Chapter 9 Chapter 09

Eat, no words. Back to the house, no words. One hour lunch break, nothing to say. All afternoon, nothing was said. In the afternoon, the class number rang loudly, and Zhao Lin waited for the instructor to go to the newspaper room again, so he picked up the thrown newspaper.He inexplicably wanted to press that piece of paper under his pillow, as if he wanted to keep a rare document.However, for the whole afternoon, the instructor made an exception and didn't go out anymore, staying together in the confinement hut, lying on his side facing the wall and not moving. When the instructor didn't move, Zhao Lin stepped out of the hut and entered the newspaper room of the battalion headquarters.It turns out that the newsroom of the battalion headquarters has a name but no real reality. There are two empty rooms with several slogans on the walls, such as knowledge is power, learning is beautiful, etc. famous quotes, written in imitation of Song Dynasty characters on red paper. superior.In the middle of the room is a pair of ping-pong cases, which are dilapidated and broken, and are used as newspaper desks.And on this table, there is no magazine, except for the "Liberation Army Daily" in the newspaper folder, nothing else.

Zhao Lin walked over and flipped through the folder of newspapers. There was a thin stack of old and new newspapers from September to October, all of which were in it. Needless to say, the newspapers and magazines of the battalion were all in the battalion chief's personal room , Occasionally there is an extra one, and the correspondent will remember to put it in this newspaper folder.Zhao Lin wanted to find some more news about Sino-Vietnamese relations, but he couldn't find it.There are more than 20 newspapers, not a single page is missing, and almost every page has a report hole where someone has cut off the article. On some pages, five pieces of articles can be cut off, and one newspaper is as rotten as a child's diaper.

In the past few days, the instructor was able to stay in this room and read the newspaper!Zhao Lin was amazed all over his body for a moment, and he couldn't figure it out, an old military newspaper you read every day, what other articles do you never get tired of reading?With a thick layer of pale yellow confusion printed on his face, Zhao Lin came out of the newspaper room and stood beside the sentinel looking at the sky.The sun is already westward, and the sunlight is purple.There are patches of white clouds in the sky, not the kind of clouds that are about to rain.This cloud is as white as jade, translucent and smooth, much like glass fine velvet kneaded together.The sentinel was drawn from the first company, saying that the company commander doesn't read newspapers?Don't read it, the company commander said that the instructor reads the newspaper here every day?The sentinel said he reads the newspaper here every day.The newsroom was at the easternmost end of the battalion dormitory, and the confinement room was on the west side of the room, with a distance of only 50 meters between them.The sentinels generally swim within these fifty meters.Zhao Lin swam back and forth with the sentinel and saw the battalion commander approaching from a distance, so he entered the hut and closed the door, confining himself.

The instructor is still lying on the bed. speechless. Still nothing. The crumpled newspaper was still thrown behind the door. After dinner, the late-autumn day is scattered with leisure and excitement.It's Saturday again, and it's customary to use the rural area as a block, where soldiers who talk nonsense gather.Xia Luo died for a whole week, the case was closed, and the head of the regiment and the battalion did not talk to them again.No one knows where the case has come.The confined hut looked extremely depressing on a Saturday night.The freedom and liveliness outside came like waves.The hut is like a small boat moored by the sea at night, or a lonely old house on the coast.The autumn air at night squeezed in through the gaps in the doors and windows, bringing a little freshness into the dullness of the room.Zhao Lin sat on the bed, staring at the ball of newspaper behind the door.Instructor Gao Baoxin was lying on the bed, staring at a black spot on the wall.Sentinels paced back and forth outside the door.Staring at the window carefully, you can vaguely see the dark blue sky outside under the bright light.The silence in the room was like a pool of motionless water, drowning Zhao Lin and the instructor.Zhao Lin felt that he was about to be drowned by the water, and his whole body sank inch by inch, as if the water had reached his neck, and if he didn't open his mouth to call out, he would be unable to call for help for the rest of his life, and would surely sink into the water Go and drown.At this time, even if you can't call out, you must grab something so that you don't sink into the water in the end.He was staring at the bundle of newspapers behind the door with his chin tilted.The newspaper was like a plank floating on the water, slowly swaying towards him in the slight wind.He finally couldn't bear it anymore and got up to pick up the ball of newspapers.

Zhao Lin pulled the newspaper away in a hurry, and then froze for a moment.The article that touched his heart and lungs was gone, and a square hole was cut out in the newspaper.Zhao Lin turned around, stared at the instructor on the bed, and said to himself: "Who cut that article?" The instructor folded up, as if talking to himself. "I cut it." Zhao Lin turned back and sat down where he was, still talking to himself. "What did you cut it for?" The instructor fished out a large envelope from the pillow. "Educational materials...do you still read it?"

Zhao Lin moved his butt into the bed. "Bored, want to see." The instructor threw the envelope over and made a loud sound.Zhao Lin opened the envelope and took out a stack of newspaper clippings, big and small, all square or rectangular.The largest piece of the article was the one he wanted, and the smallest piece was like a fingertip, and the contents of these clippings were all about Sino-Vietnamese relations.So Zhao Lin suddenly woke up, and the instructor has been sluggish in the newspaper room for the past few days.It turned out to be for this.The news and reports on the development of Sino-Vietnamese relations accompanied him through this time of confinement.The instructor marked the number, registration and date on the upper right corner of each newspaper clipping.Zhao Lin followed the numbers of the newspaper clippings and read them one by one.

The first newspaper clipping was less than a hundred characters long. The title was "Vietnamese Senior Delegation Will Visit China" and the content was "According to Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, October 31, at the invitation of General Secretary Jiang Zemin of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and Premier Li Peng of the State Council, the Communist Party of Vietnam General Secretary of the Central Committee Du Mai and Chairman of the Vietnamese Council of Ministers Vu Van Kiet will lead a high-level Vietnamese delegation to pay an official visit to China from November 5th to 9th." The following newspaper clippings are enlarged, and the topics are in order:

"Introduction to Du Mai, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam" "Introduction to Chairman Vu Van Kiet of the Council of Ministers of Vietnam" "The Abnormal Development of Non-governmental Trade on the Sino-Vietnamese Border" "Self-defense and counterattack hero in the past, today's wealth model" "Senior delegation of the Communist Party of Vietnam Arrives in Beijing Today" "Vietnam-China high-level meeting is of great significance" "Talks between Jiang Zemin and Du Mei"

"Li Peng Talks with Wu Wenjie" "Yang Shangkun meets Du Meiwu Wenjie" "China and Vietnam Sign Trade Agreement and Interim Agreement on Handling Border Affairs" "Senior leaders of China and Vietnam jointly believe that the development of China-Vietnam relations has gained a new beginning" "Vietnamese High-Level Delegation Concludes Visit to China and Returns Home" The "Sino-Vietnamese Joint Communiqué" is the last one in the instructor's clipping envelope.Zhao Lin read it again, tidied up the clippings, stuffed them into an envelope, and returned them to the instructor.He said why are you cutting these?When the instructor said the materials, Zhao Lin went back to the bed and lay down on the bed, not to ask any more questions.The room immediately fell into silence again, as if they suddenly remembered that they hadn't spoken to each other for several days, and it was not worth talking about newspaper clippings for some reason, so they quickly withdrew themselves into the silent water to soak.

no live. The lights are bright. There was no sound in the room.The small door was tightly closed, and the sound from outside squeezed in, and soon drowned in the silence of the room.The instructor stared at the crack in the wall as usual.Company commander Zhao Lin looked sideways at the concrete floor.When he was kneeling in front of the head of the regiment, he had pinched an ant to death with his knees, and now he regretted it, otherwise he could have stared at the ant, watched what the ant picked up, and crawled towards it.The ant ran far away, what can be used to stop him.He really wanted to find another black ant on the ground, his eyes were sore, his gaze was as dull as a stick of wood, but he couldn't find a single ant.The instructor didn't know when he started looking at the clippings again, and he didn't know which one he was looking at. It looked like there was some code hidden in that clipping, and he was determined to decipher the code from the text.

The company commander stopped looking for ants.He picked up half a newspaper that had been cut by the instructor and read it with the same enjoyment as the instructor.The Minister of Defense of Iraq was dismissed by President Saddam Hussein, but the Minister of Defense is Saddam Hussein's son-in-law. Two weeks ago, Saddam also awarded the Medal of Honor to the son-in-law, and personally handed over the shining golden light The medal hangs on the chest of the son-in-law.The entire Iraqi people believed that this son-in-law, the Minister of Defense who was honored in times of crisis, was Saddam's undoubted successor, but within half a month, he was dismissed by his father-in-law.Interesting, really interesting.The Iraqi army must be as messy as maggots in the toilet. Everyone wants to climb up, but the urinal is so high and slippery that no one can climb it, and everyone has to slide down, so they pile up in the pool and compete for it. , squirming.He recalled the riddle given by his elementary school Chinese teacher: a city in four directions, where ten thousand soldiers are stationed—what do you say?It's maggots!The whole class roared with laughter.Zhao Lin wanted to laugh just thinking about it.He didn't know why when he saw this international current affairs report, he always thought of this riddle, a city in a square, and 10,000 soldiers lived there... The lights out sounded. As if there was no need to keep silent since they were on the phone, the instructor listened to the light-off signal, put away the newspaper clippings and pressed them under the pillow. "Are you still watching?" "Turn it off." The instructor pulled the switch, and the cabin was pitch black, and there was the sound of the two unbuttoning and undressing in the dark.Next, they each lay down on the bed, and the room became quiet again.In the hazy night outside the window, silent news seeps in.The room began to sway with faint light, and each other could see each other's bed, like a ship stranded at night.The dim night is like the boundless sea receding into the distance.The wind is gone, the waves are gone, the stars and the moon are all dissolved in a blurred sea, and the reefs that are visible during the day are also dissolved into the calm water in the night.There is no night call of seabirds, no fishy algae smelling like seaweed, no bright daylight, and no dazzling colors under the sun.All that remains is soft tranquility.Time, like the hazy moonlit night soaking them, quietly flowed through the window, floated past their bed, and quietly flowed through the crack of the door.In this peaceful tranquility, people are as relaxed as floating, and as unbearable as floating, and finally have words as natural as flowing water. The company commander said: "I don't understand the trouble, we are on good terms with Vietnam again." The instructor said: "I always suffer from insomnia and can't fall asleep." The company commander said, "You were talking in your sleep the night before yesterday, last night." The instructor said: "I was in a daze and seemed to be asleep again." The company commander said, "You spoke very clearly in your dream." The instructor asked, "What did you say?" The company commander said: "You call your old platoon leader's name." The instructor said: "When I fall asleep, I always dream that his head is bloodied on my head, which makes me sweat a lot when I fall asleep." The company commander asked, "Has he been dead for more than ten years?" The instructor said: "Twelve years." The company commander said: "That shell was too miserable..." The instructor said: "It's really, really miserable." The company commander said: "Now we are on good terms with Vietnam again." "Du Mei and Wu Wenjie visited Beijing for five days," said the instructor. The company commander said: "The joint communiqué was signed. I was shocked when I read it in the toilet." The instructor said: "There are eleven articles in the communiqué." The company commander said: "It's okay to fight, fight when you fight, fight well, fight again when you're okay, fight again when you fight, fight again... I don't understand." The instructor said: "The reason for fighting yesterday is to reconcile today." The company commander said, "It's okay to think about it." The instructor said: "Old Zhao, did you get hurt in that row?" said the company commander. "The shrapnel is still on my waist, and it hurts when it's windy or rainy." The instructor said, "It still hurts after twelve years?" The company commander said, "It still hurts." The instructor said: "It still hurts that you haven't applied for a disabled military certificate." The company commander said: "I can't find any units for disabled soldiers to transfer jobs." The instructor said: "Indeed. I have seen disabled soldiers who have been transferred from work in our county. They are bored, either drinking or cursing." The company commander said, "Actually, your injury is not serious." said the instructor. "The bullet pierced two holes and left four scars." The company commander said, "Seriously, Gao, what are you cutting those newspapers for?" The instructor said, "Why do you always ask about this...information?" The company commander said: "Fucking materials, it always reminds people of the past." The instructor said: "I am engaged in political work, so I must have materials." The company commander asked: "What do you think of the Sino-Vietnamese peace?" The instructor said, "Very good. What do you think?" The company commander said: "I also think it's very good. We can't manage the affairs of the country, so there are good reasons, and there are good reasons." The instructor said: "We can't even manage a company well." The company commander said: "Grandma, where is the investigation of Xia Luo's case? We can't always hang us here." The instructor said: "It's over." The company commander asked: "Finished the investigation?" The instructor said: "It's over." The company commander asked: "What's the problem with the investigation?" The instructor said: "No one knows why he committed suicide." The company commander said, "I think he's tired of being a soldier." The instructor said, "He has only been a soldier for less than a year, what's the trouble?" The company commander said: "I have a relative who was a second lieutenant platoon leader when he was a soldier in the northeast. When he was shooting a target, he told the company commander that being a soldier was really boring. The company commander said it was boring and you died. He drew his gun and shot himself in the temple. .” The instructor said: "Crap." The company commander said: "Really. My relative, a student officer, has read a lot of books. He can make the regiment leader stunned for a while when he brags about war." said the instructor. "What about the company commander?" said the company commander. "Sentenced to one year." The instructor said: "Xia Sunset didn't die because of this." The company commander said: "He is a hairy kid, and he just bent the boat for a while, so I can't think about it." The instructor said: "Old Zhao, does the head of the group mean not to deal with your job change?" The company commander said, "It's hard to say, it depends on why Xia Luo committed suicide." The instructor said, "I'm thinking about it now." The company commander asked: "What are you thinking about?" The instructor said: "I was shut down for a few days. It turned out that my father-in-law wrote that he would take a rest in three years, and asked me to find a job change in two years anyway. When I go back to the county, he can arrange for me Director of bureau level or county government office or something. Now I figured it out, it’s okay to change jobs, just get a clerk.” "You still want to stay and become a boss." "It's not interesting." "You don't want to be a soldier. You have a chance to get a job." "I want to go." "Reconcile with Vietnam, let alone war." "It has nothing to do with the war. I want to go. It's okay." "Don't say it's boring. If you get a job, I'll wait for another year. You can get a bureau chief while your father-in-law is in power. I can also use the household registration of family members and children to join the army. It's not in vain for us to be soldiers on the field. They were all wounded." "I've made up my mind." "Because of those clippings?" "Old Zhao, don't guess." "I won't tell anyone." "I mainly suddenly feel bored." "Let me tell you a riddle, Lao Gao. There is a city in four squares, and there are ten thousand soldiers stationed there. What do you think it is?" "maggot." "Sleep?" "Don't doze off." "I'm not dozing off either." "Guess what does this riddle mean?" "It's boring. I learned it when I was a kid." "Old Zhao, what you said is interesting." "You go to sleep." "I dare not sleep. As soon as I fell asleep, the platoon leader put his bloody head on my head, and the blood flowed down my neck." "You have a nervous breakdown." "I need some Valium tomorrow." "I'm dozing off." "Go to sleep." "not talking anymore?" "Say no more." There was really no words for a while.The hut was immediately quiet.The moon was already half full, facing the window, and the moonlight poured into the room and onto their bed like water.The instructor opened his eyes.The company commander said he was dozing off, but he kept his eyes open.A cricket crawled into the room through the crack of the door, clucking and clucking, and the sound was like flowing water in the moonlight.The instructor said, Lao Gao, there is a cricket calling beside your bed.The company commander said I heard it, why are you still awake?The instructor said I couldn't understand what you just said. "Which sentence?" "There is a city in four squares, and ten thousand soldiers are stationed there." "Isn't it just a joke riddle?" "It's not Lao Zhao, you're smarter than me." "You sell me and eat me." "I used to look down on you, Old Zhao..." "You're right to look down on me." "I was wrong. This is not an apology, I found that I am not as good as you." "It's a joke!" "You can actually understand a city in a square..." "A three-year-old knows that." "Knowing is not the same as knowing. I made up my mind to change jobs." "What job can you arrange for when you are going back?" "Clerk." "The clerk underestimated your talent, you have to go up the ranks in the army." "A whole platoon of us died... the clerks were fine." "The living must be compared with the living. I'm telling the truth. It's fine to die, but the living must be compared with the living." "I found that your old Zhao really realized a lot of things in the company." "I don't know what you mean by that." "You know better than me why people want to be soldiers, and why they are soldiers." "You talk nonsense." "real." "I just want to get out the household registration of my wife and children. The dead people will not be responsible for you and me." "Yes... I still want to change jobs." "If you want to go, you may not necessarily be allowed to go." "Xia Luo's death is mainly because of me." "Old Gao, you are slapping me in the face like this, Lao Gao." "Old Zhao, I really want to leave." "Leave Xia Sunset to send us down." "Are you dozing off again?" "I want to sleep." "Go to sleep. I'm afraid of falling asleep. I always dream that the platoon leader's head is on my head." "Then I'm going to sleep." "Go to sleep." Company Commander Zhao Lin really closed his eyes.The moonlight cast a layer of light on his face.He slept very peacefully, and snored as an exception.The instructor couldn't sleep, so Pinong sat up later, turned on the light, and in a panic, took out the newspaper clippings from the envelope under the pillow and read: "Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, November 7th (Reporter Yan Shuchun) When China and Vietnam signed two agreements and Vietnamese senior leaders concluded their visit to Beijing, the leaders of China and Vietnam agreed today that the development of bilateral relations has gained a new level. beginning……"