Two days later, Political Commissar Zhang Jing returned to the unit safely, took out the things An Moxue had given him, and then delivered the letter and the rest of the things to the commander.
Along the way, everyone was surprised to see him carrying a huge bag toward the commander. When asked what he was doing, he told everyone that it was a gift that Mo Xue had brought back for them.
He sent it to the leader, who then distributed it.
Families with children who had gone to the countryside were extremely surprised. They had never heard of children sending things home after going to the countryside; they usually asked for things by writing letters, making phone calls, or sending telegrams.
This is the first time someone has sent something back home. It's quite unusual. Look at other people's kids and then look at our own. Why can't they send us something? We can't accept it; we might as well throw it away.
Political Commissar Zhang Jing carried a large sack of goods and swaggered through the streets to the leader's office.
"Knock knock knock," "Please come in."
"Commander, I'm back. I've come to report to you," Zhang Jing said.
Commander Guan asked, "You're back, so why are you carrying such a big sack?"
"Commander, this is what Mo Xue asked me to bring back for everyone, so you can distribute it to them. There's also a letter that Mo Xue brought for you."
"How's the situation? Have you found the culprit?"
"Sir, things are far more complicated than we imagined. Mo Xue didn't mention many things on the phone, but she told me after I arrived. She said she felt like she was being watched while she was in Kyoto, and she had a bad feeling, which is why she went to the countryside. After she went to the countryside, suspicious people from here went there to monitor her. Although they weren't in the same place, she felt that the purpose of going to the countryside was related to her, and that's how this happened. This incident was also to arrest her, but when the key suspect was finally found, he was unconscious and died despite attempts to save him, so the trail went cold. We didn't find any useful leads, and we don't know why we wanted to arrest her. There wasn't much progress, so I came back. On the day she went to the countryside, she encountered human traffickers at the local train station, but I checked with the traffickers, and now the farm says he's missing, and the news is that he was bitten to death by wild wolves. Everything seems suspicious, and there's not much we can do now. We can only tell her to be more careful in the future. That's all."
"How is she doing over there? Is she adjusting well to life there? Has she been bullied by anyone?"
"Commander, she's gained a bit of weight since her parents sacrificed their lives, and she looks great. She gets along well with the local village officials and villagers. And you'd never guess, she broke the arms and legs of three of the men they captured. Four men surrounded her, but she subdued them, and only one escaped. Two of them are retired soldiers, and one is quite skilled in combat. This girl doesn't usually show off, but I didn't expect her to be so resourceful and capable. She's very much like her father. She doesn't suffer any losses. And you can see from this big bag I brought back that I told her to take it back, but she said it was for us and she kept it for herself. She doesn't suffer any losses at all. The three men who were captured even asked for 200 yuan each in compensation. The local bureau chief and the representatives from their provincial military region really admire her and even left her their contact information."
Chief Guan opened An Moxue's letter, which read:
Uncle Guan
Hello!
I am pleased to receive your letter. Please do not worry!
Uncle, since coming here, I've seen mountains I've never seen before, rolling and undulating; I've experienced customs I've never known before; I've learned to clear land, farm, grow vegetables, harvest potatoes, sweet potatoes, rice, and corn; I know there are so many wild vegetables to eat in the countryside now, and I've learned about dandelions, wild garlic, and water celery; I've learned about all kinds of mushrooms; I've picked hazelnuts, harvested pine cones, and cracked walnuts. Life here is so interesting every day. Every day is new and exciting. There are kind and simple people here who have helped me a lot when I needed it. Although there are occasional minor conflicts, they are nothing serious. I've even caught human traffickers, apprehended criminals, discovered bad guys, and uncovered enemy radio spies. I want to be like my parents, a person useful to the country and the people, shining brightly wherever I am.
Sincerely yours
An Moxue
As the leader read the letter, he kept saying, "Good! Good! Good!" He then stroked the letter with his hand and read it again. "The handwriting is also good; it has character."
"Sir, don't worry, this girl is quite shrewd. She's currently learning skills from a retired reconnaissance soldier, so she'll be fine. Why don't we open this bag and see what she gave us? She said there are hazelnuts, pine nuts, walnuts, and dried vegetables. How do you think we should divide them?"
“In that case, call over all his comrades who were close to his father when he was alive, as well as your subordinates in the regiment. Everyone should get a share. We can’t let down the child’s good intentions.”
"Chief, I'll go get someone first."
"Okay, go ahead."
Once everyone had arrived, the leader was eating pine nuts on his table.
The leader explained the situation to them, saying that An Moxue had asked Zhang Jing to bring it back for them. Everyone exclaimed that the child was truly thoughtful.
Then they took turns reading the letter she had written, and then asked Zhang Jing and Mo Xue about their situation in the countryside, which Zhang Jing explained in detail.
Everyone sighed, "This is someone else's child! Why are other people's children so outstanding, while our own children are like this!"
Zhang Jing said, "This is all the mountain produce this child gathered in the fall. She only kept a little bit for herself and brought it all to us. We can't just eat this child's food for nothing! We're grown men, and as elders, we don't feel right eating what the younger generation gives us. Let's all chip in and see what we have to give the child. I'll send it to her later. We appreciate the child's kindness, and we should also express our gratitude to her."
"Yes, yes, yes," everyone echoed.
After reading the letter and hearing the news, everyone was deeply moved. Some packed their bags and sent their children to the countryside, some packed their bags and sent their children to join the army, some gave their entire family's provincial allowance to Zhang Jing, and some even ate An Moxue's food while making sarcastic remarks about her, saying that her parents were gone and a little orphan girl was jumping around happily every day, just to curry favor with them, the soldiers and officers. An Moxue just didn't know that. If she did know, she would definitely say, "You really don't need to, at least you won't come to curry favor with me."
So, a month after Zhang Jing returned to Beijing, An Moxue received letters from more than ten of her fellow members of the Lion Independent Regiment from all over the country. They were all accusations against her. Only then did she realize that she had become the "other people's child" in the eyes of parents. This also set sail on the ship of her friendship with them, and her life got better and better from then on.
For many years afterward, she would buy envelopes, letter paper, and stamps by the stack at the post office, and send and receive letters by the stack. The post office staff all got to know her because of this.
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