Chapter 1 Chapter 1 Deciding to Join the Army

1965.

After February 2nd, the wind in Hai City just started to get a little warm, and the coquettish ladies in the city took off their bulky cotton jackets and put on flowing windbreakers.

After finishing a day of kindergarten classes, little Xia Qinqin sat on the back seat of her mother's bicycle and secretly took out a chocolate from the pocket of her red lantern cotton coat.

This was given to her by her good friend Zhuangzhuang from the same class. Zhuangzhuang's father worked at the customs and received foreign exchange coupons as part of his union benefits. This chocolate was imported from a friendship store.

Little Xia Qinqin didn’t know what imported goods were. She only knew that this dark chocolate was sweet and delicious. But her mother didn’t let her eat too much, so Xia Qinqin secretly hid it in her pocket and ate it quickly on the way home, otherwise she would be discovered when she got home.

Hehe... I'm so smart. Xia Qinqin was secretly happy. She squinted her big eyes and savored the sweetness in her mouth carefully. Her long eyelashes reflected a crescent moon under her white eyelids. Her pink cherry mouth was slightly curled up, like a little kitten stealing food.

The back seat of the bicycle is a children's chair that my uncle had specially made for me. Not only is there a fence around it, but for safety reasons, there are also protective nets on both sides of the feet to prevent her little feet from getting caught in the wheels.

Sitting inside and eating chocolate, Xia Qinqin swung her feet happily. The belt of her mother's windbreaker was blown up by the wind and floated beside her hand from time to time. She couldn't help but grab it, and then a black mark was printed on it.

Oops, the chocolate got on there.

Little Xia Qinqin quickly loosened the belt on her hands, wiped her hands on her black pants, and looked at her fair palms. Well, my mother shouldn't find out.

The weather has warmed up and the days have become longer. At around 5:00 p.m., when the sun has not yet set, the aroma of rice wafts out of the Huaihefang alleys. Children returning from school run in groups of two or three on the cobblestone road, and people getting off work ride their bicycles through the narrow alleys, honking their bicycles.

"Jue Fei, it's time to get off work."

"Hey, Juefei, why are you the one picking up Qinqin today?"

"Jue Fei, I'm going to the bank to deposit money tomorrow. I'll come find you then."

The alleys were filled with old neighbors, and greeting and chatting was inevitable when they met on their way to and from get off work every day. Meng Juefei greeted everyone with a smile, and stopped in front of a three-story Western-style house with her daughter.

This western-style house was originally the home of a capitalist during the Republic of China period. After liberation, the family fled abroad and the house was later allocated to the People's Bank of China as an employee dormitory.

Meng Juefei's father, Meng Zhaoxing, was a college student majoring in economics at Aurora University during the Republic of China. After graduation, he worked in a bank in Haishi. Later, he was developed into a comrade by our party as an undercover. During the War of Liberation, he secretly transferred a lot of intelligence to our party. After liberation, the People's Bank was established in Haishi, and Meng's father continued to work in the bank.

When the houses were distributed that year, they were assigned this building. The house is three stories high, with one family on each floor. The Meng family lives on the third floor. Although it is troublesome to climb the stairs, there is a small attic on the top floor, which is only half a person's height, but it also provides extra space.

"One step, two steps... ten steps, eleven steps..."

Xia Qinqin climbed the stairs with her short legs, muttering to herself. Just when she counted to fifteen steps, she felt her body lighten and her vision became higher.

"Oh, little uncle~" Qinqin shouted happily.

"Hey, Qinqin, did you have fun in kindergarten today?" Meng Zhongyan raised the little person in his hand and shook it in the air and asked with a smile.

Qinqin was obviously used to playing this little game with her uncle. She was not afraid at all and replied with a smile: "It's fun. But uncle, Qinqin is not going to kindergarten to play. She is going to school." She puffed out her chest and said seriously.

Meng Zhongyan's handsome face was full of smiles, and he nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes, our Qinqin went there to study."

As she spoke, she carried her niece upstairs and turned to say, "Sister, Mom said today's yellow croaker is very fresh. I'm sure you will like it."

As he spoke, he pinched Qinqin's perky little nose and smiled, "Grandma also cooked the sweet and sour pork ribs that Qinqin likes to eat. Uncle has been looking forward to your return. I just saw your mother's bicycle at the upstairs window and came down to pick you up. Do you want to go upstairs and go home quickly?"

When she heard about sweet and sour spareribs, Xia Qinqin's big round eyes lit up and she quickly shouted, "Yes!"

"Okay, let's go home."

Meng Zhongyan spread his long legs and ran up the stairs quickly, taking two steps at a time. For a moment, the stairs were filled with cheerful laughter.

When Meng Juefei entered the house, Qinqin was standing in front of the sink, sitting on a small stool specially made for her, washing her hands with her sleeves rolled up.

Father Meng was sitting on the sofa in the living room, wearing glasses and reading a newspaper. Meng Zhongyan was going in and out of the kitchen and dining room, carrying plates of food and placing them on the dining table.

"You're back." Father Meng looked up when he heard the door close.

Meng Juefei nodded: "Yes."

Father Meng saw that she was in a bad mood, so he said nothing, put down the newspaper, stood up and said, "Wash your hands and have dinner."

Meng's mother brought out the last dish from the kitchen and placed it on the dining table: braised small yellow croaker, sweet and sour spare ribs, fried shrimp, steamed egg, and round vegetable soup. In that era, this dish was a rich meal no matter which family had it on the table.

After everyone sat down, Meng Zhongyan looked at the table and said, "Mom, today's ceremony is so grand, isn't it to celebrate my graduation?"

Mother Meng rolled her eyes at her son and said nothing. Meng Juefei asked him, "Are you really not going to graduate school?"

Meng Zhongyan is a college student majoring in clinical medicine at Haishi Medical University. He had always planned to pursue a master's degree and even found a supervisor, but he gave up this year.

"Well, the teacher said that the learning atmosphere in school has become worse in the past two years, so he suggested that I work first and then study for a master's degree after that." Meng Zhongyan explained.

Meng Mu said, "As a doctor, clinical practice is the most important thing. Learning is a lifelong thing. It doesn't mean you don't have to learn after you graduate from school. You should report to the People's Hospital tomorrow. I have contacted Director Zhao of the Department of Cardiology today. You can go directly to him when you arrive at the hospital."

Meng Mu was a battlefield nurse in those days. After liberation, she was assigned to work in Hai City People's Hospital. Because she was injured when she was young, she applied for early retirement two years ago.

However, he still had a lot of connections in the hospital, and Meng Zhongyan was a student at a medical university, so it was natural for him to be assigned a job at the People's Hospital after graduation.

Meng Zhongyan said, "Okay, I get it. You're such a jerk. You don't let me rest for even a day. Isn't tomorrow the weekend? I want to take Qinqin to the zoo."

Mother Meng stopped using her chopsticks, sighed and said, "Then you should report the day after tomorrow. Take Qinqin out for a good trip tomorrow. Qinqin has never been to a zoo in her life. I don't know when we will have the chance to go next time."

As she spoke, she patted Qinqin's head lovingly and asked softly, "Qinqin, do you want to eat steamed eggs? Can grandma help you put it in a bowl?"

Qinqin nodded obediently and said, "Yes, and I want spare ribs."

"Okay, grandma will give it to you."

Meng Zhongyan took a bite of rice from the bowl and said happily, "Okay, I'll take Qinqin to the zoo tomorrow." Suddenly, he stopped and looked up at his parents' faces, then at his sister. He felt something was wrong and asked in confusion:

"That's not right. What do you mean you don't know when you'll go next time? You can't escape from the zoo, so you can go whenever you want. Why do I feel like you guys are hiding something from me today?"

Meng's mother didn't even look at her foolish son. She just lowered her head and concentrated on picking food for her granddaughter, and from time to time she used a handkerchief to wipe the vegetable juice off the girl's face.

Meng Juefei said, "I plan to take Qinqin with me to join the army."

"What?" Meng Zhongyan was surprised and said, "Sister, you must be joking. My brother-in-law is in the frontier. Life there is so hard. Let's not talk about you. Qinqin is still so young. How can she go there?"

Meng Juefei took a mouthful of rice and swallowed it before slowly saying, "Two days ago, Junshan wrote to say that he had been transferred to Nanya Island in Qiongzhou. The conditions there are much better, and he hopes that we can go there."

"What Nanya Island? I've never heard of it. No matter how good the conditions there are, how can they compare with Haishi?" Meng Zhongyan said dissatisfiedly.

Father Meng put down his chopsticks and said, "Your sister and her husband have been separated for so many years. Before, the conditions did not allow them to go back. Now that they are in Qiongzhou, the conditions there are much better. It is reasonable for them to go back."

Mother Meng asked, "What about Feifei's job? Is there a bank on that island?"

Father Meng said, "Once you go there, the work unit will naturally arrange for you. Feifei is a college student at Tongji University, and she studied accounting at first. Don't worry, accountants are needed everywhere."

Meng Zhongyan was about to say something, but his father raised his hand and said, "Okay, this was also decided by your sister. If you don't get used to it there, you can just come back."

Father Meng made the final decision. Seeing this, Meng Zhongyan could only swallow his objection and asked in a low voice, "Sister, when are you leaving?"

Meng Juefei said: "I have to hand over the work I am doing in a week."

Mother Meng said, "Let's go to the department store tomorrow and buy some things for you. Oh, I have a few foreign exchange coupons. Let's go to the Friendship Store."

......

After washing up in the evening, Qinqin lay on the bed with her little feet up, looking at her mother sitting at the dressing table and applying perfume, and asked: "Mom, are we going to look for Dad?"

"Well, do you miss your daddy?" Meng Juefei took the jar of vanishing cream, scooped out a piece and applied it on her face, then looked at her daughter on the bed with a smile through the dressing mirror.

Qinqin rolled her dark eyes and shook her head, saying, "I don't want to."

"Why?" Meng Juefei was a little surprised.

"Because I don't know him well, and we're not good friends." After saying that, she turned around and put her index finger on the pink embroidery pattern on the bed sheet.

Meng Juefei was stunned, then stood up and walked to the bed and sat down.

Xia Qinqin suddenly felt her cheeks cool and a familiar fragrance came from her nose. It turned out that her mother was applying perfume to her. She raised her little face to make it easier for her mother to apply it. Her grandmother said that if she applied perfume, she would be as beautiful as her mother when she grew up.

"Dad went to a very tough place to protect everyone's safety. It's far away, the food is not good, and he had to fight bad guys. It was very hard. Can we go and see him?" Meng Juefei said softly.

Xia Qinqin nodded and said, "I know. Grandpa said that Dad and Uncle are both heroes who defend their country. Mom, can we bring some chocolate for Dad this time?"

Meng Juefei scratched her face and said, "I think you want to eat chocolate." At this point, she deliberately frowned and said, "Qinqin, did you hide the chocolate from me today and get it on my windbreaker?"

Xia Qinqin was startled, and immediately picked up her quilt to cover herself, closed her eyes and said, "Mom, Qinqin is so sleepy, I want to go to sleep."

"You girl." Meng Juefei tapped her forehead with amusement.

After all, he is a child and sleeps a lot. He was pretending to be asleep at first, but he fell into a deep sleep soon after closing his eyes.

Seeing her daughter asleep, Meng Juefei felt a little thirsty, so she got up and went to the living room to pour some water.

"Mom, why aren't you asleep yet?"

Seeing Meng's mother sitting on the sofa in the living room, Meng Juefei walked over and asked in a low voice.

Mother Meng pulled her daughter to sit down and said, "Fei Fei, your father wants you to join the army because he feels that things are getting worse this year. He has already planned to retire early. We will not be at ease if you work alone in the bank. After all, Junshan is a military base, so we will be at ease if you go there."

Meng Juefei nodded and said, "I understand. It's a good opportunity to take Qinqin to see her father. This child still misses her father in her heart."

Mother Meng sighed, "That's right. Which child doesn't miss his father? Feifei, if you and your mother are wronged over there, remember to tell your family. Your parents will definitely take you back."

Meng Juefei buried her head in her mother's shoulder and said coquettishly, "Oh, Mom, I'm not a child anymore. I have to complain to my parents when I'm wronged."

Mother Meng stroked her daughter's hair and said, "No matter how old you are, you are still your parents' child."