The middle-aged man's sudden interruption startled Yuan Fangguo and Gao Dapeng, and then they nodded.
"It just so happens that I'm going too. Why don't we go together?" the middle-aged man said with a smile.
"Really? Then we can be companions." Yuan Fangguo looked at the middle-aged man again. Although he looked plain, he had a strong aura in his every move. It seemed that he was not an ordinary person.
"Yes, my comrades also died there. August 1st is coming soon, so I took a special leave to go and have a look. Our unit left Yunnan in 1986, and I have never been back in almost eight years." The middle-aged man was also quite sad when talking about the past stories.
"Brother, thank you very much for your contribution to the peace of the country. In fact, there is no such thing as a peaceful life. It's just that someone is carrying the burden and moving forward." Yuan Fangguo said with a sad face.
When the middle-aged man heard his last sentence, his eyes lit up. In the past, when he mentioned soldiers defending their country, the words he used were full of masculinity. Today, when he heard Yuan Fangguo's words, he was really moved.
“Yes, there is no such thing as a peaceful life. It’s just that some people are carrying heavy burdens and moving forward. Many of my old comrades are only eighteen or nineteen years old. They have never experienced the good life in this world and are sleeping there forever.” The middle-aged man was also moved and his eyes were filled with tears.
Seeing this, Yuan Fangguo handed over another tissue.
Gao Dapeng couldn't control his emotions and started crying again while lying on the table.
This time, Yuan Fangguo did not comfort Gao Dapeng, but let him cry until he had no tears left.
The middle-aged man couldn't help but rub his eyes and smiled embarrassedly.
The two of them were talking quietly. It turned out that the middle-aged man was on the train in Ya City, and his hometown was Chengdu.
…
The next day, the train shuttled through the mountains at the junction of Yunnan and Sichuan. The thatched houses that appeared from time to time on the mountainside particularly attracted Yuan Fangguo's attention.
Thatched houses are not only common in the mountains, but can also be found in some poor rural areas.
Looking at the endless towering mountains, Yuan Fangguo suddenly felt uncomfortable. Compared with the mountain people here, he was undoubtedly quite happy. At least there was no problem in taking his family out of the mountains.
The second son was promoted to an officer, and the third and fourth sisters were admitted to universities and escaped from farming...
The middle-aged man's surname was Xu, and his name was Xu Limin. "Xiao Yuan, the mountains in your hometown are higher than here, right?"
Yuan Fangguo nodded, "Have you been to my hometown?"
"I've been there. It's very close to the Tibetan area," said Xu Liming.
"Yes, so the mountains there are actually higher than here."
"No wonder you look so strong. I guess you helped with a lot of housework when you were little?"
Yuan Fangguo smiled and told Xu Liming and Gao Dapeng stories about his childhood. As far as he could remember, every time he went to the market or went down the mountain, his parents would prepare a small backpack for him. When he was young, he carried some soy sauce, vinegar, oil and salt. When he was older, he carried his younger brothers and sisters. After he turned fifteen, he was like a little adult, helping the family with various farm chores.
Everyone in the Yuan family is tall. The shortest member of Yuan Chengzhu's generation is 1.7 meters tall, which is very rare in the western part of Bashu. This also led to Yuan Fangguo growing to almost 1.8 meters tall when he was 15 or 16 years old.
"Just like me when I was little, I wasn't even as tall as the backpack, but I had to carry it to work. However, my physique isn't as good as yours. During my adolescence, my family was poor, and I often did heavy work. As a result, when I joined the army, I was only 1.58 meters tall, two centimeters short of the required height. During the inspection, someone gave me some advice. I raised my feet a little bit when they weren't noticing, and it was just enough."
Xu Liming is not tall. Yuan Fangguo estimated that he is about 1.62 or 1.63 meters tall.
"After I arrived at the army, I saw that those who played basketball were all tall, so I started playing basketball with them too. As a result, I grew 5 centimeters in two years."
"Then you must be good at playing basketball now." Yuan Fangguo said with a smile.
"It's okay, the basics are good."
Along the way, Xu Limin told them stories about his military service and wars. Xu Limin did not know Gao Dapeng's brother Gao Dazhi. At that time, there were many troops from all over the country going to the border for rotation. You stayed for eight months, I stayed for a year, and the rotation between them was very fast.
Xu Liming only talked about his past with his comrades and did not mention a word about his current situation. Instead, he asked what Yuan Fangguo and Gao Dapeng did.
Yuan Fangguo told Gao Dapeng the truth.
"So he's a college student." Xu Liming's face was filled with sudden enlightenment.
It was quite interesting to chat with Xu Liming. They chatted almost from eight in the morning to three in the afternoon, until Lin Yumei came over with one of her girlfriends.
"Yuan Fangguo, where are you staying tonight?" Lin Yumei asked.
"After we get off the bus, we'll find a hotel to stay overnight. Tomorrow morning, we'll head to southern Yunnan."
"At the train station?"
"Yeah, what about you guys?"
"We also stayed in a hotel. The conditions there were pretty good and the price was affordable."
"What hotel?"
"Dianyuan Hotel."
As soon as Lin Yumei finished speaking, Xu Liming couldn't help but frown slightly. Dianyuan Hotel is not cheap, at least two or three hundred yuan a night. The hotel was only opened to the public after the leader's southern tour two years ago.
“It’s probably quite far from the train station.”
"Well, it's by Dianchi Lake, but there are buses that go there."
"Let's stay at the train station." Yuan Fangguo smiled.
"Are you and Dapeng really not going with us? Sixty yuan a night." Lin Yumei sighed.
Xu Liming couldn't help but frown again. The lowest price of Dianyuan Hotel was two or three hundred yuan, but this girl said it was only sixty yuan a night. If she wasn't talking nonsense, then she must have been quoting the internal price.
"Xiao Yuan, there's a Xinhua Bookstore next to the Dianyuan Hotel. There's also a bus from there to the train station, which only takes a few stops. It's very quick. From a safety perspective, I suggest you and Dapeng stay there."
"Then what time do we meet tomorrow?" He had previously agreed with Xu Liming that they would take a bus to southern Yunnan together at ten o'clock in the morning.
"Same old time, ten o'clock." Xu Liming said without hesitation.
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