After Guan Wenru fell into a deep sleep, He Yanzhi quietly got out of bed, put on his clothes, and turned to leave.
He closed the door and went outside into the courtyard.
As soon as he stepped out of the house, he found Zhu Yongqiang in the yard, smoking with his back to him.
He Yanzhi approached, stood at attention, and saluted, "Political Commissar!"
Zhu Yongqiang turned around, exhaled a puff of smoke, and looked worried. "Yan Zhi? Coming out for some fresh air so late?...Can't sleep? Something on your mind?"
He Yanzhi lowered his hand, remained silent for a moment, and then said, "Hmm."
Zhu Yongqiang took a deep drag on his cigarette and sighed heavily, "Let's talk outside."
The two walked to the outside of Courtyard No. 1.
When you speak outside, your family can't hear you.
Zhu Yongqiang finished his cigarette and couldn't help but light another one. "Sigh... that matter... I read the report you submitted. So, you... are you really sure? You absolutely have to go? Or won't you reconsider?"
He Yanzhi cast his gaze into the dark night in the distance, his voice low but firm, "I've thought it through, Political Commissar."
Zhu Yongqiang frowned deeply. "It was too dangerous! That place... that mission... it was practically a death sentence! You've only been back a few days? Your wife... Comrade Xiao Guan... she's been so eagerly awaiting your return, if this happened again... how could you possibly bear it? And those three boys..."
He Yanzhi's Adam's apple bobbed, and his voice deepened, "I know everything."
Zhu Yongqiang glared at him, "Knowing that, why did you still... couldn't you have sent someone else? Pick a seasoned veteran..."
"No way!" He Yanzhi interrupted him, his tone resolute. "I know the situation over there best! The terrain, the target, the possible rendezvous points... no one knows it better than me!"
This task, if assigned to any of my men, would be sending them to their deaths! I'm the commander; this responsibility, this danger, I must shoulder! There's no way to shirk it!
Zhu Yongqiang looked at He Yanzhi's resolute profile in the night, opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end it only turned into a heavier sigh.
well!
That's certainly true.
As the head of a regiment, He Yanzhi has responsibilities and obligations to fulfill his duties.
But what if something happens to him? What will Guan Wenru and her three children do?
The two stood for a moment in the silent night, with only the faint red glow of the cigarette between Zhu Yongqiang's fingers flickering on and off.
After an unknown amount of time, Zhu Yongqiang threw his cigarette butt on the ground, crushed it out with his foot, and said in a voice that was filled with helplessness and a hint of barely perceptible respect, "Alright, go back now."
Zhu Yongqiang didn't say anything else, but patted He Yanzhi's shoulder hard, turned around and left, his back looking somewhat heavy.
He Yanzhi stood there, gazing in the direction where the political commissar had disappeared, then looking at the window of his own house, which was dimly lit, his eyes deep and complex.
In the end, it all turned into a barely audible sigh, and she turned and slowly walked back into the courtyard.
He was a soldier, destined to put the needs of others first.
This is a soldier's duty!
He had no choice!
......
The next morning, as Guan Wenru and Bai Yun pushed their bicycles into the factory gate, they sensed that something was wrong.
The workers gathered in twos and threes, their eyes all fixed on Baiyun, pointing and whispering amongst themselves.
A woman whispered to her companions, "Have you heard? Accountant Bai... is pregnant!"
Another slightly older female worker curled her lip and said in a loud voice, "Tsk tsk, I really didn't see that coming... She usually looks like a very proper girl... I didn't expect her to have such a bad character. She's really shameful. People like her should be paraded through the streets with placards hanging up their faces."
The first person to speak shook his head. "Hey, tell me... whose child is it? Could it be Deputy Factory Director Lei? Didn't they almost get together?"
Another female worker leaned over, speaking mysteriously, "I don't think so! Deputy Factory Director Lei hasn't been speaking to her lately! If you ask me, it's probably that educated youth surnamed Xi! He's a college graduate now, he just packed his bags and left, leaving this mess behind..."
A male worker, who had somehow appeared at the edge of the crowd, interjected sarcastically, "Hmph, that's not necessarily true! Have you forgotten? Those few days when Factory Director Guan was swept away by the flood... only Regiment Commander He... and Accountant Bai were left at home!"
A lone man and a lone woman... tsk, who knows what might happen? Commander He's physique... and Accountant Bai is so young... dry wood and a raging fire... no wonder..."
These words were like a thunderclap!
The crowd fell silent for a moment, then erupted into a more subdued but jarring murmur.
"Oh my! That makes sense! Back then, Factory Director Guan's fate was unknown... my brother-in-law and sister-in-law... oh my god..."
Some people looked at Baiyun, whose face was deathly pale, with disdain. "Shameless...eating what's in her bowl while eyeing what's in the pot...seduce her sister's man too..."
Various gazes, a mixture of disdain, inquiry, and schadenfreude, shot towards the white clouds like knives.
Baiyun was trembling all over, her face was as white as paper, and she could barely stand.
The workers looked at Guan Wenru with pity and sympathy.
Her own sister and husband slept together...
Tsk tsk... How pitiful!
Even if a woman becomes a factory manager, she still can't control a man's lower body!
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