OBS Chapter 386 Full Warehouse!
Chapter 386 Full Warehouse!
Looking at this 'squad' formation, all dressed in military uniforms, the two elderly people, struggling to suppress their grief...
Mantun's father, with trembling hands covered in thick calluses and large knuckles, accepted the urn draped with a red flag.
Unlike Wang Tiezhu's family, he didn't wail and cry. He simply clutched the urn tightly, his cloudy tears streaming down his dark, wrinkled face and dripping onto the cold urn.
Mantun's mother stood to one side, covering her mouth tightly with her hand, letting out suppressed, silent sobs, her shoulders shaking violently.
Mantun's younger brother, around thirteen or fourteen years old, was old enough to understand. Tears streamed down his face as he wept silently, knowing that his beloved older brother would never return.
Meanwhile, the younger siblings, dressed in oversized military uniforms that concealed their petite figures, looked bewildered and terrified. They didn't understand why their parents and second brother were crying, but sensed that something was wrong. The youngest one pouted, about to cry too...
Zhong Yuemin and the other two felt as if a huge boulder had struck their chests, making it hard to breathe.
Ugh……
It's really tough for Mantun's family; they're so poor that even having enough to eat is a luxury.
In order to secure a spot in the army for his son that could change his fate and help supplement the family income, Mantun's father worked like a slave at the village secretary's house for more than a year, doing heavy and tiring work in a subservient manner, before finally earning this "pass" to the army.
Mantun had never attended school and knew very few characters; he was practically illiterate in the army.
With no background or connections, his only assets for staying in the army and escaping rural poverty were his inexhaustible strength and his simple, honest, and almost stubborn heart.
So, after basic training, Mantun became the most diligent person in his platoon and squad.
Before dawn, he would quietly get up, take a broom, and go to clean the camp. While others collapsed on the ground from exhaustion after training, he would rush to help his comrades wash clothes and blankets, clean toilets, and dredge ditches—all dirty and tiring tasks that he would silently take on…
Like a tireless spinning top, I desperately try to express myself in the most clumsy and direct way, yearning for recognition and hoping to stay.
To those unaware of the situation, this overly "proactive" behavior inevitably appeared somewhat "malicious," too deliberate, and even attracted some criticism and exclusion, including from Zhang Haiyang at the time.
Some people say he's stupid, some say he's faking it, and some say he'll do anything to stay on the team.
Although Mantun looks simple and honest, he understands everything.
He certainly heard these rumors, but he never defended himself nor took them to heart.
Because he knew better than anyone else that in that remote, barren mountain valley, his elderly and ailing parents, and a group of younger siblings crying for food, the hopes of the entire family rested on his shoulders as their son and eldest brother.
If he were to be discharged and go back home, what would become of his meager farmland, his destitute home, and his precarious family?
So he had to stay!
It was through this almost obsessive tenacity and relentless effort that Man Tun finally achieved his goal of staying in the army and becoming a non-commissioned officer.
Although the allowance was meager, he lived frugally and sent most of the money back home.
Life at home was finally showing a glimmer of hope, getting a little better.
When Mantun was in the army, he always told his friends that after serving for a few more years and saving some money, they would repair their house so that their younger siblings could go to school...
Later, through tireless efforts, he finally stayed in the army and became a non-commissioned officer. Life finally looked promising, and his family's financial situation improved slightly.
But what happened? Sigh...
It's just like the saying goes: a rope always breaks at its weakest point, and misfortune always finds its way to the unfortunate.
"Uncle, Aunt, Mantun... he's a hero..."
Zhong Yuemin stepped forward, his voice choked with emotion, but he tried his best to speak clearly.
"He made great contributions in the army... He didn't bring shame to us Yimeng Mountain people!"
He repeated the words he had spoken at the memorial service, but in the face of the extremely poor, elderly man who had lost his son, the young siblings, and the grieving family, these words seemed so pale and powerless.
The funeral was held in accordance with local customs, simple yet solemn. All the villagers who could come came and helped silently, bidding farewell to the soldiers who had left this land in their most simple way.
When he left, Zhong Yuemin also left a sum of money, more than he had given to Wang Tiezhu's family. He didn't say anything else, but he tightly grasped the rough hands of Mantun's father, which were as rough as old tree bark.
Man Cang, Man Tun's younger brother, speaks like a little adult. That's true; rural children are poor, sensible, and mature early. He stepped forward...
Clutching tightly the thick wad of money Zhong Yuemin had secretly slipped to his mother, his small hands were so clenched that his knuckles turned white.
"Brother Zhong, we can't accept this money."
"My older brother... when he was alive, he told us this many times."
He said that being able to meet Brother Zhong, Brother Haiyang, and Brother Ningwei in the army was... a blessing he had accumulated in his past life.
He said, "This life has been worthwhile."
Mancang's voice was choked with emotion. He sniffed hard and continued:
"Over the years, you've helped my family so much, sending us plenty of food, clothes, and other necessities."
Now... now you've traveled thousands of miles, enduring great hardship, to bring back my elder brother's... ashes.
Our whole family... is so grateful to you. We really can't accept any more money from you.
As he spoke, he resolutely stuffed the wad of money into Zhong Yuemin's hand.
Looking at the sensible child before him, so mature it was heartbreaking, and at the faded military uniform he wore—a uniform that belonged to his sacrificed elder brother—Zhong Yuemin felt a lump in his throat, and his eyes instantly welled up with tears.
Instead of taking the money, he reached out and grasped Mancang's thin but rough hands, holding the wad of cash tightly in his grasp.
"Mancang, listen up."
Zhong Yuemin's voice was deep, yet exceptionally powerful.
"Your older brother and I are brothers, the kind of brothers who would entrust their backs to each other on the battlefield, brothers who would risk their lives for each other!"
"Since we are brothers, then your parents are our parents, your younger siblings are our younger siblings, and we are one family, understand?"
After pausing for a few seconds, he continued:
"Since we're family, let's not stand on ceremony. This money isn't charity; it's a helping hand between brothers. Please accept it!"
Zhong Yuemin released one hand and patted Mancang's young but already subtly responsible shoulder.
“Mancang, your older brother is gone. From now on... this family will have to rely on you to support it. You are the man of the family now. You have to take good care of our parents, take good care of your younger siblings, and let your older brother rest assured over there, understand?”