After Sun Juan got married, Zhang Hongcao acted as the director of the medical center, and on the day of the New Year, Chen Shu, who was not an official member but had been in the medical center, rushed home. When Chen Shu left the courtyard of the infirmary, she deliberately walked into the courtyard where the headquarters was located, and the guards knew her and didn't care.

She heard a meeting going on in the house where Long Qian lived, and when she walked up the steps, she heard her uncle's slightly hoarse voice, she couldn't help but stick out her tongue, quietly retreated down the steps, and returned to Chenjiaya.

"Shu'er, you're still crazy today! Don't do anything for me! "My aunt was washing rice in the yard, her sleeves rolled up high, and her arms were red from cold water.

"Auntie, I'll come." Chen Shu apologetically took over the work from her aunt's hands. Uncle likes to eat rice cakes, but he usually can't eat them, and Jiang rice is not easy to do, that is, a steamed basket for the New Year.

"Your uncle too, I don't know what kind of ecstasy soup Commander Long poured into him, and he won't stop during the New Year__"

"Uncle I'm having a meeting in Commander Long's house."

"Shu'er, are you like this, is it interesting?"

"Interesting." Chen Shu flicked her long braids, "It's fun to listen to the stories of them training and fighting." Auntie, I also want to be a soldier__"

"Tell your uncle! You're a girl, you can't compare to men. I know what the background of the female soldiers under Long Qian is. is like Tailor Sun, if it weren't for the poverty of his family and his two children, would he marry a female soldier of the Mengshan Army? Shu'er, I admit that Commander Long is a good person, good to the people, and good to your uncle, but after all, he is a ringing horse, and he can have a good result if he goes against the court? I've privately persuaded your uncle a few times, but he didn't listen, and now it's even more __"

Chen Shu doesn't like to hear this, "Tailor Sun is blessed, Sister Sun is a good person, but her mouth is faster, her appearance is good, and her work is quick." Her life is not good, if it weren't for Commander Long, they would all be killed! As for Uncle I, I must have thought about it before and after, the Mengshan Army will not fail, I believe in them. ”

"Alas__" You Shi sighed, knowing that he was playing the piano to a cow, and Chen Shu's "poisoning" was deeper than that of her husband.

Chen Chao only returned from Zhengjiazhuang at dusk, and the family had already prepared a Chinese New Year's Eve dinner. It's hearty. You Shi asked him to hurry to the table, and Chen Chao said, "Don't worry, I called Commander Long to have a glass of wine and play two games of chess." Wait a minute. ”

"yes, is he alone?" Chen Shu became excited.

"Probably. I invited him to play chess, and he agreed. Warm up the old white I have saved. ”

After waiting for another half an hour, Long Qian came, followed by the foreigner David. Xiao Zhi was already hungry and couldn't help it, so he secretly twisted a piece of pork head meat on a plate and ate it.

"Sister-in-law, I'm causing you trouble." Long Qian smiled and said, "Ming'er is the New Year, I'll give my sister-in-law an early year here." As he spoke, he clenched his fists and bowed to You's family.

"Ha Luha, you have been in the West for a long time, what is this called? Ladies first? Chen Chao beckoned Long Qian to sit down and personally poured warm liquor for Long Qian, "David, I have rice wine here, do you want it?" ”

"Your liquor is too powerful, I still drink yellow bars." David sniffed.

"Ha Luha, your Chinese language is more authentic. Quick, bring up the rice wine. "Rice wine has been prepared for a long time, and You will also drink a little during the festival, and when the guests are stable, Chen Chao picked up the wine glass, "Retreat, you are usually too busy, and you will not return home if you are not drunk tonight." No, just live here. Come on, do one. ”

"Okay, do one." Long Qian drank it all. The wine is spicy and lacks the mellowness it should have. In this remote mountain village, it is also enjoyable to drink alcohol during the energy saving.

"Usually you have big rules, and you don't drink alcohol. I see that you are also massive, so let go of it tonight, as long as you don't get drunk and can't see black and white clearly. Ha Lu Ha. ”

"You can win even if you're drunk. Tomorrow is the year of Gengzi, the Western calendar is already 1900, and the new century is coming soon, which is destined to be an unusual year. After drinking a few glasses of wine, Long Qian felt his body warm.

"In 1900? The new century? ”

"In the Western calendar, a hundred years is a century. As for 1900, it's from the birth of Jesus, right? David? ”

David was gobbling up his food, nodding his head in approval.

"David, you've been following Long Qian for almost a year, right? Don't want to go home? Chen Chao looked at the foreign guy with great interest, and saw that his chopsticks were ripe.

"The commander arranged for me to go to Beijing after the Chinese New Year__"

"Beijing? Where did the emperor live? Chen Zhi became excited.

"Why don't you come with me?" David grinned.

Chen Zhi looked at his father, probably wanting his father to nod.

"Don't tease the kids." Long Qian said, "I asked David to go to Beijing, there is something serious." When he's done, he'll go back to his country. It is estimated that the US minister has already listed you as a missing person. ”

"I'm not going back to my country." David wiped his mouth with a fluffy palm, "You have no right to drive me away, and I haven't violated military discipline." Besides, I still have to train artillerymen. ”

"Training artillerymen? Do you know how to shoot guns? Chen Shu asked.

"I teach them to do the math, you know? Compute! In the army, only the commander understands trigonometric functions, and those prisoners are mostly based on experience, and I don't know how the German instructors teach them__" David shook his head.

Long Qian smiled and didn't say anything. Chen Chao felt that Long Qian attached great importance to this foreigner, but he didn't know what his intention was in sending David to Beijing.

Chen Chao asked about Long Qian's family background, but he changed the topic, and when You Chen Xian, Chen Zhi and others were withdrawn, Chen Chao and Chen Shu drank for a while, until Li San and another guard platoon of soldiers came to the door, Chen Chao saw that Long Qian and David were a little drunk, so he arranged for the two to rest in the wing room, and sent Li San back.

In the middle of the night, Chen Shu had a fuss, so she had to get dressed and get up to go to the toilet, and when she opened the door, she was stirred by the cold air, and her mind immediately cleared up, she hurriedly ran to the toilet in the southwest of the outer courtyard, and when she came out, she seemed to hear someone crying on the east side of the courtyard gate, the kind of crying that deliberately lowered her voice, like the whimper of a wounded beast. She was not afraid, and after taking a few steps, she saw a figure crouching on the ground, and the cry was made by that person.

At first, she thought it was Chen San's son, but when she got closer, she realized that it was not like it, because that person was much taller than Chen San's son, even if she was squatting there, she could conclude at a glance that it was not Chen San's son.

"Who, who's there?"

The man stood up vigilantly and turned his head, without the help of the light from the lantern hanging at the gate, Chen Shu also recognized that it was Long Qian!

"You, what are you doing here? Why are you crying? Chen Shu was surprised.

"It's nothing," Long Qian panickedly wiped away the tears from his face.

"No, you, why are you crying? Who bullied you? Chen Shu was shocked and incoherent. Then I felt that my question was funny, who bullied him? Who can bully him?

Long Qian turned around to leave, but was pulled by Chen Shu, "Hey, you stand for me, stand still!" ”

"It's nothing, I dreamed of my parents, and I don't know how they are doing__" Long Qian rubbed his face vigorously with his hands, "Go back quickly, don't freeze." ”

"Hey, tell me, where are your mom and dad? Are they also in the United States? It seems that Long Qian once told his uncle about his life experience, but he forgot it.

"They are far away, I can't see them__" Long Qian looked up at the vast starry sky overhead, in the cold winter night, the stars were dense, staring carefully, there would be more stars flashing out__The deep universe hides many secrets that he doesn't know__

"It seems that his parents have passed away, it turns out that he misses his parents, so there is no need to hide here alone and cry__The dignified commander of the Mengshan Army actually dreamed of his parents like a child to the point of crying his nose__" At first, he was shocked, then he felt funny, and finally he was tender. Chen Shu thinks of her parents, they have also passed away, although she loves her uncle and aunt, but she still thinks of her parents in some cases, especially her mother__

"I know your feelings, my father and mother have passed away__"

"You don't understand. I'm all right, go back. Long Qian reached out and touched Chen Shu's head, "I'm frostbitten, but I can't eat dumplings and set off firecrackers." As he spoke, he walked towards the room where he lived. Leave the girl in the bleak yard.

"Shu'er," the light was lit in the room, and the voice of Aunt You Shi came out, "What are you doing outside?" ”

"It's okay, auntie," Chen Shu wanted to catch up, but finally stopped.

She was shocked by the scene just now, will Long Qian cry? Still so sad? Is it because you're drunk? I've never seen a man cry so sadly, and it's this man__

With a full stomach full of suspicion, Chen Shu returned to her room, and her cousin Chen Xian was still asleep on the bed, and she didn't hear the scene just now. This scene completely dispelled Chen Shu's sleepiness, and the girl kept her eyes open until dawn, thinking of her parents for a while, and Long Qian's figure for a while.

Chen Shu is the orphan daughter of Chen Chao's brother Chen Mai, Chen Xiang was rich but did not take the road of the imperial examination, and hated the eight-share scholar system that began in the Sui and Tang dynasties to the Ming and Qing dynasties. When he was a child, he often praised Chen Mai for being smarter than ordinary people, and he had the ability to never forget, but he only learned what he liked, and he liked historical events, but he was afraid of the four books and five classics. The gentleman who taught Chen Jiaya's private school is a talented man, and he has some hills and valleys in his chest, and he once said to the owner privately that Ling Lang (referring to Chen Mai) will break the family if he encounters troubled times. When the flood has been flat, the twist of the Jianghuai and Shandong provinces is poor, the troubled times will be peaceful, and the Qing Dynasty seems to have ushered in the revival of Tongzhi. Chen Mai's father was taken aback by Mr.'s words, and he was much stricter with his eldest son, even if he couldn't enter the official career through the imperial examination, he couldn't become a chaotic minister and thief, right? But before Chen Mai became an adult, his parents died of illness in a plague one after another, and Chen Mai's eldest sister died at the same time, and only Chen Mai and Chen Chao brothers survived.

Chen Mai became a family and married his wife who had been married since childhood, and the couple were extremely friendly to their younger brother, supporting Chen Chao to study, helping Chen Chao to set his wife, and the eldest brother was his father, but he also deserved it. Chen Mai is heroic, emphasizing righteousness over wealth, and has a chivalrous reputation in the township, whether it is relatives and friends or hired farmers who cultivate the Chen family, they will get Chen Mai's help when they encounter difficulties, and the wealth left by the Chen family is scattered in his hands. It wasn't until he felt that the economy was becoming increasingly embarrassed, his wife gave birth to a daughter, and his younger brother was facing a family, that Chen Mai began to plan for a living, started an oil mill business with his friends, and often traveled back and forth to Zaozhuang. The family business is slowly revitalizing again.

Chen Chao was influenced by his brother and was very fond of miscellaneous studies, and also wrote his own book "Lantern Catalogue", imitating the style of "Notes on Reading Wei Caotang" and recording many hearsay stories. As Chen Mai grew older, he gained a new understanding of the world, believing that doing business could enrich the family, but it would never revitalize the family. Because in China, where officials are in the official position, only the official eunuchs are truly respected, and doing business without the support of the government is just a small fight after all, so he pinned the hopes of the Zhongxing Chen family on his younger brother and persuaded Chen Chao not to be distracted, but to study the sages and sages and take the right path of the imperial examination. Chen Chao has always been in awe of his brother, so he put away his heart and studied hard for a few years, until Chen Chao went to the countryside at the age of nineteen to try to win in one fell swoop. Yizhou is a barren land in Shandong, the style of writing is not comparable to other places, it is a great thing to raise people, even the county order of Fei County also went to the village to congratulate Chen Chao on the move, and wished him a success, and the next year Beijing will spread good news. For a time, the reputation of the Chen brothers spread all over Yizhou.

Chen Chao was preparing to do a happy event, the sky was clear, and his brother, who was so kind to him, was killed by Xiangma when he returned to his hometown from Yizhou on a business trip, and he was only thirty-two years old, leaving only an eight-year-old orphan daughter, Chen Shu. Chen Chao heard that his brother died in Pinggu Village, which was a famous ringing horse, it is said that there were thousands of people, robbing houses and houses, and their reputation was not inferior to that of Mengshan bandits. Chen Chao ran to the government, hoping to bring the thief who killed his brother to justice, but he spent a lot of money, but the effect was not at all. At this time, the government at all levels paid huge indemnities due to the signing of the Treaty of Shimonoseki, and their attention was only on looting the people's wealth to cope with the higher and higher apportionments.

This incident was very stimulating to Chen Chao, who was familiar with history books, he suddenly became enlightened, a twenty-four history of thousands of years of ups and downs, there are very few official offices that take the safety of the people seriously, even if it is a strong Han and a prosperous Tang Dynasty, the expulsion of foreign clans and the internal suppression of rebellion are just to consolidate their own rule, where will they take care of the distress of the people under their rule? Chen Chao suddenly extinguished the idea of becoming a scholar in the imperial examination, burned the so-called sage books to the ground, and concentrated on taking care of the oil mill business left by his brother, studying and cultivating the fields, supporting his sister-in-law, personally educating his niece, and trying his best to pass on what he had learned in his life to his niece. After marrying his brother after three years of filial piety, he still raised his widow and sister-in-law like a mother, even if he had his own children, his niece was more arrogant in his eyes than his own child.

Chen Shu didn't want to wrap her feet, Chen Chao agreed, and his sister-in-law Yu said to him, you are used to her like this, how will she marry in the future? Chen Chao disagreed, wrapping the script is a bad habit after five generations, and mutilating a woman's body is the most barbaric. There are many banner people who don't wrap their feet, that is, our ten miles and eight townships, and the daughters of village households are only two or three out of ten, why do you want to force Shu'er? As for the future, I still have to find a big hero for Shu'er, who thinks Shu'er is Tian'er, who is not worthy of our Shu'er.

But her mother also died of illness__Although her uncle and aunt regarded her as her own, the thoughts of longing for her relatives aroused by Long Qian were like the rising tide of the sea, drowning Chen Shu, burying her head in the quilt and sobbing.

Until Zhuangzi remembered the first sound of firecrackers, the Spring Festival of the year of Gengzi came__

Chen Shu got up, and Chen Zhi had already set off the first row of firecrackers in the yard, leaving a red crumb. Seeing her come out, Chen said hello to her sister for the New Year, and ran out of the courtyard. She turned around and went to the kitchen to light the fire, the iron stove sent by Long Qian was easy to use, and the fire lit up with just a poke, and there was no need to bother like before. She began to boil the first pot of water, and my uncle was going to drink tea in the morning, and today was different from the usual day, so he should use the best tea. She heard her uncle's cough and saw his uncle and aunt walk out of the bedroom.

Should I tell my uncle about last night? Chen Shu couldn't make up her mind. When she greeted her uncle and aunt for the New Year according to the rules, and began to prepare the first meal of the New Year, the dumplings were boiled into the pot, and she slowly stirred the churning dumplings with a wooden shovel, but her mind was full of Long Qian's figure.

End of the first volume

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