Chapter 379

Meng Meng Jiusi stepped forward to meet them, "What iron lump?"

He looked at the wooden bucket in Meng Jingmo's hand; there were two fish inside, and he didn't see any iron lump.

Meng Jingmo seemed to know his father's confusion and said, "The thing was taken away."

"What was it?" Meng Meng Jiusi asked.

"I don't know." Meng Jingmo shook his head and gestured with his hands, "An iron lump this big, round, and a bit heavy. I couldn't fish it up, so Meng Meng Xiaobai had to find the soldier uncle to help me fish it up."

The fishing rod he took to play with was made by Meng Meng Jiusi himself, using sturdy materials, so it wasn't strange that he could fish up an iron lump.

Meng Meng Jiusi guessed it might be the same situation as last year.

"Leave this matter to the state; don't worry about it," he said.

Meng Jingmo had originally wanted to ask more, but after hearing his dad say that, he didn't bring it up again.

Listening to this conversation, Lin Zhao's eyes flickered, and she felt a surge of secret joy in her heart.

Oh my, could the thing Mo Mo fished up be the detector she lost when she came to visit her relatives last time?

"Mo Mo, you're going to be commended and get a cash prize." Lin Zhao pressed both hands on Meng Jingmo's shoulders.

Meng Jingmo: "??"

He also remembered that previous incident, and his eyes suddenly lit up, "If there's money, I'll treat everyone to a meal."

"Alright, that's really generous of you," Lin Zhao praised.

Noticing that she hadn't seen Mao Dan'er, she asked, "Why haven't I seen Mao Dan'er?"

"Mao Dan'er and I fished up the iron ball together. He ran off to find Uncle Ning and said he'd be here in a bit," Meng Jingmo said.

Gu Hangbao pouted, "You went fishing and didn't wait for us?"

Meng Jingmo hurriedly said, "I'll take you tomorrow."

Xiang Yubao touched Meng Jingmo's fishing rod and said, "Is this the fishing rod? Where did you buy it? I want to buy one too. My dad loves eating fish. If I had a fishing rod, I could fish for my dad to eat every day."

"My dad made it," Meng Jingmo said proudly.

Meng Meng Jiusi said, "If Xiang Yubao likes it, I'll make one for you too once we've saved up enough suitable materials."

As someone who studied medicine, he had also learned all kinds of skills for the sake of his children.

Xiang Yubao laughed happily, "Thank you, Little Uncle. Little Uncle is the best."

Lin Lin Heling and Song Song Xiwei stuffed red envelopes into the hands of Meng Jingmo and Meng Guangbai.

"New Year's red envelopes. It's late, but we have to make up for it," Lin Lin Heling said with a smile.

Lin Zhao also took out red envelopes.

"One for each of you. I wish our Mo Mo and Meng Meng Xiaobai a happy new year."

The two children accepted the red envelopes gracefully.

At this moment, Coal Ball walked over with a cat's gait, its fat, truck-like body rubbing against their legs.

"Meow~~"

A cat's meow with a pinched voice rang out.

Meng Meng Xiaobai looked down, "Coal Ball?"

He let out a 'wow', squatted down, and propped up his arms, "Wow, Coal Ball is fatter than Rice Ball."

"Meow!!" Coal Ball's meow was full of dissatisfaction.

Cruel words hurt a kitty's heart!

Gently kicking the two-legged young beast that had hurt its kitty heart with its hind legs, Coal Ball left proudly, resting its front paws on Xiang Yubao, the whole cat turning into a thick strip.

"Mom, where is Coal Ball's food? It's hungry."

Lin Zhao replied, "On the table in your dad's and my room. You feed it, but don't feed it too much. Coal Ball really needs to lose some weight."

Xiang Yubao tried to pick up Coal Ball, but couldn't lift it.

It really did need to lose weight.

"... Oh."

The thing Meng Jingmo fished out of the river was clearly some kind of electronic equipment just by looking at its appearance. The military region attached great importance to it, and several researchers studied it thoroughly, reporting to the leaders with dark circles under their eyes. Although physically exhausted, they were mentally very excited.

"Chief, preliminary verification shows that it is a detector not yet available in the country..." The head of the research team reported the results to the highest leader of the military region.

"It can detect metal," the middle-aged man said.

Thinking that the detector was still operational, a flash of something passed through his eyes, and he continued, "Chief, it detected anomalies in the mountains forty kilometers away. We preliminarily infer... it might be a large weapons depot."

The country had only been founded for a few decades, and everything was still in exploration, and everything was lacking.

Especially in terms of weapons.

Researching weapons required huge funding and talent support, and in the current environment... it was difficult.

Moreover, the borders were unstable, with frequent friction, so the demand for weapons was high.

This was good news!

The highest chief stood up, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes, "Good, good!"

He said 'good' twice and issued several secret orders.

Gu Gu Chenghuai was the person who received the mission.

The matter was urgent, so he returned home to pack a few clothes and was ready to set off.

Seeing this, Lin Zhao hurried to the kitchen, lit the fire, made some dry rations for the man to take with him, and filled his canteen with water.

A large cloth bag, and then a canteen hung on it.

"Take this, eat it on the road." Lin Zhao handed the things to the man, "Be careful. The children and I will be waiting for you at home."

Gu Gu Chenghuai was moved in his heart. He dropped the bundle, leaned over to hug his wife, and his low voice was gentle and firm, "I will. You and the children take good care of yourselves at home. Don't tire yourself out, and if you encounter something you can't handle, go find Fourth Brother."

After giving his instructions, his warm, thin lips left a kiss on Lin Zhao's forehead. He took the luggage and the dry rations his wife had prepared for him, looked at her deeply, and left with quick steps.

Lin Zhao chased after him and stood at the doorway, watching the man leave.

Her heart felt heavy, like a continuous rain falling.

Peace.

She whispered to herself.

However, thinking of the protective red string worn on her man's wrist, she felt relieved.

She turned and went back inside.

Xiang Yubao and Gu Hangbao had just returned from playing with their younger siblings when they heard that their dad had gone on a mission.

"He's gone already? Why is it so urgent?" Xiang Yubao frowned, "When will Dad be back?"

Gu Hangbao also looked up at Lin Zhao.

"It's a classified mission, I don't know."

Xiang Yubao sighed, "Alright then."

The metal detector Meng Jingmo fished out was of great use, and the military region commended him—a certificate of merit, a cash prize of one hundred yuan, and a set of children's military uniforms.

It was more than the reward Black Egg's brother got for fishing out the black iron box before.

Because of this, Lin Zhao got a lot of ingredients: fresh mutton, tofu, potatoes, mushrooms, Chinese cabbage, radishes, winter bamboo shoots, meatballs, fish balls... To enrich the dishes, she got a lot of food.

The adults had low-alcohol osmanthus wine, and the children had soda.

The gathering place was... the main room of the Gu family.

They used a charcoal stove, with a pipe inserted so the smoke could go out through the pipe, making the room warm. The pot was a mandarin duck pot that Lin Zhao had asked Gu Gu Chenghuai to get; it was something the man had found a way to have someone make.

Half was a pungent spicy broth, and the other half was a mushroom soup floating with various mushrooms.

"Wow! It's the pot!!" The twins saw the familiar setup and shouted excitedly.

Xiang Yubao shared with Mao Dan'er and the others, "This is hot pot, very, very fragrant hot pot. I ate it twice during the New Year, and every time I ate until my stomach was stuffed."

"I want to eat it every day, but Mom won't agree," Gu Hangbao said disappointedly, swallowing his saliva as he looked at the red pot base.

Lin Zhao invited Gu Laoyezi Meng and her parents to sit down.

Then she replied to Gu Hangbao, "You still say that! It's because you ate too much spice and your throat got inflamed. If you obediently blanched the mushroom soup, could I not make it for you?"

Gu Hangbao was in the wrong, scratched his nose, and didn't speak again.

He diligently distributed small bowls and chopsticks to everyone.

"Today's meal is mainly to celebrate Meng Jingmo receiving a commendation..." Before Lin Zhao's opening remarks were finished, Gu Hangbao began to clap with his body straight.

"Clap, clap, clap, clap..."

He said loudly, "Let us applaud to encourage the third big friend in the family to receive a certificate of merit!"

Mao Dan'er glanced at him, kept a face as serious as his father's, and began to clap.

Meng Meng Xiaobai and the twins were even more so, their hands clapping loudly.

Pair after pair of eyes looked at Meng Jingmo, who had the brightest red scarf on his chest, their eyes shining.

Gu Laoyezi Meng asked with a smile, "The third one to receive a certificate of merit? Who were the first two?"

Gu Hangbao and Xiang Yubao subconsciously puffed out their chests and raised their heads.

"It's me and my brother, it's us," Gu Hangbao said loudly, "We won first place in the provincial abacus competition, it's a tied first place, oh."

Gu Laoyezi Meng: "Oh? Not bad, you and Xiang Yubao are also excellent and smart children."

The twins received a compliment and their little faces turned red with happiness.

Lin Zhao's mouth twitched a few times as she used serving chopsticks to put food into the pot.

The pot base was bubbling, and the fragrance became even richer, making the children's mouths water.

Seeing Yaobao sat in her high chair, her voice soft and sweet, "Meat, want meat."

The twins were over three years old and spoke fluently. When Seeing Yaobao was anxious, she would still use reduplicated words. Her voice was soft, and she looked like a porcelain doll, so it was very cute when she used reduplicated words.

Mao Dan'er picked up a cooked fish ball, put it into Seeing Yaobao's small bowl, mashed it with a spoon, and sent it to Seeing Yaobao with the bowl and spoon.

The young boy had a smile on his face, "Eat."

The fish balls were made by Lin Zhao herself, the fish meat was delicate, and the twins loved eating them.

"Thank you, Brother," Seeing Yaobao thanked him sweetly.

Mao Dan'er felt that having a younger sister was really great.

"You're welcome, Brother will pick more for you when you finish," he said patiently.

Seeing Yaobao scooped up the meatball with a spoon, stuffed it into her mouth, tasted it, smiled with her eyes curved, and shook her legs happily.

"Meng Meng Xiaobai, eat less spicy food too." Lin Zhao saw Meng Meng Xiaobai's mouth going 'hiss, hiss', his mouth red, but he was still picking food from the spicy pot to eat. A look of helplessness appeared in her eyes, and she reminded him.

Meng Meng Xiaobai froze.

He licked his lips and said weakly, "Spicy is delicious."

"Even if it's delicious, you can't eat too much. Children have weak stomachs, and you'll get a stomachache if you eat too much. The mushroom soup is also delicious, if you don't believe me, try it," Lin Zhao said.

Meng Meng Xiaobai obediently responded, stopped eating the spicy food, and turned to eat the non-spicy one instead.

The mushroom soup was made by Lin Zhao, and the taste was not bad either, so the child's furrowed brows relaxed.

The twins had truly learned their lesson and didn't dare to eat too much spicy food, mainly picking food from the non-spicy pot.

Eating the hot pot and then drinking a sip of soda, every pore in their bodies felt relaxed.

"Mo Mo, eat more. Today's meal was made especially for you." Lin Zhao picked food for Meng Jingmo's bowl, her gaze warm.

Meng Jingmo was also quite happy.

The young boy's brows and eyes held a smile, and the upturned corners of his mouth never fell.

The shadow left in the depths of his heart when Meng Meng Jiusi was taken away and he and his brother were left helpless and bullied seemed to have light shining into it.

He smiled, and he smiled without a trace of gloom.

"Thank you, Little Aunt. I like the pot. If I get an award in the future, can Little Aunt make it for me again?"

"Yes, you can." Lin Zhao's tone was light and slow, and she said without thinking, "You don't have to wait until you get an award. Whenever you want to eat it, just ask, it's not much trouble."

Meng Jingmo said 'um', hissed twice, and drank two sips of soda to relieve the spiciness.

Delicious.

Lin Lin Heling and Song Song Xiwei had lived in the military region for half a month and planned to return to their hometown.

Meng Meng Jiusi bought the train tickets, specifically asked for a day off, and went with Lin Zhao to see their parents off at the train station.

The station.

Lin Zhao's eyes were slightly red, holding her parents' hands like a little girl on her first day of school, "... You must write to me. When the weather gets warm, you must come to see me and Little Brother again. If something happens, send us a telegram. If you lack anything, you must tell me... Dad, Mom, I don't want you to go back, I can't bear to part with you."

Song Song Xiwei was helpless, "I told you not to come, but you insisted on coming. I knew you would shed little pearls."

She used her sleeve to wipe the tears on Lin Zhao's face, her eyes filled with heartache.

"If your dad and I miss you, we'll come. It's just a matter of sitting on the train for a few days. Hurry up and dry your tears. You're such a big person, if your face hurts later, you'll be crying out again."

Lin Zhao pulled down her mother's hand, "Mom, your hand is so heavy, my face hurts."

Song Song Xiwei gave her a look of annoyance, "Is my hand heavy? It's you who are crying yourself. You stinky girl who only knows how to blame others."

After saying this, she stopped paying attention to her and said to Meng Meng Jiusi, "Meng Jiusi, you and Zhao Zhao must help each other. Your sister has never suffered any grievances since she was born, don't let anyone bully her."

Meng Meng Jiusi's face was solemn, "With me here, I won't let my sister be bullied."

"Um, your temperament is steady, I'm relieved," Song Song Xiwei smiled, "Don't work too hard, pay attention to your health."

"I know, Mom and Dad too," Meng Meng Jiusi said.

Lin Lin Heling smiled with satisfaction, "Your mother and I are both in good health, don't worry about us."

The train's urging whistle sounded.

"Enough talk, we should get on the train." Song Song Xiwei held her husband's arm, the couple nodded to their son and daughter, and turned to get on the train.

Before leaving, Lin Lin Heling dotingly flicked Lin Zhao's nose, "When the weather gets warm, your mother and I will come to see you again. Don't cry, take good care of yourself."

After saying this, he patted his son's shoulder and got on the train.

The couple had just put away their luggage when the train started.

They opened the train window and waved vigorously at their son and daughter, their moods quite complicated.

"Go back, take good care of yourselves!"

The brother and sister on the platform chased after them for several meters, the train accelerated, and the familiar faces gradually became unclear.

Meng Meng Jiusi hugged his sister's thin shoulders, "Don't chase anymore."

Looking down, Lin Zhao was shedding tears.

His heart sank slightly, like he had eaten a sour plum. He wiped away his sister's tears and comforted her, "If Dad and Mom knew you were crying, they would definitely be in a rush."

Lin Zhao sniffled, "I can't bear to part with Dad and Mom."

"Dad and Mom can't bear to part with you either, didn't they say... they would come again when the weather gets warm." Meng Meng Jiusi hugged his sister out of the station, planning to take Zhao Zhao to the supply and marketing cooperative to walk around and buy something to distract her.

"It will still be several months," Lin Zhao said gloomily.

"Time passes very quickly, it will slip by in a flash." Meng Meng Jiusi diverted her attention, "Do you want to go to the supply and marketing cooperative to see? I heard that a lot of good things have just arrived. Brother will take you to see? Whatever you take a fancy to, Brother will buy it for you."

"Let's go."

Meng Meng Jiusi: "??"

A girl's mind changes too quickly.

As long as she can be coaxed, it's fine.

After a round of buying at the supply and marketing cooperative, Lin Zhao's mood blossomed like spring, and there was a smile on her face.

They left under the envious gazes of several sales clerks.

Meng Meng Jiusi found the trick to making his sister happy, and his mood was also quite good.

"Back to the military region?"

Lin Zhao nodded, "Back."

The brother and sister got in the car and returned to the military region.

Returning to the military region, Lin Zhao first went to the mail room and picked up three letters.

One from Gu Chan, one from Nan Qiao, and one from Guan Song Zhiqing.