Chapter 31: Lu Zhenping, you deserve it too

Lu Mingliang's words made Liu Sanjin's face turn slightly pale. She had disliked this little brat ever since he arrived at the Lu family home; his eyes were always darting around, incredibly cunning, and his mouth was incessantly chattering.

"Sigh, Mingliang is still young and doesn't understand. What Grandma says is the truth. Whose life is actually easy? If it weren't for your father doing well in the army, our family would have been too poor to even put food on the table long ago."

"But... but Third Uncle and Grandpa are still working away from home, Fourth Uncle is a warehouse clerk, and Second Uncle can still work. We can't be so poor that we can't afford food!"

Liu Sanjin: "..."

This boy was truly making her head spin with anger!!!

"Xiao Meng is here. Third Aunt, you should hurry and read the letter. It's getting late; I can see my family's dinner is already prepared."

"Exactly. Zhenping is a soldier; Xiao Meng shouldn't be so lacking in awareness. Oh, his Third Aunt is illiterate; reading it won't do her any good anyway."

"I'm going back now; I still have to fetch water at home. Third Aunt, don't blame Xiao Meng. You treat her like your own daughter; don't you feel heartache when she's unwell? If there's something to say, say it properly."

Liu Sanjin watched as several people left in short order, feeling a deep sense of misery in her heart. Usually, no matter the occasion, she was the one praised and pitied. Today, these two children and that wench Shen Meng had said a few random words, and suddenly she was in the wrong. They were all just people trying to play the peacemaker.

"I can read. I attended literacy classes. Zhenping's wife, give the letter to me; I'll read it to your mother-in-law."

"Alright then, Uncle Guai."

Uncle Guai took the letter Shen Meng handed him, cleared his throat, and under Liu Sanjin's expectant gaze, slowly began to read.

"Xiao Meng, seeing these words is like seeing my face. It has been two months since my last letter. Did you receive the allowance I sent through a comrade last month? Are the children doing well? If you have time, could you take the children to the county photo studio to take a picture? I miss you all very much. How is Father-in-law's health? Wishing my parents peace and safety."

Uncle Guai finished reading, and the scene fell as silent as a grave. On the full page of the letter, only five short words mentioned Liu Sanjin and Lu Changzhu. This caused many people to murmur inwardly; although Lu Zhenping was cold in demeanor, he had a warm heart, so why did he only mention his parents in such a brief manner?

Liu Sanjin's eyes sparked with rage. Without waiting for Uncle Guai to offer any comfort, she turned around and left immediately. She walked with quick, small steps, even more hurried than when she had arrived.

Disgraceful, truly disgraceful. Her good reputation of so many years had vanished in an instant. Everyone in Lu Village knew that her eldest son was a soldier in the army doing very well; his allowance was sent every month, and even before the family split, he provided pension money for his parents.

In recent years, every old man and woman of her age had been envious, but today, this letter felt like a slap to her face—loud and crisp.

Upon returning to her room, Liu Sanjin climbed onto the heated kang bed without even eating dinner. Clutching her quilt, she muttered secretly to herself: it must be that little wench Shen Meng who wrote to her son to sow discord between mother and son. Otherwise, how could her filial son fail to show concern for her and the old man!

At this thought, she sat up abruptly and hurried off the kang to find Lu Jiaxuan. She had to write a letter—she had to write to her eldest son and report Shen Meng thoroughly.

***

The border of Southern Yunnan.

Lu Zhenping sat on the parallel bars of the training ground with a cigarette dangling from his lips, staring at the moon hanging in the sky for a long time, lost in thought. A sudden gust of wind swept in; Lu Zhenping gripped the bars and jumped down, performing a mid-air twist. He clamped his legs around the attacker's legs and quickly interlocked his hands on the bars, executing a takedown that sent the attacker crashing to the ground.

"Ouch! Hiss... Old Lu, you really can go that far? You nearly broke my old waist!"

Lu Zhenping frowned and reached out to pull up Ma Xiang, who was lying on the ground gasping for breath.

"What are you doing fooling around instead of sleeping in the middle of the night?"

Ma Xiang rubbed his waist and grinned. "I just saw you performing a one-man show of homesickness out here. It was too pitiful. I was afraid you'd cry, so your brother came over quickly to comfort you."

"Pfft!"

"Tsk, you won't even accept the kindness? You, seriously! You clearly miss your wife and children terribly, yet you always think of others first. Speaking of which, at your rank, your sister-in-law could have brought the children to live with you in the military, but you always give up your housing allocations. And last year, you had everything packed, yet you insisted on helping Xiao Gu pull duty. Sigh, your youngest son is three this year, isn't he? Don't you miss him? But you deserve it; who told you to be so selfless!"

Lu Zhenping glanced at him and reached into his pocket for a cigarette. After pulling out the pack, he crushed it hard, while Ma Xiang, who was mocking him, let out a few "hehe" laughs.

"What, out of cigarettes? You should have said so earlier; I've got some. Did you give your allowance away again? You really are something. You have a whole family to support. How old was your wife when she married you? A woman gets married and then has to raise three children while being pregnant herself—now she's raising four. You weren't even there when she was pregnant. Tell me, isn't it hard for her? She's unlucky to have married such an inconsiderate man like you."

Listening to Ma Xiang, Lu Zhenping rarely didn't snap back. He thought back to when Shen Meng married him; her eyes were always darting around, making it obvious she was a girl with a lot on her mind. Having been in the army for so many years, he had experienced countless dangerous missions and cunning enemies; how could he not see through those little schemes?

But Shen Meng was clever and beautiful, and her parents and siblings were very kind people. When they married, he had seen how Mingyang and the other children interacted with his father-in-law and mother-in-law. He could tell they were very honest, decent elderly people. He figured a child raised by such a family wouldn't be bad.

After so many years of marriage, he figured Shen Meng must have endured a lot of hardship. Whenever the letters sent by his mother mentioned anything negative about his wife or children, he never believed them.

He knew exactly what kind of people his own parents were. From the letters sent by Lu Changhong, he had a general idea: his wife might look smart, but she was actually a bit of a fool, completely misled by his mother; he estimated she probably couldn't distinguish right from wrong anymore.

"You're right, your sister-in-law has had a hard time. I won't let anyone take my visiting leave this year. But don't think I don't know, kid—this month, you, Old Chen, and the others sent things to my house again. Don't do it next time. You don't have much extra cash yourselves. With wives and children following the military, you only have so much money; just look after your own food and drink. Don't worry about me."

Seeing him say this, Ma Xiang breathed a sigh of relief. Dropping his playful act, he looked at Lu Zhenping very seriously. "Old Squad Leader, don't always keep these things in your heart. What we do is protect the country and the people. There will be sacrifices, and there will be blood and sweat; it's unavoidable. You can't save everyone. Old Squad Leader, don't let the burden on your shoulders be too heavy."

Lu Zhenping's eyes darkened for a moment as he looked at him, then he raised his hand and thumped him on the shoulder twice.

"I know, Comrade Ma. Come on, follow me for a few laps. Let's do a thousand meters without stopping and see who has the shortest time."

"Let's go!" Without waiting for a command, Ma Xiang took off running.

"You're cheating, you old rascal!" Lu Zhenping chased after him closely.

They hadn't run far when the flashlight of a patrolling soldier shone upon them from a distance. The two of them—one a deputy regimental commander and the other a chief of staff—scrambled away in a panic.