Chapter 26: The End or the Beginning
The War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea was in full swing on the other side of the Yalu River, and in a flash, Liu Liu was already two years old. Two-year-old Liu Liu can already speak a lot. He has to shout "Mom" several times a day at Wang Yingxiang's photo. It was an enlarged photo, and Mr. Liu placed it in the most prominent position in the living room.
At this moment, Liu Liuzheng was standing under the photo, tilting his head, looking at his mother smiling in the photo.
When Wang Yingxiang left his son, he was not yet a year old. In his son's memory, his mother was very vague, and when he saw others calling his mother, he would go to see Wang Yingxiang's photo. Wang Yingxiang sent letters back from time to time, and when the letters reached Liu Kehao's hands, they were full of traces of fireworks.
From Wang Yingxiang's letter, we can feel the progress of the war. In the letter, she said: Kehao, do you know? The fourth battle was fought very hard, many comrades-in-arms were sacrificed, and the field hospital was full of wounded and sick people, and my heart was about to break when I saw their painful appearance.
At the end of her letter, she wrote: Kehao, you have worked hard. Be sure to take Liu Liu, the army commander said, our son will be a soldier again after twenty years. I miss you guys......
There were traces of tears on the letterhead, and some of the words had been blurred.
Every time Liu Kehao reads his wife's letter, his heart is cloudy and snowy. In the days when Wang Yingxiang was by his side, he didn't feel the weight of this emotion, and now, he really felt it. When he was fine, he held Liu Liu in his arms, pointed to Wang Yingxiang in the photo, and told him: Mom is a soldier who is fighting in North Korea......
Liu Liu was babbling and dancing with his hands.
Sometimes, when looking at the photos of my wife, I fall into a trance. When he remembered the scene when he first met Wang Yingxiang, it seemed like it happened yesterday, everything was so unreal. He looked down again and looked at the son in his arms, and he gave birth to a nameless sigh.
On this day, Liu Kehao was having a meeting in the office, and suddenly, a person came in and whispered to him: The director of the Civil Affairs Bureau has brought two guests to see you.
He knew that the director of the Civil Affairs Bureau was a cadre who had been transferred from an independent division back then, and when he was the commander of a reconnaissance company, he was already a battalion commander. He hurriedly left the conference room and went downstairs to the reception room.
The old battalion commander waited for him at the door with his hands behind his back. When they saw him, they took him by the hand and said, "Look who I have brought you today."
He walked into the reception room and saw two guests, a man and a woman, about the same age as himself, but he couldn't remember where they had seen them. He opened his eyes wide and narrowed them a little, but he still couldn't recognize the two men in front of him.
The old battalion commander said: You kid think about it, think about it again.
He tried his best to think about it, but in the end he couldn't come up with it. He looked at the old battalion commander pleadingly: I really can't remember.
The old battalion commander reminded: They are your matchmakers.
After listening to the words of the old battalion commander, he was still confused.
The old battalion commander said: Qiao Tianchao, Wang Xiaofeng, do you still remember?
He immediately understood, looking at the pair of men and women in front of him, he really had mixed feelings - he had impersonated Qiao Tianchao for several years, and it was from then that his life changed by mistake. It turned out that the two people in front of him were the real Qiao Tianchao and Wang Xiaofeng. He looked at the two of them, couldn't believe his eyes for a moment, and finally, he finally took their hands and couldn't say a word.
After Qiao Tianchao was captured by the Independent Division, in order to allow Liu Kehao to safely enter the enemy, Qiao Tianchao never left the Independent Division. Later, Wang Xiaofeng was also sent to the independent division. Circumstances can change everything, and the two men end up joining the revolution as well. After the troops liberated Xuzhou, the two of them changed jobs at the same time.
Today is Qiao Tianchao's business trip to the Northeast, and he said that he must meet his old comrades-in-arms, so he brought his wife Wang Xiaofeng with him. When they saw the old battalion commander and talked about the past, the old battalion commander had a whim and brought them to Liu Kehao.
Liu Kehao was very happy that day, and invited a few people to his home to cook and entertain the guests himself.
During the banquet, Qiao Tianchao excitedly raised his wine glass and said: All this is fate. If I've been working in the military, I don't know where I am now.
After listening to Qiao Tianchao's words, Liu Kehao suddenly realized that if he hadn't impersonated himself to enter the enemy, would he have the current home? At this time, he remembered Wang Yingxiang, and all the stories started from that moment.
Time passed quickly, the Korean War was nearing its end, and the top brass of the Volunteer Army had already negotiated with the Americans. Negotiations do not mean the end of the war, and it is often the case that there are talks here and fighting again. But the fight is for talks, and talks are for a ceasefire.
Some of the troops who participated in the war have already returned home one after another, and the situation of the war is already very clear. The troops in the rear were withdrawn to the country one after another, and although they were still fighting, the flames and smoke of the war were far less intense than before.
Son Liu Liu is growing up day by day. Liu Kehao told his son that his mother was coming back.
When the son heard his words, he stood at the door every day and looked at it, muttering over and over again: Mom, why haven't you come back? When he had said this, he did not leave, but tried to stand on his tiptoes and look into the distance. He hoped that he could see his mother in his sight. His mother's appearance was vague in his impression, just the picture in the living room.
Whenever he saw a uniformed female soldier passing by in front of him, he would involuntarily shout: Mom.
When the female soldiers heard him call themselves like this, they smiled softly at the child, and some of them would come over and caress his head. He tentatively called "Mommy" again, and the female soldier waved at him and left. The child finally understands that she is not her own mother. Then he struggled to stand on his tiptoes and look into the distance.
The son did not look forward to his mother's return, but ushered in the director of the Civil Affairs Bureau.
It was a Sunday, and Mr. Liu was resting at home. He squatted in the yard to wash clothes, and Liu Liu stood at the door to see his mother again.
He looked out and talked to Liu Kehao.
Dad, where did Mom go when she got home?
It's almost time to the Yalu River.
Is a river a river?
No, a river is a river, a river is a river, and a river is much wider than a river.
The son suddenly asked with some worry: "Mom won't fall into the water, right?"
No. Mom can ride a horse, and she rides across the river.
At this moment, the director of the Civil Affairs Bureau appeared in his son's sight, and the son shouted: Dad, someone is coming.
The director of the Civil Affairs Bureau bent down and hugged Liu Liu.
Liu Kehao was surprised by the sudden visit of the old battalion commander, and he stood up while wiping his hands. He dragged the old battalion commander into the house, but the old battalion commander stopped, looked at the clothes in the basin and said: "Washed so much?
Liu Kehao smiled: It's been a week, and the old battalion commander is sitting in the house. I'm cooking today, and we'll have two drinks at noon.
The old battalion commander shook his head and sat down on a stool in the courtyard. Liu Kehao saw that the old battalion commander had something to say to him, so he patted his son's head: Liu Liu, go to the door and wait for his mother.
The son said yes and ran out.
The old battalion commander stared at Liu Kehao, and there was an extra layer of moisture in his eyes. Liu Kehao realized that something was going to happen, and hurriedly said: Old battalion commander, if you have something to say, just say it.
The old battalion commander opened the satchel he had brought with him. He brought a blood-stained letter, and the old battalion commander's hand holding the letter trembled a little.
Liu Kehao took the blood-soaked letter. This is a letter from his wife, or a suicide note, so to speak.
In the letter, the wife said:
Kehao, son, when you read this letter, I was already sacrificed. I'm a soldier, sacrifice is normal, don't feel sorry for me.
Kehao, although we haven't really lived together for a long time, I feel very happy. Days and nights in North Korea, I think of you and my son whenever I have time. From the day we joined the revolution, we have been looking forward to the establishment of a new China without war, and now, for the sake of the new China, I have come to Korea to defend my homeland and the country.
I sacrificed my duty as a soldier, and I don't regret it. Tell the son that his mother is a martyr who gave her life for the country. Don't forget, twenty years from now, the son will be a warrior again......
Liu Kehao's tears fell on the blood-stained suicide note bit by bit. After a long moment, he looked up.
The old battalion commander took out several relics from his satchel, among which was a half-portrait of a yellowed and charred one from the artillery fire. It was a photo of Wang Yingxiang and her son before leaving.
She hugged her son and smiled at the camera, but her son looked like he was about to cry. The photo was frozen in that instant.
The old battalion commander whispered: The people in the unit said that Comrade Wang Yingxiang was hit by an enemy shell on the way to amend the wounded.
He clutched the photograph that had been scorched by artillery fire and was only half left. Looking at his wife in the photo, he seemed to hear her saying again: I am going to the front.
Liu stayed at the door and shouted: Dad, has Mom crossed the river?
He stood up and walked to his son at the door.