Chapter 31 Chapter 31 Did your family wash the sheets today? …
Liang Xin was feeling very hot when the sun at the door was suddenly blocked. He turned around and saw Lu Chongfeng looking at him from behind. "Come back..."
Lu Chongfeng suddenly raised his hand and closed the kitchen door.
The kitchen fell into darkness.
Only scattered sunlight filtered in through the window frames and gaps between the tiles.
The heat all over her body eased a little, and Liang Xin took a handkerchief to wipe her forehead. Her originally braided black hair had been messed up by sweat. The fine hair fluttered on her fair and plump forehead. Her whole face was like a rosy and juicy peach, full of natural desire.
Lu Chongfeng tensed his arms and walked over slowly.
"Give me the golden dates under the cupboard."
Liang Xin put the cut apples and oranges into boiling water, then added candied golden dates, thickened with sweet potato starch, and poured in sugar, which became the sweet soup often drunk during the Chinese New Year.
Lu Chongfeng picked up a bag of candied golden dates, walked to the stove, and handed it to Liang Xin.
He was facing away from the light. Liang Xin looked up at him with dark eyes and a tight jaw. Thinking of how much sweat he had produced in the morning and how he had been exposed to the sun, she picked up a golden candied date and fed it to him, "Eat one first, it's sweet."
Lu Chongfeng lowered his head and opened his mouth, but did not take the candied dates away.
His lips went straight over the candied dates and he held Liang Xin's fingers in his mouth.
The candied golden dates were immediately crushed, sticking to Liang Xin's fingertips and his mouth.
Liang Xin wanted to pull her hand away, but he held on to it tightly. He pushed the candied dates into his mouth with the tip of his tongue and licked the icing sugar and date paste on her hand.
"...You want to foul?"
Lu Chongfeng clamped Liang Xin's wrist and pulled her into his arms. He stretched out his right arm to wrap around her slender waist tied with a red rope. He slowly sucked her fingers at a close distance, his black eyes staring at her flushed cheeks.
Liang Xin: “….”
The blush spread from her cheeks to behind her ears, and she couldn't look Lu Chongfeng in the eye.
When we looked at each other just now, I felt like I fell into a boiling hot spring and was sweating all over.
Liang Xin fixed her eyes on his lips. The scattered sunlight falling through the cracks in the green tiles shone on his perfectly curved lips. Just like what she saw on the playground in the morning, there was a sense of carnal desire.
Now, these lips were holding her fingertips and were unwilling to let go.
The deep pink lips pressed tightly against the white and tender fingers. Although the surface looked calm, inside the lips there was a turmoil.
A candied date was mashed into a thin paste and melted into sugar water.
Liang Xin's fingers were wet, and Lu Chongfeng slowly opened his mouth. Liang Xin tried to pull her hand away again, but he didn't let go. He picked up a new seedless golden candied date and put it on her slender index finger, which was wrapped around her lips again.
Liang Xin's index finger curled up naturally, but it hooked the tip of his tongue. He paused and let her move it obediently. Liang Xin thought of his powerful appearance of fighting a hundred people alone, like the king of beasts. Now, this beast with great lethality was aroused by her mere movement of her index finger, which made her gasp and tremble.
A kind of joy washed over her heart, and crimson dyed the corners of Liang Xin's eyes. The moment she raised her eyes, Lu Chongfeng came towards her with a candied golden date in his mouth.
A golden candied date was crushed, and Liang Xin tasted its softness and sweetness. His eyelashes rubbed against the tip of his nose. He was tempted by the sweetness and wanted to eat more.
Lu Chongfeng grabbed Liang Xin's waist and lifted her onto the stove with ease. During the process, he never let go of Liang Xin's mouth. He squeezed to the side of the stove to deliver more.
Liang Xin swung her legs casually, hugged the back of his neck, hooked the black hair at the back of his hairline and played with it, her breathing gradually becoming rapid.
The silent Lu Chongfeng's attack power and temptation quickly broke Liang Xin's defense.
A cotton sweater with pink florals on a white background was turned open and rolled into a strip. It passed through the white smoke rising from the stove and landed on the firewood pile, hanging there precariously, about to fall off.
The white apron was also crumbling.
This is the apron that Xia Xia had just sewn this morning. I heard that Xia Xia has excellent sewing skills, so Liang Xin took the cloth to her for help in making curtains. She did not choose the common blue or gray cloth, but specially chose white curtain cloth.
When Xia Xia returned the curtains, she used the remaining scraps to make an apron and even sewed lace on it. However, after sewing the lace, there was no extra fabric, so she used her own red cloth and sewed three ropes.
The first one was a halter neck piece, which was pulled down when he took off his sweater. As for the remaining two pieces, Lu Chongfeng did not untie them. Instead, he reached directly into the apron and lifted up the hem. Therefore, the apron on the pile was rolled into a thick twist.
Under the short vest, two red ropes are tied around the snow-white waist.
Lu Chongfeng thought of a poem by Lu Yue from the Song Dynasty. “The plum is three parts less white than the snow, but the snow is less fragrant than the plum.” But given the scenery before us, the second half of the sentence has to be changed to “The plum is less fragrant than the snow.”
White smoke was rising. Liang Xin supported herself on the cement stove with one hand. Her sweaty palm kept slipping. She could only grab Lu Chongfeng's black hair. The sunlight flickered through the green tiles, casting a layer of gold on the black hair and snow-white skin.
Liang Xin licked her lips, tasting the lingering sweetness of the candied golden dates. She moved closer to the boiling pot, and instead of feeling cold, she began to sweat from the heat. She looked down, then hooked her toes around his military uniform.
The next second, Liang Xin hissed.
Liang Xin narrowed her eyes, stretched out her arm, picked up a golden candied date from the hemp paper bag spread out on the pot lid, placed it on her collarbone, and pushed it gently.
The black hair that was originally buried on the left side suddenly moved sideways, chasing the rolling golden candied dates all the way down, kneeling on one knee, catching the candied dates rolling out from the white curled hem, raising her black eyes, looking at Liang Xin, her lips holding the golden candied dates slightly raised.
Liang Xin stepped on the green grass, frowning unbearably, and felt extremely regretful.
She had intended to be seductive.
But I don't want to...
The winter sun was scorching, white mist was rising, Liang Xin was sweating from the heat, she looked up at the wooden beams, her toes curled up, wondering what was drawn or written in the book, how could someone who only knew how to nibble and couldn't even kiss grow up so fast in just a few times.
There was only one piece of firewood in the stove. The apples, oranges, and candied dates only needed to be cooked slowly over low heat, but this one piece of firewood did not go out for a long time.
When Liang Xin lost consciousness, she was picked up.
The thick ice in the water tank is slowly melted into thin ice by the temperature in the kitchen. The thin ice is more like a mirror than the thick ice.
Liang Xin lay on the water tank, saw her shaking braids in the mirror, and moved closer to the water tank to calm down. But soon, the fire burning in her body rekindled the temperature that had finally dropped. The experience of ice and fire made Liang Xin unable to stand.
"Pick me up."
Liang Xin regretted it when she was picked up.
She forgot that she shouldn't talk to Lu Chongfeng at this time.
Lu Chongfeng held Liang Xin with one hand, turned her face with his right hand, and kissed her lips, "Are you feeling uncomfortable?"
Liang Xin was so nervous that she tensed her feet and pressed her back against his chest, afraid of falling. When she saw his mouth approaching, she quickly bit it. Even if she could only bite her lips, it gave her a sense of security.
She didn't want to talk anymore.
Who knows how it will be understood.
The pain in his lips completely stimulated Lu Chongfeng.
Liang Xin swore that she would never say a word to Lu Chongfeng again in such matters.
"Chief Lu, you just came to fetch water this morning, and you came several times again at noon. Are you washing the sheets today?"
Lu Chongfeng nodded casually. He was wearing a military coat with his collar buttoned tightly. He was carrying two full buckets of water in his hands. He did not look tired at all, but rather looked extremely comfortable.
The women gathered at the foot of the wall, looking at Lu Chongfeng's broad shoulders and long legs from behind, then looking at his arms that looked like two ladles. When he walked into the house, a voice rang out:
“So handsome!”
"This is the first time I've seen such a face. It's even prettier than those beautiful actresses on the stage yesterday."
"This is the first time I've seen such a figure."
"Section Chief Lu's family is enjoying a good life."
A laughter that only women who have been married for many years understand can be heard among the family members.
Then he added: "I think Section Chief Lu is also enjoying his life."
"Yes, the figure of Section Chief Lu's family is not comparable to that of ordinary people even when they are wearing a cotton-padded jacket."
"I really want to see it."
"What do you want to see?"
The laughter of the married women was heard again among the family members.
As soon as Lu Chongfeng pushed open the kitchen door, he saw Liang Xin taking a bath in a large aluminum tub with her back to the door. In the golden sunlight, her thin back and slender waist were like a willow, and steaming water droplets slowly dripped down her snow-white back.
"Back to..."
There was the sound of water splashing in the kitchen.
Hot water splashed out of the large aluminum basin, flowing along the cement floor and out of the door crack.
Liang Xin hugged his neck tightly with her delicate arms, looked at the person who suddenly broke in, dug her nails into his muscles, and bit his tall nose bridge, ".....I just finished washing."
Lu Chongfeng leaned close to Liang Xin's ear and panted, begging, "I'll be there soon."
The sweet soup was finally cooked by Lu Chongfeng and brought to Liang Xin's bedside.
Liang Xin, however, didn't want to look at her favorite golden candied dates again, nor did she want to drink the sweet soup anymore.
She asked Lu Chongfeng to clean the entire kitchen, including the stove, pot lids, water tanks, floor, low table, stone mill, vegetable cupboard, four walls, window glass, doors, and firewood pile.
Lu Chongfeng held the bowl of sweet soup and asked, "Do I have to wash the firewood too?"
"wash!"
"Okay, wash it and then dry it."
Liang Xin rested on the pillow.
Lu Chongfeng scooped a spoonful of orange and handed it over, "We don't want to play free love anymore."
Liang Xin glanced at him and didn't object. She looked down at the orange, and many images came to her mind. She immediately pushed his hand away and said, "I don't want to drink."
Lu Chongfeng put down the spoon, scooped a spoonful of apple and handed it over again.
Liang Xin took a look and opened her mouth to eat.
"You're not going to work yet?"
"There was supposed to be a meeting this afternoon, and the division leader went to the base, so I was at home cleaning the kitchen."
Liang Xin took a sip of the sweet soup and felt a little sick of it. She had eaten too many candied dates before. "Take the rice to the honeycomb coal stove to heat it up. Oh, and tomorrow you go to the service center to get a new large aluminum basin and give it directly to Commander Yang's family. Say we're keeping the old one."
A smile appeared on Lu Chongfeng's lips.
Liang Xin pushed his face away, breathed a sigh of relief, and stood up to comfort her hungry stomach.
The third day of the New Year, noon.
The division headquarters canteen organized a collective meal for the families of soldiers to "recall the bitter past and think of the sweet present".
A thin porridge was cooked with wild vegetables, elm bark, corn and sorghum flour, and dried sweet potatoes to remind the families of all the cadres in the division to remember the "evil old society."
Liang Xin went to the cafeteria and ate a bowl of hard-to-swallow porridge, but in front of everyone, she didn't show anything unusual on the surface, and drank it slowly as if she were eating a normal meal.
"It's okay this year." Li Mao whispered, "In previous years, we would have a bitter-remembering meal on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, but this year is different."
Daqiang from Deputy Battalion Commander Lei's family immediately asked, "Mom, do we not have to eat this disgusting meal anymore?"
"Shut up."
Li Mao scolded him and looked around, "You kids should eat more wild vegetables. You should know how difficult it was for adults in the past. Don't just think about eating meat all day."
Lu Chongfeng suddenly walked in from outside, found Liang Xin, sat next to her, picked up the full bowl of Yiku porridge, and drank most of it.
The three children at the table were stunned.
Seeing that he didn't even frown, Liang Xin really wanted to pour the rice in the bowl to him. However, considering the impact, she picked up the bowl and drank it all in one gulp. She controlled her expression and put down her bowl and chopsticks.
Li Mao immediately taught the child, "Hurry up and learn from your uncle and aunt."
Erqiang: "Why don't you learn?"
Seeing Li Mao being humiliated, Liang Xin chuckled, picked up the bowl and chopsticks, and walked out of the cafeteria with Lu Chongfeng.
"The writing team formed by the base has already moved into the division headquarters guesthouse."
Lu Zewei looked at Liang Xin and said, "In the next month, the writing team will interview you and Yang Tao. Another writing team has already gone to Jiangjing and Huaihua Commune to conduct a large-scale carpet interview."
Liang Xin: ".......Such a big commotion."
"You don't want to?"
"I'd be happy if it's helpful to you."
Lu Chongfeng glanced at Liang Xin in surprise, "Are you doing this for me?"
"I'm not the only one who saved the people. You've made a great contribution as well."
"......"
Seeing that he was silent, Liang Xin looked up and saw that he was obviously touched. "...It's not all for you. I did a good thing. I'm a normal person and I want to be praised."
"The cadres from the Double Support Office will come over this afternoon." Lu Zewei took out the key, opened the iron padlock, and pushed open the door. "They should come with rewards."
Liang Xin did not expect any reward.
In this era, most rewards are spiritual rewards and collective honor awards, while personal rewards are generally work-related.
There are jobs for those who don’t have a job, and there are jobs for those who are working.
"Comrade Liang Xin, this is the award certificate issued to you by our Support and Support Office."
Liang Xin looked at the advanced award certificate handed over by the cadre of the Double Support Office and thanked him with a smile.
Sure enough, after the comrades from the Double Support Office praised him a lot, Director Chen said, "Comrade Liang Xin, the 11th Division Service Center has filled up its recruitment quota. Our local government is planning to arrange for you to work in the Urban Construction Bureau's bus fleet as a ticket seller on bus No. 23. What do you think?"
Liang Xin hurriedly said: "Thank you leaders, you have taken the trouble."
It’s really troublesome.
Ticket seller is one of the five most secure jobs in today's society and the life goal of young comrades.
"Comrade Liang Xin, you don't have to be too moved." Director Chen said, "Comrade Lu Xun once said that a nation without heroes is a pathetic nation, and a nation with heroes but does not know how to respect and love them is a hopeless nation. Helping you find a job is the practical work that our Double Support Office should do to support the army and its families."
Lu Chongfeng looked at Liang Xin's expression and was about to speak, but Liang Xin spoke first: "Thank you, leader, but the base seems to be busy with interviews. Is it inconvenient for me to leave for the time being?"
"There is indeed no rush for the time being." Director Chen said with a friendly smile: "Once the base army party committee and the municipal revolutionary committee have finished with your advanced model, we will come and arrange for the transfer of your household registration file so that you can go to work in the bus team."
Liang Xin also smiled and said, "Thank you to the leaders of the Double Support Office."
The leaders of the Double Support Office also mentioned that they would cooperate with the Logistics and Political Departments of the 11th Division to set up the 11th Division Family Committee as soon as possible.
When Liang Xin heard about the family committee, she resisted the urge to rub her solar plexus, chatted with the leading cadres for a few words, and then sent them out.
After everyone left and the door closed.
Lu Chongfeng immediately asked: "You don't want to go?"
Liang Xin looked at him in surprise, "Do you want me to go?"
"Of course... I don't want to." Lu Chongfeng frowned. "It takes an hour to ride a bicycle from here to the county town, and it's even farther to the city. However, the job of bus conductor is indeed a golden rice bowl."
Liang Xin sat on the sofa and said, "I don't want to go, but I can't show that I don't want to go, otherwise I, an advanced person, will be caught by the pigtail and become a hedonist of the backward people."
"If anyone dares to say anything bad about you, I'll make trouble for her!"
Liang Xin looked at the fierce Lu Chongfeng and smiled, "Don't worry if you can't go."
The worry between Lu Chongfeng's brows dissipated.
Just got married.
We just started living together.
Naturally, he didn't want Liang Xin to go to the city to work and live apart.
If Liang Xin really wants to work, she might as well go back to Jiangjing, where her parents will take care of her, she doesn't have to live in a crowded dormitory, and she won't be bullied.
A week after the people from the Support and Support Office left, the writers who were staying at the division headquarters guesthouse came in batches from morning to afternoon to interview, dig and collect materials.
A week later, the writing team staying at the 11th Division Guesthouse handed a collection of Liang Xin's stories to the leaders of the base and the division headquarters.
This collection of stories was also handed over to Liang Xin.
Liang Xin spent two hours reading it and said only two words: "It's fake."
So, Liang Xin was invited to the conference room of the division headquarters building.
The conference room was full of people, including the base political commissar, the division political commissar, the propaganda director, and the writing team composed of the base, division, and regiment headquarters.
After Lu Chongfeng pulled out a chair for Liang Xin to sit down, the head of the writing team immediately asked, "Comrade Liang Xin, what do you think is wrong with the story collection?"
Before Liang Xin could answer, another cadre wearing tortoise-shell glasses and military uniform followed up, "Comrade Liang Xin, the story collection has been written. The leaders of the Political Department are preparing to write a request to the Propaganda Department of the headquarters to coordinate your advanced model propaganda. You will soon be awarded an honorary title. Next, your deeds will spread throughout the military region and appear in major newspapers, and it is very likely to appear at least on the second page!"
"If the headquarters approves, it is very likely to be the headline." Someone else among the pens said: "Comrade Liang Xin, you may not understand that in peacetime, the last time the headline of the military newspaper was published, it was no less than the top scorer in the imperial examination!"
Lu Chongfeng had not had time to read the story collection as he had just been summoned back from the company headquarters by the political commissar. Now he was sitting next to Liang Xin, flipping through her story collection.
"Don't worry." The base political commissar looked at Liang Xin, "Comrade Liang Xin, tell me what's wrong and let them fix it."
Liang Xin said, "It's fake. It sets my image too high."
"Comrade Liang Xin, setting an example requires a certain amount of exaggeration." The writing team leader hurriedly said, "Even if we don't exaggerate internally, when reporters from major newspapers come, they will have to exaggerate your image. The text needs to be exaggerated in order to arouse the response of the majority of readers."
Liang Xin said calmly: "Exaggeration and false propaganda are two different things."
Liang Xin was calm, but a bunch of writers were furious.
Writing team leader: "Comrade Liang Xin, you are an outsider. You don't understand that setting up a model requires some beautification, or even fabrication, Lei..."
"cough......"
The base political commissar suddenly coughed, interrupting the writing team leader, and looked at Liang Xin with a smile, "Comrade Liang Xin, can you list which specific story you think is false?"
“They are all fake.”
Liang Xin's words made the row of writers on the opposite side angry again.
One of them had already stood up. When Lu Chongfeng raised his eyes slightly, the man instantly closed his mouth and slowly sat back down.
The base political commissar smiled more friendly, "Comrade Liang Xin, I have read this collection of stories. It is full of praise for you. Why are you not satisfied?"
After reading a story, Lu Chongfeng closed the notebook and looked at Liang Xin.
"The manuscript says that the water-saving hero is usually a good wife." Liang Xin flipped through the story collection and read it: "When her husband was seriously ill, Comrade Liang Xin moved into her husband's home without hesitation, got a marriage certificate, and supported her husband. Every morning, she cooked for her husband, dressed him, washed him, wiped him, carried the bedpan, fed him medicine, and took care of her husband. After taking care of her husband, she also took care of her distressed father-in-law and mother-in-law. She took great pains to cook in various ways to comfort her parents-in-law. After countless days and nights, Comrade Liang Xin's husband finally recovered slowly, and her parents-in-law were in good spirits, but Comrade Liang Xin fell ill from exhaustion and fainted in the snow... Everyone in the surrounding area praised her as a good daughter-in-law."
Lu Chongfeng frowned when he read it himself, but when he heard Liang Xin reading it out loud, his lips curled up and he couldn't help but want to laugh.
Liang Xin looked at the writers opposite her and said, "Even when exaggerating, we should still pay attention to the actual situation, or..."
The base political commissar understood what Liang Xin meant, "Some of the comrades present here are indeed not aware of Section Chief Lu's family situation."
"If you don't understand, you can't deceive the people with lies."
“.......”
No one spoke in the conference room.
Liang Xin turned to the next page of the letter, "The house thing is the only real thing, but this, Comrade Liang Xin often collected the soldiers' bed sheets, dirty clothes and quilts, washed them, and even though her hands were covered with frostbite, she still squeezed out time to personally sew hundreds of pairs of insoles for the soldiers... I won't read the rest, look at my hands, do you have a frostbite?"
"Comrade Liang Xin, this is all exaggeration..."
"The rendering was successful. No need to do a tour report next?"
The cadres in the conference room looked at Liang Xin in surprise.
They didn't mention the next steps.
"Promoting role models is a need of the times and a need of every unit." Liang Xin looked at several standing committee leaders of the base, "I understand that in peacetime, successful role models mean medals of honor, promotion, and military funds, but I personally oppose using me for false propaganda."
The few words Liang Xin said were like dropping a few mines, silencing the conference room.
The base political commissar suddenly laughed out loud, pointing at the writers in the writing team and said, "You've been busy for a week, but you haven't really dug into the edge of the hero's thoughts. What's the difference between such a manuscript and other typical manuscripts? I'm embarrassed to send it to the headquarters leaders for review. I'll give you another week to dig deeper into Comrade Liang Xin..."
Liang Xin suddenly interrupted the base political commissar: "If you still go in this direction, it's better not to do it."
The base political commissar was startled, and all the comrades in the conference room looked towards Liang Xin.
"Comrade Liang Xin, what does this mean?" The propaganda director said with a bad face, "We are ready to ask the headquarters for instructions to cooperate in the propaganda, and we have also contacted all the major newspapers. If you are not satisfied, you can ask the writing team to redraft it until you are satisfied. You can't quit at this time."
Liang Xin held Lu Chongfeng's arm and said, "As ordinary people, we have watched role models for so many years and learned from Lei Feng for so many years. This year, we are busy learning from Dazhai in agriculture and Daqing in industry. We already know a lot of things, but we can't express them because of lack of language. Now setting up such an exaggerated role model, I think it is just a waste of time and money, and it will not impress the people at all."
The words "a waste of time and money" made the propaganda director and the writers change their expressions.
The base political commissar looked at Lu Chongfeng and smiled.
Lu Chongfeng frowned. He roughly understood what the political commissar meant, but he had never told Liang Xin about these inside stories.
Liang Xin looked at the writers opposite her whose faces were sallow due to staying up late, "I understand your hard work, and I am very grateful for making me so perfect, but I feel unworthy of it, and I am really sorry."
The hard work of the writers was noticed and their expressions became much better.
The director of the publicity department wanted to persuade him again, but Liang Xin suddenly said, "I have an idea that I personally think is better. I would like to share it with the leaders for reference."
The base political commissar said, "Comrade Liang Xin, please speak."
"It's hard to be authentic when writing about my personal deeds. Even if I work hard to establish a role model, the chain reaction and honor it can bring are only temporary." Liang Xin looked at the leaders, "The 11th Division has just been relocated. The biggest worry for the base and the 11th Division is how to take the initiative to adapt to the local customs and integrate into the garrison, establish contact with relevant government departments, do a good job in supporting and building together, and solve the employment of the 11th Division's family members. Therefore, you may change the focus of the rescue of people from the drowning that day from me to the wives of soldiers, soldiers, and members, cadres, militia, doctors, and nurses of the 11th Division."
The base political commissar instantly sat up straight and looked at Liang Xin.
The Propaganda Director and a group of frustrated writers all slowly sat up straight and looked at Liang Xin with shining eyes.
"The wives and soldiers of the 11th Division saw someone fall into the water and thought it was a local farmer, so they jumped into the river to save him. The members, cadres, militia, doctors and nurses of the Nanhe Commune heard the gunshots and thought it was a newly transferred soldier who was in trouble, so they rushed to the river to save him."
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