Tang Lang held a flashlight in his mouth and carefully scraped away a layer of loose soil on the ground with his beloved tiger-tooth saber. Slowly, a dark green metal block was exposed. He then poked at the surrounding soil, reached out his hand, and used the lightest
Take it out with a few movements, skillfully unscrew the bolts, lift the cover, remove the detonator, and put it aside.
The tiger-tooth saber has lost its former sharpness and edge, and is as gray as a sickle placed aside. Just like its owner, he is wearing a gray camouflage uniform with many patches, and his face is covered with weather.
I am afraid that those comrades who tried hard to retain Tang Lang but still could only watch his decisive departure saw that the high-spirited fifth-level sergeant with a sunny face who once ranked first in all military skills among individual soldiers in the Northwest Military Region has become this
He looks like he will burst into tears!
But Tang Lang had a satisfied smile on his face.
At this time, there were already five detonators lined up around him.
This is what he gained for most of today.
"Type 58 anti-infantry mine, made in the Soviet Union, press-type, metal shell, estimated to be fifty years old." Tang Lang took out a ball of rice that already had a rancid taste from the baggage next to him, and finished it in three bites.
, lit up a cigarette, looked at the distant mountains with squinted eyes through the light blue smoke, his gray face was filled with determination. "I'll work harder for a while, but if it doesn't work, I'll sleep on the mountain at night."
.”
This is already the third year that Tang Lang has chosen to retire from the army and return to his hometown.
His home is in a small mountain village on the southwest border of China. There is a large subtropical rainforest here, with mountains and mountains, and a beautiful environment. However, except for the locals who are unwilling to leave their hometown, few outsiders come here.
At the end of the last century, the Republic taught the bandits a lesson in the land further south, and launched a tug-of-war here that lasted several years.
After the war, the mountains and rivers remained the same and the rainforest regained its beauty, but it also left behind terrible hidden dangers - dense and dotted landmines.
Those landmines seemed to be alive, always exploding when you were least prepared, taking away a leg or other lives. Over time, all the young people in the village who could leave left.
Tang Lang benefited from his father who had been in the army. When he was 16 years old, he participated in the recruitment and left the familiar jungle to go to the Gobi Desert in the far west. The army is a melting pot, and ten years of desert wind and frost are enough to transform a person
The 16-year-old boy was transformed into a tenacious defender of the Republic.
Tang Lang never thought that one day he would choose to take off the olive green color that he loved so much.
Wear olive green, because daddy;
I took it off because of him.
Tang Lang's childhood impression of his father was actually not good. He was an alcoholic and would beat Tang Lang's mother when he was drunk. Until his mother passed away due to a serious illness, he became a complete bachelor and could only lean on Tang Lang when he was drunk.
The bedside murmured to himself.
When he is awake, Tang Lang should be the happiest and most frightened time. He is happy because he tells the story of fighting the invaders on this land, and the fear is that war is terrible.
What Tang Lang's father mentioned the most was not the time he charged into the battle and won the position, nor the time he had three fingers broken by a stray bullet. Instead, he kept telling about his nightmares, dreaming that he was on his position;
The comrades who were blown into two pieces by a mortar bomb; the platoon leader who dreamed of going down the mountain to fetch water for his comrades, but was shot in the head by an enemy sniper; the enemy who dreamed of lying in a swamp to ambush them, with his face being chewed to pieces by leeches.
military......
From an ignorant to a young man, Tang Lang grew up with his father sometimes sober and sometimes comatose. Tang Lang's dream was to be a scout like his father. However, on New Year's Eve when he was about ten years old, he took a
After Mu Qiang and his companions boasted like this, they were severely beaten by their father.
His father, who had never laid a finger on him, frantically pulled out his belt and beat him harder than ever! Without his mother, the young Tang Lang could only hide in the arms of his sister, who was three years older than him, and cry silently.
If he hadn't been optimistic by nature, I'm afraid he would have hated his father from then on.
But his father's attitude finally changed when he was 16 years old, and he took the initiative to send him down the mountain and out of the village to join the army. The price was that his sister, who was three years older than him, lost a leg. When she went to work in the fields,
Hit a landmine.
Tang Lang left wearing red flowers and wiping tears.
Since the year my sister stepped on a landmine, my father has stopped drinking. His daily job is to lead the way for the demining soldiers sent by the Republic and follow them to clear mines.
A landmine brought out by flash floods was hidden under the roots of a dead tree. Tang Lang's father, who noticed the clue, could have turned over to avoid it, but he still pounced on it with all his heart. He died. Next to him was a man who was a few years younger than Tang Lang.
Although the aged soldier was injured, he survived.
When Tang Lang received the news of his father's departure in the desert, he felt nothing but that the wind in the desert that day was so cold that he could not breathe.
Ten years later, he returned to his hometown wearing a training uniform without epaulettes, red flowers, and a tiger-tooth saber specially approved by the border guard chief, without tears.
What greeted him was his sister on crutches and his father's cold tombstone.
He wants to follow in his father's footsteps, even if one day he dies like his father.
That decision had already been made when he formally wrote the report to the chief to apply for retirement.
Three years have worn away Tang Lang's sadness. At least, he can easily pour him a glass of Maotai in front of his father's tombstone, light up three cigarettes, and have the courage to tell his father how many more cigarettes he has expelled.
Landmine. Although he knew that it was definitely not the news that his father wanted to hear, if he had the ability, he would jump out and beat his son! Even if he was beaten to death, Tang Lang would admit it.
His father's face was a little blurry in Tang Lang's memory! He really wanted to take another look.
However, my father must have been very happy when he heard another news. The demining soldier he rescued often came to visit his home, and actually fell in love with Tang Lang's sister, who was several years older than him. He even invited the head of the border defense force to his home.
Proposing a marriage is the kind that cannot be done without getting married.
Tang Lang is happiest when his sister is married to love.
A month ago, he went to visit his sister and brother-in-law who had settled in the county. When he went out, his little nephew waved his fat little hand and shouted: "Uncle, lollipop." Thinking of this, Tang Lang couldn't help but grin.
Yes, the retirement allowance is all placed in my sister’s account. If I just eat lollipops, I can feed that fat boy until he grows old.
The sky was already getting dark, and the sunlight turned dim yellow through the mountains and forests. Tang Lang shook the kettle and was reluctant to drink. He picked up a banana leaf and chewed it. The leaf juice could quench his thirst and refresh himself.
Today, he was going to explore a new area, going deeper than before. Tang Lang worked hard, took a deep breath, inserted his tiger-tooth saber into a suspected location, and probed gently.
The tip of the knife seemed to have hit something hard, causing goosebumps to rise on Tang Lang's body. Although he had dealt with the God of Death so close to him countless times in the past three years, he still maintained enough awe for this kind of thing. This was also his reason.
One of the main reasons why it remains intact to this day.
"Quack, you're lucky today, it's the sixth one." Tang Lang smacked his lips with satisfaction and carefully scraped away the soil with his tiger-tooth saber.
But the thing that appeared in front of him made Tang Lang, whose nerves were already extremely strong, a little confused.