The sky is leaden gray, the earth is yellow and clear, the far ravines and ravines are mottled with residual snow, and the cold wind blows from the great Mu Us Desert in the north, rolling up the blades of grass and fine dust, swirling on the vast field, making a sharp whistling sound, and in a short time, a thick layer of loess falls on people's bodies.

In the winter of northern Shaanxi, either the yellow dust covers the sun, or the sky is full of haze, the four fields are vast, and the wind is like a sword, invading the muscles and bones.

Zhong Yuemin, Zheng Tong and his entourage of 10 educated youths were assigned to settle in Shichuan Village, which is located in the middle of Suide and Jingbian, where a tributary of the Wuding River and the Dali River meet, and flows eastward with a 90-degree bend along the mountain. Shichuan Village is dozens of miles away from the county seat of Jingbian, a small county on the edge of the Mu Us Desert. Anbian, Dingbian, and Jingbian, collectively referred to as the three sides, are all along the border wall, and from the words "An", "Ding" and "Jing", these places are the border areas of the ancient imperial court appeasement. The strata in Jingbian are all piled up with yellow sand, there are no caves here, and almost all of them are flat-roofed mud houses. Shichuan Village, which is 25 kilometers away from Jingbian, is located on the loess valley on the south bank of the tributary of the Dali River, but here is a typical landform of the Qin-Jin Plateau, the loess layer is cut into ravines by rainwater, and the thousands of mountains and ravines are like solidified waves, and the separation of a river makes the landform on both sides of the river distinct.

Zhong Yuemin and 10 of them, 7 men and 3 women, got on the bus sent by Ishikawa Village, and went to Ishikawa Village all the way to Ishikawa Village with the yellow dust in the sky. The driver was an old man surnamed Du, dressed as a typical peasant in northern Shaanxi, wearing a bare goatskin jacket and a white sheep's belly handkerchief on his head, but the so-called white sheep's belly handkerchief was so dirty that it was once white, and it became a dark gray. Du Laohan doesn't like to talk much, and he answers when the educated youths ask, which seems very restrained, he really can't figure out why these young people are not staying in the capital, why did they come to Ishikawa Village.

These 10 educated youths are not from the same school, they don't know each other yet, Zhong Yuemin is not interested in those boys, because at a glance, he knows that these boys are all students who keep to themselves before they go to the countryside, not stubborn masters, Zhong Yuemin and Zheng Tong have no common language with them. However, Zhong Yuemin took a closer look at the three girls and found that two of them looked good, he was quite satisfied, turned his head and said to Zheng Tong: "The cadres of the county educated youth office are not bad for our buddies in Shichuan Village, and they didn't give us a few girls who don't pick pigs and dogs, otherwise it would be miserable." It's already a poor mountain and bad water here, let's guard a few ugly girls all day long, and when you come out and go in, you always hang in front of your eyes, you can't see it if you want to, how do you live this day? ”

The boys in the car laughed, and the three girls kept their faces silent.

Zhong Yuemin lay on his duffel bag and continued to complain: "This hellish place is really boring, I haven't even seen a tree after walking for a long time." Yo, is that river in front of you the Yellow River? Why is the water so yellow? ”

Zheng Tong took out the atlas and looked at it: "You are completely geographically blind, the Yellow River is at the junction of Jin and Shaanxi, far away from here, this river may be the Wuding River." ”

Zhong Yuemin stood up suddenly: "Wuding River? 'Poor and uncertain riverside bones, like a person in a spring boudoir dream. 'This is the river mentioned in the Tang poem? Fuck, I said what's wrong, this place has been in trouble for a long time, and in ancient times, this place was a place for the army to be distributed. Yes, send a few brothers here, and if you don't make trouble, you will become a bone by the uncertain river. ”

Zheng Tong smiled: "You are still a person in the spring boudoir dream, what about me?" Unclaimed bones. ”

A bell rang on the road ahead, and a young farmer led a donkey, and on the back of the donkey sat a young woman, like a young couple returning to their parents' home. The educated youths felt fresh, and they all stretched their necks to stare at the young couple.

Du Laohan, who was driving the car, suddenly opened his mouth with missing front teeth, and sang a sour song with his throat:

It's the New Year's Day.

I came to my father-in-law to pay New Year's greetings.

Carrying a pot of four taels of wine,

I kowtow to my father-in-law

…………

Du Laohan roared coldly, but Zhong Yuemin was really stupid, this is a real, original folk song of northern Shaanxi, sung from the mouth of a native old farmer, that taste is impossible to imitate by any professional singer of the song and dance troupe.

…………

In February, the dragon raised its head,

The father-in-law took his daughter-in-law's hand,

Pull and pull to take a bite,

Good hands of people's dolls

…………

Zhong Yuemin was so happy that he fell on the duffel bag: "This old man climbs the ashes, and he is not afraid that his son will ...... with him."

…………

In March, the peach and apricot blossoms bloom,

The daughter-in-law wears red shoes again,

Walk up and swing with the wind,

I love my father-in-law and I am crooked

…………

The little couple who returned to their parents' house walked away, and the jingle of the bell hanging on the donkey's head was still faintly audible, and Du Laohan stopped singing.

Zheng Tong whispered: "This old man hooked up with someone's new daughter-in-law." Hey? Yuemin, what's wrong with you, stupid? ”

Zhong Yuemin stared at Du Laohan in a daze, he hadn't woken up from this sour song yet......

On the threshing floor of Ishikawa Village, a general meeting of all members was being held, and a tattered red banner was written crookedly with a line of words: Warmly welcome Beijing educated youths to settle in Ishikawa Village.

The ragged villagers sat in a haphazard manner on the threshing floor, women with soles of their shoes and men smoking dry tobacco, who cared little about the content of the meeting, but laughed loudly and without any scruples, and a group of children chased and played in the haystacks.

Zhong Yuemin, Zheng Tong, and seven or eight male and female intellectuals sat on the ground and said something in their ears.

Chang Gui, the party secretary of Ishikawa Village, is speaking. He was in his fifties, his face crisscrossed with wrinkles, and his small eyes gleamed with a cunning light, compared to the glazed villagers around him, such a person should be mixed with a village cadre in the countryside. Chang Gui also had a white sheep's belly handkerchief on his head that was so dirty that he couldn't see the color, and he was wearing a bare old sheepskin jacket on his body, which looked similar to Du Laohan who was driving the car, but the difference was that he was holding a cigarette pouch more than two feet long in his hand.

Chang Gui tapped the broken table in front of him with a cigarette pouch, cleared his throat, and spit out a mouthful of thick phlegm two meters away, and then began to speak: "Folks, it's a meeting now, everyone be quiet, don't speak." Today, 10 Beijing educated youths came to our village, and I represent the party branch of Ishikawa Village...... Hey? Dog baby, my day your mother, why do you still talk on the day of the donkey? Isn't it farting to talk to the leader? Be careful that I hold a critique meeting for your donkey day. ”

Northern Shaanxi is poor, the means of transportation are mainly donkeys, because donkeys are easy to raise, so there are many donkeys in northern Shaanxi, and people also prefer donkeys, so the folk open and close their mouths are "donkey days", sometimes this is not necessarily a scolding, it is likely to be a tone particle that expresses affection.

The villagers seemed to have seen it for a long time, and there was still a lot of noise at the venue.

When the educated youths heard the branch secretary scolding, they couldn't help but laugh.

Chang Gui saw the young people laughing, and hurriedly explained: "Don't laugh at the babies, you will know when the days are long, some of the stunned species in our village belong to donkeys, and if you don't go, you have to take the sour jujube and smoke it all the time." Let's go on, well, what's the matter? ”

The villagers and intellectuals laughed again.

Zheng Tong said: "Chang Zhishu, you said that there is a dog baby who is donkey day? ”

The laughter was louder.

Chang Gui lit a pot of cigarettes: "No, oh, today is to welcome the educated youth of Beijing to our village, and it is the idea of Mao** and his old man to settle in the countryside. We have nothing else in Ishikawa Village, but there are many people and little land, and there is not enough food to eat, and now we have added 10 mouths, what should we do? I can't help it, Mao** and his old man let these 10 babies settle in our village, we have to give Mao** this face no matter how tight the food is, there are a total of 417 men, women and children in our village, how much is it to add 10 mouths? Accountant Zhang, how much? ”

A middle-aged *** with a shaved pot lid got up and replied: "427 mouths." ”

Chang Gui said: "Yes, 427 mouths...... Who is this? ”

An old sow foraging for food was arching her crotch with her mouth, and the villagers and intellectuals burst into laughter.

Chang Gui kicked the old sow hard, and the old sow howled and ran away. He continued: "The population of our village is too much, go back 20 years, and the food in our village is not so tight, there was not so much population at that time. It's good now, I haven't seen much land, and there are more than 200 people. What's going on? I have to complain about my mother-in-law and aunts, I am addicted to giving birth to a baby, like an old sow holding a nest, and I can't take it for the rest of my life. Let's talk about the dog's aunt, the one in her hand is still breastfeeding, and she is pregnant in her belly again, this is the seventh, are you still finished? ”

It seems that this dog baby is Chang Gui's punching bag, and he will take it out and scold him at every turn, and the educated youths stretched their necks to look at the crowd, and they didn't know which one was the dog baby, but they saw a forty-year-old aunt standing up and scolding back: "Chang Laogui, let go of your mother's fart, is it a person's business to give birth to a baby?" Which of you men is not a gluttonous cat who steals his mouth and goes up when he smells fishy? Pushing it on my aunt again? ”

It seems that this is the daughter-in-law of the dog baby, the villagers and the male intellectuals laughed, and the female intellectuals lowered their heads in shame.

Chang Gui looked like an adult who didn't remember the villain's mistakes, but just grabbed the dog and didn't let go: "Good men don't fight with women, I won't tell you." Dog, you donkey day, why don't you speak? Your mother-in-law contradicts the leader, how are you disciplining your aunt, and you don't have the king's law? ”

A short man in his forties stood up from the crowd: "Chang Zhishu, my mother-in-law and aunt are in charge, and I don't count what I say." ”

The villagers and intellectuals laughed again......

Chang Gui hated iron and steel: "You donkey day, why did you let your aunt seize power, what can you do if you beat her, and will you not be allowed to go to the kang at night?" Don't talk about it, let's get down to business, folks, I beg you, don't give birth......"

Guffaw......

"Our Ishikawa Village is just this little land, we can't feed so many people, no, we have added 10 mouths, and when the spring is not good next year, I have to take the villagers out to beg for food. Well, it doesn't matter if the educated youth comes, they are all literate and hyphenated, can speak well, and they are better than the people in our village when they ask for food. Last year, he took people to rice fat to beg for food, and he couldn't even say a whole sentence, which was a shame. It's good now, let the educated youth lead the team next year, let's also let people see, our Ishikawa Village is not a ...... people"

Zhong Yuemin stood up: "Chang Zhishu, how about I lead the team to beg for food in the spring next year?" ”

Chang Guixi said: "Good boy, there is a kind, it's you." ”

Zhong Yuemin said respectfully: "Thank you for the trust of the leaders, I will work hard to beg for food and never disappoint the trust of the village leaders." ”

Chang Gui asked: "What is your baby's name?" Is it a party member? ”

"Zhong Yuemin, not a party member."

"Well, do a good job, and let you join the party next year."

"Xie Zhishu cultivates."

Chang Gui yelled: "The meeting is over!" ”

The educated youth point of Ishikawa Village is located in two abandoned broken caves, these two caves used to be the property of an old bachelor in the village, after his death, this cave was gradually abandoned, this time the branch secretary Chang Gui was notified by the commune, to solve the problem of the residence of 10 educated youth, and also issued a settlement fee for the educated youth in accordance with national regulations, with Chang Gui's shrewdness, of course, he would not use this money to build a new cave for the educated youth, he asked someone to repair the two broken caves, even if it was the completion of the task assigned above. According to his understanding, these educated young children don't stay long, they think farmers are so good? If you don't have the ability to carry hunger, roll up and cover the roll as soon as possible.

On the first night of their arrival, Zhang Jinsuo, the village accountant, knocked on the window of Chang Gui's house and asked what to do with the food distributed to the educated youths by the county educated youth office.

Chang Gui said: "Didn't I tell you? Send them half. ”

Accountant Zhang hesitated: "This ...... I'm afraid that I won't be able to reach the wheat harvest. ”

Chang Gui replied disapprenously: "Who in our village can top the wheat harvest?" If you don't have anything to eat, you go to ask for food, haven't you lived like this in previous years? ”

Accountant Zhang was a little timid: "I'm afraid that the above will blame it and say that we will deduct the food of the educated youth......"

Chang Gui said: "What else does it take care of above? I have the final say in the affairs of our village, so I will do it. ”

Chang Gui has been the branch secretary in Ishikawa Village for more than ten years, and he is used to this way of thinking.

The intellectuals were not in a good mood on the first night they arrived in Ishikawa Village, although they had been mentally prepared before they went to the countryside, and they knew that northern Shaanxi was a poor area, but when they entered the village, they found that the situation was even worse than they imagined. First of all, they were surprised by these two broken caves, the top of one of which actually cracked a 1 cm wide gap, the broken doors and windows could not block the wind at all, and the temperature in the cave was about the same as that in the open air. Zhong Yuemin hugged a bundle of sorghum straw and wanted to burn the kang, but who knew that the flue poured smoke back and smoked everyone to the open ground, and the educated youths had to give up.

Among the educated youth, only Zhong Yuemin and Zheng Tong are in a good mood, because they have already learned to be happy in suffering, and they know in their hearts that worrying is also in vain, it is better to find something happy by yourself, of course, it is better to be happy with others.

Zhong Yuemin suggested that the educated youths should have a meeting first to discuss their future lives, but in fact, no one elected him as the person in charge, but he felt that he had this responsibility.

Both men and women sat cross-legged on the clay kang, and at first no one spoke, and their mood was very low.

Zhong Yuemin spoke first with full emotion: "I said that students, in the future, we will just pick a spoon in a pot, everyone is not familiar with it, and it is not a school." In this way, let's introduce ourselves, my name is Zhong Yuemin, this is Zheng Tong, and we are both from Yuying School. Let me see, we are 10 people, 7 men and 3 women, alas, wolves have more meat and less meat, how about 3 female classmates introduce themselves first? ”

The girls had no choice but to introduce themselves.

"My name is Li Ping, from Cuiwei Road Middle School."

"My name is Wang Hong, and I am attached to the National People's Congress."

"My name is Jiang Biyun, and I am attached to the middle school of the Normal School. Zhong Yuemin, what did you mean when you said that wolves have more meat and less meat? A girl with clear eyebrows and eyes was obviously harsh at Zhong Yuemin's words.

Zhong Yuemin explained seriously: "This is obvious, since we are allowed to take root in the countryside for the rest of our lives, we must have a reasonable ratio of men and women, for example, we should have 5 men and 5 women, so it is not easy to fight." You see, like this, 7 men and 3 women, there must be 4 men to beat the singles, isn't this a wolf with more meat and less meat? ”

Jiang Biyun glared at him angrily: "Zhong Yuemin, why are you talking like a hooligan?" ”

"Yo, you really have eyesight, how can you see at a glance that I'm a hooligan? I'm sorry. ”

Zheng Tong smiled: "You are a good person, how can you pretend to be a good person, and you will only be exposed in one day, right?" Students, this is a well-known hooligan in our school, who has been detained by the public security organs many times for fighting and molesting women, please be vigilant in the future, especially female students. ”

The male intellectuals all laughed, and Jiang Biyun turned his face away with disdain.

Zheng Tong pointed to a few boys and said: "Yuemin, I talked to these guys just now, let me introduce you, this is Qian Zhimin, Haidian Middle School; This is Zhang Guangzhi, this is Cao Gang, the middle school attached to the oil; This is Zhao Dayong, this is Guo Jie, and they are from Bei'anhe Middle School. ”

Everyone shook hands one by one.

Cao Gang looked at Zhong Yuemin and said, "I've seen you, that time someone fought with Liu Lihua from our school, and you went too, right?" ”

Zhong Yuemin said: "I went to your school to fight, why can't I remember?" ”

Cao Gang said with certainty: "That's right, it's you, that day you wore a general, carried a kitchen knife, and kept saying that you were going to chop Liu Lihua." ”

Zhong Yuemin remembered that there seemed to be such a thing, he waved his hand and said: "Don't mention it, don't mention it, it's all before he didn't participate in the revolution, He Long also played with kitchen knives." ”

Zheng Tong asked: "Yuemin, the county educated youth office does not send us much grain, I calculated it, no matter how much you save it, you can't eat the wheat harvest." ”

"This is easy to do, if you have it, you can eat enough, and if you don't have it, we will find a way." Zhong Yuemin didn't want to worry about this.

Guo Jie said seriously: "What can I think of, I can't really ask for food, right?" ”

Zhong Yuemin was overjoyed when he heard it: "Why can't you?" I heard my dad say that there is a tradition of farmers in this area, when the green and yellow are not harvested, they go out in groups to ask for food, I have long wanted to taste the taste of asking for food, if it is in Beijing, where can we find this opportunity? ”

Jiang Biyun seemed to be the most annoying to Zhong Yuemin, and she immediately said: "Who is this bad idea?" Whoever wants to beg for food will go by himself, I won't go anyway. ”

Zhong Yuemin didn't want to worry about her: "This is easy to do, let's divide the food and volunteer to partner." Classmate Jiang, you can divide more than 60 catties of grain, if you can eat 2 taels of grain a day, then it should be no problem to reach the wheat harvest. ”

Qian Zhimin said: "I suggest that we men and women start a gang separately, so that their women will say that we will take advantage." ”

Cao Gang also agreed: "This is a solution, I agree." ”

The male intellectuals agreed.

Jiang Biyun snorted: "Separate is separated, what's the big deal." ”

Zhong Yuemin said with a hippie smile: "I'll partner with you, right?" If you agree, I'll break with their male classmates right away, how about our 4 partners? ”

Zheng Tong did not miss any opportunity to attack Zhong Yuemin: "Yuemin, you'd better move to the women's dormitory, and we'll be more lenient here." ”

The male intellectuals burst into laughter.

Zhong Yuemin's face did not change: "I have no opinion on this, but it depends on whether the female classmates agree or not." ”

Jiang Biyun's face turned white angrily: "Hooligan ......"

Zheng Tong said: "That's Zhong Yuemin's nickname......"

The male intellectuals laughed.

Jiang Biyun was so angry that she shed tears......

When Zhou Xiaobai and Luo Yun enlisted in the army, Yuan Jun was still wandering around the society, but he didn't expect Yuan Jun to join the army as a "back door soldier" a week after they left, and these recruits all belonged to a field army, but they didn't know each other.

When Zhou Xiaobai met Yuan Jun, it was already two months after the end of the recruit company's training. Zhou Xiaobai and Luo Yun were assigned to the hospital, Zhou Xiaobai worked as a hygienist in the internal medicine department, and Luo Yun was assigned to the pharmacy. And Yuan Jun was assigned to the tank regiment as a loader. When they were in Beijing, although they knew each other very well, neither of them talked about the family situation, in fact, the fathers of the three of them all had a deep relationship with the army. A unit commanded by Zhou Xiaobai's father, Zhou Zhennan, during the Anti-Japanese War, was incorporated into this army during the Liberation War and became a main division of this army. Luo Yun's father and Deputy Political Commissar Shao of this army were old comrades-in-arms, and the two were partners in the same regiment in the later stage of the Liberation War. Luo Yun's father is the head of the regiment, and the current deputy political commissar Shao is the political commissar of the regiment back then, this is a friendship of life and death, and now the daughter of an old comrade-in-arms has come to this army to serve as a soldier, and Deputy Political Commissar Shao naturally has to take special care of it. Yuan Jun's father, Yuan Beiguang, is simply an old buddy of this army, he has been in this army since he joined the army in 1938, and he has not moved at all for more than 20 years, and by the time he changed jobs in 1959, he was already a colonel and division commander. This unit is Yuan Beiguang's maiden family, the current army commander Li Zhenyun once served as Yuan Beiguang's platoon commander, that was in 1938 in Jizhong, and now Yuan Jun went to his father's old army to be a soldier, but it was amazing, from the military headquarters to the divisions and regiments were almost everywhere his uncles and uncles, which was similar to returning to his hometown. Many uncles and uncles also mentioned his childhood misdeeds when they saw Yuan Jun, saying that the stage curtain of the military auditorium was set on fire by Yuan Jun, and Yuan Beiguang was so angry that he almost went crazy, tied Yuan Jun to the bench and whipped him with a belt for about 20 times, causing him to lie on the bed for half a month.

That day, Yuan Jun went to the military department to see his father's old comrade-in-arms, Deputy Army Commander Yao, and at noon he had another meal at Deputy Army Commander Yao's house. Yuan Jun was a little hesitant, he was afraid that it would be difficult to explain when he returned to the company.

Deputy Army Commander Yao glared: "Let you drink, let him come to me if you have something to say, what is the friendship between me and your father?" A lifelong friendship! In 1941, I carried him out of the pile of dead people, and he didn't owe me any favor, and in 1942 he took a bullet for me, and the two of us were even. The old man hasn't seen him for several years, Lao Tzu wants to have a good drink with him, but he doesn't have a chance, now it's okay, this is called the father's debt to the son, Lao Tzu is not there, you drink for him as a son. ”

So Yuan Jun immediately put his heart into his stomach, and put Deputy Commander Yao down for his father in three or two strokes. In fact, Deputy Commander Yao didn't have much alcohol, and he couldn't find the bedroom door after three or two drinks. Yuan Jun was also a little flustered under the influence of alcohol, and at this time, in his feelings, no one was a problem, if he could meet his company commander at this time, he would probably fan him with an ear scraper, dare to care about me? It's the other way around, isn't this looking for a hammer? Uncle, what if I drink?

Yuan Jun walked into the military service club in the military compound, wanting to buy some stationery and envelopes. He noticed that a recruit was also shopping at the counter. The recruit looked back at Yuan Jun and looked him up and down unreasonably.

Yuan Jun glanced at him, and the words came out horizontally: "What's the matter, what's the problem with the illness, what kind of photos do you have?" ”

The recruits also spoke with a Beijing accent: "Are you a Beijing soldier?" ”

"What's wrong?"

"Do you still know me, who did you squeeze against at the Shichahai Ice Rink last year?"

Yuan Jun said arrogantly: "I have fought a lot of people on the ice rink, and I can't remember who you are for a long time." Who are you? ”

"I'm Xiao Ming, do you remember?" The recruit rolled up his sleeves.

Yuan Jun smiled contemptuously: "I haven't heard of it, do you want to do it?" There are words, there are farts. ”

"We still have an account to count, I let you run away on the ice rink last time, it's really a mountain that doesn't turn around, and we met here!"

Yuan Jun smiled: "What's the matter?" What does that mean, do you want to practice with me? Let's find a place. ”

The recruit grabbed Yuan Jun's collar: "Let's go, let's talk about it, if you see blood, you have to say that you didn't pay attention." ”

Yuan Jun twisted his wrist: "No problem, the tooth fell out of the stomach, who said who is the grandson, go ......"

Zhou Xiaobai also happened to go to the military service club that day, and as soon as she entered, she saw two recruits walking out, talking something uncleanly. Zhou Xiaobai was stunned, why is this voice so familiar? She reacted immediately, isn't this Yuan Jun, why did this guy come here? She blurted out: "Yuan Jun." ”

At this time, Yuan Jun's wine was surging upward, and the stamina of Wuliangye wine was very great, he didn't feel anything about it just now, but now it's a little bad. He glanced back, only to feel that this female soldier was a little familiar, his brain was a little confused, he couldn't remember who it was for a while, so he thought that this female soldier was here to persuade him, he said drunken eyes: "Don't care about anyone, whoever cares about me and who is in a hurry." ”

Zhou Xiaobai saw his mouthful of wine, and he understood in his heart. She shouted loudly: "Yuan Jun, I'm Zhou Xiaobai, you can see clearly." ”

Yuan Jun was still confused: "What...... White? I don't know. ”

Zhou Xiaobai was angry and funny, this muddy boy was confused, she didn't even know her anymore, she shook Yuan Jun's shoulder and shouted: "Zhong Yuemin, you always remember, right?" ”

Thankfully, Yuan Jun finally hadn't forgotten Zhong Yuemin, he tried to control his gradually blurred thinking, and only then did he remember Zhou Xiaobai from Zhong Yuemin: "Oh...... When I think about it, it seems that there is such a person...... Called Zhou ...... What's going on? ”

The recruit from Beijing was impatient: "Hey, are you going or not, what are you talking about here?" ”

Zhou Xiaobai grabbed Yuan Jun and said to the recruit: "Do you want to take advantage of the fire to rob him when he is drunk?" Which unit are you from, dare you tell me? ”

The recruit didn't want to make a big deal out of it, so he went down the stairs himself: "Okay, let him remember that he still owes me a debt, and I will ask him to pay it back at any time in the future." With that, he turned around and walked away.

Zhou Xiaobai couldn't help but drag Yuan Jun to the hospital, she knew that if Yuan Jun returned to the company drunk like this, it would be a big trouble, and she had to sober up this guy.

On the way, Yuan Jun asked in a daze: "Yuemin is also here, which unit is he in?" ”

Zhou Xiaobai said angrily: "He is in the headquarters and is the commander." ”

"Isn't it, Zhong Yuemin can be the commander? Isn't the commander Li Zhenyun...... Don't fool me...... Zhong Yuemin's grandson...... At most, be a deputy political commissar......"

Zhou Xiaobai was angry: "You really promote him, Zhong Yuemin is the political commissar of your gang, it's not enough to make trouble in Beijing, and the army is coming, what can I say about you?" ”

That day, Zhou Xiaobai took Yuan Jun to lie in an empty ward in the hospital's internal medicine department for two hours before Yuan Jun came to his senses. Fortunately, the nurse on duty was her good friend, otherwise even Zhou Xiaobai would not be able to explain where this drunk came from.

Fortunately, he met Zhou Xiaobai, otherwise it would be really difficult for Yuan Jun to return to the company. He has only been in the army for a few months, and he has already become a backward model of the tank regiment, and the leaders from the regiment to the company are very concerned about him. Usually it's fine, the leaders are silent, just waiting for him to commit a crime, once he is caught committing discipline, Lian Li will take him as a model. This is due to the prejudice of grassroots cadres against the backdoor soldiers, because in their eyes, joining the army is a very honorable thing, and no matter how many outstanding young people can't compete for this opportunity, these cadres and children can easily come to the army and are all assigned to the best departments, which makes them very psychologically unbalanced. People from the lower classes often have a strong demand for equality, but in real life, it is impossible to achieve complete equality. Therefore, backdoor soldiers like Yuan Jun are destined to attract attention.

Yuan Jun was a veritable backdoor soldier, he came from Beijing by train only a month after the recruit company began its intensive training, and when he came, he directly found the army headquarters and asked to see the army commander. It just so happened that several leaders in the army were not there that day, and it was a director of the Military Affairs Department surnamed Zhao who received him. Director Zhao was transferred from the military region a few years ago, so he didn't know Yuan Beiguang's name, and he had recently received several similar backdoor soldiers, which annoyed him a lot. The children of some leading cadres often come from Beijing to ask to be soldiers with just a handwritten letter to the army chief, and they don't care whether the army is conscripted or not, whether there are legal enlistment procedures, and when they come, they ask to see the No. 1 or No. 2 chief, and the spectrum is very big, and the army commander and political commissar are overwhelmed by this, and they really can't refuse, so they often push Director Zhao out to receive and arrange, but this Director Zhao is an operational staff officer, and he has not led many soldiers in the army, compared with cadres at the same level. What he lacks is the intertwined human relations in the army, and he lacks the necessary tolerance for them. He was extremely disgusted with this kind of practice of going through the back door to join the army, and these cadres and children simply regarded the army as a big car shop, and they could come and leave whenever they wanted, and they had no intention of going through any enlistment procedures.

A few days ago, Director Zhao received two young men from Beijing, and when arranging their work, he was polite and asked them what they thought, and the two young men bluntly told him that they only wanted to stay in the military headquarters and did not want to join the company. Director Zhao couldn't help but ask them what they were doing in the agency, and the two young men thought about it and said, go to the communication station, it's not as hard as the company, and you can learn some technology, but you can't go to the wired company, because the wired connection often climbs the telephone pole, and the wireless connection is better. Director Zhao was almost mad, but he didn't dare to attack, he knew that since these two guys dared to be so empty-eyed, it meant that their backstage was very hard, and it was very unwise to offend them. In the end, he assigned them to the wireless company to learn radio maintenance, but he felt like a fly in his heart, and he felt uncomfortable for several days, and before he could ease up, Yuan Jun arrived again.

Yuan Jun didn't know Director Zhao's opinion of people like him, he only remembered that this unit was his hometown, he was born in the barracks, and he grew up in the kindergarten of the military department until he was more than 6 years old before transferring to Beijing with his father, he did not have the feeling of joining the army, only the feeling of returning to his hometown. So when he heard that the number one and number two were not there, he asked in a big way, "Are the number three, number four, and number five here?" Anyone among them can do it", his tone was so loud that Director Zhao suddenly felt bad for him. In particular, Yuan Jun wore a yellow tweed military uniform inside the soldier's uniform that day, and the tweed military uniform with shoulder pads held up the soldier's uniform on the outside, and Director Zhao was angry when he saw him dressed up, he knew that this kind of military uniform was issued to a colonel-level officer when he was awarded the title in 1955, and Director Zhao was only a lieutenant at the time, and he was not eligible to enjoy the treatment of wearing a woolen military uniform.

Director Zhao decided to quietly embarrass this muddy boy who doesn't know the height of the sky. After listening to Yuan Jun's self-introduction, he said politely: "The army commander and political commissar are not here today, I am the director of military affairs, this is my job, please show me your enlistment procedures." ”

Yuan Jun was stunned for a moment, he didn't seem to have the concept of enlistment procedures in his consciousness, he remembered that his father Yuan Beiguang only made a long-distance call to the army commander Li Zhenyun, and Li Jun said, "Your son is welcome to be a soldier, I just need to say hello to the comrades who received the troops." At this time, the military affairs chief actually asked him for formalities, which made Yuan Jun very unhappy, and he said casually: "I was originally from here, and I only left until I went to the kindergarten of the military department. ”

Director Zhao said neither humbly nor arrogantly: "You can't have a military status when you go to kindergarten, right?" I'm asking about your enlistment notice. ”

Yuan Jun said with a big grin: "No one gave me a notice, Commander Li asked me to come, and all my enlistment procedures should be in your military affairs office." ”

Director Zhao seemed very patient: "Young man, I don't have your enlistment procedures here. ”

Yuan Jun shrugged his shoulders indifferently: "Then you can ask the army commander, of course, the political commissar can also be, since they are not here, then I will stay and wait, anyway, the recruit training will not end in two months, I am not in a hurry." Director Zhao, you can go on your way. ”

He said very arrogantly, but he didn't realize it, this sentence offended Director Zhao, a recruit dared to speak to a regimental cadre in such a tone, which is unprecedented in the history of this army. However, Director Zhao's anger did not show it, he just nodded and told Yuan Jun to go to the guest house. He can't offend these cadres, he knows too much about the intertwined relationships in the army, a recruit is not a concern, but you can't make trouble about the relationship between his old man and the chief, in case the old man of his family has stirred a spoon in a pot with the chief, or saved the chief's life on the battlefield, you offend him, it is equivalent to offending the chief. Director Zhao won't do this kind of stupid thing, so he decided to treat Yuan Jun coldly, neither offending him nor helping him, and letting him wait in the guest house.

Director Zhao, who was full of resentment, really threw Yuan Jun in the guest house for 3 days, but fortunately, Deputy Commander Yao came back 3 days later, and Yuan Jun was arranged to go to the recruit company. After the training of the recruit company, Yuan Jun was assigned to the tank regiment, and Director Zhao privately told the cadres in the regiment about his performance. Therefore, before Yuan Junjun arrived at the tank regiment, his affairs were already known to everyone in the regiment.

Yuan Jun regretted coming to be a soldier a little, he felt that the life of the army was unbearable, the key was that there was no group of friends who got along with him here, he felt that all the people in the company were watching him, and his every move was concerned, from the company commander Ji Changhe, the instructor Wu Yunguo to the second squad leader Duan Tiezhu where Yuan Jun was located, they were not lukewarm towards Yuan Jun. They all know Yuan Jun's family background, especially the relationship between his father and the army commander, but no one at the grassroots level has accepted this set, and they have become more and more unpleasant to him, which seems to be a natural prejudice and a common phenomenon in the army. There is a natural divide between soldiers who enlist from the countryside and those who enlist from the cities, and this gap is difficult to overcome in a peaceful environment.

Yuan Jun has lived in the barracks since he was a child, and he is familiar with military life, he knows that he has to live the life of a recruit, and he can only survive after a year and the next batch of recruits enter the barracks. The army is like this, even if the army commander is your father's old comrade-in-arms, he can't protect you in everything, the squad leader, you can't get past it no matter what. Yuan Jun understands this, he thinks that after he became a soldier, he has been very restrained, and he even hopes to have a good relationship with the squad leader Duan Tiezhu and improve his current situation, but Duan Tiezhu is disdainful of the olive branch extended by Yuan Jun, and is still very strict with him. Yuan Jun hated the squad leader from then on.

Duan Tiezhu, the second squad leader, looks very similar to his name, 1.7 meters tall, stout like a cannonball, and his temper is also very hot, he and the company commander Ji Changhe and the instructor Wu Yunguo are all from Shandong, and they are all from the same county. Yuan Jun believed that this company had been controlled by the Shandong Gang, and non-Shandong soldiers should not think of standing out in this company. Regarding the temper of the squad leader Duan Tiezhu, Yuan Jun looked at it this way, this old man with a sorghum flower must have been a good-tempered person before he joined the army, but he became like this after he became a squad leader in the army, and there is only one conclusion, this kid has made the recruits spoiled, so that he can't hold the fire when he sees people. Yuan Jun decided to wait until the time was ripe to find a chance to clean him up, so that he could understand how many eyes Ma Wang Ye was.

In the past few days, the relationship between Yuan Jun and the squad leader has reached the point where water and fire are incompatible. Yuan Jun worked as a loader on the No. 103 tank, which was the most thankless job among the four crew members of the Type 59 tank. Needless to say, the commander of the whole car is the commander of the whole car, and everyone has to obey. Drivers and artillery commanders are both technical jobs, and naturally they are more respected, especially drivers, and soldiers who enlist in the rural areas are willing to do it, because after demobilization, they can drive tracked towing pestles, which is a respected profession in rural areas. After all, it is not a good job for a loader, nominally he is a reserve gunner, but if you want to really touch the cannon, unless the gun commander is killed. In other words, if the artillery commander lives well, Yuan Jun will only have the share of pouting his ass and loading cannonballs. He had never noticed that the cockpit of a tank, which looked majestic, was so cramped, and in such a narrow space, the loader had to use his arm strength to push a 30-kilogram shell into the chamber, and Yuan Jun thought that this job was simply not done by people. He knew in his heart that he was the only backdoor soldier in this company, and he was the loader he was done.

Yuan Jun practiced loading shells over and over again in the cockpit, and his whole body was soaked with sweat, and a 30-kilogram training bullet was repeatedly pushed into the barrel and then withdrawn, which was really miserable. He felt the canopy open, and a ray of sunlight shone into the cockpit, and he didn't look up, continuing to reload.

"Yuan Jun, is there anyone like you who loads shells? How did the Gunner teach you? Duan Tiezhu said at the cockpit.

Yuan Jun didn't even raise his head: "Squad leader, if you have something to say, you don't need to be a foreshadowing, what do you want to say?" ”

"How many times have I told you that your thumb should protect the fuse of the shell, especially when the bullet is pushed into the chamber, and the fuse of the shell with the safety cap taken off can cause an explosion with a few kilograms of impact force." Duan Tiezhu lectured.

"I said squad leader, isn't this a coach bomb, it doesn't seem to be able to blow up, right?"

Duan Tiezhu's voice became stern: "What did the instructor say?" Sweat more in peacetime and bleed less in wartime. Ideologically, you should treat every exercise as a real battle, and you just take the words of the company commander as a deaf ear? ”

"Hey, even the chief, why am I so awkward when I hear this? Just call the company commander and instructor, and the chief, don't you think it's a little numb? If you don't catch up with Ming'er, I will also call you the head of the class. Yuan Jun sarcastically said.

"Yuan Jun, you are a recruit, don't think that your father is a big official, you can not take the grassroots leaders in your eyes, I'm afraid there is no benefit for you to go on like this."

"Okay, can you find a cool place to go later? What are you looking for, that is, now, my temper is much better, if you want to put it in the past, I have to let you look for teeth all over the ground. ”

"What do you say? Do you dare to say it again? ”

Yuan Jun picked up a large wrench and slowly crawled towards the cockpit: "Let's talk outside." ”

"What, you still want to hit someone? You wait, I'll go find the instructor, I can't take this soldier with me......"

The cockpit lid was slammed shut, and Duan Tiezhu went to the company headquarters to complain.

Yuan Jun sat down weakly and said hatefully: "What a fucking tiger fell into Pingyang and was bullied by dogs......"

Zhou Xiaobai finally received Zhong Yuemin's letter, she was so excited that she grabbed the envelope and ran all the way to the garden of the recuperation area. She sat on a bench and tore open the envelope so hard that it tore the letterhead. Zhong Yuemin's letter was simple, dry, and unemotional.

Xiaobai:

Hello!

Zheng Tong and I have settled down in northern Shaanxi, which is very close to the Mu Us Desert, so the wind and sand are very strong. The mountains of northern Shaanxi are all loess mounds with very loose soil, due to drought and lack of rain, each mountain bag is a big ash heap, people go up, just like walking into the bulk cement pile, the dust is flying, covering the sky and the sun.

There are a total of 10 people in our educated youth point, all of whom are from different schools in Haidian District, we didn't know each other before, and now we have nothing to talk about, only Zheng Tong can still talk to me.

The peasants here live a very hard life and basically depend on the weather for food. There are no irrigation canals, not even decent flat land, let alone terraced fields. If there is no rain in 20 days, the seeds will die of drought and there will be no harvest in the year, and even in the best harvest years, there will be enough grain for eight or nine months. Every year, when the harvest is not shining, the whole village goes out to beg for food, which has become a tradition in Ishikawa Village. At present, we educated youths still have enough food to eat for a week or two, and when the food is finished, everyone should go out to beg for food. Zheng Tong and I are discussing whether to prepare some programs, such as model plays or something, and you can also perform at the same time when begging. Zheng Tong, this kid is now pondering the tricks of the Mongolian people all day long, saying that he wants to practice swallowing iron balls for a while, and then he wants to get some gasoline to practice breathing fire in his mouth, anyway, he wants to take all the crooked tricks of the Tianqiao practice style to northern Shaanxi to fool the villagers. I once proposed to perform hard qigong and get a few bad bricks to practice on his head, but Zheng Tong firmly refused, and until now he has not come up with any more creative ideas.

I'm learning to sing Xintianyou with Du Laohan in the village, and this old man is a grocery store in his belly, and he can sing seven or eight versions of the same lyrics in different tunes. The old man usually kept his cigarette pouch in his hand, and he smoked until he was emphysematous, and when he gasped, he could hear his lungs snoring, and his voice was like a leaky bellows. But his broken gong voice singing northern Shaanxi folk songs is simply a must, several times I heard my tears almost flowed, that unique charm is really unforgettable, I am fascinated by Xintianyou.

We have now started spring sowing, and it seems that there will be no rain in the next few days, and the sown grain seeds are likely to be killed by drought, and the village secretary is secretly preparing for the rain ceremony, because he is a party member and cannot participate in such activities publicly.

In short, although life is hard, I am very happy, especially when I go to bed every day and fight with Zheng Tong, I have endless fun, this guy has been getting better and better recently.

I'm sleepy, and I'm running out of oil in the oil lamp, so I'll write next time.

wish

All the best.

Zhong Yuemin

1969-04-15

There was not a word of greeting or emotion in this dry letter, and if an irrelevant person read it, he would think that it was a correspondence between two men. However, Zhou Xiaobai was already very content, she was so drunk that she sometimes laughed and sometimes burst into tears. She was shocked by the level of poverty in rural northern Shaanxi, which was beyond her imagination. She couldn't imagine what it would be like if she were in that environment. Zhong Yuemin's letter only has a bland narrative, and does not show the psychological state of people enduring suffering at all, as if she can see the scene of Zhong Yuemin and Zheng Tong, the two living treasures, being happy in suffering. Zhou Xiaobai wanted to know their living environment, what they ate as staple food, whether they had any vegetables to eat, and whether they were tired from work, but these details were not mentioned at all in the letter. Zhou Xiaobai suddenly found that she really likes Zhong Yuemin very much, this guy has a very special temperament, which is both romantic and realistic, and even a little scoundrel, a little cynical, and a little game life attitude. This guy is a fantastic concoction, and you'll be happy with him. He found something interesting everywhere he went, and he immediately got into it with gusto, and he played it seriously, and it was like that. A man who was once obsessed with Tchaikovsky's music has become obsessed with northern Shaanxi folk songs in the backwoods, and he doesn't know how to solve next month's rations. Zhou Xiaobai believes that begging is a painful and helpless thing, and the dignity and self-confidence of a normal person will be replaced by humiliation, and Zhong Yuemin and Zheng Tong actually regarded begging as a carnival festival, and also prepared street performances with care, they had a really good time, they really deserved to be stubborn, this is Zhong Yuemin.

Zhou Xiaobai's heart suddenly swelled with tenderness, she carefully put the letter into the pocket of her underwear shirt, thinking in her heart that she must find time to write him a long letter, I hope he doesn't get carried away and forget about himself.

At this time, at the Zhiqing Point in Shichuan Village in northern Shaanxi, Zhong Yuemin was sitting cross-legged on the clay kang and playing chess with Cao Gang. This is a gambling game, the bet on each game of chess is a nest, Zhong Yuemin has lost two games in a row, and this third game seems to be hanging. He didn't pay attention, and was an afterthought by Cao Gang, Cao Gang jumped off the kang with great joy: "Ha, where are you running?" Hindsight, you're done. ”

Zhong Yuemin hurriedly repented: "Ouch, your horse is here?" I don't see it, no, no, I won't take this step anymore. ”

"Regret it again, don't you? No, we're gambling here, you already owe me 3 nests, what's the matter with the debt? ”

Zhong Yuemin said: "Okay, okay, don't be bad, let's go on, don't you just have 3 nests." ”

Cao Gang stretched out his hand: "Hehe, our store does not owe credit, let's settle the account first." ”

Zhong Yuemin said with a white face: "I'll give you the meal in a while, what are you anxious about?" Come on, come on, I'll go first, as the first cannon. ”

Cao Gang shook his head and said: "No, let's talk about it after eating, if you lose this plate again, you won't even have anything to do with dinner, let you watch me eat, I can't bear it, when the time comes, my heart will be soft, and I will give you a nest again, I didn't win in vain?" ”

"I'm hungry and I'm happy, don't you be soft-hearted, don't you just carry two meals? Little, come, come. ”

Zheng Tong walked into the cave and said, "Yuemin, you cooked yesterday, right?" When the food is gone, you don't say hello in advance? ”

Zhong Yuemin patted his head: "The food is gone?" Ouch, I remembered, I forgot, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, there's nothing left? Can you make do with it? ”

Zheng Tong said angrily: "I don't even have any scum left." ”

Cao Gang suddenly realized: "Fuck, I said that your kid lost 3 nests in a row, why aren't you in a hurry at all, it's me who has been making trouble for a long time." ”

Zhong Yuemin hurriedly explained: "Who is your grandson, I really forgot." ”

Zheng Tong smiled: "Aren't you kid going to lead the team to ask for food?" Let's go, borrow a few torn cotton jackets from the villagers and put them on, and then get a dog-beating stick for each person, and ask for food, this outfit can't be ambiguous. ”

Zhong Yuemin scratched his scalp: "Even if you go to ask for food, you have to go tomorrow, how do you spend today?" There's also dinner. Well? This smells so good, who cooks? ”

Cao Gang said: "Those three girls." ”

In the room of the educated youth, Jiang Biyun had just turned on the steaming steamer, and Zhong Yuemin slipped in and accosted him like a wanderer: "Ho, it's so fragrant, what are you doing?" ”

Jiang Biyun didn't raise her eyelids: "What else can you do?" Wotoubei. ”

Zhong Yuemin looked at his face and said, "Can you taste it?" ”

"I can't."

"Don't be so stingy, it's all from Haidian, Beijing, and it's a train to come. As the saying goes, when a fellow sees a fellow, his eyes are full of tears, and you see that my tears are about to flow down......"

"Less magnetism, something to say." Jiang Biyun replied dryly.

Zhong Yuemin said unyieldingly: "Yes, don't talk about fellow countrymen, we are finally neighbors, right?" Aren't there two dormitories next to each other, with a wall in between? What did Grandma Li's line say in "Red Lantern"? If the wall is demolished, we will be a family, Tie Mei's sentence is even more absolute, guess what she said? She said that if she doesn't tear down the wall, we are also a family......"

"Zhong Yuemin, you have been talking for a long time, you just want to eat, right?"

"Don't say it so ugly, I just want to borrow some food, you see, one is rubbing, the other is borrowing, there is an essential difference between the two......" Zhong Yuemin muttered.

Jiang Biyun bluntly refused: "Don't borrow." ”

"Or, it's a loan shark, how about borrowing one pound and repaying two pounds?"

"I'm not rare."

Zhong Yuemin wanted to have a seizure but held back, and walked away stupidly. Jiang Biyun looked at Zhong Yuemin's back, her face full of contempt.

Chang Gui, the village party secretary, was sitting at his kang table eating, there were a few nests on the table, and he and his wife and children were each holding a big bowl and drinking wild vegetable paste.

Zhong Yuemin shouted outside: "Is Chang Zhishu at home?" ”

Chang Gui whispered nervously, "Put it away." ”

The mother-in-law quickly took away the leftovers, and Chang Gui walked out of the door wearing an old sheepskin jacket: "It's Yuemin, sit in the kiln." ”

Zhong Yuemin walked into the cave, and Chang Gui greeted him according to the customary language in the village: "Have you eaten?" ”

"Nope. Chang Zhishu, have you eaten? ”

Chang Gui looked helpless: "What are you eating?" My family is broken. ”

Zhong Yuemin didn't seem to expect it, he was stunned for a moment, he stopped talking, he carefully examined Chang Gui, and Chang Gui also squinted his little eyes and looked at Zhong Yuemin casually.

Zhong Yuemin suddenly smiled: "Since that's the case, then I won't say anything." Chang Zhishu, tomorrow we will go to beg for food, who else will go with us in the village? ”

Chang Gui squatted in front of the kang, filled a pot with tobacco leaves, lit the fire and said, "Bring the old, weak, sick and disabled, this is the rule." ”

Zhong Yuemin said in a pleading tone: "Chang Zhishu, we can't get by today, can the village lend us some food first?" Let's get past today. ”

Chang Gui was unmoved: "Where is the food?" It's common for people in our village to be hungry for a day or two, which is nothing, just get used to it. ”

Zhong Yuemin had no choice but to stand up and say goodbye, he walked to the door and stopped again, and turned around: "Branch secretary, there have never been Japanese devils in our village, right?" During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Japanese did not cross the Yellow River, where did our village learn this set of 'strong walls and clear the wilderness' kung fu? ”

Chang Gui pretended to be confused: "What are you talking about?" ”

"I didn't say anything, branch secretary, you rest, I'm leaving."

Zhong Yuemin didn't expect the food shortage to come so quickly, nor did he expect that the consequences would be so serious when the food ran out. Since he found out that the rations had been used up at noon, until he went to bed at night, the male intellectuals borrowed food everywhere, but they did not borrow a grain of food, and everyone was hungry twice. Zhong Yuemin understands that the peasants here are already hungry, they regard food as more important than life, and it is better for you to borrow his wife than to borrow grain. Besides, some farmers' families must have been cut off for a long time, since Zhong Yuemin had promised the branch secretary to lead the team to beg for food, the villagers waited honestly. Zhong Yuemin used to think that everything was the same, and there must be a road before the car reached the mountain, but he didn't expect that now all the roads are blocked, and there is nowhere to steal if he wants to.

In the evening, Zhong Yuemin and Zheng Tong walked more than ten miles to the adjacent Xu family to steal chickens, who knew that chickens were more expensive than phoenixes in poor areas, and every family watched very closely, as soon as they entered the village, they were watched by the villagers, and there were people watching them everywhere they went, and they had no chance to start. After wandering around for a while, they found that many villagers were looking at them with flat poles, sickles and the like, Zhong Yuemin knew that stealing chickens today was no fun, and it was not good to make people beat them again, so they went home with interest. Unexpectedly, the two of them were bored halfway through, so they had to walk for a while and rest for a while, and it took two hours to walk back to the village.

In the men's dormitory of the educated youth point, the male intellectuals lay on the kang and tossed and turned and couldn't sleep.

Zheng Tong said weakly: "Yuemin, I'm tired, and my head is a little dizzy." ”

Zhong Yuemin said: "This is a symptom of hypoglycemia, I don't feel it when I fall asleep, let's sleep." ”

", can I sleep? The stomach is on fire, what is this called, who are we going to provoke? Send us to this hellish place to starve. Zheng Tong complained.

Zhong Yuemin said dissatisfiedly: "Zheng Tong, are you annoyed, you can't bear it without eating two meals, or you can eat me." ”

Zheng Tong sat up from the quilt: "Hey, don't be greedy for me, you have the ability to cut a piece of meat on your ass for me, whoever doesn't eat it is a grandson." ”

Qian Zhimin couldn't sleep either, so he simply sat up: ", I knew I would starve here, and I wouldn't kill me." Sun Hong from our school just didn't sign up, teachers, classmates, and old ladies from the neighborhood committee went to his house to mobilize. In the evening, this guy began to undress and go to bed, and said, 'Lesbian, please stay away, I don't have pants inside'. ”

The young men burst out laughing.

Cao Gang said: "Just our gang of people are stupid, as soon as they are mobilized, they came in a hurry, and I heard that those who couldn't come were finally assigned jobs in Beijing." ”

Guo Jie asked: "Yuemin, Zheng Tong, not many people from your Yuying School go to the countryside, most of them go to the army, why didn't you become a soldier?" ”

Zhong Yuemin asked rhetorically: "Didn't you go either?" ”

Guo Jie said: "We are the children of civilians, and we should have come to cut in line. ”

Zheng Tong interjected: "We are not as good as the children of civilians, we are 'children who can be educated well', and we are not even allowed to participate in the fucking conscription physical examination." ”

Guo Jie sighed: "I understand, people deserve to die compared to people, goods should be thrown away, how can there be any equality in the world?" There are many layers of people's status, for example, I live on the first floor, Yuemin lives on the second floor, one day there is a hole in the floor slab on the second floor, Yuemin falls down carelessly, and this is just leveling with me. If my floor slab is broken, I'll fall into the basement. ”

Qian Zhimin also joined the discussion: "That's right, if Yuemin struggles and goes back to the second floor along the hole, you kid will definitely still be listening to the crickets in the basement." People, you can't fight for your life, because you are not on the same starting line. ”

Zhong Yuemin felt that this kind of topic was boring, so he hurriedly diverted the conversation: "I said that there are a few brothers, why are they not hungry?" Say less, save some physical strength, and there will be more than 40 miles to the county seat tomorrow. ”

Qian Zhimin said gloomily: "Fuck, if I can't walk, I'll be a 'road down', and I'm bored to live anyway." ”

Guo Jie seemed to suddenly remember something: "Those three women are really not righteous, and they don't borrow food when they see us starving, and the women are picking." ”

Zhong Yuemin said indifferently: "It was we who proposed the split, and now we are starving to death, and we can't speak softly, and we can't do anything to lose our share." ”

In fact, they misunderstood these 3 female intellectuals, and they were cooking in the room of the intellectuals at this time. Wang Hong and Li Ping were pasting cakes, and they had already taken out all the food. Jiang Biyun sat by the stove and pulled the bellows, and the blazing fire reflected her melancholy face. She regretted her attitude towards Zhong Yuemin at noon today, she was not a stingy person, and she knew that no matter how much food was saved, it would not last for a few days, they would have to beg for food sooner or later, she was angry with Zhong Yuemin, and she intended to embarrass him.

Jiang Biyun's father is a professor of biology at the university, and her mother is a lecturer in the same department as her father, she has been a good student in school since she was a child, and this kind of good student has always had prejudices against bad children like Zhong Yuemin, not to mention that children from high-level intellectual families have always looked down on children from cadre families. They have been instilled with a set of concepts by their parents since they were young: a family like ours has no power or power, your parents can't help you, and your future can only rely on self-struggle. Jiang Biyun grew up under this kind of education, she has a very extreme view of the children of cadres, the children of the Eight Banners, Yanei, like to brag about the status of their parents, no one in their eyes, no learning and no skills, vanity and shallowness, many cadres children still lack education, inherit their soil bun parents' nature, and take ignorance as glory.

In August 1966, when the Red Guard movement arose, Jiang Biyun's parents were beaten, and she was still at school with the Red Guards to "break the four olds". She was so grateful to the Red Guards that she had given her the opportunity to join the revolution, so she lived in the school almost every day and rarely went home. It wasn't until one day that her parents' unit informed her to deal with their funeral that Jiang Biyun learned that her parents had committed suicide by poisoning and that their bodies had been cremated. After hearing the news, Jiang Biyun collapsed all of a sudden, she went home like crazy, and searched through the house for a whole day, she didn't find anything, and her parents left so quietly, not even a suicide note. Since then, Jiang Biyun has never laughed again.

Since then, Jiang Biyun has developed a strong hatred for the Red Guards, and then expanded to the group of cadres' children. On the first day she came, she began to hate Zhong Yuemin and regarded him as a scoundrel, and Zhong Yuemin seemed to have the intention of making a hooligan look to annoy her, and this is how the feud was formed.

After Li Ping and Wang Hong knew that Zhong Yuemin borrowed grain, they both complained that Jiang Biyun had gone too far, Wang Hong was very dissatisfied and said: "Biyun, you shouldn't be like this, we are a collective, seeing them starving, can we eat?" ”

Li Ping sighed and said, "These boys are so pitiful, they haven't eaten twice." Zhong Yuemin is a good-looking person, he must have been in a dilemma before borrowing food, and it took a lot of courage to open his mouth, if you push him to the south wall at once, he will not beg us if he starves to death. ”

Jiang Biyun suddenly felt very isolated, it turned out that Li Ping and Wang Hong had a good impression of Zhong Yuemin, they might really think that Jiang Biyun was reluctant to borrow food and regarded her as a stingy ghost, Jiang Biyun was so aggrieved that she covered her face and cried.

In the dormitory of the male educated youth, everyone was bored talking, and Zheng Tong kept turning over, sighing.

Zhong Yuemin kicked him: "Zheng Tong, can you be quiet, why are you squeezing me all the time?" ”

Zheng Tong said weakly: "I remembered the time I bought ice cream with Yuan Jun, I ate a few brothers at that time, I swore at the time that I would never eat ice cream again, now I think about it, if there is ice cream, buddy can eat a bucket." ”

Zhong Yuemin sat up and said, "Zheng Tong, I know you're hungry, but you have to learn to be patient, and you have to endure it, not only to endure it tonight, but also to endure it tomorrow in the county seat." It's not certain whether we can get food when we get to the county seat, even if we have to eat a little, we can't eat yet, because there are still the old people and children in the village, and we have to endure it. Not for anything else, because we're men, you know? ”

"Understood, I endured it in this life, and I shouldn't be a man if I was killed in the next life. Yuemin, what's the way to not let me be a man? ”

Zhong Yuemin smiled: "There is a way to do this, Cao Gang, is your sickle still there?" Take it, I'm going to castrate this kid. ”

The male intellectuals coaxed: "Yes, it's castrated." ”

Everyone was making a fuss, Zheng Tong heard someone knocking on the door, and Jiang Biyun's voice came from outside the door: "It's me, Jiang Biyun." ”

Zhong Yuemin roared: "I'll talk about it tomorrow, we don't have any clothes, don't invite us to make mistakes." ”

Jiang Biyun didn't show weakness either, she shouted loudly: "Zhong Yuemin, you bastard, open the door." ”

Zheng Tong stretched his head out of the quilt and coaxed: "Comrade Jiang Biyun, we can't do it anymore, goodbye, I still have two cents on me, even if I have my party fee this month, you must not be too sad, bury our corpses, move on, and wait until the day when all mankind is liberated, don't forget to offer a bouquet of flowers at our grave......"

Wang Hong scolded with a smile outside the door: "I'm so hungry that I can't get up, I'm still stinky and poor, we still have some food here, if you don't open the door, we can go." ”

The male intellectuals jumped up like a fire on their buttocks, and hurriedly got dressed.

The door opened, and three girls walked in with some tortillas. Li Ping smiled: "Are you hungry?" We deliberately came later to make you hungry a little longer, so that you don't cherish it. Let's all get up and eat, we have all used up the food, and tomorrow we will go together to ask for food. ”

The male intellectuals cheered long live the girls, grabbed the cakes and devoured them, only Zhong Yuemin covered his head with a quilt and pretended to be asleep. Jiang Biyun pushed him over and said, "Zhong Yuemin, what kind of garlic are you pretending?" Get up and eat. ”

Zhong Yuemin turned over, turned his face inward, and said, "Don't be hungry, gentlemen don't eat the food that comes from you." ”

"Then who went to my place during the day to eat?"

"This time and that time."

"What do you mean by that?"

Zhong Yuemin sat up helplessly and said: "At that time, I took you as a revolutionary comrade-in-arms and borrowed grain from you, but now the nature is different, just like the landlord giving alms to the poor, and we are not poor." ”

Jiang Biyun whispered, "Do you want me to beg you?" ”

"Don't, I'm not hungry, I haven't eaten for a day, so I can't bear it, I want to experience the feeling of the Red Army's Long March."

Jiang Biyun said softly: "Zhong Yuemin, I know that I hurt you today, and I apologize to you." You eat first, and we'll talk about other things later, okay? ”

"Where? You have the right not to borrow your food, this is a matter of course, and there is no need to apologize. ”

Jiang Biyun's voice carried an obvious pleading: "Yuemin, let's eat, I beg you." ”

"I'm not hungry, thank you."

Jiang Biyun suddenly broke out: "Zhong Yuemin, put away your self-esteem, do you think you have self-esteem?" Why don't you care about other people's feelings? What I don't like the most is your arrogance, the arrogance that has been soaked in your bones. ”

Zhong Yuemin looked at Jiang Biyun suspiciously: "You are not sick, why do you look bitter and hateful?" ”

"It's that I can't get used to you, I have a prejudice against you cadres and children, in the 'Red August' of 1966, you raided your homes and beat people, and when the disaster touched your own family, you put on a cynical appearance, and even regarded yourself as a hooligan, laughing at everything, in order to show that you were different."

"You can have your own opinions, but why did you bring us food again, do you want to laugh at me?"

"You're wrong, I'm not so narrow-minded, I suddenly figured it out, I think it's boring to go on like this, 10 of us are a collective, since society has thrown us into this kind of poor country, who else can we count on? If we are intrigued by ourselves, it will be too contemptible. ”

Zhong Yuemin seemed to be shaken, he was silent for a moment, picked up a cake and took a bite gently.

Jiang Biyun's eyes turned red: "Yuemin, thank you, you forgive me?" ”

Zhong Yuemin nodded with difficulty, his eyes were a little moist.

Jiang Biyun burst into tears in an instant: "Yuemin, I'm sorry ......"

The educated youths were in tears, they seemed to have suddenly matured, and life did not seem to be an easy thing.

The wind was blowing outside the cave.