As the oxcart carrying her parents drove further and further away, Zhuang Zhimeng felt increasingly distressed, and tears involuntarily welled up in her eyes.

An Qingbai didn't even care that his parents were around. He quickly pulled her aside and whispered comforting words, wiping away her tears: "We'll go to Beijing to see them when we have the chance. Don't cry, it breaks my heart to see you like this!"

"You said it yourself! I've got it in mind!"

"Don't worry, it's what I said, I promise!"

"Alright, let's go back. Uncle and Auntie will laugh at us later."

When they turned around, they found that they were no longer at the village entrance. Shi Meiling didn't want to be a third wheel, so she quickly pulled An Tanxiao away.

On the oxcart, Hao Caiyun burst into tears.

Zhuang Xingzhou…

"Alright, we'll just take time off work and come over when we have time!"

"Then you'd better remember this well, you can't go back on your word!"

Hao Caiyun's voice was light and cheerful, showing no trace of the heartbroken crying she had just endured.

Zhuang Xingzhou wondered to himself, "Are all women this fickle? Just a moment ago the sky was overcast, and now it's clear and sunny?"

"Next time we come, we should stay longer. Speaking of which, when we come again, it will be time for their engagement. Sigh! Time flies. It feels like Yaya is still so young, and in the blink of an eye, she's already getting engaged!"

"That's right, Ya Ya is already 18, and we're getting older too. You should talk to the second son and tell him to find someone soon, so that his sister won't be all alone by then."

"Children and grandchildren have their own blessings. You can talk to them if you want, but I'm not going! Besides, the second son is only 23, and he's not in a huge rush to find a partner. He's a soldier, so he has to find someone who shares his ideals!"

"Forget it, I'm not going to bother with him anymore. Maybe he'll start to get anxious when he sees that his little sister is already engaged."

The Zhuang Zhiwu they mentioned was on a mission in the dense forest, his face painted with camouflage green, his grim expression indicating the extreme urgency of the situation.

They received information that a group of people were transporting a large amount of our country's gold abroad, and the army sent them to pursue them.

The enemy outnumbers us by two. Both sides are currently holding their ground and it remains to be seen who can hold their temper.

Suddenly the enemy began to launch an offensive against our side, opening fire on us.

While covering his comrades, Zhuang Zhiwu was accidentally shot in the arm.

He quickly tore off his clothes, bandaged himself up briefly, and then rejoined the fight.

When the reinforcements arrived and captured all the enemy forces, Zhuang Zhiwu collapsed from exhaustion.

"Platoon Leader Zhuang! Platoon Leader Zhuang!..."

Their comrades quickly carried their platoon leader to the location of the field doctor.

After examining Zhuang Zhiwu's injuries, the doctor determined that the situation was urgent and he needed to be taken to the military hospital immediately for treatment, otherwise his life would be in danger.

His comrades quickly put their platoon leader into a military vehicle heading to the military hospital. The vehicle sped along the road without wasting even a moment.

At the same time, Zhuang Zhimeng returned home and her heart suddenly skipped a beat. She quickly covered her chest.

An Qingbai happened to see it from behind and quickly asked, "What's wrong? Does your chest feel uncomfortable?"

"No, it was just a sudden twitch, but I'm fine now!"

Seeing that she didn't seem to be in any danger, An Qingbai felt relieved and even had the energy to tease her: "Want me to pat you down?"

"Get lost! My mom is right, you can't spoil men, or they'll take advantage of you!"

"When did your aunt say that? How come I didn't know?"

"Can you hear me?"

"That definitely wasn't her, she likes me a lot!"

Zhuang Zhimeng rolled her eyes at him.

Suddenly, it dawned on me: "Wait a minute, something's happened to my second brother!"

How did you know?

“Whenever my second brother got hurt when we were little, I felt really bad, just like this time. No, I have to go ask him!” With that, she started to run outside.

An Qingbai quickly hugged her, "Don't worry, we'll go to town first thing tomorrow morning to call and ask about the situation. How can we get to town now? We need a letter of introduction! Even if we call, we probably won't be able to find anyone!"

"I was too hasty. I'll go ask first thing tomorrow morning!" Zhuang Zhimeng calmed down, but didn't say anything more.

An Qingbai told her to sit on the kang (a heated brick bed), and he went to cook.

When Jiang Yanxia and Su Mengmeng returned and saw that An Qingbai was cooking, they didn't dare to ask anything and just helped him cook.

Zhuang Zhimeng had something on her mind, so she ate a little bit and went back to her room without even knowing what she had eaten.

Jiang Yanxia and Su Mengmeng then dared to ask in a low voice what had happened.

An Qingbai simply said that she missed her second brother, and didn't say anything else.

Meanwhile, Zhuang Zhiwu had been taken to the military hospital and was undergoing surgery, which had been going on for an hour and a half.

When Zhuang Zhiwu was wheeled out of the operating room, the surgery lasted a full three hours.