Chapter 794 Grandpa's Comrades-in-Arms When we look at those classic scenes where the male and female protagonists' feelings are subtly revealed and their eyes meet, especially that reserved yet bold "first kiss on screen,"

In the darkness, Zhou Zhe clearly heard Su Xiaowen take a very light breath.

Then, subconsciously, she turned her face slightly to the side, lowered her head, and even her neck was tinged with a light pink.

Zhou Zhe's cheeks were burning hot, and his heart was pounding in his chest.

He didn't dare turn to look at her, his eyes fixed on the screen, but out of the corner of his eye he could sense her shy avoidance.

He secretly moved his hand, which was on the armrest of the seat, to the side a little bit, and then a little bit more.

Su Xiaowen seemed to freeze for a moment, but did not dodge.

In the dim light, the backs of their hands touched almost imperceptibly before separating, yet it felt as if a tiny electric current passed through them, causing their two young hearts to tremble gently along with the story on the screen.

Lu Qingyang also brought Shen Mo to see a movie.

Midway through the movie, the plot was developing to the point where the male and female protagonists' feelings for each other were blossoming amidst the beautiful scenery of Mount Lu.

Shen Mo watched intently, her eyes glued to the screen, completely immersed in the pure and beautiful emotional atmosphere.

Lu Qingyang smiled knowingly and gently nudged Shen Mo, who was completely absorbed in the moment, with his elbow.

Shen Mo was feeling her heart flutter with excitement at the interaction between the male and female protagonists when he touched her. She turned her head somewhat reluctantly and asked with her eyes, "What?"

Lu Qingyang didn't say anything, but just gestured slightly with his chin towards the row in front, with a mischievous expression on his face that said, "Look, there's something interesting going on."

Shen Mo looked in the direction he pointed with a puzzled expression. After a couple of seconds of careful observation, she recognized Zhou Zhe and the quiet female comrade beside him in the dim light.

She first widened her eyes slightly in surprise, then realized what was happening and couldn't help but smile.

She leaned closer to Lu Qingyang and whispered:

"So that's why you suddenly decided to invite me to the movies... Turns out you had ulterior motives! When did you start playing matchmaker? These movie tickets, were they just extras?"

Lu Qingyang, having his thoughts exposed, did not deny it, but simply shrugged and replied in a low voice, "I'm just concerned about my classmates' lives. Besides, whether it works out or not depends on them. At most, I'm just... acting as a go-between."

In the screening room, the melodious songs and romantic plot of "Romance on Lushan Mountain" filled the air.

Lu Qingyang couldn't help but reach out and take Chen Mo's hand.

...

After falling ill, Grandpa Fang was mostly quiet.

Lu Qingyang and Fang Zhongwen sat to one side, discussing in hushed tones a briefing that had just been delivered from the search office, their voices low so as not to disturb his peace.

However, when Fang Zhongwen inadvertently mentioned the name Lijiazhuang, it was the place where Xiaolangtou had just been confirmed to have died.

The old man's fingers twitched almost imperceptibly.

Fang Zhongwen noticed this subtle flutter in his heart.

He hesitated for a moment, then took the briefing and several enlarged black-and-white photos and squatted down in front of his father: "Dad, I have some news. Li Tiezhu, our company's little hammer... we found the place where he sacrificed his life."

“Little Hammer…” the old man murmured, his cloudy eyes slowly focusing on the overgrown hillside in the photo.

Time seemed to have been torn open at this moment.

He remained silent for a long time, until Fang Zhongwen thought that he would once again sink into that chaotic fog.

Suddenly, two streams of turbid tears slid down his deep-set eyes without warning, dripping onto the old military blanket and leaving dark stains.

"Tiezhu...that kid...seventeen...not very tall, dark-skinned, can eat a whole cornbread in one meal, and has the strength of a little calf...so everyone calls him Little Hammer."

The whole family quieted down.

They knew that a memory sealed away by blood and the passage of time was being painstakingly unlocked.

“That battle… was so fierce. We were pinned down on the hillside, unable to lift our heads… Bullets were flying everywhere, and suddenly, something black and smoking landed at my feet…” His breathing quickened, and his fingers gripped the edge of the blanket tightly, his knuckles turning white.

"Little Hammer was right next to me. He shouted 'Company Commander!' I still remember that voice. Then he pounced on me and pinned me down... There was a loud bang, and I couldn't hear anything. I just felt my face and body... covered in hot... his blood..."

He choked up, unable to continue speaking, and his tears flowed even more rapidly.

"He still had half a cornbread in his pocket, as hard as a rock... He said that after winning the war, he would go home and get married... But he... he didn't get to eat it... and he didn't get married either."

The courtyard was silent except for the old man's suppressed sobs.

A few days later, when it was decided to move the remains of martyr Li Tiezhu to the newly built company martyrs' cemetery, Grandpa Fang made a move that moved everyone.

One night, he had Lu Qingyang help him open the camphor wood box that he treasured once again.

As the layers of tarpaulin were peeled away, what was finally revealed was an old, worn-out horn-shaped hammer.

The wooden handle was worn smooth by time and hands, even having a dull luster, and the iron hammerhead also showed signs of use, clearly indicating that it was a personal tool used to repair guns and hammer equipment in the past.

"This is Xiao Lang's. He left... I've kept this hidden for forty years... Now, we've found him, so give this to him. Let him know that the old company commander... hasn't forgotten him, and the country... hasn't forgotten them either..."

Lu Qingyang felt the hammer in his hand was heavier than a kilogram.

It is no longer a tool, but a testament to a bond of blood and flesh, a token that transcends the boundaries of life and death.

The reburial ceremony was held in the newly built martyrs' cemetery.

That place was high in the sky, with light clouds and solemn pines and cypresses.

Rows of newly erected white marble tombstones, like rows of neat soldiers, silently guard the heroes who rest here.

Grandpa Fang insisted on coming to the scene.

He changed into his treasured old military uniform, his chest adorned with medals that carried countless stories.

Grandpa Fang sat in a wheelchair, pushed by Fang Zhongwen.

As the coffin, draped in a bright national flag, was steadily lifted by the honor guards and prepared to be moved to the burial site, the old man suddenly became emotional and struggled to stand up.

Fang Zhongwen and Lu Qingyang quickly helped him up, one on each side.

He raised his arm, his thin fingers together, and solemnly and slowly raised it to his graying temples, giving a standard military salute.

Just as the coffin was lowered into the tomb, Lu Qingyang stepped forward and, following his grandfather's instructions, gently placed the smooth horn hammer on the national flag, so that it could accompany its owner to rest in peace on this land that it had won with its blood.

Lu Qingyang and Fang Zhongwen stood on either side of the old man behind him, looking at the solemn and dignified scene before them, at the old man's sculpted profile frozen in a salute, and then at the names in the cemetery that had stepped out of the notebooks and were now engraved on the stone tablets: Wang Dashan, Wu Shuanzhu, Zhao Yonggui, Li Tiezhu...