The two of them spending so much time alone together finally drew people's attention. What began as mere suspicion quickly turned into certainty: Li Weiwen and Commander Guo were in love. At first, everyone talked about it endlessly, but before long they grew accustomed to seeing the two together in public. Even the girls in Li Weiwen's dormitory would tease her from time to time, which at first left her nervous and blushed with embarrassment. But once she realized there was no malice in their words, she gradually relaxed. She threw her whole heart into preparing the New Year's menu for 1969, and tried her best to gather herbal medicines to help everyone keep out the cold. Meanwhile, her relationship with Guo Yungang became more and more harmonious, until one day when he heard her softly say the words "I like you!". Overcome with joy, he kissed the girl in his arms so long and so deeply that her nearly lost control.
After the Spring Festival, time seemed to pass quickly. Soon it was time for them to go back the base. Li Weiwen carried with her a sense of eager anticipation, longing to get back and see Li Weibing's baby. But upon their arrival, they were startled to learn that several unexpected events had happened. The first was the disappearance of a comrade who had been approved to go home for the New Year. Everyone at the base assumed he had returned to his family while his family, waiting day after day without his arrival, thought he must have been delayed on the road or had already been at the base. It wasn't until well past the Lantern Festival, when even the first lunar month was nearly over and still there was no sign of him, that Instructor Zhang finally sent a telegram to his family urging him to return. Only then did his family realize he had never been at the base at all.
Guo Yungang asked Instructor Zhang:
"Now what do we do? Did you have reported it to the superior officers?"
Instructor Zhang replied:
"Yes, I reported it as soon as I had known this. Now the higher authorities are now handling communication with his family while we have been ordered to carry out the search. Even the helicopter has been dispatched. Notices and photographs have been posted at bus and train station across the area. But it's as if he has vanished into thin air. There has been no word of him at all."
"What was the weather like here when he left?"
"This was exactly what worried me. The weather in those days was terrible. There was a snowstorm. But since he had already bought the ticket, he still went..."
With concern, Guo Yungang looked at Instructor Zhang. Instructor Zhang nodded and said:
"That was what I fear as well. The chances of survival are slim. Once he lost his way, it would have been all too easy to wander into that quicksand area. I have already reported my concerns to the higher authorities. Most likely, they will handle it according to regulations and provide his family with a certain amount of compensation."
Guo Yungang remarked with a sigh:
"A young life lost! I think we should arrange a memorial service here as well."
Instructor Zhang nodded but then glanced at Guo Yungang with a troubled expression, saying:
"There is another matter. Liu Yun may have found out something about Li Weiwen."
Guo Yungang frowned in suspicion:
"How could she have known?"
"It seems she either had someone check Li Weiwen's personnel file or picked up some information while she was home for New Year."
"What difference does it make if she knows? Don't the higher authorities have already reorganized the leadership? And from what I have heard, most of them are the veteran leaders from our own troops. What kind of trouble could a young girl like her possibly stir up?"
"You can't take this lightly. Since the Central Committee of the Communist Party, with Chairman Mao Zedong at its head, issued the call for 'educated youth to go to the countryside and receive re-education from the poor and lower-middle peasants' in 1968, a nationwide movement to go 'up to the mountains and down to the countryside' swept across China, sending large numbers of young people to the rural areas. Most of them come from Red Guard backgrounds. The higher-ups have forbidden those Red Guards from forming alliances and assigned them to different companies. A few of them were even transferred here and so far they have behaved themeselves, but the political atmosphere now is anything but simple. After all, her father is an old revolutionary, a former leader. And I've heard he has been getting involved with those members of the Revolutionary Committee at the local level. Right now our base is under joint military-civilian administration. If he says just a word, it could put us in a very difficult position."
"I see. I will think of a way to handle it. Just leave it to me. After all, this is just my private matter, not yours. You just turn a blind eye. By the way, I also heard that Li Weibing and Lin Feng are ready to divorce. From what I know, their marriage used to be quite good. How did things get so bad that it's come to divorce? What happened?"
"Well, since you bring it up, let me ask you something. Did you notice anything unusual about Lin Feng when you were in Lanzhou? I means... in terms of his conduct and discipline. "
After thinking for a while, Guo Yungang seemed to realize something and said:
"I remember he was quite well liked at the time. After all, he was a university graduate so he knew more about the forestry than most. His speeches were confident and persuasive so that many people, men and women, went to him with questions."
"Think carefully. Was there anyone in particular?"
Guo Yungang paused again before replying:
"Well, there was a woman who often came to talk with him. She seemed to be from forestry bureau of some county."
"Yes, that is her. Her father is the county magistrate. And now our Mr. Lin is ready to play present Chen Shimei ---- abandon his wife and child, marry this woman, the magistrate's daughter, and then get himself transferred to the forestry bureau of that county. And besides...."
At that moment, someone burst into the office, shouting:
"Instructor, Commander, hurry! There is a fight!"
Guo Yungang asked hurriedly:
"Who is fighting?"
Then he and Instructor Zhang immediately followed that man out of the office. When they arrived at the man's dormitory, they saw Xu Yumei clinging to Lin Feng and shouting:
"Lin Feng, don't be such a brute! How can you strike a woman? Weiwen, quick! Pull your sister away!"
But when Guo Yungang saw the scene, he couldn't help finding it a little funny. It was obvious that neither Li Weiwen nor Li Weibing were the sort of people who knew how to fight. To be precise, this was probably the first time either of them had ever raised their hands in a brawl. Li Weibing was the more spirited one, her punches and kicks came sharp and fierce. Li Weiwen, on the other hand, was rather small, and no matter how she swung her fists or feet, it seemed as if the person being hit barely felt anything. Guo Yungang knew exactly well the strength of Li Weiwen's strikes, it was more like she was giving a massage than actually fighting. As for Xu Yumei, she was supposed to be breaking up the fight, but the way she was clutching Lin Feng made it clear her mediation was anything but impartial. But Lin Feng, after all, was a man. Although he looked gentle and refined, he still had plenty of strength. With just a quick shake of his shoulders, he freed himself from Xu Yumei's grasp, then sent Li Weibing sprawling with a kick and swung a heavy punch at Li Weiwen. Before the punch could land, a stronger hand grabbed his wrist. At the same instant, Guo Yungang's other fist slammed hard into Lin Feng's face. With a cry, Lin Feng fell to the ground, blood spraying from his mouth as his glasses shattered across the floor. Guo Yungang stepped forward, seizing Lin Feng for another hit, when suddenly a sharp voice split the air with a commanding shout:
"Stop it, Guo! Stop this right now!" Instructor Zhang grabbed Guo Yungang's raised arm. His voice was stern as he continued, "You're a leader! And instead of just pulling him aside, you actually hit him yourself. All of you, come with me." He turned toward Li Weibing, Li Weiwen and Lin Feng, pointing at Xu Yumei, added, "You too."
Li Weibing spoke up quickly:
"This isn't Sister Xu's fault. She is the one trying to stop the fight."
Li Weiwen also spoke, a little nervously:
"Sister Xu is just trying to separate us."
Seeing that her husband was in bad mood, Xu Yumei said hurriedly:
"Alright, alright, I will go too."
The group followed him into the office. Instructor Zhang said firmly:
"I know you two have been having marital problems recently. No matter whether your relationship is good or not, you need to talk things through. How did it come to blows? Tell me exactly what happened."
Li Weiwen replied quickly:
"It...it was me."
Right after Li Weiwen arrived at the base, she didn't even go back to her dormitory. Instead, she rushed straight to Li Weibing's home to see her little nephew whom she had never met. The moment she walked in, she saw Li Weibing holding the baby and feeding him, tears quietly streaming down her face ---- so quietly, in fact, that she didn't have heard Li Weiwen enter. Xu Yumei was sitting beside her, comforting her. They both fell silent when they saw Li Weiwen. Li Weiwen asked quickly:
"What's going on? Sister Liu'er, why are you crying?"
Hearing this, Li Weibing hastily wiped her tears and forced herself a smile, trying to appear cheerful. She said:
"Oh, you come back. Come, come and see your little nephew, Xinyu."
Li Weiwen hurriedly picked up the baby, kissing him over and over. Though overjoyed, she couldn't forget the scene she had just walked into. She asked again:
"Sister Liu'er, what is the matter? You should be happy now that you have my nephew. Why are you still crying?"
Li Weibing said softly:
"It's nothing. I'm fine. Please don't ask."
Xu Yumei looked at Li Weibing and said angrily:
"Can you hide it? It's better to tell her."
So she told Li Weiwen about that Lin Feng was planning to divorce Li Weibing and the reasons behind it. After hearing this, Li Weiwen froze, stunned, unable to speak a word. She carefully handed the baby back to Li Weibing, then turned and went out of the room. Without hesitation, She went straight to the men's dormitory. When she saw Lin Feng, she slapped him hard across the face. Her green eyes were icy as they bore into him and she shouted:
"Asshole!"
Xu Yumei, worried about Li Weiwen, followed her. When she saw what Li Weiwen was about to do, she tried to pull her away but added sharply:
"Weiwen, let's go. Don't let this Chen Shimei tarnish your beautiful green eyes."
Hearing this, Lin Fen could no longer contain himself. Ever since he had proposed divorce while Li Weibing was in her month of postpartum recovery, everyone had looked at him with disdain. Liu Yun and a few of the other girls not only looked down on him but even openly expressed their contempt in harsh words. A few had shown some understanding, but it was still a shameful situation. The constant judgment had left him under enormous pressure and simmering with anger. Now, hearing even the usually good-tempered Xu Yumei call him a "Chen Shimei", his rage flared instantly. He turned to Xu Yumei and shouted:
"Yes, I'm a Chen Shimei. So what? Do I need the people like you to gossip and to point fingers at me? What's so great about staying this godforsaken place? Whoever wants to stay can stay, but I'm leaving! Is it any of your business?"
With that, he tried to shove Xu Yumei and Li Weiwen aside. Just then, Li Weibing rushed in, misunderstanding his gesture as an attempt to strike Xu Yumei. She quickly pushed away Lin Feng's outstretched hand. When Lin Feng realized that it was Li Weibing who had struck him, he lashed out without hesitation, slapping her hard across the face. Li Weiwen, furious at the sight, kicked him squarely. In an instant, the quarrel exploded into a full scuffle, the three of them grappling and stumbling their way from the men's dormitory out into the yard. Fearing the sisters might be overpowered by Lin Feng's strength, Xu Yumei called out for them to stop while, at the same time, clinging tightly to Lin Feng, holding him back with every ounce of her strength to keep him from striking again.