Chapter 3

It is impossible to go home.

After experiencing the bumps and dust of trains, cars, tractors, ox carts, and two legs, Ruting, who still could not return to the afterlife, finally arrived at the unit where Huo Xiao had served in the afternoon seven days later.

To be honest, although Li Ting was born in the countryside, her parents were spoiled and she had never worked in the fields since she was a child.

The greatest hardship I have ever experienced is probably learning.

Now, after only one week of traveling through time, I have suffered a lot.

It’s not like Li Ting hadn’t thought about calling the army to see if he could get a ride or something.

But after some consideration, I decided to give up.

If there was no hitchhiker on the troop side, and she had to drive specially to pick him up just because of Huo Xiao's status as a martyr, it would be wrong for her.

Fortunately, although the process was difficult, we finally found our destination.

Just looking at the soldiers standing straight with guns in hand at the troop gate, it took Li Ting a long time to calm down his emotions before he swallowed the inexplicable grievances he had suffered.

Anyway, she arrived safely, so the revolution is half done.

Thinking of this, Lu Ting took a few deep breaths, plucked himself up, then staggered towards the gate with his bag.

the other side.

The commander of the Third Regiment, Deng Hongjun, was in the brigade commander's office, complaining to him about the new deputy commander.

He was wearing a half-worn military uniform. He was thin, with deep eye sockets on his long face, but he stood straight and looked very energetic. He spoke with full energy: "...When Huo Xiao was around, why would I have to clean up after him? I didn't need to ask for anything. People could have solved it themselves in advance..."

Brigade Commander Wei Tao was holding a teacup, standing at the window, looking at the boys who were doing emergency training on the playground in the distance. Hearing this, he said without turning his head: "I can still help you deal with some problems from time to time, right!"

Deng Hongjun choked and lowered his voice a little: "I don't expect the newcomer to help me now, but he should at least do his job well, right? He has been here for two or three months, and he is still irritable. I am not used to him being someone's grandson. Commander, you should find me someone else!"

Wei Tao was not surprised to hear Old Deng state his ultimate goal.

Although the new deputy group leader has some background, he is not that bad at doing things, otherwise he would not be able to promote people.

Old Deng was just used to working with Huo Xiao, and it was the contrast that made him dissatisfied with everything.

But there are only a few people as outstanding as Huo Xiao, and the tacit understanding between the two of them has been accumulated over several years.

Another thing is that when Huo Xiao returns from this secret mission, he will be promoted to a full colonel, and he may even be transferred to other units. It is only a matter of time before he breaks up with Old Deng.

So Wei Tao still didn't turn around, but just blew away the tea foam floating in the teacup, took a sip of tea, and then said slowly: "Old Deng, as leaders, we must be tolerant and tolerant. If the newcomers don't know how to do it, you should teach them more. Everyone is like this, and it will be fine after some adjustment."

Deng Hongjun slammed the table and said, "Nonsense, why doesn't Huo Xiao need some adjustment?!"

Wei Tao sighed, turned around and stared at Lao Deng, and said with embarrassment: "Huo Xiao...is indeed an excellent comrade, but he..." will be promoted sooner or later.

However, it was difficult to say this right now, so Deng Hongjun, who didn't know the inside story, sank instantly like a punctured balloon, and his eyes turned red without any warning.

He didn't want to embarrass himself in front of his old leader, so he stammered a few times with his cracked lips, but in the end he said nothing, turned around with his shoulders drooped, and was about to leave.

However, at this moment, Deng Hongjun's guards trotted over and saw that the brigade commander's office door was not closed. They saluted and said loudly: "Report!"

Deng Hongjun shouted: "Speak!"

The guard swallowed his saliva, glanced at the brigade commander who was drinking tea, and then said, "Commander, Deputy Commander Huo's wife is here and is waiting at the gate."

"Puff...cough cough cough..." Wei Tao was choked hard by the tea.

Deng Hongjun was extremely shocked: "Who are you talking about? Huo Xiao's wife?"

Wei Tao, the only one in the army who knew exactly where Huo Xiao had gone, suppressed the urge to cough and hurriedly asked, "Why is she here?"

The guard pursed his lips, his eyes full of admiration: "He said...he came to collect the remains for Deputy Captain Huo."

Hearing this, Deng Hongjun's pupils shrank, and then he rushed out without saying anything.

Seeing this, Wei Tao hesitated for only a few seconds, then put on his military cap and quickly followed.

But just as he reached the door, he turned around and told the guard who was about to follow him: "Go notify the political commissar."

Just in case...just in case the lesbians start crying or something, we should let Old Hong, who is good at mediation, take action.

The gate is some distance away from the troops.

By the time the group hurried over, Ruiting had already been waiting for nearly half an hour.

The two middle-aged military men in the lead were both wearing military uniforms with four pockets.

Without military titles on their shoulders, Tingting had no way of distinguishing their positions. After handing over the letter of introduction, she could only give a general greeting: "I'm really sorry, leaders, for coming here without prior notice."

No crying, no scolding.

Faced with the chaos, the young female comrade's attitude was surprisingly calm and polite. The people who rushed over all breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's okay, it's okay...it's good to come and take a look." Brigade Commander Wei Tao, feeling inexplicably guilty, spoke first, then gave a look to the guard behind him, motioning him to go forward and take the package from the female comrade.

"Yes, yes, it's good for your sister-in-law to come. I was the one who packed up Huo Xiao's things, but I'm a rough and clumsy guy, so I hope he doesn't leave anything behind. It's great that you can come." Deng Hongjun, who had been slamming the table at the brigade commander with a stern face just now, now tried hard to smile, rubbing his hands back and forth uncomfortably.

Really sacrificed...

Although it was basically impossible for the troops to make mistakes in the documents they issued, she couldn't help but look a little disappointed when she got the affirmative answer.

It has nothing to do with anything else, I just simply hope that all the heroes who defend their country on the battlefield can return home in glory.

Wei Tao noticed the subtle changes on Hu Ting's face and knew that she came this time probably because she still believed that Huo Xiao was fine.

Although Huo Xiao is indeed fine, he is now carrying out a secret mission. Apart from him and his partner Lao Hong, only his superior commander knows about it.

Thinking of this, Wei Tao, who couldn't say anything, put on a smile and said, "Comrade Xiaolue, you must have suffered a lot along the way. How about we settle down first? As for other matters, we can talk about it after you have taken your time?"

Hearing this, Ruting, whose legs felt like they were filled with lead, secretly breathed a sigh of relief: "Then I'll trouble you."

"No trouble. This is what we should do." Having said that, he led the people towards the family compound.

In fact, most of the relatives who came to visit lived in single dormitories, but the case of Huo Xiao's wife was a little special, so Wei Tao planned to take her to his wife to take care of her.

However, Ruting did not understand the military rules and regulations and thought that all relatives who came to visit were arranged in the same way, so he followed without any objection.

The family compound is very close to the gate.

Without the burden, it wasn't that hard to walk through.

On the way, the two men briefly introduced themselves to each other and chatted for a few more sentences, then they saw the townhouses in the family compound from a distance.

It was also at this time that Lu Ting realized that the middle-aged, elegant military officer who had been greeting her without any airs was actually the brigade commander.

The other thin man was Huo Xiao's direct leader, Captain Deng.

This was something that Li Ting had not expected. She really had not thought that her arrival would be personally received by the brigade commander and the regiment commander.

While he was flattered, he quickly realized that it was probably Huo Xiao's fault.

She thought, that person... was probably much better than she thought.

"Comrade Xiaozhen, we're here."

Ruting came back to his senses and followed Brigade Commander Wei into the house.

The brigade commander's house was not like the standard two-story building in later TV dramas, but a typical three-room brick and tile house in a herringbone shape.

However, the house was painted with lime powder and the furniture was neatly arranged, so it looked clean and tidy.

After a few days of hard work, and having intentionally made herself look shabby and inconspicuous, she now felt somewhat regretful as her dusty cloth shoes fell on the bluestone floor.

I regret that I should have found a guesthouse to tidy up at my last stop.

However, this thought only occurred to me for a moment before it was dispelled. Nothing is more important than one's own safety.

But when the wife of the brigade commander invited her to sit on the sofa, she still felt a little uncomfortable and refused with her ears burning: "No, I'm covered in dust, so I'll just sit on the stool."

As she spoke, she was worried that her sister-in-law would force her to move, so she sat down on a wooden bench not far away and said shyly, "I'm sorry to bother my sister-in-law."

This was what she really thought. If it wasn't absolutely necessary, she really didn't want to make this trip.

Not only did it exhaust me, but it also caused a lot of trouble for others.

"What's the matter with disturbing or not disturbing? Our army is a big family. You are Huo Xiao's daughter-in-law, which means you are his sister-in-law's real sister. Don't be restrained and treat this as your own home." Seeing her discomfort, the brigade commander's wife Zhao Fengying did not insist. She smiled and comforted her, then turned around to make a glass of maltose.

In my heart, I admired the girl with disheveled hair and a shaggy look very much.

She knew best how difficult the journey was. It was a long journey of thousands of miles, and Xiao Lu must have suffered a lot.

I think he is happy for Huo Xiao deep down.

Thinking of this, after handing over the malted milk and receiving a shy "thank you" from the other party, Zhao Fengying, who was old enough to be Ru Ting's mother, felt even more sympathetic.

Wei Tao sat down on a sofa not far away and said in a gentle voice, "Your sister-in-law is right. Comrade Xiaolue, if you have any difficulties, just tell us directly. The organization will definitely help if it can."

Deng Hongjun also nodded repeatedly.

Frankly speaking, these words made me a little excited.

It wasn't a big request, I just hoped that on the return trip I could buy a sleeper ticket in the name of my leader.

But it was not easy to speak at the moment, so she just smiled while holding the malted milk: "Thank you, leader."

"Okay, Xiaolue, I'm here. You guys just go do what you need to do. You have to wait until everyone has rested before you say anything." Zhao Fengying was a lesbian after all, and she was very thoughtful. She could see the discomfort and fatigue in Lulue's face. She knew that Lulue must want to wash up and go to bed at this moment, so she just took action to beat her.

Wei Tao had originally planned to do so, so he went out.

After walking a distance, he stopped Deng Hongjun, who was about to go home and ask his wife to look after him, and whispered, "Old Deng, call Huoxiao Village to report that they are safe, and verify Comrade Li Ting's appearance."

Deng Hongjun frowned: "The brigade commander said there is something wrong with this girl?"

In this sense, it is a bit too peaceful.

In the past, when a soldier died, his family would come looking for him, either crying heartbrokenly or swearing and asking for more compensation. This female comrade named Li Ting was indeed too calm.

But then I thought, it has been almost four months since Huo Xiao's death, so it is understandable that he has calmed down.

Wei Tao shook his head: "Don't think too much, I just called to ask for peace of mind."

He was just used to being cautious, and there couldn't be any mistakes on Huo Xiao's side.

Hearing this, Deng Hongjun did not ask any more questions. He just responded and turned back to his office.

Wei Tao watched the other party leave quickly, and then he looked at his partner Lao Hong who came over.

Be careful and you will be safe!

I hope they are just being suspicious.