Chapter 7 — The Poor and Honored Soldier

This “understanding” is worth more than any material condition. Four o'clock in the morning on the fifth day. It's not morning yet. I stood in front of the house, my mother wrapped in a blanket stood behind the door looking at me.
“Going again?”
“Yes, I came back for work.”
“When are you coming back?”
I thought: "Not sure. But this time I will try to call more."
“You say the same thing every time……” Mom muttered, but didn't ask further.
It's been eight years. She is used to it. Army vehicles wait at the beginning of the alley. I got in the car and turned around to look back. Mother stood under the lamp in front of the door, her hair blown by the wind, her figure very small. I bowed my head and took out my phone. Open WeChat. In the chat with Trieu Cam Thu, the last message was sent by her:
"Ly Xuyen, remember to report when you come to the unit. Pay attention to safety."
I typed two words: “Okay.” Think for a moment, then delete it. Change it to three words: "Wait for me to come home." Send it. The screen lights up. She immediately replied with one word: “Yes.” I stuffed the phone into my pocket. When the car drove out of the city, the horizon revealed a bright white line like a fish's belly. Deputy officer Chu Dinh sitting in the front seat turned to look at me: "Chief, how does this vacation feel?" I thought about the blind date dinner, thought about Vuong Giai's mother's face, thought about the words "hello boss" that Trieu Chan Quoc said in front of everyone. There is also the phrase "next time don't wear this cotton shirt again" by Trieu Cam Thu.
"That's OK." I said.
Chu Dinh laughed: "Listen to Commander Trieu, his daughter and you——"
“Drive your car.”
“Yes!”
The car drove onto the highway. I leaned back in the chair and closed my eyes. But at the wrong time, a scene appeared in her mind—— On the third day of Tet, when Vuong Giai ran out of the hallway wearing high heels, she knocked over a waiter's tray. The broken plate covered the ground. She ran too fast and didn't turn around. Perhaps she won't know for the rest of her life what kind of life the man she once criticized "can't even buy a toilet" has. She won't know for the rest of her life. Because those things cannot be measured with money. A yearly income of one million yuan cannot be used to generalize. That was carrying wounded soldiers for three days and three nights on a field of ice at minus forty degrees. During the night when bullets were whistling in the wind, he used his hand to cover the bullet hole in his comrade's chest. Is the weight of thirty-eight human lives. It is a heavy military ceremony under the national flag. How much are those things worth? I can't say it. But Trieu Chan Quoc—a major general—was willing to call me leader in front of the whole table. That's enough. The sky outside the window was completely bright. A new year begins. But the story belongs to me, perhaps too. 【Chapter 5】 Two months later. March. I completed a three-week training supervision mission in the southwest and then returned to the military district. There were more than twenty text messages from Trieu Cam Thu on the phone, spanning from the full moon of January until yesterday. She's not the type to constantly send a bunch of text messages asking "what are you doing". Most of them are "Today there is new progress in the thesis", "How did you like this tactical simulation", "today the sweet and sour ribs at the Institute of Military Science cafeteria are better than your unit's cafeteria". Occasionally there is a “safety note”. I read all the messages and replied with one sentence: "The mission is over. Are you free this weekend?" Three seconds. Miss He replied: "Yes. Are you going to Beijing or should I go to the district city?"
“I came to Beijing to find you.”
"Okay. I'll take you out to eat delicious food."
I put down the phone. Chu Dinh poked his head in from outside the door: "Chief, Commander Trieu is looking for you."
“What happened again?”
"I don't know, he told you to come to the office. He also said——bring your formal clothes."
“Formal attire?”
“Military uniform.”
I frowned. Didn't we say there is no public service today? Arriving at Trieu Chan Quoc's office, the door was just pushed open, and he was not alone inside. Chu Hang Chi was also there, and next to him was a middle-aged woman wearing official clothes—a person from the Military Region Political Department. As soon as Trieu Chan Quoc saw me, he stood up: "Xuyen Tu, here! Sit, sit!"
"What is up?"
Trieu Chan Quoc and Chu Hang Chi looked at each other, then Trieu Chan Quoc picked up a file on the table and handed it over. I took it and looked. Red text top.
“Decided to award comrade Ly Xuyen the honorary title of ‘First Class Meritorious Service’ and organize a public commendation.”
I raised my head. Trieu Chan Quoc's expression became serious: "What the superiors mean is that the confidentiality period for some of your previous campaigns has entered the partial declassification stage. The superiors decided to hold a public commendation for you—limited scope, only including internal military regions and relevant people of the local government. But your family members can attend." I was silent.
"The time is set for early next month. The location——at the District Military Command in your hometown. The meaning of the superiors is that the hero returns to his homeland."
My fingers stroked the edge of the document. Public praise. Family members attended. Come home.
“Will my mother know?” I asked.