Stepmother Reborn: Dad, my mom hasn't hit me for three days

It had been a long time since the captain had been saluted with such a formal military salute, and she was a little overwhelmed for a moment.

Zhang Xiuhua was more of a scrutinizer. In the past thirty years, she could not remember such a person appearing in Liushui Village.

The man has regular facial features, and the military uniform makes him look taller and his upright demeanor gives people a feeling of being honest and reliable.

Zhang Xiuhua glanced away and then looked away. Seeing that the captain's mother was still shocked, she quickly touched her with her arm.

The captain's mother then reacted, "Yes, my youngest son's name is Zheng Jun."

People in the countryside seldom call each other by their full names, so when the other person called her out suddenly, she didn't recognize the name.

Knowing that this person was the comrade-in-arms her youngest son had mentioned, she immediately and enthusiastically invited him into the house, "Come on, come on, come in. Are you tired?"

Seeing that there were guests at her house, Zhang Xiuhua immediately called out to the courtyard, "Baolin Jilin, let's go home."

Baolin and Jilin responded loudly. When they passed the porch, they saw a stranger passing by, and they stared at him with curious eyes.

Children always have great respect for soldiers, and they saluted each other, imitating the plots in model operas.

I thought it was just some kids playing around, but the man turned his head and saw it, then he immediately stopped and saluted him.

A feeling of pride immediately rose on Jilin's shy little face, and his little chest stood straight.

When Baolin saw the soldier saluting Jilin, he immediately followed suit.

The man saluted again. Baolin was so happy that she almost fainted. Her little mouth opened wide, revealing her missing front teeth. She seemed to have thought of something, and immediately covered her mouth with her little hands, turned around and ran out of the yard.

"Mom! The soldier uncle saluted me." Baolin and Jilin didn't hold their mother's hands. They jumped excitedly, walked backwards from time to time, and talked to Zhang Xiuhua.

Seeing the two children's sparkling eyes, Zhang Xiuhua couldn't help but laugh, "Mom saw it."

Jilin had always been a dull person, but now he was so excited that he kept chattering like a soldier, and then he made a great wish, "When I grow up, I want to be a soldier too."

Zhang Xiuhua laughed. Children's dreams change every day. Just now when she was making rice candy, he leaned over the edge of the pot and said that he wanted to be a chef in the future, and in the blink of an eye he wanted to be a soldier.

Baolin straightened his chest proudly, "Then I want to join the army too."

……

Zhang Xiuhua waited for a whole day, but there was no reply from the captain's mother.

Although she shouldn't go to the other party's house to urge them to come back when there are guests, but if Jidong doesn't come back, she will have to suffer for a day. She really can't wait that long. Besides, there is more than a month before the autumn harvest. If she delays any longer, it will be even worse if no one accompanies her to pick up the child.

Zhang Xiuhua could no longer sit still, so she called Baolin over to light the fire. She fried a bowl of soybeans, put them in her sling pocket, and took them straight to the captain's house.

When she arrived, the soldier who had come yesterday had not left yet, and they were discussing something in the main room.

When the captain's wife saw her, she remembered something important. She slapped her thigh and said, "You said my brain. I have completely forgotten about your matter."

Everyone looked over, curious about what was going on.

The captain's wife then told Zhang Xiuhua everything she had said, and finally expressed her own opinion, "I think this matter is a bit risky, but Xiuhua is stubborn and insists on getting the child back."

Several men in the main room looked at each other, and no one dared to raise his head.

Finally, the captain asked, "Xiuhua, if the child is not Jidong, we will at most waste some time and travel expenses. But if the child is Jidong, who will raise him? Your father is old, and in a few years he won't be able to work in the fields to earn work points."

The captain is the captain after all, and he thinks more deeply than others. Zhang Xiuhua also understood what he meant, he just didn't want the team to pay for Jidong.

She made a quick decision, "Captain, don't worry, I won't let Dad raise him. I will."

"You're going to support them?" The captain's wife thought Xiuhua was crazy. "As a woman, you can barely support two children with the few work points you earn. How can you afford to support another one? You'd better not be foolish. Think about your two children."

Zhang Xiuhua was determined. She smiled at the captain's wife and said, "I know. But Jidong is my brother's only child. How sad he would be if he knew his only flesh and blood was abused. He has loved me since he was a child. Jidong is my nephew. I don't want to live with a guilty conscience for the rest of my life. Captain, aunt, I ask you to help me this time. Don't worry, I will cover the round-trip fare. You don't have to spend any money. I will also give you an extra five dollars as a thank you fee so that you don't make a wasted trip."

The soldier looked at her in surprise.

The captain waved his hand and said, "We all live in the same village, why would you ask for money? This is a big deal. I need to hold a meeting to discuss it."

No matter how anxious Zhang Xiuhua was, she could only wait.

She nodded and thanked everyone, "It's my fault for delaying you all this time. If you need me in the future, just call me."

The villagers told her not to worry as the captain would take care of the matter.

As soon as Zhang Xiuhua left, the team leader asked his wife to go find the brigade cadres to discuss the matter.

The soldier stood up and wanted to walk away, but the captain stopped him and said, "Jianguo, do you know this place called Muxi County?"

Li Jianguo had actually been there. He had a comrade from there. He nodded and said, "I know. I've been there before. The clan consciousness there is very strong, and people like to stick together. If you want to bring the child back openly, you'll have to spend a lot of money."

As soon as this was said, some villagers immediately backed off, saying, "Xiuhua doesn't have the money."

Someone immediately agreed, "They are the local bosses. No matter how many of us go, we can't defeat them. It's a waste of time. It's not worth it. The autumn harvest is coming soon. I think we should just forget it."

Li Jianguo looked around at the expressions of the crowd and saw that everyone agreed with what the two said, so he immediately added, "If the right way doesn't work, you can steal the child."

"Ah? What if he gets caught?" Some villagers thought this idea was unreliable. That child was not his, why would he take such a big risk?

"Yes. Stealing a child is a felony."

"I can't do this. Don't bother with me."

The captain said to everyone, "Of course we don't need to steal the child. Xiuhua will go with us. Let her steal. We can only provide cover."

Everyone looked at each other, but no one expressed their opinion.

The brigade cadres came, and Li Jianguo couldn't stay in the main room any longer, so he made an excuse to go out for some fresh air and left the yard.

He turned a corner along the path and saw the threshing floor he had passed on the way here. Many children were standing there laughing and playing games.

The woman named Xiuhua was sitting in the threshing floor, twisting hemp ropes with others. She would only glance over here from time to time, and when she looked up again, her eyes met his.

Zhang Xiuhua was stunned for a moment, nodded at him, and then looked away.

After an unknown amount of time, the captain's mother slowly came over. Seeing Li Jianguo, she smiled and greeted him, "Go home quickly. Dinner will be ready soon."

Li Jianguo nodded.

The captain's wife wanted to talk to Zhang Xiuhua about something, so she came straight to her.

Zhang Xiuhua saw her and ran over first, "How is it? Auntie, is it done?"

The captain's mother sighed and told her about everyone's difficulties one by one.

"The autumn harvest is coming soon, and the team is in need of people."

Li Jianguo only had time to hear these words when he turned around. He looked back at Zhang Xiuhua, who was stamping her feet anxiously, "No, auntie, we can't wait any longer. Jidong will be beaten to death by them."

He slowly withdrew his gaze and walked away in the direction of the captain's house.

Before he had taken a few steps, he saw a gust of wind running past him, and from behind he heard the captain's mother's anxious shouting, "Xiuhua? Xiuhua? Don't be so excited. It's not like we won't save you. Just wait a few more days."

Zhang Xiuhua was unwilling to wait. After the autumn harvest, she had to dry the grain and plow the land to plant wheat. There were only a few days of slack time before the New Year. By then, Jidong had no idea how many beatings and sufferings he would have to endure.