“I know, Miss must be reminiscing, because she loved my Sachima the most. She always said it was sweet but not cloying, and she loved it the most,” Aunt Ma said, tears welling up in her eyes.
"Old woman, I remember my son-in-law likes a kind of red bean cake. How about I go with you to make it? I'll help you." As he spoke, he took Aunt Ma's hand and left the house, giving An Moxue a wink.
Seeing this, An Moxue followed them out of the house. After putting the certificate away, she went into the kitchen and saw the elderly couple busily working together.
"Wow! When did you buy all this stuff? You were prepared all along! Impressive!" An Moxue's exaggerated voice rang out.
Old Ma said proudly, "That's right. What do you think your Uncle Ma does? When we arrive in a new area, the first thing we do is to survey the terrain. We've already figured out this area within a ten-mile radius. Your aunt gave us a list, so buying some things won't be difficult."
An Moxue asked, "Okay, does that mean I can order food every day from now on, Auntie?"
"Hey! Hey! Why are you asking your aunt instead of me!" Old Ma protested.
"Isn't it obvious? You bought the ingredients, but my aunt still cooks them. If she doesn't cook, and I don't know how, then it's all for nothing; we still won't get to eat them!"
Aunt Ma replied with a smile, "I'll make it. Whatever you want to eat, I'll make it for you. If you don't know how, just learn!"
An Moxue thought that while she was delivering something back to her room, she wondered what the old man had said that had managed to appease the old lady.
The group chatted idly while making pastries.
The next day, the three of them got up early, dressed neatly and cleanly, and carried the pastries they had made the day before. An Moxue drove the old man and his wife to the martyrs' cemetery to pay their respects.
Along the way, the elderly couple kept asking An Moxue about her parents, and she only talked about the interesting things. Before she knew it, they had arrived at the cemetery.
The park was guarded by an old soldier who had lost an arm. Judging from his firm and powerful strides, he must have been an outstanding soldier in his day.
An Moxue went over and greeted him, "Uncle Mu, I've come to see my parents. How are you?" As she spoke, she took out a bag and handed it to him, "These are special products from the North. I brought them especially for you. You can't refuse them! Otherwise, when I can't come, I'll feel bad asking you to pay respects to them for me during the New Year."
The man's expression changed several times, but he eventually accepted the gift.
Seeing that he had accepted the gifts, An Moxue smiled and said, "Then I'll take my elders to pay their respects!"
Old Ma and Aunt Ma nodded to him, then followed An Moxue up the mountain.
Old Ma asked, "Mo Xue, was he also a soldier?"
An Moxue thought that Uncle Ma must have figured it out from his posture and the way he walked. She just nodded and didn't say anything more.
After walking a distance, she finally told the elderly couple about the tomb keeper.
"He's a veteran. I heard that during a mission, he lost half of his left arm to a bomb while saving his comrade. He was from the same army as my dad. After retiring, he was assigned to guard the cemetery here. He was originally assigned to a clerical position in the armed forces department, but he volunteered to guard the cemetery here. The previous cemetery guard was old and not in good health, so they agreed. You see, aren't these graves very clean? He cleans and tidies them every day."
Both were indeed clean and tidy, with very few weeds, and the offerings showed signs of regular cleaning, not appearing messy.
She climbed the steps and walked a long way before finally reaching her parents' gravestones.
Upon arriving at the grave, An Moxue laid out offerings, including fresh flowers, pastries, and dishes—a rich variety.
The elderly couple stood before the grave, finally seeing the person they had longed for for so long. Old Ma remained silent, while Aunt Ma's tears flowed uncontrollably.
An Moxue silently asked in her heart, "Have you three reunited? There's not much revenge left. Just wait, perhaps when I come next time, it will be the time when all our enemies are wiped out."
Aunt Ma murmured softly, "My young lady was so wonderful, how could she have left us so soon! Her husband was also a man of integrity and upright character, how could the King of Hell bear to let them go?"
An Moxue looked at the open space behind her, where there were now more tombstones, and her heart felt heavy.
Soldiers are wounded and even killed on battlefields unknown to the public; this peace has never been easy to come by.
She recalled a saying from the past—we do not live in a peaceful world, it's just that the country we live in is free from war.
Is that really the case?
The civilians on the battlefield probably didn't see it, otherwise how could there have been sacrifices?
The killings hidden in the shadows are simply unseen by the common people.
After a while, An Moxue said, "Uncle Ma, Aunt Ma, I'm going to go take a look over there. You two stay here a little longer." As she spoke, An Moxue picked up two bottles of wine and two packs of cigarettes, and began to pay respects to each tombstone at the gravesite behind her parents' graves.
She thought that those who had died before her parents should have already gone to the underworld to be reincarnated, and some of them might already be human now. She wouldn't go to pay her respects. Those who left later might still be alive.
She would sprinkle a mouthful of wine on one tombstone, light a cigarette, and then move on to the next. In this way, she even saw soldiers from the Lion Regiment here. When she encountered them, she would linger a little longer at each tombstone than at the others.
After she finished paying her respects, she wasn't in a good mood because she discovered that many of the martyrs of the Lion Corps were missing.
The Lion Regiment has always been known for its fighting prowess, and the missions it undertakes are three times more dangerous than those of other teams, which means that more comrades will be sacrificed than those of other teams.
When An Moxue returned, she asked the elderly couple, "Uncle Ma, Aunt Ma, would you like to stay a little longer?"
“Let’s go! Now that we know the place, and we’ve settled down in Kyoto, it’s much easier for us to come and visit,” Old Ma said.
Aunt Ma nodded, her eyes red.
The three of them carried empty baskets down the mountain. An Moxue said, "Uncle Ma, Aunt Ma, how about I take you to see the military unit where my parents used to be? It's not far from here."
......
When An Moxue arrived at the Lion Regiment, she was greeted by Shen Mingcheng, who was originally a company commander and is now the commander of the Lion Regiment.
An Moxue sighed, saying that many of his father's generation had either been promoted and moved to other places, or retired from the military and returned to their hometowns, and he could no longer see many of his acquaintances.
The Lion Regiment is still there, but the people inside are no longer the same as before. Even Uncle Zhang Jing has been transferred to the division headquarters.
An Moxue walked here, recounting what she knew about her father, An Muyang.
Later, she took them to the family compound and told them about her family of three's life there. She even took them to their old house and knocked on the door of the current resident.
Unfortunately, they were strangers to her, and there was no trace of them ever living in that house.
Things have changed, and people are no longer the same; this is her deepest feeling.
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