Soon, it was time for the seasonal migration again. Because the number of livestock had increased by a quarter compared to the previous year, Company Commander Guo decided to personally lead half of the company on the move. However, Instructor Zhang insisted that it should be his turn to take charge this time. The two argued for quite some time. Instructor Zhang's reasoning was clear: Commander Guo had led the seasonal migration last year so this time should be his turn. Moreover, Xu Yumei was now able to work and their child, Junjun, was being well cared for with the help of others, leaving him with no burdens. In the end, it was agreed that Instructor Zhang would lead the team for this seasonal migration.
Under the girls' requirement, a few girls were selected to join the team this time as well, including Li Weiwen. Because some comrades received permission to visit their families for Chinese New Year, just one platoon was left to remain at the base. But just two days before departure, unfortunately, Junjun suddenly came down with a fever. Although Liu Yun's medicine brought the fever down the same day, it returned the next day and lingered at a low level for another two or three days. This caused great anxiety for both Instructor Zhang and Xu Yumei. In desperation, Xu Yumei asked Li Weiwen to examine Junjun. Using acupuncture and tui na (traditional Chinese therapeutic massage), Li Weiwen was finally able to bring the fever under control. In order to avoid delaying the seasonal migration, Commander Guo decided to have Liu Yun replace Li Weiwen in the team and let Li Weiwen stay behind to continue caring for Junjun. This decision left Liu Yun feeling both frustrated and wronged. Not only was her medical ability being questioned but it also meant she wouldn't be able to see Guo Yungang for another six months. But she had no choice but to wipe away her tears and set off with the team.
Although Junjun's fever had subsided, Li Weiwen advised Xu Yumei to take advantage of the upcoming vaccination appointment to have Junjun examined at the hospital, just to be safe. She explained that if a child so young developed any illness and didn't receive timely treatment, it could lead to long-term consequences. So, Commander Guo drove Xu Yumei and the child to the county hospital.
After a full day's work, the girls talked with the boys and asked them not to go to the river that evening as the water flow might soon be cut off. After dinner, the girls planned to take turns fetching water from the river to bathe. In fact, by the end of September, only a few boys who had persisted in bathing in the river since summer were still swimming in the river. Some of the more diligent ones might fetch a little water just to rinse off, while the rest simply made by drawing murky, sandy water from the well to wash up, preferring convenience over cleanliness. The girls, on the other hand, wanted to take advantage of the last few days of clear river water to have a proper bath because after this, their next chance might not have another chance until the spring of the following year.
Xu Yumei had gone into town and two others were away on the migration, leaving only three people in the kitchen to prepare lunch and dinner for everyone. As a result, it was quite late by the time they finished cleaning up. Li Weiwen stayed behind to prepare the ingredients for the next day's breakfast. It was nothing complicated, just soaking millet and rice in a basin for porridge, and placing steamed buns neatly in the steamer baskets, ready to be heated in the morning.
As she was finishing up, she noticed headlights flash past the window and knew that Xu Yumei had come back. After tidying up, she headed straight to the political instructor's home to check on the child. She asked as soon as she entered the door:
"Sister Xu, how is Junjun? Is everything alright?"
Xu Yumei smiled and replied:
"Weiwen, thank you for everything. Junjun is fine. The doctor said he just has a slightly weak constitution and tends to get sick easily. We have got some medicine. It is nothing serious but I might need to trouble you with something."
"Sister Xu, don't be so polite with me. What is it?" Li Weiwen replied, looking at the sleeping Junjun and smiling, "He's absolutely adorable!"
"Here's the thing." Xu Yumei said, "I told the doctor about the acupuncture and tui na you did for Junjun and she said it would be best if you could continue doing a bit more massage and give him more nutritious food to build up his health. So I was wondering if I want to trouble you to give Junjun more massage therapy to help strengthen his constitution."
Li Weiwen smiled and said:
"Come on, there is no 'trouble' at all. This is something I should do. I was the one who delivered him after all so it is my duty. Sister Xu, if you keep being so polite with me, I'm going to get upset."
Xu Yumei laughed and said:
"You silly girl, still threatening to get upset? Alright, alright, I won't be polite with you anymore. I'm officially putting your little nephew in your hands." She gave Li Weiwen a warm hug and then continued, "But let me tell you something funny that happened today. The doctor constantly asked all sorts of questions about Junjun's diet, his bowel movements and so on. Naturally, I answered them all. But then the doctor assumed Commander Guo was Junjun's father. We got such a scolding! The doctor just went on and on, telling the commander to be a proper father and saying a father shouldn't just leave everything to the mother. She talked like a machine gun, firing off words so fast we could barely get a word in. The commander just stood there, half amused and half helpless, nodding the whole time and admitting it was all his fault."
At that, the two women couldn't help but burst into laughter, picturing Commander Guo, who usually came off as approachable but could be downright terrifying when angry, being forced to stand there and swallow his pride. It was just too funny to imagine someone finally out-talking and out-scolding him.
Noticing the tiredness on Xu Yumei's face, Li Weiwen answered Xu Yumei's questions about the breakfast preparations for the next morning before she got ready to leave. When she returned to her dormitory, she saw the two girls who had worked with her in the kitchen now boiling water for their baths. Without a word, she grabbed two large plastic buckets and a ladle, walked out of the door, and made her way to the stable. There, she led out a horse, mounted it and rode off toward the riverbank.
As she was near the river bank, the sky had turned so black that she couldn't see a thing. But she could sense something moving nearby in the darkness. A chill ran down her spine. Hesitant and cautious, she took steps the source of the motion. When she saw it clearly, that thing was a horse without a saddle, nibbling at the dry grass along the river's edge. She murmured to herself:
"Oh, it is a wild horse."
She knew that wild horses could be so fierce that she didn't dare get too close. Instead, she led her own horse close to the river, unfastened the two plastic buckets and the ladle and knelt down to fetch water, scooping it into the bucket ladle by ladle.
As she was focused on filling, ripples suddenly spread across the river's surface in front of her. There was something dark emerging from the water. She screamed, "Ah!" in terror, dropping the bucket and ladle. She jumped to her feet and took off running without a second glance. Whatever had risen from the water seemed just as startled by her. It hesitated and then slowly sank beneath the surface again. After a while, it came slowly out of the river. In the distance, the small, panicked figure could be seen fleeing frantically, as if running for her life.
Li Weiwen was scared to death and felt lucky that she had trained the long-distance running ability in her younger days for fleeing from being bullied by older kids. But no matter how fast she could run, she couldn't outrun a animal with four legs. She heard the sound of hooves behind her and within seconds, a horse had raced ahead and blocked her path. Startled and breathless, she lost control of her footing and tumbled to the ground right in front of the horse. She didn't dare lift her head but she already knew what the black thing is ---- a person, in fact, a man. Barefoot, the calves dripping water. The man had dismounted and was now standing just steps away from her. She remained frozen and kept her head low because he was standing in front of her. To her surprise, the man knelt down and gently helped her to her feet. It was then that she saw his face clearly: it was Commander Guo, wearing nothing but a tank top and shorts, soaked from head to toe. Her face flushed with heat. Embarrassed, she quickly lowered her gaze, pretending to examine her hand because she felt the pain there. At this moment, a large and calloused hand reached out and took hers. She saw that the skin on her palm had been scraped and bleeding. She tried to pull her hand away but his grip was firm. She struggled again and muttered softly:
"Please let go of me."
Guo Yungang gave a soft chuckle and said:
"Why running like that? You scared the hell out of me. I thought I had bumped into some kind of river spirit or ghost."
She looked at him in disbelief, trying again to take her hand back as she thought herself: You're the one who scared me to death, and now you're acting like the victim?
But she didn't dare to say anything but lowered her head again. Suddenly she asked:
"Where are my glasses?"
The darkness surrounded them, lit only by the pale glow of moonlight. It took a while for them to search for them, but eventually, the commander finally found the glasses and handed them to her. The lenses were shattered and completely unusable. It was impossible for her to wear them anymore. She couldn't help but burst into tears because her mother, Shen Hui, had bought it for her as a gift before she was arrested. Li Weiwen had always kept them carefully, wiping them clean every night before bed and storing them safely in the case. Now they were broken so her heart ached as the loss. Guo Yungang tried to comfort her:
"Please don't cry. The next time we go into town, I will buy a new pair for you. Come on, let's go back, get your horse and gather your things. I'm freezing now!"
With that, he mounted the horse and then offered his hand to pull her up. But she didn't even watch it, kept lowering her head, wiped her tears and limped slowly toward the riverbank. Guo Yungang, sitting on the horse, pulled back his hand and watched her silently walk ahead. But in just a few seconds, he gave the horse a nudge with his heels, trotted forward, and scooped her up into his arms. A startled cry escaped her lips "Ah!" as one hand instinctively grabbed the horse's mane and the other wrapped tightly around him for balance. Once she realized what had just happened, she completely forgot about the pain in her injured hand. Fury surged through her. She began pounding on his chest with all her might, struggling to break free and trying to slide off the horse. But it was clear she had underestimated his strength. No matter how fiercely she fought, his grip didn't loosen. Still unwilling to give up, she bit down hard on her lip and struggled with everything she had, feeling heat rising to her face and body. He watched her struggle with an amused look in his eyes. Then, without warning, he leaned down and pressed his lips against hers. She froze. A wave of heat surged her body as if something inside had suddenly caught fire. His teeth gently pried open her trembling lips and the next thing she felt was his tongue entangling with hers, warm and deliberate. Dizziness swept over her. Her fists, once full of resistance, fell uselessly to her sides. Her strength drained, her thoughts scattered and then everything faded to dark. She fainted in his arms.