"Hello?"
"It's me."
"You think I don't know it's you, you bastard?" Hao Shuwen cursed into the phone. "You were going off to war and didn't even tell me beforehand? Do you know how worried I was about you? Why didn't those Vietnamese monkeys kill you, you son of a bitch?"
"If they really had killed me, you'd have had to take time out and travel all the way over here to burn paper offerings for me. What a waste, right?" Wang Yan laughed.
"Get lost, get lost, get lost. You weren't hurt, were you?"
"Everything's fine. Don't worry. I'll hang up now—the call's pretty expensive. I just wanted to let you know I'm safe, that I'm still alive and kicking. There should be a commendation ceremony after a while, and I'll be going to Beijing then. We'll see each other there. I'll write you a nice long letter tomorrow."
"You're worried about the phone bill? Just say you don't want to talk to me."
"What are you talking about? I'm at the post office, and there are comrades lined up behind me. I can't hold everyone else up."
"Fine then. That's it. Wait until you get to Beijing—I'll show you how I deal with you."
Hao Shuwen decisively hung up. Wang Yan smiled apologetically at the people behind him, then made another call, this one to Xiao Suizi.
"Are you all right?" There was a sobbing note in Suizi's voice.
"I'm great. I'm unbeatable throughout the Kunming Military Region—what are a few Vietnamese monkeys? Were you worried? I didn't tell you I was going to the front because I was afraid you'd overthink things and scare yourselves all day."
"Then you should at least have sent us some word whether you were alive or dead. Instead, there wasn't a