"Where did it come from?" the staff member said, pointing to the sack next to them.

"Well, Old Shen, I haven't heard that you have any relatives in Fusong County."

"Who says there isn't? Mianmian was sent to the countryside in Fusong County, wasn't she?"

"That's true."

"Alright, stop arguing and hurry up and help carry it back."

"ah"

"What 'huh'? You saw it all, aren't you going to help?"

"All right"

"Wow, this is so heavy! It must weigh at least 60 or 70 pounds. What's inside?"

"I don't know, but I just saw a letter from Mianmian, so I'll find out soon."

"Yes, I wonder how the child is doing now. Old Li and his wife are gone, leaving behind only this child, who isn't even here with us. It's really worrying."

Who can argue with that?

"Alright, I've brought it back to you. I'll head back now."

"Alright, I won't keep you any longer. Let's see what Mianmian said in her letter first, and then I'll bring you something later."

"Sure, the kids sent you quite a lot, share some with me later."

"Okay, no problem."

Shen Bowen didn't rush to open the two large sacks in front of him. Instead, he first opened the three letters in his hand. One of them was a letter from Mianmian, which was about recent events. She apologized for asking for his help without thinking things through and told him that the matter had been resolved. She explained in detail how the matter was resolved and the problems that arose afterward.

Shen Bowen's face turned ashen, but he still opened Zhou Jianbin's letter. The letter said the same thing as Mianmian's letter. The only difference was that Zhou Jianbin kept praising Mianmian for being sensible and smart. Although she was only 14 years old, she did a good job in handling things and thinking. Although she had some flaws, she was still good. With more training, she would surely become a great person.

The last letter was signed by someone named Ma Dayong, whom I neither recognized nor knew. But seeing that someone had written to me and that it was sent from the same place, I opened it anyway, and what I found shocked me.

Since Ma Dayong and Political Commissar Ma are family, I'll go. The letter said that after he was wounded on the battlefield, Comrade Liu Linjuan saved his life. She also said that if he had been a quarter of an hour later, he would have died. By chance, he met his savior's daughter in Fusong County and insisted on taking care of her. She said that if he needed anything in the future, he could just contact her. He's now the director of the Fusong County Post Office, so he has some influence.

When Zhou Tao got home, he saw that Shen Bowen hadn't cooked and was just sitting there reading letters, with two large burlap sacks next to him. He asked, "Old Shen, what's wrong? What happened? And what's in these two sacks?"

"You read the letter first, I'll go cook. The package was sent by Mianmian, I don't know what it is. By the way, this package is quite heavy, it probably weighs sixty or seventy pounds. We'll open it after we finish eating."

"Okay, got it."

After reading the letter, Zhou Tao angrily said, "This Gu family is ungrateful! Mianmian went to so much trouble, and they didn't even say thank you, and they even ignored the child. What kind of people are they?"

"You should thank them for this. What if those ungrateful people knew that Mianmian knew someone who could help her find a job, and they all tried to take advantage of her?"

"What should we do? We should really thank them."

"No need. We originally planned to arrange for Gu Yunpeng to join the army, but we need to see how things go from here."

"Indeed, Gu Jia's way of doing things is worth investigating."

Let's eat first.

"Okay, I just saw a letter from a man named Ma Dayong."

"Yes, what's wrong? Do you know them?"

"I don't know her, but since he said a girl saved his life, she must be someone special. What do you think, do you want her?"

"No need. He and Political Commissar Ma from our military region are from the same clan, so it's best not to have too much contact. Just send him a letter later. I'll check what Mianmian sent later, and then I'll visit the commissar's house and ask about his situation."

Okay.

The elderly couple quickly finished their meal, found some scissors, and opened the package. Inside were several small, neatly packed bags, all roughly the same weight, meaning three smaller packages weighed about half as much as the others. When they found the letter and saw that it was useless, Zhou Tao said, "In our unit, how many families have had men sacrificed their lives, leaving women to raise their children alone? After we donated money, who else has reciprocated like Mianmian?"

"Don't tell me you didn't, I didn't either."

"Then what should we do?"

"We delivered the goods to each household on the list. This was earned by Mianmian in exchange for brown sugar. We need to let everyone know that Mianmian is a grateful child. Even if one day we no longer live here for some reason, we still need to make sure everyone remembers Mianmian and gives her support."

"Alright, we'll do as you say. Take out one large portion and put the other two large portions at the bottom. We'll go to the commander's and political commissar's house last."

"good"

So Shen Bowen and his wife Zhou Tao delivered packages door-to-door according to the list, covering most of the military region. They even received a thank-you package from Li Mianmian of Gujiawaizi Brigade, Daying Commune, Fusong County.

When everyone received the packages, they didn't know whether to cry or laugh. They cried because such young children had to suffer in the countryside; how could children without parents survive? They laughed because such young children knew to send them packages; why didn't they keep anything for themselves? They wondered what the adults were doing, since they had plenty of food and clothing.

When they arrived at the commander's and political commissar's homes, the political commissar's family was chatting at the commander's house. Seeing Shen Bowen and his wife arrive with a large sack, the commander said unhappily, "Our army doesn't engage in such shady practices, and I don't accept gifts."

Shen Bowen knew the commander had misunderstood, but he didn't take it too seriously, saying, "Who said we were here to give you a gift? Xiao Zhou and I delivered gifts to almost everyone in the family compound before we came."

"You even sent most of the family compound, Shen Bowen, what are you doing?" The commander was so angry he almost slammed his fist on the table.

"Old Chen, what's the rush? Let's hear what Xiao Shen has to say first. I heard you received two sacks of packages today. Could these be the ones you're holding?"

"What's going on, Lao Ma?"

"Just listen to what he has to say, and you'll know."

"Our political commissar has a good temper."

"If you don't give me a straight answer, see how I deal with you."

"Isn't this a package from Mianmian? Since the political commissar is here too, we don't need to go to your house. Xiaotao and I just walked all over the military compound, and we're quite tired."

"Deputy Division Commander Shen, you just said it was sent by Mianmian, is she Li Zilong's daughter?" asked Sister Han, Commander Chen's wife.

"yes"

"How is she now?"

"Yes, Deputy Division Commander Shen, this child is not even 14 years old yet," said Sister He, Political Commissar Ma's wife, in turn.