After walking for about ten minutes, I saw a lonely five-phoenix enclosed house standing at the foot of a hillside in the distance. It was very abrupt. Chen Linhuang said: "This is Dongzhuang."
"What a stylish house." Zhang Laicai was a little surprised. This house looked like an "old house" at first glance. Zhang Laicai spoke in Fujian dialect, but he was a native of Lingao. He knew that it was not easy for people to build such a house in the past.
.
"Dad Fang was originally a wealthy landowner, and this house was his ancestral property. It was renovated two years ago because his daughter had a new wife."
There is a pool in front of the house and a large terrace. They are all old things. Just looking at these two things, you can tell that the ancestors of the Fang family were also wealthy people.
Zhang Youcai stretched his neck and looked around, looking at the stone mill on the ground, the racks for tethering cattle, and the piles of mats. He tutted and praised.
Those who made a fortune after the Senate came were not uncommon in Lingao, it could be said that they were full of pits and valleys; it was quite rare for those who could accumulate such a family fortune under the Ming Dynasty.
The door of Wufeng House was open. There was a middle-aged woman sitting at the door doing needlework. Zhang Youcai greeted:
"Sister-in-law Qinghe! Go and call the young lady out, the team is coming up."
The woman named Qinghe's wife raised her head and looked a little panicked. She hurriedly put down her needle and thread and went inside. After a while, a young woman came out.
In terms of appearance, she is not outstanding, but her clothes are still the same as they were during the Ming Dynasty more than ten years ago, and even her hairstyle has not changed. With this room, the two of them are in a trance, and they feel like they have returned to the Ming Dynasty.
"This...you are..." Tan Shuangxi was speechless and didn't know what to say for a moment.
The woman nodded silently. Although her face was pale, her expression was calm.
Zhang Youcai saluted: "Miss Fang, we are here to deliver the death notice of volunteer Hu Weide and his belongings. Please express your condolences." After saying this, he took out a brown paper bag from his satchel.
It's the same rhetoric again, routine. Tan Shuangxi thought.
The woman did not accept the envelope and did not speak. Zhang Youcai explained the relevant content according to the process: "...If you don't understand anything, you can write a letter or go to the Military Affairs Section of the County Civil Affairs Bureau for consultation..."
Before he finished speaking, several people came in from outside. The first one was a strong man in his fifties, with gray hair and a Chinese character face. He was wearing faded indigo blue "work clothes" and was holding a
A broken straw hat, trouser legs rolled up, and mud on his calves and feet.
He took a few spoonfuls of water from the water vat at the door and rinsed his feet before walking in.
"This is the head of the family." Chen Linhuang whispered, and then said in the direction of the visitor: "Dad! These two are comrades of the Fubo Army..."
"I have eyes, so I can see." The visitor snorted coldly and glanced at Miss Fang, "Why are you out here?"
The woman couldn't help but tremble. Tan Shuangxi was very familiar with this scene. The women and children at home who were frightened by being beaten had this look on their faces. She sighed secretly in her heart. Before he could speak, Miss Fang whispered: "Two gentlemen
When I come here to run an errand, someone from home has to come forward..." He stood up and was about to leave.
"Miss Fang is the wife of Comrade Hu Weide. This notice was originally intended to be handed over to her face to face. There is nothing wrong with it." Tan Shuangxi originally didn't want to insult the person in person, but now he couldn't help it.
"Haha, you're acting like a member of the public." Old Man Fang smiled disdainfully, took out a cigarette, and the helper behind him quickly helped him put on the Australian fire and light it. He took a puff, walked over in a swaggering manner, and stood on the chair in the center.
He sat down and stretched out his hand.
As if she had been electrocuted, Miss Fang hurriedly walked over and handed the envelope to him before she had time to open it.
Tan Shuangxi felt uncomfortable all over. He and Zhang Laicai were sitting on the same bench and were already "inferior". Looking at Hu Weide's father-in-law's domineering eyes without any sadness, and looking at Miss Fang's look full of sadness but not daring to cry, she felt in her heart
Suddenly, I was filled with fire. This is the demonstration household of Tiandihui!
Old Man Fang tore open the envelope and dumped the contents on the table. He first picked up a piece of paper with an official seal and asked, "What is this?"
Chen Linhuang went over to look at it and said, "This is Ah Wei's death notice. Let me read it..."
Old man Fang ignored it, threw it down, picked up another piece of paper, and took a look at it - obviously he recognized it as a check and could understand the numbers on it:
"Only eighty yuan?" the old man said dissatisfied, "Didn't you get six hundred yuan for every dead soldier in the past?!"
"That was before the currency reform. Five hundred and thirty yuan was a grain circulation coupon, and now it is a silver coin exchange coupon. How much grain could one yuan buy in the past, and how much can it buy now? In fact, it has increased significantly." Tan Shuangxi explained patiently.
road.
Old man Fang didn't say anything anymore, picked up another list and put it into Chen Linhuang's hand: "Take a look at what this is?"
"It's a list of Ah Wei's belongings," Chen Linhuang said. "One thick and thin military blanket, two regular clothes, and a shoulder bag..."
"Okay, okay, a bunch of junk." Old Man Fang interrupted him impatiently, "Where are the things?"
"It will be sent later," Chen Linhuang said. "It's all written on it."
"I'll just send you a few points."
Chen Linhuang was a little frightened. He looked at the girl below and whispered: "Dad, this is inappropriate. I'd better leave Awei's legacy to the girl."
Chen Linhuang's voice was very low, but it still reached everyone's ears. Miss Fang couldn't help but sob softly. The long-term workers and women next to her all showed unbearable expressions.
"What's the use of giving it to her?" Hu Weide's father-in-law snorted coldly, "She can't wear it, she just sheds tears when she looks at it. Fu Lao doesn't have a good thing, so he shouldn't have married his daughter in the first place."
"Dad," his daughter finally spoke, "don't talk about this. I was kind enough to send you a letter..."
"This is their errand. What's so good about it?" Old man Fang looked at the objects on the table and saw a check on it. He quickly took it over again, "Seventy-three yuan, three quarters and a penny."
He muttered, turned around and asked Chen Linhuang, "What kind of money is this?"
Tan Shuangxi quickly explained: "It's his saved military pay."
"That's all?" Old Man Fang said, "I heard that people who go to fight are given a lot of military pay. He has been away for more than a year, and this is all he has?"
Tan Shuangxi was angry, but he still had to explain: "Dad! Comrade Hu Weide died more than four months ago. He was deployed overseas for more than three months, so he didn't save much money."
"Don't try to fool me." The old man said, looking at the two non-commissioned officers up and down, holding the check in his hand, "There is no detailed information on the military pay? What is included in the money given in the factory...the salary slip!"
"The military pay and subsidy standards are set by the Senate. The relic package contains his military manual and salary schedule. You can check them item by item. If you have any questions, please check with the Military Affairs Section of the County Civil Affairs Bureau." At this point, Tan said
Shuangxi couldn't bear it anymore and asked: "You...you...Hu Weide is your daughter's husband, and he is also half of your son. Don't you care at all how he died?"
"So what if we know how he died? Can he survive?" The old man sneered, "It's so hot that I bother you to make a trip. I'm really sorry."
"Hu Weide is our comrade, of course we have to come." Tan Shuangxi was so angry that he was about to explode. What's the attitude of this old guy?!
"So what if you come, you still have to leave..."
"Dad," his daughter finally broke out and cried to the old man, "please stop talking!"
The old man's eyes widened and he opened his mouth to get angry. Tan Shuangxi couldn't bear it any longer and stood up with a "shu". He glared at the old man with round eyes and said: "We are ordered by the Senate to
Comrade Hu Weide's widow is sending the relics! Anyone who has nothing to do with it, please respect yourself!"
The evil spirit and courage he had honed over a long period of war broke out at this moment. The originally arrogant old man Fang opened his mouth, then withered, and did not dare to speak anymore.
As she said this, she looked at Tan Shuangxi and asked, "When did my man die? Did he suffer anything?"
Tan Shuangxi had just spoken righteously, but now he was stuck in the woman's plaintive eyes. Zhang Laicai had no choice but to speak for him, and the words he said were already discussed by the two of them on the road: "He was hit by miasma. The miasma in the woods of Guangdong and Guangxi is very poisonous, and he has a high fever."
, had a fever for several days... We took turns taking care of him, and the company health worker tried several medicines. But the miasma was too fierce, and we tried our best. He came to his senses for a while before he died and said he didn't feel uncomfortable.
He also said that the person he misses the most is you."
Hu Weide's wife nodded while listening, her head lowered and lowered, and finally she covered her face with her hands, her body twitching in waves.
Old Man Fang was unwilling to be left alone and sneered: "When a person is about to die, he is also good at words. You just say some beautiful words to scare people!"
"Where is he buried now?" Miss Fang asked, ignoring her father.
"Comrade Hu Weide was cremated on the spot after his death. Now his ashes are buried in the military cemetery in Chaozhou. The specific address is on the death notice."
When she heard the word "cremation", Miss Fang couldn't bear it anymore and burst into tears.
Tan Shuangxi knew that most people did not accept the concept of "cremation", so he quickly explained: "He died near Fujian. The weather was very hot and the roads were not easy to walk, so we had to deal with it from the right. If you
If you want to bring him back for burial in the future, you can also apply..."
"Just burn it, it will save you the trouble of coming back." The old guy nodded, his tone full of yin and yang, and he seemed to be laughing at the end.
Tan Shuangxi wanted to give him a kick, but when he saw Miss Fang who was crying, his anger was extinguished again: Hu Weide was dead, and his wife still wanted to live in this family. After all, they were father and daughter, what could he do?