09
Yang Qiujin suppressed her violently beating heart and ran back to the vanguard brigade like a gust of wind.
From a distance, she saw the village road in front of her house crowded with people watching the excitement. Someone saw her and called her hurriedly: "Qiu Jin, you are finally back. Come in quickly. Sheng Qing has been back for a long time."
There was a military jeep parked in front of her village road. The side of the jeep was crowded with men, women, old and young who were watching the excitement. When they saw her coming back, they made way for her, all with smiling faces and saying flattering words.
Yang Qiujin responded to her neighbors with a smile on her face, and walked to the gate of the courtyard, hesitating, not knowing what she was nervous about.
Perhaps the noise outside was heard by someone in the courtyard, and a figure walked out of the courtyard and called out, "Qiu Jin."
Yang Qiujin was startled by this strange yet familiar voice and looked straight at the person at the gate.
At the door stood a man in a military green officer's uniform, about twenty-five years old, with three-dimensional features, deep eyebrows and eyes, wheat-colored skin, and a little highland red on his face. He stood at the gate of the courtyard like a small poplar tree, with a tall and handsome figure, but a domineering and murderous temperament all over his body. He was so handsome that people could not take their eyes off him.
This is Chen Shengqing. He has changed a lot compared to seven years ago. He is much taller and darker. His eyes are not as gentle as before, but have a sharp and inquiring look. He has become more stable and more lovable.
Yang Qiujin stared at Chen Shengqing blankly for a while, then her eyes suddenly turned red and she forced a smile: "Shengqing, you're finally back."
In the bright sunshine, the woman in his memory who never cried in front of others was now looking at him with red eyes. Chen Shengqing looked at Yang Qiujin. She didn't look much different from when he left. She still had delicate features, honey-colored skin, and a long ponytail. She was wearing a long spring dress with a blue background and white florals. In the hazy light, she looked like those heroic and high-spirited iron ladies in picture magazines. She looked strong and yet a little fragile, bright and serene.
This made Chen Shengqing's tense expression relax. He thought of how Yang Qiujin had been filial to his parents and raised his children for him for so many years, and never complained about him. Even though he didn't have much romantic feelings for Yang Qiujin, Chen Shengqing couldn't help but curl his lips, his deep eyes filled with tenderness, and smiled back at her: "I'm back. You've worked hard for so many years."
When he doesn't smile, he gives people a cold and unapproachable feeling, but when he smiles, he is like a spring breeze, making people yearn for him.
The women watching around were talking about it: "Oh, this Chen Shengqing's smile is really killing me. They say that there is only one flower in the village, and everyone praises him. Chen Shengqing is a grass in our village, and girls of all ages want to find him. It has been so many years, how come Chen Shengqing is getting more and more handsome, and more and more attractive to me."
"That's right. They say that the older a man gets, the more attractive he becomes. Chen Shengqing is such a man. He's so handsome. He's much more handsome than Wang Xingang."
"How can this be compared? Wang Xingang has thick eyebrows and big eyes, and is handsome and tough. He looks completely different from our handsome young man Chen Shengqing, who has delicate eyebrows and eyes and is prettier than a woman. If only Chen Shengqing was ten years younger, I would risk my life to get him."
Some men couldn't stand it anymore and hit back at the chattering women: "Come on, you still call him a cream boy, but now he's been tanned into a black boy. Some of you have babies that are almost taller than Chen Shengqing, what are you daydreaming about in broad daylight! And you still want to take him down? I think it's almost like Qiu Jin took you down."
"Hahaha..." Everyone knew Yang Qiujin's hot-tempered personality. Those who dared to say this in front of her knew that she was not the kind of ignorant and unreasonable woman who would make a fuss at any time and anywhere. She was just making a harmless joke.
Yang Qiujin certainly didn't mind such a joke in public. She smiled and talked to the people who were joining in the fun for a while, politely asked them to leave, and then followed Chen Shengqing into the yard.
When she entered the yard, she found two men in military uniforms standing there. One of them was about 26 years old, handsome and elegant, wearing a pair of black-framed glasses. When he saw her, he smiled warmly and extended his hand to her, "Comrade Yang Qiujin, long time no see, I hope you are well."
"Ji Mingchen, why are you here?" Yang Qiujin was startled when she suddenly saw Ji Mingchen, but then her expression returned to normal. She symbolically shook hands with Ji Mingchen and quickly withdrew her hand.
"Shengqing and I are on vacation together. I took the bus back and came to see you." Ji Mingchen saw her face, withdrew his hand with a little disappointment, pointed to a bag on the wooden table in the middle of the yard and said, "I brought some things for you, Auntie, and the children. I hope you don't mind."
Yang Qiujin frowned slightly, "I..."
Before he could even utter the word "no", Chen Shengqing said, "Thank you, Brother Ji. You've been at my house for quite some time. I'm sure your family must be waiting anxiously at home. You should go back soon."
Ji Mingchen glanced at Yang Qiujin, but didn't see the expression he wanted. He sighed and said, "Tell me when you are leaving. Then we can take a bus back to the border together, and I'll have someone to accompany me on the road."
"Okay." Chen Shengqing agreed readily.
Ji Mingchen said nothing more. He walked out of the yard with another soldier, got into a jeep, and left the vanguard brigade.
The yard was quiet. Li Xiu'e locked the gate, turned around and hugged Chen Shengqing, crying, "Son, it's been seven years, seven whole years! You know how hard it was for mom to wait for you at home. When Qiu Jin had a difficult delivery, her blood covered the quilt. She and Tianyou almost died. Your father and I were so worried... Later, your father got sick and couldn't eat rice, noodles, eggs, or other fine foods. Before he died, he kept repeating your name and wanted to see you once... Later, mom got sick, and your elder sister and second brother wanted to divide the family business, not caring about my life or death. It was Qiu Jin who held the child in one hand and carried me on her back, and ran to all those famous hospitals. Mom is alive and well now..."
Every word and every sentence tells how difficult it has been for these orphans and widows to live in the Vanguard Brigade over the years.
"Mom, Qiu Jin, you have worked hard these years. I am so sorry for you." Chen Shengqing felt a sharp pain in his heart and his eyes were filled with tears. He knelt down and kowtowed to Li Xiu'e three times. "I am an unfilial son. Not long after I joined the army, I was spotted by my superiors and received two years of special training. I went to the Soviet Union to carry out a secret mission. I couldn't come back to see you, and I couldn't fulfill my filial piety in front of my father. It hurts my heart. I have selflessly contributed to the motherland, but I am so sorry for you. Now that I am back, I hope you can forgive me."
"Silly boy, I have never blamed you." Li Xiu'e reached out and helped him up, wiping her tears and saying, "I am not well educated, but I know that it is the duty of soldiers to obey orders. As a soldier, if you don't make contributions to the country and don't protect the country, there will be no family for us. I tell you this just to let you know how difficult it has been for Qiu Jin these years."
People are all made of flesh and blood. Even though Li Xiu'e did not like the famous Yang Qiujin at first, after spending years together day and night and seeing everything Yang Qiujin did for her son and for her and her husband, Li Xiu'e had long regarded Yang Qiujin as her own daughter.
She had heard a lot of rumors from people outside, so she naturally didn't want her son to be ungrateful and divorce Yang Qiujin. These words were half crying and half speaking for Yang Qiujin.
"Mom, I know how difficult it was for Qiu Jin." Chen Shengqing tilted his head to look at Yang Qiu Jin. She had already burst into tears and was standing aside sobbing silently.
"I'm glad you know. It's getting late. Mom will cook. You can talk to Qiu Jin more." Liu Xiu'e ran into the kitchen and happily cooked the dishes that Chen Shengqing used to like.
There were only two people left in the yard. Yang Qiujin looked at the tall and handsome Chen Shengqing, feeling somewhat embarrassed.
The two were forced into marriage and had no feelings for each other. Chen Shengqing enlisted in the army less than a month after they got married. If you count carefully, the two spent no more than fifteen days together. It would be a lie to say that it wasn't awkward for them to be together again after seven years.
Yang Qiujin said awkwardly, "You must be very tired after traveling all the way back home from the frontier. Do you want to go inside and take a nap, and then have lunch when you wake up?"
"No, I'm used to it." Chen Shengqing pointed to the large and small packages of things placed in the middle of the yard, "These are the things I brought back from the border. Take them into the house and have a look."
As he spoke, he reached out, picked up the heavier packages, and walked towards the west room.
Yang Qiujin pursed her lips, carried the small package, and followed him.
The west room was where Yang Qiujin lived. Chen Shengqing entered the room and looked around subconsciously.
The house is not the same as it was before he left. At that time, he lived here alone. It was just a simple room. There was no wardrobe except a bed. The position of the wooden bed has not changed. The house is full of newspapers and pictures. There are two pictures of great men on the head of the bed and a fat baby New Year picture on the bed. Because it was pasted for a long time, the picture has faded.
Next to the window is a wooden bed covered with a watercolor peony-flowered bed sheet. A dark red quilt is neatly folded against the wall. Opposite the bed is a square elm cabinet, a square table, a low stool, and a small bed. On the small bed are some wooden toys and a few messy children's clothes.
Although the house was just as simple, it was cleaner and tidier than when he lived alone before.
Chen Shengqing put down the package in his hand, saw the small bed, and turned around to ask, "Is Tianyou sleeping in this bed?"
"Yes." Yang Qiujin opened the packages one by one and took out the things inside. She saw a pile of canned food, biscuits, milk powder, maltose and other things and exclaimed, "Why buy so many canned food?"
"These are canned foods specially supplied by the army. I thought I'd let you try them, so I asked my comrades to buy some for you." Chen Shengqing helped her take out the things in the package, and casually said, "Tianyou is six years old this year, right? Boys are grown up, and they need to sleep separately from their mothers. They need to know how to avoid suspicion between men and women."
In addition to canned biscuits, the package also contained things with words that Yang Qiujin did not recognize, such as various candies and sausages of Su Wen, as well as grapes and mutton jerky, which are special products of the border area.
Yang Qiujin was somewhat surprised at how much money Chen Shengqing spent on this trip, and also explained: "When Tianyou was five years old, I slept in a separate bed from him. He went to the south room to sleep alone for a year. Earlier this year, he went to the mountains with a group of children to pick wild fruits. He accidentally got lost and turned into a pile of graves. He was so scared that he fell ill when he came back. He didn't want to sleep alone, so I had to let him come back and sleep in the same room with me."
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