The next day, I woke up at 5: 30 AM. The sky was still dark, so I ran around the Yellow River Dam and stretched my body.
When I returned home, it was 7: 30 AM. My mother had already finished cooking. Seeing that I had returned, she called me over to eat.
While eating, my mother asked me, "Long'er, can you tell us what you're doing in the army?"
I took a bite of rice and said, "Nothing much. I'm just … a cadre, leading the troops at the grassroots level!"
To be honest, I didn't have the heart to lie to my parents, but we had a strict confidentiality policy. We couldn't even tell our parents about our work.
My mother said, "But … But why did I hear Zhao Jie say that you're working for some country's leader … She also said that she saw you on TV. Tell me, is that true?"
I was stunned. I put down my bowl and chopsticks and asked, "When did Zhao Jie tell you?"
My mother said, "A few days ago, she came to our house. Zhao Jie is a good girl. You came back this time and set the marriage with her.
She's now a graduate student at Jinan University. She's cultured and has good looks. She's such a good wife … "
I felt my head swell. I frowned and said, "Mom, what are you talking about? Zhao Jie and I have long … long …" I found it hard to continue.
"Long what?" My mother's face became anxious.
I said firmly, "We broke up a long time ago!"
My mother was surprised, "How can that be?
Zhao Jie came several times. Every time, she asked about you. She even leaned on the photo frame to look at the photos you sent back. I can see that she also … "
I interrupted my mother and said, "Mom, don't worry about it. I'll take care of it."
My mother said, "Child, you're not young anymore. You should consider starting a family.
In my opinion, Zhao Jie is a good girl. You're a military officer and she's a graduate student. You're a good match. Today, I'll ask a matchmaker to go to her house to propose marriage. You two should hurry up and set the marriage! "
My head was about to explode. Parents were like this, nagging endlessly about the same thing.
However, I could understand my mother's good intentions, so I said to her, "Mom, you don't have to worry about me. I know what I'm doing."
"What do you know? Do you know what it's like to be a parent?"
"Of course I know, but …"
Actually, at this time, no matter how much I said, it was useless. I could understand the thoughts of a parent.
I'm 24 years old this year. I may not be considered an old youth, but in the countryside, this age is definitely beyond the normal age for marriage.
I am the only son of the Zhao family. I can understand my parents' anxious mood, but it is absolutely impossible for me to reconcile with Zhao Jie again.
Regarding this, my heart was very conflicted. I didn't want to make my parents sad, but I couldn't fulfill their wishes in the shortest time possible. After all, I was still a true single aristocrat.
That night, I vaguely heard my parents talking about my marriage for the entire night. They were talking about it for the entire night.
The next day, my parents put the marriage matter on the table again. My mother said that there were only two paths in front of me. One was to get engaged to Zhao Jie, and the other was to prepare for a blind date. She was going to start arranging matchmakers to propose marriage …
It seemed that they had really made up their minds.
This was also something I had been worried about!
In desperation, I lied and said that I had a girlfriend in Beijing. My mother didn't believe me at first, but I pretended to be more realistic than the truth. She reluctantly believed me, but I had to provide them with a photo of each other or bring her to the house to see.
The elderly always had an endless amount of things to worry about.
It wasn't until I expressed my consent that my parents made a concession and temporarily stopped pressuring me.
Today's weather was good. After eating, my parents pulled a cart of corn to the side of the road to dry the grain.
I didn't stay idle. I stayed at home to tidy up the rooms and cleaned the courtyard. Then, I arranged the grain in the east room and busied myself for a while.
After a while, I completely became a native. My body was covered in dust, but seeing the house tidy up by me, I felt a sense of accomplishment.
As the saying goes, labor is the most glorious. I haven't experienced this kind of fulfilling farmer's life in a long time.
To be honest, I was very gratified to be able to do something for my family.
Although these small things couldn't make up for the filial piety I didn't fulfill because I joined the army, nor could it fundamentally reduce my parents' hard work as farmers.
At ten o 'clock, I sat down to drink a cup of water and prepared to go to the road to help my parents dry the corn so that they could come back and rest.
Suddenly, my mother ran back to the east side of the river. Before she entered the house, she shouted, "Long'Er, Long'Er, hurry, hurry, Heavenly Spirit Village's Wang Yishui found people to beat your father, hurry, hurry …"
As soon as I heard this, I immediately jumped up from the chair and rushed to the door and asked, "Mom, what's going on?"
My mother grabbed my hand and ran out of the house. She explained while gasping for breath, "Your father and I were drying corn on the road. Heavenly Spirit Village's Wang Yishui happened to be walking around with a cigarette in his mouth. When he saw your father, he called your father by his nickname. Your father didn't want to, so he said a few words to him. Wang Yishui got angry and directly turned hostile to your father and wanted to beat him up. As a matter of fact, he called some of his friends over and surrounded your father to beat him up …"
Hearing this, a strong anger surged in my heart.
I knew Wang Yishui. He was only a few years older than me. Before I became a soldier, he was a famous hooligan in the area. He did nothing all day, got into fights, and caused trouble.
I remember when I was in elementary school, Wang Yishui used to bully me because he was tall and big … In short, this Wang Yishui was a big scourge in a radius of dozens of miles. He was idle and did all kinds of evil.
He also made some bad friends in the county. They drank and played all day, and didn't do any honest work.
It was no wonder that my father didn't want to do it. Wang Yishui was only twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, and my father was more than fifty years old. If he called my father by his nickname, how could my father be happy?
I suddenly had an impulse to get rid of this evil for the people!
I didn't have time to think about it and sprinted to the scene.
The scene that made me sad and angry gradually appeared in front of my eyes. On the side of the road, there was a field of golden corn. Four or five young people surrounded an old man in a shabby military uniform, punching and kicking him. The old man was beaten until he couldn't dodge. He was lying on the golden corn and moaning again and again …
The old man who was being beaten was my father!
What was even more infuriating was that there were many people at the scene who stopped to watch, including many nearby villagers. However, no one came to stop them!
The most sad and indignant thing in the world was watching your own father being bullied. What kind of feeling would that be?
That feeling was even worse than being hit yourself. In this kind of situation, no matter how calm a person was, they wouldn't be calm. No matter how calm a person was, they wouldn't be calm. No matter how cowardly a person was, they wouldn't be cowardly!
I sprinted and shouted, "Stop, all of you, stop!"
I crazily pushed through the crowd, crawled to my father's side, and helped him up.
My father gasped for breath, his face was still dripping with blood. His old and sorrowful moans made my heart ache.
I clenched my fists and looked at the hooligans in front of me, especially the main culprit, Wang Yishui.
To be honest, I really wanted to punch his head and see his brain splatter all over the road.
So many young fellows actually made a move against an unarmed old man. They were worse than animals!
Wang Yishui was still the same as he was in my memories. However, he had already grown up, and was very fashionable. He had a half bald crew cut, a pair of large earrings on his ears, and wore a cowboy beggar outfit. The others didn't have any good appearances either. They tilted their heads and sneered. Not only were they not ashamed of their actions, they had a smug expression on their faces.
I wasn't an impulsive person, but in this kind of situation, I had to make an exception!
Looking at my father who was being beaten, I clenched my teeth and clenched my fists, causing my joints to creak.
At this time, Wang Yishui took a step forward and used his pinky to scratch his nose, "Yo, isn't this the Zhao Long who went to the army?
Not bad brat, you went to the army when you couldn't make it?
I'm telling you, your dad was asking for it. If you stick your nose into other people's business, hehe, I'll beat you up too!
Don't look at how you're a soldier!
I'll beat you all the same!
You've tasted my fists before, Shui Ge! "
Wang Yishui said while rubbing his fists. He tilted his head and blew at the earwax on his pinky. He looked like a gangster!
I stood in place like a statue, but the anger in my body grew stronger and stronger. My clenched fists began to tremble.
Wang Yishui continued, "What are you standing there for, brat?
You can't accept it, right? "
As soon as he said this, the rest of his friends also sneered and stared at me like a pack of wolves.
My eyes were bright as I stared at Wang Yishui without moving.
Sometimes, the power of stillness is limitless.
At the very least, my rationality could no longer control me. There was a firm thought that firmly bound me and sent an important signal to my entire body: I'm going to explode!
Perhaps there was something wrong with Wang Yishui's nose. He wasn't satisfied with using his pinky, so he pinched his thumb and index finger together and started to dig. It was as disgusting as it could get. However, he was very proud and even dug his nose hair out.
There was a kind of person in this world that liked to use bullying to enrich their lives. This kind of person felt the most accomplished when they bullied others. Wang Yishui was the most typical example.
I said calmly, "Wang Yishui, you have to pay the price for doing bad things, don't you know?"
My words were very soft. Not only did it not intimidate Wang Yishui and the others, it made them even more proud.
Perhaps, in their hearts, they wanted me to take revenge for their father. They wanted to use this chance to show off their power and satisfy their dirty desires.
Wang Yishui sneered, "Price?
You want us to pay the price?
What a joke, is he telling a joke? "
Wang Yishui almost laughed out loud in disdain. He turned to look at his gang of scoundrels around him. They all sneered at Wang Yishui, like a pack of wolves who had seen food and were excited.
At this time, my father pulled my arm and advised me softly, "Long'er, forget it. They have a lot of people. Don't get bullied!"
Mother was also a bit scared. She was afraid that I would be taken advantage of, so she also came to advise me.
I looked at my father's swollen face and felt pain in my heart.
But would I be afraid of them?