The meal lasted for more than three hours, and Xu Hong wanted to invite Bai Jiaojiao to have dinner at their house as well.

Bai Jiaojiao said, "I ate too much at noon today, so I don't need to eat dinner when I get home."

Xiang Anqi and Xu Hong hadn't eaten with the children in a long time, and when they finally managed to catch one, they persuaded Bai Jiaojiao to eat until she was stuffed to the point of choking.

Xiang Anqi said, "It gets dark quickly, it's good to go back early. Shen Heng isn't home, can you manage by yourself? Do you know how to heat your kang (heated brick bed)?"

“Godfather, I come from the countryside, how could I not know how to heat a kang (a traditional heated bed)?”

Xu Hong also got dressed and went downstairs with Bai Jiaojiao to see her off. The two of them escorted Bai Jiaojiao all the way to the entrance of the residential area before stopping to wave and watch her leave.

Bai Jiaojiao was so full that she was extra careful as she walked, afraid that the road would be slippery and she would slip and fall, causing her round belly to burst.

It wasn't until she got home, when Bai Jiaojiao took off her gloves and took out her keys to open the door, that she pulled a red envelope out of her cotton-padded coat pocket.

Afraid of being seen, she quickly stuffed the red envelope back into her pocket, took the key, opened the door, and went home. Sitting on the sofa, she looked at the red envelope in her hand, feeling both amused and exasperated. She had no idea when the two of them had put it in her pocket. She had been wearing thick gloves the whole way and hadn't put it in her pocket at all, so she hadn't noticed.

The red envelope wasn't thick, but it contained ten ten-yuan bills, which wasn't a small amount.

"Oh, this..." Bai Jiaojiao didn't even have a chance to refuse and could only accept it.

The room still had some lingering warmth from when we left, but the fire under the kang (a heated brick bed) had gone out. Bai Jiaojiao shoveled a small basket of coal, picked up a few pieces of wood and pine branches, and put them in to rekindle the kang.

It's still cold outside, especially at night. Even with the kang (heated brick bed) heated, Bai Jiaojiao still feels empty beside her, and she can't seem to tuck the blanket in properly.

I tossed and turned all night and couldn't sleep well, and I was also in a low mood in the lab during the day.

"Bai Jiaojiao, come here for a moment."

Ji Guizhang suddenly came over, his expression somewhat serious.

Guan Shengping had been Ji Guizhang's student for four years, and he immediately noticed that Ji Guizhang's expression was different from usual.

He feared that Bai Jiaojiao had done something wrong, and quickly asked, "What's wrong, teacher?"

"This is none of your business, Bai Jiaojiao. Come to my office."

Ji Guizhang glanced at Bai Jiaojiao, then turned and left.

Bai Jiaojiao stared wide-eyed at Guan Shengping and mouthed: What's wrong with me?

Guan Shengping also stared blankly, shaking his head.

Little did he know.

Bai Jiaojiao followed Ji Guizhang into his office.

"Don't close the door. Come here, I have something to tell you."

Ji Guizhang sat behind his desk, staring at Bai Jiaojiao.

"Teacher, what's wrong?"

"Don't be nervous. Do you have an older brother who is in the army?"

"Yes, teacher, is it about my third brother?"

Bai Jiaojiao never expected to hear about Bai Shibo from Ji Guizhang.

"Yes, your brother did a great job and was transferred here."

"Really?" Bai Jiaojiao looked at Ji Guizhang's expressionless face. "Is he in Yancheng now? How did you know?"

Ji Guizhang said, "He is here, but he is in the hospital. He was seriously injured and just woke up yesterday afternoon. It was only after the people at the hospital asked him that he said he had relatives in Yancheng, which is why he came to the school. I just happened to hear your name, so I called you over."

Although Ji Guizhang had retired from the military, he still maintained close ties with the army. He knew about this matter early on, and it was also a coincidence that Bai Jiaojiao happened to be in his laboratory today, which was Sunday.

"He's injured? Was he injured during a mission? Will it interfere with his training? Teacher, which hospital is he in now? Can I go see him?"

"Don't worry, I can't reveal the cause of his injury, but although it's serious, it's all superficial wounds. Now that he's awake, he's fine, and it certainly won't affect his ability to continue serving the country. I'm notifying you so you can go see him. Having family around will give him some comfort. He's at the military hospital. I'll write you a letter of introduction in a bit, and you can take it to him to see him."

It was rather strange that these words came from Ji Guizhang's mouth.

Bai Jiaojiao nodded: "Thank you, teacher, I'll go right away."

Ji Guizhang has a knack for keeping people in suspense when he speaks.

Good news: Bai Shibao has been transferred here, and he was transferred here for meritorious service, so he will most likely be promoted.

Bad news: Bai Shibao is injured and has just woken up.

Ji Guizhang quickly wrote the letter of introduction and explained to Bai Jiaojiao how to get from the school to the military hospital.

“If you’re not safe, have someone go with you. It’s a long way, and there will be a lot of people on the bus, so be careful. My phone number is on this; tell the hospital to contact me directly if anything happens,” Ji Guizhang couldn’t help but add as a final word of advice.

Upon hearing that someone in Bai Jiaojiao's family was in the military, Ji Guizhang's fondness for her grew even stronger.

I thought to myself that this family is truly full of talented people; they should be a role model for all families.

"Thank you, teacher. I understand. Goodbye." Bai Jiaojiao was extremely anxious and left with the letter of introduction in hand.

To avoid trouble, she didn't ask anyone to go with her. Instead, she rode her bicycle by herself, following the address Ji Guizhang had given her, and asked for directions along the way to the hospital where Bai Shibao was.

Before Bai Jiaojiao could see Bai Shibao, she had to go through some checks. Ji Guizhang read the letter of introduction he had written for her and verified her student ID before letting her through. A nurse then led her to a ward on the second floor.

The ward was mostly white and military green, so it was obvious that most of the patients here were soldiers. As soon as Bai Jiaojiao entered the ward, she immediately saw the patient lying closest to the door. Although most of his face was wrapped in gauze, she still recognized him as Bai Shibao.

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