Chapter 65: A Historic Night Talk in the Cowshed

The sky had already turned dark, and the Cowshed was even more pitch-black. Hearing the sound of the door being pushed open, Mo Kun hurried out from the room, only then seeing the tall and short siblings.

An Yinan was just about to speak, but Mo Kun quickly said, "Come inside to talk."

An Yinan frowned; could it be that someone was still watching the Cowshed?

After the siblings entered the room, Peng Yanling hurriedly lit the kerosene lamp. For people like them in the Cowshed, lamp oil was still very precious; it was not like before.

"You are An Yinan!" Mo Kun had no doubt. Seeing the young woman who came with An Xiangbei, it must be the An Yinan that the lad Chen Xun had mentioned.

"I am." An Yinan nodded, and without standing on ceremony, she sat down in the seat Peng Yanling offered.

Peng Yanling quickly expressed her gratitude, "Nan Nan, may I call you that? Thank you for saving Yun Shen. If something had happened to Yun Shen, I really don't know what I would have done."

"Beibei and Yun Shen are good friends, and I like Yun Shen very much too. Anyone who encountered that would have stepped in." An Yinan did not take credit.

But Mo Kun and Peng Yanling were both shrewd; would anyone really have stepped in? Avoiding harm and seeking benefit is human nature; how could anyone just step in?

The couple said nothing else, but they kept An Yinan's kindness in their hearts.

Ever since Yun Shen went to the children's gathering, his personality had become much more cheerful upon his return. After this kidnapping incident, he had become increasingly silent. They saw it in their eyes and felt anxious in their hearts, yet they could find no effective solution.

Just then, Mo Yunshen pushed the door and walked in. Seeing the two people in the room, his eyes lit up, "An Jie, Beibei."

"Yun Shen." Beibei, who was somewhat mature for his age, only then returned to his childlike appearance, taking a medicine bottle out of his pocket, "This is what my sister gave me the day after our gathering, telling me to give it to you to rub on your hands."

The rest of the words were left unsaid. Both children were highly intelligent; with half the words spoken, they could understand the meaning.

"Thank you, An Jie." Mo Yunshen's eyes were bright.

These past few days, he knew about his own kidnapping, so he naturally didn't dare go to the village to find Beibei, fearing he would bring danger to Beibei. But he was also very uneasy inside, afraid that he would have no friends again.

When the children in the village ran into him, they would call him a jinx, a wild child, a bastard, a wolf cub.

He was not!

But he couldn't argue with them, couldn't beat them, and in the end, he could only wait in silence.

Until he met Beibei. They could pick wild vegetables together, cut pig feed together, and share study tips together. Later, they also met Huzi and Shitou. If anyone dared to call him a wild child, they would all fight back. Over time, no one dared to call him that anymore.

An Yinan ruffled Mo Yunshen's hair. Mo Yunshen's hair was somewhat yellowish, a manifestation of malnutrition. Looking at the child's cautious gaze, her heart felt sour.

"Yun Shen, do you know a quote from Mencius?" An Yinan smiled gently; under the light of the kerosene lamp, she was so gentle and tolerant.

"What quote?" Mo Yunshen asked unconsciously.

"Mencius once said: 'When Heaven is about to place a great burden on a person, it must first frustrate their spirit, exhaust their muscles and bones, starve their body, leave them destitute, and frustrate their every action, so as to stir their heart and harden their nature, and increase their capacity for what they could not do before.'"

"You are so smart; you will understand the meaning of this sentence. In an environment like this, you will understand it even more, right?" An Yinan looked straight at the child in front of her. She was afraid that this child, because of his current environment, would walk down a path of no return.

People who turn evil must have a hostile environment.

Mo Yunshen repeated the sentence in his mouth, once, twice, his eyes growing brighter and brighter, sweeping away his previous gloom.

"Thank you, An Jie." The young boy bowed solemnly, a ninety-degree bow that made An Yinan silently wipe the corner of her eye.

"Since you are thanking me, can you tell me what you want to do in the future?" An Yinan asked.

This question made Mo Yunshen silent for a moment. However, the boy's thoughtful appearance made Mo Kun and Peng Yanling look at each other; Peng Yanling kept wiping away tears, covering her red lips.

A long time passed. Not only was Mo Yunshen thinking, but An Xiangbei was also thinking. What did they want to do in the future?

"I want to join the army, I want to protect Huaxia, let the clouds disperse, let the sunlight shine down, and let the people behind me be free from worry." Mo Yunshen's tone was firm. He looked at Mo Kun with admiration, his gaze becoming even more determined.

An Yinan nodded and looked at An Xiangbei, "What about Beibei? What do you want to do?"

In the past, Beibei wanted to join the army, to be a hero like his father, and to be proud of his father. But what about now?

An Xiangbei hesitated for a moment, but finally spoke, "I want to be a diplomat, to fight with the pen externally and stabilize internally, so that soldiers don't have to fight frustrating battles, and the citizens don't have to worry about ceding territory and paying indemnities."

An Yinan was very surprised; even she hadn't noticed her younger brother's transformation.

"One civil, one military, truly wonderful. In you two, I see the future of Huaxia, so bright." Mo Kun couldn't help but applaud.

No one in the world would have thought that the backbone of Huaxia, one civil and one military, would be set in this remote mountain village, in this dilapidated Cowshed, and in a scene with only five thin people, setting the tone for their entire lives.

And at this moment, Mo Yunshen and An Xiangbei looked at each other, everything understood without words. With civil and military watching over, they only had one goal: to make Huaxia prosperous.

"Alright, looking toward the future is important, but we still have to talk about the present." An Yinan clapped her hands and lifted the things she had brought.

"This is a small cotton-padded jacket and trousers I made for Yun Shen. Wearing them inside your clothes, no one will notice." An Yinan handed a set of cotton clothes to Peng Yanling.

"Inside here is coarse grain. I really have no way to send fine grain to you here. You make do with eating this for now; you have to fill your stomachs after all."

"These are Steamed Buns and buns; eat them as soon as possible, don't leave any behind, or people will be left with evidence."

Although Mo Kun and Peng Yanling knew all this, An Yinan was still worried that they wouldn't bear to eat them. After all, they had been in this Cowshed for three years, and many things just become habits over time.

"Don't worry, I know." Mo Kun agreed directly.

An Yinan thought about the situation outside, and only then asked Mo Kun, "What is the situation outside? Is anyone still watching?"

Mo Kun shook his head, "It's been much better recently. A while ago, some strangers were always coming to the Cowshed. I suspect it has something to do with that matter."

With two children present, it wasn't convenient for him to be too clear; all of this had to do with Little Japan.

"If they can't find it, they'll withdraw. But Peng Yi, you need to pay more attention to safety here." An Yinan thought for a moment and still gave a word of caution.

Little Japan's target was Peng Yanling—no, to be precise, it was for that Biological Virus Formula.

"Mm, there are already arrangements from above; we don't need to worry about our safety here for the time being." Mo Kun laughed heartily.

Over these years, except for when that lad Chen Xun came, he had rarely laughed so freely.