This time when Lu Zhanguo left, Gu Xiaobei, because of the daily company of the two children, did not find life unbearable. Instead, she felt that there was not enough time.

When Aunt Wang had to go back to the village to harvest autumn crops, Gu Xiaobei was even more like a spinning top. Fortunately, after being neglected by Gu Xiaobei several times, Xiaopang became well-behaved and no longer required holding as soon as he woke up. So after feeding the children, Gu Xiaobei would let the two children lie on the kang while she seized the time to wash their diapers and clothes and cook. If the children slept, she would squeeze out some time to translate manuscripts.

The time passed busy and fulfilling, Gu Xiaobei’s only worry was that when the children got a bit older and started to rollover or crawl, she would need someone there at all times. That is when she would feel truly spread thin.

The vegetables in the field were also taken care of by Li Fengmei and Ge Chunling, who helped harvest and plant crops for winter storage. So Gu Xiaobei didn’t need to go out, and as a strange relief, Qu Yan, who was across, had been quiet for a long time and had not appeared. Gu Xiaobei wondered, why the sudden cessation of action? Had a new target emerged?

Gu Xiaobei still couldn’t put the nightmare at the hospital behind her, suspecting that Qu Yan had something to do with it, but she had no evidence. She heard that Qin Ximei was detained for a month and then released, while Sun Erhui was locked up for intentional injury.

Some hatred welled up inside Gu Xiaobei. This Qin Ximei had suggested such a poisonous idea, yet was released so lightly in the end, while she could only harbor her hatred at home. She was a bit annoyed if it wasn’t lawless times, she could have killed Qin Ximei.

Due to suspicions about Qu Yan, Gu Xiaobei remained vigilant at home every day, ensuring her doors were always double-locked and windows shut when sleeping at night, afraid that Qu Yan might stir up some more trouble.

In mid-October, the two little mischief-makers learned how to rollover, especially Xiaopang, who appeared chubbier than Little Mo Wang, but was agile. The weather was getting cold, so the two children had already put on thin cotton jackets.

Gu Xiaobei could only build a barrier around the kang with pillows and quilts to prevent the two children from rolling off.

Aunt Wang fell and hurt her leg while harvesting corn at home, unable to come over for a while, which made Gu Xiaobei even busier.

Lu Zhanguo had already been gone for more than half a month, and whenever she had time, Gu Xiaobei couldn’t help but worry--would there be danger, would he get hurt?

When Li Fengmei came over for a visit, she saw that Gu Xiaobei had placed the two children in the kang, and the place was a mess.

"What are you trying to do?" Li Fengmei asked in surprise.

Gu Xiaobei walked over, pulled at the blanket on the kang, and said helplessly, "I went to cook, and Xiaopang rolled around in here. I don’t know how long ago he pooped, and it got all over the kang and Mo Wang."

Li Fengmei laughed: "This little girl is really naughty. However, when these two children start to crawl, you wouldn’t be able to leave them alone. By then, you wouldn’t even have time to eat."

Gu Xiaobei sighed. Raising children was not what she had imagined - it was exhausting.

While Li Fengmei helped watch the children, Gu Xiaobei went to the bathroom to wash the blanket and clothes. She didn’t know why, but while washing, she felt a sudden tightness in her chest and found it a little difficult to breathe.

Gu Xiaobei stood up straight and pounded her chest. She was always in good health, so why was she having chest pains?

After resting for a while and taking a deep breath, the tightness in her chest eased a little. After washing the clothes and hanging them on the balcony, she went into the bedroom to see Li Fengmei playing with the two children. The two little ones were being teased by Li Fengmei, laughing with their toothless mouths wide open.

Seeing Gu Xiaobei enter the room, Li Fengmei straightened up and said laughingly, "Your two children are really growing fast. Little Mo Wang has taken after Lu, while this little girl looks just like you, with round eyes. So young, and her eyelashes are already so long."

Like all mothers, Gu Xiaobei was pleased to hear praise for her children, but she modestly replied, "They’re so young, how can you tell?"

Li Fengmei, laughing and touching Xiaopang’s hand, said, "This little girl, the more I look at her, the more I like her. If only my Xiaodong wasn’t so old, otherwise I would turn her into my Xiaodong’s wife."

Gu Xiaobei chuckled at her words, "Do people still arrange childhood marriages? By the way, have you heard any news about when they will come back from the mission?" Gu Xiaobei felt that life at home was dull, and that Li Fengmei would likely have more recent news.

Li Fengmei shook her head, "I haven’t heard anything. This kind of situation is classified, how could I find out? We can only wait at home."

Feeling somewhat despondent, Gu Xiaobei didn’t let it show on her face. Reaching out to hold Mo Wang, she started to play with Little Mo Wang’s little face.

----------------

Because winter comes early in the Northwest, heating was available by late October. The two little ones were almost four months old. Little Mo Wang had facial features like Lu Zhanguo, but had fair and soft skin. The two children looked like paintings of children.

Gu Xiaobei had also adapted to taking care of two children by herself. She would wake up every morning and prepare all the day’s meals so she wouldn’t have to cook for lunch and dinner. During her spare time, she would play with the two little ones, who had already begun to interact and would make exclamations from time to time.

Just as Gu Xiaobei was playing with the children and counting the days until Lu Zhanguo’s return, Zhang Lijun came back, bringing with him some bad news. Lu Zhangui had been hospitalized in the province capital.

Upon hearing the news, Gu Xiaobei could only steady herself by holding onto the doorframe to prevent from sliding to the floor. Her mind was blank, and she murmured, "Is his life in danger?"

Zhang Lijun’s gaze was all over the place. After a long pause, he finally said, "Sister-in-law, you should pack up, let Fengmei and Guanghan accompany you to the province capital."

Gu Xiaobei was not a fool. Zhang Lijun not answering directly meant the injury was severe. And if he had disregarded the fact that she had two children to look after to come and inform her, the obvious answer was that Lu Zhanguo’s life was in danger.

Li Fengmei also arrived and came forward to help Gu Xiaobei, saying, "Sister-in-law, you can’t be upset right now. We haven’t seen Lu yet and we don’t know the situation. You can’t get too worked up, you should remember that the two children still need to be breastfed." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Gu Xiaobei clung to Li Fengmei’s hand, like she was her last lifeline. Muttering, "Yes, I can’t frighten myself. Fengmei, please help me pack, we need to leave quickly." After saying this, tears poured out from her eyes. She was completely lost and didn’t know what to pack.

Ge Chunling and Wu Guanghan also arrived. While Chunling helped pack the children’s clothes and diapers, Guanghan stood with Zhang Lijun, looking at Gu Xiaobei who was in a daze, alternating between grabbing clothes and blankets aimlessly, like a puppet.

Zhang Lijun felt devastated in his heart. In the last operation, Lu Zhanguo wasn’t supposed to have been injured. But because of a moment’s distraction from one of his soldiers, they got exposed to the enemy’s gunfire. Lu Zhanguo took a shot to the chest while trying to save his soldier.

Lu Zhanguo was taken by helicopter to get the best medical treatment that night. But after a few days, there were still no signs of improvement. After a consultation, the doctor made the dreaded decision to inform the family to come and say their final goodbyes.