The group for the seasonal migration had already departed. During this period, Guo Yungang was often summoned for talks by various leaders, sometimes being kept away for as long as a week. But he actuallly seemed to be enjoying this kind of life. The duties that should have fallen to him were taken over by Instructor Zhang. When he was at the base, he spent time with everyone turning the soil in preparation for next year's planting and tending to the trees that had to be cultivated year after year. Sometimes he would accompany Li Weiwen to herd the few sheep still kept at the base, using the chance to share quiet moments of affection. He also helped repair the animal pens and often lent a hand in the kitchen, especially since Xu Yumei was pregnant again.
Most of the time, Li Weiwen lived with Li Weibing in her home. The two sisters often shared their thoughts with each other, and sometimes Xu Yumei would come over for a chat. One day, while the three of them were talking happily, Li Weiwen suddenly felt a wave of nausea. She hurried outside, trying to vomit but unable to bring anything up, only retching dryly. Li Weibing and Xu Yumei quickly rushed over to ask:
"What's wrong with you? Are you sick?"
Before Li Weiwen could reply, another wave of dry heaves overtook her. At that moment, Li Weibing and Xu Yumei suddenly realized what was wrong with her so they exchanged a glance. They quickly helped her back into the room. Li Weibing asked softly:
"Xue'er, when was last time you had your period?"
Li Weiwen was taken aback, staring blankly at Li Weibing and Xu Yumei. Only then did she realize that it had been a long time since her last one. She stood frozen for a moment, then, ignoring the traditional belief that a doctor should never take his/her own pulse, she place her hastily pressed her fingers on her wrist. After a while, she lifted her gaze to the two of them and whispered, almost in disbelief:
"I'm pregnant."
Then next morning, after finishing her work in the kitchen, Li Weiwen felt so exhausted that she went back Li Weibing's home to rest. Unexpectedly, she slept through until noon, missing even her turn in the kitchen at midday. Since Li Weibing happened to be free, she took her place helping out in the kitchen. When Li Weiwen finally woke, she stepped outside to find the sky a clear, brilliant blue. Remembering that it was her turn to take the sheep out that afternoon, she started to prepare to leave. At that moment, Li Weibing walked in and asked:
"Where are you think you're going?"
Li Weiwen replied:
"It is my turn to herd the sheep this afternoon."
Li Weibing smiled and said firmly:
"Well, you're pregnant now so don't go. I told Guo Yungang that you have something important to tell him and asked him to come over this afternoon. I think it's best for you two to have a proper talk and decide what to do. Let him make a decision. After all, you're not married yet. I will take your place herding the sheep and it will give me a chance to check on this year's saplings. Oh, I will drop Xinyu off at Sister Xu's home so she can look after him. That way, you two can talk quietly without being disturbed."
Li Weiwen said gratefully:
"Thank you, Sister Liu'er!"
Li Weibing gave her a fond, indulgent look but said nothing more. She picked up Li Xinyu in her arms and carried him off to Xu Yumei's home.
After half an hour later, Guo Yungang came in. Seeing Li Weiwen sitting on the kang, he quickly climbed up beside her, wrapped her in his arms, kissed her and asked:
"Your sister told me that you want to talk with me. What's the matter?"
A flush rose to Li Weiwen's cheeks. Embarrassed, she stammered:
"I...I..."
Seeing her at a loss for words, her face burning red as she lowered her head shyly, Guo Yungang felt a stir in his heart. He leaned closer, pressing his lips to hers, while his hand slipped under her sweater to caress her. The two became lost in their tenderness until Li Weiwen suddenly realized where things were leading. Startled, she caught hold of his hand and whispered breathlessly:
"No...don't... Yungang, I can't.... no."
Guo Yungang, caught in the heat of the moment, froze at her sudden resistance. He asked softly:
"What's wrong? You can't today?"
She leaned closer, her lips brushing his ear, and murmured softly:
"I'm pregnant. If we go on now, it won't be good for the baby."
Guo Yungang stiffened, then sat up immediately, staring at her in disbelief, and asked:
"You...you...what...what do...did you just say?"
Shyly, she placed her hand over her lower belly. He followed her gesture, his eyes dropping to her abdomen. He whispered in disbelief:
"Re...rea...really?"
She nodded, watching his reaction nervously. A moment later, his face broke into a wide grin and said:
"Ha..haha, I...I'm going to be a father." Leaping down from the kang, he straightened his clothes in a hurry and began pacing back and forth, murmuring excitedly, "I'm going to be a father...a father! That's great. Wonderful! At last, the Guo family will have an heir. Yes! Yes, I must go press them again. This time I have the best reason of all. They have to approve our marriage right now, otherwise, I will be a father in name only. "
Seeing his joy, Li Weiwen finally felt a heavy weight lift from her heart. She adjusted her clothes and stepped down from the kang as well, nestling quietly into his arms. She had no words, but held him tightly. They savored the sweetness of the moment together, both of them filled with hope for the happiness of their future.
Suddenly, a loud knocking came at the door, followed by Xu Yumei's anxious voice:
"Guo, Weiwen. The weather is turning bad. There is the sandstorm coming. Does your sister come back yet?"
The two inside quickly opened the door and saw the sky outside already choked with swirling yellow dust. Xu Yumei stood there with a scarf wrapped tightly cover her mouth and nose, calling out again in alarm:
"Does your sister have come back or not?"
Guo Yungang turned to Li Weiwen and said:
"Don't worry. I'll go find her right away."
Li Weiwen said hurriedly:
"I will come with you!. She might have gone to check on the saplings. She told me she wanted to take a look."
Guo Yungang said firmly:
"No, Weiwen, you're pregnant now. You're not in a condition to go. Let me handle it. Your sister will be fine." Then he turned to Xu Yumei and added, "Sister Yumei, you quickly tell Instructor Zhang to bring a few men and follow me at once."
With that, Guo Yungang and Xu Yumei hurried off. Left alone in the room, Li Weiwen sat inside, hearing the furious howl of the wind outside. Then she rose and went to the window, looking at the swirling yellow dust that swallowed the sky. Her heart tightened with a pang she couldn't control. Finally, unable to endure it any longer, she seized a scarf to cover her mouth and rose and rushed out into the storm, heading straight for the stable. Upon arrival of the stable, she saw that Instructor Zhang and several men was busy untying the horses' reins. After a while, they all rode off at full speed, wind and sand whipping around them. Without a second thought, Li Weiwen leapt onto a horse and spurred it forward, chasing after the thunder of their hoofbeats.
They rode on, shouting as they searched, calling again and again, "Commander Guo! Li Weibing!" But the grazing grounds showed no trace of them. They quickly turned their horses toward the sapling grove. By then, the wind and sand had eased considerably. They saw most of the young poplar saplings lay flattened by the sandstorm, with only a few sandthorn bushes still standing. But still, not a single person was in sight. At that moment, Li Weiwen could no longer hold back her anxiety. She spurred her horse forward, galloping straight toward the desert. Instructor Zhang, in turn, bent down and picked up a fallen poplar sapling, then led the others to follow after Li Weiwen. The slender trunk of the poplar sapling bounced in his grip as they pressed on. Suddenly Instructor Zhang caught sight of something fluttering in the air. He reached out quickly and snatched it. It was a scarf. He pushed forward to Li Weiwen and handed it to her. The moment her eyes fell on it, she gasped in shock:
"It's Sister Weibing's scarf!"
Without hesitated, they rode all turned their horses in the direction from which the scarf had blown. After about ten minutes of hard riding, they saw a figure half-buried in the sand ahead. As they came closer, they recognized him clearly ---- it was Guo Yungang. Just as they prepared to rush toward him, Guo Yungang shouted:
"Stop! Don't come closer. It is quicksand here."
But his warning came too late. Instructor Zhang's horse had already stepped into the quicksand. He tried to pull his horse up, but the more he pulled at the reins, the faster it sank. Someone behind quickly threw him a strap. Instructor Zhang caught it, and with a mighty tug, they dragged him to safety. In his hand, he was still clutching the poplar sapling in his hand. Rushing forward, Li Weiwen asked anxiously:
"Yungang, are you all right? Take it easy! Don't move. We will pull you out right now!"
Instructor Zhang had already thrust the poplar sapling toward Guo Yungang. Li Weiwen cried out desperately:
"Did you find my sister? We only found her scarf."
With tears glistening in his eyes, Guo Yungang looked at her and said hoarsely:
"Your sister asked me... to tell you... to raise Xinyu well."
Then he turned his head toward a patch of flat, shifting sand not far away. Everyone followed his gaze to that place and in that moment, they understood what had happened.
"No! No, it can't be!"
Li Weiwen's anguished cry tore through the air as she collapsed to the ground. Fighting back his own tears, Instructor Zhang leaned forward as far as he could, forcing the the poplar sapling toward Guo Yungang. Guo Yungang wiped his face with a trembling hand and reached out, but his fingers were still inches short. A comrade held Instructor Zhang's feet, anchoring him, as Instructor Zhang strained forward inch by inch, pushing the sapling farther out. At last Guo Yungang just barely managed to grab the thin crown of the sapling.
But with Instructor Zhang's body stretched forward to his limit, he had no strength left to haul him out. The others had no choice but to seize Instructor Zhang and drag him backward. But the counterforce of their pull only churned the quicksand more violently, dragging Guo Yungang deeper. His grip on the treetop was already tenuous, and the sudden, powerful jerk wrenched it from his hands in an instant. They had to dragged the sapling out of the sand and thrust it toward Guo Yungang again. But now the quicksand had swallowed him up to the chest. No matter how he struggled, he could not reach the slender branch. Worse still, the successive jerks and struggles only hastened the pull of the quicksand, dragging him down with merciless force. Before their horrified eyes, Guo Yungang's body was pulled steadily downward. With the last of his strength, he cried out for all to hear:
"Weiwen, take good care of our child!"
Li Weiwen just sat frozen, dazed, staring at him in shock. His tear-filled eyes were locked on her, his lips still moving. She knew his final unspoken words were: "I lover you!". Through a blur of tears, she watched his head, his mouth, his eyes, his hair and at last his hands, gradually disappear, piece by piece, into the merciless quicksand. Around her, everyone wept and shouted in anguish but she heard none of it. She just sat there in silence, numb and hollow, staring blankly at the smooth, unbroken surface of the sand, as though it had never swallowed him at all.