He Bingqian was wearing glasses with the temples broken in half. He had haphazardly tied strips of cloth around his ears. Upon hearing this, the name sounded somewhat familiar.
He squinted through his glasses, looked him over for a while, and then suddenly realized, "You, you're Old Wang's little apprentice."
After a pause, he asked again, "Where are you taking me?"
After saying this, without waiting for Jiang Zhiyuan's reply, she couldn't help but smile wryly and say, "What else is there to ask? Isn't it all the same wherever we go? Alright, I won't make things difficult for you. Let's go! Are we leaving now?"
Jiang Zhiyuan hesitated for a moment, seeing He Bingqian's current shaky state, he was really worried about his health.
Moreover, it was getting late, and for safety reasons, they couldn't travel through the night.
He turned to look at Qian Aiguo.
Qian Aiguo, being very perceptive, immediately said, "It's getting late, and it's not safe to travel at night. There are wolves around our farm, and they only come out in the middle of the night. If you encounter one, it could be very dangerous! Why don't you stay at our farm's guesthouse for the night and set off tomorrow morning?"
After considering it for a moment, Jiang Zhiyuan, prioritizing safety, nodded and said, "Then I'll trouble Director Qian! Please arrange two rooms for us, and send us some hot food and hot water."
As he spoke, he took out grain coupons and money from his pocket and stuffed them into Qian Aiguo's hand.
Qian Aiguo held the national grain coupons and money in his hand, and sighed inwardly that people from the capital were indeed generous.
They hurriedly led the people to the guesthouse.
The farm's guesthouse is generally for people visiting relatives, but of course, not many people actually come here to visit relatives.
It was just three single-story houses, and the environment was naturally incomparable to the outside world, but it was a hundred times better than the thatched hut where He Bingqian lived.
Jiang Zhiyuan shared a room with He Bingqian, while the other three soldiers shared a room next door.
With Qian Aiguo's help, two bowls of Erhe noodles were quickly served.
Yes, two enamel basins.
It was drizzled with chili oil and smelled delicious.
Not to mention He Bingqian, who had hardly eaten his fill, even Jiang Zhiyuan and the three soldiers, who had been eating dry rations all the way, couldn't help but drool at the aroma of the hot noodle soup.
In addition to two bowls of noodles, several large bowls, and a pair of chopsticks, they also gave us two heads of garlic.
Seeing Jiang Zhiyuan looking at the garlic with a puzzled expression, Qian Aiguo explained, "Eating noodles without garlic is like missing half the flavor! Listen to me, our noodles have to be eaten with garlic. One bite of noodles, one bite of garlic, and it's incredibly delicious!"
Then, quite tactfully, he said, "You guys eat first. If you need more, just let me know. I have some things to take care of in my office. See the office? It's just ahead. Just let me know if you need anything."
After saying that, he took his leave.
Jiang Zhiyuan escorted Qian Aiguo to the door. Turning around, he saw He Bingqian and three soldiers staring longingly at the two bowls of noodles, their mouths watering.
He served He Bingqian a bowl of noodles and placed it in front of him, saying, "Please eat first, sir."
After Jiang Zhiyuan gave the signal, the other three soldiers began to serve themselves noodles.
He Bingqian looked at the bowl of noodles and unconsciously swallowed before saying, "For Lao Wang's sake, even if I die, I want to die knowing why. Give me a quick answer. Is this my last meal?"
Jiang Zhiyuan paused in his hand, serving noodles, and gave a wry smile: "Mr. He, you've misunderstood! I was ordered to bring you back to the capital! Your case has already been investigated and cleared up—"
He Bingqian, who had been looking resolute in his decision to die, suddenly froze in place.
After a long while, his eyes reddened, and a stream of turbid tears flowed down his dark, aged, and weary face: "You, you said I've been exonerated?"
Jiang Zhiyuan nodded and took out a document from his pocket.
The document was inscribed with "Beijing Municipal Government Document No. 27 (1977)" and entitled "Decision on Revoking the Historical Issues of Comrade He Bingqian." It was handed to He Bingqian.
He Bingqian took the document with trembling hands, trying hard to read the words on it.
Unfortunately, his vision was blurry. He skillfully grabbed the corner of his shirt and wiped the lenses of his glasses again and again before trying to see clearly. Finally, he could make out the large characters on them.
Putting everything else aside, just the fact that the document now refers to him as Comrade He Bingqian tells us that He Bingqian's party membership has been restored and his historical issues have been revoked, which means he has truly been exonerated.
The good news came too suddenly, and He Bingqian felt overwhelmed. He felt dizzy and as if he were dreaming.
"I...I've really been exonerated?" he murmured to himself, as if asking himself, or perhaps asking someone else.
Jiang Zhiyuan calmly grasped He Bingqian's hand: "Yes! Comrade He Bingqian, you have been exonerated! The capital needs you to return to preside over a project, so they specially sent me to pick you up! Don't worry!"
After a moment of stunned silence, He Bingqian came to his senses, hugged the document, squatted down, and burst into tears.
The sound of that crying was truly heartbreaking.
The three soldiers beside him had long since put down their bowls and chopsticks, and their eyes were red.
Jiang Zhiyuan's throat tightened, and he turned his head away, unable to bear to look any longer.
The five grown men in the room were completely silent, and all they could hear was He Bingqian's wailing and sobbing, which made them feel a deep sense of sympathy.
After a long while, Jiang Zhiyuan saw that He Bingqian had calmed down before he stepped forward to help him up: "Comrade He Bingqian, everything is in the past now. Look ahead, everything will be alright!"
He Bingqian calmed down and nodded, "I lost my composure for a moment, please forgive me!"
Jiang Zhiyuan hurriedly replied, "That's only human nature. You are a man of strong emotions, sir. Why would you say such a thing?"
After exchanging pleasantries, the two finally remembered they needed to eat.
The noodles were a bit soggy, but nobody was being picky. At this time of year, we're lucky to have anything to eat, so why be picky?
Everyone picked up their bowls again and started eating noodles.
Despite his slender build, He Bingqian has a big appetite; he ate three large bowls in one go and still wasn't satisfied.
Jiang Zhiyuan stopped him, saying, "It's late; eating too much might cause indigestion."
He Bingqian reluctantly put down his chopsticks, his face flushed, and explained, "To be honest, I haven't had a proper meal since the day I was sent down to the countryside—"
After saying that, he sighed.
How could Jiang Zhiyuan not know? He was sent down to the Unity Brigade to investigate espionage, where his conditions were much better than He Bingqian's. He was young and strong, and he was often hungry.
I felt the same way and sighed.
However, both of them are reserved people. He Bingqian was too surprised and couldn't control himself, so he vented his emotions. Now his emotions have stabilized.
He only said one sentence and then let it go.
The three soldiers finished off the remaining noodles, returned the bowls and basins to the kitchen, and fetched two kettles of hot water for He Bingqian.
Two people went to rest, leaving one person to stand guard outside.
Two kettles of hot water were already a generous gesture from Qian Aiguo, considering the precious water resources on the farm.
He Bingqian's clothes were covered with a thick layer of grime, and it was hard to tell how long it had been since he had taken a bath.
After a quick wash and changing into the clean clothes Jiang Zhiyuan had brought, she finally looked somewhat presentable.
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