When Zeng Wenjuan came home from work at night, she found the house pitch black. She thought there was a power outage, so she went into the house and called out loudly: "Dad, Goudan." But no one answered.

"Where are they going so late?" Zeng Wenjuan frowned and put down her backpack and sickle and prepared to go out to look for them. As soon as she turned around, she saw Chen Yitang, but not Goudan. She asked anxiously: "Dad, where is Goudan?"

"I went to town today. Goudan was playing with other kids in the village. Maybe he is still at his eldest sister's house in the village! I'll take you to look for him." Chen Yintang put the bicycle in the corner and went out with Zeng Wenjuan.

When I arrived at the aunt's house in the morning, I saw Goudan, Shitou and Ergou playing in the mud at the door. Chen Yitang walked over and said with a smile: "You three little guys don't know to go home when it's dark. You are still playing in the mud here. Aren't you hungry?"

"Grandpa, you're back." When Goudan saw Chen Yitang, he immediately threw himself into his arms and said happily.

Chen Yitang picked up Goudan and held him in his arms, then said to the other two children, "Let's go! Your elders haven't come back yet, so let's go to my house and have dinner together!"

The two children were well educated by their family and knew that food was very scarce at that time. They shook their heads together and said, "No, thank you, Grandpa. Our parents will be back soon."

Zeng Wenjuan came over and said to the two children, "We have a good relationship. How much can you, a child, eat? Come back with me! It's freezing cold."

Goudan also said to his two good friends: "Let's go! Let's go to my house for dinner. Your parents have to walk past our door when they go home anyway. The transvestite cooks delicious food."

Only then did the two children agree to have dinner at Zeng Wenjuan's house.

After returning home, Chen Yitang took out three pieces of peach cake from the snack bag: "Come on, eat some peach cake to fill your stomach first, it will take some time to cook!" Then, Chen Yitang took out a piece of pork belly and said: "I will make braised pork for you tonight."

"Dad, don't buy it in the future. We live in a village with many people and many gossips. If we eat meat often, the villagers will definitely gossip." Zeng Wenjuan said with some concern.

Chen Yitang didn't care: "We have already taught them how to make money. If they don't want to buy meat, that's their business. It's not their business to stop us from buying meat."

Zeng Wenjuan thought about it and felt that what Chen Yitang said made sense. The two of them went into the kitchen and started cooking.

"Come, try grandpa's cooking. Is this braised pork better than your mom's?" Chen Yintang smiled as he served food to the children.

The children happily ate the braised pork in their bowls. Of course, they couldn’t tell whose cooked it better, but they had long forgotten when was the last time they had eaten meat.

"It's delicious, better than what my mother cooks. The soup is also delicious with rice." Shi Tou praised it, since his mother was not around anyway.

Ergou also praised: "It's so delicious. I never knew there was such delicious food. My parents are not very good at cooking."

The two little guys betrayed their parents in an instant. Chen Yitang felt even more distressed and served them another piece of braised pork: "Eat quickly, eat quickly, eat more if you like it."

…

…

After dinner, the three children played outside in the yard, waiting for their parents to pass by. Chen Yitang and Zeng Wenjuan were in the kitchen, hesitating for a long time.

Chen Yitang finally said, "Nannan! Daddy has something to tell you, don't be so anxious!"

Zeng Wenjuan had long seen that Chen Yitang had been hiding something on his mind. Now that he was willing to speak, she was of course willing to listen: "Dad, if there is anything, just tell me! There is nothing to hide between us."

"Then I'll be frank. Your mother called today and said that a soldier in the army was seriously injured. She asked me to go back and help with the injections so that the chances of a successful operation will be greater." Chen Yintang said after seeing Zeng Wenjuan was ready.

Zeng Wenjuan saw this and nodded and said, "It's okay, go back! I can take care of Goudan."

"Don't you want to know who that person is?" Chen Yintang asked back when he saw Zeng Wenjuan didn't react.

Zeng Wenjuan raised her head and met Chen Yitang's eyes. Her lips turned pale in an instant, and she asked tremblingly, "Is it Brother Jianguo?"

Under Zeng Wenjuan's gaze, Chen Yitang nodded.

"Is it serious? Can it be cured? Can I go with you?" She should have known earlier. In the book, Zhao Jianguo might not have died in battle after hearing the bad news, but was seriously injured.

Chen Yitang quickly supported Zeng Wenjuan and said, "It depends on the situation. I asked your uncle Lin to buy three train tickets. If you want to go, we can go together. Even if Zhao Jianguo needs to be taken care of later, someone has to come."

"Okay, then I'll go to Village Chief Zhao and ask him to write a letter of introduction for me." Zeng Wenjuan staggered into the yard, feeling weak all over.

Just then, I saw Ge Qingqiu and Sun Fugui and his wife coming to pick up the child. When he saw Zeng Wenjuan coming out, Ge Qingqiu said a little embarrassedly: "I'm sorry! I got off work a little late today, and the child is eating at your house... I'm really embarrassed."

"It's okay, they're just two kids, they didn't eat much. Besides, Goudan gets along well with them, so it's just a matter of having a meal." Zeng Wenjuan said after she calmed down.

"Are you going out? Is there something wrong?" Ge Qingqiu looked at Zeng Wenjuan who was about to go out and asked again.

Zeng Wenjuan pointed to the village chief's house in front and said, "It's okay. I want to talk to the village chief about something. You guys have been busy so late, so go back and have a rest!"

Hearing this, Ge Qingqiu didn't ask any more questions: "Very handsome, then we'll leave first!" Sun Fugui and his wife also left (his wife was mute)

Zeng Wenjuan came to the village chief's house and called out at the door: "Is the village chief uncle home?"

"At home, at home, come in and tell me if you have anything to say!" Yuan Yujuan shouted at the door after hearing Zeng Wenjuan's words.

When Zeng Wenjuan entered the house, she saw Zhao Maosheng smoking alone in the main room, Yuan Yujuan was cleaning up the dishes, and her son and daughter-in-law were taking care of the children.

"You two chat, I'm going to the kitchen to wash the dishes." Yuan Yujuan greeted them and left with the dishes.

Zeng Wenjuan looked at Zhao Maosheng and said, "Uncle Village Chief, I want you to help write a letter of introduction. I want to go to the army to find Brother Jianguo. He is injured and I want to take care of him."

Zhao Maosheng was shocked. He, the village chief, didn't even know that Zhao Jianguo was injured. He took a puff of his pipe and asked, "How did you know? I haven't received any news!"