"Uncle Yu, I'm sorry, I forgot you were sleeping at home." Zhang Hongmei explained to Yu Chenglong while holding a large kitchen knife.
"It's alright, she should be awake by now. If you're not feeling well, you don't need to cook for us, I can do it." When we came back from the cemetery, this girl looked like a wilted eggplant, but now she looks energetic again.
"No way! I'll do it. This is the only way I can thank you."
"You don't need to be so polite with me. Do you want to make dumplings? I'll help you."
"I can roll out the dough and make dumplings," the young soldier volunteered.
“Okay, let’s wrap them together. You guys go wait a bit, I’ll prepare the filling right away.”
The young soldier was quick-witted; he immediately placed the kang table in the kitchen aisle, put the cutting board on it, and even moved three small stools.
Zhang Hongmei squeezed out the water from the cabbage, put it in a bowl, added soybean oil, Sichuan peppercorn powder, and salt, and set it aside. She added an extra spoonful of oil to the sauerkraut filling, and it also contained cured meat; it should taste delicious.
The three of them first made sauerkraut filling, filling three whole trays, and then made a whole tray of cabbage filling.
The young soldier, seeing that he was almost finished packing, went to fetch firewood to boil water. Yu Chenglong, seeing that there was nothing for him to do, picked up the carrying pole, asked where to fetch water, and went to get some.
Zhang Hongmei knew there was a well in the village, but it was very far away, so she preferred to use the river water. However, it was very difficult to break through the ice in winter, so she used the water in her space when no one was around. Since Yu Chenglong took the initiative to fetch water, she naturally told him to go to the well.
It was as if Jackie Chan had carried a load of water back and the dumplings were already cooked. The three of them sat down at the kang table and ate without preparing any other dishes.
Yu Chenglong found the sauerkraut dumplings particularly delicious, but when he picked up a cabbage dumpling, it tasted bland. Remembering that the girl was observing mourning for her parents, he remained silent.
Zhang Hongmei ate more than ten dumplings, two more than usual.
The two pancakes at noon were not enough to fill the big men's stomachs, so they ate them too, since Zhang Hongmei had finished hers and there was still a lot left.
After finishing her meal, Zhang Hongmei refused their offer to do the dishes and quickly tidied up before going back to her room.
“Hongmei, I’m coming in.”
"Uncle Yu, is something the matter?" Zhang Hongmei was organizing Zhang Aiguo and his wife's books when she saw Yu Chenglong come in, and she was quite puzzled.
"This is a letter from our battalion commander to you. Before you read it, Hongmei, I want to tell you about your parents."
Zhang Hongmei put down her book and said, "Uncle Yu, sit down and let's talk." She moved a stool for Yu Chenglong to sit on, and then sat on the kang (a heated brick bed).
“Your parents suddenly applied to be transferred to the border in 1953. By then, Lao Liu and I had been there for over a year. I don’t know what your father was thinking. He could have been promoted to battalion commander in the previous military region.”
"You were also sent back by them that year. When you got to the border, your dad was obviously ostracized. He didn't get promoted, but was instead assigned a platoon leader position. Your mom, on the other hand, was fine. I asked your dad many times, but he never answered me. He just told me and Lao Liu not to get too close to him."
“The border has been particularly turbulent these past few years. We weren’t even in the same company, so in the end, Lao Liu was transferred there to be in the same platoon as your dad. Your dad earned a lot of merits, but he never got promoted, and he never complained.”
Zhang Hongmei thought that someone was really making things difficult for Zhang Aiguo.
Yu Chenglong continued, "This mission wasn't originally assigned by your father, but just before departure, he received orders to lead the team, with your mother accompanying him as the army doctor."
"Is it possible to know who gave the order?"
"I asked the commander, and he told me it was classified. But he was just following orders."
With her eyes closed, Zhang Hongmei's first thought was of a storage ring. This feeling grew stronger and stronger; it seemed someone had discovered that she and her husband could conjure things out of thin air. But she couldn't be sure who it was, nor could she be certain of the spell or some kind of spatial artifact like a hidden treasure.
That's why Zhang Aiguo and his wife were in a hurry to go to the border. Without concrete evidence, the person might still be hoping to keep it all for themselves, which prevented them from getting caught up in a higher level of investigation. Perhaps they'll end up at the research institute then.
The idea took root in Zhang Hongmei's mind, making her shudder. This was a death knell!
Because her eyes were closed, she didn't notice the complicated expression on Yu Chenglong's face, nor did she let him see her fearful expression.
"Uncle Yu, did you see my parents before you went on the mission?"
"No, I was on a mission at the time. Oh, right. This is a letter the battalion commander asked me to give you."
Now Zhang Hongmei doesn't trust anyone. In front of Yu Chenglong, she opened the envelope. Inside were five ten-yuan bills, thirty jin of grain coupons, ten feet of cloth coupons, and a thin piece of letter paper.
Zhang Hongmei unfolded the letter, which described the same situation as Yu Chenglong, but in a simpler way. Zhang Hongmei felt that he was trying to shirk responsibility.
"Uncle Yu, do you know who my parents have offended?"
“I don’t know. We were in the same company when we were new recruits. Then the war separated us. We kept in touch by letter until they were transferred here and we got back together.”
Zhang Hongmei shifted her position, moved further into the kang (a heated brick bed), and leaned against the pile of quilts. "Uncle Yu, do you have any friends from my parents' old military region? Could you help me find out who my parents have had a grudge against?"
"Yes, I'll help you look into it, but Hongmei, what exactly do you think?"
"I don't know, I just want to know who wanted to kill my parents?"
"Okay, I'll help you, but the timeframe is uncertain."
"Thank you."
"It's getting late, you should rest. We need to get up early tomorrow." Yu Chenglong said and left.
Zhang Hongmei slid down and lay down, using the pile of blankets as a pillow. She was exhausted, utterly exhausted. It seemed her conspiracy theories weren't true; things really weren't as simple as they appeared. She couldn't touch the things Yu Chenglong brought back; she'd better find an identical ring to keep.
Touching the ring, I pulled it off and carefully examined it by candlelight. It looked very much like an ordinary silver loach's back. Finding another one like it wouldn't be difficult, but I was afraid they had marked it. I looked at it repeatedly but found nothing unusual. I memorized its appearance to prepare a cover.
He put the ring back on his finger, determined to keep a low profile from now on. He knew Zhang Aiguo and his wife were a cautionary tale, and he shouldn't take any chances. He should spend less time outside, because there is no such thing as absolute safety.
Thinking about her personal space and her storage ring, oh my god, either of them could pose a life-threatening danger. She sat up dejectedly. She thought these were her most precious possessions, but the accompanying dangers were far too great!
With so many resources in my own space, I need to be careful when taking them out in the future. It would be best if there were no drought next year, otherwise it would really be difficult for me. Should I help or not then?
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