After being away for so long, Qin Qinghuai returned and immediately entered a busy phase, a pace that Jian Dan had grown accustomed to.
With the little one now a year old, he's full of energy and running more steadily. He used to sleep all day, but now he gets up early in the morning and only takes a nap at noon, so the adults can get some rest.
The rest of the time is spent running and jumping. Except when Qin Qinghuai is at home and picks up the child, her older brothers and uncles come over after school to play with the little one. Her simple day is almost completely filled, and she doesn't have the time or energy to think about anything else. Even she, who often goes up the mountain, feels that she doesn't have enough energy.
The old man and woman were willing to do so, but the old man's health had deteriorated significantly since he fell ill last year. The old woman was not afraid to do any physical labor, but she really couldn't handle running around with the children for half a day.
They can lend a hand, but for the little one, Jian Dan is still the main force.
Especially since it's the hottest time of day, and she sweats profusely with the slightest movement, Jian Dan doesn't really like to move around much. If it weren't for the fact that the little one is talking more and more and becoming increasingly curious, unable to keep anything to himself, she would definitely have taken the child into the space to enjoy some bliss.
"Son, take a break, aren't you tired?"
The little one was covered in sweat and was still pulling her outside.
"Mom, there's a hole."
Where's the hole?
The little one seems to have inherited Jian Dan's strength; in any case, she's incredibly strong. If her older brothers and uncles were to have a strength contest, none of them could match her.
"Tell your mother where you saw the hole."
Aside from her, the child was mostly cared for by Qin Qinghuai and a few other children, and their activities were mainly confined to the neighborhood, at most the neighbor's courtyard. She hadn't really paid much attention to what kind of hole the child was talking about, simply assuming it was just childish fun.
"Slow down, where's the cave?"
The little one's legs were moving incredibly fast.
"Run, run! We've found the baby! Baby! There's a baby!"
Simple and well-matched.
"Oh, what kind of treasure is it? Is it a little bug or a leaf?"
Jian Dan thought she was an enlightened parent. She believed that children just wanted to play with the strange and unusual. She never imagined that her one-year-old child could actually find such a treasure.
When Jian Dan finally dug her precious item out of the hole with the little cub, she was completely dumbfounded.
"Son, is this your treasure?"
She hadn't seen the whole picture yet, and thought it was just the children playing around, so she actually joined in digging. Now, Jian Dan was filled with lingering fear, a chill ran down her spine, her head was covered in cold air, and the hairs on her body stood on end. She couldn't help but pull the child back quite a distance.
The little one was still half asleep and tried to run back.
"Mommy, baby, baby!"
Without a shred of pity, he slapped her on the buttocks, his words chilling and laced with malice.
"I see you as a treasure, so shut up! I'll teach you a lesson for being so lawless and daring to touch anything!"
Simply put, she said she lacked patience with her child, but in reality, she had never been this strict with her child before. However, when she put on a stern face, it was indeed quite intimidating, and for a moment the little one didn't dare to misbehave anymore, obediently letting his mother carry him back home.
The mother and son didn't go far. Not far from the family compound, Jian Dan was terrified not only because of those things, but also because those things were found by the roadside. The treasure cave that the little boy mentioned was not in the corner of a wall or mountain, but on a flat area.
It was near the small mountain path where they found the coal mine.
Although it's a bit off to the side, it's definitely on flat ground.
The moment she saw it, Jian Dan was completely stunned, her whole body covered in cold sweat.
There were sentries at both the family compound and the camp gate. Jian Dan was a local celebrity; everyone knew her. Seeing her from afar, especially with her little one waving excitedly in her arms, the sentries immediately sensed something was wrong. After all, in everyone's mind, Jian Dan was someone even braver than them, always calm and collected, not the type to panic in a crisis. In this situation…
The two men at the entrance of the residential compound exchanged a glance. The taller Wang Lin decisively instructed his partner.
"You watch this, I'll go greet my sister-in-law,"
Li Dahu nodded readily.
"Go ahead, I'll stay here and keep watch. If anything happens, lend a hand."
Wang Lin quickly went to meet him.
"Sister-in-law, what happened? Give me the child first, I'll hold him for you."
Upon seeing the person, Jian Dan breathed a sigh of relief, stopped, and quickly gave instructions.
"I'm fine, and the child is fine too. Go find the regimental commander or the political commissar and have them bring people over."
After a pause, she decisively shoved the child into Wang Lin's arms, pulled out a pen and paper from her pocket, scribbled a few words hastily, folded it carelessly, and handed it to him.
"Go, go find the regimental commander or political commissar right now and tell them to come over. I'll be there."
She pointed to the spot where they had just been.
“I’ll wait for them there,”
Wang Lin opened his mouth, looked at the paper in his hand, then at Jian Dan. He realized that not speaking would be somewhat abrupt.
"Sister-in-law, this..."
Simple and serious-looking,
Do you believe me?
"Are you going or will I go myself?"
Wang Lin's conditioned reflex
"Holy crap!"
"Um, sister-in-law, I'll go now. Um, should I send someone over to keep you company?"
Jian Dan's heart was still pounding, and she felt completely soaked. She waved her hands haphazardly, then hugged the child tightly to her chest.
"No need, I'll go. You go find someone and tell them to come over as soon as possible."
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