Chapter 77
When Chen Tianyou returned home, he found his father standing in the yard smoking for the first time. He exclaimed, walked over and asked, "Dad, are you still smoking?"
As far as he could remember, he had never seen his father smoke.
Chen Shengqing took a few puffs, exhaled smoke, and put out the cigarette in his hand, "I smoke occasionally."
"But you never smoke normally, and now you are smoking here. Did my mother kick you out and not allow you to enter the house?" Chen Tianyou noticed something was wrong.
He was right. After Yang Qiujin told him to go home, she turned around and went into the house and locked the door from the inside. Chen Shengqing said a lot of words to coax her, but she ignored him and could only go to the yard to smoke to relieve her anger.
Chen Shengqing put the half-smoked cigarette to his ear and saw Chen Tianyou with his hands behind his back in an unnatural manner. He moved two steps calmly and looked at Chen Tianyou's hands in the other direction. Sure enough, he saw a trace of blood on his wrist that had not been wiped clean.
"You had a fight with someone and saw blood?" he asked.
Chen Tianyou was shocked, "Dad, how did you know?"
"The blood on your wrist hasn't been wiped clean." Chen Shengqing said, pointing at his left hand behind his back.
"Dad, listen to my explanation. I didn't fight with anyone on purpose..." Chen Tianyou was convinced. His father's eyesight was too sharp. He could see a bloodstain as big as the tip of a chopstick that had not been wiped clean. No wonder he was called the Eagle of the Frontier by the soldiers.
In the face of his father's absolute authority, Chen Tianyou did not dare to hide anything and told Chen Shengqing what had happened in a few words.
He thought Chen Shengqing would scold him. After all, Deng Gangzi's parents were in charge of many things in the army, and both of them were not easy to deal with. If he had a fight with Deng Gangzi, they would definitely not let it go, and it would cause trouble for Chen Shengqing.
Who knew that after hearing this, Chen Shengqing's eyes flashed with coldness and he said, "Deng Lifu's son actually dared to do obscene things in the military compound. You did a good job. Come with me to talk to Captain Guo and Political Commissar Zhao about this matter and ask them to help control this family."
"Dad, you don't blame me for fighting with Deng Gangzi, and you don't blame me for causing you trouble, right?" Chen Tianyou breathed a sigh of relief, followed him out of the yard and asked.
"You are brave and stand up for justice, not fighting for no reason. Since it's not your fault, why should I blame you?" Chen Shengqing said without looking back: "Deng Lifu's family is difficult to deal with. If they know that you beat Deng Gangzi into a pig's head, they will definitely hold a grudge. When I was in the army, they didn't dare to act rashly. After I left, they will definitely find ways to torment you and your mother. Before I leave, I have to teach them a lesson to let them know that you are my son. If they dare to touch you, they will have to bear the consequences."
Chen Shengqing came out in a hurry. He was not wearing a heavy military coat, but only a thin military jacket. He walked slowly in front.
But in Chen Tianyou's eyes, his back looked so tall at this moment.
At this moment, Chen Tianyou felt his unspoken fatherly love, and a warm current flashed through his heart. Chen Tianyou chased after him. After many years, he took the initiative to reach out and hold Chen Shengqing's big hand, smiling at him, "Dad, it's great to be your son."
Feeling the warmth of the little hand, Chen Shengqing was stunned for a moment, then he curled his lips and smiled, "I also think it's great that you can choose me to be your father."
The father and son walked hand in hand to the front door of Captain Guo's house. Guo Shengrong was just coming back from Political Commissar Liao's house. When he saw them entering the yard, he looked at them curiously and said, "Xiao Chen, are you taking the kids for a walk?"
"Captain Guo, I'm here to see you." Chen Shengqing stood at the gate of his yard and told the story of the fight between Chen Tianyou and Deng Gangzi in a few words, emphasizing: "We, the children of the army, all receive military education and grow up in the army. No child is like Deng Lifu's son, who has been bad since childhood and keeps bullying the children in the compound. Many children's parents have been tolerant because of the positions of Deng Lifu and his wife, which also made Deng Gangzi's child even more aggressive, doing such dirty things at a young age.
The bottom line is that Deng Lifu's son read a foreign pornographic book, which clouded his mind and led him to behave irrationally.
Under the strict laws in our country, it is impossible for such a banned book to appear in the hands of a child at will. I am sure that the book must have been stolen from Deng Lifu.
Captain Guo, please send someone to conduct a strict investigation of Deng Lifu immediately to check whether he abused his power to illegally purchase contraband, and also check whether he has contact with foreigners, whether he has been instigated to reveal the location of our unit, and thus caused the flies to fly more and more in the sky recently. "
If it was a fight between children, Guo Shengrong would have thought it was a small matter and ignored it. However, Chen Shengqing's words directly accused Deng Lifu of crimes such as counter-involution, corruption, and anti-revolution.
Guo Shengrong did not dare to underestimate him now, and said with a serious expression: "If what you said is true, then Deng Lifu is guilty of a serious crime. I will send someone to investigate Deng Lifu immediately. If you have nothing to do, you should go home and rest early. We have to leave early tomorrow morning."
Guo Shengrong was a man of strong action. After he finished speaking, he went back home and called the security department of the army, informing them to arrest Deng Lifu. At the same time, he cooperated with the Border Public Security Bureau to inquire about the procurement records of the Quartermaster Department that Deng Lifu had been in charge of recently, and who he had contacted with.
There was a bloody storm in the Deng family, but Chen Shengqing acted as if nothing had happened and took Chen Tianyou home.
On the way, Chen Shengqing noticed that Chen Tianyou seemed to be hesitant to speak, so he turned his head to look at him and asked, "What's the matter?"
"No, I just think you look so handsome today, Dad."
Perhaps because he was afraid of being seen as a joke, Chen Tianyou stopped holding Chen Shengqing's hand after leaving Captain Guo's house. He kicked stones all the way back home, "Dad, are you leaving again tomorrow?"
"Yes. When I'm not at home, you have to listen to your mother and your grandmother and take good care of them for me." Chen Shengqing said.
"How long will you be gone? Will your life be in danger like last time?" Chen Tianyou looked worried.
"I'm not sure how long I'll be gone. I'm a soldier. Going out on missions is definitely dangerous. Just get used to it." Chen Shengqing stood at the door of his house, looking at the closed windows and doors of the house on the left side of the yard and said, "Your mother is angry with me. Tianyou, do you have any way to comfort your mother?"
"Me?" Chen Tianyou was stunned for a moment, then thought for a moment and said, "My mother likes money, likes to eat meat, likes to wear nice clothes, and likes to buy whitening cosmetics. If I can buy all these things, she should be happy."
Chen Tianyou was not sure what Yang Qiujin liked.
The father and son looked at each other and realized for the first time that they didn't understand Yang Qiujin at all, not even what she liked most. They were truly unworthy of being her husband/son.
Of course, even if he didn't understand, when Yang Qiujin got angry, Chen Shengqing had to find a way to coax her.
He strode into the yard, and suddenly there was a gust of wind behind him. He reacted quickly by dodging to the side and at the same time raised his long legs and swept them hard.
The person who attacked him also quickly leaned back to avoid his blow, then quickly stood up and attacked his armpits and sensitive parts with his fists.
These two units are the vital points of nerve endings. For Chen Tianyou, who has practiced martial arts such as martial boxing and Sanda for four years, this is the best place to attack a person without killing him in one blow. He can only beat him to the ground and he will not be held criminally responsible.
Ever since Chen Tianyou decided to practice martial arts boxing, whenever Chen Shengqing was at home, he would fight with him to practice his reaction ability.
Chen Tianyou was unable to react in the beginning and was beaten by Chen Shengqing so hard that his nose bled several times. Now he has a very strong reaction ability and is rarely injured. As a sneak attacker, he was able to escape from his hands unscathed. The progress and hardships involved cannot be explained in a few words.
This is also the reason why Chen Tianyou was able to become one of the best fighters among the children in the compound in just four years.
With Chen Shengqing's fighting skills, there was naturally some slackness in the fight, and the father and son were fighting hard at the gate of the yard.
Li Xiu'e, who was sewing small clothes in the living room, saw the two of them fighting again. Although she knew that Chen Shengqing was training his grandson to have sufficient reaction and self-protection abilities, she was still worried that Chen Shengqing, as an adult, would hit too hard and hurt the child, so she couldn't help but say, "Shengqing, please be gentle. Last time you accidentally hit Tianyou's ribs, he couldn't sleep for several days because of the pain."
Before she could finish her words, she heard Chen Tianyou scream. Li Xiu'e stood up and saw that Chen Tianyou was lying straight on the ground with a footprint on his clothes. Chen Shengqing had not yet retracted his long legs that were stretched out.
"Oh, you unlucky child!" Li Xiu'e hurried out of the yard, helped Chen Tianyou up, checked his injuries, and complained: "Didn't I tell you to be gentler? Look at you, you kicked the child to the ground and he couldn't get up for a long time. Are you still his real father?"
"Only through repeated setbacks can a man become strong. If he can't even bear a small injury, he will join the army in the future. How can he face those enemies who want to kill him? On the battlefield, the enemy will not show mercy to you." Chen Shengqing said expressionlessly as he retracted his thigh.
"He is just a child, not your soldier. How can you use harsh force on him?" Li Xiu'e was so angry that she hit him.
"Grandma, I'm fine." Chen Tianyou stood up stubbornly, holding his stomach that was kicked and hurting, and said, "Dad is right. Only through repeated tempering can one become strong. If I hadn't persisted, I would still be as weak as before and be bullied by Deng Gangzi and others. It is because I have been insisting on exercising and constantly practicing martial arts and fighting skills that my body is stronger than before and no one can bully me."
Li Xiu'e was still worried. "Your father always hit you too hard. Go into the house and take off your clothes. Grandma will check if you are seriously injured. If you are seriously injured, we will have to go to the hospital to get medicine."
Knowing that she cared about him, Chen Tianyou did not refuse. After entering the living room, he took off his coat, revealing his muscular body with six-pack abs.
If he hadn't inherited his father's pale skin and was afraid of being laughed at as a gigolo, his muscles and abdominal muscles would be enough for him to brag about for a long time in front of his friends.
Li Xiu'e was already accustomed to his small body, so she was not surprised to see his muscles and abdominal muscles. Instead, she felt distressed to see a wide bruise above his belly button.
While applying the purple medicine to him, he kept muttering: "What do you want? You know your father is the best fighter in the army, but you always fight with him. Can you win?"
She applied the medicine gently, but Chen Tianyou still grimaced in pain, saying unyieldingly, "I may not win now, but I will win in the future. I work hard to train, practice martial arts and fighting techniques. Besides wanting to keep myself healthy and not be bullied, I also want to protect you. When you are old and can't walk, I will have the strength to carry you around every day, and even go to the capital where you want to go the most to see the leaders."
A warm current surged in her heart, and Li Xiu'e's eyes suddenly turned red. She wiped her tears and said, "Good child, your love for you is not in vain."
There was such a loud noise outside that Yang Qiujin must have heard it from inside the house.
She was already sulking, and when she heard that Chen Tianyou was injured by Chen Shengqing again, she couldn't suppress her anger. She stood up from the kang bed, walked to the door angrily and opened it.
Chen Shengqing stood at the door and looked at her with a smile, "Don't be angry, it's all my fault."
"Did you hurt Tianyou on purpose just to get me to open the door?" Yang Qiujin glared at him.
"Even a tiger won't eat its own cubs. I'm not so wicked as to attack my own child to attract your attention. He was distracted and couldn't dodge." Chen Shengqing saw that she was wearing thin clothes, strode into the room, found a blue cotton coat, put it on her, carefully put on her sleeves and buttoned it, and said, "I'll take you to a nice place, do you want to go?"
"What place?" Yang Qiujin asked suspiciously.
"Just follow me." Chen Shengqing pulled her out of the house and said hello to Li Xiu'e: "Mom, I'm taking Qiu Jin out for a while."
"Where are you going so late?"
"Mom, don't worry about it. We'll be back soon."
"Dad, I want to go too." Chen Tianyou raised his hand in an uninterested manner.
He had never been out with the troops late at night, and he wanted to join in the fun.
Chen Shengqing glared at him and said, "What are you going to do? Your mother and I are going to have a life of our own as husband and wife. What are you saying?"
"You are clearly living a life of three, and mom has a little sister in her belly. Why did you take my sister with you and not me?" Chen Tianyou said with his lips pursed.
Chen Shengqing asked: "When you get married and go out with your wife, will you bring me and your mother with you?"
Chen Tianyou choked. He was just a little old and his father was already talking about his future wife. If he didn't want to take him with him, then that was fine. Why did he have to bring up the future?
Chen Shengqing is now at the deputy regimental level, and the army has allocated him a car, which is the jeep he used to pick up Yang Qiujin last time.
The jeep stopped outside his yard. Chen Shengqing took Yang Qiujin's hand, opened the door for her, let her sit in the passenger seat, and went back to the driver's seat. He started the car, drove out of the army, and headed towards a distant road.
"Where are we going?" Yang Qiujin asked.
It was pitch black at night and I couldn't see clearly what was happening outside. I could only use the high beams of the car to vaguely see that I was walking on a country road.
"I'll take you to a delicious place." Chen Shengqing turned the steering wheel, looked at the road ahead and said, "I saw that you didn't eat many dumplings at Political Commissar Liao's house, and the dishes you cooked were snatched away by them. You must be hungry now."
It would have been better if he didn't say it. As soon as he said it, Yang Qiujin really felt hungry. The baby in her belly seemed to move a little, as if it also said that she was hungry.
She touched her belly and said, "The state-owned hotel has been closed for a long time. Where can I buy food now? If it is a private restaurant, it would be against the policy of the higher authorities..."
Chen Shengqing said: "There are policies from above and countermeasures from below. If everyone does things in a rigid and routine manner, what is the meaning of life? Occasionally, we have to change things up and try new things to make life interesting."
It was a very normal conversation, but when it came out of Chen Shengqing's mouth, it took on a different meaning.
Yang Qiujin couldn't help but think of the last time she took the initiative to do something new. She guessed that this man was still brooding over that incident and was still thinking about it, so she used the incident to personify him.
Yang Qiujin blushed, spat at him and said, "You are being frivolous again."
Chen Shengqing tilted his head to look at her, raised his eyebrows and asked, "What's wrong with me?"
"You know it yourself." Yang Qiujin was too lazy to pay attention to him.
Not knowing where he was going, Yang Qiujin felt more sleepy than before as she was pregnant, so she simply tilted her head, closed her eyes and took a nap.
She didn't know how long it had been before she heard Chen Shengqing calling out, "Qiu Jin, we've arrived. Get off the bus."
Yang Qiujin walked under the car with her eyes half closed, and almost fell to the ground.
"Be careful." Chen Shengqing quickly supported her, "The terrain here is not good, walk slowly."
It was pitch black all around. Yang Qiujin adjusted to the light and, under the illumination of the jeep's headlights, discovered that they had parked in a mountain valley surrounded by rugged rocks. There were a few dilapidated adobe houses where the car was parked, hidden behind a huge rock. If one did not look carefully, one could not see the houses.
"Where is this?" Yang Qiujin looked at the watch on her hand. It was already ten o'clock in the evening, which meant that Chen Shengqing had driven for at least an hour.
"Near the Awa region's labor camp farm." Chen Shengqing led her to the houses. "Here lives a Sichuan chef who was famous before the founding of the People's Republic of China. His dishes are delicious."
Chen Shengqing led her to the front of the house and knocked on the door. The door opened and a skinny old man poked his head out of the door. He was startled when he saw Chen Shengqing in military uniform with his cloudy eyes, but then he recognized who he was, opened the door and said, "Comrade Chen, come in."
The couple entered the house, where there were two old wooden tables placed on the left and right sides. A dim kerosene lamp was lit on the left table.
The old man turned and went to the room on the right, guessing it was the kitchen. He quickly came back with a teapot in his hand and placed it on the table where the two were sitting. Without saying another word, he turned around and went back into the kitchen.
Yang Qiujin sat at the table on the left, looking at the furnishings in the living room. In addition to the two tables, there was a bench in the corner, a bamboo thermos, a broken enamel basin, and yellowed newspapers on the corner. Apart from that, there was nothing else.
"How can the food be delicious in such an environment?" Yang Qiujin expressed her doubts: "He didn't even let us order the food."
"There are no recipes here. They just cook whatever ingredients are available. His cooking skills have nothing to do with the environment." Chen Shengqing poured her a cup of hot tea, placed it in front of her and said, "This old man was deliberately placed here by the leaders of the labor reform farms. He does light work on the farm during the day, and cooks for the farm leaders at night. Other farm workers who are tired of the food in the cafeteria will also cook for him. He gives all his earnings to the farm. It is not his personal property, so it cannot be considered as cutting off the socialist tail. Everyone knows this, so you can just eat with confidence."
"You can find such a remote place. How far have you run and how many things have you done that I don't know about." Yang Qiujin said after taking a sip of tea.
The so-called tea is actually barley tea made by roasting wheat and then putting it into water. It has a slightly bitter taste, but it is not unpalatable and has a bit of wheat flavor.
"During the first two years of my military service, I patrolled the border at different checkpoints throughout the Ava region. My old squad leader brought me here, and I fell in love with this place after eating here once." Chen Shengqing pulled the table a little further away to avoid pressing on Yang Qiujin's slightly bulging belly.
The space was much larger, and Yang Qiujin felt much more comfortable. "You always mention your old squad leader. Who is he? Is he still in the army?"
"He is no longer in the army. While trying to protect a new recruit like me, he injured his leg in an explosion and became a cripple. He could no longer stay in the army and serve the country. He has retired and returned to his hometown. If there is a chance, I will take you to see him."
"good."
After a while, the old man brought a large wooden tray with two plates of cold dishes and two sets of bowls and chopsticks and placed it on their table.
When Yang Qiujin saw it, her jaw dropped in shock. There were two plates of cold dishes, one was green peppers and preserved eggs with black skin and yellow core, and the other was red and green cold water spinach.
She hadn't been able to make these two Sichuan dishes in all the years she had been in the border area. One reason was that she didn't know how to fry eggs, and the other was that she didn't have the ingredients. She didn't expect that this old man could actually make them both.
Chen Shengqing saw her surprise, put a big spoonful of cold Houttuynia cordata into her bowl and said, "This old man has a great background. It is said that he cooked for the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty. He has a unique understanding of cooking. He grows this Houttuynia cordata in his house. He doesn't grow much. He wouldn't easily make this dish for ordinary people. I guess he was in a good mood this time and saw that we were from southern Sichuan, so he made this dish specially."
Yang Qiujin has been in the border area for almost five years. People in the border area don't eat Houttuynia cordata, and no one grows it. She has long wanted to eat this dish.
She couldn't wait to put the Houttuynia cordata into her mouth. She tasted the familiar spicy, crispy and slightly fishy taste of the Houttuynia cordata. She was so happy that she almost shed tears. "It's delicious. It tastes like my hometown."
Chen Shengqing smiled and said, "Eat slowly, there are other dishes."
After a while, the old man served the dishes one after another. They were all classic Sichuan dishes, such as Kung Pao Chicken, Twice-cooked Pork with Garlic Sprouts, Mapo Tofu, and Boiled Fish.
The portion was not large, it was made for two people, but the taste of each dish was very much to Yang Qiujin's liking. She had a big appetite and even ate two big bowls of rice. After she finished all the dishes, she still felt that she had not had enough.
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