Fortunately, we arrived in Beijing safely!

"Mom, we've arrived at our stop. Should we get off now?"

"No rush, we'll talk about it later. First, take your things out from under the berths and carry them on your backs one by one."

"good"

"Line up, Mantou in front, Baozi behind your big brother, Doubao, Jiajia, Mingming, Ping An'an, come and put this rope around yourselves, the last one, Mom, put it around yourselves, little sister, Mom, carry you, you walk in front, I can see you."

"good"

"Also, from now on, we will count off."

"Do you still remember how to count?"

"Know"

"Then let's go."

"good"

"one"

"two"

"three"

"Four"

"five"

"six"

"seven"

"eight"

"Nine"

"one"

...

"Are you crazy?! Why are you making such a fuss?"

"Finally, I'm off the train!"

"It's so crowded!"

"Really!"

"Mom, what do we do now?"

"Now, let's stand here and not move. We can't go anywhere. Put our backpacks down and sit together in a circle."

"good"

"Mantou, you hold onto the dumplings for now, Mom will find something in my backpack."

"good"

Then she found a piece of red cloth and wrote the three characters "Li Mianmian" on it. Then she took out a small wooden stick about 20 centimeters long from her backpack, fiddled with it, and a small red flag appeared.

He stood up and held up a small red flag.

"Commander, look over there, isn't that a little red flag with 'Li Mianmian' written on it?"

"Let's go take a look, there are so many people."

Now, wherever people are waiting or squeezing out, you'll see women holding up little red flags. I must say, it's a good idea, but there's nowhere to get these things now! Next time I go on a long trip, I'll definitely try to get one of these.

With so many people, it's difficult to even get out of the area, let alone find someone!

"Mianmian, Mianmian, here."

"dad"

"grandfather"

"Dumpling, don't move. Mom said that no matter what happens, you can't move, or the kidnappers will catch you, and you'll never see your dad, mom, brother, grandpa, or grandma again."

"All right"

"Mianmian, you stay there with the child. Dad will bring some people to pick you up."

As early as when these people got off the train, some people with ulterior motives planned to seize the opportunity to have a few children. However, this woman stopped after taking only a few steps after getting off the train. Not only did she sit down with the child, but she also raised a small red flag.

How can we make a move? Wouldn't we expose ourselves as soon as we do? Before we could even think of a solution, we saw an old man in military uniform approaching with several soldiers.

The group exchanged glances and quickly slipped away, thinking to themselves, "Thank goodness we didn't make a move, otherwise we don't know how we'd end up dead!"

"dad"

"well"

"grandfather"

"You guys have a good idea! Come on, let's go home. Xiao Wang, could you guys please carry the little ones?"

"yes"

"Come on, steamed buns and dumplings!"

"good"

"It's finally out!"

"Steamed bun"

"Grandpa, why is taking the train so tiring?"

"that is"

"That's because you're young. In a few years when you're older, you won't have to wait there anymore; you can just leave."

"But it's not comfortable being so crowded!"

"Yes, that's right. Alright, the car is just ahead. Let's get in quickly and head straight to the military region."

"Okay! Okay!"

The changes I saw along the way from the train station to the military region were not significant, which is a result of the limitations imposed on development over the past ten years or so.

"Comrade Zhou, are you waiting for Commander Shen?"

"No, I'm waiting for Mianmian and the other children."

You mean Mianmian is coming back?

"Oh! With today's train, I wonder if Lao Shen has picked up the person yet?"

"That's true. The New Year is just around the corner, and with the resumption of the college entrance examination, there are many students coming to Beijing to study."

"yes!"

"By the way, which university did Mianmian get into?"

"Kyoto University"

"Kyoto University! That's amazing!"

"It's alright."

"This child has always been a good student."

"They're here, they're here!"

"Mommy, Mommy, I saw Grandma!"

"There, there!"

"Sixth Brother is so stupid."

You're the stupid one.

"You're stupid, you're so stupid."

"Alright, alright, stop arguing."

"Hmph, Grandma, Grandma!"

"Hey, Dumplings' back!"

"Grandma, I miss you so much!"

"Grandma misses our dumplings too, come and let Grandma give you a big hug."

"Um"

"Mianmian, these are all your children."

"You are..."

"I'm your Aunt Cao, and my husband's surname is He..."

"Oh, it's Aunt Cao! Come over here and say hello to Grandma Cao!"

Hello, Grandma Cao!

"well"

"Aunt Cao, these steamed buns, dumplings, and the dumplings my mom is holding are my children. These twins, Ping'an and An'an, are my eldest brother Shen Dong's children. And Mingming and Jiajia are my second sister Shen Nan's children."

"I thought these children were yours and Shen Xi's."

"That's impossible!"

"Aunt Cao, we'll take the kids home first."

"Let's go back, let's go back. We've been on the train all the way, it's tiring enough."

"Mom, why don't you live in that place anymore?"

"Although your dad has returned to work, he doesn't have a suitable house, so this is where he's been put up. But to be honest, with your dad's current position and rank, living here isn't a problem."

Besides, we're only staying here temporarily. Your dad said he'll officially retire when the time is right.

"Right? When we came here, Third Brother said that Shen Bei's wife also got into the military university here. I wonder if she'll bring the kids back with her."

"I asked about that; the fourth brother and his wife came back with their child."

"Will Shen Bei be able to leave?"

"There's nothing I can do. He told me on the phone that his fourth wife is pregnant and he's worried about her traveling with a child. Also, I heard that he came back during this time because he hasn't seen your dad and me in a long time."

However, I heard from your father that there's some friction on the southern border, and it seems someone is trying to provoke a war. Your fourth son might have to go to the battlefield. Since his family is studying here, he probably won't be able to take care of them all by himself.

"Then let the child come here. Putting everything else aside, their cookies and steamed buns are the same size, and it won't be long before they have to go to school. The schools over there are definitely not as good as the ones here!"

"You're right! Luckily, we changed our house when we came back. Otherwise, if everyone came back, we really wouldn't have anywhere to stay."

To accommodate the children, they installed double beds for them all.

Let's go see the rooms. Downstairs, there's one room for your dad and me, and another one is a study.

There are exactly six rooms upstairs, which is enough for now, but it won't be enough when the children get older.