“Uncle Liu, you don’t need to blame yourself. This was all caused by enemy agents. I just hope our country can wipe them out as soon as possible—otherwise, more people will die at their hands in the future.”
Chen Xiaolin didn’t know whether the original owner of this body would have blamed Division Commander Liu, but she herself didn’t. Someone always has to carry out these missions, and in the end, someone will inevitably make the ultimate sacrifice. If it hadn’t been her father, it would have been someone else. This was a soldier’s duty. She believed her father had no regrets about giving his life for the country.
“Xiaolin, you’re a good child. What are your plans next? How about I help you apply for a job?”
Division Commander Liu intended to use his connections to arrange work for Chen Xiaolin so she could learn to support herself.
“My dad told me to return to our hometown. I’ve already packed everything, and I’ll be leaving in a couple of days. Also, here’s the two thousand yuan—Uncle Liu, please help me return it to those uncles.”
Chen Xiaolin took the two thousand yuan out of her bag.
“They gave that to you—just keep it. It’s their heartfelt gesture. When are you leaving? I’ll buy you a sleeper ticket then.”
Seeing that Chen Xiaolin had her own plans, Division Commander Liu felt relieved. He had been afraid she might still be stuck in the past.
“You know I’m not short on money, so please return it to them. I accept their goodwill.”
After putting the money down, Chen Xiaolin prepared to leave—she still had things to take care of.
“All right, then. Oh, by the way, you haven’t packed up the things in your father’s family-compound house yet. I forgot to mention it to you that day.”
Division Commander Liu suddenly remembered that Chen Dazhu had also been allocated a place in the family compound, though he rarely stayed there.
“I’ll go over and tidy it up in a bit.”
Chen Xiaolin had actually planned to do that today anyway. She had brought the keys with her.
She stayed at Division Commander Liu’s home for a while longer, declined his and his wife’s repeated invitations to stay, and headed alone to Chen Dazhu’s place in the family compound.
When Chen Dazhu was first assigned housing, he chose a single-story house according to Cheng Xin’s wishes.
When Chen Xiaolin opened the front gate, she saw a large courtyard. Inside stood an old grape trellis, and beneath it hung a small swing.
There was also a peach tree in the yard. It had been planted when Chen Xiaolin was just born. More than ten years had passed, and the tree was still laden with peaches.
She picked one, wiped it casually on her clothes, and bit into it.
Mm—really delicious. She decided to pick all the peaches later and give them to the neighbors in the family compound.
After finishing the peach, she drew a bucket of water from the well to wash her hands, then went inside to pack up.
The room she had slept in as a child was now almost empty—just a bare bed and a large wardrobe remained.
The kitchen was empty as well. Chen Dazhu usually slept here alone and couldn’t be bothered to cook; the canteen provided meals anyway.
Today, Chen Xiaolin mainly tidied up the bedroom that belonged to Chen Dazhu and his wife. Whenever Cheng Xin had time, she stayed at their home in the city with Chen Xiaolin, so she didn’t have many belongings here.
Chen Xiaolin found a clean woven sack and packed Chen Dazhu’s clothes into it. As for the quilt, she decided not to keep it—she’d ask the neighbors if anyone wanted it.
On the desk, she also found a family photo of three.
Looking at the smiling family in the photo, Chen Xiaolin hoped the three of them would continue to live just as happily in the afterlife.
She put the photo into her spatial storage, planning to make memorial tablets for the three of them when she had time, and quietly burn some paper money for them during holidays.
After packing everything up, she grabbed a pair of scissors and two large back baskets and went out into the yard to pick peaches.
When she had finished picking the lower ones and was about to reach for the top of the tree, she turned around and noticed several little boys standing at the gate, peeking in.
“Do you want to eat peaches?”
Seeing the six sallow, skinny children swallowing hard, Chen Xiaolin immediately knew they were craving the fruit.
“Big sister, we can help you pick the ones at the top. Can you give each of us one peach?”
Today, Zhao Lin had been playing outside with his younger buddies when they happened to see the regiment commander’s sister picking peaches. They hadn’t had fruit in a long time, and his father didn’t allow him to eat other people’s things casually. So he thought maybe they could help with some work in exchange for a peach to taste.
“If you want to eat some, just come over and take them. Big sister can pick them herself—I don’t need your help.”
Chen Xiaolin felt awkward about making children work. Besides, the tree wasn’t that tall; she could just move a table and pick them herself.
“My dad says we can’t just eat other people’s food. I’m really good at climbing trees—please let me help!”
Zhao Lin stared at the peaches in the basket. He really wanted to eat one.
“Yeah, big sister, please let us help!”
Fang Aijun, who was a head shorter than Zhao Lin, was already practically drooling.
The other kids nodded eagerly, afraid she might refuse if they were too slow.
“Then how about this—I’ll pick from above, and you catch them below, okay?”
Facing six pairs of hopeful eyes, Chen Xiaolin couldn’t bring herself to say no.
“Okay!”
All six kids grinned from ear to ear.
Together, they spent another ten minutes or so finishing the harvest.
This peach tree had borne quite a lot of fruit—two large baskets were filled to the brim.
Chen Xiaolin gave each child two peaches. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to give more; she was planning to give some to the neighbors as well. With so many households, she wasn’t sure there would even be enough.
There were twenty households of single-story homes nearby. She didn’t plan to deliver any to the apartment buildings farther away. After doing the math, she could only give six peaches to each household.
It took half an hour to finish delivering them. By then, her peaches were nearly gone—only a dozen or so remained, which she planned to give to Division Commander Liu.
Fortunately, the peaches in her spatial storage were almost ripe too; otherwise, she really would have been reluctant to part with them.
She brought the peaches to Division Commander Liu’s home and, while there, handed over the keys to Chen Dazhu’s place, asking him to return them to the logistics department.
As for Chen Dazhu’s quilt, she had already let Zhao Lin carry it home. The pots and pans from the house had been taken away by the other children.
Chen Xiaolin left the military family compound with just a single woven sack.
Seeing her about to leave, Zhao Lin and the others hugged her legs, refusing to let go. In the end, it was Zhao Lin’s mother who came out and took them back inside.
Chen Xiaolin felt a rush of mixed emotions. In the future, she might never have another chance to come back here.
By the time she returned to the city, it was nearly dark. After a long, tiring day, she didn’t feel like cooking. She took a watermelon out of her spatial storage, cut it open, and ate it with a spoon.