A Y-8 taxied down from a low altitude on the runway of a military airport in the suburbs of Beijing.
The vibration caused by the plane's tires touching the ground pulled Qin Fei from his thoughts back to the real world.
When he and An Ruosu walked down the spiral staircase, Qin Fei became inexplicably nervous.
"Let's go!"
An Ruosu saw Qin Fei walking slowly behind, turned around and waved to him: "Why do you look like you are on the execution ground?"
Qin Fei smiled bitterly. He didn't know whether he should go to see An Ruosu's grandfather, the veteran general who was highly respected in the military community.
He once longed to know everything about his father, but now is a good opportunity. No one knows the history of Unit 203 better than Mr. An, as well as the truth locked in the fog.
An Ruosu asked him to go to the capital to meet Mr. An. At first, Qin Fei was excited and even thought about whether he could directly ask his father about his past.
What mission did he undertake back then?
What happened later that led to him becoming a traitor?
Where is he now? Is he still alive?
All these are question marks that have been buried in my heart for many years.
But when the opportunity came, I felt an indescribable hesitation.
The truth is often a sealed box. Qin Fei is afraid that when he opens it, there will be a poisonous snake inside, which will bite him in turn.
"Qin Fei." An Ruosu returned to Qin Fei, "I understand how you feel now. If you really don't want to see me, I can find an excuse and say that you are in a hurry, so I went home. I think
Grandpa will understand."
"Since you're here, let's meet him." Qin Fei said, "I haven't seen Mr. An in many years. Is he in good health?"
"It's so good, I almost feel like an old naughty boy, running out to fish every day."
The two of them walked not far away when they saw a noncommissioned officer waving to them next to a Santana with a military license plate on the edge of the tarmac, and then ran towards them.
"Xiao Ge." An Ruosu said, "Grandpa's driver."
Soon I got in the car.
Santana walked through the streets and alleys of the capital. Not long after, when it got dark, she came to a courtyard house.
It is a quiet place in the midst of movement, adjacent to the center of power in the capital. From the outside, the small courtyard does not seem particularly luxurious. Instead, it looks a bit simple and low-rise. Green vines cover the walls everywhere, but the environment is quiet and a bit more solemn.
As soon as I entered the door, I saw several service workers busy under the grape trellis in the yard, and the small dining table was placed in the shade of the tree under the trellis.
Seeing someone coming, the busy service staff all turned their eyes over.
"Qin Fei? Isn't this Qin Fei?"
A woman who was nearly fifty years old came forward, looked Qin Fei up and down, then looked at An Ruosu next to her, and shouted again in surprise: "Susu, why are you with Qin Fei!? Why don't you come back?"
Should I inform you in advance?”
This woman had the light behind her, so Qin Fei couldn't see her face clearly, but he could smell the smell of a soldier on her body, and he vaguely felt that this person looked familiar.
She was wearing regular trousers and a shirt, her jacket had been taken off, her sleeves were rolled up, her hair was straight to her ears, simple and neat.
"Mom, grandpa asked me to bring Qin Fei." When An Ruosu returned home, the female officer's temperament immediately transformed into the girl next door. She went up to hold her mother's hand and acted coquettishly, "When can we eat? I'm almost hungry.
Dead."
"You girl! You just want to eat when you come back! Just wait."
Qin Fei immediately realized that this was An Ruosu's mother Tie Yu. An Ruosu's father and mother both lived in the compound back then and were very familiar with his family.
It is said that his father Qin Anguo and An Ruosu's father An Yuanchao also participated in the counterattack together.
"Hello Auntie Tie!" Qin Fei quickly greeted with a hat.
"Are you really..." Tie Yu stepped forward, grabbed Qin Fei's hands, glanced at his face, looked up and down several times, and his eyes suddenly became moist, "You have grown up, you have really grown up.
But the appearance has not changed."
After a pause, he asked again: "Where is your mother? Is my sister Shaoqin okay?"
"Fortunately, she works as a doctor in her hometown." Qin Fei said.
"Still in the same profession..." Tie Yu nodded, "Back then, she was the backbone of surgery in our hospital. If not..."
At this point, I stopped.
Tie Yu realized that he shouldn't mention this matter, especially in front of Qin Fei.
In order to divert his embarrassment, Tie Yu turned around and shouted into the house behind him: "Yuanchao, look who's coming! Come out and have a look!"
A burly man walked out of the door of a room, with piercing eyes, energetic short hair, and slightly dark skin. He was also dressed like Tie Yu, with his sleeves rolled up and holding a half-pinched ball in his hand.
Dumplings, apparently helping to make dumplings in the kitchen.
When he saw Qin Fei, the man was stunned for a moment, as if he didn't believe his eyes.
After a while, his emotions seemed to be under control again, and he didn't say much. He nodded to Qin Fei and said, "Qin Fei, since you're here, come over and make dumplings with me. I can't be busy alone."
After finishing speaking, he was still playing with the dumplings in his hands, his movements seemed a bit clumsy, and he was obviously not very good at it.
In this small courtyard here, there are no generals or chiefs anymore, only family members.
Qin Fei has not seen this kind of scene for many years.
Since my father's accident, my mother has almost cut off all contact with her old friends and relatives. Every year, only the mother and son spend the holidays together, which is deserted.
A warmth surged in his heart, and he quickly responded: "Hey, come right away, I'll wash my hands first."
There was a faucet under the grape trellis. Qin Fei was washing his hands, but couldn't see Mr. An. He couldn't help but ask Tie Yu, "Auntie Tie, where is Mr. An?"
Tie Yu pointed to the backyard and said, "In there, he and his old comrades are playing chess."
Qin Fei laughed after hearing this and said, "Grandpa An still loves playing chess so much?"
In my memory, the first time I met Mr. An was in the courtyard. The old man came to visit An Ruosu's family, and also came to the house to talk with his father several times in a room.
Later, when he was free, the old man taught Qin Fei, who was only a few years old, how to play chess.
Although the memory is vague, it is always deep in my mind.
Handing a towel to Qin Fei, Tie Yu said: "Cake it. The old man likes to play with calligraphy and painting, playing chess and fishing. These grapes are served by the security guards for him. He doesn't like flowers and plants, but he is quite good at farming."
Interesting, look, those ridges of leeks were planted by him."
For an old revolutionary who retired to take care of his old age, he really couldn't find a better pastime like playing chess and fishing. However, the old man was used to being self-sufficient in the base area, and growing vegetables as a habit followed him southward.
Fighting in the north, we are at home all over the world.
Entering the kitchen, An Yuanchao was competing with a pile of dumplings. When he saw Qin Fei coming in, he said: "Qin Fei, come here and see how well I make these dumplings? Your Auntie Tie said that I use these dumplings to beat dogs."
Even the dogs won’t eat it. Is it that bad?”
Qin Fei looked at the dumplings on the table. As expected, the workmanship was extremely poor. Many of them were cut open, revealing the leek and pork fillings inside. He couldn't help laughing and said: "Chief, let me do it. At your speed, you won't even be able to eat tomorrow."
Already."
An Yuanchao finally became discouraged and said: "It seems that being able to command a war may not be enough to deal with a dumpling..."
After a pause, his tone became kind, and he said: "Don't call me Chief here, call me Uncle An. By the way, how is your mother's health? Is she okay?"
Qin Fei pinched the dumplings and nodded: "Well, it's not bad. She is still doing surgery in the hospital in Ren County. She has a regular work and rest schedule, so there will be no problems with her body."
An Yuanchao said with emotion: "I haven't seen your mother for almost ten years. I'm afraid I can't remember what my siblings are like..."
Qin Fei paused for a moment, then continued, jokingly asking: "Uncle An, then my dad...do you still remember?"
An Yuanchao's expression suddenly froze, and he froze there without speaking for a long time. After a long time, he said: "I will never forget it in my life..."