Chapter 12: Military Dependent
Because he had been sent to the hospital, Mi Yang stayed behind for an extended period of observation.
Things were busy in the military camp. A high-ranking leader had reportedly come from above for an inspection, and Mi Zehai and several other company commanders were so busy they were spinning like tops. The high-ranking leader from the military region didn’t leave, staying in the mountains for several months. A drill operations command center was even said to have been established, and daily training had doubled. Within a couple of days, Mi Zehai had become darker and thinner.
Cheng Qing only heard snippets of this news from Mrs. Bai. What Mrs. Bai didn’t say, she didn’t ask, not a single word. She just watched Mi Zehai come back, exhausted, and fall straight into bed. She couldn’t help but cook him some special meals, making some of his favorite side dishes.
Mi Yang, however, remembered that his father had received several military honors, and they had several medals at home. He wasn’t worried about these things. He was still a small baby, and the most he could do was not cry or fuss at night, allowing the adults to get a good night’s sleep.
The major drill was approaching, and Mi Zehai had already left with his troops, leaving Cheng Qing alone in the military camp.
After being little Bai Luochuan’s playmate for another two weeks, Mi Yang was finally carried out of the military camp one weekend afternoon and taken to the train station.
In his mother’s arms, Mi Yang tilted his little head back and looked around curiously. Taking a train at this time was still a novel experience. Mi Zehai’s salary wasn’t high, and Cheng Qing was a frugal person, so they had bought hard-seat tickets. The rectangular cardboard tickets were considered validated once a small hole was punched in them.
During this period, Mi Zehai had been so busy with drills in the mountains that he couldn’t get away. He had sent an orderly to see them off. Just as Cheng Qing got on the train and found her seat, she saw the orderly rushing back, tapping on the windows of the green-skinned train and calling her name, “Sister-in-law, Sister-in-law… The Company Commander wants you to go back! The Company Commander is calling you back!”
Thinking something terrible had happened, Cheng Qing followed him back in a panic. On the way, all she could think about were incidents of gunshot wounds during major drills. Holding her child, she almost scared herself to tears.
But when they arrived, she learned it was just a phone call from Mi Zehai, asking her to stay a few more days.
Unsure of what was happening, Cheng Qing waited anxiously until she saw her husband three days later.
Mi Zehai stood at the entrance of the military camp with his pack on his back, grinning. He even reached out his hands enthusiastically when he saw them. “The timing was just right. I just got back from the division headquarters. I was supposed to be back that day to see you off at the station, but something came up, and I had a few days of meetings.”
Cheng Qing looked him up and down. He was darker and thinner, but his arms and legs were all there, and she couldn’t see anything missing. She hit him on the shoulder in anger. “You scared me to death! I thought something terrible had happened!”
“Well, something did happen.” Mi Zehai tried to keep his tone steady, but the corners of his mouth were already turning up. “I received a commendation for the major drill, a third-class merit. I was promoted one rank, so I’m now a regular Company Commander.”
Cheng Qing was very happy but still looked at him with confusion. “You could have just sent a telegram or a letter to tell me. Why did you call me back?”
Mi Zehai grinned. “You and Yangyang can become military dependents. From now on, the three of us will never have to be apart again.”
This time, it wasn’t just Cheng Qing; even Mi Yang, who was being held in her arms, blinked his eyes and looked up at his own father.
Needless to say, Mi Yang’s plan to return to Shanhai Town was completely ruined.
Cheng Qing thought they were still staying here and was happily cleaning their simple room. But soon, an orderly came in to help pack their luggage, stripping the bed down to the bare boards. Cheng Qing was stunned. “Are we moving?”
The orderly said, “Yes, Sister-in-law, you didn’t know? The Company Commander has been so busy with work, he forgot to tell you that after this promotion, he’s being transferred to the division headquarters.”
Cheng Qing said, “Huh?”
The orderly said, “The old chief who came last time took a liking to several people in our battalion, including Company Commander Mi. They’ve all been transferred to the division headquarters! When the Battalion Commander let them go, his face was twitching with reluctance, especially with Company Commander Mi’s letter of introduction. He dragged it out for three days before issuing it. He couldn’t bear to let him go!”
Hearing this, Cheng Qing also started to laugh.
Mi Yang was carried into a military jeep and taken on a bumpy ride to the division headquarters. His eyes watched the vast mountain and forest scenery along the way. His memory of this period was a bit fuzzy. He only remembered that his father had worked in a field army district before, but his work was confidential. The triangular military stamp on his letters never had a return address, so he wasn’t sure if he had gone to the division headquarters back then.
As for becoming a military dependent, that had to wait another two years. But at that time, only his mother had gone. He had been frequently ill in his childhood, and his grandmother was too worried, so she had kept him with her to raise him. It wasn’t until he started elementary school that he gradually began to live with his parents, and it was in middle school that he met Bai Luochuan again.
This little butterfly had flapped its wings, and it seemed that many things were happening ahead of schedule.
Mi Yang was used to going with the flow, and since all the recent developments were good things, he accepted them calmly. After a yawn in his mother’s arms, he rubbed his eyes and fell soundly asleep.
Mi Yang had thought he would stay at the division headquarters for a while and experience life in the military camp again, but he had never expected that this experience would last for several years.
