In fact, nothing has changed, but the time has changed from autumn to winter. The snow on the dirt roads in the village has not melted, it has melted and frozen, turning into black and white ice slag.

There was no one on the road, and it seemed that they were all hiding at home. The weeds growing on the walls of the courtyard on both sides were withered, shivering in the cold wind, and there were still crumbs of firecrackers hanging on them, perhaps someone had married a bride.

A few gray-brown sparrows were bouncing on the road not far away, and when they saw Li Zhen walking over, they flew away in unison, landing on the telephone pole and looking at him curiously.

He walked along the dirt road between the villages, spent half an hour through the village, and passed by a frozen bluestone well and three haystacks, and came to the commissary.

The glass on the two wooden doors was still dusty, but it seemed to be lively inside. A few men gathered at a table to play poker, and a few others sat on the clay kang on the side and craned their necks to watch. The room was filled with smoke, and the noisy voices of people could be heard from afar.

So Li Zhen walked to the door and pushed it open.

The people in the room looked at him a few times, and their voices were a little lower, but they were not so surprised.

Even the shopkeeper just raised his eyes and beckoned, "Buy something?" ”

Perhaps in his opinion, Li Zhen is just a relative of a family in the village who has returned from the city for the New Year. But Li Zhen recognized him.

He was still wearing the woolen sweater of the fall, only with a military coat over it. There were no more or no less goods on the counter of the small shop, and the kind of bread he had eaten was still on the counter.

In fact, it was only a few months, but he felt that the scene in front of him was like a previous life.

He smiled and walked over the crowd. He put the two big bags of things in his hand on the counter and said, "Uncle Wang, don't you remember me?" ”

The man was stunned, then carefully looked at the person in front of him. He was a very handsome and upright young man, clean and tidy, calm, and with a kind smile on his face. With such a appearance and temperament, if you have seen it elsewhere once, there is no reason not to remember it, but the other party knows his name and his tone is so familiar......

He was really a little confused for a while.

Several men sitting on the earthen kang on the side also looked at Li Zhen. Whispering guesses about who his relatives were. Li Zhen didn't want to embarrass the "benefactor" in front of him. He reminded in a low voice, "I've been here in the fall." You gave me 40 bucks, and two-"

The shopkeeper's eyes widened suddenly: "Oh, you're the ...... That ......"

Li Zhen smiled and nodded.

But he didn't think that the shopkeeper hurriedly walked out from behind the counter. Patting his arm: "Come on, come on." It's too crowded inside. Let's go out and talk about it. ”

He didn't expect the other party to react like this, so he took two bags of things and walked out of the road. As soon as he went out, the shopkeeper asked in a low voice, "Are you okay now?" ”

Li Zhen was stunned by him. He frowned suspiciously: "...... What's the matter? ”

"The blood you had on you—" The shopkeeper looked at him with a cautious look and lowered his voice, "what's wrong?" ”

Li Zhen thought about it and understood what he was referring to. For a while, I had mixed feelings, and I was almost stunned in place.

It turned out that this Uncle Wang thought it was ...... Got your own life? He recalled what the other two men had said to him at the time - Uncle Wang's son, who was also as old as himself, was injured by the earthquake and sent to the county hospital.

So the worried man at that time gave himself 40 yuan so generously, and didn't ask about anything else? But this kind of thing......

He was stunned for a moment and shook his head: "It's fine." That blood is really mine, not what you think. I've found my family, and I haven't forgotten your 40 yuan - otherwise I wouldn't have figured out how to get through it. ”

The shopkeeper let out a sigh and smiled, "Oh...... That's good, that's good. ”

Then he hurriedly waved his hand: "Let's go, go to my house and sit for a while." Alas, I came back for the 40 yuan......"

He led Li Zhen to his home with the unique etiquette of the northern countrymen, and when he spoke politely along the way, Li Zhen responded gently. But when he was about to arrive at the door, the shopkeeper couldn't help but ask again: "Is there really nothing wrong?" ”

Li Zhen smiled helplessly in his heart, handed the bag in his right hand to his left hand, took out his military ID card from his inner pocket and handed it to him: "Look. ”

The shopkeeper took it suspiciously, opened it and looked at it, and his face immediately changed. He compared the avatar on the document with the young man in front of him for a while, and hurriedly handed it over with both hands: "Oops...... How to say this! You're an officer! I don't even see it...... I thought it was ......"

As he spoke, he looked at Li Zhen again, and already decided in his heart that this young man might be a great person—at least there was a great person in the family. A few months ago, he was still in rags and had no master, but now he has become a lieutenant officer......

Ordinary people don't have this ability! Not to mention the lieutenant officer in this village...... Even the civil servants of the township government rarely see each other. He was a little frightened for a while, his previous generous temperament disappeared, and while he was secretly worried because of his previous suspicions, he couldn't help but speculate about which big man in the city was surnamed Li based on his extremely limited knowledge - but unfortunately it was doomed to be in vain.

He was finally reassured, but Li Zhen felt a little uncomfortable with the slightly respectful politeness he showed.

He thought the trip should be easy and enjoyable.

But no matter what the two men thought in their hearts, the man welcomed him into his home.

A very clean compound. There was a date tree in the yard, and the leaves had fallen. But the tree must have been some years old, and its trunk was as thick as a bucket. There are chicken coops and duck coops on the west side of the courtyard, and the chickens and ducks are strolling in the courtyard, and they don't dodge when they see the living, but raise their heads and look at Li Zhen as if they were human.

The courtyard reminded him of the house he rented in Binh Duong's Old Town, and he didn't know what it looked like now.

When they entered the house, the warmth came to their faces. Li Zhen found a place to put the things in his hand, and said with a smile: "It's almost the New Year, I bought you something." ”

He hadn't mentioned it before, and the man couldn't reach out to help him carry the two bags. Now he quickly rubbed his hands and smiled embarrassedly: "Come on." What are you buying these for, spending so much money......"

Li Zhen looked at the seemingly wealthy home, and smiled faintly: "The grace of a drop of water should be repaid by a spring, and it won't get in the way—but, how is your little brother?" ”

Speaking of this, the man's eyes darkened: "Hi...... My leg hurt badly...... Raise it. I don't know what happened to Lu Dao after this winter. ”

He waved his hand again: "What are you talking about - you killed the pig last week, and you haven't eaten it yet, have you?" Stay and try the farmhouse food! ”

At this moment, the curtain of the inner room was opened, and a young man's head poked out. looked at Li Zhen with a shy look and smiled a little shyly.

With thick eyebrows and big eyes, he was born thick and simple. It was carved out of the same mold as his father.

The man hurriedly introduced: "Yuanwei." This is ......"

"Li Zhen." Li Zhen nodded and smiled, "Hello." ”

"Ah...... Hello. The young man looked a little confused, not understanding who was standing in front of him, standing behind the curtain. Seems hesitant to come out.

And Li Zhen seems to see his former self in him - the same youthfulness, the same silence.

The man lifted the curtain and greeted warmly: "Come in and sit." Come in and sit. The went to the house, and I won't be back until tomorrow. You two sit down first, and I'll go get the food. ”

So Li Zhen saw the crutches that the young man was holding under his side. There is also a stack of books on the kang in the back room. What a familiar thing - sophomore mathematics, sophomore physics, sophomore chemistry......

Textbooks, reference books, and exercise books are piled together, filling up the entire kang tip. One of the books was still spread out, covered with calculus paper with strokes, as if it had just been solved. These things reminded him of a lot of things, so he said it a moment too late when he had planned to refuse to keep it. And at this moment, the man had already let the two of them into the house, and he walked out of the house again.

In the face of such enthusiasm, it is difficult for him to insist on leaving. What's more, there are other purposes for this trip......

He looked up at the window—there seemed to be a reflection of something in the distance.

So the corners of Li Zhen's mouth curled slightly, so he sat on the edge of the kang and started a topic at random: "Sophomore in high school?" Ah, doing a chemistry problem. ”

In fact, he himself is only a year older than this Wang Yuan, but now he feels that he is not at the same age as this sophomore in high school. In addition, after returning from Shennongjia, his appearance has changed slightly and has become more mature, so Zhang Yuanwei, who is only one year younger than him, also regards him as a sophisticated, calm, and real "adult".

Wang Yuanwei scratched his head shyly: "Well, do chemistry questions." There is a question that will not. ”

Li Zhen habitually looked at the question on the workbook - "How to remove acetic acid from ethyl acetate".

Then those memories of the past flooded back to my mind, as if I had just written them down yesterday and reviewed them again a few minutes ago. He groaned slightly, and nodded in his notebook: "Use sodium carbonate." Acetic acid and sodium carbonate form sodium acetate, which is easily soluble in water, and stratification. At the same time, due to salting out, saturated sodium carbonate can reduce the solubility of ethyl acetate in water, and the stratification is more obvious, and then the liquid can be separated. ”

Wang Yuanwei was slightly stunned, as if he didn't expect this guest to be so proficient in the sophomore exercises - listening to that tone was like a teacher. But he did seem to be the kind of standard good student who was dedicated to reading in the hope of leaping into the dragon, and after listening to the answers, his eyes lit up, and he immediately glowed with a completely different enthusiasm than before.

He also sat on the kang, pondered the answer given by Li Zhen for a while, and clapped his hands: "That's right!" Why didn't I think of sodium carbonate! ”

Li Zhen smiled softly and asked casually, "Are there any other questions?" ”

Wang Yuanwei hurriedly took out another notebook and spread it out: "There is also this ......"

So in the next half hour, Li Zhen did a free tutor. This kind of experience is also pleasant for him - after the life-and-death battle in Shennongjia, he suddenly came to such a small mountain village to help a sophomore in high school solve problems...... What an unexpected experience.

His foundation is quite solid, and his memory is excellent, so he effortlessly answered six more questions for Wang Yuanwei. After arriving at the end of the year, the sophomore high school student looked at Li Zhen, who looked at the encyclopedia almost with admiration, and couldn't help but ask: "Brother, are you ...... Teacher? ”

Li Zhen smiled and shook his head: "No." I work in the military. ”

"Ah......" Wang Yuanwei let out a heartfelt exclamation, "You are a national defense student, right?" ”

Li Zhen shook his head again: "Combatants." ”

At this time, his father opened the curtain and moved a small table and walked in, and said with honor: "Your brother Li is a lieutenant officer!" ”

So Wang Yuanwei's eyes were even brighter.

The table was moved to the kang and the meal was served. Li Zhen took off his shoes and went to the kang, and the three of them sat cross-legged and began to eat lunch. In the past, he must have felt a little restrained, but now he only feels free and happy, and at ease.

Because...... He knew that during the time he was eating and drinking, there were still two guys who were guarding in the cold wind of January!

In fact, there is another factor that makes him happy - Wang Yuanwei.

Although it doesn't sound very kind...... However, this sophomore did give him a certain sense of pride. It's only a year apart, but it's two completely different lives. This kind of emotion cannot be classified as negative emotions such as "complacent" or "smug", but is completely "touching the scene" and "feeling it".

It was also because of this feeling in his heart that he even encouraged Wang Yuanwei in a brotherly tone - of course, there was also the effect of those glasses of liquor.

This lunch is a pleasure for both the guests and the hosts. After chatting a little more about innocuous topics, Li Zhen left a hundred yuan and asked Uncle Wang to give it to the other two well-wishers that day for him. After some concessions, the other party accepted the money, politely kept Li Zhen at home for dinner, and sent him out of the door after he politely refused.

From beginning to end, the country man kept his duty, neither asking for Li Zhen's contact information, nor trying to make other requests.

This made his impression of the family quite good. So after thinking about it, he took the initiative to leave his phone number and told the other party that if he encountered any difficulties, he could try to ask himself for help.

But in fact, there is really a limit to what he can do for this family, and he doesn't believe that the other party will really ask for himself. However, it is not a bad thing to be able to make friends with such a kind-hearted family who knows how to advance and retreat.

The father and son sent him to the entrance of the village, and the friendship in the past really touched Li Zhen. Therefore, a small regret arose in his heart - if Adam was by his side at this time, he might be able to trigger a resonance, use that strength to stimulate his potential, and try to heal Wang Yuanwei's leg with his own blood.

But regret is regret after all. Right now, Adam's skeleton is being heavily guarded somewhere in the northern base, and even he doesn't have permission to enter or leave that room at will. Moreover...... Everyone has their own way of life, and everyone has the dignity of every human being. Too much mercy and help does not necessarily make others happier.

So he insisted on letting the father and son go home first, and then restrained his expression and quietly waited for the arrival of the long train.

Five minutes later, a white truck with an empty warehouse drove across the road, kicking up a cloud of dust.

And the long-distance bus is also faintly visible.

Li Zhen smiled coldly. (To be continued.) )