Go back in time and be a chaebol

Chapter 2698 Remembering (Second Update, Please Subscribe)

A few days later, the negotiations ended.

Both sides got what they wanted and were satisfied.

However, instead of returning directly to Malaysia, they diverted at Moscow airport and flew to Europe.

Malaysian International Trading Company is a Malaysian company established specifically for trading with Eastern countries. After each trade settlement, they need to sell the goods, which are consumed by Malaysian and Southeast Asian companies and also sold to the international market.

Europe was his first choice, given its proximity and lower transportation costs. Upon arriving in Paris, Gao Huaiyuan immediately negotiated with some local French companies to sell his less important goods to France.

During this process, Tian Xinghan could only sigh in frustration – because he didn't know French, which made him realize his weakness, so he made up his mind to learn various languages, including English.

Soon, after everything was settled, just as Tian Xinghan thought their trip was about to end, Gao Huaiyuan booked two train tickets to Toulon.

"Toulon?"

Tian Xinghan asked, somewhat puzzled:

"Section Chief, why are we going there?"

"Because we need the past."

……

Toulon is home to a permanent piece of SEA territory, the SEA Military Cemetery, where 1153 soldiers, all members of the Allied Search and Rescue Team, are buried.

The cemetery covers 10 hectares and is located on Toulon Beach, facing the Mediterranean Sea. It is surrounded by pine trees and flowers, creating an extremely tranquil and beautiful environment.

Unlike his initial ignorance, Sun Qifan now understands from the documentary that collecting weapons is not as easy as he imagined. When cleaning up the battlefield, they not only encounter landmines planted by the Germans, but also booby traps deliberately placed under weapons. Sacrifice is inevitable, and sometimes, in order to obtain more weapons, they have to take great risks.

But it was also they who collected a large number of weapons on the battlefield and transported those weapons and ammunition back to China for the war of resistance.

This was Sun Qifan's first time setting foot on French soil, but he had no interest in sightseeing whatsoever.

As far as the eye can see, there is an endless green lawn, like a carefully tended velvet carpet, stretching towards the distant coastline. On this green expanse, thousands of white marble tombstones stand in neat rows, upright, like the square formations of soldiers in their lifetime.

Majestic and solemn.

The wind, carrying the scent of the sea, swept through the cemetery. There were no birdsong, no noise, only the low murmur of the wind passing between the tombstones, carrying an indescribable solemnity and reverence that made it hard to breathe.

Liang Mei walked beside him, her hair already completely white. Unlike usual, she was wearing a blue top and black skirt, similar to a cheongsam. Although no one in SEA wore this, and it even carried a bad connotation, her mother still wore it. It was her school uniform when she was in school, and it was also the style she wore when she met her father.

She clasped her hands tightly in front of her; she dressed like this because she was afraid her husband wouldn't recognize her.

Her gaze slowly swept over the tombstones, as if trying to find the person etched in her heart for thirty-five years.

Sun Xiuqi and Ji Jinru walked ahead, guided by military personnel who quietly pointed out the direction. Sun Xiuqi walked with unusually heavy steps, his eyes frequently gazing into the distance, searching.

Searching for the location of her son.

The family remained silent throughout the journey. Sun Qifan could feel his mother trembling beside him and see his grandfather's heavy footsteps, while his grandmother kept her head down, her slightly trembling shoulders revealing the grief she had suppressed for thirty-five years. Thirty-five years ago, his father, fresh out of high school, resolutely abandoned his studies to join the army, serving as a member of the expeditionary force in India, and later on the European front. But since then, only intermittent letters home remained, until that autumn thirty-five years ago, when all news abruptly ceased.

Then, many years passed, and they completely lost contact with us. My grandparents had hoped for the future, but in the end, their hopes turned into waiting.

Over the past thirty-five years, my mother has gone from having black hair to having white hair; only in the dead of night, when no one knows, will my mother express her longing with suppressed tears; my grandfather never mentions his longing, but he always sits on the doorstep in the dead of night, lost in thought.

This wait lasted for thirty-five years.

Until a month ago, the belated death notice finally revealed the truth—my father had died in a battle after the landing in Toulon, and his body was buried in this foreign land.

The guide stopped, turned to the side and made a solemn gesture, speaking softly: "Mr. Sun, Madam, your son, Sergeant Sun Yibang, is buried here." The family paused. Sun Qifan followed the guide's gaze; the half-person-high white tombstone stood quietly on the lawn, with clear inscriptions: Sun Yibang, Sergeant First Class, Jiaozhou Army, Shandong Province, 1922-1944, fought for freedom.

The tombstone is simple, with only the name and badge.

Grandma could no longer contain her emotions that she had suppressed for thirty-five years. She rushed to the tombstone and hugged the cold marble tightly with both hands, as if she were hugging her son's body.

"Yibang...my Yibang..."

Her voice was hoarse and broken as she let her tears fall onto the tombstone.

"Mommy's here... Mommy has finally found you... Mommy has finally waited for you..."

Sun Xiuqi stood to the side, wiping away tears from the corners of his eyes. At this moment, he could no longer hold back his emotions. He stared at his son's name on the tombstone, his shoulders trembling violently. He wanted to say something, but could only let out a suppressed sob.

Thirty-five years of waiting, thirty-five years of longing, thirty-five years of self-consolation, all turned into tears at this moment, telling of a father's belated longing for his son.

Liang Mei was already sobbing uncontrollably. She slowly knelt down, her fingertips gently tracing the inscriptions on the tombstone, as if touching her husband's face. "Yibang, I've brought the children to see you..."

Her voice choked with emotion as she said:
"All these years, I've been waiting for you, and finally... finally, I've waited for you..."

As she spoke, she sat down next to the tombstone, just like when she was a girl and sat on the grass with Sun Yibang. Her head rested on the tombstone, as if she were resting on her husband's chest, but her body trembled slightly.

Sun Qifan stepped forward and gently embraced his mother's trembling body, his gaze falling on the unfamiliar yet familiar name on the tombstone. The memories his father, whom he had never met, brought him were mostly unpleasant.

Only recently, through photos and my family's stories, have I truly come to understand my father and why he joined the army. Looking at this white tombstone now, feeling the heart-wrenching grief of my loved ones, a deep longing for him surges within me, and tears stream down my face uncontrollably.

Looking at his mother sitting beside the tombstone, he sat down as well. At that moment, he suddenly felt an unusual calm, and a strange emotion rose within him.

It's like a family... finally reunited.

As the thought crossed his mind, he reached over his mother's shoulder, but his hand landed on the tombstone. For some reason, the cold tombstone gave him a sense of warmth, like his father's warmth.

He seemed to have become a child again, except that he no longer asked, "Where is my father?", but simply rested his head on his mother's shoulder.

The family was finally reunited.

Liang Mei gently stroked her son's head, her tears gradually subsiding, and softly murmured:

"Yibang, I've brought the children to see you. We've come to see you, can you see? The children have grown up..."

Did Mother ever regret it?
Sun Qifan had thought about this question before, but now he wouldn't. He knew that his mother had never regretted it, neither in the past nor now.

She had been waiting for him, and now she had finally met him.

The wind still blows through the cemetery, and the white tombstones gleam solemnly in the sunlight.

After a 35-year wait, traversing mountains and seas and the passage of time, they finally arrived here, back to their loved ones. There was no wailing or lamentation, only silent tears and tight embraces.

There is also the reunion of the living and the dead.

Watching this scene from afar, Tian Xinghan was shocked and moved. He turned to look at the section chief beside him, whose expression was solemn as he stood there.

Originally, he didn't know why the section chief had come here, and even now he was a little confused.

When he first came to the cemetery, he did the same as his section chief: he went forward to lay flowers. Then he stood in front of the memorial sculpture and observed a moment of silence.

But seeing this scene, for some reason, his eyes felt a little wet. Just then, he heard his section chief say:
"Did you know that unlike ordinary coffins lying in graves, all the coffins in the cemetery are buried facing east, signifying that they stood and gazed towards their hometown even in death? The tombstones are also like that. The tombstones are engraved with the martyr's name, rank, unit number, hometown, and date of death."

Why did we come here?
Tian Xinghan had this question in his mind, but he didn't speak. Looking at the thoughtful Tian Xinghan, Gao Huaiyuan said:
"Everything originated from here..."

After thinking for a moment, Gao Huaiyuan said again:

"Perhaps Tunisia is a more accurate term, but the Allied search teams set foot on European soil from here. They sacrificed and bled here before gaining recognition and finally setting sail for Borneo from here. It can be said that not only SEA, but the entire Southeast Asia originated from here."

After saying that, he turned his gaze to the monument not far away, where others had also laid flowers when they were laying them earlier.

"Therefore, whenever we come to Europe, we will come here to pay our respects and commemorate them. We have been doing this for many years. We will never forget their sacrifices, because it was because of them that we have the Nanyang region later."

Now, this place has become an important memorial site and tourist attraction, drawing many visitors and descendants of fallen soldiers to pay their respects every year.

Then he added:
"Of course, the French have not forgotten that last year, the French government gifted the cemetery to SEA as permanent territory, making the Toulon SEA military cemetery a 'country within a country,' though of course, this is just a joke."

In fact, the French did this to express their respect for the sacrifices and contributions made by the SEA during the war, and to demonstrate their emphasis on the friendly relations between the two countries.

Listening to the section chief's description, the white marble tombstones in Tian Xinghan's cemetery stood in neat rows on the lush green lawn, solemn and dignified, like a grand military parade. When the wind blew, they resembled a flock of white doves about to take flight.

At that moment, he heard the section chief say:

"Xinghan, if you ever come to France or Belgium again, remember to lay a flower at the military cemetery. After all... they created everything, and we must remember them, remember their sacrifices, and remember that they made everything possible."

When Gao Huaiyuan spoke these words, his tone was calm, yet also solemn. It seemed he was telling him something very important.

"Yes, I will do that from now on."

Tian Xinghan nodded. At this moment, he seemed to understand a lot, and he understood why grand events were always held on Memorial Day every year.

They remember not only the sacrifices of those individuals, but also the achievements they made…

(End of this chapter)