Fierce Dragon Airport
A woman held a rope in her hand, and tied along the rope behind her came the children, one after another.
Two old people pushed suitcases, following the line.
So large a party could not help drawing others' attention.
In so clean and spacious a building for the first time, the woman was plainly somewhat nervous.
The two old people looked around them somewhat nervously.
"Mom, Dad! Wife!" Where the passage ahead suddenly opened out, a loud voice rang out abruptly.
The woman looked over and at once saw a familiar figure.
At that moment, the strength she had forced herself to keep up all the way gave her a sense of having been wronged.
But she still squeezed out a smile and said to the children, "Look, quick, it's Daddy."
Of the five children, the eldest was ten at most, and still had some memory of their father.
But the younger ones, looking at the middle-aged man opposite, were plainly somewhat strange with him and shy.
Gulizha could not hold back; he vaulted straight over the railing and rushed into the passenger passage.
The security guards beside it, seeing this, made to rush over without thinking.
But on seeing the Fierce Dragon training fatigues the man wore, and the way he rushed over to hug his wife,
the security guards exchanged a look, and did not come closer after all, only standing not far off.
"Wife. You've had a hard time." Gulizha hugged his wife.
His wife's cheeks flushed crimson; though she was already the mother of five children, being held like this by her husband in front of so many people, being told such direct things,
she was still somewhat embarrassed.
"You… let go, quick… don't you see what kind of… place this is? I could die of embarrassment."
Having knocked about out in the world for so many years, Gulizha had long since stopped being as stiff as he had been back in his hometown.
Among his comrades, no few even had online romances; sometimes on leave, you could see them calling their sweethearts, saying mushy things with no regard for anyone around.
At first, perhaps, he had not been quite used to it.
But later he had grown used to this sort of thing too.
For some of what those comrades of his said was right.
They were mecha pilots; after every war, they might be dead.
It could be said they lived with their heads hanging from their belts.
That being so, why hide their feelings away?
If there was someone they really loved, something they wanted to say, they should say it while there was still time,
and not regret it only when it was too late for everything.
It was these comrades' quiet influence in daily life that had made his own thinking change in this direction too.
He too felt one should treasure everything one had now, and do what one wanted to do,
and say what one wanted to say.
At his first sight of his wife, he had wanted to rush up and hug her.
That was what he thought!
He missed her so, so, so much; that was what he wanted to say.
"I just missed you; there's nothing to hide about it!" Gulizha held his wife tight.
His wife's cheeks were flushed red, but in her heart she felt warm.
How could she not love such burning affection?
Half a minute later,
Gulizha finally let go; naturally it was not that he wanted to let go.
It was mainly that his parents and children were still there; he could not leave them standing here like fools forever.
"Mom, Dad, you've had a hard time," Gulizha said, looking at his parents.
"Son, you've made something of yourself," his father, in his sixties, said with feeling, looking at the sturdy son before him.
"Being healthy is all that matters," his mother said, looking her son up and down.
Apart from a few more scars on his face, he had no missing arm or leg.
That already satisfied her greatly; before coming, she had thought of some of the worst outcomes.
Back in their hometown, she was not unacquainted with soldiers who had come back from the battlefield.
Most were missing arms or legs, or had even gone mad.
That her own son could now stand before her so whole and unhurt
already contented her greatly.
"Mom, Dad, wife: you've brought the children all this way; the long journey must have been very hard. I've found a restaurant; rest well there first." Gulizha took the luggage and led his whole family, old and young, outside.
The five children all looked at Gulizha curiously and nervously, not daring to come close of their own accord.
Toward this father of theirs, they still felt somewhat estranged.
Gulizha said nothing much about it.
The last time he had seen them was two years ago.
The youngest child had only just been born then.
It was quite normal to be strange with him.
The party came to the parking lot below the airport.
"Boss, you're back. I'll put the luggage in for you. You all go on up," the driver said; he had been waiting at the door, and took the luggage and opened the car door.
"This is…" His parents and wife looked at the vehicle in some surprise.
"This is a car I've rented. After all, with so many of us, getting a big vehicle is more convenient," Gulizha said.
"Won't this be too expensive?" his father asked, looking at the minibus with some worry.
"It's fine; your son can afford it now." Seeing that his parents still looked hesitant and worried,
he could only say, "With my pay now, one day's wages is enough to rent this vehicle for a week. So you don't need to think so much about it. You've come here this time to enjoy life."
Hearing their son say this, they said no more and got into the vehicle.
In the vehicle, the gifts Gulizha had bought earlier, with the driver along, were long since ready.
There were some for his parents and some for his wife.
The great majority were toys for the children.
"I didn't know what you all liked, so I bought a bit of everything. Pick for yourselves. If you're not happy with them, Daddy will take you to buy more later." Gulizha looked at the five children.
Seeing those gifts, the children were all beside themselves with excitement.
With the gifts there, Gulizha and the children grew a great deal closer all at once.
They even took his hand and asked him about this and that.
His wife sat beside them watching this scene; though it rather pained her to think of the money the gifts had cost, inside she still felt warm.
She looked at the gold bracelet on her wrist.
In the small town where they lived, though life had grown much better in the last few years,
only a few people could wear gold and silver.
And a gold bracelet this thick she was seeing for the first time.
"Boss, we're here. This is one of the very best restaurants in our capital. You go up from here. Just use your dog tag; there's the private room we've reserved," the driver said, pointing at the entrance, but with no sign of meaning to go up with them.
"Come and have a bite with us," Gulizha invited him.
The driver waved it off again and again.
"Our company doesn't allow us to eat with clients."
"It's fine; I'm allowing it. You went shopping with me and helped me buy things; isn't it only right that I treat you to a meal? Park the car and come find us. If you don't come, I'll come down and fetch you myself," Gulizha said with mock sternness.
"Yes, boss." With the boss putting it that way, the driver gave an awkward laugh and agreed.
The food at this restaurant truly was very good, and the whole family ate very happily.
After the meal,
the children had begun crowding around Gulizha, asking him about this and that:
asking about their father's work,
asking what it felt like for their father to drive a mecha,
whether he had been aboard the Fierce Dragon fleet's starships, and so on.
Whatever he could tell, Gulizha told the children.
One of the children touched Gulizha's dog tag, and all of them looked at him in admiration.
"Mom, Dad. I hold an important post in the Fierce Dragon army now. After the last campaign, I got a big reward too. So I decided to bring you all here. Settle in the Fierce Dragon capital; you can get Fierce Dragon Kingdom citizenship too, and enjoy a Fierce Dragon citizen's benefits. You've seen everything here too. Only if our children get their schooling here won't they fall out of step with society!" Gulizha said solemnly.
"You're grown up now; you talk and act like a man who knows what he's about. You're not the grunt you used to be. Your mom and I will go along with whatever you arrange. Only, back home the two of us old folks could still farm a little, do a bit of work. Coming here, we really won't know what to do," his parents said somewhat hesitantly.
Their faces showed their fear that their very existence would be a burden on their child.
"You're both getting on in years; enjoying life is what you should do. My pay is more than enough to support our family. You don't need to think about any job. Our family has five children; looking after these five children alone is tiring enough. If you still wanted to go out to work, I'd probably even have to think about hiring a nanny," Gulizha said with a laugh.
Hearing that Gulizha had already decided it this way, they could not say anything more.
"All right. Next, let's go look at our new house." Gulizha got up and went to pay the bill.
The party got back into the vehicle.
At the gate of a rather out-of-the-way housing estate in the Fierce Dragon capital, the estate agent was already waiting here.
"Are you Mr. Gulizha?" the estate agent asked with a smile, coming up close.
"Mm. Is this the house you've found for me?" Gulizha looked at the rather quiet housing estate before him.
"Taking your requirements into account, we think this estate is the most suitable for you. Never mind that it's rather far from the city center; there's everything around it: kindergarten, primary school, middle school, all of them. And a hundred meters out the door is the subway. The Fierce Dragon capital's subway system is very well developed; get on the subway here and you can get anywhere. Much more convenient than driving. And the population density here isn't high; it's quiet. Add to that, the houses here are detached, each with its own yard. For a family as large as yours, here is the best fit. And this estate has a subsidy for Fierce Dragon soldiers as well. Based on your information, we can give you a 30% home-purchase subsidy," the estate agent went on and on in introduction.
"Take us in to take a look," Gulizha said.
"Very good; follow me."
The vehicle drove into the estate.
After a few turns, it stopped outside a courtyard.
This courtyard was enclosed by a wooden fence, with a concrete path in front and lawns on either side.
At the back was the main house, three stories high.
"This house was originally priced at thirteen million. But with your status subsidy, plus some other discounts, it's yours now for ten million. In front there's a private yard of about a hundred fifty square meters, planted with sweet-osmanthus trees. If you need it, you could build a small swimming pool yourselves later on. Then your family could play here, barbecue here, whatever you like. The main house has three stories. The first floor is mainly dining room, kitchen and living room, plus a maid's room and a guest room. The second floor has four rooms, the third floor has three rooms, and there's an attic too. Every room has its own bathroom. It sleeps ten people with room to spare. In the future, when your children grow up, each of them can have a room of their own. …" The estate agent went on and on about the house.
Gulizha noticed that once his wife and parents walked into the house, their eyes were caught by everything.
It could be seen that they liked it very much, but they did not dare give any opinion.
The children, by comparison, were much more open.
"Wow. This living room is so big. This living room is nearly as big as the house we lived in."
"And this kitchen, so roomy and so clean. I feel like I could even sleep in here."
"Oh my gosh. The rooms upstairs actually have bathtubs!"
"There's a balcony over here too; the view from the balcony is really nice."
His eight-year-old daughter came to Gulizha's side and tugged at the hem of his clothes.
She said in a small voice, "Daddy… are we going to live here from now on?"
"Do you like it here?" Gulizha asked.
His eight-year-old daughter nodded hard, her two little eyes full of excitement and hope.
Gulizha liked this house very much too; the layout was good, and the furniture inside was all there, all quite new.
They could basically move straight in with just their bags.
"Then we'll settle on this one. Draw up the contract. Let's get it settled quickly. Tonight my family is going to sleep here," Gulizha said, crisp and decisive.
The estate agent jumped, never having imagined this client would be so crisp and decisive.
"Yes, yes, yes; I'll go do the paperwork for you right now. You can move in tonight."
Hearing her husband settle on this house so quickly, his wife was greatly startled.
She came over and said in a small voice, "Won't this house be too expensive? We don't need to live in such a big house…"
Their house back home was a little two-story building, a stone house.
It did not have many rooms:
only enough for his parents to have one room, the three older children one room, and his wife with the two little ones one room.
It was very cramped.
Two years ago, when he was at home, it was seeing surroundings like those that had made him decide to join the Fierce Dragon army and carve out a world for his family and children.
"It's fine; your husband can earn money now. So long as everyone likes it, we'll settle on this one. The children are growing up; they all need a better place to live." Gulizha's tone brooked no argument.
And so Gulizha settled on this house.
"Then let's divide up the rooms. Of the master bedrooms on the third floor, one goes to your grandpa and grandma, and one to Daddy and Mommy. The other rooms, you pick for yourselves!"
Hearing they could pick their own rooms, everyone grew excited.
Even the two-year-old could not help waving his arms.
Though he perhaps did not know why, he could feel everyone's joy!