Zhongmo Town Station.
A man emerged from the crowd, carrying a square, military-green bundle in his hand and a backpack on his back.
The man, with his tanned skin, looked around and found a place where he could make a phone call. He went over and dialed a number.
Once the call connected, the man instinctively straightened his back. "Mr. Cheng, I've arrived in town."
...
"Okay, then I'll go home and settle in first. I'll find out about the old man's situation as soon as possible."
...
"yes."
...
"yes!"
After hanging up the phone, the man gave the money. He didn't care that no one from his family came to pick him up. He went out to greet the local military brothers and borrow a bicycle to go home.
Once the person arrived and showed their identification, the guard went to notify the commander.
The man who arrived was a regimental commander. "You are... Zhou Gou? Battalion Commander Zhou?"
Zhou Ergou… no, Zhou Ergou who changed his name to Zhou Gou stood up straight and saluted the leader, “Greetings, leader! I am Zhou Gou, I’m back to visit my family after completing my mission!”
The regimental commander, with mixed feelings, patted him on the shoulder and said, "Come in with me."
Zhou Gou lowered his hand, unsure of the look the commander gave him, but still followed.
"You're a soldier who came from Zhongmo Town. I just checked your file and found that your mission has been going on for quite a while. It's been several years, almost four, hasn't it? The mission is important, but not a single word has come back from you, not even a notification." The regimental commander said, walking with his hands behind his back. "Your family has come asking many times. We don't know what mission you were on. Your family has come back to ask many times, but haven't received an answer, so they assumed..."
Zhou Gou recalled his near-death mission, touched his chest, and his expression turned serious. "My daughter... also thought I was dead?"
The regimental commander sighed, "Why don't you go back and check on things first? If there's anything wrong, talk to your family properly. Your daughter and wife should understand you."
Zhou Gou couldn't help but feel a little nervous.
He hadn't seen his daughter for several years and wondered how she was doing. He was sure she had grown into a tall young lady. She had always looked like her mother and must be beautiful!
Thinking of his daughter, Zhou Gou smiled. "The commander is right. I was also planning to go back and see my wife and daughter first. It's just that my hometown is quite far from our town. I was wondering if I could borrow a bicycle from the army. I'll bring it over tomorrow!"
"What's wrong with that?" The commander called someone over. "As long as everyone is alright, we should support this little thing."
"Thank you, sir!"
Zhou Gou successfully borrowed a bicycle. He actually had a bicycle ticket, but he wanted to take his daughter to buy a bicycle himself so that she could choose one herself!
besides……
His wife.
Unexpectedly, after he disappeared for four years, his wife still raised his daughter.
Zhou Gou was moved by these acts of kindness. He had saved a large sum of money and tickets, which he wanted to use to compensate his daughter and wife. So, when he returned this time, Zhou Gou brought all his belongings with him.
There were also pastries he had specially bought from the capital in his bundle. If it weren't for the hot weather, he would have liked to buy a roast duck as well.
Zhou Gou, filled with excitement at the prospect of seeing his wife and daughter, rode his bicycle back to Shanding Brigade.
After finally finishing transplanting the rice seedlings, many villagers were resting at home, so there weren't many people in the fields at this time.
Seeing someone riding a bicycle on the main road, Xia Lei, who was responsible for carrying manure, squinted his eyes.
"Hey, busy?" Zhou Gou smiled and nodded at Xia Lei.
Xia Lei smiled as well, "Yes, I've never seen you before, you are..."
Zhou Gou laughed heartily, "You must be one of the educated youth who went to the countryside these past few years, right? My name used to be Zhou Ergou, but now it's Zhou Gou. Gou means structure, and Gou means soldier. I came back on leave to visit my family."
Tuesday dog...
Xia Lei's smile froze for a moment as he looked at Zhou Gou in disbelief.
Tuesday dog...
That doesn't belong to Widow Wang...
"Tuesday Dog! Is that you, Tuesday Dog!?"
The people in the field stared at Zhou Gou for a long time before shouting out in disbelief.
Zhou Gou turned his head and smiled at the people in the field, "It's me, Brother Peng!"
"Hey! It's Zhou Er Gou! Zhou Er Gou is back!"
The man Zhou Gou called Brother Peng shouted excitedly.
The people in the field immediately erupted in excitement and rushed forward all at once.
"Ergou! You joined the army and we haven't heard from you for years. We haven't even received a letter."
"Ergou, did you go catch a spy?!"
"Ergou, how have you been these years? Oh my, look at your clothes, you've returned home in glory!"
"Ergou..."
"Ergou..."
"Ergou..."
Surrounded by villagers, Er Gou listened to their chatter, not knowing who to answer.
He simply shouted, "Listen to me, everyone!"
Everyone fell silent.
Zhou Gou shouted loudly, "I was on a mission before, and I'm only back now that I have leave to visit my family. Aunts and uncles, you all go ahead with your work, I need to go home and see my wife and daughter."
Everyone froze.
Their gazes toward Zhou Gou changed, becoming strange and filled with unease.
Zhou Gou immediately sensed something was wrong. "What's wrong? What happened to my daughter and wife?"
His first thought was that his younger brother and sister-in-law had come to take over the house and bully his son, Xiaohuai, and his face immediately darkened. "Did my brother and sister-in-law come to my house to cause trouble again?"
Xia Lei said quietly, "No."
Peng said, "Um... Er Gou, your wife and daughter... are at the hospital in town right now."
...
At the town hospital, Widow Wang, who wanted to jump out of the window, certainly couldn't. With so many people watching, how could they let Widow Wang actually jump out of the window?
This is the third floor; jumping down would really cause serious injury.
"Oh dear, Widow Wang, try to be more cheerful. If you're feeling unwell, go to the police. Look, these two officers are here. Don't try to kill yourself!"
"That's right, if that woman really wants to slander you, just go find the police! The police will stand up for you!"
Police officer Xiao Zhao nodded, "Comrade Wang, don't do anything rash. If you have any problems or have suffered any injustices, you can tell us, and we will definitely stand up for you."
Chunhua sneered from the side, "Who are you trying to fool with this act? Everyone knows about your illicit affair with Old Man Qian. You're acting like you're going to die now, but who's going to believe you!"
Widow Wang began to sob, “Chunhua, how can you bully people like this? If I were having an affair with Old Man Qian, the Qian family would have sent me to jail long ago. I’m standing here right now, so why are you accusing me?”
“I’m a widow, struggling to make a living with my daughter. It’s not easy for me to begin with, and you’re still trying to smear me. It’s your Zhao Wei who’s bullying me, and you can’t come and curse me just to protect Zhao Wei.”
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