Chapter 39, Part 3...
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Thirty-Nine
At the train station, Ye Anguo was ostensibly there to pick up his parents and Jiang Lai, but in reality, he was also there to pick up other people, including not just Jiang Lai and her family, but also other military family members who were arriving that day. Among them was the old lady who loved to take advantage of others and her grandson.
Accompanying Ye Anguo was not only his orderly Lei Xing'an, but also several other people. All military dependents who came to visit their families were secretly observed. Normal family visits were fine, but those with ulterior motives would have nowhere to hide.
In fact, Jiang Lai had already gone through the secret realm once. Those with problems were picked out by Jin Nian. At first, she wasn't careful enough and just threw people out. Later, Ye Anguo discussed with Jin Nian that they should operate in secret to avoid alerting the enemy. So, when they found out that there were problems, they gave the list to Ye Anguo.
Therefore, those with problems have actually been closely monitored in secret. This family visit activity was intended to lure them out, after all, those spies are omnipresent and will stop at nothing to sabotage China. No one can guarantee that the families of these soldiers haven't been infiltrated.
As soon as Jiang Lai and the others got off the train, they saw Ye Anguo. It can only be said that Ye Anguo, who was already outstanding, became even more upright and imposing after being baptized in the secret realm. In short, he was someone who could be seen at a glance in a crowd.
Jiang Lai was alright, after all, all the changes in Ye Anguo happened right under her nose, and it was the result of her giving him special treatment.
But Ye Yuanliang and You Maidong were different; they hadn't seen each other for three or four months, and they hardly recognized each other when they met again.
"Mom and Dad." Ye Anguo greeted his parents first, then looked at Jiang Lai, suddenly becoming extremely uncomfortable. The way he addressed her as "Comrade Jiang Lai" made him blush.
Ye Anguo stared intently at Jiang Lai, and their eyes almost met. However, Jiang Lai was a woman who had seen countless beauties in the era of big data, and Ye Anguo was not as composed as her. He quickly gave in and looked away.
“Anguo, you’ve grown stronger in the past three months.” You Maidong’s words reminded Ye Anguo of the first time he returned home to visit his family after joining the army, when You Maidong said the same thing.
However, since Jiang Lai was here, Ye Anguo subconsciously paid more attention to his image, afraid that You Maidong would say something that treated him like a child again, so he quickly changed the subject: "Mom and Dad, you should go to the car and sit down first. It's too cold outside, don't freeze. We still need to wait for a few more people."
Ye Anguo put all the luggage in the carriage, and then helped Ye Yuanliang and You Maidong onto the train. Jiang Lai stayed with Ye Anguo and waited.
When couples are alone together, even the air feels thick and sticky. Jiang Lai is fine; although Ye Anguo doesn't know, she sees him almost every day and doesn't feel any distance from him. But Ye Anguo doesn't know that. From his perspective, it's like he hasn't seen Jiang Lai for more than three months and misses her terribly.
"You must be tired after traveling all week?" Ye Anguo, who had been looking serious just moments before, softened his expression as he turned to face the future.
The girl he hadn't seen for months had become even more beautiful and charming. Ye Anguo had never thought of himself as someone who was particularly sentimental, but he never expected that when he saw Jiang Lai, the longing he had hidden deep in his heart would surface, which was reflected in his tender eyes.
"It's alright, not too tiring. My uncle and aunt took good care of me the whole way." Jiang Lai smiled, feeling very pleased with Ye Anguo's concern.
"Do you want to sit in the car and wait? It's too cold now, I'm afraid you'll catch a cold." Although Ye Anguo wanted to stick close to Jiang Lai, he couldn't bear to see her suffer in the cold winter. After all, as a southerner, Ye Anguo had also been freezing when he first arrived here, so he was conflicted. In the end, his concern that Jiang Lai would catch a cold won out.
However, Jiang Lai did not appreciate Ye Anguo's kindness, because she was no longer the Jiang Lai of three months ago. Now her body might be better than Ye Anguo's. Although she could not match Ye Anguo in strength and combat power, she was better than him in terms of health.
So Jiang Lai casually rejected Ye Anguo's suggestion: "No, I'm not cold, I'll stay here with you."
“Listen to me, you’ve always been weak. The weather is so cold now, you’ll easily catch a cold.” Ye Anguo looked at her disapprovingly.
"Don't worry, I'm in great health now. I asked someone for help before, and I've almost recovered. A little bit of cold wind is no problem at all." Jiang Lai had already thought of a plan. She couldn't hide the fact that her health had improved, so she had already prepared an explanation for herself, just waiting for Ye Anguo or someone else to ask so she could use it as an excuse.
"Ask someone for help?" Clearly, Ye Anguo wasn't stupid; as soon as he heard Jiang Lai's words, he realized what Jiang Lai wanted him to pay attention to.
Jiang Lai expressed her satisfaction with this.
Jiang Lai whispered in Ye Anguo's ear, "I met a very skilled traditional Chinese medicine doctor, but he can only help me recuperate in secret. You know what that means, right?"
Ye Anguo immediately understood: "I understand. Don't tell anyone else about this besides me."
“I understand. Didn’t you say you found a really good TCM doctor here? It’s a good opportunity to have a doctor here take a look at me. I can just tell my mom that the doctor here cured me.” Jiang Lai didn’t stand on ceremony with Ye Anguo and directly expressed her thoughts.
"No problem," Ye Anguo assured him. There were many things he couldn't say about this. For example, these days, many traditional Chinese medicine practitioners are labeled as feudalistic and harmful. Ye Anguo assumed that Jiang Lai had found such a down-on-his-luck TCM master to help her recuperate, so of course he wouldn't object. Just like when he brought Jiang Lai here, wasn't he also using the name of an old TCM doctor? However, if Jiang Lai's health improved, Ye Anguo would have less trouble and wouldn't need to specifically find such a "famous doctor."
Ye Anguo was waiting for them to gather quickly. There were four people in total. Besides the grandmother and grandson who were in the same carriage on the train, the grandmother was Qian Dahua and the grandson was Sun Yaozu. There was also a girl with a gentle temperament and soft voice.
The gentle-looking girl appeared to be a few years older than Jiang Lai, around twenty years old, and came alone: "Hello, my name is Wen Meihua, and my husband is a company commander in the 3rd Battalion of the 6th Regiment."
As soon as Wen Meihua spoke, the remaining three also introduced themselves: "Zhao Qian, family member of the battalion commander of the third regiment."
Zhao Qian spoke expressionlessly, but her gaze did not linger on Jiang Lai and the others. Instead, she glanced at them and then turned back to a little girl she was holding tightly. The little girl looked to be only 4 or 5 years old, but she was very thin. She was being held by Zhao Qian's hand and seemed to be in a daze. Her eyes were not very bright, but even though she was very thin, it did not stop her from looking lovely and cute.
It's clear that the little girl has a really good foundation; even though she's so thin she looks a bit gaunt, it doesn't affect her appearance at all. The mother and daughter share the same cold expression, which doesn't make them look likeable at all.
However, compared to Wen Meihua, who had a gentle smile and spoke softly, Jiang Lai had a much better impression of Zhao Qian. Perhaps it was a woman's intuition; Wen Meihua always gave Jiang Lai a feeling that she was two-faced, while Jiang Lai could feel peace in Zhao Qian.
The person who spoke after Zhao Qian and Wen Meihua was a middle-aged woman. Judging from her simple clothes, calloused hands, and face that looked like she had been working hard under the sun and wind, it was highly likely that her family was not well-off.
"Hello, my name is Li Shuhui. My husband is also the company commander of the 3rd Battalion of the 6th Regiment. This is my son, Yan Xiangrong, who is twelve years old this year." Perhaps because Jiang Lai and the other two were all quite good-looking, Li Shuhui felt a little inferior, which was reflected in her words, making her seem timid and not very magnanimous.
However, Li Shuhui's son, Yan Xiangrong, made a very good impression on Jiang Lai. Although he didn't look as fair-skinned as the city kids, his wheat-colored skin made him look honest and simple. When he looked at Jiang Lai and the others, his eyes were curious, but his gaze was very clear and upright, and he looked like a decent kid.
"Sister-in-law Shuhui, you've raised your child so well." Jiang Lai said this purely out of genuine feeling.
Just moments ago, she had given him some cookies. It was clear Yan Xiangrong hadn't eaten many before; his eyes were particularly eager, and he even swallowed hard. However, it was also obvious that his eyes weren't greedy. Even if he really wanted some, he didn't reach out to take them without Li Shuhui's permission. In contrast, the child on the train practically snatched the cookies from the grandmother and grandson.
Jiang Lai's words instantly made Li Shuhui like her even more: "You're too kind to exaggerate, but my Xiangrong is indeed an honest and upright boy."
Once everyone was there, Ye Anguo urged them to get on the bus quickly, as people are prone to catching a cold in this freezing weather.
The train station was quite a distance from the military region where Ye Anguo was stationed, and it was more than four hours later when Jiang Lai and the others arrived.
Upon arriving at the military region, everyone moved into a special guesthouse for visiting relatives, where they stayed for four days. During these four days, Jiang Lai didn't go out much, but Qian Dahua, who was in the same car, was stopped from going out and complained a lot at the guesthouse after her grandmother went out for a stroll. After that, she was not allowed to go out at all.
Before we knew it, it was January 26, 1971, Lunar New Year's Eve.
Jiang Lai only saw Ye Anguo once on the day they arrived. After that, Ye Anguo was so busy that he disappeared. Although he made good arrangements for them, providing them with good meals and drinks, the three of them never saw Ye Anguo again.
Ye Yuanliang and You Maidong were worried that Ye Anguo was too busy and neglecting his health, and they were also worried that Jiang Lai would be angry if she came all this way but couldn't even see him. They were really worried about them.
Fortunately, Jiang Lai wasn't really angry with Ye Anguo about this. After all, she had a cheat code and knew what he was busy with right now.
However, not being angry doesn't mean she has no complaints. Jiang Lai was also unhappy that she had come all this way only to be left stranded in the guesthouse.
Ye Anguo was busy with serious matters, so of course she wouldn't make a fuss about him thinking that he didn't value her.
But people can always find a solution. Since he's so busy, why not let him finish his work sooner?
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