Ruling the Historical Romance Novel as the Female Supporting Character-Chapter 228: Providing Xia Weiguo with Vital Information

"Uncle Xia, could you come here for a moment? I have something to tell you," Su Yijia called out softly, peeking her head out from the tent.

Xia Weiguo, who had been sternly talking to his subordinates, immediately softened his expression. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"Jiajia, you just got back. Are you feeling alright? I’ve already had someone prepare food for you, and clean clothes will be brought over soon," he said as he walked into the tent.

"Uncle Xia, I retrieved the items Kaize had hidden in Yongyang Village," Su Yijia stated directly, without any preamble.

Xia Weiguo paused in his steps towards Qin Kaize and then quickly turned, looking at her with an intense, excited expression. "You got them back? How could you go for such a dangerous task? Why did you do it?" He then glared at Qin Kaize, "Ze! Is this how you treat your wife? Is this what our team taught you?"

"It’s my fault!" Qin Kaize admitted without rebuttal, his eyes filled with regret and self-blame.

Xia Weiguo wanted to scold him further, but looking at Su Yijia’s face, which resembled his own daughter’s, he swallowed his words. "Jiajia, I’m sorry. It’s my fault for not managing Ze properly, letting him put you in danger like this," he said, turning to Su Yijia with a face full of guilt.

Su Yijia felt a bit embarrassed by their reactions. "Uncle Xia, it’s really not Kaize’s fault. I insisted he tell me. Besides, I promised him I wouldn’t go to Yongyang Village to take risks. It just so happened that I was captured and then escaped when the village was almost empty, so I thought I’d bring the items back." She tried her best to defend Qin Kaize, not wanting him to bear too much blame.

"Jiajia, you’re amazing, but this was really too dangerous. You mustn’t do this again," Xia Weiguo said, relieved that she wasn’t angry with Ze. He didn’t want such a good child to have a fallout with Ze. However, he still planned to give Ze a good talking-to in private.

"Uncle Xia, when I escaped, I overheard them saying they brought a thousand people this time. Thirty-four were taken down by us, and one was dealt with by them. They were very certain that if I came out from the village entrance, I would be turned to mince," Su Yijia quickly reported.

"A thousand people? How could so many people get in so suddenly?" Xia Weiguo’s demeanor turned cold and serious. They had originally estimated that the village might harbor two to three hundred people at most. They hadn’t launched a direct assault out of concern that the villagers might be harmed if the enemy was cornered. But if there were indeed a thousand people, and they had planted explosives underground, their recently reinforced team from the city would not be enough.

"Jiajia, thank you! The information you’ve brought back is extremely important! Without it, many of our comrades would have been hurt," Xia Weiguo expressed his serious gratitude.

"It’s nothing, I just happened to overhear. By the way, they have locked the villagers, including infants, in the warehouse. I found a large unsealed hole behind some wood and escaped through that," Su Yijia explained.

Listening to her recount the dangerous situation, Xia Weiguo nodded repeatedly, feeling a deep sense of guilt as he looked at the young girl before him. "Jiajia, you are a good child! Rest assured, the risks you took and the valuable information you provided will be recognized. You will receive the commendation you deserve."

"Thank you, Uncle Xia!" Su Yijia responded with a sweet smile, not holding back her gratitude. She felt no guilt in receiving recognition, as having a golden finger didn’t mean she didn’t face real risks.

"By the way, Jiajia, I heard you swam across the river. How was it? Was it difficult?" Xia Weiguo asked seriously.

"It was very difficult! If I weren’t strong, I would have drowned. Moreover, they have patrols along the river, making it hard to come up for air. I had to tie reed stalks together to breathe, and many times I thought I wouldn’t make it back," Su Yijia described, emphasizing the challenges to prevent them from underestimating the danger of such a mission.

Whether they gave up the idea or not, Su Yijia couldn’t tell. However, she did notice that their gazes towards her became even more filled with affection and guilt.

"Let’s wait and see. If the rain lets up a bit tonight, we can let those who took the Great Strength Pills give it a try," Xia Weiguo decided after a moment of thought.

Su Yijia initially wanted to ask why they didn’t use diving equipment but then remembered that oxygen tanks for diving had only been developed abroad nine years ago and likely hadn’t reached China yet.

Xia Weiguo took the document from Qin Kaize’s knee and hurriedly left. Shortly after, her grandparents brought in dinner and joined them in the tent. After they finished eating, some people delivered several large wooden crates from the Educated Youth Center to their tent.

Grandpa Lin and Grandma Lin prepared hot water for her, allowing her to change out of her wet clothes. Only then did she feel truly alive again. However, the day’s intense events had left her exhausted, and she was soon too sleepy to keep her eyes open, even before her hair dried.

Xia Weiguo and Qin Kaize didn’t believe any place was safe, so they all had to squeeze into one tent to sleep. The sound of the rain, like a lullaby, quickly lulled her to sleep.

In the middle of the night, she was briefly awakened by the sound of gunfire. But she was so tired that upon seeing Qin Kaize’s deep, reassuring eyes in the darkness, she quickly fell back into a deep sleep.

When she woke up naturally the next morning and peeked out of the tent, she saw a man tied up at the entrance. He looked particularly disheveled and had obviously been in a close-quarters fight, which he had lost. His clothes were a mess, and his face was swollen like a pig’s head. Su Yijia found it hard to believe that no one had taken the opportunity for personal revenge when capturing him.

"Sister-in-law, you’re awake! The guy who hit you yesterday has been caught. We’re just waiting for you to get your revenge before we take him away," Gao Huabin said hurriedly as soon as he saw her emerge. He had been worried that the leaders would leave before she woke up, leaving her without a chance to strike back.

"That was fast," Su Yijia said, her sleepiness vanishing instantly.

Hearing their conversation, the man on the ground raised his head. When he saw Su Yijia, his ashen face twisted with intense hatred.