War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 601 Let's Sing a Song Together

"Uncle Chen!"

The canteen owner opened the door and jumped off before the car stopped.While walking, he took out a pack of white towers from his pocket, took out one and handed it to the old man sitting at the entrance of the alley. When Chen Qi took the cigarette, the middle-aged shop owner immediately took out a disposable lighter Attentive help point.

On the other hand, Chen Qi took the cigarette silently, moved to the edge of the flame and took a sip, then pointed to Maza next to him, but didn't say anything at all.On that emaciated face, there were grooves left by the years, and an indescribable dullness.

The owner of the canteen seemed to be used to it, sat down on the saddle, pointed at Wei Ran who had just got off the car, and introduced in a loud voice, "Uncle Chen, that young man wants to buy your military medal! What am I doing!"

The owner of the canteen who had just sat still scrambled and scrambled to hide a few meters away, but still couldn't escape being chased and beaten by Chen Qi's walking stick on his buttocks.

"You little bastard! Get out!" Chen Qi didn't wait for the owner of the small shop to stand still, and the crutch in his hand and the cigarette he just lit had already flown in circles.

"Father! Father!"

Wei Ran hurried over, picked up the walking stick and sent it to Chen Qi's side, ignoring the manza that the other party had already raised, "He's teasing you!"

Chen Qi stared at Wei Ran for a few seconds, then asked indifferently, "Where did you come from?"

"I"

Wei Ran grinned, carefully wiped his walking stick with his T-shirt, then exchanged a Mazza from the other party's hand and sat down firmly under his buttocks, ignoring the canteen owner who was beaten while watching the excitement, and took out a He took out one of the Zhonghua cigarettes he bought on the way and handed them to the other party, and then helped him to light it. Then he explained, "Old man, I am a student of history, and I want to ask you something."

"do not know"

Chen Qiba took a puff of his cigarette, and refused with a facial expression, "I'm just an old farmer, not a teacher."

"Do you know Zhao Shengli?" Wei Ran asked tentatively.

As soon as the name was asked, the cigarette in Chen Qi's hand fell to the ground.But after a moment of silence, the old man bent down to pick up the cigarette, stuffed it into his mouth again and took a sip, his tone was as indifferent as ever, "I don't know, I've never heard of this name before."

Wei Ran opened his mouth, silently popped out a cigarette and lit it on his own, but didn't ask anything, just sat side by side with this old man who had fought side by side, smoking silently.

Not far away, the owner of the canteen slapped the dirt off his butt, walked over in a friendly manner and was about to say something, but Chen Qi raised the walking stick in his hand again and threw it out.

"Hey! You old man!"

The shop owner deftly dodged the flying stick, then ran over to pick it up, and handed it to Chen Qi with a playful smile, "Is my brother at home?"

Chen Qi snatched the walking stick, and after all, touched the middle-aged boss's ass lightly, and then said, "At home, go and bring some ice-cold watermelons."

"I'll say hello to my brother first, and I'll send it over here!"

The middle-aged boss who got a cane on his butt was not annoyed, and walked into the alley with a playful smile.

And Chen Qi didn't say anything else, he even pretended that Wei Ran didn't exist, he smoked the cigarette in his hand unhurriedly, his old eyes kept looking towards the direction of the village entrance.

Wei Ran, who originally had thousands of words in his heart, also fell silent, as if he had returned to the trenches of the original position, leaning against the wall, smoking a cigarette, killing time.

Before the smoke was burnt out, the middle-aged boss walked out quickly with a man who was not tall and thin, who looked like he was five or sixty years old.

"Brother, this young man is going to buy my uncle's military medal."

The middle-aged young boss pointed at Wei Ran and said, the tone of his tone had long since lost the harmony he had when we first met, replaced by a strong sense of guard.

"You two little bastards stay on the sidelines!"

Chen Qin tapped the red brick pavement with the walking stick in his hand, "Kaixuan, let your wife cook a table of vegetables, Zhenzong, hurry up and bring the watermelon over!"

"Ah? Hey! I'll deliver it right away!" The little boss ran towards the canteen before he could finish his sentence.

"Dad..." The man who came out of the alley looked at Chen Qi hesitantly, apparently wanting to remind him of something.

"It's okay, I'm not too old yet." Chen Qi waved his hand, "Go and prepare the meal, there's a visitor at home."

Hearing this, the middle-aged man named Chen Kaixuan looked at Wei Ran uneasy again, then took out his mobile phone, took a picture of the license plate number of Wei Ran's car parked on the side of the road, and then walked back Deep in the alley.

After such a short time, Wei Ran and Chen Qi's respective cigarettes have almost burned to the filter.

"Have you eaten yet?" Chen Qi crushed out the cigarette butt and asked.

"Nothing"

Wei Ran responded with a smile on his face. Although his arrival seemed unpopular, he was relieved no matter the reaction of the canteen owner who led the way to trick him or Chen Qi's son.In any case, their concern for Chen Qi could still be seen.

"Let's have a meal"

After Chen Qi finished speaking, he was about to stand up while leaning on a cane with one hand and leaning on the wall with the other.Seeing this, Wei Ran quickly stood up and was about to help the other party.

"Need not"

Chen Qilue pushed Wei Ran away stubbornly, pointed to Maza where the two were sitting just now, and said, "Just help me carry them."

"it is good!"

Wei Ran simply let go of his hand, and when the other party stood still, he bent down and picked up the two horses made of wooden frames and bicycle tires, followed Chen Qi step by step, and walked slowly into the alley.

There were only two families at the end of the alley, and in the yard with the open gate on the left, one could still hear the middle-aged man named Chen Kaixuan calling his wife to cook.

Under the leadership of Chen Qi, Wei Ran walked into the yard on the right. This yard is not that big compared to the northern countryside. The southernmost part is a pigsty that has been abandoned for a long time, and in the middle are two overgrown leaves. lush persimmon trees.

The only three main rooms looked a little too low, obviously they had been built for some years.

"Wash your hands and come in." Chen Qi pointed to the faucet under the persimmon tree.

Hearing this, Wei Ran obediently put Maza by the wall, squatted under the persimmon tree and washed his hands, then bent down and got into the room.

Except for the smoke from the pavement that gave him the illusion that he had returned to his grandma’s house, there was nothing special about the rest. The simple furniture, like Chen Qi himself, bears the traces of time. Apart from serving as the main room of the kitchen, The left and right rooms are all air-conditioned.

Pushing back the slightly oily floral curtain, Wei Ran got into the room on the left, and then saw Chen Qizheng taking the tea bucket out of the high and low cabinets.

"Sit..." Chen Qi greeted him without looking back.

Hearing this, Wei Ran sat on the edge of the kang next to the round table, looked around and looked at the surrounding layout.Wherever he looked, he couldn't see anything related to that war at all.

Almost at the same time as Chen Qi finished making tea, the owner of the canteen came in excitedly carrying two watermelons in a plastic bag.

"Master, should I cut it directly?"

"Wash the knife well, I cut the meat yesterday." Chen Qi instructed, and sat on the wooden chair opposite Wei Ran.

Seeing this, Wei Ran fell silent again.Watching through the window, the owner of the canteen took out a kitchen knife from the main room, and dug out a piece of loofah. The detergent on the machine was carefully scrubbing under the faucet in the yard.

After a while, the boss brought the cut watermelon to the round table on an enamel tea tray, and warmly greeted him, "Try it, the sandy seedless watermelon is so sweet!"

"Zhenzong, go and do your work first." Chen Qi said.

"Okay! Call us if you have something to do! I'll go talk to my brother." The store owner picked up a corner of the watermelon, took a bite, and walked out of the room step by step.

"Try it." Chen Qi cupped his hands, "Eat two pieces first to cool off the heat, and we will have dinner together later."

Hearing this, Wei Ran was not polite, picked up a corner of the watermelon and took a bite, it was indeed as the boss said, sandy, sweet, and at the same time unavoidable with a little garlic taste - even if the boss just carefully washed.

After eating a piece of watermelon carefully, Wei Ran and Chen Qi, who was sitting opposite, fell silent again.

"Don't you ask me where I come from?" Wei Ran couldn't help asking.

"No need." Chen Qi responded dryly, followed by a sigh, "Victory...is he still alive?"

Wei Ran shivered subconsciously, and replied after a moment of silence, "He should still be alive, I plan to visit him in the next two days."

"It's still alive. It's good to be alive." Chen Qi was silent for a moment, then continued to ask, "Young man, who else do you know?"

"Secretary General Sun Yannian"

Wei Ran paused, and continued, "There is also Lin Yuehua, the leader of the reconnaissance squad, and Li Dali and Gao Qiang."

"None of them survived." When Chen Qi said this, there was no expression on his face, but his old voice trembled uncontrollably.

"Um"

Wei Ran nodded, and said almost to himself, "They are all buried in the martyr's cemetery in Dandong. After I have visited Mr. Zhao Shengli, I plan to go there to see them."

"Go."

Chen Qi paused for a long time, looked at the persimmon tree outside the window, and said almost ramblingly, "I'm waiting for you, every day, waiting for you to come to me and take away the military medals stored here. If you don't come again Yeah, I can't hold on for a few days.

Why are you... you don't want to come back?What's so good about that broken place, why don't you want to come back?"

"They're back." Wei Ran felt that his chest was constricted and he could barely breathe, "Master, they're back, they've been back a long time ago."

"I can't come back"

Chen Qi sighed, and said in a weeping voice, "On that mountain, except for stones, not even a single grass grew. For eight days, eight days, I survived when I retreated with victory in my back. They were all there. Well, it has always been there.

This night, as long as I close my eyes, I can see them, and I yell, my voice is hoarse, begging them to come down.Squad leader Lin didn't listen, he said he could hold on to that broken mountain, why is he so stubborn? "

"They're back." Wei Ran said again, but his voice was much softer.

"I can't come back"

Chen Qi shook his head, "I've been waiting for them all my life looking forward to the stars and the moon. If they came back, they would have come to me long ago. I'm also his soldier. Why doesn't he want me?"

"They." Wei Ran stopped in the middle of speaking, "They...really won't come back"

"I can't come back. I can't come back"

Chen Qi stood up tremblingly, leaned on a walking stick and slowly left the room, walked through the main room to the opposite room.

After a long time, he came back with a wooden photo frame.Carefully wiped off the non-existent dust on the photo frame with his sleeve, pointed to the people in the black and white group photo and introduced them one by one, "This is Squad Leader Sun, the old Red Army who went through the Long March! What's delicious, They were crowded to give the sick number to the wounded first. He was the chief of staff and also the monitor of the cooking squad, but he was hungry every day.

This is Squad Leader Lin, he is amazing!In less than a year, I learned to recruit fresh words.He is also very courageous, daring to touch the trenches of the Americans to grab their tongues.

this!This is Zhao Shengli, this kid, he has never been tuned in his singing, and his broken voice is even worse than mourning!But he runs so fast that even the machine guns of the American devils can't keep up with him! "

Wiping the corners of his eyes, Chen Qi pointed to the two young soldiers with their arms around each other's shoulders in the group photo and said, "These two people, Da Li is sitting on the side, and Xiao Gao is sitting on the right. Both of them are from the south, and they are small. Yes, often pretending to be difficult to contain soldiers.

Although the two of them don't know how to speak new words, as long as they put on their clothes, they can still deceive the American devils into the ambush circle with their native dialect, and follow them obediently. "

"This is you," Wei Ran said affirmatively, pointing to Chen Qi in the group photo.

"How young you were at that time." Chen Qi caressed the people in the group photo, no one knew what he was thinking.

"Do you regret it?" Wei Ran couldn't help asking.

"Why don't you regret it"

Chen Qi sighed, "If it happens again, I will die on that crappy mountain!"

"Old man, let's sing a song together?" Wei Ran proposed abruptly.

"Sing?" Chen Qi looked at Wei Ran.

"Just sing that song!"

Wei Ran suggested again, "I guess you must have often sung that song together at that time! Give me a head start, and I will sing with you!"

Chen Qi was stunned for a moment, originally old and serious, and even an uncontrollable smile gradually appeared on his depressed face, "Then sing a song! Be brave! Be proud! Across the Yalu River! Get ready—sing !"

In the small farmyard shrouded in the scorching summer, an old voice that was on tune, and a young voice that was seriously out of tune, sang the song that had already completed the combat mission over and over again with great momentum.

At the entrance of the small courtyard, the owner of the canteen and Chen Qi's son and daughter-in-law looked at each other blankly, not knowing for a moment whether they should send the prepared meals in or not.

"Can Uncle Chen still sing?" the shop owner asked in disbelief.

"My dad's singing is quite nice, not out of tune at all." Chen Qi's daughter-in-law said in admiration, "How long have I been married? But I've never heard this old man sing before."

"What's the origin of that young man?" Chen Qixuan's son, Chen Kaixuan said suspiciously, "I thought he would be beaten to death by my dad with a walking stick."

"It doesn't matter where he came from"

The shop owner said nonchalantly, "This is the first time I've heard my uncle sing when I grow up."

Chen Qi's daughter-in-law shook her head dumbfounded, "Don't talk about singing, when Kaixuan and I got married, I never saw this old man smiling so happily."

"Don't talk about my dad"

Chen Qi's son couldn't help grinning, "What crap is that kid singing? The punctuation marks are not in tune."

"You don't care what he sings?" Chen Qi's daughter-in-law rolled her eyes, "Let's go back first! Let's talk about it after the two of you have sung enough!"

"Kaixuan, I think you have to buy a karaoke set for my uncle"

The owner of the canteen came up with a bad idea, "I think the one used by those old ladies who dance in the square dance is suitable. This old man likes to sing."

"If you want to buy, you buy"

Chen Qi's son walked back with the food, "I'm afraid he'll hit me with a walking stick. How many times have you come up with such a stupid idea to keep me from being beaten? It doesn't matter if you remember to eat or not. I still hate buying a walking stick." Spending money."

"Let's go quickly, the crutches will fly over your head one step later."

Chen Qi's daughter-in-law urged her, she was too lazy to take care of the crouching dragons and phoenixes, and went back to their own yard on their own.

Just like in the tunnel covered by American artillery more than half a century ago, Wei Ran, who was still young, and Chen Qi, who was no longer young, sang a song back and forth for an unknown number of times until Wei Ran His voice became hoarse, until Chen Qi's voice also became hoarse, and then the two of them stopped one after another, then looked at each other, and each of them laughed heartily at the same time.

"Young man, what's your last name?" Chen Qi asked with a smile on his face.

"Wei, the one who defends the country."

"Surname Wei?"

Chen Qi thought about it for a while, and finally shook his head helplessly, "I thought your surname was Zhao, and you were the son and grandson of that boy Zhao Shengli. Your broken voice is exactly the same as his."

Wei Ran grinned, thinking that the other party was praising him, took a bite of a watermelon, and asked vaguely while chewing, "Old man, how long has it been since you and Zhao Shengli have seen each other?"

Chen Qi shook his head, "I haven't seen him since I came back from the war."

"I'm going to find him, do you need me to bring him something?" Wei Ran continued to ask.

"You, just ask him, do you still need me to tell you a daughter-in-law?" After Chen Qi finished speaking, he couldn't help laughing.

"Okay! I'll definitely bring the original words!" Wei Ran patted his chest and made a promise.

"If you can find him."

Chen Qi fell silent halfway through his speech, got up slowly, took out a plastic-covered book from the high and low cabinets, took out an old-looking Parker pen from it, and wrote down a series of phone numbers on it, Then tore it off and handed it to Wei Ran.

"Young man, if you can find him, call my son Kaixuan, tell him the address of Victory, and ask him to pass it on to me."

After Chen Qi waited for Wei Ran to take the piece of paper with the phone number written on it, he couldn't help sighing. "My son, Kaixuan, was born in 60. His name was given by Shengli in 52. He said that I will definitely have a son. If I have a son, I must call him Kaixuan. After a while, now That’s all that’s left of the name as a thought.”

"Grandpa, just wait for my call!"

Wei Ran glanced at the three people who were coming out of the window with food in their hands, and said a little faster, "I will definitely find Zhao Shengli for you!"

"Row!"

Chen Qi nodded noncommittally, "Let's go, let's go to eat, we don't have any good things in the countryside, you kid just came from the city, don't be disgusted."

"Don't dislike me for eating too much." Wei Ran picked up another watermelon while speaking, and then left the room with Chen Qi.

Accompanied by Chen Qi, his son and daughter-in-law, and the familiar shop owner, they had a lively meal around a low table under the luxuriant persimmon tree.

At the dinner table, no matter what the three middle-aged men asked, neither Wei Ran nor Chen Qi mentioned anything related to that war.

He ate three big bowls of cold noodle soup, drank a large bottle of coke instead of wine, and Wei Ran insisted on fetching from the car the good cigarettes, wine, and tea that Chen Guangling had bought in advance. In the arms of Chen Qi's son.

Saying goodbye to the family, Wei Ran started the borrowed car, stepped on the accelerator and drove in the direction he came from.

In the wide rearview mirror, the old man standing on the side of the road dropped the crutch in his hand, straightened his waist bent by the years, and tremblingly raised his right hand to the height of his eyebrows.

Gently honking the horn, Wei Ran slowly stepped on the accelerator, trying to avoid the military salute that he was not qualified to bear.

Gradually, the old man who had been waiting for his comrades to come back disappeared in the rearview mirror.Gradually, that ordinary small village also disappeared in the rearview mirror.

In the end, there was only a flat, straight country road covered with street trees on both sides.

"Next stop, it's time to see Zhao Shengli."

Wei Ran murmured to himself, secretly guessing what kind of life the other party was living, whether he was also like the depressed Chen Qi, sitting at the entrance of the alley all day long, silently waiting for those things that he would never return to. Come comrades.

"He won't still say that my consciousness is low?"

Wei Ran couldn't help laughing, and was more and more eager to ask Zhao Shengli for Chen Qi face to face, if he wanted to find a wife for him.

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(End of this chapter)