Wen Xi thought about it for a moment and shook her head. “Comrade Public Security Officer, there’s no need for a reward. This is what we should do as socialist citizens.”
After she leaves tomorrow, she won’t be coming back. She doesn’t know where she will end up in the future, so there’s no need to leave her personal information behind.
Liu Shengli still wanted to ask more, but the sound of a car engine came from downstairs.
“Comrade Public Security Officer, your people are here. Please send this military comrade to the hospital quickly!”
He Chengxiao felt the pain in his wound easing, and warmth gradually returned to his body. His eyelids trembled as he slowly opened his eyes in a daze.
Even while unconscious, he could hear the two people talking and knew that this plump girl had treated his wound and saved his life.
“Com—”
He Chengxiao weakly managed to say only one syllable before several people lifted him from the ground and carried him downstairs.
His vision was blocked and the light grew dim. When he turned his head again, he could only see a strong, broad figure.
After He Chengxiao was placed in the car, the driver stepped hard on the accelerator and rushed toward the county hospital.
“Regimental Commander He, you’re awake? That’s great! Oh my god, that was terrifying just now. If something had happened to you under my watch, I wouldn’t have been able to explain it to the organization.”
He Chengxiao is the commander of the independent regiment of the Northwest Military District. Yesterday, while returning to his unit by train, he received an urgent order from higher-ups and got off midway to assist the county public security bureau in capturing enemy spies.
Liu Shengli nearly cried with relief when he saw He Chengxiao wake up. “You stopped the bleeding thanks to that plump girl. She treated your wound first.”
“Old Liu, check the guesthouse registration later. We need to properly thank her.”
He Chengxiao did not like owing favors.
Liu Shengli readily agreed. “Alright, don’t worry about it. Your injury is the priority right now.”
That was such a good potential talent for the public security system—Liu Shengli even thought of recruiting her under his team, so he definitely wouldn’t forget.
After everyone left, Wen Xi went downstairs. The door had been kicked broken and needed to be replaced with another room.
……
Qinghewan Production Brigade, the Song family home.
As soon as the family entered the courtyard, they saw two large pits in the yard. The fruit trees that once stood there were gone.
“Ah… damn it! Who stole our apple tree and pomegranate tree?”
Wang Zhaodi screamed and rushed forward. In the pits, there wasn’t even a single root left—so clean it looked as if nothing had ever been planted there.
When they entered the house, the Song family was instantly thrown into chaos, screaming nonstop.
The scene in front of them felt like falling into an ice cave—cold fear creeping up their backs.
Wang Zhaodi ran into her room at full speed. Seeing the empty room, her vision went dark and she collapsed to the ground.
Her bed, cabinets, and everything hidden inside the cabinets were gone.
The wall hole—right, there was still the wall hole.
Thinking of the items hidden there, Wang Zhaodi scrambled over and dug frantically.
“Aaaah!” she let out a sharp scream. “Who did this? My money… all gone… stolen!”
She sat on the ground, slapping her legs and wailing. Her face was covered in tears and snot, crying more miserably than when her own mother was buried.
The commotion drew neighbors and villagers, and within half a minute the courtyard was full of people watching.
When they realized the Song family had been stripped bare, they sucked in cold breaths while secretly feeling schadenfreude.
Not a single thing was left. It was so clean it didn’t seem human.
The villagers, who had never seen anything so strange, froze in shock, all wearing the same expression—mouths wide open, eyes bulging.
“Mom, that fat black girl Wen Xi is gone,” Song Juanjuan said.
Hearing this, Wang Zhaodi immediately shouted, “It must be that wench Wen Xi! Call the police! Fourth son, go call the police!”
“When we catch that damn girl, I’ll skin her alive!”
Thinking of raising such a treacherous wolf, Wang Zhaodi nearly fainted from rage.
Hearing her accusation, the neighbor Aunt Zhang spat.
“Wang Zhaodi, at least have some evidence before blaming someone. How could Wen Xi empty your entire house alone? I even saw her earlier carrying just a basket.”
“You don’t even know how much you lost? Tables, cabinets, big jars—she’d need ten hands to move them. And we didn’t hear a single sound.”
“We were chatting outside the whole time. She even greeted us. She only had a basket—nothing else.”
Wang Zhaodi pointed at them in fury. “We’ll let the police decide!”
When the police arrived and inspected the scene, they too found nothing—no clues, no traces. After a few words of comfort, they left.
The Song family was left with nothing and had to rebuild everything. Wang Zhaodi could only call Song Mingyuan for money.
After learning he was on a mission and not at the military base, she could only send her daughters-in-law back to their natal families to borrow money and supplies.
……
Wen Xi did not care about the Song family’s mess at all. She was already on a train to Lancheng.
She failed to get a sleeper ticket and had to endure a hard seat.
Because she was tall and large, even more robust than most men, she actually looked relatively safe.
Even traffickers wouldn’t dare target someone so solid—she would be hard to move even if drugged.
The more than forty-hour train ride in a hard seat left her exhausted and in pain, her body aching as if it were falling apart.
Physical exhaustion was bearable, but what was worse was the crowded carriage filled with foul smells and the overwhelming impact of the restroom—visually and olfactorily.
To avoid using the toilet, she barely ate or drank. When she had no choice, she blocked her nose with paper and forced herself in.
Someone living in the 21st century had never suffered like this before. This hard-seat journey was torture in every sense.
After endless waiting, she finally arrived at Lancheng Station.
Stepping off the train, a cold wind hit her face and she shivered. Even though it was spring, this place was still colder than Qinghewan.
After two days of sensory torture, she finally breathed fresh air again and felt alive.
Next time she travels long distance, she would never take a hard-seat train again—it was pure suffering.
She followed the crowd out of the station and headed right, pretending to be familiar with the place. She immediately spotted a state-run restaurant.
It was breakfast time. After surviving on train food, she wanted something hot and fresh, and also to ask for directions to the military district.
There were not many customers in the state-run restaurant. Wen Xi ordered a bowl of hot noodle soup with a fried egg.
While waiting, she smiled at the cashier and asked, “Comrade, do you know how to get to the military district?”
The clerk glanced at her without even lifting her eyelids, pretending not to hear. She was too busy—who had time for extra work outside her duties.