Wang Ke left at three o'clock in the middle of the night. He was carrying a backpack, a satchel, a military kettle, and his own shell box on his shoulders.
When godfather Dong Pianfang was reading the three letters he left behind, he had been gone for nearly five hours.
The company is in the Lianggezhuang area of Xishan Mountain, about 90 kilometers away from here. If you can walk to the county seat to the west in the morning and take a long-distance bus, you can reach the company in the afternoon.
Although it is difficult to separate, Wang Ke is still willing to adopt this method. He firmly believes that his godfather Dong Pianfang, the old village chief, and godfather Wen will forgive and understand him.
Work harder, we will reach the county seat in more than ten miles.
Wang Ke took out a piece of cake from his bag. This was the dry food Sister Cuilan made for him yesterday. Afraid of not being able to make it in the morning, I even braised him a piece of donkey meat and braised tea eggs.
The kettle was filled with water from that ancient well, and there was a hint of sweetness in your mouth when you drank it.
Wang Ke walked and ate while thinking about his comrades in the class. Song Ruimin, Gu Maolin, Niu Suozhu, Digua Liang Xiaolong, Ma Zhuo Zhao Mingming, how are you all?
The day after the on-site meeting, Wang Ke wrote a letter and sent it to Song Ruimin on the date of his return to the team. He deliberately chose a Sunday so that it would not affect everyone's training. A week has passed. I wonder if Song Ruimin will receive this letter?
Next to me, dump trucks and heavy trucks rumbled past.
It was funny when Wang Ke thought about it. At that time, he was going to the division headquarters via Xishan from Tunliu Village. When he met Ye Pianpian for the first time, he was still blinded by her. Why did you remember to give her the jade turtle and a Qin coin?
It was so silly back then!
We can't stop the trucks now. Wang Ke knows that 99% of these heavy trucks and dump trucks are out of the mountains. There is an intersection a few kilometers away. Turn right out of the mountain and turn left to go to the county town. It is not a smooth road at all.
Thinking of this, Wang Ke suddenly remembered, isn't there Tunliu Village down here?
Oops, turn into the intersection ahead and walk about a mile and a half towards the mountain, and you’ll find Uncle Geng’s home! I don’t know how he is doing now?
On a whim, Wang Ke hesitated while standing at the intersection. This was God's will. Why not go and see Uncle Geng!
Wang Ke turned onto a small road, which was a long way from the village, but not far from Uncle Geng's home, especially not far from his several acres of orchard. I can already see the lush orchards ahead.
This orchard is built on the mountainside, mainly apples, and also has some jujube trees. The branches are full of fruits.
Before Wang Ke reached the orchard, several dogs ran over and barked at Wang Ke. But after a few calls, it seemed as if he smelled something unusual, and immediately stopped barking, instead "whimpering", not daring to come forward, and unwilling to leave.
A boy of four or five years old ran out of the orchard, followed by a lesbian.
Hi, it’s Uncle Geng’s niece-in-law. I haven’t seen her for a year, and she looks even more beautiful and neat. People in the mountains get married early, so it's no wonder that Hu Yanlou went to fetch water and build adobe bricks for her family every day. She seemed to be a person who was just getting along.
"Hello, is Uncle Geng here?"
When the woman saw Wang Ke, she was obviously stunned. "Are you Squad Leader Wang?"
"Yes, yes! Do you still know me?"
"Come into the garden quickly, my uncle is here." The young woman drove away the dogs, picked up the child and led the way.
Wang Ke followed behind, looking at her swaying buttocks, feeling agitated for no reason in his heart. I don’t know if this little widow is married yet? Hey, where are you thinking?
"Uncle, uncle, Squad Leader Wang sees you coming."
"Which monitor Wang is there?" As soon as the words came, Uncle Geng walked out of the room. Only then did Wang Ke discover that several rooms had been built deep in the orchard.
"Oh, it's the reconnaissance squad leader. What gust of wind blew you here?" Uncle Geng saw that it was Wang Ke and immediately clapped his hands happily. Only Uncle Geng likes to call Wang Ke "reconnaissance squad leader."
"Uncle Geng, are you feeling well?"
"Okay, come on, come on, unload your things and take a rest." Although this is only a few dozen miles away from Nanshao Village, the speech is very different, unlike Nanshao Village, which always uses "lie" when speaking. Character.
According to later research by Wang Ke and people from Tunliu Village, why are there such big differences in speech over dozens of miles? The explanation given by Tunliu Village is different only for people a few kilometers around. Because their ancestors were all officers and soldiers and were from the capital of Yan, they all spoke Yandu Mandarin. There is a difference between "Yanpu" and Shanli dialect.
Haha, we are both from Xishan, but we don’t admit that we are from the mountains.
Wang Ke put down the shell box and untied the backpack on his shoulders. He did it on the spur of the moment. He had no intention of visiting Uncle Geng. I came up with this idea because I was passing by. Now I see there is a child, what should I give him? You can't be left empty-handed.
Wang Ke took out the piece of braised donkey meat from his satchel and opened the shell box. Inside was a bag of milk powder that Ye Qianqian had stuffed into it. It just so happened that it was not appropriate to bring this thing to the company.
"Uncle Geng, I am also passing by Tunliu Village. I want to come and see you temporarily, so I will give this little thing to the child."
"Oh, you are too polite. Scout squad leader, you sit down for a while while I go into the village to buy some food and get some wine. How many drinks can we have?" Uncle Geng took a look and saw that what Wang Ke brought out were all rare things. The key is After being away for a year, I still want to see myself.
"Uncle Geng, please don't be busy. I'll sit here for a while and I have to rush on my way soon. I have to go to the county seat to catch a bus, and I have to rush to the imperial mausoleum today, where our company will be stationed for training this year." Wang Ke quickly stopped him. Uncle Geng.
"Oh, it's still more than ten miles away from the county seat. Are you walking?"
"It's okay. Soldiers are used to it. I'll leave in a minute."
"Where did you come from?" Uncle Geng continued to ask.
"I came from Nanshao Village?"
"Ah!" Uncle Geng shouted immediately when he heard this. "Nanshao is at least forty or fifty miles away from us. How long have you been walking?"
"Well, it must have been five hours since I left."
"No, no, I'll ask Shan Zao's mother to take you there by bike." Uncle Geng didn't want to say anything else and immediately arranged for his niece-in-law to prepare.
Only then did Wang Ke know that the little boy just now was called "Shan Zao".
"Uncle Geng, this is inconvenient. Look, I still have a backpack and a shell box."
"It doesn't matter? The shell box can be tied to the schoolbag rack of the car, and the backpack can be carried by the person behind you. You can take her with you when you go, and you can just let her ride back when you come back."
As Uncle Geng said this, he went back into the house and took out a basket with freshly picked dates and some green apples in it. Fitted in easily.
Uncle Geng's niece went in to pack it up, and when she came out she had a small bundle in her hand. She started to push out a bicycle, first tied the box on the outside, and then tied the snakeskin bag on top. Wang Ke said: "Monitor Wang, let's go."
Wang Ke saw that the mountain people were so enthusiastic, so he said hello to Uncle Geng, stepped forward to take the bicycle, and pushed it onto the road.
When they got to the road, Wang Ke put his legs up and let Uncle Geng's nephew-in-law sit on it first. Then he started riding off with all his strength. With a bicycle, it was obviously much faster than walking. Soon we passed the intersection and turned onto the road leading to the county town.
The woman was not heavy, and after riding for a while, she called softly from behind. "Monitor Wang."
"Um."
"Can I ask you something?"
"Please say."
"Is Hu Yanlou in your class okay?"
Wang Ke, who was riding down the slope, was stunned. He squeezed the brake pedal and the bicycle suddenly stopped. The woman jumped forward and bumped into Wang Ke's waist.
"Why did you ask about Hu Yanlou?" Wang Ke was a little wary, but also a little embarrassed about the brakes just now.
"Did he become the deputy squad leader?" the woman behind asked again.
This time Wang Ke was not vigilant, but a little surprised. "Yes, how do you know? Did Hu Yanlou write to you?"
"Yeah." The woman behind responded, which seemed a bit sweet.
Wang Ke was worried. This Hu Yanlou was really a playboy. When he saw him fetching water in the middle of the night, he had some evil intentions. It was true. How long has this been going on, and yet they are still in contact with each other through letters, and if the company finds out about this, they will all be punished lightly.
"I just want to know if he is busy with work and if he is in good health?" the woman behind said again.
Wang Ke was dumbfounded. Since Hu Yanlou was transferred from the reconnaissance squad to the cooking squad as deputy squad leader, he has had fewer interactions with the comrades in the squad. He hadn't seen her for more than half a year. How could he know the question this woman asked? So he said cautiously: "I haven't seen him recently. The company is stationed in Xishan for training, so it should be good."
But the next words immediately made Wang Ke feel that the problem was serious.
"Well, he told me that the army training mission is very heavy. But he plans to demobilize this year. If he can't leave, he will demobilize next year at the latest, and then..." The woman suddenly stopped talking.
"Hey. What happens next?" Wang Ke immediately felt something was wrong after hearing half of the words and asked quickly.
"Well, let me tell you, Squad Leader Wang, he told me that he would come to me and marry me." After saying that, the woman behind him twisted. Wang Ke almost lost control of the handlebars and the bicycle shook a few times.
"What did you say? Hu Yanlou doesn't want to be a soldier anymore, and he wants to marry you?" Wang Ke stopped the car, the bicycle stopped, and the woman behind him also jumped out of the car. She was obviously a little panicked.
"Hu Yanlou didn't let me tell you, but I think you are his squad leader and the person closest to him, so I told you."
Wang Ke was stunned again. This woman was right. She was only twenty-two years old. Although she was older than Hu Yanlou, she was still a girl in the city. In addition, she has two children and no labor force at home. Who do you want her to count on?
Thinking about it again, didn't Ye Xianchan hug himself and cry to death last night? Pursuing love and happiness is everyone's right. What's wrong with you, Wang Ke? Still want to beat the mandarin ducks?
"I said, you, you, do you know that the army has discipline?" Wang Ke didn't know what to call her, so he had to use "you" instead.
"I know, so Hu Yanlou and I made an appointment not to tell anyone until he is demobilized."
Wang Ke is a little angry this time. What is this nonsense building doing behind the scenes? Since you have made an appointment, why do you, a woman, want to ask me about it?
"It's been two months, and Hu Yanlou hasn't sent me a letter. I'm worried about him..." The woman's words made Wang Ke speechless again. What kind of game is this Hu Yanlou doing? It won't be about reining in the situation. If that's the best, I'm afraid that he might have other ideas and might be training abroad and fall in love with someone else.
"Then what do you want?" Wang Ke remembered. She had just been cleaning up the house for a long time, so there wouldn't be anything wrong.
Who knows what to fear, whatever comes. The woman raised her small baggage and said, "Monitor Wang, I would like to ask you to bring a pair of shoes and some pairs of insoles to Hu Yanlou."
Damn it!
