Chapter 45: A Letter Home

Take the Li family in Lingao City, for example. The reason they’ve been able to control all the latrine concessions in the city for hundreds of years and collect fees was because their ancestors fought for the old Zhu family to conquer the world. As for these northern-bound cadres, they didn’t have to fight their way up on the battlefield with swords and spears like the common soldiers.

Tan Xiaoqin, however, was a little confused. She was a woman and would have to marry sooner or later. Whose fortune was this? The Tan family’s, or the family of her future husband, who was still unknown?

Forget it, I won’t worry about this for now. I should think about the preparations for the next few days.

On the bed was the equipment that had just been issued. The weather in Guangdong was a few degrees colder than in Hainan. During the Little Ice Age, the extreme temperature in Guangdong could drop to 0°C, so it was necessary to prepare warm clothing. The clothing issued to the northern-bound cadres included a waterproof and cold-proof woolen short overcoat—the military version without the decorations. In addition, there were oilcloth short boots, wool socks, hats, and gloves.

These were all rare items in Hainan. Although Hainan was much colder now than in her parents’ time, and it even snowed occasionally, a padded jacket with a thin layer of cotton was usually enough for most of the winter. As for things like boots, only soldiers wore them in Hainan.

A thin woolen blanket, a dog-skin mattress—to be laid on the ground to insulate from the cold and damp, a godsend for those who needed to sleep outdoors—was rolled up and packed in a canvas roll bag. A canvas backpack contained personal change of clothes. A canvas satchel contained emergency rations, a first-aid kit, and a full set of stationery: a dip pen, an ink bottle, nibs, a specially issued notebook, and memo paper with the letterhead of the Senate’s Guangdong Military Control Commission. Each person had their own round name seal carved, stored in an integrated seal box with a matching ink pad.

Because they were going to a war zone, the northern-bound cadres were issued new revolvers and twenty rounds of ammunition. The holster and ammunition pouch were hung on a canvas military belt, on which a bamboo water bottle was also hung.

The issued equipment was comprehensive, not even toilet paper was missed. Female cadres were also issued sanitary supplies. After checking all the items against the list, Tan Xiaoqin couldn’t help but sigh to herself, “The Chiefs are really too meticulous.”

“What are you writing?” Lu Cheng asked, seeing the paper and pen spread out on her desk.

“Didn’t the Chief instruct everyone to write a letter home?”

Although the reason given for writing the letter was “you’ll be away for a long time, so say whatever important things you need to say to your family,” everyone knew that “say whatever important things you need to say” was a euphemism for writing a will.

“You haven’t written a single word.”

“I can’t think of what to write,” Tan Xiaoqin said, a little annoyed. She had grown somewhat distant from her family in recent years. It seemed that her family’s affairs had little to do with her—in fact, they didn’t consult her on family matters, only telling her about things they needed her help with. In the past few years, her sister got married, her brother took a wife, they built a new house… she had contributed money to all of it. But as for how it was all done, it seemed to have little to do with her.

“Write a few words anyway. This trip will take at least a year or half a year,” Lu Cheng advised her. “Even if there’s a vacation, the round trip will take several days.”

Tan Xiaoqin retorted, “Have you written yours?”

“I wrote it long ago, just a few sentences,” Lu Cheng said with a relaxed expression. “I’m more worried about how to start work in a new place. It’s all a new area.”

“Sigh, I’d rather think about the same things as you,” Tan Xiaoqin sighed. “I think I’ll just write that all is well, and not to worry.”

Not far from their barracks, in another dormitory, the newly appointed company commander of the 3rd Company, 1st Infantry Battalion, Tian Liang, was sitting blankly at his desk, chewing on the end of a pencil, scribbling on the paper in front of him, having written it countless times.

He was still wearing the old Type 1 uniform. The newly issued Type 5 uniform was hanging on the wall behind him, freshly brushed by his orderly. The new equipment was also spread out on the bed.

Although Tian Liang had a low level of education and poor military skills, and had shown no outstanding performance in his many years of combat service, he was the epitome of mediocrity. However, relying on his consistent caution, and his performance of being unremarkable but also not making mistakes, he had accumulated seniority. As a senior lieutenant in the 1st Battalion, he had ridden the wave of military expansion and become a captain and company commander. Although he was a few steps behind, he had managed to catch up with most of his peers, as few naturalized citizen officers reached the rank of major and became battalion-level officers.

With his promotion, Tian Liang’s thoughts began to stir again. He could never forget Guo Fu. But he had lost contact with her for a long time. During that time, he had gone to the Bairen General Hospital to look for her but couldn’t find her. The doorman said that “Nurse Guo” had been transferred to Sanya. Later, he wrote several letters to Guo Fu, but because he didn’t know her specific address, the letters either disappeared without a trace or were returned with the postmark “address unknown.” This time, before his promotion to company commander, he attended an officer training course and met a naturalized citizen officer who had once served in Sanya. From him, he learned of Guo Fu’s whereabouts.

It turned out that Guo Fu was no longer in Sanya—she had returned to Lingao, supposedly for further studies. Tian Liang wrote a letter to the Bairen General Hospital and, to his surprise, quickly received a reply from Guo Fu.

Brother Liang,

Your letter has been received. We have not corresponded for many years. Knowing that you are well, my heart is at ease.

You mentioned the past in your letter. Recalling those years is like a nightmare. Now that I think about it, the kindness of the Yuanlao in remaking our lives is greater than that of our parents. We can only repay a fraction of it by studying and working hard, and doing our utmost to serve the Senate.

As for your request to meet, my work at the hospital is very busy, and I am still continuing my studies. I have no free time. If there is a chance in the future, we will meet again.

I am well, do not worry.

The surgery is about to begin. I am going to bathe and change. I will stop here.

With military greetings,

Guo Fu

Although the reply was only a few sentences and she did not agree to meet him, for Tian Liang, who had been bitterly in love with Guo Fu, these few lines were like sweet rain after a long drought. He didn’t understand some of the phrases, but he was unwilling to show the letter to others, so he copied them down and asked people.

He kept the letter in his officer’s ID wallet, carrying it close to his body. In his free time when he was alone, he would often take it out to look at it, touching the crumpled “Bairen General Hospital” letterhead with a tenderness as if stroking a young girl’s skin, and letting out a silly laugh.

Now, spread out before him was a letter to Guo Fu. He had no relatives in this world. The letter the Chiefs instructed them to write to their families, he had no one to write to. After thinking about it, there was only Guo Fu.

However, compared to Guo Fu’s beautiful handwriting with a dip pen, Tian Liang’s handwriting was truly unsightly. His cultural studies had always been stumbling. To write a letter—at this moment of parting, from which he might never return, he had too much to say—to convey his feelings to Guo Fu with a brush and ink was too difficult for Tian Liang. At first, he didn’t dare to write with a dip pen. He used a pencil to make a rough draft, and after much effort, he finally composed a letter.

Dearest Sister Fu,

We received the official order today and are about to move out. The Chief told us to write to our families and say all the important things. I thought about it, and the only person I can write to is you.

Sister Fu, we are both orphans. When we were fleeing back then, we walked together, ate together when there was food, and drank together when there was water. When it rained, we found a broken umbrella. You gave me one shoulder, and I gave you one shoulder. We could only shelter our heads.

You said the past was a nightmare, but looking back, there were also many happy things. Do you still remember when we caught grasshoppers in the fields and roasted them in the ruined temple?

Although we were suffering back then, we depended on each other and helped each other along the way, and we survived.

After arriving in Hainan, you were in the hospital, and I was in the army. We never had a chance to meet. After so many years apart, I still often think of you. You should know my feelings.

When I write letters, I always think of you. I don’t know what you look like now. You must be even more beautiful than before.

We are not young anymore, and we don’t have elders in our families to make decisions for us. If you are willing, after I return from this expedition, I want to meet you and talk about our future together.

You know me. I am a simple person, not very smart. I became a company commander entirely thanks to the Chief’s cultivation. But I have no bad intentions and am an honest person. I will never bully you, nor will I mess around with other women. If I can continue to serve in the army, my salary is enough to support a family. If I get injured and can’t serve in the army anymore, the Chief will give me a way out when I retire, and at worst, I’ll be a local cadre.

If I don’t come back, don’t be too sad. People always die in war. The Chief also said that everyone has to die once. If you hadn’t cut out my rotten sore and cleaned my wound back then, I probably would have died on the road and never met the Chief or become this company commander. To have lived until now is already a gain. Speaking of repaying the Chief’s kindness, my life is not enough to repay it. But I hope to live a few more years, to fight more for the Chief, and to protect the Senate as it takes over the world.

If I don’t come back, I have already written a will, leaving all my saved military pay and a few sets of military uniforms to you. You will need money when you get married in the future. Although the clothes are old, they are made of good material and can be worn by your future husband.

That’s all I have to say. I have to go and check the preparations in the company now. My military mail number is 9417. Write to me when you have time.

Tian Liang

Tian Liang finished copying the last word with a dip pen in a crooked hand and read it carefully again. He blew the letter dry, put it in an envelope stamped with “Military Mail,” wrote the address of the Bairen General Hospital, and finally, “To Comrade Guo Fu.”