That night, back in the provincial city, Qin Shuyao stayed at the hospital with her grandmother. Chen Qilan’s whereabouts were unknown until the next morning, when he finally arrived at the hospital.
It was time to return to the military base.
Farewell words had already been exchanged the previous night. Grandpa and Grandma were not the sentimental type. They knew their granddaughter would have a better future following Chen Qilan.
Just as the car was about to start, Grandpa suddenly handed Qin Shuyao a yellowed, coarse cloth bag.
“Inside are the clothes you wore when I first found you. If possible, try to find your biological parents. Maybe they are searching for you too.”
From a very young age, Qin Shuyao had known she was a found child.
Other children in the village would throw stones at her and call her a wild child.
Once, after being hit on the head and crying all the way home, Shepherd Grandmother dropped her half-spun hemp thread, marched over to the children who had bullied her, and demanded they apologize.
Blind as she was, Shepherd Grandmother had a powerful voice and cursed loudly.
One child, shielded by his family, refused to apologize. Shepherd Grandmother stood at their doorway, hands on her hips, scolding for half an hour while the entire village listened.
After that, no one dared to bully Qin Shuyao again. Still, she knew she was a found child.
In an era that valued boys over girls, it was common for baby girls to be abandoned. Qin Shuyao accepted that she had been abandoned and never intended to search for her parents. Her family was Grandpa and Grandma. Their love had been enough.
“When I found you, you were chubby and adorable, clearly well cared for. I guessed something serious had happened to your parents, and they couldn’t take care of you,” Grandpa said gently, looking at her.
“Your grandmother and I don’t have many years left. If you can find your family and have support, then even if we die, we can rest easy.”
He had lived a long life and understood life and death, but Qin Shuyao was still young.
Her eyes welled with tears as she choked out, “Grandpa.”
Shepherd Grandfather stepped back, smiling and waving.
“Go. Live your life well. Remember my words. Don’t waste your life. Live properly.”
As the car slowly started, Qin Shuyao looked back through the rear windshield. Grandpa’s stooped, aged figure grew smaller as the car accelerated, until he was just a black dot and finally disappeared from sight.
Unable to hold back her tears, Qin Shuyao sobbed quietly, burying her face in the yellowed cloth bag.
Chen Qilan, who had been sulking over the events of the previous night, saw her trembling shoulders and her crying. All his previous anger vanished, replaced with tender concern. He no longer had the patience to stay upset.
“It’s not like we won’t see them again. Once your grandmother recovers, we can have them live with us, or you can visit them anytime,” Chen Qilan said, holding her close.
“If you’re sad about your past, I can ask my uncle to help look for your biological parents. Maybe we can find some news about them.”
“No! There’s no need.”
Qin Shuyao struggled out of Chen Qilan’s embrace, sobbing as she shook her head.
“No matter what the reason was, the fact that I was abandoned cannot be denied. I can’t forgive it.”
She wiped her tears, trying to steady her emotions.
“If Grandpa hadn’t returned to the mountains that evening to look for the lost sheep, I would have been carried off by wolves already.”
Grandpa had once told her how he found her, a story both miraculous and terrifying.
“It was the first time I lost a sheep. I had already returned home when I realized it. The mountains weren’t safe. Your grandmother never let me go out at night, but that day she insisted I search for the sheep.”
“I carried a kerosene lamp into the mountains. The wolves’ howls were terrifying. I forced myself up the hill and then heard the cries of a baby. I was scared stiff.”
“I was about to turn back when a little lamb bleated. I went into the woods and found you. The lost lamb was lying beside you.”
Qin Shuyao recounted to Chen Qilan how Grandpa had found her in the mountains amidst the howls of wolves.
She added, “The little lamb Grandpa was looking for was the same black goat that later carried me home.”
Her childhood memories were fragmented, but the scene of her riding the black goat home was etched clearly in her mind. She even felt a slight grievance toward Grandpa—she thought the goat shouldn’t have been sold even if it accidentally dropped her into a ditch.
Chen Qilan held Qin Shuyao closer. He didn’t offer empty words of comfort. He simply held her, patted her thin back, and let his warmth and heartbeat comfort her.
Chen Qilan’s military base was in a remote border town. It required a two-day, two-night train journey, a three-hour bus ride, and a seven- or eight-kilometer walk.
In her previous life, Zhang Lingzhi had accompanied Chen Qilan to the base once. She vomited on the bus and later her feet bled from walking. She cried until she forced Chen Qilan to carry her.
This had been Zhang Lingzhi’s own account. He Cuilian had even excitedly asked if she had succeeded, but Zhang Lingzhi had only cried.
“He refused to carry me, so I had to follow him on foot. By the time we reached the town, my feet were raw and bloody.”
Qin Shuyao had mentally prepared herself to walk until her feet were bloodied from the start.
However, upon stepping off the train, a young soldier in uniform approached enthusiastically, greeting her with “Hello, Sister-in-law,” and eagerly took her luggage.
Chen Qilan was slightly surprised. “Oh? You’re here?”
He quickly recovered and introduced the young soldier. “Wife, this is Xiao Tong from the driver unit. Xiao Tong, this is my wife, Qin Shuyao.”
Chen Qilan carried one bag and held Qin Shuyao’s hand. In front of his comrades, he made no attempt to hide their closeness, even showing off slightly.
Seventeen-year-old Xiao Tong blushed at seeing Chen Qilan and Qin Shuyao holding hands.
The usually stern Company Commander could even hold hands with his wife in public. It was clear Chen Qilan loved her.
Seeing Qin Shuyao, fair-skinned and beautiful, Xiao Tong felt it made perfect sense. Among all the military wives in town, none was more beautiful.
A military-plate pickup was parked prominently across from the station.
Xiao Tong loaded the luggage into the truck bed and personally opened the rear door for Qin Shuyao.
“Please get in, Sister-in-law.”
Chen Qilan patted Xiao Tong’s cap. “Look at you, even saying ‘please’ now.”
Xiao Tong grinned, adjusted his slightly crooked cap, and started the vehicle.
“Before coming to the station, Political Commissar Hong personally gave me several instructions,” he said.
“Greet Sister-in-law properly, help with her luggage, open doors, and always use polite words like ‘please’ and ‘you’…”
Qin Shuyao realized that Xiao Tong had been sent on Political Commissar Hong’s instructions to pick her up, something Chen Qilan hadn’t known in advance.
She grew curious about who this “Political Commissar Hong” really was, as Xiao Tong kept mentioning him.