Father's Land Mother's River

Chapter 47

It was almost noon when the bus arrived at Liuzi Street, and it was just in time to go home for lunch.Jiang Changling served pig slaughtering dishes and pork blood sausage, and told Liu Xiaonan that his uncle and aunt came back a week ago, so they had to slaughter the pigs ahead of time without waiting for him.

Liu Xiaonan was very happy, she had always wanted to hear the battle stories told by her uncle, and to know more about the romantic marriage and love history of her uncle and aunt, finally she had the time and opportunity.

Liu Zhixin told Liu Xiaonan that both uncle and aunt had read his novels, admired him very much, and wanted to meet him.In addition, he also met Teacher Cheng Yi, whom Liu Xiaonan had been looking for.

After reading the novel "Teacher" written by his son and listening to his son's narration, Liu Zhixin had a preliminary impression of Cheng Yi.Knowing that his son wanted to find his junior high school teacher, he has been paying attention and helping his son find out with acquaintances.

Also by chance, when he went home to go to the market, someone pointed out Cheng Yi to him.Teacher Cheng Yi set up a stall in the rural market near his grandma's house, writing and selling Spring Festival couplets on the spot.

After lunch, Liu Xiaonan took the gift she bought for her grandma, took a special issue of her first novel, rode on her bicycle, and rushed to her grandma's house impatiently.

Grandma lived with the old uncle. When Liu Xiaonan pushed the bicycle into the yard of grandma's house, she saw the old uncle and a strange man cutting grass outside the cow pen.

The old uncle stroked the grass, and the lean and slender strange man swung the guillotine up and down, his movements were skillful and powerful, his forehead was sweating, but he was still full of interest.Judging from the light and sparse pockmarks on his face and the faded green woolen coat on his body, he should be an uncle.

Liu Xiaonan called the old uncle first, and the old uncle stood up with a promise, and happily said to the strange man, "Brother, he is Xiaonan, our eldest nephew."

Liu Xiaonan put away her bicycle and walked over to meet her uncle.The uncle had already stretched out his two big hands to meet him, he held Liu Xiaonan's both tightly and said, "Hello, nephew, your aunt and I have always wanted to see you, you really are a good-looking person."

Liu Xiaonan was very excited, staring at his uncle's easy-going and aging face, he couldn't imagine that his uncle, who had a legendary life, hadn't forgotten to do farm work.With trembling lips, he said, "Uncle, I have been looking forward to seeing you and aunt."

The uncle dragged Liu Xiaonan home, and Liu Xiaonan could always feel the warmth of his uncle's big hand.Grandma's house is steaming, it should be steaming rice cakes, steamed bean buns, steamed buns and so on.

As soon as he entered the house, the uncle called out: "My nephew is here."

A middle-aged woman who was talking to her grandma stood up, put her hands on Liu Xiaonan's shoulders kindly, measured her up and down, and introduced herself with a smile: "Xiaonan, I am your eldest aunt. You have seen me when I was young. photos, you don’t recognize me now.”

Liu Xiaonan really couldn't overlap the eldest aunt in front of her with the young, delicate and extraordinary woman standing side by side with her uncle in the photo.

The eldest aunt has obviously gained weight, wearing a homely cotton coat and an apron, but her eyes are still bright and full of emotion.Enthusiastic, capable, tender, courageous and resolute in one, as the age grows, it becomes more and more charming, making people admire and get close unconsciously.

Liu Xiaonan's heart was hot, and her joy was beyond words: "As long as I come to grandma's house, I will stand in front of the photo frame, staring at the photo of you and uncle for a long time, imagining your passionate and bloody fighting life. Looking forward to the day when I meet my uncle and aunt."

The aunt hugged Liu Xiaonan in her arms, patted him on the back lovingly, and said happily: "I read your novel, and this is also a dream I once had, but unfortunately it didn't come true in the end. Xiaonan, you Realized the dream for my aunt, you are also the pride of my grandma."

Grandma sat on the kang and said, "Xiaonan, stand together with your uncle. I have given birth to seven sons, and I have long seen that my only nephew looks the most like my eldest. See if my old lady is dazzled."

Liu Xiaonan stood next to her uncle, with almost the same height and build.The eldest aunt considered it for a moment, then turned to the grandmother and said, "Mom, your vision is absolutely right. Who can a nephew look like like an uncle?"

Grandma smiled happily: "I haven't seen you for so many years, so I have to treat my nephew like a son."

The uncle put his arms around Liu Xiaonan's shoulders and said to his grandmother, "Mom, I will come back to see you often in the future."

The whole afternoon was talking about family affection, and it wasn't until after dinner that the family chatted around her grandma that Liu Xiaonan mentioned the strong desire that had germinated since she was a child.

He wanted his uncle to tell him about the battle scenes he had personally experienced, and those experiences would definitely arouse young people's ambitions and understand the meaning of life.

He said to his uncle and aunt: "Uncle and aunt, tell me your stories. I really want to hear about my uncle's combat experiences."

The uncle stared at Liu Xiaonan as if he didn't know him, and after a moment of silence, he said, "There's nothing to talk about."

Liu Xiaonan was not willing to give up, and pleaded further: "Uncle, tell me, maybe I can write a novel, so that more people can understand the dedication and sacrifice of your generation."

The uncle's face changed, he was gloomy, and reprimanded: "What is there to write? Do you think war is fun?"

Liu Xiaonan froze there.The uncle seemed to have been touched by the topic of war, and he strictly rejected it for no reason.He didn't understand, war is cruel, but it's been so long, so it doesn't matter to talk about it.

The grandma patted the uncle lightly and said, "You are just a nephew, don't talk about it if you don't talk about it, don't yell at him."

The uncle stopped talking, his eyes were heavy and far-reaching.

The eldest aunt called Liu Xiaonan to the back room to talk alone. She held Liu Xiaonan's hand and said, "Xiaonan, you have to understand your uncle. His first battle after joining the army was a brutal sniper battle. , In less than a day, there were more than 100 people in a company, and there were less than ten people left. So many familiar comrades fell down, and those who survived buried permanent pain in their hearts. I felt sorry for my comrades, I feel that I owe a lot to my comrades in arms.”

Liu Xiaonan thought that she had read many novels about war in ancient and modern China and abroad, so she knew something about war.However, my uncle was unwilling to look back on that glorious history, and my aunt's other interpretation of the war overturned all his previous imagination and cognition, and he was deeply shocked.

He said to his aunt: "I also had the dream of being a soldier. The gold and iron horses are strong and fierce. I always thought that people who walked out of the battlefield would have peace of mind after going through the cruel test of life and death. I didn't expect that Da Although my uncle's body is not injured, his heart is full of scars."

The eldest aunt nodded and said: "That's true. Your uncle has been afraid or unwilling to face his inner world. Your uncle has never mentioned his war experience to others, and I only talked about it when we first got married. Your three cousins ​​don’t know what kind of combat experience their father had. If you are interested, I’d better tell you about my fate with your uncle.”

Liu Xiaonan said: "I heard from grandma that uncle's third-class certificate of merit for studying culture is a testimony of your love."

The aunt smiled, immersed in the memories of the past years, and narrated: "I pursued progressive ideas when I was a student. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, I followed the army to the Northeast. I was 17 years old at that time. I just walked out of school. Assigned to the grassroots work team, and went deep into southern Liaoning to carry out work.

"I'm from the south, and the first winter I came to the Northeast froze. I didn't know the place where I was born. The people didn't understand and didn't support me. The Kuomintang army was besieged everywhere. We could only drill the valleys and dare not enter the village in broad daylight. It was really difficult at that time!
"The end of the year was approaching, and we didn't have a full meal for a few days. The weather was extremely cold, and I was shivering from the cold, and my energy was gradually exhausted.

"I remember the mountain pass to the east of your grandma's house. Before it was dark, we bravely went out to look for food. When we got there, I couldn't walk anymore. My body was light and my feet were like stepping on cotton. Going up, black eyes, rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath.

"I was lying in the shelter of the mountain pass. I felt like I was going to die. It just so happened that your uncle passed by there on his way home from a short-term job. In the basket was a few pieces of hot tofu from the boss as wages. We stopped your uncle and made excuses to him. food.

"Your uncle saw our identities and didn't want to deal with us at first. Seeing that I was really hungry, he gave us the hot tofu. I held the hot tofu in both hands and devoured it. The other gay men Only a little bit was eaten.

"At that time, I was disguised as a man, and I was thin and thin. Your uncle stood aside and sneered: 'You still pee on the kang, why don't you run out and mess around, and go home and lie on your mother's bed.'

"Think about how irritating this is, I weakly stared at your uncle fiercely, thinking that I just ate a few pieces of tofu from you, cheapskate!
"Our comrade explained to your uncle that I was still a little girl, and your uncle closed his dirty mouth, and kindly reminded us not to enter the village easily. I asked him after we got married, how did he change so quickly? , He said he was moved by me.

"It was only later that I found out that your uncle was still counting on those squares of tofu to make the family have a good year. Your uncle is only one year older than me, and he is already the pillar of the family. He ate what your uncle earned from doing part-time jobs. After dark, he took me home for a night. Your grandma made ginger soup for me, and I recovered miraculously. Our fate began here.

"Later, the situation improved. I often lived at your grandma's house and carried out work in the village, mainly to mobilize young and middle-aged people to join the army. The peasants had just been allocated land, and their enthusiasm for joining the army was not high. Your second uncle is the captain of the militia in the village, and he was the only one who took the initiative. Enroll in the military.

"At that time, I wholeheartedly wanted your uncle to join the army and go to the army to exercise. I can't tell what the specific purpose is, but I just vaguely feel that he saved my life and he must go with me the same way.

"I work with your uncle during the day, and at night I analyze the current situation and tell him the truth and significance of the revolution. I have worn out my lips, but your uncle is like a stone without temperature, and you can't cover it , indifferent to the ideological work I did.

"Actually, you can't blame him. Your grandfather was not in good health at that time. There were a lot of brothers and sisters, and the family's life was supported by him alone. I remember that your mother was only seven or eight years old, and your uncle was still naive. How could he have the heart to leave home and walk away?
"Later, someone in the work team came up with a solution that was not a solution. The young and middle-aged people who had the conditions in the village were called together, sitting on the kang, and I stood on the ground to promote mobilization. Whoever figured it out stood up and signed up for the army.

"It was summer at that time, the doors and windows were closed, the fire was burning in the stove, and I was sweating and giving speeches. It was hot under my buttocks, and more than a dozen young and middle-aged men couldn't sit still, and stood up to sign up. Only you are left Uncle was still sitting on the kang, sweating profusely but motionless.

"I stared at him, he stared at me, we faced each other silently. I thought to myself, let's see who can survive the other. I found his eyes sneaking out of the window, looking at nothing, nothing can relieve the pressure on his buttocks." pain of.

"Seeing that he is too resistant, a comrade of the work team said that we have completed the tasks assigned by our superiors, forget it, and he is not missing.

"As soon as he heard this, your uncle pushed open the window and jumped into a large tank filled with water that he had aimed outside the window long ago. He retracted his whole body into the water, and the water surface kept popping With heat and air bubbles.

"I ran out, snatched him out of the water tank, and called him cowardly and not a man.

"Your uncle jumped out of the water tank, wiped the water on his face, and yelled at me, you use this method, I will not sign up for the army. He limped away angrily, dripping all over his body. water, leaving a wet track on the ground.

"The method was not appropriate, but it was a helpless move at the time. I found out later that there were several big blisters on his buttocks. Your grandma went to someone else's house to beg for badger oil, and it took a lot of work to see it. Your uncle can Really stubborn."

Speaking of this, the eldest aunt couldn't help but smiled knowingly, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes stretched out, her expression was solemn and blurred, as if she had returned to the turbulent and high-spirited years of youth.Liu Xiaonan was even more fascinated by hearing it, and her heart was filled with infinite longing.

The eldest aunt was silent for a moment, and continued her story.After the blisters on the uncle's butt subsided, he took the initiative to find his aunt and asked to join the army, which surprised his aunt.

On the day of departure with the troops, my aunt gave big red flowers to more than a dozen recruits in Murakami one by one.When it was the uncle's turn, the uncle puffed out his chest and raised his head high.

The aunt encouraged the uncle to go to the army to fight the enemy bravely, and strive to be rewarded for his meritorious service.But the uncle quietly took her into the army. If she was not dead or disabled and became a battle hero, she would have to marry him, and she couldn't dislike the pockmarks on his face.

The eldest aunt was so shocked that her face turned pale. She would never have imagined that this usually listless bad boy would have such thoughts in his heart.

Facing the uncle's challenging gaze, the eldest aunt nodded vigorously
Liu Xiaonan boldly guessed that uncle joined the army to pursue love.

(End of this chapter)