Chapter Twenty

  It was busy until evening, and everyone's individual bunker had just been set up for a short time when it started snowing.

  I knew that brother Kangming was more than just a fierce warrior who charges into battle!

  Even without using weather instruments, he can glance at the sky and predict the weather for a whole day. He can also instantly react to how to take advantage of this weather factor!

  This guy should be in this position now, every day with a small teapot in his left hand and an eagle on his right hand, surrounded by a group of brothers. If there's something to find him, I estimate that Ming Ge will be able to hum with his nose and say "this is not the place to chat, let's borrow a step inside the military aircraft to talk".

  It's said that it was screwed up.

  Kuang Ming, the place where you are now, should be a place to play your strengths. You have to thank Instructor Xie and Team Head, if it weren't for them kicking you to that certain academy for further studies, I reckon you wouldn't have achieved so much in this lifetime!

  Xinjiang's goose feather-like snow!

  The snowflakes gently fell and soon covered the individual shelters we had just set up. This snow is strange, once it stuck to the accumulated snow that we had brought down from the mountain peak, it immediately formed a large piece of ice, several times faster than the time it took to pile up on the ground.

  I shrank into a single-person bunker. The wind in the valley began to howl and rage, but our bunker's performance was still quite good at keeping us warm and we didn't feel cold at all. Especially after two hours of snowfall, we slowly dug out a ventilation channel and started chattering away on the walkie-talkies.

  The instructor was too lazy to care about us, so he just yelled at the top of his lungs: "You bunch of bastards, pay attention! Stop spouting nonsense and watch out for movements outside. Conserve your energy."

  We just laughed and said to the instructor, don't worry, those grandsons won't arrive until tomorrow afternoon at the earliest, by that time we'll have woken up early and be full of energy, then we'll smash them to pieces!

  Then people began to recall the snow of their hometown.

  In my impression, the place in Hunan where it snows the most is just two or three days and then it's all melted. Moreover, in the city where I live, as soon as the snow covers the ground, a group of men and women with cameras rush into the park to take pictures and say that it's a snowy scene.

  Is that little bit of snow like sprinkled pepper also called a snowy scene?

  I'm talking about the kind of snow in Xinjiang that I've never seen before, that's the majesty of heaven and earth, that's the blessing of nature, that's what makes you feel the atmosphere described by Chairman Mao in his poem is so apt, so magnificent! The mountains and rivers are like a painting!

  Without the people's livelihood and national prosperity in mind, one cannot write great works that shake the mountains and rivers!

  So I worship Chairman Mao, in a very personal way.

  If only I had been born a few decades earlier, I would have fought under Chairman Mao's command, that would be...

  What a pity!

  With nothing to do and feeling bored, I won't avoid the topic. Anyway, as we chatted, the conversation somehow turned to some off-color topics, especially for those brothers who had driving experience without a license before joining the army, they became the focus of everyone's ridicule.

  I admit it, I'm no angel!

  When I was a soldier, I really had a few days of very messy life, the kind that if my grandfather knew about it at the time, he could have slapped me to death and cleaned up the family's reputation.

  I'm not afraid, and I loudly scold those brothers who are upright in character and clean in conduct, while secretly drooling with envy.

  They are all men, and they are all young, strong, full of vigor and blood, full of ideals and YY in their minds!

  Then Luohan's brother chuckled a few times and said, actually, I had a girlfriend back then, our parents met each other, we all met each other, after serving in the army and returning home, I married her!

  We were delighted.

  Luohan and his brother have always thought that this life is just a heavenly eating and star throwing, except for braised pork belly, there's nothing else to love!

  Are there female arhats?

  Yimeng Old District is a place where the folk customs are simple and honest to the extreme. The parents of both sides have met in private, and the young couple has also met in secret, so there must be some story behind this meeting. The word "meeting" itself contains profound implications that are worth pondering!

  They started to urge Luo Han to confess by surrounding him and shouting slogans.

  Arhat was panting for half a day and said that on the eve of my enlistment, she and I came to the side of a small river. Two rows of clear tears flowed along the small river. Thank you for your love in this life and this world, it's hard for me to forget. Thank you for giving me warmth and accompanying me through those years...

  I'm telling you, stop it! Why does it sound like that guy Li Chunbo singing "Little Fang" to me?

  Give us some ideas about what specifically happened that night, how was it romantic and warm?

  Luohan didn't make another sound.

  After holding back for half a day, she finally said that anyway, in this life, she can only marry me and I will only take her! When the time comes, I'll go back and ask her to give birth to a child for me, definitely a boy, and definitely sturdy like a little calf! I've eaten so much braised pork, I've saved up all the oil and water, I'm sure I can have a son!

  Everyone was quiet for a moment, then burst out laughing so hard that they almost overturned the bunker! I heard on the general channel that even the instructor was panting and trying to stifle his laughter.

  I knew it, you've been making a fuss about the braised pork all day just to accumulate the oil and water for that one night when you'll suddenly make a breakthrough and shoot to fame with one shot?

  Did I ask if you've had physiology and hygiene class?

  Luohan said with a snort that in our school, the teachers who taught this course just had us read the textbook ourselves and said that what we learned was useless. At that time, we didn't even have exams for it!

  Everyone laughed again, and then the instructor said, "Don't fool around anymore. Everyone rest well. The sentry should be vigilant and keep quiet!"

  We all shut up but still secretly delighted in our hearts.

  In the middle of the night, it just so happened that Luo Han and I were on watch. We heard a call from the walkie-talkie and both woke up, quietly opening a small gap to observe the situation.

  Suddenly, Luo Han called me on the single soldier frequency and said "Guang Tou Guang Tou".

  What's going on over there?

  Luohan said that if there's nothing going on, I just want to ask you. If the braised pork doesn't have any gravy, what can be eaten to give birth to a boy?

  I almost choked to death and nearly spat a mouthful of blood onto the snow beside me.

  Luohan has been making a fuss all morning and he still hasn't rested, is he still thinking about this?

  Having children depends on the pH value and chromosomes, if I remember correctly, Luohan brother, you want to have a boy, then the proportion of alkalinity is slightly higher, the probability will be greater.

  Luohan said thank you thank you brother then I can rest assured!

  In our hometown, everyone eats noodles and every household has old noodles. The key is alkaline! When I go back, I'll write a letter to my wife and ask her to eat old noodle buns every day for three years, and she will definitely give birth to a boy!

  I just can't help laughing anymore.

  Then ask Arhat you young man, your idea of preferring boys over girls is still very serious, why do you have to have a boy?

  Arhat sighed and said, "Bald head, you're a city soldier, you don't know! In our hometown, if there's a boy in the family, we can get an extra piece of land. And with labor to farm, it's easier to make a living. After you finish being a soldier and return home, you'll still be able to sing songs and find a way to live. As for me, besides being a soldier, I only know how to farm. If I don't have a son, what can I do?

  I've already calculated it, when the time comes and we have a boy, our family will get more land to take care of retired soldiers, and with the demobilization fee, I can buy a good ox and work hard for a few years. Then I'll be able to renovate our old house! And my grandmother's illness has always been untreated due to lack of money, she's just taking painkillers to hold on. I'll also be able to save up money for her medical treatment.

  I felt something was off about it.

  Luohan has never been one to talk about his hometown or family matters, especially when it comes to the elders in his household.

  What's even stranger is that Luo Han's brother never received a few letters from home, but Luo Han's brother had been writing a letter every week since he became a new soldier, and it didn't stop even when the elimination competition was at its most brutal?

  How did you bring up family matters with me today?

  I don't know if this counts as superstition?

  I feel like I'm thinking of home and family on the eve of battle, maybe something is going to happen!

  There was a brother who had always been relatively lazy and didn't like writing letters. Once before going out, he suddenly wrote three letters in one breath.

  As a result, something happened to that brother during that trip...

  Unfortunately, at that time I didn't understand this strange phenomenon, otherwise I would have gone to take a look. Who knows, maybe the Arhat brothers wouldn't...

  But I didn't know!

  I asked Brother Luo Han, what's going on with you? Your parents are at home, and in the old revolutionary base areas of Yimeng, military dependents are highly valued. What about your grandma, doesn't anyone take care of her?

  Luohan brothers suddenly said after a long silence, "Bald head, I'll tell you something that nobody else knows. Actually, I don't have a dad or mom, and I grew up eating at many different households. My parents are actually the village chief of our village, and my grandma is the old lady from the west end of the village."

  Huh?

  How can this be happening?

  Luohan brothers guessed that I felt strange and said bald head, so I'll tell you carefully now there's nothing to do anyway.

  Luohan said that his parents were voluntary to go to Yimeng old district to support education construction, so they moved the whole family there and Luohan was born in Yimeng mountain area.

  The old district has poor sanitary conditions and a hard life. Luohan's parents got sick, and after long-term exhaustion, they finally became seriously ill.

  The medical conditions in the old district are poor, but the enthusiasm is high. The whole village found 14 or 15 strong young men to carry the parents of Luohan overnight, rushing towards the outside of the mountain. All the villages along the way sent out young men to relay and the villagers all came out with lanterns and torches, illuminating the mountain road brightly.

  But still failed to save Luo Han's parents' lives.

  Luohan's hometown is empty and Luohan's parents came to support the construction of education before the unit has a bit of Tai Chi flavor anyway, for documents that argue about rules, there is a meaning of not accepting Luohan.

  The village head got angry!

  An honest and simple-minded Zhuang Han, who had never scolded anyone in his life, slammed the table, jumped up and down, cursed, then hugged the Arhat and returned to the village.

  The child's parents came from the big city to the mountain village just to prevent the children in the village from being ignorant, and they even sacrificed their lives for it. This child can't be wronged in any way!

  These were the words of the village head holding five-year-old Luo Han at a village meeting.

  The whole village then stamped their hands on a piece of toilet paper and said that even if it was just one family, they had to support the arhat and couldn't let the arhat down!

  Luohan's body is weak, the old people in the village say that it was caused by lack of milk when he was born, and they are afraid that it will ruin Luohan brothers' physical foundation in the future, so it's best to get some milk to drink and nourish him back.

  Then, the village head's daughter-in-law carried five-year-old Luo Han from house to house in the village, from the top of the village to the end, as long as there were babies at home, she would go in and take a walk.

  Those young mothers who just gave birth would pull out **from their own child's mouth and let the Arhat brothers eat their fill first.

  They say a son is his mother's heart, just watching her own child crying beside her, still nursing a five-year-old in her arms, all for the sake of giving this child some extra nutrition.

  Those young wives all had tears in their eyes and were gritting their teeth!

  After the Arhat brothers finished eating, they smiled and said thank you to Auntie, then turned around and left. Those young wives must have been holding their own babies, and fiercely stuffed ** into the child's mouth, shouting that my child has been wronged...

  The mother and daughter burst into tears together!

  The Luo Han brothers came again, and those young wives still put their children aside and let the Luo Han brothers eat first.

  The weather in the cold winter month of December had killed a head of lean nian pig, and the best 1.5 kilograms of five-flower meat were naturally all sent to the village chief's home.

  The village head's family wouldn't even touch a single star or half point, they just added a few pieces to the bowl for Luohan brothers.

  The year hasn't ended yet, but the meat is already gone.

  The Luohan brothers who had eaten their fill began to cry and make a scene.

  The village chief was anxious and went from door to door to see if anyone had any leftover meat, which would be good enough to satisfy the hunger of the Arhat brothers.

  Every family came over, but they didn't find a bit of meat floss.

  That year, a heavy snowstorm hit the mountain village, and several chickens froze to death. They were thrown into the pot and fed to their own children.

  The village chief took a rope and tied it around his waist, grabbed the shotgun and went up the mountain!

  The heavy snow in Yimeng Mountain is no less gentle than Xinjiang's snow.

  The village head returned with a frozen rabbit, the icicles on his beard crackling loudly, his face a deep purple color.

  They didn't even catch their breath before hurriedly shouting for their wives to cook pots and quickly make meat dishes for the Arhat brothers.

  The village head cannot bear the arhat's cry.

  When Luohan brothers cried, the village chief anxiously wanted to go upstairs and remove tiles.

  Poor orphan, what a miserable life!

  What's more, the parents of the child are for the children in the village...

  Watching the Arhat brothers eating deliciously, the village chief fell asleep on the edge of the stove.

  The whole body of ice had melted into water, and the icy cold water was soaking the village chief's clothes. The village chief hadn't even woken up yet!

  Autumn arrived, and all the jujube trees on the mountain turned red.

  The old granny at the west end of the village trembled and grasped a wooden stick to knock down the dates, wiped clean one by one the largest, reddest and sweetest ones, and then trembled again to deliver them to the Arhat brothers.

  The old lady said that her jujube tree was planted by the parents of the Arhat brothers.

  Those dates can't be called for anyone else to eat, they are all reserved for the Arhat brothers.

  That's what Luohan brothers' parents left for their children as a keepsake.

  The old lady watches Luohan brothers eat every year, watching Luohan brothers eating with a mouthful of honey and a sweet expression.

  As she watched, the old lady lifted her hem to wipe away tears and was about to sob out a sentence...

  What a good kid! If only his parents were around...

  New wheat has come down, and the Arhat brothers have eaten from the village head all the way to the village end.

  In every household in the village, the first pot of new wheat rice is reserved for the Arhat brothers!

  Luohan brothers said that his little belly was so spoiled by the whole village and it was so lively to eat out!

  The mountains and rivers of Yimeng nourish people, the parents and villagers of Yimeng cultivate good morals and educate people!

  The Arhat brothers grew up like this.

  Luohan brothers said they have no parents, but they are children of Yimeng Mountain area, raised by the old district!

  One should remember others' kindness and know how to repay it!

  I was listening intermittently to Luohan telling me about his hometown in Yimeng Mountain as the strong wind and snow raged on, hearing him talk about how he planned to spend his days after retiring, but my eyes were still fixed on the movements in the snowy sky, not daring to relax for a moment.

  I think, the Arhat brother who is talking with me now, is also the same...