Chapter 96

Many years ago.

Huo Xiao saw a family photo at his good friend Jiang Jun's place.

There is a photo of Commander Jiang on it.

However, the old man was about 40 years old at that time, which was quite different from his current appearance with gray hair, thinness and haggardness.

If it weren't for the excitement and joy in the other person's eyes being too obvious.

If it weren't for the fact that Hua Jun behind the old man was the guard who had sent the dragon and phoenix twins to him for raising eight years ago, Huo Xiao would not have dared to recognize him.

He raised his hand and saluted: "Commander!"

Jiang Ke, whose attention was drawn to the children, came back to his senses first and quickly put himself in a good mood by returning the greetings.

But he was too excited. When he spoke, his slightly hoarse voice still betrayed his true emotions: "Xiao Huo, you have worked hard over the years!"

Huo Xiao shook his head and said only: "Jiang Jun and I are brothers." This was his original intention to adopt the dragon and phoenix twins, and it has never changed.

When talking about his son's tragic death, Jiang Kexian nodded, suppressed the urge to laugh, and turned around to express his gratitude to Hu Xiu and Lu Ting.

Especially Comrade Tingting!

Whether it is the thick stack of diaries he treasures or the countless photos of his growth.

These are the best evidence of Comrade Lu Ting's meticulous nurturing of the dragon and phoenix fetuses over the years.

But, none of it was as shocking as seeing the children in person and talking to people from Country Y in fluent English.

Jiang Kexian knew very well that it was not achieved overnight for the dragon and phoenix twins to be as excellent as they are now. It was definitely due to the hard work of Ruting year after year. She is a comrade worthy of admiration.

Hu Xiu and Lu Ting had never expected that Chief Jiang would be so easy-going and without the slightest air of pretense.

I never expected that the leader would praise the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law so highly that my face turned red when I heard it.

In the end, it was still Ruting who patted the dragon and phoenix fetus and asked them to call for help.

Jiang Kexian paused his gratitude and looked at the two children with hope.

Miaomiao and Guoguo were quite straightforward and said in unison: "Grandpa!"

"Hey!!!" Jiang Kexian responded excitedly, then squatted down and stretched out his hand tentatively, making sure that there was no rejection on the faces of the two children before he took his granddaughter/grandson into his arms after more than eight years of separation.

Feeling that Grandpa was very excited, Miaomiao raised her hand and patted his back like a little adult: "Grandpa, I'm back."

Although Guoguo felt a little uncomfortable, she was a sensible child. Seeing this, she followed her sister's example and patted her grandfather: "Grandpa, Guoguo is back too!"

At this moment, there was no powerful old leader, no selfless warrior on the battlefield. Jiang Kexian was just an ordinary elder.

Just when he was about to burst into tears and his eyes were red with the care of the children, he felt a weight on his back and the tender voice of a little girl came right after: "Grandpa, and Niannian is back too!"

The little girl had no idea that her sister and brother were not her biological children. When she heard the twins calling "Grandpa", she thought the other person was her own grandfather. In a moment of mistaken identity, she ended up hanging on the old man's back.

Jiang Kexian was caught off guard and staggered. If the guard had not stepped in behind him in time, he would have been pulled down by the child.

Huo Xiao and Lu Ting both looked embarrassed and bent down to take the child away.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Ke waved his hands first, then let go of the dragon and phoenix fetus, then turned around and picked up Nian Nian, smiling lovingly: "I'm sorry, Grandpa didn't see Nian Nian just now."

The old man is no stranger to Nian Nian. He can always find some of the other's shadow in the photos of dragon and phoenix twins he received in the past and in the diaries.

In a sense, he had watched this child grow up, and now seeing her close to him, he couldn't help but feel happy in his heart.

Niannian was not afraid of strangers at all, and she had no idea what it was like to have her grandfather holding her. She sat in his arms with a clear conscience and said like a little adult, "Don't blame Grandpa, because Niannian was too young and was blocked by Mom and Dad."

Hearing this, everyone burst into laughter.

At this time, Hua Jun reminded: "Commander, it's cold outside. Let's talk about it when we get back."

"Yes, yes, yes, look at me, I'm so happy that I don't remember anything. Let's go home first."

Worried about the old man's health, Huo Xiao stepped forward and took the younger daughter, then winked at the older daughter.

So, on the way out of the train station, Miaomiao and Guoguo held their grandfather's hands on each side.

Jiang Kexian was happy and the smile on his face never disappeared.

It takes more than an hour to drive from the train station to the military compound.

Jiang Kexian was assigned a two-story small Western-style building.

Unfortunately, there are only a few people in the huge house, except for the old man and the guards, there is only a nanny arranged by the organization, Yan He.

Considering that they had been tired from the journey, Jiang Ke first treated everyone to a meal after arriving home, and then asked Yan He to arrange for everyone to rest.

"Will you take Miaomiao and Niannian to take a bath first?" Huo Xiao asked while packing his bag after Aunt Yan He left.

Tingting was looking at the furnishings in the room, from the arrangement of the furniture to the stacking of the bedding, and it was obvious that the old man cared about it.

Hearing this, she looked at her husband and said, "We'll go in a minute. Don't bother packing anymore. Aren't you tired enough from the journey? We can pack tomorrow."

Huo Xiao first helped his wife get a set of clean clothes, then walked behind her and helped massage her shoulders: "I'm not tired."

Relaxing her shoulders and closing her eyes to enjoy herself, Ruting thought of the intensity of her husband's daily training, so she said nothing more.

But they only enjoyed it for a few minutes because they were worried that the mother-in-law and the children would not get used to the strange environment, so the couple went out again soon.

There were not enough rooms on the second floor, so Lu Ting and Huo Xiao lived on the first floor.

After going upstairs, the two went to Guoguo's room first, but found Miaomiao and Niannian were there.

The little ones were very comfortable, sitting together to study the various gifts that grandpa had prepared for them.

When he saw his parents coming, he just looked up and called them, then started to open the gifts enthusiastically, calling them "Grandpa" all the time.

Well, their worries were in vain. Looking at the pile of gifts, Ruting and Huo Xiao were both at a loss whether to laugh or cry.

The couple simply didn't rush to wash up. They played with the children for a while, and only went out again after making sure that they were relaxed.

But this time, Ruiting went to look for her mother-in-law, while Huo Xiao went to the old leader.

In the study, Jiang Kexian was looking through photos. He heard a knock on the door and thought it was Hua Jun.

I didn't want to say "come in", but the person who pushed the door open was Huo Xiao.

He was surprised for a moment, then quickly smiled and said, "Come and sit down."

Huo Xiao sat down opposite the long table, and when his eyes fell on the photos on the table, his expression softened.

Jiang Kexian was not in a hurry to collect the photos. Instead, he poured tea for her personally and then gently asked her whether she was comfortable living in the room and told her to just ask if she needed anything.

Huo Xiao agreed to all of them. After the old leader finished his greetings, he told him the purpose of his visit: "...Except for a day and a half of travel and rest, Tingting and I can only stay in the capital for a week at most. So I thought, if it's convenient for you, we can take the children to change their surnames tomorrow."

Jiang Kexian didn't expect the other party to have such an intention. He felt unreal and couldn't help but slow down his breathing: "Tomorrow...will it be changed?"

At one time, he was not sure that he would be able to wait for redress, so he could only hope that his children could survive and have enough food and clothing.

However...in fact, food and shelter are the least important thing to mention.

The dragon and phoenix twins were brought up to be so outstanding that Jiang Kexian was too embarrassed to even mention changing his surname.

But I never expected that Huo Xiao would take the initiative to bring it up, on his first day.

Obviously, the other party had already considered this matter.

Thinking of this, Jiang Kexian, who received a positive answer from Xiao Huo, asked again: "Do the children know about this?"

Huo Xiao nodded: "I know. I discussed it with them when I was in Tianjing. I also brought the household registration book with me."

Sure enough, it was decided long ago.

At this moment, Jiang Kexian's excitement and gratitude were beyond words.

In his view, any words, any fancy words are too pale.

This is a great favor, we must keep it in our hearts and repay it in practice!

Thinking of this, he controlled his hands that were shaking from excitement, and took out a cigarette from the cigarette box as calmly as possible, and handed it to Xiao Huo who was sitting across the table: "Want one?"

Huo Xiao smiled and shook his head: "No, Tingting doesn't like the smell of cigarettes."

As if he had not expected him to say that, Jiang Kexian shook his head in amusement, put the cigarette into his mouth, and then lit it with a match.

After taking a few puffs and calming down his turbulent emotions, he said, "We haven't had a chance to talk in depth before. What do you think about transferring to the capital without considering the children?"

At this point, he added, "With your qualifications and military achievements, if you can hold on for another year or two, you will be promoted to the next level. If you are suddenly transferred to the capital, you will have to hold on for at least three or four years before you can be promoted. You should think carefully about this."

Huo Xiao had already considered this matter very clearly.

Over the years, due to the special nature of his work, even though he tried his best to share the housework, even though he tried hard to accompany his family...it was still not enough.

After he gets promoted and his responsibilities increase, he will only become busier.

Might as well take this opportunity to spend more time with your family.

Moreover, he will only be 35 after the Chinese New Year. 39 or 40 years old would be the ideal age for Huo Xiao to be promoted.

Because of the bond between them, he and the old man are natural allies.

Therefore, Huo Xiao said whatever he thought.

Jiang Kexian's eyes showed admiration, he was not at all surprised by the other party's choice.

The first person to be shot was the one who was the first to come out. In his opinion, a brigade commander who was thirty-six or thirty-seven years old was too conspicuous. This was the smart thing to do.

Since the two of them agreed on the direction for the coming year, Jiang Kexian did not waste time on this or interfere by relying on his status, but instead talked about other things.

He raised his hand, put out the burnt cigarette butt, and then smiled and said, "We are a family now, and I won't lie to you. When you come to the capital, Miaomiao and Guoguo will still live with you."

Huo Xiao raised his eyebrows: "I guessed it."

Hearing this, Jiang Kexian said with emotion: "I am too busy and can't spare a few days a year to accompany the children. Besides, Xiaolue has brought up the children very well, and the old man is very relieved."

After saying this, the old man laughed first: "Haha, this is a bit shameless."

Huo Xiao also smiled: "You also said that we are a family. My mother and Tingting will be very happy. We will be in the same city in the future. As long as you have time, you can come to our house, or we can come over. There will be many opportunities for us to meet."

In fact, even if the old leader did not explain, Huo Xiao knew that the other party made such a decision, busyness was only a small reason, but more importantly, he did not want to see the children sad.

It should be said that both sides are making compromises for the physical and mental health of the children.

Jiang Kexian laughed again and said jokingly, "Yes, that's right. The old man is waiting for you to say that."

So, with both parties lowering their postures, the two of them had a very pleasant chat.

This chat lasted more than two hours.

When Huo Xiao said goodbye, Jiang Ke took out a thick stack of banknotes and foreign exchange bonds from his drawer and handed them over in a very generous manner: "It's not easy for me to go with them. I don't know what Hu Xiu and Xiao Lu like. These banknotes are my little token of my appreciation. Let them buy whatever they like."

Having said that, he didn't let anyone refuse and stuffed it directly into the other person's arms.

Looking at the thick stack of banknotes and meeting the old man's expectant eyes, Huo Xiao was silent for a moment before nodding: "Thank you, Chief."

Seeing this, Jiang Ke first breathed a sigh of relief, smiled and patted his shoulder: "Go back, don't make Xiaolu wait anxiously."

Huo Xiao...I didn't expect you to be such a leader.