1066 Precious Gifts

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The first time he gave away one of his treasures as a gift was after Xia Wen joined the army. When Xia Wen received the title of top army warrior title for the first time, Xia Jun gave him a watch. It was the watch which Xia Jun wore throughout his entire career and continued to use even after he retired from the army.

The next time was when Xia Zhe first received the title of top army warrior. Xia Jun gave him the bullet shell of the first bullet he ever fired after becoming a soldier. It held a lot of meaning for him.

"Of course! Once the babies are born, I'll give each of them one of my merit medals!" Xia Jun said generously.

Xia Jun cherished his merit medals the most. Every month, he would wipe them carefully and no one was allowed to touch them. Even Xia Mao had never seen them before. All the merit medals were stored in one room and no one was allowed to enter the room.

"My goodness. Qiao Mei, say thanks to Grandfather quickly. He doesn't give gifts to just anyone!" Xia He said excitedly as she grabbed Qiao Mei.

"Thank you, Grandfather~" Qiao Mei said sweetly.

Xia Jun was overjoyed, but Qiao Qiang, who was sitting next to him, felt a little upset. He had brought up his granddaughter all these years and now that she had married Xia Zhe, it felt like a loss to him.

"Hmph, only two? I have merit medals too. Who cares about those lousy things of yours? Take out something that shows your sincerity! I know you have something better! Hand it over quickly!" Qiao Qiang said unhappily.

Xia Jun was so amused by Qiao Qiang's behavior that he laughed out loudly. Xia Jun really had something that was exceptionally precious to him. To other people, it might seem like a very cheap item, but he had treasured it for his entire life.

That item was the first ring he gave Wu Min and it was also a token of their love.

At that time, his family was very poor and he could not afford to get married at all. He did not have much money, so he kept exploring the area near the army camp, found a nice big tree and secretly went to the tree every day and used a small knife to saw at it bit by bit.

After a long period of time, Xia Jun finally managed to cut out a chunk of wood. Then he started to carve it secretly under his blanket nightly until he finished making the ring. By then, more than a year had passed.

When he returned home during the holidays the next year, he did not even return to his own home first. He rushed straight to Wu Min's house and put on this wooden ring for her. This marked the beginning of their relationship.

"What exactly is it? Grandpa Qiao, tell us!" Xia He asked curiously.

"I won't expose your grandfather's exploits when he was young. Let him talk about it himself," Qiao Qiang said with a smile.

Xia Jun coughed shyly and explained, "It's… the token of love between your grandmother and I. I'll still give the babies the merit medals! As for the ring, let it be my wish for Qiao Mei and Xia Zhe to live happily ever after, just like Wu Min and I."

After saying that, Xia Jun's eyes seemed to tear up. Wu Min had already been gone for many years, but he still could not help but think of the way she looked when she was still around. If Wu Min was still around, she would probably be very satisfied with Xia Zhe's wife as well.

"Yes, I'll definitely get along well with Xia Zhe. Don't worry, Grandfather," Qiao Mei said earnestly.

Xia Jun smacked Qiao Qiang's shoulder and said, "Old man, are you satisfied now? I don't have anything left except that wall of merit medals! I don't have anything else even if you make any more demands!"

"Hmph, who cares about your merit medals? I also have a wall full of them and I even have two more than you!" Qiao Qiang said stubbornly.

"Nonsense! You're wrong! I have more than you! I have four more than you!" Xia Jun corrected him.

The two of them were not to be outdone and insisted on returning to the house to list down all the merit medals they had ever received. They wanted to see who had more between the two of them.

Qiao Mei smiled resignedly. Most of the people present tonight had their own merit medals. If they all took their medals out, her entire courtyard house did not have enough space to showcase them!

Just the merit medals belonging to Qiao Qiang, Xia Jun, Xia Mao and Xia Xiu were enough to take up all the space in the entire house.

"Qiao Mei, have you decided on the names for the children?" Xu Lan asked.

Qiao Mei shook her head. She had discussed this matter with Xia Zhe before, but the names that he came up with were really not very flattering. The names that Xia Wen came up with back then were also not very appropriate. She felt that this matter ultimately needed to be decided by Qiao Qiang and Xia Jun. They should each come up with a name for each child. Otherwise, the two of them would argue about it again.