Chapter 2: Unwavering Resolve

  When Zhang Xiaohua's father, Zhang Fugui, looked at the thatch of hay and firewood that Ma Qian had beaten back with satisfaction, he walked into the house, gave a wink to his daughter-in-law, and dinner officially began.

  Ma Qian'an's mouth was as sweet as if it had been smeared with honey, saying whatever sounded good, flattering the old couple and Zhang Xiaohua until they were overjoyed.

  "This child, this child, has finally come of age today, how can he talk like that?" Zhang Danni kept muttering to herself.

  "Hey, Lengzi, seeing you working hard today makes me happy too. Come on, tell me, what are your plans for the future?" Zhang Fugui asked with a smile, poking Ma Qian'an with his chopsticks.

  "What's the plan?" Ma Qian was taken aback for a moment, then suddenly had an idea. "Well, I've been thinking, with my physical strength, staying in this small village doesn't make sense. I want to go to the county seat to find a job and earn some money to support you, elder."

  "That's good, but in this chaotic world, don't lose your life again after failing to make a living. Didn't you run away with someone last year and not even earn a penny, almost losing your life? Have you forgotten?"

  Zhang's wife stopped and said, "Old man, what nonsense are you talking about? I think this child is lucky, out of over ten people, only he came back unscathed, the others' lives are still uncertain, right?"

  Last year, he ran over a pothole? This is a new situation, Ma Qian'an still doesn't know that the original owner of this body had done this before, need to think about it and make use of this information.

  "Brother Leng, I don't want you to go, it's too dangerous." Zhang Xiaohua couldn't bear to part with Ma Qian'an. She had just discovered how good he was and wasn't ready for him to leave yet, so she really didn't want him to go.

  Zhang Fugui disliked Zhang Xiaohua's sticky behavior, and slapped his palm at Zhang Xiaohua, "A big girl like you, talking nonsense all day, get out of here."

  Ma Qian'an smiled at everyone, reached into his pocket and pulled out a large handful of banknotes, scattering them on the kang. "Old man, old lady, I've made some money from running errands, originally I wanted to prepare for my wedding, but it's just right to talk about it today."

  That money was given to him by Yang Jingyu, a total of 132 yuan and 5 cents. He secretly checked it when he returned home earlier. Ma Qianan didn't know how much the Manchurian currency was worth, so he took it all out at once.

  Under the shocked gaze of the two elders, Zhang Xiaohua quickly checked and said, "One hundred and thirty-two pieces, oh my, Lengzi brother has become rich!"

  "Die, Nizi, put it down quickly, that's your brother Zhang's." Zhang Dangniu was also delighted and couldn't close her mouth, what a big sum of money.

  "Hey boss, how much did I earn?" Ma Qianan realized that this was a lot of money and wanted to ask exactly how much it was.

  Zhang Fugui was overjoyed, his mustache curled up, "Not bad, not bad, enough to buy three strong oxen, I really underestimated you, old man, you're not bad at all."

  Three robust oxen, Ma Qian quickly calculated in his mind, worth about 10,000 RMB of the later generations. Not a small amount, Commander Yang is generous enough, let's not talk about revolutionary ideals for now, just talking about money, I also have to live up to you, right?

  "Alright, Xiaozi has made a name for himself, and I'm impressed that you can earn so much money. I'll let Xiaohua go with you without worrying, and if you want to go to the county seat, just go ahead. After all, it's not far from here." Zhang Fugui spoke up, acknowledging Ma Dalenzi's abilities.

  "Do you have any acquaintances in the county? It's a strange place, don't be stubborn if things don't go well, hurry back!" Zhang Daigne was worried about Ma Qian.

  "Alright, I have acquaintances who are also doing business, but they're not always in the county town." Ma Qian'an gave the old couple a heads up, thinking to himself that once he left, it would be a long time before he returned, and who knows where he'd end up, so the two elders shouldn't keep looking for him in the county.

  Zhang Fugui was overjoyed and immediately ordered his wife, "Quickly, bring out the old wine I saved from last New Year's. Today is a happy day, let's have a couple of cups, just the two of us."

  "Look at you, Little Flower, go get the wine." Zhang Dama smiled and looked at Ma Qian'an, not wanting to move herself, ordering Zhang Xiaohua to do the work.

  Zhang Xiaohua responded crisply, and was about to get off the kang when Ma Qian stopped him, saying: "Xiaohua, take some money and go buy a few more bottles of wine at the general store. I'll bring them along, we're leaving tomorrow."

  Ma Qian'an thought of Yang Jingyu still in the icy snow, feeling uneasy at heart, and decided to bring two bottles of wine for General tomorrow.

  Zhang Xiaohua looked at Zhang Fugui with a pleading expression, her eyes full of hope, it was clear that she couldn't bear to let Ma Qianan leave tomorrow.

  Zhang Fugui clicked his tongue, didn't make a sound, he had no way to persuade him to stay, this man spoke with one mouthful of saliva and one nail, the words were already spoken, could you stop them? Moreover, what's the point of stopping him? He would leave sooner or later anyway.

  "Hurry up! What are you dawdling for? Buy more!" Zhang Fugui glared.

  Zhang Xiaohua reluctantly turned around and only took one yuan.

  Ma Qian'an was shocked, "One yuan can buy how much wine?" He hastily stuffed a five-yuan bill into Zhang Xiaohua's hand. Zhang Fugui saw this and said, "This kid, I just said you're capable, but spending money can't be so extravagant! One yuan can buy five kilograms of good wine, do you want to buy more? This kind of wastefulness is not allowed, if your father were alive, wouldn't he be heartbroken?"

  What? This Manzhou yuan has such strong purchasing power? I didn't expect it.

  Xiao Hua walked away with a pout, and Ma Qian'an finally withdrew his gaze. With great solemnity, he pushed the money on the kang to Zhang Fu Gui, "Master, I'll take 10 yuan, leave the rest for you to buy some wine."

  Zhang Fugui's hands shook like a windmill as he said, "This kid, this kid, talking nonsense! You earn the money, of course you get to take it. What am I supposed to do?"

  "Old man, listen to me, I'm telling you, I don't need to take out any capital to do business with others, it's all physical labor, and even if I'm outside, I won't use that much money. Giving it to you, I can also rest assured, right?" Ma Qianan didn't know that by doing this, he would be stirring up trouble for the Zhang Fugui family if the enemy were to investigate thoroughly, so in order to prevent any potential problems, he had to leave them some money to escape with.

  "What business doesn't require capital? You can't just steal and rob, harming the common people." Zhang's wife chimed in.

  "Don't worry, madam, I'm timid and wouldn't dare to bully anyone." Ma Qian'an found it amusing in his heart. I really don't bully people, those who are bullied by me aren't human anyway. Moreover, truly, most of it should be physical labor, killing devils and killing traitors, what isn't physical labor?

  "Alright, alright, just keep it to yourself. The kid is being honest, and he's not doing business or anything. It's also inconvenient for him to carry so much money alone outside. Besides, once winter comes this year, we'll get him and Xiaohua married, and they'll be family anyway. No need to make a fuss about it." Zhang Dama didn't have many scruples, she thought that Ma Qian'an and her daughter's matter was already set in stone, no need to drag out those trivial matters. Ma Qian'an's parents had passed away, so she was the only one left, why be polite with her own son?

  "Every family has its own troubles." Zhang Fugui muttered a sentence and didn't insist anymore.

  "Alright, Uncle, I won't spend it elsewhere. This money will be used to renovate the house for your wedding." Zhang Fugui began planning how to use this money.

  Ma Qian'an smiled wryly in his heart, "Master, you arrange it, I won't care. If I lose contact with you, don't let Xiaohua wait for me anymore. If I make a name for myself, we'll talk again, okay?"

  "What's going on? What do you mean I'm not waiting for you anymore? I may be illiterate, but my heart is clear. We've agreed to marry, are you trying to back out now? With two cents, what can we even do?" As soon as Zhang Xiaohua entered the door, she heard half a sentence and felt extremely annoyed. She hadn't even mentioned regretting the engagement, but now it seemed like Ma Qian'an was going to abandon her. It wasn't just about going to the county town to work, they were talking about life and death separation.

  Ma Qian'an was depressed, and Zhang Xiaohua fired a machine gun-like barrage of questions at him.

  Zhang Xiaohua is straightforward and outgoing, with a lively appearance that suits his temperament. If they spent more time together, they would definitely develop feelings for each other over time. However, now he has to go to the Anti-Japanese United Army, surrounded by enemies on all sides, with bullets flying everywhere. What if he dies in battle? Wouldn't that be unfair to the girl?

  "Lengzi, is the place you're going to dangerous?" Zhang Fugui asked with a hint of concern.

  Ma Qian lowered his head and didn't look at them, remaining silent.

  "Then let's not go?" Zhang Fugui cautiously advised.

  "No, I must go. Some things are destined by heaven and cannot be helped." Ma Qian raised his head, with a hint of sadness, and said slowly, his tone firm and resolute.

  The Zhang family, who were used to Ma Dalian's coarse and clumsy language, had never heard such meaningful and philosophical words before, nor had they ever seen Ma Dalian look so resolute. For a moment, they were all stunned.

  "I don't care, I don't care. Our marriage is also destined by heaven, you said it yourself. If you don't come back, I'll be a widow for the rest of my life and make you ashamed for the rest of your life." Zhang Xiaohua's temper flared up, and she started punching Ma Qian'an wildly with her fists.

  Zhang Danni also realized the severity of the situation, pulled over Zhang Xiaohua, hugged her in her arms, and sighed heavily, "Daughter, stop making trouble, your brother is doing big things.

  Ma Qian'an regretted it in his heart, and after saying just one sentence, he was seen through by the Zhang family. Were they too clever or was I too stupid? It seems that my emotional intelligence is not high, and as soon as I speak, I reveal my flaws.

  "Child, you go if you must, no matter what you do, be true to your conscience, don't harm the common people." Zhang Fugui was a man who knew what to say and what not to say. "After things settle down, be sure to send us word through someone, so we know where you are, or else we'll worry."

  Zhang Fugui finished speaking, tilted his head and took a sip of wine with a "gulp", then said: "Be careful, don't always fight in the vanguard." After finishing, he didn't look at him and lowered his head to drink wine by himself.

  Ma Qian'an saw the situation and knew he couldn't hide it anymore, so he took a deep breath and said: "You guys be careful too, I might drag you down with me. If you see things aren't going well, hurry up and leave, go into hiding."

  When Ma Qian'an heard this, the old man did not show a look of panic, but instead looked at him strangely, then looked at his partner, and drew a circle on his forehead with his index finger. He opened his mouth to say something to his partner without making a sound: "This kid is crazy."

  "I'm not stupid, you'd better be careful."

  "Huh, aren't you stupid?" Zhang's wife couldn't hold it in anymore. "Didn't your dad ever tell you? Back when your mom was still around, what did we used to do?"

  "It's not farming, what is it?" Ma Qian was also confused, he had no idea.

  Zhang's wife looked at Zhang Fu Gui, then looked at the baby in her arms, Zhang Xiao Hua. Since Zhang didn't stop her, she spoke up: "Older brother Ma is really tight-lipped, he didn't even tell his son."

  "Look at his silly face, who dares to tell him!" Zhang Xiaohua's words were laced with meaning.

  "What's going on?" Ma Qian was curious to death, there must be a story behind this.

  Zhang Fugui took another swig of wine, and after finishing it, he slammed the cup down, his eyes gleaming with a sharp light. Gone was the honest and simple appearance, "In my younger days, I rode horses and fired guns, killed people and set fires, we were the infamous 'Stick' of Tangyuan - easy to provoke! Ten or eight of them wouldn't be enough for me to take care of."

  "What vigor! That's what I call vigor!" Zhang Fugui was invigorated, recalling the majestic years of his youth.

  "Of course, your dad is even more formidable than me." Looking at Zhang Damao pouting over there, Zhang Fugui added with a sigh.