◎1st update + 2nd update + 3rd update◎
When Xue Lijun heard this, his heart sank. He had been in this position for many years, how could he not understand the implicit meaning of Chen Siming's words? Looking at the names of Xu Shengjie and Liang Baozhen above, he felt confused. Did these two offend the factory director's son?
"Director Chen, this matter was just asked to me by a factory employee. I was still investigating the procedures. Look, I just wrote a few words and you are here."
"Director Xue, that means I came at the right time. I just found a big problem for you." Chen Siming took out a pack of Hongtashan cigarettes from his trouser pocket, shook out a cigarette, and passed it to someone. "Can you just give up a job position from more than ten years ago? Let me see, her name is Ding Xiaoxia, right? This comrade might have some opinions. Besides, it's been so long, even if it really comes to fruition, it's impossible to complete it in three to five days if you follow the procedures."
Holding the cigarette, Xue Lijun put it to his ear and thought about what Chen Siming said. He understood and said, "That's right. I still need to sort out the situation carefully before I can say anything."
"Well, that makes sense." Chen Siming said something to the other person and then left the factory director's office.
Chen Siming, who was originally going to go back to his purchasing office, turned around and went straight to the fine yarn workshop.
--
After work, Xu Shengjie went to Hong Saner's home first. Hong Saner's father Hong Jixiang watched Xu Shengjie grow up. It is inevitable that people who lose their parents at a young age will suffer a lot. In addition, when Xu Shengjie was a child, he once carried Hong Saner who was bitten by a snake to the hospital. He truly treated Xu Shengjie as his own family.
"Xiao Jie is here? Come on, I've left you a pound of offal."
The welfare benefits at the meat processing plants are good, as they give their employees the right to process pig offal and other things that do not require meat coupons. Even if the food is not as good as white pork, it can at least fill their stomachs and have some of the smell of pork.
Therefore, countless people in the city are trying their best to get into the meat processing factory. After all, eating is the most important thing.
"Thank you, uncle!" Xu Shengjie took out fifty cents and handed it over. Pork was ninety cents per pound, and the processing price was almost half the price. Even the employees in the meat processing plant had to snatch it.
"Old Xu, don't be polite. Our father brought back some meat. We, as his sons, would be sorry to see that our father was so quick-witted and quick-handed if we don't eat it."
"Look at what you look like!" Hong Jixiang really treated Xu Shengjie as half his own son. Thinking of his marriage, he said, "Xiaojie, wait for your aunt to come back in a while, and bring your wife to our house for a meal."
"Okay, I'll bring Baozhen over to have a meal then."
Xu Shengjie carried a pound of pig to the water and headed home. When he reached the gate, it was exactly half past six. Xu Shengwei was playing marbles with the two brothers, Xiaolong and Xiaohu, in the open space. When he saw his eldest brother coming back, he jumped up and said, "Brother, you're back! I'll help you carry it!"
After saying that, he snatched the pig from his eldest brother, went into the water, and hopped home, "Grandma, sister-in-law, my brother is back."
Pig offal has a strong smell, so Liang Baozhen washed it several times, blanched it, and stir-fried it with chili peppers. This suppressed the smell, and the smell was filled with the aroma of chili peppers and meat.
"Sister-in-law, it's delicious."
Xu Shengwei buried his head in the bowl and swallowed it all up with the chili pepper. Xu Shengya next to him couldn't eat spicy food, so he prepared a bowl of plain water for her to rinse the food with. The little girl's mouth was red from eating, but she was also very satisfied.
After getting to know each other for a while, Zhou Yun also found that his grandson's wife was a good cook. He felt that his grandson was a blessed one. "After dinner, you two should wash the dishes. Your sister-in-law is exhausted from cooking for you."
"Of course!" Xu Shengwei patted his chest. "Grandma, even if you didn't tell me, I would have taken the initiative to wash the dishes today... one, two, three, four... □□... Hey, why are there so many?"
Xu Shengjie's hand holding the chopsticks trembled, and he looked at his brother with a smile, "More bowls means more dishes, and they are delicious. In the past, when life was hard, there were only three or four bowls, which means there were no dishes at all."
"That's right, it's okay. I'm full and I have the energy to work!"
After dinner, Xu Shengwei and Xu Shengya worked together to wash the dishes. Xu Shengjie talked about work with his grandmother and wife in the house.
"I met with Director Xue this afternoon, and he said there would be no problem. Once he confirms the process and procedures, he will give me news in a few days."
"That's good." Zhou Yun was satisfied. From now on, both of his family members would be working full-time. His grandson got married and got a job. Life was really getting better and better.
Liang Baozhen felt a little dazed when she heard this. "So fast? Should I make any preparations?"
She had never been to a state-owned factory and didn't know what was going on there, so she always wanted to be prepared.
"No need. Once you find a job, I'll take you to transfer your household registration. Then you can go to the factory to get the labor insurance supplies."
After saying that, Zhou Yun took a palm-leaf fan and went to the neighbor's house next door to chat. Only the young couple was left in the house. Xu Shengjie was about to introduce the situation of the National Cotton Mill to Liang Baozhen again when he heard a loud voice at the door.
"Brother, Biaozi is back, let's go out and play for a while." Xu Shengwei shouted at the door.
"Okay, don't be too late."
Liang Baozhen saw Xiaowei, Xiaoya and a few other kids walking out and was a little confused, "Who is Biaozi?"
"The grandson of the next-door master Wei, the baby of their family. He went back to his mother's house a while ago, and you haven't seen him since." Xu Shengjie thought about Wei Guobiao's chubby appearance, "When I came back from my family leave a few years ago, Biaozi kept hanging around me and said he wanted to join the army with me. That kid just wanted to be a soldier."
The neighbor kid who wanted to be a soldier? Biaozi? Liang Baozhen always felt that he sounded familiar. After searching her memory for a while, she finally remembered him! In her dream, she had heard Xu Shengjie talk about this person.
It was already the 1990s. Xu Shengjie mentioned that a neighbor's child dreamed of joining the army, but unfortunately he drowned in a river when he was only ten years old. A group of children went out together, and when the adults found him, he was gone... The man seemed to be called Biaozi.
"How old is Biaozi this year?" Liang Baozhen's voice trembled a little when she asked. Her heart seemed to be beating like a drum, making her feel vaguely uneasy.
"This year, he should be ten years old. He is three years younger than Xiaowei."
At the end of the summer when Xu Shengjie and his younger brother and sister were in the first grade of junior high school, a group of children went out together...
Liang Baozhen stood up, startling Xu Shengjie. The man grabbed her arm and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Is there a river nearby? The kind we can go into?" The more Liang Baozhen thought about it, the more she felt something was wrong. According to Xu Shengjie, one child drowned and two other children swallowed water so badly that they were hospitalized for more than half a month. No matter what, she had to go and see, as that was a life.
"There is a place where you can go down to the moat when it passes through Dongdantou, but something happened there two years ago, so it's been blocked." Xu Shengjie saw Liang Baozhen's anxious expression and was a little puzzled, "What's wrong? Why are you asking this suddenly?"
"Let's go take a look." Liang Baozhen didn't know how to explain it suddenly, so she could only lie, "I seemed to hear those kids saying that the weather was too hot this afternoon and they wanted to go down to the river to cool down. My eyelids were twitching, and I was worried that they would get into trouble. It's so dangerous to go down to the river."
Xu Shengjie's face changed, and he strode out of the compound. In the past, these children basically played in the open space in the compound or at the entrance of the alley. However, today, the entrance of the alley was empty, without a single child.
Then I remembered what Liang Baozhen said: It never hurts to go and have a look.
"What's going on?" Liang Baozhen rushed out immediately, and felt even worse when she saw that the children were not there.
"Let's go and take a look." Xu Shengjie and Liang Baozhen went to the east together.
——
Walk another seven or eight miles west from Yueya Hutong, and you will find a moat passing by. It is a remote place, and after you climb over the guardrail there is a gravel road. The river mouth is low, and in previous years, children have gotten into accidents there while trying to cool off in the summer by going into the river to take a bath, and ended up dying.
Therefore, there is still a wooden sign next to the place, with a few large characters written in blood-red paint - "No entry into the river, you will bear the consequences yourself."
Xu Shengjie and Liang Baozhen hurried there, his mind full of events from more than ten years ago. Even if he was usually calm and composed, he was panicked at this moment.
When they arrived at the lower river mouth, Liang Baozhen looked around and saw that the surrounding area was just an abandoned open space covered with stones. On both sides were short tree stumps and thorny grass bushes. Because it was near the river, the grass grew lushly and densely.
In the river in the distance, a hand was flapping, splashing water, and a group of children on the shore were rushing to jump into the river to save the person.
"Help...help me!" Wei Guobiao was struggling in the river. He could swim and just now he dived in to catch a fish, but his leg cramped and he felt his body sinking. He couldn't swim at all. The river water was flowing and was about to cover Wei Guobiao's head.
"Biaozi, wait a minute! We'll come to rescue you right away!"
"I'll go down and pull him out! I can swim!" Xiaolong rubbed his hands together, preparing to jump in.
"Stand still!" Xu Shengjie rushed to the shore and shouted at the children on the shore. Seeing Xiaowei and Xiaoya were also in it, he felt relieved and then dived into the river and swam towards Wei Guobiao.
"Be careful." Liang Baozhen shouted while standing on the shore. On one hand, she was comforting a few children, and on the other hand, she was staring closely at the river. She didn't know how well Xu Shengjie could swim.
In the river, Xu Shengjie swam to Wei Guobiao, held the child with one hand, and led him to the shore. Thanks to Xu Shengjie's great strength, the drowning child used his hands and feet to cling to the rescuers when he saw them. If it was someone with less strength, he might have been dragged down.
Wei Guobiao, who was rescued, was pale and unconscious. Liang Baozhen stepped forward to take him over, put his abdomen on her left knee, and pressed his back. Fortunately, he had not been in the water for too long. After being pressed for a while, he suddenly vomited and gradually woke up.
"Gah..." Wei Guobiao spat out some dirty water, breathing in the fresh air, his eyes still a little confused.
"Biaozi, how are you?"
"Brother, sister-in-law, is Biaozi okay?"
The other children in the yard gathered around, each of them was terrified, their faces pale, and they were still trembling as they spoke. The sight of Biaozi struggling in the river just now was too terrifying.
"Hurry, hurry, there's a child in the water!"
"Go and have a look."
Not far away, voices were heard. An old lady and a young man were running in front, followed by several adults. When they rushed to the shore, they saw that the child who fell into the water had already been rescued.
The aunt looked forward excitedly, "The kid was rescued? That's good. I just went to the roadside to find a comrade who can swim and come over."
It turned out that just after Wei Guobiao fell into the water, Xiaoya went to the roadside to look for someone, and happened to see an old lady picking wild vegetables nearby. However, the old lady could not swim, so she helped to find someone to help. Not long after she walked, she met a young comrade who said he could swim, so she quickly brought the person over.
"That's good. Oh, if something happens again, I'll have to fill it up."
"It's dangerous here. Little kids can't go in the water."
Many people who heard about the accident rushed over and were relieved to see that the man had been rescued. The young man also came forward to greet him and said, "How are you feeling, young comrade? I can help take him to the hospital."
When she looked up, she saw a handsome man with a relaxed look. Liang Baozhen was holding her gun and looking directly at the man. She couldn't help but be shocked.
This person is Chen Siming’s biological brother, the protagonist of this period novel - Chen Sixian.
The book briefly wrote that Chen Sixian learned from Lei Feng to do good deeds and saved a drowning child. Although he came a little late and failed to save Biaozi, he saved the lives of Xiaolong and Xiaohu who fell into the water later. He became a big star and was not only featured in the Beijing Daily, but was also awarded the title of Advanced Model for Learning from Lei Feng, which added more evidence to his halo as the male protagonist.
However, Liang Baozhen and Xu Shengjie rescued the man in advance, Biaozi saved his life, and Xiaolong and Xiaohu, who were supposed to go into the water according to the plot, did not do so and could not be rescued by Chen Sixian. Liang Baozhen looked at the male protagonist in the book in front of her and shook her head, "We are from the same courtyard, we can just send him there."
In the period novel she lived in, many people would become tools for the male protagonist in the book to establish a good image. Liang Baozhen thought about it for a long time and decided to stay away from this person.
"Xiao Wei, run back quickly and inform Master Wei and his family to go to the People's Hospital. Your sister-in-law and I will take Biaozi there first." Xu Shengjie instructed his younger brother, turned around, picked up Biaozi and prepared to go to the hospital.
"good."
In the large courtyard, many people were sitting in the yard with palm-leaf fans to enjoy the cool air. Everyone moved a stool to sit and chat together.
Zhang Rong has been busy looking for a job for her son these days. Her son went to the south as an educated youth five years ago and rarely had the opportunity to come back to visit his family. Now that the policy has been relaxed a bit, it is said that if there is a work unit that accepts him, he can get a place in the quota to return to the city. Naturally, Zhang Rong is busy.
But her sister couldn't find a job at the street office. There are too many people and too few jobs now, so it's hard to find a job. However, her husband, Mr. Zhou, is an old man at the National Cotton Factory and happened to find a temporary job for her. In the past few days, the old couple went to the office several times to handle the procedures for their son to return to the city.
"Zhang Rong, is your Qingdang coming back?" Aunt Li Zhengxia was chatting with someone while waving a palm-leaf fan. Her family was lucky. When they were sent to work in the countryside, both her sons had jobs and her youngest daughter was still in school. She used some connections to avoid the relocation and kept all her children in the city.
"Yes, it will only take about a month!" Zhang Rong was in a good mood. Her daughter got married last year and her son was coming back soon. She and her husband would not be so lonely anymore.
"That's great. When the time comes, your Qing party will find a daughter-in-law and give birth to a baby. Then you and Zhou Jun will be able to have grandchildren."
"That's great. It would be nice to have someone like your Biaozi, who is strong and smart."
Hearing her neighbor praising her grandson, Li Zhengxia smiled so hard that her eyes were covered with tears. How could she not be happy? But it was already dark today, why hadn't Biaozi come back yet?
Liu Nianhua was also looking around. Xiaolong and Xiaohu had gone out to play after dinner. She said to Aunt Li, "These kids must have gone out to play marbles and forgot to come back. What a shame."
"Biaozi just came back to the courtyard, that's normal. They must have been having so much fun that they forgot what time it was."
As they were talking, Mrs. Liu from the compound next door came trotting in and spoke in a hurry.
"Where's Li Zhengxia? Is she home?"
Aunt Liu shouted so loudly that everyone in the compound could hear her. Widow Chen asked, waving a palm-leaf fan, "Aunt Liu, why are you so anxious? Look at you sweating."
"Go check it out! I just heard someone on the road say that the kid in your yard fell into the river!"
"What?!"
There were many people enjoying the cool air in the courtyard. They became anxious when they heard this. If a child fell into the river, it was no small matter. "Whose child fell into the river?"
How could Aunt Liu know? She waved her hands and said, "I don't know. I heard it from someone on the street. You guys should go check it out. It's at the east stall! Damn it, that place is always prone to accidents!"
Aunt Liu's words caused a huge uproar in the compound. Those whose children had not yet returned home hurried out, jogging all the way, feeling extremely worried.
Zhou Yun was upset after hearing this. He looked again but couldn't find his eldest grandson and his granddaughter-in-law. He didn't care about anything else and rushed out with everyone else in the yard.
......
After dinner today, a group of children disappeared. They were probably going down to the river together. Liu Nianhua's husband Zhou Guoping hasn't returned from his shift yet. Xiaolong and Xiaohu went out to play and she doesn't know what's going on with them now. If her two children really fell into the river and something happened to them, she wouldn't want to live anymore!
"Auntie Yun, what do you say we should do? It can't be Xiaolong and Xiaohu, right?" Liu Nianhua and Zhou Yunjie, who was also alone, supported each other and walked.
"No, no." Zhou Yun's heart was in her throat. She believed that Xiaowei and Xiaoya would definitely not go to the river to play, because the second brother and his wife drowned, which left a big psychological shadow on Xu Shengjie, who was only 12 years old. Later, he never let his younger brothers and sisters go to the river. In order to teach them a lesson, he even hit Xu Shengwei's palm when he secretly went to the river to play in the water.
But nothing can be predicted. Zhou Yun just hoped that nothing would happen. She held Liu Nianhua's hand tightly and comforted her, "No, no, nothing will happen! Let's not scare ourselves."
"It can't be our Xiaoyue!" Qian Jingjing, who lived in the back house, almost fainted. She and Xu Hai were a reconstituted family. They got married, one with a daughter and the other with a son. They didn't have any children after marriage. If her own daughter died like this, she would definitely not want to live.
Xu Hai grabbed her hand and comforted her, "No, don't think too much. Xiaoyue and Xiaojun must be fine."
A group of people rushed to the east, and when they were halfway there, they happened to meet Xu Shengwei who was going to the big courtyard to inform the news!
Seeing the children in the courtyard, the eldest master Wei Jinrong was the first to rush over, "Xiao Wei, what's the situation now? A child in our courtyard fell into the river?"
Xu Shengwei had been jogging all the way, and now he felt a gasp in his throat, and his words were not clear. He panted and nodded vigorously, "Yes, yes, Biaozi fell into the river."
"What? Biaozi!"
"Oh my Biaozi!" Aunt Li cried out.
The Wei family almost fainted when they heard this. Then they heard Xu Shengwei gasping for breath and said, "My brother rescued him. He is now in the People's Hospital. I just wanted to go back and inform you."
"He's been rescued. That's good. Is he okay?"
"Let's go, let's go to the People's Hospital!"
A group of people immediately changed direction and headed towards the Municipal People's Hospital.
Municipal People's Hospital
Wei Guobiao, who had just finished the examination, leaned back in his chair, and was obviously calmer. The doctor in a white coat said to the only two adults in the group, "The child swallowed water. Fortunately, he was rescued in time. If it was later, he would be in danger. There is no big problem now. Go home and have a good rest. I think the child is very scared."
"Okay, thank you, doctor."
"But I have to say that you should keep a closer eye on your children. Parents have a heavy responsibility and should teach them well." The doctor was a 30-something female comrade wearing glasses. She had seen many children sneaking down the river and sent to the hospital. They suffered a lot. "If something really happened, you wouldn't even have a place to cry."
Xu Shengjie and Liang Baozhen looked at each other in bewilderment after being misunderstood. Before they could even refute each other, the doctor was busy seeing the next patient.
Liang Baozhen stammered, and was suddenly treated as Biaozi's parents and scolded. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but it was not a big deal at the moment. "Biaozi, do you feel better now?"
Wei Guobiao nodded blankly, tears welling up in his eyes. But he was being watched by so many people, so he sniffed and tried to hold back the tears. "I'm fine. I'm a man."
"You are not allowed to go down to the river anymore, understand?" Xu Shengjie leaned over to Wei Guobiao and warned him, "If you do it again, you may not be so lucky."
"Got it! Thank you, Brother Xu, and Sister Baozhen." Wei Guobiao scratched his head, looked at the friends behind Xu Shengjie, jumped off the chair, and hurriedly joined everyone to walk out.
"Biaozi, you just scared me!"
"It's so scary. I saw you were about to be swallowed by the river."
"It's all right. It's all right."
"Biaozi! How are you?" The Wei family finally arrived at the hospital gate and saw Wei Guobiao who had just pulled his life back from the river. Biaozi's mother Dong Xiufen rushed over and hugged her son tightly, "Let me see, how are you? Are you still feeling bad?"
"Mom~" When Biaozi saw his biological mother and was wrapped in a warm embrace, he suddenly felt wronged and scared. He couldn't hold back the sadness he had been holding back before, and he hugged Dong Xiufen's waist with both hands and burst into tears, "I thought I was going to die and would never see you again! Wuwuwu"
"Oh my Biaozi!" Li Zhengxia felt sad seeing her grandson crying, but fortunately the child was fine.
"Xiaolong and Xiaohu, how are you? Are you okay?" Liu Nianhua was relieved to see that her two children were safe and sound. She was worried all along the way.
"Mom, we're fine."
Each family looked at their children and checked them from head to toe. Fortunately, nothing serious happened.
Wei Jinrong learned the whole story and walked up to Xu Shengjie and Liang Baozhen to thank them. "Xiao Xu and Xiao Liang, we are so sorry for what happened today. If Biaozi had really gotten into trouble, our family would have been ruined. You are truly our family's benefactors."
"Master Wei, please stop talking like that. Take Biaozi home and let him rest. He was frightened today. The doctor just said he needs to have a good rest."
"Okay, let's all go back first. It's late at night and we're all scared enough."
......
After a chaotic drowning incident, when we returned to the compound, it was getting dark and everyone took their children home. Both adults and children were frightened today and had to talk behind closed doors.
Zhou Yun checked the two children from head to toe, and was relieved when he was sure that they were not ill at all. He wiped his eyes and was coaxed to sleep by Liang Baozhen. The old lady had been frightened a lot today, and her body could not hold on any longer.
After closing the door, Xu Shengjie and Liang Baozhen sat on the stools and watched the two children drinking water in big gulps. It was obvious that they were thirsty from their anxiety.
Gulu Gulu, ha~
Xu Shengya wiped her mouth and put down the enamel cup. Her sister-in-law poured her another cup and reminded her, "Drink slowly."
After they both finished drinking the water and calmed down a little, I asked about what happened just now.
"Xu Shengwei and Xu Shengya, who suggested going to the river today?"
Xu Shengwei and Xu Shengya looked at each other, their eyes rolling back and forth, not daring to say anything, both looking at their brother. Xu Shengjie had been very strict about this when they were young, not allowing them to play with fire or water, all because their parents had fallen into the water and drowned one night.
Therefore, going down to the river is a taboo for the Xu family.
Today, the two of them went to the river. Now they both felt that they had gotten into big trouble and dared not say a word. The brother's face was ashen and anyone who saw him was scared.
Liang Baozhen glanced at her man, the look in his eyes was like ice chips in the summer, freezing her. She knew Xu Shengjie would get angry out of concern, but how could she ask him questions when he was standing there in this state?
Then, he poked his arm and said, "Why don't you go back to the house first? I'll talk to them."
Xu Shengjie just wanted to teach them a lesson, especially Xu Shengwei, thinking that they would not learn their lesson without a beating. But his wife actually asked him to go back to the room?
"Go back to the room, I'll talk to these two." Xu Shengjie's attitude was rarely decisive, he was determined to teach someone a lesson.
The fact that his parents drowned in the water at the age of twelve has always been a shadow that has always lingered in the mind of Xu Shengjie, who was only twelve years old. No matter how much he dotes on his younger siblings, he would not compromise on this matter.
"Put your hands out." Xu Shengjie usually didn't resort to violence. No matter what happened, he would talk things over with his brothers and sisters. But for something like walking to the river, he felt that he had to learn a lesson.
Swish, the two guilty people stretched out their hands subconsciously, pouting their lips as if they were about to cry.
Liang Baozhen was watching from the side and was shocked by Xu Shengjie's ferocious appearance. Whether in her dreams or during their blind date and marriage, she had never seen a man so ferocious.
He was holding a piece of wood in his hand and was about to raise his hand to hit Xu Shengwei's palm when he was intercepted in mid-air.
Liang Baozhen grabbed Xu Shengjie's arm and pleaded for mercy, "Just teach Xiaowei and Xiaoya a lesson. They are still young, why did you hit them?"
"You..." Xu Shengjie looked at Liang Baozhen with a stern face. If it were anyone else, he would have told him to get out of the way, but this person was his own wife, so he opened his mouth but couldn't say anything harsh.
Seeing that they had a backer, Xu Shengwei and Xu Shengya moved quickly to their sister-in-law's side, following behind Liang Baozhen like a little tail, only sticking out their two little heads to look at their eldest brother.
"Brother, we didn't go into the water."
"We just stayed nearby. Xiaolong and the others insisted on going there. Originally, everyone said they couldn't go into the water!"
Liang Baozhen protected Xiao Wei and Xiao Ya behind her and spoke carefully to the gloomy man in front of her, "They also remember what you said. They know not to go into the water. Today, those children all went to play in the water, and only our two legs were dry. Don't come up and hit me. Talk it out nicely."
Xu Shengwei raised his little head to look at his elder brother, then at his sister-in-law, and found that his elder brother actually put down the wood chip and threw it on the table with a clang. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief. In the past, when he made a mistake and his elder brother wanted to slap him on the palm, his grandmother couldn't stop him.
My sister-in-law is really capable! Thinking of this, he moved a little further away from his sister-in-law's direction. Seeing that his second brother had moved, Xiaoya also moved with him. The two of them were blocked by Liang Baozhen.
Xu Shengjie had a cold face at first, but when he saw his brother and sister moving step by step behind his wife, he couldn't help but laugh. His expression softened a little, "Okay, come here."
Liang Baozhen saw him curl his lips, took the two little ones behind him out, coaxed them to make promises again, and then asked about what happened today.
"Today, we originally planned to play in the yard, but Biaozi and Binzi said they wanted to go out. As we were walking, we reached the moat and said they wanted to go in the water. My second brother and I told them not to go in because they would choke on the water, but they didn't listen." Xu Shengya sounded aggrieved as she had tried to persuade them several times.
"You did a good job." Liang Baozhen rolled her eyes at Xu Shengjie, her eyes full of accusation, and whispered to him, "Listen to yourself, it remembers your words."
Xu Shengjie pursed his lips, not looking at his wife, and looked at his brother and asked, "And then?"
"Then they played by the river for a while, while Xiaoya and I played with stones on the shore. But then Biaozi disappeared!" Xu Shengwei's voice gradually became louder, recalling the scene, "Biaozi was floundering in the water, doing some somersaults, and he said he was a good swimmer and wanted to swim in the water, but suddenly he yelled for help... Xiaoya went to the roadside to look for adults, and the auntie, who couldn't swim, said she would help us call for help. Xiaolong and Xiaohu were originally going to go down by themselves. Then, brother, you and sister-in-law came."
Thinking of his elder brother going into the river to save people and his sister-in-law splashing water on Biaozi, Xu Shengwei looked proud, "Brother, sister-in-law, you are really amazing!"
Xu Shengjie glanced over again, and Xu Shengwei then remembered that he was still in danger, so he quickly frowned and lowered his head.
After hearing what his brother and sister said, Xu Shengjie didn't say anything, but his expression was not as bad as before. After all, the two of them remembered his repeated instructions. "Stay away from the river next time. There are a few children in the yard who want to go there, so you have to help them. You saw what happened to Biaozi in the water today. It's no joke if something happens in the river. It's very dangerous."
Xu Shengjie spoke the last few words very softly and slowly. Liang Baozhen looked at him, remembered the reason why his parents died, and understood the sadness in his words.
"Xiao Wei and Xiao Ya must have remembered it, right?"
“I’ll remember that.”
"We're not going in the water."
Liang Baozhen listened to what the two had just said, and she quickly caught a clue: "Don't they know how to swim?"
Xu Shengjie looked away blankly and answered confidently, "Of course not."
Since they were young, he never allowed his younger brothers and sisters to go near the river. As for himself, he had no chance to learn swimming during military training, otherwise, he would never go near a river in his life.
"Actually, I think they should learn it." Liang Baozhen saw that Xu Shengwei and Xu Shengya's eyes lit up as soon as she said it. It's the nature of children. No matter how much you say, they are curious and look forward to swimming. But they suppressed it because of the strict discipline at home.
But if Xu Shengjie disagrees, it will be useless.
"Don't look at me like that." Liang Baozhen was not seeking welfare for the children. "Swimming in the water is not just for fun. Think about it, if something really happens, it is also a life-saving skill. You should let them learn to swim instead of avoiding water. Of course, I am also against going into the river casually. It is indeed too dangerous."
Xu Shengjie blinked his eyelashes a few times. Listening to Liang Baozhen's words, he recalled when he joined the army and had to learn swimming during training. At that time, he was extremely resistant. When he saw the river, he thought of his parents who drowned. Other recruits jumped in, but he was the only one who hesitated and did not dare to move.
At that time, the veteran who led me said, "The more you fear something, the more you should conquer it. You can't always avoid it."
"Let's talk about it later." Xu Shengjie didn't express his opinion, but said to his brother and sister, "Go wash yourself and go to bed early."
"good!"
Xu Shengwei and Xu Shengya finally breathed a sigh of relief, but before they could move a step, they heard a child crying in the yard, shouting and wailing. They didn't know which family was cooking stir-fried pork with bamboo shoots.
"You still dare to go down to the river by yourself, right? You really have no memory! Nothing serious happened today. If something really happened, I wonder what you would do?" Xu's neighbor who also lived in the east ear room was disciplining his child.
Fang Hongming took a wooden stick and hit his son Fang Zhibin, which made his daughter-in-law Jin Hong feel very distressed.
"That's enough. If you keep hitting me, I won't be able to get up to go to school tomorrow."
"Just get used to him. Something bad will happen sooner or later. If he dares to go into the river today, he will dare to beat people up tomorrow."
"Dad, I never hit anyone!" Fang Zhibin covered his butt and howled.
"You're still talking back, aren't you?" Fang Hongming pretended to swing at him with a stick, which frightened Fang Zhibin so much that he begged for mercy.
In the end, Jin Hong stopped the man and allowed Fang Zhibin to escape quickly.
When Xu Shengwei and Xu Shengya went out to wash their faces, they happened to meet Fang Zhibin limping out with a bruise on his butt. The three of them looked at each other in the dark.
"Fang Zhibin, how are you?"
"It's okay. I'm not going to die."
"Does your butt hurt?" Xu Shengya saw him covering his butt with both hands, with a grin on his face, as if he was in great pain.
Fang Zhibin shook his head vigorously, "It doesn't hurt, I'm a man."
.....
The sounds of children being taught and comforted in the courtyard gradually died down, and the frightened people finally fell asleep. Xu Shengjie and Liang Baozhen bolted the door and prepared to go back to their room to rest.
Liang Baozhen felt exhausted both physically and mentally after this incident and just wanted to take off her coat and lie down on the bed.
"How did you know today that a child from our yard would go into the river? And that something might happen?"
Xu Shengjie's voice was heard from behind. Liang Baozhen paused while unbuttoning her clothes and slowly turned her head to look over there.
Xu Shengjie had a serious expression, and there was a hint of doubt in his eyes as he looked at himself.
Liang Baozhen thought about what she had said in the afternoon, wondering if she had let something slip. However, this man's gaze was so sharp that she felt her legs go weak just by being looked at by him.
No wonder Xiaowei and Xiaoya were so scared just now.
"What? Do you still want to interrogate me like you interrogated Xiao Wei and Xiao Ya?" Liang Baozhen smiled, then took off her clothes, opened the quilt and lay down, smiling at Xu Shengjie, "You don't want to hit my palm with a piece of wood, do you?"
Xu Shengjie listened to his wife's jokes and laughed along unconsciously. He also lay down. The kerosene lamp was still on, illuminating the room with a warm yellow glow. He looked ahead and expressed his thoughts, "I just feel that if you hadn't said those words today, Biaozi and the others would really be in big trouble."
If Liang Baozhen had not suddenly suspected that the children would fall into the river, and if she and she had not rushed over immediately and rescued Biaozi, then according to the time when the aunt later found the young man who could swim, Biaozi might have been dead, and even two more children might have fallen into the river.
In short, my wife's actions in the afternoon were very sudden and coincidental, as if she would have been unable to save the person if she had been a step later.
Xu Shengjie had been a soldier for several years and had good reconnaissance and thinking abilities, but he always felt that something was wrong.
Liang Baozhen lay on the bed, her heart beating fast. The man beside her had come to his senses and sensed something was wrong. In the afternoon, she had said that saving people was the most important thing, and her attitude of asking him to go to the river to take a look was indeed too sudden and too decisive.
"If I say I had a dream," Liang Baozhen turned over and looked at Xu Shengjie, and said to him sincerely, "I dreamed that a child in the courtyard fell into the river and got into trouble. Do you believe it?"
The two looked at each other for a long time. Liang Baozhen said this and then
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