PNB Chapter 104 Zhuang Mingde Retires from the Army
Chapter 104 Zhuang Mingde Retires from the Army
It was late at night and everyone was fast asleep when someone knocked on the gate of Uncle Six's house at the entrance of the village.
At first, Uncle Liu thought he had misheard, so he turned over and went back to sleep. But the knocks on the door continued, bang bang bang, so he finally got up and went out to see what was going on.
Outside the courtyard gate, a strange black figure was supporting the gatepost, and his movements of patting the fence gate had become mechanized.
Uncle Six was cold and afraid. As he got older, he always thought about the things he did when he was young. As the old saying goes, there is retribution but the time has not come. The older he got, the more he thought about it. There was nothing he could do about it as he had done so many evil things.
He just leaned over to take a look at the figure outside and was so frightened that his whole body began to tremble. Cold air rushed into his lungs, and he started coughing madly the next second.
The figure stopped knocking on the door, looked around and shouted, "Dad? Dad, open the door. I'm Mingde. Open the door."
"Mingde?" Uncle Six finally caught his breath, but became surprised and confused again when he heard the second half of his sentence.
Mingde? Why did Mingde come back now? Although he had many doubts, he quickened his pace and walked over to take a look.
Zhuang Mingde was carrying his wife Yang Lijuan on his back, holding onto the doorpost weakly. When he saw his father approaching, he breathed a sigh of relief, "It's a good thing that you're awake, Dad, otherwise Lijuan and I would have frozen to death." He hadn't been back to the Northeast for several years and had forgotten how terrible the winter here is.
Uncle Liu looked at his son in confusion. Although he had many questions in his mind, he still opened the door and let the man in. It was too cold outside. "Let's go to the main house first. The kangs in other rooms are not heated."
Zhuang Mingde hurriedly carried his wife into the house, then returned and came out to get the large and small bags of luggage.
Uncle Liu went to the kitchen and got two bowls. He poured a bowl of water for his son first. Then he felt heavy in his heart as he watched him go in and out twice to get the things. This didn't look good.
Zhuang Mingde and Yang Lijuan did not get off the train until 5 p.m. At that time, there were no buses going to the town. The last bus in winter left very early.
Originally, the two wanted to stay in the city for one night before going home, but they were unlucky and even drinking water was stuck in their teeth, and the money they had was stolen.
The two took their luggage and went to the police station near the train station to report the case. As they had no money and no place to stay, they had no choice but to rush home.
They walked from the city to the construction brigade from the afternoon till late at night. Not long after leaving Hongqi Commune, Yang Lijuan could not hold on any longer and fainted on the ground. For the rest of the journey, Zhuang Mingde gritted his teeth and carried his wife on his back.
Zhuang Mingde had been a soldier for many years, but since he became a small leader, he rarely trained and his physical fitness declined. This trip almost cost him his life.
"Drink some water, your mouth is dry..." Seeing that he looked particularly haggard after untying his scarf, Uncle Liu was heartbroken.
He only has this one son, and he is his life!
A few years ago, when the sixth uncle's wife had her fourth miscarriage and was bleeding profusely, she pointed at him and said fiercely, "It's all your fault, it's all your fault! You are evil and ungrateful, Zhuang Jincheng, remember this! I am dead today because of you! I was pregnant with four children, but only one survived. It's all your fault! This is retribution! Zhuang Jincheng, if you dare to treat my son badly, I will not let you go even if I become a ghost!"
When his wife died, her face was pale and the bedding was soaked with blood. Uncle Six was terrified and gave up from then on. He lived with his only son and never dared to make trouble again, placing all his hopes in this life on him.
It's not that he didn't worry about his son wanting to join the army, but he was also proud of his son who was full of vigor and returned home in glory. But now, his son looks haggard, and Uncle Six's heart suddenly feels empty.
He didn't dare to ask, for he was afraid that the answer he would get would be one he didn't want to hear.
But no matter how much Uncle Six resisted, Zhuang Mingde had to tell him the truth, "Dad, I've been demobilized. The failure of the last mission was mainly due to my improper command. The responsibility lies with me. The army originally wanted me to become a civilian, but I was too embarrassed to stay, so I was demobilized." He seemed to accept it well and his mentality was quite stable.
Uncle Six felt as if he had been hit on the head with a hammer. The word "retribution" that his wife said when she died that year exploded in his ears again. His head buzzed, his eyes rolled back, and he fell directly onto the kang.
Zhuang Mingde didn't expect his father's reaction to be so violent. He quickly put down the bowl he was holding and went to check on his father. Fortunately, he was just unconscious and his breathing was not disordered. He breathed a sigh of relief, and then felt exhausted all over, with his hands and feet shaking.
The next day, Xue Li knocked on Jiang Yu's door with the tofu he had exchanged from the village tofu maker Wang Saozi's house.
Jiang Yu opened the door and looked at her puzzledly.
"Cut tofu, cut tofu! Let's make some frozen tofu to eat!" Xue Li made a face, and it was obvious that he had heard some fresh gossip and was eager to share it.
Jiang Yu reluctantly let her in. The room was not big to begin with, and she was packing up, with the iron sheets spread all over the floor. "Find a place to stand, I'll clean up."
Xue Li found a spot to stand when he saw an opening, and then he couldn't wait to say, "I'm telling you, Uncle Six's son is back!"
"Just come back if you want to." Jiang Yu didn't have a good impression of Uncle Liu. The pipe that the man had used for who knows how many years was still in her space.
But his son is back? ? It seems that we will soon find out where their other treasure is hidden! Her mood brightened instantly. The more ill-gotten gains, the better~
"Oh! Didn't we want to rent his house before? But now that his son is back, we can't rent it anymore!" Xue Li often felt that the house was too small and too cramped recently. She was almost suffocated to stay in such a small place in the winter.
"I won't rent it anymore. Whoever wants to rent his house can do so." Jiang Yu put on gloves and put the iron sheet back to the edge of the kang.
Xue Li blinked, and thought of Jiang Yu's angry walk out of Zhuang Cai'er's wedding banquet last time. "Okay, that's not right... I'm off topic. What I want to talk about is Uncle Six's son. I heard from the tofu ladies today that he retired from the army and changed jobs! He was a small leader before, and suddenly changed jobs. The villagers are talking about it fiercely."
After all, Zhuang Mingde was considered a promising person in the village, and a military leader! This time, he was sent back to his hometown.
"That's normal. Who knows what he's like in the army?" Jiang Yu knew how to hate someone and everything about him. She disliked Uncle Six, so naturally she didn't have a good impression of his son.
Xue Li scratched her head. "I heard that the job hasn't been confirmed yet. If it's a government department, I think it can be considered a lateral transfer. But if it's a factory, it depends on the position." She doesn't care about other people's jobs, she is simply curious.
Another thing is, it’s boring in winter. What else can you do besides eating melons?
Jiang Yu felt that it would definitely not get better. If Yi Chi was the one who made the arrangements, how could people be safe and sound?
"Hey, give me some reaction!" Xue Li pouted. Sharing this gossip was so boring!
"Didn't you say last time that the old village chief's precious granddaughter married Zhuang Mingde? Why don't you talk about her?" Jiang Yu shifted her gaze.