FSC [QT] Chapter 73.2

After becoming a platoon leader, his various benefits would also be improved.

For example, his allowance would increase from 18 yuan per month at the beginning to 23 yuan.

Even if he failed to be promoted to a higher position when he reached a certain age in the future, the demobilization allowance of a platoon leader would be different from that of an ordinary soldier.

If it was managed properly, he might be able to transfer to a local government as a cadre, and his second half of life would be guaranteed.

“It’s a pity for the Second Brother Kuang. If he hadn’t died, he would definitely be on the list of cadres to be promoted this time.”

Zhang Youdong sighed.

Although they were teammates who joined the army in the same batch, Kuang Aijun’s performance in the army was much better than his.

The officers and soldiers sent from above once praised Kuang Aijun, saying that he was a natural military seedling. Whether it was his physique or IQ, he was born for the army.

When he was still a squad leader, Kuang Aijun had already been promoted to platoon leader. This promotion speed was rare in the current situation where he had no background and the war was decreasing.

If he had not sacrificed this time, his promotion to regiment commander would have been a foregone conclusion.

As a regiment commander, he would have the qualification for his family to join the army and would not have to endure the torment of long-term separation from his wife and children.

“What a pity.”

Zhang Youdong sighed again.

Jin Qiaoqiao didn’t care about Zhang Youdong’s sighs. She was just thinking about how to persuade Zhang Youdong to conceal this matter after his allowance increased and save the extra allowance for herself and his small family.

For Jin Qiaoqiao, she had already felt sad about Kuang Aijun’s sacrifice in her previous life, so she didn’t need to feel sad about his death again in this life.

She only focused on the present and lived a good life in her new life.

***

Zhang Youdong was very efficient. He notified 18 families in just one day.

The homes of his several fallen comrades were in the mountains. He borrowed a bicycle, but the tire burst halfway through the ride, so he had to walk in.

When he returned home at night, it was already past two in the morning.

The next morning, he got up before six o’clock and took Third Grandma Xu and Ye Wu to the county bus station to wait for the families of the other 17 families who had been notified yesterday.

At nine o’clock, a group of people set off together and took a bus arranged by the county party committee. This bus would take them directly to the provincial railway station.

To Ah Wu, everything around her was unfamiliar, because even for ‘Ye Wu’, the farthest place she had ever been to in her life was the supply and marketing cooperative in the county town.

Moreover, she had only been there twice in her life, once to buy wedding supplies before getting married, and the second time when she was pregnant with twins and had to stay in the county hospital for two days because the fetus was not in good condition.

At other times, if she wanted to buy some small things, the sales house in the commune was enough to meet her daily needs, so there was no need to go as far as the county town.

This was the same for ‘Ye Wu’ and for the people on the train as well.

But at this moment, no one was in the mood to pay attention to the scenery around them. Everyone was immersed in the pain of losing their loved ones.

Moreover, due to the influence of the atmosphere, some people even sobbed in the bus.

“I have four children, the oldest is 9 years old and the youngest is 2 years old. At the beginning of last year, my husband came home and told me that he might be promoted soon. When the time comes, he will be able to let his family accompany him in the army.”

“He asked me and the children to wait and told us how good life is in the army. He said that after joining the army, the children and I would be able to have a meat meal every week.”

The person who spoke was a woman sitting across a narrow aisle from Ah Wu.

She was not tall, and perhaps because she had been working in the fields for many years, her skin was dark and rough. She looked like a woman in her thirties or forties.

“He is really a very good person. He rarely goes home to rest, but he always rushes to help me with work. When he lies on the kang at night, he will hold my hand and say sorry for letting me take care of the children alone.”

“He says that I have suffered so much for so many years, but everything will be fine. When he is promoted, I can follow the army, and everything will be fine.”

The woman did not cry, but she just muttered to herself with dull eyes.

“He loved smoking, but he stopped smoking after my eldest child was born because he couldn’t bear the thought of leaving me at home with not enough money to spend while I was taking care of the kids. So, he quit smoking and sent back every penny of his monthly allowance.”

“He’s a good man. He’s really a very, very good man.”

The woman didn’t cry, but her words touched many people on the train who had also lost their loved ones.

“My son has been asking me these days when his father will come back. I feel so sad. Husband, why don’t you take me and the child away with you?”

“My son, when you left, you took my heart away with you.”

The cries came one after another. The woman’s words opened a door, allowing people who had been suppressing their grief due to the environment to vent without scruples, including Third Grandma Xu, who hugged Ah Wu and started crying loudly.

This emotion was somewhat unfamiliar to Ah Wu.

Although the scenery along the way was beautiful, it could no longer attract her as it did at the beginning.

 

 

*****

Translator’s Comment:

Woo, woo, woo… Truly a very sad scene!

Let us take a moment to remember the soldiers from our respective countries who fought to defend our country!

 

 

 

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