The father and son, who were cooking outside, listened to their conversation and said, "Dad, you've worked hard these years."
Father Zhou looked at Rowan and said, "You better take care of yourself. Think about your older brother and second brother, see if you can still make this face."
Hearing this, Rowan thought for a moment. He then remembered his wife's perfect ability to handle things. He decided to feel a bit sorry for himself. After all, his mother's fighting skills were average, though fierce, but his wife was something else entirely.
"Dad, let's hurry up and cook."
"Humph."
They stopped talking and quickly finished cooking, calling everyone to eat.
"Honey, how did you finish so quickly?" Sienna asked.
"Well, I was worried you'd be hungry, so I had to speed up."
"Wow, you and Dad are too kind. I'll protect both of you from now on. No, I'll protect you. Dad's got my mom to protect him."
Rowan froze for a moment before hurriedly saying, "Mm, let's eat quickly."
"Alright."
After the meal, the family went to their rooms to rest.
"Honey, Mom said she's going to work tomorrow. She wants me to go with her to see my older and second sisters-in-law, to learn from them."
"Well, Sienna, tomorrow I'll take you to the county town. You're already great. You don't need them to teach you anything. You see, I can't even win in a fight against you, so they'll definitely be no match for you."
"But I promised Mom I'd go out with her."
"Sienna, aren't you going to protect me? What if I run into bad people outside?"
Hearing this, Sienna immediately said, "I'll go with you to the county."
Satisfied with her answer, Rowan smiled and walked up to her, saying, "Sienna, did you forget that you promised to make it up to me?"
"No, honey, what do you want?"
"You'll know in a bit. Sienna, how about we leave for Kyoto early?"
"Why? Didn't we just return?"
"I want to go see the situation there in advance."
Rowan was worried that if he stayed at home for a few days, his protective wife might change, and that would be a disaster.
"Alright."
Hearing her response, Rowan felt a bit disappointed.
"What's wrong? Do you want to stay home?"
"It's not that, it's just that I feel at home, Mom's been so good to me."
"Should we stay a couple of days more?"
"Okay, okay."
Seeing his wife's expression, Rowan thought he should watch over her a little longer.
After that, there was some passionate time between them. Rowan finally got his compensation.
The next morning, when Sienna woke up, the others in the Zhou Family had already gone to work, leaving just the two of them at home.
"Honey, let's go visit the county."
"Okay, get up and eat something, then I'll take you to the county."
By the time they arrived in the county, it was already noon. Rowan took Sienna to eat at a state-run restaurant.
"Hehe, let's go watch a movie. We haven't done that yet."
"Okay, I haven't seen it either."
When they arrived at the cinema, Rowan bought two movie tickets. It was a war movie.
Once inside, they noticed the theater was full of people, both men and women, possibly couples.
The movie started soon. Sienna watched it intently, even though the projection quality was poor. It didn't stop her from enjoying the new experience. Rowan, being a soldier, was focused and serious throughout the movie.
They kept to themselves during the movie. If it weren't for Rowan holding snacks, no one would have guessed they knew each other, let alone be married.
At the end, Sienna said, "They're so weak, but why are they so fearless?"
"Because of their faith," Rowan replied.
"What's that? I don't understand."
"Because this is our country, our home. Only by protecting it can we have happiness."
"Oh, I don't understand. I just need to protect you, that's all. Forget the rest. Let's go, husband."
"Alright."
After the movie, they had no plans for entertainment. They went to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy some food and then returned home.
When they got back, Sienna's mother-in-law looked at all the things they bought and didn't know what to say. She just felt they were wasting money.
The next few days, Rowan helped out around his family's house, and Sienna stayed with him, though she was only playing around. No one let her do any work.
Soon, the day to leave arrived. Sienna's mother was reluctant to say goodbye. "Once you leave, I don't know when you'll come back. You need to take good care of Sienna."
"Don't worry, mother. I'll take care of her. If we have time, we'll come back to see you. Take care of yourselves at home. If anything happens, write to me or send a telegram. I'll give you our address once we arrive."
"Alright, we understand."
"This journey is long. You must keep an eye on Sienna. It's days of train travel. Sienna, you have to stay close to Rowan. Don't wander off. If you get lost, you might never see him again. Understand?"
"Okay, mother. Don't worry, I understand."
Sienna's father watched them talk and said, "Hurry up. You'll miss the train if you don't leave now."
"Mother, don't worry about us. Go back. We need to hurry."
Sienna's father drove the ox cart, taking them to the county.
"Rowan, the capital is not like here. When you get there, be careful. It's a good place, but there's a lot going on inside."
"Take care of Sienna. She doesn't know much. If she makes any mistakes, teach her. If it's too much, you can apply to be reassigned or leave the army and come back home with her."
"Father, I know. If you didn't know better, you'd think I was heading into a tiger's den. Don't worry."
Sienna's father stopped talking. There was nothing more he could do. He was just a farmer, so he could only share what he knew and remind them of the escape routes.
Sienna spoke up, "Father, don't worry. I'm very strong. I can protect Rowan. He can't beat me."
"Really, Sienna? That's impressive. Then you must protect Rowan well."
"Yes, I will."
Soon, they arrived at the train station. Sienna's father parked the ox cart and helped them into the station.
Rowan turned to him and said, "Father, go back. Don't worry about us. Take care of yourself and mother."
"Alright."
Rowan took Sienna's hand, and without looking back, they boarded the train. Sienna waved goodbye.
Her father smiled and waved back, watching until they were out of sight before turning to leave.
He drove the ox cart back to the village. Ever since his youngest son joined the army, they'd been worried, but now he was going even further away. They were more anxious, yet proud that he was leaving the mountains and making a life for himself.