That evening, Qin Ruan made another refreshing batch of cold noodles.
“Alright, after dinner, everyone get to bed early. We have to get up first thing tomorrow morning.”
Hu Yufen gave the order, and the three younger ones quickly tidied up and went to their rooms.
Lying in bed that night, Qin Ruan browsed through the System Marketplace.
“System, can I buy anything in the marketplace?”
[Host, as long as an item has been listed in the marketplace, it can be purchased.]
“So the marketplace has everything?”
[Yes, Host.]
“Who are all these people in the marketplace?”
[Host, the marketplace users come from every era.]
“What? Every era? So there are people from ancient times too?”
[Yes, there are hosts from ancient times.]
“That’s amazing! Are they all transmigrators too?”
[Yes, Host.]
Qin Ruan muttered to herself,
“Has transmigration become this common nowadays?”
She had been a perfectly good chef before a falling light fixture killed her, sending her all the way back to 1983.
If she hadn’t ended up here, maybe she would have won that cooking competition.
Or maybe she would have been eliminated.
There was no way of knowing.
With those thoughts drifting through her mind, Qin Ruan gradually fell asleep.
Meanwhile, Huo Tingchen was out on a mission, lying motionless in the grass.
This time, his assignment was to escort back one of their undercover comrades who had infiltrated the Yunnan-Myanmar border region.
The group moved silently through the jungle. Once they had gone far enough, Huo Tingchen slowly rose and followed behind them.
Although he held the rank of regiment commander, at the moment he was acting as the captain of this fifteen-man special operations squad.
Huo Tingchen took the lead, trailing the group from behind. Hearing them speaking Chinese, he relaxed slightly, but he continued shadowing them carefully without making a sound or alerting anyone.
Only after the group had safely crossed back into Chinese territory did Huo Tingchen step forward and ask,
“Are you from Officer Chen’s unit?”
“Yes, yes! I am. My codename is Eagle Eye. Are you Thorn Rabbit?”
Huo Tingchen nodded and signaled for everyone to follow him.
The group moved forward like ghosts.
Even though they had already re-entered China, no one dared let their guard down.
Suddenly, Huo Tingchen raised his hand.
“Movement ahead. Wait.”
At his signal, everyone instantly crouched.
No one even dared breathe.
The forest became eerily quiet, with only the chirping of insects filling the air.
Broken Chinese drifted over from ahead.
“Damn it! Where did those people go?”
“Yanda, if we go back like this, do you think Uncle Asong will punish us?”
“What are you afraid of? Uncle Asong can barely take care of himself right now.”
“You’re right. You’re really smart, Yanda.”
The man called Yanda looked anxious.
“Let’s search a little longer. If we still can’t find them, we’ll head back.”
“Alright.”
The two men slowly moved farther ahead, continuing their search.
Huo Tingchen motioned for the others to move closer before whispering,
“We’ll take the flank. If we keep going straight, we’ll run into them on their way back.”
“Understood, Captain Huo. We’ll follow your lead.”
Following Huo Tingchen’s hand signals, the team quietly altered course and slipped off toward the opposite side.
Slowly, step by step, they continued walking until well past midnight. The surroundings became eerily silent—not even the sound of insects could be heard.
Huo Tingchen raised his hand, signaling everyone to crouch down and remain completely silent. They all obeyed.
Soon, another squad emerged ahead. They were also dressed in camouflage uniforms, with headlamps strapped to their helmets, moving through the jungle with practiced precision.
After getting a clear look at them, Huo Tingchen imitated a bird call.
The other group immediately came over.
“Captain, you’re back.”
Huo Tingchen glanced behind him, signaling the others to follow the team in front.
The group quickly arrived at the camp. Huo Tingchen then used the coded communication channel.
“The signal station has contacted military headquarters.”
“Captain Huo, thank you.”
“You’re welcome. It’s our duty. Head back and report in.”
The public security officers nodded and departed.
The special operations team then approached him.
“Captain, are we returning to base?”
“Yes. Let’s head back.”
The squad packed up their gear before making the journey back to Shancheng.
As for why they hadn’t simply assigned a special operations unit from Yunnan to carry out the mission, it was because many of the local operatives had already participated in previous missions. There was a risk they would be recognized by familiar faces, so this time a unit from the Shancheng military had been sent instead.
The moment Huo Tingchen returned to the base, he went straight to Qin Ruofeng’s family quarters and knocked repeatedly on the door.
Eventually, Auntie Li from next door came out. Seeing Huo Tingchen, she greeted him.
“Captain Huo, you’re here looking for Captain Qin, aren’t you? He’s on leave. The whole family has gone back to Yunnan.”
Huo Tingchen was stunned.
“The whole family went back?”
“That’s right. They all went. They said they’d be back in a few days.”
Hearing that they would return in a few days, Huo Tingchen finally relaxed. He had been terrified that Qin Ruan might never come back.
Back in his dormitory, Huo Tingchen couldn’t stop worrying.
If Qin doesn’t come back this time, what should I do? Should I go all the way to Yunnan to find her? But if I do, will she even agree to come back?
The more he thought about it, the more restless he became.
“Qin Ruan… if you come back this time, I’ll file a marriage application. I’m going to marry you. I’ll keep you by my side forever.”
That was both his resolve and his heartfelt wish—that Qin Ruan would return.
Meanwhile, Qin Ruan, her grandmother, her uncle, and her aunt had already arrived back at their hometown in Yunnan.
When the villagers saw Qin Ruofeng returning with another woman, along with Qin Ruan and Hu Yufen, they immediately grew curious.
“Alright, alright, stop crowding around. This is Ruofeng’s wife,” Hu Yufen said as she introduced Shen Jianing to everyone.
Shen Jianing smiled and greeted the villagers before Hu Yufen led her into the courtyard.
Qin Ruofeng followed behind and said to Hu Yufen with a grin,
“Mom, these people are just as nosy as ever.”
“Of course they are. That’s what village life is like—people always have plenty of gossip and idle talk.”
Qin Ruan laughed.
“Look at me. They’ve been talking about me for years. Have I ever said anything? I’ve learned to let it all roll off my back.”
Hu Yufen, Qin Ruofeng, and Shen Jianing all burst into laughter.
“You silly girl. Is that really how you describe yourself?” Hu Yufen teased.
“Grandma, it’s just a figure of speech. I’m only using it as an expression—it doesn’t mean that’s what I am.”
“Oh my, look at these vegetables! They’re growing so well,” Shen Jianing exclaimed, captivated by the vegetable garden in the courtyard.
Qin Ruan walked over proudly.
“Auntie, take a look. I grew all of these.”
“My goodness, our Ruanruan is so hardworking.”
Qin Ruofeng immediately interrupted.
“Alright, stop praising her. If you keep it up, she’ll get so full of herself she’ll float into the sky.”
“Uncle, when Auntie is complimenting me, could you please not interrupt?”
“I can’t do that. She’s my wife.”
“Hmph! She may be your wife, but she’s also my aunt!”