twenty three
As soon as they heard that they had arrived at the final stop, the people on the train who had been feeling listless after sitting on the train for several days suddenly became energetic, stood up, picked up their packages, and lined up to get off the train.
"Qiu Jin, help Comrade Ren get off the car, and give the packages to Tianyou and me." Chen Shengqing hung all the luggage on his body, held Chen Tianyou with one hand, and told him to follow him closely.
Ren Ying lay in bed all night, her face was still very pale and her body looked very weak.
Yang Qiujin helped her carry the wicker box and supported her as she got off the train. "Comrade Ren, after getting off the train, you should go to the Wushi Hospital for a checkup and stay in the hospital for two days before leaving."
"I will, Sister Yang, thank you." Ren Ying took out a big Tuanjie from her pocket and handed it to her, "I will never forget your kindness. If I have the chance in the future, I will definitely repay you. Take this ten yuan, just as a thank you gift from me."
Yang Qiujin pushed the money back into her hands and said, "It's not easy for a girl like you to go out alone. Keep this money for yourself. If you encounter any difficulties in the future, you can come to the Tianshan Second Regiment Border Defense Force to find me. I will help you within my ability."
Ren Ying's eyes were filled with tears: "Sister Yang, I am so lucky to meet you. Please take care of yourself on your journey."
"You should take care of yourself too."
The two went their separate ways, and Ren Ying's petite figure carrying the wicker box gradually disappeared into the crowd.
Yang Qiujin followed Chen Shengqing and his son out of the train. When she saw the low-rise buildings outside, the dusty streets blown by the wind, the horse-drawn carriages and camels that could be seen everywhere shuttling on the roads, and the streets filled with the smell of livestock feces, she felt a chill in her heart: "Is this what Wushi, a city on the border, looks like?"
It feels like it’s not even as good as a small city in Sichuan Province.
"Wuhan is still under construction, and countless young people with lofty ideals are flocking here to build it. It will definitely be better than our place in the future."
Chen Shengqing pulled Tianyou to avoid a speeding carriage and motioned Yang Qiujin to follow him to the opposite side. "Our Second Regiment Border Defense Department is farther away at the foot of the Tianshan Mountains. It was even more remote and harsher there a few years ago. There were almost no people. Our troops were stationed there for nearly fifteen years before a small town was gradually formed there. This is why I didn't let you join the army."
"I thought you disliked me and that's why you didn't want to take me with you."
Yang Qiujin felt an unprecedented warmth in her heart, and the knot that had been in her heart for many years was finally untied. People from ethnic minorities in various clothes walked past her, and when they saw her following Chen Shengqing, who was wearing a military uniform, they realized that she was a soldier's wife, and they all smiled friendly at her.
If Wushi, one of the largest cities on the border, is so poor and backward, then the conditions at the border garrison where Chen Shengqing is stationed must be even worse. What he said in the letter is true. It's not that he disliked her and was unwilling to bring her to join the army, but the conditions there were more difficult, and he didn't want her and the child to suffer there.
"I have never disliked you." Chen Shengqing tilted his head to look at her, his narrow eyes filled with a warm smile, "From the day I decided to marry you, you have been my chosen wife. How could I dislike you?"
Under the warm spring sun, the man in military uniform stands tall and straight in the faint sandstorm, and his handsome features are so eye-catching.
Boom boom boom—her heart was beating rapidly, and Yang Qiujin's face was tinged with red. The corners of her mouth could not help but rise, and a small dimple appeared on her right cheek, which made her look very cute. Her voice was unconsciously much softer: "You are so smooth-talking. When we were married before, you were so cold to me and didn't even want to talk to me."
"You're putting the blame on me. It's obviously you who didn't want to talk to me." Chen Shengqing said helplessly, "During the first few days when we were married, I fetched water for you to wash your body, but you bit me every time and told me to get lost. I..."
"Shut up!" Before he could finish his words, Yang Qiujin covered his mouth with her hands, her face red as blood dripping out: "The child is still watching, don't talk nonsense."
He really brought up all sorts of issues. At that time, he was still a young boy who didn't know how to control himself. He tortured her so much that she couldn't get out of bed every day. But he was full of energy every day, getting water for her and wiping her body. She would get angry just by looking at him, so she would never give him a good look.
It seemed that the two of them had just had a misunderstanding about this matter. Now that they had talked it out, Yang Qiujin finally got rid of the things that had been pent up in her heart for many years.
"Mom, I'm so hungry."
In the restaurant across the street, there was a middle-aged man with a tall stature, a mustache, a high nose and blue eyes, who was wearing a characteristic Uyghur hat and was skillfully pulling noodles on a chopping board and putting them into a steaming pot.
Chen Tianyou was drooling over the aroma of flour and mutton in the air, pointing at the Uyghur uncle and whispering to Yang Qiujin, "Mom, look at that uncle, he looks so weird, why are his eyes that color? And those people walking on the street, why are their clothes different from ours, they look weird too."
"Don't point your finger at others, and don't comment on their appearance! This is very rude!"
Yang Qiujin slapped away Chen Tianyou's hand that was pointing at someone, and said with a fierce face: "We are in a multi-ethnic area. The people you are talking about are from different ethnic groups, such as Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Huis, Kyrgyz, etc. You used to live in the inland and never left your hometown. You have never seen people from other ethnic groups except the Han people, and you don't have any knowledge to comment on their appearance. Mom doesn't blame you. But after this time, you must remember that there are 56 ethnic groups in our country, and we are a family. A family should live in harmony and love each other. If you dare to say something bad about people of other ethnic groups again, I will beat your ass!"
"I'm sorry, Mom. I'll remember that." She hit Chen Tianyou hard, causing the back of his hand to burn. He apologized aggrievedly, "I won't point fingers at people anymore, and I won't talk about other people's appearance anymore."
"If you have a good attitude to admit your mistakes and correct them as soon as you know them, you are a teachable kid." Chen Shengqing said this in a literary way, and then pulled Chen Tianyou into the hotel, "What do you want to eat? Dad will buy it for you."
"I want to eat meat, lots of meat!" Chen Tianyou, who always cared more about food than work, forgot his previous unpleasantness upon hearing this. He walked into the store, looked around, and specifically asked for a mutton pot with boiling soup at the door.
"Please sit inside and see what you would like to eat." A Kazakh waitress who was much fatter and stronger than the inland people came up to them immediately. She wiped the gray wooden table with a handkerchief draped over her shoulder and asked them questions in her not-so-fluent Mandarin.
"Two pounds of mutton, a large plate of chicken, and three servings of pulled noodles." Chen Shengqing put the package under the wooden table. Seeing that Yang Qiujin and her son looked confused and didn't know what to eat, he made the decision directly.
"A plate of noodles is 0.3 yuan, with 200 yuan of meal tickets. A large plate of chicken is 0.74 yuan. Mutton is 1.8 yuan per kilogram. This is the price without meat tickets. If you have meat tickets, the price will be 0.1 yuan less. Comrade, you see..."
"We don't need meat coupons, just give us money directly." Yang Qiujin quickly took out the coupons from the cloth bag she was carrying and gave them to the waiter.
Meat coupons were limited in those days, with an average person getting only two taels of meat coupons a month, which was not even enough to fill a stomach.
After finally finding a restaurant that didn't require meat coupons, Yang Qiujin would rather spend more money than use them.
"Please wait a moment, the food will be here soon." The waiter counted the bills, confirmed that everything was correct, and went to the backstage to place the order.
It was the first time for Yang Qiujin to go to such an ethnic restaurant. At a glance, she saw that the restaurant, which was less than 100 square meters, had more than ten tables filled with people.
Most of the customers are Han Chinese, with a few from other ethnic groups. Everyone has a large plate of food in front of them, and the portions are surprisingly large.
"Why can't I buy food in the restaurants here with meat coupons?" After taking a look around, Yang Qiujin looked away and asked Chen Shengqing in a low voice.
Chen Shengqing poured a free cup of wolfberry and red date tea for her and her child. "The frontier is a place with developed animal husbandry, vast land and sparse population. Lamb and beef are staple foods for many ethnic minorities. If the meat ticket system is strictly enforced here like we do, those ethnic minorities will definitely disagree. So meat tickets are not needed here. You only need to pay an extra 10 cents to buy as much meat as you want."
"That's great! If I could live here forever, wouldn't I be able to eat as much meat as I want?" Yang Qiujin was a little envious.
"The reason why meat coupons are not needed is simply because this hotel is located in front of the railway station. It's a welfare hotel opened by the state. If you want to buy meat from other places, you still need coupons, just like when you buy meat and vegetable lunch boxes on the train, you don't need grain coupons." Chen Shengqing explained.
"I thought we really didn't need meat coupons here and could eat meat whenever we wanted." Yang Qiujin was greatly disappointed.
The food came quickly, a plate of boiled lamb on a wooden plate, with a small dish of pepper and salt, a large plate of fried red chicken with plenty of chicken, potatoes and onions, three generous portions of noodles, also known as pulled noodles, and a large bowl of free lamb soup, all steaming and giving off a charming aroma.
"Mom, can I eat now?" Chen Tianyou was so hungry that his mouth was watering, but he also remembered what Yang Qiujin had taught her, that children should not pick up their chopsticks before the adults and elders did, so he looked at Yang Qiujin eagerly and asked.
"It's ready to eat." Yang Qiujin put a large piece of mutton with skin, dipped it in a little pepper and salt, and put it in Chen Tianyou's bowl.
Chen Tianyou reached out and picked it up, put it in his mouth and chewed it, and soon exclaimed with sparkling eyes, "Mom, it's so delicious."
"Really?" Yang Qiujin was originally worried that Chen Tianyou would not be able to get used to the smell of mutton. After all, in the Vanguard Brigade, they mainly ate pork and rarely ate mutton. Unexpectedly, Chen Tianyou did not feel disgusted at all.
Chen Shengqing also put a large piece of hand-pulled mutton into her bowl and said, "Most sheep in border areas, in addition to eating normal grass, will eat medicinal herbs such as apocynum, licorice, wild wolfberry leaves, and Cistanche deserticola when grazing. They will also eat some alkaline soil to help digestion. Sheep raised in this way have very tender meat without much mutton smell, which is much more delicious than the mutton in our Sichuan Province."
Hearing this, Yang Qiujin took a bite of the mutton. The meat was indeed tender and juicy, not dry at all. It also had the sweet taste of the carrots that were added when stewing the mutton. With the addition of pepper and salt, it was so delicious that Yang Qiujin's pupils dizzy.
She had never eaten such delicious and tender mutton. It was completely different from the mutton with a strong mutton smell in Sichuan Province.
"This meat is so delicious." She exclaimed as Chen Tianyou did. She quickly swallowed a piece of mutton and then grabbed another piece of fat mutton to continue chewing.
"If you like it, eat more. If it's not enough, we can buy some more." Chen Shengqing poured two servings of white noodles into the big plate of chicken and mixed them. The noodles were soon dyed red by the red oil in the chicken, which looked very tempting.
He placed another portion of unmixed white noodles in front of Chen Tianyou, fearing that he could not eat spicy food. He divided the remaining mixed noodles into two and put them in the bowl again, one for him and one for Yang Qiujin.
"I want to try some too." Chen Tianyou pushed the white noodles back in front of Chen Shengqing, "I'm not afraid of spicy food!"
"Are you sure?" Chen Shengqing raised his eyebrows: "The spiciness of the frontier peppers is not inferior to our southern Sichuan province."
"I can eat spicy food!" Chen Tianyou patted his chest and said, "I eat all the spicy dishes my mom makes. If you don't believe me, ask my mom."
Yang Qiujin took a mouthful of the hot noodles and said incoherently: "Let's mix it for him. Children in Sichuan Province have been eating spicy food since they were young. He can accept this level of spiciness."
This funny boy will never cry until he sees the coffin. If you tell him that something is spicy, he will not listen to you. He will not listen until he tries it himself and suffers the consequences.
After she said so, Chen Shengqing swallowed his words, mixed the noodles that belonged to Chen Tianyou, put a few more pieces of chicken in it, and handed it to him.
Chen Tianyou couldn't wait to pick up a piece of noodles with chopsticks and put it into his mouth. A strong spicy taste, accompanied by the aroma of chicken, potatoes and onions, made him cough and burst into tears. But when he saw Yang Qiujin's eyes, he swallowed it hard, holding back tears, and said arrogantly, "It's not spicy."
"It's good that it's not spicy." Yang Qiujin scooped him a bowl of thick, fragrant mutton soup and said jokingly, "It's shameful to waste food. Since it's not spicy, you should finish your noodles."
So Chen Tianyou ate the noodles with great enthusiasm while tears streamed down his face due to the spiciness. He wiped his tears with his hand and kept drinking the mutton soup.
After finishing the meal, Chen Tianyou's mouth was red from the spicy food, but Yang Qiujin never asked him to stop eating, or tried to help him finish the food or even order a new portion.
Chen Shengqing silently looked at her expression and understood that she was teaching the disobedient boy a lesson in disguise. He had seen how naughty his own children were along the way, and at this moment he just wanted to say, Yang Qiujin, well done!
After dinner, Chen Shengqing took Yang Qiujin and her son to a department store in Wushi to buy daily household items such as pots, pans, tables, chairs and benches.
There were too many things to carry, so they couldn't take the train. Chen Shengqing found a Dongfeng freight truck from somewhere, and the whole family got on the back of the truck and headed for Ava area at the foot of the Tianshan Mountains.
It took a whole day and a night for the high-speed Dongfeng truck to travel from Wushi to Ava. Except for two stops to let Chen Tianyou get off, the rest of the time the whole family squeezed into the back of the truck filled with grain and seeds, driving alone on the bumpy and endless Gobi Beach Road.
When they arrived in Ava, the driver of the truck had a different way with them, so the family stopped for a rest in the county town. Chen Shengqing found a green rickshaw, negotiated a price with the driver, put all his things on the car, and the family of three sat in the back of the car, which headed towards the border troops where Chen Shengqing was.
A tricycle made of iron skin is similar to a tractor, but faster than a tractor. It is usually used to carry light food and other goods, but now it is used to carry people. It is very dangerous for people to be on the vehicle.
At this time, most of the roads were dirt roads. Although there was little rain in the border areas, the road surface was not particularly muddy and difficult to walk on. However, there was a lot of sand and gravel, and the car shook violently.
Not long after getting on the car, Yang Qiujin became listless, leaning against the car seat, closing her eyes, her face pale.
The lively and active Chen Tianyou was also feeling uncomfortable. He leaned tightly in her arms, his pair of bright black eyes dull as he stared blankly at the white clouds floating in the blue sky.
Seeing that they were in discomfort, Chen Shengqing took the mother and son into his strong arms, one on each side, and let them lean against him, which was much more comfortable than leaning against the hard rock.
Yang Qiujin felt his movements and opened her eyes to look at him. She felt really uncomfortable, but she didn't care about the embarrassment at this moment. She let his strong arms hold her, closed her eyes and leaned against him tightly to prevent herself from vomiting.
The buggy made a clanging sound as it went along. The driver was a young Kazakh man, a transport driver for a state-owned farm near the border defense forces. He was bored all the way and sang Kazakh songs in his deep voice, which startled the eagle circling in the sky and made it spread its wings and fly away.
Occasionally, a car filled with young people working in frontier construction would pass by them. On the road, there were also ethnic minority people from nearby villages and ranches, driving ox-drawn carts or herds of cattle and sheep, blocking the road.
Chen Tianyou had never seen such scenery before, and at first he excitedly shouted: "Mom, look, there are so many sheep!"
Later, when the ground was covered with sheep and cow dung, the shepherd actually carried a bearded basket on his back and shoveled the hot cow dung into the basket.
Chen Tianyou was so shocked that he couldn't close his mouth. When he smelled the cow and sheep feces in the air, his stomach churned even more violently. He quickly closed his mouth and didn't say another word.
After a long journey, they finally arrived at the garrison of the Second Border Defense Regiment where Chen Shengqing was stationed at around 6 pm.
As soon as Yang Qiujin got off the car, her legs were so weak that she couldn't even stand. Fortunately, Chen Shengqing was right beside her and quickly supported her, "Be careful."
"Yue~" Yang Qiujin took his hand, her face pale, and squatted on the side of the road vomiting violently.
Chen Tianyou was not much better off, he also squatted on the side of the road and vomited continuously.
"Vomit it out. Your stomach will feel better after that." Chen Shengqing patted their backs with some heartache as he saw his wife and children going through such an ordeal.
"Captain Chen, you're back." Not long after the two men finished vomiting, a soldier in military uniform with a rifle on his back saw Chen Shengqing, trotted over from the camp gate, and saluted Chen Shengqing.
He saw a young woman standing next to Chen Shengqing. She was thin, with delicate features, pigtailed hair, and dressed in rustic clothes. There was also a very pretty little boy with fair skin and delicate features. He exclaimed in surprise, "Are these my sister-in-law and nephew?"
"Yes." Chen Shengqing nodded and introduced to Yang Qiujin: "This is Comrade Ruan Xiangming, the squad leader of the first squad in my battalion."
"Hello, Comrade Ruan." Chen Qiujin nodded to the chubby, honest-looking young man in his twenties in front of her.
"Hello, sister-in-law!" Ruan Xiangming stood up straight and gave Yang Qiujin a military salute. "Sister-in-law, you have worked hard on the journey."
"It's not particularly hard..." Yang Qiujin didn't know what to say after seeing his action.
Chen Shengqing patted Ruan Xiangming on the shoulder and said, "Sergeant Ruan, your sister-in-law has a lot of luggage. Go and ask two soldiers to come out and help us carry the luggage."
"Yes!" Ruan Xiangming raised his head and chest to salute him, stood at attention, turned around and ran towards the camp.
The garrison camp of the Second Border Defense Regiment did not have tall and majestic buildings like the military district. Instead, it had a wall outside that enclosed a wide area inside, where barracks, training grounds, offices, logistics areas, family areas, etc. were built. There were gatehouses at the front and back doors of the high wall, and towers on all sides with soldiers patrolling with guns and binoculars. From the outside, it looked like an ordinary garrison, completely different from the tall and majestic military district that Yang Qiujin had imagined.
Ruan Xiangming went and came back with two young and strong soldiers. They rushed to help Yang Qiujin carry the package and followed Chen Shengqing into the camp.
Yang Qiujin and her husband walked into the barracks holding Chen Tianyou empty-handed. Everywhere they looked were various poplar trees, weeping elm trees, small-leaved wax trees, etc., planted in neat rows in the wide square. The distance between each row of trees was about ten meters. The towering branches blocked out the sun, and well concealed the three-story red brick office building and training ground of the army built in the distance.
The family compound is located on the right side of the camp, completely separated from the troop training ground. About a hundred meters inside, there is a wall separating the two areas. There are soldiers guarding the inner door, and family members are not allowed to step in without permission.
Chen Shengqing led Yang Qiujin and her son to the family compound, attracting the surprised looks of many soldiers and their families along the way: "Captain Chen, am I seeing things? You actually brought your family with you to accompany the army!"
As the battalion commander of the cavalry patrol battalion of the border defense force, Chen Shengqing spends more than half of his time in a year on border patrol or on missions outside. He actually reached the position of deputy battalion commander three years ago. According to the force's various preferential policies for remote border areas, he could apply for barracks and bring his family to accompany the army at that time.
However, he had never applied for a barracks and lived in the officers' quarters and border posts. Everyone in the garrison knew about his heroic deeds and knew that if he had not made that mistake three years ago, with his ability as a single soldier and his military exploits, he might have been promoted to deputy regiment commander by now.
Such an outstanding man, handsome and educated, was said to have married a country wife in his hometown at the arrangement of his parents. He had not been home for many years and had not allowed his family to follow him in the army. Many people speculated that he did not like his country wife at all and could divorce her at any time.
For this reason, many military wives in the family compound were interested and often reported to the troops and brought their sisters and sisters-in-law to the troops to play, with the aim of letting them spend more time with Chen Shengqing.
If they fall in love with Chen Shengqing and he divorces his country wife, then they can become military officers' wives, which is better than marrying those class workers or peasants.
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