Chapter 225

Eighteen Guardians

In the hot July of 1981, I was on a train from Beijing to Umayyad.

"Pearl seeds and soda drinks, lift your feet, make way, make way." The train attendant pushed the small dining cart and shouted as he walked along. When he came to a handsome young man with thick eyebrows, he asked alone, "Pearl seeds and soda drinks, do you want any?"

The young man was buried in a book called "Reader". He pointed at the big teacup on the table and waved his hand, which obviously meant that he didn't want it.

The train attendant originally worked in a woolen textile factory. He knew this young man, Nie Weimin, the eldest son of Chief Engineer Nie. Year after year, he basically only took this train during the winter and summer vacations.

Even though he came from a high-ranking official family, he was very frugal and never bought a sleeper berth when riding on the train. He only had a hard seat to Beijing and would give up his seat to the older and weaker people he met along the way.

When night fell, I rolled my schoolbag under the seat, stretched out my legs, and went to sleep there.

He didn't look up, and the conductor continued to walk down.

"Have you heard about the explosion in Yangshan, Sichuan, which killed more than 30 people and injured 44? Tell me, in this day and age, what kind of people are so heartbroken?" someone said.

A person sitting next to me said, "I don't know. I heard that the police are still investigating. I don't think it's some criminal gang or group. I heard that the police are arresting people everywhere. Some people also said that it should be some new type of remote-controlled explosive pack. It must be some bad elements from our country who have infiltrated to do bad things."

"That's right. I heard that the dangerous elements nowadays all use those remote-controlled explosive packs, just like in the movies. Oh, it's really hard to survive."

The train is about to arrive at the station.

Nie Weimin wanted to say that for this kind of explosion case, the search for the murderer should start from inside the cinema.

But think about it, his father often taught him not to be smart and not to show off, so little Nie shut his mouth.

At the train station, the two people who came to pick him up were Nie Weijiang and Deng Chun.

These two kids are in the second year of junior high school this year. They have grown into big adults.

"Where is Nie Weixing, where is mom? Why did you two come to pick me up?" Nie Weimin asked.

Deng Chun waved his hands and said, "Wei Xing went to Beijing to travel with Aunt Anna, and my mother went to Uru to take the art exam with my second brother. It's not just the two of us at home."

These two brothers are always arm in arm. One of them carries the quilt for Nie Weimin, and the other carries his schoolbag. The two of them stand on the roadside waiting for the bus.

"Brother, aren't you going with us?" Nie Weijiang asked when he saw that Nie Weimin didn't want to ride with them.

"I'm going to the farm, you two can go back first." Nie Weimin said.

Of course, Nie Weimin was going to the farm to find Liu Xiaohong.

How ridiculous! They were both admitted to the same university. Logically, they should have studied side by side on that green campus.

But, the fact is that it is not the case.

He went to school at the Eighth Ministry of Machine Building, which was located in Donggaodi. Liu Xiaohong, however, studied at this school, and he had one day off every weekend.

On this day, if you want to go to the headquarters to see Liu Xiaohong, you have to take at least three buses and spend three hours.

Nie Weimin went there several times, but every time he went there, he never saw Liu Xiaohong.

Isn't it finally summer vacation? His summer vacation is much later than others. So he is going to go to the farm to see what's going on with Liu Xiaohong.

"Xiaohong, she's working in Beijing. She wrote a letter saying she won't be back during the summer vacation," said Chen Lili.

Seeing Nie Weimin standing there blankly, Chen Lili said, "Come in and sit down. Have some water. Or, how about I cook for you?"

"No, but Auntie, can you show me the letter written by Liu Xiaohong?"

Chen Lili paused for a long time, then said with a sigh, "The letter must have been lost by the children a long time ago. I can't find it for you. You can look for her when you get to Beijing, or write to her at Tsinghua University. She will definitely receive it."

In fact, she had already torn the letter from Liu Xiaohong into pieces and put them in the toilet to use as wipes.

Nie Weimin went home dejectedly.

Year after year, the farm has expanded larger and larger. Now there is no Gobi beach in between the farm and the base. Instead, there are whole stretches of newly reclaimed cotton fields.

Although Nie Weimin said he came back during the winter and summer vacations, he was amazed by the changes in the entire Umayyad mining area every time he came back.

He liked walking when he was a child. When he was in high school, he would walk more than ten kilometers to the farm to wait for Liu Xiaohong, and the two of them would go to school together.

Of course, I walked home today as well.

Just as we arrived at the farm gate, we saw Chen Lina's car from a distance. It was a silver-gray Shanghai-brand SUV with a shiny paint job, and it looked like a silver seagull under the blue sky.

Although they were all 18-year-old boys, Nie Weimin could not suppress his enthusiasm and waved his hands while standing under the oil sculpture.

"Wei Min, why did you come back so early this year?" Chen Lina got out of the car. After all, her son was grown up, so she was embarrassed to hold him in her arms. She stood on tiptoe and rubbed his shaved head, sweating profusely.

"Mom, I may have to go abroad next month, so the school let me come back early so that I can have a good summer vacation." said Nie Weimin.

"Has it been decided which country you will go to for studying abroad?" said Chen Lina.

Nie Weimin said, "I have already decided on a university in the United States. My teacher helped me make the connection. I estimate I will be there for two to three years."

Nie Weimin was going abroad because his teacher in Beijing helped him make the arrangements. Chen Lina and Nie Gong were of course very excited.

However, Nie Gong, with his bad temper as a scholar, had never helped Nie Weimin at all. When he heard that Nie Gong could go abroad, he must have been very happy.

"My dad is in the laboratory. I have to talk to him about this." Nie Weimin said.

Chen Lina smiled helplessly, "He followed the leaders to the south. It's been more than two months and he hasn't come back yet."

No matter how hard Miss Chen tries, the South is still the economic pioneer area of ​​the entire Republic. As for the North, they are always raised by stepmothers and thrown in the rear, without the love of their fathers or mothers.

"Nie Weiguo, how did you do in the exam? Did you get admitted to the PLA Art Academy?" Nie Weimin asked Nie Weiguo, who was following Chen Lina with his head down and looking depressed.

Erdan also rubbed his head and said, "Don't mention it."

In fact, when he went to take the arts exam, the other male students all had the demeanor of serious military singers, with their eyebrows raised and their chest puffed out, they were extremely beautiful baritones or extremely high-pitched tenors.

As for the female students, each of them had a voice as beautiful as a lark. For example, Nie Weiguo, when he came on stage with his guitar, his voice almost collapsed the stage.

Don't be afraid of having a high voice. When singing on stage, having a high voice is an advantage.

The main thing is that Erdan was singing and suddenly he threw away his guitar and started dancing.

Chen Lina, who was watching from below, laughed out loud at the way he twisted his body, while the other candidates who were participating in the performance unanimously concluded that his dancing was hooligan-like.

Several male teachers were more critical, while a female teacher crumpled up Erdan's paper and threw it in his face. "Kid, your voice is suitable for being a sheepdog. Really, if you roar, the wolves will be scared away."

Erdan also said, "Teacher, if you think this song "Bohemian Rhapsody" is not good, I can sing something else. Otherwise, how about I sing "The Sea, My Homeland" for you?"

"Because of the gangster dance you just performed, I'm already being merciful by not calling the police to arrest you. Get out of here," said the female teacher.

Erdan rolled up his sleeves and spoke in a clear voice. As soon as he raised his hands, the female teacher splashed all the water in her teacup on him. "Hurry up and get off. If you don't leave, I'll call security."

Chen Lina almost laughed to death. "So, Erdan's dream of becoming a military singer is over this year. But it doesn't matter. He is only sixteen. We can take the exam again next year. There is nothing to worry about."

When we got home, Sandan and Deng Chun were already busy working.

"Deng Chun, is your last name still Deng now? Aren't you going back to your own home?" Nie Weimin said while teasing Deng Chun who brought him slippers.

Deng Chun actually missed his father very much, but it was already his third year at the mining area. In the first one or two years, his father would occasionally write to him and call him. Later, when Deng Dongya was promoted to the top position and became increasingly busy, his father ignored him even more.

As for his mother, in the past three years, according to Chen Lina, she has not given him anything except some money.

"Nie Weijiang, do you want to come with me to the United States? I'm afraid your godfather has forgotten about you a long time ago. Come with me and see if what he said still counts. Do you know that the company he invested in has now achieved unprecedented success?"

Sandan smiled and said nothing.

The United States? The child just thought about it. After all, Nie Weimin was going abroad, and in the child's mind, it would probably cost a lot of money. After all, his mother kept talking about it.

Nie Weimin spread himself out like a big character and lay down on the kang. He looked left and right. On the wall were strings of little paper cranes and her little graffiti ducks of his sister. Unfortunately, his sister had gone to Beijing and was not at home.

Chen Lina is peeling potatoes in the kitchen.

Nie Weimin’s favorite is shredded potatoes with chili peppers and pork stewed in soy sauce. It is easy to make and the children love to eat it even in the hot summer of June and July.

"Mom, have you written to Liu Xiaohong? What's wrong with her? I called her, but the people in her dormitory always said she was not there. I wrote to her, but it was like a drop in the ocean. She never had the intention to reply to me." said Nie Weimin.

Chen Lina pushed the potato into his hand and let him cut it himself before saying, "A forced melon is not sweet. If the other person doesn't want to see you, just forget it. Why bother?"

"That girl has no conscience. She will never come back after she gets into college. Humph. So I say, why raise someone else's child? It's better to raise a dog. Dogs know how to protect the family."

A person walked in while talking. Nie Weimin was shocked when he saw her. "Grandma, what are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here? Didn't your mom ask me to come pick up the medical examination form this afternoon?" Huang Huacai was already on crutches, and in his hands he was holding a large bag of unknown things. "Heartless Nie Weimin, these are the dried mushrooms that your grandma dried for you. Throw a handful of them into the soup, it will be so delicious."

Nie Weimin looked at Chen Lina. He had an urge to make the day lily disappear immediately, but he could only ask Chen Lina for help.

Chen Lina hurriedly told Erdan, "Erdan, go get her your grandmother's medical examination form and read it to her."

It turned out that the mining area employees were organizing a physical examination, and Chen Lina had signed up Huang Huacai and Sun Duoyu as well, asking them to take the examination as well.

"Grandma, apart from your high blood pressure and a slight calcium deficiency, you don't have any other problems. Here are the calcium tablets my mother prescribed for you from the doctor. Remember to take two tablets every day and they will ensure you live to be 99," said Erdan.

Huang Huacai took the calcium tablet and looked at it against his eyes for a long time. He couldn't see it clearly, but he still put it carefully in his pocket.

Before leaving, she pulled Nie Weimin out and whispered, "You have to be filial to your mother. You know, it's not easy to raise you to this age. Don't learn from Liu Xiaohong, she's simply an ungrateful person. The reason why people raise children is not for money or how capable you are, but to have someone to take care of them when they are old. Look at your grandma, she raised so many children. Oh my, that heartless Ai Nan, she won't recognize me when she gets married again, let alone Xiang Nan. Don't even think about getting a penny out of her pocket. I really didn't expect that. When you get older, you need to have a physical examination, and you have to rely on your mother."

Even though she was so old, she finally admitted that Chen Lina was the mother of the Nie Weimin brothers.

Nie Weimin was also confused. He was already 18 years old, and he had already passed the driving test in school. Of course, if anyone told others about the things he drove all day long, it would probably scare a lot of people to death.

So Nie Weimin drove his mother's new car and took the day lilies back to the farm.

After returning from the farm, he asked Chen Lina, "Liu Xiaohong really doesn't recognize us at all. Is she trying to get into college in a hurry and will never come back after she passes?"

Today's college students have good conditions.

First of all, the state covers tuition and accommodation. For example, when Nie Weimin wants to study abroad, the state pays for all expenses. Even if he takes some money, it is at most for his daily pocket money. And He Junqiang goes abroad with him.

Because his parents are divorced and his mother's family is in financial difficulty, the government gives him a special subsidy of 2,000 yuan a month for living expenses.

Two thousand yuan may not be a big deal in a capitalist country, but in China, it is a senior cadre's annual salary.

It does sound like an ungrateful child who was raised with great difficulty on a farm suddenly cuts off all ties with everyone once he enters college.

Chen Lina was also puzzled. "She wrote me a letter half a year ago, saying that she would come back this summer, but she hasn't written to me since then. She wrote to her mother before the summer vacation, saying that she would not come back for the New Year, but she sent her mother 200 yuan."

Nie Weimin actually didn't understand Liu Xiaohong at all.

How to say it, he never knew what the girl was thinking, what she was thinking, anything.

Moreover, he likes people. Generally speaking, no matter how high your status appears to be, the person who likes others is always more humble and, of course, more sensitive.

So, he naturally thought, "Will she not just send some money from now on to show her gratitude for raising her, and then never come back?"

"Since you've been admitted to university, you have a bright future ahead of you. If you don't want to come back, just forget it. Raising a child is just raising a child. At least when I was raising you, I never thought about you taking care of me in my old age, or asking you to repay me, or having you all standing in front of me when I'm old and dying." Chen Lina said.

Nie Weimin didn't understand, "Why?"

"First, I raised you for your father, not for you. Second, I have a salary now and a pension when I get old, so I don't need your money. Third, your mother loves beauty so much, if she dies ugly, she doesn't want you to see it. So, when you grow up, get out of here and don't bother me anymore."

As she spoke, Chen Lina picked up the washed potatoes, chopped them, and then started to cut them into shreds.

Nie Weimin was being naughty and following her around like a little tail. "You are sick, and I have to take care of you, what should I do?"

"How dare you curse me to die early?" Chen Lina was so angry that she chopped at him with a kitchen knife. "Erdan, hurry up. We're going to have a big egg stewed in an iron pot today. Bring me the firewood."

Erdan was feeling sad because he didn't pass the military art exam. He was sleeping soundly under the covers. When he heard about the iron pot stewed eggs, he immediately jumped up and said, "Mom, I haven't eaten tea leaf eggs for a long time. Are you stewing them because I didn't pass the exam today?"

As we were talking, we heard someone outside say, "Who is stewing eggs? Are you stewing them for Weixing and Xiaofengfeng? Hurry up, the kids are starving, give us something to eat."

When Chen Lina heard the footsteps, she was delighted, thinking that it was just the laborer who had been away for almost two months coming back.

Unexpectedly, the first person to run in was Nie Weixing.

Nie Weixing looked at Chen Lina from behind the kitchen door, smiling but not saying anything. As soon as Chen Lina reached out her hand, she threw herself into her mother's arms, "Mom, I will never leave you again."

Little beauty, sun hat, red sandals, red skirt, her little face is as red as an apple.

Anna followed closely and came in. "Leader, are you cooking again?"

Leng Qi followed closely behind her and came in.

No wonder the people on the farm called him Du Qiu. The older Leng Qi got, the more he looked like Gao Cangjian, with his unapproachable face.

He spread his hands and turned around in front of Chen Lina, and said, "No, Lao Nie, I see you are very disappointed, Xiao Chen, why, are you not happy that we are back?"

"Stop talking nonsense and tell me how the matter is going?" Chen Lina asked.

When he first took office, even the employees predicted that Leng Qi would not be able to work as a secretary for more than three months.

But two years have passed, and he is still the secretary of the mining area, regardless of whether the achievements were his or not.

In the past two years, the economy of the mining area has achieved a qualitative leap, and it has been praised on television every year.

And this time Leng Qi went out to help Chen Lina speed up the train.

That’s right, the large-scale speed-up of trains in the last generation did not start until the 1990s.

But Chen Lina couldn't wait and decided to do the opposite, promoting the speed-up of railways and accelerating the pace of economic growth.