At the intersection, Zhang Chi said goodbye to his companions and went to the officer who was accompanying him to sign a sign. Watching everyone on the road, heading towards the path.
It was already mid-June, and not long after the sun rose, it became unbearably hot. There is a small stream not far from the roadside. The water is clear and there are various trees growing on both sides. Zhang Chi saw many red peaches on a tree and went to pick two. Wash in the stream and eat to quench your thirst.
Around noon, a small village appeared in front of us. There are five or six families, surrounded by green hedges and quiet. Two big yellow dogs were lying at the entrance of the village. When they saw Zhang Chi approaching, they barked wildly. As he got closer, he recognized that he was from his own village, so he shut up and lay down.
Walking up to it, Zhang Chi touched the big yellow dog. The dog was so hot that he stuck out his tongue and didn't bother to pay attention to anyone.
Standing up, Zhang Chi looked at the stone-paved streets, feeling a little lost for a moment. This is the place where I grew up, and every inch of the land is extremely familiar to me. After being away for half a year, when I came back, I felt like I was in another world.
At this moment, a man came back from the field with a hoe and rolled up trouser legs. At a glance, he saw Zhang Chi standing at the entrance of the village. He shouted: "Is this Erlang of the Zhang family? I haven't seen you for half a year, but you have become much stronger!"
Zhang Chi saw that it was his neighbor's father, Lin's father, and said hurriedly: "Yes, yes! Father is busy in the fields again!"
Father Lin said: "Weeds are growing happily in the rice fields. I will go to the ground and pull them out. When we reach the entrance of the village, why don't you go home quickly? Your parents have missed you every day these days. I don't know how happy they will be when we meet!"
Zhang Chi agreed. Step forward and go to your home with Father Lin. When he arrived at Lin Achi's door, he said: "I'm on vacation these days to visit my relatives, and my father will come over to my house for a few drinks. I haven't seen him for many days, and I miss him very much!"
Father Lin agreed and returned to his home.
Arriving in front of the house, Zhang Chi stood there and adjusted his mood for a while. When he opened the courtyard door, the civet cat lying in the shade of the tree glanced lazily at him, then turned his head away. The fifth brother, who was messing around in the grass with a branch, looked back and called his second brother.
Mother, who was spinning in the main room, heard a sound. He came out of the room and stood there looking at his son, speechless for a moment.
Zhang Chi stepped forward quickly and said to his mother: "Mom, I'm back!"
Mother looked at Zhang Chi and the wine and meat in his hand, and her body was trembling a little. He stepped forward and took his son's hand, and whispered: "Erlang, what did you commit in the army? Run away and go home. Don't go out and be seen by the villagers. The government is strict now, but it's not like before!"
Zhang Chi said with a smile: "What did mom say? The army has a holiday, let us come back to visit relatives! I will stay at home for more than ten days, and I have to go back to the army! After half a year of training, how could the army let us leave?"
"You didn't commit any crime?" Mother circled around Zhang Chi. "Do not lie to me!"
Zhang Chi said: "Of course we didn't commit any crime! Thirty-nine people from Dengcheng County came back together with us. In a few days, they will come to our house as guests! You will know then. Mom, I came back to visit our relatives. I’ll invite the folks over to drink!”
My mother still didn't believe it and murmured: "I've never heard of officials taking a vacation to visit relatives. How can you, a soldier, take a vacation?"
Zhang Chi had no choice but to put the wine and meat in his hands into the house and put them down. He came out and said: "If you don't believe it, I will invite Li Zheng from my hometown here and see what he says! Now that you are a soldier, if it is not the same as before, you will always not believe it!"
Who dares to believe it? From ancient times to the present, I have never heard of soldiers taking holidays. The army is always on guard for fear of soldiers fleeing. How could they let you go home on holiday? What should I do if I return home and never go back? Aren’t there fewer and fewer people in the army?
Zhang Chi had no choice but to go aside and tease his younger brother.
But his mother said: "Wu Lang, go to the fields and call your father! Just tell Er Lang that he is back and ask him to go home quickly!"
The fifth brother agreed and ran out the door quickly.
The mother asked Zhang Chi again: "When you entered the village just now, did you meet any villagers?"
Zhang Chi said: "I just entered the village and saw Father Lin next door. I went home with him."
"Alas -" Mother shook her head and couldn't help but sigh. A man stood there, not knowing what he was thinking.
Zhang Chi was confused and stood there, not knowing what to do.
Not long after, my father came back with his third and fifth brothers. Seeing Zhang Chi standing in the yard, he put down the hoe and hurriedly closed the yard door.
Zhang Chi stepped forward to meet his father. He said: "Dad, I'm on a month's leave in the army and I'm coming back to visit my relatives. Who knew my mother wouldn't believe me and left me in a dilemma here."
Father held Zhang Chi's hand. He said: "Is it really a holiday in the army? Didn't you come back here? Erlang, this is not a joke, you must tell the truth! You are in the army and exempted from our hard work. This year I went out to do things and made a few bucks." If you really committed a crime and escaped, I will send you away tonight! Although the arrest is strict now, as long as you escape to Fangzhou next door, you will be fine!"
Zhang Chi didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Dad, it's really a military holiday! I'm doing well in the military! Because I never commit any crimes, I do well. It's my first holiday. I have saved all the money and want to bring it back to you!"
His father looked into Zhang Chi's eyes for a while and then said, "Are you really not telling lies?"
"Of course not! I'm not the only one in Dengcheng County who joined the army. You can just ask!"
Seeing Zhang Chi's sincere attitude, Dad nodded: "Okay, I'll take what you said to be true! There are soldiers in the next village. I'll go over and ask after a while. If it's really a holiday, of course I have nothing to say."
Zhang Chi said: "Qian Fei from the next village is not fake this time. He has to wait until next time. Yang Biao from Daliushu Village, ten miles away, is fake this time and came back with me. If you don't believe it, just ask somewhere. knew."
"You actually get a holiday when you are a soldier?" My father muttered in a low voice and went over to discuss with my mother.
The third brother is in his teens and is only half a head shorter than Zhang Chi. Seeing his father walking away, he came to Zhang Chi's side. He said: "Second brother, growing up, I have never heard that there is a holiday in the army. You are not an official, how can you be given a holiday in the army? I have only heard that after a soldier goes out, it is difficult to see him alive. "
Zhang Chi said: "Why, you don't even believe me? Wang Kuan leads the army and is different from others. We eat well and wear well in the army, and our lives are much better than at home! Let me tell you, in the past six months , I have also learned most of the Thousand Character Essay!"
The third brother didn't believe it: "Literacy is taught in the army? I've never heard of it!"
Zhang Chi said: "There are many things you haven't heard of! Wang Zhan led the army is different. We don't know how good our life in the army is. We eat three meals a day, and there must be a cooked breakfast. Where are the eggs!”
The third brother shook his head after hearing this: "One egg a day, how many chickens do you need? How many chickens are needed for the army to lay so many eggs?"
Zhang Chi said with a smile: "Thousands or hundreds? You underestimate Wang Kuan. Now there are more than 16,000 people in our army! How many chickens? It's only 20,000 or 30,000. Do you think it's a lot? Tell you, Xinye There are places dedicated to raising chickens around, maybe not 100,000 of them."
How can the third brother believe it? I also raise a dozen chickens at home and produce three or four eggs a day. Even the most prolific chickens will spend most of the year without laying eggs. The eggs at home are either given to the children to eat, or they are saved for the busy farming season.
The parents discussed it for a long time before listening to Zhang Chi's words with hesitation. Check out what he brought back and discuss inviting the villagers to drink. Because Zhang Chi became a soldier, he was exempted from hard labor at home and could make some money in a year.
No wonder Zhang Chi’s parents didn’t believe it. Since ancient times, soldiers have been thousands of miles away. How can they take a holiday? When the war comes, how many people can return to their hometown alive? It happened in history that he was in good condition when he left, but when he came back he was still guarding the border with his head wrapped around his head. Wang Xiaolie's army was completely different from the armies in history.
