The Adopted Cannon Fodder Made a Comeback

With everything settled, the group finally felt at ease. They chatted for a little while longer before heading off to rest.

Perhaps none of them slept well that night. Gu’er couldn’t speak for the others, but she knew Lin Shuying definitely hadn’t.

Worried that Lin Shuying would overthink things and let her imagination run wild, Gu’er decided to sleep with her that night. Gu’er already had trouble sleeping in unfamiliar beds, and lately, she’d grown used to having Sun Jiaming by her side. Suddenly sleeping alone felt strange. To make matters worse, Lin Shuying was tossing and turning in her bed, making it impossible for Gu’er to sleep.

But she just stared quietly at the ceiling without a word. She didn’t know what to say, either. There are only so many words of comfort one can offer, and she’d already said them all. Anything more would be pointless. Besides, she understood how Lin Shuying felt. ’If someone had told me to divorce Zhang Da in my past life,’ she thought, ’I probably would have been just as sleepless as she is.’ True peace of mind would only come once the matter was resolved.

The next morning, Gu’er looked at her reflection in the mirror. ’Youth is a wonderful thing,’ she mused. After a sleepless night, Lin Shuying’s eyes were dark and bruised, yet Gu’er didn’t even have dark circles. That was the advantage of being young.

They found a place to eat breakfast, and then Li Zhi led them to the spot where they had agreed to meet Uncle Qi yesterday.

Uncle Qi was in his forties, a tall, thin man with somewhat dark skin. Perhaps due to his line of work, he looked a bit serious, but he was still quite warm toward Li Zhi and the others.

"I arranged to meet them at nine o’clock at the eastern intersection. That road leads straight to Sister Lin’s home. We can just ride in their vehicle when the time comes."

Uncle Qi explained to the group.

"Okay, thank you, Uncle Qi."

Li Zhi thought it was a good arrangement and thanked him with a smile.

"Thank you for going through this trouble for us." 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Lin Shuying also expressed her gratitude.

"It’s no trouble. Sister, don’t be a stranger. Brother Li and I have a life-or-death bond. Li Zhi here is like my own son. When you have a problem and come to me, I know I have to do my best to help. Besides, we’re in the right on this matter. No matter who we talk to, we have nothing to fear."

Uncle Qi gave Lin Shuying a small smile. In truth, many women in the countryside here suffered fates similar to hers. Women had virtually no status; they were seen as little more than tools for bearing children and carrying on the family line. He once encountered a particular case. There was a family that wasn’t well-off. The wife worked endlessly every day and suffered even more abuse at home than Lin Shuying. Several times, her husband had beaten her so badly he’d broken her bones, leaving her bedridden for months at a time.

The woman was a pitiful sight, but once she recovered, she went right back to living with her husband as if nothing had happened. One time, when her husband had to leave for a few days, he was so afraid she would be unfaithful that he took a red-hot soldering iron, pierced her private area, and secured it with a lock.

When the woman could no longer bear the pain, she ran to the village’s Women’s Federation director for help. Only then was it discovered that the area had long since become inflamed and was festering with pus.

The director was furious. She took the woman to the hospital and reported the matter to the municipal Women’s Federation. The Federation decided to stand up for the wife and contacted the police station to have her husband arrested. Uncle Qi happened to be at the station on business at the time. When he heard what was happening, he went along to see. As it turned out, the husband started cursing and hitting his wife right in front of the Federation members and the officers. But then, the wife inexplicably started making a scene. She threw a tantrum at the Federation members, even scratching one of their faces. She screamed that it was her family’s business. No matter how her husband treated her, she would accept it, and they shouldn’t meddle. Even if her husband beat her to death or tortured her to death, he was still her husband. No one else was allowed to arrest him. If they did, she would fight them to the death.

In the end, the people from the Women’s Federation left in a huff. The officers gave the man a stern warning and left as well. There was nothing they could do. The wife refused to press charges, so their hands were tied. The woman went back to her old life, and no one who wanted to help her could.

Every time he thought about that incident, he didn’t know whether to call the woman ignorant or just plain foolish.

While such extreme cases were rare, it was true that women had no status. They had to endure whatever life their man gave them. Some women, just to survive, would follow any man who fed them, regardless of who he was or how he treated them. All that mattered was a full stomach. Women like Lin Shuying, who actually wanted a divorce, were almost unheard of. At most, a woman who couldn’t take it anymore would abandon her children and run off with another man.

Gu’er and the others had no idea what was going through Uncle Qi’s mind. They arrived at the location he’d mentioned just in time to see a military truck pull up.

When the truck stopped, Gu’er looked at the people on board. There were about thirty of them. ’That must be a whole platoon, right?’ she thought. ’That’s quite a few.’

Seeing them all standing ramrod straight in their military uniforms and feeling their powerful presence, Gu’er couldn’t help but straighten her own back. No wonder women sometimes fell for soldiers. Having them stand so uniformly beside you was truly an impressive sight.

Gu’er was moved, but Li Zhi and Dingzi felt it even more deeply, as they had both been soldiers themselves.

They watched as Uncle Qi greeted someone, and then the truck’s tailgate was lowered, signaling for them to climb aboard.

Lin Shuying felt her legs trembling. She tried to move several times but couldn’t take a single step.

In her past life, Gu’er would have been just like her, if not worse. But in this life, Gu’er felt there was nothing to be afraid of. She stepped forward to support Lin Shuying, and Sun Jiaming also lent a hand, helping her onto the truck.

Gu’er nimbly climbed up with Sun Jiaming’s help, and he followed right after her.

Needless to say, climbing up was simple for Li Zhi. But the way Dingzi boarded made many of the soldiers’ eyes widen. The squad leader, in particular, stared at Dingzi with a bright, intense gaze. He had a gut feeling that this Dingzi was highly skilled. ’He must have been a soldier, too,’ he thought, ’and not just an ordinary one.’

The truck started moving. Gu’er helped Lin Shuying stand steady. Sun Jiaming stood beside Gu’er, while Li Zhi stood behind her. Dingzi stood in a corner, trying to be inconspicuous, but he was the one drawing the most attention.

The squad leader approached Dingzi and started talking to him. Dingzi just looked at him. No matter what the squad leader said, the most he got in response was a grunt of acknowledgment or a slight nod. Most of the time, Dingzi’s face remained impassive. He was incredibly cool.

Seeing the squad leader struggling to continue the conversation, Gu’er chuckled to herself. ’People who don’t know Dingzi really have a hard time getting along with him.’

"Squad Leader Shang, my brother here just isn’t a talker by nature. You couldn’t squeeze a word out of him with a crowbar. He’s not intentionally being rude to you, so please don’t take it personally."

Li Zhi quickly stepped in to smooth things over.

"Not at all, not at all. I can see this brother has also served. Where were you stationed before?"

Squad Leader Shang thought Li Zhi was a tactful and perceptive man. He started chatting with Li Zhi instead, hoping to find out more about Dingzi.

Li Zhi mentioned where he used to be stationed. A flicker of understanding crossed Squad Leader Shang’s eyes. That was a major command, not something their small unit could compare to. ’If Dingzi really served in the same place as Li Zhi, and he’s that capable,’ he thought, ’then I can forget about recruiting him. He’s not someone I could get transferred over.’