godfather

Meng Xiaobei slept until the sun slanted through the window, and the dust danced happily in the sunlight.

He wetted half of the bed, and squeezed himself into the dry ground to sleep. As for how the other master slept, he didn't know, and he couldn't control it anymore.

Everyone in the house got up early, went to their posts, went out to patrol the mountains and cut firewood in the backyard.There is a bowl of warm porridge and spicy pickles on the stove.

Meng Xiaobei found Uncle Shaotang at the pool not far from the outpost.The melting springs on the mountains meet, the water is icy cold, and the small pool is extremely clear, reflecting two figures, one tall and one short.The fish was sleeping lightly in the water, and suddenly they were disturbed and dispersed, as if swimming in a huge transparent crystal, like a fantasy in the mountains.

Meng Xiaobei watched as He Shaotang walked back and forth by the pool a few times, setting up simple fishing rods and baits, and throwing lines for fishing.

Away from other people's eyes, He Shaotang built a high grave with large and small round stones by the pool where Erbao drowned.Meng Xiaobei saw that Shaotang pressed a string of red string whistles under the bottom rock, and pressed them firmly.He remembered that Shaotang took it off Erbao's neck when he went out to skin the dog last night.

He Shaotang squatted by the pool, motionless, silent for a long time.

Meng Xiaobei noticed that this person was a different person when he was speaking and when he was silent, completely different faces.The face is reflected in the quiet pool without any ripples.

……

He Shaotang pinched out the cigarette butt with his fingers, got up, fastened his military uniform belt, and shook his head chicly: "Let's go, I'll drive you back to the factory in a truck."

Meng Xiaobei has been brewing all morning, and he speaks full of anger, his eyes are firm: "Uncle Shaotang, can I not go home?"

He Shaotang raised his eyebrows: "Didn't we agree that I was very good last night? Where can you go if you don't go home?"

Meng Xiaobei has a big idea: "I just don't want to go home, it's boring! I want to stay here!"

Shaotang laughed: "Is this interesting?"

Meng Xiaobei nodded vigorously, his dark eyes filled with anticipation: "It's lively, there's delicious food! There's dog meat hot pot! We also play cards together. Our two partners are almost invincible. We can win their things by playing cards. Last night I Very happy!"

He Shaotang smiled and scolded: "Are you still addicted?! It's useless for you to call me uncle. I have no place to get you a dog to eat every day. If you want to eat it again tomorrow, I really have to go up the mountain to beat you up!"

Meng Xiaobei turned his eyes away, bit his lips, looked at the crystal clear lake, and spoke the truth for a while.

"I'm the older brother at home, so I was actually born 2 minutes earlier! What's the difference? Why? If I had known that I should have come out later, then I would have been the younger brother!"

"My parents love my younger brother."

"They all said that I don't look like my father, that I'm not good-looking...Meng Xiaojing is prettier than me, and everyone in the compound said so..."

"They want to send me away, send me to someone else, and they may not come back home in the future! Why me, why should I move out and make room for others? Why am I not good?!"

Meng Xiaobei poured out all his words, which he was too embarrassed to say to his parents, a little man has dignity too.

He Shaotang knelt down, bumped heads with Xiao Bei, and spoke in a low voice.The two of them used sticks to write and draw on the ground, and chatted about their thoughts, as if they had known each other for a long time. They slept together under the same quilt and slept in a simple big urinal, and they were able to fall asleep.

Shaotang said seriously: "Boy, it's not that you are bad, your parents are just doing it for your own good."

Meng Xiaobei was ignorant at the time: "...Why are you doing it for me?"

Shaotang asked: "Do you know where to send it?"

Xiaobei: "...maybe go to Beijing."

Shaotang: "Is Beijing not good?"

Xiaobei muttered stubbornly: "What's so good, it's not home."

No matter how wild a child is, he still loves his family after all. When he heard that he was going to leave home, he couldn't find his way out.

He Shaotang shook his head, and there was something in his words: "Where is your home? Do you really know where is your home?!"

"Silly boy, I didn't catch you when I didn't pay attention, and knocked my head on the ground, I really made my little brain stupid."

"Your parents really love you, so they want you to be well and let you get out of this ditch. Find a way to get you back to the city, understand?"

"..."

He Shaotang looked at the child deeply, and reasoned word by word.There are some words that Meng Xiaobei will never think of at this age. What a worry and dilemma for parents to make such a decision!Which one to keep, which one to go, and what the two children will develop in the future, who can say for sure?

The one left behind, what can I do if I am delayed, will I hate my parents and elder brother in the future?

The one who was sent away, stayed away from parents, did not learn well, did not follow the right path, so what if he was led astray?In the future, will he regret the decision he made at the beginning, will he regret that he didn't grit his teeth and endure hardships and say that he had to pull the two sons into adults with his own hands? !It is always the easiest to give birth to a child, and it is always the worry of every parent to raise the child to have a good future in the future.

"Raising a dog for three to five years can foster deep affection, let alone raising a son."

"Your parents must be reluctant to part with you. If you ran out for two days and two nights, they must go crazy? Go back quickly."

"Your parents couldn't go back, so they tried to send you back to Beijing. It was not easy, and it took a lot of painstaking efforts. You will understand in the future."

When He Shaotang spoke, his voice was calm, but there was a slight smile in his eyes, and he had a certain persuasive power, which he couldn't explain clearly.Maybe it's because this person is only ten years older than Meng Xiaobei, he can play wildly together, sleep under the quilt, but he can make sense. , On the contrary, it can make monkey children listen to it in their hearts.

Meng Xiaobei actually felt remorse at this time. It was extremely naive and embarrassing to run away from home and be caught alive. He might be scolded and famous in the factory when he returned home.He was even more conflicted in his heart, desperate to save face, knowing that he was wrong, but he couldn't easily bow his head and admit it.Who is he, can he admit his mistake?

Meng Xiaobei pouted to draw a villain on the ground, he had an idea in his heart, and suddenly asked: "Uncle Shaotang, have you been to Beijing?"

He Shaotang said disdainfully: "Hey, I've lived here for a long time."

Meng Xiaobei asked again: "How about Beijing?"

The corner of Shaotang's mouth twitched: "Can the capital be better? The capital is better than anywhere. The cooperative can buy peach crispy chicken cake Saqima, and you can buy local red mooncakes from Daoxiang Village with a ticket! There are zoos, Xiangshan, Zhongshan Park and The Working People's Cultural Palace has an art gallery and exhibition hall, as well as Quanjude and Lao Mo! You will know when you go there, compared with our Xigou, one is in the sky and the other is in the ditch."

Meng Xiaobei's small eyes flashed, and he hit the point: "That's good, why didn't you go? Why did you stay here!"

Shaotang: "..."

He Shaotang evaded and didn't answer, stood up suddenly and grabbed Meng Xiaobei by the collar, picked him up, threw him, then caught him again, deliberately turning the boy 180 degrees upside down in the air before he put him on the ground.Meng Xiaobei blushed, and his heart was beating excitedly.

Shaotang pinched his face, and said seriously: "Who said you are not good-looking? In the future, you will be handsome when your face grows."

Xiao Bei said, "I have a scratch on my forehead."

He Shaotang laughed loudly: "There are scars on your face, so you have a manly temperament! You boy will grow up to be handsome!"

You boy is handsome and has a manly air.

Until later, Meng Xiaobei often recalled Shaotang's demeanor and every intriguing expression in his eyes when he said these words to him.He Shaotang has a well-proportioned thin and long face, with black eyebrows and handsome eyes, a thin and angular chin, and bright eyes.In the eyes of Meng Xiaobei, who is new to human affairs, that is called manly temperament...

****

Meng Xiaobei was sent home by a Jiefang brand truck, his arms and legs were all intact, and there was another gust of wind in the family compound.

He himself knew that he was wrong, and he was very honest in those days. In the evening, his friends downstairs called him to go out to fight, but he shook his head and signed in sign language from the window, unable to say anything.At the dinner table, the family had dinner, and he buried his head in the steamed buns without making a sound. It was his mother who took the initiative to pick up vegetables for him, picking up chopsticks and another chopsticks of his favorite fried pork with garlic sprouts...

Ma Baochun didn't eat much after a meal, so he stared at him.Later, he was stared at by his mother awkwardly, said "I'm done eating", and left the house with half a piece of bun. Before leaving, he saw his mother's eyes were red, and she lowered her head to wipe tears.When Meng Xiaobei ran away from home and came back, Meng Jianmin and Ma Baochun somehow knew the reason, and they didn't dare to say anything, and they didn't scold the child, for fear of being too agitated, the brat would run away next time.Since the day Meng Xiaobei was weaned and took off his diaper, he has been able to run with ease. What can he not do?This kid is so angry that he can't control it at all.

On the contrary, his grandma has a temper, she was so anxious to pick the sole of her shoe and whip the head of the kang, "You say you are a brat, why are you running away! Why are you running away, so anxious to kill your parents?!"

At night, for the first time, his mother carried him to the big bed, hugged him under the quilt to sleep, and patted him gently.

Meng Jianmin lay on his back and looked at the dark ceiling, and said to himself, "I'm so anxious about your father... Thanks to the people from the army next door who helped find the child, I will make a pennant and send it to others someday."

Meng Xiaobei was uncomfortable being sandwiched between his parents; Meng Xiaojing was also uncomfortable squeezed into the small bed with his grandma.

The atmosphere on the big bed was extraordinary, and their family had never slept like this before.Meng Xiaobei couldn't even stretch his legs and feet, so he peeked around, not daring to push his father or squeeze his mother.For some reason, he suddenly remembered that night in the small soldier's barracks. The whole body was lying on someone's body, squeezed freely, and urinated profusely.

Usually it is inconvenient to do things in the same room, Meng Jianmin and his wife would pick up the pillows to whisper and make moves under the covers.This time Meng Xiaobei was in the middle, even the pillow talk was omitted, each was bored and embarrassed, and the snoring gradually started.Meng Xiaobei dimly recollected the joke about the bird's eggs in the bird's nest that night, how could his parents have never been so funny?

New Year's Eve is over, and when grandma leaves, she hugs her two grandsons and promises to bring Xiaobei Xiaojing delicious peach cakes and saqima when she comes over next year.

Meng Xiaobei came back and fell ill as usual, wrapped in the bed with a cold and fever, nothing tasted like eating in his mouth, thinking about the big jar of homemade rice wine hidden under someone's bed ten miles away...

After recovering from illness a few days later, Meng Xiaobei led a group of minions to fight, climbed the iron railing stairs and fell directly from the second floor, his hands and legs were all skinned, and he rolled back red.His parents finally breathed a sigh of relief: that stinking child is back again, and he is finally back to normal. It really is our child, and he was replaced without any hesitation! ...

The two twins chose one to take over to Beijing, but the adults kept their mouths shut and put it aside for the time being and dared not mention it.Meng Jianmin took care of certain things, and he was grateful for them. Later, he actually found someone to make a pennant and sent it to the company headquarters, but it was a pity. He only saw their company commander, but not the right owner.

The following day, guests came to the family compound.

Two tall, thin men in military uniforms stepped side by side into the gate of the courtyard, their collars and belts were neatly tied, and their military green rubber shoes thumped on the concrete road. They were not ordinary people at all.

Meng Xiaobei was squatting at the base of the wall to play with a group of monkey children, when he turned his head abruptly, he saw it, stood up, and the marble fell to the ground.

A pair of shiny dark eyes under the military cap blinked at him quickly, and shook his head chicly.

Meng Xiaobei rushed over like flying, as if someone was blowing a whistle and chasing him away...

He Shaotang smiled when he spoke: "Lead the way to your house."

Meng Xiaobei quickly jumped and said, "301, [-]rd floor, Unit [-]!"

Shaotang said, "I know."

Meng Xiaobei ran wildly all the way to get ahead and lead the way.

A child behind him shouted, "Meng Xiaobei, are you not playing anymore?!"

Xiaobei didn't turn his head back: "No more playing!"

Neighborhood kids yell, "Your pinball!"

Meng Xiaobei's joyful voice echoed into the door opening of the unit: "It's all for you!!!"

Meng Jianmin and his wife did not expect that relatives from the People's Liberation Army would come to the door in person, take the initiative to visit the house, and carry things.When the staff of the arsenal saw the people in the army, they were already in awe, and the family was caught off guard, and even a little terrified.

On the contrary, Ma Baochun recognized it at a glance: "You two look so familiar?!"

"Aren't you two... the two soldiers who carried me from the factory gate to the hospital on a stretcher when I gave birth?"

The platoon leader laughed heartily: "Aren't we just a few familiar faces, pulling wood in and out of the factory all day long! So, this is fate!"

The platoon leader turned around and introduced: "This is my brother, ten years younger than me, our first squad leader Shaotang."

"It was the two of us who watched Meng Xiaobei's child be born in the first place. No matter how much this child goes to heaven and earth, he won't be able to escape within a radius of ten miles. We will always catch him."

Shaotang nodded, with a dignified military look under his military cap, he was quite capable of bluffing people, and said politely: "At that time, I was still young, and I was not a soldier yet."

"Let's take a look at Xiaobei and leave."

"Sister-in-law, you don't need to be busy, why don't you cook!"

He Shaotang is young, and he is considered handsome among the soldiers. His face and forearms have been tanned into a moist bronze color after years of outdoor experience, but his facial features are striking and his nose is straight. His face is quite pleasing. Once he enters the family compound, he belongs to men and women Killing all ages.This person is quite modest and polite when he is upright, and he quickly wins the psychological favor of outsiders.

The platoon leader and Shaotang were kept by the Meng family to eat the noodles, which was commonplace.

Meng Xiaobei had been hiding by the door frame that day, eavesdropping on his father talking to Shaotang.

On the surface, Shaotang sat upright, picked up vegetables, and ate wine.When this man was eating, he untied the wide cowhide military belt he was wearing and put it aside. Then, when he turned his head, the military belt disappeared, and it was tied around the waist of the bogus Eighth Route Meng Xiaobei...

As soon as Meng Jianmin turned around, Shaotang also quickly turned his head, and quietly winked at Meng Xiaobei: Eldest nephew, do you still remember me?

Meng Xiaobei was also winking.

He Shaotang became serious and immediately changed his face, his eyes narrowed, and he smiled badly: I will deal with you later!

Meng Xiaobei pouted: Uncle Shaotang, come and clean me up, come and come!

Meng Jianmin sat back: "Squad Leader He..."

He Shaotang quickly turned back, smiling innocently and harmlessly: "Huh?"

Meng Jianmin said: "I opened this bottle of wine. My mother came back to visit relatives last time. She carried it all the way from Beijing. Try it. The authentic Niulanshan Erguotou."

He Shaotang thought to himself, everyone knows this bottle of wine by now!It's like seeing relatives again eight hundred miles away!

Therefore, whoever deserves it belongs to him, and there is no need to fight or grab it.

Meng Xiaobei also crowded onto the table: "I want to drink too!"

Meng Jianmin said solemnly: "Nonsense, kids, no drinking."

Meng Xiaobei: "I'll dip one with my chopsticks!"

Meng Jianmin put on a handsome face: "Who did you learn from?!"

He Shaotang put his fist halfway to his mouth and coughed heavily.

The man gently twisted Meng Xiaobei's thigh from under the table, and Meng Xiaobei twitched knowingly, with the pride of having a little secret in his heart...

All the men enjoyed a sip, and drank it cup by cup, and there was not a drop left in a catty of Erguotou, and they still couldn't get enough.Meng Jianmin is gentle and slightly bookish, the platoon leader has a straightforward personality and a loud voice, He Shaotang is polite but not cowardly, the two sides are quite compatible with each other, and their appetites are huge. One meal almost eats up half a month's share of dried noodles in the Meng family. and saozi.

Satisfied with wine and food, He Shaotang went to smoke an after-dinner cigarette outside the unit door.The fiery red sunset sprinkled into the door opening, and a slender and beautiful shadow appeared on the ground.

Shaotang was vigilant, saw a flash of black shadow, turned around suddenly, and grabbed the monkey boy by the neck: "Don't run away, kid!"

Meng Xiaobei laughed, and took the opportunity to climb up Uncle Shaotang's waist with one thigh, and let the other party turn him 180 degrees, and then let him down after playing with his body.

Shaotang took out a handful of brass bullet casings from his military uniform trouser pocket: "I brought them for you."

The two squatted by the door and had a small meeting quietly.Meng Xiaobei learns from the other party how to hit pinball with empty bullet casings.

He Shaotang held his shoulders and wrists from behind, and taught him hand in hand: "Put the shells in the right direction, place the buttocks behind the bullets in the socket of the index finger knuckles, use your thumb to flick hard, and hit every shot within two meters!"

"I win cigarettes and Huang Momo in this way."

Meng Xiaobei asked nonchalantly: "Uncle Xiaobin must not be able to play with you, right? Which one of you will win?"

He Shaotang smiled contemptuously and said, "That little dog can't beat me in everything, and loses every time, so he hates me so much!"

When the two chatted in private, they suddenly looked like two people of the same generation, smiling and flirting like two mischievous children, hiding a little secret that only belonged to them.He Shaotang was slightly drunk, his face was flushed, and beads of sweat dripped from the roots of his hair.The brim of his military cap was tilted backwards on Meng Xiaobei's head...

The platoon leader came out from Meng's house later, his stomach full, his face turned red: "This meal is so embarrassing, it cost Master Meng a lot of money, our rules should not be eaten by ordinary people!"

He Shaotang unbuttoned the collar of his shirt, undid the belt by one notch, and finally loosened it.The corner of his mouth twitched lightly: "I won't take advantage of him, I have handed over the meal money in advance, and I also paid the oil ticket for a barrel of peanut oil."

Platoon leader: "What fuel ticket?!"

"..."

"Are you climbing someone's balcony?"

"Surnamed He, didn't you tell me the other day that you were going to squat in the hut to smoke?!!!"

……

That's how He Shaotang gradually "infiltrated" into the interior of Meng Jianmin's family. Speaking of which, he and the Meng family really couldn't tell who had been related to each other for decades.