Chapter 3 three men and a woman

Because of the rain, my friend forced me to tell the story of the rain.This is one of the most mundane of them all.If it is not very touching, it is only because it is too real.We all know that what is beautiful is often not real. The rainbow in the sky and the dream of sleep are examples for us. Few people know the reason why it rains on missions in the army. We cannot find that reason ourselves.Perhaps the military supplies of the regiment headquarters can know this, because when there is no rain, the straw sandals for business trips are rarely used, and when it rains, the straw sandals are more expensive.It may be beneficial for military supplies to go on a business trip in the rain.We don't know these things, they are usually very complicated, and usually the head of the group doesn't know much, because the head of the group wears leather boots.However, there is always a close relationship with the rain every time we set off. This is our coincidence this year.

Fighting in heavy rain still requires people, and we should not complain when we are on business in the rain. Since the rain stops when it falls, the army's oilcloth raincoats are all in good condition.The adjutant who ran the station in front of us never prepared our food properly because of the rain.Our battalion commander, riding on a horse, drenched himself in the rain, was not afraid of malaria.We walked through the bamboo forest in the rain, or waited for the ferry under the hut by the river. Because of the rain, all the scenery looked much more beautiful than usual. There was a lot of rain and mud, but the slippery long walk did not make people very sad.We shortened the number of miles we should walk every day because of the rain.We can also find an excuse to go to a young woman's home, say a few witty words, have a good laugh, and ask for a few brown clothes to wrap around our feet.Because of the rain, we were able to be casual and wash our feet in a small basin with the battalion commander.A soldier can also have the opportunity to wash his feet in the same basin with the battalion commander. This is beyond the presumptuousness of military discipline. In our time, it was not an easy opportunity!

The team walked for four days and arrived at the place we were going to.The weather is very interesting. After the team reached the destination, it suddenly cleared and the sun came out. Many people must laugh at it, thinking that the sun is deliberately against us.Well, we can't control much about this.We moved here to fill in the defense. The original troops stationed here have long since left, and the troops were brought in to fill in the gaps. We still have to continue to do the boring things others do. When the sky is full of red clouds and the sunset is shining, we have a battalion of people staying here.Although the other battalion stayed here tonight, they had to set off to a town fifty miles away the next day.Those who are going to set off tomorrow have all been stationed in small inns and private houses at this time, but we are looking everywhere for places to stay.Because each unit has already been allocated, our flag was planted in the Yang Family Ancestral Hall, but no one in the company knew the direction of the Yang Family Ancestral Hall, they just randomly grabbed soldiers from other companies in the street and asked.

It turned out that there were two ancestral halls of the Yang family. We searched for a long time, but the ones we found still seemed wrong.Because this ancestral hall is too small, too bad, and extremely desolate inside.But the company commander was a little angry, and his noble feet were not happy to take another step.He said, since it is empty here, let's take a rest and send someone to ask again.We all walked a long way all day long, and we also saw many soldiers resting in civilian houses, washing their feet in large wooden basins, and hurriedly heading to the kitchen with dried fish.Tired and hungry, everything seems to have been settled and resolved, only we are still walking around the streets of this town, like a group of homeless people.Now that there is a place to rest, and it is almost night, no one cares about it, they put guns under the corridor of the ancestral hall, and many people sat under the stone lion to relieve all the burdens on their bodies.

A young bugleman got a gourd from nowhere, filled it with shochu, and greedily hid at the foot of the wall to drink it.Some soldiers rushed to snatch the gourd when they saw it, but the gourd was smashed, and all the wine was poured on the stone ground that was not yet dry.The trumpeter was in a panic, yelling insults, chasing, beating and robbing his companions. When the company commander heard the commotion, he remembered the use of the bugler, and asked the bugler to blow the trumpet to inquire about the regiment headquarters.The trumpeter climbed onto the stone lion, held the stone lion illuminated by the setting sun with one hand, and held the short brass trumpet in the other, and blew a question-and-answer tune.

At that time, the sky was full of clouds, and white cooking smoke was rising from the houses everywhere, floating on the roofs.Many young women were surprised and curious, wearing new starch-washed moon blue cloth clothes, with buttoned flower aprons hanging on their chests, holding their children, and standing under the eaves of other people's houses to watch the fun. The trumpeter, after blowing the trumpet, got an echo from the regiment headquarters stationed in the temple on the top of the mountain.The company commander asked the soldiers to use the trumpets again, and asked if the company was resting in this ancestral hall.The answer over there still did not satisfy our company commander.Then the trumpeter puffed out his lips for the third time, and blew on his brass trumpet.

At the south end of the street came two dogs, tall in stature, with neat white fur and bright eyes, like twin children, standing in front of some people.This thing obviously also knew what happened in front of the ancestral hall, so it came to take a look. This pair of big dogs aroused a kind of fantasy in us.Our habit is that when we see a fat dog wherever we go, we immediately have a murderous intent in our hearts, which is extremely difficult to stop.But there is another thing that is more noticeable. I heard a woman's voice calling "Dabai" and "Erbai", clear and fragile. After calling twice, the two dogs looked at us as if they were very sensible. , Knowing that I can't play here for a long time, I turned around and ran away.

It's getting late.The sky is full of red clouds. Suddenly an unexpected turn of events happened between us.The trumpeter walked for a whole day. After arriving at the ground, everyone sat down and rested. The young man even climbed up the stone lion to blow the trumpet several times.When his hind legs became numb and he wanted to jump off the stone lion, his feet were no longer able to support his body. When he jumped to the ground, he fell and couldn't get up. It is convenient for ordinary people to walk. This soldier is from my hometown. We grew up in a fort, spent summer swimming in a river, and spent long days in a woods picking pine fungi.Now it was my turn to take care of him.

What can a twenty-year-old person do if he encounters such misfortune! Because the company commander is also from the same township, although the position of bugleman is not removed, this man has forever sunk his career into the position of bugleman because of this unfortunate incident.He can no longer be like other buglers, improve the cadre school when he has the opportunity, and try to make progress. He can no longer be qualified to participate in various things in combat and suppression of bandits. He can no longer climb over an earthen wall in the middle of the night like other young soldiers. Met with a local woman.In a word, it is the man's right to be a man, because this unintentional fall destroys everything and is irreparable.

Because of my fellow countrymen, I always take special care of this person.I was a senior at that time, so I put him in my shed.This young man still had to get up when the sky was just turning white every morning, put on his military uniform, make everything tidy, go up to the stone steps outside the ancestral hall, and blow the dawn call.After ten minutes, they called their names again.At eight o'clock the drill horn was blown again.At ten o'clock, the call-off horn was blown again... There were many other times, which could not be ignored.The army has been here for half a month, and it has not been used at all, but according to the rules, the trumpeter must always perform his duties as a trumpeter.Every time he went outside to play his trumpet, I had to help him.Maybe I don't have time to spare, so there is only one fireman in the class in turn for this job.

We all hope that he will gradually improve. The surgeon and military doctor of the battalion headquarters gave this unfortunate man a very credible guarantee.The young man's legs were bled by the military doctor, rubbed for a long time, burned with medicine countless times, and finally clamped with fir boards.As the days went by, there was still no effect. We were all a little disappointed, but he himself was not disappointed. He said he'd be all right, he'd only have two months to get the fir splints off, and he'd be out chasing hares in the fields.Hearing this, the old military doctor smiled, because he knew that this matter was something that young people would never hope for, but he followed his rules as a doctor, and the law allows such people to lie, so he made an appointment Promising all kinds of benefits to this trumpeter is sometimes even more exaggerated than chasing rabbits. After two months, the young man was still completely useless.The swelling of the wound has disappeared, the danger of blood poisoning will no longer exist, and the wound will not fester and fester, but this trumpeter is completely crippled.He no longer needs anyone to take care of him, so he can do his best in his job.He still lives in my shed, and because of this, a best friendship has formed between the two of us. The town where we live is not very lively, but it has a different flavor compared to the small cities on the border of Hunan.There are only four streets here, and a drum tower in the center dominates the whole city.Here, like other places, there are drugstores and tobacco dens, gambling places and drinking places.I lived with this disabled trumpeter almost every day. When I went out, I was always together, drinking and helping, and gambling. If the troops do not move out, the young man still has all the happiness of being a soldier.Anything a soldier can do, he can still have a share of.He was going to those houses with young women, and the women dared not offend him.He sits at the table and plays blackjack with fifty pennies a bet, and others are ashamed to cheat.He will blow the trumpet, and those who have not overtaken him in the past will not overtake him now.Everyone knew the misfortune of this trumpeter, and they all agreed to help this man. But his temperament, it seems to me, has changed in some places.He is a bugler, and as usual, a bugler should have a special hobby for his trumpet. When he goes around when he has nothing to do, he can never leave the trumpet.He must still be a quick, lively, happy man.In the twilight of the morning, he can climb to the top of the back hill or the castle to test the sound, and at night, he will play his music under the moonlight, and sing with the other company far away.The other trumpeters on the company also put on neat uniforms during the seasons, lined up to parade on the field, and showed off to the people of the city in a row. Behind the waist door, a woman with a white forehead and bright black eyes showed her attention.Also, if he moves freely and conveniently, and takes the trumpet to the mountains to play, how many children, with a little fear, will gather around to appreciate the art of this great man, and he can establish a friendship with those children.Slowly, he got many children. Belonging to the trumpeter's extra benefit, everything is over.All he has is a little job.Usually active and happy, he is a little gloomy and a little pitiful. His feet are already limping.The company commander yelled loudly in front of people that he was lame.For the sake of convenience and easy identification, since this trumpeter became lame, everyone added the word "lame" to his trumpeter's name, so even the stoker had the right to treat this man Be contemptuous, gently criticize this unfortunate person, and secretly imitate this person's behavior for entertainment. In the past, regarding the duty of trumpeter, he still acted like a good man, standing outside the gate of the ancestral hall on time, or on the stone steps in front of the inner hall, blowing his trumpet very excitedly.Later, because the company replaced a small deputy, when the trumpeter was able to play all kinds of tunes more accurately, he did not often serve on time. He and I would go to a tofu seller's house on South Street every day, sit on the big wooden bench, and watch the young owner push the paddle and beat the tofu in the shop.Opposite this shop is a postal agency, a house that is more luxurious than other shops in this city. Looking across the street, you can see many calligraphy and paintings hanging on the walls of the big oil-yellow boards in the shop, and many couplets decorated with gold and sprinkled with gold.On the first day we came here, the two big white dogs we saw were the ones raised by this family.The dog squats in front of the door every day, and stands up to play for a while when it meets acquaintances. When it hears a person calling, it appears to be in a hurry and walks to the courtyard behind the door with the goldfish bowl. Are we relying on eating a bowl of soy milk for nothing, and we come to this shop all day long?Do we really want to be brothers with the young boss, so it is better to come to this man? We are here for other reasons.However, two soldiers, one of whom is a cripple, and the other, even though he was appointed as a commander, can step out of the line and call for registration when he is on duty. He has a kind of right among his brothers, and he also has a kind of right in terms of officers, just like a reserve officer. , the more convenient thing is that you can use all kinds of weird names at will to insult the fireman in your class, as a way to discourage the bad temper.But once outside, what might there be to say?There are ten or twelve squad leaders in a company, thirty-six in a battalion, and more than a hundred in a regiment.The very long shoulder straps are just an extra layer of responsibility for people like us.Many benefits of a soldier, because he is the squad leader, but he has no way to get it.A soldier has many indulgences, and a squad leader will not allow it.If anyone knows the responsibilities of the squad leader and the platoon leader in combat, everyone will recognize the squad leader's pity.I didn't pretend to be a squad leader when I came here. I used my power as a soldier to come to this tofu shop.Although we never refuse to drink a bowl of soy milk from the hand of that single strong young man every day, we don't come here just to eat soy milk.We both had our eyes on the two white dogs, and the mistress of the dogs.The toad wants to eat swan meat, this sentence seems to be said for us. Speaking of which, this woman is a beautiful animal!I have never seen a second woman like this in my life.I have seen many teachers' aunts and many female students.The first kind of people are always born as prostitutes, or become wives and look like prostitutes. The second kind of people are so strong that we are afraid. They run, play ball, and do other things that we can't guess, and they all become buffaloes.They are not elegant, not slim.As for the man, I can't tell you what was perfectly agreeable, but I will not lie, I always thought it was a fine flower, a fairy. On the one hand, we obeyed the camp rules and obeyed our own desires when we came here. We dare not act wild in this city, but we come to sit down in this tofu shop every day.When I came here, I chatted with the young boss, or helped him grind, starch, and wrap tofu. I hoped that the woman would take a look at her when she went out to play.We often see the corner of the white clothes by the big fish tank in the courtyard with two doors, and our heart beats violently, and the blood runs wildly in the pipes all over our body.Every day we try our best to spend money to buy things and give them to the two dogs to eat, so we can be better with them.At first, these two beasts seemed to know that we had bad intentions, so they sniffed the things we gave them for a while and then walked away.But when the owner of the tofu shop threw the thing over, the two dogs looked at the owner wisely, as if they could see that it was not poison, so they ate it. Why we should use our hearts in this hopeless cause, we do not know ourselves.According to our status, even if we can get along with the two dogs of this family, we still cannot get close to the owner of the dog.This family is the owner of the local postal agency, that is, the only gentleman in this small city. He is the chairman of the chamber of commerce, and the shop is also the exchange agency of the army.I often treat guests, and all the people who come here are decent and dignified people, regiment commanders and battalion commanders, regimental adjutants, military law, and military supplies are all in the usual seasons, and the battalion military supplies and clerks often come to this shop to play. Eat wine and play cards with the master. From the owner of the tofu shop, we knew that the woman was the youngest girl of the president, only fifteen years old.We knew that everything was hopeless, so we still came to sit in the tofu shop every day, looking for convenience, waiting for this spoiled little girl to come out, just looking at that glamorous woman, we felt that this day was a great joy. Or if we don't have the chance to see her for a day, just listening to the fragile voice, calling the dog's name in her family, barking Dabai Erbai, we seem to have gained a kind of comfort.We always pay attention to the fish tank obsessively, because we can often see white or emerald green clothes from there, we know that the girl is playing in the courtyard at home. After a while, the two dogs became friends with us. When they saw us coming, they walked past the tofu shop with a cautious look and came to play with us.We both hated and loved the beast, because even if it was playing well, as soon as we heard the yelling from there, it would leave us and walk away.But this beast is so tame and sensible!No dog, no matter what kind, will ever be friendly with a soldier. Any kind of dog will be an enemy to a soldier. He will attack or run away when he sees it. Only these two dogs have really become our friends. The owner of the tofu shop is a young man, strong and solid, silent and quiet, working happily every day, doing business with everyone, and closing the shop at night to sleep.It seemed that he didn't care about anything except standing in front of the shop, and didn't go anywhere except doing business. At first glance, it seemed that he didn't know when this man ate or bought soybeans for his tofu.Although he doesn't talk much, but when a customer comes to the door, he will not neglect all the answers.When we asked him all the things we didn't know, he was very satisfied. We once invited him to have a drink, and when the cash was due, we went to the cabinet to settle the bill, only to hear that the tofu owner had already paid the bill first.The second time we asked him to go again, he unceremoniously asked us to pay. We only know that he moved from the countryside, and occasionally relatives from the countryside came to his shop. Judging from the situation, this person's family must not be very poor.His business was doing well, he told me, and he sent all the money he saved back to the country.When asked if he was planning to marry a wife, he just smiled and said nothing.He can sing a little, he has a very good voice, and his voice is better than the people in our camp.He can play a game of chess again. People are illiterate, but "carts", "horses", "elephants" and "scholars" are clearly distinguished.He has never used account books in business, but he can use memory or other methods to record the amount of credit transactions, so that there will be no mistakes.He treats us as friends, neither guarding against us nor flattering us.Although we came to his shop, it seemed that we only wanted to visit the little girl of the president of the chamber of commerce, but if there was no such a master who could get along with us, we wouldn't have come to this shop without asking whether it was raining or not! I went to my companion, the lame trumpeter, and talked about the girl in the opposite house in his tofu shop. Sometimes I couldn't help but say some rude and stupid things, or I often behaved a little ridiculously towards those two animals. This young boss Always smiling, in his smile we don't see any malice, but it seems a little secret.I said, "Why are you laughing? Don't you admit that she is a beauty? Don't you admit that these two dogs are more blessed than us?" As usual, such words would not be answered.Even when he answered, he was still only honest and honest with an almost feminine smile. "Why is it so funny? You country people don't know beauty at all! You must like women with big breasts and big buttocks, sows, and buffaloes. It's because you don't know beauty, you don't know beautiful things." Sometimes the crippled bugler would say, "My dog, how lucky you are!" and deliberately embarrassed the tofu shop owner, asking him if he would like to become a dog, so that he could have the opportunity to get close to the little girl every day. As usual, in these seasons, the young people will blushed and grind the mill very diligently, while still smiling. Does anyone know what this means?Who must pursue this meaning? Our days can be said to be very happy.Because we not only come here to play with the tofu boss, drink soy milk to see the beauty, but also often go to Changping to watch the murder.Our regiment headquarters, every five days, had to select a few bandits who had been escorted from various villages and have evidence of doing bad things, and lead them to the main road to behead their heads as a public display.In the past when they were stationed in Huaihua, when they killed people, if they were assigned to the guards of the company and sent a row to detain the prisoners, the buglers had to be in front of the team and blow their horns on the street.When they arrived at the field, the team ran forward and blew the charge horn, making the situation aggravated.After killing someone, the team will return to the camp, slowly pass through the street, and have to play the song of returning to camp in victory.Now the lame trumpeter has no part in this matter.Now the guards belong to the guards, they are the personal soldiers who protect the head of the regiment when he goes to the countryside to suppress the bandits in normal seasons, and only these people have the right to kill.We can only look at the tragic procession and bloody comedy.I can no longer use my squad leader qualification to lead a team to escort prisoners to parade through the streets.But this is not our loss, but our benefit.Since we are not there to guard, we can go there at any time to see those killed heads and gray and stiff corpses. We stay there for a long time, and we don't have to go away immediately. Once, we pulled the tofu boss away, because this person usually didn't have the guts to watch this matter.When they arrived at the bloody place, four dead bodies were lying on the ground, their jackets had been completely stripped off, just like four dead pigs.Many small soldiers wore inappropriate military uniforms, with extremely naughty expressions on their faces, they took small bamboo poles and stabbed the throats of the dead corpses.Some hungry dogs squatted far away, looking at all the novel things here, very fascinated. The trumpeter asked the tofu boss if he was afraid of this thing.The young countryman's answer was still that eternally mysterious and innocent smile.Seeing the young man's smile gave us joy in our friendship, just as hearing the woman's voice made us feel fully alive. Because we were so happy, our days went by with great ease. In a blink of an eye, we have been visiting women in this tofu shop for half a year. We got to know the tofu boss better, and we got to know the two dogs completely.We had the opportunity to take the white dog to play in the camp and by the river, and we were able to get the consent of the dog's owner. Because we know that women are hopeless (this is because we are too familiar with the tofu boss, and we have heard a lot of things from him), we no longer say stupid things, and we no longer make stupid attempts.I still come to the tofu shop every day to help this friend and do everything.We have fully learned how to make tofu, can distinguish the heat of soy milk, and know whether soybeans are good or bad.We also met many other local customers who were willing to talk to us and be our friends.When the customers were soldiers in the camp, our boss always asked me to give them a lot of tofu, and sometimes he would not accept the money from the customers.As we mingled our lives with the tofu business, we became friends with those two white dogs, very close and very close.Although the little girl's voice can still call the dogs away from us, sometimes we can still make the two dogs run out of the house at a gallop when we whistle. We often see young officers wearing extremely decent woolen military uniforms, with white faces tinged with a little shy red, chest straight forward when walking, using long black leather boots with spur horse wheels, knocking Jie Shi walked dignifiedly into the second door of that man's house, thinking that there must be some stories happening in it, full of uncomfortable jealousy.After all, I am a sensible person. After being hit by this blow, I still know how to comfort myself in other ways, but my companion, the lame bugleman, is very unhappy because of this.I often see him clenching his fists behind those young officers and making a strike gesture.I often see him talking to the owner of the tofu shop about things that I didn't notice. Once in a small restaurant, everyone drank a little too much wine and lost their shape. I said something like this, and I said to the crippled man: "You are a cripple, my friend, my brother Geng, You are useless! A young lady is only married to our young battalion commander. We tried to take care of it by the water, and we knew that we had nothing to do with it. What are we? Four yuan a month, in the mud when we were on business Running around with oars, calling the shots when they are stationed, sleeping on straw mats at night to be bitten by big bedbugs, eating beef sauerkraut in their mouths, and holding the cold gun barrel with their hands... We are young, what is the use of this! We are young. It’s just some pigs and dogs lined up, why do you have such ambitions for this girl? Why are you so overconfident?…” I was indeed a little drunk at that time, I didn’t know how to control my words, I was just confused, and taught this girl a lesson. A friend who is usually very obedient.I also seem to use a lot of metaphors, referring to his foot.At that time it was just the two of us together, but after arriving, for some unknown reason, this friend suddenly changed his usual temper, completely like a mad animal, and jumped on me.We then fought into a bunch, each twisting each other's ears, and each of them beat us painfully without hypocrisy.I was really drunk, and he was a little drunk, too.We were all yelling and cursing meaninglessly, and finally a soldier turned around from the door and heard the noise inside, who seemed to be our own people, so he came in to persuade us, and it took a lot of effort to pull us away. Back in the company, everyone vomited a lot. In the middle of the night, we woke up from the wine, and because of thirst, everyone got up and went to the water tank to drink water.The two drank a lot of cold water, and they both vaguely remembered what happened in the middle of the night, and both of them began to cry.Why are you fighting like this?What makes us gnash our teeth like this?What must be done in this way?We put on the cotton military uniforms we had just taken off, and walked to the courtyard together to watch the moon that was about to set, like the face of a dead man.Meteors fell from all over the sky, making beautiful and dazzling lights.Chickens are crowing everywhere.We came here to garrison. It was April when my friend broke his leg, and it is October now. The next day, the two looked at each other's swollen face, very embarrassed.Someone in the company knew about our beating, and there must be someone worried about our second fight, but it was unexpected that the two of us had already forgotten what happened in Zuili last night.We didn't forget that, but our friendship seemed better because of it. The two still went to the tofu shop. The tofu owner was very surprised when he saw it for the first time, thinking that there must be a serious accident between us.Because some parts of our faces were scratched and some parts were still swollen, we laughed when we looked at each other. In the end, I came to explain the matter for our friends, and the tofu boss knew the whole story.I told him that I vaguely remembered that I said a lot of stupid things, and I called him a lame male dog. In the end, for some reason, the two of them rubbed together.Fortunately, both of them were drunk, their hands and feet were weak, and they didn't implement it. Although they acted fiercely, they didn't break their heads. At this time, the girl came out and stood in front of her gate. The two white dogs jumped around the woman obsequiously, circling around the woman, and stretched out their red tongues to lick her little hands. We stopped talking for a while, and the three of us looked at each other.Later, the woman also seemed to notice that there was something strange on our faces, which was completely different from the past, so she looked at us and smiled, as if she had no fear of us, and no doubt that we were doing her a disservice.However, that smile seemed to know the reason for our nonsense last night. I was very depressed at that time, because this little girl didn't care about us at all. In her little heart, she might have thought that we were doing business with the tofu boss in order to make some money, so we came here every day. here.I glanced at the trumpeter, who also seemed extremely sad, for his lame leg was well known, and he looked a little worse than I, so I judged that his heart was at the moment. It's hard. As for the tofu boss, I don't know whether he was intentional or not. At this time, he was showing his strong arms like iron, pulling the stone mill, and checking whether the center shaft of the stone mill was damaged.This seems to be the third time.Another time, when this kind of opportunity was discovered, this young honest and simple man inspected his stone mill as he did today. I wanted to ask him but had no chance to speak. After a while, the person had disappeared into the two green and gilded second doors.Like a star, like a rainbow, it disappears in an instant.It is a symbol of light that remains on every soul.I was just about to smile at my lame friend when my friend suddenly said, "Second Brother, Second Brother, you scolded me very right last night, you scolded me very right! We are pigs and dogs We are toads in the gutter! 庋Egg mulberry狗皋重吉奉λ打木艾Yi timid shape Yiqin troubled wineJuan wineCailujia stretched threat feed shoot slaughter buckjian M 蛘 sieve テ 减重鲜Yiqie Limulus gorgon often yuan 盠 play  haggard Huan slapped Cong Cong F 妗! The soldier said: "I don't think about being president, because that thing is too difficult to do.My feet, motherfucker, my feet! Thin eighth Huang 砟狈拈拈拈托沉沤柳楚 ㄗ excellent rose model 慊极针け<锋阳果树Hツ扤D托板级cut rocks  lie   neck nine 兺醯 fluke stunned Nai 谢! *"I'm worse than a dog. I thought at this moment, if my feet get better, I'm going to ask the company commander to make up for a regular soldier. I want to go to the playground all day long to exercise..." "Slowly and naturally It can be done." I turned my head to look at the tofu boss, because the young man had already placed the stone mill properly and was shaking the long wooden pusher again. "It's really meaningless for us to survive. Your What do you think?" This man seemed to think that what I said was not quite suitable for my status or his life, so he smiled at me as he did in other seasons and other things. I understand, the three of us also fell in love with this woman. On October 14th, I was sent to the headquarters seventy miles away to deliver an official document. I also had other tasks. I stayed in Shimen Houxin for a day, and spent two days on the road back and forth. I returned to the city and sent the palindrome to the regiment headquarters, and the job was canceled. Because of this business trip, I was rewarded with six yuan. I was very happy. I was going to go back to the company to find out if anyone had returned home, so that I could send four yuan back for the winter. of bacon.When I saw the cripple, the bugler said, "Second Brother, that woman is dead!" What is this nonsense? I didn't believe it, so I calmly bent down to take off my straw sandals.The cripple stood in front of me and said, "The woman is dead," which forced me to be serious.After I heard the meaning of the words clearly, I suddenly stood up, grabbed the man by the collar roughly, and asked loudly whether it was true or not.When he arrived, he asked me to listen with my ears, because at this time, a family in the distance was beating gongs and drums for a funeral, and a suona vibrated very sadly and blew out that high note.One of my feet was bare, and the other was still wrapped in a wet straw sandal, so I dragged the lame out of the house.We ran to the tofu shop as if we were fighting a fire, regardless of the lameness of the buglers or the attention of passers-by.But before I got there, I already knew that the sound of suona, gongs and drums came from the house opposite the tofu shop.I felt chills all over my body, my head seemed to have been hit hard by someone, and my ears were buzzing. I thought to myself, this is the strange thing!That's the weird thing... When I sat quietly on the bench in the tofu shop, I took a bowl of hot soybean milk from my friend.Opposite the tofu shop, there were already many people in front of the gate of the house. A white cloth for funerals was hung in front of the gate, and many children wore white buns around their heads and bought food outside the gate.I also saw that beside the big fish tank, someone bent down and burned paper money and silver ingots, the flames were blazing upwards, and the paper ash flew high. I knew these things were true, so my whole body went into convulsions, but I laughed. I looked at the tofu boss. This person was not as optimistic as he used to be at this time. Obviously, he also suffered a blow and couldn't support it.He turned around as if he hadn't seen me.I looked at the bugler again, but the bugler made an annoying look.I don't know why I'm kind of sick of the lame man at this moment, I just want to punch him, but I haven't done such a stupid thing after all. When I asked later, I found out that this woman swallowed gold and died yesterday.We didn't understand why swallowing gold and who it was related to at the time, and we still don't understand it until now. (Many people die in this way, and those who are alive are not surprised.) When a woman dies, each of us feels that we have lost something, but we didn't talk about it before, but only now dare to name it. .We talked about it very sadly at first, but then everyone laughed. When we broke up, we were so happy that we fought sumo with each other. What makes us so happy is not clear.It seems that everyone knows that a woman is like a flowerpot, not one's own. When the flowerpot is broken, there will be a little melancholy at first, but when everyone discusses that many flowerpots have been occupied by some stupid things for a long time, all flowerpots In the end, we will inevitably be monopolized by the powerful, but this flowerpot is broken to the ground, and we naturally seem to have gained a little comfort. However, in the conversion camp, we were very uncomfortable.Our lives are devastated.从此再也不会为一些事心跳，在一些梦上发痴了。我们的生活，将永远有了一个看不见的缺口，一处补丁，再也不是完全的了。 其实这样女人活在世界上同死去，对于我们有什么关系？ 假使人还是好好的活下，开差移防的命令一到，我们还有什么希望可言？我们即或驻扎在这里再久，一个跛脚的号兵，一个什长，这两个宝贝，还有什么机会？除了能够同那两只狗认识以外，有何种伟大企图？ 第二天，两人很早的就起来，互相坐在铺上对面，沉默无话可说。各人似乎在努力想把自己安置到空阔处去，不再给过去的记忆困扰。各人都要生气，却不知道为什么忽然脾气就坏到这样子。 “为什么眼睛有点发肿？你这个傻瓜！” 号兵因为我嘲笑他，却不取反攻姿势，只非常可怜的望到我。 我说，“难道人家死了，你还要去做孝子么？” 他还是那样，似乎想用沉默作一种良心的雄辩，使我对于他的行为引起注意。 我了解这点，但是却不放弃我嘲骂他的权利。 “跛子，你真是只癞蛤蟆，吃虫蚁，看天上。” 末了他只轻轻的问我，“二哥，你说，是不是死了的人还会复活？”因为这一句痴话我又数说了他好一顿。 两人到豆腐铺时，却见对面铺门极其冷清，门前地下剩余一些白纸钱。我们的朋友，那个年青老板，人坐在长凳上，用手扶了头，人家来买豆腐时，就请主顾自己用刀铲取板上的豆腐。见我们来了，他有了一点点生气，好象是遮掩自己的伤痕，仍然对我们微笑着。他的笑，说明他还依然有个健康的身体和善良的人格。 “为什么？头痛吗？” “埋了，埋了，一早就埋了！” “早上就埋了么？” “天还不大亮就出门了的。” “你有了些什么事情，这样不快乐？” “我什么也不。” 他说了后，忙着为我们去取碗盏，预备盛豆浆给我们吃。 坐在那豆腐铺子里望着对面的铺子，心中总象十分凄凉，我同号兵坐了一会儿，就离开这个豆腐铺子，走向一个本地妇人处打牌去了。我们从那里探听得这女人所埋葬的地点，在离城两里的鲢鱼庄上。 不知为什么我一望到那号兵忧郁样子，就使我非常生气要打他骂他。好象这个人的不欢喜样子，侮辱我对那小姑娘的倾心一样。好象他这样子，简直是在侮辱我。我实在不愿意再同他坐在一个桌上打牌了，就回到连上躺在草垫上睡了。 这夜里跛子竟没有回到连上来。他曾告我不想回连上去睡，我以为他一定在那妇人处过夜了，也不觉得希奇。第二天，我还是不愿意出门，仍然静静的躺在床上。到下午来我的头有点发烧，全身也象害了病，不想吃喝。吃了点姜糖草药，因为必须蒙头取汗，到全身被汗水透湿人醒来时，天已经夜了。 我起身到大殿后面去小便，正是雨后放晴，夕阳斜挂屋角，留下一片黄色。天空有一片薄云，为落日烘成五彩。望到这个暮景，望到一片在人家屋上淡淡的炊烟，听到鸡声同狗声，军营中喇叭声，我想起了我们初来此地那一天发生的一切事情。我想起我这个朋友的命运，以及我们生活的种种，很有点怅惘，有点悲哀。有一个疑问的符号隐藏在心上，对于这古怪人生，不知作何解释，我的思想自然还可以说是单纯而不复杂。 我到后仍然回去睡了，不想吃饭，不想说话，不想思索。 我睡下去，不知道有多久时间，只是把棉被蒙了头颅，隐隐约约听到在楼上兵士打牌吵闹的声音，迷迷糊糊见过许多人，又象是我们已经开了差，已经上了路，已经到了地。过去的事重复侵入我的记忆，使我重新看见号兵跌倒时的神气。醒回时好象有人坐在我的身边。把被甩去，才知道灯已熄灭了，只靠着正殿上的大油灯余光，照得出有一个人影，坐在我身边不动。 “瘸子，是你吗？” "it's me." “为什么这时节才回来？” 他把脸藏在黑暗里，没有做声。我因为睡了许久，出了两次汗，头昏昏的，这时候究竟已经是什么时候，也依然不很分明，就问他这是什么时候。他还是好象不曾听到我的话样子，毫无动静。 过了一会，他才说，“二哥，真是祖宗有灵，天保佑，放哨的差一点一枪把我打死了。” “你不知道口令么？” “我哪里会知道口令？” “难道已经是十二点过了么？” "I have no idea." “你今晚到些什么地方去，这时才回来？” 他又不做声了。我看见放在米桶上兵士们为我预备的一个美孚灯，灯头弄得很小，还可以使它光亮，就要他捻一下灯。他先是并不动手，我第二次又请他做这件事。 灯光大了一点，我才望明白这号兵，全身黄泥，极其狼狈。脸上正如刚才不久同人殴打过样子，许多部分都牵掣着显著受伤的痕迹。我奇异而又惊讶，望到这朋友，不知道如何问他这一天来究竟到过些什么地方，做了些什么事情。我的头脑这时也实在还是有点糊涂，因为先一时在迷糊中我还梦到他从石狮上滚下地的情形，所以这时还仿佛只是一个梦。 他轻轻的轻轻的说，“二哥，二哥，那坟不知道被谁挖掘了。” “谁的坟呢。” “好象是才挖掘不久的，我看得很清楚。”他的话，带着顽固神气，使我疑心他已经发了狂。 “我说，你说的是什么人的坟？在什么地方，你怎么知道？” “我怎么知道？我听人说那大辫子埋在鲢鱼庄，我要去看看。我昨天到过一次，还是很好的。我今天晚上又去，我很分明记到那一条路，那座坟，不知道已经被谁挖了。” 如不是我有点发狂，一定就是我这个朋友发了狂。我明白他所指的坟是谁埋葬在那里了。我象一个疯人，跳了起来，“你到过她的坟上么？你到过她的坟上么？你存什么心？你这畜生……”这朋友，却毫不惊讶，静静的幽悄的说，“是的！我到过她的坟上，昨天到过，今天又到过。我不是想做坏事的人！我可以赌咒，天王在上，我并不带了什么家伙去。我昨晚上还看到那个土堆，一个上好土馒头，今天晚上全变了。我可以赌咒，看到的是昨晚那座坟，完全不是原来样子。不知谁做了这样事情，不知谁把她从棺木里掏出，背走了。” 我听到这个吓人的报告，却忽然想起一个人来了。但我并不说出口，因为这个人还只在我的心上一闪，就又即刻消失了。我起了一个疑问，以为是这个女子还魂，从棺木中挣扎奔出，这时节或者已经跑回家中同她的爹爹妈妈说话了。我又疑心她的死是假的，所以草草的埋葬，到后另外一个人就又把她掘出，把她救走了。我又疑心这事一定在我这个朋友有了错误，因为神经错乱，忘记了方向和地位，第一次同第二次并不是在同一地方，所以才会发生这种误会，我用许多空想去解释，以为这件事并不完全真实。 后来我问他为什么要到坟边去。他很虚怯，以为我疑心这事他一定已经知道，或者至少事后知道这主谋人是谁，他一连发了七种誓言，要求各样天神作证，分辩他并无劫取女尸的意思。他只是解释他并不预先带有何种铁器作掘墓的人犯。他极力分辩他的行为。他把话说完了，望见我非常阴沉，眼睛里含有一种疑惧神色，如果我当时还不能表示对他的信托，他一定可以发狂把我扼死。 我的病已完全吓走了，我计算应当如何安置这个行将疯狂另一时又必然疯狂的朋友。我用许多别的话为他解说，且找出许多荒唐故事安慰这个破碎心灵。他的血慢慢的冷静，一切兴奋过去后，就不断的喃喃的骂着一句野话。他告给我他实在也有过这种设想，因为听人说吞金死去了的人，如果不过七天，只要得到男子的偎抱，便可以重新复活。他又告我，第一天他还只是想象他到了坟边，听得到有呼救声音，便来作一次侠义事，从墓中把人救出。第二天，他因为听人说到这个话，才又过那里去，预备不必有呼救声音，也把女人掘出。可是到了那里一看坟头已经完全变了样子，棺盖掀在一旁，一个空棺张着大口等候吃人。他曾跳进棺里去看过，除了几件衣服以外什么也不见。一定是有人在稍前一些时候做了这事情，这人一定把坟掘开，便把女子的尸身背走了。 他已经不再请天神作他的伪证了。他诚实而又巨细无遗的同我说到过去一切，我听完了他这些话，找不出任何话来安慰他了。我对于这件事还是不甚相信；我还是在心中打量，以为这事情一定是各人都身在梦中。我以为即或不是完全作梦，到了明天早上，这号兵也一定要追悔今晚所说的话语，因为这种欲望谁也无从禁止，行诸事实仍然不近人情。他因为追悔他的行为，把我杀死灭口也做得出。我这样想着，不免有所预防，可是，这个人现在软弱得如一个妇人，他除了忏悔什么也不能做了。我们有一个问题梗到心上来了，就是我们对于这件事应当如何处置。是不是要去禀告一声，还是尽那个哑谜延长？两人商量了一会，靠着简单的理智，认为这发现我们无权利去过问，且等天明到豆腐铺看看。走了许多夜路的号兵，一双瘸腿已经十分疲倦了，回来又谈了许久，所以到后就睡了。我是大白天睡了一整天的人，这时无论如何也不能再睡了。在灯影下望着这个残废苦闷的脸，肮脏的身，我把灯熄了，坐到这朋友身边，等候天明。 到豆腐铺时间已经不早了，却不见那年青老板开门。昨晚上我所想起的那件事，重新在我心上一闪。门既外边反锁，分明不是晏起或在家中发生何等事故了。我的想象或将成为事实，我有点害怕，拉了号兵跑回连上，把这估计告给了那起过非凡野心的他。他不甚相信事情一定就是这样子，一个人又跑出了许久，回来时，脸色哑白，说他已经探听了别一个人家，知道那老板的确是昨天晚上就离开了他的铺子的。 我们有三天不敢出去，只坐在草荐上玩骨牌。到后有人在营里传说一件新闻，这新闻生着无形的翅翼，即刻就全营皆知了。“商会会长女儿新坟刚埋好就被人抛掘，尸骸不知给谁盗了。”另外一个新闻，却是“这少女尸骸有人在去坟墓半里的石洞里发现，赤光着个身子睡在洞中石床上，地下身上各处撒满了蓝色野菊花。” 这个消息加上人类无知的枝节，便离去了猥亵转成神奇。 我们给这消息愣住了。我们知道我们那个朋友作了一件什么事情。 从此以后我们再也不曾到那豆腐铺里去，坐在长凳上喝那年青朋友做成的豆浆，再也不曾见到这个年青诚实的朋友了。至于我那个瘸子同乡，他现在还是第四十七连的号兵，他还是跛脚，但他从不和人提起这件事情。他是不曾犯罪的，但另外一个人的行为，却使他一生悒郁寡欢。至于我，还有什么意见没有？……我有点忧郁，有点不能同年青人合伴的脾气，在军队中不大相容，因此来到都市里，在都市里又象不大合式，可不知再往哪儿跑。我老不安定，因为我常常要记起那些过去事情。一个人有一个人命运，我知道。有些过去的事情永远咬着我的心，我说出来时，你们却以为是个故事，没有人能够了解一个人生活里被这种上百个故事压住时，他用的是一种如何心情过日子。 一九三○年八月二十四日完成