Chapter 4

The jeep passed through the town.

Strictly speaking, the family area was not even in the town, but outside the town. However, after liberation, the town has been expanding outward, and gradually it was connected to the military family resettlement area.

The car stopped, Yan Lei got out of the car in the front seat, walked around to the back and opened the back door of the car.

This old-fashioned jeep did not have two rows of seats like later cars. It had a driver's seat and a co-driver's seat in the front, and a cargo box in the back. There was a bench seat on each side, which could seat four people. If they squeezed together, they could even seat six people.

The man still said nothing, but he stretched out his hand to Qiao Wei.

Qiao Wei looked at the hand that reached into the car, and in her heart she gave Yan Lei an extra point as a man.

She held Yan Lei's hand and got out of the car. Yan Lei looked at her, made sure that she could stand steadily and that she was no longer in any condition, and let go of her hand.

Qiao Wei squinted her eyes and looked at the buildings - they were all bungalows with courtyards, but they all looked very old.

One of the courtyards was her and Yan Lei's home.

She retrieved from her memory that this house was an important and irreconcilable contradiction between the original owner and Yan Lei.

Because this was the old family area, and the military district opened a new family resettlement area on the other side of the town, all of which were brand new red brick and tile houses with bright and clean windows. And it was also managed in a closed manner, which is what later generations called a "compound."

If he could live in a new military compound, perhaps the original owner would not have such a big grievance. But the male protagonist Yan Lei gave up his quota to live in the military compound to someone he thought needed it more.

The male protagonist is such a person.

Qiao Wei put down her sunshade hand, turned around and said: "I remember there are still cigarettes at home, you can get a pack of cigarettes for Xiao Zhang..."

She searched her memory. Although the male protagonist is a regiment leader, this car is not his alone, but is shared by several cadres.

So Qiao Wei wanted Yan Lei to give a pack of cigarettes to the driver. In this era, transportation is inconvenient, and drivers have to rely on cars. Qiao Wei wants to build a good relationship with the driver for future plans.

But when she turned around, Yan Lei was stuffing a box of blue peony into the driver's hand. As soon as she opened her mouth, the two men stopped and looked at her, with surprise in their eyes.

You know, the original owner was not so understanding. Yan Lei's comrades-in-arms didn't have a very good impression of her.

"Oh, sister-in-law, why are you so polite?" Driver Zhang laughed, "Who am I? You are so distant with me."

Although he said so, Yan Lei still forced it into his hand: "Take it, take it, I'm giving it to you just because I'm not distant with you, why are you pushing it away."

The man who gave up the quota of the new dormitory in the military compound to others turned out to be not only not rigid, but also very flexible.

So you have to look at people from multiple angles.

Qiao Wei said to driver Zhang: "We are not polite to you, why are you being polite to us? Take it."

She spoke with a smile, which was so bright and comfortable.

Driver Zhang thought to himself why this wife of Captain Yan was different from before. It was strange, could it be that she finally woke up after being treated coldly by others in the provincial capital and learned not to treat others coldly?

But since Qiao Wei, the wife of the captain, said so, driver Zhang smiled and put away his cigarette: "Just call me if you have anything."

The driver who loved to laugh and talk left, and the courtyard gate suddenly became cold. The main reason was that Yan Lei's face was too cold, and his whole body was emitting cold air, which made people feel cool in the summer.

Qiao Wei was thinking about how to break the deadlock when Yan Lei said, "You go back first. I'll go pick up the kids."

After he finished speaking, he turned around and left.

Okay. Qiao Wei shrugged, pushed open the gate with a creak, and stepped in.

Although the memories left by the original owner now belong to her, to Qiao Wei it was like owning many old movies. The house and yard were like the sets in the movies. Every place looked familiar, but I knew that I had never been there.

The moment I stepped in, I felt like I had walked from a movie into reality.

The house had heavy marks of repair and looked messy. But it was still a neat yard.

This area was bombed before liberation. The family area used to be a village, but it was bombed into ruins. At that time, even the town was almost empty. The population only gradually recovered after the founding of the People's Republic of China.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, a military district was established. Later, in order to save materials, the family resettlement area was repaired and rebuilt on the basis of the abandoned village.

The courtyard where Yan Lei and Qiao Wei lived was considered to be relatively complete. The layout of the house was neat, and it was estimated that they should have been a well-off family in the old society. Although a lot of construction and repairs were done later, the old appearance of the old house can still be seen after the additions.

Ignoring those repaired and built parts, the beauty of the old building can still be seen.

Of course, only Qiao Wei would find it beautiful.

People in different eras have completely different aesthetics. In the eyes of Yan Lei and the original owner, this is an old stone house in the northern countryside, and they don't think it's rare. Red brick and tile houses are rare and respectable.

However, in the eyes of Qiao Wei, who lives in a big city, red brick and tile houses are rustic, and this kind of stone house is pastoral.

In her opinion, those later private buildings are messy and disorderly, which destroyed the quaint texture of the house, which made her feel sorry.

Looking over, across the yard, there is a three-legged cast iron coal stove under the eaves of the door, with a tinplate chimney, one section after another.

Because it is summer, it is placed outside. This kind of stove is very convenient to move and can be moved into the house in winter.

Walking into the house, the layout is old-fashioned. The first room is the main hall, where guests are served.

There are rooms on the east and west sides. It was obviously renovated later, and the north and south were divided into two rooms to form a suite.

When you enter the west room, you first see the desk outside, which is considered a study.

On the half wall at waist level is a wooden lattice glass window with curtains hanging, which separates the inner part into a bedroom.

The bed in the bedroom is not a bed, but a kang. The iron door of the fire mouth is now closed, and when it is opened in winter to burn firewood or coal, it can play the same role as heating.

The furniture in the house has a sense of age. Especially the large wardrobe in the bedroom, half of which is a wooden door and the other half is a mirror. Qiao Wei had only seen such furniture with a sense of age on the Internet before.

Qiao Wei walked over and put her hand on the mirror.

The woman in the mirror was wearing clothes that were characteristic of the era, and had shoulder-length hair that was characteristic of the era, but that face was definitely hers.

The original owner looked exactly like her.

Qiao Wei let out a long sigh. It was still her own face, how wonderful.

While Yan Lei was picking up the child, she opened the closet. It was almost all women's clothes, all hers. All that caught her eye were various small floral patterns, very much in the style of the time.

After closing the closet door, she walked around the bedroom, comparing the memories she had received with what was in front of her, and familiarizing herself with the room.

The west room was her and Yan Lei's bedroom and study, and after figuring it out, she went to the east room.

The layout of the east room was the same as here. The inner room was the child's bedroom, and there was no desk in the outer room, but there were some wooden toys scattered around randomly.

Qiao Wei saw a wooden horse head with a pole in the corner of the room, and she had a strange feeling in her heart. She walked over, raised her hand and gently touched the toy, and a strong sense of guilt rushed into her heart.

The original owner's slight disgust for Yan Lei could be overcome by Qiao Wei. But the original owner felt deeply guilty about her child. Qiao Wei took a few deep breaths to slightly control this strong emotion.

At this moment, a childish voice came from behind: "Mom?"

Qiao Wei turned around suddenly.

Yan Lei was standing outside the east door. A little boy stepped in and happily jumped into Qiao Wei's arms: "Mom! You're back!"

The moment the little body jumped up, a sour feeling rushed into Qiao Wei's nose.

When she came to her senses, she raised her eyes and saw Yan Lei looking at her with a complicated gaze. She herself was already squatting on the ground, holding the child tightly in her arms, tears streaming down her face.

She hadn't even seen what the child looked like.

She loosened her arms, the little boy stood up straight, and the two of them faced each other.

Whether a person is good-looking or not can be seen from a young age.

As the son of the male protagonist, the little boy was naturally born with straight eyebrows and a beautiful nose. He was obviously a handsome boy at first glance.

Qiao Wei stared at the child, looking at him intently.

The little boy was originally happy and cheerful, but he was startled to see Qiao Wei's face full of tears: "Mom, why are you crying?"

Qiao Wei wiped her face.

She cried many times in her previous life, but always in places where no one could see. Now Yan Lei was looking at her silently at the door. She was not used to being seen crying.

She forced a smile: "Mom missed you so much that she cried."

The little boy breathed a sigh of relief, but then he started to feel wronged: "Xiangxiang misses mom too! Mom has been gone for a few days. I asked when she would be back, but dad said he didn't know."

Qiao Wei looked over.

Yan Lei had his hands in his pockets. When he saw her looking over, he turned away.

The little boy continued to complain: "I asked dad to pick up mom. Dad refused to go, and he said he would beat me if I said it again."

He felt really wronged.

Qiao Wei asked: "Did dad beat you?"

"No." The little boy sniffed and complained, "Dad is so bad. He went to pick up mom so late."

It's good that he didn't beat me.

Yan Lei did not go to the provincial capital to find her immediately. Qiao Wei guessed that he might have also experienced a period of anger, pain and struggle. He is still so calm now, and he didn't even hit the child. This emotional control is very powerful.

He is worthy of being a person who has been on the battlefield.

"Don't blame Dad, it's Mom's fault." Qiao Wei held the little boy in her arms again and said softly, "Mom will never leave you for so long again..."

The original owner Qiao Weiwei's guilt for the child is different from other movie-like memories. This feeling is completely integrated with Qiao Wei.

Qiao Wei has taken over Qiao Weiwei's life completely, and the most important thing is her son Yan Xiang.

Xiang, the hometown of great people.

This name was chosen by the original owner herself after she rejected the names suggested by the male protagonist, such as Jianjun, Zhenhua, and Aiguo.

Now, Yan Xiang is Qiao Wei's son.

It's great. Qiao Wei found that her tears were also shed for herself - in this world, she has a family again, connected by blood.

Qiao Wei hugged Yan Xiang tightly and buried her head in his little shoulder.

"Mom, mom, don't cry..." Yan Xiang originally wanted to cry for the grievances of the past few days, but when his mother cried, he couldn't cry.

The little man could only comfort his mother: "Don't go far away in the future. Otherwise, take me with you when you go away."

Qiao Wei wiped her face and agreed with a smile.

When she looked up again, Yan Lei was no longer at the east door.

Qiao Wei ignored him for the time being. She first asked Yan Xiang if he had eaten lunch.

"Yes." Yan Xiang said, "Auntie Yang's scallion cakes are delicious."

The Auntie Yang that Yan Xiang mentioned was the neighbor to whom the original owner entrusted the child. This is the family resettlement area of ​​the army, and the surrounding neighbors are of course all military families. The other party's husband is Yan Lei's comrade-in-arms, Captain Zhao.

Qiao Wei looked at Yan Xiang carefully and saw that except for a little emotional grievance, the child was in good spirits and his clothes looked clean. It can be seen that this "Auntie Yang" has taken good care of the child in the past few days.

In the book, Yan Xiang is described as an introverted and silent teenager. Although he is described as being well taken care of by his stepmother, taught to be polite, and later very promising, Qiao Wei always feels that those descriptions look splendid, but the details always reveal a gloomy taste.

Because the original text has never described him as having bright eyes and loving to laugh as he does now.

Where was the smile in those eyes later? Where was the brilliance in the little boy's eyes?

All gone.

Qiao Wei only felt a surge of discomfort in her heart.

She touched Yan Xiang's face.

This child will be her son in the future, and she will not let the smile on his face disappear.

She promised Qiao Weiwei.

Qiao Wei is now Qiao Weiwei.