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When he returned home, the scene of being scolded and disgusted that Xiao Li had imagined did not happen. Grandpa Xiao patted his two grandsons on the head very calmly to show his comfort and did not do anything extra.
Wang Han, as usual, gently comforted Xiao Li: "It's okay, we all know you didn't mean it, just treat this fact with a normal mind."
"Actually, when Mom and your Dad had just gotten married, your Dad came home from a mission one night and had a nightmare that kept screaming. I wanted to wake him up, but he grabbed me by the neck. I was young and scared at the time, and I even thought about leaving him."
"Since then, your father never came home after a mission. Even if he did come home, he would move to the living room to sleep, fearing that he would do something to hurt me."
"Xiao Li, we are all ordinary people. Everyone sees and experiences things differently. We may have heard of some things but have never experienced them ourselves. We don't understand the actual situation."
"Xiao Li, don't mind your brother's opinion. He's still young and doesn't know what you've been through. He'll slowly understand when he grows up."
When Wang Han thought about the frightened look in Xiao Ming's eyes when he looked at Xiao Li when they returned home, he felt extremely uncomfortable.
Both children were her flesh and blood, and no woman wanted to see her children have conflicts. She had experienced what Xiaoming was going through today, and she knew that feeling, that deep-seated fear that couldn't be controlled.
All she could do was to guide the children so that they could gradually accept and understand each other.
Then Wang Han said to Xiao Ming, "Baby, I don't think this is all my brother's fault. On the contrary, I think we are all at fault. My grandparents and I didn't tell you the truth about my brother, which led to your injury. It was wrong of us to do that. I apologize to you here. I'm sorry."
Wang Han, who was sitting next to Xiao Ming, really did as she said and apologized to Xiao Ming with a serious expression.
Then she continued, "You didn't listen to Grandpa and sneaked into your brother's room with your friends. That was disobedient. You didn't knock on the door when you entered your brother's room. That was impolite. So Mom thinks you made the biggest mistake. Although your brother hurt you, he is the most innocent one."
"Normally, I never scold you for being naughty because I don't want to curb your nature and want you to grow up healthy and happy. But what you did today really disappointed me..."
"You're grown up now. Today, Mom wants to tell you that everything has its good and bad sides. You must learn to be responsible for your own actions. Consider this a lesson for yourself."
Xiao Ming lowered his head, his eyes red as he pondered Wang Han's words. After a long moment, he suddenly said, "I'm sorry, Mom. I was wrong."
Wang Han had a relieved smile on her face. She leaned over and hugged Xiao Ming, patting his back rhythmically like coaxing a baby. "Our Xiao Ming is a child who dares to admit his mistakes. Mom is proud of you."
Wang Han's words comforted the two children at the same time. Although Xiao Ming was still afraid when he saw Xiao Li, his expression was not as obvious as at the beginning.
This conversation also allowed Xiaoli to get to know Wang Han as a mother again and gain a better understanding of the role of a mother.
Wang Han is a high school art teacher. She is beautiful and a gentle and virtuous woman.
The art teacher does not have many classes scheduled. In her daily life, apart from teaching, she takes care of her elderly parents and naughty children at home. Occasionally, she goes to the military area to take care of her husband. Her life is like a circle, simple and boring. She is a gentle but unremarkable woman.
Perhaps it was because she was too gentle in her daily life, Xiao Li always felt that such a gentle woman was not capable of supporting a family and had to rely on men to survive.
But he forgot that Wang Han is not only a wife and a mother, she is also a military wife, a woman who can take good care of everyone when her husband is not at home. Her heart is not as weak as she looks.
Like all military wives, Wang Han is a woman who can withstand both the ordinary and the ups and downs of life. She is both ordinary and great.
……………………………………
After what happened with Xiao Ming, Xiao Li felt that he couldn't go on like this, so he told Grandpa Xiao that he wanted to go out for a walk.
"Grandpa, I want to go out for a walk and visit the families of my comrades." Xiao Li has always had this idea in his mind since returning to China. He wants to see how those people are doing.
"Go ahead." Old Master Xiao glanced at Xiao Ming, who was sitting not far from them, and felt that this wasn't a good idea. He continued, "Xiao Ming's arm is injured. I'll ask your mother to ask for a month's leave from school so he can go with you."
Xiao Li was a little embarrassed: "This..."
Xiao Ming now runs away as fast as a mouse seeing a cat when he sees him, so it would be risky to ask him to follow him out.
Looking at Xiaoming's plump, white, steamed bun-like figure, he doesn't look like someone who can endure hardship...
Xiao Li rejected it in his heart.
No one knew how Grandpa Xiao persuaded Xiao Ming, but three days later Xiao Ming followed Xiao Li on the journey.
On the train, Xiao Li took out a black-and-white photo that was stained with blood and had already turned yellow.
In the photo, the young soldier is holding a crying child in his arms, with his young and beautiful wife standing beside him. He is looking at the camera with a silly smile on his face.
Recalling the past, the person in my memory seems to come alive again.
In fact, Xiao Li didn't know why he had to make this trip, and what he would say or do after seeing the people.
But he was determined to make this trip, even if it was just to take a glimpse from a distance...
Xiao Li smiled bitterly. Sometimes he was really a little pretentious.
On the fourth night, the train arrived at its destination.
Xiao Li walked out of the train station with the fat boy who looked like he had lost all hope in life. It was already around ten o'clock in the evening and it was completely dark. Except for the passengers getting off the train in groups of three or four, the streets were dark and no one could be seen.
Xiao Li was unfamiliar with this small city. He stopped a passenger getting off the train and asked, "Hello, comrade. How do I get to the bus station?"
"The bus station stops running after 6:30 pm. You can go early tomorrow morning." Despite saying this, he still gave Xiao Li directions. "The bus station is quite close here. Just walk straight ahead. When you see a tall building, turn left and you'll see it soon."
After visiting Xie, he took Xiao Ming towards the bus station. Just as the man said, the bus station was nearby. It took them about twenty minutes to get there. This was because Xiao Li walked at a pace that accommodated Xiao Ming. If he had walked by himself, he would have found it in less than ten minutes.
When they arrived at the lobby of the bus station, Xiao Ming saw Xiao Li find a long chair and lie down directly, with no intention of paying any attention to him.
Xiao Ming stood helplessly by, not knowing what the other party meant. He asked nervously, "Brother, where are we staying tonight?"
Xiao Li raised an eyebrow. This was the first time Xiao Ming had spoken to him in a while. He sat up and patted the bench beneath him. "I'll sleep here tonight. We'll take a bus to Guangpo Village in Qingshi County tomorrow morning."
Xiao Li could be sure that the moment he patted the chair, Xiao Ming shortened his neck and took a step back.
Xiao Li felt helpless: Look how scared the child is.
Along the way, he also wanted to have a good talk with Xiao Ming, but the child ignored him completely... There was no way, the two of them could only stay in this stalemate.
Xiao Ming, who had never suffered any hardship since he was a child, was frightened by Xiao Li's words. When he came out, his grandfather clearly said that Xiao Li wanted to take him out to play in order to apologize to him. He never expected that it was not the case at all, and now he was even asked to sleep in the bus station.
He knew that Xiao Li had bad intentions and was finding ways to bully him!
"It's still a bit cold at night, so why don't we stay in a guesthouse. I... I can stay in the same room with you." Xiao Ming tried his best to go to the guesthouse. He was not even afraid of staying in the same room with Xiao Li. He felt that his sacrifice was a bit too big.
But even so, Xiao Li still rejected his request. Normally, he would not have put himself in such a difficult position. However, this time he brought Xiao Ming out because he wanted Xiao Ming to experience the life of poor people.
In Xiao Li's mind, Xiao Ming is the hero of the book, a future general of China, a man destined for great things. However, when he returns to the Xiao family and sees Xiao Ming, he discovers that the hero is still a playful child, with a family that dotes on him, ignorant of the sufferings of the world, and completely unlike what a hero should be.
His time travel changed the fate of the Xiao family and Xiao Ming. Xiao Ming would not grow up quickly because of the death of Grandpa Xiao and others. Xiao Li felt as if he had stolen something from the other party.
So he wanted to take this opportunity to let Xiao Ming live a hard life, hoping that he could grow up, and then he could be a salted fish doing nothing.
Xiao Ming sat on a long chair at the bus station, chewing on some dry food and swallowing it with difficulty.
The scene of him swallowing with his neck stretched out was a bit funny, which made people feel happy unconsciously. When Xiao Li was in a good mood, he talked to Xiao Ming about what happened on the battlefield.
Every boy has a dream of being a hero, and Xiao Ming is no exception. He listened quietly, interrupting and asking a question from time to time. Gradually, he was less afraid of Xiao Li, and even felt proud of having a brother like Xiao Li.
Before they knew it, the gap between the two seemed to have disappeared.
At six o'clock the next day, Xiao Li and his companion took the earliest bus to Qingshi County.
The car was an old one and looked a bit worn out. Sitting in it, one could still smell the pungent smell of gasoline as it bumped along the bumpy road.
Xiao Li is a person who never gets carsick, but this car journey almost made him vomit. After getting off the car, he kept thanking God that he didn't eat much in the morning, otherwise vomiting in front of the fat boy would damage his heroic image.
After arriving in Qingshi County, the two walked to Guangpo Village, and the fat boy was very tired on the way.
Xiao Li joked, "Why do you look a little thinner to me?"
In this era, being fat is a symbol of good fortune. Xiao Ming has always been proud of his chubby body. When he suddenly heard someone say that he had lost weight, he felt heartbroken and said, "It's over, it's over. I can't let all my good fortune go to waste."
This trip is going to be a huge loss!
Xiao Li laughed out loud at his anxious look.
The place the two were going to was called Guangpo Village, a small village under Qingshi County, and also the hometown of Squad Leader Liu Zhi.
Guangpo Village does not give people a bare feeling as its name suggests, but there are many stones. The entire village is covered with stones. This also leads to poor harvests and not much grain can be grown in the village. Therefore, the name of the village was changed from Shiqiao Village to Guangpo Village.
It’s a smooth slope, so you can grow anything.
Just like giving a child a bad name makes it easier to raise, the village was changed to this name in the hope of a good harvest.
After entering the village, Xiao Li did not go directly to find the family of squad leader Liu Zhi, but asked the fat boy to sneak into the group of children playing at the entrance of the village to inquire for information.
Xiao Ming took a few candies and shared them with everyone. He asked, "Do you know the home of martyr Liu Zhi? How is his family doing now?"
There weren't many people in the village who could be called martyrs, and since Xiaoming generously gave them several pieces of candy, the children started to say to Xiaoming, "I know him. He's Brother Liu Jun's father."
"My mom said that Liu Jun's father was a hero who sacrificed his life to protect us. If Liu Jun's family has any problems, we should take the initiative to help them."
A group of children nodded in agreement, vying to talk about what they had done to help their aunt.
Children's words sometimes reflect reality more directly. After listening to them, Xiao Li felt that the people in this village were very simple and down-to-earth, and they treated Squad Leader Liu's family very caringly.
It has been more than three years since Squad Leader Liu Zhi died. During these three years, they should have gotten over their grief. Since they are living well, there is no need to disturb them and bring up their sad past.
Xiao Li took out an envelope from his pocket, which contained the photo Liu Zhi gave him when he died, and ten photos of Great Unity.
He handed the envelope to the oldest-looking child in the group and said, "Little boy, could you please pass this letter to your brother Liu Jun for me?"
"Okay, PLA uncle."
A group of children ran away in a hurry. Xiao Li stood at the entrance of the village, watching their retreating figures, and turned away. "Let's go."
"Brother, don't you want to go and take a look?" He worked so hard to run so far, but in the end he wanted to leave without even seeing anyone. What a willful brother he is.
"No need to bother. There are such kind and simple villagers. I think they should be living a good life. If that's the case, there's no need to disturb them."
"Brother Liu Jun~Brother Liu Jun~"
Liu Jun had just come back from fetching water when he was surrounded by a group of little kids. He smiled at them and asked, "What happened to you today?"
The oldest child handed the letter to Liu Jun and said, "A handsome PLA soldier came to the village entrance. He asked us to give this to you."
"Uncle PLA?" Liu Jun hurriedly opened the letter. The first thing that caught his eye was an old family photo. It was taken when his father took him home when he was a child. Looking at the bloodstains on the photo, his eyes became moist.
Without having time to see what else was in the envelope, he asked, "Where is that uncle?"
"It's under the big tree at the entrance of our village."
When Liu Jun ran over, there was no one under the tree. He lowered his head and looked at the envelope again, and found ten big unity notes inside. The envelope was written with "Liu Zhi of the 303rd Regiment!"
That night, Liu Jun showed the letter to his mother. Seeing his mother had aged considerably over the years, Liu Jun clenched his fists, knelt on the ground and said, "Mom, I want to join the army and go to the 303rd Regiment..."
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