all the way

After the National Day, the weather soon became cooler, and the trees in the mountains began to change their colors slowly.

The autumn harvest is almost over, and the work of plowing and planting wheat has just begun. The whole family is busy, even Liu Rui and Liu Wei, who are on autumn vacation, are following the adults to pick up sweet potatoes. Only Liu Xia, who came home on Saturday, brought the cat Play hard and fast.

Mao'er is almost three years old and has a good memory. Liu Xia couldn't go home for two consecutive weeks because of the rain. He was frightened. He refused to leave Liu Xia's side for a second.

Moreover, he also knew that as soon as he fell asleep, his little uncle would disappear when he got up, so on Saturday night, he stayed up until almost eleven o'clock before he couldn't hold on to falling asleep. Uncle Hug", "My Uncle Comes Home", "My Uncle Doesn't Go to School".

Liu Xia didn't sleep well all night, and was always worrying about how he could leave the house by himself without the cat finding out the next afternoon.

It was almost a little after lunch on Sunday, no matter how much Liu Xia hugged and patted the cat, the cat refused to sleep.

In the end, there was no other way, Liu Xia simply lay on the kang and hugged him, patted his back and read to him a long passage in "Les Miserables", and it took him a long time to lull him to sleep.

Liu Ling has already covered the frame car, this time, Liu Hai and Liu Xia will bring thick winter bedding.

Liu Xia gently kissed the cat several times, and then slowly moved up to let Sun Chang'e lie down next to the cat.

Sun Chang'e touched the corner of Liu Xia's festered mouth, and sighed: "When you get up early in the morning, yawn slowly, don't let the blood bleed, you are already thin."

Liu Xia grinned, the corners of his mouth hurt badly, but he still said cheerfully: "It's okay, everyone in my class is like this, I'll be fine after a while."

Today it was Liu Ling who pulled the cart to see them off.

After eating, Liu Kui followed Liu Changqing to the brigade to discuss the application for relief food. After the meeting, he went to the north slope of Shangyao to pick up Liu Ling.

Otherwise, the south slope of Shangyao is too steep, even if it is an empty cart, it is impossible for Liu Ling to pull it back smoothly by himself.

In fact, going downhill is much more dangerous than going uphill on steep mountain roads.

Coaxing the cats to sleep wasted time, starting 15 minutes later than usual, so they didn't dare to stop along the way.

On the uphill road, Liu Xia and Liu Hai pushed back hard with their buttocks pouted.

Liu Ling Jiayuan, his body struggling to move forward was almost parallel to the road.

On the southern slope of Shangyao, Liu Hai and Liu Ling climbed up the slope first with their blankets on their backs.

Usually, he would wait for the people above to come back and push the shelf cart together before going up the slope, but today Liu Xia didn't dare to stand and wait anymore, so he insisted on pulling up the slope for more than [-] meters.

Liu Ling and Liu Hai turned back and quickly took over the shelf cart, Liu Hai drove the shaft, Liu Ling and Liu Xia pushed behind, the three of them worked together to get the shelf cart to the top of the slope, the clothes next to them were already soaked.

As soon as they arrived at Wangning Street, Liu Xia and the others saw the red banner hanging from the telegraph pole: Respond to the call of the country and actively sign up to join the army.

Liu Hai said to Liu Ling: "Fifth brother, didn't my uncle say that we can't recruit contract workers now? Then you should just sign up to join the army!"

Liu Ling looked at the banner and smiled faintly: "He is not recruiting in our brigade."

Liu Xia was surprised: "Why? It seems that we haven't recruited soldiers here for several years, but this year, why don't people from our brigade participate?"

Liu Ling said: "Our county recruits soldiers every year, but in the past few years, there have been no recruits from us, Sandaohe, and Yangmiao. They are recruited from the communes near Rongze and north, saying that it is our culture. The quality is too poor, and the physical condition is not good, mainly due to the many bow legs. In the past, so many people participated in the physical examination every year, and after so much effort, they could not recruit a few people. The county armed forces simply stopped wasting time on our side.

This year, Wang Yongmin, the secretary of our commune, went to the county to ask for the opportunity. He heard that there was a lot of trouble, so he won the opportunity. The brigades near Wangning and the brigades in the north are recruiting, and the brigades in the south of ours will not allow registration at all. "

Liu Xia and Liu Hai said angrily at the same time: "This is too bullying, we will be unlucky for eight lifetimes when we were born in the mountains? The school is going to be disbanded and merged, and they don't even want to recruit soldiers? People here should be stuck in it for the rest of their lives. ?”

Liu Ling smiled: "Don't talk about this, let's go, or you won't be able to catch up with his car."

They arrived at the place agreed with Zhang Peng and the others to wait for the car within 3 minutes, and the car arrived.

Liu Hai and Liu Xia lay on the window and waved vigorously to Liu Ling, telling him to go back quickly.

It took longer for Liu Ling to walk from Luogezhuang to Liujialing than it took for Liu Xia and the others to travel from Luogezhuang to Rongze by car. It would be dark before Liu Ling arrived home.

Leaving Luogezhuang, Liu Ling pulled the rack back and walked back. On the road between Dakeng and Xiaokeng, large coal trucks roared past, and the black and gray dust and smoke rolled up made him unable to open his eyes.

Walking to Wangning Street, he parked the shelf cart at the gate of the commune compound, and went to the health center to give Wang Junyu a pack of silver flowers.

After coming out, I stood at the entrance of the health center and looked up at the blue and clear sky in late autumn. The bright sunlight shone on a stinky puddle at the gate of the commune, and also on the golden branches and leaves of the persimmon and poplar trees nearby.

The sun is high above, shining on every piece of land fairly.

The earth is rugged, and naturally created countless dark places that can never be bathed in sunlight.

And they, the people in the depths of Fengxi Mountain, live in the shadow of the human world, struggling on the edge of the civilized world, looking up at the dawn of the civilized world, but they can't reach the place where the dawn shines all their lives.

Destiny is an existence that cannot be changed. While imprisoning himself in this remote and poor valley, he also gave himself a warm home and a family that loves each other and protects each other. Already lucky enough, wouldn't it be too greedy to wish for more?

The eldest brother said that all the cadres in the brigade wanted to teach in the small school of the brigade, so I agreed to it when I went back. I heard that the private teachers in the future will also be paid. If they earn money, they can help the family pay off the debts. The third brother can also take a breather and give Save a little money for the marriage of the person you are talking about.

Liu Ling took a deep breath, withdrew his thoughts, looked at a group of people chatting at the gate of the commune next to his rack car, and walked over.

The group of people watched Liu Ling walking carefully from the stinky puddle, and made way for him to pass.

Liu Ling brushed past a group of well-dressed people, picked up the shelf car and walked towards Wangning Street.

Before he reached the main road, a coal truck packed like a hill came swiftly, and the dust and smoke rolled up forced Liu Ling to take a few steps back.

Seeing the car drifting away and the smoke and dust slowly dissipating, Liu Ling pulled up the car and prepared to continue walking.

"Hey, young man, which village are you from?" A voice came from behind Liu Ling, speaking in standard Mandarin.

Liu Ling turned around and looked suspiciously at the group of people who were standing behind him at the gate of the commune just now.

He had just seen the three in military uniform among the group of people just now, and he also noticed that two of them obviously did not look like locals, nor were they from Rongze. They should have come from the army to recruit soldiers.

But what does this have to do with him?So he tries to ignore their presence.

But now, the 23-year-old soldier among them, who didn't look like a local, took the initiative to say hello to him. Liu Ling's heart beat a little faster, but she still replied calmly, "From Liujialing."

The man smiled gently and continued to ask, "Aren't you going to school?"

"I just graduated from high school this year."

The man turned his head to look at the other two men in military uniforms, then turned to Liu Ling and asked, "I think you're still young, just graduated from high school?"

"I'm gone." It's not a lie, people around are counting their ages like this, Liu Ling explained himself in this way.

The man looked at the other two men in military uniform, showing a very satisfied expression.

A soldier in his forties who looked more like a local asked Liu Ling, "Do you want to be a soldier?"

Liu Ling paused for a moment before answering: "Yes, but people from my brigade are not eligible to sign up."

Hearing this, the tallest soldier who looked very young raised his chin, squinted his eyes and looked at Liu Ling with a bit of surprise in his haughty expression, but he didn't speak.

The mandarin-speaking soldier asked Liu Ling, "No qualifications?" He turned to the local soldier, "Commander Zhang, why?"

Section Chief Zhang explained with a smile, the reason was similar to what Liu Ling had just explained to Liu Xia and Liu Hai.

The young soldier suddenly asked Liu Ling: "Is there something wrong with your legs?"

Liu Ling turned her face away, calmed herself down for a few seconds before turning around, looking straight into those seemingly indifferent but arrogant eyes and said: "There are two ex-soldiers in my family, and one who is studying in a military academy. , none of my family has a bow-leg."

The man looked Liu Ling up and down several times with raised eyebrows, and said to the other two soldiers: "Commander Zhang, Company Commander Lu, I think his legs are fine." He turned to Liu Ling again, and suddenly changed into a smile The face said: "The proportion of the body is good, it is your pants... oh, a work of art!" After he finished speaking, he sucked his mouth and whistled.

Liu Ling's face flushed red with a mouthful of oily and crispy Beijing film, coupled with a teasing expression on his face.

He has been breaking corn and producing sweet potatoes in the field for the past few days, and his clothes are all dirty. Today, he sent Liu Xia and the other two to visit Ning. He just washed his face and changed the cloth shirt that was drenched in sweat yesterday with spring clothes. The white coarse cloth shirt that his sister-in-law made for him was the traditional half-circle small stand-up collar most commonly worn by rural men in this area.

On the outside was an old military uniform given to him by Liu Kui. It had been washed and turned white, and it was very wide on him.

As for the trousers, Liu Ling was so embarrassed that she wanted to retreat to the back of the trolley so that it could block her lower body.

It wasn't his best pair of trousers, with large patches on both legs at the knees and at the bottom.

When harvesting autumn, he moves a lot, and his clothes are easily torn. Liu Ling is reluctant to wear his unpatched trousers. Cotton trousers have no elasticity. Two big ugly bags.

Seeing Liu Ling's embarrassment, even Section Chief Zhang and a few companions in the commune felt that the young man's words were too harsh, so they unanimously rescued Liu Ling: "It's like this when working in the countryside, it's always like this , haha, that’s all.”

Section Chief Zhang said to a young man, "Remember his name and sign up for him."

The young man took out a crumpled notebook from his pocket and said, "I know him. My brother is in the same class as him. He is a child of Liu Changqing's family, secretary of the Liujialing Brigade. Liu Changqing helped write the slogans in my commune compound. He Uncle and his eldest brother both served in the army, and his uncle also participated in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea! Hey, what is your name, I remembered it last time, but now I don’t know why I can’t remember it.”

Liu Ling suppressed the ecstasy in her heart, and said calmly: "Liu Ling, the willow of the willow tree, the Ling of Bingling."

The young soldier raised his eyebrows again, looking at him with a casual smile on his lips.

When Liu Ling went back, he almost ran all the way. When he saw Liu Kui on the north slope of Shangyao, he rushed over and hugged his elder brother, and jumped and jumped around Liu Kui's neck in ecstasy: "Brother, I I'm going to be a soldier, I'm going to be a soldier too...I can go and see what's going on outside...Brother...I'm going to be a soldier..."

Liu Kui stood steadily, patted Liu Ling's back lightly, making him cheer and jump to express his happiness, and when Liu Ling finally calmed down, he asked Liu Ling what happened.

Liu Ling excitedly told him about how she had just met the county armed forces department and the soldiers who came down to recruit soldiers. Liu Ling, who had always been steady and introverted, was a little incoherent when speaking.

But Liu Kui still fully understood the whole story, he was really happy for Liu Ling.

Among so many brothers in their big family, if there is only one chance, only one person has the chance to change their destiny, the first thing Liu Kui thinks of is not even the youngest Liu Xia, but Liu Ling.

Both Liu Yu and Liu Hai are solid and strong, even doing farm work in the fields makes people feel at ease.

Although Liu Xia looked very thin, but he was too skinny to fight, and his character was born strong. He didn't have a rough and thick body, but he had a heart that was not afraid of water and fire.

Only Liu Ling, no matter how strong he is, never admits that his physique is weaker than anyone else in the family, but Liu Kui and other adults in the family feel that Liu Ling is still too thin and weak, such a child should be Lived a more expensive life.

Liu Kui laughed happily, pulling the shelf cart with one hand, and Liu Ling with the other: "If it's really like what Company Commander Lu said, they came from the capital to recruit soldiers, that would be great. Brother doesn't want you to go The place where I used to be a soldier, your third brother's current army is too difficult, let's go, go home, if our uncle and mother know that you are going to serve as a soldier in the capital, they might be so happy!"

Liu Ling jumped to the back, pushed the frame cart hard with one hand, looked up at the mountains and rivers in front of her and shouted happily: "Oh ho - I'm going to be a soldier - I'm going to be a soldier too..."

The joyful shouts circled and echoed layer upon layer among the mountains and forests in late autumn, the sky is vast, long and desolate.