Yu Yao excitedly shouted to Lu Ze, who was searching on the other side, "Lu Ze, I can smell An An's sachet. An An must be nearby."
Lu Ze and his men rushed over, looking at the banana grove in front of them. "Ayao, can you be sure which direction the fragrance is coming from?"
"I'll give it a try."
Yu Yao twitched her nose and followed the scent of the sachet, with Lu Ze and his men following closely behind.
At first, the scent of the sachet wasn't strong; you had to turn around several times to detect it. Later, her pace quickened, and she almost started jogging.
"An'an! An'an!" she whispered, her voice trembling.
Lu Ze stood protectively beside her, the beam of his flashlight sweeping across every corner of the banana grove as she requested.
Suddenly, Yu Yao stopped in her tracks.
Her gaze settled on a small pit covered by banana leaves, from which the scent of the sachets was emanating.
"There it is!" Yu Yao practically lunged forward, her hands trembling as she parted the banana leaves.
The next second, she couldn't help but burst into tears of joy, and said to Lu Ze eagerly, "Lu Ze, it's An'an, An'an has been found."
An'an was lying quietly in the pit, wrapped in the cotton clothes she had just changed into before going to bed that night, with glistening mangoes on them. Her little face was rosy from sleeping, and her breathing was even, as if she were sleeping comfortably in a cradle.
Yu Yao hugged the child tightly, feeling his body temperature, and gently called out his nickname.
An An yawned, her big, grape-like eyes groggily opening. When she saw Yu Yao, she stretched out her arms, babbling as if asking for a hug.
An'an smelled her mother's scent, yawned, and drifted off to sleep again, completely unaware that she was no longer at home.
Yu Yao hugged her tightly, her heart filled with the joy of having her back.
Lu Ze squatted down, reached out and touched An An's face. After confirming that the child was alright, he breathed a sigh of relief.
"The baby is fine, it's just sleepy." His voice was low and gentle, with a hint of relief.
Yu Yao hugged him, pressed her face against An An's, and finally felt a huge weight lifted from her heart.
The surrounding soldiers also gathered around, and seeing that An'an was safe and sound, they all smiled.
"Commander, this little guy is sleeping so soundly!" a soldier said with a smile.
"That's right, he didn't wake up even with such a commotion, he's really lucky!" another soldier chimed in.
Yu Yao smiled through her tears, looked down at An'an in her arms, and said softly, "Yes, our An'an is a blessed child."
The journey was so bumpy and winding that if the child had been awake, he would have been terrified. Fortunately, An'an was lucky and slept all the way until Yu Yao came looking for him, completely unaware that he had been separated from his parents along the way.
An'an seemed to sense her mother's voice; her little mouth moved as if she were smiling.
Lu Ze stood up and patted Yu Yao on the shoulder. "Let's go home first. The child needs to rest, and so do you."
Yu Yao nodded, picked up An'an and stood up, smiling at the soldiers, "Thank you all for your hard work this night. Once the house is all sorted out, I'll personally cook for you all to come over for dinner."
The soldiers scratched their heads sheepishly, saying, "You're too kind, sister-in-law. It's what we should do."
“Then I won’t stand on ceremony with you, and you shouldn’t stand on ceremony with me either,” Yu Yao said, turning to Lu Ze and adding, “Remember to call them later. Tell Lu Ze what you want to eat, and I’ll make it for you.”
The soldiers had heard Company Commander Song boast about his wife's cooking more than once, and they had longed to try it for a long time without any opportunity. Now that Yu Yao had taken the initiative to invite them, they were all excited and embarrassed at the same time, and could only chuckle foolishly.
Lu Zeqin patted his sister-in-law, and the stern-faced Yama rarely showed a smile: "We'll listen to your sister-in-law. Whatever you want to eat later, just tell Song Yiming the names of the dishes."
Yu Yao smiled and said, "It's settled then."
When the soldiers heard what the two said, they were all young and couldn't keep anything to themselves, so they cheered.
Yu Yao and Lu Ze smiled as they saw how happy they were.
Yu Yao and Lu Ze took the child down the mountain and met up with Song Yiming's team along the way.
When the others saw them come down with their children, they were all happy for Yu Yao. Yu Yao thanked them one by one and invited them to her home for dinner.
At the foot of the mountain, Wu Wanying held the sleeping Ningning and paced anxiously back and forth.
Although Su Meihua and Sun Yu were concerned about An'an and Yu Yao's situation, they knew that staying would not be of much help. So they went with the other people in the family compound to help clean up the half-burned house, hoping that Yu Yao would have a place to rest properly after finding An'an and returning.
Not long after they started walking, a flashlight suddenly appeared on the mountain, followed by the sound of footsteps.
Clutching her wallet, Yu Yao descended the mountain under Lu Ze's escort.
Wu Wanying hurried over, her gaze falling on Yu Yao's arms. Seeing An An's rosy, smiling face, she lowered her voice and asked Yu Yao, "Zhizhi, what's wrong with An An?"
Yu Yao patted her hand, "Mom, don't worry, Anan is fine, she's asleep."
Upon hearing this, Wu Wanying breathed a sigh of relief, looked intently at An'an, and prayed repeatedly, "Thank God, An'an has returned safely."
After a busy night, everyone looked exhausted.
Yu Yao and Lu Ze thanked the soldiers and their families who came to help again, silently noting their names in their hearts, planning to hold a thank-you banquet after they were settled back in.
Lu Ze escorted Yu Yao and the others back to the courtyard. When Su Meihua and Sun Yu saw them return, they all gathered around to ask about the situation. When they learned that An An was alright, their faces were filled with relief.
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