After National Day and Li Zhen met at his aunt's house, the adults of the two families struck while the iron was hot and took the time to organize a grand engagement ceremony for them. This ceremony was not as complicated as a wedding, nor was it as grand as a wedding. They invited the introducers of both parties, and the two families accompanied them for two good meals at their respective homes. Of course, they also exchanged four or six colored meeting gifts. The man also had to prepare a betrothal gift according to the amount agreed in advance and give it to the woman on the day of the engagement. In this small mountain village where traditions were highly valued, an engagement was a very solemn event. For the two in-laws and an engaged couple, this engagement ceremony was more solemn and sacred than the agreement and contract between two countries or two businesses. Although the engagement ceremony was simple, it seemed to be more powerful than the laws of the country. However, for the two young people, National Day and Li Zhen, the engagement was just a ceremony at most. It was not as important as most people thought. Back in school, although they liked each other, they did not dare to reveal their secrets to each other due to the school's rules. Ever since their conversation at his aunt's house on National Day, they had broken through that layer of window paper and felt enlightened. Now, they were like a family, free to interact and talk about anything.
After the " meeting " ceremony at his aunt's house, they still lived in two villages, separated by seven or eight miles. It was impossible for them to meet often and have a heart-to-heart talk. However, in order to solve the pain of missing each other for a day, they could only rely on the messenger geese to exchange information. The political captain Zhang Qinzhong's granddaughter, Zhang Qiaozhen, was studying at Li Jia Zhuang Junior High School. She came back every Saturday afternoon. On National Day, she wrote a few pages in advance, sealing the feelings and thoughts that had accumulated for a week in a brown envelope. She quietly handed it to Zhang Qiaozhen and asked her to send this hot letter to Li Zhen on Sunday afternoon. In order to encourage Zhang Qiaozhen's enthusiasm as a free postman, he specially bought a copy of " Sunny Day " written by Hao Ran in the city on National Day and gave it to Qiaozhen as a gift. Qiao Zhen was originally a student who loved literature. When she saw that the society was rushing to read this very popular novel describing the countryside, she naturally felt that she had obtained a treasure. She was even more concerned about her identity as a secret envoy, and she was even more serious and responsible in delivering letters.
Sometimes, the two of them felt that letters alone could not satisfy their relationship needs, so they set a meeting place in the letter and had a face-to-face talk.
In the twelfth month of that year, on a day when the cold wind was howling, they met at the school gate of Dragon City No.1 Middle School. Then, they went to the home of a classmate who was a soldier in Inner Mongolia to visit the classmate's father and wife.
This student's name was Shi Zhiqiang. He had studied in the same class as Guo Qing and Li Zhen for six years. Shi Zhiqiang was also a good student who studied very hard and wanted to be strong. Because he was separated from his mother since he was young, he had to rely on his father and live a very difficult life. He always wore the same old clothes all year round, and his yellow rubber shoes were always worn on his feet, regardless of the weather. Every winter, due to his thin clothes, he would often shiver from the cold. However, in class, his grades were always among the best, and he was envied and respected by his teachers and classmates. At that time, Shi Zhiqiang and Guo Qing were both class leaders and inseparable good friends. The arrival of the " Cultural Revolution " shattered their dreams of going to university and becoming engineers and writers. After graduation, they returned to their villages to farm. Shi Zhiqiang also signed up for the National Day. Because his family and financial situation were even more difficult than National Day, his desire to join the army was even stronger. After the physical examination at the county hospital, although Guo Qing passed the physical examination, he was rejected by others for other reasons. Shi Zhiqiang did not go because of his high blood pressure. During the second year's military inspection, he was more cautious and took measures in advance. He broke through all the way and successfully entered the military camp. Soon after he arrived at the military camp, he sent a letter to National Day. After National Day received his letter, he knew that he had just left home to join the army and would definitely be a little uncomfortable, so he wrote a reply to comfort him. However, from a recent letter, he found that he was obviously worried. After reading it repeatedly on National Day, he felt very uneasy. He felt that he had to go to his house to see the real situation of his family and then write a reply to him to relieve his anxiety and uneasiness.
Guo Qing and Li Zhen had agreed to meet at the school gate of Dragon City No.1 Middle School at nine o'clock in the morning. When National Day had just placed his bicycle by a step near the school gate, he saw Li Zhen riding a bicycle on the road in the distance. He quickly arrived in front of him.
It was a late winter day. Although there was no snow in the sky, the biting cold wind made people's hands and ears hurt as if they were cut by a knife. Li Zhen jumped off the bicycle briskly and breathed hot air into his hands. He asked,"You said in the letter that Shi Zhiqiang went to the army. When did this happen?”
"Last winter when we were conscripted, almost a year.”
"It's a good thing that Zhiqiang can become a soldier. Zhiqiang is a person who can endure hardship and has determination. At the very least, he would not have to worry about food and clothing in the army, and his living conditions would improve.”
"That's right! His life in the army was much better than at home, but now he kept thinking about his father who was sick all year round and his new daughter-in-law who had just married. From his letter, he seems to be in a bad mood recently. Let's go to his house today and help him solve any problems. Then, we'll write him a reply and talk about his family's actual situation so that he can serve in the army in peace.”As Guo Qing spoke, he took out two letters from his pocket and handed them to Li Zhen."These are the two letters he wrote to me after he joined the army.”
Li Zhen took the two letters and sat on the concrete steps, reading them eagerly.
The first letter:
Dear Zhong Guoqing,
Hello!
I've been in the army for more than a month, and I'm only writing to you today. It's not that I'm lazy, but I really don't even have the time to fart! Today is the Lantern Festival on the lunar calendar. Coincidentally, our one-month-long recruit company training has ended. Tomorrow, our batch of recruits will be assigned to the various companies. The leader of the recruit company specially gave us a day off. Some of them went to town to buy some toothpaste, soap, and other things. Most of them didn't go. Everyone was lying on the edge of the bed writing letters to their relatives at home.
First of all, let me tell you about my time in the army.
Two years ago, I signed up for a physical examination like you, but in the end, we didn't get our wish fulfilled. The reason was that I was too nervous at that time and my blood pressure was a little high, so I was rejected. Later, someone told me that white sugar mixed with vinegar could immediately lower my blood pressure, so I brought a small bottle of aged vinegar mixed with white sugar with me when I went for the physical examination this year. Before I measured my blood pressure, I drank the bottle of sour and sweet vinegar in one go. As a result, his blood pressure was completely normal. In order to make sure that everything was safe, I even found an acquaintance in advance to work for the physical examination doctor, so all the examinations were easily passed. After passing the physical examination, our classmate Wu Liusheng and I specially treated the company commander to a meal. Our community was a small one. I heard that there were only eight recruits, but both Wu Liusheng and I were chosen.
After hearing that I was going to be a soldier, my father-in-law rushed to my house and urged me to get married to Liangxian immediately. Of course, my father agreed. We got married in a hurry and didn't have time to treat you, so I didn't give you a chance.
On the sixth day of our wedding, on the ninth day of the twelfth lunar month, we gathered at the county armed forces department and put on brand new military uniforms. They boarded the train at noon on the 11th of December. After a long journey of two days and one night, they arrived at the barracks. The train we took was a kind of "stuffy tank car" with no windows and no seats, just like the kind of cargo car we took when we came back from Shanghai during the "Cultural Revolution". However, the good thing was that we only sat more than 40 people in one carriage, and there were reed mats and blankets. We also brought blankets with us so that we could sleep. During meal time, the train would stop at a pre-arranged station to eat, exercise, and relieve themselves. If someone couldn't hold it in during the journey, they would settle it in a toilet in a corner of the carriage.
Our camp is relatively desolate. The land is vast and sparsely populated. The climate is also very cold. The north wind whistles all day long. There were some scattered villages nearby. The villages here were generally not big and there were not many people.
When we got off the train and entered the barracks, we didn't even wait for a breath before we immediately began a month of new recruit company life. The officers of the recruit company were mostly veterans drawn from the army. They seemed to be very enthusiastic and kind, but they were very strict with us. They criticized us and even punished us physically.
The leaders of the recruit company understood the psychology of the recruits very well. They were afraid that we would miss home and have unstable thoughts, so they got up at dawn every day and blew the lights out at 10 o'clock in the evening. They grasped every minute and second very tightly. Every day, besides studying the works of Leader Mao, we were also training. We were told to stand in line, gather, and march. We shouted "one, two, three" until our voices were hoarse. Our thighs were swollen from goose-walking, and we would wake up from the pain at night. He also paid close attention to studying the works of Leader Mao. In addition to reading and learning, he also had to connect his personal thoughts with reality and "teach and use" them in the class and company. The hard task was to memorize. The company required us to memorize the "Three Chapters" thoroughly. As for the Chief Mao's sayings, there were a total of 270 articles, and we had memorized all of them.
Sometimes in the middle of the night, when we were sleeping soundly, the emergency assembly number suddenly sounded. The squad leader asked us to put on our clothes, pack our bags, and gather in the courtyard in ten minutes. When I was in school, I was more relaxed, so I was not used to it. I was specially trained by the class monitor and the deputy class monitor for half a day. They stood in front of me and asked me to practice carrying a backpack. If I couldn't do it once, I would do it twice. If I couldn't do it twice, I would do it three times. I was so angry that tears flowed down, but they didn't pity me at all. When they saw that the shape, quality, and time of my backpack met the requirements, they asked me to stop. That day, when I walked out of the dormitory and went to the kitchen to eat, it was already past mealtime. There was no swill in the kitchen, so I had to starve for half a day. The deputy class monitor also starved for half a day with me. You might not believe it when you see this. But what was even more heartbreaking was yet to come.
On the night of New Year's Eve, our recruit class leader called us for a meeting. He might be afraid that we would miss home, so he would read the newspaper to us for a while, and then he would search for stories and jokes to tell us, but he didn't say anything funny. Who would listen to him? Everyone sat on the edge of their beds with their heads lowered, listening to the whistling north wind outside. From time to time, the sound of firecrackers could be heard from the distant village. When they heard someone setting off firecrackers, they could not help but think of the scene of the New Year's Eve in their hometown. Suddenly, the recruit suppressed his low voice and cried out,""Oh my god!" Then, everyone burst into tears. The class monitor was shocked and shouted,"It's the new year. You're crazy. Don't cry!”However, the cries became louder, and the class monitor did not say anything. After a long time, everyone's cries gradually subsided, and finally ended in intermittent sobs.
The food of the new recruits was also very bad. There was rice, cabbage, pork, tofu, and vermicelli. It was just that the soldiers in the kitchen were too bad. The food was very rough. The cabbage was cut very big, and the meat was not fragrant. If it was not for the training that made us hungry, I really could not eat that kind of rough food.
As of yesterday, the life of the new recruits had finally come to an end. A total of more than 300 recruits would be assigned to various companies. I don't know where Wu Liusheng and I would be assigned. Let's talk about it next time.
It has been more than a month since I left home. Everyone is starting to miss home. You are only 10 miles away from my home. I hope you can come to my house as long as you have time. My father has a stomach Ulcer and often can't eat because of the pain. Please write to me as much as you can about my family's situation, old classmate.
sincerely
Revolutionary salute
Your classmate: Shi Zhiqiang
February 20th, 1970
Lantern Festival
As Li Zhen read, two lines of tears fell quietly. She wiped her tears shyly and continued to read the second letter.
National Day old classmate:
Hello, I have received your letter. I am very encouraged after reading it.
Although your letter is not long, every sentence has reached my heart. There are many philosophical words in it that are thought-provoking. You are still so insightful when you look at problems. After reading it, I was deeply inspired and benefited a lot.
Yes, the life of the new recruits was a little more intense and difficult, but it was still much better than us at home. At least we had enough to eat and warm up. What kind of work is different? At first, he was not used to it, but once he got used to it, he felt much better.
After the recruit company ended, I was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 1st Company, 1st Platoon, 1st Squad. Although I was just a small soldier, the leaders thought highly of me. First, they let me represent our company to attend the whole regiment's study of Leader Mao's works. At the conference, my "speech" was praised by the regiment commander. After the conference ended, the company commander talked to me and asked me to be a counselor for studying Leader Mao's works. He also hinted that I would be transferred to the company as a clerk soon. The reason why it's National Day is like this is because we didn't study in high school for nothing. Wu Liusheng also performed well. At the May Day Gala, Wu Liusheng performed a performance: Poetry recitation. The poem he recited was He Jingzhi's "Return to Yan 'an." His voice was full of emotion and won the applause of the whole hall.
Now our lives are basically on the right track. We are not as nervous as the new recruits. Our meals have also improved greatly, and we don't have as many drills as the new recruits. However, it was still very difficult. Our mission was to dig holes in the mountains and prepare for war. I can't go into detail about these. We have confidentiality rules. You know, digging caves is enough. The work was very tiring. The mission was very difficult. Everyone was exhausted.
My daughter-in-law's educational level is not high, and her handwriting is not very good. It's already good that she can write half a page in a letter, and she doesn't write often. Do you know that letters from our hometown have become something that makes people jealous? Every time the messenger comes, we will squeeze in front of him and stare at him eagerly to see if there is a letter for us. Even if it is just a few thin pages, it will make people happy. If we wait for a long time and don't get a letter, everyone will feel very disappointed.
I left home and joined the army on the sixth day of my marriage. I don't know much about my wife. If I'm not at home for a long time, will she be able to withstand the loneliness and do something embarrassing? I can't find out.
My dad has never written to me. Is my wife filial to him? Obedient? Was his stomach problem still acting up? There are too many things I want to know! Therefore, if you have time to visit my house again, you must ask my father to write to me and talk about my family's situation in detail.
The weather is getting cold over there, right? It's already very cold here. However, we have gradually gotten used to the life and climate here. The only regret was that he couldn't go home. His heart was always thinking about home. This feeling was very uncomfortable. He even regretted coming to the army in the first place.
Today is Sunday. I want to go to town to buy some daily necessities and send this letter directly to the post office so that it can reach you as soon as possible.
I look forward to your letter.
sincerely
salute
Old Classmate: Shi Zhiqiang
November 3rd, 1970
After reading the two letters from Shi Zhiqiang, Li Zhen's hands were numb from the cold. She hurriedly packed up the letter and said," Let's go. I haven't been to Shi Zhiqiang's house yet. Is it far?"”
"It's not far. It's Qilipu. It's about six or seven miles away from the county town!”
Qilipu was on the east side of the county town and was under the jurisdiction of the East Ridge Commune. The road was very flat. The two of them rode their bicycles and talked as they walked. Before they knew it, they had arrived.
They pushed open Shi Zhiqiang's courtyard door. The courtyard was quiet. The two of them pushed their bicycles into the courtyard and were about to shout when the curtain of the house in the middle was suddenly opened. A tall, voluptuous, delicate, and short-haired young woman came out. She was probably Shi Zhiqiang's wife, Han Liangxian. She had probably guessed the identity of these two uninvited guests, but it was the first time they met, so she couldn't name them. She smiled and said,"Are you Zhiqiang's classmates? Hurry up and sit in the house!"
As they were talking, Zhiqiang's father also saw National Day from the window and shouted,"Come in quickly, National Day. What are you doing here in such a cold weather?”
The two of them were eating breakfast. Good Immortal quickly brought a bowl of rice soup to Guo Qing and the other two. She took out chopsticks and advised them to wash their hands and eat quickly. Li Zhen was a little embarrassed. How could he eat just like that when he had just arrived at someone else's house? Just as he was about to refuse, Guo Qing said," You don't have to stand on ceremony. Eat some while you're at it. I'm a little hungry."”"Uncle, this is my wife, Li Zhen. She's also Zhiqiang's classmate."”
When Li Zhen heard Guo Qing's introduction, his face immediately turned red and he lowered his head. Zhiqiang's father chuckled." I can tell. You're not married yet, right? You're still a little shy. What's there to be afraid of? We're all family.”As he spoke, he pointed at Good Immortal." This is Zhiqiang's wife. Her name is Han Liangxian. She happened to be out the last time she came before National Day.”
"Yes, the last time was not long after Zhiqiang joined the army. I rushed to visit you, but Uncle said that you hadn't returned from the fields, so I didn't see you. You should be my sister-in-law. I'm half a year older than Zhiqiang!”Guo Qing said readily.
"Yes, Brother Guoqing, Zhiqiang sent me a letter a few days ago, repeatedly introducing you to me and telling me to look for you if I have anything to do, but we're fine. I'll visit you again during the New Year!”She turned her head and looked at Li Zhen with a very envious gaze. She smiled and said,"Sister-in-law, you must inform me when you get married. Dad and I must attend your wedding! What are you doing now? He's not in the village, right?"
"Yes! He was a private teacher at Li Jia Zhuang Primary School.”Li Zhen replied softly.
"Let's eat first.”Zhiqiang's father urged.
Guo Qing didn't show any restraint or politeness. He picked up the bowl and drank a mouthful of rice soup. He broke open a sweet potato and asked,"Uncle, you can eat this now. Your stomach won't be sore or hurt after eating it?”
"No, I'm much better. I can eat anything now. My stomach sore hasn't acted up for half a year!”
"I heard from my dad that it was you who told him about the one-way treatment. It's called the 'seven-day treatment'.”Good Immortal interrupted.
"That was what I heard from others in the village. I heard others say that furazolin can be used to treat gastric ulcers. I told Uncle about it the last time I came.”
"It's a big deal. National Day is really a big deal!”Zhiqiang's father nodded.
As they spoke, everyone had already eaten. Li Zhen and Good Immortal quickly went to clean up and wash up. After cleaning up, they went to Good Immortal's room together. It was National Day, so he seized the opportunity to talk to Zhiqiang's father.
"Uncle, you used to do business outside. You should be able to write letters, right? You should write a letter to Zhiqiang!”Guo Qing suggested.
"There's nothing much going on at home. I asked Good Immortal to write for him and ask them to keep in touch, so I haven't written for him. Was he worried? Or are you suspecting that I haven't recovered from my illness? Alright, it's going to be the new year in a few days. I'll write it to him after the new year.”Zhiqiang's father said with a smile.
"Uncle, if I were in the army, I would be the same as him. Think about it, you've been away from home for a long time. You miss your family all the time. You don't know your situation. You're anxious. If you're uneasy, it will affect your work! He often writes to me, and he's fine with everything else, except that he misses you all so much! How was a good immortal? Filial? Worried?”
"My wife is fine. My stomach disease can be cured because of the medicine. On the other hand, after the good immortal comes home, I can eat on time and eat warm food. Good Immortal was also obedient. She was the leader of the women in the team. She was fair and upright. No one dared to look down on her. Although the good immortals are not as cultured as you, they also understand the great principles. They walk the right path, so I don't have to worry about this!”
After listening to the uncle's words, Guo Qing's heart was relieved. He felt lucky for his old classmate Shi Zhiqiang.
After chatting with the uncle for a while, Guo Qing came to the courtyard and looked around. The courtyard was also very clean and tidy. When he looked at the room where Good Immortal lived, he found something strange. The windows of the room were nailed with a few dense iron bars. National Day was silent. He understood the uncle's good intentions.
Li Zhen felt that it had been quite some time and that it was time to go home. However, Good Immortal still had endless things to say. After chatting for a while, they finally left the house. National Day and Li Zhen bid farewell to the two of them, repeatedly told them to take care of their health, write more letters to Zhiqiang, and then left Seven Mile Shop.
On the way back, Guoqing asked about Liangxian's situation. Li Zhen praised Liangxian and said that Liangxian was very grateful to her father-in-law. He said that although the old man didn't talk much, he was very kind and treated her like his own daughter. She said that sometimes, when the team had a meeting at night, her father-in-law insisted on accompanying her. No matter how long the meeting was, he would wait until the meeting was over and come back with her. She also said that her father-in-law was afraid that she would be afraid to sleep alone in the house, so he specially hired a blacksmith to nail iron bars on her windows. He pressed two big iron rings behind the two doors of the house and placed a thick wooden stick behind the door. When she slept at night, she would insert the wooden stick into the two iron rings and she would not be afraid at all.
When Guo Qing heard this, he was touched. He said,"What else is there to say? You have such a good wife and father. Why do you have to worry about them? When I go back today, I'll write a long letter to Shi Zhiqiang and tell him about his wife and his father's situation. I guarantee that all the worries in his heart will disappear.”
After leaving Qilipu, they rode their bicycles back. When they passed by the county town, National Day suggested that they go into the city to walk around the streets, eat something delicious, or buy something for Li Zhen. However, Li Zhen refused to go. She knew that she did not have much spare money in her pocket during National Day, and there was no need to waste that money, so she said,"Don't go. If you meet someone you know on the street, it'll make you blush.”
Guo Qing completely understood Li Zhen's thoughts. The reason why she said this was mainly because she didn't want him to spend too much money. She said,"Alright, let's go. I'll give you another piece.”
As they spoke, the two of them pushed their bicycles and began to climb the big slope that led to the city. They kept talking and unknowingly arrived at the entrance of Li Village. They stood there for a while before they reluctantly said goodbye.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。