Chapter 47 Section VI

In the winter of 1938, after dozens of days of bloody and bloody days, the legendary team called the Red Army fell into the bloody memory of Ping'an County like the white snow drifting away from the Qilian Mountains. It was also that winter, when the New Year was approaching, Lu Xiang, who had waded through the wars and floods in the south, returned to Ping'an County, and he and his camel were unscathed.When the neighbors heard that Lu Xiang had brought back a female doll who could grind tofu and sing Henan opera, they all came to have a look.They were very curious, there is actually a Henan opera in the world that is completely different from the Qin opera they have heard, what kind of accent it should be!

The Red Army female soldier who was living in the county—the beauty of Tianshui also came, holding her big fat son who had just turned one month in her arms.Liu Yingchun sang "Mulan", and Tianshui Beauty sang along. Tianshui beauty really lived a small life with Luo Zhong's nephew Shunzi in the county town, but she never mentioned her past, as if her first half of her life was cut off at the moment of getting married while wearing a red hijab.At this time, the neighbors knew that Tianshui Meiren was born in an opera troupe, and she learned to sing operas while traveling around to perform since she was a child. It is not known how she joined the Red Army.The beauty of Tianshui can not only sing Henan Opera, Qin Opera, and Huagu Opera, but also make noodles and pickled cucumbers from her hometown. The model housewife of the county.Therefore, the neighbors quickly accepted this foreign woman. Almost at the moment when she successfully gave birth to a son, everyone cut off her present and past, and completely regarded her as a local.

In the next few years, Liu Yingchun learned a lot of housekeeping skills from Tianshui Beauty.After Liu Yingchun grew up, she married Lu Xiang as a matter of course.Liu Yingchun—that is, the Lu Liu family is indeed a good housekeeper. She not only helped Lu Xiang open a grocery store on the most prosperous East Street in the county, but also gave birth to a son for him.The year is not good, and the business of the grocery store is very slow, but it can basically maintain the most ordinary life of the family. In addition, Lu Xiang already has a little savings in his hand, so he doesn't have to go back and forth to other provinces.When he was nearly fifty years old, he finally lived the long-awaited good life.

However, Liu Yingchun never thought that their good days would be fleeting. One summer, on an ordinary afternoon, Lu Xiang was in his family's grocery store, taking care of the increasingly weak business as dusk approached.Mrs. Lu Liu was also sitting at the counter, holding her son Lu Siyu, who had just turned 100 days, in her arms. When Lu Xiang was free, she would chat with him. An old man came in and bought a pack of tobacco.The shredded tobacco is processed and shredded by Lu Xiang himself. It looks rough, but the price is much cheaper than the finished shredded tobacco.In the eyes of those old men who smoke, as long as the tobacco leaves are authentic, whether the cut tobacco is fine or not does not affect them to enjoy it when they are basking in the sun on the street or listening to a play at night. The stomach spit out again, they recognized the price.Therefore, the shredded tobacco processed by Lu Xiang sells well in the county.

Another housewife came in to buy vinegar and bought a penny for a copper coin.The vinegar sold by Lu Xiang is not measured by weight, but by two raisins, one large and one small, made of white iron. The big one is two copper coins, and the small one is one copper coin, which is very affordable.Moreover, the vinegar he sells is authentic Xiliang mature vinegar, which is brewed with wheat, and he never adds water to the vinegar tank.This kind of vinegar tastes good, is durable, and will not grow white flowers and become moldy after a long time, so it is very popular among housewives. Another old lady with a child came in and bought a piece of toilet paper and a sheep felt hat.Because the hat was out of season early, Lu Xiang lowered the price, and the old woman bought one for her grandson by the way.The hat was too big on the child's head, dangling like a pot lid.But the old woman said it didn't matter, she saved it for her grandson to wear next winter.Before they left the counter, Lu Xiang gave the child another small packet of candy.The old woman took her grandson and walked away happily.

For a long time, no one came into the store. "Should we close early today?" Lu Liu asked the man softly while patting the child in his arms.The child fell asleep, with a round face showing a pink flush.She liked that little face so much, she always wanted to kiss her.But she was afraid of waking the child up, so she could only look at him quietly, not wanting to look away for a minute, even when she was talking to her man, she was still reluctant to raise her head. Lu Xiang, who was free, also came over to look at the pink baby. He squatted in front of the child and said to the woman: "Business is done by keeping it. The small things in our shop look good, but they can't make much money. I have thought about it. When the child grows up and you can let go, I will hand over the grocery store to you. I will open another silk shop and sell silk from the south. We must make good money for our son. I'm going to marry a wife!" The two imagined a happy life in the future.

The child in his arms suddenly half-opened his eyes and cried, as if he was hungry.Liu Yingchun urinated the baby, then sat in a corner behind the counter, turned her back and lifted up her skirt to feed the baby. "You'd better take your son home first, and help your mother cook the rice, and then bake some pancakes. I'm going to Liangzhou to buy goods tomorrow. I'll go back after I finish my inventory." Lu Xiang looked at his wife exposed A section of white and plump waist outside the clothes said.He didn't like that she didn't care about anything after giving birth like other women, and she was even used to breastfeeding her baby on the street.But he couldn't say it out of his mouth, he could only find a reason to send her home.

When Liu Yingchun got up and left with the child in his arms, Lu Xiang watched from a distance through the window for a while, then took out the abacus and sat at the counter to settle the accounts. The sound of crackling the abacus beads pierced the golden sunset. It was getting dark and the shops on the street were closed.After Lu Xiang settled the bill, he sat at the door and smoked a cigarette he rolled with shredded tobacco, and was about to close the shop and go home.There are hot soup, hot noodles and hot kang head waiting for him at home. At this time, he feels extremely happy and comfortable in life.

However, Lu Xiang, who was fixing the door of the grocery store, suddenly heard gunshots.When he was young, he had seen the bloody and chaotic world outside, but he didn't know that this situation would be repeated in the remote county town.The gunshots became denser and closer.Lu Xiang froze for a moment, knowing that something was wrong.He could have hid in the grocery store, but thought that his wife and children might still be on their way home, so he ran out into the street.Although Lu Xiang, who was running along the street, was not sure what happened, he knew that guns have no eyes.In these turbulent years, he had already dug a cellar in his yard where he could hide. He wanted his wife, children and old mother to hide safely.

The sparse pedestrians on the street ran in a panic, or got into the alleys, or hid in the shops that hadn't had time to close. Lu Xiang stopped running suddenly, stood there for a few seconds, fell to the ground like a log, and never got up again.He was hit by a stray bullet. It turned out that a wave of well-armed bandits suddenly swarmed into Ping'an County, and many shops on the street were looted and turned into ashes amidst gunfire and flames.Among them is Lu Xiang's small grocery store. In the early years, although the bandits in the Hexi area made a lot of noise, they usually hibernated in the traffic arteries and attacked passing business travelers, and retreated after they robbed them.Even if they took the initiative to attack residential areas, they would attack the defenseless villages, never daring to disturb the capital of a county, so the officials in charge of public security could turn a blind eye, and they got many opportunities for survival and development.However, from the beginning of 1948, the bandits suddenly became rampant, even daring to fight the regular army guarding the county government.Their audacity is of course influenced by the current situation.

Most of the county defenders were selected from the local armed forces. When some well-informed superiors from the regular army quietly arranged for their families to prepare for evacuation, rumors spread that the accompanying capital of Chongqing would also be abandoned.In order to stabilize the morale of the army, the radio station lectures every day, saying that the national army will definitely use the Yangtze River to fight tenaciously. Even if the Yangtze River defense line is really breached, the government's withdrawal is a strategic and tactical need, and it is temporary. Make a big counterattack.Amidst the rumble of artillery in the east and south, the defenders of the county town did not quite believe that the "appropriate counterattack opportunity" would really come.As a result, the defenders also followed the example of their superiors and began to prepare retreats for their families and property.Therefore, the bandits did not meet much resistance when they attacked the county seat. They seemed to be in and out of no one's land, venting their last madness in the chaotic situation of changing the world.