"Alright, from now on, if you need anything, just come to the post office to find your uncle. You're Dr. Liu's daughter, and your mother saved my life. From now on, you're like my own niece. Just come find me if you need anything."

"Oh, I'll be troubling you a lot from now on."

"It's alright, you're a good kid. You still remember your parents' comrades; they'll be proud of you."

"As long as I didn't embarrass my parents, that's enough."

"Alright, you go ahead with your work. I have something to do, so I'll head out now."

"Oh, Uncle Ma, you're busy."

Okay, we'll talk about it later.

"OK"

"Mianmian, I never expected you to know our Director Ma."

"As you can see, we just met today."

"Is your mother very capable?" a woman asked.

"It's alright! My mother was a military doctor and a surgeon. She saved many people on the battlefield, but she sacrificed her life."

"Feel sorry"

"It doesn't matter"

"Mianmian, where are you sending all of these? Are they all to the same place?"

"No, Sister Jiahui, it's from many places. Some are Dad's comrades-in-arms, some are Mom's colleagues, some are Dad's comrades-in-arms from other places, and some are Mom's students. They are all in different places."

"Then fill in your address. You can choose, and I'll mark them for you so you don't get them mixed up."

"Okay, thank you, Sister Jiahui."

"No need to thank me."

It took me about an hour to finish all those packages. Seeing that it was getting late, I hurried to where Grandpa Huang parked his car: "Grandpa Huang, I've finished mailing the things. I need to go visit one of my dad's former comrades-in-arms with my basket on my back. I'll definitely be back before the bus leaves on time."

"No need to rush, the old man can wait for you a little longer."

"No need, Grandpa Huang, my uncle from the wealthy family still has to go to work, so I'll head over first."

Go ahead.

Carrying a basket on my back, I arrived at the entrance of the Public Security Bureau. The county town wasn't very big; the government compound, post office, Public Security Bureau, supply and marketing cooperative, and other buildings were all on one street. Seeing an old man guarding the gate, I went up to him and said, "Sir, hello, is Director Zhou Jianbin here?"

"Little kid, what do you want with Director Zhou?" asked the old gatekeeper, Grandpa Gao.

"Hello, sir. I'm Li Mianmian, a former educated youth sent to the countryside in our county. I'm currently working in the Gujiawaizi Brigade of Daying Commune. My father's name is Li Zilong, and my mother's name is Liu Linjuan. If you tell Director Zhou, he'll know who I am."

Old Gao hadn't expected the little boy in front of him to be a former educated youth, but he had indeed heard Director Zhou mention him a few days ago, saying that if a comrade named Li Mianmian came looking for him, he could just tell her to come over. He hadn't expected it to be this little boy, so he quickly said, "Go in, go up to the second floor, the first office on the right is there. You've come at a good time today, Director Zhou is here right now."

"Thank you, sir."

"You're welcome"

After saying that, he carried his basket and went into the police station. Seeing that everyone was busy, he didn't show any excessive curiosity and quickly went upstairs to the second floor and knocked on the door.

"Please come in."

"Hello, is Director Zhou here?"

"I am..." Zhou Jianbin never expected that this young girl would find him so soon after arriving, but she didn't seem to be in trouble. So he asked, "You are... Li Mianmian, right?"

"Yes, Uncle Zhou, you know me."

"The day you got off the train, I was there with some people maintaining order. You were the only educated youth so young at the time, and after chatting with the comrades from the educated youth office, we confirmed it was you. But there were too many people that day, so we didn't go up to acknowledge you, because we were afraid it would have a bad impact."

"Oh, it's nothing."

What brings you here today?

"I've already made arrangements with the brigade and gotten to know them well. I just happened to be going to town today to send some local produce to my parents' former comrades, and I thought I'd take this opportunity to visit you."

"Alright, it's almost time to get off work. Let's go to my place together. Your aunt isn't on duty at noon today, so we can go home for lunch."

"I can't accept this."

There's nothing to be embarrassed about.

Zhou Jianbin had heard the boy use the word "visit," so there must be something he wanted to discuss. He just didn't know what it was, but since the boy had come knocking, he figured he should listen first, regardless of whether he could do it or not.

So, carrying the basket on my back, I followed behind Uncle Zhou towards their house. As we walked, I saw some people acting suspiciously in the alley. Without a doubt, that was the black market. It wasn't far from the police station; it was practically invisible under the lamp. Or rather, the higher-ups just turned a blind eye. After a while, they knew all too well. Otherwise, what were these policemen doing?

Come in.

"Oh, Uncle Zhou."

"You didn't just come to visit me today, did you? If you need anything, just say so. If I can, I'll definitely do it for you. If I can't, I can offer some advice." Zhou Jianbin, a former soldier, disliked beating around the bush and spoke directly.

"Well, I don't know if my thinking is right or wrong, so I'd appreciate Uncle Zhou's guidance."

"Speak freely."

"That's how it is," he said, recounting what he knew about the Gu family.

"You're thinking of arranging a good place for the Gu family's child, so that even if something happens in your village, the Gu family will definitely help you, right?"

"Uncle Zhou, I don't intend to do anything illegal. You know I live alone, and I receive a monthly allowance from my parents. I'm worried that if this goes on for too long, some people in the village might do something that would be difficult to handle. Also, I'm strong, so what if I accidentally hurt someone in the process?"

"How strong you are, you've trained with your father."

"Uncle Zhou, when I was in the army, I could take on five people at once. I learned basic self-defense techniques, military boxing, and our own family's martial arts from my dad."

"Alright, I understand. If anything happens, just deal with it, but don't cause trouble for no reason, understand?"

"Don't worry about that, I'm not the type to cause trouble."

"As for what you just said, there are indeed some shortcomings."

"Is there?"

"You grew up in the city, so your thinking is somewhat different from that of people from the countryside. Don't be fooled by the fact that the Gu family provides for their daughter's education; they raise their daughters just like everyone else, hoping they'll contribute to the family. But you've arranged for their daughter to join the army, and she'll be so far away. You won't be able to help her much later. Besides, this girl is already 18 this year, and she'll be married in a few years. In the countryside, a married daughter is like water spilled from a cup. She's so far away; how much help can she provide to her family, and how can she possibly help you? In the long run, she might not even be grateful to you; she might even resent you."

"No way!"

"Whether he dares to say or not, we can't do good deeds that turn out badly, can we?"

"Uncle Zhou, you're right."