This trick really worked. When hundreds of refugee children sang "My Home is on the Songhua River", the tender and sad singing attracted many people's attention. The crowd gathered and surrounded the children in the center. After the chorus ended, Xiao Liuzi, the most eloquent among the refugee children, narrated his experience in the past year. Xiao Liuzi was a countryman in Henan. His hometown was destroyed by the war. After half a year of exile in Kaifeng, he was rescued and returned to Wuhan by the Child Conservation Association. Now he followed the Child Conservation Association to exile in Yichang. He stayed in Yichang for half a month and still didn't wait for the ship to Chongqing. Some time ago, Japanese planes bombed Yichang, and his friends who went south with him died in the bombing. His little body was buried in Yichang forever and could never return to his hometown...
Gradually, sobbing sounds were heard in the crowd, and some people began to donate money. In exile, their future was uncertain and everyone was a weak person, but they still had pity on the weakest among them.
Jing Mingchen kept thanking these kind people. Suddenly, an old lady led a child into the circle and walked straight towards Jing Mingchen. She knelt on the ground with a plop and said in a thick rural accent: "Please, accept my little third son."
Jing Mingchen was startled and looked carefully at the child named "Xiao Sanzi". He looked childish, no more than thirteen years old, but he was trying his best to act like an adult. He let the old lady stretch his arm, and refused to kneel down. He stood crookedly, exuding a sense of vulgarity and impatience between his eyebrows: "Grandma, why are you kneeling to them? I don't want to go to any nursery. I can support myself and you."
The old lady stood up, hit him hard on the back twice, pressed his shoulders and forced him to kneel down, and smiled at Jing Mingchen: "Don't listen to his nonsense. I heard that your nursery only accepts orphans who have no parents and no place to go. My grandson has lost his parents since he was a child. Now Yichang is bombed by planes every now and then, and our family was also bombed. I beg you, take my grandson to Chongqing as well."
Xiao Sanzi stiffened his neck and sang the opposite tune: "I said, I can support myself!"
Jing Mingchen looked embarrassed: "Auntie, it's not that we don't want to take him in, but we still have to respect the child 's wishes..."
The third child was unwilling to go with the nursery, but his grandmother insisted that the nursery give him a chance to live. The two sides were in a stalemate when a familiar clear voice came from behind: "What's going on?"
Jing Mingchen let out a long sigh, wiped his sweat, and turned back to complain to Jiang Gubei: "This lady wants to entrust her grandson to the nursery, but the child himself is not happy about it."
Jiang Gubei looked at the third child who was being pressed to his knees by his grandmother and asked, "Is that him?"
Jing Mingchen said "yes", and then told Jiang Gubei about Xiao Sanzi's situation. Jiang Gubei nodded, walked closer to Xiao Sanzi and looked down at him with a cold expression and some contempt in his eyes: "I heard that you think you have the ability to support yourself?"
Xiao Sanzi shook his head complacently: "That's right."
Jiang Gubei sneered: "I just don't believe it. At your young age, what kind of ability can you have?"
Xiao Sanzi was angered by his disdain. He stood up with a bang, straightened his thin body and looked up at Jiang Gubei: "Don't underestimate me, my ability is not necessarily worse than yours!"
Jiang Gubei had a playful smile on his face: "Really? What are your abilities? Why don't we compete with each other?"
Xiao Sanzi said proudly: "Then you will definitely lose. You look so well-dressed and fat-headed. What else can a rich man do besides eating, dressing and dressing up?"
Jing Mingchen couldn't help but burst out laughing. A fat and bloated person? This was the first time he heard someone describe Jiang Gubei like this!
Jiang Gubei turned around and glared at her. Jing Mingchen stuck out his tongue and made a face at him.
Xiao Sanzi continued to brag: "To be honest, I just came back from Shanghai last year. Although I am young, I have been in Shanghai for two years. There is no person I don't know and no business I haven't done. Friends in the underworld give me face and call me 'Master Jiang San with Empty Hands'. I also know kung fu and am a direct descendant of Mr. Chen from the Green Gang. I am a great gambler and I can kill people everywhere. When I was in Shanghai, I also had a few little brothers under me, and I ate and drank well every day..."
So his last name is Jiang? Jing Mingchen was startled.
Jiang Gubei interrupted him: "You've said so much, it's just stealing, robbery and gambling."
Xiao Sanzi was choked by him, and simply stiffened his neck and acted like a hooligan: "So what? In troubled times, the strong are the kings!"
He spoke seriously, and Jing Mingchen turned her head away to prevent herself from bursting out laughing. This young hero was truly a small tree that had grown crooked. She was really curious about how Jiang Gubei could straighten him out.
Jiang Gubei nodded, took off his suit jacket, threw it back to Jing Mingchen, and said, "Okay, then let's compare these three things."
Jing Mingchen hurriedly took it, and immediately embraced Jiang Gubei's warm breath. Her face blushed, and she quickly raised her arms to cover her face with her clothes.
All I heard was Jiang Gubei saying, "I won the first game."
Jing Mingchen quickly put down his arms and leaned out to watch the fight. The third child sneered at Jiang Gubei's unilateral declaration of victory: "What's wrong with you? You won?"
Jiang Gubei crossed his arms and looked at him casually: "Feel your pocket and see if the things are still there?"
The third child reached his hand into his pocket doubtfully and screamed, "You stole my pocket watch!"
Jiang Gubei reached out and grabbed the coat from Jing Mingchen's arms, and took out a pocket watch from his pocket: "Is this the one?"
He picked up an old pocket watch and spun it in circles: "Is this the most valuable thing you have? You treasure a pocket watch that has gone off the track like this. You are really amazing."
When did he steal the watch? Jing Mingchen suddenly had an idea in her mind. She remembered Jiang Gubei's action when he took off his coat. He took off his coat and threw it in the direction of Xiao Sanzi before throwing it into his arms. She thought he was showing off. Now thinking about it, it was probably at that time that he used the coat as a cover to reach into Xiao Sanzi's pocket and took the pocket watch.
How fast and light his movements were! Jing Mingchen was surprised.
Xiao Sanzi rushed towards Jiang Gubei and said, "Give me back my pocket watch!"
Jiang Gubei slightly turned his body to avoid him, stretched out his leg to trip him, and Xiao Sanzi fell flat on his face. Jiang Gubei stretched out his right hand in time to grab his vest and pull him back. Xiao Sanzi took the opportunity to attack, and hit Jiang Gubei's chest with his elbow. Jiang Gubei smiled coldly, clamped his wrist with his left hand and twisted it, bent his knee and hit his popliteal fossa, forcing him to kneel on the ground, clamped his arms with his hands, pressed his ankle with one leg, and said "tsk", "It seems that the kung fu of Mr. Chen from the Qing Gang is not that good."
Xiao Sanzi struggled hard to get away, but to no avail. He turned his head and retorted to Jiang Gubei: "These two times don't count! You're attacking by surprise, which is not the behavior of a gentleman!"
Jiang Gubei sneered: "Boy, you want to be a gangster one moment and a gentleman the next. Can you be consistent in your conduct?"
He let go of Xiao Sanzi's hand and pushed him to the ground: "You only have one chance to turn the tables."
The third child got up, spat out a mouthful of sand and looked at Jiang Gubei fiercely: "Okay, the third master will bet with you!"
He took off the bag he had been carrying and dumped out a pile of dominoes: "Let's play Pai Gow!"
Jiang Gubei frowned and looked at him: "At the critical moment of life and death, this is what you carried on your back?"
Xiao Sanzi sat cross-legged on the ground: "Yes, this is the foundation of my life!"
Jiang Gubei kicked away the dirt under his feet and sat down cross-legged.
The crowd of onlookers came closer to watch this strange game on the riverside.
Jing Mingchen squatted behind Jiang Gubei and looked at him and Xiao Sanzi curiously. She knew nothing about what happened at the gambling table. Up to now, the only thing she had done with gambling was buying pigeon tickets with her classmates out of curiosity when she was in school. Since she didn't understand gambling, she looked at the gamblers. Jiang Gubei was very serious when gambling, and the more serious he was, the more handsome he looked. She looked at his profile in the sunlight, and the more she looked, the faster her heartbeat and the reddened her face. At the same time, she couldn't help but worry. Jiang Gubei's expression didn't seem relaxed, which was completely different from the previous two games of flirting. Could it be that Xiao Sanzi's gambling skills were so superior that he was stumped?
She was just daydreaming when suddenly Jiang Gubei threw the cards away, raised his eyebrows and smiled, "I won."
Xiao Sanzi angrily pushed the cards away and said angrily: "You are cheating!"
Jiang Gubei's smiling face darkened. "If I cheat, you will lose from the beginning. A real man should accept defeat. There are also high and low quality gamblers. You slander others for cheating after losing the bet. You are really the lowest class of gamblers."
Xiao Sanzi looked at him angrily, and after a long while, he finally lost his temper and said, "Okay, you win, I admit defeat."
Jiang Gubei raised his eyebrows and said, "You are not convinced. It is true. It is embarrassing to lose to a rich man like me who is fat and only knows how to dress up."
Jing Mingchen burst out laughing again.
Jiang Gubei continued, "You do have some small skills, but they are just some petty and petty thefts. You can never rely on them to do big things. You always mention the Qinghong Gang, but don't you know how Mr. Du of the Qinghong Gang treats scholars? You know only half of these things but you show off everywhere. I used to be better than you, but I didn't rely on these to become rich today."
Xiao Sanzi became curious: "Then what do you rely on?"
Jiang Gubei replied calmly: "Oh, I found my father. He is a rich man and I inherited his estate."
The third child made a "tsk" sound and Jing Mingchen burst out laughing. His legs went weak and he squatted on the ground, covering his face.
Jiang Gubei ignored the boos from the crowd and continued to ask, "So now, I'm going to give you a rich father, do you want it or not? I won the bet just now but I haven't taken the prize yet. The prize I want is that you become my son."
The third child was stunned for a long time, then his knees softened and he knelt in front of Jiang Gubei, calling out obediently, "Dad."
Even when everyone had left and he was walking along the river with Jiang Gubei, Jing Mingchen still couldn't stop laughing.
She laughed every two steps, so Jiang Gubei simply stopped and waited until she had finished laughing before pulling her up: "Is it that funny? You've been laughing for almost half an hour."
Jing Mingchen laughed and wiped his tears: "It's very funny. Why do you say that you got rich because of your rich father?"
The road ahead was muddy, and Jing Mingchen walked crookedly. Jiang Gubei stretched out a hand to support her and said, "Xiao Sanzi has been hanging out with gangsters in Shanghai for too long. His mind has become crooked and it's not easy to straighten it out. It's useless to talk to him directly about the truth. We have to think of a way to pull him over first."
Jing Mingchen was careful about her steps, walking with one foot deep and one foot shallow. Jiang Gubei was walking in front of her, and his footprints were much bigger than hers. She walked in his footprints so that she wouldn't fall. "Speaking of which, why do you care so much about him?"
Jiang Gubei looked at the river in the distance. The endless eastward-flowing water was reflected in his eyes, as if memories of the past were floating back to him: "When I saw him, I remembered myself when I was young. At that time, I was also like Xiao Sanzi. I was bewitched and my mind was full of ideas of winners and losers. So I dropped out of school without telling Nan Qiao, became a disciple, and went to work in a casino. By chance, I made a fortune at the gambling table for a customer. From then on, I became addicted to the feeling of gambling. If someone hadn't woken me up later, I'm afraid I would still be hanging around at the gambling table, being the most despicable gambler."
Jing Mingchen was curious: "Who woke you up?"
Jiang Gubei smiled slightly: "He was a gambler. I had never seen him in the casino before. I had good luck in gambling that day. When he came, I had already won a lot of money. He seemed to come for me. He wanted to gamble with me as soon as he came. I saw that he had a scholarly face and gentle manners..."
Jing Mingchen interrupted: "He's still so fat and looks like he only knows how to eat, dress and dress up."
Jiang Gubei pretended to hit her head, which frightened her so much that she shrank her neck back. Jiang Gubei smiled helplessly and rubbed her hair that was messed up by the river wind: "You."
Jing Mingchen's face turned red from his neck to the tips of his ears.
Jiang Gubei continued, "I looked down on him, so I accepted the challenge. After I won the first round, I became even more arrogant. I didn't expect that I would lose consecutively from the second round onwards. Before long, I had lost all my chips."
"No gambler knows how to stop gambling in time. I was the same. I lost so much that I just wanted to make a comeback. There were people beside me who kept making trouble. If I didn't make a comeback, I was afraid I would have no place in the casino in the future. So I told him that I wanted to keep gambling."
"He smiled with a look of contempt and asked me what I could bet with him if I lost all my chips. I gritted my teeth, slapped my hand on the table and said I would bet on this hand. If I lost, I would cut off my arm to show him."
Jing Mingchen exclaimed, picked up his right hand and looked at it again and again, and only breathed a sigh of relief after making sure there were no signs of sutures.
Jiang Gubei said "Stop it" and held her hand, wrapping her soft and delicate little hand in his palm. The thin calluses made her palm numb. "Unfortunately, I lost again. Everyone was waiting for me to bleed in the casino. I gritted my teeth, pulled out the dagger and was about to cut my wrist. Just as the blade was about to cut my flesh, the man suddenly reached out to stop me."
"He said that a hand of meat is nothing special. It's not even enough to cut a plate of meat into a snack. He didn't want such a cheap prize. He wanted the prize to be me. He wanted me to listen to him and do things for him."
"Of course I was very happy to be able to keep my hand. I agreed to it, but I was very worried. I was thinking what would happen if he asked me to help him sell opium and be a kidnapper? Fortunately, none of my worries came true. Guess what he wanted me to do?"
Jing Mingchen shook his head, and Jiang Gubei revealed the answer: "He wants me to go back to school!"
Jing Mingchen exclaimed: "This is really a strange person."
Jiang Gubei smiled and said, "Isn't it? Although I find it strange, a gentleman's word is as good as his bond. Besides, studying is not a terrible thing. I had good grades before I dropped out of school. I listened to him and went back to school..."
Listening to him, Jing Mingchen couldn't help but fall into reverie. Jiang Gubei, who was fourteen or fifteen years old, was a little gambler who didn't know right from wrong. He put one hand on the gambling table as a bet to gamble with others... Jiang Gubei noticed that she was absent-minded and asked her, "What are you thinking about?"
Jing Mingchen scratched her neck. Her hair had grown a little long, and the hard ends poked her neck, which was a little itchy and painful. "I was thinking, your life experience is really complicated, unlike me. I didn't experience anything until I was fourteen or fifteen years old. I just ate, slept and studied normally."
Jiang Gubei smiled slightly: "That's great, having a complicated experience is not necessarily lucky."
Yes, having complicated experiences is not a good thing. Jing Mingchen thought about the children he had been with day and night these days. All of them had complicated experiences, but who of them wanted these experiences?
Thinking of this, I felt a little depressed again.
Jiang Gubei noticed that she was in a low mood, so he leaned down slightly, put one hand on her head, looked into her eyes and said softly: "I wish you a happy life without having to experience a lot."
After performing in front of the Minsheng Company for several days, they finally got a boat. Although the number of children was not enough, they were able to send some of the children away. Jing Mingchen, Congwen and Xiao Sanzi arrived in Yichang late, so they also failed to catch the boat and had to continue waiting in Yichang.
Half a month after arriving in Yichang, the radio received news that Wuhan had fallen. The atmosphere in the entire reception station was very depressing that day. With the fall of Wuhan, Yichang had completely lost its defense. With the frequent air raids in recent days, the Japanese were determined not to let Yichang go.
While having breakfast in the morning, Jing Mingchen discovered that Xiao Sanzi was missing again.
Colleagues all said that this kid was originally unwilling to enter the nursery, and now he probably regretted it and ran away, so there is no need to worry about him.
Jing Mingchen refused, "He's already been registered in the nursery's files, so we have to be responsible for him. Even if he really ran away, we have to find him, interrogate him and register him. Otherwise, how are we going to explain to his family in the future? Besides, the world is so chaotic right now, and he's just a twelve-year-old child after all."
There was one more thing she didn't say.
He looked so much like Jiang Gubei in his youth. When she heard Jiang Gubei talk about his youth that day, she felt surprised and a little regretful. If only she had passed by his youth, even if it was only once, she would try her best to give him some warmth.
She wondered whether Xiao Sanzi would go to find Jiang Gubei, so she went to the hotel where Jiang Gubei was staying.
Jiang Gubei was also surprised to hear that Xiao Sanzi was missing. He quickly put on his coat and said, "I'll go with you to look for him."
They searched until dusk but still couldn't find the shadow of Xiao Sanzi. Jing Mingchen was so anxious that she didn't look at her feet clearly, and she twisted her ankle and fell to the ground. Jiang Gubei squatted down to help her, and seeing her distraught expression, he comforted her: "You have tried your best, there is no need to blame yourself."
Jing Mingchen rubbed his ankle and burst into tears. "I'm not blaming myself. I just thought of Xiao Sanzi's grandmother. She knelt down to me at such an old age so that Xiao Sanzi could survive. I thought of my mother. Before she left Wuhan, she cried and begged me several times to let her go with her, but I was so cruel and accused her of being selfish and only caring about her own family. In fact, I am the most selfish person. In order to make myself feel better, I even ignored the mother-daughter relationship and thought I was great... If I really died in Yichang, think about the last words I said to my mother, which was why you are so selfish..."
Jiang Gubei put his hand over her mouth and said, "Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you."
Jiang Gubei carried her back to the reception station. As soon as he reached the door, he saw Congwen running towards him like a little sparrow: "Mother Jing, Father Jiang, little Sanzi brother is back!"
Jing Mingchen was startled, jumped off Jiang Gubei's back, and limped into the reception station.
Xiao Sanzi had indeed returned and was sitting at the dining table, slurping porridge. He was not alone. There were a few unfamiliar children sitting around him. The oldest was about his age, and the youngest was only about seven or eight years old.
Seeing Jing Mingchen coming back, he stood up and excitedly introduced them to her: "Mother Jing, these are my little brothers, they are all children without parents. Can our nursery take them in?"
It turned out that he had gone to look for his partner in need. Jing Mingchen felt relieved and touched his head with a smile: "Of course..."
Before she finished speaking, Jiang Gubei pulled Xiao Sanzi to his side with a dark face and scolded him harshly: "Do you know that your mother Jing has been looking for you all day today?"
Xiao Sanzi defended himself guiltily: "I didn't go out to do anything bad, I did it for..."
Jiang Gubei interrupted him: "I don't care what your reason is. If you do something wrong, you will be punished. Do you admit your punishment?"
Xiao Sanzi gritted his teeth and said, "Okay, I accept the punishment!"
Jiang Gubei looked around and pulled out a stick of firewood of moderate thickness from the stove. Xiao Sanzi stretched out his hand with a bitter face and opened his palm. Jiang Gubei pinched his fingers with one hand and hit his palm with the stick with the other hand. Jing Mingchen couldn't bear it and advised Jiang Gubei: "Don't hit him. If it gets out, people will think that our nursery abuses children."
Jiang Gubei ignored her: "Don't worry about it, I'm his father, I have the right to discipline him."
Jing Mingchen was provoked by him and blurted out: "Then he still calls me mom!"
After he finished speaking, he felt speechless, and his head and face suddenly turned red.
Jiang Gubei's hand holding the wooden stick was stunned for a moment. After a moment, he threw down the stick and dragged Xiao Sanzi out of the reception station.
He pulled Xiao Sanzi all the way to the riverside before stopping. The "father and son" sat down along the river bank. Xiao Sanzi spread his swollen palms to the river breeze, crying out in pain. Jiang Gubei's expression softened, and he took something out of his pocket and handed it to him: "Here you go."
The third child took it and looked at it, with a look of surprise on his face: "A new pocket watch! Is it for me?"
Jiang Gubei smiled and said, "The markings on your old pocket watch are all off. You can throw it away."
Xiao Sanzi held up the pocket watch and looked at it again and again in the sunset, unable to let it go. After a long while, he put it in his arms and asked Jiang Gubei carefully: "Why did you..."
Jiang Gubei knew what he wanted to say: "You want to ask me why I beat you and rewarded you. I am a person who clearly distinguishes rewards and punishments. I beat you because you are disobedient and make your mother Jing anxious. I reward you because you remember your friends and are a good child."
"Last year in Kaifeng, because Congwen ran away, your mother Jing went back to look for him and nearly lost her life. It's a good thing for you to remember your friends, but you shouldn't act on your own without saying anything. You used to be a lone commander and didn't have to explain yourself to others, but now that you've entered the nursery, you're a member of the nursery and must obey collective discipline. Most importantly, you must not cause trouble for your mother Jing."
The third child answered obediently: "I know I was wrong."
After a moment of silence, he asked Jiang Gubei again: "Can I go with you?"
Jiang Gubei shook his head: "No, you have to stay in the nursery. I have a task for you."
Xiao Sanzi was curious: "What mission?"
Jiang Gubei smiled mysteriously, leaned over and whispered in his ear: "Help me keep an eye on your mother Jing, report to me at any time, and drive away the crazy bees and butterflies around her, don't let her have an affair."
Suddenly, a clear voice sounded from behind: "What are you talking about?"
Jiang Gubei turned around and saw Jing Mingchen standing not far away, looking at them in confusion. The third child answered quickly, "Nothing. My father taught me to listen to Mother Jing and turn over a new leaf."
Jing Mingchen frowned: "Really? That's weird. Let's go, it's time to eat."
Jiang Gubei suppressed his laughter and patted Xiao Sanzi's shoulder: "Go back with your mother to eat."
The third child jumped up obediently and answered loudly: "Yes, Dad!"
After the fall of Wuhan, the pace of Yichang's retreat further accelerated. At the end of October, Jing Mingchen finally took the children on board the ship to Chongqing, while Jiang Gubei went south on Jiang's cargo ship two days earlier.
The journey south to Chongqing was relatively smooth. The ship sailed downstream, passing through Xiling Gorge, Wu Gorge, Qutang Gorge, passing Nanjin Pass and turning to Huangling Temple. One morning a few days later, Jing Mingchen woke up from his sleep and heard someone outside shouting, "Yanhuidui is ahead! We have arrived at Baidi City!"
Jing Mingchen hurriedly put on her clothes and ran out, shivering in the fresh, damp cold wind of November on the river. She leaned on the side of the boat, looked at the river and the cliffs on both sides, and took a deep breath of air.
We have arrived. Right in front of us is Baidi City, where Liu Bei entrusted his son to the care of others.
After going through 81 difficulties, we finally entered Sichuan.
It took several days of boat ride from Fengjie City to Chongqing, and they finally set foot on Chongqing land after a few days.
It was the first time in Jing Mingchen's life that she visited the southwest, but she did not have time to appreciate the scenery of Chongqing. She hurried to the Chongqing Nursery with her children, only to find that it was already overcrowded.
The children sent from all over the place gathered here. Basic food and sleep were big problems, so they could not stay for long and had to be transferred to local branches as soon as possible. The group of children brought by Jing Mingchen would be sent to the nursery in Leshan in two days.
After tossing and turning for a whole day, he finally fell asleep. In the middle of the night, someone knocked on Jing Mingchen's door. It was Xiao Sanzi. He looked anxious and said that Congwen had a fever and his whole body was burning.
On the boat, Congwen had some signs of catching a cold, but no one took it seriously. Jing Mingchen ran to the dormitory and saw that Congwen was already burning like a charcoal. She went back to her room and took out her fur cloak to wrap Congwen up, then picked him up and said, "He has a high fever. I'll take him to the hospital."
It was already the second watch of the night. Everyone else in the nursery was asleep and the streets were silent. Jing Mingchen carried Congwen and walked several miles before he reached the hospital.
There were many patients during the emergency period, and the hospital was still very busy late at night. When Jing Mingchen went to the emergency room to register, he realized that he had left in a hurry and had no money in his pocket.
She had no choice but to ask the nurse on duty: "I was in a hurry to go out and forgot to bring money. Can you take the child to see a doctor first? I will go home to get money right away."
The other party was quite impatient: "Miss, we have to follow the rules."
Jing Mingchen smiled and begged, "I don't want to refuse to pay the medical expenses, but the child is very ill. Can you give him an IV first? I will go back and get the money immediately."
The other party sneered: "I dare not. I have encountered several people this year who said they were going home to get money but ended up leaving their children in the hospital. We run a hospital, not an orphanage."
Congwen was already delirious with fever, mumbling something in his mouth, twisting his small body in pain. Jing Mingchen gritted his teeth, took off the bracelet on his wrist and pushed it to the window: "I can use this as collateral, right?"
Ever since Jiang Gubei gave him this bracelet as a gift, Jing Mingchen has been wearing it on his wrist and has never taken it off.
The nurse on duty was a fashionable and pretty lady, so she could recognize the real thing. Her eyes lit up when she saw the bracelet: "Okay, I'll be a good person and pay for it for you first. If you don't bring money to redeem it, the bracelet will be mine."
As soon as the nurse finished speaking, a hand suddenly passed over Jing Mingchen's head and held down her hand that was trying to hold out the bracelet. With the other hand, she pushed a few banknotes into the window: "Collect the money and register. The bracelet is not a pledge."
Jing Mingchen turned her head and looked up. Jiang Gubei was looking at her with a gloomy face. He was so tall, and his two arms went over her shoulders and wrapped around her. She fell completely into his arms. Jing Mingchen said in a low voice, "Thank you."
Congwen was sent to the ward for IV drip. Jing Mingchen and Jiang Gubei sat on a bench outside waiting. Jiang Gubei's face was not looking good. Jing Mingchen approached with a guilty conscience, "Did Xiao Sanzi go to see you?"
Xiao Sanzi did not come to the hospital with her, and Jiang Gubei showed up so timely. Needless to say, it must be that the clever Xiao Sanzi was worried about her and went to find Jiang Gubei for reinforcements.
After a long while, Jiang Gubei finally said "hmm": "I guess Miss Jing blames me for being redundant. You are so capable, why do you need help from others?"
He took out the bracelet from his pocket and said, "Last time you wanted to sell it to raise funds for the orphanage, and this time you want to mortgage it to pay the registration fee. It seems that you don't like it very much. Since you don't like it, I will take it back."
Jing Mingchen thought he was joking and leaned forward to grab the bracelet awkwardly: "I don't have it, but it's an emergency..."
Jiang Gubei retracted his hand and put the bracelet into his arms.
Jing Mingchen was dumbfounded. He didn't expect that he was serious!
Before she had time to argue with him, a noisy sound suddenly came from the end of the corridor. Jing Mingchen looked in the direction of the sound and saw her mother and elder sister, whom she had not seen for a long time, walking towards her in a hurry. She was startled and went to meet them, but halfway through the walk, she was hugged by her mother and sister.
Her mother cried while hitting her gently. Jing Mingchen turned his head with difficulty, but Jiang Gubei was gone.
I guess he was the one who informed her family that she was in the hospital.
Fortunately, the fever subsided quickly after Wen was treated with water.
Unable to persuade his mother and sister, Jing Mingchen went home for a meal. The Jing family bought a new house in Chongqing, and in order to take care of each other, the eldest sister's family also settled next door to the Jing family. The Jing family's life was not much worse than when they were in Wuhan.
What worries Jing Mingchen is that his father is sick.
My father is over 60 years old and was originally a weak scholar. He had been through a lot on the way south and inevitably got some illnesses. He has been suffering from minor illnesses since arriving in Sichuan. In the past two days, he has been bedridden due to a cold.
Jing Mingchen sat on the bedside and fed him medicine with a guilty conscience, thinking about the quarrel with his mother just now. His mother meant to find her a civil servant job in the government, and not to be a nursery teacher. What kind of teacher is that? To put it bluntly, it’s just a nanny! You don’t serve your own parents at home, but go to suffer and look after other people’s children. What’s the point! He has already sent her to Chongqing under the continuous bombardment, which can be regarded as the most benevolent.
Of course Jing Mingchen refused. If she had entered the nursery out of guilt for Officer Xiao Liang and herself, the lucky ones who had "rich and luxurious lives", towards the unfortunate ones, after experiencing so many hardships, she actually developed feelings for these children who had shared life and death with her. She heard them call her "Mom Jing" every day and felt their trust and respect, as if she had really become their mother.
As a result, she felt guilty towards her parents, and she carefully said to her father, "Dad, I'm sorry."
Mr. Jing smiled tolerantly: "What's there to be sorry about? Back then, I ignored your grandparents' advice and insisted on going to Japan to study and participate in the revolution, which scared your grandparents to death."
He placed his hand on the back of Jing Mingchen's hand: "Nannan, life is not born to be worthy of someone, but to be worthy of your own heart."
After a while, he sighed again and said, "I have no other expectations for you sisters and brothers. I just hope that you can cherish your lives."
He didn't say anything else, just leaned back on the pillow and stared out the window in a daze.
Jing Mingchen knew that he was thinking of his second sister.
It has been five months since I last saw my second sister. My mother said that she was very busy and had not been home for two or three months. I don’t know what she was busy with.
Two days later, Jing Mingchen led a group of children to Leshan Nursery. To her surprise, she found Jiang Gubei in the team.
Jiang Gubei bit his cigarette, put his arm around Xiao Sanzi's shoulders and said to Jing Mingchen, "Miss Jing is so careless that she even forgot to bring money when she went to the emergency room at night. I'm afraid that if you go on the road by yourself, you will lose my son before you reach Leshan. It just so happens that Qianmo is also in Leshan now. I want to go see him and bring him along as a bodyguard for you."
His younger brother Jiang Qianmo was studying at Wuhan University, which also moved to Leshan at the beginning of the year.
Jing Mingchen found it strange. He and Jiang Qianmo were half-siblings. Mingyu told him that Jiang Gubei had a very bad relationship with his stepmother and was quite resentful towards the deceased Mr. Jiang. How come he had a good relationship with his younger brother?
In any case, it's always good to have an extra bodyguard.
Jiang Gubei escorted them all the way to Leshan. After getting off the boat, they walked to the Leshan Nursery. They didn't have two days to rest after arriving in Chongqing from Yichang. They set out in a hurry to make room. It was almost dusk when they arrived in Leshan. Everyone was hungry and thirsty, and sleepy like defeated soldiers. One fell behind or fell down. Jing Mingchen ran back and forth, reminding one not to doze off, and reminding another to hold on tightly. Jiang Gubei frowned and looked at her: "You can't do this."
He took off his backpack, squatted down and took out a large bundle of hemp rope: "You let the children line up, we will tie their wrists with hemp ropes to tie them together, this way no one will fall behind."
Jing Mingchen looked at him with admiration: "You are amazing. You even thought of this!"
While tying the hemp ropes for the children, Jiang Gubei said casually, "It's nothing. As businessmen, we always take every step carefully."
He was making fun of her with what she said when they first met, and Jing Mingchen blushed.
Jiang Gubei walked up to her holding the rope and said, "Raise your hands."
Jing Mingchen raised his arms inexplicably: "What?"
Jiang Gubei bent his legs and squatted, put his arms around her waist, wrapped the hemp rope around her waist, and tied a knot tightly: "Look at you, you are no different from them. I tied you up because I'm afraid you will get lost."
Jing Mingchen looked down at his waist and saw that he had tied a bow.
Jiang Gubei pulled the hemp rope in his hand and said, "Let's go."
He walked forward leading the string of "grasshoppers", the setting sun casting swaying shadows on the trees. The small city of Jiazhou, located in the deep mountains of the southwest and surrounded by the Minjiang River, Qingyi River and Dadu River, had not been affected too much by the war. In the evening breeze and afterglow, it exuded a paradise-like peace and quiet. Not far away, the singing of boatmen on the Minjiang River could be heard faintly.

The boat arrives at the beach - hi hi - the waterway is open.
King Bodhisattva - hi hi - wants money.
You want money - hey hey - I'll burn it for you.
Bless the boat—hi, hi—to get across the beach.

Jing Mingchen was led forward by Jiang Gubei with a rope. She looked at his back. It was hot and humid in Shu, and Jiang Gubei had been working hard for days. He didn't care about his appearance and only wore a shirt that was half soaked with sweat. He rolled up his sleeves and held a hemp rope in his hand. His hair, which was usually carefully groomed, was now messy. However, Jing Mingchen felt that he was more handsome and charming now than when he was well-dressed.
It suddenly started to rain halfway through the journey, and Jing Mingchen hurriedly asked the children to take out umbrellas from their backpacks and open them. However, the wind was strong and the rain was heavy, and soon the umbrellas in people's hands were snatched away by the wind and rain.
Jiang Gubei gave his umbrella to someone else and walked in the rain. After a few steps, he felt his head was covered by the umbrella. He turned around and saw Jing Mingchen sticking close behind him, stretching out her arms and trying to cover his head with the umbrella. The rain flowed down the ribs of the umbrella and hit her eyes. She wiped the rain off and smiled at him foolishly.
Jiang Gubei's heart suddenly warmed up: "Silly boy, I'm not afraid of the rain."
Jing Mingchen was very stubborn: "I don't want to see you get wet in the rain again."
Jiang Gubei raised his eyebrows: "If that's the case..."
He bent his knees and squatted down, put his arms through Jing Mingchen's knees and carried her on his back: "Now both of us don't have to get wet in the rain."
Jiang Gubei carried Jing Mingchen on his back and walked forward. An umbrella covered the two of them, creating a small world that isolated them from the cold wind and rain. Jing Mingchen lay on Jiang Gubei's shoulder, and Jiang Gubei asked her, "You said you never wanted to see me get wet in the rain again, but have you ever seen me get wet in the rain?"
Jing Mingchen said "hmm" obediently: "I have seen it. I was actually there at the cemetery that year. I saw you getting wet in the rain and kneeling on the ground crying. At that time, I really wanted to hold an umbrella for you, but I didn't dare to go forward. I don't know why you wanted to get wet in the rain, and I don't know why you wanted to cry, but I know that I never want to see you get wet in the rain again..."
Jiang Gubei laughed: "So that's how it is... That time, I saw a tombstone next to my father's tombstone. You still remember that I once told you that when I was a teenager, I met a noble man in the casino. He saved me from being in deep trouble and allowed me to return to school, but then one day he suddenly disappeared..."
There was no response. Jiang Gubei could only feel the sound of Jing Mingchen's even breathing on the back of his neck. Jing Mingchen was too tired and fell asleep on his back.
Jiang Gubei smiled lightly and said nothing more.
It doesn’t matter, you still have a whole life to listen to my story.