I met Lan Wangshan by chance on the train. At that time, I heard a lot of news about Tongcheng from him. And thanks to his conversation with Lin Duzhong, I was relieved of my anxiety at that time when I didn't know the extent of Lin Houpu's injury, because they could talk and they left each other their addresses.
After Lin Houpu was out of danger, Lin Duzhong specially wrote him a letter to report his safety, and the address he left was naturally Lin Houpu's home address.
Now they received his reply, and because Lin Duzhong said in the letter that they were together, he wrote Lin Chuanbai's name as the recipient.
There happened to be a letter from Yu Xiangan's second brother and his wife in the mail room, so both letters were given to her.
It didn't matter who received Lan Wangshan's letter. On the first page, he first expressed his happiness for them because Lin Houpu had survived this ordeal. Then he was going to come here on a business trip again, and would visit them if he had enough time.
Lin Chuanbai: "Grandpa will be happy, the two of them can get along well."
After Hua Yi finished speaking, he turned to the second page of the letter and scanned the contents. Lin Chuanbai was also speechless at this coincidence.
In the letter, he said that his son's comrades-in-arms had visited his home. Although his son was gone, he would always live in their hearts. The name of one of the comrades-in-arms was mentioned in the letter, his name was Qin Shenghua.
Yu Xiangan’s eldest cousin is called Qin Shenghua.
Is this a coincidence?
They have the same name and surname, and both are soldiers, but this feels like... what a coincidence.
Yu Xiangan understood the above information, which meant that his cousin had returned home after many years. It was really a coincidence that she had already moved here and missed him. She really wanted to see him.
They have been exchanging packages all the time. He sends specialties and seafood from Northeast China, and she collects specialties from her hometown and delicious food she makes herself and sends it to him, sharing what they have with each other.
"Wait until he comes and ask him in detail."
The second letter was sent in the name of Yu Xiangan, but the handwriting on the first page was all Wen Ruzhen's.
It started with greetings and a bunch of family stuff, like how grandpa had been sick before, but he took some medicine and recovered quickly, and everyone else was fine, with no changes.
The Yu family knew about Wen Ruzhen's family situation, so he also knew that his father had written the reason for her letter after he was sent to the farm.
Wen Ruzhen's presence in the Yu family has never been strong. Although she cannot be easily ignored because of her appearance, most of the time, she will not express her opinions and lives like a transparent person.
Yu Xiangan knew why.
Because of the ingredients.
At this time, people are divided into different classes according to their background.
There are also rich peasants in the Red Star Brigade. Compared with other villagers, they live more invisible and almost never express their opinions. But even so, there are still many people pointing fingers at them, and it is more difficult for their children to get married.
Wen Ruzhen and Wen Yizhen’s biological father is undergoing transformation, and no one else knows about it except their family members. She did this because she didn’t want others to dig deep into the matter.
They had no problem with their identity; their household registration changed when their mother remarried, and then they went to the countryside and moved to the Red Star Brigade, but they had to be prepared for any eventuality.
After all, the blood ties with the biological father are unbreakable, and they did not publish an announcement in the newspaper to say they were severing the relationship.
If it were exposed, there would definitely be a lot of gossip. It would be okay for adults, but the children would definitely be bullied.
This is also a form of protection.
So many times, they would help out themselves. For example, when they moved into a new house, it was not Wen Ruzhen who entertained them.
Although it was inconvenient for her because of her pregnancy, there was nothing wrong with her body and it was no problem to entertain her.
Yu Xiangan didn't know much about her family. These were the information he knew. Her father had gone into reformation, and her mother had remarried with her three children. In addition to Wen Ruzhen and Wen Yizhen, they also had a younger sister. Because she was still young, their biological mother took her away to remarry and moved to another place, and they had lost all contact with her.
Apart from that, there was nothing else. Yu Xiangan didn't know where he was sent down or where her mother remarried.
Wen Ruzhen never mentioned his situation and never asked them for help.
Now she knew that the place where he had been exiled was in this province, so far north.
"...Xiao An, my second sister-in-law didn't want to implicate you with these things, but I haven't received a safe letter for more than half a year. The journey is long, so I can only shamelessly ask you. If it is convenient, please help me find out the situation nearby. If it is unfortunate... I will find a way to go there and bring you back home."
Yu Xiangan looked at this with a heavy heart.
Bring it back home means bringing the remains back home.
At the end of the book, the handwriting has changed to Yu Xiangyan's.
"Xiao An, you should do what you can. Your sister-in-law has been keeping this matter to herself and has not told anyone."
"If it's convenient for you, please help me get some information. I have fifty dollars hidden in the bottom of my shoe for information. If you have already been there, please send a telegram. If not, and for some reason it is inconvenient to report that you are safe, please see if you can do something with the money."
They hid the money in the soles of their shoes because they were afraid that others would touch their letters.
In this letter, no names were mentioned directly, and "she" was used instead.
I was just afraid that someone would see it and bring trouble to Yu Xiangan.
Yu Xiangan: "..."
I suddenly felt heavy.
Naturally, she would not think that those people were a scourge. This was the pain of the times, and many people were not wrong.
Because of this catastrophe, they were implicated.
Yu Xiangan took apart the sole of her shoe and found fifty yuan in it. On three of the bills, the three characters "Wen Yanjun" were written respectively. This should be her father's name.
Lin Chuanbai patted her shoulder comfortingly.
He understood why she was sad.
She had a good impression of her second sister-in-law. Even after suffering such a big blow, she still remained true to her original intention.
Her father must also be a man of his own caliber.
Her father had this experience not because he did anything wrong, but because he studied abroad.
They come from the afterlife, understand them, and know their innocence, but in this age, their understanding is of no use.
There are many things that we can’t do anything about.
Yu Xiangan memorized the address, burned the letter, and planned to ask people about it later.
Lin Chuanbai: "I will also help ask."
I had been sending out messages to let them know I was safe, but suddenly there was no news at all. It's really hard not to think of the worst.
Wen Yanjun was reformed in Nanxi Farm. Nanxi Farm was in Tongcheng, the same Tongcheng where Lan Wangshan was on a business trip.
It so happened that his letter said that he might come here to visit. If he came, wouldn't this be a ready-made person to inquire about?
Of course, they would not place all their hopes on him, and this matter could not be delayed for too long. They had been out of contact for so long, and it felt... like the worst was in sight.
But this is such a pity. If he was still alive and just didn't write the letter for some reason, their timely help could have saved his life.
Having persisted for such a long time, it would be such a pity if he collapsed before dawn.
Lin Chuanbai also supports this matter. Whether or not to interfere is another matter, but it is not difficult to find out the information.
The two of them picked a day off and said they had heard about Tongcheng's specialties and wanted to buy some back.
Hearing their reasons, Lin Duzhong: "..."
Is this what young people are like nowadays? It’s not a bad idea to go for a walk. He nodded: "Okay, let’s go traveling. I’ll take care of the child."
Bringing a child is not difficult.
Nanxi Farm was originally woodland and wasteland, but now it has been transformed into a farm. People have come here for transformation one after another, and there are also educated youth who come to support. No matter which side they are on, it is very hard.
Because they came here to open up new land, and opening up new land is never an easy task.
Moreover, the population is increasing, the land is so small, and the food produced is limited, so naturally less and less is allocated to each individual. Especially for those who are sent here for reform, they will be assigned to do the dirtiest and most tiring work, eat the worst food, and are not allowed to go out.
It is the most strictly controlled.
They have no place to spend their money here, which is really sad.
Because there were people who knew the situation there, Yu Xiangan and his team used the educated youth there as a starting point to learn a lot of information and roughly understood the scale and restrictions there.
When talking to the store manager about the lack of response to his submission, Yu Xiangan inadvertently changed the subject to Nanxi Farm. "Manager, do you know anything about this farm? I have a friend who wants me to help him find out. You know I'm new here, so how can I know about Nanxi Farm?"
When Liu Hengbo heard her words, his eyes flashed, "Why is your friend asking about this?"
Yu Xiangan looked around and saw no one, but he still lowered his voice, "Manager, this is not a good thing to say. She has a relative who is undergoing rehabilitation there. Before, she would send her a letter every once in a while to report that she was safe, but now my friend hasn't received a letter of safety for more than half a year. She is worried that something has happened, but it's so far away, and knowing that I'm here, she wants to be closer, so she asked me if I knew. How do you think I know this? It's not a good idea to ask about this in a big way, which really worries me to death."
Liu Hengbo was silent for a while and lowered his eyes. "Do you want to know the current situation of her relative?"
"Yes, I just want to know if he is safe. If he is, that's all that matters. If anything happens, I have to tell my friend that fallen leaves return to their roots." Her tone was rather pessimistic.
Liu Hengbo understood. He nodded slowly, "I understand. Nanxi Farm, I actually know a little about it."
He sighed, "Originally it was wasteland, and later it was chosen for reclaiming. At first, the people there were educated youth, and later those people were sent there to join the labor. I still remember that the farm was established in 1966 or 1967, and it has been eight years now."
Yu Xiangan: “Is that so?” It matched what she had inquired about.
"Do you know the name of your friend's relative? I have an old friend who happens to be over there. I'll see if I can help you find out."
They are called relatives, but generally speaking, who would care about each other so much? It must be that they are very close relatives.
Yu Xiangan was overjoyed. Not only did he understand, he also had someone he knew!
She immediately wrote Wen Yanjun's name on the table with water. Liu Hengbo wrote down the name and said, "I'll go ask. Wait for my reply. I can't guarantee it."
"Then I'll trouble you, Manager. I understand. No matter what the result is, thank you, Manager!"
A few days later, Liu Hengbo looked at her with a heavy face and said, "There is news. His condition is not good now. He has been sick and has not recovered. There is a lack of medical care and medicine there, and there is not much to eat. The weather is cold now." Although he is still alive, it seems that he will not live long if the situation continues.
Yu Xiangan was startled, then looked at him earnestly, "Manager, I know what I said was too abrupt, but I have no other way. Can your friend help? I really can't sit back and do nothing. My conscience is against it. Can I help him buy medicine and other things, bring them in, or give him money so that he can see a doctor?"
If the other person has already died, there is nothing to say. It seems that he can still be saved. If she sits back and does nothing, she will feel guilty and short of breath when she looks at her nephews and nieces in the future.
She did not ask who the old friend Liu Hengbo knew was or what his name was, and the manager had no intention of saying anything. He was not surprised to hear her say this, and his eyes seemed to become warmer when he looked at her. He had asked Wen Yanjun and knew his situation, and he felt sympathetic towards him in his heart. He approved of Yu Xiangan's performance.
Many people will be eager to sever ties with others for fear of being implicated, but there are also many people who will not change their persistence.
Liu Hengbo nodded. "It's not convenient to ask for a doctor, but he has told me his symptoms. There is a doctor there, and there is a pharmacy. Just get the medicine and bring it in."
"Okay, I'll go get the medicine right away. Can you also bring something else, such as food and clothes?" Getting the medicine was a simple matter. All she had to do was marry Lin Chuanbai.
"Just give me the things, and don't put anything in between."
"Manager, please go through this with me again when the time comes."
Yu Xiangan copied the prescription to Lin Chuanbai, and Lin Chuanbai brought the medicine back the next day.
Yu Xiangan also packed a worn-out cotton-padded jacket, and placed a bag of brown sugar, a pound of rice, three pounds of dried sweet potatoes, and a small bag of salt in the middle. He opened them one by one and showed them to him. "I don't know if it's convenient to take these things with you, so I stuffed 10 yuan in the corner." There was also a word "Zhen" cut out from a newspaper, indicating that Wen Ruzhen had found a way to send it in.
"Okay, don't tell anyone about this."
"I know, I know. I definitely won't dare to make this public. I'll have to trouble you, the store manager, with this matter. We are friends. If her elders have encountered such a thing, it's a life lost if they can't make it. If you can help me a little, I won't feel so heavy-hearted."
Liu Hengbo understands this very well, who doesn’t?
"I know."
There was no news for several days. Ten days later, he brought back a piece of paper torn from the blank corner of an old newspaper. On it were written "thank you" and "peace be with you", three words in total.
The handwriting is very beautiful, but it seems a little weak, probably because the body is weak.
"The medicine he took was effective, and with the food and thick clothes you sent him, he is getting better."
Yu Xiangan breathed a sigh of relief: "That's great."
"Then don't get involved anymore. There are still some taboos."
Yu Xiangan nodded to show that she understood: "It's good to know that he is safe." She could also reply to Yu Xiangyan and Wen Ruzhen over there.
She sent the note with three words on it back. At this time, Lan Wangshan came.
He came here for a reason. He went on a business trip to Tongcheng to buy spare parts for their factory's machines, but the spare parts there were not suitable. He bought them back, but they still didn't work. The other party suggested that he come to the machinery factory in Qincheng. As soon as the other party suggested that he come to the machinery factory in Qincheng, he immediately thought of the family he met on the train.
They came to Qincheng and the address they left was also Qincheng Machinery Factory. They must be employees of Qincheng Machinery Factory. He was unfamiliar with the place and wanted to find someone to help lead the way so that he could find the right person and resolve the issue of the parts more quickly.
But he didn't expect that Lin Duzhong's son was actually the director of the machinery factory!
Lan Wangshan was very surprised, he thought Lin Duzhong's son was just an ordinary employee in the factory!
Lin Duzhong: "You didn't ask before."
Lan Wangshan: “…”
He felt that he was a little stupid. He knew that his family had taken five sleeper tickets at once, so how could he have thought that they were just ordinary employees?
For this reason, Lin Houpu easily solved his problem. He asked the technicians to help make suitable accessories according to his needs and then asked him to leave a note to take it back.
His business was settled in no time, and the rest of his time was free.
Just wait until the accessories are ready and then take them back.
While chatting, Yu Xiangan told him about Qin Shenghua.
Only then did Lin Duzhong know that Lan Wangshan's sacrificed son and the cousin of his second grandson's wife were comrades-in-arms, and they had a very good relationship. He rarely went back home for several years, so he made a special trip to visit Lan Wangshan, which was very thoughtful.
After Lan Wangshan knew this relationship, his attitude towards Yu Xiangan immediately became much friendlier: "So you are Sheng Hua's cousin!"
Yu Xiangan: "I also think this is a coincidence." In this way, we became relatives!
Lan Wangshan sighed: "Your cousins are all good kids. They agreed to be brothers. If one of them leaves, they will treat the other's parents as godparents. Over the years, they have sent a lot of things to my family. They have always remembered their promise. Thank you for taking care of my grandson."
His grandson has lost his biological father, but he still has several godfathers, and no one dares to bully him.
Yu Xiangan felt very heavy listening to these contents.
The only soldier around her was Qin Shenghua. He was far away from her and only reported good news but not bad news. In their letters, he never mentioned any injuries he had suffered, nor did he say which of his comrades had died. He did not have a deep understanding of the side behind glory. Now looking at Lan Wangshan, Yu Xiangan was very sad, as if her heart was being stabbed by something.
There is a reason why many people admire the military profession. They use their flesh and blood to provide ordinary people with a stable life. They are all great people.
They deserve this glory.
Lin Houpu is a retired soldier. After knowing this relationship, his attitude towards Lan Wangshan became better.
"Walk around here more when you have time, this is a rare opportunity."
Afterwards, Yu Xiangan found an opportunity to ask him about Nanxi Farm in Tongcheng. Lan Wangshan did know a little about this farm.
"The people there don't live too badly, because the newly reclaimed land is relatively fertile, and the output can barely meet the food needs there, so there are no large-scale starvation deaths. That's OK. In addition to farming, they also raise poultry to supplement their income."
Yu Xiangan wondered how he knew that. Tongcheng was where he was on a business trip and he was not a local boss there.
"Hahaha, these are what Technician Li, who I used to deal with at the Tongcheng Machinery Factory, told me. He has a son who is an educated youth on that farm. Do you want to ask about him? I can help you."
"No, I want to find out." Yu Xiangan would not take risks without knowing the other party's character.
Knowing that Wen Yanzhen was safe there, she felt that this was enough for her. As long as he recovered and with the money that Yu Xiangan had managed to send in, she thought that she would have no problem continuing to support him.
After completing one course of treatment, Liu Hengbo took out the second prescription.
This is what Chinese medicine does, the prescription is changed according to the patient's condition.
Yu Xiangan didn't look at the prescription the first time, but now she looked at this one carefully and found that something was wrong.
She did not study medicine.
But she has learned some medicinal food and has a certain understanding of some medicinal materials.
For example, cinnamon.
This is a medicinal herb that does not grow in the north. Why does the medicine that Lin Chuanbai brought back look so fresh?
Is his hospital's herbal medicine storehouse so powerful? In the middle of winter, these look as if they were freshly prepared.
The second round of medicine was also delivered by Liu Hengbo. This time, in addition to the medicine, there were also two pairs of thick socks, a pair of old shoes, and some ginger.
At Nanxi Farm, Wen Yanjun received the medicine, opened it and saw the socks and shoes inside, and he let out a long sigh.
Looking at my dry, thin and calloused hands, it seems that I can only survive for a short time.
If he gave up just like that, how could he live up to the expectations of his daughters?
Soon, Yu Xiangan wrote a second letter and sent it back. He was still feeling a little depressed, a feeling of helplessness in the tide of the times.
Lin Chuanbai saw this and took out the test questions he had collected: "Let's do more questions."
Why do they do exercises? This can consolidate their knowledge and increase the chances of getting good grades. Only at this time can their feeling of helplessness be alleviated.
There was nothing they could do except to help him a little secretly.
The power of one person is too small. They don't have that much ability or skill, so they can only try their best to do what they can.
They both decided to use college as a stepping stone to develop their own network.
I don’t know how many outstanding people have emerged from the previous two classes of college students.
This is also the reason why they insist on taking the college entrance examination. In addition to having a legitimate reason to go out, the huge network of contacts is something they cannot give up.
Lin Chuanbai's medicine garden is not affected by seasons. The growth rate of the medicinal materials inside is ten times that of the outside world. One year outside is equivalent to ten years inside.
Although the variety is limited to Ginseng Yangrong Pills, it is also a huge golden finger.
Lin Chuanbai dared to conclude that if he participated in the ginseng market in the future, he would make others doubt their lives.
In addition to the medicinal herbs needed for the Ginseng Yangrong Pills, he also placed a medicine cabinet in it. These things flow at a normal time rate, so he doesn't have to worry about these herbs losing their medicinal properties in the blink of an eye because they have been left for too long.
As time went by, he didn't pay much attention to some things.
He thought that Yu Xiangan didn't know much about medicinal materials, unless they were very popular ones, such as ginseng, codonopsis, wolfberry, and rehmannia.
He didn't know that Yu Xiangan could also make medicinal food.
Because Yu Xiangan's medicinal food was not very good, the medicinal smell could not be removed very well, and she used it very little. She had never made it since she came here, so Lin Chuanbai didn't know.
After noticing that some of the herbs were too fresh, Yu Xiangan carefully checked his home.
I also have a medicine cabinet at home, similar to the ones in Chinese medicine stores. The large cabinet is divided into many small drawers, and each drawer contains different medicinal materials.
There was a note taped to the outside with the name of the medicine written on it.
Yu Xiangan found Astragalus. It was winter now, so why did she see a leaf that had not completely dried up in the corner of the root?
Yu Xiangan: “???”
In the north, the outside world is a natural refrigerator in winter. Put a jar under the eaves, put the things that need to be refrigerated in it, cover it with a lid, and press it with heavy objects. The natural refrigerator will diligently play its role.
They prepared a lot of things to freeze, but they didn’t bring the refrigerator from their hometown, so they can use the refrigerator in winter.
Yu Xiangan made a lot of meatballs, frozen tofu, and lamb chops one after another. If you want to eat them, just take one and thaw it.
Although you can't eat fresh food this way, it can easily solve many problems of why you can buy it while others can't.
So she took more home while everyone else could buy it and treated it as a purchase.
She would also deduct the family property accordingly to make their origin "formal and legal."
Lin Chuanbai never suspected anything.
Until there was no fish to buy at home, he said he wanted to eat it, and then he ate the southern grass carp.
As a foodie, he is not sensitive to ingredients, but he is sensitive to the ingredients he likes to eat.
This... Is there any place in the north suitable for it to grow?
It seems that the temperature it likes is above 20 degrees, but now it's even negative here.
Lin Chuanbai: “…”
He even took time out to go and make some money, but he never encountered the second one, whether it was at a grocery store or on the black market.
Yu Xiangan: Why did he have fresh southern medicinal herbs?
Lin Chuanbai: Why is there fish from your hometown at home? Where did she buy it?
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