Chapter 2: Parents' Pride

  Looking at the new home, Zhang Shidong had a dazed feeling. The popular three-bedroom apartment nowadays has floor-to-ceiling windows and a large living room. Hanging above the sofa in the living room is an enlarged photo of a family of four: the majestic and dignified father Zhang Jun, the elegant and refined mother Kong Mei, the unrestrained son Zhang Shidong, and the lovely and sweet daughter Zhang Yiqing.

  "Xiao Dong, hurry up and change your shoes."

  "Xiao Qing, your brother is smoking, quickly go get the ashtray and your dad's good cigarettes."

  "Xiao Dong, come and take a look at your room."

  "What do you want to eat for dinner, son? Mom will make it for you."

  "Hurry up and call your dad, he'll be thrilled when he hears you're back."

  Looking at the decorations in the room, which were just like his own room back then, with colors he used to love, Zhang Shidong quickly blinked away the moisture welling up in his eyes. Over the past six years, he had recalled countless times the disappointed and almost desperate look in his parents' eyes. If it weren't for the gift from above, would he have been able to hold on? Maybe he would have become a deserter long ago and returned home to continue disappointing his parents.

  "Go take a bath quickly, it's terribly hot today. These are some clean clothes for you to change into. You've grown so much taller! These all belong to your dad."

  Pushed into the bathroom, listening to his mother's low, scolding voice outside the door, telling his sister to be more enthusiastic, as cold water poured down from the showerhead, Zhang Shidong no longer suppressed the moisture in his eyes. No wonder they all said that home is your forever warm harbor.

  Maybe it was because of Kong Mei's words, or maybe Zhang Yiying was just a lively and cheerful girl by nature. Soon, from outside came Zhang Yiying's slightly excited shout: "Brother, 4S! You're really generous to yourself, buying such an expensive phone! Hey, you haven't even downloaded any entertainment functions, what a waste!"

  Wiping his body dry with a towel, the household water was not cool enough. Looking at the short-sleeved pajamas prepared by his mother, Zhang Shidong shook his head and put on his long-sleeved T-shirt and military green pants again. He used the mop in the bathroom to clean up the traces left after taking a bath.

  Pushing open the bathroom door, a rugged face that had never been erased from memory appeared at the door, wearing a police uniform that was so neat and tidy.

  "Dad!"

  "Hey, Xiaodong is back! Good, good, good, he's gotten darker and stronger. His hair looks great, clean, and he has the look of a soldier now. Good, good, good!" Zhang Jun handed over the vegetables and fruits in his hands to Kong Mei, looking up and down at his son, saying six "good"s in a row. In Zhang Shidong's memory, from childhood to adulthood, his father's praise for him didn't add up to these six "good"s.

  Fatherly love is light, fatherly love is heavy.

  "Is this a vacation?" Zhang Jun, sitting on the sofa, saw Zhang Shidong subconsciously reaching for cigarettes and was stunned for a moment before proactively taking out a box of Furongwang from under the tea table and handing one to his son.

  Zhang Shidong hastened to light his father's cigarette with a lighter, which was the first time. His father handed him a cigarette and he lit it for his father. The two sat together in harmony, a rare occurrence between them.

  "I've retired from the army and this time I'm back for good."

  "Oh, great to be discharged! Six years of serving the country is enough!" On the side, Kong Mei, who had just put away the vegetables and fruits in the kitchen, saw her son still wearing the clothes he wore when he came back and asked with concern: "How come? Doesn't your dad's clothes fit you? Just make do with what you're wearing for now, I'll take you to buy some later. It's so hot outside, why are you still wearing long sleeves? You must be sweating a lot! Come on, change out of those, mom will wash them for you."

  Kong Mei said and went to pull Zhang Shidong's clothes, back home to relatives without any defense, his sleeve was pulled up a little distance, a small scar on the wrist was taken into Zhang Jun's eyes.

  "Mom, don't worry about it, I have clothes."

  Kong Mei wanted to insist, but was stopped by her husband's gaze, and went to the bathroom to fetch the prepared pajamas, also thinking of tidying up the floor. Seeing the clean and tidy bathroom, she was stunned for a moment, and smiled knowingly.

  Zhang Jun was originally a soldier and also served as a scout. His sharp eyes sparkled with excitement as he asked, "Penetration?"

  Zhang Shidong nodded: "XM8, just a scratch."

  Zhang Jun: "Foreign troops?"

  Zhang Shidong gave a thumbs up, praising his father's professional judgment after leaving the army for many years.

  Zhang Jun burst out laughing and patted his son's shoulder: "Alright, alright, alright, Xiaomei, cook some dishes that my son likes to eat. I want to have a few drinks with him to celebrate his return after serving the country." Apparently, Zhang Jun had gotten it wrong, thinking that his son was discharged from the army due to injury. A faint sadness appeared in his eyes, and behind this sadness was a deep-seated guilt.

  Zhang Yiqing, who was fiddling with her iPhone on the side, vaguely heard her father and brother's conversation, and asked: "Dad, what foreign army?"

  Zhang Jun waved his hand: "Go away, little brat doesn't understand anything. Look at your outfit, what do you look like? Learn from your brother."

  Zhang Yiqing rolled her eyes and ignored her father's scolding, shaking the phone in her hand. Her parents all said that her brother was good, so the little estrangement in her heart also disappeared. With a slightly spoiled tone, she said to Zhang Shidong: "Brother, you don't even know how to use it, why not exchange it with me? Look at your phone, there's no phone number or text message, Mom said she would buy one for me when I go to college, now you're going back on your word."

  Zhang Shidong brought over the sack he was carrying, opened it and took out an exquisite box: "I thought you'd like this unreleased 5."

  "Ah!" Zhang Yiqing casually threw Zhang Shidong's phone back to him, snatched the box and took out a more exquisite phone, fiddling with it excitedly: "Wow, so many functions, impossible! How did you get it before it even went on sale? No way, the memory is wrong too..."

  Zhang Shidong continued to dig out something from the old burlap sack and waved it at his mother, who was busy in the kitchen and occasionally looked over: "Mom, this is a gift for you."

  A professional-looking outfit without a brand name, Kong Mei couldn't help but put it on and show it off to the whole family. It fit perfectly and was very comfortable. Zhang Yiqing, who was busy playing with her new toy, didn't come over, otherwise she would have teased Zhang Shidong for bringing home an unbranded outfit for his mom. Little did they know that this outfit was handmade by one of the most expensive private tailors in England, and its value couldn't be measured by money.

  Originally, Zhang Shidong still felt that the gift he gave to his father would not have much effect, but seeing him accurately judge just by a little scar left on the gun wound, it seemed that he could also understand the value of this gift.

  A palm-sized box was handed over to Zhang Jun's body: "Dad."

  Zhang Jun opened the box and looked at more than a dozen medals of various sizes, but he only recognized two of them, the First-Class Meritorious Service Medal and the Second-Class Meritorious Service Medal. His eyes were moist with excitement, and the pressure he had been under at work for the past few days suddenly disappeared. With a son like this, what more could he ask for? Zhang Jun was still aware that it was almost impossible to receive a First-Class Meritorious Service Medal in peacetime, which made him even more excited inside.

  Zhang Shidong watched as his father spun around on the floor, muttering about putting things in the display cabinet in the living room one minute and then muttering about putting them on the bedside table the next. He had completely lost the dignified state he remembered. Looking closely, Zhang saw that his father, who was not yet fifty years old, already had white hair at his temples. Not wanting to disturb his excitement, Zhang took out an old nylon rope bag from the burlap sack and arranged a few bottles of wine and some cigarettes on the coffee table. He then pulled out an old military-style briefcase and placed it on the coffee table, taking out its contents one by one and arranging them there as well. Finally, he stood up and walked into the open kitchen to take over his mother's vegetable chopping work.

  Zhang Jun was still entangled in how to place these honors that made him happier than he had obtained, Kong Mei went into the room to change her son's gift, while Zhang Yiying was entangled in the powerful performance of this machine that had not yet been listed domestically.

  "Xiao Dong, hurry up and do it yourself." As soon as Kong Mei walked out of the room, she saw her son busy in the kitchen. She rushed over, but when she saw her son's knife skills, which were comparable to a machine, she didn't say another word.

  "Here I come, mom."

  Kong Mei's eyes were moist as she nodded: "Uh, then mom will try her son's cooking today."

  "Wow, Mom and Dad come quick, so much money!"

  Zhang Yiqing, who was originally fiddling with her phone on the sofa, saw the passbook that Zhang Shidong finally took out and flipped it open to see a strong seven-figure number, shouting in panic.

  "Tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions, tens of millions, sixty million... I'm dizzy, dizzy!" Zhang Yiqing exaggeratedly lay on the sofa, pretending to be faint.

  Kong Mei frowned and looked at her son, worried that he had done something illegal. The previous conversation between father and son was simple, but the actual meaning was only clear to them, and this mother and daughter didn't understand what XM8 meant.

  "My allowance and demobilization fee."

  Kong Mei frowned, her face turning cold. She was about to scold her son for lying, wondering how he could have so much money after only six years in the army? Zhang Jun, on the other hand, remained calm, as a soldier who had represented his country in battles against foreign armies and been wounded in action, earning countless honors. Six years, although it was a lot of money, was still within Zhang Jun's acceptable range: "Alright, you guys don't understand, son, can all this money be traced back to its source?"

  Zhang Jun's only concern is that this money can't be explained clearly or is difficult to explain, and as a police officer's wife who is a doctor, she worries about being gossiped about.

  Zhang Shidong nodded, fortunately he didn't take out the other 'salary card' that only a very small number of people and departments knew about, otherwise it would have scared them to death.

  "Dad and Mom, Xiaoyu, there are three pieces of jade in that bag, which is really good stuff. You should always carry it with you, as it still has the effect of clearing your mind and eyes."