Qiao Nianchao fell in love with the atmosphere of the company's pigsty on that moonless night, as well as the veteran Zhao who fed the pigs. Zhao Veteran's real name is Zhao Xiaoman, and the man gave a woman's name, so Qiao Nianchao was deeply impressed by Zhao Xiaoman's name.

The reason why Qiao Nianchao made up his mind to feed the pigs no one could tell what he was thinking in his heart at that moment, and he couldn't tell it himself, anyway, at that moment, he felt that the environment here was very suitable for his mood. There are only a few pigs here, and Zhao Xiaoman, who likes pigs and people here. Qiao Nianchao applied to feed the pigs, and there was almost no resistance, and he did so the day after his father finished talking to him, and his father had not yet arrived. Others naturally don't know the content of their father-son conversation, in this case, Qiao Nianchao wanted to go out to the company to raise pigs, and the company cadres thought that this was what the chief meant, and it was understandable, thinking that after Qiao Nianchao and his father talked, the level of ideological understanding had a ***, and he voluntarily applied to work in the most difficult place in the company.

The dirtiest and worst job of the company may be feeding the pigs. Young people who have just joined the army are full of ideals and ambitions when they enter the army, and of course no one wants to feed pigs. The preparation of feeding the pigs is placed in the cooking class. The cooking class is better, after all, it's cooking for people, feeding pigs is nothing.

Qiao Nianchao didn't like these, he moved to the small house next to the pigsty, and suddenly felt more grounded than he had ever been. In the future, he will no longer have to go out to or run, he and Zhao Xiaoman will deal with pigs. Soon, he fell in love with feeding pigs. Said he liked it, and he meant it.

In the morning, when the other soldiers of the company lined up to exercise, Zhao Xiaoman and he just got up and began to clean the enclosure and the surrounding hygiene, when the cleaning was finished, other people had already collected the exercises, they began to give the pigs hot food, there was a big pot, the swill was put in the pot, steaming, and then carried it in a bucket and poured it into the trough of the pigsty, and the pigs were so happy that they were humming while eating.

Qiao Nianchao looked at the scene in front of him and was a little moved. He put a cigarette in his mouth and crouched there, staring at the pigs intently. The pig quickly accepted him and already regarded him as a relative. Whether he fed them or not, as soon as he heard his footsteps, they would always stand sideways, and even the laziest white pig would open his eyes and look at him sweetly and expectantly. He thinks that people and pigs have feelings.

Old soldier Zhao also squatted there, he didn't look at the pig but at the ants under his feet, the two ants are fighting for a grain of rice, you fight for it. From time to time, Zhao Xiaoman picked the grain of rice here and there, teasing the two ants to each other, and trying their best to find the food that had reached their mouths. Seeing that the two ants were very busy, Zhao Xiaoman laughed.

In the past, Qiao Nianchao could often see Zhao Xiaoman from afar. At that time, he imagined Zhao Xiaoman as a fool or mentally retarded. In short, Zhao Xiaoman at that time was very far away from his own life, and he looked like he was not boundary. Now, he and Zhao Xiaoman are already the same kind of people, and they have a lot of understanding and understanding. He likes Zhao Xiaoman and thinks he is simple and cute.

At night, when the day is the longest, sometimes two people squat in the open space outside the pig house, sometimes sit on the bed in the house, two people smoke with the lights off, and the cigarette butts are clearly extinguished in their mouths.

Zhao Xiaoman said: Qiao Nianchao, what kind of "" is your father in his hometown?

This question startled Qiao Nianchao, and his eyes widened in the darkness. Since the last time he talked to his father, he was most afraid of being mentioned by others. He had imagined his father as a tree he could cling to, but in the end he found out that it wasn't.

Zhao Xiaoman laughed before saying: My dad is a cowherd, and the whole team of cattle is under his control. My dad has been the cowherd for as long as I can remember. When I first joined the army, the company commander asked me what I was good at, and I said that I could be a cowherd, so I came to feed the pigs and became today's swineherd. What is your dad?

Qiao Nianchao was happy, so happy, he held his breath and said: My dad is a shepherd, and there are dozens of sheep in the whole team.

Zhao Xiaoman looked like he had met a bosom friend, patted his thigh and said: What I said is good, this is called a dragon giving birth to a dragon and a phoenix, the son of a mouse can make a hole, if your father is not a shepherd, you will not like pigs. Like our children who grew up in the countryside, they have liked pigs, sheep, cows and so on since they were young, do you say?

Qiao Nianchao looked at Zhao Xiaoman in the dark and nodded. This time he wasn't happy.

Zhao Xiaoman said again: What kind of person, what kind of life. My dad is a cowherd, where do you think I can go, be a soldier for a few years and raise pigs for a few years. When I returned to my hometown, my father couldn't let go of the cows, so I went to herd the cattle for the whole village for his class.

Old soldier Zhao's words were as calm as water, he did not complain about life, let alone lament the injustice of fate.

Zhao Xiaoman also said: I should have left last year, I couldn't find anyone to feed the pigs in the company, the company commander persuaded me to work for another year, I will work for another year, what can I do if I work for one more year and one year less, people can live for dozens of years anyway, and it is not bad for this year, are you right?

At that moment, Qiao Nianchao seemed to approach Old Soldier Zhao all of a sudden. Veteran Zhao's attitude to life surprised him, and at the same time, he sincerely admired Veteran Zhao in his heart. Veteran Zhao is not very old, and he seems to have understood life thoroughly.

Veteran Zhao is a person who does not fight with others or rob others, and can think about everything and see it through. Qiao Nianchao quieted down as soon as he walked into Old Soldier Zhao, although he had not yet seen through life and the future, he was quiet at this time. Slowly, he also began to like the pigs who couldn't talk and just hummed.

He and veteran Zhao lay in bed at night, and often talked without a match.

Zhao Lao said: I have been a soldier for four years, feeding pigs for four years, others are unwilling to pay attention to me as a swineherd, unwilling to deal with me, I don't want to mix with them, no one talks to me, I talk to pigs, pigs don't hate me, after a long time, I have feelings with them. Every year on "August 1st", New Year's Day and Spring Festival or something, the company kills pigs, and I feel sad when I see that the pigs I raised are captured and killed, and then I stop watching. If the company wants to kill pigs, I will ask for leave to go to other companies to see the villagers, and when they are finished, I will come back, and I will not move a bite of meat, sad.

In front of Qiao Nianchao's eyes, the image of veteran Zhao gradually became richer, and in such a special environment, he liked veteran Zhao.

The cooking class has to hold a class meeting every once in a while, and someone comes to inform Lao Zhao Bing and Qiao Nianchao before the class meeting. The two men took the Mazha to the cooking class for a meeting, which was nothing more than studying the newspaper or conveying some instructions or spirit of the company, and then expressing their determination one by one, and the determination of the people in the cooking class was nothing more than trying to get the company's food up and satisfy the officers and men of the whole company. When it was the turn of Zhao Veteran and Qiao Nianchao to speak, Zhao Veteran's speech was crisp and sharp, he didn't look at anyone, just stared at the half of the cigarette in front of him, and said quietly: Raise the pig well, it's over.

Qiao Nianchao also learned from the tone of veteran Zhao and said: Raise the pig well.

The cooking squad leader laughed, and others laughed, and the squad leader said: You are really your master's apprentice.

Others still laughed, but Qiao Nianchao didn't laugh.

The cooking squad leader announced the dismissal of the meeting, Qiao Nianchao did not rush to leave, but went around to the room, and he had already seen a pile of steamed buns in the big aluminum basin. He took a few steamed buns, and when the cooking squad leader saw it, he asked: Not full?

He replied: I didn't eat enough.

The squad leader waved his hand generously and said: Take it, we are all from the cooking class, and this special point can still be done.

The cooking squad leader is a southerner, and he uses everything to say, and the language has a rhythm and image. He often does it, and he does it very clearly and thoroughly.

Qiao Nianchao didn't want to do it himself in the cooking class, but for the pig, he came to the enclosure, took out the steamed bun from his pocket and said to the black pig: Old Heizi, come and make a steamed bun, this is the squad leader's eldest brother sent to you.

He also said: Come, little fat man, you can also get one, this is sent by your squad leader's eldest brother.

Zhao Xiaoman laughed when he heard it, bent over with laughter, and hurt his belly with laughter.

So the two of them lay on the guardrail of the pigsty and watched the pigs make steamed buns.

Veteran Zhao said: I can see that you are a person, your heart is not bad, and you are so good to pigs, you will definitely be able to take over my class. By the end of the year, I could leave with peace of mind.

As soon as Qiao Nianchao heard that Veteran Zhao had taken it away, he flickered in his heart, he was really a little reluctant to let Veteran Zhao go. Then he said: Old soldier Zhao, can you work for another year and accompany me?

Veteran Zhao smiled, shook his body and hummed a little song and went back to the dormitory. Qiao Nianchao also followed. Old soldier Zhao took out a diary from the drawer, took out a photo from it and handed it to him: Look, this is your future sister-in-law, isn't it beautiful?

Qiao Nianchao took the photo, it was a very sweet-looking girl's photo, combing two pigtails, looking innocently ahead.

Zhao veteran said: This is the object I ordered when I visited my home the year before last, she has been waiting for me for two years, and she will get married when she goes back this fall.

Veteran Zhao had a happy and yearning look on his face.

Qiao Nianchao thought of Fang Wei, and his heart was very unpleasant. For a while, I haven't seen Fang Wei for more than two weeks. What is she doing now? Qiao Nianchao was a little distracted when he thought of Fang Wei.

Old soldier Zhao patted Qiao Nianchao's shoulder and said: Wait for you to visit your home next year, don't come back empty-handed, we are soldiers, it is a hammer deal to visit the family, and we should be engaged to get engaged, and there will be no such shop in this village after that.

Qiao Nianchao smiled bitterly at the old soldier Zhao.

Old soldier Zhao didn't know why Qiao Nianchao smiled bitterly, admiring the photos of his fiancée alone, humming a fragmented song, looking like he had lived happily for thousands of years.

Qiao Nianchao asked again: Are you not afraid that she will regret it in the future?

Veteran Zhao opened his eyes wide and said: It depends on your ability. Engaged, you want to find a way to make raw rice into mature rice, are you afraid that she will run away? You said no?

It seems that Zhao Lao Bing has already cooked raw rice, otherwise he would not be so down-to-earth and happy. Qiao Nianchao thought to himself: I really can't see that there are a lot of ideas for such a wilting person.

Qiao Nianchao wanted to see Fang Wei but didn't dare to see her, he was conflicted and confused. Later, he still made up his mind to see Fang Wei once, no matter what Fang Wei did to him, he had to find out, otherwise he would not be down-to-earth. When he saw Fang Wei this time, he only wanted to figure out one thing, that is, whether there was any possibility of renewing the old relationship between them, if not, his heart would be clean from now on.

It was another Sunday at noon, and he came to the division hospital, which was always so sunny, that is, there were still many people entering and leaving the hospital on Sunday. Most of these people come from grassroots companies, and it is rare to see the opposite sex in the company, but it is different in the hospital, where there are not only doctors and nurses, but also many female soldiers who are like flowers and jade, and they also learn to be doctors and nurses, wearing white coats and floating away, looking like fairies to the world. As a result, the division hospital became a paradise for soldiers. There are many veterans who have struggled in the company for several years and are about to leave the army, and their biggest dream is to stay in the division hospital for a few days, even if they are not sick, and they do not hesitate to take some fancy pills. Their biggest dream is to have an intimate encounter with the fairy in their mind. Therefore, the division hospital is always full of people, prosperous and lively.

Qiao Nianchao took a lot of trouble, ran upstairs and downstairs several times, and found Fang Wei among a group of female and male soldiers at the gate of the division hospital. Fang Wei did not wear a military uniform, but wore a casual dress, and his hair was light and had traces of perm, which looked very charming and fashionable. When he found Fang Wei in the crowd, Fang Wei also saw him.

Fang Wei walked over, still looking elated. She said: Qiao Nianchao, why are you here, are you also here to get sick?

Qiao Nian was very uncomfortable with Fang Wei's weird question, he frowned and said: I don't have a sick number, and I won't get sick here.

She lowered her face and said, "Then what are you doing here?"

Qiao Nianchao looked at Fang Wei coldly.

Fang Wei said: If there's nothing to do, then I'll leave, they are still waiting for me to go to the movies, why don't you go with me?

He said: I'm not here to see a movie, I'm here to find you today.

Fang Wei stood there, curvaceous, glanced at the watch on his wrist and said, "Say it quickly, I don't have much time."

Someone in the crowd over there shouted: Fang Wei, can't you leave? In a moment the movie will begin.

Fang Wei: Wait a while, I'll be right away.

Qiao Nianchao had a lot to say to Fang Wei, but at this time, he didn't want to say a word. He wanted to turn around and leave, but he endured it and stood still, but he hadn't figured out how to speak.

Fang Wei said: I heard that you went to the company to feed the pigs, why are you so unproductive?

Qiao Nianchao raised his head and said, "What's wrong with feeding the pigs?"

Fang Wei smiled and said: It's nothing, do you serve the people.

His face was already gloomy.

Fang Wei still said: Tell me quickly, what's the matter? It's okay, I'm really leaving.

Qiao Nianchao already knew the answer without saying it. He waved at Fang Wei and said, "Let's go, go and watch your movie."

Fang Wei said: Then you can play again when you have time.

After saying that, he left, and blended in with the group of happy male and female soldiers.

Qiao Nianchao lit a cigarette, and he kept watching Fang Wei disappear from his sight. Finally, he glanced at the door of the division hospital behind him, and said in his heart: I will never come here again.

On the way back, he gritted his teeth and made a decision: he must do something and show Fang Wei what kind of person he is.

In Fang Wei's eyes, he was just a stinky pig feeder. On that day, he squatted at the door of the company's pigsty for a long time and smoked most of the packs of cigarettes. Later, veteran Zhao came over and squatted beside him. Zhao Lao said: When I encountered something unpleasant before, I told these pigs that they can understand human nature, although they can't speak, but they understand. When that's all that, there's nothing.

Qiao Nianchao had already said what he had to say. He said over and over again in his heart: I, Qiao Nianchao, must do something like myself, otherwise I will not be Qiao Nianchao. He cried out in his heart over and over again. From that moment on, he fell in love with the pigs. He felt that pigs were the starting point of his career, and he wanted to raise them well and let them grow healthy and fat.

Every morning, he got up before dawn, took a broom, cleaned the pigsty inside and out, and then lit hot pig food, which was some scraps of the cooking class, and he picked it up from the swill bucket of the cooking class, and when the swill pot was warm, he put it in the bucket and brought it to the pigsty.

The pigs were rushing to eat in front of him, and he stood there watching sweetly, as if it were not the pigs that were eating, but himself.

Old soldier Zhao walked over sleepily, and looked at it for a long time before saying: Qiao Nianchao, it seems that you are really an apprentice, and it seems that I am really leaving at the end of the year.

The cadres of the company also often went to the pigsty to take a look, and there were deputy company commanders and division chiefs in charge of logistics, and when they saw the scene in front of them, they couldn't believe that it was Qiao Nianchao standing in front of them. The Qiao Nianchao in their eyes before was gone, and a new Qiao Nianchao was born in their eyes.

Once a week, the company has a roll call, and the company commander or instructor summarizes the work of the previous week and assigns tasks for the next week. During the roll call of the company, Qiao Nianchao's name was solemnly said from the mouth of the company commander. In the past, Qiao Nianchao was the object of criticism, and at that time, even the cadres did not name him, but said "certain people", but everyone was clear-eyed and knew that "certain people" was synonymous with Qiao Nianchao. Qiao Nianchao was praised for the first time in history. The soldiers all looked sideways at him, his face was hot, and his body was erected little by little, and it was only then that he felt that being praised was actually a very useful process.

After he and Zhao returned to the pig house that day, he learned that Zhao Lao Bing hummed a song in his mouth, Zhao Lao threw him a cigarette, and the two of them squatted in the open space in front of the pig barn.

Zhao Laobing said: It is easy for people to do good deeds, but it is difficult to do good deeds for a lifetime.

Qiao Nianchao raised his head and looked at Old Soldier Zhao, only to realize that Old Soldier Zhao had just said a quote, but he thought that Old Soldier Zhao was just right.

Zhao Lao Bing said again: It is easy to feed pigs, but it is difficult to feed famous. I've been feeding pigs for four years, and I don't have to leave in the end?

Qiao Nianchao thought differently from Old Soldier Zhao, what Old Soldier Zhao wanted was "results". He doesn't want that result, he wants this process, no matter what he does, he doesn't want others to look down on him. One day, even if he was like Zhao Veteran, he picked up his backpack and left, he had no regrets. He just didn't want people to make irresponsible remarks about him, saying that he Qiao Nianchao was an unenterprising person.

He said from the bottom of his heart: Old soldier Zhao, I thank you.

In Qiao Nianchao's growth process, Zhao Lao undoubtedly played a key role, and the key one is that Zhao Lao made him fall in love with feeding pigs.

In a blink of an eye, the end of the year was approaching, and veteran Zhao was announced to be demobilized. The night before leaving, veteran Zhao said goodbye to Qiao Nianchao.

Before Old Soldier Zhao could speak, there were tears in his eyes, and he said: Qiao Nianchao, I will leave tomorrow, and you will be left alone.

Qiao Nianchao was also a little moved, and his heart was tidal.

Veteran Zhao said again: For four years, I have been staying here and rarely walked out of the company's gate. I'm afraid that people will say that I am a pig feeder, and I want to make a difference when I come out as a soldier, who wants to really feed pigs!

It seems that what Old Soldier Zhao said before was not sincere.

Veteran Zhao wiped a handful of tears and said: In this life, if you believe in life, you have to believe in life, and this is my life in this life.

Speaking of this, he patted Qiao Nianchao on the shoulder and said: If you have the opportunity in the future, you still have to go to the combat squad, where you can show your dew. What can you do with pigs here? In the end, isn't it still like me, rolling up the covers and leaving?

It seems that veteran Zhao still has a dream, but he never said it, so he endured it and fed the pigs for four years. Qiao Nianchao looked at Veteran Zhao in surprise, from this point of view, he admired Veteran Zhao's perseverance and perseverance. In fact, veteran Zhao had been looking forward to a miracle, but as a result, it still didn't appear, and in the end he could only go home with regrets.

The next day, Qiao Nianchao sent Zhao Lao to the truck, which drove all the way to the train station. Veteran Zhao and the other veterans were leaving, and under the car were waving arms. When he got into the car, veteran Zhao still seemed very calm, shaking hands with this and saying goodbye to that, but when the truck just drove out of the company gate, veteran Zhao suddenly squatted down in the carriage, covered his face with his hands and cried. The truck drove away a little bit with the cry of veteran Zhao.

Qiao Nianchao kept looking at the veteran Zhao on the truck, and the moment the veteran Zhao cried bitterly, his tears also flowed out. He knew that Old Soldier Zhao left with regrets, and he had a lot to say in his heart, but he only said it to Qiao Nianchao alone, and those pigs.