At this moment, the dignity on his face vanished completely, replaced by undisguised joy.
His hand trembled as he reached out to touch Long Zhe's neck.
Long Zhe quickly stepped back again, looking wary.
"What are you trying to do?!"
"Child, don't be afraid. Can you show me what you're wearing around your neck?"
Long Zhe frowned hesitantly.
He looked directly at the old man, and seeing that he didn't seem to mean any harm, slowly pulled out what he was wearing around his neck.
The old man's eyes immediately reddened as he looked at the pendant.
"Child, can you tell me what your father and mother's names are?"
Long Zhe was very confused about why this old grandfather was so emotional.
However, the man only wanted to know his parents' names, so there was no harm in telling him.
"My father is called Long Huaming, and my mother is called Xu Douying."
"Xu Douying? Isn't that sister's name?" Jiang Huai raised his eyebrows.
He looked at Elder Jiang, "Dad, could he be...?"
Elder Jiang nodded, "That's right, he's your sister's child, Long Zhe. This red string pendant was specially made for your sister when she was born. There's only one in the world."
Elder Jiang's voice was thick with emotion as he looked at Long Zhe with reddened eyes.
"Child, I am your grandfather."
Long Zhe: ???
Grandfather?
He had never met his grandparents or uncles since he was little.
Where did they all come from?
Seeing the curiosity and confusion in Long Zhe's eyes, Elder Jiang sighed.
"Ah, it's not your fault you don't know us. Back then, your mother was young and headstrong. She insisted on marrying your father against our wishes, so she ran away from home. After that, she never contacted us again.
It's your grandfather's fault too. I was stubborn as an ox. Even when I regretted it, I couldn't bring myself to go find your mother.
I even stopped your grandmother and uncle from looking for her.
I wanted your mother to admit her mistake and come back to us on her own.
Sigh, it's all grandfather's fault."
Long Zhe: ......
So there was such a story.
His mother had never told him about this.
She would just be sad for a long time whenever her parents were mentioned.
So he didn't dare to ask anymore.
"By the way, child, where are your father and mother? Where are they now?" Elder Jiang asked with eyes full of expectation.
Long Zhe's expression immediately darkened, and he lowered his head.
"They... they're dead. Bitten to death by zombies."
Hearing this, Elder Jiang's body swayed.
If Jiang Huai hadn't supported him, the robust old man might have almost lost his balance at that moment.
A look of regret immediately appeared in his eyes, which became even redder, with glistening tears.
"It's all my fault. If I hadn't been so stubborn, they wouldn't have died!"
He was full of self-reproach. If only he had brought his daughter and son-in-law's family back earlier to live with them.
They wouldn't have died then.
"Dad, don't be too sad. We sent people to look for my sister later, but we couldn't find them because they had left home. We did our best," Jiang Huai quickly consoled, unable to bear seeing his old father so grief-stricken.
Long Zhe's eyes flickered.
So his uncle and grandfather hadn't forgotten about his mother and him.
He felt a bit better.
But...
"If my mother is your daughter, why doesn't she have your surname Jiang?"
Elder Jiang patted his head, "Because she took your grandmother's surname."
Long Zhe nodded, understanding now.
"Child, you've suffered so much."
Elder Jiang slowly embraced Long Zhe, tears streaming down his face.
After a good while, he finally released Long Zhe and looked at him with concern.
"By the way, child, what were you arguing about earlier?"
Long Zhe glanced towards Yang Fu.
Yang Fu had long been stunned by the scene before him.
He never imagined that Long Zhe, this brat, would turn out to be Elder Jiang's own grandson and Commander Jiang's nephew!
Now that Base Leader Zhao's entire family was dead, it meant the whole base was currently under the Jiang family's control.
And he had just happened to offend the Jiang family's newly found grandson.
He had even been sending thugs to bully him before.
This was... like opening the door to bad luck, the ultimate misfortune!
Yang Fu's heart was pounding wildly, and he wished he could slap himself to death.
Of all the people to offend, why did it have to be such a big shot?
Long Zhe only highlighted the key points, explaining how Yang Fu had previously targeted them by sending people after them, and this time had deliberately made unreasonable demands to make things difficult.
"How outrageous! How dare someone like you bully my nephew!" Jiang Huai exclaimed after hearing the story.
His aura suddenly flared up, exuding the unique dignity and pressure of a military man.
Yang Fu was immediately so frightened that his legs went weak, and he nearly couldn't stand.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't recognize Mount Tai. But I was truly considering the base's interests, I really didn't mean to make things difficult. Please, for the sake of my efforts and dedication to the base in the past, even if I have no merit, at least spare me."
Yang Fu was still trying to defend himself.
Elder Jiang's gaze was deep, "Jiang Huai, we must properly seek justice for your nephew in this matter."
"Dad, I understand. How could I let someone who dares to bully our Jiang family get away with it?"
Jiang Huai signaled to several of his subordinates, "Take him away."
"Yes, sir!"
The subordinates obeyed the order and immediately dragged away the pale-faced Yang Fu.
Of course, those thugs who had bullied Long Zhe didn't escape either; they were arrested as well.
"Commander Jiang, have mercy! I won't dare do it again, please let me go!"
Yang Fu kept begging for mercy.
But Jiang Huai remained unmoved.
Soon, they were all taken away.
Elder Jiang held Long Zhe's hand, looking with pity at his thin, injured body.
"Come, let's go home with grandfather."
"Wait a moment."
"What is it?"
"Grandfather, this is little sister Xiaoxiao. Earlier, when I was almost bled to death at the dog farm, she saved me.
Just now, when those thugs were stealing my steamed bun and beating me, it was also little sister Xiaoxiao who came to my rescue."
Long Zhe introduced Yun Xiaoxiao to Elder Jiang.
Elder Jiang followed Long Zhe's gaze and saw a little girl standing casually.
He raised an eyebrow, a look of admiration flashing in his eyes.
Having been in the military for so many years, he had seen countless people.
With just one glance, he could tell this little girl was extraordinary.
Meeting his gaze, she showed no fear at all, but remained calm and composed.
Just this temperament alone showed that she was no ordinary person.
To have such poise at such a young age was truly remarkable.
He curved his lips kindly, "Little girl, thank you for saving our Zhe'er."
"It's nothing," Yun Xiaoxiao said with a smile, her pure, big eyes bright and shining.
"However... there's no need for verbal thanks. I'm not fond of intangible things. How about something more practical?"
Elder Jiang: ......
