Back To The 80s-Chapter 50: Jin Cheng_1

After Gu Xiaodong left, Liao Qing hugged the child and felt a chill all over her body. If Gu Xiaodong cut off all her paths, she would be left with no choice but to go all in.

Weekend arrived in a blink of an eye, Gu Xiaobei felt anxious and restless over the last couple of days. Every late-night she couldn’t help but worry about Lu Zhanguo, whether he was in danger or hurt, and for the first time she felt that she was not suited to be a soldier’s wife.

She had another restless night on Saturday, and when she woke up on Sunday morning, she realized the sky was dark; it was a rainy and gloomy day. Getting up, she was surprised to see that her living room clock already showed it was half past nine.

Gu Xiaobei slapped her forehead in realization, she had completely forgotten about her plan to go shopping with Qin Li. She quickly washed her face, got dressed, took her umbrella, and dashed downstairs.

Regardless of whether Qin Li had arrived or not, she had to check. The lack of a phone or mobile made things quite inconvenient.

As she approached the entrance to their residential community, she saw Qin Li standing there under a large black umbrella.

Upon seeing Gu Xiaobei, Qin Li waved excitedly, "I should have asked you for your exact address. I’ve been waiting here for quite a while."

Gu Xiaobei laughed awkwardly as she responded, "I overslept, the rain made me think you weren’t coming."

With a stubborn face, Qin Li proudly replied, "I have one virtue, keeping my word."

Gu Xiaobei laughed again, "What kind of virtue is that?"

Qin Li replied seriously, "This virtue has a more glamourous name; perseverance. Let’s get some breakfast."

"Well...it’s raining. How about we buy some food, go back to my place, and we can chat?" proposed Gu Xiaobei.

Qin Li nodded, "That works. I didn’t really have anything to buy anyway, I mainly wanted to chat with you." 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

The two of them bought some greens, tofu, and mutton from a nearby market under their umbrellas. Gu Xiaobei thought a rainy day was the perfect occasion to cook hot pot with a good friend, and perhaps drink a little bit of wine too.

They returned home laughing, and as Gu Xiaobei set about preparing the ingredients in the kitchen, Qin Li remarked, "Your home is quite cozy."

Without any hot pot seasoning, Xiaobei chopped the mutton into pieces and slowly stewed it with some condiments. She prepared a dip by mixing minced spring onion, ginger, and garlic with hot chili sauce. After washing the vegetables and arranging them on a plate, she boiled some noodles. Once the mutton was almost ready, they could start cooking the vegetables.

As it was just the two of them and there was no electric stove, they decided to bring a foldable table into the kitchen and set it for the hot pot.

Qin Li stuck her head in the kitchen door, sniffing the aroma and asked, "This smells great, what are we having?"

"Hot pot, it’s perfect for a rainy day." said Gu Xiaobei.

Qin Li’s eyes lit up, "I’ve had this before in the Capital City."

After about an hour of stewing, Gu Xiaobei placed the pot on the stove, arranged the vegetables, and called Qin Li who was engrossed in her book to come and eat.

After having a bite of the mutton, Qin Li couldn’t help but praise, "Even though it’s not the sliced mutton I had before, this is delicious. So satisfying."

Both of them hadn’t had breakfast, so in a short time, they had eaten through two pounds of mutton, various vegetables, and a whole plate of noodles.

Upon finishing, Qin Li decided that she would come over to Gu Xiaobei’s place for a meal on every rainy day.

During their jovial conversation, Qin Li suddenly looked seriously at Gu Xiaobei and asked, "Sister Xiaobei, do you know who I was with when I had hot pot in the Capital City?"

Gu Xiaobei shook her head, "It was Jin Cheng." Qin Li said in a low voice, "I was fourteen that year, Jin Cheng was sixteen, we took the money from our homes and rode freight trains without tickets to get to the Capital City."

Gu Xiaobei remained silent as she knew that Qin Li was about to tell a long story.

"Jin Cheng wasn’t like this before, he was very smart and did well in school, until the incident with Jin Cheng’s brother."

Qin Li’s eyes began to fill with tears as she continued, "Jin Cheng’s brother was named Jin Jiadong. Jin Cheng was previously named Jin Jiacheng. Older Brother Jin was more than a decade older than us, he was outstanding and was a hero in our eyes. Jin Cheng admired Older Brother Jin since childhood, his dream was to become a man like Older Brother Jin."

Qin Li continued in a low voice, "After the outbreak of Counter-offensive War, Older Brother Jin was the first one to sign up for the frontline. When Jin Cheng found out, he wanted to go to the Capital City to find Older Brother Jin, because his unit was stationed there at that time. I had stolen money from home and boarded the train with him. He discovered me on the train and had no choice but to take me along to find his brother."

"When we arrived, the troops had already advanced to the front line. Jin Cheng demanded to join the military and go to the front line immediately. The military leader had no alternative but to call home and have them pick us up. Jin Cheng wouldn’t accept this and pleaded with the military leader. If anything should happen to Older Brother Jin, he requested to be sent to the battlefield to fulfill his brother’s mission. The military leader praised Jin Cheng for his high level of awareness at the time." Qin Li told this part of the story with a teary smile, this smile seemed more heartbreaking than cheerful.

"Before we could be taken home by our family who had just arrived in the Capital City, the tragic news came from the frontline. Older Brother Jin acted as the squad leader of a special operations team, leading a small squad of ten members on a deep infiltration mission to lure the enemy. However, they fell into an ambush by hundreds of enemies. Due to the enemies’ suicidal counterattack, all eleven members of the small squad were killed. When our team found them, they couldn’t even piece together their bodies."

Qin Li’s voice sounded somewhat distant and elusive, but Gu Xiaobei felt as if she was witnessing the scene right before her eyes, watching each of them bleed and fall in a pool of their own blood.

She had only ever read about this part of history in books before, and it had not left a deep impression. But hearing Qin Li recounting it now, she realized the extent of the tragedy and tears welled up in her eyes.

"When Jin Cheng heard this news, he was surprisingly calm. He didn’t seem like a sixteen-year-old boy, but instead requested to join the frontline. The military couldn’t agree to this, as he was an untrained child—this was simply nonsense. Jin Cheng then proposed to join the military and stay in Older Brother Jin’s former unit. Jin’s mother wouldn’t agree to let him join the army at all. After losing one son, she was unwilling to let go of the only one left. She even knelt before the military leader and threatened that if Jin Cheng joined the army, she would kill herself at Older Brother Jin’s memorial altar."

"Jin Cheng broke down in tears, kneeling before his mother, promising never to join the military. In Older Brother Jin’s will, he had instructed Jin Cheng to take care of their parents and fulfill his filial duties. After that night, Jin Cheng disappeared without anyone knowing where he had gone. Occasionally, he would send a letter home, but he never mentioned what he was doing. It was not until three years ago when he returned home in a disheveled state that he changed into the person he is today. His name was also changed to Jin Cheng."

Qin Li finished speaking and took a long sigh, while Gu Xiaobei was loss for words and didn’t know how to comfort her. Qin Li looked at Gu Xiaobei and said, "Sister Xiaobei, you don’t have to comfort me. I just feel sorry for Jin Cheng, he suffers so much inside."

Gu Xiaobei felt a sour sensation in her heart, as if someone was squeezing her heart and the pain was unbearable.