"Oh, okay. It's fine if we're in the same boat. I'll protect you."
"Mm, I just want to tell you where we stand after we go there. Don't worry, nothing bad will happen."
"Hmm?"
"Felix's grandparents and parents were all soldiers. He and his brother are both in the military too. His grandmother and parents died in the line of duty, so their whole family is considered heroes. As long as we don't make any big mistakes, they'll be fine, even if things get chaotic."
"Oh, I see. Don't worry, I'll do my best to help heal his brother. I'm your lucky charm, remember?"
"Mm, we'll see how things go. Let's sleep."
"Okay."
In the next few days, Rowan continued training the soldiers as usual. Felix had finished his business and already returned to the capital. Before leaving, he told them to just wait for the transfer order.
The transfer order came quickly. During afternoon training, Rowan was called to the captain's office.
"Report."
"Come in."
Rowan pushed the door open. Captain Yao looked up and said, "Have a seat."
Then he took out a file and handed it to Rowan. "Take a look."
Rowan opened it right away. It was the transfer order. He was required to report to the capital military district on the first of next month.
There was plenty of time. It was only the 10th, so even after accounting for travel and arriving a few days early, he still had about ten days left.
After Rowan finished reading, Captain Yao said, "Tell me the truth, did you and Felix plan this together? It's one thing for that kid to leave, but now you're going too?"
"I agreed to go myself."
"Since you're going, work hard and don't embarrass our Southern Military District."
"Yes, sir."
"Still, congratulations. Even though it's a lateral move, it's still a promotion."
"Thank you. Since there's enough time, I'd like to finish my work and then return to my hometown for a bit."
"Sure, once you wrap things up, you can go. We'll arrange someone to take over."
"Thanks, sir. My wife will go with me, so she won't be helping train the soldiers anymore."
Captain Yao looked even more disappointed. They had trained such a good batch of soldiers, and just like that, they were gone.
"How about letting Sienna stay behind for two more months? You go first, and after you're settled, she can join you."
Rowan just stared at his captain. Was he seriously trying to separate him from his wife?
Captain Yao felt awkward under his stare. He rubbed his nose and said nothing more. After all, Sienna was a military wife and should be with her husband. He had just been trying his luck.
"Fine, stop looking at me like that. Forget I said anything. Congratulations, Captain Rowan. You're off to the capital. Go now, it hurts to look at you."
"I'll come visit when I have time. Bye."
Rowan quickly left the office. Seeing that it was almost the end of the workday, he headed straight home.
"Wife, we're going home the day after tomorrow. I'll get ingredients from logistics later. Tomorrow we're inviting Steve, Brandon, and a few captains for dinner. I'll need you to help prepare the food. I have work to finish."
"Okay. Did the transfer order arrive?"
"Yes, I need to report on the first of next month."
"Why is it taking so long? Your system is really slow."
"It's not usually like this. They're probably also arranging things over there. The previous captain must have been transferred or retired."
"Alright."
"Yeah, they didn't even give us time to prepare. Especially Old Felix—he already left before we even knew."
"Felix's situation is special. He can't stay long. If not, he would have told you."
"Sigh, be extra careful once you get to the Kyoto Military District."
"What are you all saying? Going to the capital is a good thing. We should be happy."
"Yes, yes."
After that, everyone at the table stopped talking about going to the capital. They changed the topic and kept drinking and chatting.
At the women's and children's table, Meilin held Sienna's hand and said, "Sienna, you're about to leave. I don't want you to go."
"I don't want to leave you all either."
Teacher Yuxia also said, "You can't forget us."
"I won't, sister-in-law. Don't worry."
By the time the meal was over, it was already evening. Everyone was drunk, but luckily tomorrow was a rest day. Otherwise, it would have been a problem.
Thanks to the sisters-in-law helping clean up, it didn't take all night to finish.
Sienna was boiling water, planning to let Rowan wash up, but Rowan saw her in the kitchen and rushed in to stop her.
"Wife, sit down. I'll do it. You worked hard cooking today."
"Husband, did you forget? I only washed the vegetables. The sisters-in-law helped too. You were the one who did the cooking."
"Even washing vegetables is tiring."
He pulled her into the room to sit down, then went back to the kitchen to boil the water himself.
After they washed up, Rowan hugged Sienna on the bed and quickly fell asleep.
The next morning, they started packing the last of the things they hadn't sorted yet.
They hadn't lived there long, so there wasn't much big stuff. They gave the furniture to other families and only packed their personal things.
The train was at noon. Steve took leave especially to take them to the train station.
"Rowan, I'm here."
"Thanks a lot."
"No need to thank me. We're brothers. Did you get in touch with the family? You have so much stuff. If no one picks it up, that won't do."
"Take us to the post office first. We'll mail everything straight to the Kyoto Military District. If the package gets there first, Felix will collect it for us."
"Alright, let's go."
After mailing the stuff at the post office, they were traveling light. The train was at 12, so they still had time to walk around.
They went to the supply store to buy some things for their families. Carrying big and small bags, they left and headed straight for the train station.
After a long and bumpy train ride, they finally arrived the next day at noon.
Just as they were thinking of finding a ride back to the commune, they saw Sienna's father.
The couple quickly walked over. "Dad!"
Tomas looked at his son and daughter-in-law standing in front of him and smiled happily. "How did you find time to come back? Why didn't you let us know so someone could come pick you up?"
"Dad, we had a few days off, so we came to visit. We didn't say anything because we were afraid the team might be busy. Why did you come to the county?"
"Some new educated youth arrived. I came to pick them up."
"Isn't that something the commune should handle together?"
"The commune's tractor broke. They gave us the list and asked us to pick them up ourselves."
"Put your things on the ox cart quickly. We'll go back together later."