"Mommy, Mommy, the People's Liberation Army uncles are here, wake up." The girl gently nudged her mother, trying to wake her up.
“Sister-in-law, we’re from the island’s military unit. Don’t worry, just tell us if you need anything.” Officer Zhang was also trying to wake the woman on the kang (a heated brick bed).
"Go and fetch the battalion commander and the women's director; they need to handle this," Officer Zhang said to the soldier who had followed him.
"Okay, Officer Zhang, I'll be right there." The young soldier ran out, and the woman on the kang (a heated brick bed) slowly opened her eyes.
"Mom, Mom, you're awake! That's wonderful!" the girl said excitedly.
"Mom, Mom..." the two boys called out repeatedly. They had been terrified these past two days, fearing that their mother might never wake up.
"Hello... thank you..." The woman was too weak, and her words came out in fits and starts.
"Sister-in-law, don't worry, the troops are here to take care of everything." Zhang Yang, as a logistics officer, was very experienced and knew how to reassure people.
“Okay… take the child… I’m worried about him…” She uttered a few more words intermittently. Zhang Yang understood what she meant. She wanted him to take the child back to the army. She was worried about leaving him here.
That's true. The three children are still minors and receive martyr subsidies. If they fall into the hands of malicious people, they won't have a good life.
"I know, I will take them back to the unit. The leaders will make arrangements for the children, so don't worry," Zhang Yang assured his sister-in-law.
"swallow……"
"Mom, I'm here. Don't worry, I can take good care of my brothers." The girl named Yanzi spoke firmly and resolutely.
"Okay...you've worked hard...thank you..." The woman looked at Zhang Yang one last time, thanked him, and then slowly closed her eyes and stopped breathing.
"mom……"
"Mother……"
The three children were crying together, and Zhang Yang also wiped away his tears.
"What happened? Is Yanzi's mother gone?"
The brigade leader and women's director who rushed over heard the crying and quickly ran a few steps.
"Yes, they just left," Zhang Yang said as he came out to greet the team leader and the women's director.
The women's director came in; we needed her help with many things.
"Hello, PLA comrades, I am Yu Laogen, the captain of the Xiaoyu Brigade. Thank you for coming all this way, thank you!" The captain was quite eloquent, and kept thanking them.
"Captain Yu, you don't need to be so polite. They are the families of martyrs, and it is our responsibility to take good care of them. After the funeral of my sister-in-law, I will take the children back to the unit, and the leaders will make arrangements for them."
Zhang Yang had given them prior notice, not wanting to get into any trouble with them.
Inside the house, the women's director and the other women who came with her helped tidy up Yanzi's mother so that she could leave cleanly.
Among the children, two boys were a bit dazed and just kept crying, while only the girl named Yanzi was taking care of things.
After burying Yanzi's mother, Zhang Yang and the others will head back.
"Yanzi, are you really going to the army with us? You won't know anyone there, how will you survive?" The women's director felt that if the women stayed in the unit, they could survive with everyone's help.
"Auntie, I will definitely fulfill my mother's last wish. I can't let her die with regrets." Yu Haiyan said firmly, and the women's director couldn't say anything more.
After seeing off the team leader and his group who had helped, Yu Haiyan packed up all the things in the house, mainly clothes for her three siblings and some of the family's savings. These were her father's pension, some of which had been spent on her mother's medical treatment and medicine, leaving not much left.
"Uncle, can I take all my things with me? I'll need these for the future." Yu Haiyan didn't plan to be adopted. She was already fifteen years old, and her two younger brothers were ten. They could support themselves and couldn't be separated.
Zhang Yang didn't know what would happen to the three children in the end, but he wanted to help them as much as possible, so he agreed to let them bring all their things.
The next day, Haiyan locked the door, kowtowed three times towards the door with her two younger brothers, and left with Zhang Yang and the others.
"Yanzi is a good person, but I wonder what will happen to her in the future?"
The aunties and grandmothers in the fishing village felt bad as they watched the group leave.
"It's better that they're gone. It's hard to say what they'll be like if they stay." An old woman shook her head. It wouldn't be easy for three orphaned children to go anywhere.
After a long and winding journey, Zhang Yang arrived at the island military base and took his three children to meet with his superiors.
"Commander, we've brought the three children back. When we arrived, Sister-in-law Yu was on her last breath. She left the children with the troops." Although Zhang Yang was used to such things, he still couldn't bear it.
"Alright, you can go and rest now. Have the children eaten?"
Commander Yang looked at the three underage children and didn't know what to do with them.
"Hello, Uncle. My name is Yu Haiyan. I am fifteen years old and my two younger brothers are ten years old. We don't want to be adopted. I can raise my two younger brothers." Haiyan looked at Commander Yang. She was a little nervous, but she made sure she said everything she needed to say.
Commander Yang was quite surprised; this young girl, despite her young age, seemed to have her own ideas. He could tell she was a little nervous, but not afraid.
"Haiyan, right? Tell me, how do you support yourself and your brothers?" Commander Yang was intrigued and wanted to see what she had to say.
Haiyan took a deep breath, moved her fingers, and looked at Commander Yang seriously, saying, "We are children of martyrs. Before we turn eighteen, we receive a subsidy for children of martyrs. Before my mother passed away, she left me all the money left in the house. Although it wasn't much, it was enough for a while."
I'm a good swimmer, so I can go beachcombing, catch seafood, and gather wild vegetables—I can fill my stomach no matter what. All I need is for my uncle to help us find a place to settle down, a place to stay.
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