An Old Veteran's 'Silent Legacy'

In the old veteran's village in Zuoying, Kaohsiung, 88-year-old retired soldier Grandpa Chen passed away. While sorting through his belongings, his descendants found an old mechanical watch in his most treasured tin box. The watch face was heavily worn, the brand logo barely visible, but the back was deeply engraved with a single character: 'Yuan' (Circle). Everyone assumed it was just an ordinary old item left by the elderly man, until a watchmaker from the old street opened the watch case, revealing a true story that had been hidden for half a century. Years ago, Grandpa Chen was separated from his close friend 'A Yuan,' who had come to Taiwan with the army during wartime. At that time, A Yuan, to help Grandpa Chen distract the pursuers, shoved his most cherished mechanical watch into his hands and shouted, "Take this! As long as the watch is still ticking, we will definitely meet again in Taiwan!" This promise kept Grandpa Chen alone and steadfast in a foreign land for his entire life. He never gave up searching, and to honor his promise, he never married or had children. He donated most of his life savings to charities, silently supporting dozens of orphaned children. Decades later, his descendants, through cross-referencing veteran records, were shocked to discover that his close friend A Yuan had actually died heroically on the night they parted. Grandpa Chen had actually known this truth since middle age, but he never mentioned it to anyone. He simply chose to bury this pain deep in his heart, live on behalf of his friend, and dedicate his life to fulfilling the kindness of 'caring for society.'