Chapter 12: Please Bring Him Back (Part 1)

  The next morning, when Xiao Lie was sleeping soundly, Xiao Yang suddenly lifted up his quilt.

  "Get up and be ready in three minutes."

  Seeing the bucket of water in Xiao Yang's hand, Xiao Lie knew that Xiao Yang wouldn't joke with him and would really pour it on himself. The expression Xiao Yang used to wake him up seemed to have an additional emotion, making him feel a sense of fear. It wasn't until many years later that Xiao Lie realized it was a killing intent.

  To make Xiao Yang look good, Xiao Lie initially pulled away from him by a large margin, but three kilometers later, Xiao Yang overtook him. By the five-kilometer mark, Xiao Lie felt like a dead fish.

  "Hit me, hit me hard."

  "Huh?" Xiao Lie was somewhat surprised, guessing that Xiao Yang had become stupid from being a soldier, wanting to be hit by someone, but Xiao Lie wasn't foolish either, he knew that his brother who had been a soldier wasn't easy to mess with.

  "Hi!"

  Xiao Lie punched Xiao Yang heavily, but when he thought he had succeeded in a sneak attack, he didn't expect Xiao Yang's movements to be even faster, and with one kick, he was kicked onto the snowy ground.

  "It's too weak, can't even compare with an ant."

  "Ah!" Xiao Lie fell and his mouth was full of snow.

  "Come again." Xiao Yang shouted.

  This time, Xiao Lie learned the martial arts moves from the movie and jumped up in front of Xiao Yang. He made a fake move with his left hand, and at the same time, he kicked his right foot towards Xiao Yang. But this time, Xiao Yang just lightly pinched his right foot and caught it, then threw him into the snowy ground again.

  Xiao Lie was speechless at once.

  "Look at you like this, I'll teach you a few tricks." Xiao Yang said.

  Xiao Lie, standing on the snowy ground, knew that he had to learn even if he didn't want to. If he didn't, Xiao Yang would mock him even more for being a bookworm. Although there were many martial arts novels at that time, he hadn't read any of them, but that didn't mean he didn't want to become a top martial artist. In his youth, every man hoped to become a great martial artist, and Xiao Lie was no exception, even if he was just a bookworm.

  During that time, Xiao Yang fixed Xiao Lie up in the morning and then he disappeared, while the one who disappeared from the Xu family was Xu Jiadai.

  In the morning, Xiao Lie was fixed by Xiao Yang. In the afternoon, he went to fix Xu Jia's Second Young Master, Er Bao. Er Bao, who also wanted to become a martial arts master, after being fixed by Xiao Lie, returned home in the evening and showed off to Xu Jia Dai, although only over ten years old, but still managed to make Xu Jia Dai turn around in circles. So Xu Jia Dai, to vent her anger, called out Xiao Yang, then let him stand properly so she could bully him a bit. As a result, the next day, Xiao Yang took it out on Xiao Lie even more heavily.

  Life is like that, cyclical and repetitive.

  After the Spring Festival, Xiao Yang returned to his unit.

  That summer, seventeen-year-old Xiao Yang finally got into university, and it was even one of the top ten universities in the country. The news made Xiao Lanfang famous throughout the village, because he was the first person to go to Beijing for university.

  At that time, Xu Jiadai refused a foreign-funded enterprise and stayed in Chengdu. She planned to work in Chengdu for a period of time, after gaining some working experience, if Xiao Yang was still staying in Xinjiang, then she would go to Xinjiang too.

  But at this time, Xiao Lanfang's body was already on the verge of collapse. Long-term work and exhaustion had made her extremely old, and once she even fainted to the ground.

  After that, Xiao Lanfang's body began to weaken, and many strenuous tasks could no longer be done. The doctor did not find any specific cause, only saying it was due to long-term overwork and heart disease, with some inflammation in the lungs. Taking medicine would be fine, but she would no longer be able to work or exert herself greatly.

  "Mom, you don't have to work anymore. My brother left some money when he left, enough for your living expenses." Xiao Lie said.

  "What's wrong with you? How will you go to school?"

  "I can earn money by working part-time." Xiao Lie said: "This month I also earned 300 yuan in the town. In the future, I will work part-time while studying. Jia Dai sister transferred 5,000 yuan to my card two days ago, she said it was my tuition fee, and from now on, she will give me an additional 300 yuan for living expenses every month."

  "Uh, your brother is really lucky. He can marry Jia Dai." Xiao Lanfang sighed and said: "You don't blame Mom, do you? All these years, I've never let you have a good time, only knowing how to force you to study every day. The clothes you wear are all your brother's, and I haven't even bought you a decent pair of shoes. When you were in elementary school, you were still wearing a pair of rotten rubber shoes, and I didn't even give you a pair of socks."

  "Mom, it's written in the book that boys should be raised to be poor and girls should be raised to be rich. I have my own hands, so I can earn back what I spend later on. After I start working and earning money, I'll take you and brother on a trip. The three of us will travel all over China, go to the grasslands, go to Tibet... Mom, wherever you want to go, we'll go there. How's that?" Xiao Yang said with a smile.

  (PS: You asked me why I've been wandering around the country for four years, actually, it was just a dream and promise of mine. Although you can no longer see these landscapes, my son is well, but I regret not being able to let him enjoy good fortune. I still remember your cold hands and the words you instructed me with. It's just that I didn't do it. The tree wants to be still but the wind won't stop, the child wants to be raised but the parents are no longer here. Sorry, sorry.)

  "When you were young, in the winter, your quilt was very thin. You would put your clothes on the quilt, there wasn't a duvet, just a blanket on the mat, and under the mat was straw. After sleeping for a long time, it was all bumpy. In a year, you could only eat meat a few times, sometimes you even went hungry. Don't blame Mom, okay?"

  "Mom, I've told you, I'm not a young master. Don't worry, in a few more years, good times will come." Xiao Lie smiled and said.

  "Xiao Lie, I miss Xiao Yang." Xiang Lanfang said: "You two brothers, from now on you can't be apart. When you were young, your brother was very tolerant of you and gave in to you in everything. Your father and I owe him a lot."

  "Mom, brother said he will be back for Chinese New Year. By then, we can reunite."

  "Oh." Xiao Lanfang fell silent for a moment, then coughed uncontrollably.

  Xiao Lie helped Xiao Lanfang massage her back immediately.

  Xiao Lie still remembered that afternoon, the weather was very sultry, with thick clouds piled up at the edge of the sky. Xiao Lie tied the water buffalo to a wooden stake by the pond and then went home.

  When he walked to Shai Ba, he heard a footstep sound behind him. When he turned around, he saw an officer wearing summer uniform. With the knowledge that Xiao Yang had imparted to him, he knew it was a lieutenant colonel.

  "Hello, is this Xiao Yang's home?"

  When he heard the lieutenant colonel ask this, Xiao Lie didn't know why, but a bad feeling suddenly rose up in his heart. He still nodded anyway.

  "Are you Xiao Lie?"

  Xiao Lie nodded slightly.

  "Hello, I'm He Shaojun. There's something specific I came to tell you. Hope you're mentally prepared."

  When Xiao Lie heard He Shaojun say this, his heart suddenly sank. The TV and the scene that appeared on it suddenly came alive in front of him. In his heart, he cried out, "This isn't real, this isn't real," but Captain was still vividly standing in front of him.

  "Your brother Xiao Yang, our bravest martyr, sacrificed himself while carrying out his mission." He Shaokun said word by word.

  At that moment, Xiao Lie felt a sharp pain in his heart, and his whole body was like being struck by lightning, suddenly losing strength and feeling scorching hot. He even felt his legs trembling slightly. The sultry air seemed to turn icy cold all of a sudden.

  "Xiao Lie, who is it? What's going on?"

  Xiao Lanfang walked out and saw a soldier standing in the courtyard, while Xiao Lie's expression was very wrong.

  Hearing his mother's voice, Xiao Lie tried to make himself look better. Now his mother's body was very poor and her heart had problems from the beginning, she couldn't take any stimulation.

  "It's nothing, he's just my brother's comrade."

  A short sentence, yet Xiao Lie used a lot of effort to say it, and he could even hear himself trembling. When speaking, he didn't dare make eye contact with his mother.

  Seeing her son, after so many years, Xiao Lanfang was very familiar with her son. Although Xiao Lie tried his best to conceal himself, Xiao Lanfang still detected something unusual in his voice. A mother's sixth sense told her that something was amiss.

  "Has something happened to Xiao Yang?" asked Xiaolan Fang.

  Xiao Lie didn't say anything and neither did he shake his head. He also didn't know what to say. In front of his mother, he had never lied before, but now his mind suddenly went blank.

  "What's wrong with Xiao Lie?" This time, Xiao Lanfang looked at He Shaojun and asked.

  He Shaokun saw Xiao Lanfang's thin body, his throat hardened, and he suddenly didn't know what to say. If he had known this earlier, when he was at the county armed forces department, he would have let someone from the county armed forces department deliver the news, but he wanted to tell the martyr's family in person, but hadn't expected it to be like this.

  "He's not dead, and he won't die." Xiaolan Fang muttered to herself, then walked into the house.

  Xiao Lie saw his mother's body trembling slightly, and then immediately went forward to support her.

  "Mom, Xiao Yang is my comrade-in-arms, he's the bravest warrior among us, he lives up to the seven words 'People's Liberation Army of China'..."

  He Shaokun suddenly discovered that although he was good at fighting, he wasn't a very good talker, because he himself didn't know what to say.

  "This is his letter and medal, please accept it." He Shaokun handed a military merit badge and a letter to Xiao Lie, saying: "Condolences and convenience."

  When He Shaokun left the Xiao family's house, he found that his back was all sweaty, and he didn't know if it was because of the heat or something else.

  "Xiao Yang is not dead and will never die. He must still be alive." Xiao Lanfang muttered to herself, her eyes lifeless.

  "Dear Mother:"

  I don't know what to say? Because there is no reason, at home, I am your son. But in the army, I am the son of the country. I am a soldier, and the existence of soldiers is to defend. When we put on our uniforms, we are no longer individuals, nor can we be weak or ignorant, this is also the value of being a soldier.

  Mom, if you see this letter, please don't cry, just smile. You should be happy that your son did what he was supposed to do, and he has no regrets for his country and nation. It's all worth it.

  Xiao Yang has grown up, you don't need to worry about him anymore, he will definitely do what he wants to do. You should also take a rest, don't be too tired, just let Xiao Lie help me fulfill the duty of a son.

  Mom, please don't blame me. I chose loyalty but couldn't choose filial piety. This is perhaps the hardest choice for us soldiers. Sorry, mom, please forgive me. In my next life, I'll be your son again and do all the things I didn't get to do in this lifetime.

  Mom, don't worry about Xiao Lie's tuition fees anymore. I've deposited all the money into his card and it's enough for him to finish university. Mom, you should rest more and not overexert yourself.

  Mom, sorry, son is a soldier.

  This is it

  Bowing!

  Son: Xiao Yang

  After Xiao Lie finished reading the letter in a harsh and rough voice, Xiao Lanfang felt a suffocation in her chest and suddenly fainted.