Chapter 203 - 139: The Loveliest People of Those Years
Only the children, running and jumping in the streets, still had smiles on their faces.
Three million strong marched out of Sichuan, leaving nine of ten homes without a man!
A wave of melancholy washed over Zhou Yan.
The Japanese invaders had never set foot in Sichuan, yet the Sichuan Army had suffered the most casualties.
Zhang Shufen pursed her lips, saying nothing. She cracked the whip, and the horse picked up its pace.
The carriage entered Zhou Village, where white mourning silks were also hung everywhere along the road.
The distant hillsides were covered in fresh graves.
Zhang Shufen stopped the carriage at their front gate. She handed the reins to Zhou Qing, took out her key to unlock the door, and pushed it open. A shadow stood behind the door, and she subconsciously reached for the small knife at her waist.
"Shufen, it’s me." The person behind the door stepped out and held her hand, whispering, "Don’t make a sound."
Zhang Shufen’s eyes flew open. Her hand trembled uncontrollably, and her legs gave way as she started to collapse.
Zhou Yi quickly caught her, patting her back gently. "Relax! Relax! I’m back."
Outside, the three children on the carriage stared with wide eyes.
"Bad guy..." The youngest, Zhou Han, had just started to speak when Zhou Qing clapped a hand over his mouth, effectively muting him. He then drove the carriage into the courtyard, shushed Zhou Han, and said in a trembling voice, "It’s Dad!"
"Dad?" Zhou Ze sat on the carriage, staring at Zhou Yi with eyes full of curiosity.
Zhang Shufen, recovering slightly, turned back to Zhou Qing and said, "Zhou Qing, close the gate. Take your two younger brothers inside and don’t say a word."
"Alright!" Zhou Qing replied. He tied up the horse, then went to lock the main gate from the inside before pulling his two younger brothers into the main hall.
"Let’s go inside too." Zhou Yi swept Zhang Shufen up into his arms and carried her into the adjacent room.
Hugging Zhou Yi, Zhang Shufen finally broke down and cried. "It’s been six years. Do you have any idea how I’ve gotten through these six years?"
"I know. I’m sorry. I only got the chance to come back this one time because I was transferred to Sichuan for guerrilla warfare this year," Zhou Yi said in a low voice, holding her tightly.
"Guerrilla warfare?" Zhang Shufen paused, looking up at Zhou Yi. "Are you... with the Eight Route Army?"
"Yes." Zhou Yi nodded, his voice growing even softer. "I went to Shanghai in ’37. During the Hu Song Campaign, I survived by carrying Wang Yu on my back. He was wounded and sent to the rear to recover, while I followed the main forces everywhere. Later, I was rescued by an Eight Route Army unit. I felt they were more disciplined and cared more for their comrades, so I joined them..."
Holding Zhang Shufen, Zhou Yi briefly recounted his experiences over the past few years.
He made it sound almost easy.
But as Zhou Yan heard about those battles, one after another, a chill ran through him. ’Comrade Zhou Yi really crawled his way out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.’
’Tough as nails!’
Zhang Shufen wasn’t naive. She read the newspaper every day, always following news about the Sichuan Army and the war. By the time he finished, her face was already streaked with tears.
Every year, Zhou Yi would find a way to send a letter home, only ever saying that he was safe and nothing more.
It was because he had joined the Eight Route Army.
"Now that you’re back, will you be leaving again?" Zhang Shufen asked.
Zhou Yi nodded. "I leave tomorrow. The unit is waiting for me. I was escorting wounded comrades back here. Once the mission is complete, I have to return to my post."
Zhang Shufen opened her mouth, but the words to ask him to stay wouldn’t come out. She wiped away her tears, sniffled, and said, "I’ll go make you a meal."
"Alright. When I was out there, what I missed most was your braised pork," Zhou Yi said with a smile.
"I’ll go make it for you." Zhang Shufen went out, pulled her three children over, and pointed at Zhou Yi as he came out of the bedroom. "Call him ’Dad’."
The three children looked at Zhou Yi, their eyes timid.
"Dad!" Zhou Qing was the first to run over and shout.
He had been five years old when Zhou Yi left, so he still had some memories.
Once their big brother shouted, the other two little ones rushed over too, also yelling "Dad."
"Hey!" Zhou Yi answered with a grin, fumbling inside his coat and pulling out a few pieces of candy for the three of them. "Here, I brought you some candy."
"Dad, Mom said you went to fight the devils. Did you kill them?"
"Dad, Mom says you’re a hero!"
The three sons surrounded Zhou Yi. With candy in their mouths, they quickly warmed up to him, chattering and asking endless questions.
Zhang Shufen prepared a table full of food: cured pork, cured ribs, the leftover braised pig’s head from her stall, and a link of sausage she had been saving.
The three boys were ecstatic. With a table full of meat, they ate until their mouths were slick with grease.
Zhou Yi ate two bowls of rice, clearly savoring the meal as well.
"I’ll wash up." After the meal, he stood and insisted on doing the dishes. "It must have been hard for you, raising the kids all these years."
"What’s so hard about it? You’re on the front lines killing devils, and I’m in the rear raising the kids. It’s not hard." Zhang Shufen shook her head, smiling as she watched him clear the bowls and wipe the table.
It used to seem so ordinary, but the last time she had seen him like this was six years ago.
Zhou Yan watched silently from the side. It was a rare moment of family reunion after the war had begun.
In the blink of an eye, night had fallen.
After running around all day, the three sons were fast asleep in the outer room.
Zhang Shufen pulled open Zhou Yi’s shirt. Seeing the scars that littered his chest and shoulders, her eyes turned red.
"They’re just small wounds. See? I’m still alive and kicking," Zhou Yi said with a laugh.
"You’re tanner, and more muscular." Zhang Shufen stroked his face and sighed softly. "You’ve gotten older, too. You have wrinkles now."
"You haven’t changed a bit, though. Still as beautiful as ever," Zhou Yi said, holding her face in his hands with a smile.
Zhang Shufen blushed and gave his chest a light punch. "I’m all tan and plump now, how could I not have changed? You’re just talking nonsense. I was actually wondering, how did you even recognize me right away?"