Free Web NovelChapter 140: Chapter 140: Little Girl
At the Northwest Military Region headquarters, the regimental political commissar was in the department head’s office. When he heard the desk phone ring, he casually answered it.
His expression gradually grew solemn. "Who did you say? Mr. Huo is requesting to be discharged? By my count, he’s only been in the hospital for barely a week?!"
The switchboard operator explained to the regimental political commissar, "We checked with the hospital. When Mr. Huo’s wife was here, she was able to hold him back. But the moment she left, he started acting up again, insisting on being discharged."
Hearing this, the regimental political commissar put on a stern expression. "Get me Beijing Hospital. Now."
"Right away."
As the operator patched him through, the regimental political commissar heard that punchable voice of Huo Jingyuan’s. "Reporting to my commanding officer! This is Huo Jingyuan of the Northwest Military Region. I have made a full recovery and request to be discharged."
The words had barely left his mouth when the regimental political commissar’s voice came roaring down the line, "Huo Jingyuan, are you throwing a goddamn tantrum for me all the way in Beijing? How many days have you been recuperating that you’re already clamoring to be discharged? You just don’t give a damn about your own body, do you?"
Huo Jingyuan: "..."
’He’d asked the switchboard to call the department head.’
’Why, of all people, did the political commissar have to answer?’ He and the commissar were actually quite close. His face darkened as he asked, "How did you end up answering the phone? Where’s the department head?"
"The department head wouldn’t approve your discharge either, even if he were here."
"The doctor said I can be discharged. I can just recuperate at home."
The regimental political commissar knew that once Huo Jingyuan got into one of his stubborn moods, there was no talking him down. Besides, he himself was far away in the Northwest. Suddenly, inspiration struck. He said lightly, "It’s no use asking any big shot to approve your discharge. First, you’ll need approval from the ’commander’ at home."
"The ’commander’ at my home?" Huo Jingyuan furrowed his brow.
His parents both worked in classified units, so their information couldn’t be investigated. Publicly, his only identity was that of Old Commander Huo’s grandson.
"But my grandfather isn’t..."
Before Huo Jingyuan could finish, the regimental political commissar explained, "Your discharge requires Wen Ci’s approval. As long as your wife agrees to it, the military region will too."
"..." Huo Jingyuan was speechless. "My wife has gone to another province."
The regimental political commissar couldn’t suppress the smile at the corners of his mouth. "What a shame. In that case, you should just stay put in the hospital and wait for Wen Ci to return to Beijing."
"Can you drop the act?"
The regimental political commissar gave Huo Jingyuan no chance to argue, hanging up the phone directly. He then called the switchboard and had them relay an order to the hospital.
Huo Jingyuan’s discharge request could be approved.
But only with the personal permission of his wife.
·
On the green-skinned train, Wen Ci wrinkled her nose at the smell in the hard-seat carriage. A concoction of various, indescribable odors hung in the air.
But this train was a mixed passenger-freight service and had no sleeper cars.
Wen Ci found a seat and sat down. Next to her was a young girl with her hair in thick braids, cupping a handful of orange peels. The fresh fragrance from the peels was surprisingly invigorating.
Wen Ci had only packed a single change of clothes for the trip.
The little girl blinked her big, dewy eyes, tore off half of the orange peels she was holding, and said with a wide grin, "Here, have some."
The words had barely left her lips when the middle-aged woman sitting across from the girl grew visibly tense. "Ah Hua, don’t bother the young lady."
The little girl, Ah Hua, lowered her head and mumbled, "Oh."
Wen Ci thanked her.
The fresh scent of the orange peels helped cut through the thick, foul smell in the carriage. She took a White Rabbit milk candy from a box in her bag and gave it to the little girl.
She had a box of White Rabbit milk candies in her bag.
His maternal grandparents had bought them for Xiao Chuan after he returned to the Xu Family.
Xiao Chuan had declared that any good treats had to be given to the "big boss" first, so he’d entrusted Wen Ci with passing the box of White Rabbit milk candies on to Wen Yaozu.
