Who taught you to be a recruit like this?

Chapter 696 It is Zhao Pengfei’s blessing to have a comrade like you

"Pengfei, kowtow to your elders!"

There is an open space halfway up the mountain.

There are four graves standing on the open space.

In front of the tomb is a bluestone tablet with the names and dates of birth engraved on it. They are all ancestors of the Zhao family.

One of them is Zhao Haiguo’s father, and the other three are his brothers.

If they were still alive, Zhao Pengfei would call them Great Grandpa, Second Grandpa, and Third Grandpa.

Zhao Haiguo is the youngest of the four brothers and the only one who survived the battlefield full of artillery fire.

Zhao Pengfei knelt on the ground and kowtowed three times in front of each grave in turn.

Then they poured white wine and burned paper money to commemorate them.

"Dad, brother, have you seen it? Pengfei has made it big and has become an officer in the army."

"He's a captain, in charge of a hundred men, and he looks so impressive."

"Did you see his uniform? It's called desert camouflage. There's also jungle camouflage..."

In front of the tombstones, old man Zhao Haiguo said a lot of words to each tombstone.

His eyes were red as he spoke, and he couldn't help but shed tears because of his deep emotions.

He talked about the war years, the post-liberation era, the volunteer army, and many things that happened later...

Zhao Pengfei stood there quietly, like a sculpture, with a very complicated mood.

Qin Feng, Li Jiasheng and Qi Meng stood aside, looking at the still burning paper money, their thoughts in a frenzy.

Later, they learned from Zhao Pengfei that there were actually no corpses buried in these four graves, but they were just cenotaphs.

At that time, there was chaos and war, and human life was worthless. No one knew how many people would die when a shell hit. Because the troops on both sides were in disarray, no one could tell who was who, and no one knew which way to escape.

In addition, Zhao Haiguo was too young at that time, so he was unable to bring back the remains of his loved ones from the battlefield.

As for whether their names were in the martyrs' cemetery, Zhao Haiguo was not sure.

In that era, many people used nicknames like Erdan, Goushuan, and Tiewa.

So it is normal that no one knows of their existence even if their names are not left behind.

Later, Zhao Haiguo built this cenotaph for them to commemorate them.

After listening to Zhao Pengfei's story, Qin Feng felt heavy-hearted and a little apologetic.

He originally thought that the old man was reluctant to leave because of his twilight romance.

But now it seems that he was superficial.

What Mr. Zhao Haiguo really can’t bear to let go of is the longing for his loved ones.

If I really move to the city, I will have fewer and fewer opportunities to come and visit.

After arriving at the foot of the mountain, Qin Feng couldn't help but look up at the mountain.

Zhao Haiguo wanted to talk to his relatives for a while, so he asked them to go down the mountain first.

Qin Feng said, "Old squad leader, when you joined the army, were you influenced by your grandfather?"

Zhao Pengfei nodded: "Yes, I have known since I was a child that men of Yan State must protect their country."

"At that time, my grandfather would take me to the mountain to worship once a year, but we would just burn some money and then leave."

"Never before have we spoken so much and talked about so many things as today."

"This is the first time I've heard so much about our Zhao family's martyrs."

Qin Feng smiled: "It can be seen that your grandfather is indeed very proud of you."

"Whenever you have time in the future, come back and visit the old man more often."

"At this age, you can actually calculate how old you'll be when you meet again in the future."

“Don’t let companionship become a regret.”

Zhao Pengfei nodded and said that if he had any holidays in the future, he would definitely come back more often.

Let grandpa better understand the changes in the army and show him his own military medals.

Bring him some soldier's rations so he can taste the army's current emergency food.

You can also bring back your old camouflage uniforms and give them to your grandfather to wear.

In short, if he can see all kinds of new discoveries and new developments in the army, he will be very happy.

……

It was past six in the evening and it was almost dark.

In an open space at the entrance of the village, music was playing from a loud speaker.

After dinner, many old men and women in the village who had nothing to do ran to dance square dance.

Nowadays, life in rural areas is much better than before. Electricity has become a basic configuration in every village, and leisure life is much better than in the early years when people had to go to bed as soon as dark.

At this time, the most popular square dance song "Little Apple" was playing in the front of the square.

Zhao Haiguo changed into a neat set of clothes, holding two big red fans in his hands, swaying left and right, his eyes darting around with the movement of the fans.

"Everyone, pay attention to my movements. When it's the first tap, the fan goes this way. When it's the second tap, the head turns this way. Come on, everyone, follow my movements and do it together."

"You are mine, little apple, da da, yes, that's it."

"No matter how much I love you, it's never too much, Erdada, that's right..."

As the teaching ended, cheerful music sounded.

Zhao Haiguo led a group of old ladies in singing and dancing happily.

Zhao Pengfei was standing on a ridge not far away. His eyes widened when he saw this scene.

He remembers that his grandfather didn’t have this hobby before?

When did he develop this habit? How come he jumps so vigorously?

Qin Feng watched Zhao Haiguo dancing while exchanging glances with a group of old ladies.

Covering my face with my hands, I felt like a completely different person from when I was burning paper on the mountain in the afternoon.

At first, he thought that the old man was unwilling to leave because he had feelings for the old lady Liu next door.

Then, I felt that he was reluctant to leave his brothers and elders in the mountains, and felt that he would be lonely without them.

And now, Qin Feng finally understood everything. This old man was having too much fun here. The whole village was his concern. How could he be willing to go to the county town and stay in a commercial house?

Qin Feng offered advice: "I think it's better not to persuade your grandfather. Let's reinforce the house and let him live here. It's much better than living in the county town where no one knows each other."

Zhao Pengfei was also ready to give up. He was already at such an age, so he should just do whatever made him happy.

If you force it too much, it will backfire. After all, grandpa has worked hard all his life and he deserves to enjoy himself.

......

Early the next morning, several people prepared to bid farewell to the old man and pack up to return to the army.

Everyone was packing up their things in the house. Qin Feng had finished packing his things ahead of time and was looking at the mountain scenery in the yard.

Although there are many inconvenient places in the countryside, the air and scenery are really good. Although he has only been here for one day, Qin Feng feels like his heart has completely calmed down.

This is the pastoral idyll, poetry and distant places that many young people working hard in big cities yearn for.

This made him think of what the Eastern Jin poet Tao Yuanming wrote: Picking chrysanthemums under the eastern fence, I leisurely see the southern mountains.

[Reading Comprehension: What kind of emotion does the author Tao Yuanming want to express through this poem? (10 points)]

"Xiao Qin."

"Grandpa Zhao, what's wrong?"

"I cooked some tea eggs. You can take them with you on the way."

"This, this is too much, you can't even carry it?"

Qin Feng was shocked by the size of the bag of tea eggs.

Zhao Haiguo smiled and said, "Take the extra eggs back to the unit and share them with Pengfei's comrades. These are all free-range eggs collected in the village, not imported eggs. You can't even eat them in the army if you want to."

Qin Feng couldn't bear to let down the old Red Army soldier's heavy friendship, so he accepted it on behalf of Zhao Pengfei and brought it back for everyone to try.

"Okay, then I'll accept it on behalf of our leader."

"Okay, young man, stop calling me Chief. I know you're not Zhao Pengfei's soldier. When I went to help you clean up the house yesterday, I saw that you're a lieutenant colonel."

"Forehead......"

Qin Feng was a little embarrassed. He felt that he had hidden it very well.

So, did this old man rummage through his luggage?

"When Pengfei called me a few years ago when he was leading new recruits, he always mentioned one of them."

"He said he brought with him a very good soldier, even better than him. That soldier's name is Qin Feng."

"So I guess you should be the one that Pengfei mentioned at the time, the outstanding soldier he trained."

"In peacetime, getting promoted from a recruit to lieutenant colonel in just two or three years is as difficult as building a rocket. Of course, in our time, it wouldn't be impossible for you to be a division commander or even a corps commander at your age, but times have changed..."

Qin Feng didn't say anything, just looked at the old senior and listened to him carefully.

Zhao Haiguo patted Qin Feng's arm and said with a smile, "Keep going, young man. Zhao Pengfei is lucky to have a soldier like you, a comrade-in-arms like you, and finally a soldier like you. It is his blessing, and it is also a blessing for our Zhao family."

"You still have a long way to go, but don't let up. Never forget that behind you are the lights of thousands of homes."

Qin Feng raised his arm and saluted vigorously: "Yes, senior. The PLA will always be loyal to the motherland, loyal to the people, and will always serve the people!!"