After Xing Zhaozhao finished her phone call with Gao Mingcheng and returned, she had just stepped out of the cellar when she heard Xiao Hongling's loud wailing coming from the front room.
Oh no, the little darling has woken up.
Xing Zhaozhao's expression hardened, and she quickly ran back.
Upon entering the house, one could see Hongfei and Hongyu both surrounding their younger sister, trying to comfort her, but to no avail. The younger sister was completely ignoring her two brothers and continued to cry.
Seeing Xing Zhaozhao return, the two little ones breathed a sigh of relief and urged, "Mom, hurry up, your little sister is awake."
Upon hearing the word "Mommy," Xiao Hongling immediately stopped crying, quickly rolled over, turned to look at Xing Zhaozhao, and cried out "Ah ah," opening her arms to her.
Xing Zhaozhao shook her head helplessly, walked over, and hugged her.
Little Hongling's two chubby arms immediately tightened around Xing Zhaozhao's neck, refusing to let go.
Xing Zhaozhao couldn't help but gently pat her little bottom twice, scolding her with a mix of amusement and exasperation: "You're such a little troublemaker."
Little Hongling didn't take it seriously at all, thinking that she was just playing with her. She excitedly kicked her little short legs twice and giggled as she pressed her chubby little face against Xing Zhaozhao's face.
Xing Zhaozhao's heart melted instantly, and she lost all her temper.
The weather was nice today. After breakfast, Xing Zhaozhao planned to take the three children out for a walk and deliver the cigarettes and alcohol that Gao Mingcheng had specially asked her to give to the respected uncles and elders in the village, including Captain Gao. Unexpectedly, she ran into Captain Gao as soon as she reached the door.
When Captain Gao saw Xing Zhaozhao with three children and carrying several bags, looking like she was about to leave, he asked, "Are you going out? Did I come at the wrong time?"
"No, not at all." Xing Zhaozhao shook her head with a smile, and quickly invited Captain Gao into the house, saying, "I was originally planning to go see you, Captain Gao."
"Looking for me?" Captain Gao asked, somewhat surprised.
"Hmm." Xing Zhaozhao nodded and said, "I was away for so long, and there are only three children at home. Thanks to Captain Gao and others for helping to take care of them. When I came back, I prepared some things there and was just about to send them to Captain Gao and some uncles in the village. I didn't expect that you would come by yourself, Captain Gao. You can take them back in a while, which saves me a lot of trouble."
As Xing Zhaozhao spoke, she laid out the items she was going to send out one by one on the table. They were all old brands of cigarettes and alcohol, which she heard were no longer produced there. Gao Mingcheng had gone to great lengths to find them.
Captain Gao looked at the familiar brands of cigarettes and alcohol with a surprised expression and asked, "Did you buy all of these?"
“Yes,” Xing Zhaozhao said with a smile. “I noticed that the cigarettes and alcohol Mingcheng brought back for our uncles and elders before were these two brands. I suppose they are your favorites. I saw them when I went there this time, so I specially bought some to bring back.”
As Xing Zhaozhao spoke, she noticed that Captain Gao was frowning and looking thoughtful, so she asked, "What's wrong, Captain Gao? Is there a problem?"
What's the problem?
Captain Gao gave Xing Zhaozhao a deep look.
This is a big problem.
These things are not easy to obtain. Only Gao Mingcheng knows the preferences of those old guys and occasionally finds some for them. But it's not just to show respect to those old guys; he has his own purpose.
When Captain Gao saw Xing Zhaozhao's blank expression, he knew that she didn't understand.
His intuition told him that these things were probably arranged by Gao Mingcheng for them.
Captain Gao pondered for a moment, then asked Xing Zhaozhao, "Did you find out anything about Mingcheng during your trip to the army?"
Xing Zhaozhao shook her head with a bitter smile and repeated the same explanation she had given to Aunt Hao to Captain Gao.
Is there really no news?
Captain Gao's eyes darkened as he looked at the cigarettes and alcohol laid out on the table, which were practically a blatant reminder that "he who takes a bribe is bound to be indebted to you."
She is lying.
But why? Why would they deliberately hide these things?
Captain Gao automatically filled in the blanks and figured there was probably some military secret that couldn't be revealed. So, after a brief moment of contemplation, he wisely chose to pretend he knew nothing.
“Since the military commander has said so, it must be true. Don’t worry, just relax and wait,” he said to Xing Zhaozhao.
Xing Zhaozhao nodded and said, "That's the only way to think about it now."
Captain Gao glanced at the items on the table one last time, then looked meaningfully at Xing Zhaozhao and said, "Also, I'll take these things with me later, so don't worry."
“Okay,” Xing Zhaozhao said with a smile.
But what does "don't worry" mean at the end? It feels like there's a hidden meaning in her words; she clearly isn't worried about anything.
Xing Zhaozhao was a little confused.
"Oh, right, there's something else I'd like to ask you for help with." Captain Gao suddenly remembered something, looked at Xing Zhaozhao, and hesitated before saying it.
Xing Zhaozhao looked over in surprise: "Is there anything else?"
"It's about Xiao Fu," Captain Gao said.
Xing Zhaozhao didn't understand at first: "Little Fu? Which Little Fu?"
"It's that Xiao Fu who came to your house before," Captain Gao said.
Xing Zhaozhao was taken aback for a moment before she realized what she meant: "Oh, you mean Fu Lan? What happened to her?"
“Ever since Xiao Fu came to visit you last time, my Qingshan has started dating her,” Captain Gao said.
Xing Zhaozhao looked delighted and said, "Really? That's great news!"
Captain Gao smiled bitterly and said, "It was supposed to be a good thing, but recently something has happened to Xiao Fu. They were talking so well before, but suddenly she doesn't want to see our Qingshan anymore, without giving a reason. Our Qingshan is a stubborn guy, and it's rare for him to like a girl so much. Suddenly there's no explanation, and he hasn't been eating or sleeping well lately, and he's lost weight. So, I wanted to ask you to ask them what the problem is. If it really doesn't work out, at least we can let our Qingshan give up on her."
Xing Zhaozhao suddenly remembered Fu Lan's experiences in her previous life, and her heart tightened. Although there was still a year until Fu Lan's disappearance in her previous life, no one could guarantee that nothing unexpected would happen in this life, perhaps bringing the timeline forward. She didn't know Fu Lan before, but now that they did, she genuinely didn't want anything to happen to her again.
She looked at Captain Gao seriously and said, "I understand. I will find time to ask Fu Lan about it."
"Then I'll have to trouble you." After saying that, Captain Gao got up to take his leave.
After seeing Captain Gao off, Xing Zhaozhao thought for a moment, then turned to the two little ones who had been following her closely and asked, "Do you want to go to town to play?"
The two little ones' eyes lit up, and they immediately nodded in unison: "Yes."
“Then let’s set off now,” Xing Zhaozhao said with a smile.
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