Chapter 434 A Race Against Time Outside the Delivery Room
"Just finished." Gu Beichen's voice relaxed a bit. "The commander stayed for a meal and we discussed the subsequent defense deployment of the radar station. He may stay in Beijing for another two days."
Su Yue switched the receiver to her other hand.
"How's things at home?" Gu Beichen asked.
"We just survived a world war." Su Yue looked at the two little heads peeking in from the doorway. "Your good son dug the whole yard upside down, and your good daughter just put on a full-blown brawl on the ground."
A low laugh came from the other end of the phone.
"Give them the phone."
Su Yue waved. Gu Ping'an rushed over like a cannonball and snatched the receiver.
"Dad! I was a very good boy at home! I even helped Mom fill in the holes!"
This kid is also a master at avoiding the important issues.
Gu Ningjing stood on tiptoe, desperately trying to reach the receiver: "Dad! I miss you! My brother bullied me!"
Su Yue watched as the two children eagerly shouted into the microphone, and the corners of her mouth unconsciously turned up.
Although separated by thousands of kilometers, that line has always connected this family.
Five minutes later, Su Yue answered the phone again.
"Beichen".
"Um."
Neither of them spoke; only the static crackling of the receiver could be heard.
"Take care of yourself," Su Yue broke the silence. "The baby and I are waiting for you to come back."
"Okay." Gu Beichen paused. "Su Yue, Happy New Year."
After hanging up the phone, Su Yue looked out the window. It was already getting dark, and lights were gradually turning on in the courtyard, with occasional sporadic firecracker sounds.
"Come on." Su Yue helped the two children put on their coats. "I'll take you somewhere."
The jeep drove through the night and stopped at Red Star Farm.
There were no firecrackers, but it was still lively.
The greenhouse was lit up, and Cuihua was leading several military wives who hadn't gone home to prune the branches of the sea buckthorn trees.
"Director Su!" Cuihua's loud voice rang out as soon as she saw Su Yue, "Why are you taking the child to the fields during the New Year holiday?"
"Bring them here to learn about their jobs."
Su Yue led the two children into the greenhouse.
Warm, humid air wafted over, carrying the fresh scent of earth and plants.
“Look,” Su Yue pointed to the sea buckthorn bushes laden with fruit, “this is the ‘treasure’ that Mom and Dad planted.”
Gu Pingan reached out and touched the rough bark, but was pricked by the thorns. He withdrew his hand without crying out in pain.
"Mom, can we sell these fruits for money?"
“Yes.” Su Yue picked a fruit and put it in his mouth. “It can be exchanged for money, it can save lives, and it can feed many people.”
The sour juice burst in his mouth, and Gu Ping'an's face scrunched up, but quickly relaxed again.
“It’s sweet,” he said.
Gu Ningjing squatted by the furrow, watching a ladybug crawling along. She stopped making a fuss and quietly observed it.
Su Yue stood aside, watching this scene.
Education is not about preaching, it's about experience.
Letting them know where food comes from, that money is hard to earn, and that this land has a rich history is more effective than buying them any number of toys.
On the way back, both children fell asleep in the back seat of the car.
Gu Ping'an was still clutching the simple solar-powered fan tightly in his hand, while Gu Ningjing had a handful of roasted melon seeds given to her by Aunt Cuihua in her pocket.
As the car entered the compound, Su Yue slowed down.
The streetlights cast long shadows of the jeep.
She parked the car and didn't wake the child immediately.
He pulled an envelope from his pocket; it was the one the postman had delivered before he left.
It was sent from the capital.
It wasn't an official document; it was a remittance slip and a letter home.
The remittance slip showed two hundred yuan—that was Gu Beichen's allowance and bonus for the month, which he sent back without keeping a single penny.
Su Yue opened the letter and read it in the dim light of the street lamp.
The letter was thin, containing only a few words:
"I bought some roast duck from Beijing and will bring it back for you. Also, I've got my eye on an encyclopedia set for Ping An and Ning Jing, but it's a bit heavy, so I'll carry it back myself. Don't worry, just wait for me."
Su Yue pressed the letter to her chest.
The winter nights on the island weren't cold, but at this moment, she felt exceptionally warm.
She turned her head, looked at the two children sleeping soundly in the back seat, and then looked at the dark sea in the distance.
A new spring is coming.
Before that, she had to protect this home like an iron barrel, waiting for that man to return in triumph.
Su Yue pushed open the car door, and the night wind lifted the hem of her clothes.
She bent down and picked up the sleeping Gu Ningjing, while Gu Ping'an followed behind, still half asleep, tugging at her clothes.
The lights in the courtyard were on, and Zhang Huilan's figure was reflected on the window paper as she placed the last batch of dumplings on the table.
"Mom! We're back!"
Gu Pingan rubbed his eyes.
This shout truly captured the essence of the New Year.
Su Yue stepped across the threshold, her steps steady and firm.
The wind blew a corner of the calendar on the wall, revealing a bright red date underneath—1972.
The tides of a great era are surging, and she is ready to ride the waves.
"Have a meal!"
Su Yue placed the child on the chair, picked up her wine glass, and gently touched the air with it, facing the direction of the capital.
"Cheers, Commander Gu."
......
Spring came exceptionally early in 1972.
The humid wind on the island carries the fragrance of kapok flowers, causing the old locust tree in the Gu family's courtyard to sprout tender green buds.
Two o'clock in the morning.
The piercing telephone ring, like a sharp knife, shattered the deathly silence of the military compound.
Su Yue suddenly opened her eyes.
Almost instinctively, she rolled out of bed and rushed to the living room without even putting on her slippers properly.
During this special period, a phone call in the middle of the night usually means only two things: either urgent military intelligence from the front lines or a matter of life and death.
"Hello, this is Su Yue."
A heavy breathing sound came through the receiver, accompanied by the chattering of teeth.
"Sister-in-law... Sister-in-law! Yiyi... Yiyi, she..."
It is Yunmu.
The tough guy who never even flinched on the battlefield was now trembling like a leaf, unable to string together a single complete sentence.
Su Yue's heart sank.
"Don't panic. Get to the point."
"My water broke! It's all blood! So much blood!" Yun Mu's voice trembled with tears. "The doctor said... said the baby is breech! Sister-in-law, come quick! Yiyi is calling your name!"
With a "snap".
Su Yue hung up the phone, grabbed the military overcoat hanging on the clothes rack and put it on, then picked up the first aid kit that she had prepared beforehand.
Zhang Huilan ran out of the inner room, wearing a coat, her face filled with panic: "Yueyue, what happened?"
"Yiyi is about to give birth, and things aren't looking good," Su Yue said quickly as she changed her shoes. "Mom, keep an eye on Ping'an and Ningjing. Don't wait for me to come back for dinner."
Pushing open the door, the Jeep's engine roared like a beast in the night.
Su Yue floored the accelerator.
The wheels kicked up gravel from the ground and sped out of the compound like an arrow, heading straight for the military general hospital.
The speedometer needle shot up to eighty.
Su Yue's knuckles turned white as she gripped the steering wheel.
Yang Yiyi's pregnancy was not easy. She experienced threatened miscarriage in the early stages and was hospitalized in the middle stages due to gestational hypertension.
Although Su Yue had already helped her with acupuncture and herbal medicine, childbirth is like walking a tightrope between the gates of hell, and no one can guarantee anything.
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