Chapter 438 - 419: Reunion with the Brothers

They saw Lu Yu’s daughter at breakfast.

She was just as Lu Yu had described: a beautiful little mixed-race girl, about the same age as Yun Jiao.

Perhaps due to Lu Yu’s influence, the little girl’s Mandarin was much better than the others’.

The moment she saw Yun Jiao, her little mouth fell wide open.

"So pretty! Mama, she’s so pretty!"

Yun Jiao swelled with pride. ’See? No matter where I go, my charm is boundless. Even children are captivated by me.’

’As for those who don’t like me, it’s definitely not my fault. They’re just blind.’

When it was time to leave for the military district, the little girl, Guo’er, was very reluctant to part with Yun Jiao.

"Don’t worry, they will be back."

Guo’er tugged on Yun Jiao’s hand and said with pleading eyes, "Sister Yun Jiao, you have to come back, okay? I’ll wait for you."

Yun Jiao nodded. "Okay."

Her two older brothers were still low-ranking soldiers living in the base dormitories, so naturally, they didn’t have a house for their family to stay in.

So for the duration of their visit, they would likely be staying in this village.

At the military base where Yun Chendong and Yun Chenxi were stationed, the two brothers had finished their morning training and were now waiting eagerly at the main gate.

Of course, Yun Jiao and her parents had informed the brothers of their visit beforehand. They only came after the two reported it to their superiors and received approval.

A surprise visit was out of the question.

What if the brothers were sent out on a mission just as they arrived? The whole trip would be for nothing.

Finally, their eager eyes spotted a donkey cart, and the familiar figures climbing down from it.

They hadn’t seen each other in nearly three years. The moment their eyes met, everyone’s vision blurred with tears.

The two brothers rushed forward, pulling all three into a tight embrace.

Shen Yunlian wept as she patted their shoulders. "You’re thinner, so much thinner."

With tears in their eyes, the two brothers broke into wide smiles.

"Dad, Mom, you must be exhausted from the journey."

"And Jiaojiao, it’s cold here. You’re probably not used to the climate and everything."

Yun Linhai scratched his head, feeling a surge of emotion as he looked at his two sons, who were now both taller than him.

"You’re all grown up."

"It’s a little hard to get used to, but we’ll manage."

Shen Yunlian stroked her two sons’ heads.

"You two are from the same place we are. If you could get used to it, so can we."

Yun Chenxi scooped Yun Jiao into his arms. "The letter only said Jiaojiao had changed a bit, but it didn’t say it was this drastic!"

"What’s with your eyes and hair? How did they turn blue?"

But it only made her skin look fairer. Her family had raised her well and dressed her beautifully in a thick, red jacket-and-skirt ensemble with a white fur collar and cuffs. With her hat on, she looked like a little pixie who had stumbled into the mortal world.

She looked even more so without the hat.

Her hair was decorated with a red ribbon and a few white pom-poms. Cradled in Yun Chenxi’s arms, she looked just like a life-sized doll.

Yun Jiao lifted her little chin. "Well, brothers? Just tell me, am I pretty or not?"

The two brothers burst out laughing.

"You’re beautiful, of course you are."

Yun Chenxi said, "Our Jiaojiao is beautiful no matter what she looks like."

Yun Chendong added, "Let’s hurry inside. It’s cold out here."

They had a dedicated reception room for visiting family, and with a stove burning inside, it was quite warm.

"The weather here gets colder earlier than back in Sea City, and it warms up later, too."

"But once you get used to it, it’s not so bad."

Shen Yunlian looked at them, her heart aching. "Oh, you two, your skin is so rough."

The two grinned. "We’re actually doing pretty well. Thanks to the medicine from Jiaojiao’s master, our lips don’t crack anymore, and we don’t get frostbite on our hands or ears. The other guys look much worse off."

As they were chatting, the brothers’ squad leader and battalion commander came over to say hello.

They were all astonished by Yun Jiao’s appearance.

"Yun Chendong, Yun Chenxi, your family’s here. You can’t just sit in here the whole time. Take them for a look around."

The battalion commander even granted them leave.

"I’m giving you both three days off. Spend these next three days showing your family around."

The two grinned from ear to ear. "Thank you, Battalion Commander!"

"Come on, Mom, I’ll take you guys to see where we usually train."

The military base was huge, and even now, they could see people training.

They wore thick military greatcoats, but their movements during training were surprisingly agile.

Along the way, anyone who knew them and learned that Yun Jiao’s family was visiting was filled with envy.

This was especially true for those whose hometowns were far away.

They missed their own families, too.

Watching the training drills made Shen Yunlian and Yun Linhai’s hearts ache even more for their two sons.

Yun Chenxi suddenly remarked, "All this weighted training we do would be a piece of cake for Jiaojiao."

Yun Jiao nodded. "Of course."

Shen Yunlian didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. "Oh, you. Go on and be smug about it."

Her comment managed to dispel some of the heavyheartedness.

"Do you have shooting practice?"

Yun Jiao asked with great interest.

Shooting practice involved guns, which were tightly controlled and inaccessible to ordinary people, so she was quite curious about it.

"We do."

Yun Chendong’s voice was calm. "But not very often."

The country’s resources were scarce at the moment, and that included guns and ammunition.

So while they had the training, it was infrequent.

Furthermore, after some initial training, it was mostly reserved for those with the potential to be snipers.

And Yun Chendong was one of them.

Perhaps because he’d eaten so much fish growing up, his eyesight was better than average. He could see farther, and he had a very steady disposition.

He consistently ranked in the top three during shooting practice.

Therefore, his training was now focused on becoming a sniper, and he was learning the most about that particular specialization.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t take them to the live-fire range to watch.

After they finished touring the training grounds open to outsiders, it was time for dinner.

So, the two brothers led them to the base’s mess hall.

"Dad, Mom, Jiaojiao, come try the food in our mess hall. It’s actually pretty good."

Yun Jiao wondered where her older brother had gone.

Yun Chendong had stepped away a moment ago.

"Heh heh, the food here is a bit different from back home. It’s mostly steamed buns, flatbreads, and things like that. They’re big and filling. Of course, our mess hall serves meat every so often. The main thing is that the diet is a little different. It tastes even better mixed with the chili sauce and mushroom sauce you guys send us."

As they were talking, they arrived at the mess hall.

Everyone was in line, getting their food.

The mess hall cooks gave everyone a heaping portion.

They were all young men with intense training schedules, so naturally, they required a lot of food each day.

While they couldn’t guarantee meat every day, they could certainly guarantee that everyone got their fill.

Those who could afford it would buy things like canned meat, or have their families send some to supplement their meals.

"What about the cured meat and sausages we sent you?"

"We can talk to the cooks in the kitchen. We can borrow a stove when they’re not using it."

Shen Yunlian nodded. ’That’s good to hear.’

The arrival of their group drew a lot of attention, but it wasn’t because of who they were or how they were dressed.

The base had military families living on-site, and their attire was more or less the same.

In fact, there were some military family members eating in the mess hall right now.

The main reason was that Yun Jiao was just too eye-catching.

She was like an exquisite doll, a mixed-race one at that, who had wandered into a crowd of rough, burly men. Anyone who saw her couldn’t help but stare.

After getting their food, they found a place to sit down. A few soldiers who were good friends with Yun Chendong and Yun Chenxi and happened to be in the mess hall immediately came rushing over.

They greeted Shen Yunlian and her husband with cheerful grins.

"Chendong, Chenxi, this must be the uncle, auntie, and little sister you’ve been talking about."

The brothers made the introductions.

Upon learning that these men were their sons’ roommates, Shen Yunlian and Yun Linhai chatted with them warmly.

One of them even pulled a few pieces of candy from his pocket and offered them to Yun Jiao.

"Here, little sister, have some candy."

Yun Jiao accepted them with a word of thanks.

"Thank you, Brother Zhou."

’So adorable!’

That was the thought running through the minds of these big, tough men.

In reality, many burly men had absolutely no resistance to such beautiful and adorable creatures.

They shot winks and meaningful glances at Yun Chendong and Yun Chenxi.

’Are we even brothers? How could you have such an adorable little sister and not tell us!’

Yun Chenxi shot back, ’What do you mean I didn’t tell you? I told you all about her, didn’t I?’

One of them recalled what Yun Chenxi had said before.

He had, in fact, mentioned having a sister. He brought her up all the time.

’But does he even remember *what* he said about her?’

’He said his sister looked almost identical to him, was super strong, and often went out to sea.’

’Anyone with a lick of common sense knows how dark people get when they live by the coast and are always out on the water.’

’Fishermen are even darker than us soldiers!’

’And does he have zero self-awareness about his own looks?’

’He’s not ugly, maybe even a little handsome, but his features are so rugged, right?’

’A sister who looks just like him, is super strong, and loves going out to sea.’

’Didn’t that description perfectly conjure up an image of a dark-skinned, boyish-looking, slightly chubby kid?’

’And what was the result? The girl who showed up wasn’t just a little different from his description—she was the complete and total opposite!’

’What’s wrong with his eyes? He sure knows how to make himself look good.’

’Our sister is a fair, delicate, beautiful little doll with a touch of mixed-race beauty, and look at how he described her.’

By the end of the meal, the men were no longer acting like strangers at all. They had completely adopted Yun Jiao as their own little sister.

They were calling her "little sister" this and "little sister" that.

One of them even asked if he could hold her, and after getting a "yes," he immediately scooped Yun Jiao up.

"Come on, let’s take our little sister to go have some fun somewhere else."

Yun Chenxi roared, "Have you no shame?! That’s my sister! Mine! Give my Jiaojiao back!"

"Hey, don’t be so stingy! What’s our relationship? Your sister is our sister."

"Exactly!"

Yun Chenxi was so exasperated he could only roll his eyes.

Shen Yunlian and Yun Linhai watched from behind, smiling.

They could see that while their sons’ lives here were tough and tiring...

...the camaraderie of military life was something that couldn’t be found anywhere else.

Moreover, the light in their sons’ eyes showed that they liked it here and loved their new identities and their work.

And that was more than enough.