After the man with glasses closed the door and left, Zhou Yihong beckoned to Lu Tao to come over, and then patted him on the shoulder and said cordially: "Xiao Lu, just now I saw you standing under the shade of the willows at that three-way intersection, and I wanted to ask you to get in the car at that time, but then I thought it was inappropriate, so I only asked Xiao Li to go down and ask about your situation, and then look for you alone when I get here." Come, sit down first, and we'll have a good talk. ”

When Lu Tao first met Zhou Yihong, he guessed that he was a leader, and his official position would not be small, but he didn't expect him to be the secretary of the Songshan Municipal Party Committee. Although he was chic and dignified by nature, after all, it was the first time he had seen such a big official, so he was still a little cramped and uneasy, and carefully sat on a stool opposite Zhou Yihong, not knowing what to say for a while.

Zhou Yihong smiled gently and asked, "Xiao Lu, it seems that your accent is not a local, where is your hometown?"

"My hometown is from Qingxi County, Huaisha City. ”

"Qingxi County?"

Zhou Yihong's thick eyebrows were raised, as if he remembered something, he raised his head and thought for a moment, and asked: "Are you from Qingxi County, or from the countryside? If it is rural, which township is it?"

Lu Tao raised his head and glanced at Zhou Yihong in a little surprise, and replied, "My hometown is from Linjia Village, Menggong Town, Qingxi County. Secretary Zhou, are you very familiar with Qingxi County?"

Zhou Yihong didn't answer him directly, but asked in a rather hurried tone: "Are you really from Linjia Village, Menggong Town? Then do you know a person named Lu Hanqing? This person is about the same age as me, in his fifties, and he used to be a soldier——"

Lu Tao said "ah", his eyes widened again, staring at Zhou Yihong for a moment, and shouted: "That's my father, how do you know him?"

Zhou Yihong also let out an "ah", his eyes showed a look of surprise and joy, and he asked a little excitedly: "Are you really Lu Hanqing's son? What about your father? Where does he live now? How is his health? Is the injury on his leg healed at all?"

Lu Tao's face darkened, and he lowered his head and replied: "My father died when I was three years old, it was 1993, more than 20 years ago!"

"What? He's dead? Why did he die? He was just wounded in the leg, so it shouldn't have been fatal!"

"My father died of liver cancer, and it was only three months from the discovery to the death. ”

Zhou Yihong was stunned for a long time, his eyes gradually turned red, he patted Lu Tao's shoulder with his hand, and said in a sad and guilty tone: "Xiao Lu, I'm sorry for your father." He was a hero, but for some special reason, he did not receive the honor he deserved until his death, and he was still my benefactor, but because of objective conditions, I never had the opportunity to repay him. Would you like to hear your father's story?"

Because his father died early, Lu Tao has no memory of him at all, but when he was a child, he heard people talk about it, saying that his father had participated in the war on the southwest border in the late 70s, and was later sent back to his hometown because of mistakes made on the battlefield. Two years after my father's death, my mother remarried to another county, and since then I have never heard anyone talk about my father, and even my mother never told her and my sister about my father.

Unexpectedly, Secretary Zhou Yihong actually said that his father was a hero and his benefactor, which made his heart beat wildly, and he quickly replied: "Secretary Zhou, what mistake did my father make? Was it because he was wounded on the battlefield and was captured by the enemy?"

Zhou Yihong shook his head and said, "No! Strictly speaking, his behavior is not a mistake. On the contrary, in our eyes, your father is a great hero who saved a dozen of our comrades. Have you seen the movie "Garland Under the Mountain" or the novel? In this movie, there is a deputy company commander Jin Kailai, in order to replenish the water of his comrades-in-arms of the Sharp Knife Company, he went to the fields of the enemy people to cut a few bundles of sugarcane, but he was ambushed by the enemy and died, and in the end he was not even rated as a martyr. Your father's experience is exactly the same as Jin Kailai's. ”

Next, Zhou Yihong told Lu Tao the story of his father.

In that border war, Lu Hanqing was the platoon commander of the second platoon of a sharp knife company, and Zhou Yihong was the deputy platoon commander of this platoon. Their platoon followed the Sharp Knife Company to the enemy's rear for 30 kilometers, and when they reached the designated position, the war began. The Sharp Knife Company conquered several small high grounds, and held on these small high ground according to the orders of the superiors, at least forty-eight hours.

The second platoon led by Lu Hanqing was ordered to guard on a small hill to the west, and after a day and a night of hard fighting, it repelled several counterattacks by the enemy. However, they faced a very serious problem: the water they brought had long since been drunk, the commanders and fighters guarding the position were all thirsty and their throats were smoking, several soldiers with weak constitutions had dehydration reactions, and two fighters even fell into a coma for a time.

In desperation, Zhou Yihong proposed that he take two warriors to venture to the sugarcane field under the mountain to cut a few bundles of sugarcane to quench his thirst. However, Lu Hanqing was very hesitant: Because before the war, his superiors had sternly ordered him to resolutely implement the three major disciplines and eight points of attention, as he did in China, and not to touch a stitch or thread of the local villagers. Violators should be dealt with more severely.

However, in the current situation, if you don't go to find some sugarcane to quench your thirst, it will not only affect the combat effectiveness of the platoon, but even some comrades-in-arms may even die of thirst. So, he had to approve Zhou Yihong to take two soldiers down the mountain to cut sugar cane.

Unexpectedly, when Zhou Yihong and they returned to the mountain bag with a few bundles of sugarcane on their backs, they were ambushed by the enemy of a squad, and one soldier died on the spot. At the critical moment, Lu Hanqing led a squad of soldiers to rush down the mountain bag and repelled the ambushed enemy.

However, when retreating to the mountain, there was a hidden enemy who threw Zhou Yihong a*, which happened to be seen by Lu Hanqing, and he suddenly threw Zhou Yihong to the ground from behind. As a result, Zhou Yihong was safe and sound, but Lu Hanqing's leg was seriously injured......

Later, the regiment investigated the violation of discipline and stealing sugarcane from local people, and Zhou Yihong originally wanted to take responsibility, but was stopped by Lu Hanqing. There are two reasons for him: first, the cutting of sugarcane was approved by him, the platoon commander, and he should bear the main responsibility; second, he is now disabled and can no longer stay in the army, while Zhou Yihong can continue to stay in the army to kill the enemy and make meritorious contributions, rather than both of them being expelled from the army, it is better for him to bear all the responsibility!

Zhou Yihong argued with him for a long time, but he was very resolute, and he took the initiative to tell the investigators that he decided to cut the sugarcane and had nothing to do with Zhou Yihong. So, the regiment gave Lu Hanqing a dismissal punishment and returned home as a soldier.

More than 10 years ago, he changed his career as a deputy division, first working in the provincial party committee office, and then becoming deputy mayor and mayor of a certain city, until he was transferred to Songshan in March this year to serve as secretary of the municipal party committee......