Chinese New Year's Eve, Harbour New Town, No. 81 Courtyard.

In the dining room on the second floor, the long dining table was activated, because today was a reunion. Chen's mother, Xia Susu and Zhai Ruonan were busy, Chen's mother was in charge of cooking, Xia Susu and Zhai Ruonan were helping, and Zhou Qi was shuttling between the kitchen and the dining room, preparing the reunion dinner.

Xia Susu is here, which means that Zhai Xiaojing is here. Zhai Xiaojing is here, which means that Li Lu is also there.

That's right, Li Lu and his wife came, and they arrived in Nangang by special plane early this morning to celebrate the New Year with their son's family. Li Mai's parents have arrived, and Zhang Xiaoyu's side will naturally not be lacking. At noon, Li Mai and Hao Hao went over to pick up Cai Fenqin in person.

It was not the first time that the elders of the two families had met, and after Li Mai proposed to Zhang Xiaoyu, Li Lu and Zhai Xiaojing personally visited Cai Fenqin, a highly respected doctoral supervisor of Haida. Although it is a big family, the number of etiquette is indispensable at all.

Two families in the living room

"Xiaojing, when is your due date?" The one who called Zhai Xiaojing so was naturally Cai Fenqin, who was ten years older than Zhai Xiaojing.

Zhai Xiaojing looked down at her stomach and said, "It's going to be three months." ”

"So, the granddaughter was born before the son. Cai Fenqin said with a smile.

Li Lu smiled at this time, pointed at Li Mai, and said, "His mother and I both said that there is no need to bother, this kid has to let us have another one, now it's okay, it's a mess." ”

"Dad, what's the mess?" Li Mai said, "What age is it now, there is a thirty-year difference between brothers and sisters, and the age gap between me and my unborn brother is nothing." ”

"Okay, don't quarrel between the two of you, can you change anything?" Zhai Xiaojing said.

As soon as she said this, Li Lu and Li Mai, the father and son, didn't dare to argue anymore, and it was clear who was in charge of the big family.

"I said mother-in-law, you should move over here and let Li Mai and Xiao Zhang honor you. Xiaojing and I have been in the capital for a long time, and the two of them live together, and they also have to be taken care of by an elder. Li Lu said to Cai Fenqin.

Li Mai said, "Yes, Mom, you can't refuse this time, find an auspicious day for the zodiac in a few days and move." ”

Cai Fenqin smiled and said, "I understand your intentions. But I still can't leave school. After teaching all my life, I always felt empty when I couldn't see my students. While it's okay, raise a few more children, which is also the ideal of Xiaoyu and her father in this life. ”

Holding Zhang Xiaoyu's hand and patting it, Cai Fenqin said, "Xiaoyu, this kid understands me, and you must understand me too." ”

Li Lu nodded seriously and said, "Education is the foundation of a strong country. A country without an excellent education system cannot talk about a rich country and a strong army. Mother-in-law, the two professions that I respect most in my life, one is a soldier, and the other is a teacher. ”

After a pause, Li Lu said, "I have been abroad for 20 years, and I don't know much about the situation in China. After I came back, I found that our education system is still stuck in 20 years ago, and there is even a trend of commercialization. This is a very dangerous thing to do. There are fewer and fewer people like you who are dedicated to learning and leading students. ”

When talking about this topic, everyone's expressions were very strict.

Li Lu touched Hao Hao's head between his knees and said, "China's next take-off period depends on Hao Hao's generation." If we do not lay a good foundation, I am afraid that the future development will be very passive. ”

Cai Fenqin nodded approvingly and said, "I participated in the discussion of the education reform that was implemented last year, and the current feedback has basically achieved the expected results. The province will fully roll it out this year, and the national level will also start to implement it in more regions. I am still very confident in this educational reform. ”

Waving his hand, Li Lu said, "We have passed the stage of crossing the river by feeling the stones, and both experience and resources are very sufficient." I have already talked to the relevant leaders about the matter of education reform, so don't do anything more and gradually spread it. If it is proved to be a good system, it will be fully implemented. I can afford to lose anything, but I can't afford to lose time. ”

Cai Fenqin didn't know Li Lu's identity very well, and her eyes were slightly puzzled, but it was obviously inconvenient to ask at this time.

She obviously didn't know that a character like Li Lu could call several bigwigs of the altar to the study for a meeting with a phone call. That's right, Li Lu no longer cares about those things, but he can't pay attention to several key areas, at least in his lifetime, he can't allow the trajectory of the country to deviate from the preset course of that year. Army building and education are the two areas that he is most concerned about at present.

Hao Hao suddenly interjected and asked Li Lu: "Grandpa, have you also been a soldier?"

Li Lu looked at Hao Hao kindly, rubbed his little head lovingly, and said, "Of course, grandpa is a veteran. ”

"What kind of soldier is a veteran?" Hao Hao frowned and asked, "Li Mai said that he is a special soldier, is a veteran or a special soldier?"

Li Mai smiled awkwardly, his son's innocence made him very embarrassed in front of his father, how could his military experience be compared with his father, who had experienced a hundred battles and made countless achievements.

"Huh. Smiling, Li Lu said to Haohao, "Little baby, veterans are the most powerful soldiers, and no soldier can compare to veterans." Your father is also a veteran now. ”

Hao Hao nodded as if he didn't understand, and said, "The veteran doesn't die, just retires." ”

Li Lu was taken aback, Li Mai was also surprised, and the others also looked at Hao Hao in surprise.

Hao Hao took out a book from under the coffee table, but it was a children's book like a comic strip, the title of the book was "Veterans and Little Soldiers", Hao Hao said, "This sentence is written on the first page of this book, grandpa, I don't know what it means." ”

Li Lu's heart seemed to be hit by something, and he instantly remembered the war more than 20 years ago, so many people and so many subordinates, following him, from the tropical jungle in the southwest, to the alpine Siberia, from the bitter Novosibirsk, to the romantic Eastern Europe, from the gloomy Black Sea, to the vast Pacific Ocean, the people around him disappeared one after another, in exchange for the great rejuvenation of the republic.

Are they dead, they are dead. But in the hearts of Li Lu and that generation, they will always live in their hearts. If Chinese people leave the country and go to a strange place, every respectful gaze and preferential treatment they receive are all dead and they have exchanged for a short life of struggle and dedication.

"Grandpa, Li Mai said that you are a big hero, are you really a big hero?" Hao Hao asked again.

Li Lu came back to his senses, smiled slightly, endured the sourness of his nose, touched Haohao's little head, and said, "Grandpa is not a hero, but grandpa once served with a hero." ”