Chapter 83

The sky was overcast, and in the biting winter wind, a car drove toward the troops.

The car stopped in front of the military base's gate, and several people got out: a middle-aged couple, a young woman in her early twenties, and a baby wrapped up tightly in her arms, who didn't look very big.

They first went to the gate to register and said, "Comrade, we are looking for Gu Xi. Her husband is Commander Shen Mingzheng."

The soldier in charge of registration was somewhat surprised. Upon learning that they came from the city, he asked, "Are you relatives of Commander Shen's wife?"

I heard that Commander Shen's wife is from Beijing. Does that mean they have relatives here?

"No, no!" Mr. Mo hurriedly said, "We're not relatives. Last week, Commander Shen's wife saved my grandson at the train station. We came here today specifically to thank her and to give her a banner. This banner was awarded to Comrade Gu by the city police station. They asked us to bring it to her when they learned we were here, along with a certificate of merit..."

When the soldier in charge of registration understood why they had come, his eyes widened in surprise.

Is this even possible?

By the way, I did hear recently that Commander Shen's wife injured her face. Apparently, she fell while picking someone up in the city. Everyone felt sorry for her; it would be such a pity if such a beautiful girl had a scar on her face.

However, no one really knew that the reason Gu Xi was injured was related to human traffickers.

Although the young soldiers who escorted Gu Xi and her two sisters back that day knew about it, Gu Xi shyly asked them not to tell anyone, afraid of scaring the people in the family compound. The young soldiers were very touched by her thoughtfulness and assured her that the matter did not spread in the army.

It's surprising that Commander Shen's wife did such a good deed, keeping it so low-key and not publicizing it. It's truly rare.

The soldiers who registered were very happy, after all, it was a family member of their unit who did the good deed, and he was even injured while saving people, so he should be encouraged.

He said, "I'll have someone take you there."

After parking the car, a soldier led the Mo family toward the family compound.

It's the weekend, and the residential compound is bustling with activity. Even the gloomy weather hasn't dampened the children's enthusiasm for playing. A group of lively children are running around the compound, while some adults are also visiting each other's homes and chatting with their neighbors.

When the Mo family arrived at the residential compound, they attracted a lot of attention.

Especially since they were carrying large and small bags, the soldiers who helped guide them were also carrying a lot of things. Although it was all in bags and we couldn't see what they were, judging from the respectable clothes of Mo's parents and Mo Xuezhi, they were definitely not ordinary items.

Upon discovering that Mr. and Mrs. Mo were unfamiliar faces, not residents of the compound, someone asked, "Who are you? Who are you looking for?"

Mother Mo said kindly, "We're here to see Gu Xi; she's Commander Shen's wife."

"Gu Xi? What do you want with her?"

Now, even more people were curious, and some military dependents who heard the commotion came out of the house and peered out curiously.

Although Gu Xi is quite low-key, she has long been a celebrity in the family compound because of what happened with Qiao Hui.

Seeing that the people around her were just curious and meant no harm, Mo's mother said, "We've come to thank her. Last week, she saved my grandson at the train station."

As she spoke, she looked at the child her daughter was holding.

Because the child was still asleep while driving all the way here, held in his mother's arms, half of his rosy cheeks were visible.

Now, the people in the family compound were even more curious and hurriedly asked, "What happened? Gu Xi saved your child? Where did she save him?"

Mother Mo then told them about what happened at the train station.

After she finished speaking, the military families were in an uproar.

Putting aside the fact that Gu Xi did a good deed, the fact that she actually encountered child traffickers trying to snatch her child and bravely tried to stop them was enough to make them tremble with fear and full of admiration.

Those were vicious human traffickers, possibly armed, yet she dared to stop them and even save a child who had been snatched away by them.

I never would have guessed she had such courage.

Suddenly, someone said, "By the way, when Gu Xi came back from the city, the injury on her face...could it be from that incident?"

Upon hearing this, everyone remembered.

Gu Xi said she fell accidentally, but if it was an accident, she couldn't have fallen so badly, right?

Sure enough, the Mo family members looked ashamed.

Mo Xuezhi hugged the child tightly and said with a guilty look, "She was injured when she was knocked to the ground by the trafficker while trying to save my child."

After the child was discharged from the hospital, they went to the police station at the train station to specifically learn about the process of Gu Xi saving the child. There were many witnesses at the time, as well as station staff. Everyone recounted the process of Gu Xi saving the child and confirmed that she injured her face while protecting the child.

In fact, both men and women value their appearance, and no one would be happy if their face were disfigured because of it.

The crowd gasped in amazement, then began to discuss amongst themselves.

This is a rare big event in the residential compound, and it's a good deed, so you can imagine the sensation it caused. I guess people in the compound will be talking about this topic for a while.

After explaining to the Mo family and everyone else, they went to Gu Xi's house.

The crowd kindly gave them directions, "Gu Xi's house is over there. Go straight ahead, then turn over there..."

"Thank you so much." Mr. and Mrs. Mo expressed their gratitude to the kind military families, feeling that the military was indeed different from other places; the military families living here were very warm-hearted and kind.

When they arrived at Gu Xi's house, they knocked on the door.

Ye Fenghua went outside with the trash from today's cleaning. Seeing these people, she asked, "Hey, who are you looking for?"

When Mo's mother told her why she had come, Ye Fenghua's eyes widened in surprise. It turned out that the elders of the child Gu Xi had rescued at the train station had come.

At that moment, the door opened, and it was Xu Huaisheng who opened it.

It was the weekend, and they were doing a thorough cleaning. They were working hard and didn't hear any noise outside. It was Xu Huaisheng who heard the noise while cleaning the rabbit hutch and ran over to open the door.

"Who are you looking for?" Xu Huaisheng asked.

Mr. and Mrs. Mo explained their purpose once again.

Upon hearing this, Xu Huaisheng remembered why his elder sister had been injured. Knowing that the other party had come to thank his elder sister, he invited them inside while calling out, "Elder sister, brother-in-law, we have guests."

Gu Xi, Shen Mingzheng, and Xu Yuansheng came out of the house.

Upon seeing Gu Xi, the Mo family members smiled and said warmly, "Comrade Gu, we apologize for disturbing you. We hope we haven't bothered you by coming here so abruptly."

Gu Xi was only slightly surprised before inviting them over.

Xu Yuansheng and Xu Huaisheng went to the kitchen to fetch the boiled water and brew tea to serve the guests. The tea was sent by Feng Min from Beijing. Gu Xi usually likes to brew a pot of tea and drink it slowly when she is reading.

Gu Xi and Shen Mingzheng washed their hands and then served their guests.

"Why did you come here? Is the child alright?" Gu Xi asked, glancing at the child in Mo Xuezhi's arms.

Perhaps because they had arrived at their destination, the child finally woke up, sitting in his mother's lap, his big, dark eyes wide open, curiously looking around. Because his mother was there, the child didn't cry or fuss, appearing exceptionally well-behaved and endearing.

The Xu sisters couldn't help but take a few more glances.

This child is very cute and well-cared for. No wonder such a child would attract the attention of human traffickers. Human traffickers specifically target good-looking children to snatch, so they can sell them for a higher price.

Seeing the scabs starting to form on her face, Mo Xuezhi said guiltily, "Thank you for your concern, the child is alright now..."

Mother Mo held Gu Xi's hand, her face full of gratitude: "Comrade Gu, thanks to you, the child is safe and sound. We originally wanted to come earlier, but the child suffered a lot this time. He stayed in the hospital for three days and then rested for another week after returning home. He finally recovered, so we brought him here."

Then they told Gu Xi that they went to the guesthouse to look for her the next afternoon, but they didn't expect that she had already returned to her unit.

After the child was discharged from the hospital, they went to the police station at the train station to find out her address, hoping to visit her sometime and bring over the banner and certificate of merit that the police station had given her.

Gu Xi was surprised by the Mo family's seriousness, which showed how much they valued their daughter and grandson.

Since they've come, we should treat them well.

Shen Mingzheng sat down and chatted with Mo's parents, while Gu Xi and her two younger sisters looked at the child in Mo Xuezhi's arms and chatted casually with her.

From the conversation, I learned that Mo's father was the director of the steel plant in the city, Mo's mother was an employee of the textile factory, and Mo Xuezhi's uncles, aunts and cousins ​​worked in government agencies or other positions. Even her husband's family in the provincial capital was well-off. It could be said that the whole family was in the same circle and were not ordinary people.

The Xu sisters were both a little confused.

An organization like the Mo family had absolutely no connection with them, yet they never expected to come into contact with them in this way.

However, none of this concerned them, and the two sisters didn't pay much attention, instead playing with the child in Mo Xuezhi's arms.

The child is a cheerful child; he laughs heartily whenever you tease him, which is very endearing.

After getting Mo Xuezhi's permission, the two sisters took the child and played with him.

Seeing that they held the child quite well and the child didn't seem to mind, Mo Xuezhi handed the child over to them with peace of mind and continued chatting with Gu Xi.

She saw a sketch hanging on the wall, depicting an autumn forest. The colors were vibrant and layered, and although the painting skills weren't very good, the artistic conception was quite nice.

“Who drew this? It’s quite beautiful,” Mo Xuezhi said.

Gu Xi glanced at it and said, "It's just something I drew casually, nothing fancy."

"Comrade Gu likes painting?"

"I usually kill time when I'm bored," Gu Xi said. She is still recuperating and has a lot of time, so she does things that cultivate her mind and body, such as reading, practicing calligraphy, painting, woodworking, and making small gadgets.

Mo Xuezhi became interested and asked if she had any sketchbooks that she wanted to take a look at, because she also liked painting, but only as a hobby, and would only sketch a few lines when she had free time.

Gu Xi was worried about having nothing to talk about and neglecting her guests. She was having a hard time finding topics to talk about. Now that she saw that the guests wanted to watch, that was perfect. Now she had something to talk about again.

She handed her sketchbook, which contained her own random scribbles, to Mo Xuezhi.

As Mo Xuezhi flipped through the pages, she chatted with her about painting. She was a woman with a great zest for life, unlike ordinary girls who learn skills to survive. She learned skills more because she wanted to, as a hobby.

This shows that she had a good life since childhood, was well protected by her parents, and her life didn't change much after marriage. It was similar to her life before marriage, so she probably married very well.

Mo Xuezhi found the conversation with Gu Xi very pleasant and discovered that they had similar hobbies, both enjoying reading and painting to find enjoyment in each other.

She immediately regarded Gu Xi as a confidante, and after Gu Xi saved her child, she became even closer to Gu Xi.

Shen Mingzheng, who was talking to Mo's parents, glanced over and saw Mo Xuezhi move closer to his wife. He sighed inwardly, not surprised at all.

His wife has that ability; she can easily attract women she's just met to her side and make them like her.

But it's good that she should make more friends.

At noon, they treated the Mo family to a meal.

It was the weekend, and the Xu sisters went to the supply and marketing cooperative early in the morning to buy fresh pork ribs. They also had some cured fish and cured meat at home, so they made a pork rib and cured meat stew, which had both meat and vegetables. They put it on a small stove to stew, and served it piping hot with a fragrant aroma.

After lunch, the Mo family prepared to leave.

Gu Xi tried to persuade him to stay, but Mo's father said, "It's going to snow, and I don't know if it will snow heavily. We need to get back to the city first."

They borrowed a car from the factory and drove themselves over. Although it was convenient, they were worried that the roads would be difficult to travel on in the snow.

Gu Xi had no choice but to give up and told them to be careful.

The group saw them off.

Mo Xuezhi, reluctant to part, held Gu Xi's hand and said, "Gu Xi, remember to write to me in the future, and I'll write to you too. By the way, I have a book of paintings by famous artists. I'll send it to you another day. If there's anything you like, just tell me. I live in the city, so it's convenient for me to send it to you..."

Gu Xi smiled and said, "Okay, then I'll trouble you."

"What trouble is there? I'd love for you to trouble me more," Mo Xuezhi said, then laughed at herself.

She didn't have many friends, and she never expected to meet Gu Xi, a friend she felt so compatible with. It was a pity that she met her so late.

Xu Yuansheng and Xu Huaisheng finally breathed a sigh of relief after sending the Mo family away.

Back home, Xu Huaisheng said, "Sister Mo seems to really like Big Sister. She wouldn't let go of her. If Big Sister weren't married, she would have dragged her to the city..."

She was shocked. They had only met twice, had they? Even if the older sister had saved her child, it shouldn't be like this, right?

Xu Yuansheng glanced at her and thought her younger sister was really naive. "What do you know? It's because your older sister is worth it."

She discovered that her older sister had indeed changed a lot in the five years since she last saw her.

The most remarkable one is that the eldest sister seems to possess a special charm that makes her very likable and easily attracts women.

Xu Yuansheng couldn't put it into words, but thinking about how she and her younger sister had always liked their older sister since they were little, she understood somewhat.

Perhaps it's a feeling of being gently embraced that makes people want to get closer.

Hearing the sisters' conversation, Shen Mingzheng was speechless, yet also somewhat relieved.

Fortunately, his mother made the decisive move to help him settle down with someone back then, otherwise, who knows how many people would have tried to steal her away.

He turned to look at Gu Xi and saw her packing the gifts brought by the Mo family.

The Mo family brought many gifts, all of them very practical. They brought so many preserved meats that they filled most of a snakeskin bag, including cured pork, sausages, chicken, and duck.

It's the perfect season for eating preserved meats in winter, so it's very seasonal.

Not to mention there's also a whole ham, as well as malted milk powder, canned fruit, candy and snacks... and even medicinal herbs, which shows their sincerity.

Gu Xi called her two younger sisters over, grabbed a handful of milk candies for them, peeled one for herself and put it in her mouth, then saw the man next to her and peeled another one and put it in his mouth.

"Big brother, is it delicious?" she asked with a smile. "This milk candy has a strong milky flavor, it's delicious."

Shen Mingzheng nodded silently, and seeing some smoky ash stains on her cheek, he reached out and wiped them away for her.

Gu Xi looked up at him. "Is there anything else?"

Shen Mingzheng touched her other cheek and said seriously, "It's gone." His gaze was fixed on the wound on her face. "It's starting to scab over, but you still can't get it wet, understand?"

Gu Xi resisted the urge to scratch, "I've been feeling a bit itchy lately."

He held her hand. "This is how wounds heal. You have to be patient and not reopen the wound so it bleeds again." If it keeps reopening, it will probably leave a scar.

"Okay..."

Xu Yuansheng and Xu Huaisheng were numb to seeing them sticking together again at the drop of a hat.

As expected, living with a newlywed couple means enduring this kind of PDA every day; the pressure is just too much. After packing their things, they quickly went back to their room and decided not to come out at all today.

On weekends, when the couple is home, they're bound to be all lovey-dovey; they won't be third wheels.