After careful consideration, I rejected Uncle Gao again. This is what I thought and what I told him. If I was afraid of sacrifice and danger, I would not join the army.
Everyone is afraid of danger, so how can we fight this war? It is what we should do to be always prepared to bear the burden of the country, and I asked Uncle Gao to move me to the most dangerous position.
Uncle Gao patted my shoulder, saying that it was indeed Zheng Laohu's, and he insisted on it.
Dear mother, please forgive me for being willful. Since I pledged myself to the country, I can no longer fulfill my filial piety by your side.
Let the third child and the younger sister stay with you! It is cold in the winter in Beijing, so wear more clothes when you go out. My eldest brother and I are not with you, so take care of yourself.
Please forgive me again, my dear mother, there is no need to reply. When you receive this letter, I guess I have already set off. If I have time, I will write to you again.
Sincerely
salute
Written at the foot of Mount Tai on December 30, 1950.
After reading the letter, the mother and son looked at each other in silence for a long time.
It wasn't until my sister Xinyi opened the door and came in that the depressing atmosphere in the house was relieved.
Zheng Xinyi looked at the mother and son in the room and asked cautiously.
"Mom! What happened to you and third brother?"
Mother Zheng wiped her red eyes and said hoarsely.
"Mom and your third brother, it's okay! You must be hungry! Mom will get you hot food right now."
After saying that, I turned my back and couldn't help but shed tears. I wiped them away and turned around to say.
"Third brother! You heat up the leftovers from lunch and eat them with your sister first. I have something to do when I go out."
After saying that, without waiting for Zheng Zhendong's reply, he ran out.
Zheng Xinyi saw Zheng's mother running out and hurriedly questioned Zheng Zhendong.
"Third brother! Why did you offend our mother? I even saw her crying."
Zheng Zhendong looked at his angry sister and said.
"It wasn't me who provoked her. The person who provoked her was not here, otherwise I would have taught him a lesson."
Zheng Xinyi asked after hearing what her third brother said.
"Who's messing with our mother? She's still making her cry even though she's not here. What's going on? Third brother, you've confused me."
Zheng Zhendong raised the letter in his hand and said.
"Our second brother wrote a letter, and it was he who made our mother cry in the letter."
Hearing this, Zheng Xinyi asked excitedly.
"Second brother has a letter! Did he mention me in the letter? Did he say when he would be back? How did he make mom cry?"
Zheng Zhendong was shocked when he heard his sister's question. He didn't know whether he should tell her that his second brother was going abroad to fight, so he had to coax.
"Second brother, I wish you well in this letter and tell you to go to school next year and study hard."
"As for what made our mother cry, my second brother got into a fight in the army and was slightly injured. Our mother was worried about him."
After saying that, he stood up, poured the leftovers into the pot, and stirred a few times.
Seeing that my sister wanted to ask more questions, I quickly interrupted her questioning, then told her to watch the pot, and then went out to find Zheng's mother.
I searched around the courtyard but couldn't find it. When I went out, I met Aunt Ma who was returning from taking out the trash.
Hearing that Zheng's mother had gone west, Zheng Zhendong thanked Aunt Ma and hurriedly went west.
Finally, Zheng’s mother was found in the shadows in the northwest corner of the courtyard.
Zheng Zhendong hurried over and looked at Zheng's mother who was already crying. Zheng Zhendong felt sour in his heart.
At this time, Zheng's mother had already seen her son Zheng Zhendong coming and asked with a tearful voice.
"Lao San, why are you here? Didn't I ask you to heat the food at home?"
When Zheng Zhendong heard Mother Zheng's question, he spoke.
"Aren't I worried about you? I asked my little sister to watch my dish! Are you okay, Mom?"
Mother Zheng said gloomily.
"I'm fine, I'm just a little scared. I'm afraid that your second brother, like your father and your father, will never come back."
"Hey! I can't think of it... Bah! Bah! Bah! Bodhisattva bless you!"
Zheng Zhendong heard Zheng's mother talking nonsense and knew that she was upset.
I quickly reassured Mother Zheng... After a while, Mother Zheng finally recovered. At this time, she heard Mother Zheng sneezing.
"Ah sneeze!"
Zheng Zhendong persuaded Zheng's mother to go home at the right time.
"Mom, go home! It's quite cold outside. If you catch a cold, it won't be good."
Mother Zheng shivered from the cold and tightened her clothes tightly.
"Let's go home. I don't trust your sister at home."
Zheng Zhendong followed Zheng's mother home. On the way, he told Zheng's mother what he had just said to coax his sister, and asked Zheng's mother not to spill the beans.
After a while, the two of them returned home. By this time, my sister had already taken out the hot dishes and put them on the dining table.
Zheng Xinyi saw the mother and son entering the house and said.
"Mom, where have you been? Why did you come back? It was my second brother who got into a fight. What's wrong with you? It's not like I haven't had a fight before."
Mother Zheng heard her daughter talking non-stop, so she interrupted at the right time.
"Okay, I'm fine now. I received a letter from your second brother before and suddenly I missed him a little. Now I'm fine. Let's eat!"
After saying that, the three of them sat down at the dining table one after another and started eating.
…
After finishing the meal and cleaning up, Zheng Zhen was about to go to bed when Zheng's mother said.
"Third brother, if you have nothing to do tomorrow, write a letter to your second uncle and tell him to tell your grandma that our family is looking for a wife for your eldest brother."
"Let me ask your grandma if you want to come and stay at our house for a while."
"Okay, got it, Mom!"
Zheng Zhendong first agreed and then asked.
"Is there anything else you want to send? I'll write it down together."
Mother Zheng thought about it for a moment and then said.
"I haven't thought of anything else for the moment. I'll think about it before going to bed tonight, and I'll tell you tomorrow morning. Okay, go to bed! Your sister and I are going to bed too."
After hearing what Zheng's mother said, Zheng Zhendong picked up the kerosene lamp in his bedroom and lit it, then went back to sleep with the lamp in hand.
Zheng Zhendong finished taking off his clothes, lay down in bed and turned out the lights, thinking about what happened today and feeling filled with emotion.
First, I saw the legendary big boss Qin Huairu. When I thought of Qin Huairu, I thought about where my eldest brother would live after getting married.
Although my eldest brother is now an officer, he is not of high rank and is not allowed to bring family members with him.
There are a total of two rooms in the house. The eldest brother can still squeeze in with Zheng Zhendong before he is married, but it will be inconvenient for him after he is married.
Although Zheng Zhendong could give up the room he was currently living in and sleep in the living room by himself, it was not ideal.
After all, if the eldest brother does not change his job or upgrade, Qin Huairu will have to live at home.
After my eldest brother gets married and doesn't live at home, he will inevitably be criticized by the neighbors in the yard.
So I have to consider buying a house. Anyway, private houses can still be traded now, but I don’t know what the price will be.
Also, whether the family has that much money, Zheng Zhendong is worried about these questions.
I thought about staying half the night, but I didn't think about coming up with a reason. I would go to bed and ask my mother tomorrow.