The Excited Chief

"Brother, I'm eighteen now. Sifangping Vocational and Technical College is starting classes in a couple of days, too."

"But I want to enlist right away. Spending four years at the Military Academy would take too long."

"If I enlist and become an officer, I should be able to get promoted a lot faster."

"What do you think, Brother? If you don't agree, eat this egg tart, and I'll take that as you not wanting me to enlist."

Lü Qinglong blinked twice, staring fixedly at the box of egg tarts in front of the headstone with the focus of a lion stalking its prey.

"I'll count to three. If you don't say anything, I'll take it as a yes."

"Three."

"Two."

"One!"

As soon as the countdown ended, Lü Qinglong snatched up the box of egg tarts from the ground and opened his cavernous mouth, shoving one inside.

"Thanks, Brother! I knew you'd agree to let me enlist!"

"Oh, and when I told Mom about it today, she still wasn't on board. She told me to come ask you."

"Brother, you're twenty-seven and still haven't gotten married. If you can persuade Mom and help me enlist, I'll burn a two-dimensional paper effigy for you."

"No, one isn't enough. I'll burn you three!"

After saying that, for some reason, even though it was hot August weather, Lü Qinglong suddenly felt a chill and sneezed.

"What's with this weather? Why does it keep turning hot and cold?"

Lü Qinglong rubbed his nose and stood in front of the headstone, chatting a little longer about what had been happening lately.

After talking for over half an hour, he finally said goodbye to his brother.

"I'm off, Grandpa Gao."

Before leaving, Lü Qinglong tapped on the window. Grandpa Gao, who had been watching videos of young women dancing in the security booth, froze for a moment, hurriedly put away his phone, and nodded at him.

By the time he jogged home from the suburbs, it was already past seven, and it had grown dark outside.

They lived in an old, run-down apartment building that had been assigned to his father by his workplace. The family had lived there for over twenty years.

Most of the residents were elderly, but the neighborhood was very safe. Not even a theft had ever occurred.

As soon as he opened the door, he saw Mom Lü sitting on the living room sofa, staring at him without a word.

"Mom, I'm home. I just went to visit my brother."

Lü Qinglong said, bracing himself.

Mom Lü didn't reply. She simply stared at him in silence for a while before slowly speaking.

"Have you really made up your mind?"

"You know your brother didn't want you to enlist. Neither did your father, or I."

"But you're an adult now. There are some things you can decide for yourself."

Lü Qinglong gazed at his mother's face. Her skin, once smooth and delicate, was now marked by the passage of time. Fine lines at the corners of her eyes seemed etched there by the years.

Her hair was no longer as dark and lustrous as before; strands of silver now ran through it.

Only her gentle yet resolute gaze had never changed.

"Mom, please let me enlist. I'm going to avenge my brother!"

Lü Qinglong's nose stung. He gently wrapped his arms around Mom Lü.

"You've grown so big without me even noticing."

"I still remember when you were six. You barely came up to my shoulder."

"All right. Since you've grown wings of your own, there's nothing I can do to stop you. Go ahead and enlist."

"But I'm telling you beforehand: before you do anything, you have to think about how it'll affect me. You can't be as reckless as your brother."

"You're all I have left..."

"Mom!"

Lü Qinglong held his mother a little tighter and forced his head up toward the ceiling, trying to keep his tears from falling.

"All right. I'll talk to your Uncle Li at the Armed Forces Department later. Go back to your room and get some sleep."

Mom Lü patted Lü Qinglong's arm, and he quickly let go.

"Then I'll head to my room, Mom."

"Go on, go on."

Only after the sound of Lü Qinglong's bedroom door closing did Mom Lü rub her shoulder.

"That boy's getting stronger and stronger."

Li Haoze was busy handling the arrangements for the recruits at the Armed Forces Department when he suddenly received a phone call.

"Hello, is this Chief Li? I'm Lü Weiguo's wife."

A somewhat familiar woman's voice came from the other end of the line.

"Sister-in-law, you're too formal. Just call me Little Li."

"What can I do for you, Sister-in-law?"

The chief asked, puzzled.

"Well, Chief Li... I'd like to send my son, Lü Qinglong, to enlist. Do you think there's still time this year?"

Mom Lü's voice sounded hesitant over the phone.

"Oh, you want him to enlist? I'm afraid not this year. Their pre-enlistment training has already ended, and most of the quotas for the various locations have been filled..."

Chief Li refused almost automatically.

He'd been swamped with recruitment work these past few days, and the calls had left him frazzled. He had no idea how many parents were trying to get their children into the armed forces.

The landline in the office rang almost nonstop every day with requests like these.

But this was the first time anyone had called his personal number to get their child enlisted.

"Ah? Is it too late this year?"

Mom Lü sounded much more disappointed, but still ventured to ask:

"Then, Chief Li, could you make an exception this year and add a spot for my Qinglong...?"

"Who?!"

"Sister-in-law, wait a moment! You mean your son, Second Young Master Lü, wants to enlist?!"

The chief leaped to his feet, gripping his phone tightly in his right hand as he interrupted Mom Lü.

"Uh... yes."

"If there really aren't any spots, then never mind. Sorry to trouble you, Chief Li..."

"There's a spot!"

The chief interrupted her again, his voice trembling with excitement.

"Huh?"

Mom Lü paused, wondering if she'd heard him correctly. Why had the other person's attitude suddenly done a complete 180?

"There's a spot! We've got plenty of spots, Sister-in-law!"

"You're at home right now, aren't you? Could you send me your address?"

"Your son's enlistment is a major matter. I think something this important deserves a face-to-face discussion!"

"Uh... all right."

Mom Lü sent the chief her address.

"Get the car ready! Hurry to this address!"

The chief told the driver to step on the gas all the way. Less than ten minutes later, they were knocking on the Lü family's door.

"Sister-in-law! It's been ages!"

"How's Old Brother Lü? We just received this rice and cooking oil for the family!"

As soon as the door opened, Chief Li excitedly grabbed Mom Lü's hand and hurriedly set the things he was carrying on the ground.

Faced with this sudden burst of enthusiasm, Mom Lü nodded, looking a little flustered.

"He's fine. He's still as focused on the armed forces as ever. He's busy, after all. He only makes it home once or twice a year."