Chapter 20 The Last Soldier·Wait

The place where Wang Qingui went after his return was the former battlefield where fourteen comrades in arms were buried.Fourteen graves stood there quietly, covered with grass.He sat down in front of his "comrades in arms" and looked at the fourteen graves, as if time had returned to before the blocking war.Fourteen comrades stood side by side in front of him, waiting for the task. Miao Deshui, Xiao Liuzi, Jiang Mazi, Xiao Pan, Liu Wendong, Hu Dazi... all familiar faces flashed before his eyes.Finally, he said to them in a hoarse voice: I'm back, come back to see you coming. At this time, his heart felt hot, his nose felt a little sore, and he said with a choked voice: Our independent regiment has been reorganized into the 182nd Division, and the team has gone south. When the team comes back, I will bring them to see you.

After speaking, tears flowed down, wetting his skirt bit by bit.He raised his right hand and gave a long military salute to fourteen comrades in arms. The autumn sun is very good, streaming down quietly, and the flowers on the grave are glowing with the last touch of greenery.Looking at these fourteen comrades-in-arms, he was a little dazed for a moment. The Independence Regiment had been their home for so many years. Now that the "home" was gone, he didn't know where to go.Before that, he had always set the goal of finding an independent group, and he kept his pace without hesitation, but what is his direction now?Where is he going?

After bidding farewell to fourteen comrades-in-arms, he wandered erratically for an unknown amount of time. When he stopped at the entrance of a village, he realized that this was the home he had been parting from for many years.The two small huts that used to be there are no longer there. Weeds are growing there, and a few unknown autumn insects are in the weeds, making their last chirps.His appearance attracted the attention of many villagers. When he left home to join the army, the half-grown baby had grown into a young man. They didn't know him, and he didn't know them either.He wanted to find a familiar face in the crowd, so he saw Yu Sanpai. When he joined the army, Yu Sanpai made two pancakes from his own pot. Looking at him with both eyes, he called out: "Yu San Dae" and walked over.Yu Sanpai looked at him blankly, and he said: Yu Sanpai, I am Xiaogui.

Yu San's father was startled, rubbed his eyes and said: You are Xiaogui, that Xiaogui who joined the army? Yu Sanpai held his hand, finally recognized him, and asked: Why are you back, where is the independent group? He said it to the third father again what he said countless times. Yu Sanpai said: So, you have nowhere to go now?Your old house has collapsed a long time ago, if you don't dislike it, you can live in my house. He couldn't stay, and he realized when he walked back to the village. He just came back to have a look. He hadn't been home once since he joined the army.Where is his current home, he himself does not know.When he appeared in front of his parents' graves in the back mountain, he realized that there was no longer his home here.Kneeling in front of his parents' graves, he called out tremblingly: "Father, mother, Xiaogui has come to see you."

Thinking of his own situation, thinking of his parents who died young, he burst into tears again. After a while, he raised his head and said again: Father, Mother, Xiao Gui is not a deserter, I am waiting for the team, and I have to follow the team, that is my home. He kowtowed three times to his parents, and when he stood up, the setting sun was falling towards him.At this time, his heart was very peaceful, and a resolution had been made.He is going to visit the parents of those comrades-in-arms who died, and tell their families and the local government the news of the comrades-in-arms, and what he will do for them.He knows the organizational procedures. In the independent regiment, every time a comrade was killed in battle, the superior would make a statistics, and then the troops would issue a certificate, which read: When and where in the battle of so-and-so killed.Then the organization will hand it over to the government of the martyr's hometown, and the local government will send a martyr certificate to the family of the deceased, which is the final result of proving a soldier.

In that blocking battle, they lost contact with the large forces. He was their platoon leader, and he was a living person. He wanted to take care of the martyr's funeral for his comrades.Wang Qinggui had a goal, and his pace became firm again.He had already memorized the home addresses of the soldiers in the platoon, and it was his job to remember the addresses of each soldier. The first thing he came to was Miao Deshui's hometown. He went to the district first, and the deputy district chief received him. Hearing that he was a comrade in the army, the deputy district chief treated him very warmly. It is pouring water.He told the deputy district chief about Miao Deshui's situation. The deputy district chief lowered his head and said after a while: "This time there is another martyr in our district."

Then the deputy district chief looked at him, he understood, and said sorry: I also lost contact with the team, and the army couldn't issue a certificate. I was the platoon leader of the martyr Miao Deshui, so I can write a certificate. The deputy district chief scratched his head and said in a very embarrassed manner: This is the first time this kind of thing has happened to me. After speaking, the deputy head went out, and came back after a while. Several leaders came back. Instead of asking about Miao Deshui, they began to ask him when he became a soldier, and who was the head and political commissar of the independent regiment. , What kind of battles have you experienced and so on.

Wang Qinggui knew that people were suspicious of him, so he recounted his own experience, as well as the last blocking battle and the process of finding the team. Several district leaders were very polite to him, but they also talked about their own difficulties in work. In the past, the proof of a martyr was first certified by the military organization, and then transferred to the local area.Miao Deshui was a martyr, but Wang Qinggui couldn't prove it. Not only could he not prove Miao Deshui, but he couldn't even prove it himself.He couldn't produce any evidence to prove his identity. The only thing he could prove was the military uniform he wore when he was in the Independence Regiment. At this time, the military uniform was in his carry-on baggage, but what could this prove?Lots of people can get their hands on this outfit.

He who left the team was like a seed that left the soil, unable to take root or germinate.Several district leaders saw his disappointment and comforted him: Comrade Wang, let’s wait together. When the team returns, we will issue a certificate. go home. It seemed that this was the only way to go. The district leader asked him to stay for a day, but he declined.He wanted to visit Miao Deshui's house. He knew that Miao Deshui's father and mother were not in good health, and his father had asthma.When he inquired and entered Miao Deshui's house, he found that the house was very quiet, as if there was no one there.When he pushed open the door of the inner room, he found a voice on the bed asking: Who is it?

Standing there, he saw a blind mother-in-law groping on the bed, this was Miao Deshui's mother.Miao Deshui's mother tentatively asked: Is Deshui back?Mother is here, is it Deshui? He felt hot and wanted to run over to call "Mother", but he couldn't speak like this. He stepped forward and said softly: "Auntie, I am not Deshui, I am Deshui's comrade-in-arms, my surname is Wang, I am Deshui Come to see you. Deshui Niang grabbed him, as if she was holding her own son, she touched his face and shoulders with her hands, and asked: You are not Deshui, where is my Deshui?

He wanted to tell the truth, but the words stopped again. He couldn't tell the story of Miao Deshui's sacrifice. He couldn't bear it, and he couldn't, so he said after a while: "Auntie, Deshui went south with the army." Deshui Niang: He has gone south, let me tell you, there is no news of Deshui for more than a year, he has gone south.Is he okay, is he fat or thin, is he hurt... Wang Qinggui couldn't answer Deshuiniang's series of questions. He could only say that he had been behind for a long time, and he didn't know the latest situation. De Shuiniang wept again, and the little surprise just now was suddenly replaced by worry.At this moment, the door squeaked, and De Shui's father came back.He gasped on the wall as soon as he entered the door, and it took him a while to say: Are you a member of the team? Wang Qinggui repeated what he had just said to Deshui Niang, and Deshui's father shook his head for a while before saying: When the team returns, you tell Deshui to go home no matter what.Deshui hadn't heard from him for more than a year, and his mother kept talking about it every day, and she was blind from crying. Wang Qinggui originally wanted to tell their relatives the news of the death of his comrades-in-arms, but he couldn't open his mouth at this time.He didn't know what to say, and he didn't know how to say it. He could only cry in his heart, for his comrades-in-arms and their parents.He originally wanted to visit the homes of his fourteen comrades-in-arms, but he changed his mind when he arrived at Miao Deshui's home.He couldn't bear to deceive their parents, but he couldn't bear to tell them the truth either.All we have to do is wait for the troops to come back and notify them. Perhaps a certificate of martyrdom will comfort them.During this period of time, give the martyr's parents some beautiful thoughts, let them miss their son in their imagination, and wait for a miracle to appear.He left Miao Deshui's home with a heavy heart. Wang Qinggui felt more bewildered and heavy than ever before.He didn't know where to go, he could only wait, waiting for the day when the team came back.