Diary: May 12, 1980 (sunny day)

Today, I met an old man while watching the pump room. I chatted with him for a long time and felt very happy. His special experience was particularly shocking. Although he lived a poor life, he still maintained a good attitude and really hoped to see him again in the future.

In a blink of an eye, it was time to plant rice again, and I was sent to see the pump room again. I knew that everyone was taking care of me, but as a soldier, I could only obey.

When the deputy squad leader and several comrades worked together to water and diversion like last time, he patted my shoulder and said, "It's very lonely to stay here alone for a day. I will send someone to deliver food to you at noon. Don't leave, the pump room is your post." After that, he took the soldiers away, leaving me alone.

Not long after I sat down, an old man who was herding cattle in the distance drove the cow to me. After seeing me, he tied the cow under a big tree and came to my pump house to enjoy the cool air.

I happened to be bored alone, so I almost said, "Hello, Mr.

The old man smiled at me and said, "Okay, borrow light to rest here."

I sat on the floor with the old man and started chatting with the old man.

"Old man, are these cows from the public or from their own?" I was still having nothing to say.

The old man took out a box of flattened cigarettes from his pocket, took out a piece of cigarettes and handed them to me: I quickly waved my hand and said, "Thank you, I don't smoke." The old man smiled and stuffed it into his mouth, took out a box of matches, and then lit it with his hands to make it a windproof shape and took a deep breath. A wisp of blue smoke slowly floated out of his mouth and nose.

Then the old man took off an old military kettle with old colors from his waist and told me if I wanted to have a sip. I patted my own kettle and said, "Godong, Gudong" to me. Then the old man took a few big sips by himself, and said slowly with the back of his hand: "It was originally a public official, but now I have bought it for reform and I have taken out all my life's money."

I asked tentatively: "Old man, I don't seem to be a local person with your accent. How did you come here?"

Maybe my words touched the old man's sadness. He stared into the distance without answering. I had a premonition that the old man might have a difficult time hiding, so I hurried to change the topic and said: "How old are you this year, Mr.?"

The old man stretched out his finger to make a six-son first, and then to make a horoscope. I guessed: "Age 68, right?"

The old man then smiled and said, "Young man, are you twenty?"

I nodded and said, "It's exactly twenty years old."

The old man spitted out smoke rings and said slowly: "I was twenty years old, and I was also in the army that year..."

I looked at the old-fashioned kettle on the waist of the veteran in confusion and asked, "Have you used this kettle in wars?"

The old man untied the kettle and stroked it gently and said, "Yes, I have been with me for the rest of my life and I am my good partner."

Perhaps because I was not familiar with me, and the old man had a hard time talking, we didn't talk too much. He often looked at the grazing cows silently, lit a cigarette, and took a sip of water. I sat on the concrete floor and looked at him, and no one spoke too much.

It was noon, and Zhang Xin came to deliver the meal again. I held the lunch box in my hand and asked the old man: "Uncle, how did you solve the problem of lunch? Why don't you go back to eat? I'll help you see the cows. Anyway, I've never left here."

Zhang Xin also said to the old man happily: "Yes, I'm here, don't worry, go away."

The old man smiled brightly with his mouth that had lost his front teeth. He took out a black-looking cake from his waist bag and said to us, "I have dry food, you can eat it, young man."

Zhang Xin looked at the cake in the old man's hand and said, "How come you eat so much? Why don't I go back and get you a few steamed buns."

The old man waved his hand and said, "No need, thank you comrades in the People's Liberation Army."

I urged Zhang Xin to go back for lunch, and Zhang Xin sat on the ground and said, "I'll be here to accompany you. I'll go back as soon as the wake-up call sounds."

The old man suddenly interrupted: "Lunch break is a good habit. Those who serve in the army must maintain their physical strength. Rest is very important."

Ha, just by these few words, I concluded that he must have been a soldier with a very background in the past. Could it be an old Kuomintang soldier? Well, that's right, it must be.

In order to confirm my judgment, I decided to test him. I asked modestly: "Old man, you are an old senior. Who do you think is better than us soldiers now and the old soldiers before the liberation?"

Sure enough, when the old man mentioned these topics, he became interested. He straightened his back and said, "The times are different. If the discipline is strict and you do not violate them, you are all very good at the People's Liberation Army. But it is not like the national army in the movie, all of which are scattered soldiers and gangsters. Strictly speaking, the national army is also very strict and brave in war."

At this moment, I firmly believe in my judgment, otherwise why did he become a national army as soon as he spoke, not a Kuomintang army, but there must be a hidden secret here that the old man cannot say.

Thinking of this, I asked respectfully: "Mr., you must have fought a war before. If you have time, tell me the story of your war."

Zhang Xin was excited and shouted that the old man should speak quickly.

Obviously the old man was still worried, so he wanted to speak but stopped, and finally waved his hand and didn't say anything.

The wake-up call rang, and Zhang Xin left with regret on his face. He took care of me before leaving. If the old man told me a story, he would definitely tell him the story after he went back, otherwise he would not deliver me food tomorrow.

Zhang Xin left, and we were in a state of silence again. Only the cicadas on the branches were chirping, and the cows were also lying by the river to rest. This was at the air outlet at the bottom of my pump room, and the splashing water just fell on the cows. No wonder the old man was going to come here to herd the cows.

The old man glanced at me and asked, "Are the young man a recruit?"

I nodded slightly and the old man said slowly, "Do you want to hear my story?"

I looked at the old man and said softly, "It's up to you. If you want to tell me, I'm willing to listen. My dad is also a veteran and I'm not unfamiliar with the stories of war."

Oh, the old man turned his head and looked at me and asked, "Which unit is your dad from?"

I said carefully: "The New Fourth Army, later it was from Huaye and the Third Field."

The old man smiled strangely and said, "I may have fought a war with your dad, do you believe it?"

I smiled slightly and replied: "I know, you are the national army. My father has fought the Huaihai Battle and the Crossing River Battle, and the Shanghai Battle. If you have participated in these battles, hehe, maybe you are really an opponent."

The old man stared at me for a long time and said, "Young man, you are a descendant of a soldier. You are very smart. I know you can't hide it from you. But my history is not glorious, and I have suffered a lot in my life. I usually don't want to mention it."

The old man lit a cigarette and took a deep breath and spit out the smoke, and slowly opened the conversation: "I am from the Central Plains, my hometown is Kaifeng, Henan. I have fought a war with the Japanese devils, and we have also contributed to the victory of the War of Resistance."

The old man continued: "After the War of Resistance Against Japan, we all wanted to live a good life of peace, but the civil war between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party broke out again. We were soldiers and obeying orders as our duty. So we fought with Jiang and your father for more than three years, but in 1949, when Jiang Zemin stepped down and returned to his hometown in Fenghua, we were transferred to defend Jiang Zemin... When Jiang Zemin fled to Taiwan, I happened to be sick and hospitalized but couldn't leave. After liberation, I wanted to go back to my hometown, but it was not easy to have an identity like me. I was arrested and sentenced to more than ten years in prison. After I was released, I was almost fifty and I had no face to go back to my hometown. Don't harm my family anymore. Forget it, the government later sent me here as a four-type transformed member to receive re-education, and I took root here."

I asked tentatively: "Then are you always alone or have a family?"

The old man stared into the distance and said, "I have a wife and children in my hometown. After liberation, I broke off my relationship with me. After the release, the Cultural Revolution was beaten again and almost died. It's better to be alone, otherwise I would have implicated my family."

I still asked unwillingly: "Then the four-man gang is now, have they not come to you in your hometown? "

The old man sighed and said, "Hey, just because I, a few children joining the army and going to college, I have brought them too much pain and misfortune. Anyway, I have not been alive for a few years, so this old bone is ready to be buried here."

That afternoon, I chatted with my husband for a long time. Many times I listened to his story quietly. Looking at his weathered face, my heart was also very complicated. The old man looked very kind and had a gentle personality. Although he didn't say much on the surface, I could strongly feel that when he was young, he must have been a very bloody and masculine soldier. It was just that the years passed and objects made him silent. Meeting me today may be the time he talked to others the most after he was liberated. In this sense, we are friends for ages.

When I was about to say goodbye to the old man, Zhang Xin rushed over again. He handed the old man a few big steamed buns and said, "Old man, I'll give you this steamed bun. I want to thank you for yours. I took it out in his name."

When I heard this, I hurriedly said to the old man: "My uncle, don't worry, take it back. This steamed bun is for me. Can't I eat it if I'm hungry?" After that, I stuffed it into the old man's bag.

At that moment, the old man looked at both of us, his eyes were a little wet. He said nothing, waved his hand and drove the cow away.

I shouted to the old man: "Old man, I'll be here tomorrow, I'll wait for you."

The old man turned around and smiled at me, revealing a few macular teeth missing from the front teeth.

Somehow, I actually lost insomnia that night. I didn't fall asleep for a long time. The old man's figure repeatedly appeared in my mind. When it was almost dawn, I was awakened by a violent sound of artillery fire. When I rubbed my eyes, I saw my father in PLA uniform and the old man in KMT uniform were fighting each other. Suddenly, two gunshots and both fell down at the same time.

I wiped my sweat off and stared blankly into the direction of the pump room outside the window.

The old man did not come the next day. Zhang Xin had asked the people in the nearby villages and said that he was sick and wanted to go see the old man when he had time, but he had never had the chance to go. Later, I transferred my job and left the logistics company, and never saw him again.
Chapter completed!