Chapter 61 Chapter 61 Bravery is the soul of the soldier’s spirit…
Liang Xin handed over the malted milk in her hand, "Calm down, don't let others make you angry."
"Let me wash my hands first."
Lu Chongfeng opened the drawer of the low cabinet, put the flashlight in it, rolled up his sleeves and went to wash his hands at the basin rack behind the door. "This bastard, he wasn't the first one to rescue the horses, he was the one who set the stable on fire!"
Liang Xin asked curiously, "Why did he think of going to the stable to light a fire?"
"He had an argument with his family and somehow ended up near the 3rd Company's kitchen."
Lu Chongfeng wiped his hands with a towel, "He said that he was smoking a cigarette at the beginning, and when he flicked the ash, a spark flew to the stable. He was so scared that he immediately went over to put out the spark. After he put it out, he thought of your heroic deeds and had evil thoughts."
Liang Xin pulled Lu Chongfeng into the room and lay on the bed listening to him, "Why did he suddenly admit this? Did he feel guilty?"
"If he can find his conscience, I will still admire him."
Lu Chongfeng unbuttoned his uniform. "Xie Kangmei lay in bed all day, accepting interviews from reporters at the base and admiration from the families of soldiers from the entire division. He really thinks of himself as a hero. It was the security department that investigated the fire in the stable. The kitchen staff had already turned off the fire and left work. Even if there were sparks left in the chimney, it would not have been possible for that spark to burn the stable. The security department conducted many experiments and, after a detailed investigation, concluded that someone had deliberately set the stable on fire."
Without waiting for Liang Xin to ask, Lu Chongfeng took off his military pants and got on the bed. "He denied it at first, saying that he just saw the stable on fire and rushed over to put it out. The security department was going to report the matter to the headquarters security department, and once the facts were investigated, they would send him to a military court for trial. He was so scared that he confessed."
Liang Xin handed over the prepared malted milk and said, "Drink something sweet, it will make you feel better."
Lu Chongfeng usually doesn't like to drink sweet things, but after hearing Liang Xin say that, he picked up the cup and took two sips, and his manic mood was indeed relieved a little.
"I'm angry not just because he wants to be a hero, which is why he started the fire. Besides wanting to be a hero, he also thought that getting a minor injury would save him from having to go to the battlefield!"
Liang Xin was silent.
Lu Chongfeng was angry again. "He is a staff officer of the training department and a military cadre, but he is just like some political cadres who only think about how to get promoted and keep safe. He took the lead in deserting before the war started!"
"Take another sip."
Liang Xin held the cup and fed him drink. The angry Lu Chongfeng paused, lowered his head, opened his mouth and took a sip of malted milk.
"It is because of people like him that the qualities of the officers and soldiers who have bravely signed up like you are highlighted."
Lu Chongfeng said: "We don't need people like him as a foil. People like him will only disrupt the morale of the army."
Liang Xin asked, "How does the teacher plan to deal with him?"
"He should be tried by a military court."
"Since he can disrupt the morale of the army, he can also calm it down."
Lu Chongfeng looked at Liang Xin in confusion, "Calm the troops?"
Liang Xin nodded, "The 11th Division can set up another false hero as a negative example."
Lu Chongfeng's eyes slowly brightened, and then he paused, "If this gets out, it will be detrimental to the 11th Division's model city for supporting both the army and the people. The division will not agree to it."
"The origin of the title of Model City for Supporting the Army and Supporting the People is real enough." Liang Xin leaned on the pillow. "I said the same thing. Do you think the people can't really tell which one is a real model and which one is a fake model? This is also a crime he committed himself. The division was deceived and discovered the deception in time. At present, there is no unit in the country that has the courage to admit that there are fake heroes... I am just making a suggestion. You can refer to it or not."
“Your suggestion is very good!”
Lu Chongfeng held Liang Xin's knees with his hands, "We are upright and honest, and we are not afraid to admit our mistakes of being fake heroes. I will tell the division tomorrow!"
Liang Xin lifted the quilt and said, "Go to sleep. It seems like you guys will have a full day of meetings tomorrow."
Lu Chongfeng drank malted milk for the first time after being fed by Liang Xin. The sweeter taste soothed his emotions. He pursed his lips and glanced at the cup on the desk.
Liang Xin yawned, patted the bed sheet, and motioned for him to lie down.
Lu Chongfeng: "I want to drink more."
Liang Xin: “….”
She stood up and handed him the cup.
"You don't usually dislike drinking, but you're addicted to it tonight?"
Lu Chongfeng didn't take the cup. He held Liang Xin's hand and passed the cup to his mouth. He drank all the malted milk in the cup with a "gulp gulp" and smiled, "It's better for you to be at home."
Liang Xin handed him the enamelware pot filled with water and said, "Rinse your mouth."
After rinsing his mouth, Lu Chongfeng lifted the quilt and got into bed. He put his arms behind Liang Xin's neck and pulled her into his arms. The lights just went out.
The next morning, after Lu Chongfeng and Captain Lei went out for drill, Li Mao rushed into the house.
"It's a big deal! Liang Xin, are you up? It's a big deal!"
Liang Xin placed the pillow on the folded quilt and covered it with a pillowcase. "Thank you for the staff officer's business?"
"yes!"
Li Mao was still holding the gourd ladle of chicken feed in his hand. "I was wondering how I could have made a mistake. It turns out I wasn't mistaken at all. He did it on purpose! This man is so shameless. He committed a crime and pretended to be a hero, accepting everyone's kindness and even shamelessly accepting interviews in the newspapers. He is so bold!"
"If I try hard, I might be able to be promoted from battalion level to deputy regiment commander."
Liang Xin walked to the kitchen, took out a small double-handled pot, scooped out a handful of rice, added water and put it on the honeycomb coal stove to cook white porridge.
"Crooked ways!"
Li Mao stood in the backyard, looking at the neighbors. "Yu Honghong has made a big fool of herself now. She was so proud of herself in the past few days that she almost looked down on others. Do you think she knows whether this is true or not?"
Liang Xin said: "It doesn't matter whether she knows it's true or not. What matters is whether others believe it or not. She doesn't know."
"I don't believe she doesn't know."
Li Mao was very happy. "I just can't stand her showing off. Just make some porridge and don't cook anything else. I'll go home and make pot stickers and bring you a plate later!"
After Li Mao left, Liang Xin heard the sound of things being thrown coming from the right.
Lu Chongfeng just happened to hear it when he walked in. He walked into the long hall without stopping.
"After morning drill, I told the division leader about your suggestion last night."
Lu Chongfeng pulled out a chair and sat down, looking at a plate of pork potstickers, recognizing that they were made by the family of Captain Lei next door. "The division needs to hold another meeting to discuss this matter, and it also needs to be submitted to the headquarters for review. However, I see that the attitudes of Political Commissar Zheng and Commander Yang are very supportive of this suggestion."
Liang Xin served him a bowl of porridge and said, "Summer vacation will be over in a blink of an eye."
Lu Chongfeng suddenly felt that breakfast was not delicious anymore and put down the chopsticks he had just picked up.
Liang Xin curled her lips slightly and slowly peeled the eggshell, "The semester will be over soon."
Lu Chongfeng held Liang Xin's hand, said nothing, picked up the bowl of porridge and ate in silence.
Liang Xin put the peeled eggs in front of him and said, "Don't worry, I will study hard."
"I'm not worried about that."
Lu Chongfeng said, "I'm wondering, once the war starts, how long will it last, and whether it will start before your winter vacation."
One is about to go to school, and the other may be going to war.
As the day of separation approached, Lu Chongfeng and Liang Xin became even closer than before.
This time, Liang Xin was mainly worried about Lu Chongfeng. She remembered the punishment of Yang Tao for falling into the water before coming to the 11th Division. There were many soldiers who sacrificed their lives in the history of the Vietnam War, and she was afraid that something might happen to Lu Chongfeng.
Liang Xin was sweating profusely as she lay in the arms of Lu Chongfeng, who was also sweating profusely, stroking the old scars on his body.
"Don't be afraid." Lu Chongfeng stroked Liang Xin's back with his big hand, looking contented and lazy. "This is not my first time on the battlefield. The war won't last long. I'll be back soon."
Liang Xin lay in Lu Chongfeng's arms without saying a word. She couldn't express her worries. She could only adjust her mood and not add any psychological burden to Lu Chongfeng.
Back at school, Jiangjing University also welcomed the new students in the fall of 1978.
At the same time, Jiangkou Base once again appeared on the headlines of major newspapers such as the Liberation Daily and the Military Daily: [After the water-saving hero, a fake horse-saving hero appeared in Jiangkou Base! 】
The rare incidents of fake heroes and fake role models also sparked heated discussions within Jiangjing University.
That morning, this report was selected for reading and study at the political study classes of almost every major in the school.
After class monitor Yu Jili finished reading the newspaper, everyone in the class looked at Liang Xin.
An upgraded look of admiration and respect.
Not only to her, but also to Lu Zewei, the real hero who saved people and horses who was mentioned in the article.
Class monitor Yu Jili said: "Student Liang Xin, you are one of the people involved in the news. Would you like to come up and tell us the specific situation at that time?"
"It's basically the same as what's said in the newspaper."
Liang Xin said: "In fact, I don't have the great mind of other heroes. I felt very uncomfortable that they didn't even say a word of thanks to Comrade Lu Zewei. I mentioned this to Comrade Lu Zewei, and he said that it is the duty of soldiers to save people and soldiers don't need to be thanked. Only then did I adjust my mentality."
Propaganda Committee member Dong Pimei immediately wrote down Liang Xin’s words in her notebook. This was an exclusive report from the person involved.
Liang Xin's words once again sparked a heated discussion among the students.
Everyone agreed that Liang Xin was very real and a hero with flesh and blood.
Dong Pimei quickly wrote a report about this discussion on the campus bulletin board, which sparked a heated discussion throughout the school.
Students from the classes of 1977 and 1978 generally had a sense of mission to serve the country and the people, and every day they would hold discussions on national affairs and hot topics in social livelihood.
Liang Xin, a hero who was supposed to be "outdated", has once again become a hot hero.
"Recently, the two topics discussed most in our profession every day are whether people who save lives should be thanked, and whether soldiers should bravely go to the battlefield."
Lu Yueji poked the rice in the aluminum lunch box with chopsticks. "I didn't expect that the latter topic could spark discussion. Isn't it the duty of soldiers to go to the battlefield?"
"Your second brother said that the country maintains an army so that they can always go to the front line to kill the enemy and defeat the invaders."
Liang Xin picked up a piece of braised pork with potatoes. The meat was cooked very tough and could not be compared with Lu Chongfeng's cooking skills.
"I've heard my father say this since I was a child. Soldiers must be able to fight and win battles."
Lu Yueji picked out the coriander from the dish with chopsticks and put it on Lu Heping's rice.
Liang Xin saw Lu Heping and naturally picked up the coriander and ate it.
“But my classmates said that soldiers are also human beings, and we should allow that soldiers can be timid, cowardly, and afraid of war…”
Lu Yueji shook her head. "I said that she could stop being a soldier and be an ordinary person. She argued with me all morning."
Lu Heping peeled the chicken in his lunch box and put it in Lu Yueji's lunch box. "Don't start a new discussion during the meal."
Lu Yueji picked up the chicken and put it in her mouth, chewing it, her face still full of indignation.
Liang Xin missed Lu Chongfeng a little.
Before the topic was over, Lu Zewei made the headlines on the front pages of major newspapers: [Bravery is the soul of the military spirit]
The editorial written by Lu Zewei himself discussed at length the duty of a soldier and ended with sharp words condemning deserters.
The appearance of the hero completely extinguished the other side's soldiers' lack of courage.
Lu Chongfeng's full name and nickname once again became a hot topic on campus.
Everyone admires Lu Chongfeng's father and the meaning of the name he gave him.
——On the battlefield, charge ahead and retreat behind.
Foreign language is a compulsory public course in the first and second years of university.
Foreign languages are divided into two major classes: English and Japanese.
Liang Xin was attending a Japanese class. When she arrived at the lecture hall for her first class in the afternoon, she saw Qian Shuyao saving a seat for her and waving at her.
"Long time no see, how was your summer vacation?"
"Very good." Qian Shuyao nodded, looking at Liang Xin with eyes full of intimacy and gratitude, "Since you took their photos for me last time, I warned them that if they come to me again, I will call the police. They haven't come to see me this summer."
In fact, Qian Shuyao lied.
They didn't stop looking for her not because she threatened to call the police. They were forced to tell them that Liang Xin was her good friend. They even followed Liang Xin and found out that Liang Xin did live in the military compound, so they didn't dare to look for her again.
Therefore, when Qian Shuyao saw Liang Xin, she still felt guilty in her heart. She actively helped Liang Xin to reserve a seat and even wiped the table clean with a handkerchief.
Liang Xin glanced at the old desk that had been polished to a shine, and placed the Japanese textbook that Professor Gu had printed on a steel plate on the table. "I see you don't seem to go to the cafeteria for lunch?"
Qian Shuyao was a little embarrassed. "I went there. I was in the kitchen. I worked as a handyman in the cafeteria."
Liang Xin asked, "Does the cafeteria provide meals?"
"It includes a meal."
"That can save a meal of food coupons."
Qian Shuyao saw that Liang Xin did not look down on her at all, no matter because of her background or because she had to work as a handyman in the cafeteria, and immediately moved closer to Liang Xin.
Liang Xin is a hero. No one will dare to bully her anymore, even if they are just a little closer.
Liang Xin looked at the Japanese textbook without making any movement or speaking.
Qian Shuyao breathed a sigh of relief again, and suddenly, her nose felt a little sore.
"Why hasn't Professor Gu come yet?"
Liang Xin heard some classmates talking behind her and looked at her wrist. It was already time for class and the lecture hall was full of people.
Waited another five minutes.
The monitor of the Japanese class, Ni Xiaohong, suddenly called out, "Liang Xin, I just went to the office. The other teachers said that Professor Gu hasn't come to work after lunch. Shall we go to the teachers' dormitory to check?"
Liang Xin: ".......The study committee member is not here?"
"You're a hero. You can get into the dormitory easier than us!"
Liang Xin followed the monitor of the Japanese class to the classroom dormitory building and was stopped by the guard of the mail room downstairs.
The squad leader explained the purpose of his visit, pushed Liang Xin and said, this is a hero who saves water.
The guard immediately took out a newspaper, an old newspaper of the hero who saved the water, and let the two people in.
"Look, I said you were here for the convenience. I was here before, and the old security guard stopped me and asked me a lot of questions. He had to sign and make phone calls, and it took half an hour before he let us in."
The squad leader walked up the stairs familiarly.
After walking through a long cement corridor, I knocked on a green painted wooden door.
No one responded.
Ni Xiaohong looked worried. "Nothing will happen, right? The old security guard just said that Professor Gu didn't go out."
Liang Xin walked forward and knocked on the door several times.
Still no sound.
"I'll go down and ask the old security guard if he has the key."
Just as Ni Xiaohong finished speaking, the sound of dragging footsteps was heard from inside the door.
The door was opened, Liang Xin saw a figure sliding down the crack of the door, and quickly pushed the door open and held Professor Gu's arm, "There's a phone in the corridor, call the infirmary."
"No need to fight."
Professor Gu stood up holding onto the door frame, sweating profusely, "I just woke up. I took some medicine for stomach pain at noon. I just need to rest for a while."
Ni Xiaohong ran back and together with Liang Xin helped Professor Gu into the bed in the dormitory.
Liang Xin saw that the honeycomb coal stove and wok at the dormitory door had some rust on them, which did not look like they had just been used to cook.
When I walked into the dormitory, I saw an aluminum lunch box on a simple wooden table. The lunch box was covered with a red and white net bag, which was tied in a knot. I picked it up and weighed it; it was empty.
Liang Xin looked around and only saw two cucumbers on the table.
The cafeteria was already closed at this time.
Ni Xiaohong was busy pouring hot water for Professor Gu.
Liang Xin rolled up her sleeves, picked up two cucumbers, walked out of the dormitory, and went to the public sink to wash the cucumbers.
Find a knife and a chopping board, cut into slices diagonally, pour oil into the washed pot, find an egg, beat it and pour it in, use chopsticks to stir it into egg cubes, and serve.
Pour the cucumber in and fry it until soft, then pour the eggs in, add salt, stir-fry for a few times, take them out and bring them into the dormitory.
It only took about five minutes.
Professor Gu only then realized that the students had come to his dormitory and that it was time for class, so he immediately got up and went to class.
Liang Xin put the cucumber fried eggs on the table and said, "Professor Gu, you are already more than ten minutes late. The school may have arranged for other teachers to take your place. You should eat the food first."
Professor Gu looked at the fresh and fragrant fried cucumber eggs on the table, couldn't help swallowing his saliva, walked over, picked up the chopsticks and started eating.
"I didn't find any staple food." Liang Xin looked at the kitchen cabinet, "If there are noodles, I can cook a bowl of noodles."
No sound was heard.
Liang Xin turned around and saw Ni Xiaohong looking at Professor Gu with a shocked face.
Professor Gu has already finished a plate of scrambled eggs with cucumber.
"That's enough."
Professor Gu took out a blue checkered handkerchief and wiped the corners of his mouth elegantly. "Thank you for delaying your class. I have the teaching materials here. I will make up for it after I make a phone call."
After Professor Gu went out to make a phone call and confirmed that a Japanese professor would substitute for the class, he took out an ink textbook and moved a blackboard from the sea of books. He placed them on the square table where they had just eaten and began to teach Liang Xin and Ni Xiaohong.
Liang Xin: “….”
I couldn't be distracted and had to pretend to speak Japanese with a newly learned accent.
"genius!"
Professor Gu looked at Liang Xin excitedly, "You are a Japanese genius! Your pronunciation is amazing!"
We took out pens and paper and made up the questions on the spot. There were ten questions with kana annotations, ten questions explaining words, five questions filling in the blanks and one question translating from Chinese to Japanese.
Liang Xin: “….”
Liang Xin thought about it and only answered half of the questions correctly, and only translated half of the Chinese-Japanese questions correctly.
"genius!"
Professor Gu was even more excited. "You really didn't disappoint me. I spent two years studying in Japan to solve all these problems!"
Ni Xiaohong exclaimed "Wow" and looked at Liang Xin with admiration.
Liang Xin: ""
Except for the incident with Lu Chongfeng, this was the first time he fell into trouble due to lack of experience.
Since then, Professor Gu has been attached to Liang Xin. He always calls on Liang Xin by name during foreign language classes and often pulls Liang Xin aside in private to ask her to study hard and not waste her Japanese talent.
Liang Xin started to avoid Professor Gu when walking.
In early 1979, the Sino-Vietnamese border war broke out.
Lu Chongfeng was the first to submit a letter of request to join the battle.
Before the end of the winter vacation, Liang Xin sent Lu Chongfeng to the battlefield in the 11th Division.
The night before the mobilization meeting, Lu Chongfeng hugged Liang Xin and said, "Don't worry, I haven't forgotten my promise to let you become the general's wife and raise pigs in the military compound."
Liang Xin held back her tears and laughed, "Who wants to raise pigs?"
“You.”
Lu Chongfeng propped up the pillow with one hand, "Don't you like raising pigs the most?"
Liang Xin lay in his warm arms, smelling the scent of soap on his body, "Then you have to come back safely."
"I will definitely come back safely."
Lu Chongfeng said, "We didn't recruit any new recruits this time. We recruited grassroots cadres with strong political and military skills. I participated in the pre-war planning of Commander Chen. Although the leaders' estimates were varied, I think the battle can be resolved in less than a month."
Liang Xin knew that he was pretending to be relaxed, so she comforted him, hugged his waist and kissed his Adam's apple.
Lu Chongfeng's arms were almost unable to support the pillow. He lowered his head and sniffed Liang Xin's hair. "Wait for me to come back."
Liang Xin touched his Adam's apple, a little surprised. He liked it so much, and he didn't move when they were about to separate. "Why?"
Lu Chongfeng endured for a while before saying, "Thinking of you, I can quickly deal with those ungrateful people!"
Liang Xin moved closer to him, "Then hug me again."
Veins bulged on Lu Chongfeng's arms. He hugged Liang Xin tightly, buried his head in the crook of her neck, and couldn't help but kiss the skin exposed at the collar of her sweater.
Liang Xin reached her hand in between the buttons of his white shirt, and Lu Chongfeng quickly took out her hand, put it to his mouth and bit it lightly.
"No fooling around."
Liang Xin buried her head in his chest and laughed.
A voice came from above my head, "What are you laughing at?"
Liang Xin looked up.
Lu Chongfeng sniffed and exhaled a few times, and pinched Liang Xin's pink lips with his hands, "Keep this too, keep all of it. When I kill all those heartless bastards, I'll come back and give them all back to you!"
At the pre-war mobilization meeting, everyone could see that Lu Chongfeng was full of murderous intent.
Commander Chen, who came specially, gave an impassioned speech, but to the soldiers who were about to go to the front line, it didn't even have as good an effect as Lu Chongfeng standing on the stage.
Under the worried eyes of Liang Xin and other family members, 116 grassroots cadres from the training brigade selected by the 11th Division went to Guangxi and rushed to the Vietnam battlefield.
When Liang Xin returned to school, she often heard loud and exciting songs playing on the speakers in the radio room.
The comic strips in major newspapers and Xinhua Bookstores were almost all replaced with stories about how my country aided Vietnam and how the Vietnamese repaid our country with ingratitude and persecuted our people on the border. After reading them, people felt strong anger and hatred towards the Vietnamese devils.
At the same time, I feel strong respect and concern for the soldiers on the front line.
Letters from the rear were sent to the front line, and the whole nation shared the same hatred for the enemy and paid tribute to the heroes.
Liang Xin spent even less time in school. After class, she rushed home and called the 11th Division Parents' Committee to inquire about the latest situation reported from the front line.
News about the battle situation at the front was constantly transmitted back to the rear.
A week later, two cadres sent by Jiangkou Base were killed and nine were injured.
There is no news about Lu Chongfeng.
Two weeks later, the unfortunate news came back again, with five people killed and twenty-two injured.
Among the twenty-two injured was Lu Chongfeng.
What followed was the report that Lu Chongfeng had launched an armed raid and eliminated the enemy’s stronghold, thus making great military achievements.
And the news that Lu Chongfeng took over the position of front-line commander from Captain Shen who collapsed from exhaustion from commanding all night.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
