When Zhou Yiyan came out of the shack, it was not yet dawn. A white mist filled the heavens and the earth.

She first walked west along the main road, trying to memorize the woods and tall crops she could see, and planning the retreat route if something happened. It was rainy for days, no one went to the ground, the fog was thick and the sky was dark, I couldn't hear the roosters and dogs barking, and I suddenly found myself standing in front of a village entrance while walking.

The experience of marching over the years told Yiyan that most of the poor peasant households lived behind the village on the edge of the village, and the land along the road and the street was the territory of the wealthy households. She walked along the edge of the village to the back of the village. Only then did I turn the northeast corner, and the sound of hooked buckets came from a north-south alley. After a while, a young woman came out of the alley with a bucket. Most of the women in enemy-occupied areas were afraid of seeing soldiers, and they were locked in their houses all day, so they could not provide any information. Yiyan didn't say hello and continued to walk forward.

The woman carrying the water obviously felt that someone was moving behind her, and involuntarily glanced back, until she saw Zhou Yiyan clearly, and shouted: "My mother!" So he put the bucket on the ground. When Yi Yan saw it, he hurriedly said: "Don't be afraid, you pick your water!" But the woman walked directly to Yiyan and said, "Sister, why did you come here?" Who do you see who I am? ”

Yi Yan took a closer look, and it turned out to be Eryan.

"Eryan! What a coincidence. Yiyan took Eryan's hand and said, "Why are you here?" ”

"My father-in-law is from this village, and your team is here?"

"It's just me."

"Just you?" Eryan looked left and right, and whispered, "This is not the place to talk, come home with me." ”

Eryan picked up the bucket, led Yiyan into the alley, and turned into a corner gate on the west side of the road. Eryan walked straight into the hall, and Yiyan stood in the courtyard and looked at the small courtyard. There are three north houses, two east houses, and only the foundation of the west house remains, and some firewood, grass and wood are piled up on it, and the whole yard is neat and orderly. There is a narrow sandwich road on the west hill of the north house, which leads to the backyard. Yi Yan was about to take a closer look, and with a cough, Eryan's father-in-law came out wearing a single coat, and when he saw Yi Yan, he said affectionately: "Child, go up and sit in the house." ”

Yiyan entered the house, and the old man let him go to the kang, and Yiyan said that he would not cross his legs, so he reluctantly sat down on the edge of the kang. The old man said that Eryan told him how he was rescued, and he really wanted to nail an immortal tablet to offer them up. But when I think about it, they are all comrades of their own sons, how can they make this old method, just wait for the team to come over to show their hearts. Coincidentally, a large group came in the middle of the night, they were cooking on the street, and a group of people also came to the courtyard. The old man hurriedly slaughtered the largest hen and quietly stuffed it into the vegetable pot. The squad leader found out and said he wanted to take it out. The second sister cried and made a fuss, and they were not allowed to take it out. The squad leader called out that he had an idea, saying "Don't take it, don't take it, cook it!" But he went to the company headquarters to report. After a while, the company commander and instructor came. Hearing that this was a martyr's family, they carried more than a dozen bags of dry food, and after a while, they all fell into the hoard and said, "It's hard for you, uncle, we are here to do our filial piety for the martyrs." "He who took the shovel took the spade, and the one who made the broom took the broom, and tidied up the inside and outside of the house for a while. The old man thought they could stay for two days, and just smiled and watched them go about their work. Who knew that just after the busy work, the assembly call sounded, and these people set off with a bowl of small rice. Not to mention the chicken, the remaining half pot of rice is left. The old man said that Yiyan came just in time, hurry up and fulfill the wish of this labor army, this time he has found the owner of the incense.

While speaking, the bellows of the outhouse sounded, the pot and spoon moved, and Eryan was already cooking. Yiyan hurriedly stopped and said, "Don't be busy, I don't have time to eat!" When the old man heard this, he was a little annoyed: "Why do you treat us as outsiders!" Yi Yan hurriedly explained and made the situation of the three of them clear.

"It's up to me to find cattle and give them away." The old man said, "Eryan, don't be busy! Take advantage of the fog, go and bring the two children home, and leave the affairs of the house to me. ”

Yiyan wanted to go by herself, but the old man kept her fiercely. Eryan said: "I am a genuine ordinary person, I am not afraid of anyone, I am familiar with the road here, and I am more sure than you to go." But if you can't believe me, then say something else. ”

Yiyan couldn't do it, so he wrote a note calling her and the two of them to come and handed it to Eryan. Eryan put on a basket, took a sickle and left. Here the old man cooks by himself, and Yiyan sits on the grass mound and pulls the bellows.

The old man told her that since the army had passed the night before, the security team and self-defense regiment in the area had been very nervous. There was an order from above, telling these things to fight together to block the New Fourth Army heading west. When the order was issued, the New Fourth Army had already driven over, and the interception had become nonsense, and it was only prestigious to the common people. From here to the west, seven or eight miles is Jinpu Road. There is a traffic police column stationed along Jinpu Road. There is a station in the south called Guanqiao, and a station in the north is called Chenghe. In both places, regular Kuomintang troops were stationed. When the New Fourth Army crossed the railway the night before, it sealed off the two stations and the enemies along the line in their nests, and the rabbit cubs did not even dare to fire a single shot. After dawn, the army had gone out for more than twenty miles to the river, and they fought with machine guns and small artillery. However, in the past two days, the ordinary people passing by have been very strict, saying that they want to arrest the New Fourth Army. The New Fourth Army has been here several times in the past, and the railway guerrillas have also had a great impact, and the common people support the New Fourth Army and hope that they will be able to stay there for a long time. However, because the political power was always in the hands of the Kuomintang and the rural areas had not undergone democratic reforms, the common people still did not dare to be too intimate with the New Fourth Army in person.

While speaking, the meal was ready. Millet porridge, pasting cakes, and the old hen was simmering on the grate. The old man put down the dining table and wanted to sit at the table. Yi Yan said: "You eat first, I can't eat it now." ”

The old man opened his eyes wide and said, "What's the matter with you, are you busy for yourself for half a day?" ”

Yi Yan said: "Eat quickly, I have to wait for the second sister to come and eat together!" ”

The old man also persuaded Yi Yan, and Yi Yan said: "I took the two of them on a mission, and the two of them are still hungry, how can I send these chopsticks to my mouth?" Uncle, you can eat quickly. ”

"Hmm!" The old man nodded, "Good team, good team!" This is called being like a brother. Okay, I'll wait with you. ”

The old man had no choice but to bring the chicken back to the pot, pull a grass mound to the root of the wall, and talk with Yiyan again. He said, Eryan's adoptive father, is he also called a human? The child called you dad, how can you do such a degrading thing? The child was sold to my family, and if I don't nod my head, he has no right to take it back. But I feel sorry for this child, and I think that when I am young, I should tell her to find another master to live. I didn't ask for any money back, so I gave him the marriage certificate. Before leaving, he also let him take Eryan's boxes and luggage with him.

Yi Yan said: "This time the second lady is back, you two have taken care of each other." ”

The old man said worriedly: "The marriage certificate has been deceived by them, can they not find this place to make trouble?" ”

As he was talking, there was chaos on the road ahead, first the dog bites, then the chicken flies, two gunshots rang out, and the military trumpet and whistle sounded in unison. The old man stood up abruptly and said, "No, it's the bandit army that has entered the village." As soon as they came, this was the movement, and I went to see. ”

Yi Yan hurriedly packed up his things, raised his feet and walked out the door. The old man asked her, "Where are you going?" Yi Yan said: "I have to go to the village, I can't bother you here." The old man said, "They have all reached the road ahead, and you cannot go out." You have brought all your things, come with me. ”

The old man led Zhou Yiyan around to the West Sandwich Road, and opened a few straws stacked, revealing a flat half-section of the wind door. He opened the damper, revealing the hole, and said to Yiyan, "Go down!" This is what I used to dig for their railway team, I don't call you, you must not come out. ”

Yiyan stepped on the feet on both sides of the cave entrance to the end, and there was a slamming sound in front of him. The old man pressed the straw as it was, and promised, "It's coming, it's coming!" "Go to the front yard.

There is a hole at the bottom of the cave to the horizon, and you can only bend down and climb into it. Dark, damp, with a strong smell of humour. Touching it with his hand, the water was dripping, and Yiyan withdrew again, only putting the violin in the horizontal hole.

Yi Yan stood against the wall of the cave, listening to the movement in front of him, and at the same time unscrewed the iron caps of the two grenades, untied the tripping ropes, and pulled the pistol to the top door fire.

Separated by three halls, what was happening in the front yard could not be heard very clearly, except for the occasional scolding or two. Then the footsteps moved into the house, and the sound of the conversation reached the cellar. The bandit army asked the old man how many people were at home? The old man said a person. The bandit army slapped the old man twice and said, "One person! How do you put two pairs of chopsticks on the dinner table? The old man said; It's just that the person didn't wait until now! That person is coming, and he won't finish eating early! ”

"Who are you waiting for?"

"Wait for my in-laws, my daughter has a baby, and my in-laws will pick me up today."

The bandits stopped questioning and began to search inside and out. Footsteps came from far and near to the top of the cellar, and the sound of stalks poked with bayonets was heard. Zhou Yiyan's whole body tensed up, and he aimed the pistol on the top door at the entrance of the hole. At this time, the front yard suddenly "cluck, cluck" The rooster crowed, and a bandit said, "It's not good, the old thing let the chicken go!" The other said, "I said I couldn't find anything to drink when I came up and down, and you didn't see the old ghost grinning when we went back!" The two hurried back to the front yard. Only then did Yi Yan put down the hand holding the gun again. There was another beating and scolding in the hall.

"Old Communists! How did you let the chickens go? ”

"Hey, you're weird! Whose chickens are not released during the day to look for food. ”

"You get me back!"

"Everywhere I run, I'll catch it!"

"Whatever that! Bosses want to fight in your place today, you have to eat chicken. Don't want anything else, if you don't have chickens, you can try it, see if you set your house on fire? ”

"Is it worth it for the sake of stuttering? Don't you just want a chicken, just give you a chicken! ”

Hearing the sound of the pot lid moving, the two bandits shouted again.

"Old thing, you'll have to be honest this time, who are the chickens for? What about the chicken eaters? ”

"Didn't you say just now, my daughter is in confinement, who doesn't give you a chicken? The boss wants to eat, just eat, but don't scare us with horizontal words, the people can't stand the scare! ”

At this moment, there was a sound of footsteps, and more bandits entered the hall. Then I heard the sound of fists, laughter and scolding, ghosts crying and wolf howling, and black smoke and miasma.

As soon as his mood relaxed, Zhou Yiyan felt sleepy. She put her legs into the hole, leaned her back against the wall of the cave and wanted to close her eyes and rest for a while, and fell asleep as soon as she leaned her head against the wall. Later, she was awakened by the sound of the straw overhead. She aimed her gun at the hole, but a black clay pot came out of the hole. The old man whispered, "They are gone, and they haven't left the village yet, so you can be wronged for a while." I'll bring you something to eat first. ”

The roasted chicken was used as bait to divert the enemy's attention, and the old man cooked a bowl of rice and pumpkin for Yiyan.

It wasn't until the second half of the morning that the assembly horn sounded on the front street. The bandits left the village in a sparse manner.

Yiyan returned to the house, and Eryan had already returned. Put two military uniforms and a grenade in front of Yiyan's eyes, one of the shirts has been burned off most of it.

Yiyan asked, "What about people?" ”

Eryan said, "I didn't see it." Not far from the village, I saw the Kuomintang army moving here, so I turned onto the path. I walked a little more to the ground, and when I got to the shack, I didn't see anyone, so I threw these things. There are a few words written on the ground, I don't recognize them, but they are still described, what do you see? ”

Eryan opened the half-burned military uniform, and she used charcoal to draw the words on the ground one by one.

"To the west, let's go." "They found out about the situation and moved west. I left these words for me to read. ”

Eryan said: "Why did you throw things away, not afraid of others picking them up?" ”

"There must be a hurry, otherwise I wouldn't have had time to bring a weapon. Okay, I know it's good that they go west, Yu Jie is sick and can't walk fast, I will be able to catch up with them soon! ”

Yiyan was about to leave, and Eryan and the old man kept her. They said that it was daylight, and the enemy team had only been out of the village for a while, and it was not known whether there were follow-up troops behind, and they must not go on the road alone. It's better to rest patiently for a while, nourish your spirits, and chase them after the dark, and it won't be slow.

Yiyan had no choice but to stay and go to the second concubine's house to rest.

The second lady lives in the East House. The slippery mat, the slippery floor, there are no furnishings, but they can be cleaned up cleanly and brightly. Yi Yan was not at ease, and the other slept in the cellar, but he couldn't sleep anymore, and he and Er Yan talked about gossip. She told her life experience, and the more she listened, the more sad she became, and she took Yiyan's hand and said, "I thought it was my life that was miserable, it turned out that there were people in the world who were more miserable than me." Yi Yan said: "In the old society, the fate of our women is not bitter!" Eryan said: "You are revolutionary, you are good, you are a soldier, you are a war, what are you doing with men, no one can stand it." Yi Yan said: "This is thanks to the Communist Party, without the Communist Party, what kind of fame can we make!" The Communist Party's revolution not only liberated the suffering workers and croppers, but also liberated us women. ”

"I know, when I was alive, he told me." Eryan smiled embarrassedly.

Yi Yan asked Eryan: "How do you plan to live in the future?" ”

Eryan sighed and said, "I don't know either. Anyway, my father-in-law won't pick me up, let's live one day at a time! ”

Yiyan asked, "Won't that footman come to trouble again?" Can traffickers end up like this? ”

Eryan said: "Whoever comes, I will tear it up with whom, I'm not afraid!" Last time, I suffered a loss that I didn't watch out for, and in the future, I will be more vigilant, and they will not be able to reach me. ”

Yiyan said, "Who are they? They are the whole old society! You can't fight anyone else with one or ten two women. If you want to really turn over and be the master, you have to be like your man and follow the Communist Party to make a revolution! ”

Eryan smiled and said, "Can I have your ability to be both civil and military?" ”

Yi Yan said: "I haven't trained in the revolutionary army yet! Before I participated in the revolution, I didn't have the same two times as you. That day, when I saw your shouting and scolding, and chasing after the traffickers, I thought to myself, this woman really dares to fight, you want to join the army, and it will be much better than me to train for two years. ”

Eryan lowered her head and was silent for a long time, her eyes were red and she said, "I can't go, my husband is left alone in this family." If you don't look at the living and look at the dead, you can't try to be happy and throw the old man down. I'll bear with it, let's wait for him to go into the ground, and I'll go to you." ”

Yi Yan asked Eryan: "Do you still want to find another person?" ”

"If you can make a living, what do you want to do with that?" Eryan suddenly smiled and said, "You female soldiers, rolling in the rain of bullets with male soldiers all day long, probably no one has the leisure to think about these things, right?" ”

Yi Yan smiled and said, "I rarely think about it, I rarely think about it!" But it's not nothing! ”

Eryan leaned her mouth close to Yi Yan's ear and asked, "What's the matter?" Do you have the right heart? ”

Yi Yan felt that he had lost his mouth for a while, his face flushed, and he whispered: "I'm still young, how can I have ......"

"Don't even have time to think? I don't believe it. ”

"There's room for thought......"

"What do you think? You have to think about someone, right? ”

"Hee-hee!"

"Who?"

"Who?" Yi Yan blushed and said, "It's not like a soldier too!" After speaking, he leaned on the shoulder of the second sister and laughed.

After dark, Yiyan went on the road, and Eryan sent her four or five miles away. A gust of wind is urgent, and when I see that the sky is going to change again, Yi Yan urges Eryan to go back. Eryan reluctantly said, "When the team comes over again, come and see me." ”

Eryan walked back slowly, and an empty sorrow rose in her heart. It's been years since she's laughed so freely with anyone. From childhood to youth, the only companion she wanted for jokes was the man who was her brother and husband. That person is gone, and she has lost the brightness and cheerfulness of her life forever. There is no object to laugh at, and there is no mood to laugh anymore. This place has not yet been liberated, and the widow's house is not allowed to see smiling faces, nor is it allowed to laugh. She spends all her youthful vitality in labor, and enjoys a little satisfaction in life from fatigue. This female soldier came for a day, and somehow, all of a sudden, pulled her into the atmosphere of normal life, and let her see another world. The world is full of sunshine and vitality, and people form groups with the most frank, sincere, selfless, and flesh-and-blood relationships with each other. When Yiyan was in front of him, all this was real, he could see and touch, and when Yiyan was gone, he was gone with her, and everything became distant and illusory again.

When she returned to the village, it was late at night, and she passed by the back window of her house and found the lights on. It's never been so late to light the lamp, maybe my father-in-law is not at ease, so I'm waiting for her. After walking a few steps into the alley, a donkey barked suddenly came from her yard. She couldn't help but be startled and stopped. She rode a donkey twice in her life, and both times brought her terrible bad luck. An ominous premonition forced her to turn around and walk out of the alley, and stand close to the back window of her house to listen to the movement inside.

"You can see the East House and the North House, and there is no hiding place for people." It was the father-in-law's angry humming voice, "What are you still doing with me?" ”

"Someone saw it come into your house!" It was the voice of the footman, "You don't have a marriage certificate in your hand, and if you hide her, you will be abducting people." If you don't hand over the second concubine, let's go to the county yamen to talk! ”

"Where to fall in love, where to sue!" The father-in-law said, "I'm waiting for you, now you get out of here!" ”

"Don't be angry, don't be angry." The trafficker pulled and said in a long voice, "There are people here, there are things to do, so let me see that it is better to hand over the people as soon as possible, so that they can be dispersed, why should they alarm the government?" ”

The second lady poured down like a basin of cold water, trembling with hatred all over her body. She did not dare to stay any longer, and hurried north, hiding in a deserted pigsty.

It was another half an hour before I heard a knock at his door. Then the two of them whispered and walked out of the alley and went out of the village.

Eryan still didn't dare to call her door, she went around the west wall, picked up the wall and climbed into the courtyard. As soon as his feet hit the ground, the father-in-law in the hall asked angrily, "Who?" ”

Eryan whispered: "Don't shout, it's me!" ”

The old man snatched it out in a few steps, grabbed Eryan's hand and said, "Child, ...... just now"

"I see."

"Then you don't want to leave quickly!"

"I don't have to worry about you getting old."

"Confused things, who of us can take care of who in this world? Let's go, chase after the female soldier. ”

"I'm leaving, and they don't bother you?"

"It's more trouble if you don't go. It's dark, I'll give you a ride, don't move the deadbolt, and go out over the wall. ”

The old man first climbed over the wall, took the second lady from the outside, and went out of the alley, all the way to the west. At this time, it rained the size of beans again.