Hua Guoqing booked a private room for dinner that night, and Pan Jun immediately notified three old comrades.

Two of them are a couple, the man is named Yan Yuanchao, and the woman is named Wang Jia. There is also a female comrade named Zhao Lili.

These three are all old comrades from the original X Division who have maintained close contact with Pan Jun and Hua Guoqing in recent years.

One reason Pan Jun notified them is that all three were part of the division's political department's propaganda team and were very familiar with Dong Xiaoli back in the day, although they left the propaganda team before the front line at Laoshan.

When they received Pan Jun's call, especially upon hearing that Dong Xiaoli was in Beijing, they readily agreed.

Especially since after Dong Xiaoli returned to her hometown, she lost contact with her old comrades in the army, and they had been apart for over forty years, so it was certainly a great joy to reunite in Beijing.

Forty years ago, there were indeed quite a few old comrades from the X Division headquarters and its directly affiliated units still in Beijing, and now most of the interactions are divided according to their work units in the command, political, and logistics departments at that time.

Large gatherings of Beijing comrades are very rare; twenty years ago, the most attended gathering was for the birthday of a former commander who later became the deputy chief of staff, which had about sixty to seventy attendees.

Now, gatherings are mostly small-scale.

There are about forty to fifty comrades who once worked in the original Army X Division's political department and propaganda team in Beijing, but due to different enlistment times and significant age differences, they can never gather together.

In 2015, Pan Jun's father came to Beijing for the last time from the rest home in Hangzhou, as he was invited as a veteran representative to attend the 70th anniversary of the Anti-Japanese War parade. During his stay in Beijing, he asked Pan Jun to accompany him to visit two old superiors and comrades who had retired from leadership positions at headquarters and were still alive.

As a former political commissar of the X Division, he asked Pan Jun to gather the comrades who had worked in the division's political department in Beijing because he wanted to see everyone.

Pan Jun called Hua Guoqing, and the two of them worked hard for a week to gather everyone. That gathering had about thirty to forty people, with the oldest being in their seventies or eighties, and the youngest comrade was already over fifty. All the comrades who had worked in the political department in Beijing came.

Aside from the two gatherings mentioned above, in recent years, the gatherings have mostly been small get-togethers with comrades who live nearby and had close relationships in the army.

After encountering Dong Xiaoli at the Temple of Heaven Park and having dinner at Pan Jun's home, he began organizing a gathering of comrades again.

Since Dong Xiaoli and her daughter’s family had already bought plane tickets to leave Beijing the next afternoon, she declined Pan Jun's enthusiastic invitation to stay, deciding to return home on time with her daughter, but promised to attend the gatherings with her Beijing comrades that night and the next night.

Pan Jun, who has always been steady and thoughtful, first discussed his ideas with Dong Xiaoli and sought her opinion before finalizing the arrangements.

That night, there weren't many people at the small gathering; the Beijing comrades included Hua Guoqing from the film team, Yan Yuanchao and Wang Jia, the couple from the original propaganda team, and Zhao Lili from the original propaganda team. Adding Dong Xiaoli and her daughter’s family, there were a total of nine people.

The next day's gathering would be larger, as they planned to invite the former head of the political department's cadre section and several staff officers who were very familiar with the division headquarters during the rotation at the Laoshan front line, as well as comrades from the propaganda team whom Xiaoli knew and didn't know, with about sixteen or seventeen participants expected.

Dong Xiaoli listened and nodded, and when Pan Jun finished speaking, she said: "After forty years apart, I really want to see these old comrades in Beijing. Pan Jun, this welcome ceremony is too grand! I will follow your arrangements; you have thought of everything."

Then she added: "You mentioned that Yan Yuanchao and Wang Jia are coming tonight. There were rumors back then that they were in a relationship while in the propaganda team. Yan Yuanchao was a cadre transferred from the military art troupe, and Wang Jia was that Beijing female soldier who sang and played by herself. Yan Yuanchao was the deputy captain, and he was the one who accepted me into our song and dance troupe."

Zhao Lili and I shared the same dormitory in the propaganda team, and we had a good relationship.

I certainly know Hua Guoqing from the film team; I met him in your dormitory. He was your good buddy and was particularly handsome back then, attracting many girls. We all heard about the local female teacher who went to the hospital to keep him company.

After she finished speaking, she and Pan Jun both burst into laughter.

Pan Jun, really don’t make it too troublesome; I didn’t expect to stir so many people when I came. Thank you!

Dong Xiaoli expressed her sincere gratitude!

Pan Jun: You really don’t need to be polite; we are all retired, and it’s rare for us to gather without any particular reason.

After finishing the dumplings, the two confirmed the arrangements for the comrades' gathering. While Dong Xiaoli chatted with his wife Feng Li, Pan Jun finalized the dinner reservation and the participants for that night over the phone.

Then he began organizing the slightly larger gathering for the next night.

Pan Jun was so attentive because he believed that this miraculous encounter with Dong Xiaoli was arranged by heaven, allowing him to meet with old comrades who had lost contact in Beijing.

When Dong Xiaowei passed away, he was unable to attend the memorial due to his busy military duties, and later he lost contact with Dong Xiaoli. This meeting allowed Pan to address the guilt he had always felt inside; it was an indescribable feeling.

Knowing that Dong Xiaoli would leave Beijing the next day, Pan Jun thought he must arrange for her to meet with other comrades during these two gatherings in Beijing.

After Dong Xiaoli returned to her hotel room and saw that her daughter and family had not yet returned, she called her daughter, asking them to come back to the hotel early because they would have dinner with Uncle Dong and several other comrades that night.

Then she took a hot shower.

After showering, while drying off, she picked up a hairdryer to start drying her hair.

Looking at herself in the makeup mirror, her sixty-one-year-old face had few wrinkles, and although her figure was slightly thin, she did not appear old.

Since leaving the army, relying on her foundation from her youth and her years as a dance teacher at a senior university, she has always had high standards for her figure.

In recent years, she has also been practicing yoga with her daughter, stretching and exercising regularly.

Her thoughts shifted.

The unexpected encounter at the Temple of Heaven Park today brought her back to the days when she was an artistic soldier and rotated to the Laoshan front line.

She thought of her brother Dong Xiaowei; if he were still alive, he would surely be happy to know that I was gathering with these old comrades in Beijing.

She also thought about how exciting it would be to meet several long-lost comrades at the gathering that night.

She went to her suitcase and found a dress she had brought this time, a black sleeveless chiffon long dress with dark silver floral patterns, which her daughter had bought for her on her birthday two years ago. She was very satisfied when she tried it on back then, although she hesitated a bit because of the price. Her daughter insisted on buying it for her, and she agreed, but she had hardly worn it since then.

This time in Beijing, it really came in handy.

She put on the dress, wore a string of pearl necklaces, and began to apply makeup with lipstick and an eyebrow pencil.

A light makeup look, elegant yet not overdone.

Looking in the mirror, she paused for a moment, feeling quite satisfied with herself.

After getting ready, her daughter and family happened to knock and come in.

Wow, what’s going on? Mom, you look so young.

Her daughter exclaimed in surprise.

Grandma, you look beautiful.

Her little grandson also chimed in.

Dong Xiaoli: You’re finally back! I was worried you wouldn’t make it back on time. Enough chit-chat, go wash up and change your clothes; we’re going out for dinner tonight.