Chapter 250 The Old Pocket Watch
This year has indeed been a mild winter.
Time flies by, and deep winter has arrived, but the warm sun still hangs high in the sky.
The rotten vegetable leaves and leftover vegetables in the garden had been almost eaten by the sheep and the corn. I led them toward the platform we had dug earlier.
After spending some time with me, Little Corn became very clingy, basically following me wherever I went, just like other dogs.
Boldly untie the reins from Little Corn's head and let it play on the ground with the dogs and eat dry wild grass as it pleases.
I nestled in a secluded spot on the platform, sipping hot tea from my thermos, watching the little animals interact.
It's really amazing. Perhaps they all feel like they're one family. The sheep, the donkeys, and the dogs can all play together.
How could I possibly have the nerve to kill a sheep and eat meat next time!
I smacked my lips and could taste some of the aroma of jasmine tea.
I could faintly hear the sound of a horn coming from down the mountain, so I looked through my binoculars towards my house.
A car was driving along the mountain road towards my house; it looked like a vehicle from the Baizhen base.
He hurriedly called the little animals to hurry home.
When I got home, Taozi was already standing at the door, along with a little boy with a round, chubby face.
"Why is Tuantuan here?"
I recognized the little guy from a great distance.
When Tuantuan heard my voice, she turned around and stumbled towards me.
Taozi smiled helplessly and said, "This little guy missed you and insisted on coming to see you."
After carefully securing the sheep and the corn, I called Taozi and Tuantuan into the house.
I baked a lot of small desserts and breads recently.
I placed a can of crispy goat milk cookies on the kang (a heated brick bed). Tuantuan stared at me intently, but her hands never stopped moving as she stuffed cookies into her mouth.
I handed him the warm tea, saying, "Eat slowly, don't choke."
Turning to Taozi, she asked, "Just to bring Tuantuan to see me? Is there anything else?"
Taozi's expression was somewhat grave: "The old base commander hasn't been doing well lately. Could you prescribe some medicine for him?"
Hearing Taozi say that, I couldn't help but worry: "Is the cough still bad?"
"Yes, and I sometimes have trouble breathing while sleeping at night."
The base commander is getting old, and these old ailments are not easy to eradicate.
If it were someone else, I probably wouldn't prescribe the medication, since the risks involved are too great.
But this is the old base commander, I can't just stand by and watch.
I found an effective prescription for moisturizing the lungs and relieving cough in the book, and carefully prepared the medicine for the old base chief according to the prescription.
"Go back and prepare the medicine properly, drink it and see if it works."
Taozi took the medicine like it was a precious treasure: "Thank you so much, sister."
"What trouble could there be? The old base chief has been good to me."
After seeing Taozi and Tuantuan off, perhaps because the old base chief's illness was weighing on my mind, I felt a bit down.
After finishing the chores around the house in an orderly manner, I picked up a stack of medical books and sat on the sofa to read them.
Previously, I would just follow the prescriptions in the book when I saw a doctor, but after so many years, I have gained some understanding of various medicinal herbs and the principles of traditional Chinese medicine.
By flipping through the book, one can discern which prescriptions are most effective and which may have side effects.
Several good prescriptions are recorded. If the current prescription doesn't work for the base leader, we can try other prescriptions next time.
But after a while, no more news came from the White Town base. I thought that the old base commander must have recovered, so I was somewhat relieved.
Not long after, the first snow of winter arrived.
I stood in the doorway of the windshield, wearing a thick cotton-padded coat, catching the snowflakes falling outside with my palms.
The snowflakes were huge, about the size of one of my fingernails.
1
Watching the pure white snowflakes fall into my palm, melt from the warmth of my hand, and finally disappear crystal clear, leaving only a damp trace.
It's as if something has been quietly lost.
The satellite phone rang shortly after the snow began to fall.
I had a bad feeling.
I tentatively answered the phone: "Hello?"
The person speaking on the other end was Taozi, not Sumi, and my heart sank.
"Sis, the old base commander has passed away. Do you want to come over? The roads are slippery because of the snow, so if it's inconvenient..."
Taozi's voice trembled slightly, and he fell silent before he could finish speaking.
"I'll be there soon, wait for me."
I quickly got dressed, grabbed the last can of diesel fuel, loaded it into the SUV, and sped off.
This might be the last time I drive this SUV.
I parked the car in front of the infirmary and hurriedly walked inside.
A group of people had already gathered around the innermost bed. I squeezed through the crowd and saw the old base commander lying on the bed with his eyes closed.
His eyes were tightly closed, and the only thing I could think of was that those eyes would never open again.
The old base commander lay there quietly, his hair gray, his face ashen, and his face and arms thin and emaciated.
It was as if I had gotten used to the base commander's appearance and never thought he was particularly old, but seeing this scene now, my heart clenched painfully.
So the base commander is already this old. Thinking back to the past few years when he struggled to keep the White Town base afloat, he passed away not long after handing over his position, without even having a chance to rest.
Taozi nodded when he saw me, but didn't say much. Everyone's eyes were red.
We stood silently in the room for a while. Two unfamiliar people prepared to prepare the old base commander's body. Taozi, I, and the others left the infirmary.
Taozi was still handling the funeral arrangements for the old base chief, so he turned and walked toward the office at the Baizhen base.
Halfway there, as if remembering something, he turned back and waved for me to come with him.
Pushing open the door to the base commander's office again, everything felt so familiar; it was as if I had pushed open this door countless times before.
Every time I push open this door, I see the old base chief sitting on the sofa, beckoning me to sit next to him.
Once I sit down, he will pick up the teapot and pour me a bowl of hot tea.
But now it's Taozi sitting there.
He opened a drawer, rummaged around inside, and handed me a box.
"This is what the old base chief asked me to give you."
I took the box, gently opened it, and inside lay an old pocket watch.
I examined the pocket watch closely. It had some scratches, so it looked quite old, but the dial was exquisite, giving it a mysterious and noble appearance.
Seeing this, Taozi explained, "He said he'd keep it for you as a keepsake."
I never expected that Captain Old Ke would value me so much, and even leave me a pocket watch.
I gently rubbed the scratches on the watch face, then carefully put it back in the box and into my coat pocket.
"I will keep it safe."
I spoke softly, my nose feeling a little sore.
Perhaps this is what growing up is all about: calmly accepting everyone's departure.
"Without the old base chief's protection, I will become independent. I will protect the White Town base well from now on."
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