When Xing Zhaozhao woke up, the three little ones were still asleep in bed, so she didn't wake them. She quietly got up and went out first.
Wen Sinan also came out of the next room, tiptoeing so as not to disturb her sleeping daughter.
The two met eyes, paused for a moment, and then smiled simultaneously.
"Good morning," Xing Zhaozhao greeted Wen Sinan softly with a smile.
Wen Sinan smiled and nodded: "Good morning. Is the baby still sleeping?"
"Hmm, is yours the same?" Xing Zhaozhao asked.
"Yeah, she was probably exhausted from traveling yesterday and slept like a log," Wen Sinan said.
"It's alright, it's still early anyway, let her sleep a little longer." Xing Zhaozhao said, then searched the house inside and out, but couldn't find Gao Mingcheng. She asked in surprise, "Where did he go? He's been gone since early this morning."
"Looking for your Commander Gao?" Wen Sinan asked.
Xing Zhaozhao nodded.
“It seems our Hongyi has also disappeared,” Wen Sinan said, looking around.
"They probably went out together." The two exchanged a glance and then ignored it, quickly washed up, and hurriedly prepared to wash their clothes.
"Are there any more basins?" Wen Sinan asked.
"Yes." Xing Zhaozhao found one for her.
The two men, carrying dirty laundry, had just stepped into the yard when they saw Gao Mingcheng and Ying Hongyi returning one after the other. They were steaming hot, having been out for a while. Ying Hongyi, following behind, was rubbing his arm and grimacing, complaining, "It was just a joke, why so rough..."
When Gao Mingcheng saw Xing Zhaozhao, his previously fierce gaze softened: "You're up?"
"Hmm." Xing Zhaozhao nodded and asked, "Where did you all go?"
"I was still around, and since I had nothing else to do, I went to practice in the woods next door." Gao Mingcheng said, taking a few steps to Xing Zhaozhao and taking the basin from her hands. "I'll wash it."
Xing Zhaozhao didn't argue with him: "Okay, I'll make breakfast. What do you want to eat?"
"Let's make noodles," Gao Mingcheng said after thinking for a moment.
"Okay, let's have hand-pulled noodles then." Xing Zhaozhao said, then turned and went to the kitchen.
Wen Sinan stood there alone, holding a basin, staring intently at Ying Hongyi.
Ying Hongyi was completely bewildered: "What's wrong, wife?"
Wen Sinan squinted and glanced at Gao Mingcheng, who had already carried a basin to the well and was preparing to draw water to wash clothes.
Following Wen Sinan's gaze, Ying Hongyi turned to look at Gao Mingcheng. Suddenly realizing what was happening, he shuddered and immediately darted to Wen Sinan, snatching the basin from her hand. He smiled ingratiatingly and said, "I'll wash the clothes. Honey, you go back and sleep with our daughter a little longer."
Wen Sinan snorted, "At least he has some sense."
"I'll go help my sister-in-law," she said, turning and heading to the kitchen.
Ying Hongyi breathed a long sigh of relief. Luckily, he reacted quickly.
The children woke up one after another, and the brief tranquility of the morning ended, with the house starting to become noisy.
Having learned from past mistakes, Ying Hongyi was exceptionally attentive, taking meticulous care of his wife and daughter.
Xing Zhaozhao watched as Xiao Rongrong ate the noodles her father fed her, her face beaming with joy. A thought struck her, and taking advantage of the others' inattention, she turned and quietly went back into the house.
Gao Mingcheng had finished eating and was holding his chubby daughter, who couldn't eat yet, as she drank milk powder. He noticed Xing Zhaozhao quietly leaving, his eyes flashed, and he got up and followed her inside.
As soon as Gao Mingcheng entered, he saw Xing Zhaozhao open the bedside table that had been locked tightly and was looking for something inside.
His eyesight was good; even from a distance, he could clearly see that what was inside wasn't what they should have at this time. His heart tightened, and he quickly turned around and bolted the door to prevent anyone from seeing them. Then he went over and asked, "What are you looking for?"
Xing Zhaozhao was startled and dropped what she was holding onto the bed with a thud. She quickly picked it up, turned it on, and checked the screen. Only after confirming that the screen wasn't broken did she breathe a sigh of relief. She turned to Gao Mingcheng and glared at him, saying, "Why didn't you say anything beforehand? You scared me to death."
“You should have locked the door. What if someone ran in and saw us?” Gao Mingcheng said.
"I just had a habit from before and didn't remember it for a moment," Xing Zhaozhao said, glancing at the doorway with concern.
“I’ve already tied it on,” Gao Mingcheng said.
Xing Zhaozhao was finally completely relieved.
Gao Mingcheng walked over to Xing Zhaozhao and looked at the rectangular "board" she was fiddling with in her hand. He asked curiously, "What is this?"
“This is my phone.” Xing Zhaozhao showed him the screen.
"A hand...chicken?" Gao Mingcheng looked at it from left to right, frowning. How did this thing look like a chicken?
"Did they bring this over from over there?" Gao Mingcheng asked.
"Mm." Xing Zhaozhao nodded.
"What is it used for?" Gao Mingcheng continued to ask.
"It's for making a phone call." Xing Zhaozhao demonstrated it to him. "However, we don't have a signal here, so it won't work."
"Fifty years later, have telephones become like this?" Gao Mingcheng asked in surprise.
“This can’t just be used for making phone calls…” Xing Zhaozhao explained to him as she operated the device.
Gao Mingcheng looked amazed and asked, "Is life there very good?"
Xing Zhaozhao nodded vigorously: "It's so much better than what we have now..." As she spoke, Xing Zhaozhao described in detail some of the situations there.
Gao Mingcheng was deeply moved, his eyes shining brightly: "That's good..."
"Why did you suddenly think of taking it out?" Gao Mingcheng asked, looking at the phone in Xing Zhaozhao's hand.
Xing Zhaozhao's smile froze. After a moment of contemplation, she told Gao Mingcheng what General Gao had said at the dinner table yesterday: "...Over there, the war in the south won't end for at least another three years. I've met Wen Sinan, but I've never heard Rongrong mention her father. When I heard you say this yesterday, I didn't quite understand. I only just realized that if the war in the south doesn't end sooner, Ying Hongyi will most likely have been killed in the subsequent battles..."
Gao Mingcheng's heart skipped a beat as he recalled the perilous first and only encounter with Ying Hongyi on the battlefield. It wasn't a high probability, but if he hadn't happened to be returning with the men sent by his superior to search for him behind enemy lines, and hadn't run into them, that kid might already be…
“I want to take some photos of Rongrong to take with me…” Xing Zhaozhao said.
“Okay, I’ll cover for you in a bit,” Gao Mingcheng said.
"Okay." Xing Zhaozhao smiled, her eyes crinkling. This way, she could be bolder.
"Oh, right." Gao Mingcheng remembered something and asked Xing Zhaozhao, "Did I write that letter and ask you to send it to the army?"
Xing Zhaozhao nodded, looked at Gao Mingcheng with some concern, and asked, "Did the commander tell you?"
Gao Mingcheng nodded. After all, it was a big deal.
"He didn't say anything, did he?" Xing Zhaozhao asked.
“He told me to find a way to investigate carefully,” Gao Mingcheng said.
Xing Zhaozhao's heart jumped: "What should we do then?"
Gao Mingcheng patted her head reassuringly: "I'll tell him we didn't find anything." He trusted his superior, but not others. When Zhao Zhao encountered something so mysterious, she had to keep it to herself.
"Won't this affect you?" Xing Zhaozhao asked worriedly.
Gao Mingcheng didn't care: "It doesn't matter, I'm not afraid of being investigated." At worst, he would just retire from the army and change careers.
Xing Zhaozhao was finally relieved.
"Bang bang," a knock suddenly sounded at the door, followed by Hongyu calling out, "Dad, Mom, what are you doing in there? Didn't we agree to go into the mountains yesterday? Hurry up, everyone's finished eating, it's time to leave."
Gao Mingcheng gave Xing Zhaozhao a wink.
Xing Zhaozhao nodded in understanding. Thinking of putting her phone in her pocket, she realized the pocket was too shallow and couldn't fit it, so she casually stuffed it into Gao Mingcheng's pants pocket.
Gao Mingcheng, carrying his chubby daughter, walked towards the door first.
Xing Zhaozhao followed closely behind.
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