Axolotl Translations

Early in the morning, Qiao Haoyu was outside in the courtyard with the three children, sweeping snow. Meanwhile, Wei Jiajia was in the kitchen preparing breakfast.

When Qiao Haoyu got off work the day before, he had brought home several letters and a few parcels.

The packages were from Mother Qiao and Aunt Fen. Mother Qiao, tied up with work and unable to sew clothes for the children herself, hadn’t dared leave the task to a tailor for fear the fit would be off. So instead, she sent over carefully chosen fabrics, a set of traditional Beijing-style children’s garments, malted milk powder, and some New Year’s money for each child—all wrapped up with a grandmother’s love.

Aunt Fen, who didn’t have a job and had plenty of time, knew that Wei Jiajia wasn’t skilled with needle and thread—her everyday clothes were usually made by others. So Aunt Fen had sewn each of the children a full outfit and a pair of cotton shoes by hand.

She knew Jiajia was generous and liked to dress the kids well. Usually, they wore rubber or athletic shoes, which looked nice but weren’t warm enough for the long northeastern winters. Aunt Fen’s handmade shoes were thick and cozy, keeping the children’s feet snug and warm.

Receiving the packages warmed Wei Jiajia’s heart, but what delighted her most were the letters.

Some were from Nuannuan, some from Xiangdong, and one from Xiangxi. Xiangxi had sent a letter years ago when he left with his teacher, explaining that they were headed to a remote area where communication would be difficult. He told them not to worry—then vanished completely from their lives.

For three years, not a word had come from him. If she didn’t understand the nature of his research work, she might have panicked. Some scientists, due to confidentiality, couldn’t contact their families for decades. In her previous life, she’d seen news reports about senior researchers who had spent their entire lives buried in their work, never seeing their loved ones.

Even though she understood all that, she still worried. Now and then, she’d wonder whether Xiangxi was eating well, sleeping well, whether he was enduring harsh conditions.

Now, finally seeing a letter from him, a quiet peace settled in her heart.

In the letter, Xiangxi only explained that the place he had been stationed previously didn’t allow outgoing mail. Now that they’d relocated, he could finally send a letter home. He didn’t go into detail. But he did ask about the rest of the family and left a return address, saying if she needed anything, she could write him there. It might take a while, but he’d get it.

Wei Jiajia looked at the address—it was in the northwest. She understood immediately. It likely wasn’t Xiangxi’s actual workplace, but at least now she had a general idea of where he was, and more importantly, she knew he was safe. That was enough.

Xiangdong’s letter, much like the man himself, was straightforward and concise. He sent his greetings to everyone, then said that once again, he wouldn’t be able to come home for the New Year. He’d only been assigned to the unit for less than three years since graduating, and although his military rank was higher than new recruits thanks to his formal academy training, rules were rules—and he wasn’t about to break them.

Nuannuan also wrote to say she wouldn’t be able to come home for the New Year. Her workplace only allowed a single day off for the holiday, and right after that, she was heading into production for a new film—there was simply no way she could take additional leave.

Wei Jiajia understood her younger siblings completely. Even though none of them could come home this year, she knew they were all doing well, each shining in their respective fields. That was exactly what she had hoped for.

So even though last night she had been so excited about their letters that she couldn’t sleep, and Qiao Haoyu had taken her to exercise together under the pretense that it would help her rest…

This morning, she still got up bright and early, full of energy, humming a tune as she bustled about in the kitchen.

“What’s up with Mom?”

Out in the courtyard, the father and three sons heard her humming from the kitchen. Her cheerful mood was obvious in every note.

“Why’s Mom so happy?” Third treasure scooted closer to his eldest brother, looking up at him with a confused expression.

“No idea. Maybe it’s because the New Year’s coming,” Eldest treasure replied casually.

Listening to them, Qiao Haoyu couldn’t help but smile. His wife had been in high spirits ever since last night, and she even had the energy to get up early and make breakfast. Clearly, he hadn’t worked hard enough the night before.

Thinking of her enthusiasm last night, Qiao Haoyu’s gaze darkened slightly. Judging by her mood, it looked like tonight might be a good time to continue. He really liked this passionate side of her—it was irresistible.

But that continuation never happened. Just before sunset, someone knocked loudly on the Qiao family’s front gate.

“Who is it?” Hearing the urgent knocking, Qiao Haoyu quickly stepped outside, wondering if it was an emergency.

When he opened the gate, he found Xiangyang standing outside, bent over and gasping for breath, looking rather disheveled.

“Xiangyang? What happened to you? Quick, come in!” Qiao Haoyu rushed to help him inside.

“Who’s here?” Wei Jiajia also stepped out of the house. When she saw it was her younger brother, she was surprised, and walked over, a little worried, wanting to see what had happened.

Seeing his brother-in-law, Xiangyang finally relaxed after the tense journey. He caught his breath, barely glancing at his sister behind him, and grabbed Qiao Haoyu’s arm. “Brother-in-law… there’s… there’s a spy!”

“What did you say?” Qiao Haoyu was stunned. He straightened up immediately, and the grip he had on Xiangyang’s arm tightened significantly.

Even Wei Jiajia felt her heart skip a beat. This was the first time she had heard that word—spy—spoken seriously in this era, and it had come from her own brother’s mouth.

“Come inside!” Without wasting a second, Qiao Haoyu pulled Xiangyang toward the house. They went straight into the main room, and from there, into the bedroom he shared with Jiajia. He shut the door behind them.

Wei Jiajia, left in the living room, saw the closed bedroom door and immediately understood. She sat down next to the children, but her mind couldn’t stop racing. What had Xiangyang seen? Why had he come back in such a state? Had he encountered them? Would they retaliate against him?

The kids, excited at first to see their uncle, didn’t even get the chance to greet him before he and their father disappeared into a room with tense faces, and their mother sat nearby, looking dazed and deeply worried. The whole atmosphere changed, and the children were at a loss.

What happened? Was something serious going on? The three kids looked at one another, wide-eyed. No one dared to speak. Even the comic books in their hands couldn’t hold their attention anymore.

While Wei Jiajia’s mind spiraled with anxious thoughts, the bedroom door finally opened. She shot to her feet, heart pounding, staring nervously at her husband and younger brother as they came out.

“Don’t worry,” Qiao Haoyu said as he walked over to her and gave her a quick hug. “I’m going out with Xiangyang. We’ll be back a bit late. You and the kids go to bed early—no need to wait for us.” He kissed her on the top of her head, then turned and strode out of the house.

Now that he’d regained his composure, Xiangyang knew exactly what he and his brother-in-law were about to do. Fired up, he turned to Wei Jiajia and said with excitement, “Sister, save me some food—I’ll eat when I get back!” Then he took off after Qiao Haoyu, full of momentum.

Wei Jiajia stared after him, speechless at his almost heroic exit. Then she looked down at the children, smiled gently to comfort them, and headed for the kitchen.

She had to keep herself busy—otherwise, there was no way she’d be able to stay calm.

After making dinner and urging the children to wash up and go to bed, Wei Jiajia sat alone on the sofa, waiting for her husband and younger brother.

It wasn’t until the middle of the night that she finally heard the sound of the gate opening outside. In her rush to get up, she nearly tripped. Steadying herself, she hurried out.

“You’re back? Are you hurt? Did you catch them?” She stood at the main room’s doorway, looking at the two men as they came in.

“It’s so late—why are you still up?” Qiao Haoyu frowned at the sight of her, sounding a bit displeased.

Wei Jiajia paid no attention to his tone. Once they stepped inside, she immediately began inspecting her husband and brother for any injuries.

Qiao Haoyu, seeing the worried look on his wife’s face, had no choice but to stand still and let her examine them.

Only after confirming they were unhurt did Wei Jiajia let out a long breath of relief.

“Go wash up, I’ll bring out the food,” she said, turning toward the kitchen. She had prepared everything after they left, keeping it warm in the pot. Not knowing what time they would return, and worried that the food would get cold in the chilly night air, she had been adding firewood to the stove at intervals.

Xiangyang hadn’t eaten dinner. After helping out all night, he was starving. The moment Wei Jiajia brought out the food, he dove in, eating in big mouthfuls without pause.

“Slow down, slow down… you’ll choke!” Wei Jiajia, seeing how hungrily her brother was eating, became worried and quickly poured him a glass of water, placing it next to him.

Qiao Haoyu, though not particularly hungry since he’d had a bigger dinner, was still pulled into eating a lot by Xiangyang’s enthusiasm.

“Ahhh!” After filling his stomach, Xiangyang drained the cup of water and leaned back against his chair with a long, contented sigh.

Tonight had been incredibly intense. It was the first time in his life he’d been part of such a major operation—and he was the one who had discovered it first! This was the kind of story he could brag about for the rest of his life.

Seeing her brother leaning back with a smug look of satisfaction in his eyes, Wei Jiajia couldn’t help but laugh and roll her eyes at him. Then she turned to her husband and asked, “Did you catch the spy? How did Xiangyang come across them? There won’t be any more danger, will there?”

Qiao Haoyu took his wife’s hand and gently brushed his rough thumb across her fingers. “Don’t worry,” he said comfortingly, “we’ve caught everyone involved on this end. They’re being interrogated overnight to find out who they report to. This entire situation—thank goodness Xiangyang noticed in time and reported it. Any later, and the consequences would’ve been unimaginable.”

“How so?”

Seeing his wife’s curiosity, and noticing Xiangyang already itching to speak, Qiao Haoyu chuckled and said, “Let Xiangyang tell you.”

With his brother-in-law’s permission, Xiangyang immediately straightened up and began animatedly recounting the whole story.

It turned out that this whole matter being exposed started from the first time Wei Jiajia went to visit Xiangyang at the educated youth camp.

That day, she had brought the children along to see him—and was spotted by a bespectacled male educated youth. This man, referred to as “Glasses,” was the son of spies. His parents had stayed behind during the Bay retreat to continue gathering intelligence. But after the founding of the country, due to political campaigns and policy shifts, they were forced to go underground, waiting for the right moment to resurface.

In the blink of an eye, over a decade passed. These people had infiltrated many sectors, attempting to incite rebellions in hopes of earning merit and returning to the Bay. Yet every time, they were discovered and foiled by China’s military, suffering heavy losses in the process.

The parents of “Glasses” were among those operatives. Over time, however, they lost hope and ceased contact with their superiors. Realizing they had been abandoned, they gradually accepted a quiet life, thinking perhaps it wasn’t so bad after all.

That would have been the end of it—had their son not overheard their conversations. Learning their true identities, he began secretly listening to enemy broadcasts. From those, he learned that life across the strait seemed far better than it was here. He started fantasizing about someday escaping there. But since his parents had already given up on everything, he felt stuck.

Then came the “Educated Youth to the Countryside” policy. Being the elder son and of the right age, he was sent to this village. That marked the height of his resentment toward his parents and the country.

By sheer chance, he encountered someone in the county town who was using code language—language identical to what he’d heard his parents whisper at home. He knew then: this was his opportunity.

From that point on, he joined them, determined to do something big and flee to the Bay to enjoy a better life.

When Xiangyang, a newly arrived educated youth from the city, was visited so openly by his sister and her well-dressed children—especially since the kids wore obviously military-inspired clothes—this immediately caught the man’s attention.

From his observations, “Glasses” deduced that Wei Xiangyang’s sister must have married someone nearby—either in the county or connected to the military district.

He initially tried to cozy up to the children, hoping to learn the position of Wei Xiangyang’s brother-in-law, or better yet, recruit him. But the children were wary and gave away nothing.

Later, he began probing Xiangyang directly, subtly questioning him about his family. What he didn’t know was that Xiangyang had grown up within the military district. Because of the sensitive nature of the base, both adults and children had been trained in confidentiality from an early age. “Glasses,” on the other hand, had joined the operation mid-way and had received no formal training. Not only did he fail to uncover anything, but his clumsy approach raised Xiangyang’s suspicions, ultimately exposing himself.

From that point on, Xiangyang started watching him—sometimes deliberately, sometimes casually. He kept his eye on him for six whole months, eventually uncovering the man’s true identity.

That evening, at dinner, Xiangyang noticed something strange in his expression. Excitement, nervousness, anticipation—so many emotions were flashing behind the man’s glasses, all held barely in check.

Xiangyang sensed something was off. When the man slipped out later that night, Xiangyang quietly followed him. As they walked, the man eventually turned onto a narrow path leading to the military compound.

Xiangyang watched as “Glasses” met up with several others. Each of them was carrying a large bundle. They carefully made their way into the woods. Once they reached their destination, they began removing things from the bags. Using the faint light reflected off the snowy ground, Xiangyang saw from a distance what the contents were—explosives.

Having grown up in a military district, he was no stranger to such items.

He forced himself to stay calm, suppressing the violent pounding of his heart. Then, as silently as possible, he crept backward. Only once he had put enough distance between himself and the group did he break into a full sprint toward the compound.

He had to tell his brother-in-law—he had discovered enemy agents. They were planting landmines in such a vast mountain area, clearly plotting something serious.

After that, Qiao Haoyu took Xiangyang to report the incident at the base, then led the troops up the mountain. When they arrived, the spies had just finished burying the landmines and were preparing to retreat—only to be completely surrounded by the military.

These men weren’t the masterminds of the operation, only peripheral members. Since none of them wanted to die, they surrendered quickly and without resistance.

Based on the locations they revealed, the landmines were all unearthed, and the entire group was taken back to the base.

Xiangyang’s contribution in this operation was immense. A reward was expected to be issued soon. Though the incident wouldn’t be publicized widely—so as not to alert other potential spies—it would be noted in his official record, which would benefit him greatly in the future.

Listening to her brother’s account, Wei Jiajia found herself swept up in the emotional highs and lows of the story. But above all, she felt a deep sense of pride.

Because of him, innocent lives had been spared, and the country had been saved from greater loss.

She was proud of him!

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