Volume One, Chapter Six: When You Come of Age, Join the Army

While the doctor tended to Xia Nannan’s wound, Gu Nanzhou called home. During the day, he had visited his grandfather in the hospital and learned about his recent marriage registration. The girl named Xia Nannan had even bought a train ticket to the northwest to find him. He only found out about his engagement a year later when he returned home for a visit; this marriage registration felt like the same old routine.

Gu Nanzhou took a deep drag of his cigarette and said calmly, “We haven’t found her. She probably took the last train out.”

His father responded with a grunt but still gave some advice: “That girl, Nannan, is pitiful. Her own mother never cared for her. She was sent away before she was six months old and only brought back when she was ten. But rest assured, your mother and I have met her. She’s much prettier than the eldest daughter of the Xia family and taller, though a bit thin. I trust you’ll take good care of her and maybe next year give your mother and me a big, strong grandson born in the Year of the Dragon. Your grandfather and grandmother…”

Gu Huaishan continued at length, but Gu Nanzhou selectively ignored him. Seeing nothing urgent, he hastily ended the call, having other things to attend to, and headed toward the medical room.

By then, Xia Nannan’s forehead had been bandaged, and the doctor handed over several bottles of powdered medicine and two rolls of gauze with some instructions.

Seeing that she was okay, Gu Nanzhou strode forward, pulled an unloaded pistol from his pocket, and placed it on the table in front of her. He said coolly, “Disassemble it as fast as you can.”

On the way over, he had encountered the head of security and stopped by the office. That man was not only skilled but also capable of dismantling a gun even in such conditions, which showed the high level of their adversary’s abilities.

If this were the military, such a person would undoubtedly be highly sought after.

“Disassemble the gun?” Wang Hu was utterly confused, not understanding their captain’s meaning but too afraid to ask.

Xia Nannan saw that he was serious and, noticing the security personnel standing by the door, chose not to resist. She set down the gauze and medicine, picked up the pistol, and began inspecting it. What followed astonished Wang Hu and Liu Zheng so much their eyes nearly fell out.

Gu Nanzhou did not blink the entire time; he even started a stopwatch in his pocket.

When the last component was laid on the table, Xia Nannan said calmly, “Under ten seconds.”

Sure enough, Gu Nanzhou checked the stopwatch and nodded. Xia Nannan’s speed and the unshakable calm in her eyes fully confirmed his suspicion: she was a seasoned gun handler.

Yet, her face, looking no older than fourteen or fifteen, made Gu Nanzhou hesitate slightly.

“Come join the military when you’re of age.”

“...Of age?”

Xia Nannan was momentarily stunned but then obediently nodded. She didn’t know how old Gu Nanzhou thought she was, but at least, no one had recognized her as a girl up close.

---

That night, the train was delayed by two hours due to the earlier incident in the waiting hall. Xia Nannan successfully upgraded for free from a hard seat to a soft sleeper compartment.

The long carriage was divided into seven or eight private compartments. Inside each were two single beds and a modest table placed between them, by the window.

After closing the door behind her, Xia Nannan removed her clothes and gasped at the large bruised and purple area on her hip. She had underestimated the force of that kick earlier, thinking the scruffy man wouldn’t have gotten up, but she was mistaken. This body lacked training, so her kicking force wasn’t up to her original strength, though fortunately, her endurance was decent.

As long as she trained harder in the future, she believed regaining her strength wouldn’t be a problem.

Just as she tucked money and ration tickets into the inner pocket of her thermal shirt, a knock came at the door.

“Dinner’s been brought from the dining car,” Wang Hu said, holding a warm meal box, his voice gentler than usual.

Offering supper so late was a surprise to Xia Nannan. But at the mention of food, her stomach immediately responded with loud growls.

Gu Nanzhou and two subordinates entered, each carrying several aluminum meal boxes, and set them on the table.

Looking at the boxed meal before her, Xia Nannan had little hope. In this era, many people still couldn’t afford white flour, let alone fancy meat dishes.

The supper consisted of one meat dish and two vegetable dishes: braised pork with more potatoes than meat, finely shredded potatoes thin enough to thread a needle through, and stewed cabbage with vermicelli, each person with a bowl of rice.

Seeing the three dishes, Xia Nannan’s stomach protested again. With Gu Nanzhou’s nod, she picked up her chopsticks and ate heartily.

She was truly hungry—starving to the point where the front of her chest pressed against her back, a hunger that clawed at her heart.

She felt as if she could devour an entire pig in one sitting.

That day, Xia Nannan had only eaten one meal at noon, a bowl of wontons made mostly of thin dough with hardly any meat, which barely filled her.

In the evening, while waiting at the station, she had only a few crackers, hoping to dip them in hot water, but found she had no cup to drink from.

So she ate the crackers dry and fell asleep after a few short naps.

---

Now, faced with steaming, fatty braised pork, she didn’t feel overwhelmed. She ate piece after piece, pairing them with rice.

Back when she was on field missions, she had eaten rat meat and snake meat without complaint; a big chunk of fatty pork was nothing.

Wang Hu glanced discreetly a few times, lit a cigarette, and, together with Liu Zheng, walked to the train cars’ connecting passage.

“Look how starved the kid is. That father of his probably isn’t a good man.”

Hearing this, Liu Zheng took a deep drag of his cigarette and nodded. “You’re telling me.”

If he were a good man, the child wouldn’t be as scrawny as a stick, nor would he allow a stepmother to bully his own son.

Now he even bought a train ticket for the kid to find his uncle, probably just wanting to wash his hands of the whole matter, not wanting any interference.

If they ever met, he really wanted to ask that man if his heart was made of stone, how could he be so cruel?

---

After a busy night, well-fed and rested, Xia Nannan lay on the bed pondering whether to first find the man in the northwest to clarify things or find a job and settle down first.

Before she could decide, drowsiness overtook her.

Yawns came one after another, even Gu Nanzhou, lying on the other bed, was infected.

With the rhythmic clatter of the train beside them, within less than half a minute, they both fell asleep.

In a long dream, Xia Nannan saw her mother, who had passed away many years ago.

Her mother stood bathed in light, waving to her, smiling, her eyes still as beautiful as ever.

Xia Nannan lay in her mother’s arms, crying uncontrollably, pouring out years of longing and the grievances she had endured.

“Mom, I miss you so much. Why haven’t you come to see me in my dreams all this time?”

Her mother gently patted her back, humming the lullabies Xia Nannan hadn’t heard in ages, soothing her to sleep.

The warm embrace made Xia Nannan reluctant to let go. She clung tightly, using all her strength to hold her mother close, nuzzling her soft head against her, even letting out a sharp hiss when the wound hurt, but still unwilling to release her.