Chapter 15: Train Box Lunch
For Mi Yang’s return journey, the old Mrs. Cheng had someone buy them hard-sleeper tickets, even specifically getting a lower bunk. She doted on her eldest daughter and grandson, doing everything she could for them.
This time, Cheng Qing brought back many bags, but because they were in a hard-sleeper, the journey was much easier than the one coming.
Not only did Mi Yang get a good night’s sleep on the train, but he also had a train box lunch at noon.
There were relatively fewer people in the sleeper car. The snack cart went back and forth, and at mealtimes, the dining car was also pushed through with calls for sales. Cheng Qing bought a beef and rice box lunch to share with her child. Mi Yang tried the beef; the flavor was good, but he couldn’t chew it very well. Eating some of the gravy mixed with rice was also quite delicious.
When they arrived at the station, Mi Zehai personally came to pick them up. The northern man was tall and sturdy. He carried a luggage bag weighing dozens of pounds in one hand and his child in the other. Beside him, Cheng Qing, carrying a small satchel, followed him out of the station with a smile. From the moment she saw her husband, the fatigue of the journey had faded significantly.
After returning to the military compound for two days, Mi Yang finally felt like something was missing.
Little Bai Luochuan wasn’t around. Usually, when the little demon was here, he would rush over to their house three times a day. He could run very fast now, and the orderly who followed him would be sweating profusely trying to keep up.
A mother and son’s hearts are connected. As he was thinking this, Cheng Qing couldn’t help but murmur, “Luochuan isn’t back yet.”
People can’t stand being talked about. After just two days of muttering, Mrs. Bai came to visit with little Bai Luochuan in her arms.
Almost as soon as they entered the door of Mi Yang’s house, the little demon twisted his body, wanting to be put down. The moment his feet touched the ground, he rushed towards Mi Yang, the toy in his hand dragging on the floor. Mi Yang was startled. He was sitting on a small stool and was nearly knocked to the ground by the force of his charge. After he managed to steady himself, his arms were filled with a toy—it was the Transformer he had dragged over.
Mi Yang looked at the toy, then up at him. “Play together?”
Little Bai Luochuan thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement. “Alright.”
Mi Yang: “…”
Who’s begging whom to play?
Regardless, Mi Yang dutifully sat down to entertain the child. At his age, this was all he could do. However, while the little young master was in a good mood, he took out his own stack of literacy cards and, pretending to be very interested, began to lay them out one by one and read them aloud. As expected, the little young master was attracted by the colorful cards and started to read along with Mi Yang. He probably thought it was a game and “played” very seriously.
Beside them, Mrs. Bai was complaining to Cheng Qing, “…You don’t know, we just got home, and I hadn’t even had time to change my clothes. He grabbed his toys and insisted on coming to find Mi Yang. I couldn’t stop him. In the half-month we were back, he fussed so much my head ached. Every time we went out, I had to buy him two toys, and they had to be identical. See, he brought a whole bunch of these Transformers, and this is the one he picked as his favorite.” As she was speaking, she saw her mischievous son casually toss aside his most beloved toy of the past two days and go over to play with the literacy cards with Mi Yang. Mrs. Bai blinked, finding it hard to believe what she was seeing. Her son was gifted and learned things quickly, but he was just naughty and deliberately refused to learn. They had bought countless sets of these cards at home, and usually, they would all be thrown away before he even finished reading them once.
This was truly like the sun rising in the west. Her Bai Luochuan was actually studying on his own initiative?
Mrs. Bai was overjoyed. She looked left and right and asked Cheng Qing, “Where did you buy these cards?” She thought it must be that the cards Cheng Qing bought were good and could attract a child’s attention.
Cheng Qing quickly found another box of literacy cards for her and said with a smile, “My younger sisters back home bought them. There are several boxes. This one is for Luochuan.”
Mrs. Bai didn’t stand on ceremony with her and accepted it with a smile. “Then I’ll take it. This is the first time I’ve seen him look at picture cards and learn characters so seriously.”
Over on the other side, the little teacher Mi Yang was still trying his best to educate the little young master Bai with as few words as possible, while enduring his various harassments. Mi Yang felt that Bai Luochuan was simply hyperactive. One moment he would touch the cards, the next he would touch him. If he said “cabbage,” he would giggle to himself for a long time.
Mi Yang patted the card with a pink pig printed on it, looked up at Bai Luochuan, and said with a serious expression, “Pig.”
Little Bai Luochuan started laughing again.
The cards Mrs. Bai took back were of no use. The little young master didn’t fall for it at all. He didn’t play with them after taking them back. No amount of coaxing could make him as patient as he was at Mi Yang’s house. He simply wouldn’t learn.
After trying a few times, Mrs. Bai finally understood. It wasn’t that the cards were good; Company Commander Mi’s son was the real treasure. She figured that the two children learned faster together, so she stopped holding Bai Luochuan back as much. Every day, she would have the orderly take him over. Her own job had just been transferred here, and she wasn’t home every day. She didn’t feel at ease leaving Bai Luochuan at home alone. Since her son was happy to run out, she simply sent him directly to Mi Yang’s house.
From then on, when Cheng Qing came home from work and couldn’t find her son, she just had to ask at the Bai’s, and he was sure to be there.
The two little ones were inseparable. Sometimes they would play with building blocks and dolls on the first floor of the Bai’s house, and other times they would be sound asleep together in the softly padded children’s room on the second floor, with opened bags of snacks scattered by their hands…
Life was peaceful and smooth, but Mi Yang always felt like he had forgotten something.
It wasn’t until one day when Mi Zehai picked up a book and started to study seriously that Mi Yang remembered: he had forgotten about his father’s military academy exam.
In his memory, there should have been good news in the next year or two. Mi Yang would sometimes run over to look at the books his father was reading. Mi Zehai doted on him very much. When he saw him, he would pick the little Mi Yang up and carry him on his shoulders, letting him study together.
Mi Yang looked down from his high perch at his father studying. Perhaps because he had moved from the field army district to the division headquarters, although he still participated in training, the conditions were better than before, and there were more books available. Mi Zehai studied hard day and night. Not only were his eyes red from lack of sleep, but he had also lost some weight.
Mi Yang felt that he was working too hard.
But Mi Zehai didn’t think so. After the major drill, he had been promoted one rank, but it was harder to stand out at the division headquarters. To do well, he could only strive harder. Before, he had wanted to be the best soldier. Now, his goal was a little higher: he wanted to be a good officer.
Mi Zehai had not received systematic education and was learning everything on his own. He read every book seriously, but time was far from enough. He was exhausted, and Mi Yang was also anxious.
The military academy exam that year was a bit unconventional, with a focus on military theory. His father had once proudly told him that he had passed thanks to a book he had read in the two nights before the exam. Mi Yang remembered it clearly. That book had been in their house for many years, and the hardcover was a bit tattered. He was the one who had repaired it. His father treated it like a family heirloom, telling everyone who came over about it. He was all too familiar with that book.
Mi Yang glanced at the “family heirloom” that Mi Zehai had placed by his side, then patted his own father. “Daddy, look at that one.”
Mi Zehai looked up. “Hmm? This red-covered one?”
Mi Yang nodded. “Yes, this one looks nice.”
