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◎The King of Scrolls, Day Forty-Five◎
Jiang Wanzhou was sitting in the courtyard reading when there was another knock on the gate.
Jun Yanghong stood outside the door, holding a brand-new notebook and a fountain pen.
"Sister Wanzhou, I really admire how much you love studying. My brother bought this for me, but I don't know how to use it, so it's just a waste to leave it here. I'll give it to you! I hope you can get into university and bring honor to Technician Zhou!"
She smiled sincerely, as if she were thinking of Jiang Wanzhou entirely.
Jiang Wanzhou closed the book, stood up, walked to the courtyard gate, but did not take the notebook.
She looked into Jun Yanghong's eyes, which were filled with calculation, and spoke calmly, her voice clear and firm.
"Comrade Yanghong, thank you for your kindness. However, I study to improve myself, not to bring glory to anyone. You can keep the notebook and pen for yourself; learning more cultural knowledge is always useful."
Jun Yanghong's hand holding the notebook froze in mid-air, her smile completely frozen, and a hint of disbelief and anger flashed in her eyes.
She hadn't expected Jiang Wanzhou to reject her so directly and mercilessly, and to retaliate so precisely.
"...Sister Wanzhou is right, I didn't think it through."
She practically gritted her teeth as she said those words, then abruptly pulled her hand back, turned and left, her back view exuding a sense of exasperation.
Jun Yanghong returned to her courtyard with a livid face, carrying the set of stationery she hadn't given away.
Su Xiaomei was sitting on the doorstep, patting her stepdaughter who had cried herself to sleep. She frowned when she saw her sister-in-law like this.
"Got rejected again? I told you before, Jiang Wanzhou may seem quiet, but she's not someone you can easily mess with."
"Shut up!" Jun Yanghong was in a bad mood and snapped back, slamming her bedroom door shut.
She sat on the edge of the bed, her chest heaving, Jiang Wanzhou's calm face flashing before her eyes.
"Improve yourself? Ha, what a pretentious act! A country girl, and she really thinks she's cultured!"
She muttered through gritted teeth, her eyes flashing with venom.
"Since you refuse to listen to reason and are forced to drink the penalty shot, then don't blame me for being impolite!"
Thunder rumbled outside.
Jun Yanghong recalled that Zhou Qingyu had been injured during a mission, as mentioned in the report.
The plane made an emergency landing during a thunderstorm.
If this rain lasts for seven days, it will be just right.
She was determined to accept the debt of gratitude for being saved.
—
The weather on the island is like a child's face, changing in an instant.
One moment the sky was clear and blue, the next moment thick dark clouds rolled in from the horizon, pressing low over the sea, making the air so stuffy that it was hard to breathe.
Jiang Wanzhou had just brought the dried vegetables that were drying in the yard into the kitchen when large raindrops began to pelt down, instantly forming a curtain of rain.
The wind howled, whipping rain against the windows with a terrifying sound.
"This rain is really weird!" Shen Xinglian quickly closed the window and pulled Mingyuan, who was curious and wanted to look outside, back into her arms.
"It looks like it's going to rain for several days."
Just then, there was a rapid knocking on the door outside the courtyard, mixed with faint cries.
Shen Xinglian and Jiang Wanzhou exchanged a glance, both somewhat surprised.
With such heavy rain, who would come?
As soon as the door opened, a figure was swept in by the wind and rain.
It was Su Xiaomei. She was soaking wet, her hair stuck to her face, looking utterly disheveled. She was tightly holding Niu Niu, who was also soaking wet and crying loudly, in her arms.
"Xinglian! Wanzhou! Help! My sister-in-law is missing, and Niu Niu was terrified in the rain. I really don't know what to do..."
Su Xiaomei's voice was choked with sobs.
Although Shen Xinglian disliked her, she immediately softened when she saw the child crying so heartbreakingly.
"Come in quickly! Come in quickly! Don't let the child get sick!"
She quickly found a dry towel to wipe the mother and daughter.
"When did the person leave the house?"
Jiang Wanzhou also went to pour hot water.
"I went out after finishing my meal."
"Where is Deputy Commander Jun?" Shen Xinglian asked while drying Niu Niu's hair.
Su Xiaomei's lips trembled, and her face turned even paler than before.
“Yang Jian… Yang Jian and Technician Zhou went on a mission with the flight squadron early this morning. It was supposed to be an emergency weather reconnaissance mission, and they haven’t returned yet because of the weather.”
These words were like a thunderclap, exploding in the ears of Jiang Wanzhou and Shen Xinglian.
The two women's hearts leaped into their throats. The weather was terrible.
For a moment, only Niu Niu's gradually calming sobs and the roar of the raging wind and rain outside filled the kitchen.
An invisible panic began to spread.
"If nothing happens."
Shen Xinglian murmured, as if comforting Su Xiaomei, but more like comforting herself, "They are experienced, they will definitely be able to find a place to make an emergency landing or go around."
"Wah—" Mingyuan seemed to sense the oppressive atmosphere and started crying as well.
Shen Xinglian quickly went to comfort her son.
In the chaos, the gate was knocked on again, this time even more urgently.
Jiang Wanzhou took a deep breath and ran to open the door. Outside stood a communications soldier wearing a raincoat, his face full of anxiety.
"Comrade Jiang Wanzhou! Comrade Shen Xinglian! The regimental headquarters has notified us that due to severe weather, the crew of Battalion Commander Jiang and Comrade Zhou Qingyu are temporarily out of contact. We are conducting a full-scale search and rescue operation! Please be patient and do not panic!"
After delivering the message aloud, the communications soldier hurried off to the next location.
"Cannot get in touch..."
Su Xiaomei's legs went weak, and she slumped onto the stool, her eyes glazed over.
Shen Xinglian held Mingyuan, her body swaying slightly, but she forced herself to stay steady, her voice trembling almost imperceptibly.
"Understood, thank you, comrade."
After the communications soldier left, the air in the kitchen seemed to freeze.
Hope seemed to have been shut out by the storm outside, through that closed door.
After the communications soldier left, the air in the kitchen seemed to freeze, with only the increasingly violent wind and rain outside the window, striking everyone's heart like heavy hammer blows.
"Cannot get in touch..."
Su Xiaomei murmured these four words repeatedly, her eyes vacant, as if all her strength had been drained away, and she just instinctively hugged Niu Niu tightly in her arms.
The little girl seemed to sense her mother's extreme fear, and stopped crying, only sobbing softly.
Shen Xinglian pulled Mingyuan closer to her chest, as if only in this way could she draw some strength from him.
She forced herself to calm down and looked at Jiang Wanzhou, who was also pale but had a straight back.
"Wanzhou..." Shen Xinglian's voice carried a dependence she herself was unaware of.
Jiang Wanzhou took a deep breath, suppressing the sob in her throat.
“Sister-in-law, Sister Xiaomei,” Jiang Wanzhou’s voice was exceptionally clear amidst the wind and rain, “Panic won’t help now. We must trust the organization, and trust Renzhou and Qingyu’s abilities. In this heavy rain, blindly going out to look for people will only cause more trouble.”
"We'll just wait for news here and take good care of our families; that's the biggest support we can give them."
“Yes, Wanzhou is right!” Shen Xinglian immediately agreed. She picked up Mingyuan and said to Su Xiaomei, “Sister Xiaomei, you and Niuniu can stay here tonight. The kang in the west room is big enough for us to squeeze in. I’m worried about you going back in the way you are now.”
Su Xiaomei was completely at a loss and could only nod blankly.
Just then, Jiang Wanzhou suddenly remembered what Su Xiaomei had said when she first arrived, and her heart tightened: "Sister Xiaomei, you just said that Yang Hong is missing? When did she go out? Did she say where she went?"
Su Xiaomei then vaguely remembered her sister-in-law and shook her head: "She said she was going out for a walk after lunch... she didn't say anything else... Where could she go in this heavy rain?"
She was exhausted at the moment, worried about her husband and afraid that something might happen to her sister-in-law. She was on the verge of collapse.
Shen Xinglian and Jiang Wanzhou exchanged a glance, both seeing seriousness in each other's eyes.
Jun Yanghong's disappearance at this critical juncture is no coincidence.
Recalling her previous determination to have Zhou Qingyu, a terrible thought arose in Jiang Wanzhou's mind.
Jun Yanghong probably knows something, or perhaps she wants to use this rainstorm for something!
"Could it be..." Shen Xinglian thought of it too, her face growing even paler, "that she knows the general direction from which Zhou Qingyu and the others might have made an emergency landing?"
Jiang Wanzhou's heart sank.
If Jun Yanghong really had the intention of repaying the "life-saving grace," then she would definitely go to the most dangerous place where she was most likely to find the person.
"No, we have to inform the regimental headquarters!" Jiang Wanzhou made a decisive decision. "Comrade Jun Yanghong may have gone out to search without permission. She is not familiar with the terrain and dangers. We must find her as soon as possible!"
Just then, a commotion of voices and the flickering beam of flashlights came from outside.
It turned out that the neighbors heard the commotion at the Jiang family's house and saw that the communications soldier had come by. Several familiar military family members braved the rain to come and visit and inquire about the situation.
"What? Deputy Commander Jun's sister-in-law ran away?"
A family member of a company commander surnamed Wang exclaimed, "This is no joke! The road on the back mountain is very slippery, and there's a risk of landslides!"
"We have to report this right away!" another family member said, and started to rush out.
Chaos and anxiety filled the small kitchen.
The longing for lost relatives and the worry for missing neighbors intertwined with the relentless storm outside the window, weighing heavily on everyone's nerves.
Jiang Wanzhou walked to the window, clutching the small wooden box tightly in her hand, the outline of the red bean pressing against her palm.
Qingyu, where are you? You must be safe and sound.
Meanwhile, in some unknown corner, is Jun Yanghong wearing a raincoat, trudging along a muddy mountain road, her heart burning with twisted expectations, searching for the "opportunity" she is determined to obtain?
—
The next day.
Liu's wife was soaked to the bone, but her face didn't show much panic; instead, her eyes flickered.
She first offered a few words of comfort to Su Xiaomei, saying, "Don't worry about Commander Jun's family, they'll definitely be fine."
Then, her gaze fell on Jiang Wanzhou, whose face was pale.
Sister Liu leaned closer to Jiang Wanzhou, lowered her voice, and said in an almost seductive yet slightly malicious tone, "Wanzhou, do you think Technician Zhou and the others might... Alas, things can change unexpectedly."
"Technician Zhou is so outstanding, and he's their only son. If something really happened to him, how could his parents possibly bear it..."
Jiang Wanzhou snatched the ginger soup, drank it, and gave it a cold look.
"go out."
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