Back To The 80s-Chapter 444 - 454: Birthday_1

Upon hearing that, Bai Xiaolan burst out laughing, "Mom, were these words from my eldest aunt? What are you guys thinking about all the time? How could you listen to her?"

Zhou Siping retorted, "Your eldest aunt is quite right this time. I watch you every day and it really is the fact. You shouldn’t be so carefree."

"Mom, you worry so much every day, isn’t it tiring? Rest assured, we can all live well," Bai Xiaolan comforted, puzzled by how terrifying her aunt’s brainwashing ability was.

Seeing that Bai Xiaolan wouldn’t take her words to heart, Zhou Siping said no more. As parents, they are always hoping for their children to have a better life, but who knew that this little girl would turn a deaf ear to their advice and lessons come only from their own mistakes.

Now the vegetables are basically all harvested. Therefore, Wen Xiuqing stir-fried bitter melon with egg and chili with pork for lunch. Plain stir-fried bok choy and a tofu dish with minced meat were also prepared for the two kids.

At lunch, Zhou Siping looked at Bai Xiaolan’s belly and sighed, "It is unclear whether Xiangdong can return in August. He doesn’t even call."

After swallowing her food, Bai Xiaolan replied, "Mom, haven’t I told you? The phone over there is just for show. Calls can hardly get through to his company. It’s good enough if we receive a letter from him once a month. Besides, even if the call can get through, where should it be placed? We don’t have a phone at home." Her mood dropped after speaking.

Wen Xiuqing added, "We have no idea when Xiangdong can return. And about Zhanguo, we don’t know if he’s in danger. It’s really hard to put our minds at ease." Upon hearing this, Gu Xiaobei also felt uncomfortable. Their worries never seemed to cease.

Looking at the four suddenly downcast women, Lu Songyuan said with a bit of a headache, "Don’t fret over nothing. Xiangdong is certainly fine, and nothing will happen to Zhanguo and his teammates." But he wasn’t sure himself; if it was a regular mission, they wouldn’t have sent their elite troops.

While they were worrying at home, Lu Zhanguo and his team had already traversed thousands of kilometers, ready to enter the Ali region in Tibet.

On the way, many soldiers showed symptoms of plateau hypoxia. Some even developed pneumothorax due to colds and were sent to the nearest military station for treatment halfway.

By the time they were close to Ali, only four-fifths of the personnel who started out with them were left.

While on the mission, Cheng Qijia was injured by a stray bullet and remained in a coma with a high fever.

No matter how skilled He Qin was in medical practice, he felt helpless within the lack of medical resources.

"Captain, we need to figure out a way. Can we send him to the nearest Ali Military Hospital?" He Qin asked with a frown.

After pondering for more than ten seconds, Lu Zhanguo quickly commanded two soldiers to accompany He Qin to take Cheng Qijia to the Ali Military Hospital while the rest of the team continued with their mission and finally gathered in southern Sichuan.

The two soldiers, Xiaozhang and Xiaowu, had been enlisted for seven to eight years. They weren’t very willing to follow He Qin on the mission. He had a weird temper and had scolded them many times. But now that Cheng Qijia’s life was in danger, they couldn’t care less.

Lu Zhanguo left them with a car. However, it would still take four or five days to reach the Ali Military Hospital. The road was rough and hard to navigate. The speed could only reach a dozen kilometers per hour on dangerous sections, which meant they could only advance at a snail’s pace to ensure safety.

Xiaozhang grumbled, "What kind of road is this? It’s so hard to navigate. Dr. He, I’ll go to the cockpit to help Xiaowu watch the road."

Seeing Xiaozhang’s uneasy face, He Qin, who knew he was uncomfortable being in the same space as him, pulled apart the canvas crack, took a look outside and said, "The road is fairly flat now. Stay here and take care of him.

Xiaozhang, taken aback, couldn’t find words to retort. He touched Cheng Qijia who was lying in the middle of the car and helped him tuck in the blanket. Suddenly, he said mischievously, "Dr. He, this blanket seems a bit thin. Cheng seems to be shivering all over."

In the light coming in through the canvas crack, He Qin looked at Xiaozhang’s teasing eyes and said word by word, "You take off your clothes to warm him." After saying that, he leaned against the car, closed his eyes, and ignored Xiaozhang’s surprised expression.

......

On Xiaopang and Mo Wang’s birthdays, Lu Zhanguo didn’t make it home.

Early that morning, Wen Xiuqing got busy boiling eggs and making longevity noodles for the two children. She also prepared a table full of dishes for lunch.

Qin Li came to join the fun, bringing Jiujiu and Chen Gang.

Zhuang Shuxian had made two sets of clothes and asked Qin Li to bring them over.

She made a pink dress for Xiaopang. The hem was decorated with many small flowers made from red chiffon.

Qin Li laughed, "This is what Aunt Zhuang saw on TV. The pop stars were dressed like this, so she made one for Xiaopang. It looks quite nice." As she spoke, she started to change Xiaopang into the new dress.

Bai Xiaolan was giggling on the side. She thought Xiaopang, who was quite plump, looked like a cream birthday cake sold in the Women’s Department Store in Wangfujing in the pink dress, a big pink one with many big roses on top.

Zhou Siping looked at the carefree Bai Xiaolan and sighed. She had told her to buy new clothes for the two children a few days ago, but she insisted that since they were family, there was no need to be so formal.

Gu Xiaobei also found it amusing, thinking that Xiaopang in that dress was very comical. Because Xiaopang was a bit chubby, her little belly was sticking out.

After Bai Xiaolan had her fill of laughter, she took two jade stones from her pocket and said, "These are my birthday gifts for Mo Wang and Xiaopang." Then, she proudly handed them to Gu Xiaobei.

"How many stones did you bring back? You are very generous," Gu Xiaobei exclaimed in astonishment.

"Xiangdong sent these back last month. I hid them so I could surprise you," replied Bai Xiaolan with a smile.

Jiujiu also joined in and took out a piece of paper from her school bag, saying, "Auntie, this is a drawing of a family portrait I made."

Gu Xiaobei unfolded the paper and saw a bunch of small figures. Each one had a name: Uncle, Auntie, Xiaopang, Mo Wang, Grandpa, Grandma, Sixth Brother, Auntie Qin Li, and herself. The title was "Happy Family."

Chen Gang made a wooden gun for Mo Wang and carved a delicate peach pit basket for Xiaopang, stringing it up with red wool, and put it around Xiaopang’s neck.

Seeing this, Wen Xiuqing said with a laugh, "The two kids really put in a lot of effort to prepare the gifts for Xiaopang and Mo Wang."

When the dishes were served, Li Fengmei, leading two kids and carrying a big rooster, arrived, sweating profusely.

As soon as she entered the yard, she said, "I waited for the two kids to finish school and hurried over. It was still late."

"Not late, not late, the dishes just got served," Wen Xiuqing replied with a smile while quickly going inside to fetch more stools.

Dadong and Xiaodong became affectionate on seeing Chen Gang and Jiujiu and ran over immediately. Xiaodong, looking at Jiujiu who was almost as tall as him, shyly said, "Wow, Jiujiu sister is so tall."

Li Fengmei, throwing the chicken into the coop and laughing while scolding, "That’s Jiujiu sister, not Jiujiu sister. You see, you don’t eat properly. Jiujiu will soon be taller than you."