Just after March, Li Pingan was cultivating a vegetable garden at home.
Alia popped her head out from the wall, "Uncle, has there been any letter from Chu Sheng?"
As she grows older, Alia has grown into a tall and graceful girl.
My skin has improved, my face has become plumper, and my facial features have become much softer.
His personality is as cheerful and lively as ever.
"Not yet." Li Ping'an said.
The war on the front line had just ended, and the soldiers had not yet settled down.
The letter couldn't have arrived so quickly.
This time the Sui Dynasty achieved quite a victory, but the price was equally heavy.
In the blink of an eye, more than two months have passed, and Chen Chusheng's letter still has not arrived.
Doha and Aliya were both worried that something had happened to him. Aliya had several dreams about Chen Chusheng and death on the battlefield.
A few more days passed.
Li Ping'an decided to go to the front line to have a look, and Ma Sanniang happened to ask him to go to the front line to do something.
Li Pingan took the old cow and walked all the way.
The narrower the road, the fewer pedestrians there are.
It was full of desolation, with only the wind blowing through the poplar trees on the roadside.
On the way, Li Ping'an met a woman with a young man in his late teens.
This woman is not ugly, nor is she old.
It's just that his body is so skinny that he looks like a dried hen.
"Mom, please rest for a while and drink some water."
The young man took out a pot of water and took out the cooking cakes from the bag.
Then, he walked to Li Ping'an again.
"Uncle, let's have a sesame seed pancake and some pickles made at home. Don't mind it."
Li Ping'an smiled warmly, "Thank you very much."
Through small talk, I learned that the mother and son also went to look for their relatives.
The old woman's eldest son is also serving as a soldier in the military camp. Now that the war is over, there has been no news about him.
The worried woman and her young son planned to go to the military camp to have a look.
"Mom, don't worry, big brother will be fine."
The young man comforted.
"Didn't eldest brother say that when we come back, we will have money, and our family can live in a big house, and you won't have to weave anymore."
The old woman sighed, "What a big house, I just want you to be safe and sound."
A few days later, Li Ping'an rushed to the frontline military camp.
After the war, the front lines relaxed a lot.
Li Ping'an walked up to a sentry and asked, "Sir, please ask me something."
The sentry took a look at Li Ping'an.
"I wonder if you know someone named Chen Chusheng?"
The sentry said nothing.
Li Ping'an calmly handed over some coins.
The sentry weighed it a few times and said casually: "I don't know him."
Li Ping'an took out another silver nugget, about one yuan.
"Brothers please have some drinks."
The sentry then changed his subject and said, "Looking for someone, go to the Classics Office to find someone."
The sentry called a soldier and asked him to take Li Ping'an and the others to the classics office.
The old woman and the young man also took advantage of it.
When we arrived at the classics office, there were many people here looking for their families.
Worried about not being able to find it, and also worried that if it is found, it will just be a death news.
Some people covered their faces and cried bitterly, while others prayed silently...
"Next, next!!"
The officials at the Classics Department looked impatient.
Li Ping'an and the old woman waited for two hours before it was finally their turn.
As a result, the official slapped the table and said, "Okay, that's it for today. If you are looking for someone, come back tomorrow."
The people behind me immediately became anxious when they heard this.
But apart from a few complaints, there is nothing I can do.
Li Ping'an leaned over and took out another coin from his arms.
"Master Jun, we have been traveling for several days. Please make it easier."
"This is a rule, and there's nothing I can do about it," the man said righteously.
"Understand, understand."
Li Pingan took out another handful of broken silver.
"Please make it convenient for me, Master Jun. I'm old and worried about my children."
The man nodded pretendingly and changed his words, "They are all loyal to the country. I can understand. Please tell me what your name is and where you are from."
Li Ping'an and the old woman reported their children's information.
The official held out a thick stack of classics and said, "Look for it yourself. Anyone with a red cross is dead."
When I opened it, I saw it was packed full of names.
Neither the old woman nor the young son can read.
Li Ping'an could only get closer, open his pale eyes, and identify bit by bit.
This kind of efficiency is really too slow.
Li Ping'an wrote down the name of the old woman's son and asked them to remember his appearance and then go find him.
A round sunset clung to the ridgeline of the desert, outlining one outline after another.
Li Ping'an rubbed his eyes and put down the classics.
He sat there and said nothing for a long time.
At this moment, I felt like my eyes were filled with fog.
The handwriting on the paper is trembling, and I can't bear to read it anymore.
Suddenly the old woman took a booklet, pointed to the name on it and asked: "Sir, could you please help me see if this is my son's name?"
Li Ping'an pondered for a moment, "Yes."
The old woman seemed to have guessed something, "Then the red cross on it..."
Seeing that Li Ping'an didn't reply, she was stunned for a moment.
He raised his hand, but then lowered it feebly and sat down.
Li Pingan closed the book and wanted to comfort him.
But in the face of life and death, any language seems so pale and powerless.
Li Pingan left the military camp.
.............
Five days later, Li Ping'an discovered Chen Chusheng's body on a hillside.
This is not the main battlefield, and there is no one to collect their bodies.
It was a relief from the embarrassment in the mountains, but fortunately Chen Chusheng's body was preserved.
Probably it's not his turn yet.
Before his death, he should have resisted desperately.
His body was covered with dense wounds covering every inch of his skin, with almost no trace of intact flesh and blood visible.
The young man's face remained determined.
Perhaps before he died, he was still dreaming about a bright future that did not belong to him.
I heard someone said he was a monk in the team, and they were originally on a sneak attack mission in the last battle.
As a result, the monk betrayed the Sui Dynasty and led the team into a Turkic ambush.
Li Ping'an dug a big pit and buried everyone's bodies.
Originally, I wanted to dig a hole for Chen Chusheng alone, but I figured this kid didn't want to be too lonely.
He was buried with his companions.
Li Ping'an sat beside the grave and said to himself: "When I was studying before, I read such a sentence.
You can choose everything in the world, but you can't choose your life.
Nothing in the world can withstand scrutiny. Upon closer inspection, everything contains grievances.
I came into this world and suffered a lot.
I used to think that one day was just one day, and there was no great ambition. Success or failure was nothing but success.
He thinks he is some kind of old Zen master who has seen through the joys and sorrows of the world, but in fact he is just unwilling to experience those separations of life and death.
I have been soft-hearted since I was young. When I was a child, I would see my playmates crush ants to death on purpose.
I stopped them, so others stopped playing with me.
My dad said I won't be able to achieve anything when I grow up.