Chapter 437 - 418: Visiting Family (Part 2)

After saying goodbye to those big guys, Yun Jiao went straight home.

The next day, she boarded a train to Xinjiang.

Her parents were with her.

Yun Xiaowu and the others wanted to go too, throwing a tantrum to try and join them.

They got a beating for their trouble.

Meanwhile, salvaging the plane and bringing it back to the military district caused quite a stir.

Vice Commander Lin went directly to see the Division Commander.

He told him everything about Yun Jiao.

"You’re saying the child’s hair and eye color both changed?"

Vice Commander Lin nodded.

"How did they explain it?"

Vice Commander Lin replied, "They said she’s of mixed blood."

The Division Commander chuckled. "Well, she *is* of mixed blood. But whether it’s mixed with human blood is another question entirely."

Given what Yun Jiao had demonstrated, you’d have to be a fool not to understand.

"However, this young comrade is a treasure to us. We must protect her well."

"Here’s the plan: classify all her information as top secret."

"Yes, sir. Should we assign someone to protect her?"

"No, that would just draw unwanted attention. From now on, if she needs anything, you can bring the request directly to me. I will continue to report her situation up the chain of command."

Having such a remarkable child by the sea, and one who was friendly to them, was a great boon.

Yun Jiao knew nothing about any of this.

After a train ride that lasted several days, they finally arrived at their destination.

On the train, as they passed through certain regions, they saw soldiers standing guard in the biting wind through the window.

The sight made Yun Linhai and Shen Yunlian’s eyes well up.

The thought that their own two sons might also be standing guard in such harsh winds made their hearts ache, but they also felt immense pride.

"My goodness, it’s still so cold here."

It was already quite warm back where they came from.

There was still snow in some places here.

But that wasn’t the main issue. The real problem was the high-altitude climate, which was a real shock for people like them who lived by the sea.

Shen Yunlian and her husband felt incredibly weak.

Even breathing felt labored.

Yun Jiao was doing better, but even she wasn’t entirely comfortable with the climate here.

’As expected, I’m much more suited to the seaside.’

After some searching, they found a donkey cart that could take them to the military district.

The old man driving the cart was also hauling a load of vegetables.

He happened to be a villager from near the military district.

When he learned they were visiting their son, a soldier at the base, he became quite eager to chat with them.

The only problem was that his Mandarin wasn’t very good, and it was peppered with the local dialect, so they had to do a lot of guessing to understand him.

For the parts they couldn’t understand, he would simply gesture wildly with his hands and feet.

The journey was long, and as they sat on the donkey cart, their backsides were severely jolted by the bumpy ride.

However, the scenery here was unlike anything they had back home by the sea.

There were distant, snow-capped mountains, grasslands, desert terrain, and many animals they had never seen before.

"Are those sheep over there?"

Yun Jiao pointed at some flocks in the distance. Her eyesight was sharp enough to make out what looked like sheep.

The others could only see some blurry little dots.

"The little one’s got sharp eyes! Those should be sheep. You must be from the south, right? You can tell just by looking that you’re different from us folks."

"We’ve got lots of wild herds of horses, sheep, and cattle around here."

Yun Linhai said, "With so many of them, you must not have to worry about getting meat to eat."

The old man shook his head. "No, can’t be done. You can’t catch ’em. They’re wicked fast."

That made sense. If they were that easy to catch, there wouldn’t be so many wild ones left.

At first, the three of them were full of excitement as they took in the scenery, so different from the south, but their enthusiasm soon turned to misery.

The donkey cart was too bumpy, and their butts hurt.

It was mainly because the ride was so long; they had already been on the road for three hours.

The road was also extremely muddy, and sometimes when the cart got stuck, they had to get out and help push.

They couldn’t even get a decent nap.

And so, after a long, bumpy ride, it was already evening by the time they arrived.

They were completely numb with exhaustion.

They were too disheveled and weary to continue, so they decided to find a local’s house to rest for the day.

Because they offered to pay for lodging, it was easy to find a family willing to let them stay.

After a quick wash-up, they collapsed onto the beds and fell asleep.

This was no time to be picky about beds. When you’re that exhausted, you can fall asleep on any bed, even if it’s just a wooden plank.

It wasn’t until the next day that they woke up, having finally slept their fill. They felt much more refreshed after a full night’s sleep.

When Yun Jiao got up and went to find her parents, she found them chatting with someone from the household.

"Jiaojiao, come over here."

As Yun Jiao walked over, she realized that the person they were talking to, both from her appearance and the way she spoke, was clearly not a local.

"Her eyes and hair..."

Shen Yunlian quickly explained, "Our Jiaojiao is of mixed blood."

The woman looked at Shen Yunlian and Yun Linhai in shock.

’Wait, neither of you looks like a foreigner.’

"Ahem... Jiaojiao isn’t our biological daughter, but we love her as if she were."

"Oh, I see."

The woman understood.

"Jiaojiao, this is your Aunt Lu."

Yun Jiao went over and obediently greeted her, "Aunt Lu."

Lu Yu said, "I have a daughter, too. Since I don’t look like the people here, she also has a bit of a mixed-blood look to her—fair skin, big eyes. She’s so pretty."

Her face softened with tenderness as she spoke of her daughter.

From her current demeanor, you could tell that although she might be poor, she was very content.

"I was part of the third batch of Educated Youth sent to the countryside. Later, I met my husband, and we got married and settled down here."

Shen Yunlian asked curiously, "Then you’re not going back?"

"Many people have asked me that question."

"For many, the big cities are better, I suppose. But for me, the life I have now is already wonderful."

"There were five girls in my family, and they favored boys over girls. I never got to go to school, so I volunteered to come to the countryside myself. It was a bit tough after I got here, but if you work hard, you can at least fill your belly. As for that home... they wouldn’t welcome me back even if I went."

Shen Yunlian and her husband understood.

In fact, not all the Educated Youth in their own village had returned to the city either.

They had no special skills, no education, and no family to fall back on.

In the big city, they would have no money, no job, and no idea what to do. It was better to just stay behind. At least in the village, they had a place to live, and some couldn’t bear to leave their children.

But cases like that were rare.