After finding their seats, the group quickly sat down to avoid blocking those behind them.
Suisui and Zhaozhao had already napped on the way and were now full of energy.
Once seated, their two pairs of dark, bright eyes began darting around curiously.
Suddenly, a familiar figure appeared in Suisui's line of sight. "Daddy~~"
Drawn by his brother's voice, Zhaozhao also called out in a milky, childish voice.
Jiang Si was looking at the schedule and, hearing the little ones call for their father, instinctively thought they wanted to go find him.
She patted their little heads and said soothingly, "Daddy is busy today. He'll be participating in the marching formation performance later."
The schedule was quite clear.
The entrance ceremony would begin at 8:00 AM sharp.
At 8:30, the national flag would be raised and the national anthem played, followed by a speech from the commanding officer.
At 9:00, the marching formation performance would officially begin, with formations from the Navy, Army, Air Force, Artillery, Armored Corps, Signal Corps, and others being reviewed by the leadership.
Some weaponry would also be displayed, somewhat resembling a small-scale military parade.
After that, there would be a general mobilization before the competitions began.
Once the song and dance performances by the cultural troupe concluded, each event group would need to head to their competition areas to prepare.
Huo Tingzhou was participating in aerobatic flight and simulated air combat in the morning, which were individual events.
The team events would be over the next couple of days.
The two little ones probably didn't fully understand their mother's words and were still calling for Daddy.
Just calling wasn't enough; their little hands were also pointing insistently in that direction.
Following the direction the children were pointing, Jiang Si looked up.
Not far away, the flight formation for the march-past was assembling.
Unlike the others who were fully geared up, Huo Tingzhou wasn't wearing his flight helmet; it was tucked under his arm against his waist.
As if sensing something, the moment Jiang Si looked up, his gaze met hers.
Across several dozen meters, their eyes met unexpectedly.
Suddenly, Huo Tingzhou raised his free hand.
In her direction, he gave a crisp and standard military salute.
Jiang Si was slightly taken aback, then couldn't help but let a smile curve her lips.
If this were in a later era, she would definitely have stood up and made a heart shape with her hands for him.
But right now, they were surrounded by people.
She could only suppress the flutter in her heart and wave vigorously at him.
"Good luck!" Jiang Si said this very quietly.
But the smile that touched her lips shone brightly in Huo Tingzhou's eyes.
Likewise, he waved back at her.
Then he deftly put on his helmet, turned, and followed the flight formation, marching in perfect unison to their designated position.
Because of this little interlude, Jiang Si's originally calm heart rippled slightly.
Fortunately, the military competition's schedule was very tight, leaving little time for her to daydream.
However, the two little ones, having just seen their father, were unusually excited today.
Seeing Father Huo delivering a speech on the stage, the two little ones clapped their hands happily.
They not only saw their grandpa but also several other familiar faces.
They couldn't remember their names, so they just called them all "Grandpa."
Most of the family members attending today were local, but due to different military branches and regions, no one really knew each other.
The two little ones calling out "Grandpa" over a dozen times in a row sparked murmurs among the crowd.
An older woman holding a child whispered to the person next to her,
"Whose children are these? So ill-mannered. Those are senior leaders on stage, you can't just call them anything."
The woman next to her was more amiable and said with a smile, "They're still young. It's normal for children to call older men 'Grandpa.'"
"But they shouldn't shout like that. It seems so uncultured."
Really? For a child barely over one year old? Was it that serious?
The woman next to her thought to herself, Didn't you say nothing when your grandson peed on the bleachers earlier? Now you're talking about being cultured?
Besides, everyone's talking, not just these two kids.
A few sensible military family members nearby also stepped in to smooth things over.
Soon, the leaders on stage had finished their speeches.
Perhaps hearing the call of his two darling grandsons, when Father Huo came down from the rostrum, he specifically headed in Jiang Si's direction.
The remaining leaders also followed.
Most of those who came over today were the heads of various military regions and leaders from the Military Commission—figures rarely seen under normal circumstances.
Seeing so many of them approach, the family members below were both surprised and delighted.
One by one, they all stood up.
Following their parents' cues, the children also stood and called out, "Hello, leaders."
Father Huo nodded in acknowledgment and even shook hands warmly with the family members.
Thus, a short distance of over ten meters took a good ten minutes to cover.
The older woman from earlier also stood up with her child. "Quick, call him Grandpa."
The child, perhaps shy, glanced timidly at Father Huo before burying his head in his grandmother's neck.
The woman grew anxious. "Call him! Say 'Hello, Grandpa.'"
But the more she urged, the more the child refused.
"You silly boy, almost two years old and still can't even call someone Grandpa," the woman said irritably, poking her little grandson. The opportunity was right there, and he couldn't seize it.
Just then, Suisui and Zhaozhao called out in unison, "Grandpa!"
The middle-aged woman became even more annoyed and blurted out, "Little bootlickers!"
As if slapping her in the face, her words had barely fallen when Father Huo and his group paused.
"Come here, Suisui, Zhaozhao, come to Grandpa." Father Huo's face was full of affectionate smiles.
He had been leaving early and returning late every day recently and hadn't had a chance to dote on his two darling grandsons for many days.
The two little ones wanted to go, but Mommy had just said Grandpa was busy with official business.
For a moment, they hesitated.
Until Jiang Si said gently, "Grandpa is calling you. Go ahead."
Only then did the two little ones happily throw themselves into Father Huo's arms.
"Grandpa!"
"Grandpa!!"
With these two calls of "Grandpa," the older woman's face turned a myriad of colors.
Unfortunately, no one paid her any attention.
Aside from a few people nearby who couldn't help but chuckle, Jiang Si hadn't even noticed the exchange.
Father Huo, holding one child securely in each arm, asked, "Did you miss Grandpa these past few days?"
"Yes!" the two little ones answered in unison.
"Where did you miss me?" Father Huo teased.
The two little charmers, sweet enough to melt anyone's heart, hugged Father Huo and said, "Missed you in our hearts."
Hearing this, the wrinkles on Father Huo's face smoothed into a beaming smile.
Thinking there were no other arrangements for the moment, he said to Jiang Si, "Si Si, you watch the competition in peace. I'll take them to the lounge for a while."
Since Father Huo said so, Jiang Si naturally had no objections.
Moreover, the shooting and combat competitions were about to start, and she was a little worried the two little ones might not handle them well.
After handing the snacks and drinks to Father Huo's guard, Jiang Si returned to her seat and began watching the performances quietly.
After a wonderful song and dance performance, it was time for the official competition events.
This military competition had many events, and there was no strict order of precedence.
The entire training base was divided into eight venues, with almost all competitions taking place simultaneously. Of course, to avoid interfering with the progress of the events, each venue was separated by several hundred meters.
Fortunately, Deputy Regiment Commander Lei and Brother Huo had no scheduled events today, so the group remained seated where they were.
A little over ten minutes later, a tremendous roar of engines came from not far away.
As one fighter jet after another took to the skies, the attention of the family members who had been watching other events was drawn upward.
Aerobatic flights, as per regulations, typically consist of 9 sets of maneuvers. Combined with upright and inverted flight, this allows for thousands of possible combinations.
The pilots must complete the designated maneuvers within a specified time.
The scoring rules are quite similar to those of modern gymnastics and diving.
Scores are determined based on the execution, stability, and difficulty coefficient of the maneuvers.
Not wanting to miss a single thrilling moment, Jiang Si had specifically prepared a pair of binoculars before setting out and had also crammed some knowledge on the subject.
Otherwise, how could she cheer for Huo Tingzhou if she understood nothing about it?
As these thoughts crossed her mind, the announcement began to broadcast from the speakers around the venue.
