Chapter 730 - 726: Stepping Down

Old Nine had been put away.

An Dongyang had also been harshly reprimanded by An Mingjiang, so he had long held a grudge against Leng Yuan.

However, Leng Yuan answered to the brigade command, and without a legitimate reason, there was truly nothing An Dongyang could do to him.

Besides, Leng Yuan was incredibly slippery. In all this time, An Dongyang had never been able to get any dirt on him.

Having no other choice, An Dongyang set his sights on Lu Yuanbin once again.

He refused to believe that Lu Yuanbin could truly stay away from the black market.

After all, the black market was so profitable. Why else would so many people risk a bullet to the head to get involved?

It was all for the money, wasn’t it?

Lu Yuanbin was the one who needed money the most. How could he bear to give it up?

Even if he wasn’t doing it now, he would definitely go back to it after a while, once the heat died down.

The busy farming season was over, and it was a rare time for rest.

That evening, the four adults—Leng Yuan, Gu Jiaojiao, Jiang Baishu, and Chen JianShe—sat on the stone stools in the courtyard, drinking tea, eating fruit, and chatting.

Jiang Baishu was rather quiet that night. Chen JianShe did most of the talking, with Gu Jiaojiao chiming in occasionally. Leng Yuan said little, and Jiang Baishu said even less.

This was quite unusual.

Chen JianShe brought up the topic of going hunting in the mountains again the next day.

"The busy season is finally over, so we can take a breather. Let’s go hunting in the mountains again tomorrow! We can stay up there for the whole day this time. Between the few of us, we can bag something big."

"What do you say, Bai Shu?"

When Chen JianShe finished, he glanced at Jiang Baishu, who didn’t respond. Chen JianShe gave him a nudge.

Only then did Jiang Baishu snap out of it.

Chen JianShe said with dissatisfaction, "What are you thinking about, you kid? You didn’t even hear me talking to you."

Jiang Baishu was silent for a moment before he spoke slowly. "I’m preparing to step down."

"I’ve come to understand during this time that Sweet Girl and Xiao Yang both need someone to look after them. I’m their big brother, and I should stay by their side to take care of them."

His circumstances didn’t qualify him to have his family join him at his post, but he couldn’t bring himself to just leave his younger siblings behind, either.

Even though he deeply loved what he was doing, he knew he couldn’t continue.

Chen JianShe was left speechless.

He hadn’t expected Jiang Baishu to be considering this.

In this life, aside from the people she held dear, the only ones Gu Jiaojiao truly admired were soldiers.

Sacrificing their own families for the greater good.

It was easy to say, but only when you tried to do it did you realize how difficult it was.

Take Jiang Baishu, for example. He had started his undercover mission and hadn’t even received the news of his parents’ passing. If Gu Jiaojiao hadn’t run into the human traffickers this time, and if they hadn’t come up against a tough nut like Leng Yuan, their ring probably wouldn’t have been destroyed.

Without this unexpected turn of events, Jiang Baishu might have had to remain undercover for several more years.

In her past life, Jiang Baishu had only appeared a year later, perhaps having just completed his undercover mission then as well.

It just went to show how his circumstances were beyond his control.

Who wouldn’t want to see their loved ones one last time? But for the sake of countless other families, they could only sacrifice their own.

Gu Jiaojiao could see that Jiang Baishu genuinely loved his identity and his work.

"I think you should consider this matter seriously," she said. "You should ask for Sweet Girl and Xiao Yang’s opinions."

"Since I’ve adopted Sweet Girl and Xiao Yang, I will naturally take care of them. You don’t need to have any worries holding you back."

Gu Jiaojiao didn’t consider herself a particularly noble person, but she was unwilling to see a hero who protected his home and country be lost.

If she could do her small part to help, Gu Jiaojiao felt it would be an honor.

Jiang Baishu’s lips moved, but he said nothing.

Seeing that it was getting late, the group chatted for a little while longer before Chen JianShe left with Jiang Baishu.

For the past few days, Jiang Baishu had been staying at the Jiang family home but eating his meals over at Leng Yuan’s place.

His route was the same as Chen JianShe’s, so the two of them walked together along the village path. The moon was bright and a gentle breeze was blowing, making for a very comfortable evening.

Chen JianShe understood Jiang Baishu’s difficult position and patted his shoulder comfortingly.

"You know, your dream ever since you were a little kid was to be a soldier. When you left back then, I thought I’d see you again in a year. Who knew you’d be gone for five? If you leave now, can you really bear it?"