Chapter 317: Chapter 309: Preparation
He Xuewen, though a fool, still felt quite content. While he worried about the Tian Family, his greater concern lay with Chengsi and Xinhua— one being like his own adopted son and the other his precious daughter’s beau, naturally their wellbeing weighed more heavily than the others’.
During this time, Sisi was extremely busy. Every night, she would go to her Space. Tian Xinhua would be leaving for Yunnan to stand by in just a few days, and she had several things to prepare, life-preserving items in particular.
It wasn’t just for Tian Xinhua and He Chengsi that she was preparing these items, but also for the Tian brothers. She couldn’t bear to see any casualties befall the Tian Family.
Though revealing these items could potentially expose her secret, she couldn’t stand by, watching the Tian brothers risk their lives. She considered it repaying the Tian Family for their kindness in raising her.
What Sisi was really preparing was highly concentrated Qiong Wine. The He Family’s secretive elixir recipes did not include any formulas for treating external wounds. The only thing she could think of was to double the concentration of the Jade Liquid in the Qiong Wine. Sisi increased its concentration by twenty times, which, after extensive experimentation in her Space, was just the right amount.
The greatest effects of the twenty-fold concentrated Qiong Wine were to bring back from the verge of death and to stop bleeding. Sisi cut the stomach of a rabbit with a knife and fed it two mouthfuls of the high-concentration Qiong Wine, then dripped some onto the wound. In just two days, the rabbit was once again hopping around energetically.
Still, it was this poor rabbit that Sisi, with eyes closed, stabbed with four or five cuts. Barely breathing, it too was saved with the Qiong Wine.
The rabbit cried: "Why am I always the one to get hurt?"
Sisi: "If not you, then who would go to hell?"
Thus, as long as it wasn’t an instant death, the high-concentration Qiong Wine could generally prevent something serious from happening.
The day before Tian Xinhua set out, Sisi handed him two flasks of Qiong Wine. Chengsi also received two flasks, and there were about ten more flasks prepared for Tian Qinghua and the other members of the military. Once Tian Xinhua arrived in Yunnan, he could distribute them, as Tian Aiguo said all the Tian Family members had been assigned there.
In her own room, Sisi demonstrated the miraculous effects of the Qiong Wine, and Tian Xinhua was overcome with excitement.
"Ah Nan, did that person give you these Spiritual Medicines? They’re truly amazing!"
"Right, Brother Xin Hua, you should give these wines to Brother Qinghua and the others. They should ensure their safety!"
"Ah Nan, don’t talk about this to anyone else. I’ll tell Chengsi, Qinghua, and the others that I managed to procure these medicines, and that you aren’t involved. Make sure you don’t let anything slip, understand?" Tian Xinhua immediately thought of Sisi’s safety and reminded her to keep the secret.
"I understand, Brother Xin Hua. You must take care of yourself. If you come back missing anything, I won’t like you anymore!"
Sisi felt quite heartbroken. It was the first time she experienced the pain of parting due to war; it wasn’t a pleasant feeling at all, as if a heavy stone pressed on her chest, leaving her unable to breathe.
Tian Xinhua chuckled and lovingly picked up Sisi to sit in his lap, comforting her, "Don’t worry, Brother Xin Hua will come back without any part missing, not even a single hair gone."
Sisi glared at him coquettishly. Deep down, she actually yearned to join the battlefield too. The thrill of combat wasn’t only a man’s nature; women too longed for the exhilarating sensation of engaging in battle. However, she knew that if she voiced this desire, she might be universally scolded and possibly placed under house arrest!
Sigh, better to be the good girl.
On February 17, 1979, China declared war on Vietnam, mobilizing two hundred thousand troops for a massive assault on Vietnam. It was around the time Sisi had started her school term, sitting in the classroom, listening to the announcer’s high-pitched voice from the campus loudspeaker.
All the students were stirred up, every one of them hot-blooded youths putting national and ethnic righteousness at the forefront of their concerns. Consequently, during this period, the campus experienced unprecedented harmony; even students with grudges set aside their personal disputes.
How could they bicker over petty issues when soldiers at the front were laying down their lives? Several passionate youths even wrote blood letters, volunteering to join the fight to defend their homeland, though these letters were ignored by the school leadership.
Lei Gang had also gone to the frontlines. Several of Tian Xinhua’s classmates had joined the battle (fictional), and officially, they were all on sick leave. They were second-generation privileged youths; compared to their later recklessly indulgent counterparts, these young men now were many times more endearing!
Sisi had recalled some information about the Vietnam War she read online in her previous life and written it down. Details like Vietnam’s universal conscription, the tropical rainforest climate, and other matters were, of course, attributed to that mysterious person, which Tian Xinhua believed without a doubt.
She hoped these fragmented memories could aid Tian Aiguo in commanding the battle, and that in this life, Chinese soldiers wouldn’t suffer as grievous casualties as in her previous life. According to official data, Chinese military casualties numbered nearly thirty thousand, but the actual figure, as everyone knows, was likely far greater.
Even with multiple precautions in place, Sisi was still worried, feeling every day like an eternity, hoping this month would quickly pass. She knew that once the month ended, China would announce a ceasefire. Though the conflict continued for several more years, there would be no more large-scale offensives like the ones this month.
Zhu Yunxiu and Mo Liu knew that many from Sisi’s house were in the war, and that her fiancé had also gone to the battlefront. Thus, they were particularly careful to keep her company during this time, trying every means to cheer her up each day.
But not everyone was so considerate. The annoying ones came buzzing again.
"He Sisi, this afternoon our class is holding a seminar on this self-defense counterattack, and we hope you can attend on time. Don’t leave school after it ends," Chang Yunhuan stood in front of Sisi with a notebook, a serious look on his face.
"I have other commitments after school, I’m taking leave!"
Sisi replied languidly. She wasn’t lying; after school, she would go home to listen to the radio, joining the Old Man in tuning in to the front-line war reports every day.
Besides, she had absolutely no interest in those seminars and discussions. They were all just empty talk.
Chang Yunhuan didn’t expect Sisi to refuse, and a trace of joy flashed in his heart, thinking he caught her in fault for daring to miss the seminar.
"He Sisi, as a citizen of our country, how can you be so indifferent towards this war? Do you not care at all about the conflict?"
Chang Yunhuan’s voice was loud, attracting the attention of the classmates who started to gather around, and he put on a "how can you be like this" act that was very eye-catching.
However, this time, the classmates actually sided with Chang Yunhuan, thinking that Sisi’s refusal to join the seminar showed a disregard for national affairs. They all chimed in one after another, voicing their opinions.