In the quiet room, Wei Ran picked up a bullet and looked at it, then stuffed it back into its original position.
After opening the second layer of the food box, there was still the 20-pot belly box alone, and nothing else.
With a sigh, Wei Ran fastened the big red eight-sided food box and returned it to the red vortex. Then he lay on the bed and fell into a deep sleep.
After resting for a whole day in Chengdu to recuperate, Wei Ran took the high-speed train and rushed to Zigong. Following the address on the metal book, he found a small grain and oil store deep in an old street.
Far away, he saw a dark plaque hanging directly above the entrance of the grain and oil store. The three golden characters "Cangxizhai" with flying phoenixes on the plaque had become a little dim due to the constant wind and rain.
, from time to time, there are a few sparrows flying in and out behind the plaque.
Through the clean windows, I saw a few middle-aged people in their forties or fifties, busy arranging the Great Wall around a mahjong table, and at their feet, there were two plump raccoons.
The tabby cat was lying next to the electric heater and squinting its eyes.
Except for the table of people playing mahjong, the rest of the room was filled with shelves, and all kinds of rice, flour, grains and oils on them were neatly packed away.
Lifting up the slightly stained cotton curtain, there was a soft "squeak" as the wooden door was pushed open. One of the middle-aged men playing mahjong raised his head and said hello in dialect first. When he saw Wei Ran's face,
At a loss, he switched to Mandarin with a slight accent and asked enthusiastically, "What do you want to buy?"
"Boss, I'm looking for someone." Wei Ran put the cigarettes and wine he was carrying on the wooden table at the entrance and said politely.
After looking at the gift Wei Ran put on the table, the middle-aged man stood up and asked politely, "Who are you looking for?"
"I want to find Li Wangchuan"
"Li Wangchuan?"
The middle-aged uncle was stunned and asked subconsciously, "Are you looking for me, old man?"
Seeing Wei Ran nod, the middle-aged uncle looked at the gift Wei Ran put on the table again. After hesitating for a moment, he said something in dialect to the other three people surrounding the mahjong table. After the three people left, he became enthusiastic.
He invited Wei Ran to sit down at the mahjong table, poured a glass of hot water and asked, "What do you want from me, old man?"
Wei Ran took the hot water and took a sip, took out a thick photo album and the brass abacus the size of a pencil case from his backpack, and then recounted briefly what happened in Teng County that year.
"Where did you find these...where did you find these?" the owner of the grain and oil store asked in surprise after hearing the story.
"This matter starts with a pistol"
Wei Ran found the photo of the 20-ring potbelly box from his phone and showed it to the other party, then said, "The negatives of the photos you just saw, as well as the brass abacus, are all the same as the 20-ring pot.
They were discovered together with the big belly box. As for what happened, the owner of this abacus, an apprentice from Cangxizhai Pawnshop, told me. I searched for a long time before I found this place. Uncle, can you..."
"The apprentice you mentioned, he..."
Wei Ran hesitated for a moment, then shook his head, "He passed away not long ago."
After returning the phone to Wei Ran, the boss looked through the photo album again in disbelief, stood up and said, "I'll take you to my old man!"
"Thank you!" Wei Ran quickly stood up and said.
"It's my turn to thank you! By the way, my name is Li Weizhong! What do you call your little brother?"
"Wei Ran, just call me Wei Ran." Wei Ran took the other person's hand and shook it.
Li Weizhong became more and more enthusiastic. He helped Wei Ran carry the gifts on the table. He didn't even lock the door of the store, but hung a wooden sign on it. Then he took Wei Ran deeper into the old street and finally stopped at
He stood at the door of an old house that looked quite old. On the lintel of this old house, there was also a polished and exceptionally clean "Glory" sign.
Warmly greeting Wei Ran as he walked through the door, an uncle named Li Weizhong led him into a room with the best lighting. Then he saw an energetic old gentleman sitting upright on a Taishi chair.
On the table, holding a writing brush, he wrote a poem called "Man Jiang Hong" on a piece of rice paper.
Looking around, there are many landscape painting scrolls hanging on the walls of this room. There is also a big fish tank on the long table by the window. In the tank, there is not only a bowl of lotus, but also a few small goldfish swimming leisurely.
Come and swim.
On the wall facing the window, there is a neatly made single bed. On the wall above the bed, there are several glass frames. In one of the color photos, there is a
A young man is wearing an old-fashioned military uniform and carrying a 56 punch. The background of this photo is the smoky mountains and dense jungle.
Looking at the soldier in the photo who was eighty-nine times similar to Li Sui'an back then, Wei Ran knew he had found the right place, and the surrounding furnishings hinted at the old man Zhengyi who focused on practicing calligraphy and seemed to have lived a peaceful life in his later years.
Very comfortable.
"I, an old man, cannot stop when I am practicing calligraphy. Little brother, please wait." Li Weizhong motioned to Wei Ran to sit wherever he wanted, while he skillfully took a tube of tea leaves from the bookshelf and brewed a pot of hot tea.
It wasn't until he finished writing the last stroke that the old gentleman asked with a smile, "Where did you get this kid from?"
Before Wei Ran could answer, Li Weizhong came over with a teapot and poured tea for the two of them while explaining a few words in dialect. The old man waved his hand, and Li Weizhong greeted Wei Ran and finally left the room.
When the door was closed from the outside, Wei Ran took out the photo album and the brass abacus from his backpack again, and gently pushed them in front of the old gentleman.
But before he could explain this time, the old gentleman picked up the abacus in surprise and asked, "Where did you get this abacus?"
Wei Ran raised his eyebrows, this old man's Mandarin was much better than his son Li Weizhong.
After thinking for a moment, Wei Ran came back to his senses and asked with a smile, "Old sir, is this abacus very special?"
The old man carefully checked the inscriptions on the frame of the abacus and took the initiative to explain, "This is far from the truth. Before the founding of the People's Republic of China, all apprentices in our family would be assigned such an abacus. Until
Only after I leave the army can I take back this plan."
"Old sir, is your name Li Wangchuan?" Wei Ran confirmed for the last time.
"Do you still know my name?" The old gentleman became more and more curious.
Wei Ran nodded and retold the story he had just told at the grain and oil store on the pretext of being entrusted by an old man who lived abroad and was an apprentice of Cangxunzhai.
As he told the story, the expression on Mr. Li Wangchuan's face changed from confusion to surprise, and then from surprise to realization. After listening, Wei Ran took a handful of soil from the monument in Tengzhou and bought it under the osmanthus tree near the Sichuan Army Monument.
, already burst into tears and burst into tears.
After a long time, until the old man calmed down, Wei Ran took out his cell phone, pulled up the picture of the 20-ring pot belly box again and pushed it to the other person, "Old sir, I came here just to share this abacus with
I sent these photos. In addition, I also want to hear what the descendants of the Li family think about how to deal with the pot-bellied box in the photo."
The room warmed by the sun fell silent for a while. After a long time, Mr. Li Wangchuan said with full of memories, "I was born on the National Day in 1949. At that time, the children of the same age as me were either named Jianguo or National Day.
, I remember when I was a child, I heard my mother say that she had a fight with him over the name."
Wei Ran held the warm tea cup and couldn't help but ask, "What happened next?"
Old Mr. Li Wangchuan shook his head, "He never told us about his past service as a soldier, but he often told us the story of my third uncle. Later, when I grew up and finished high school, I was sent to serve as a soldier.
Because of this matter, my mother and my old man had another quarrel.
Later, I went to the front line to help the Vietnamese monkeys fight against the United States. A few years after aiding Vietnam, we fought again with those white-eyed wolves. At that time, I lost a leg on the battlefield. Because of this
, my wife and my old man had another fight.
Having said this, the old man gently pulled up his trousers, revealing a small piece of metal prosthetic leg for Wei Ran to look at and continued, "I have also been a soldier. I have been a soldier for almost ten years. I know what the situation is like on the battlefield.
But I have never regretted it, and I think my father and my third uncle have never regretted it either."
"There is no army without a river," Wei Ran put down his tea cup and sighed. He only knew the experiences of brothers Li Hexian and Li Sui'an, but he did not expect that Li Sui'an's descendants would continue this bloody legacy.
Mr. Li Wangchuan picked up the tea cup and took a sip, and continued to recall, "In 1987, when my mother left, she said that my old man had only had three quarrels with her in this life, and they were all related to me. In 1988, my old man said
He also left. When he left, he read the poem engraved on the box gun several times. We thought it was him at the time... Alas!"
Seeing the sigh on Wei Ran's face, Mr. Li Wangchuan pushed the phone back in front of Wei Ran, "If it's convenient, just find a museum to donate the gun. As for my third uncle, when you go back, take me with you."
Go over and identify the place."
Having said this, Mr. Li Wangchuan pointed out the window, "Across the road is the old Zhou family. Our two families have been neighbors for a hundred years. The Miss Zhou family whom my third uncle liked never married until her death. In the end,
He was also buried in our Li family cemetery, together with my third uncle’s grave."
Wei Ran subconsciously turned his head and looked at the old house across the stone road. He heard Mr. Li Wangchuan continue to say, "My daughter-in-law belongs to their old Zhou family. Let me discuss it with their family and see if it is right."
If you want my third uncle to come back, let him accompany those comrades who came out of Sichuan together."
Wei Ran nodded with emotion, and then heard Mr. Li Wangchuan ask, "You kid, it's not easy to find your way all the way here. If it's convenient, why don't you stay and have a meal with our family?"
Wei Ran hesitated for a moment and nodded happily, "Then I'll cause you trouble."
