Back to 80: My literary life.

Chapter 588: Commemorating the Female Soldiers of the Cultural Troupe
Ningming is in the southwest of Green City, close to the border. Fang Minghua took a train for more than four hours to reach the county seat. It was already five o'clock in the afternoon.

The county town is much more prosperous than it was ten years ago. Originally, the streets were filled with soldiers wearing Type 65 military uniforms, and the county town was almost a barracks. But now all of this has disappeared, and it is no different from an ordinary county town in the mainland.

Fang Minghua found a state-owned hotel to stay in and chatted with the front desk clerk about his tomb-sweeping experience.

When the waiter heard that Fang Minghua was here to pay tribute to a friend, he smiled and said, "In recent years, many people from all over the country have come to pay tribute. The graves of your comrades in the art troupe are probably no longer at the foot of Mount Faka. They have been moved to the Martyrs' Cemetery. You'd better go there and take a look."

It turned out that in 88, Ningming built a martyrs' cemetery. The remains of the martyrs who died in the self-defense counterattack war and were buried in the three cemeteries of Tongmian, Zhilang and Beishan on the border, as well as the bones of all the revolutionary martyrs sleeping in various places in the county, were moved to the cemetery for burial.

"The Martyrs' Cemetery is right next to National Highway 322, on Nala Mountain behind the County Transportation Bureau. If you go south from here, you will see it when you leave the county town." The girl pointed to the road enthusiastically.

"Thank you."

Fang Minghua decided to rest for a night and go again the next morning.

Unexpectedly, it rained the next morning.

The rain was not heavy, so Fang Minghua went to a department store on the street, bought an umbrella, and then walked out of the city according to the waiter's instructions.

After leaving the city, you will soon see the Martyrs Cemetery on the hillside of Nara Mountain beside the national highway.

Walking upwards, you will soon arrive at the main gate of the cemetery. The main gate is an antique-style archway facing south and north, which is tall and majestic.

After finding the cemetery management office, Fang Minghua found the information of martyr Yang Xiaohong of the Southern Xinjiang Art Troupe. He bought a bouquet of flowers and walked south according to the address given. The martyrs' cemetery was located at the southern end of the cemetery. When Fang Minghua got there, the entire area was filled with densely packed tombstones.

He found that although it was raining today, there were still many people coming to the cemetery to pay their respects, and many of them spoke with accents from all over the country, including white-haired old people and children.

Finally, in an inconspicuous corner, Fang Minghua found Yang Xiaohong's tombstone. On the tombstone was a portrait of the girl, wearing a Type 65 military uniform and smiling with a pair of cute little fangs showing.

Fang Minghua remembers that the girl was less than 20 years old when she died.

He gently placed a bouquet of white chrysanthemums, white lilies and calla lilies in front of the tombstone, and then bowed three times respectfully.

Looking at the girl's portrait, Fang Minghua's memories were suddenly brought back to the summer ten years ago.

"Hey, great writer, why are you following Tangtang wherever he goes? Are you worried about him?"

"Fang Minghua, I didn't expect you to be such a good singer."

"Fang Minghua, you can write poetry and novels, and you can also dance and sing. You are truly an all-rounder. What else can you do?"

The girl's voice, appearance and smile appeared before my eyes.

If I didn't make the sacrifice, I could become a mother like Tangtang and have a happy family, right?
Fang Minghua thought to himself.

Somewhat uncomfortable.

At this time, the rain was getting heavier and heavier, and the sky and the earth were shrouded in mist.

Fang Minghua was about to leave holding an umbrella when she suddenly noticed that there was a woman holding an umbrella and wearing a white dacron shirt standing next to her, holding a white chrysanthemum in her hand.

The two met each other.

A woman in her thirties with short hair.

"You are Fang Minghua, right?" the woman asked tentatively.

"I'm Fang Minghua, you are..." Fang Minghua looked at this familiar woman and suddenly remembered someone's name.

"You are Meng Hongxia! Tangtang's comrade-in-arms."

"Yes, I'm Meng Hongxia. I stood here and looked at you for a while. It looked like you, but I didn't recognize you." Meng Hongxia said. Meng Hongxia was also Song Tangtang's comrade in the Southern Xinjiang Art Troupe. They lived in the same dormitory at the time and had a very good relationship.

Fang Minghua had seen this girl when he was collecting folk songs in southern Xinjiang, and later when the Southern Xinjiang Song and Dance Troupe went to Yanjing to report on their performance.

Fang Minghua explained that he came to Greentown for a meeting, and Song Tangtang asked him to come to Ningming to pay tribute to the sacrifice of Yang Xiaohong.

"You really did marry Tangtang. At that time, Xiaohong and I both said that you and Tangtang were a perfect match, a talented man and a beautiful woman." Meng Hongxia said.

"Thank you. Are you also here to pay tribute to Yang Xiaohong?" Fang Minghua asked.

"Yes." Meng Hongxia gently placed the chrysanthemum in her hand in front of the tomb, bowed three times, and then said to Fang Minghua:
"My home is in Longzhou, just west of Ningming. Sometimes when I come to Ningming for work, I come to see Yang Xiaohong."

The two left the Martyrs' Cemetery together and each talked about their own experiences.

It turned out that in 85, Meng Hongxia transferred from the Southern Xinjiang Art Troupe and returned to her hometown. She was assigned to work in the county troupe. Later, she married a man and had a child.

"I guess you don't know much, but in recent years, the county's theater troupes have generally been unprofitable and have closed down one after another. Our county is no exception. The troupe has closed down and the troupe members have to find their own way out. My husband and I started a small business. Today we came to Ningming to purchase some goods, so I came to visit Yang Xiaohong. I didn't expect to meet you." Meng Hongxia said finally.

Fang Minghua also discovered that he remembered that Meng Hongxia and Song Tangtang were the same age and were also very beautiful at that time, but when he saw her this time, she was obviously much older than Song Tangtang, and she had white hair before she was even thirty.

What happened in the meantime?
Although Meng Hongxia didn't explain it in detail, Fang Minghua could also think of it.

"Hey, I remember there was a fellow villager from Xijing in the art troupe named Zhou Shunlai, who played the trumpet. Later he broke his arm. What is he doing now?" Meng Hongxia suddenly asked.

Of course Fang Minghua knew Zhou Shunlai.

When he went to southern Xinjiang for field research, it was this fellow villager who took him with him in the military camp. The male protagonist of his own book "Youth" was written based on the stories of Liu Feng and Zhou Shunlai in the original movie "Youth".

Now when Meng Hongxia mentioned this, she said, "After he was discharged from the army, he was assigned to the security department of the Zhouzhi Agricultural Machinery Factory in the suburbs of Xijing. But I haven't seen him for several years."

"Oh, he plays the trumpet beautifully."

"Yes"

The two came down the mountain and said goodbye to each other on the national highway. Fang Minghua told Meng Hongxia Song Tangtang's contact information and asked her to come to Xijing if she had the chance.

Meng Hongxia agreed with a smile.

Fang Minghua returned to the county town without any delay. After checking out of the guesthouse, he rushed to the train station with his travel backpack and returned to Nanning.

This time I stayed in the Nanfang Building on Chaoyang Road, which was known as the tallest building in Greentown at that time. The main thing was that there was a telephone in the guest room, so I could call Song Tangtang at night. We hadn't contacted each other for more than a week since I left.

At around eight o'clock in the evening, Fang Minghua estimated that his wife had answered, so he called home.

"Tangtang, I'm in Green City now. I went to Ningming yesterday to pay tribute to Yang Xiaohong. Guess who I met?"

"Who?"

"Meng Hongxia."

"Hongxia? We haven't seen each other for almost ten years. How is she now?" Song Tangtang's tone was full of surprise.

Fang Minghua told her what happened at the Martyrs Cemetery today.

On the other end of the phone, Song Tangtang listened, sighed softly, and said nothing.

The two chatted for a few more sentences, Fang Minghua asked about the two children's situation, and then hung up the phone.

(End of this chapter)