Shen Hong volunteered
The Blackstone Fortress camp was filled with a sense of weariness and heaviness, as if the survivors had survived a catastrophe.
Under Lan Ying's constant protection and meticulous treatment, Shen Xiao was able to recover.
Although the injuries were serious, he is out of danger and is slowly recovering.
However, the atmosphere inside the other tent was so oppressive that it was hard to breathe.
Lieutenant Wang lay on the hard bed, his face ashen, his eyes staring blankly at the top of the tent.
The military doctor has clearly stated that the spinal injury is irreversible.
He will never be able to stand up again in his life.
A once fierce and fearsome captain who charged into battle and struck fear into the hearts of the Di people.
Now he's a useless person who needs help even to turn over.
The immense disparity and despair, like icy snowmelt, completely froze his remaining will.
Shen Yan walked in carrying a bowl of freshly brewed ginseng soup.
Seeing Captain Wang in this state, I felt a pang of pain in my heart.
He placed the ginseng soup on the small table next to him.
I pulled over a stool and sat down.
Without any pleasantries, he got straight to the point.
His voice carried the directness characteristic of a businessman, yet it also exuded an undeniable air of authority.
"Wang Ben, are you pretending to be dead?"
Captain Wang's eyes moved extremely slowly.
He glanced at Shen Yan, his lips moved, but no sound came out.
His eyes held an unfathomable stillness and self-mockery.
Shen Yan didn't care about his silence and continued talking to herself.
"I know what you're thinking. You feel like you're useless, that you're just a burden, and that it would be better to die, right?"
These words pierced Wang Xiaowei's heart like a knife.
He abruptly closed his eyes, his Adam's apple bobbing violently.
"fart!"
Shen Yan suddenly raised her voice, which carried a fierce tone.
"Wang Ben, you damn well better listen up! Your life was saved by Hu Zi risking his life, by Ling Zhan leading his men through an avalanche, and by Lan Ying Huo Er leading hundreds of wolf claws to dig you out of the underworld! Your life isn't just yours anymore; it was bought with Hu Zi's blood, and it's the hope of those brothers who risked their lives for you! You think you can just throw your hands up with a casual 'crippled'? No way!"
Lieutenant Wang's body trembled slightly, and turbid tears seeped from the corners of his tightly closed eyes.
Chen Yan's tone softened slightly.
It carried a heartfelt sincerity.
"Yes, your legs can't stand up anymore. But Wang Ben, you're not out of your mind! Your experience in battle, your understanding of the terrain of the northern frontier, your familiarity with the Di people's tricks—how many people in the entire Black Stone Fortress can compare to you? These things are gold! If you just throw them in the ground, they'll really become useless!"
He leaned closer, his voice lower but more powerful.
"Do you know who came up with the idea for 'veterans returning to their hometowns and settling in new cities' mentioned in General Huo's memorial? It was your brother, me! I despise you, a businessman! Why? Because I've personally witnessed countless veterans like you, dragging their crippled bodies, homeless, and facing a miserable old age! What good is the government's meager pension? I have to find them a way to survive, a way to live with their heads held high, and even a way to have hope for the future!"
Shen Yan pointed outside the tent, as if he could see the Bison Valley, whose terrain had been altered by an avalanche.
"That new valley is backed by an ice wall, has geothermal energy, a water source, and is guarded by the Lan Ying and the Hollow-eared wolves!"
"There's also a secret passage leading directly to the back of Blackrock Fortress!"
"That's the perfect place that God has prepared for us! General Huo has already given his approval to build a new city! The first batch of people to settle here will be us, the wounded and retired veterans, and the assimilated Di people who are willing to stay!"
He stared intently at Captain Wang.
“Wang Ben, I need you! Those veterans need someone like you to lead them! Someone they can trust and who can keep things in check! There’s so much to do now that the new city is built! How to plan the barracks, how to allocate land, how to organize patrols to guard against small groups of Di people harassing us, how to coordinate the relationship between the veterans and the naturalized Di people… These things are useless if the clerks sent by the government are the only ones who can do them! We need an old hand like you!”
Captain Wang finally opened his tightly closed eyes a crack.
The room was no longer completely silent; a faint, forcibly ignited light had appeared.
Shen Yan pressed his advantage, speaking even faster and with the persuasiveness typical of a businessman.
I know what you're worried about. Are you afraid of becoming a burden?
"Don't worry! From now on, the Shen family's businesses in the Northern Frontier will focus on the new city! I will open the largest workshop in the city! All we need is a manager who can keep things in order, knows the rules, and prevents those cunning soldiers from shirking their duties! Wang Ben, you come! Come in a wheelchair! Let's see which bastard dares to mess with you! Your experience and your prestige are your greatest assets! The workshop will give you dividends, ensuring you'll be well-off for the rest of your life, and you can support yourself and take care of your family with dignity!"
"family……"
Captain Wang uttered two words hoarsely, his voice heavy with bitterness and self-mockery.
"Looking like this, I have no home anymore..."
"Why not?"
Shen Yan slapped his thigh, a sly glint in his eyes.
“Wang Ben, have you forgotten our border defense strategy? ‘Intermarriage with other ethnic groups’! Once the new city is built, the area is settled, the trade routes are open, and the population increases, there will naturally be good girls willing to stay! What’s wrong with Di women? They are good riders and archers, straightforward, and good at managing a household!”
Shen Yan patted his chest and guaranteed it.
“Let me tell you, as long as the new city is stable and prosperous, there will be plenty of good girls willing to marry into it! You, Wang Ben, have lived half your life as a hero, and even if you're in a wheelchair, you're still a man of integrity! When the time comes, find a kind woman who cares for you and can live with you, and have a big, healthy son. How can you not have a home?”
The duties of a "leader"!
The dignity of "supporting oneself"!
The possibility of "starting a family and establishing a career"...
Chen Yan's words were like heavy hammer blows, striking Wang Xiaowei's frozen heart.
In his cloudy eyes, that glimmer of light grew brighter and brighter.
Although still carrying pain and confusion.
But that sense of despair and death is being completely replaced by a survival instinct and a sense of unwillingness to give up.
He struggled to prop himself up, but Shen Yan quickly helped him.
"Brother Shen... Brother Shen..."
Captain Wang's voice was still hoarse, but it had gained strength, "I...I can do it?"
Remove the character "吗" (ma)!
Chen Yan was resolute and decisive.
“When have you ever been incompetent, Lieutenant Wang? It’s just a change of location for ‘fighting,’ right? The new city is your new battlefield! Workshop manager, veteran leader, you’re going to be the ‘big brother’ of this place!”
Just then, the curtain was gently lifted.
Shen Hong walked in carrying a small basin of freshly picked snow-covered herbs that exuded a refreshing fragrance.
He walked very lightly.
He saw that Captain Wang was helped to sit up by Shen Yan.
The glimmer of light rekindled in his eyes, and a gentle smile appeared on his handsome face.
"Uncle Wang, these are herbs that can calm the nerves and promote wound healing. They were just picked and are very fresh."
Shen Hong placed the medicine basin aside, his voice clear and calm.
"Thank you, Young Master Shen Hong."
Captain Wang looked at the young man with clean eyes and a unique temperament, and forced a smile.
Shen Hong did not leave.
His gaze lingered for a moment on Captain Wang's face, which had regained a glimmer of life.
Then she looked at the unwavering determination in her father's eyes.
A knowing glint flashed in his clear eyes.
He turned to Shen Yan, his eyes clear and resolute.
"Father, I have something to tell you."
Shen Yan was taken aback and gestured for him to speak.
“Father, my elder brother still needs to rest, and military affairs will be heavy afterward. Mother needs to manage the overall situation. The new city is newly built, the workshops are operating, and the planting and promotion of snow cotton all need to be in harmony with the natural environment of this place.”
Shen Hong's tone was calm, yet it carried an undeniable determination.
"I...I want to stay and help you."
Shen Yan and Captain Wang were both stunned.
Shen Hong was quiet by nature and preferred the mountains and forests. He had little interest in things like being an official or doing business.
She has been learning from Ling Zhan all along.
“Hong’er, you…” Shen Yan hesitated, “The environment here…”
"Father, this place is very nice."
Shen Hong interrupted his father, a pure smile appearing on his face, as if it could dispel the gloom in the tent.
“Here are snow-capped mountains, grasslands, and misty forests. Moreover, the planning of the new city needs to respect the natural landscape, and the operation of the workshops must also follow the laws of nature. I can feel that this land is calling for a new order, a way of coexisting with the mountains and forests and with all living things. What my mother taught me can be of great use here.”
He looked at Captain Wang with sincere eyes.
"Uncle Wang's experience is the cornerstone of Xincheng's stability. Father's business acumen is the lifeblood of Xincheng's prosperity. And I..."
He paused, seemingly searching for the right word.
"I want to try to make the atmosphere here more harmonious in my own way, make the growth of velvet cotton more in line with nature, and make the operation of the workshop less wasteful and noisy, and more full of the vitality of natural circulation."
“I want to help my father and my mother to build this place into a place like the Mountain Top Home, but bigger and more inclusive.”
Looking into her second son's clear yet unusually determined eyes, Shen Yan felt a mix of emotions.
He understood.
Shen Hong stayed behind not just to help.
It is also the emergence of a sense of responsibility and the practice of a mother's educational philosophy.
He is no longer the child who only played with animals in the mountains and forests.
"good!"
Shen Yan patted Shen Hong's shoulder heavily, his eyes filled with satisfaction and pride.
Then, he patted Wang Ben's shoulder forcefully but carefully through the blanket.
"Did you hear that, Lao Wang? It's just the three of us!"
"As expected of my beloved son! Stay! I'll lead you! Together we'll make this new city in the northern frontier a name for ourselves!"
He specifically emphasized "the three of them".
This also included Captain Wang, who was in his hospital bed.
Captain Wang looked into Shen Hong's clear and determined eyes.
Listening to Chen Yan's boastful and lofty words.
She felt the force of Shen Yan patting her shoulder again, even though there was a blanket between them.
The breath that had been pent up in his chest for so long was finally exhaled in a long, drawn-out breath.
The last trace of confusion in his eyes vanished.
Instead, a complex light shines forth, a light that is both resigned to fate and yet ignites a new fighting spirit.
It even carried a hint of the ruthlessness from the battlefield back then.
"Alright... Brother Shen, Young Master Shen Hong."
His voice was still hoarse, but it was like the clanging of metal, resounding and powerful.
"Wang Ben, my... this crippled life is now nailed to this new city!"
The curtain was lifted again.
Ling Zhan's slender figure appeared at the doorway.
Lan Ying's enormous, silvery-white head emerged from beside her.
The wolf's deep eyes swept across the tent, lingering for a moment on Shen Hong, in particular.
Ling Zhan clearly heard the last few words.
His gaze swept over the three people inside the tent, finally settling on Captain Wang's face, which had regained its radiance.
She nodded slightly, her tone as concise as ever: "As long as you're alive, you're useful."
She looked at Shen Yan, "The workshop should make Captain Wang's new wheelchair as soon as possible, and it should be the best."
"Don't worry! I've got it covered!" Shen Yan patted his chest and assured him.
Ling Zhan's gaze finally landed on Shen Hong.
He paused for a moment, then said nothing.
But deep in his eyes, a very faint, almost imperceptible hint of approval and understanding flashed.
She turned and left, her steps steady.
Lan Ying's enormous silver-white figure followed quietly behind her, like the most loyal guard.
Shen Hong watched his mother's departing figure.
He then looked at his father and Captain Wang.
On his handsome face, a resolute smile, full of responsibility and expectation, appeared—a smile befitting a young man.
He knew that his new battlefield was about to begin.
Right here on this vast and vibrant snow-covered plain in northern Xinjiang.
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