"Yes, yes!" Zhang Lan greeted them with a smile and said to the two comrades, "Commanders, please come inside and have some water. You must be exhausted, right?"
"We're not commanders; you can just call us comrades," the older one named Xu Wangshan laughed and replied.
The other comrade was named Chen Yuan. He was only twenty years old this year, and he was tall and thin. He looked around with curious eyes.
Chen Yuan was born and raised in the city, so he was not too familiar with life in the villages.
He looked at the pigsty that had pigs inside, the vegetable garden on the side, the preserved meat hanging from the ceiling, and the rows of mushrooms with utmost curiosity.
Zhang Lan felt a little awkward but quickly poised herself. She still had a lot of enthusiasm on her face. "Have you two eaten breakfast yet? Why don't you eat something right here?"
Xu Wangshan waved his hand. "We don't have to eat here. After we pick up Comrade Gu Yan, we have to go to the neighboring villages to pick up other comrades and catch the bus that returns to the city tonight."
Gu Moli stood on the side while they chatted. She was excited yet also anxious.
She carefully studied these two comrades that came here. Xu Wangshan was older, and he looked very approachable. The pair of glasses he wore made him look cultured and refined.
The other one looked so young and so handsome. He had really fair skin, unlike those wild boys with deeply sun-tanned skin in the village.
The army and the city; these were lethally attractive to the seventeen-year-old Gu Moli!
Ever since she was a little girl, her mother Zhang Lan had been telling her how wonderful the city was, how pretty the clothes in the city were, and how rich those city folks were.
Also, Zhang Lan assured her that she could have the life of a city folk in the future!
How could Gu Moli not get excited!
She turned around and ran to the east side room immediately at the thought of that and decided to take out the pre-packed luggage. Then, she would go off to the city with these two comrades!
Zhang Lan laughed and explained, "This little girl; she must be nervous from meeting you guys for the first time. Please don't mind her, comrades."
Just as Xu Wangshan was about to ask if that girl was Comrade Gu Yan, he suddenly saw a girl with a braided ponytail walking toward them with steady footsteps.
The girl was around 165 centimeters tall. She was very skinny and frail, her braided ponytail was waist-length, and her eyes were clear and bright.
She wore a blue floral short-sleeved cotton shirt and black dacron pants. She had on a pair of army green rubber shoes and carried an army green backpack.
Although the girl was very skinny and deeply tanned, her facial features were exquisite, especially those eyes. It felt like they could talk.
Gu Yan's eyes squinted a little bit, then she reached out her hand toward Xu Wangshan. "Greetings comrade, I am Gu Yan."
Xu Wangshan shook Gu Yan's hand courteously before letting it go. He was very pleased to see this girl's natural and graceful manners.
She did not look like a small village girl who knew nothing of the world.
Chen Yuan turned around and looked at her. Gu Yan gave him a polite smile and nodded her head.
Zhang Lan was straight up dumbfounded to her core.
When she heard the footsteps, she thought Gu Moli stepped out.
But she never would have thought that it was this damn Gu Yan!
Zhang Lan didn't even think too much and started cursing, "You damn girl, when the hell did you wake up? How did you come out?"
Gu Yan didn't get mad and said while laughing, "Mom, you must be joking. These comrades are already here to pick me up; why wouldn't I be out?"
For a second, Zhang Lan didn't know what to say. Just when she wanted to curse some more, she saw Xu Wangshan and Chen Yuan looking at her with strange expressions on their faces.
Zhang Lan felt as nasty as if she had just eaten a fly. She just glowered at Gu Yan with menacing eyes.
Coincidentally, Gu Moli carried a huge army green bag with difficulty and walked out. But once she came to the yard and saw a well-packed and freshened up Gu Yan, she was dumbfounded.
She screamed, "Gu Yan, how did you get out!?"
