Bonnie stopped worrying about Han Weidong, but unexpectedly, Liu Jiu started to worry about him.
"Mom, I'm going out to play for a while."
"Go ahead, be careful, and remember the places you shouldn't go."
"Okay, Mom."
Liu Jiu was wearing a pink floral shirt, which her wife had made for her; it was a flawed piece of fabric that Bonnie had brought back earlier.
Grandma Bonnie made a thin cotton-padded jacket that was very comfortable to wear. She made two for Liu Jiu so she could alternate wearing them. She also made several large cloth shirts from flawed fabric, choosing only the freshest materials. Liu Jiu was a vain little girl; her face was tanned dark, and she loved bright colors.
"Liu Jiu, I heard a handsome uncle came to the clinic. Let's go see him."
As time went on, Tie Dan from Battalion Commander Duan's family became familiar with Liu Jiu, and he grew bolder and more lively.
He overheard his mother and aunt talking about it yesterday; they said that the uncle was really handsome and pleasant to look at.
"Really, it's that beautiful. Let's go take a look."
The two little ones, who shared a similar odor, went to the clinic hand in hand.
"Hey, isn't this Liu Jiu? What brings you here?"
I ran into a nurse I knew at the entrance and asked her with a smile.
"Auntie, I heard a handsome uncle has come. I'd like to see him. Is he over there?"
Tie Dan chimed in, "I heard it's really good-looking, and it's very pleasing to the eye."
Children don't understand what it means; they just repeat what they hear.
"You brat, what nonsense are you talking about?"
The nurse flicked Tie Dan on the forehead. Where did she hear that?
"Alright, you two go play outside. Don't cause trouble at the clinic, or I'll tell on you."
Liu Jiu gave Tie Dan a wink, and the two turned and left, retreating first and looking for an opportunity to go back in.
The nurse had to go off to do something, and the two little ones who were hiding nearby saw her leave and quickly ran into the clinic.
The clinic wasn't very big, but Liu Jiu knew it well. He led Tie Dan towards the ward.
Not knowing which room they were staying in, the two little ones went from door to door looking around, which puzzled everyone. They wondered where the two children came from. Some people recognized them and knew they were Commander Gu's daughters. They were still wondering why they hadn't heard that anyone in Commander Gu's family was hospitalized.
"Ah! Handsome uncle, what are you doing here?"
Liu Jiu never expected to meet the handsome uncle here; she hadn't seen him in a long time.
Han Weidong looked up at the sound and saw a dark-skinned little girl wearing a pink floral shirt, looking up at him with her big, round eyes that were bright and sparkling.
"You're Liu Jiu from Commander Gu's family. What brings you here?"
"Tiedan said there's a handsome uncle living here. Everyone's come to see him, so we'll come too."
Liu Jiu looked at her uncle, whose arm was in a cast and whose neck was in a sling, and her eyes darted around. "Uncle, they're talking about you, aren't they?"
"I'm not sure, maybe."
"Sigh, if I had known it was you, I would have come to see you sooner. How did you get injured? Were you attacked by the enemy? Were they Japanese soldiers?"
Liu Jiu perked up and they played games of fighting Japanese devils every day, but they had never seen real Japanese devils.
"Are there really Japanese soldiers?"
Tie Dan also stared at Han Weidong with curiosity.
Han Weidong was bewildered by the two little ones staring at him. How could he answer? Should he say that he was injured after falling off the boat?
Just as Han Weidong was thinking about how to answer, a voice saved him.
"Liu Jiu, what are you doing here?"
Gu Ye came to find Han Weidong, but he never expected to see his daughter in the hospital room.
"Dad, I came to see Uncle Guan."
Gu Ye was helpless. His daughter liked pretty things, she wanted brightly colored clothes, and she even picked out good-looking people to look at. She was such a pretty little girl.
"Alright, you've finished watching. You should go home now. Your mom is looking for you."
Liu Jiu tilted her head and thought for a moment. It was time to go home, otherwise... her two pigtails were about to come undone. She didn't know if it was because Bonnie's technique was bad or because Liu Jiu was too naughty.
"Handsome uncle, I'll come see you again tomorrow. Remember me!"
"Think of us!"
Tie Dan was like a follower of Liu Jiu, following whatever he was told without any doubt.
Liu Jiu left reluctantly, looking back every now and then, her eyes overflowing with reluctance.
"Brother Gu Ye, your daughter is so cute!"
Han Weidong rarely calls people "brother," but because of Liu Jiu, he made an exception and called him "brother."
If Gu Ye knew this kid was so arrogant, he would definitely say, "I don't care!"
"Han Weidong, I asked the doctor, and he said you need to take good care of your arm to avoid any lasting effects. I figured it wouldn't be convenient for you to stay at the educated youth settlement, so I found you a place to recuperate."
Gu Ye didn't want to take on these responsibilities, but he received calls from his brother and Han Weidong's brother that morning, asking him to take care of them no matter what. They said that it takes a hundred days to recover from a broken bone, and that he was still young, so they didn't want any lasting effects. Gu Ye couldn't shirk his responsibility, so he came up with a plan.
"Where is a place to recuperate?"
“It’s my father-in-law’s house, your brigade leader’s house. I’ve spoken to my father-in-law and mother-in-law, and they’ve agreed. There are spare rooms in the house, so you can rest well. Plus, my mother-in-law is a good cook and can give you a nice meal.”
"You provide the materials yourself, and they'll process them for you."
Gu Ye added, "In this day and age, it's unrealistic to expect to feed and care for an outsider."
Han Weidong thought about it. There were several people on one kang (heated brick bed) in the dormitory, and it was easy for his arm to bump into someone. Even if he slept on one side, he could easily get hurt. Most importantly, the food at the educated youth settlement was not good, and he could not cook for himself.
After weighing the pros and cons, Han Weidong accepted Gu Ye's suggestion to bring more food so that Captain Lin's family wouldn't have to suffer.
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