After a lively lunch and a rest, the siblings, except for Haojie who went to work in the fields, Huo Yue who went to keep score, Huo Haocheng, Huo Haoshen, and Ruan Ruan, along with their grandmother who also helped out at home, were all part of the group. The grandmother was in charge of boiling water, the two brothers were skinning and plucking fur, and Ruan Ruan was in charge of the final cleaning.
After cleaning the pheasants and rabbits, the two brothers cut the roe deer meat into pieces, reserving a thicker portion for dinner. Ruan Ruan and her grandmother then salted the meat and air-dried it for easy preservation.
After finishing these tasks, Huo Haocheng and his brother told Ruan Ruan and her grandmother to rest first. One of them started chopping meat, and the other started kneading dough, preparing to make dumplings. Ruan Ruan had mentioned that she had never eaten roe deer meat before, and she had also picked so many wild vegetables, so tonight the family would have wild vegetable and roe deer meat dumplings.
"Brother, there are letters for you and Ruan Ruan here. Please come out and sign for them." On her way back, Huo Yue saw the postman asking for Ruan Ruan's address and learned that there were letters for the two of them, so she brought them back. Nowadays, letters cannot be brought out by others; they must be signed for in person.
"This is a letter from Huo Haocheng and Ruan Ruan. Please sign for it." The postman handed them the letter and pen. After the two signed, the postman left.
"Strange, why is my second uncle writing to me? He could just call if he needs anything." Ruan Ruan was puzzled when she received the letter; the address was in Beijing, and the sender was her second uncle, Gu Wencheng. She then looked at the letter in Huo Haocheng's hand.
"Who sent you this letter? Why do you look like that?"
"I know a battalion commander from the Second Regiment of our military region, but we rarely see each other because we are in different regiments. I don't know why he suddenly wrote to me." Huo Haocheng was also puzzled. The two of them were not usually in a hurry, so why did he suddenly write to him?
"Never mind that, let's see what they wrote first," they said, and the two of them opened the letters in their hands.
In his letter, Gu Wencheng told Ruan Ruan that his teacher had been falsely accused and reported by his own student. He used his family's connections to arrange for his teacher to be assigned to the brigade where the Huo family lived. He learned about the Huo family's character from Ruan Ruan's parents, Ruan Chuanji and Gu Wenzhen, and hoped to ask the Huo family to help look after his teacher's family.
Huo Haocheng's letter contained similar content, hoping that the Huo family could help look after him. The difference was that it was his family member who sent the letter. The sender was named Sun Hongxin, the eldest grandson of the Sun family in Beijing. His family was a scholarly family, but Sun Hongxin did not like literature or martial arts. So after graduating from high school at the age of 18, he went south alone to join the army and later transferred to Yuncheng.
When he saw the Sun family's notice severing ties with him, he was puzzled. Under the protection of Military Region Commander Gu Wenpeng, he returned to see his family. After learning the whole story, he considered taking off his uniform to be with his family. However, his grandfather told him about Gu Wencheng's arrangements and threatened him with his own life to return to the army, telling him not to implicate Gu Wenpeng for personal reasons.
Later, he learned from Gu Wenpeng that his family had been sent to Huo Haocheng's hometown, so he shamelessly wrote this letter, hoping that Huo Haocheng could help his family out of consideration for their comradeship. The family consisted of the elderly, women, and children, with only his father as the only able-bodied person. But how much strength could someone who usually wields a pen have?
"What did you write in that letter?" The two exchanged letters and read each other's.
The two who had read the letter remained silent for a long time. The others were puzzled and took the letters from their hands to read as well.
Before long, Huo Haocheng and Ruan Ruan will be returning to their unit. The contents of the letter will ultimately be implemented by the Huo family. Given their current relationship, it's unclear whether it will be a good or bad thing. Of course, it's not that they are bad people, but we're worried that this might cause trouble for their family, especially their grandfather and father.
"Let's make dumplings first, we'll talk about it tonight." Grandma Huo has weathered many storms these past few years, and she's very easygoing about it.
When people came back from work, the dumplings were already wrapped, and they could be cooked once everyone was back. While the dumplings were cooking, Ruan Ruan showed both letters to her grandfather and fathers.
During the meal, the family kept the front door tightly closed.
"You've seen the contents of the letter, so what did it say?" Grandpa Huo broke the ice first.
"Grandpa, I'm sorry, because of our relationship, I've caused you trouble." Ruan Ruan didn't want to bring trouble to the originally peaceful Huo family because of her relationship.
"Ruan Ruan, this matter has nothing to do with you. Although he asked us to help because of your relationship with your second uncle, don't feel burdened or take all the blame. Even without your connection, we know what's going on with those who have been sent down here. As long as it doesn't violate principles, we'll take care of them. So now that we know about this in advance, let's think about what to do."
"Ruan Ruan, Hao Cheng, remember this, this is not something you brought here. If there are any problems, we will solve them together. One of them is a family member, and the other is a comrade-in-arms, so we are all one family. When a family encounters problems, they must face them together. Only in this way can a family be of one mind."
"For something this big to happen, the fact that they thought of you first and that the Gu family made such arrangements shows they've guaranteed our safety. So don't worry about causing us any trouble. Your grandfather went through that period too; I've seen it all. Besides, didn't you clean up the Cultural Revolution? This matter is definitely not over yet. Let's think of a way to get someone we know to go up there."
"Thank you, Grandpa. I'll go find Fu Mingyi tomorrow and ask him how things are going."
"I'll also call my second uncle to ask what arrangements have been made at home."
Grandpa is right. What's done is done, so let's try to find a solution first.
"Haocheng, Haoshi, Haojie, Haoshen, you brothers need to work hard tonight and check on the living conditions at the cowshed. It's alright now that it's hot, but it won't be good in winter. Check if the kang (heated brick bed) is still usable."
"Okay, Grandpa."
"Alright, everyone, get some rest."
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