In the quiet room, Wei Ran picked up a bullet and looked at it, then stuffed it back into its original position.
After opening the second layer of the food box, there was still the 20-pot belly box alone, and nothing else.
Sighing, Wei Ran fastened the big red octagonal food box and sent it back to the red vortex. Then he lay on the bed and fell into a deep sleep.
After resting for a whole day in Chengdu to recuperate, Weiran took the high-speed train and rushed to Zigong. Following the address on the metal book, he found a small restaurant deep in an old street. It's a big grain and oil store.
Far away, he saw a dark plaque hanging directly above the entrance of the grain and oil store. On the plaque, there were three flying golden characters of "Cangxizhai" because of the constant wind and rain. It was raining, it was already a little dim, and from time to time, there were a few sparrows flying in and out behind the plaque.
Through the clean windows, I saw a few middle-aged people in their forties or fifties, busy arranging the Great Wall around a mahjong table, and under their feet, There are also two plump tabby cats lying next to the electric heating fan, squinting their eyes.
Except for the table of people playing mahjong, the rest of the room was filled with shelves, and all kinds of rice, flour, grains and oils on them were neatly packed away.
Lifting up the slightly stained cotton curtain, with the soft "squeak" of the wooden door being pushed open, one of the middle-aged men playing mahjong raised his head and spoke in dialect first Hello, seeing Wei Ran's confused look, he changed to Mandarin with a slight accent and asked enthusiastically, "What do you want to buy?"
"Boss, I want to find someone." Wei Ran said He put the cigarettes and wine he was carrying on the wooden table at the entrance and said politely.
Looking at the gift Wei Ran put on the table, the middle-aged man stood up and asked politely, "Who are you looking for?"
"I want to find Li Wangchuan"
p>
"Li Wangchuan?"
The middle-aged uncle was stunned and asked subconsciously, "Are you looking for me, old man?"
Seeing Wei Ran nod, this Uncle Nian once again looked at the gift Wei Ran put on the table. After hesitating for a moment, he said something in dialect to the other three people surrounding the mahjong table. After the three people left, he warmly greeted Wei Ran at the mahjong table. Sitting down at the table, he poured a cup of hot water and asked, "What do you want from me, old man?"
Wei Ran took a sip of the hot water and took out a thick book from his backpack. photo album and the brass abacus the size of a pencil case, and then roughly told what happened in Teng County that year.
"Where did you find these...where did you find these?" the owner of the grain and oil store asked in surprise after hearing the story.
"This matter starts with a pistol"
Wei Ran found the photo of the 20-ring pot belly box from his mobile phone and showed it to the other party, and then said, "The negatives of the photos you just saw, as well as the brass abacus, were all found together with this 20-ring potbelly box. As for the discoveryThese things that happened were told to me by the owner of this abacus, an apprentice at Cangxuzhai Pawnshop. I searched for a long time before I found this place. Uncle, can you..."
"The apprentice you are talking about, he..."
Wei Ran hesitated for a moment, then shook his head, "He passed away not long ago." .
After returning the phone to Wei Ran, the boss looked through the photo album again in disbelief, stood up and said, "I'll take you to my old man! "
"Thank you! "Wei Ran quickly stood up and said.
"It's my turn to thank you! By the way, my name is Li Weizhong! What do you call your little brother? "
"Wei Ran, just call me Wei Ran. "Wei Ran took the other person's hand and shook it.
Li Weizhong became more and more enthusiastic and helped Wei Ran take the gifts on the table. He didn't even lock the store door, but hung a wooden sign on it. After reading the sign, Wei Ran walked deeper into the old street, and finally stopped at the door of an old house that looked quite old. There was also a particularly clean piece of glory nailed to the lintel of this old house.
Wei Ran was greeted warmly as he walked through the door, and an uncle named Li Weizhong led him into a room with the best lighting. Then he saw an energetic old gentleman. Sitting upright on a Taishi chair, holding a brush and writing a poem on a piece of rice paper,
Looking around, there are many landscape painting scrolls hanging on the walls of this room, including a long one by the window. There is also a big fish tank on the table. There is not only a bowl of lotus in the tank, but also a few small goldfish swimming leisurely.
And the one facing the window. Against the wall, there is a neatly made single bed. On the wall above the bed, there are several glass frames. In one of the color photos, there is a person wearing an old-fashioned military uniform and carrying a 56 The young man rushed forward, and the background of this photo was the smoky mountains and dense jungle.
Looking at the soldier in the photo who was eighty-nine times similar to Li Sui'an back then, Wei Ran was immediately moved. I knew I had found the right place, and the surrounding furnishings hinted that the old man who was concentrating on practicing calligraphy seemed to be living a very comfortable life in his later years.
“I can’t stop practicing calligraphy. Exit, little brother, please wait. "Li Weizhong motioned to Wei Ran to sit wherever he wanted, while he skillfully took a tube of tea leaves from the bookshelf and made a pot of hot tea.
Until he finished writing the last stroke, the old gentleman said Then he asked with a smile, "Where did you come from? ”
Before Wei Ran could answer, Li Weizhong came over with a teapot and poured tea for the two of them while explaining a few words in dialect. The old man waved his hand, and Li Weizhong greeted Wei Ran. , and finally left the room.
When the door was closed from the outside, Wei Ran took out the photo album and the brass abacus again from his backpack, and gently pushed them in front of the old gentleman. /p>
But before he could explain this time, the old man picked up the abacus in surprise and asked, "Where did you get this abacus? ”
Wei Ran raised his eyebrows, thisThe old man's Mandarin is much better than his son Li Weizhong.
After thinking for a moment, Wei Ran came back to his senses and asked with a smile, "Old sir, is this abacus very special?"
The old gentleman carefully checked the abacus. The engraving on the frame actively explained, "This is far from the truth. Before the founding of the People's Republic of China, all apprentices in our family would be given such an abacus. This abacus would not be taken back until they left the apprenticeship." "
"Old sir, is your name Li Wangchuan?" Wei Ran confirmed for the last time.
"Do you still know my name?" The old gentleman became more and more curious.
Wei Ran nodded and retold the story he had just told at the grain and oil store on the pretext of being entrusted by an old man who lived abroad and was an apprentice of Cangxuzhai.
As he told the story, the expression on Mr. Li Wangchuan’s face changed from confusion to surprise, and then from surprise to realization. After listening, Wei Ran took a handful of soil from under the monument in Tengzhou and bought it. Under the sweet-scented osmanthus tree near the Sichuan Army Monument, I was already crying and crying.
After a long time, until the old man calmed down, Wei Ran took out his cell phone, pulled up the photo of the 20-ring potbelly box again and showed it to the other person, "Old sir, I'm here this time. , I just want to send this abacus and these photos. In addition, I also want to hear what the descendants of the Li family think about how to deal with the big belly box in the photo."
It was exposed to the sun. The warm room fell silent for a while. After a long time, Mr. Li Wangchuan said with full of memories, "I was born on the National Day in 1949. At that time! The kids my age were either named Jianguo or Guoqing. I remember when I was a child. I heard from my mother that she even had a fight with him over the name."
Wei Ran couldn't help but ask, "What happened next?"
< p>Old Mr. Li Wangchuan shook his head, "He never told us about his past service as a soldier, but he often told us the story of my third uncle. Later, when I grew up, I was sent away by my old man after I finished high school. I went to join the army. Because of this, my mother and I had another fight.Later, I went to the front to help the Vietnamese monkeys fight against the United States. A few years after we aided Vietnam, we I had another fight with those white-eyed wolves, and at that time, I lost a leg on the battlefield. My mother and my old man had another fight over this matter.
Speaking of which. , the old gentleman gently pulled up his trousers, revealing a small piece of metal prosthetic leg for Wei Ran to look at and continued, "I have also been a soldier. I have been a soldier for almost ten years. I know what the situation is like on the battlefield, but I don't I regretted it. I think my father and my third uncle probably didn’t regret it either. "
"No army can be formed without rivers," Wei Ran put down his tea cup and sighed. He only knew the experiences of brothers Li Hexian and Li Sui'an, but he did not expect that Li Sui'an's descendants would continue this bloody legacy.
Mr. Li Wangchuan picked up the tea cup and took a sip, and continued to recall, "When my mother left in 1987, she said that my old man had quarreled with her in this life.These three times, they were all related to me. In 1988, my old man also passed away. When he left, he read the poem engraved on the box gun several times. We thought it was him at that time... Alas! "
Seeing the sigh on Wei Ran's face, Mr. Li Wangchuan pushed the phone back in front of Wei Ran, "If it's convenient, just find a museum to donate the gun. As for my third uncle, when you go back, take me there to identify the place. "
Speaking of this, Mr. Li Wangchuan pointed out the window, "Across the road is the old Zhou family. Our two families have been neighbors for a hundred years. My third uncle likes the Miss Zhou family. He never married until his death, and he was finally buried in our Li family cemetery, together with my third uncle's grave. "
Wei Ran subconsciously turned his head and looked at the old house across the stone road. In his ears, Mr. Li Wangchuan continued to say, "My daughter-in-law is from their old Zhou family. Wait for me and Their family discussed whether to let my third uncle come back or let him accompany the comrades who came out of Sichuan together. "
Wei Ran nodded with emotion, and then heard Mr. Li Wangchuan ask, "You kid, it's not easy to find your way all the way here. If it's convenient, you can stay with us." Have a meal at home? "
Wei Ran hesitated for a moment and nodded happily, "Then I will cause trouble for you. ”