Song Xin curled his lips, called Ling Ju, and wanted to go back.
It was just after three o'clock when a few people returned home after a stroll. Unexpectedly, they saw a sneaky figure as they walked to the door.
He was wearing a gray cotton coat with patches all over it, very worn work cotton shoes, and had a crew cut. He was standing next to the car at the gate, looking into it.
That posture was really not very elegant. He looked like a thief lying on the car window.
"What are you doing, you idiot?"
As soon as Ling Yong opened his mouth, the sneaky man shuddered and immediately turned around, his eyes shining, "Brother Ling!"
Ling Ju searched through his memory, but couldn't remember who this Erlangzi was?
Instead, Ling Yong stepped forward and spoke cordially, "I haven't seen you for two years, why are you still sneaking around?"
Erlangzi scratched his head embarrassedly, "Brother Ling, I, I actually came to see you for something!"
Only then did Ling Ju see the true face of Erlangzi. The boy looked to be about twenty years old, but his whole body was filled with white-gray energy, especially his stomach. He had a handsome appearance, thick eyebrows and sharp eyes, and was quite tall.
Isn't this Zhang Qi, the son of Widow Wu? She remembered him, but Widow Wu had abandoned her son and gone away for many years, so she didn't remember him for a while.
When someone bullied her when she was a child, Erlangzi even stood up for her.
"What's up?"
Erlangzi looked at so many people and stammered, "How about I come back another day." After saying that, he was about to run away, but Ling Yong grabbed his arm.
"Young man, what are you embarrassed about? Tell me now. If you don't tell me next time, I won't care about you."
Erlangzi was a little anxious now, and he didn't care about so many things. "I, I just want to ask when the army will recruit soldiers again. I, I also want to join the army."
"join the army?"
Ling Ju glanced at Erlangzi. Although he had good features, he was sallow and thin, looking like he hadn't had a full meal in a long time. When Erlangzi was ten, his father passed away. A year later, his mother also ran away, leaving him a mud house. He didn't have many relatives at home, and the villagers helped him over the years. He grew up eating at many families, but he was a boy after all, with a strong sense of self-esteem. When he grew up, he had to help other families with chores to earn a warm meal. He was also a pitiful person.
"Brother, let's go inside and talk. Zhang Qi, let's go into the yard."
Zhang Qi didn't want to go at first, but seeing that the man next to Ling Ju had a similar temperament to Ling Yong, he probably was also a soldier. So he went in with a cruel heart.
When Ling Dawei and his wife saw the few people coming back and were about to speak, they saw Zhang Qi following behind them and quickly stood up.
Zhang Qi greeted them, "Uncle Ling, Auntie."
The two nodded and hurried into the house.
"Why does Zhang Qi want to join the army?"
Zhang Qi stood in the room, his expression uneasy, but he tried to stand straight as much as possible. His tone was not demanding. "I'm alone, so why not join the army? I'm in good shape, I can climb mountains and walk across rivers, and I can even shoot birds with a slingshot. But this year's conscription, I... I couldn't afford the gift, so I wasn't selected."
Song Qi frowned, "Gift?"
"Yes, I had a physical examination and nothing was wrong, but there was no news for a long time. Later I went to inquire about it, and the person just hinted that I might not have given gifts to the person in charge."
Sure enough, it was the rotten fish and shrimp who abused their power for personal gain and embezzled money who were causing trouble again, but Ling Yong did not have the ability to investigate the affairs of the information office. If there was anyone in this room who had the ability to investigate, it was Song Qi, but if Song Qi investigated, it would be overstepping his bounds.
Besides, there's no evidence for this, right?
Ling Ju looked at Zhang Qi. Perhaps because she felt sympathy for his life experience, or perhaps because Zhang Qi looked kind, she really wanted to help, but she couldn't help with the military service.
However, she could let Zhang Qi have a full meal at his home.
She secretly said a few words to Tian Mei and gave Ling Yong a look. Ling Yong asked a bunch of random questions and dragged the conversation until dinner time.
Tian Mei still made sauerkraut and pork noodles. Song Xin specifically asked for it, so she made a lot more.
But when Zhang Qi saw that they were about to eat, he left without saying a word and said he would come back tomorrow.
Ling Ju finally managed to persuade Zhang Qi to stay, "Zhang Qi, don't leave. We're leaving tomorrow. If you can have a meal here and finish talking about this, maybe you can help!"
When Erlangzi heard that they were leaving tomorrow, he was really conflicted. He didn't want to eat here, but if he missed this opportunity, he would miss it.
The word "twisted" is almost written on his face.
Tian Mei didn't care and just served a big bowl of noodles to Erlangzi, stuffed the chopsticks in his hand and let him eat.
Seeing that everyone else had started eating, Erlangzi finally started eating.
He had indeed not eaten such a good meal for a long time. There was not much work to do in the winter, so he could only go up the mountain occasionally to hunt wild game and rely on the little food stored at home to survive the winter. He was only 20 years old and was getting hungry quickly, but there was not much food at home. He always drank porridge every day. He raised two chickens but did not dare to eat the eggs. He had to sell them for money, otherwise he could not afford to buy food. His family did not even have land.
The food at Ling's house was delicious. He had eaten there many times, but this was the first time he had eaten at his house.
Tian Mei knew that he had a strong sense of self-esteem, so she always asked him to help with work, such as working in the fields, building houses, and picking corn. She would then prepare meals and pack them in a lunch box for him to take home, and would also give him some food or money.
Every time after eating, he would wash the lunch box clean and bring it back.
After dinner, Ling Dawei and Tian Mei went straight back to the house, leaving the young people to chat outside.
Ling Ju observed Erlangzi who had eaten his fill, and sure enough, the gray smell in his stomach had become much lighter, so he was really hungry.
Ling Ju knew that Zhang Qi wanted to join the army probably just to have a full meal. This child had a hard life and it was not easy for him to survive alone.
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
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