At this time, Li Xiang's mother and father were about to go out to meet the guests, but suddenly they stood still when they heard Li Xiang's concerns.
"Haha, so you are worried about this matter." The village chief laughed, then patted his chest and said to Li Xiang: "Don't worry, Xiangzi, as long as I am still the village chief, I will never Let your family starve. Besides, if you join the army, the army will give you a monthly allowance. At the same time, the government will also subsidize your family and give you some during the holidays. Pork and other food. If you want to be a soldier, feel free to do so."
"Yes, Li Xiang, look, the village chief has promised you, what worries do you have? Don't you believe in the government or the country?" the People's Liberation Army officer continued the village chief's words and said to Li Xiang.
The village chief's words made Li Xiang's heart suddenly move. After all, Li Xiang doesn't want to stay in the village all his life. There is no hope of going to college, and now becoming a soldier is his only chance to get out of the mountains.
However, after thinking about it for a while, Li Xiang still couldn't worry about his family. Even if he wasn't hungry, what if his sister was bullied, and his father's legs and feet were inconvenient.
"Village Chief, thank you for your kindness. I'd better think about it first."
At this time, Mother Li, who had been standing nearby, understood what her son was thinking. In order not to delay his future, she immediately stood up and said on the spot: "Village Chief, I have made the decision on this matter. Please give it to us." If my Xiangzi signs up, I will let him join the army."
"Oh, that's right, Xiangzi, listen to your mother and don't hesitate. If you miss this year, you may not have such a good opportunity tomorrow."
After the village chief and the People's Liberation Army officers left, Li Xiang immediately stepped forward to close the door of his home and bolt it. Then he returned to his mother and whispered: "Mom, no matter what, I will not become a soldier. "
"Why don't you join the army?" my mother asked on the spot.
"My sister is still so young. Mom, you not only have to take care of your sister, but you also have to take care of your father. I don't trust you." Li Xiang looked up at his mother.
"Mom can do it on her own, so feel free to go and join the army. Mom regrets not letting you take the college entrance examination before. Now that there is such a good opportunity in front of you, why don't you go? The village chief also said, no team You can also go to the military academy, and your academic performance is so good, so you must go."
Looking back on her decision at the time, my mother blamed herself.
"Mom, you don't have to persuade me, I won't go."
After saying that, Li Xiang walked out of the house and continued to feed the pigs and do housework.
Looking at Li Xiang's stubborn departure, Mother Li knew that it wasn't that her son didn't want to be a soldier, but that he was worried about her. Therefore, Li's mother decided to use a hunger strike to force her son to join the army.
In the evening, my mother prepared dinner and lay on the bed without eating a bite. When Li Xiang came back, he saw that the meal was ready and shouted to his mother's house, "Dad, Mom, I'm back, let's eat."
But after half a day, my father and mother didn't come out to eat. Li Xiang walked into his mother's room and saw his mother lying on the bed and his father sitting beside the bed. Neither of them said a word.
"Dad, Mom, what's going on? Why don't you go out to eat?" Li Xiang asked his father and mother.
"Xiangzi, your mother said that if you didn't join the army, she would stay in bed and not get up." Li Xiang's father finally said something.
Li Xiang saw that his father and mother were planning to use a hunger strike to force him to become a soldier, so he returned to the kitchen, personally filled two bowls of rice, and brought them to his mother's room.
When Mother Li saw her son coming in with a rice bowl, she immediately turned over and turned her back to her son.
"It's useless for you to bring the rice over. I won't eat it. Unless you go to the army to serve as a soldier, I will get up and eat." The mother said with her back to her son.
When Li Xiang saw his mother turning away, he planned to let his father eat first.
"Dad, you are not in good health, please eat your food first." Li Xiang brought the rice bowl to his father.
His father also turned around, his back facing him.
"If you don't join the army, your mother and I would rather starve to death at home." The father said decisively.
The three of them were in a stalemate for a while. Li Xiang knew that his father and mother were serious, so he decided to compromise on his own.
"Okay then, I'm going to be a soldier. Dad, Mom, you guys get up and eat."
When they heard their son talking about joining the army, both father and mother turned around with smiles on their faces.
"His dad, let's go to the kitchen to eat."
Li Xiang smiled happily when he saw that his mother was no longer fighting with him. But soon, the three of them were laughing and crying.
Although the mother tried her best to let her son go to the army, she was very reluctant to let him go, and Li Xiang was also extremely reluctant to let go of his parents.
"Xiangzi, after you go to the army, you have to work hard in the army and bring honor to our family, you know?" Li's mother warned her son while eating.
"I know, Mom. But you should take good care of yourselves at home. If you can't do the farm work at home, don't do it. When I get the salary, I will send it back." Li Xiang also told his mother.
"Xiangzi, you don't have to send all the money home. Keep some money for yourself. Your sister and I just need to have food to eat."
That night, the family talked for a long time before going to bed.
The next day, Li Xiang put on the only unpatched piece of clothing and came to the village committee office. At this time, the village committee office was already filled with men, women and children, including more than a dozen young people, all about the same age as Li Xiang. These people should be preparing to join the army as soldiers.
"Li Xiang, you're here." Seeing Li Xiang's arrival, the village chief greeted him with a smile.
"Now that we have all enlisted in the army, come with me to the county to start the physical examination."
Subsequently, the village chief contacted a tractor and took a dozen young people from the village toward the county seat.
Arriving at the entrance of the People's Armed Forces Department of the county, Li Xiang found that many people had gathered at the entrance of the People's Armed Forces Department, all coming from other places in the county to undergo military recruitment physical examinations.
"Young men, please get out of the car. If you come back here after your physical examination, I will be waiting for you here." the village chief explained.
Li Xiang followed everyone into the gate of the Ministry of Human Armed Forces, and then followed the signs to start various physical examinations.
The first test item is a vision test.
Li Xiang came to a room where a military doctor in a white coat was sitting at a desk, holding an indicator strip in his hand and gesticulating on the vision chart. The young man who needed to check his vision stood aside and told the military doctor the direction of the opening with a capital E according to the military doctor's instructions.
"Qualified, the next one is Li Xiang."
"coming."
Li Xiang quickly stood in front of the military doctor.
"Put on the blindfold and stand on the horizontal line in front."
Li Xiang picked up the eye mask on the table and stood at the horizontal line in front of the vision test chart. When I was about to put on the eyepatch, I suddenly realized that the eyepatch could only cover one eye, so I stupidly asked the military doctor: "Hello, aunt, why can't this eyepatch only cover one eye?"
As soon as these words came out, the military doctor in front of him immediately burst into laughter.
"Of course you can only cover one eye, otherwise how can you measure your vision, hahaha..."
When the military doctor said this, Li Xiang reacted and smiled awkwardly at the military doctor.
After testing his eyesight, Li Xiang went to another room. This room was used to check whether the young men had tattoos or scars.
"You guys, come in together."
Li Xiang entered the house with the young man beside him.
As soon as Li Xiang entered the door, the male military doctor inside closed the door and said to the young men who came in: "Young men, please take off all your clothes."
The young men who came in thought their ears had heard wrongly, and they all froze in place without making any move.
"Take it off if you are told, hurry up, what are you doing?"
"Why do you have to take off your clothes? I..., we are not here to participate in the beauty pageant." Li Xiang asked in confusion.
"Hahaha..." the male military doctor laughed, "What are you thinking about, young man?"
"I asked you to take off your clothes not to see your figure. I asked you to take off your clothes to check whether you have any tattoos or scars. The army will not accept those hooligans."
Li Xiang and the other boys suddenly understood and quickly took off all their clothes.
"Okay, okay, you don't have to take off your clothes so cleanly, just put on some underwear."
The military doctor checked everyone's body one by one, and after confirming that there were no tattoos or scars, he checked everyone's physical examination form, and then said to everyone: "Okay, you can go out and let the next group of people come in."
