Wang Xiaomao was sometimes busy with work, he kept having to participate in this or that kind of political study, and he couldn't come over to accompany her, so she looked like she had no master, and kept walking out of the courtyard to look at the path leading to the army barracks, again and again, and then she came to her senses, she was excited, and thought to herself What was wrong? Wang Xiaomao will leave the army sooner or later, if he is gone, will he not be able to live? She forced herself not to think nonsense, and went back to the house to look through the books Wang Xiaomao found for her. The book was still the same book, but she couldn't read it, opened one, and read it several times, and she didn't know what the words were connected to. Later, he simply closed the book again, from the house to the courtyard and from the courtyard to the outside of the courtyard, until Wang Xiaomao hurriedly came. Wang Xiaomao sat in front of her, still panting slightly, and said: Sister, I will come as soon as the political study is over in the afternoon.

She looked at him, his face still so red, his eyes shining. He realized her gaze again, lowered his head, his face turned even redder, and he called softly: Sister.

She answered, and the two of them didn't have any more words, neither of them dared to look each other in the eye, and they both stared at the nearest thing in front of them.

She said, "If only I had a brother like you."

He said, "I really want to treat you as my own sister."

She thought of reality again, smiled bitterly, and asked as if she remembered something: Xiaomao, you are a soldier for several years.

Wang Xiaomao said: I have overserved the deadline, and this year is the fourth year.

She asked: Will you leave this year?

He replied: It's hard to say, if you can't do it, you can only leave.

When she heard this, her heart sank. The two of them seemed to be unable to find any more words for a moment. She glanced at her watch, and there was not much time left for Wu Tianliang to get off work, and she said: Xiaomao, you can cook with me.

Wang Xiaomao came to the kitchen with her, he wanted to help her choose vegetables or something, she didn't let him move, he leaned on the door frame and watched her cook, it was the most comfortable meal she cooked, and the dishes were also fried, and in the end she was surprised that she made six dishes in one go.

At this time, Wu Tianliang came back, Wang Xiaomao was about to leave, she hurriedly said: You see I cook so many dishes, and our family can't finish it, so you can stay here and eat.

Wang Xiaomao wanted to say something, but Wu Tianliang said: Stay and eat together.

Wang Xiaomao said: Yes. Just stayed.

Wu Tianliang also seemed to be very happy, because he saw that Li Ping was in good spirits tonight, but Wang Xiaomao was very restrained, he didn't dare to look up at anyone, buried his face in the bowl, Li Ping kept picking vegetables for Wang Xiaomao, and said while clipping: Xiaomao, you eat more food, thank you for borrowing me so many books.

The second half of her sentence was for Wu Tianliang.

Wu Tianliang also said: Xiao Mao, if you have time, you will often come over to accompany Li Ping in the future, she is different from those family members, she is lonely.

Wang Xiaomao lowered his head and replied: Yes, director.

Wu Tianliang is the head of Wang Xiaomao, he can only answer like this. Wang Xiaomao finished eating with a gobble, and did not speak to her, but said to the director: I'll leave if the director is fine.

After speaking, she lowered her head and hurriedly walked out, she followed behind to see off Wang Xiaomao, and when the two came to the yard, Wang Xiaomao raised her head and said softly: Sister, go back. After speaking, he glanced at her.

Although Wang Xiaomao didn't say a few words during the meal, she was still happy, as if she and Wang Xiaomao had a tacit secret. She was excited about this little secret, and that night, her cheeks were red and her energy was radiant. She sent Wang Xiaomao away and accompanied Wu Tianliang to eat half a bowl of rice, she asked Wu Tianliang: Is Xiaomao going to change jobs in the second half of the year?

Wu Tianliang thought for a while and said: It's possible, he has overserved his service.

She asked, "Can't he do it?"

He glanced at her, shook his head and said, "It's difficult, there are too few indicators given above."

She sighed imperceptibly, Wu Tianliang put down the bowl and groaned for a long time before saying: You are lonely, I know, alas, if you can conceive a child, your heart will be occupied if you have a child.

She said: I don't want to have children.

She didn't know why she was saying it. It was as if she had a child, and her dreams were gone.

Wu Tianliang sighed and said: I can't help it if I want to live, I have been injured, you don't know this.

When the two of them said this, Li Ping's mood suddenly fell. Her capricious appearance felt strange to herself.

Wang Xiaomao and the propaganda officer went to the company to conduct interviews, and their unit lived very scattered, with more than a dozen companies in a ravine farther away, and this was only the location of the regiment headquarters. The news of Wang Xiaomao's troops was told to her by Wu Tianliang, Wu Tianliang came back for lunch at noon that day, put a few books under his armpit, handed it to her and said: This is the book that Wang Xiaomao helped you find.

She asked: What about him?

He said: I went down to the army to conduct an interview.

Wu Tianliang went to work in the afternoon, Li Ping began to flip through the books, and a note fell, it was a note left by Wang Xiaomao, Wang Xiaomao said on the note:

Sister, I went to the army for an interview, and when I came back half a month later, I found a few new books for Director Wu to bring to you.

It's this ordinary note, she read it over and over again, this is the note left by Wang Xiaomao, she didn't let Wu Tianliang bring it, but sandwiched it in the book, just by virtue of this, she felt that this note was extraordinary.

The season is already summer, she moved a chair to sit in the small courtyard, she was looking through the books left by Wang Xiaomao, but she was always distracted, when she raised her eyes, she seemed to see Wang Xiaomao's figure walking towards her step by step. She lowered her head and thought of Wang Xiaomao again, she was calculating the time when Wang Xiaomao came back, Wang Xiaomao had just been gone for three days, and there were still more than ten days before he came back. After thinking about it like this, life passes very slowly.

In those days, Li Ping became listless and absent-minded about everything. Wu Tianliang asked: What's wrong with you?

She replied: Not really.

Wu Tianliang sighed and said: I know there is nothing to stay in this ravine, if you are homesick, go home.

A few days ago, her father wrote to say that the second brother had returned from the countryside and was now waiting for a job. Parents, eldest brother, family of three, as well as sister and second brother are all crowded in those two small rooms, she feels terrible when she thinks about it, she can't even find a space to put her ass, is that the home she wants?

Sometimes her thoughts diverge again, and she thinks: What if the box of cigarettes that contained her dream did not fall into Wu Tianliang's hands, but in someone else's hands? In her subconscious, Wang Xiaomao's figure flashed, and her face began to burn again. Wu Tianliang seems to be thanking the "Yingchun" brand cigarettes, he has been smoking that brand of cigarettes, and in Li Ping's impression, it seems that he has never changed it.

On the sixteenth day, Wang Xiaomao suddenly appeared in front of her, it was one morning. Li Ping had been restless for a long time, yesterday she walked out of the house again and again to the gate of the army barracks to look inside, she knew that Wang Xiaomao had not come back yet, but she couldn't help but go to look a few times.

She looked at Wang Xiaomao in surprise. Wang Xiaomao's dusty appearance seemed to be darker and thinner, and he stood there with his satchel on his back and smiled at her.

She shouted: Xiao Mao. The voice was a little choked.

Wang Xiaomao took out a vase made of cannonball shells from his satchel, and there were a few wild flowers in it. Wang Xiaomao said: Sister, this is what I brought to you.

She took it, her heart fluttering. She couldn't find the right words for a while, and she seemed to be in a hurry. She said in a panic: You haven't eaten yet, you haven't washed your face yet. I'll fetch you water, I'll cook for you.

Wang Xiaomao said: Sister, don't be busy, I still have to report to Director Wu, and I will come to see you in the afternoon. After saying that, he turned around and left.

She held in her arms the vase made of the shell casing he had brought her, as if in a dream. After Wang Xiaomao left, it took her a long time to come back to her senses, pour water into the vase, and put the vase in a conspicuous position. She looked left and right at the vase, and inexplicable excitement and excitement rippled from the bottom of her heart. Wang Xiaomao came to see her before returning to the army, and this alone made her excited for several days.