her Lenin suit from Shanghai, and hovering over the small canvas handbag with a dark floral pattern that was on the table.

She even heard someone scoff, "Bringing a handbag? Do you think you're visiting relatives?"

Just then, a round-faced girl with two thick braids sat down opposite Shu Ran with a bowl in her hand, speaking in a loud voice: "Hey! New here? My name is Wang Guixiang! What's yours?"

Shu Ran looked up and met the other person's enthusiastic and curious gaze, forcing a smile: "Shu Ran".

"Shu Ran? That's a nice name! So refined! You must be from Shanghai, right?" Wang Guixiang looked her up and down without any hesitation. "Your face is so fair! How come you didn't get a tan? Did you suffer on the way here? Let me tell you, everyone's like this when they first arrive. In a couple of months, I guarantee you'll be just like us, all tanned and rosy!" She said to herself, taking a big bite of her steamed bun and chewing it with a loud crunch.

Shu Ran didn't know how to respond, so she could only vaguely reply, "Um, it's alright..."

Wang Guixiang's gaze fell on Shu Ran's hand resting on the edge of the bowl. Her eyes flashed with surprise and envy, as if she found it unbelievable.

"Tsk tsk, your hands..." Wang Guixiang couldn't help but click her tongue, "You can tell you've never done any manual labor! They're so tender you could squeeze water out of them!"

Upon hearing this, a young woman with short, ear-length hair immediately turned around. Her gaze swept over Shu Ran's hands, then landed on her Lenin-style suit. She curled her lip and said, "A capitalist's daughter, of course she's never lifted a finger. Delicate skin, adorned with gold and silver. Coming to this Gobi Desert, she probably wouldn't even find toilet paper too rough, would she?"