The next afternoon, Gao Jiaxing and Xia Xiao left with their two children amidst the farewells of family and friends. When she found out that Xia Xiao was accompanying the army, Li Shengmei and Dong Meihua both had strong reactions. Li Shengmei rushed straight back home and said to He Hongjun, "Gao Jiaxing is just a platoon leader and hasn’t been promoted, so how could Xia Xiao be allowed to accompany the army?" Dong Meihua, who followed soon after, also asked, "Dad, doesn’t accompanying the army require at least company level or otherwise fifteen years of military service? How could Gao Jiaxing manage to have Xia Xiao accompany the army?" "How would I know? Policies change all the time. You’re asking me, but I’d have to ask someone else," He Hongjun said. "Then ask," Li Shengmei was anxious. Dong Meihua said, "Dad, I’ll write a letter to Xuegang." He Hongjun nodded his head, "Good, send a letter to Gangzi and ask what’s going on." Dong Meihua hurriedly went to write the letter, feeling an urgency at the thought that Xia Xiao was allowed to accompany the army while she, having been married for so many years, had not been able to. She was indeed very anxious. Thus, Dong Meihua quickly sent a letter to He Xuexiang and, unable to contain herself, even ran to the county town early the next morning to send a telegram to Yu Zhen. Meanwhile, having traveled by car overnight, Xia Xiao was already sitting on a ship. There were five military wives accompanying her, one of whom was Liu Yuanchao’s wife, Mu Xingzhi, who was also Xia Xiao’s relative by marriage. Different from the others, Mu Xingzhi was a soldier herself, and Xia Xiao had just learned that Mu Xingzhi was actually a military doctor, which instantly made Xia Xiao see her in a new light. She had great respect for anyone skilled in medicine. As a result, Xia Xiao saw Mu Xingzhi taking care of those who were seasick. Xia Xiao herself used to get seasick, but now she didn’t anymore. Xia Xiao said to Gao Jiaxing, "Including me, there are only six military wives. Why so few?" Gao Jiaxing was speechless, "This is already a lot. If we really went by the requirements, only your relative by marriage would qualify." Xia Xiao gave an "oh," and nodded her head. Soon everyone got to know each other on the ship. The other four military wives were the spouses of Gao Yuan, Yu Youwei, Zhu Junhui, and Zhao Jianjun. All were either newly married or had been married for two to five years and were quite young. Aside from Xia Xiao, who had two sons, only Yu Youwei had a son named Yu Guang, who was just over a year old. The other wives didn’t have any children. Everyone looked enviously at Xia Xiao’s sons, to have twins, and both boys at that, was truly enviable. As the new recruits were all from the city, everyone there was urban folk, with Gao Jiaxing being an exception. In terms of background, naturally, Mu Xingzhi had the best, being Liu Yuanchao’s wife, which is why everyone respected her greatly and considered her the leader among the military wives. After nearly three days on the ship, everyone finally landed safely and felt much more at ease. The risks at sea were real, and no one felt secure until they were on land. Xia Xiao was fine, but the seasick military wives breathed a sigh of relief. In the evening, as Xia Xiao and the group arrived, the troops were very welcoming. Seeing so many dark-faced men in green military uniforms, Feiyang and Feiyue were startled by the rows of white teeth, so starkly visible, and they hid in the arms of Gao Jiaxing and Xia Xiao. Xia Xiao chuckled, having thought that Gao Jiaxing was quite dark, but not until they arrived here and saw his comrades did she realize what truly dark skin was. In such a large group, it was as dark as a line of shadows, comparable even to Africans. He swept the surrounding environment and could indeed envision the hardships of the conditions. Apart from the wooden houses and the makeshift sheds, the fenced-off vegetable garden, the remainder was all trees and plants. Of course, there were also some boats, some military vehicles, and storage rooms. "Wow, so many coconuts," someone had already started to get excited. Liu Yuanchao smiled, "There are plenty of wild fruits on the island, but also many wild animals. Everyone can only stay within the residential area. If you go outside, you must have someone accompany you and let each other know. Otherwise, you’re not allowed to leave." The military wives nodded, thinking that they were unfamiliar with the place and wouldn’t wander off, and, moreover, it would be troublesome if they encountered wild beasts. After everyone met, they first had dinner in the large cafeteria. It was evening now, and they didn’t return to their dormitories until after they had finished eating. Xia Xiao, looking at the rows of wooden houses, admired them, "You built these all by yourselves, that’s really impressive." Gao Jiaxing nodded, "Of course, we built them ourselves. Everything is done with our hands." "Where do you live?" Xia Xiao asked. Gao Jiaxing pointed to another large shed, and Xia Xiao asked, "Isn’t there a dormitory? Why are you still living collectively in a shed?" "The dormitory is for the military wives to live in. I only got the choice to stay in a dormitory because of you," Gao Jiaxing said with a laugh. Read complete versıon only at 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵✦𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮✦𝓷𝓮𝓽 "Which one is our home?" Xia Xiao asked. Gao Jiaxing said, "You can pick any now, whichever one you like." "Then I want one close to my cousin-in-law’s." Xia Xiao felt that living close by would allow her to take care of them easily. "Alright, that one is ours, let’s go." Gao Jiaxing pointed ahead, just as Liu Yuanchao led Mu Xingzhi into the room next door. Xia Xiao and Gao Jiaxing, carrying their child, entered the dormitory. Seeing the new wooden house made Xia Xiao quite happy, and as she went in, her eyes brightened. "It’s so spacious," Xia Xiao couldn’t help saying. The new house was a total of about fifty square meters. Apart from a bed, a table, a long bench, two short stools, a set of bedding, a flashlight, and an oil lamp, there was nothing else. "If anything’s missing, we’ll just make it," Gao Jiaxing said. "We’re missing a wardrobe, and also a partition curtain," Xia Xiao said as she looked at Gao Jiaxing, "Brother Gao, could we also get another bed? The four of us can fit, but it’s a bit cramped?" Gao Jiaxing sighed. "The beds were all made to a standard size, all one and a half meters. However, I’ll make a one point two-meter one for Feiyang and Feiyue to sleep in, and also make a guard rail so they can’t fall out." "What about the kitchen?" Xia Xiao continued. "That’s in the large cafeteria. We didn’t build a kitchen; we eat at the cafeteria. If you want your own kitchen, set up a couple of bricks at the door for a small stove, but you’ll have to buy pots and pans on your own. The military doesn’t provide those." Xia Xiao nodded and immediately started unpacking her luggage. It was fortunate that Gao Jiaxing had told her to bring their own bedding and duvet covers. The military’s blankets were all standardized, and they only provided one set, which wouldn’t be enough for her family of four. "I still have a set of my own blankets," said Gao Jiaxing. Xia Xiao smiled. "It’s okay; you can keep that set over there. We also bought blankets. It’s becoming winter now, and even though it hasn’t snowed, we don’t know how cold it will get when the weather turns. I’m not too worried about myself, but I’m afraid Feiyang and Feiyue might get cold." "The winters here aren’t too cold; it’s just that the sea breeze is a bit strong. I think winter is alright. But summer, that’s really tough. It feels like you could roast meat under the sun," Gao Jiaxing said. "When we first arrived, we got so sunburnt we peeled." Xia Xiao hadn’t experienced it, but from hearing that it could cause sunburn to the point of peeling, she understood just how intense the sun must be.