Winter is about to pass, but there is no trace of snow in southern Xinjiang. The weather is foggy, and light rain falls from the sky, covering the Martyrs Monument with a thin veil.
Located on the outskirts of Dehong and under the jurisdiction of the Military Division, the Revolutionary Martyrs Cemetery is built against the mountains and is majestic and solemn.
The mausoleum at No. 17, Terrace 5, Martyrs Cemetery is where Gong Liangjun and his wife Zeng Rulan are buried. The cemetery faces northwest and faces southeast. The mausoleum is paved with granite strips. It is neat and beautiful, surrounded by tall pines and fragrant orchids and osmanthus.
Because her parents' ashes had not been buried yet, Gong Xue could not see the inscription yet. She was half-kneeling on the damp ground, stroking the cold marble tomb over and over again, with a distant and focused expression, as if she was nestling in the arms of her parents.
A spoiled child...
Suddenly there was a dark green military uniform on his body.
With his heart-warming body temperature, Gong Xue came back to her senses from her memory.
Gao Yuan was also half-kneeling in the rain, holding a dark blue plaid umbrella borrowed from the cemetery management office. Most of his body was outside the umbrella, with some rainwater on his eyelashes, and the contents in his eyes became increasingly clear.
Touching.
Her mood, as wet as rain, was infected by his sunny gaze, and she gradually came out of the gloom.
Looking at each other and smiling slightly, she held his big hand and stood up steadily.
She pushed the umbrella towards him, frowning slightly, "Be careful if you get wet." Although she had confirmed that his wound had healed very well, she was still worried, fearing that he would collapse again due to a high fever.
She has experienced too many disasters and does not allow those around her to encounter any danger.
Especially him.
Understanding her stubbornness, Gao Yuan moved under the umbrella, but he stopped Gong Xue from taking off his coat, "I'm not cold, you can wear it."
How could it not be cold?
Even if there is no snow in southern Xinjiang in winter, the cold and humid environment coupled with the strong mountain wind is still cold enough to make people's teeth chatter.
Seeing that she didn't believe it, Gao Yuan, who was only wearing a military shirt, actually got out from under the umbrella, took off his military cap, and faced the rain on his back, "Xiaoxue, I'm really not cold! Look, there's still heat coming out of my head, right?"
"
Sure enough, there were curls of white steam steaming up from my hair without a hat...
She was stunned, thinking of the martial arts stunts she had seen in martial arts novels, and couldn't help but shake her head and put the umbrella over his head, "Anyway, when you are with me, you have to listen to me.
"
Gao Yuan grinned, leaned on his legs with a bang, and saluted her, "Yes!"
The fine rain woven into a transparent sheet around them, and they walked clinging to each other from the quiet cemetery to the bottom of the mountain.
"Do you know how many martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the country are buried here?" Gao Yuan's tone was slightly sad.
Gong Xue thought for a moment, "It should be number 1051."
Gao Yuan glanced at her in surprise, she actually knew.
Gong Xue pointed to the inscription recording the list of martyrs on the side of the monument at the foot of the mountain and said: "I just read it. The martyr recently buried here is named Hu. He fell into the river and died in the anti-drug battle last month. He is the 1051st.
"
She looked back at the Tomb of Heroes No. 5 soaked in rain and fog, and said in a calm tone: "Including mom and dad, it should be 1053."
Gao Yuan's deep eyes stared at her with compassion, "Please take time to visit them in the future. Although you won't be lonely with so many comrades, they will still miss you. Xiaoxue, don't be sad, I will come to visit often.
Team Gong and instructor Zeng.”
She nodded obediently, stretched out her hand from her military uniform, and gently put it into his palm, "Thank you."
Mom and dad will also like you, Gao Yuan.
Gao Yuan stopped in front of a tomb where the inscription could not be clearly seen. His expression became extremely solemn. Gong Xue accompanied him and quietly pushed the umbrella towards him.
He suddenly said in a sad tone: "I didn't expect that he would be buried here."
Gong Xue looked at the mottled tombstone, "Who is it?"
"He is a hero I heard about when I first joined the Special Forces. He killed five vicious thugs by himself, and finally bit the grenade ring with his teeth and died with them. He was an orphan and was not more than 10 years old when he died. At the memorial meeting
, except for a mutilated body, no relatives saw him off."
Gao Yuan half-knelt on the ground, wiped off the muddy water stains on the tombstone with his hands, and gently read out the incomplete handwriting on it.
"Qi Tianfu, a native of Zigui County, Hubei Province, was born in July 1980. He joined the army in January 1998 and died in the anti-drug battle of Qinghe on September 23, 2000. During his lifetime, he was a soldier of the 2nd Detachment of the 34th Division's Regiment of the 77xxx Unit of the People's Liberation Army, first class
Hero."
Gao Yuan stared at the vague words "Qi Tianfu" on the inscription and fell into thinking for a long time.
What makes him heartbroken is that the martyrs who chose to serve the motherland without hesitation and sacrificed their lives heroically are buried in southern Xinjiang, but no one pays homage to them all year round. They are like tiny specks of dust forgotten in the long river of history, never to be remembered again.
It won't attract people's attention.
They bid farewell to the world of life, and their fiery youth no longer burns. They were so young when they fell. Many of them have not even tasted the taste of love, let alone screamed for the meticulous care they received from birth.
The parents who loved and raised them into adults. They have turned into eternal mountains guarding the southwestern border of the motherland.
A martyr is an endless story of heartbreak. Those sincere and sorrowful memorials came from thousands of miles away, but no one has ever brought comfort to the heroic spirits of martyrs like Qi Tianfu.
Gao Yuan suddenly made a decision, "Xiaoxue, wait for me here, okay?"
Gong Xue seemed to have guessed his intention, "Do you want me to help you?"
He shook his head, touched her hair, and ran into the rain without hesitation. Just as she expected, the plateau was running towards the garden with flowers and trees on the side of the cemetery.
She put the umbrella on her head, squatted down, stared at the inscription that Gao Yuan had read, and read it again. Her voice did not have the rich magnetism of Gao Yuan, and perhaps there was not too much emotion mixed in it, so the feeling when she read it was,
Even she felt dry, as if she had blasphemed the hero's soul.
She made a sorry gesture and said seriously to the tombstone: "Hello. My name is Gong Xue. I am your comrade. Oh no, I am your junior comrade. I am a friend from the plateau." She used the word friend.
Words to describe her relationship with the plateau.
She could not quite understand the motives of the heroes who sacrificed their lives for the country, including her parents. Gong Xue also held a trace of resentment in the early days. While they were fulfilling their righteousness, they left endless pain to their living relatives.
She has always been confused about the actual value of sacrifice.