Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 20 Heroes

(Recommended to add to your collection, please click to read the official version. New book needs your support.)

Li Zhongguo said, "Sister-in-law, this is Li Zhongguo, the little Li from Beixi. Is Brother Liu home?"

The door creaked open, revealing a slightly pale woman's face. The woman was rather thin, about 1.5 meters tall, and probably didn't go out much, as her paleness looked unnatural. However, she seemed to be in good spirits, and her hair was neatly combed.

The woman looked around, smiled, and opened the door, saying, "It's you! Look at this, I didn't recognize you at first. Come in, your older brother's here. Come on in. When did you get here? Aren't you busy lately?"

Li Zhongguo led Xiaowei and Xiaohong inside, saying, "My small county town probably doesn't have as many things to do as Brother Liu. This is my niece, who got into Northeast Institute of Technology. I brought her here to register and stopped by to drop by. I'll need your help in the future, as she's never been far from home. Her father is also one of our comrades-in-arms; he works at the county's agricultural machinery bureau."

Aunt Liu paused for a moment, then turned to look at Xiao Hong and said, "Is this her? The girl is really pretty. She got into engineering school? That's great, a good child, she'll definitely amount to something. Oh, that's wonderful. It's alright, come over often, feel free to make this your home, we're all neighbors, it's only right."

As soon as the door to the inner room opened, sunlight streamed into the corridor through the doorway, instantly brightening the previously dim corridor.

"Little Li? That sounds like you. What brings you here today?" A deep voice rang out. The person was backlit and their face was not clearly visible, but they appeared to be of average height, a bit hunched over, and with broad shoulders.

Li Zhongguo said with a smile, "Brother Liu, it's been a long time since I've visited you. How are you feeling?"

Brother Liu smiled and said, "It's alright, just getting by. Come in and sit down, it's been a long time. How's your place?"

Li Zhongguo walked over and said, "Okay, what's wrong with it? You know our small county town, it's just like that."

A few people went inside and sat down. It was a three-and-a-half-bedroom house, with the middle room serving as the living room, furnished with wooden armchairs.

Once inside, I could see Brother Liu's appearance clearly. He had gray hair, was indeed a bit hunched over, and looked quite old. He coughed from time to time.

Li Zhongguo patted his pocket and then put his hand down, saying, "My niece got into Northeast Institute of Technology. I brought her here to register and also came to see you. You're the only one in the provincial capital among us, so I'm asking you to look after her. She's never been far from home before, and her family is still a bit worried. Her father is also one of our comrades-in-arms, you haven't met him, he's from the Third Regiment. You had just left when I went to see him."

Brother Liu nodded, coughed, turned to look at Xiao Hong, and said, "Okay, let's stay here. It's not far. Come over if you need anything, or call. I can help with small things. It's not easy to get into the engineering college, so study hard. You'll have a bright future. My little girl is from there too, and she knows some people. I'll have her go over and meet some people."

Li Zhongguo said, "Thank you so much. With you looking after us, we can rest easy at home. By the way, Brother Liu, this guy, Xiaowei, Zhang Wei, is... also my nephew. He might be staying in the provincial capital for a while. Could you please look after him? He's an honest young man who works as a skilled worker on a construction site in the county, mentoring apprentices."

Brother Liu looked at Xiao Wei and said, "Such a young but skilled worker, quite impressive! He can even mentor apprentices? You're definitely capable. Kids from the mountains are so reliable; kids this age here probably can't even wash their own clothes. What are you planning to do here? I'll see if I can help out."

Xiao Wei smiled, a little embarrassed, scratched his head and said, "I was just doing it blindly, but my master taught me well."

Li Zhongguo said, "We won't let him go to the construction site anymore. He's so young; he can't work on construction sites forever. We're planning to let him learn something else here and see how it goes. We'll see then. You don't need to worry about him. It's his first time going out; he's never even left the county town before. I wonder if you, Brother Liu, could help him settle in and find him a place to stay. You know, he's only a kid; he probably can't manage on his own here. It's not like the county town; there are so many people and so many things to deal with, right?"

Brother Liu nodded and said, "Indeed, don't get taken advantage of again. It's quite chaotic here now. People dare to rob and extort in broad daylight. Anything can happen. Even the locals don't want to go to the area around the train station. Are the two kids together? Haha, I can tell. Childhood sweethearts, both good kids. I have a house near Nanhu that's been empty. Why don't you two go and tidy it up and stay there for now? Consider it a house for me to look after, and it'll keep the place lively. Honey, find the key to that house."

After hesitating for a moment, Sister-in-law Liu went to the other room to find the key.

Li Zhongguo glanced at the doorway and whispered, "Will it be alright? Brother Liu, don't get angry with your wife over this."

Brother Liu shook his head and said, "It's nothing. It was originally intended for my son's wedding, but he moved into the military area, so the house has been sitting empty. I only have one son, and I don't need to take care of my daughters, so what's the point of leaving it empty? Let him stay here for now, we'll see what happens later."

Li Zhongguo said, "Alright then, I won't stand on ceremony with you. The child definitely needs a place to stay, and this place will put his mind at ease. But we can't let him live here for free, so could you collect some rent, brother?"

Brother Liu shook his head and said, "Why charge rent for a child who's only staying for a short time? If it were going to be rented out, it would have been rented out long ago. Just let him stay. I'll write down the address for you, and you can take the child there. I can't walk." He bent down and rummaged under the coffee table, took out a pen and a diary, tore off a page, wrote the address and phone number on it, and handed it to Li Zhongguo, saying, "The phone number is the home phone; call us if anything happens. There's also a phone in the other room; you can use that."

Li Zhongguo took the note and said, "Brother Liu, you've done this to me. I'm so sorry, but I hope my sister-in-law won't be angry." He lowered his voice and glanced at the door.

Brother Liu laughed, scratched his white hair, and said, "It's nothing. Southern women are a bit petty, but it'll pass. You guys go ahead, I need to sleep for a while. My health is getting worse and worse; I can barely keep up with work these days, only working sporadically. Go on, I won't see you off. Get settled quickly so you can go back home. You have a lot going on, it's not good for you to be away for too long. Let's keep in touch by phone."

Li Zhongguo thanked them again, stood up, and led Xiaowei and Xiaohong out of the Liu family's gate.

As soon as they stepped outside, Xiao Wei couldn't hold back any longer and asked, "Uncle, what's up with this old man Liu? He seems like he has some kind of illness."

Li Zhongguo looked back upstairs and said, "Comrade, he's from the same regiment as me. He fought in Korea and has a lot of medals. He was the battalion commander when I enlisted. He's very kinsman-like. Just because I'm from Beixi, he took good care of me. Otherwise, how could I have gotten this connection?"