Zhao Gang let out a sigh of relief, knowing what he was asking about. His expression immediately turned angry and indignant.
“Comrade Si Ming has plenty of excuses. He said that because your eyes are inconvenient and you’re not able to personally verify things, he’ll temporarily ‘help you keep’ your allowance and bring it back to you when he comes to visit. And his wife isn’t any better. Someone in the compound even saw her withdraw your allowance one day and then immediately go buy two sets of new clothes!”
“They’ve taken at least several hundred yuan from you over the years and haven’t returned a single cent. Good thing you found out in time, Captain.”
Zhao Gang was still fuming. This was supposed to be his captain’s own younger brother and sister-in-law—who treats family like this?
But Captain Si seemed unsurprised, as if he had already expected it.
“I’ve already reported it upward. The regiment commander looked into it, but they insisted they were only ‘helping to collect it.’ The last time they came back, they said they simply forgot to bring it. In the end, they only received a verbal warning—no serious punishment.”
Zhao Gang felt even more unwilling to accept it.
“Right, Captain, quickly put this away.” Zhao Gang hurriedly pulled out a small cloth bundle from inside his jacket. Inside were layers upon layers of big banknotes.
Captain Si took it and placed it aside casually.
Zhao Gang panicked even more.
“Captain, you need to hide it properly! Otherwise that old auntie will come and, if she sees it, she’ll definitely snatch it from you!” The “old auntie” he referred to was Aunt Zhang. He had already asked around about the captain’s living conditions.
And after the captain was injured and returned home to recuperate, higher-ups had also instructed them to keep an eye on his situation.
They had originally planned to arrange better housing for him, but for some reason, Captain Si refused.
“I’m not in a hurry,” Si Chengchen said calmly.
Zhao Gang: I am in a hurry.
The only time Aunt Zhang doesn’t come is during the day. At night, she definitely won’t come.
The only person who might come is—
Captain Si’s dark eyes flickered slightly.
He was just thinking that she didn’t come tonight.
Then suddenly, the stack of large bills in his hand was snatched away by Zhao Gang.
Before he could even stop him, Zhao Gang had already rushed toward the place where the passbook was kept.
Captain Si’s words reached his throat—but it was too late.
Zhao Gang’s panicked voice rang out:
“Bad news! Captain! Your passbook has been stolen!”
Zhao Gang frantically searched the bed, shaking out blankets and quilts.
He grew even more anxious.
As he shook the bedding, he faintly caught a soft fragrance.
“Captain, why does your blanket smell so nice?” he muttered.
The next second, the blanket was suddenly pulled away.
Zhao Gang froze.
He turned and saw that it had already been taken back by his captain.
That made things even more suspicious.
Why cling to a blanket like that?
But right now, the passbook mattered more.
“Should we report it to the police, Captain? Someone’s definitely been sneaking around…”
“I put it away.”
“Huh?”
“The passbook isn’t lost,” Si Chengchen said, closing his eyes slightly. His tone was low, and faintly displeased.
But Zhao Gang was too straightforward to notice.
“Then where did you hide it? This is basically the only safe spot in the whole room.”
“……I gave it away.”
“Ah?”
“I gave it to someone,” he said more quietly.
Zhao Gang froze completely.
“G-gave it away? Captain, did your mother trick you into handing it over? After everything they did to you?!”
“No…”
There was a hint of helplessness in his voice now. He pressed his fingers against his throbbing temple.
“I gave it to a girl.”
Silence.
Finally, Zhao Gang recovered—but only barely.
“You gave it to a girl? That’s your entire savings! If I hadn’t come today, how would you even eat?!”
“She cooks for me.”
Zhao Gang nearly choked.
“Captain… just because she says that, you believe her?”
He had never seen his captain like this before. The tone alone gave him chills.
Especially when he said “she cooks for me”—it sounded unusually soft, softer than how he treated even the rookies in the camp.
The comparison popped into his head—
The rookies in their unit were like military dogs.
Somehow thinking of the captain this way made Zhao Gang feel even more unsettled.
At that very moment, on the road far away, carrying a basket, someone sneezed hard.
“She’s very good,” Si Chengchen said quietly. “I’m not worthy of her.”
“Rubbish! Captain, you’ve got combat merit, you’re tall, strong, and sharp-looking. Your eye injury was for the country—besides, the doctors said there’s still a chance it might recover!”
Zhao Gang was genuinely anxious now.
But Si Chengchen only gave a faint “mm.”
Then—
“It will recover.”
Zhao Gang’s eyes lit up instantly.
“You found a good doctor? Where? Shanghai? Beijing? We should bring them here quickly!”
Si Chengchen’s expression softened slightly as he thought of the girl who had carefully examined his eyes that afternoon.
“Her name is… Mu Qianqian. She’s in this village.”
“In the village? A barefoot doctor?” Zhao Gang’s smile froze. “Is she young? Is she reliable?”
Then he noticed his captain’s expression.
His heart sank.
“…Captain, that girl you’re talking about—is she the same one you gave your passbook to?”
A slight nod.
Zhao Gang felt like half the sky had collapsed.
“…Is she a doctor?”
The captain looked at him calmly and said:
“No.”