CHAPTER 290: CHAPTER 290: LET’S GO UPSTAIRS FIRST

"When did I ever say that the captain was a devil? Stop framing me," Muduo glared at his comrades who were teasing him, then hurried to show his loyalty to Song Yuanhuan, "Captain, my admiration for you is as endless as the river, witnessed by heaven and earth, shown by the sun and the moon. You must believe in my sincere heart!" As he spoke, he winked at Song Yuanhuan.

"I believe you," Song Yuanhuan nodded silently.

"I knew you, Captain..." Muduo was touched and showed his moved reaction.

"Not at all," Song Yuanhuan interrupted before he could finish, tossing out an unfinished sentence, showing his impatience with not even waiting for him to finish speaking.

"Uh..." Muduo was instantly heartbroken.

"Ha ha," everyone laughed heartily, probably used to Muduo’s jocular nature. The atmosphere in the hospital ward was lively, and no one specifically asked about Song Yuanhuan’s leg injury. Everyone tacitly spoke about waiting for Song Yuanhuan to return and train them, then acted as if nothing was wrong.

Xu Xiuxiu called everyone to sit down and took Little Moon aside to feed her formula.

Little Baby looked adorably at everyone in the room, not shy or scared despite the crowd. The little girl enjoyed the lively atmosphere, giggling, her eyes rolling around, making noises as if chatting with everyone, which instantly melted the hearts of the soldiers.

"My goodness! Little Baby is so adorable. It makes me want to find a wife and have a daughter," Muduo said, his eyes shining as he watched the cute Little Baby.

"Go!" Fu Guanglei and Zheng Guohui, being in their thirties and still bachelors, immediately rolled their eyes at Muduo.

The young rascal, he was barely twenty years old and already thinking about getting married and having kids. This made the two old bachelors, who were not in a rush and holding on to the high moral ground of preferring to lack rather than have shoddy companions, wonder what to do. Plus, of all things to say, why talk about marriage and children! He was too young to be in such a hurry.

The group chatted noisily for a bit more, then prepared to leave. Before leaving, Song Yuanhuan asked Fu Guanglei for a favor, "Guanglei, my parents know that I got injured and are coming to city Z by train today. They’ll be arriving at the station between four and five in the afternoon. Can you pick them up for me, and make sure the two elders get home safely?" Xu Xiuxiu was very busy. It was better to leave the task of picking up the elders to Fu Guanglei!

"Sure, no problem!" Fu Guanglei agreed without a second thought. They were comrades and brothers. Song Brother’s parents were like his own parents. It was only natural for a son to pick up his parents from the station, right? Moreover, Song Yuanhuan was injured, and Xu Xiuxiu was busy taking care of him and the kids. It made sense to save her some energy! Picking up the elders was not a small matter, but he was sure to handle it well.

Xiuxiu had just finished preparing formula milk for Little Moon when she overheard the conversation between Song Yuanhuan and Fu Guanglei. She noticed that Song Yuanhuan had entrusted the older couple to Fu Guanglei, and she looked up at Song Yuanhuan briefly without making a sound.

Fu Guanglei was very reliable. Just as Xiuxiu was preparing dinner with Aunt Luo after taking the twins home from the hospital, Fu Guanglei had already picked up the elderly couple and was driving the military vehicle hurriedly toward Hai Chao Garden.

"These broken branches outside! The recent storms must have been really severe. It’s quite frightening," murmured Mrs. Song. It was her first time riding in a car, and it was a military vehicle from her son’s unit. Although she was worried about troubling Fu Guanglei, the ride and the view of the outside scenery from Z city eased her anxious heart a bit about her son’s injury. She couldn’t help but express her feelings upon seeing the various broken branches along the road.

Although it had been raining back home recently, it generally wasn’t very heavy, so it didn’t have much impact. Xiuxiu usually called home at least once a week, but due to the rain, it had been difficult to get through, which left the elderly couple worried.

They had managed to get through just yesterday, and it was their youngest son who called. He informed them about the recent situations in Z city and also about his second brother’s hospitalization due to a severe injury. Hearing that his leg might be permanently damaged, they immediately became distressed and decided to visit Z city themselves to see him and take care of him.

Their daughter and youngest son, busy helping out in Z city, also earned a salary for a month, which meant that no one was left to manage their home. Although the old lady didn’t consider herself very capable, she thought she could at least help with laundry and groceries in Z city.

"Dad, Mom, you’ve finally arrived. How was the trip? Are you tired after such a long train ride?" Xiuxiu had timed her arrival downstairs to meet the elderly Song couple and was standing with Song Chengguang just as they saw Fu Guanglei drive up in the green car. Seeing the elderly couple descend, Xiuxiu immediately inquired warmly, "Quick, let’s head upstairs."

"Fine, very fine. Riding the train doesn’t require any effort at all, so how could we be tired?" Mrs. Song sincerely replied, her gaze soft as she looked at Xiuxiu and Song Chengguang. "How have you all been? How is Yuanhuan’s leg?"

Xiuxiu, supporting Mrs. Song’s arm, walked her upstairs. "Much better, you needn’t worry," she reassured.

Song Chengguang was led by Father Song, and the grandchild-grandfather relationship was good, not estranged despite not seeing each other for several months. Song Chengguang, who had a good memory, sweetly greeted his grandparents upon seeing them. The two shared whispers eagerly behind Xiuxiu and Mrs. Song, with Song Chengguang’s innocent babbling making Father Song laugh heartily.

Fu Guanglei, ever the good Samaritan, followed behind, carrying the elderly couple’s luggage and fully taking responsibility for their transport.

"Thank you for everything today. Please stay for dinner!" Xiuxiu settled the elderly Song couple onto the living room sofa. She then took their luggage to Song Yuan Yao’s room. Because of the extra guests, the house was short on bedrooms, so Xiuxiu had asked Yuan Yao to share a bedroom with Jingjing. After placing the luggage, she returned to the living room. Fu Guanglei, who had been seated for a short while, was getting ready to leave. Xiuxiu politely insisted he stay for dinner.

"No, sister-in-law, I need to rush back to the army. The flood relief was pretty severe, and though it’s over, we still have post-disaster reconstruction to handle. We recognize and will reward your contributions to the army and our comrades. Don’t worry about Brother Song; the higher-ups will surely handle his situation appropriately," Fu Guanglei declined the dinner invitation and reassured Xiuxiu before hastily departing.