Chapter 131: The Grand Finale

Zhong Xiao did her utmost to explain what she had heard in a way that everyone could comprehend.

"According to Sun Xiaojing," she said, "next year, the military region will face an unprecedented drought and a tsunami. The enemy will also seize the opportunity to launch a surprise attack on Taizhou Island. If we do not handle this properly, the island could face total destruction. Since we are now aware of these events in advance, we must prepare early."

Having been through the experience with Zhong Xiao previously, the Song family quickly accepted and digested the information regarding Sun Xiaojing.

Song Qingfeng’s face turned grim. "If that is truly the case, we must indeed make preparations."

"I have already thought it through, Dad, Mom," Zhong Xiao continued. "Didn't I lease a plot of land? We will keep quiet for now. When the drought hits next year, we will announce that I discovered a gold mine while farming. We will claim it contains not only wealth but also large quantities of well-preserved food. We will find a way to use these supplies to provide disaster relief and save the people, helping us weather the drought. As for the tsunami, it is beyond our power to prevent, so we must organize an evacuation under the guise of drills or other pretexts. We will leave only the well-trained soldiers, fully equipped and stationed in the military district, to deal with the enemy's sneak attack. I don't know much about military strategy, so I will have to rely on you to command the operations, Dad."

Song Qingfeng said in a deep voice, "Rest assured, leave that to me."

Thus, Zhong Xiao and the Song family spent an entire year making deliberate preparations, ensuring every action had a plausible justification, which prevented anyone from becoming suspicious.

The following year, Taizhou Island was indeed struck by a massive drought. Relying on the excuse Zhong Xiao had prepared, the Song family announced that they had discovered a vast gold mine at the foot of Mount Baiyun, which contained not only gold, gems, and wealth, but also a great store of food.

As the commander, Song Qingfeng distributed these supplies to everyone in the military region, with enough surplus grain to transport to the urban areas of Taizhou Island as well. A catastrophe that could have been unprecedented was resolved with ease.

No one in the entire military region was more shocked than Sun Xiaojing.

At that moment, Song Qingfeng had already laid the groundwork by announcing a large-scale drill, requiring all families in the residential area to temporarily evacuate the military district and reside in the city center for a period. Meanwhile, the soldiers of the military region remained fully equipped and hid in areas unaffected by the tsunami, safely bypassing the deadly wave.

The enemy’s surprise attack followed immediately, but by then, Zhong Xiao and her family were fully prepared. The enemy not only failed to mount a successful sneak attack but was completely annihilated. The Taizhou Island Military District achieved a resounding victory and was commended by the higher authorities.

As the primary hero of the operation, Commander Song was promoted and transferred, leaving Taizhou Island to serve as the Commander of the Southern General Military Region. The Song family thus departed the island. Although they were gone, the contributions they made to Taizhou Island remained a celebrated legend for decades, with everyone praising the great feats achieved during Commander Song's tenure.

Two months after Zhong Xiao returned to the mainland with Song Tingshen, she began experiencing nausea during meals and was diagnosed as pregnant. The whole family was overjoyed. A few months later, Zhong Xiao gave birth to twins—a boy and a girl. The boy was the elder brother and the girl the younger sister; both were healthy, chubby, and thriving.

As for what happened to Sun Xiaojing, Zhong Xiao did not go out of her way to inquire, though she heard that Sun Xiaojing had gone missing during the evacuation before the tsunami. From then on, no one knew her whereabouts.

Zhong Xiao recalled the conversations she had overheard between Sun Xiaojing and that thing called a system; she figured that perhaps Sun Xiaojing had returned to her original era. Regardless, it was no longer any concern of hers.

And so, Zhong Xiao spent the rest of her life in happiness with Song Tingshen and the Song family.