vstars Chapter 577: He Really Went Through with It
Chapter 577: He Really Went Through with It
On an autumn morning, the ground was covered with a thick layer of frost.
Tong Huaqiong got up a bit early, standing under the thin sunlight, unaffected by the bleak autumn wind.
Her weaving workshop was finally about to officially open.
At this moment, a piercing cry came from the village road.
Tong Huaqiong glanced outside; it was Aunt Luo. Tong Huaqiong smiled; only Chun Wang could make Aunt Luo cry like that.
Early risers in the village heard Aunt Luo’s cries and rushed over to watch the commotion.
"Aunt Luo, what’s wrong? Why are you crying so sadly?" someone asked.
Aunt Luo was holding a piece of paper, patting her thigh, and said, "Unbelievable, my Chun Wang has joined the army."
Join the army?
Everyone was stunned.
Dasheng had been peaceful for years, except for occasional border conflicts, the concept of war and enlisting was vague to the villagers, so suddenly hearing Chun Wang joined the army baffled them.
Even if one wanted to join the army, where would they find a unit? Did Chun Wang have such ability to make it happen?
"Chun Wang can’t be tricking you, can he? How could he join the army at such a young age? Who would take him?" the village head came and said.
Aunt Luo, sobbing, waved the paper in her hand and said to the village head, "He went missing three days ago. I thought he went to Moon Bay to my mom’s place, as his eldest brother-in-law had a feast for looking at a daughter-in-law three days ago. I thought he went to eat. He didn’t come back for three days, so I had Fugui go to Moon Bay to call him back home... Boohoohoo..."
Everyone saw Aunt Luo was talking so much without getting to the point and couldn’t help but disperse.
Aunt Luo, seeing that everyone wasn’t concerned about Chun Wang, let out a loud cry, pulling everyone back with her cries.
She wiped her tears and said, "Fugui went to Moon Bay; my side of the family said Chun Wang didn’t go there. Fugui looked for him all around the neighboring villages but didn’t find him. In the morning, I found this paper in his room. I can’t read, so I took it to Mr. Su, who said he enlisted."
What Aunt Luo didn’t say was that Chun Wang took her stash of twenty taels of silver and two golden bracelets.
Tong Huaqiong felt nothing but relief upon hearing that.
The army values camaraderie; all who can endure the trials are welcomed. But someone like Chun Wang, who is sneaky and crooked, even if he successfully enlists, won’t be accepted by his comrades.
Let alone he has to face the battlefield.
In Qinghe Bay, sneaking around requires no battlefield knowledge or luck, but battles require real skill, both mental and physical, even life-threatening.
Especially in this era of cold weapons, war means a meat grinder. Chun Wang would probably wet his pants on the first day.
If he wants to desert, even better, deserters will likely face military justice on the spot.
Getting rid of such a nuisance from the village is practically a virtuous deed.
The village head clicked his tongue and said, "What made Chun Wang think of joining the army?"
Liu Qingsong, sipping porridge noisily, said, "What do you mean think of it? Didn’t he always say he could become a Great General?"
Who hasn’t had dreams of being a hero on the battlefield in their youth? But dreams are dreams; after waking, everyone continues to farm and live honestly in Qinghe Bay, except Chun Wang, who truly believed he was general material and acted upon it.
Aunt Luo clung to Liu Tieshan’s hand, saying, "Village head, you have to do something. Our village lost a living person; you should organize people to look for him."
Liu Tieshan, with a headache, said, "Where should I look? There’s no news of any troops stationed here."
Just then, Qin Qingyou was passing by with a donkey cart to work at Taohua Dessert and halted upon hearing this, saying, "Uncle Liu, I encountered a unit breaking camp yesterday while returning from the city. If Chun Wang enlisted, it’s likely in that unit."
Aunt Luo’s eyes lit up with hope; she grabbed Liu Tieshan’s hand tightly and said, "Quickly go; it might still be in time."
Qin Qingyou said, "You speak well, but do you know how far a day’s march is? It probably passed Ning City long ago; you wouldn’t catch up even if you were a fast runner."
Liu Qingsong said, "Even if you catch up, can you bring him back? Enlisting makes him military property, subject to martial law; trying to bring him back labels him a deserter—a decapitation offense."
Aunt Luo was too shocked to speak for a long time before asking Qin Qingyou, "Where’s that unit heading to?"
Qin Qingyou said, "I heard in the city that Mo Bei harassed our borders, saying they ambushed our Mo Bei campsite. Now there’s talk of war with Mo Bei, and troops are being dispatched. This unit is dispatched from Shengjing to the border. I reckon Chun Wang joined this unit. Aunt Luo, think positively; maybe Chun Wang will achieve meritorious service and become a Great General, then you’ll be the lady of a military family."
Mo Bei, warfare, borders...
Each word made Aunt Luo tremble with fear.
How easy is it to become a general? One general’s success means many bones have withered; how could her Chun Wang have such luck?
After hearing this, Aunt Luo fainted with a thud.
"Oh heavens, going to the border. Chun Wang, a mere child, will be there by winter; how can he endure it?"
"Blowing hot air in the village is one thing, but dare he really go to the border."
"Achieving military merit is that easy? Blades have no eyes. Everyone knows Han Niu, who became a general at Black Dragon Pond, but how many people followed the chaotic army? Only Han Niu survived."
Han Niu becoming a Great General is just a rumor; who’s seen him as a general?"
Everyone started discussing.
Aunt Luo, initially revived by the pinching of a kind-hearted daughter-in-law from the village, rolled her eyes again upon hearing the talk of life and death.
The village head directed everyone to carry Aunt Luo away and folded Chun Wang’s letter to stick it back in her pocket.
As everyone frantically carried Aunt Luo home, Mrs. Cao, informed of the news, rushed back from the pig farm, crying as if life and death.
Her Chun Wang was expelled from private school, and she was worried sick, thinking of taking Chun Wang to Tong Huaqiong to apologize and plead. However, Chun Wang directly cursed her, saying he never wanted to attend private school and now seized the chance to become a Great General.
She thought Chun Wang was joking, but he really went to enlist.
When Aunt Luo awoke to see Mrs. Cao crying beside her, she took up a cane and beat Mrs. Cao, blaming her for being at Tong Huaqiong’s pig farm and thus not watching Chun Wang.
She hurried Tian Fugui to search according to Qin Qingyou’s directions. Tian Fugui, equally worried for his son, hustled out.
But when he arrived, there was no camp to be found, long since departed.
He dared not venture to the border in search, fearing not only failing to find his son but being killed by the enemy.
Not only Aunt Luo and Tian Fugui but also the villagers couldn’t guess Chun Wang’s decision to enlist stemmed from Xiao Long’s influence.
Chun Wang disappeared from Qinghe Bay after that, and as for him never returning, that’s a story for another time.
Chun Wang’s enlistment, apart from making Qinghe Bay’s villagers with children wary of their kids enlisting, barely made an impact in the village, with discussions dying down after a few days, overshadowed by new events.
This new event was naturally Tong Huaqiong’s weaving workshop.