When Qiao Lanshu had been picked up by a street loafer in her past life,
the man had found her appearance sweet and pretty, with fair skin and a soft voice. He had taken an instant liking to her and brought her straight home.
Later, when the man learned that she had come to look for her husband, and that her fiancé was a Battalion Commander, he had nearly been scared to death.
So he had secretly gone out to inquire about Sun Mingyong. If Sun Mingyong really was a Battalion Commander, he had planned to send Qiao Lanshu back to him, thereby gaining the Battalion Commander's gratitude.
But as it turned out, Sun Mingyong was not a Battalion Commander at all. He was not even a soldier.
He was merely an ordinary worker at the Food Factory.
So the street loafer told Qiao Lanshu what he had found out and threatened her into bearing him a son.
Afraid that Qiao Lanshu would run away, he had even taken her back to his old home in the mountains and locked her directly inside a cave dwelling.
Qiao Lanshu had lived in that cave dwelling for more than a year, completely cut off from the outside world.
Even now that she had been reborn, all she knew was that Sun Mingyong worked at the Food Factory and had married and had children.
As for which Food Factory Sun Mingyong was at and where he lived, she did not know.
Besides, after being reborn, even if she did know, she had to pretend that she did not.
Otherwise, if people mistook her for a spy and arrested her, she would be in serious trouble.
Now that Qin Yuanzheng had said he would help her find him, she handed over the letter of introduction and the address Sun Mingyong had written in the letter without the slightest hesitation, letting Qin Yuanzheng look at them.
Qin Yuanzheng took them and glanced at them before asking her, “Since you were coming here to join your husband with the army, didn’t he go to the station to meet you?”
Normally, when someone from their unit had a family member coming, the unit would approve leave for them.
Welcoming a family member was a very important matter and had to be taken seriously.
Qiao Lanshu lowered her head. Thinking of the cold wind she had endured at the station in her past life, she felt angry and resentful. Her face darkened as she said, “My father wrote him a letter and sent a telegram, too, but he didn’t come.”
Qiao Lanshu looked far too sweet and well-behaved. Even when she was angry, her words came out soft and delicate, making it impossible for people to tell that she was angry. Instead, she sounded as if she were acting spoiled, and the little expression on her face even looked somewhat aggrieved.
Qin Yuanzheng's heart softened as well, and he said gently,
“Perhaps he didn’t receive the letter, or perhaps he had some urgent mission. Don’t worry. I’ll go and ask around for you. Since you’re sick, get some proper rest. It’s cold outside, and you’re not used to it, so don’t go out. Drink more water, too. It’s very dry here.”
Listening to his instructions, Qiao Lanshu felt extremely grateful. She nodded and gazed at Qin Yuanzheng with wide, expectant eyes. “Regimental Commander Qin, are you leaving?”
Looking at her small face, Qin Yuanzheng suddenly found himself reluctant to leave.
This young girl looked like an innocent child who knew nothing of the world. She had no relatives or friends here, and there was no teacher accompanying her. How could she possibly manage on her own?
Then Qin Yuanzheng remembered that he was the one who had rescued her. In that case, he really ought to take a little more care of her.
Besides, he himself had neither a family nor a household now, and there was nothing he needed to worry about.
So he nodded and said, “Yes. I’m going to ask around about this Sun Mingyong. You get some proper rest here. When I have time, I’ll come back to see you.”
Qiao Lanshu was somewhat reluctant to see him go, but she also knew that the two of them had merely met by chance. They had only seen each other twice in total and were, essentially, still strangers.
Qin Yuanzheng was probably taking such good care of her because he was a soldier, but she could not trouble him too much.
Thus, all she could say was, “All right, then. I’ll trouble you, Regimental Commander Qin.”
Her voice was soft, and she looked pitiful as well. Qin Yuanzheng stood up and said to her, “Then get some good rest.”
When Qin Yuanzheng came out of the ward, the doctors and nurses in the corridor looked at him as though they had seen a ghost.
They had all heard Qin Yuanzheng speaking just now.
He had been so gentle—so terrifyingly gentle that it gave them chills.
Qin Yuanzheng had often come to the hospital before, since his soldiers got injured and he occasionally needed to come by. But every time, he had worn a grim expression and spoken in a cold, hard voice.
How had he become so gentle today? It was unsettling.
After Qin Yuanzheng left, several nurses came to the ward door and took a look inside. They immediately understood.
“Oh, it’s this little girl. What a poor thing.”
“No wonder even Regimental Commander Qin has become gentle. Who could see this girl and not be gentle with her?”
“Sigh, this girl came all the way here, and she doesn’t have any relatives or friends here either. I wonder what she came for?”
“I heard she came to look for her husband? In any case, she wasn’t sent down to the countryside. Otherwise, she would have been sent to the local commune for placement long ago.”
……
After leaving the ward, Qin Yuanzheng pulled out Sun Mingyong’s letter and read it as he walked.
The letter had been written by Sun Mingyong to Father Qiao. In it, he said that he had earned Second-Class Merit and been promoted to Battalion Commander. He also said that everything was going smoothly for him here and thanked Uncle Qiao for his financial support and guidance, and so on.
Qin Yuanzheng read for a while, then suddenly stopped.
Staring at the writing, he drew his brows tightly together. “Battalion Commander Sun Mingyong of the Independent Second Battalion of the Longcheng Production and Construction Corps?”
At first, Qin Yuanzheng thought he had read it wrong. But after stopping and staring at the words on the letter again and again, he finally confirmed that he had not.
It really did say Battalion Commander of the Independent Second Battalion.
The Independent Second Battalion of the Production and Construction Corps was a directly subordinate unit of the Production and Construction Corps’ Command Headquarters, under the direct administration of the Command Headquarters. The unit was stationed at the Longcheng South Suburbs Forest Farm.
Qin Yuanzheng knew the Battalion Commander of this Independent Second Battalion. Not only did he know him, but the two of them were also close comrades-in-arms.
If Sun Mingyong really was this Battalion Commander, Qin Yuanzheng could find him immediately.
But the problem was that the Battalion Commander of the Independent Second Battalion at the Southern Suburban Forest Farm was not named Sun Mingyong. His name was Zhao Jiannong. He had been married for a long time and had two daughters.
Moreover, Zhao Jiannong was also from the north. He was not a southerner.
Qin Yuanzheng instinctively wanted to turn around and go back, to tell the little girl from the south that the information she had provided was incorrect.
However, he paused, thought for a moment, and still walked away with the letter.
Forget it. He would go to the Independent Second Battalion and ask first, to see whether there was someone named Sun Mingyong there.
……
Seeing that it was getting late, Qin Yuanzheng remembered that he had promised his Older Cousin he would go to his house for a meal.
So he first returned to the mining area and went to his office, where he found Staff Officer Lin Yucheng. He told him the address and name, as well as Sun Mingyong’s age and native place, and said to him:
“This afternoon, make a trip to the Southern Suburban Forest Farm. Ask Battalion Commander Zhao whether there is—or whether there has ever been—someone named Sun Mingyong in his battalion. Investigate it thoroughly and report back to me.”
Lin Yucheng said, “Understood!”
After a while, Staff Officer Lin could not help asking, “Regimental Commander, who is this Sun Mingyong? How come I’ve never heard of him? Could he be a spy? How should he be dealt with if we find him?”
Qin Yuanzheng shook his head. “There’s no need to deal with him. Just find out this person’s situation and tell me.”
This Sun Mingyong had fabricated the identity of a Battalion Commander to deceive a young girl. You could tell at a glance that he was no good.
Once they found him, Qin Yuanzheng would go and meet him first, so that the young girl would not go looking for him and then foolishly be deceived.