Chapter 24: When the Door Opens, Tears of Surprise Gaze; Wife and Daughter Embrace in a Warm Room

He turned, Lu Qingshan let out a creak, and shut the wobbling courtyard gate, sealing out the outside clamor and prying eyes.

The courtyard now held only Lu Qingshan and the still somewhat cramped Zhang Guosheng.

"Brother Lu, your home…" Zhang Guosheng looked at the empty, silent courtyard and the two still‑closed doors, and asked hesitantly, "Are you alone?"

Lu Qingshan's heart gave a sudden thump; only then did he realize that Yue E and Xiao Xue were indeed not at home.

He forced down the barely perceptible unease in his chest, shook his head, and tried to keep his tone calm: "Perhaps… they went out to visit neighbors."

He turned his gaze to Zhang Guosheng's head and asked proactively, "How's your wound? Is it healing quickly?"

"Much better, much better, Brother Lu, a few days of rest and it'll be fine, no trouble," Zhang Guosheng said gratefully.

He paused, seeming a bit hesitant, but mustered courage: "By the way, Brother Lu, I… I may be heading back to the Capital City soon. My family's connections have arranged the travel paperwork, delivered it to the village, now I'm just waiting to set out."

"Back to the Capital City?" Lu Qingshan's movements halted slightly.

That was indeed good news.

"Hmm," Zhang Guosheng nodded vigorously, his eyes full of longing for the future, but that light soon dimmed a bit, "It's just… my travel funds, weren't they… were robbed in the mountains?"

"Now the paperwork is in order, but the travel money…" he showed obvious difficulty on his face and sighed heavily, "This time I'm officially returning, not visiting relatives; I may never come back. I asked the villagers for help, but everyone's days are hard, cobbling together whatever they can…"

Lu Qingshan looked at his demeanor and understood.

He suddenly asked, "Are all your family members in the Capital City?"

Zhang Guosheng shook his head, his expression instantly turning vague and lost, "I… I don't know either. Not long after I went down to the countryside, something happened to my family, and I've been unable to contact them since. This chance to return is also to… try to find them, see if I can locate them…"

Lu Qingshan felt a slight stir in his heart.

In his previous life he had vaguely heard of many families being torn apart during that movement, and he himself was one of them.

He fell silent for a moment, then without probing further asked, "From here to the Capital City, roughly how much travel money is needed?"

Zhang Guosheng hesitated, extended a finger, then quickly retracted it halfway, whispering, "Just the train ticket costs quite a bit, plus food and drink on the road… it must be… over ten yuan, I guess."

Over ten yuan.

For most rural families now, that is indeed a sizable sum, perhaps a month's sustenance for a household.

Lu Qingshan asked no further.

He turned, walked to the pile of freshly unloaded goods, and rummaged in the bundle he carried on his back.

The bundle was for storing food, change, and tickets; the change left over from his recent purchases was inside, amounting to a few dozen yuan.

He twirled his finger, felt out three ten‑yuan notes of Great Unity, turned and handed them to Zhang Guosheng.

"Take them, thirty yuan, should be enough for your journey."

Zhang Guosheng stared at the three brand‑new, almost dazzling reddish‑gray notes, was stunned as if burned, flailed his hands, his face turning red.

"No, no, no! Brother Lu! This is too much! Absolutely not! I can't take it! I haven't repaid your life‑saving debt yet…"

"Take it," Lu Qingshan said calmly, his tone carrying an unquestionable authority.

He forced the money into Zhang Guosheng's cold hand.

"The Capital City is vast, not like our mountain valley; there are many places to spend money. Carrying a bit extra never hurts."

Zhang Guosheng clutched the heavy, Lu Qingshan‑warm thirty yuan, feeling as if it weighed over a thousand pounds.

He felt his eyes instantly redden, his lips trembling, so moved he could not form a complete sentence for a long while.

He knew that these thirty yuan, for the Lu standing before him, were probably not a sum he could part with casually.

This gratitude is too heavy! Truly too heavy!

He took a deep breath, carefully, solemnly tucked the three Great Unity notes close to his body, as if holding scorching coals.

Then, as if having made a decision, he untied the small cloth bundle he had brought.

It contained only a few solitary potatoes.

He set aside the potatoes and, from the bottom of the bundle, pulled out a book whose cover was already worn and yellowed, and handed it to Lu Qingshan with both hands.

"Brother Lu, I… I really have nothing else to give you."

"This book is what I brought when I went down to the countryside, and it's my most treasured item, so I give it to you."

"I hope you… in the future can be like the heroes in the book, find your own path, and live a good life."

Lu Qingshan took the book.

The cover bore several bold, powerful characters—'How the Steel Was Tempered'.

He casually flipped open the front page.

Besides the inscription he had seen when rescuing him in the dark last time—'Presented to Comrade Zhang Guosheng, a bright future ahead.'—and a signature and date by someone named Wu Qihua,

below the signature a new line written with a fountain pen, clear and neat, now read an address:

Capital City, Dongcheng District, Hepingli Community, Chemical Dormitory Building 17, Unit 1, Room 201.

Under the address, another line equally fresh,

"Brother Lu, if fate permits a reunion, be sure to come here to find me!" The postscript is Zhang Yanchao.

"My real name is Zhang Yanchao," Zhang Guosheng—no, Zhang Yanchao hurriedly clarified, "Guosheng is a name I adopted after going down to the countryside, hoping it would bring me some luck."

Lu Qingshan ran his fingers over the slightly aged pages, feeling the paper's texture, and nodded.

"Alright, Zhang Yanchao, I've noted it."

His voice was steady.

"If the day comes that I truly go to the Capital City, I will definitely come to this address to find you."

Zhang Yanchao solemnly nodded, his eyes still reddened, and bowed deeply once more, his voice choked.

"Brother Lu, great gratitude cannot be repaid! I must hurry to the town to buy a ticket; time waits for no one, so I take my leave!"

"Take care on the road," Lu Qingshan said, watching him.

Zhang Yanchao glanced at Lu Qingshan again, as if to imprint his face in his memory, then resolutely turned, his steps hurried toward the village outskirts, his silhouette bearing a determined hope toward the unknown.

Watching Zhang Yanchao's swift departing figure, Lu Qingshan felt a touch of sentiment.

A fleeting meeting in chaotic times; if you can lend a hand, you do, and it counts as repaying the regret of my past life with a bit of merit.

He withdrew his gaze and again surveyed the empty, silent courtyard.

The two low doors remained tightly shut.

The unease in his heart surged uncontrollably, growing wildly like weeds.

Yue E and Xiao Xue… where on earth did they go?

Could something really have happened?

He was pondering whether he should set off at once to the old father‑in‑law's house at the former camp, when a sudden clamor of hurried, chaotic footsteps came from the courtyard gate, mixed with a few people's anxious voices.

"…Lu Qingshan really came back!" shouted Hou Zi, his voice thin yet now full of delight.

"Yeah! Hou Zi just ran over and told me, absolutely true! He also told me to meet at Lu Qingshan's house tomorrow morning, saying we'll go into the mountains together!" Zhao Tiezhu's hearty, rugged voice also carried genuine excitement.

Immediately after, a trembling, clearly tearful and unmistakably urgent female voice rang out in haste:

"He… he isn't hurt, right? He's okay? These past two days… where on earth did he go…"

It's Yue E!

It's Lin Yue'e's voice!

Lu Qingshan felt as if a heavy hammer struck his heart, causing an instant, violent tremor!

An indescribable scorching warmth, mixed with sharp guilt and lingering fear, forcefully washed over the hard emotional shield he had painstakingly maintained since his rebirth.

She… she's worried about me?

He hurriedly strode toward the courtyard gate, his steps even tinged with a hint of panic and urgency he hadn't noticed himself.

At the gate, Lin Yue'e clutched Xiao Xue tightly, with Zhao Tiezhu and Liu Fugui guarding her on either side; a few people rushed in with chaotic steps and anxious faces.

Lin Yue'e's eye circles were red as a rabbit's, the tear stains on her face still wet.

When she saw Lu Qingshan standing unharmed in the courtyard's center, she felt her strength drained, staggered, and nearly fell.

Fortunately, Zhao Tiezhu's quick eyes and hands caught her wobbling body in time.

"Head of the house, you… where did you go?! Huh?!"

Lin Yue'e abruptly broke free from Zhao Tiezhu's support, stumbling forward to Lu Qingshan.

She couldn't care about the outsiders nearby; the panic and despair accumulated over two days erupted completely at that moment.

Her tear‑streaked fists pounded Lu Qingshan's solid chest again and again.

Her voice choked, incoherent: "I thought… I thought you again… that you went into the mountains and got licked by the Bear Blind! Do you know that Zhao Tiezhu and I have been searching for you for almost a day!"

"If something really happened to you… Xiao Xue and I… how would we survive…"

Her blows lacked strength, more like an outpouring of despair.

Lu Qingshan's heart jerked sharply, as if an invisible giant hand had clenched it hard.

He froze in place, letting the small fists, tinged with despair and fear, strike his body.

Guilt, heartache, and an indescribable scorching warmth instantly shattered the composure he had deliberately maintained.

He suddenly thrust out his arms and pulled Lin Yue'e tightly into his embrace.

Along with Xiao Xue, who was also clutching his arms with terrified wide eyes, he enveloped them both in this belated yet unusually firm hug.

"I'm fine, Yue E, I'm fine…"

His voice was hoarsely ragged, his chin gently resting on her slightly trembling hairline.

He could clearly feel her body's tremor, the after‑effect of extreme fear.

"I went to town… bought some things the household needed, got delayed a bit."

"I made you worry, I'm sorry…"

The woman in his arms gradually stopped crying, yet her body still twitched lightly, like a frightened little beast.

Xiao Xue seemed startled by the sudden turn of events.

But feeling her father's long‑missed warmth and familiar scent, her little mouth pursed, and finally she didn't cry, merely sinking her small head deep into her mother's warm neck, seeking safety.

Zhao Tiezhu and Liu Fugui, standing nearby, were at a loss, simultaneously turning their heads, their faces showing a simple, awkward grin.

"Cough cough…" Zhao Tiezhu was the first to break the silence, scratching the back of his head, his voice hoarse, "Lu Qingshan, sister‑in‑law, then… then you two talk, we… we'll head back first."

Liu Fugui also hurriedly nodded in agreement, "Yes, Lu Qingshan, sister‑in‑law, I… I'll head back first too! Tomorrow morning! Tomorrow morning I'll definitely be on time!"