Shi Xiaomeng didn't notice Xie Zhengchuan's shock, and continued to speak happily: "Captain, you don't know, your house is too hard to find. The snow on the way here was calf-high, hehehe..."
A huge joy enveloped Xie Zhengchuan. Looking at the heartless boy in front of him, he said, "Shi Xiaomeng is determined."
"Yes, Captain."
The boy's brows were frosted, his shoulders were covered with snow, his shoes and pants were soaked, and there were even tiny icicles on them. He was holding a large bag in his red, frozen hands.
"How could you come here so late, all by yourself, in such a cold day, with thick snow on the road? Look at you, you don't even wear gloves. If something happens to you on the road, aren't you afraid of danger?"
"Captain...Captain, are you unhappy?"
Xie Zhengchuan patted his shoulder. The boy looked darker and taller. "I'm not unhappy. I'm very happy. It's snowing these past two days. Even ox carts can't move on the road. How long does it take you to get from the station to our village? And how did you get through such thick snow?"
"Captain, it's okay. The journey is fine. I finally got a vacation, so I wanted to come and see you."
"Well, okay, come in quickly, you must be hungry! You little brat, you didn't even tell me before you came so I could pick you up."
As he said that, Xie Zhengchuan closed the door and pulled Shi Xiaomeng into the house, determined to quickly change the boy's wet clothes.
"Hehe...Captain, it's okay, I'm not cold at all. Have you forgotten that we've practiced resisting the cold before? I'm just afraid of causing you trouble. I'll be back in two days."
When Shi Xiaomeng entered the house and saw so many people and two tables of food, he realized that today was New Year's Eve. He felt a little embarrassed.
"Captain, I came at the wrong time. I'm sorry."
"What nonsense are you talking about? I'm so happy that you're here." Then he introduced everyone in the room, "Dad, Mom, Big Brother, Second Brother, Second Sister-in-law, Xiaoli, this is my comrade-in-arms, Shi Xiaomeng, he's here to see me."
When Father Xie first met his son's comrade-in-arms, he felt a little awkward. "Hello, Zhi, please sit down. You must have had a hard journey."
"It's so cold, and it's not easy to travel on this road. Soldiers are different."
"Yeah~Yeah~"
"Oh! Your clothes and shoes are wet, take them off quickly, the kang is heated in the house, it's warm."
Su Li looked at the young man in front of her and said, "Zhengchuan, please give your comrade a set of your clothes to change into. I will make him some ginger tea. Don't let him get cold."
"Hey! Okay, I'll pick up Xiao Meng right away, and come home with me to change clothes and come over for dinner."
"Yes, captain." Su Li, who was originally a tough guy, acted like a child in front of Xie Zhengchuan. She looked at him with a smile.
After changing clothes, Su Li placed the brewed ginger tea on Shi Xiaomeng's seat. The young man bared his big white teeth and said, "Thank you, sister-in-law. Oh! By the way, our team received the things you asked the captain to send. Hehe... It's delicious. Your cooking skills are so good, sister-in-law."
"It's okay, as long as you like it. I'll ask Zhengchuan to send it to you when I have time."
"Why!"
"Okay, let's eat quickly. The food will get cold soon. You seldom drink alcohol in the army, but today is New Year's Eve. Do you want to drink something?" Xie Zhengchuan glared at him.
"Okay, Captain."
Xie's mother looked at Shi Xiaomeng with loving eyes. This young man looked like a good kid. During the New Year, she must make sure that this child had good food and drink.
"Come, eat. This braised pork is made by my second daughter-in-law. I added some rock sugar to it. It's soft and chewy. Come and try it."
"This is delicious too. It's made by your captain's wife. Meatballs. Oh! It's braised lion's head. It's delicious too."
"Xiao Meng, have a bowl of pheasant soup. This is the pheasant your captain hunted in the mountains. It's stewed until it's very mushy."
Shi Xiaomeng felt a little flattered. From childhood to adulthood, he only felt the sense of home after joining the army. Now that the captain's family took such good care of him, he felt so happy and warm.
"Hey! Thank you, uncle and aunt, thank you sister-in-law."
After saying that, he lowered his head and started eating with big mouthfuls. The food was so delicious. Not only the meat, but even the stir-fried cabbage was crisp and delicious.
Life in the army was hard, especially when we were on missions, we had to eat wild vegetables, tree roots, snakes, insects, rats and ants.
During the training in the camp, we might not have enough white flour or meat for ten days or half a month. Sometimes we were so hungry that our comrades would go up the mountain to hunt some game. If we were lucky, we would even encounter wild boars.
But there were too many people, so it was good enough to get a few pieces into the bowl.
He thought the captain must not have a good life at home, but he didn't expect the food to be so good. He felt relieved and could give an explanation to the team members when he returned home.
Children have a natural admiration for soldiers, and they often hear their fathers talk about those glorious years, so they naturally yearn for them. Now a real soldier appears in their home, so after dinner, several children pestered Shi Xiaomeng to tell stories all night long.
They didn't stop until Su Li boiled some hot water for them to wash up and go to bed.
In the evening, after drinking milk, the children followed Su Li back to their room to sleep. Xie Zhengchuan carried the freshly made milk to the east room. As soon as he pushed the door open, he saw Shi Xiaomeng turning around and refusing to get on the kang.
"What's wrong? Is the kang uncomfortable?"
Shi Xiaomeng waved his hands in embarrassment, "No, no, Captain, I... I have never slept on such a soft blanket, I'm afraid it will be damaged."
Xie Zhengchuan smiled and said, "Silly boy, what if you're afraid of crushing it? You don't want to sleep anymore? Come on, drink this glass of milk."
"Captain... I won't drink it! Such a good thing, leave it to the children. I'm in good health and don't need to drink it."
Xie Zhengchuan immediately put on a serious face and put the quilt in Shi Xiaomeng's hand, "Drink it quickly, don't leave a single sip. This is specially made for you by your sister-in-law. If you don't finish it, she will be angry with me."
"No way, my sister-in-law looks very gentle."
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Xie Zhengchuan staring at him, so he quickly raised his hand and drank the milk in the cup. It tasted sweet, smooth, mellow and delicious in his mouth.
It was Shi Xiaomeng’s first time to drink milk, and he felt it tasted better than the company commander’s malted milk he had tasted before.
After the two of them got on the kang, Shi Xiaomeng took out his package and said, "Captain, these are the things that a few people in the team asked me to bring to you. By the way, why did you send the money back to Dong? The company commander was angry and scolded you."
As Shi Xiaomeng spoke, he took things out and found six cans of meat, a pair of Liberation shoes, a brand new military coat, a stack of socks, a stack of receipts, and a stack of Great Unity bills. It was estimated that there were about two thousand yuan.
Xie Zhengchuan knew at a glance that the money was collected by the people in the team, but most of it must belong to Shi Xiaomeng. Except for him, the rest of them had families to support, and they sent their allowances and bills back home. They fought for their lives in the front and just hoped that their families could live better and have meat and vegetables during the holidays, so they had very little money on them.
Xie Zhengchuan asked Shi Xiaomeng to save most of his allowance. After all, no one could tell what would happen in the future. He just hoped that the child would have a way out.
"Let him scold if he wants. Even at his age, he should know where to get angry. But I'll take the things you brought. You can take the money and tickets."
"Captain, I brought it here with great difficulty, how can I take it away? Look..."
Before Shi Xiaomeng finished speaking, Xie Zhengchuan reached out to interrupt him, "Xiao Meng, you can see that our family lives better than many other families. Your sister-in-law is a capable person. She is a high school student and can write books. She earns a lot of money from her writing. I will also be assigned to the police station next year. Our family will not be in bad shape. You can let the team and the company commander rest assured."
"team leader......"
Xie Zhengchuan patted him on the shoulder and said, "Go to bed early. You must be tired after all this journey. Don't think about anything these days. Have a good New Year at home. I'll ask your sister-in-law to make you some delicious food. Have a good rest."
Shi Xiaomeng put his things away and got into bed. Perhaps it was because of the long journey, or perhaps it was because the bedding was too soft and warm. He had a lot to say to Xie Zhengchuan, such as "Captain, are you satisfied with your current life?" "Do your legs still hurt from time to time?" "Do you miss the life in the army?" But after a while, he fell asleep in a daze.
Xie Zhengchuan looked at Shi Xiaomeng's sleeping face and suddenly wondered if he was still in the army. He had been immersed in the warm atmosphere of his family these days, as if those glorious years were so far away from him.
He stretched his legs. The leg that was injured in the hospital used to feel cold from time to time, but this condition rarely occurred after he returned home. It should be because his wife prepared meals every day and drank milk every day, which made his body healthier and healthier.
The next day, Su Li got up very early. Today was the first day of the new year. She specially wore a dark red cotton jacket and packed a lot of red envelopes.
I took two baskets, one filled with peanuts, melon seeds, and fruit candies, and the other filled with oranges, apples, and pears. I also had a small plate filled with some fried crispy pastries.
After everything was done, I started making dumplings in the kitchen.
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