"We're all comrades-in-arms, so I should help each other out if I can. Besides, I can't just eat the army's food for free."
"But then again, my wife's cooking is just delicious, everyone has to admit that."
Wu Daqiang, covered in sweat from running, brought over a plate of steamed buns.
"Sister-in-law, you eat first. When you go home, I'll bring you a bagful so you can heat it up and eat it."
Xia Enruo felt extremely embarrassed when she saw so many steamed buns.
The young soldiers around them covered their mouths and chuckled when they saw this.
This Gu Shaoxuan is such a big mouth, making others mistakenly believe he has a huge appetite, eating a whole plate of steamed buns in one meal, it's simply outrageous.
...........................
Zhang Xin, with his four children, left the compound and took a bus to Swan Lake Park in Yongning City.
It is located at the foot of the mountain, and a small river runs through the park. In the summer, swans often play in the lake, hence the name Swan Lake.
In winter, the area is full of ice skating and fishing enthusiasts, and the further up the mountain you go along the river, the more ice holes you see.
After much thought, Zhang Xin realized that this was the best place to strike. The children had fallen into the ice hole, and the location was slightly off-center, with the ice surface right above them.
They are most likely to suffocate and die before rescue can even begin.
That's a really nice place.
"Dad, where are we going to play?"
The youngest child asked her father innocently. This was the first time her father had taken her and her brothers out to play. Although she was small, she understood everything.
They are very good at reading adults' expressions and acting accordingly.
Every time Zhang Xin beat Ge Qiuqin, the fourth son would rush out and hug his mother who had fallen. He wouldn't say a word, afraid that if he said anything wrong, the whole family would continue to be beaten.
"Fourth brother, how about Dad takes you ice skating? Let's go ice skating at Swan Lake, and have some fun. Do you like it, fourth brother?"
"Dad, are there swans in Swan Lake?"
"There are no swans at Swan Lake in winter."
The fourth sister nodded, then looked at her eldest brother, Zhang Zhicheng, who shook his head, signaling her not to say anything more.
Zhang Zhicheng was terrified that his sister would say something wrong and get beaten. He didn't utter a single word the entire way.
Zhang Xin led his four children to the ice surface, where a large crowd had already gathered at Swan Lake, playing and frolicking.
Some were skating, some were riding ice sleds, and some were playing with ice clappers... The place was bustling with noise and excitement.
Several locals were fishing in the distance, standing motionless beside the ice hole.
"There are so many people? How do we even begin? If they don't die or become crippled, we'll just become a burden, and they'll have to be beyond saving in no time. Only then can we eliminate any worries about the future."
Zhang Xin led the children forward, bypassing the crowd and heading upstream.
"Dad, didn't you say you were going ice skating? I want to ride that ice sled, is that okay?"
The fourth child saw other children riding ice sleds and shouting happily, and she wanted to ride one too. She also wanted her father to pull her along.
"That's not fun. Come with Daddy, and Daddy will take you to play something even more fun."
The four little ones, not understanding what was going on, thought their father was taking them to a more fun place, so they simply followed quietly.
As they walked further, fewer and fewer people remained on the ice, leaving only frozen holes. Some of these holes were surrounded by bricks to prevent people from falling in, while others were not.
"You guys can play around here. There are fewer people here so they won't bother us. Run and jump as you like."
Zhang Xin shouted, and the echo could be heard all over the mountains.
The four little ones were like wild horses, running and playing on the ice.
Zhang Xin thought to himself, "I'd better fall in quickly, that way I won't have to do it myself, out of sight, out of mind."
Zhang Zhicheng remembered his mother's words and asked her to help his father take care of his younger siblings.
He followed behind the group, keeping a close eye on the ice. Whenever he saw a hole in the ice, he would grab onto their clothes and pull them away.
Zhang Xin stood on the ice for a long time, shivering from the cold.
Not a single child fell.
He was getting anxious. If things continued like this, all his efforts today would be wasted.
"Big brother, you take the younger brothers to play somewhere far away, I'll take the fourth brother and we'll go skating."
Zhang Xin shouted at his eldest son. He wanted to get the three of them away so he could make his move on his daughter.
Zhang Zhicheng led his brothers to continue running upstream.
The fourth brother followed Zhang Xin slowly.
Passing by an ice hole that hadn't completely frozen over, Zhang Xin squatted down and led his daughter to stand beside it.
"Fourth brother, look, there are small fish in there."
Zhang Xin was deceived.
"Little Fish, Daddy. I can't see Little Fish."
"You can see it if you squat down."
The fourth child squatted down in front of the ice hole, peering inside with his small eyes searching for the little fish his father had mentioned, but there was nothing there in the darkness.
Zhang Xin grabbed the collar of his daughter's clothes at the back of her head and pressed her down little by little, preparing to push her into the water.
The ice cave was pitch black, sending chills down his spine. It was like an endless abyss, a dark hole that seemed to want to devour everything. If he fell in, he would surely die.
He was struggling internally, slowly increasing the pressure in his hands, his mind replaying the scene of Chen Yan yelling at him in the rented room.
“Zhang Xin, if you don’t get rid of those four children, don’t ever come back to see me again. My body will never belong to you.”
Zhang Xin was covered in cold sweat, as if he were under a spell.
The fourth child thought his father was playing a game with him and laughed heartily.
But her body was bent over, and her whole hand was plunged into the ice water, the biting cold seeping into her flesh.
"Dad, it's cold. Dad, my hands hurt."
The fourth brother's voice gradually changed, and he began to cry.
When Zhang Xin heard his daughter call "Dad," he was immediately stunned and stopped what he was doing.
"Dad, what are you doing? My little sister is about to fall in!"
Zhang Zhicheng ran over, pulled his younger sister from his father's arms, and hugged her tightly.
Zhang Xin was startled, but quickly regained his composure.
His back was completely soaked; he still couldn't bring himself to kill the person in front of him.
"Big brother, it's okay. Dad took the fourth brother to see the fish. There were some fish just now."
The fourth brother didn't see the fish, but fearing he'd get beaten if he spoke up, his hands were red with cold, yet he still dared not utter a sound.
Zhang Zhicheng warmed his sister's hands, which were red and purple from the cold, in his palms, and the color slowly returned to normal.
Zhang Xin stood up. He simply couldn't bring himself to do it. After all, she was his own child, and he couldn't bear to take her life himself.
Why don't we push them to go ice skating? Push them towards the ice hole. If they don't fall in, they're lucky. If they do fall in, we'll be far enough away that we won't be scared.
It happened in an instant!
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