After Bonnie submitted her report to the military logistics department, she waited for further instructions.
Three days later, Gu Ye returned with a special logistics approval document, and Comrade Lin Baoni was allowed to go to the island.
"Gu Ye, when are you off? Come with me. I want to go and check it out first, figure out the route, and then bring the military wives to the island."
“Okay, I’ll be off the day after tomorrow and go with you. We’ll also bring Bai Chaoyang, Duan Zhigang and the others.”
Bonnie felt relieved; she was still grateful to Gu Ye for supporting her efforts. Men of this era tended to be conservative, believing that women should stay home to do housework and raise children, and that anything else was considered unproductive.
"Gu Ye, thank you!"
"Silly girl, why are you thanking me? You're not doing this for yourself."
Looking at Bao Ni, who was unusually serious, Gu Ye felt a warmth in his heart. He gently ruffled her hair and pulled her into his arms. In his thirty-odd years of life, he had been hardened and prickly, but this little woman had softened him, making him neither hurt others nor himself.
"Ah, ah..."
"Oh, how embarrassing."
The two, gazing tenderly at each other, were interrupted by a voice—no, two voices.
Sanqi woke up, and Liujiu returned from outside.
"Dad, Mom, what are you doing?"
Liu Jiu looked at her parents with curiosity and a question on her face.
Sanqi also got up, and cried out "Ah ah" twice more, a silver thread running from the corner of her mouth onto the kang (a heated brick bed).
Gu Ye hurriedly took a handkerchief to wipe Sanqi's mouth, as she had been drooling a lot lately due to teething.
"My dad and I are expressing our gratitude."
"Oh? Is that so? Then who should I thank in the future? Should I just hug him like this?"
Liu Jiu looked conflicted. She wasn't used to hugging other people, especially Tie Dan and the others, who always got her all dirty.
"no!"
Gu Ye felt a surge of anger at the thought of his daughter hugging other boys.
Bonnie glared at Gu Ye. Honestly, what is he thinking? He's only sixty-nine years old.
"You children can just say thank you to each other; only parents can hug each other."
Gu Ye was a little unsure how to explain; the matter of finding a partner was still a long way off.
"Oh? I see. Only after becoming parents can two people hug each other. I'll have to hug my child's father and say thank you."
Liu Jiu was quite happy to hear that she didn't need a hug, and added her own interpretation.
Gu Ye looked at his daughter and couldn't imagine her hugging some other boy. Sigh, he didn't want to think about it anymore; it was too heartbreaking.
Bonnie told Liu Jiu that she couldn't tell anyone else about the time she hugged her dad and said thank you.
"I know, it's a secret."
Liu Jiu knew that many things were secrets, and she was used to it.
After the family finished dinner, Bao Ni and Gu Ye played games with the two children for a while. Sanqi yawned and rubbed his eyes, and Liu Jiu was also sleepy, so they went to bed.
The next day, Bonnie took her child back to her parents' home.
"Grandpa, you didn't go out today?"
"No, the vegetable garden in the yard needs some tidying up. Have you finished tidying up yours?"
Bonnie had already finished, and since the place wasn't big, she didn't take long to get it done.
"Grandpa, let me help you."
"No need, it's all done now. Take the baby inside. Your grandma and Erbao are inside."
Bonnie carried Sanqi and led Liujiu into the house; she had something to discuss with Grandpa later.
"Madam, I'm here. Liu Jiu has come to play with you."
After Liu Jiu finished speaking, he ran into the house first.
"Come in quickly, Madam has something delicious to eat."
Grandma quickly called out to Liu Jiu, as she hadn't seen him for several days.
"Grandma, what are you doing?"
Then Bonnie, who had just entered the room, placed Sanqi on the kang (a heated brick bed), and the little guy immediately climbed up.
"I made the persimmons you brought back into dried persimmons. There are still a few left. Let's take them out, clean them up, and give them to the children."
"Grandma, I need to talk to Grandpa about something. Please keep an eye on Sanqi."
"Go."
Bonnie came out of the house again. Grandpa had finished reading the book and was sitting in the yard resting.
"Grandpa, I remember we used to have a small fishing boat. Can we still use it?"
"It works. Your brother sometimes uses it. What, you want to use it?"
Bonnie's boat was a new one built by the collective before. Later, when work points were recorded, the big boats all went to the collective, while the small boats were left to each family. Most of the people in their brigade had the surname Lin, so they all tacitly accepted this.
"Yes, I'll need it for a while."
“You can use it. If your brother needs it, your third grandfather’s family has some.”
Bonnie now has a means of transportation: a small fishing boat.
The fishing boat wasn't big; it could only carry a maximum of ten people. Group fishing was frowned upon, but Bonnie didn't mind; it was perfect for their trips to and from the islands.
After spending a short day at her parents' house, Bao Ni told Gu Ye about the fishing boat when he came home from get off work that evening.
"That's perfect. The army doesn't have any fishing boats. I was thinking of getting you a small boat."
Even the boats that Gu Ye and his group scrapped were still quite large, and the main problem was the fuel consumption! Diesel fuel was still in short supply in China, making it unsuitable for Bonnie and her friends, as it was expensive and they had no way of buying it.
“I’ve already planned this out. If it really works out, many families in the Lin family have these small boats. We can rent them, which is a win-win situation.”
With transportation, I won't have any worries about going to the island tomorrow.
Early in the morning, Bao Ni got some clean clothes for Liu Jiu and San Qi and took them to her parents' house so that their maternal grandmother could look after them for the day.
"Mom, these are Liu Jiu's clothes, and San Qi's baby bottle and formula."
My baby is over 37 or 8 months old, so it's time to wean. We'll start helping him adjust now, and then wean him completely after he turns one year old, since breast milk doesn't have much nutritional value anymore.
Gu Ye took Bai Chaoyang, Duan Zhigang, two young soldiers from the regiment, and Bao Ni to the beach, where the Lin family's small boat was moored.
Aside from Bonnie, none of them were very skilled at rowing; all the boats in the team had engines.
Bonnie demonstrated, teaching as she went, and since they were all experienced naval soldiers, they learned quite quickly. Putting everything else aside, even in the event of an accident, these people's swimming skills were still quite good.
The group was all in good physical condition, and they rowed to their destination in no time. They moored the boat, which was where the troops had previously moored their boats.
Gu Ye led the way, with Bao Ni following closely behind, and the others joined in.
The island is already lush with greenery in spring, and the chirping of birds is a delightful sound!
Bonnie followed the route she remembered to the mountainside towards the deep pool. She wondered if anything had changed over the years, and whether the water source was still there.
Gu Ye had never been to this island before, only knew of it. This time, upon arriving, he was surprised to find the island's vegetation quite lush, with numerous signs of animal activity. Perhaps because there weren't many tall trees, the island received plenty of sunshine.
"Gu Ye, come quick, this is it."
Lin Baoni ran over quickly. She could feel the moisture and faintly hear the sound of flowing water.
"Slow down, don't rush."
Gu Ye followed closely behind, and the others quickened their pace. They were inwardly amazed; the sister-in-law of Commander Gu was said to have incredible stamina and, incredibly, considerable martial arts skills.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
